Top 12 Best Laptop for Hacking in 2024 [Updated]

What should be the configuration of a laptop for hacking or network security? How much will it cost? Can I buy it online? This article is written to answer all such queries. For hacking or IT security, you need better network cards and hardware to run heavy software tools or crack hashes.

The best laptop for hacking needs to boot to Kali from a USB drive, or the laptop should also be capable of booting dual operating systems. Hackers and IT security professionals might want to run single or multiple VMs on their laptops.

You must also focus on good battery life, powerful CP and GPU for coding, better resolution, and an FHD screen. Considering all these important factors, we have shortlisted the top 12 laptops for 2024.

What is the best laptop for hacking in 2024?

The best laptop for hacking in 2024 is the Dell XPS 15, thanks to its robust performance, featuring an Intel Core i9 processor, 32GB RAM, and a 1TB SSD. Its high-speed capabilities and reliability make it a top choice for security professionals and ethical hackers.

Hacking laptops post

The Role of Cyber Security Within an Organization

Cyber security ensures your organization’s data remains safe from malicious external or internal attacks. It can comprise various technologies, structures, processes, and practices to safeguard programs, computers, networks, and data from unauthorized access. The entire goal here is to maintain data integrity and confidentiality.

White hat or ethical hacking has a significant role in cyber security. The world of cybersecurity knows hackers as the bad guys. But not all of them are bad! Ethical hacking or white hat practices involve capabilities to damage an organization hypothetically.

The actual purpose here is to uncover any security failures within an organization’s systems to safeguard the business from black hat hackers.

But all this is impossible if you don’t have a quality computer or laptop. And that is why you need an excellent machine to do your job effectively.

If you are an IT professional or network and security administrator, you need to get the best laptop for hacking that will cater to your requirements.  You are the one going to secure and protect your company’s network and systems against hackers, so you must have the same or a better laptop than a hacker 😉

12 Best Hacking Laptops – Suitable for IT Security Too

1) Alienware M15 R7 (12th Gen i7, 16GB RAM, 8GB GDDR6)

Alienware laptops have always been one of the best regarding performance and reliability. And the M15 R7 is not different either. It is the upgraded version of the previous R4 model. The M15 R7 machine is a powerful unit that is ideally suitable for gaming. But it packs enough power to make it a good option for ethical hacking and cybersecurity.

This machine features a QHD (240hz)15.6-inch screen, an Intel Core 12th Gen i7 chip with 16 GB DDR5 RAM, and 512GB NVMe storage. This machine has plenty of power to perform various cyber security tasks conveniently.

Alienware M15 R7

This laptop comes with an NVIDIA GeForce 3070Ti RTX graphics card with 8GB DDR6 display memory that will keep your screen fully operative no matter what type of programs you are using. 

One of the best features of this unit is that it comes with a killer WiFi 6 802.11ax LAN that runs smoothly and is suitable for performing various cybersecurity practices. The laptop has a powerful Bluetooth 5.1 wireless connection to connect all the latest devices conveniently.

It is one of the best Windows 11 laptops for hacking in the 1500$ price range. Moreover, you have multiple hardware options to customize the model to match your budget. You can even select the AMD processor laptop in this model.

Alienware m15 R7 Gaming Laptop - 15.6-inch QHD 240Hz 2ms Display,...
  • BEAUTIFUL SCREEN: The Alienware m15 R7 gaming laptop is designed with a 15.6 inch QHD 240hz display providing for a clear gaming experience

3) Razer Blade 15

Razer Blade 15 is an aesthetically made laptop that professional hackers can easily use for performing routine tasks. The Razer Blade 15 Model shares Advanced Model’s thin bezels that go a long way to make your laptop look modern and sleek. The Razer Blade 15 base model is a bit chunkier but has features similar to other models. 

The Razer Blade 15 has impressive features any security professional or ethical hacker would love. Also, this laptop is suitable for gaming and other graphic design work if you are interested. 

