Best 17 inch laptop UK

Buying a large laptop can be a chore. There isn’t the same amount of 17 inch laptops out there in comparison to smaller sizes, like a 13 inch laptop or a 15 inch laptop. This can make it quite difficult to find a good model.

Fortunately, although there are less 17 inch laptop models available, there are still some really great options to choose from. As long as you can get a large screen, enough RAM and storage plus a decent processor, then that’s really all you need to get the right laptop for you.

Whilst generally used for gaming, a larger laptop like this can be the perfect choice for video editing too. So, let’s take a look at some of the best 17 inch laptops that are currently for sale.

Product	Get More Info	Screen Size	Specs
LG Gram 17	Check Price at Amazon	17 inch	16GB/512GB
Dell XPS 17 9700	Check Price at Amazon	17 inch	16GB/1TB
Macbook Pro	Check Price at Amazon	16 inch	16GB/1TB
HP Omen 17	Check Price at Amazon	17.3 inch	16GB/512GB
ASUS TUF FX705	Check Price at Amazon	17.3 inch	8GB/512GB
Dell Inspiron 3000	Check Price at Amazon	17 inch	8GB/128GB
Acer Predator Helios 300	Check Price at Amazon	17.3 inch	8GB/256GB

LG Gram 17

The majority of people don’t think of LG when they think of a laptop. But by opting for brands outside of Dell and Apple, you can get yourself a much more powerful laptop for your money. The LG Gram 17 is a great example of that, and it’s perfect for those looking for a nice big screen.

Whether you’re looking for a laptop for gaming, or you just prefer a larger screen to work on, this fits both needs quite comfortably. The LG Gram has all the necessary specs, with 16GB of RAM and 512 of SSD storage, which is more than enough for work or pleasure.

It will give you up to 17 hours of battery life, which is much more than most other premium laptops available. Probably most impressive about the Gram is its design. The super slim width means that the laptop only weighs around 1350g, which is extremely light for any laptop, let alone a 17 inch one.

The laptop makes the most of the display, and the base itself isn’t actually much bigger than your standard 15 inch laptop due to the thin-rimmed layout. With a resolution of 2560×1600, you’re going to get some of the best visuals with very little distortion. It has a security fingerprint reader with a backlit responsive keyboard, too.

The base model of the Gram 17 comes with an i5 processor, but this can easily be upgraded to an i7 processor for a little extra. This laptop is one of the best 17 inch laptops currently available, and it’s no surprise that it’s turned into a massive success for LG.

Pros

Long battery life.

Has a special reading mode.

Ultra lightweight.

Cons

Would be better with a matte display.

Only one USB-C port.

Verdict: One of the newest laptops available, the LG Gram 17 is the perfect choice for the average user who doesn’t want to spend a fortune.

Dell XPS 17 9700

Another good 16GB laptop you can consider if you prefer a big display is the Dell XPS 17 9700. With Wi-fi 6 connectivity, it runs beautifully and is extremely responsive.

It comes with an Intel Core i7-10750H CPU, which is a hexa-core processor capable of dealing with any editing and design tasks. Although the XPS 17 isn’t really designed for gaming, it can definitely handle casual gameplay and fairly large programs.

Part of the reason for this is the large 1TB hard drive it comes with. This amount of storage space is going to be more than sufficient for pretty much anything. It has a lot of ports too, making it an excellent option if you have a lot of device to connect to it.

The stand out feature of this laptop is undoubtedly the 4K display. With a high resolution, you’re really going to notice the increased amount of pixels on the large thin bezel design. Though beautiful and bright, it also uses blue light reducing tech to keep your eyes safe.

Overall, you can’t really go wrong with the Dell XPS series. Though fairly expensive, you can’t deny the extremely high build quality and long lasting battery. It’s worth checking out if you’re looking for the best 17 inch laptop.

Pros

The high resolution display definitely stands out.

Well built keyboard and touchpad.

Can be upgraded to 64GB.

Cons

Pretty expensive.

Can get noisy.

Verdict: For video editing and other intensive softwares, the Dell XPS 17 is one of the best options for these kinds of tasks.

Macbook Pro

If you’re looking for a 17 inch Apple laptop, then unfortunately you’ll be disappointed. As of 2023, Apple no longer make a 17 inch laptop, as they discontinued their 17″ Macbook Pro in 2012. However, they have recently released this 16 inch Macbook Pro, which might prove to be a good choice for those who want a bigger sized laptop.

If you want the higher spec model, then you’re going to get a terabyte of storage space and 16GB of RAM. Perhaps more impressive however is the i9 processor that the new Macbook Pro comes with.

