10 Best Computers To Work From Home
10 Best Computers To Work From Home
Even before the global pandemic made working from home routine for millions, increasing numbers of people had been saying goodbye to their onerous commute to work. Thanks to ever-evolving technologies like Skype, FaceTime, Slack, Zoom, Google Hangouts, authenticator apps, and cloud computing—not to mention texting and email—it's no longer necessary to be in an office full time to be a productive member of the team. In fact, many kinds of work can be done just as effectively, if not more so, from a home office.
If you're one of the millions of people trying to figure out how to work from home, you already know that having the right technology is a big part of getting your job done. For most of us, that means figuring out which computer will give us the most bang for our buck.
With that in mind, here's my list of the seven best laptops and computers for working remotely.
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Difference Between Working From Home And Working Remotely
Of course, “remote” is a vague term, and some people will use both terms interchangeably, while others will have very different requirements for the tools they use to do their work.
To help you understand the difference, let's use the example of someone who lives in an urban area. If you're an Uber driver and drive for the service in a city like New York, there's no reason you can't work from home and watch Netflix on a laptop that's about as powerful as a cheap Chromebook. There's just one problem: Those watching on the sofa in their apartment will probably have better audio and lower quality video quality.
If you spend a lot of time working in the field, it's a different story.
How To Be Successful Working From Home
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It might come as no surprise to learn that the Asus ZenBook Pro comes in at number one on my list. The ZenBook Pro is one of the most well-rounded, powerful laptops on the market, and if you're a video or graphic artist, this is definitely your best friend.
The 13.9-inch display offers high brightness levels with vivid, inky blacks and there's no complaint of me using the laptop in bright office spaces where it can overheat. In fact, the laptop has an excellent rating of 4.5 stars from over 4,000 Amazon customers.
How To Work Effectively From Home
Whether you're working alone in your home office, as part of a team in a co-working space, or at home with a spouse or roommate in the next room, being productive from home has its ups and downs. While many do their best work when they can relax and pursue their passion outside of work, the allure of having flexible hours, no commute, and the ability to keep on top of emails from the convenience of their own home is an undeniable draw. And this is especially true for telecommuters—many of whom are self-employed, running their own companies, or freelance for other companies.
However, like most things, there's a fine line between not working from home enough and working from home too much.
Where Work-from-Home Jobs Are
Work-from-home positions range from writing to coaching to hosting to management. They take the form of full-time or part-time, temporary or permanent, and freelance or contract.
Organizational Work
A great many white-collar jobs exist in the organized world, from management to project management, consulting and accounting, to HR and human resources.
Tech Work
Many tech positions involve the routine but time-consuming preparation and customization of technology systems and tools, from corporate-wide websites to multifunctional servers and desktop computers.
Artistic Work
Composer, teacher, illustrator, photographers, and many other types of artists create their work at home.
Work-From-Home-Friendly Firms
If you work remotely and you're ready to make a good living, there are plenty of great firms to choose from. But your biggest decision—and that of all your potential employers—will be your location. While we've made it a point to include lots of firms offering competitive pay and great benefits, it's important to think about what this type of work really means for you. It's fine to work from home if that's where you'd prefer to be, but if you'd prefer the office environment, you'd do best to choose a firm that employs folks in the office.
If you plan on telecommuting exclusively, ask around at your existing company or in your field and your surrounding area.
Common Types of Work-From-Home Jobs
There are literally thousands of job options today for people who want to work from home, but there are a few common types of work-from-home positions:
I. T. Management
I.T. Management is a broad industry and doesn't require extensive skill sets. It covers a lot of ground, and it all depends on your skillset and specific area of interest.
If you're interested in the healthcare field, I.T. Management may be the job for you. Hospitals rely heavily on people who can install, maintain, update, and repair hospital IT equipment. You could work as tech support, a technician, or even a system administrator.
The healthcare industry is full of opportunities for I.T. Management, as is the IT sector in general. If you enjoy designing things, you could work in software development.
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Avoid the Scams
Perhaps most important, though, before you take the leap into the brave new world of telecommuting, it's essential to remember that working from home comes with a huge range of benefits but also with a huge risk of fraud and abuse. There are many ways to skimp on a home office and some easy ways to boost its value—but they come at a cost.
According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), telecommuting jobs, like many other jobs, typically come with more than one job description. Some employees, for example, may actually be required to come into the office on a regular basis, and the one thing these folks may have in common with telecommuters is a “sales” function: They are called upon by their bosses to make the sale by looking for new customers or providing other in-person marketing.
Tips to Combat the Drawbacks of Work-at-Home Life
Wouldn't you rather be listening to music, munching on potato chips, and checking your Twitter feed than pulling on a power suit and grabbing a coffee on your way to the office?
