If you are a professional ethical hacker or even a beginner in the field of hacking and you are looking for the Best Laptops for Pentesting and Kali Linux 2022, then you are in the right place.
In order to do pentesting, you need a laptop that runs Kali Linux via dual boot or software like VirtualBox, VMware. No matter what method you use to run Kali Linux, you need a powerful laptop to perform such an operation without any issue. Pentesters and hackers need to run multiple or single VMs on their laptops. You need to focus on some other features like decent battery life, for coding and Kali Linux commands you need powerful GPU and CPU and better FHD screen resolution.
After doing research on multiple sites, I have made a list of the Top Best laptops for Pentesting of 2022.
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My Top Picks Best Laptops for Pentesting 2022 are :
1.Apple MacBook Pro (Best Laptops For Pentesting)
We already know that Apple products are good in terms of performance. This is what all pentester needs. But, if you are on a very tight budget then this laptop is not for. Below I have also listed some of the affordable and best laptops for Kali Linux 2022. So, you don’t need to worry.
Speaking about the design of this laptop, it is a 15.4-inch IPS panel that displays a definition of 2,880 x 1,800 Px. It has a brightness rate of 480 cd / m² and a contrast ratio of 1050: 1. Its Retina display does really stand out from other notebooks. It has amazing colour accuracy and viewing angle.
Though an ethical hacker doesn’t give much importance to display quality still it’s really good to have an amazing display on any laptop.
Apple MacBook Pro comes with 512GB SSD and 16GB DDR3 memory and one of the major disadvantages is that you can’t upgrade any of them. But, still, it is enough for pen-testing.
Speaking about the performance of this device, you will be getting 16% faster performance in a single core and 19% performance in multi-core. Kali Linux can be rendered easily on this device without any worry.
This can also be perfect gaming because of the presence of the Radeon Pro 560 dedicated graphics card. Graphics related can also be done smoothly and this laptop is also capable of editing 4K videos without lag.
While performing the hardcore task the fan makes much noise. But on the other hand, it makes the system cool.
There are 4 USB ports on this laptop and all 4 of them are USB Type-C. It also has a giant trackpad that probably could be the same size as Galaxy S9 or Google Pixel. It also has a butterfly keyboard.
And lastly, speaking about the battery of this device, while doing graphics related work we can expect battery backup up to 8-10 hours. But, while you are running Kali Linux, the battery backup ceases to 3 hours at maximum.
Specification Recap :
• Screen Size: 15 Inches.
• Storage: 512GB SSD.
• RAM: 16GB DDR3 RAM.
• Processor: Intel Core i7 (7th Gen).
• Graphics card: Radeon Pro 560 (dedicated).
• Operating System: MacOS Sierra.
• Weight: 6.4 lbs
Also Read: Best Laptops For Mechanical Engineering Students
2. Lenovo IdeaPad Y700
the Lenovo IdeaPad Y700 comes with various screen sizes such as 17.3, 15.6 and 14-inch models. If your budget is 900$-1000$ then you can go for this laptop. Here, I am going to talk about the 17.3-inch model which is quite heavy with respect to other models.
The 17.3 inch Y700 Laptop comes with a full HD display. The viewing angles are amazing and the colors of this laptop are sharp and vibrant.
It comes with storage of 128GB SSD + 1TB HDD.
Speaking about the performance of this device, it is loaded with Intel Core i7 6th Gen i.e. Intel Core i7-6700HQwhich handles every task easily and also maintains the system cool.
Also, it is backed with a discrete graphics card i.e. GTX 960M with 4GB VRAM.
You can play moderate to heavy games with decent frames.
The laptop also comes with Red backlit keyboard which has 2 levels of brightness. And, it has JBL speakers which are placed just above the keyboard.
All the ports required for connectivity are present in this device. On the right side, it has got 2 USB 3.0, HDMI and Ethernet jack. On the left side, there is a USB 2.0 and a full-size SD card reader.
