Find The Right Laptops

Asus G75VW-AS71 (Core i7 3610QM)

If you want to buy a “budget” gaming laptop, the Asus G75VW-AS71 offers plenty of horsepower and features in its heavy 17-inch body. Just don’t expect anything svelte -- or good battery life.

Reviewed on 05/15/12

Specs: Intel 3rd Gen Core i7 i7-3610QM, 12 GB, 1.5 TB, 17.3 nm, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium, 8.7 lbs

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon

Reviewed on 05/15/12

Specs: 14 in, 3 lbs

Lenovo IdeaPad Y480

The IdeaPad Y480 gets you Lenovo's excellent construction quality and ergonomic design without having a "business" laptop, but some more configuration flexibility would be appreciated.

Reviewed on 05/11/12

Specs: 3rd Gen Core i7, Intel i7-3610QM / 2.3 GHz ( 3.3 GHz ) ( Quad-Core ), 8 GB / 8 GB (max), 750 GB - Serial ATA-300 - 5400 rpm, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition, 14 in TFT active matrix, DVD-Writer, NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M, 2 GB, 4.9 lbs, L3 cache, 6 MB, Black

HP Envy Spectre XT

The HP Envy Spectre XT ultrabook starts at just $999, but it lacks the Gorilla Glass design found on the earlier Spectre model.

Reviewed on 05/09/12

Specs: Intel 3rd Gen Core i3, 128 GB, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium, 13.3 in, 3.07 lbs

Samsung Series 5 Ultra (13-inch) NP530U3B - 128GB SSD

Samsung's finally made an affordable ultrabook, and the 13-inch Series 5 Ultra is a well-priced and far slimmer product than its 14-inch cousin. Still, it's not a runaway bargain, and it feels like corners have been cut in adapting it from the stellar Series 9's design. You also might want to wait a few weeks for Intel's latest processors to arrive.

Reviewed on 05/04/12

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Samsung Series 5 Ultra (13-inch) NP530U3B - 500GB HDD

Samsung's finally made an affordable ultrabook, and the 13-inch Series 5 Ultra is a well-priced and far slimmer product than its 14-inch cousin. Still, it's not a runaway bargain, and it feels like corners have been cut in adapting it from the stellar Series 9's design. You also might want to wait a few weeks for Intel's latest processors to arrive.

Reviewed on 05/04/12

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Toshiba Qosmio F755-3D150 - 15.6-inch

The glasses-free 15-inch 3D display on the Toshiba Qosmio F755 falls just short of being really impressive. The software support and stability are better than for previous models, but low-end hardware needlessly hobbles this laptop.

Reviewed on 05/03/12

Specs: 2nd Gen Core i5, Intel i5-2450M / 2.5 GHz ( 3.1 GHz ) ( Dual-Core ), 6 GB / 8 GB (max), 750 GB - Serial ATA-300 - 5400 rpm, 15.6 in TFT active matrix, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition, DVD±RW (±R DL) / DVD-RAM / BD-ROM, NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M TurboCache, 1 GB DDR3 SDRAM, 7.5 lbs, L3 cache, 3 MB, Fusion 3D finish in brilliant red, black keyboard

Toshiba Satellite P755D-S5172 - 15.6" - A8-3520M - Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit - 6 GB RAM - 640 GB HDD

This midpriced 15-inch Toshiba Satellite has a few nice higher-end features, but its AMD processor makes it feel like a budget performer.

Reviewed on 04/27/12

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Origin EON17-S (Intel Core i7-3920XM)

First out of the gate with the latest quad-core Intel CPUs, Origin is one of the few high-end boutique gaming PC makers that really pays attention to laptops.

Reviewed on 04/23/12

Specs: Intel 2nd Gen Core i7 ( Quad-Core ), 8 MB

Lenovo ThinkPad X130e

The education-targeted Lenovo ThinkPad X130e is a mixed bag of an 11-inch laptop: not exactly inspiring or all that ergonomic, but built like a tank. It's simply not good enough in terms of design, price, or performance to merit serious consideration for most.

