Best resolution for 17 inch laptop
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I am currently customizing an Alienware 17 inch laptop on their website, I have it fully customized for what I need, but I'm stuck on what resolution screen to get. My deadline for buying it is very short, I am updating from my current computer for the new Elder Scrolls game, which comes out in a few weeks. If anyone has experience with the Beta for The Elder Scrolls Online, your input on this would be very helpful.
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Bigger isn’t always better when it comes to your computer, but you’ll certainly notice a difference on the roomy screens of the best 17-inch and larger laptops. A bigger display means a more immersive experience for enjoying your favorite movies and shows. It offers more room to work, which is especially valuable if you’re working with graphics and media. Another plus is that bigger laptops tend to come with bigger specs. When you’re not trying to minimize your laptop’s size and weight, you can pack in beefier hardware, including everything from faster processors to more powerful graphics to more spacious hard drives. That makes these larger machines great for gaming and graphic design. But even with their extra hardware and screen real estate, the options on this list manage to stay compact and portable enough to take on the go. We've researched and tested the best 17-inch and larger laptops for anyone looking for both size and power while not being tied down to a desktop.
What We Like
What We Don't Like
The 2020 iteration of Dell’s XPS 17 embodies everything you’d expect to find in a high-end large-screen laptop. You can get its gorgeous 17-inch display in up to 3840x2400 pixels (slightly larger than 4K resolution), excellent for multitasking and movies. Surrounding the screen are barely-there bezels, just enough to fit in a camera at the top. The result is that the XPS 17 is essentially the size of a 15-inch laptop—perhaps even smaller. Its base configuration starts at 0.77x14.74 by 9.76 inches and 4.65 pounds, and it gets on the heavy side once you add extra features, but it’s definitely lightweight and sturdily built enough to tote around. The XPS 17’s backlit keyboard feels satisfying and comfortable enough for a full workday, and the trackpad is huge and responsive. There’s no number pad, but speakers on either side of the keyboard that pump out impressively strong sound from two 1.5-watt tweeters and two 2.5-watt woofers. The slim profile leaves enough room for four USB-C ports and an SD card slot on the sides, but no HDMI, Ethernet, or full-size USB-A ports like there are on other larger laptops. Conveniently, Dell includes an adapter for those inputs. You can spec out the XPS 17 with up to an Intel Core i9-10885H processor, 64GB of RAM, and a 2TB Solid State Drive. This means smooth sailing with just about anything you throw at it, including multimedia and graphics work. It’s not designed to be a true gaming laptop, but the XPS 17 can still hit solid framerates with up to an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q. If you’re fine with its premium price tag, you get a real powerhouse, inside and out. Size: 0.77 x 14.74 x 9.76 inches | Screen resolution: 3840x2400 | Processor: Intel Core i9-10885H | RAM: 64GB | GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 Max-Q | Storage: 2TB SSD
What We Like
