Laptops are great until you start trying to multitask on their tiny screens. Ultrabooks offer plenty of portability but are regularly driving screen sizes down into 14-inch and 13-inch territory. Fortunately, there are still plenty of 17-inch laptops on the scene to deliver powerful performance and a much bigger screen, letting you 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 their smaller screen counterparts. Other machines act as a full-blown, compact PC with the ability to multitask, video edit, and cruise through games with ease. We've rounded up a handful of 17-inch models which deliver on portability and performance. 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, take a look at our top picks below
TL;DR – These are the Best 17-inch Laptops:
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 prowess to treat it like a compact desktop PC. When you take a peek under the hood, you’ll see why, as it’s packing 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.
The MSI GE76 Raider takes advantage of those impressive internals 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 pretty much any gamer. And don’t be afraid to crank up your settings, either — this laptop can handle it. No gaming device would be complete without a bit of RGB lighting, right? So, MSI also includes a spectrum of colorful designs that display across the entire front chassis.
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 under $550, but it’ll land you with a sharp 1080p display perfect for working on documents, browsing the web, and completing a good deal of other tasks. Though most affordable laptops tend to have dimmer displays, as is the case with this 250-nit panel, HP has gone with an anti-glare design to help provide better visibility in brighter conditions. You can even use this laptop all day from anywhere without worrying about charging up, as the battery lasts about 8 hours. A quick charge feature is an added convenience.
The HP 17 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. However, it may struggle a bit if you’re planning to game. The integrated GPU also isn’t ideal for graphic-heavy tasks like video editing. But we love the 8GB of memory you get rather than the 4GB often found on budget machines. And at 5.25 pounds, it’s not even all that heavy for a laptop of its size.
LG Gram 17
Best 17-inch Work Laptop
When you’ve got a serious workload, the LG Gram 17 means business. It lands you a bright and vibrant IPS display boasting a 2,560 x 1,600 resolution that’s perfect for working on documents, browsing the web, and even some photo editing or graphic design thanks to DCI-P3's 99% color gamut coverage. LG also wastes no space, delivering a seriously slight chassis under three-quarters of an inch thick and weighing just 2.98 pounds to make toting to and from your job a breeze.
Though compact, the LG Gram 17 runs on a 12-core 12th gen Intel Core i7 processor and 16GB RAM, giving it a healthy dose of power to run smoothly and cruise even when multitasking. However, this machine only offers integrated graphics, so if you’re planning on using it for heavy gaming or tons of video editing, you may want to look elsewhere. And if you’re worried that portability means a lack of battery life, with 12.5 hours of non-stop power and 19.5 hours of video playback, you should be good no matter how long your workday lasts.
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 with 100% coverage of the Adobe RGB color space and comes factory calibrated. That’s color you can rely on for all your edits and solid sharpness for a 17.3-inch display to ensure everything looks up to par.
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, so editing software should run with ease. 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 are upgradeable.
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. It even looks like something Aliens could’ve beamed down from their spaceship. 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 partners to take on the challenge. And the 32GB of RAM should keep it all running efficiently. Heck, you can even do some live streaming as you game if that's your thing. Plus, this laptop isn’t exclusively a gaming beast and will 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.
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, which delivers tons of power in chassis that’s only 0.77 inches at its thickest point, and weighs just 4.87 pounds. Though slim, this machine is still protected by a solid, aluminum exterior to keep it safe while on the go, and it’s even packing four Thunderbolt 4 ports to hook up all your peripherals.
Of course, what’s inside that frame is most important, and the 14-core Intel Core i7-12700H processor alongside 16GB of DDR5 memory won’t disappoint and will have you multitasking with ease. We especially love the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 GPU on this model, making it possible for this machine to keep up with 3D work or even some gaming. Naturally, Dell also provides an exceptional view with its 17-inch FHD+ display that hits an impressively bright 500 nits and totes 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.
Danielle Abraham is a freelance writer and unpaid music historian.