Razer Blade 15

As Razer 15 comes well-equipped with a 14-Core Intel Core i7 12th Gen processor & RTX 3070 Ti, you will not have any issue using the latest and best apps, even at the max settings. The distinctly Razer Blade design elements include the black metal chassis, large touchpad, and speakers.

Also, it is equipped with DDR5 16GB RAM and plenty of storage – 1TB PCIe SSD to run multiple virtual machines and network security tools simultaneously without lagging. 

What stands out is the flashing, recognizable 3-headed serpent of a Razer logo. The Razer Blade 15 model is still thinner than your average laptop due to Max-Q & Razer’s design chops. Overall, it is the best laptop for performance and mobility.

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Razer Blade 15 Gaming Laptop: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti - 12th...
  • NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti GPU: The new GeForce RTX 3070 Ti is up to 70% faster than RTX 2070 SUPER laptops and can deliver 100 frames per second at 1440p resolution

4) ASUS VivoBook Pro 15 – AMC Ryzen 7

The ASUS VivoBook Pro 15 OLED Ultra Slim Laptop is excellent for white-hat hacking and security professionals. It features a 15.6” FHD Display, AMD Ryzen 7 5800H CPU, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 GPU, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, and Windows 11 OS. This laptop offers great performance capabilities, making it well-suited for any ethical hacking task.

ASUS VivoBook Pro 15

The powerful AMD Ryzen 7 5800H processor can easily handle complex calculations necessary for cybersecurity tasks and operations. The laptop also comes with the latest NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 graphics card, which will provide visuals for any security operations you undertake with the laptop. The laptop has 512 GB SSD storage capacity to store all your data securely, giving ample space for applications and data backups.

This laptop also comes with a lithium-ion battery that provides up to seven and a half hours of usage time. With the powerful processor, enough RAM, and SSD- you should be able to install several virtual machines for security tools and sandbox features. 

5) MSI Stealth 15M Gaming Laptop

While light and thin laptops are all-time favorites of cybersecurity personnel nowadays, there is still the market for mid-sized replacements of yore – it gets suitable with MSI Stealth 15M Gaming Laptop that takes things to a completely next level.

MSI spearheads the lightweight environment in its MSI Stealth line, and with 15M, the company provides some weight to contain more power and swag than anybody can handle.

With the higher capacity of RAM and disk, you can easily host multiple VMs to run security and hacking tools simultaneously.  Hosting several VMs will help you run specific tools such as password cracking tools, DDOS testing, and SQL injection.

MSI Stealth 15M Gaming Laptop

The main reason MSI 15M appears on the list of the best laptops for IT experts is plenty. The affordable price tag of this laptop may surprise you by looking at the premium performance and specs.

The Intel Core i7 and 16GB DDR4 RAM provide seamless performance, whereas 512GB solid-state offers enough storage space. The MSI 15M laptop features a 15.6-inch FHD display at 144Hz for a seamless work experience between PC and mobile. 

Thunderbolt 4 and USB 4.0 support allows you to do data transfers at the rate of 40 Gbps, which is one of the advantages of this laptop.

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MSI Stealth 15M Gaming Laptop: 15.6" 144Hz FHD 1080p Display,...
  • Aspect Ratio:16:9.Voltage:230.0 volts.Communication : 802.11 ax Wi-Fi 6 + Bluetooth version 5.1.

6) Lenovo ThinkPad E15

The E15 ThinkPad by Lenovo features an enormous 15.6-inch FHD display and is a top choice for business professionals. It comes with the 10th Generation Intel Core i5 chip that you can upgrade to 4.20 GHz to make it even more powerful.

The laptop has 16 GB RAM with a 1 TB SSD to provide plenty of storage and memory for your daily cybersecurity operations. Other 32 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, or 512 GB SSD options are available. This machine comes equipped with Windows 10 Pro, which you can upgrade to Windows 11 whenever needed.

