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The best laptops you can buy at Walmart this holiday

The holiday season is quickly approaching, and for many of us, that means it's time to buy gifts. Whether it's for yourself or as a gift to a loved one, buying a fancy new laptop is something many will do, and we're here to help. We've already rounded up some of the best laptops you can buy in general, and you can also narrow it down to the best 15-inch laptops if that's your preferred size. But many of us are limited to or prefer buying at a specific retailer, and not every model is going to be available everywhere. If you're interested in finding the best laptops at Walmart, this article is for you.

Buying laptops at Walmart can definitely be a different experience compared to some other retailers. Similar to Amazon, many laptops on Walmart's website are from third-party sellers, so you want to look carefully at what you're buying. For our roundup, we focused exclusively on laptops available from Walmart directly, so you can rest assured you're being from a reputable seller, plus there's also the chance you might find the laptop you want at your local Walmart. If you're not a fan of Walmart, we also have a list of the best laptops at Best Buy, which you may prefer. With that out of the way, let's dive right in.

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Best overall: HP Envy x360
Best clamshell: Samsung Galaxy Book Pro
Best gaming: Acer Predator Helios 300
Best business laptop: HP Elitebook 840 G8
Best budget: Gateway 15.6" Ultra Slim Notebook
Best budget convertible: HP Pavilion x360
Best for creators: MSI Creator M16
Best Chromebook: Samsung Galaxy Chromebook

Best overall: HP Envy x360 15

HP Envy x360 15 2021 feature image

If you're looking for a premium laptop with high-end performance, a large screen, and versatility, the HP Envy x360 is one of the best options you'll find at Walmart. This convertible laptop blends together a premium build and features that make it an easy recommendation for the vast majority of users.

Let's start with performance, which is about as good as it gets for an ultrabook. The HP Envy x360 15 comes with an Intel Core i7-1165G7 processor, a 4-core, 8-thread CPU that can boost up to 4.6GHz. It also includes Intel's Iris Xe graphics for some more GPU-focused workloads. That's going to give you fantastic all-around performance for day-to-day tasks, whether it's browsing the web or writing up documents. Along with that, you get a solid 8GB of RAM plus 512GB of SSD storage, which is enough to store plenty of files for months (or years) to come.

There's also another variant of the Envy x360 15, which comes with an AMD processor instead. This version includes an AMD Ryzen 5 5500U, which is a 6-core, 12-thread processor with boost speeds up to 4.0GHz. If you value multi-core performance more – for tasks like video editing, for example – this may be the better choice. Plus, this model includes double the RAM, so multitasking is going to be better in this case. On the flip side, it includes just 256GB of SSD storage, so it's a matter of choosing your priorities. The AMD model is much cheaper, too.

Otherwise, the two models are similar. The display is a 15.6-inch panel, and it comes in a 16:9 aspect ratio. Some might prefer a taller screen for productivity, but this is still the most common format for most laptops, and it's great for watching videos and movies. In terms of resolution, it's a Full HD (1920 x 1080) panel, so it's going to look sharp enough for almost anything you might want to use the laptop for. It could be a higher resolution, but considering the price point, this is far from a bad display.

Above the display, there's a 720p webcam, which isn't going to be the best for video calls, but it should do the trick if you're not using it too frequently. It also doesn't have an IR camera for Windows Hello, but you do get a fingerprint reader on the keyboard to unlock your PC more conveniently.

The design of the laptop is fairly premium, too, featuring an all-aluminum chassis that comes in Natural Silver for the Intel version or Nightfall Black for the AMD variant. Both versions include a backlit keyboard with a full number pad, which is something you don't see an awful lot these days. The laptop is also fairly thin, coming in at under 18.8mm, but it's not particularly light, weighing 4.42lbs. That's bound to happen when you have a solid aluminum chassis.