Although some people might think it would be overkill to opt for the i9 processor, it’s quite simply going to give you faster processing times, which will make for a better user experience. It’s going to be an improvement on the Intel core i7 processors for the most part.

The AMD Radeon Pro 5000M is the best GPU that’s ever been inside a Macbook, too. It’s a mid-range graphics card when compared to some models, but it works well with the high end finish of the Macbook Pro.

In addition to the impressive specs, the new Macbooks come with a cool touch bar at the top of the keyboard. This allows you to unlock the machine with your finger very simply. The keyboard is specially made to give the user responsive typing, with only a 1mm travel.

Along with this, it has upgraded speakers which are of a studio quality, along with dual force-cancelling woofers which help to increase the bass quality of the laptop.

All in all, this Macbook Pro provides users with another fantastic option for people looking for a larger than average laptop. It is quite expensive, but if you want a laptop with a long battery life and an Intel core i9 processor, this could be a good choice.

Pros

Those new to MacOS will appreciate its simplicity.

Strong audio for a laptop.

Newer scissor style keyboard is much better than before.

Cons

Obviously not as big as the rest.

Lack of ports to use.

Verdict: The sales of the Macbook speak for itself. If you’re not looking for a gaming machine, this is another solid option.

HP Omen 17

If you’re interested in a laptop for both working and gaming too, then it’s worth looking at the HP Omen 17. It’s a great laptop for those who want the display quality of their laptop to be amongst the best available.

The good thing about buying laptops that are generally designed for playing games is that they are usually made to be super responsive. This is the case for this laptop, and it has some pretty impressive specs. Along with the 16GB of RAM, the base model has 512GB of storage and it uses an Intel i7 processor.

It also uses a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti GPU, which can give you some extremely fast image creation. The laptop has a fast refresh rate and the narrow bezel display helps to give you the best viewing possible has a strong gaming performance overall.

With the dual HP audio boost speakers, you’re going to get an immersive experience if you decide to watch videos or films on the laptop. The HP Omen gives you the ability to have desktop level performance in a laptop form.

It also has some advanced thermal management in the laptop itself, which ensures that even when it’s using a lot of power, it won’t overheat. All in all, the HP Omen 17 gives us another alternative that it definitely worth your consideration.

Pros

Comes with tons of storage.

Very easy to upgrade.

High refresh rate.

Cons

Doesn’t support G-Sync.

Heavy which reduces portability.

Verdict: Complete with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 Ti graphics, the HP Omen 17 is ideal for long gaming sessions.

ASUS TUF FX705

It’s no surprise that the majority of 17″ laptops out there are gaming laptops. One of the best of these is this ASUS TUF model, which is impressive in a few different ways.

As well as the 8GB of RAM and 512GB of storage space, it uses an AMD Ryzen processor to keep things ticking over. In the graphics card department it’s packing a Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650, which is one of the best gaming graphics cards and is based on Turing architecture (this is a small chip, but by no means is it simple!).

To match the impressive specs is a large Full HD IPS display with a 120 HZ refresh rate and a narrow bezel design which helps to maximize its display area. This is a wise choice if you’re looking for a 17 inch gaming laptop.

Overall, it’s another great gaming laptop to add to the list and definitely worth your consideration. It has a comfortable keyboard and it can even work as a complete desktop replacement if necessary.

Pros

Laptop has excellent colour accuracy.

Nice RGB lighting and backlit keyboard.

High quality webcam.

Cons

Comes with a lot of bloatware.

Fans are quite loud.

Verdict: The ASUS TUF line tends to do pretty well at providing budget gaming laptops, and they’ve hit the mark with the FX705.

Dell Inspiron 3000

Dell Inspiron 17 3000 series 17.3 Inch FHD (1920 x 1080) Anti-Glare LED-Backlit Laptop Intel Core i5-1035G1 10th Gen, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD + 1TB HDD, nVidia MX230 2GB, Windows 10 Home, Silver

Not everyone is looking for a gaming laptop (although most people are when they want a large display). If you want a laptop to do work on and want to cut costs, then this Dell Inspiron model is a good option.

Although it’s not particularly designed for media, the display quality is actually excellent, which is pretty typical with Dell laptops. It provides a lot of screen real estate for you to view. It’s worth mentioning that it comes with a lot of storage too.

This laptop also has superior sound quality to many of its competitors, so it makes for a good laptop to watch YouTube or Netflix on. So for work and media usage, choosing the Inspiron 3000 can be a wise decision. The extra TB of HDD storage is also likely to come in handy.

However, the only real downside of this model is the lack of SSD storage space that you get with the laptop. Whilst it does have a terabyte hard drive for gaming, the 128GB SSD isn’t much, and you’ll have longer load times by accessing the HDD instead.