And lastly speaking about the battery life, while running Kali Linux we expect the battery backup to be around 2-2.5 hours.
Specification Recap :
• Screen Size: 17.3 Inches.
• Storage: 128GB SSD+ 1TB HDD.
• RAM: 16GB DDR4 RAM.
• Processor: Intel Core i7-6700HQ.
• Graphics card: GTX 960M 4GB (dedciated).
• Operating System: Windows 10.
• Weight: 7.7 lbs.
3. Alienware 17 R4 (DELL)
This is a Flagship Laptop from Alienware. In terms of specification, it is also one of the best laptops for Kali Linux. As it is a flagship laptop, anyone who needs a high specification laptop can use it. Graphics Designer, Video Editor Etc. anyone can use this laptop.
If you are looking for a portable laptop then this might not be a good option for you. Because it weighs around 9.7 pounds, which might be quite heavy than other laptops in the market.
Speaking about the build quality of this laptop, it is made up of aluminium and is very rigid and sturdy.
It has a 17.3-inch screen with two display resolutions i.e Full HD and QHD. It also comes with a TN panel that still has good colour accuracy. The sRGB rating of the display is 92% and the Adobe RGB rating of 71%.
Speaking about the storage of this device, it has various options to choose from. For Kali Linux users I would suggest going for 256GB SSD+ 1TB 7200 RPM HDD, 16GB DDR4 memory and Intel Core i7-7820HK.
Just like storage, dell has offered various options to choose the GPU. But I will suggest you go for GTX 1070 it is more than enough to run modern games and performing graphic related tasks and It costs way cheaper than GTX 1080.
The trackpad of this laptop is small compared to other devices. The keyboard of this laptop is backlit and can be customized to any colour.
One of the unique features of this device is that it has a Tobii eye tracker. With the help of the Tobii eye tracker, you can control your screen from your eye. Though, it is not much accurate as of the trackpad.
And lastly, speaking about battery life, you can expect up to 4 hours of battery life while playing games or Kali Linux.
Specification Recap:
- Screen Size: 17.3 Inches.
- Storage: 256 SSD+ 1TB HDD.
- RAM: 16GB DDR4 RAM.
- Processor: Intel Core i7-7820HK.
- Graphics card: GTX 1060 6GB (dedicated).
- Operating System: Windows 10.
- Weight: 9.7 lbs.
4. Acer Predator Helios 300
The Acer Predator Helios 300 is also one of the best laptops Kali Linux 2022 if your budget is around 1200$. The Acer has launched this Predator series laptop, especially for gaming purposes. As it has high-end specifications it is suitable for all kinds of operations.
It has black metal finished chassis with a red-backlit keyboard which gives it to fully gaming look. It has 15.6 inches of full HD IPS LED-backlit display and a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels.
Predator Helios 300 from Acer has an 8th Generation Intel Core i7-8750H processor and it is also loaded with 16GB of DDR4 RAM. It will help you do multitasking.
Speaking about the graphics of this laptop, it has 6GB of NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 dedicated graphics card. It will provide you better graphics experience.
The laptop is backed with a storage of 256GB of fast SSD.
Moreover, the laptop has a dual fan cooling system which helps to keep the hardware cool while you are doing heavy multitasking for a long time.
The laptop also provides 7 hours of battery life. Overall, the laptop is the best one if it fits your budget.
Specification Recap:
- Screen Size: 15.6 Inches.
- Storage: 256 SSD.
- RAM: 16GB DDR4 RAM.
- Processor: Intel Core i7-8750H.
- Graphics card: GTX 1060 6GB (dedicated).
- Operating System: Windows 10.
- Weight: 5.9 lbs.
5. ASUS VivoBook M580VD-EB76
It is also one of the best laptops for Kali Linux 2022 users because of its solid features.
