Being a hacker in the 21st century is now fashionable, as these guys have a lot of opportunities. The best laptop for Kali Linux depends on what you really want to do with that laptop? if you are looking to buy kali Linux laptop you just arrived to the right place.
Being in the niche of penetration testing and hacking is not a simple task, and largely depends on your skills. Do you want to connect to a WiFi point or attack an internal network, perform pentesting let’s just say you are an ethical hacker, Another benefit of pentesting laptop it will be used s a portable hacking station, and just using a laptop as a remote access connection will also not be amiss.
Again, it all depends on what you want to do. And anyway, let’s figure out where to start and what requirements of the laptop will be associated with hacking.
| IMAGE | NAME | FEATURES | PRICE |
|---|---|---|---|
 | ASUS ZenBook 13 Ultra-Slim |
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 | Apple MacBook Pro |
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 | Lenovo Legion 5 Laptop 15.6 |
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 | Razer Blade Stealth 13 |
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 | HP ProBook 450 G8 Business |
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 | LG gram Laptop |
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 | GPD Pocket 3 |
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 | Dell XPS 13 (9310) |
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What laptop would work best for kali Linux
Before we look into the best laptop for running kali Linux let’s check what’s the Minimum & Recommended System Requirements.
Installation requirements for Kali Linux differ depending on what you would like to install. As a lower bound, you can install Secure Shell (SSH) as a server without a desktop using only 128 MB of RAM (512 MB of RAM recommended) and 2 GB of disk space. If you need to install Kali Linux with extensive functionality, for example, with the default GNOME desktop environment and the kali-linux-full meta package , then you will need at least 2048 MB of RAM and 20 GB of disk space.
In addition to RAM and hard disk requirements, your computer must have a processor that is supported by at least one of the amd64, i386, armel, armhf, or arm64 architectures.
| -- | Minimum System Requirements | Recommended System Requirements |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | 32 or 64 bit CPU (single core) with 2 GHz speed or better | 11th Gen Intel Core i9 or better |
| RAM | 512MB | 8GB+ |
| Storage | 20GB | 512GB SSD |
| Display | --- | 15.6-inch FHD IPS (1920 x 1080) |
| Graphics | --- | 8GB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 |
What type of laptop should you use to run kali Linux
- LaptopPerformance
- Performance is the main aspect, as most hacker activities require a lot of processor resources. To do this, you must be sure that you have the minimum requirement to run your hacking tools. We will not call them, since we are sure that you are already an experienced hacker who can cope with the search for the necessary information about hacks, etc.
- If you are going to crack passwords from a laptop, we recommend using a modern laptop based on processor start from i5 To i9.
- A multi cores processors will allow you to work faster.
- Xeon processor will be perfect but it cost a lot.
- Just do not forget to check your tools for multi-threading before buying, otherwise you will spend your money in vain on buying a multi-core processor, which in the end will not work at full capacity.
- A multi cores processors will allow you to work faster.
- If the tools you are using have GPU support and in most case now day they do, you should give attention to the latest GPU.
- cracking using the GPU Power is much faster and powerful for most penetration testing tools.
- I would like to say about the amount of disk space on the laptop. If you do not need a large volume, but at the same time you want fast work,
- SSD drive will speed up your laptop and save power, which case longer battery life.
- Memory
- The choice of RAM memory depend on your requirements. If you want to use the laptop without Virtual machines, you can get by with 8 GB of RAM. As experience suggests, the processor will be more dependent on hacker tasks then RAM.
- But if you are planning to run virtual machines you need more then 8 GB of RAM and in most case you will so i suggest to get at least 16GB of RAM.
- Virtual machines require a lot of resources., you should buy a laptop with a minimum of 16 GB of RAM.
- Compactness
- Sometimes even hacking methods are not as important as compactness. This is due to the fact that now hackers have become smarter and use desktop computers or even servers, which are connected via remote access using a laptop. Therefore, it is better to invest money in a computer that will be at home. It will come out cheaper. But with a laptop everything is different, here you need to pay attention to the battery and the weight of the device.
- If the laptop will not have very powerful components, then it will start to use less energy, which will allow the battery to last longer, thereby your laptop will hold a charge for a long time.
