Laptops are great until you start trying to multitask on their tiny screens. Ultrabooks offer plenty of portability, but they are regularly driving screen sizes down into 14-inch and 13-inch territory. Fortunately, there are still more than a handful of 17-inch laptops on the scene that deliver plenty of performance and a much bigger screen that will let you more easily see everything your doing.Some of the best 17-inch laptops even manage a decent level of portability thanks to compact bezels and utlra-thin chassis, making for a laptop that’s comparable in size and weight to older 15-inch laptops. We’ve rounded up a handful of 17-inch models that can deliver on portability, performance, and even gaming. Some of the models can even deliver on all three. So, whether you want a desktop-replacement-style machine or an on-the-go workstation, you’ll find something to fit your needs here. If you’re ready to select your next 17-inch laptop, have a look out our top picks below.TL;DR These are the Best 17-inch Laptops:
1. Alienware Area-51m R2
Best 17-inch Gaming Laptop
Display: 17.3″ FHD (1,920 x 1,080) 300Hz IPS CPU: Intel Core i7-10700K GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 Super (8GB GDDR6 VRAM) RAM: 32GB (2×16) DDR4 (3,200MHz) Storage: 1TB (2×512) RAID 0 NVMe SSD Weight: 9.04 pounds (base model) Size: 15.85″ x 12.56″ x 1.7″
If you have the money, Alienwares Area-51m R2 is a gaming laptop of extraterrestrial proportions. It comes in both Intel Core i7 and i9 flavors, with up to 64GB of RAM depending on what your heart desires. It also has Full HD panels running at 144Hz or 300Hz and a 4K/60Hz option as well.Meanwhile, youve got the option of an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super with 8GB GDDR6 powering the show with G-Sync to keep it all running smoothly. Both the CPU and GPU are also upgradeable, along with the RAM and storage, so you can consider yourself future-proofed. If you can move past the ostentatious design and the eye-watering price tag, this is a gamers dream.
2. HP Envy 17t
Best 17-inch laptop for those on a budget
Display: 17.3″ FHD (1,920 x 1,080) 60Hz Touch display CPU: Intel Core i7-10510U GPU: Nvidia GeForce MX250 (4GB GDDR5) RAM: 16GB (2×8) DDR4 (2,400MHz) Storage: 256GB NVMe SSD, 1TB HDD (7,200RPM) Weight: 6.14 pounds Size: 16.38″ x 11.14″ x 0.92″
With great size comes usually a great big price tag. But not with the HP Envy 17t, a solid performer that wont break the bank. If you can afford the Intel Core i7, wed recommend it, and theres up to 16GB of RAM on offer alongside the Nvidia GeForce MX250 GPU.A stunning Full HD 1080p display too, and for an extra cost, you can get it with a touchscreen. Dont expect great performance for intense gaming or design work, but the Envy 17t delivers on value.
3. HP ZBook 17 G6
Best 17-inch work laptop
Display: 17.3″ FHD (1,920 x 1,080) 60Hz IPS anti-glare display CPU: Intel core i9-9880H GPU: Nvidia Quadro RTX 5000 (16GB GDDR6 VRAM) RAM: 64GB (2×32) DDR4 (2,666MHz) Storage: 512GB NVMe SSD Weight: 7 pounds Size: 16.4″ x 11.3″ x 1.3″
If you like to work and we mean really work then look no further than the HP ZBook 17 G6, its powerful engine matched only by its eye-popping display. Theres plenty of customization here, but wed recommend the Intel Core i9 if you can afford it, and theres up to 128GB of RAM on offer. Graphics max out with the Nvidia Quadro RTX 5000 GPU, netting you 16GB of video RAM.But its the display were really gushing over: the default may be a 1080p monitor, but HP offers a configuration up to a 4K IPS display that’s absolutely stunning. You don’t have to go for that upgrade, but wed recommend maxing out if you can. Its just a shame about the sub-par battery, which will get you around 4 hours of use.