Pros

Lots of ports to use.

Has a well made numeric keyboard.

The cheapest option here.

Cons

Not the best build.

Only 128GB of solid state drive storage.

Verdict: Budget 17 inch laptops are hard to come by, with the Dell Inspiron 3000 being one of the lowest costing of them all.

Acer Predator Helios 300

The Acer Predator range are well known for their laptops made specifically for gaming, and the Helios 300 is one of their very best.

It has pretty much whatever a gamer may need from a laptop. The 256GB of easily accessible SSD storage is backed up by a terabyte of HDD storage, which means you undoubtedly have enough for large files.

In terms of the display, it has a 144 Hz refresh rate with a 3 millisecond response time. It also has a NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660Ti graphics card. This gives a crisp and responsive gameplay that is difficult for any other laptop to beat.

To make sure that it doesn’t overheat, it uses custom designed fans as a cooling system. You won’t need to worry about the size of your games being too much for this monster. And for its size, it’s actually fairly thin and light too.

This laptop is also available in a smaller 15.6 inch size, which can be more desirable for those looking for something portable. So, you should check out the Helios 300 and see if it’s right for you.

Pros

Excellent typing experience with the keyboard.

Very simple to overclock for fps games.

Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 graphics.

Cons

Pretty poor battery life.

Keyboard great, trackpad.. not so great.

Verdict: Though not my first choice, there are those that swear by the Helios series.

The 17″ Laptop Buying Guide

When you’re trying to buy a laptop with a big screen, then I think that you need to put a good amount of effort in. Just because there’s less selection out there to choose from, doesn’t mean that they’re all going to be good. You still need to filter out the poorer laptops, and here’s a few ways you can.

Is a gaming laptop right? – The chances are that if you need a gaming laptop, then you know that you need one. But what if you’re just a casual gamer, and wouldn’t mind having a laptop that you could both play games on and get your work done? Well, if this is you, then you could consider getting a gaming laptop and using it for work too.

Display – When you’re paying more for a bigger laptop, then you want to ensure that you’re going to at least get a good quality HD screen. Making sure that it has a good refresh rate and a decent graphics card can help to ensure that your display will be good enough for your needs.

What specs do I need? – Another question to ask yourself is what specs you need your laptop to have. If you’re going to be putting it through its paces, it’s going to need 8GB of RAM as a bare minimum, and you’d probably be much better off going for a 16GB model.

Sound – Often, people choose to go with a larger laptop so that they can use it for gaming or films. So what do you plan to do for sound, use the in-built speakers of the laptop or get some additional ones for even better audio?

FAQs about 17 inch laptops

Are 17 inch laptops too big?

For many people, a 17″ laptop will actually be larger than what they necessarily need. However the chances are that if you’re looking for a 17″ laptop, this is for a pretty good reason. If you need a larger screen for the benefit of your eyes, then a 17″ laptop is perfect. However if portability is important for you, then maybe opting for a 13 or 15 inch laptop might be a better idea.

Why don’t Apple make a 17 inch laptop?

Apple used to make a 17″ laptop, but I’m talking almost 10 years ago back in 2010-11. Typically, users that was a 17″ laptop are those that are interested in using it for gaming, or they’re only going to use it from home. So, there wasn’t really the demand for a 17″ laptop from people, as they either opted for a 13 inch Macbook or the iMac.

Are 17 inch laptops good?

Yes, 17″ laptops are pretty great! There’s just not really the same demand for a 17″ laptop as there is for smaller sizes. Many people purchase a laptop for the portability of it, which you don’t really get with big 17″ model. However for some people, a 17″ laptop will be perfectly fine.

What is the biggest laptop screen available?

As of 2023, the biggest laptop screen that you’ll find readily available to buy is a little over 17 inches. Of course, if you need a bigger screen than this, then you can just opt for a monitor instead. But with a monitor, you will lose the ability to easily travel with the laptop.

Which laptop screen is best for my eyes?

The larger the screen, the higher the ability is for you to get a clearer picture. However, the difference between a 15″ and a 17″ laptop screen is unlikely to have a negative affect on your eyes. You are far more likely to have eye strain from maintaining a poor posture, or not having a safe distance from your laptop screen.

Conclusion

Although a 17 inch laptop screen isn’t going to be the right choice for everyone, if you’re more comfortable using one then there’s no reason why you shouldn’t. Seventeen inch screens do tend to be substantially more expensive than 13 or 15 inch screens, which is something to bear in mind before you do buy one.

There actually aren’t that many different options out there for people looking for a good 17 inch laptop. Hopefully, I’ve helped round up some of the best ones for you here. If you have any suggestions that I should add to this list, then please feel free to add them in the comments box below.