Getting a job done doesn't have to entail sitting in front of a computer for hours on end with only an occasional break for food and bathroom breaks. In fact, the positives can be many: being with your kids at school and in the evening and not having to commute, being able to spend more time with your family, being able to catch up on housework, sleep in a bit, take a nice bath, or check out the latest in skincare or gardening, and of course, working from home means more time for errands.
Most of us have grown accustomed to the convenience of working from our own home, but for some, the prospect of actually doing it is enough to give them an anxiety attack. But it doesn't have to be that way—if you're willing to embrace new technology and learn a few new methods of making the most of your at-home office, you can reduce your commute, avoid the cost of a building, and enjoy the benefits of the virtual office.
Rodney Brooks is a bestselling author and futurist. He is CEO and co-founder of Rethink Technology Research, a leader in the global science of human interaction with technology and founder and chairman of the Rethink Institute.
Why You Need A Laptop
Having a good computer is one thing, but having the best computer for the tasks you want to do is what you'll really pay for. Your laptop's battery life can only take you so far when you're running all over the place, and it's usually best to leave your machine plugged in while you're out of the house. With that in mind, you'll want to make sure you have a laptop that has the best battery life possible, along with enough room for you to actually use it.
Once you're out of the house, you'll want a machine that can stay productive. For some, a laptop with a big screen might be their thing. But for most people, a smaller screen is more practical. Plus, having a laptop with a 15-inch screen is often far too much for smaller spaces.
What To Look For In A Laptop
Of course, there's nothing to stop you from buying any of these and setting up a home office, so what I'm looking for are the key points that I think make for a great laptop.
The most important thing is a machine that can easily handle an eight to 12-hour working day and can be plugged in and used if required. You don't want to be schlepping around with cables if you can avoid it.
Processor power. The first thing a lot of people want to know is which laptop has the best processor, as it'll often set the general performance of the laptop.
A good idea is to check out the benchmark results for your chosen processor. This will show you how fast it is and whether it will cope with the number of programs you might want to run.
Graphics and RAM. It's really nice to have both.
How To Choose The Best Laptop For You
We all want to work from home but don't want to spend a fortune doing it. While we can't all be self-employed, I'll show you some of the best laptops that will get the job done and then some for a relatively low price.
1. Dell XPS 13
Perfect for working from home or from the office
CPU: Intel Core i5-i7 | Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 620 | RAM: 8GB | Screen: 13.3-inch, QHD+ (3,200 x 1,800) | Storage: 256GB SSD
If you're just trying to get a job done and don't need all the bells and whistles that a laptop comes with, look no further than the Lenovo IdeaPad 720S. This thin and light laptop features a stunning and bright 3,200 x 1,800 screen that will let you do your work from home without being distracted by any window reflections.
The Dell XPS 13 is available on Amazon for $1,692.99
Think About Your Budget
The first thing you need to figure out is your budget. If you don't know how much you're working from home and want a computer that won't break the bank, a PC from HP or Dell should work just fine. We've also included one of the more expensive laptops here – and it does still work.
For the best value option, consider one of these:
2. HP Pavilion Laptop
A lovely laptop for working from home
- Good performance
- Improved design
- Lightweight
- Average battery life
Last year, the HP Pavilion dm4-715sa replaced a model that was a little more expensive but had a better screen and bigger battery.
This HP Pavilion laptop is available on Amazon for $949.99.
Laptop Or Tablet?
There's really no “right” or “wrong” answer here. While my personal preference is a laptop, I have not needed to drag around a tablet for years now. So, for my laptop recommendations, I'm going to stick with those specifically designed to work as a mobile computer and as a desktop. These are perfect for working from home or on the go. Some of the manufacturers in this list even offer their own operating systems — Android or Chrome OS — that you can download and install on your laptop. If you're primarily a web browser kind of person, there's a mobile Chrome OS machine out there for you, too.
Battery life and price are also a consideration. Because you'll likely be working for long stretches of time on these machines, battery life and price will be key.
Requirements For Working From Home
If you don't have access to a coworking space or have other issues, you'll need a dedicated PC for working from home. You may have an occasional side gig working from home, so you don't need the most powerful laptop money can buy. But you also don't want to be stranded if your wifi connection goes down, or the drive dies.
It's a good idea to go for a large-screened 13-inch model or a 15-inch model. Keep in mind that the larger the screen, the more cumbersome the computer will be to carry to and from the office.
How To Work From Home Effectively
This is a list of the best laptops, tablets, and desktops that support all of the major remote-working technologies, but with the caveat that I haven't used them. So, if there are specific tools you need to find, check out what the pros use.