The ports are nearly identical across the two models, too, including two USB Type-A ports, HDMI, a headphone jack, an SD card reader, and a barrel charging port. The big difference is the USB Type-C port, which supports Thunderbolt 4 on the Intel model – thus giving you many more connection options for docks, monitors, and even external GPUs. Since Thunderbolt is Intel technology, the AMD version of the laptop doesn't have it.

Overall, this is a fantastic laptop across the board, offering speed, a premium design, and a solid range of ports for all kinds of use cases. Plus, it's a convertible, and that alone is a big benefit for many people (myself included). You can buy the Intel model below, or check out the AMD version here.

HP ENVY x360

The HP ENVY x360 is a fantastic premium laptop with high-end performance and a convertible form factor.

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Best clamshell laptop at Walmart: Samsung Galaxy Book Pro

Galaxy Book Pro in black

Want the latest and greatest in a slim and lightweight package without the fluff? The Samsung Galaxy Book Pro packs some serious power into an impressively thin chassis. It's also a great pairing if you already have a Samsung phone, but you don't need that for this to be a fantastic clamshell laptop.

Performance-wise, the Galaxy Book Pro is up there with the best flagship laptops from any other brand. It has the latest Intel Core i7-1165G7 processor with 4 cores, 8 threads, and boost speeds up to 4.6GHz. As we've already mentioned that CPU includes Intel Iris Xe graphics, so you can run some lighter GPU-focused workloads, including some light gaming. That's paired with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, giving you enough memory to multitask to your heart's content, but also enough storage space for your documents, photos, and other files. It's unlikely you'll be begging for more with this configuration.

The display is also one of the best you can find on a laptop – Samsung is known for making some of the best panels out there, after all. This is a 15.6-inch display with Full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution, and that part sounds fairly standard. What's special about it is that this is an AMOLED screen, not an LCD panel like most laptops. With AMOLED, you get true blacks – since each pixel can be turned off at any time – plus you get vivid colors and very high contrast ratios, so everything will look stunning on this screen. The webcam above the display is just 720p, and there's no IR camera, but you do get a fingerprint reader to unlock the PC more easily.

One of the most impressive things about the Galaxy Book Pro is its design. It may look fairly standard in pictures, but the Galaxy Book Pro measures just 11.68mm in thickness, which is incredibly thin considering everything you get here. Plus, it weighs just 2.31lbs (1.05kg), which is also very impressive for a 15-inch laptop. It's especially impressive considering you also get a 68Wh battery that promises to last up to 20 hours on a charge.

The port setup is fairly straightforward – you get one Thunderbolt 4 port, one regular USB Type-C port, one USB Type-A, a microSD card reader, and a headphone jack. There's no traditional display output like HDMI, but that might be a consequence of this thin and light design. You'll have to get an adapter if you need to connect via HDMI, however, which is worth keeping in mind.

One last thing worth mentioning for Samsung Galaxy fans is that this laptop has some features that work together with other Galaxy devices. For example, you can easily use your Galaxy Tab S7 tablet as a second screen for your laptop, and many Samsung apps like Samsung Notes and SmartThings are available on the Galaxy Book Pro so you can access all the features you know from your phone. There's also a Quick Share app for sharing files with other Galaxy devices more easily.

Best gaming laptop at Walmart: Acer Predator Helios 300

Acer Predator Helios 300 slightly open on gray background

Looking for your next gaming rig, or the right gift for the gamer in your family? The Acer Predator Helios 300 is a powerful gaming laptop featuring the latest high-end processors, a high-refresh-rate display, and more to make it a fantastic gaming laptop. It's not necessarily the most powerful gaming laptop out there, but it's definitely one of the best options you can find at Walmart.

With gaming laptops, it's all about performance, and the Acer Predator Helios 300 has it in spades. It comes with an Intel Core i7-11800H processor, which is an 8-core, 16-thread processor that can boost up to 4.6GHz. This is a 45W processor, so it's going to be much faster than your typical ultrabook, both for gaming and just about anything else. That powerful CPU is backed up by an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 graphics card that can use up to 100W of power, which is going to give you enough power to run just about any modern game without much of an issue.