Lenovo ThinkPad E15

Another exceptional feature of this machine is that it comes equipped with a lithium-ion battery that can manage a battery life of up to 11 hours. Moreover, the LED screen it comes with has anti-glare features, so your eyes remain safe even after long use. Graphics are extraordinary, thanks to the UHD graphics card provided by Intel.

This machine features an HDMI port, two USB 3.1 ports, one USB-C 3.1 port, a USB 2.0 port, and an RJ45 port. There are plenty of connectivity options available to you.

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  • 【10th gen Quad-Core i5-10210U】Intel Core i5-10210U (1.6 GHz base frequency, up to 4.2 GHz with Intel Turbo Boost Technology, 6 MB cache, 4 cores). 3-Cell 45WHr Li-ionLithium ion, up to 11 hours battery life mixed use.

7) Acer Nitro 5

The Acer Nitro 5 is a powerful gaming laptop for performance and speed. It is equipped with an Intel Core i7 chip. It has plenty of multi-tasking speed. It has an NVIDIA GeForce RTX graphics card that can handle graphics and further boost its reliability.

Thanks to the large 17.3-inch screen, this laptop has a big display that is crystal clear, and you can conveniently use it for long hours without putting much strain on your eyes. This machine has a big 16 GB DDR4 RAM and a 1 TB SSD to provide plenty of memory and storage. The backlit keyboard of this machine looks nice.

This machine features Windows 10 Home, and you can upgrade it to Windows 11 according to your requirements.

Acer Nitro 5 Laptop For Hacking

One of the best features of this machine is that it doesn’t get hot. Acer’s CoolBoost technology increases fan speed by 10 percent and CPU cooling by 9 percent to ensure a better cooling performance even during intense use.

It is one of the best machines for cyber security as it comes with different connective options with HDMI and USB ports. The machine comes with a powerful Wifi 6 that runs at astounding speeds.

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  • Dominate the Game: Great performance meets long battery life with the Intel Core i7-11800H Processor - up to 4.6GHz, 8 cores, 16 threads, 24MB Intel Smart Cache

8) Dell Gaming G5

Dell is quite famous for producing professional laptops, but recently it has managed to amuse gamers with its G series laptops. This model comes with the latest 9th gen Intel core i7 with 12 MB cache and clock speed as high as 4.5 GHz, 256 GB SSD for faster loading of the OS, and 16 GB RAM coupled with the NVIDIA GTX 1650 will support the HD graphics while you can enjoy your gaming sessions with friends online.

Dell G5 Laptop

Dell G5 is bundled with high-performing hardware to make your virtualization needs sufficient. You can run multiple VMWare workstations with ease with this Dell G15. Dell’s 15” FHD Anti-glare LED Backlight display is up for the premium viewing experience while you are competing with your friends on a PUBG adventure.

Dell has an advanced cooling thermal design & innovative dual fan technology to keep your device cool while you multitask on your laptop. Overall, it’s a decent pick not just for ethical hackers but for programmers & gamers, too.

Dell G5 15 Gaming Laptop (Windows 10 Home, 9th Gen Intel Core...
  • Lead the pack with an elegant sleek design that keeps heads turning

9) Lenovo Legion 5 Pro

The Lenovo Legion 5 Pro 16ACH6H is a powerful gaming laptop that is perfect for hacking. It has an AMD Ryzen 7 5800H 3.2GHz processor and 16GB RAM for multitasking performance. The 1TB SSD provides plenty of storage space for large files, while the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 8GB graphics card ensures great GPU support for any GPU hunger IT security or white hacking tools.

Lenovo Legion 5 Pro

This laptop also has a 16″ WQXGA 165Hz display, perfect for viewing high-resolution content and multiple windows.

This laptop also has several options to meet your budget and hardware requirements. You can choose from different models with different RAM configurations, storage capacities, and graphics cards to suit your needs. It also comes with multiple ports and connections, allowing you to connect external devices such as monitors and keyboards easily.

