16-inch Laptops: The Most Popular Size for Gaming and Productivity

How big is a 16-inch laptop?

Modern 16-inch laptops with a 16:10 display have a similar footprint to older 15.6-inch models with a 16:9 display, while offering a slightly larger screen. This bridges the gap between ultraportable notebooks and desktop replacement laptops:

• Choose a 14-inch laptop or 15-inch laptop if you prioritise maximum portability and thus want a lightweight, thin and compact notebook.
• Choose a 16-inch laptop if you’re looking for an optimal combination of high performance and portability, which is why 16-inch gaming laptops are so popular.
• Choose 17- and 18-inch laptops if you primarily use your notebook on a desk, do not travel with it often and need the largest possible display. These larger laptops are often heavier than 16-inch models.

The most common resolution for 16-inch laptop displays is QHD+ or WQXGA, corresponding to 2560 x 1600 pixels. Some laptops in this category also have 4K panels. Entry-level models with WUXGA resolution (1920 x 1200 pixels) are also available, but we do not recommend these for the 16-inch format due to the size of the display — only with 2560 x 1600 pixels will you achieve a sharp image.

The exact dimensions of the devices may vary slightly. For example, the XMG NEO 16, probably the world’s fastest 16-inch laptop and a frequent award winner, measures 356.7 x 259.9 x 27.9 mm for the E25 and A25 model versions.

Flexibility across all performance tiers

16-inch laptops offer a particularly wide range of performance options. With an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 or 5070, you get upper-mid-range gaming power and accelerated content creation. Thanks to their spacious chassis, however, this form factor is also available with high-end graphics chips such as the RTX 5070 Ti, RTX 5080 and RTX 5090.

The same applies to processors: provided they have a powerful cooling system, 16-inch laptops can easily push an AMD Ryzen 9 or Intel Core Ultra 9 processor to its limits while maintaining good temperatures and maximum performance.

For office tasks such as working with basic programs, video conferencing or browsing the internet, 16 GB of RAM is sufficient. However, if you also intend to use your laptop for gaming or other demanding tasks such as video editing or image processing, we recommend at least 32 GB of RAM. For creative work in particular, 64 GB, 96 GB or 128 GB of RAM may be advisable.

The benefits of the spacious 16-inch format are apparent in several areas. There is enough room for laptop batteries of up to 99 Wh, often two M.2 slots for SSDs and a variety of external ports, including USB-C or Thunderbolt, HDMI and a built-in SD card reader.

Bear in mind the following when choosing a display:

• If you’re looking for a 16-inch gaming laptop, look for a fast display with a refresh rate of 180 Hz or even 300 Hz.
• If, on the other hand, you’re looking for a 16-inch creator laptop, high coverage of the sRGB, Adobe RGB and DCI-P3 colour spaces is the most important display feature, depending on your intended use.
• Many XMG laptops offer bright IPS displays, but you can also configure some models with a Mini-LED or OLED panel. Due to its deep blacks and excellent display quality, the OLED display, which is generally slightly slower, is particularly well-suited for content creation.

Buy 16-inch laptops and accessories at bestware: fully customisable and top quality

Configure and purchase your new 16-inch laptop now at bestware. Not only do we offer a selection of the best 16-inch XMG laptops across various price-performance categories, but you also have the freedom to choose models with either AMD or Intel processors and the latest NVIDIA GeForce RTX graphics cards, ranging from high-performance to high-end GPUs.

We also offer a range of accessories, including cases, bags and backpacks designed specifically for 16-inch laptops.