You also get 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD for fast storage, and a 1TB HDD to store larger additional games and files you may not use as frequently. That's plenty of storage and enough RAM for most modern games, though you have the option to upgrade the RAM later on if you need some extra.

The display on this model is also going to get you a solid gaming experience, coming in at Full HD resolution and a 144Hz refresh rate. There are more impressive displays out there, but with the specs inside this laptop, that means you're going to be able to run just about any game at very high settings and make full use of the high refresh rate without any issues. The laptop should never have trouble keeping up with the display, even in modern games.

Design-wise, the Acer Predator Helios 300 has the looks to match a gaming laptop. It's relatively thick at 22.86mm, and it weighs about 5.51lbs, so it's not the most portable, but that's not the point with gaming laptops. The laptop packs some powerful components, and with Acer's VortexFlow cooling system, it should keep running cool over long gaming sessions, which is the goal. The keyboard has 4-zone RGB backlighting, and it also includes a full number pad, which can come in handy.

The port selection is also solid, including one Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) port, three USB Type-A ports, HDMI 2.1, Ethernet, and a proprietary barrel charger connector. That should allow you to plug in just about any peripheral you need, including an external monitor if you want to go further than Full HD and 144Hz. Plus, with Thunderbolt 4, you can even connect an external GPU in case you want more power a couple of years from now. One thing that's unfortunately missing is any form of Windows Hello support, be it through facial recognition or a fingerprint sensor.

Best business laptop: HP EliteBook 840 G8

HP EliteBook 840 G8

If you're more about work and less about play, the HP EliteBook 840 G8 is one of the best business laptops you can find at Walmart. This is a high-performance 14-inch laptop with features tailored for business users, making it ideal for work.

First off, in terms of performance, the HP EliteBook 840 G8 is one of the best ultrabooks you can find. It comes with an 11th-generation Intel Core i7-1185G7 with vPro. That means it's one of the faster versions of Intel's 15W processors, able to boost up to 4.8GHz, and it also features extra security features to help keep your PC safe from attacks. It also still includes Iris Xe graphics, so some GPU- focused workloads are possible with this laptop. In addition to that, you get 16GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD for storage. That's a solid amount of RAM that should give you a great experience for the foreseeable future, but if either of those aspects isn't good enough for you, both the RAM and storage are user-replaceable so you can expand later on.

The display is fairly standard on this model, being a 14-inch, Full HD (1920 x 1080) IPS panel, but that's still good enough for a solid experience in day-to-day use. For a business laptop, a taller aspect ratio would have been nice, but this is still the most common format, and it's a good quality display all the same. For sound, you get a set of top-firing speakers on the sides of the keyboard. Above the display, there's a 720p webcam (which is unfortunately all too common), along with an IR camera for Windows Hello, but you also get a fingerprint reader, so you can choose your preferred login method.

In addition to Intel vPro and easily replaceable components, the EliteBook 840 G8 includes other features business users might appreciate. The webcam has a privacy shutter if you're the kind of person who doesn't trust cameras, and in the center of the keyboard, there's a pointing stick if you prefer that to the more common touchpads. The design in general is very business-like, without anything that makes this laptop stand out in an office. It's a plain silver laptop and depending on who you are, that might be a good thing. It's reasonably thin at 17.78mm, and it's also fairly light at less than 3lbs. You can easily take this on a trip without much of an issue.

Business laptops also tend to have a wealthy supply of ports, and the EliteBook 840 G8 is no exception. You get two Thunderbolt 4 ports – which already gives you a lot of expansion options – two USB Type-A ports, HDMI, a headphone jack, and a proprietary barrel charger. The only thing potentially missing here is Ethernet, but whether that matters or not varies a lot depending on your use case.