4. Razer Blade Pro
Best 17-inch laptop for video editing
Display: 17.3″ FHD (1,920 x 1,080) 240Hz matte display CPU: Intel Core i7-9750H GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Max-Q (8GB GDDR6 VRAM) RAM: 16GB (2×8) DDR4 (2,667MHz) Storage: 512GB NVMe SSD Weight: 6.06 pounds Size: 15.55″ x 10.24″ x 0.78″
A strong performer with the beauty to match the brawn, the Razer Blade Pro impresses on all fronts. With an Intel Core i7 processor and Nvidia RTX 2060 Max-Q GPU (which can be brought up to an RTX 2080 if youd prefer), this is a great machine if video editing or gaming is top of your priority list.Meanwhile, the 17.3-inch Full HD display runs at a silky smooth 240Hz, with 16GB of RAM thats expandable to 64GB, and a 512GB SSD. Battery life is an average five to six hours, but expect to chop that in half if youre gaming. Its not cheap though, and the cost will run even higher if you want to soup up that graphics card.
5. Alienware M17 R3
Best 17-inch desktop replacement
Display: 17.3″ UHD (3,840 x 2,160) 60Hz display CPU: Intel Core i9-10980HK GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super (8GB GDDR6 VRAM) RAM: 32GB (2×16) DDR4 (2,666MHz) Storage: 4TB (2×2) Raid 0 NVMe SSD, 512GB NVMe SSD Weight: 5.51 pounds (minimum) Size: 15.74″ x 11.59″ x 0.89″
Dell’s Alienware M17 R3 packs everything you’d need from a decent desktop into a laptop chassis. You’ll get power for years to come from the Intel Core i9-10980HK processor, which is an 8-core model that clocks up to 5.3GHz in turbo, but who’s counting. Our selected model pairs that with 32GB of DDR4 RAM, giving you plenty of memory for current and future computing needs. We’d be remiss if we didn’t also note that this laptop has three NVMe SSDs installed, and combines two of them in Raid 0 for 4TB of insanely fast storage.Driving the gaming performance is an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super to power through 4K graphics right on the laptop’s built-in display. That display also delivers 500 nits of brightness and 100% coverage of the AdobeRGB colorspace. There’s even Tobii Eyetracking technology onboard. Between the processor, GPU, and storage, this laptop is ready to compete with most desktops. Everything else is just icing on the cake.
6. LG Gram 17
Most portable 17-inch laptop
Display: 17″ WQXGA (2,560 x 1,600) IPS 60Hz display CPU: Intel Core i7-1065G7 GPU: Iris Plus Graphics RAM: 16GB (2×8) DDR4 (3,200Mhz) Storage: 1TB (2×512) NVMe SSD Weight: 2.98 pounds Size: 15″ x 10.3″ x 0.7″
Look, 17 inches is a lot of space, but LG makes it feel considerably less with its Gram 17 laptop which measures just 2.95 pounds. The chassis is slight and LG wastes no space with the ultra-thin bezels.But on top of that, the Gram 17 is a great performer behind a bright and gorgeous IPS display boasting a 2,560 x 1,600 resolution. Theres an Intel UHD 620 GPU and we recommend going with the Intel Core i7 processor for the best performance.
However, this isnt a machine for heavy gaming. Rather, its an impressive all-rounder in an enticing design the 17 hours of battery life is just the icing on the cake.
What to Look For in a 17-inch laptop
Buying a laptop of any sort requires detailed research, and we wouldnt want you rushing into any decisions with foolish abandon. Here are some things to consider first.Screen resolution: 17 inches means more screen real estate, but bigger also doesnt necessarily mean better. Wed recommend that any laptop you buy has a resolution of at least 1080p (1,920 x 1,080) which is Full HD.
CPU: Its easy to get tangled in numbers when comparing laptop specs, but when it comes to CPU (the processor) heres what we recommend. First, dont go lower than an Intel Core i5 processor if you must: this will give you enough power for all the essential tasking. Second, if you plan to use your machine for intense gaming, video editing, or other high-power productivity reasons, look for something with more cores, ideally a quad-core processor.
RAM: Again, the higher the number here, the more power youre getting. Some laptops come with 4GB of RAM which is an acceptable baseline but wont afford you much grunt. Really, you want 8GB at the very least and more if you plan to use your laptop for heavy tasks.
Hugh Langley is a tech journalist whos fascinated by wearables, health tech, the smart home, and more. You can find him tweeting (often nonsense) over at @hughlangley.