What We Don't Like If you’re going with a big screen on your laptop, you might as well get one that really shines. The Gigabyte Aero’s 17.3-inch display wows with its detail and clarity, especially if you opt for the 4K HDR model. Its brightness and wide color gamut meets the VESA DisplayHDR 400 standard, which will be well appreciated by the on-the-go graphic designers and content creators that the machine is geared toward. The Aero 17 excels when it’s put to work, too, drawing smooth multimedia performance from its 10th-generation Intel Core i9 chip and a Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super Max-Q graphics card. It’s perfect for creative professionals but gets the job done for most gamers as well. On the practical side, it’s hard to enjoy high-resolution content out in the world if you keep running out of juice, but unlike other 4K laptops, the Aero 17’s battery manages almost seven hours of 4K video. There are also a wide array of ports to connect all sorts of inputs and accessories. As an aesthetic touch, RGB backlighting on the keyboard lets you map out custom colors and effects to individual keys, helpful for highlighting your most-used keys or just as some bonus eye candy. Size: 15.6x10.6x0.84 inches | Screen resolution: 3840x2160 | Processor: Intel Core i9 10th generation | RAM: 16GB | GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super Max-Q | Storage: 512GB SSD
What We Like
What We Don't Like
You don’t typically think of 17-inch laptops as small and lightweight, but that’s exactly what the LG Gram 17 manages to accomplish. Narrow bezels around its beautiful 2560x1600-pixel display give it the footprint of a 15-inch laptop, and its 2.98-pound weight puts it in a class usually reserved for 13- or 14-inch ultraportables. When you add in its lengthy battery life listed at 17 hours, the LG Gram 17 makes it uniquely easy to carry around a sharp and vivid display for watching movies and staying productive. At the same time, it’s thick enough to leave room for a full selection of inputs, including a USB-C port, three USB-A ports, an HDMI output, and a microSD card slot. The LG Gram 17 does leave off a discrete graphics card to help keep the machine light and somewhat less equipped for gaming and heavy graphics work. In terms of productivity performance, though, you’re not likely to be slowed at all by the 1.3GHz 10th-generation Intel Core i7 CPU, 16GB RAM, and generous 1TB of storage in the 2020 model. This version also updates the LG Gram 17’s design with an improved touchpad and a backlit keyboard adjusted to be more comfortable to type on. Size: 15x10.3x0.7 inches | Screen resolution: 2560 x 1600 | Processor: Intel Core i7-1065G7 | RAM: 16GB | GPU: None | Storage: 1TB SSD Tested by Lifewire
Without question, the first thing you will notice when you take the LG Gram 17 out of its box is how light it is. Weighing less than three pounds, the LG Gram 17 is trivial to lift, hold, and carry with one hand. Despite the slim frame, the LG Gram 17 still manages a fair amount of connectivity with a solid selection of ports. Because the LG Gram 17 is more ready to work than game, productivity is definitely where this laptop shines. The large, tall screen makes it really perfect for getting things done. It’s easy to throw a couple of applications side by side and have plenty of real estate to work with. The full-sized keyboard has a number pad (and slightly mushy keys), while the display strikes the perfect balance of size to resolution ratio. — Jonno Hill, Product Tester
Plain and simple, the HP Envy 17t is a well-built laptop that makes few compromises on its specs. It's a real alternative to Apple’s MacBook Pro, although this machine comes in almost $1,000 cheaper. While it might not be the most travel-friendly PC given its short 1.5-hour battery life, this 17-inch laptop makes an excellent desktop replacement. It packs a 1.6GHz Intel Core i7 720QM plus 16GB of memory and a 1TB hard drive. That's a decent offering at this price. Design-wise, the HP Envy 17t a bit heavier than a MacBook at 6.75 pounds. It's housed in a sleek aluminum and magnesium chassis and has a beautiful, backlit keyboard and a large touchpad. Perhaps most gush-worthy is its 1080p display, which looks spectacular under edge-to-edge glass. It gets plenty bright, but our testing found it loses brightness and contrast quickly when viewed at an angle.
