By Robin Owens 11 days ago, Hardware
Top-rated i9 laptops with a solid performance.
Some users need a more powerful laptop than others as they have to deal with demanding software. This refers to photographers, who work with large photos and videos, gamers, engineers, etc. We believe that a laptop with i9 processor will be the best option for such users.
Intel Core i9 Processor has 8 cores, 16 threads, and requires 96 watts running on maximum capacity. It supports DDR4 SDRAM 128GB and 41,6 GB/s transfer data speed, which is really impressive.
On the market, you can find a huge variety of Intel Core i9 notebooks. So, the question is, how to select the right one? In fact, all these laptops are provided with sophisticated hardware, which doesn’t make your choice any easier.
We recommend you to define the priorities first and find out the features that matter the most. Below there is a brief review that we hope will help you to select the best i9 laptop.
CPU: Intel Core i9-9980HK | GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 | RAM: 32GB | Storage: 1TB | Display: 15.6-inch | Weight: 5.51 pound
⊕ Supplemental screen
⊕ High-definition touchscreen
⊕ Touchpad can work as a numeric pad
⊖ Not the best position of the second screen
⊖ Lack of Ethernet
⊖ Right side ports issues
Asus ZenBook Pro Duo is equipped with two displays for additional comfort. A lot of photographers are appealed to this model especially for this feature. An ergonomic responsive keyboard and an accurate touchpad will fully satisfy you. Besides, the touchpad works as a numeric pad, which gives additional convenience. By the way, the touchpad is placed on the right side, which is unusual yet rather comfortable when you get used to. Many users prefer to operate with a mouse and thus don’t need a touchpad at all, so placing it out of the way seems like a very good idea.
Asus ZenBook Pro Duo combines classic external design with two superior-quality 4K displays and an extremely powerful internal part. This luxurious and unbelievably mighty high-class machine will fully satisfy you, as soon as you get used to its unusual design. Fast access to hotkeys, the possibility to run various programs simultaneously, a large screen, and one more additional screen are the features, which make Asus ZenBook Pro Duo a unique laptop with i9 processor desired by many users.
CPU: Intel Core i9-10980HK | GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER | RAM: 32GB | Storage: 1TB | Display: 17.3-inch | Weight: 5.82 pound
⊕ Great value for money
⊕ High-quality accurate screen
⊕ Useful software
⊖ Poor battery
⊖ Not the best webcam
MSI GE75 Raider is one of the most demanded Intel Core i9 notebooks. It is fast and reliable and highly appreciated by gamers all over the world. This stylish laptop is provided with an amazingly powerful Intel processor and a superior-quality graphics card, supplemented with a reasonable amount of software. These specifications guarantee the smoothest and the quickest performance you could imagine. You will especially like the picture quality, the images look alive with the help of super-fast ray tracing technology, the shadows, lighting, and reflections are very accurate.
Even the most demanding gamers will be satisfied with MSI GE75 Raider’s GPU, which has advanced memory, enhanced performance, and sophisticated processing technologies. Be ready for a high price of such a powerful gaming machine. Many gamers consider MSI GE75 Raider the best i9 laptop in this price category. Taking into account its productivity, advanced specifications, and excellent-quality screen, designed for gaming, this machine looks like a very decent choice for those who are ready to pay the price.
CPU: 9th Generation Intel Core i9-9980HK | GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4GB GDDR5 | RAM: 64GB | Storage: 2TB | Display: 15-inch | Weight: 4 pound
⊕ Fancy design, decent build quality
⊕ Advanced BIOS, great CPU, and GPU
⊕ Available in several configurations
⊕ Irreproachable battery
⊖ Not enough storage
⊖ Mediocre audio
⊖ Not the best keyboard and touchpad
A lot of users claim that the best multimedia laptop with i9 processor is Dell XPS 15, version 7590. It is equipped with the most precise screen, super-powerful processor, and superior-quality graphics card GeForce GTX 1650. The graphics performance ensured by the laptop is irreproachable, making this Dell model a strong competitor to other similar devices. It comes at a lower price than, for instance, ThinkPad X1 Extreme or P1, which appeals to many users.
Nevertheless, we believe, that the laptop could be even better if the manufacturers provided it with a Full HD, or Ultra HD IPS screen, instead of an OLED one, which still has some limitations. The most powerful Core i9 processor, the most advanced graphics card, and a very decent battery make this laptop an interesting option. Although, you may be disappointed by somehow weak audio capabilities and a mediocre keyboard.