This laptop comes with a full Aluminum body. It has a 15.6 inches full HD TN panel which is the major drawback of this laptop. The viewing angles and colour accuracy is average on this device
Speaking about the storage of this device, it has storage of 256GB SATA 3 M.2 SSD storage.
It is loaded with the Intel Core i7-7700HQ processor. It is also backed with 16GB DDR4 RAM is more than enough to run Kali, Chrome, Photoshop, and many more apps at a single time.
Again, the laptop has a GTX 1050 4GB graphics card. You can easily play most of the games in moderate-high settings without any issues.
All the ports required for connectivity are present in this device.
The weight of the laptop is 5.1 pounds i.e. 2.3 kg
ASUS VivoBook M580VD-EB76 is powered by Harman/Kardon speakers.
While running Kali Linux you can expect battery backup up to 2-3 hours. But while doing graphics related tasks you can expect battery life of up to 5-6 hours.
Specification Recap:
- Screen Size: 15.6 Inches.
- Max Screen Resolution 1920 x 1080 pixels
- Processor 2.8 GHz 8032
- RAM 16 GB DDR4
- Hard Drive 1000 GB Hybrid Drive
- Graphics Coprocessor NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050
- Chipset Brand nvidia
- Card Description Dedicated
- Graphics Card Ram Size 4 GB
- Number of USB 2.0 Ports 2
- Number of USB 3.0 Ports 1
6. Dell XPS 15 9560
The Dell XPS 15 is the larger version of the Dell XPS 13. It is mostly designed for work-oriented activities.
Dell XPS 15 is loaded with the Intel i7 processor and Nvidia 1050 graphic card. The weight is 4.26lbs and its 0.86 inches tall. It is one of the best and powerful laptops. With this powerful processor and features, it can run all heavy software architecture students and architects.
It is also backed with 16GB RAM needed for multitasking purposes. It provides 8hours of long battery backup.
The XPS 15 comes with 512GB SSD storage which performs quite fast. The read and write speeds of the laptop are 3000 MB, 1550 MB respectively.
Speaking about the display of this laptop, it has an IPS panel that can display 4K content.
All the ports required for connectivity are present in this device.
One of the major problems is its thermal limitation. If you push this device a little hard it will hit the thermal throttle.
Specification Recap:
- Screen Size: 15.6 Inches.
- Storage: 512GB SSD.
- RAM: 16GB DDR4 RAM.
- Processor: Intel Core i7-7700HQ.
- Graphics card: GTX 1050 4GB (dedicated).
- Operating System: Windows 10.
- Weight: 4.26 lbs.
7. Dell Inspiron i5577 – Best Laptops for Pentesting
It is one of the affordable and best laptops for Pentesting. This is one of the best budget laptops for people who are looking for the best laptops for Kali Linux 2022.
Dell Inspiron i5577 is a 15.6-inch FHD Anti-Glare LED-Backlit with a resolution of 1920 x 1080.
It is loaded with 7th Generation Intel Core i7-7700HQ Quad-Core at Base Frequency 2.8 GHz, Max Turbo Frequency up to 3.8 GHz with 2400 MHz memory speed, a 15.6″ 1080p screen, 16 GB DDR4 of RAM, a 512 GB hard drive, and This state of the art CPU has a base clock speed of 2.8 GHz, with a maximum of 3.8 GHz under turbo mode.
One demerit of this device is that it will drain the battery faster than normal because of the powerful processor.
There will be no overheating of this device because of the dedicated heatsink and superior heat management technology by Dell.
You can expect 5.5 hours of regular use with the screen at about 75% brightness and about three hours of Kali Linux on battery.
All the ports required for connectivity are present in this device. And the weight of this device is 5.7lbs
Specification Recap:
- Screen Size: 15.6 Inches.
- Storage: 512GB SSD.
- RAM: 16GB DDR4 RAM.
- Processor: Intel Core i7-7700HQ.
- Graphics card: GTX 1050 4GB (dedicated).
- Operating System: Windows 10.