These are the best laptops, tablets, and desktops that support remote and home office productivity, but are not great for gaming or for video editing.
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Windows 10
First, we need to talk about Windows 10. The operating system is now more popular than ever — around 60 percent of PCs in use in 2017 were running Windows 10.
There are loads of ways to get a good work laptop at an affordable price, but only a few will provide you with the power you need to get the job done, without sacrificing performance or being big enough to satisfy your small or medium-sized business' needs.
After all, a laptop with plenty of computing power and enough mobility to work on the go is going to make you a much more productive employee, so you won't have any excuse to not get some serious work done.
Here's a list of the best laptops and computers for working from home, but before you start browsing your options, make sure that your home office has the right tech setup first. In my experience, setup is the hardest part of getting a work laptop up and running and I'm a big advocate for an office-ready setup.
The Best Laptops For Working Remotely
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The Best Touch Screen Computers For Working From Home
There's a lot of people who aren't afraid of a touchscreen. They just don't use them. If that sounds like you, you're in luck. It doesn't get much better than Apple's new MacBook Pro.
There aren't many reasons to avoid the MacBook Pro for working from home. Aside from it being a hefty, behemoth of a laptop, it has a touch screen with multi-touch functionality.
If you have no idea what that means, you can read up on how it works. Basically, it allows you to use your fingers or a mouse to navigate your computer as you would normally, except the cursor is now able to move around the screen. You can use the touchscreen to make selections, use images to highlight parts of the document, or even use virtual analogs to pull up file descriptions for things like CSV files.
The Best Desktop Computers For Working Remotely
3. HP Pavilion Desktop (Tower PC)
A tower is a good, relatively inexpensive computer, but you're sacrificing portability. This powerful HP Pavilion desktop computer is available on Amazon for only $799.99.
4. HP Pavilion Desktop (Tower PC)
And this newest and even more powerful HP Pavilion desktop computer is available on Amazon for $1,599.00
2021 Apple iMac (24-inch, Apple M1 chip with 8‑core CPU and 7‑core GPU, 8GB RAM, 256GB) – Silver
Apple completely revamped the iMac for 2021, with a body so tiny that it could easily be mistaken for a jumbo-screen iPad. It now has the same speedy M1 CPU as Apple's late-2020 MacBook Air and Mac Mini (see below), as well as a stunning 24-inch screen that replaces the previous 21.5-inch model.
While we prefer all-in-ones for their convenience, they're difficult, if not impossible, to improve. Dell's XPS Desktop is small and quiet enough for a small workspace, yet it can be outfitted with an 11th-generation Core i9 processor, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 graphics card, up to 64GB of memory, and 4TB of storage — with room inside for more.
If you're seeking the cheapest Mac on the market, the news is practically all positive. Apple's smallest desktop computer was one of the first to receive the new M1 processor, which outperforms comparable Intel-based Macs in terms of speed and performance. The Mini, unlike MacBook notebooks, has legacy ports including USB-A and HDMI. The Apple Store prices for the 256GB and 512GB models are $699 and $899, respectively, but the good news is that they're now routinely on sale at other shops for $50 to $100 less.
This Windows version of the basic iMac design was released in early 2020, and it shows in the specs, which are a little out of date: a ninth-generation Intel CPU and a spinning hard drive to supplement the 256GB solid-state drive.
What if the iMac could accept touch and stylus input? That's basically the pitch for Microsoft's Surface Studio 2, a Windows-powered all-in-one with the ability to tilt the 28-inch screen back like a drafting table, which seals the deal for artists.
This Dell model has virtually identical characteristics as the HP above, but instead of AMD Ryzen, it uses a 10th-generation Intel Core i5. This was formerly listed for $1,050, but it now appears to be selling for closer to $1,400. (It's been as low as $750 in the past.)
Conclusion
You've probably already checked out the list above and thought it was too good to be true. Well, before you get too excited about getting started on your project, there are a few caveats.
First, of course, is that all of these PCs are very, very expensive. For the sake of this article, however, I've picked a few PCs that I think are worth the investment.
Most of the PCs that have been selected require you to purchase additional software or hardware that you may not want or need. Before you buy anything, go through this list, and decide what you really need.
I trust you enjoyed this article about the 10 Best Computers To Work From Home. Would you please stay tuned for more articles to come? Take care!
JeannetteZ
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Your Opinion Is Important To Me
Thoughts? Ideas? Questions? I would love to hear from you. Please leave me your questions, experiences, remarks, and suggestions about the 10 Best Computers To Work From Home in the comments below. You can also contact me by email at Jeannette@WorkFromAnywhereInTheWorld.com.
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