I tried to build a PC to beat this $440 Core i9-12900H laptop and failed miserably — this is truly the best PC deal of 2025

I discovered the Hasee X5 15.6 laptop ($440 at Newegg) (was $800) back in October 2025 and it is an even better deal now than it was then.

Why? Because the price of RAM and SSD has increased by more than 100% but the price of the Hasee has stayed the same.

Alright, it may not come from a big name brand like HP, Lenovo, Dell and Asus. But what caught my eye is that it's powered by a Core i9-12900H processor with 16GB of RAM and 512GB SSD.

This one of those laptops built for heavier workloads so expect this laptop to breeze through demanding tasks despite the expected so-so battery life and the four-year old CPU.

PCPartpicker couldn't build a cheaper PC of equivalent performance

I used PCPartpicker to source the parts for a workstation that could compete with the Hasee X5.

Obviously it's an apple-to-orange comparison as a desktop PC is a fundamentally different beast to a laptop. The latter has a battery, a webcam, speakers and a screen.

I consulted CPUBenchmark to get a baseline: the 12900H achieves just over 27,000 points. I cross-referenced the list with the database of CPUs from PCPartpicker to identify the cheapest candidate with an integrated GPU.

The system I built used an Intel Core i5-12600K processor and excludes the operating system, keyboard, mouse and obviously the opportunity time associated with building the computer itself.

Just the parts came to around $600, that's 37% more than the price of the Hasee X5. And just for sake of completeness, you can get a cheaper, faster mini PC.

Today's best Hasee X5 15.6 laptop deal

The Hasee X5 15.6-inch laptop offers impressive performance and modern design in a slim, silvery metal chassis.

Powered by the Intel Core i9-12900H processor and Intel UHD Graphics, 16GB LPDDR5 RAM at 4800MHz and a 512GB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD (with an extra M.2 slot for expansion) it will handle even the most demanding workloads with ease.

The 15.6-inch Full HD IPS display is bang average with a 60Hz refresh rate and 45% NTSC color gamut. That's good enough for casual users who don't need pro-grade displays.

Connectivity extends to Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, and a range of ports including USB 3.2, USB-C, HDMI 2.1, and a microSD card slot.

There's a 2.0MP HD webcam with a privacy switch and a backlit keyboard with two lighting presets. It has a 62.7Wh battery for "up to 9 hours" between charges; that's a rather optimistic estimate though and you'd be lucky to get a third of that battery life under load.

While you're here, check out our roundup of the best business laptops, and the best laptops for video editing.

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