CPU: Intel Core i9-9980HK | GPU: GeForce RTX 2080 | RAM: 32GB | Storage: 1TB | Display: 17.3-inch | Weight: 10.6 pound
⊕ Outstanding gaming experience
⊕ Excellent high-definition screen
⊕ Ergonomic keyboard
⊕ Special macro buttons
⊕ Silent cooling fans
⊖ Bulky
⊖ Large screen borders
⊖ Insufficient battery
Looking for a good and powerful laptop for gaming, we can’t forget about the newest Acer Predator Helios 700 released in 2024. It allows adjusting the position of the touchpad and keyboard with a help of a special sliding mechanism. This feature makes a 17.3-inch laptop truly unique, besides, letting enough fresh air to cool the most powerful processor, which guarantees the smoothest overall performance.
The display of this fancy designed laptop is bigger than most of the competitors have. The keyboard is ergonomically designed and very comfortable. Besides, there are special gaming macro keys. The fans are powerful yet quiet, cooling the processor, but not distracting you from work or entertainment. The sound system is quite decent, though not the best one. Another disadvantage you may see in this machine, is its large size, but what could you expect with a 17-inch screen? Overall, we consider Acer Predator Helios 700 a very interesting and attractive option and some reports claim it may be the best i9 laptop, equipped with a 17-inch display.
CPU: Intel Core i9-10980HK | GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super Max-Q 8G GDDR6 | RAM: 32GB | Storage: 1TB | Display: 17.3-inch | Weight: 5.29 pound
⊕ Compact fancy design
⊕ Excellent superior-quality display
⊕ High-end audio
⊕ Stable performance and quality graphics
⊖ Not the best battery
⊖ Gets hot at times
MSI GS75 Stealth is one of the worthy Intel i9 laptops because it comes with a large 17.3-inch screen and the most powerful processor. It appeals to users, who appreciate irreproachable performance and portability. The laptop has superior specifications: a mighty 2.4 GHz Intel Core i9-10980HK eight-core processor, a large DDR4 SDRAM of 32GB, a 1TB NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD, and a high-quality graphics card NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER.
This wonderful graphics card ensures the possibility to take advantage of additional graphics settings and have an outstanding gaming experience at superior 300Hz refresh rates. Not many laptops offer a 17.3 Full HD screen, and MSI GS75 Stealth is a nice exception. With this amazingly powerful and perfectly-equipped laptop, your gaming experience will be really special. Considering its wonderful features and stylish design, we definitely can forgive its poor battery.
| Image | Name | Features | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Asus ZenBook Pro Duo
Our Choice |
CHECK PRICE → | |
 |
MSI GE75 Raider
Ideal for Gaming |
CHECK PRICE → | |
 |
Dell XPS
Royal Laptop |
CHECK PRICE → |
Looking for the best i9 laptop we recommend you consider some crucial features, which define the overall performance of the machine. The first specification to pay attention to is a display. As for the size, we recommend you opt for the models equipped with at least a 15-inch screen.
If you can afford a 17-inch display with thin borders, your experience will be absolutely outstanding. The next important parameter is the screen resolution. Don’t agree for less than a Full HD display (1920x1080), but in case you can afford a 4K UHD resolution, it will be amazing. In general, all Intel Core i9 notebooks are provided with a Full HD display.
Another feature to focus on is the size of RAM and hard drive. We recommend at least 16GB RAM, but you may need more depending on the programs you are running. Opting for an HDD storage, take not less than 1TB. If you prefer SSD, choose 512GB as a minimum. Besides, some Intel i9 laptops offer dual storage, which is a good option.
A laptop with i9 processor is not a cheap machine. Its high price supposes an irreproachable performance, corresponding high-end look, and superior-quality build. That’s why, when manufacturers equip a laptop with such a powerful CPU, they usually also guarantee a metal corps and fancy design. We don’t recommend you agree to the plastic build, it won’t be a wise saving.
To attract users with the fancy and portable design of the super-powerful machine, manufacturers have to sacrifice something. As they provide a laptop with an effective Intel Core i9 processor and still want to keep it thin, the battery turns out to be that compromise.
If fast performance is important for you and you are ready to pay an extra amount for it, then the Core i9 should be your choice. The i7 is cheaper and slower
The base speed of the Core i9 is 2.6GHz with 2.0 clock of 4.2GHz Turbo Boost. Then it gets to be the fastest processor by using 3.0 Turbo Boost to reach 4.4GHz.
If you work with large videos, photos, or 3D models, you really need such a powerful laptop with i9 processor.
Unfortunately, such an upgrade is impossible. Even if that was possible, your laptop would get too hot, as it is not equipped with fans to provide effective cooling for the Core i9 processor.
