Top 10 Power Laptops
These laptops are on the heavy side and have large screens (17-inches or higher) -- that makes these powerhouses ideal replacements for desktop PCs. Ratings and rankings can change due to pricing and technology changes so check back frequently for the latest info.
Edited by Darren Gladstone
Bottom Line:
Alienware, best-known for high-priced performance, delivers a good gaming power at a reasonable value.
PC World Rating:
75.1 (Good)
- Price When Reviewed: $1999
- CPU: 2.26-GHz Core 2 Duo P8400
- Display Size (inches): 17" Display
- Wide Screen: Yes
- Total HD Size (GB): 160GB Hard Drive
- Min. Weight (lbs.): 9.5Lbs.
Bottom Line:
This 17-inch MacBook Pro boasts better design and a big battery life improvement (so long as you don't install Windows).
PC World Rating:
77.0 (Good)
- Price When Reviewed: $2799
- CPU: 2.66-GHz Core 2 Duo T9550
- Display Size (inches): 17" Display
- Wide Screen: Yes
- Total HD Size (GB): 320GB Hard Drive
- Min. Weight (lbs.): 6.5Lbs.
Bottom Line:
The Phantom-X packs plenty of power and versatility, but suffers from a lackluster layout and design.
PC World Rating:
77.3 (Very Good)
- Price When Reviewed: $5950
- CPU: 3-GHz Intel Xeon X3370
- Display Size (inches): 17.1" Display
- Wide Screen: Yes
- Total HD Size (GB): 320GB Hard Drive
- Min. Weight (lbs.): 12Lbs.
Bottom Line:
A great desktop replacement that is ironically undercut by an almost identical but significantly cheaper model from Gateway.
PC World Rating:
77.5 (Good)
- Price When Reviewed: $1799
- CPU: 2-GHz Core 2 Quad Q9000
- Display Size (inches): 17" Display
- Wide Screen: Yes
- Total HD Size (GB): 500GB Hard Drive
- Min. Weight (lbs.): 8.9Lbs.
Bottom Line:
The idea of a second screen latched onto a huge desktop replacement notebook sounds good on paper, but it's not fully-baked.
PC World Rating:
78.0 (Very Good)
- Price When Reviewed: $4764
- CPU: 2.53-GHz Core 2 Extreme QX9300
- Display Size (inches): 17" Display
- Wide Screen: Yes
- Total HD Size (GB): 400GB Hard Drive
- Min. Weight (lbs.): 11Lbs.
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