Overall, this is a great business laptop in many ways, with solid performance, some easily replaceable parts, classic business features, and lots of ports to choose from. It's an easy commendation, but you can also find the EliteBook 830 x360 and the EliteBook 850 G8 at Walmart if you want laptops of a different size. Those models have different (and not as powerful) specs, however.

Best budget clamshell: Gateway 15.6″ Ultra Slim Notebook

If you're on a tight budget but you still want a solid laptop, this 15-inch Gateway laptop is frankly a very compelling entry-level offering. Gateway may not be the first name you think of when it comes to laptops, but aside from the name, everything comes together quite nicely in the Gateway 15.6 Ultra Slim Notebook.

First off, performance-wise, it's frankly a solid PC for occasional users and younger students. It comes with an Intel Core i3-1115G4 processor, which has 2 cores and 4 threads, capable of boosting up to 4.1GHz. Of course, it doesn't match the most expensive laptops on this list, but it's still going to give you a pretty solid experience if you just need to browse the web, write some emails, or work on school projects. Plus, with 8GB of RAM, multitasking isn't that much of an issue, either. Finally, you get 256GB of SSD storage, which is also not bad at all for this price. We'll be saying that a few more times, too.

Next up is the display, and the Gateway packs a 15.6-inch IPS panel in the 16:9 aspect ratio, just like most laptops on this list. It's a Full HD display, which, again, is very much on par with what many of the more premium laptops offer, so it's not too shabby at all. On a 15.6-inch panel, you may be able to see some pixels, but for most people, you'd have to be looking pretty closely to feel like that's a big deal. At this price point, this is fantastic. Above the display, there's a 1MP camera, meaning you'll only get 720p video out of it, but again, even many of the premium laptops on this list have 720p webcams.

Even the design of the Gateway 15.6 Ultra Slim Notebook is kind of impressive in a few ways. It's an affordable 15.6-inch laptop that fits a full keyboard – including a number pad and full-sized arrow keys – along with top-firing stereo speakers. You don't see that very often on any other laptop in this category. Plus, you get a fingerprint reader for Windows Hello built into the trackpad, so you can unlock the PC more conveniently. Of course, it would be better to have that sensor built into the power button or to have facial recognition, but for under $400, this is already fantastic.

Of course, this isn't actually a premium laptop, and there are sacrifices. At 19.56mm, it's not especially thin considering its specs, and that starting weight of 4.2lbs isn't the lightest around. It's also made of plastic, so it won'tfeel premium – but at least that makes way for four completely different colors to choose from. As for ports, you get one USB Type-C (without Thunderbolt), two USB Type-A, HDMI, a microSD card slot, a headphone jack, and a proprietary charging port. It's a solid mix of ports that gets most of the basics, albeit you're not getting super-fast USB speeds here.

Overall, the Gateway 15.6 Ultra Slim Notebook is definitely worth a look if you're looking for a capable laptop on the cheap, and one of the best laptops you can get at Walmart in this price range.

Best budget convertible: HP Pavilion x360 14

HP Pavilion x360 14 2021

If you have some more money to spare and you want a convertible instead of a typical clamshell, it's hard to go wrong with the HP Pavilion x360 14. While this is pricier than something like the Gateway we mentioned above, it's got a few notable upgrades that make it worth the extra money.

First off, performance is significantly better here compared to that Gateway laptop. It comes with an Intel Core i5-1135G7, which is a major step up from the Core i3. For one thing, this is a 4-core, 8-thread CPU, plus it can boost slightly higher – up to 4.2GHz. That already makes it significantly better than the model we mentioned above, and on top of that, this model includes Intel's Iris Xe graphics, which means some GPU workloads are feasible with this model. You might be able to play some older games or even less demanding modern games at lower settings. For RAM and storage, you get 8GB and 256GB, respectively. That's not overly impressive, but it's still very much what you'd expect in this price range.

