Laptops Test (17'')

Reviews on Laptops (17'')

"Samsung R700 notebook review"

Published on: 6/2008

On test: Samsung R700

A desktop replacement, on a budget? → More

"Samsung R700"

Issue: 5/2008

On test: Samsung R700

Budget laptops might be all the rage right now, but it's still rare to find a major manufacturer like Samsung matching smaller-scale builders such as Hi-Grade component for component. Yet that's exactly what Samsung has managed to do with its R700, including a 17in screen for less than £500 - and a good quality one at that. → More

"Laptops that do it all"

Issue: 12/2007

On test: Acer Aspire 9425WSMi, Hi-Grade Ultinote A9900SR, Toshiba Satellite P200-17C, Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo Xi 2528

Once upon a time, it was a fair assumption that a laptop was fine for taking notes and surfing the internet, but for real work you needed a desktop PC. Today, mobile technology has advanced to the point where there's nothing you can't do with a desktop that isn't possible on a laptop - with the added advantage of portability. Of course, it's not much good saying the technology exists if it costs more than you can afford. The good news is, it doesn't. This month we've tested seven 'do-it-all' laptops that are powerful and versatile enough to be your only computer. And it's amazing what you can get even on a relatively modest budget. → More

"Desktop replacement laptops"

Issue: 11/2007

On test: Toshiba Satellite P200-13Z, Sony VAIO VGN-AR41S, Hewlett-Packard Pavilion HDX9095EA, Hi-Grade Ultinote A9900R

If you're thinking of replacing an ageing PC, now's the time to switch to a laptop. Gone are the days when laptops were far more expensive than their desktop cousins, and no longer are they the underdog where power is concerned. In fact, swapping to a laptop brings several benefits. Most obviously, laptops are portable, so you can move them from room to room, or even take them out to the garden. Their batteries mean you have a backup if there's a power cut, and you can get some work done or watch a movie when you're travelling. Plus, instead of a tower case, monitor and speakers dominating a room, you can simply close the screen on a notebook, pop it in a drawer and it's out of sight. → More

Laptops (17'')

17 inch laptops are a real alternative to desktop PCs, their screen size and power representing the perfect amount for home users and their portability offering a new dimension that is out of reach of the standard tower-monitor combo.

The screen of a 17” laptop will normally have a screen ratio of 16:10, this is said to better match the aspect ratio of the human eye and so can provide the user with more useful viewable space than a larger screen in the standard 4:3 ratio. New innovations in heat dissipation and miniaturisation means that in terms of power, a big laptop can compete with many computers sold for home use and will often use higher quality components and much less power.

To be able to handle modern games most will come with a dedicated graphics card, this should have at least 128 MB of dedicated RAM, an integrated graphics card will not be able to cut it with modern 3D games. RAM should be a minimum of 1GB for a Windows Vista system but 2048MB is highly recommended for multitasking and gaming. A DVD writer should come as standard and its hard drive will be in the region of 100 to 200 GB.

Ports are a big concern for mobile users, often there is no dedicated PS/2 port for the mouse so a USB port will have to be used, therefore look for a minimum of three USB 2.0 ports. Many laptops this size will come with five or more.

A larger laptop will weigh more and consume more power than a smaller notebook computer, so if your intention is to take it with you on the road, it is perhaps not the best choice. However, the opportunity to move the computer around so easily and its small footprint compared to a traditional PC makes it a good choice for home users who want to freedom to chose where they will put the computer.