Nowadays when the trend in laptops is to go smaller and smaller, 17 inch laptop isn’t as popular choice as it used to be. However, there are still options available on the market and for some, 17 inch laptop is still a viable options. In this article we will take a closer look what 17 inch laptop options buyers currently have.
How to Buy the Best 17 inch laptop
If you like big-pictures, you need a laptop to match. Welcome the 17 inch laptop. But before going into the best options available, it is good to know the basics when buying a 17 inch laptop.
Portability
A large screen laptop easily replaces a desktop PC, but still gives you some portability/mobility with your workspace. Of course carrying a machine that weighs usually somewhere around 7 pounds isn’t still a pleasure and requires a large bag too.
See:
However, it is still easier to take a laptop than a desktop with you, if necessary.
Battery life
Due to larger screen 17 inch laptops usually require you to stay plugged most of the time. Batteries in large screen laptops aren’t really made to last more than four hours tops. So if you are looking to stay unplugged for long periods, 17 inch laptop isn’t the best option for you.
Screen, Resolution & Hardware
If battery life isn’t an issue, the added screen size can be truly amazing. 17 inch laptops technically measure 17.3 inches on the diagonal and give you a perfect full HD resolution. Many options also support higher resolutions, such as 4K, but this might make you squint while looking at small icons. Though for both gaming and movies 4K works great.
If you’ll be doing much typing then these bigger laptops often have the full keyboard layout. These generally improve your keystroke accuracy by mirroring a desktop keyboard more (see: Full Keyboard Laptop Explained).
Price
There are of course lowend/budget options available, but usually 17 inch laptop can be somewhat on the upper range price wise. High resolution screen requires more power both from the battery and the performance. Since commonly larger screens are ideal for gaming, there isn’t really much sense in going for the budget options. Buggy and laggy gameplay isn’t great despite your screen would be bigger.
Best 17 inch laptop options for gaming
Of course, choosing a laptop always depends on the user and their personal preference, but here are our top choices for heavy duty gaming.
1. Alienware R5
- 8th Generation Intel Core i7-8750H (6-Core, 9MB Cache, up to 4. 1GHz W/ Turbo Boost)
- 17. 3 inch FHD (1920 x 1080) 60Hz IPS Anti-Glare 300-nits | NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 with 8GB GDDR5
- 16GB, DDR4, 2400MHz
- 256GB Pie Solid State Drive + 1TB 7200Rpm HDD
- Lithium Ion (99 Why) Battery | Windows 10 Home
Top notch gaming machine that doesn’t lack performance. Top configuration comes with a hefty price tag, but less expensive configurations offer great value. A lot of ports and 1440p G-Sync display.
2. MSI GT75 Titan
- Display: 17.3" UHD (3840*2160), 4K IPS-Level Adobe:100% RGB | Operating System: Win 10 PRO
- Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce RTX2080 8G GDDR6 w/New Ray Tracing Technology
- Processor: Intel Core i9-8950HK 2.9 - 4.8GHz
- Memory: 16GB (16G*1) DDR4 2666MHz DDR4-2400x4 or DDR4-2666x2; Max Memory 128GB | Storage: 256GB NVMe SSD
- Special Features: 4K Display | G-Sync Monitor | Per Key RGB Keyboard | Killer Double shot LAN + WIFI | Thunderbolt 3
A great machine with great power, but comes with a hefty price tag. Speakers are excellent and provide a lot of noise. Multiple ports and 120Hz G-Sync display.
3. Razer Blade Pro
- 17.3in 4K UHD G-SYNC touchscreen display with 100% Adobe RGB color space coverage
- VR Ready with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 graphics
- Overclocked Quad-Core 7th gen Intel Core i7 processor and 32GB memory
Another machine for hardcore gamers. Fans are somewhat loud and the battery life is very short. However, the 4K touch display is simply amazing.
Out of your budget?