The display is also solid, being a 14-inch panel with a 16:9 aspect ratio and small bezels on most edges. It's also Full HD, which is perfectly acceptable on a screen of this size. Of course, since it's a convertible, it's also a touchscreen, so you can use it as a tablet if you want to. Above the display, there's a 720p webcam along with dual microphones. In the audio department, you have a pair of speakers tuned by Bang & Olufsen.

The design of the Pavilion x360 14 is fairly standard for a convertible. It uses aluminum for its chassis, so it's a bit more premium than the Gateway laptop listed above. Plus, despite being a convertible, it's thinner and lighter than that laptop, too. It does look a bit more boring since it only comes in silver, but it's going to feel very nice in the hand.

As for ports, the Pavilion x360 14 comes packing one USB Type-C port without Thunderbolt, two USB Type-A ports, HDMI, a headphone jack, a full-size SD card reader, and a proprietary barrel charging connector. It's about the same as the Gateway laptop above, so while it has some definite advantages, it also shares some similarities, and these are both clearly affordable products.

Overall, if you prefer the convertible form factor, the HP Pavilion x360 definitely offers enough upgrades to warrant spending the extra money on this model. Personally speaking, I'd always choose the convertible because of that form factor, but the increased performance and more premium feeling are nice bonuses, too.

Best laptop for creators at Walmart: MSI Creator M16

MSI Creator M16 on purple background

Interested in photo or video editing? The MSI Creator M16 is a laptop aimed at creative professionals, mixing powerful specs with a sharp display and wrapping it all up in a subdued design that looks great anywhere. If you're looking to buy a great laptop at Walmart, this should probably be the one.

Starting with performance, the MSI Creator M16 is packing an Intel Core i7-11800H CPU, which has 8 cores and 16 threads and is capable of boosting up to 4.6GHz. This is a 45W processor, so it's going to be significantly faster than most of the laptops on this list. CPU performance is particularly important if you're planning to do video editing, so this is a fantastic choice if that's your goal. To accelerate these kinds of tasks even further, it also helps to have a powerful GPU, and the MSI Creator M16 packs an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti with 4GB of video memory and up to 60W of power. That's a fairly powerful GPU, and it's going to give you a big boost in performance if you're editing video or doing other kinds of creative work.

You also get 32GB of RAM – plenty of memory to work with even for more complex projects, so everything should feel relatively fast and responsive. And for storage, a 1TB SSD is bound to hold plenty of files, though depending on your work, resorting to external may be unavoidable at some point.

Creative professionals will also appreciate the high-quality display on the Creator M16, which is one of the best out of any laptop on this list. For starters, this is a 16-inch display, but it comes in the 16:10 aspect ratio. That taller aspect ratio is often found in productivity-focused machines because it gives you more vertical screen space for text or web pages, but also, for video editors, you may be able to see more tracks on your timeline, see more of your editing tools, and so on. This is essentially a 15.6-inch display, but taller, and it's great.

On top of that, it's very sharp, coming in at Quad HD+ resolution (2560 x 1600), so everything will look fantastic. Plus, the display covers 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut and rated color accuracy of Delta E < 2 – another aspect that's important for creators – and it supports touch, too. Above the display, there's a simple 720p webcam without facial recognition, which is unfortunate on an expensive laptop like this. You do get a fingerprint reader for security, though.

Design-wise, you can kind of tell that MSI is a company that usually makes gaming PCs, but the Creator M16 has been adapted in many ways to look the part of a classy laptop. It's an all-black build with a white-backlit keyboard so you can use it in the dark without being overly flashy. Overall, the laptop looks sleek, though it is very thick at around 27.4mm. It's also not very light, weighing roughly 4.97lbs. Still, it's not too bad considering everything you get from it.

In terms of ports, you get one USB Type-C port, three USB Type-A ports, HDMI, Ethernet, a headphone jack, and a proprietary charger port. This is a solid mix overall, though there are some disappointing aspects, such as the lack of Thunderbolt. And for a laptop aimed at creators, the absence of any kind of SD card reader is surprising since it would make it easier to import files from a camera.