- Processors with a lower clock speed (in GHz) will reduce heat and prevent battery consumption during fan operation.
- The Entry Level Graphics Cards is suitable for most major games and saves significant energy compared to the high-performance Nvidia.
- If you want the battery to not discharge quickly, then invest in an SSD drive, which is really energy saver than HDD drives that rotate heavy disks at a speed of 10,000 rpm.
Simple tips on what to look for in a laptop that might be suitable for hacking activities include the following:
- Processor: Running resource-intensive applications and carrying out complicated tasks need a powerful processor. Look for a laptop that has a processor that is at least an Intel Core i5 or i7 processor or equivalent from AMD.
- RAM: A least of 8GB RAM is advised for running numerous applications and tasks at once. However, 16GB or more RAM is recommended for hacking tasks that are more demanding.
- Storage: Due to its higher read and write rates, a solid-state drive (SSD) is preferred over a traditional hard disk drive (HDD). For storing tools and files, 256GB of storage is advised, but more storage is always preferable.
- Graphics card: Although it is not necessary for hacking operations, a specialized graphics card can be helpful for jobs like password cracking or cryptocurrency mining.
- Screen: For long hours of coding and data analysis, a high-resolution screen with good color accuracy and wide viewing angles is advised.
- Operating system: Hacking activities frequently make use of a Linux-based operating system like Kali Linux or Parrot Security OS. Nevertheless, depending on the tools and applications being utilized, Windows or macOS can also be used.
- Portability: A light and portable laptop is advised because, as a hacker, you might need to work on the go or in public.
Do not forget to follow local laws and regulations and to always use your abilities in an ethical and responsible manner.
The Best Laptop for Kali Linux
If you ask this question, then novice hackers should take a closer look at the following laptop models from our rating. The choice is yours!
ASUS ExpertBook B9
- CPU: 4.7GHz 11th generation Intel Core i7-1165G7 12M Cache, 4 cores
- RAM: 16GB LPDDRX
- Storage: 1TB SSD
- Display: 14 inches (1920 x 1080)
- GPU: Intel UHD Graphics
- Battery: Up to 17 hours
ASUS ExpertBook B9 is one of the best laptop for Kali Linux
Ultrabook ExpertBook B9 from ASUS is positioned as a compact and lightweight model designed for corporate users. Focusing on a durable and lightweight body in a stylish and modern design with a super long life battery that can keeps up to 17 hours,
The developers have not forgotten about the information security tools that are essential for business. But still, we are primarily interested in the hardware component of the ultrabook, its performance and autonomy, because the combination of technical characteristics of the ExpertBook B9 has all the prerequisites to take a leading position among ultrabooks.
ASUS ZenBook 13 Ultra-Slim
- CPU: 4.6GHz 8th generation Intel Core i7-8565U
- RAM: 16GB
- Storage: 512GB SSD
- Display: 13.3 inches (1920 x 1080)
- GPU: Integrated Intel HD Graphics 620
- Battery: Up to 6 hours
ASUS ZenBook 13 Ultra-Slim UX333FA best cheap laptop for Kali Linux
This laptop from ASUS falls into the ranking of the best laptop for Kali Linux for a reason, because its main advantage is a long working time. Buyers rated it not only for such a dignity, but also for the screen size, it is only 13.3 inches, which allows you to put it in any bag. Problems with a lack of RAM you definitely will not appear, because the laptop has 16 GB, which is enough for a hacker.
Zenbook 13 is One of the contenders for the lead among low-cost laptops This model has a great look, slim, compact body.
Apple MacBook Pro
- CPU: Apple M1 8-Core
- RAM: 8GB
- Storage: 256GB SSD
- Display: 13.3-inch FHD (2560 x 1600)
- Graphics: Integrated 8-Core
- Battery: Up to 17 hours
Macbook Pro for pentesting it’s one of the best laptops you can ever find, with great Battery that last Up to 10 hours
The talk that Apple will abandon Intel processors in favor of solutions of its own design has been going on for a long time. Earlier this year, the Cupertino-based company distributed test systems with the mobile A14 chip on board to select partners to prepare macOS software developers to migrate to the new architecture, and now it has finally made a life-changing move.
