Best computers at any price

Computer prices can be all over the map. But we're here to help you select the best computer for your price range, be it a laptop, desktop, or Chromebook. Here are five computers that impressed us.

Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus NP940X3G-K06US ($1,500)

You may have to pay top dollar for this 14-inch laptop, but it topped its category in our Ratings and is one of the best laptops we tested. It's powerful, stylish, thin, and a light 4.4 pounds. Battery life was a long 12 hours. Performance was excellent, and it's got enough oomph for graphically challenging games.

Microsoft Surface Pro 3 ($1,125)

Performance was excellent on the Surface Pro 3, the third generation in Microsoft's line of laptop/tablet combos. It's got a very good 12-inch screen and weighs just 2.4 pounds with the Pro Type keyboard. (Remove the keyboard and it becomes a 1.8-pound tablet, heavy for a tablet, but the display is larger than that of most other tablets.) The unique kickstand adjusts to almost any angle. Battery life was 10 hours. One quibble: the volume from the speakers was judged to be loud enough for only the quietest of environments. You'll need headphones or external speakers to get louder output and better quality sound.

Lenovo U430p ($550)

This is a great price for a speedy 14-inch laptop with excellent performance. Battery life was an impressive 13.5 hours. Weight was just 3.7 pounds, which is light for its size. It comes with some interesting extra features, like gesture control and USB sleep and charge, which lets you use the USB port to charge other devices while the laptop is in sleep mode. All in all, it's a great package for the money.

HP ENVY 23-o014 ($950)

Looking for a great family computer? Consider this HP all-in-one. Performance was excellent, so the kids (and adults!) will be able to play games. The 23-inch touchscreen display is big enough for enjoying movies, and it did well in our tests, though it is prone to glare. There's a wireless mouse and keyboard to eliminate cord clutter. You can use the included Dragon Assistant for voice commands. The speakers were good, but you might want to add an external set for better sound.

Acer Chromebook C720-3871 ($350)

Intel Core processors are making their way into more Chromebooks, and it shows in the performance scores for this 11.6-inch model, which uses a Core i3. But it also shows in the price, which is higher than has been typical for most Chromebooks until now. It's got less memory than some others. But the 2GB it does have should be sufficient for a Chromebook, which does most of its work from the browser. You might notice some slowdown if you open a large number of tabs in the browser and stream videos while browsing those tabs. With 12 hours of battery life, it will go all day and then some. It's also very light at just 2.6 pounds.

--Donna Tapellini

Check out Consumer Reports' Buying Guide for lots more info on laptops, Chromebooks, and desktops.