- Weight: 5.7 lbs.
8. Lenovo Legion Y7000 Gaming Laptop
The Lenovo Legion is a Y series laptop by Lenovo. This laptop is especially for gaming purposes as it also comes with a high specification. As it has high specifications you can use it for any other purposes also.
Speaking about the display, it has 15.6 inches of full HD Anti-Glare LED Backlight display with IPS technology. It is backed with a full-size backlit keyboard which will help you to perform operation even in the low light.
The laptop is pre-loaded with windows 10 operating system.
This laptop is powered with a 2.2GHz Intel Core i7-8750H processor with turbo boost technology up to 4.1GHz.It is backed with mammoth 16GB of DDR4 RAM which is powerful enough to handle all heavy software’s and provides smooth working experience.
Speaking about the graphics of this laptop, the laptop is loaded with 6GB of NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 dedicated graphics card.
The laptop has storage of 256GB of SSD and 1TB of HDD which is more than enough.
The laptop provides 5 hours of decent battery backup as it has -Cell 57WH Lithium Polymer battery.
Apart from all these specifications, the laptop has Harman Audio with Dolby Premium speakers which deliver superior sound quality.
All the ports required for connectivity are present in this device.
Specification Recap:
- Screen Size: 15.6 Inches.
- Processor: (8th Gen) Intel Core i7-8750H Processor
- RAM: 16GB DDR4 RAM
- Hard Disc: 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB
- Operating System: Windows 10
- Weight: 9.15 Pounds
- Battery Life: Upto 5 Hours
9. Lenovo Legion 5 Laptop
What is the fit for Lenovo Legion 5 ? We don’t take gaming workstations for audits frequently. Very explicit gadgets for us. However, what difference would it make?
Lenovo Legion 5 is ideal for Kali Linux, it’s an exceptionally amazing PC with an excellent plan and an incredible GPU that can save you a ton of time while attempting to break hashes.
Lenovo recognizes as the Advantages of this model:
- High performance (both GTX and AMD processors)
- Silent operation under load ( the maximum noise level is 50 dB)
- A noticeable gain thanks to the screen (this phrase probably refers to a matte 144Hz screen with less than 5ms response).
- Silent keyboard with 1.5mm key travel + white or RGB backlit
- High-speed DDR4 3200 MHz, two slots for SSD, Wi-Fi 6
Things to Know Before Buying The Best Laptops for Pentesting :
I have already talked about some of the best laptops for pentesting and hacking. If you find difficulty in choosing the right laptop for yourself, then I’m going to share few tips which can be helpful while picking the best laptop for you.
One should note these important points in buying laptops:
Processor: One of the most important parts of a laptop is its processor. If the processor is faster then you will get high performance. If your processor is slow then it will take much time to load applications. So, the most important thing is that while buying a laptop you should focus first on the processor.
For Pentesters and Hackers, you need to run high powerful software you should go for i5 if your budget is limited or else you can go for i7 if you are on a high budget.
RAM: To do a smooth working experience and to handle such heavy software you need good RAM. And again if your budget is limited you should go for 8GB RAM and if you high budget you should go for 12GB or 16GB RAM.
Graphics Card: For Normal computational purposes normal graphics card is enough. But if you use high-end software then you should go for a dedicated graphics card.
Storage: Nowadays many laptops come with SSD and HDD storage. Choose the storage that depends on your budget. If you need faster storage then go for SSD and if you need more storage then go for HDD.
Display: Again if you are on a low budget go for a 15-inch display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and if you are on a high budget then go for a 17-inch display. It all depends on your need and budget.
These points will help you to choose a better laptop for your needs and budget.
Conclusion:
After doing hard research, my laptop expert team has found these best laptops for Kali Linux 2022.
All the above information are collected from the internet. I hope that this laptop buying guide of the best laptops for pentesting and hacking 2022 will help you out to choose the best one for you.
Also Read: Best Laptops for Cloud Computing