Apple’s M1 System-on-Chip, which powers the next-generation Mac Mini, MacBook Air, and 13-inch MacBook Pro, should change everything – dramatically increase performance, extend battery life, and bring a ton of features that add up to a user’s big picture. experience under the control of the new version of macOS, because now Apple controls the hardware and software of its products inside and out.
Moreover, according to the manufacturer’s promises, the M1 not only corrects the shortcomings of the previous “MacBook”, which weighs on the gluttonous and hot Intel silicon, but is simply the most productive chip among notebook CPUs.
is Apple MacBook good for kali Linux ? it’s not good it’s perfect.
Lenovo Legion 5 Laptop 15.6
- CPU: 2.9 GHz AMD Ryzen 7 4800H
- RAM: 16 GB DDR4 3200 MHz
- Storage: 256GB SSD
- Display: 15.6 Inches FHD (1920 x 1080)
- Graphics: GeForce GTX 1660Ti 6 GB
- Battery: 5 Hours
Lenovo Legion 5 Gaming Laptop
What is the capable of Lenovo Legion 5 ? We do not take gaming laptops for reviews very often. Quite specific devices for us. But, actually, why not?
Lenovo Legion 5 is perfect for Kali Linux, it’s a very powerful laptop with beautiful design and a great GPU that can save you a lot of time while trying to crack hashes.
Lenovo distinguishes 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
Razer Blade Stealth 13
- CPU: 8th Gen Intel Core i7 8565U
- RAM: 16GB dual-channel – 2133MHz
- Storage: 256GB SSD, Upgradeable
- Display: 13.3 Inches FHD (1920×1080)
- Graphics: NVIDIA MX150 4GB GDDR5 VRAM
- Battery: Up to 13 hours
Razer Blade Stealth 13 best laptop for kali Linux
The winner of today’s rating The best laptop for kali Linux is a laptop from the well-known company Razer. This company produces not only gaming peripherals but also excellent laptops that allow you to perform quality work. This laptop model may seem too expensive because powerful components were introduced into it. If you are looking for a laptop not only for hacking but also for your pleasure, then you must take this one.
HP ProBook 450 G8 Business
- CPU: 2.4 GHz 11th Gen Intel Core i5-1135G7
- RAM: 32GB RAM DDR4
- Storage: 256GB SSD
- Display: 15.6 Inches FHD (1920×1080)
- Graphics: Iris Xe Graphics
- Battery: decent battery life
HP ProBook 450 G8 Business Intel Core i5-1135G7 Processor
A quality laptop is not easy to find. Glossy screens, noisy fans, uncomfortable keyboards are everywhere. But the HP ProBook 450 G8 Business lacks all of these drawbacks.
The ProBook brand belongs to the ‘working’ series of notebooks. These, according to HP, should be in offices and workplaces. More often than not, you can take them with you on trips due to the decent battery life. And for some time now they are even suitable for games, because discrete video cards are increasingly found in this category of devices!
The ProBook is a good laptop for ethical hacking and for sure it will do the job perfectly
LG gram Laptop
- CPU: 1.8 GHz Core i7 (8th Gen – 8565U)
- RAM: 16GB RAM DDR4 2400 MHz
- Storage: 1TB (2 x 512GB SSD)
- Display: 15.6″ Full HD Touchscreen
- Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 620
- Battery: 18.5 hrs Battery
LG gram laptops meet the requirements of the American military standard MIL-STD 810, that is, they are shockproof, support DTS X Ultra and Wi-Fi 6, have a built-in fingerprint reader and it’s one of the best laptop to run kali Linux.
This laptops have rechargeable batteries with a capacity of 72 to 80 Wh. The lightweight magnesium alloy of the case allowed to reduce the weight.
The displays provide 99 percent coverage of the DCI-P3 color space.