The Lenovo Legion 5 Pro 16ACH6H is an excellent choice for those who want a powerful laptop for hacking purposes. Thanks to its advanced hardware components and customizable options, this laptop will easily meet all your hacking needs.

10) Acer Predator Helios 300 (Best Windows Laptop)

You would see the Acer Predator Helios 300 in many reviews and top lists because of its price and amazing hardware specifications.  We can’t leave the Helios 300 latest model without mentioning hacking and network security professionals.  

It has the latest 9th Gen Intel 6-Cores i7 Processor and 16GB DDR4 RAM. Surprisingly, it has a 6GB display VRAM on GeForce GTX 1660 Ti to cater to the video/graphics processing requirements. 

The faster 6-core processor, 2666MHz DDR4, and 256GB SSD should be able to crack plenty of hashes quickly when you do hacking or complex tasks.

Acer Predator Helios 300

As an IT professional, I understand the need for a full-size keyboard. Acer Predator Helios 300 has a numeric keypad that helps use keyboard shortcuts for coding. It got Gigabit Wi-Fi for a faster wireless connection.

Acer takes care of the laptop’s cooling system well, which will help you run highly complex processing tasks on this laptop.

Acer Predator Helios 300 Gaming Laptop PC, 15.6" Full HD 144Hz...
  • 9th Generation Intel Core i7 9750H 6 Core Processor (Up to 4.5GHz) with Windows 10 Home 64 Bit

11) New Apple MacBook Pro

Most hackers like to code on Mac OS X rather than Windows OS. Apple is the most renowned producer of amazing personal computers & laptops. Many professionals have fantasized about Apple devices. Apple MacBook Pro has a sturdy aluminium body design and power-packed hardware inside to run all your ethical hacker tasks.

This latest device comes with the 9th generation Intel core i7 processor with a 12 MB cache. 512 GB Ultra Fast SSD will load the OS with lightning speed. 16” Retina display will amuse you with the ultra HD viewing experience while dual switching graphics between Integrated Intel UHD 630 & dedicated 4GB AMD Radeon Pro DDR6 video card.

New Apple MacBook Pro

Regarding the ports & connectivity, you won’t face any lag taking everything wireless with Wi-Fi, 802.11ac & Bluetooth 5.0. 4 Thunderbolt 3 ports will support charging, DisplayPort, and transfer speed up to 40 Gbps. You will get one extra USB 3.1 Gen 2 port with a 10 Gbps data transfer speed.

The new MacBook Pro has an all-day-long battery life, which lasts longer than most workstations. You will get everything in the beautiful finish 0.6 inches thin body weighing just 4.3 pounds. Overall, it’s an excellent package for ethical hackers with a passion for gaming & multimedia work.

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Apple 2019 MacBook Pro (16-inch, 16GB RAM, 512GB Storage, 2.6GHz...
  • Ninth-generation 6-Core Intel Core i7 Processor

12) Dell Inspiron 13 5310

The Dell Inspiron 13 features a 13.3-inch QHD screen and a slim and lightweight laptop. Slim and light machines are always better to carry and use on the go. And, of course, such a design makes them more functional and look better.

This machine has an Intel Core i7 chip with 16 GB DDR4 RAM backed up with 512 GB SSD. You will get plenty of memory and storage for various cybersecurity operations.

Dell Inspiron 13 5310

This machine is also equipped with NVIDIA GeForce MX450 graphics cards, and you can use this laptop for gaming. This machine has plenty of power for your business and entertainment needs.

This laptop features Windows 10 Home version, and you can upgrade it to Windows 11 based on your requirements. The machine comes with Dell services for 2-year on-site services.

Plus, you get 6 months for Dell Migrate, so you can conveniently move your files and settings from your older PC to your new Dell Inspiron. The machine looks sleek and comes with powerful performance, making it an all-rounder of all sorts.