Reviewed on 04/18/12

Specs: AMD E-300 1.3 GHz ( Dual-Core ), 2 GB / 8 GB (max), 320 GB - Serial ATA-300 - 7200 rpm, 11.6 in TFT active matrix, Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit Edition, None, AMD Radeon HD 6310M Shared video memory (UMA), 3.9 lbs, L2 cache, 1 MB, Matte black

Toshiba Satellite C655-S5542

If you're still considering an Intel Celeron processor for a midsize laptop in 2012, the Toshiba Satellite C655-S5542 at least turns on and lets you surf the Web, if slowly.

Reviewed on 04/16/12

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Razer Blade

Razer's first laptop, the Razer Blade, is a thin gaming computer with some futuristic design touches, but a high price means you're paying for design -- and for the second-screen signature Switchblade UI interface that doesn't do as much as we hoped it would...yet.

Reviewed on 04/09/12

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Toshiba Qosmio X775-Q7170

With the recent emphasis on better materials and design across all laptop segments, the gaudy, plastic Toshiba Qosmio X775-Q7170 delivers decent performance, but not a look to match.

Reviewed on 04/04/12

Specs: 2nd Gen Core i5, Intel i5-2450M / 2.5 GHz ( 3.1 GHz ) ( Dual-Core ), 6 GB / 8 GB (max), 640 GB - Serial ATA-300 - 7200 rpm, 17.3 in TFT active matrix, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition, DVD±RW (±R DL) / DVD-RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560M TurboCache, 1.5 GB GDDR5 SDRAM, 7.5 lbs, L3 cache, 3 MB, Fusion X2 finish in red horizon, black keyboard

Samsung Series 9 NP900X4B-A02 (15-inch)

The latest Samsung Series 9 goes extra-big, and the gamble pays off with the most portable and comfortable 15-incher you're likely to find. However, its high price and lack of higher-end features don't make it the best value.

Reviewed on 03/29/12

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Toshiba Portege R835-P88

This one-time favorite is still an excellent go-to 13-inch laptop, if you don't need something quite as slim as an ultrabook, and you can get it for the right price.

Reviewed on 03/29/12

Specs: 2nd Gen Core i5, Intel i5-2450M / 2.5 GHz ( 3.1 GHz ) ( Dual-Core ), 6 GB / 8 GB (max), 640 GB - Serial ATA-300 - 5400 rpm, 13.3 in TFT active matrix, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition, DVD±RW (±R DL) / DVD-RAM, Intel HD Graphics 3000 Dynamic Video Memory Technology, 3.2 lbs, L3 cache, 3 MB, Magnesium alloy casing in blue, black keyboard

Samsung Series 5 Ultrabook 530U4BI

If you ignore the ultrabook branding and instead think of this as a somewhat slim midsize, mainstream laptop, the 14-inch Samsung Series 5 is a fine example of the form.

Reviewed on 03/23/12

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Toshiba Portege Z835-P370

The original Toshiba Portege Z835 was a fantastic value that helped us overlook a weak touch pad/keyboard combo. This faster version is about $200 more, but keeps the same so-so design.

Reviewed on 03/20/12

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HP Envy 14 Spectre

The first big high-design laptop of 2012, the HP Envy 14 Spectre is a bold experiment that largely succeeds, if you're willing to pay a premium for it.

Reviewed on 03/14/12

Specs: Intel 2nd Gen Core i5 i5-2467M, 4 GB, 128 GB, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium, 14 in, 3.97 lbs

Asus Eee PC 1025C Flare

Asus brought Netbooks into the world, and with the last-gasp Eee PC 1025C Flare, it looks like it's going to take them out as well.

Reviewed on 03/12/12

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Lenovo IdeaPad U400 (Core i5)

Adopting the looks of an ultrabook and an Apple MacBook, the IdeaPad U400 wins on design and overall value, but it's not that far above other equally good laptops that are out there right now.

Reviewed on 03/09/12

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