Another major innovation is this laptop is the use of 11th generation Intel Tiger Lake processors. These 10nm processors are paired with the powerful Intel Iris Xe GPU. In addition, they got 8/16 GB of LPDDR4x RAM and slots for M.2 Dual SSD (NVMe). It is also worth noting the presence of USB 4 Gen3x2 ports (USB PD, Thunderbolt 4), USB 3.2 Gen2, HDMI, microSD / UFS.
is this a Kali Linux friendly laptop ? it is indeed a very good laptop
GPD Pocket 3
- CPU:11th Core CPU I7-1195G7
- RAM: 16GB LPDDR4 RAM
- Storage: 1TB M.2 SSD
- Display: 8-inch IPS screen 1920×1200
- Graphics: Iris Xe Graphics eligible 96 EUs
- Battery: 10000 mAh
GPD Pocket 3
GPD Pocket 3 — a small but universal laptop computer with an 8-inch display that supports stylus and touch input. In addition, it has a rotary hinge, so the screen can be folded over the keyboard and use the device as a tablet. Highlight keyboard large enough for comfortable blind input, Intel Core i7-1195G7 processor and modular design.
GPD Pocket 3 has several key features. Although this is a mini-PC, which, of course, can be used for penetration testing is just one of its many possibilities. In fact, this is a tablet, and a laptop that weighs only 725 grams and has small enough sizes to fit in the pocket.
Dell XPS 13 (9310)
- CPU: Intel Core i7-1185G7 (12MB Cache, up to 4.8 GHz)
- RAM: 16GB 4267MHz LPDDR4x RAM
- Storage: 512GB SSD
- Display: 13.4- inch FHD+ Touch
- Graphics: Iris Xe Graphics
- Battery: 8 hours
Dell XPS 13 (9310)
The Dell XPS 13 9310 has two distinctly different modifications: a traditional laptop and a two-in-one device that folds out into a tablet.
with Intel Core i7-1185G7 (12MB Cache, up to 4.8 GHz) CPU and 16GB 4267MHz LPDDR4x RAM This is one of the best laptop to get for Kai Linux.
The body of the Dell XPS 13 9310 is metal (made of aluminum), with a strict finish, the edges and corners are gracefully rounded and beveled. It also tapers a little towards the edges, so the laptop looks even thinner.
Computer for hacker
Let’s start with the good news – for penetration testing, hacking, any average computer is suitable. If you decide to get involved in a new hobby or learn computer security (very useful for web application programmers, and everyone else who would not like to become a victim of hackers), then you do not need to go to the store for a new computer.
However, when choosing a new computer, you can take into account some aspects that will help your computer (and therefore you) be more effective in some tasks.
Desktop or laptop?
The desktop computer has many advantages: it is more powerful, cheaper, easier to upgrade and repair, it has a more convenient keyboard, more ports, a larger screen and much more. And only one drawback is the lack of mobility. If you do not have the task of traveling, and in general you are just learning, then a desktop computer will be preferable.
Pentester Graphics Card
We need a video card, of course, not for games. We need it to iterate over the hash sums (hashes). A hash is a result of data processing using a special algorithm (hash function). Their feature is that the same data has the same hashes. But from the hash, it is impossible to restore the original data. This is especially often used, for example, in web applications. Instead of storing passwords in clear text, most websites have hashes of these passwords. If you enter your username and password, the website calculates the hash for the password you entered and compares whether it matches the one that was saved earlier. If it matches, then you entered the correct password and get access to the site. What is all this for? Imagine that a hacker managed to gain access to the database (for example, through SQL injection) and he recognized all the hashes on the site.
You can recover a password from a hash, for example, by brute force (there are still rainbow tables , but now it’s not about them, and the essence of them comes down to the same thing – computing hashes for password candidates). We take the candidate for passwords, for example, “superbit” considers the hash amount for it, compares it with the existing hash amount – if they match, then the password for the user is “superbit”, if not, then we take the next candidate for passwords, for example, “Dklma7love”, we consider the hash amount for it, compare it with the one that we learned from the site database, if it matches, then we know the password, if not, we continue.
This operation (hashing enumeration) can be done using the central processor; there are many programs that can do this. But it was noticed that it is much faster to sort out hashes using a video card. Compared to the CPU, the use of the GPU increases the search speed by tens, hundreds, thousands and more times! Naturally, the faster the hashes get over, the more likely it is to bring a successful hack closer.