Best Laptop For Ethical Hacking

The best laptop for ethical hacking has high processing power, ample RAM, and a solid-state drive for quick data access. Look for models with a powerful processor, such as an Intel Core i7, at least 16GB of RAM, and a minimum of 512GB SSD storage for optimal performance.

Hardware Requirements for Kali Linux

Installing Kali is quite a simple task. You have to ensure you have compatible hardware. Kali Linux is well supported on the amd64, i386, and ARM (ARMEL & ARMHF) platforms. Even the hardware needs are minimal, though better hardware can naturally offer you better performance.

  • A minimum of 20GB of disk space for the Kali Linux install will be enough.
  • RAM for i386 & amd64 architectures and minimum: 1GB and recommended: 2GB and more.
  • CD-DVD Drive or USB boot support or VirtualBox

Kali Installation Prerequisites

  • RAM: RAM plays a very important role in running any operating system. You need to consider RAM for i386 & amd64 architectures with a minimum of 1GB and recommended 2GB and more. If you use more RAM, you can get better performance when using Kali Linux. My suggestion is 4GB RAM.
  • Hard Drive: Suppose you do not wish to install any third-party program and store data; you do not require much media. You may install Kali Linux if you have a minimum of 20GB of disk space for Kali Linux. If you have more space, it can allow you to store more data. It is recommended to have a 32GB hard drive.
  • CD-DVD Drive: When you’ve got a CD-DVD on the system, this is not a problem or necessary. Suppose you have a CD-DVD Drive; you have the alternate option of installing Kali on the system using the CD-DVD drive.
  • USB Port: Today, most computers have a USB port. Having a USB port won’t raise any issues. You can get another way of transferring data from one device to another. You may use the port to install Kali Linux using the USB pen drive. 
  • Dual-core or Core to due every CPU will be compatible with Kali.

Kali Linux can run on very low-end specs; however, depending on what you want to do for your system, you might require a robust computer.

Think again; the Kali Linux developers do not give us official information; however, they have listed the following as minimum and recommended system requirements.

  • 128MB (512MB optimally) RAM
  • 2GB of disk space

Looking at the low requirements, a 1 GHz CPU must be adequate and foregoing the desktop environment to reduce the load. For such a build, you must use SSH and a terminal to interact with the system.

How much RAM do I need for hacking?

We usually suggest a minimum of 8GB RAM for personal computers for hacking purposes, but the more, the better. If your budget permits, go with the higher RAM, at least 16 GB or 32 GB RAM.

Is hacking ethical?

Yes, there are multiple online certification courses for ethical hacking, otherwise called White Hat hacking, practiced by IT ethical hackers. You can attempt the C|EH exam for International ethical hacking certification.

What computer/laptop is best for hacking?

You can get any laptop with the minimum hardware configuration for hacking. Our editor has picked the above ten laptops for your comfort; you can choose anyone and start your journey.

Why do hackers use Linux?

Linux OS is endeared to not just hackers but programmers as well, as it is a free, open-source OS that makes their job easy to modify or customize. Also, multiple Linux distros are available online; hence, it is the most popular among ethical and malicious black hat hackers.

Can I get a job by learning to hack?

Of course, most organizations employ ethical hackers whose job is to find the flaws in the security breaches in the systems or software they developed and provide improvisation suggestions to prevent attacks.

Conclusion:

So, we mentioned the 12 best laptops for hacking that are suitable for amateur or seasoned hackers and IT security professionals. These laptops will work well for you if you do programming or play games.

These machines are dependable since you can run multiple OS, VMs, and tools requiring heavy computational processing without lag on these laptops.

If any of the above solutions did not fix the Windows PC issues, we recommend downloading the below PC repair tool to identify and solve any PC Issues.

Dinesh is the founder of Sysprobs and written more than 400 articles. Enthusiast in Microsoft and cloud technologies with more than 15 years of IT experience.

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