HP has also partnered with Bang & Olufsen for better-than-average bass-boosting built-in speakers. Where many 17-inch laptops put the speakers on the bottom, these are up front. While they sound a bit tinny, our reviewer said audiophiles who know their way around EQ settings can potentially squeeze more performance out of them. Size: 15.71 x 10.2 x 0.76 inches | Screen resolution: 1920 x 1080 | Processor: Intel Core i7-720QM | RAM: 16GB | GPU: None | Storage: 1TB SSD Tested by Lifewire
The HP Envy 17t is a large and heavy device, but it packs in a lot of interesting features. There's a full-size keyboard, plenty of ports, and even a DVD drive, which is something you never see in laptops these days. I noticed that the laptop was particularly sluggish to wake after having been closed, and would frequently hang on the log-in screen after we used our fingerprint to sign in. From a numbers perspective, our HP Envy 17t registered a 4,063 overall score in PCMark 10. For the price, this is not a bad result and is certainly aided by the discrete graphics card. While it has its drawbacks, it has enough going for it to make it an attractive option for many people. — Jonno Hill, Product Tester
HP’s 17-X116DX computer doesn’t offer all the bells and whistles of machines double or triple its price, but, with a price tag that’s budget-friendly, the HP is an outstanding choice for performance. Inside the PC is a 2.5GHz Intel Core i5 processor, 1TB 5400rpm hard drive, 8GB of RAM and a DVD/CD burner for burning all your movies to the sizeable hard drive. The non-backlit keyboard adds a number pad that’s soft and comfortable for all-day typing. The 17.3-inch 1600 x 900 resolution display includes both high-quality imagery, while offering energy efficiency to help maximize overall battery life. The 5.7-pound weight of the HP is fairly standard for the 17-inch price point, but it measures less than an inch in overall thickness. The addition of a lone USB 3.1 port adds support for high-speed, third-party data devices, including ultrafast data transfer speeds. An HDMI port also adds connectivity options to a larger display or monitor. Size: 15.71 x 10.2 x 0.76 inches | Screen resolution: 1600 x 900 | Processor: Intel Core i5-7200U | RAM: 8GB | GPU: None | Storage: 1TB HDD
What We Like
What We Don't Like
If the idea of a large touchscreen tablet is as appealing to you as a big-screen laptop, the Dell Inspiron 17 7000 2-in-1 convertible is well worth a look. In standard laptop mode, you benefit from its comfortable keyboard, complete with a full number pad. Then you can fold it over on its hinge to tablet mode and hold it in your hands around the home or office. The 17-inch screen may feel a bit bulky compared to smaller dedicated tablets, but you get a luxurious amount of screen real estate to work with. Like most of the best 2-in-1 laptop tablets, you can also flip it to stand mode to watch videos with the keyboard out of the way, or prop it up in tent mode when surface space is limited, like when you’re looking at a recipe in the kitchen. One of the best features of the 7000 is how customizable it is. The latest model can be equipped with an 11th-generation Intel Core i7-1165G7 processor and 16GB RAM, providing a snappy balance of performance and battery life. You can also opt for a dedicated graphics card to allow for respectable gaming performance, or trim back some features if you want a productivity machine but don't want to spend a lot. Size: 10.49 x 14.95 x 0.76 inches | Screen resolution: 2560 x 1600 | Processor: Intel Core i7-1165G7 | RAM: 16GB | GPU: Nvidia GeForce MX350 | Storage: 512GB SSD
Final Verdict
Our top pick, the Dell XPS 17 (view at Amazon) is easily the best all-around 17-inch laptop and will be the best fit for most people, regardless of whether you want a machine for gaming or work. If you're specifically looking for a great folding 2-in-1, Dell’s Inspiron 7000 (view at Dell) may be more your speed. Are you an Apple fanboy or a diehard PC user? While it’s pretty easy to adjust to a new operating system these days, people tend to like to stick to what they’re familiar with. Both operating systems have their merits—with Macs being more intuitive and design-friendly and Windows being more secure and business-savvy—but the choice is truly up to you.
If you need a PC that can handle heavy-duty work, pay close attention to its processor, or CPU. The battle between the manufacturers AMD and Intel gets fiercer every day, but AMD’s CPUs tend to be a bit cheaper. If money is no obstacle, look at the number of cores it has. More cores equal a faster and more efficient processor and the high-end options out there pack up to eight cores.
On a 17-inch laptop or bigger, displays can be truly dazzling, with wide-viewing angles and brilliant backlit colors. Depending on your preference, there are touch and non-touch options. Resolution can vary, with the most impressive screens measuring around 1920x1080 pixels.
Anton Galang is a Lifewire writer and reviewer who began working in tech journalism with PC Magazine in 2007. He has covered laptops of all sizes and shapes, along with countless other types of consumer electronics.
Jonno Hill has a background in design and video production, but his love of tech dates back to middle school when he built his first computer. He has tested a wide array of laptops, desktops, tablets, and other products for Lifewire.
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