Popular graphics cards are AMD, GeForce and Intel HD Graphics. Intel HD Graphics is not always useful, they are not particularly powerful and they are not bought separately – therefore, we will not dwell on them much.
The main choice is between AMD and GeForce. Much more popular are the GeForce graphics cards. They have proven themselves in games, they have a huge army of fans. But AMD is better suited for sorting hashes, as if this would not upset GeForce fans. AMD video cards from the middle price category show about the same results as the GeForce video cards from the top category. Those. instead of one top-end GeForce, you can buy 2 AMD cheaper and get a higher hash speed.
I rethought this moment. Comparing the data from this table and prices in online stores, I came to the conclusion that there is no difference. Top-end GeForce more than twice the power of top-end Radeon. And the price is about twice as high. Plus, you need to know that AMD drivers have a very painful relationship with most Linux distributions. Currently, hashcat on Linux only supports AMDGPU-Pro, which only supports newer graphics cards. And even if you plan to buy a computer with a new AMD graphics card, for a start, check out the list of supported Linux distributions – it’s scanty, it’s possible that your OS is not there.
In general, it is possible that at one time Radeon was really better than GeForce for sorting passwords, at one time AMD drivers were installed in Linux with one command, but now this is not so. If I were building a computer or buying a laptop now, I would choose models with a GeForce.
Iteration of hashes will be needed:
- when testing for penetration of web applications (sometimes);
- when hacking WiFi (almost always)
- when breaking the password for encrypted disks, wallets, files, password-protected documents, etc.) (always).
Network equipment / WiFi adapter
Almost any network adapter will do for Internet access. Even when testing web applications, we rarely run into limitations on network card bandwidth. Most often, the slowdowns are related to the response speed of the tested server/website, DoS/anti-brute force protection, lack of RAM on the Pentester computer, insufficient bandwidth of the Internet channel, etc. But I never encountered the insufficient bandwidth of my network card.
If you are going to crack WiFi, then not all wireless network cards are suitable. If this is important to you Pleas check our list of best adapters.
RAM
Only when using one program did I encounter a lack of RAM. This program is IVRE . For most other situations, the RAM of an average and even low-power computer should be enough to run almost any application in one thread.
If you plan to use the OS for pentesting in a virtual machine, then in this situation it is better to take care of a sufficient amount of RAM.
The needs of virtual machines in RAM:
- Arch Linux with a graphical interface – 2 gigabytes of RAM for very comfortable work
- Kali Linux with GUI – 2 gigabytes of RAM for normal operation
- Kali Linux with a graphical interface – 3-4 gigabytes of RAM for very comfortable work
- Any Linux without a graphical interface – about 100 megabytes for the system itself + the amount that the programs you run will consume
- Windows latest versions – 2 GB to just start (a lot of brakes)
- Windows latest versions – 4 GB or more for comfortable work.
For example, I have 8 gigabytes in the main system, I allocated 2 gigabytes of RAM on Arch Linux and Kali Linux, I run them (if necessary) at the same time and work comfortably in them. If you plan to use the OS for Pententing in virtual machines, then I would recommend having at least 8 gigabytes in any way – this is enough to comfortably run one or two systems, and in these systems most programs.
Nevertheless, if you plan to run many programs (or one program in many threads), or if you want to build a virtual sit down from several virtual machines, then 16 gigabytes will not be superfluous (I plan to increase up to 16 gigabytes on my laptop, since there are two empty slots).
Anything more than 16 gigabytes of RAM is unlikely to ever be useful to you when pentesting.
CPU
If you are going to iterate over the hashes and do it with the help of the central processor, and not the graphics card, then the more powerful the processor, the faster the search will go. Also, a powerful processor with a large number of cores will allow working with great comfort in virtual machines (I allocate 2 cores to each virtual machine with a graphical interface).
The vast majority of programs (except those that sort hashes) are not demanding on processor power.
HDD
There are no special requirements. Naturally, working with SSDs is more pleasant.
we have come to the end of this article, but we are waiting to hear from you, what you think is the best laptop for Kali Linux?