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 to let you more easily see everything you're doing.
Some of the best 17-inch laptops even manage a decent level of portability thanks to compact bezels and ultra-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 deliver on portability, performance, and even gaming. 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 at our top picks below.
TL;DR – These are the Best 17-inch Laptops:
- MSI GE76 Raider
- HP 17
- Lenovo ThinkPad P17 Gen 2
- Razer Blade 17
- Alienware m17 R5
- LG Gram 17
- Dell XPS 17
1. MSI GE76 Raider
Best 17-inch Gaming Laptop
The MSI GE76 Raider is a beefy gaming laptop, and it uses those extra few inches in size to pack in some serious power. Not only can you game on the go with this option, but it honestly has the performance power to be treated like a compact desktop PC. When you take a peek under the hood, you’ll find the latest 14-core Intel Core i7-12700H CPU paired with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti graphics card. And, combining those processors with the impressive 32GB DDR5 memory and a 1TB of PCIe NVMe SSD storage, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a game that this beast of a machine can’t chew through.
Ths MSI GE76 Raider takes advantage of all that powerful performance inside with its large QHD display featuring antiglare technology for perfect viewing from just about anywhere. However, the super smooth, tear-free gameplay thanks to the 240Hz refresh rate with G-Sync tech is what’s really going to impress just about any gamer. And, no gaming device would be complete without a bit of RGB lighting, right? So, MSI has managed to include an impressive spectrum of colorful designs that display across the entire front chassis.
2. HP 17
Best Budget 17-inch Laptop
You can get a big screen and modest performance on a budget with the HP 17. This laptop comes in at just over $500, but it’ll land you with a sharp 1080p display for getting all your work done. Though more affordable laptops tend to have dimmer displays, as is the case with the 250-nit panel here, HP has gone with an anti-glare design that’ll still help provide visibility in brighter conditions.
The computer runs on an AMD Ryzen 5 5500U six-core CPU, giving it a healthy dose of power for whatever work you want to throw at it. It’s even offering 8GB of memory instead of the 4GB you might find on some budget machines. At 5.25 pounds, it’s not even all that heavy for a laptop of its size.
3. Lenovo ThinkPad P17 Gen 2
Best 17-inch Work Laptop
When you’ve got a serious workload, you need a powerful work machine, and the Lenovo ThinkPad P17 Gen 2 means business. This laptop comes in at over eight pounds and an inch thick, but you’re getting serious muscle under the hood.
Not only does the Lenovo ThinkPad P17 Gen 2 come running on an Intel Core i7-11800H processor, but it also fits in an Nvidia RTX A2000 graphics processor for professional workloads with Tensor and RT cores on board. And, let's not forget about the 32 GB DDR4 RAM that will keep this machine running smoothly even while you’re multitasking. Plus, you'll get a decent amount of storage built-in with the 1TB NVME SSD.
4. Razer Blade 17
Best 17-inch Laptop for Video Editing
You might think of Razer as a gaming brand, but the Razer Blade 17 is especially well suited to help you edit video. That’s thanks in no small part to the gorgeous display Razer has put on this laptop. This machine features a QHD, 240Hz touchscreen display that has 100% coverage of the Adobe RGB color space and comes factory calibrated. That’s color you can rely on and solid sharpness for a 17.3-inch display.
Of course, video editing isn’t a task you want to undertake on a low-power machine, but Razer has you covered. This model comes sporting an Intel Core i7-12800H processor and 32GB of DDR5 4800MHz dual-channel memory. An impressively fast Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080Ti GPU is packed in for even better performance. And, it may only start with 1TB of PCIe 4.0 NVMe storage, but it has a second M.2 slot available, and both slots are upgradeable.
5. Alienware m17 R5
Best 17-inch Desktop Replacement
Sure, your friends might have some insanely powerful gaming desktops, but it’s virtually impossible for them to take that performance on the go. Meanwhile, if you grab the Alienware m17 R5 gaming laptop, you’ll have all the oomph of a desktop PC, only it’s much easier for you to flaunt it in their faces wherever you go. When you consider what’s packed inside, the chassis of this device is impressively thin at slightly over an inch at its thickest point. And the laptop may be on the heftier side at 7.3 pounds, but it’s still a manageable weight to take wherever for a portable battle station – or workstation.
The Alienware m17 R5 model we’ve picked out boasts a 17.3-inch FHD display with a wild 360Hz refresh rate featuring G-Sync. You’re in for some of the smoothest possible gaming out there. Running 1080p/360Hz games takes some serious muscle, so the AMD Ryzen 9 6800HX and the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080Ti are the perfect pair to take on the challenge. And, the 32GB of RAM should keep it all running efficiently. Heck, you can do some live streaming as you game if that's your thing. Plus, this laptop isn’t exclusively a gaming beast, and it’ll have no problem cruising through any task, including video editing. The cherry on top, quite literally, is the built-in CherryMX mechanical keyboard with a bit of RGB lighting.
6. LG Gram 17
Most Portable 17-inch Laptop
Look, 17 inches is a lot of space, but LG makes it feel like considerably less in a good way with its Gram 17 laptop. This machine weighs just 2.98 pounds making it easy to take anywhere. 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. There’s an Intel UHD 620 GPU and we recommend going with the Intel Core i7 processor for the best performance.
However, this isn’t a machine for heavy gaming, but it should be great for most other tasks. It’s truly an impressive all-rounder in an enticing design – the 17 hours of battery life is just the icing on the cake.
7. Dell XPS 17
Best Ultra Thin 17-inch Laptop
So, you’re looking for loads of screen real estate, but you want the sleek look of a thin-and-light ultrabook? Luckily, Dell has the XPS 17. This is the big brother to the ever-popular XPS 13, and it shows. From outward appearances, little has changed aside from the size. You're still getting the solid, aluminum exterior and the dark carbon fiber finish around the keyboard. It has a massive trackpad for easy navigation, and a solid keyboard flanked by two large speakers (a trade-off if you'd hoped for a number pad). But, most importantly, the chassis is only 0.77 inches at its thickest point and it weighs just 4.87 pounds.
Inside, this Dell XPS 17 is powered by a solid Intel Core i7-11800H processor for speeds that'll handle most tasks great, and there's an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 that can keep up with 3D work or even some gaming. Naturally, Dell provides an exceptional view for your work as well with its 1,920 x 1,200 FHD 17-inch display that hits a bright 500 nits and an anti-glare film for easy visibility.
What to Look For in a 17-inch laptop
Buying a laptop of any sort requires detailed research, and we wouldn’t 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 doesn’t necessarily mean better. We’d recommend that any laptop you buy has a resolution of at least 1080p (1,920 x 1,080) which is Full HD.
CPU: It’s easy to get tangled in numbers when comparing laptop specs, but when it comes to CPU (the processor) here’s what we recommend. First, don’t 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 you’re getting. Some laptops come with 4GB of RAM which is an acceptable baseline but won’t afford you much grunt. Really, you want 8GB at the very least and more if you plan to use your laptop for heavy tasks.
Mark Knapp is a regular contributor to IGN and an irregular Tweeter on Twitter @Techn0Mark