Despite some odd omissions, the MSI Creator M16 is a fantastic laptop if you're looking for something you can use for creative work, whether that's photo or video editing, or some form of 3D rendering, and it's one of the best laptops you can find at Walmart.

Best Chromebook at Walmart: Samsung Galaxy Chromebook

Samsung Galaxy Chromebook in Fiesta Red

Finally, for the Chrome OS fans out there, we have what's still one of the very best laptops you can find at Walmart. The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook has received a successor, but in some ways, it's still much better.

First off, let's talk performance, which may be a point of concern at first. The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook is packing a 10th-generation Intel Core processor, specifically the Core i5-10210U. This is a 4-core, 8-thread processor, and it can boost up to 4.2GHz. It's not Intel's most recent, but it's not really old either. Plus, that's still a very solid configuration considering a large portion of Chromebooks come with Intel Celeron or low-power ARM processors. This is still going to perform exceptionally well on Chrome OS.

Aside from that, you get 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD, and again, that's a great combination for a Chrome OS laptop. This is a much more lightweight operating system than Windows, and since much of it is based on the web, you don't need as much storage as you might need on a Windows device. Overall, this is still a great combination of specs for a Chromebook.

What truly makes this a fantastic laptop, though, is its display. The Samsung Galaxy Chromebook has one of the best displays you'll find on any laptop. First off, it's a 13.3-inch panel, and it uses the more typical 16:9 aspect ratio. Some may consider it a negative, but for media consumption, this is the ideal format. And consuming media is the ideal use case for this display since it comes in an incredibly sharp 4K resolution (3820 x 2160), and on top of that, this is an AMOLED panel, which is only seldom seen on laptops, let alone Chromebooks. Everything you look at on this display will look fantastic – vivid colors, true blacks, and high contrast ratios are all benefits of AMOLED panels such as this one.

An interesting aspect of the Galaxy Chromebook is that it actually has two cameras. The camera above the display uses 720p resolution, which isn't particularly impressive, but there's another camera on the keyboard deck. This is so you can use it to take pictures of what's in front of you by using the laptop in tablet mode, and it has an 8MP sensor that's much better than the one above the display. There's no IR-based facial recognition here since Chrome doesn't support it, but you do get a fingerprint sensor for secure login.

Design is definitely a subjective topic, but if you ask me, the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook is easily the most beautiful laptop on this list. I'm not even a huge fan of red, but it's bright and colorful, and the fact that it's still all metal means it's still going to feel premium. Many colorful laptops are made of plastic and cheap, but this is truly a stunning premium laptop. It's also incredibly thin and light, measuring just 9.9mm in thickness and weighing 2.29lbs (1.04kg).

Being that thin does mean you don't get a ton of ports, so you're limited to two USB Type-C ports, a microSD card reader, and a headphone jack. Again, it's not ideal, but it's a necessary compromise being this thin and light. However, it would have been nice to at least get Thunderbolt support. Overall, this is one of the best Chrome OS laptops you can find at Walmart, and one of the best Chromebooks in general. We'd absolutely recommend this one, especially as it's been discounted over time.

And those are what we'd consider the best laptops you can find at Walmart this holiday season. If you're looking for something that's more of a safe bet for the majority of users, the HP ENVY x360 is never a bad choice. It's a powerful laptop with high-end specs, a versatile form factor, and a premium design that works well for just about anyone. There's a little something for everyone here, though, so if that doesn't seem like the best option, there are many others worth looking at. Based on looks alone, I'd personally say the Samsung Galaxy Chromebook is one of my personal favorites, but any of these will provide a fantastic experience.

As a reminder, all of the Windows laptops on this list will support the upgrade to Windows 11 for free, if they don't come with it already. If you haven't yet, check out our Windows 11 review to see why we think it's worth the upgrade from Windows 10.