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Desktop-replacement laptop
Pros: stylish aluminum design, excellent performance, thinner and lighter than previous versions
Cons: no Blu-ray option, noisy cooling fans
Elemental silver aluminum HD WLED
15.6
720 pixels
8-cell Li-ion
N/A
8X Slot Load CD/DVD burner
HDMI 1.4, Mini DisplayPort
Silver
Nvidia GeForce GT 525M with Optimus
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
N/A
N/A
10.3
0.97
15.2
5.6
1 year
XPS15z-72ELS
884116061199
N/A
8 GB
7,200 rpm
Microphone jack
Headphone jack, speakers
2 USB 3.0, 1 USB/eSata with PowerShare
1 USB/eSata
9-in-1 card reader
802.11 a/g/n, Bluetooth 3.0 + EDR
Intel Core i5-2410M
Intel
2.30 GHz with Turbo Boost 2.0 up to 2.90 GHz
DDR3
6 GB
500 GB
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Best-value laptop
Pros: stylish design, excellent speakers, discrete graphics, slot-loading DVD drive and other features
Cons: average battery life, odd screen size distorts native 720p video
High definition HP BrightView Infinity LED display
14.5
1,366 by 768 pixels
8-cell Li-ion
Up to 6 hours
SuperMulti 8X DVD/R/RW with Double Layer Support (slot load)
HDMI, Mini Display Port
Silver, black
Switchable AMD Radeon HD 6630 graphics
Windows 7 Home Premium
HP ProtectSmart hard drive protection, Kensington lock
Backlit keyboard, HP Beats Audio system
9.3
1.2
14.01
5.6
2 years
LR254AV
886111544141
3 MB
8 GB
7,200 rpm
Dual deadphone/microphone jack
HP Beats Audio speakers, 2 headphone jacks
2 USB 2.0, 1 USB 3.0
N/A
2-in-1 media card reader
802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Intel Core i5-2430M
Intel
2.3 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 2.9 GHz
DDR3
6 GB
500 GB
-
Best ultraportable laptop
Pros: stylish design, excellent performance for an ultraportable, very thin and light, speedy solid-state drive, high-resolution display
Cons: no optical drive, limited hard-drive space, slightly resistive keys, slightly sensitive touchpad
16:9 HD+ LED Backlight
13.3
1,600-by-900-pixels
8-cell Li-ion
Up to 8 hours
N/A
Mini-HDMI, mini-VGA
Brushed aluminum
Integrated Intel HD 3000
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
N/A
N/A
13.3
0.1 to 0.7
8.9
2.36
2 year
UX31EDH52
884840975076
3MB L3
8 GB
6 Gb/s
Microphone/headphone jack
Microphone/headphone jack, Bang & Olufsen stereo ICEpower speakers
1 USB 3.0, 1 USB 2.0
1 USB/eSata
2-in-1 card reader (SD/MMC)
802.11 a/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0
Intel Core i5 2557M
Intel
1.7 GHz
DDR3
4 GB
128 GB SSD
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Best-value gaming laptop
Pros: lightweight, affordable for a gaming laptop, high-quality speakers, discrete Nvidia graphics and Optimus technology
Cons: cooling fan is loud, short battery life, no optical drive
WideHD WLED
11.6
1,366 x 768 pixels
8 Cell Prismatic Lithium ion
N/A
N/A
N/A
Stealth black, Nebula red
Nvidia GeForce GT 540M
Windows 7 Home Premium
Nameplate
N/A
9.19
1.29
11.25
4.4
1 year
N/A
N/A
3 MB
16 GB
7,200 rpm
Microphone input
2 audio outputs, internal HD surround sound, speakers
3
N/A
3-in-1
Wi-Fi
Intel Core i5 2537M
Intel
1.4 GHz (2.3 GHz Turbo Mode)
DDR3
4 GB
320 GB
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Best gaming laptop
Pros: top-of-the-line performance, optional 3D-capable display, numerous upgrade opportunities
Cons: runs hot, very short battery life, only 4 GB of RAM on base model
WideHD+ WLED display
17.3
1,600 by 900 pixels
9-cell Li-ion
N/A
Slot-load dual-layer DVD burner (Blu-ray optional)
HDMI, Mini DisplayPort, VGA
Black
AMD Radeon HD 6870M
Windows 7 Home Premium
Kensington lock
Optional Wireless HD, customized lighting system, laser-engraved nameplate
11.96
1.77
16.14
9.39 and up
1 year
N/A
N/A
6 MB
16 GB
7,200 rpm
Microphone jack
2 headphone jacks, Internal high-definition 5.1 surround-sound audio
2 USB 2.0, 2 USB 3.0/2.0 combo
1 eSata/USB 2.0 combo
Yes
Wireless 802.11 g/n (WiMAX optional)
Intel Core i7-2670QM
Intel
2.2 GHz (Turbo Boost to 3.1 GHz)
DDR3
4 GB
500 GB
-
Best laptop for business
Pros: lightweight, excellent performance for its class, dVD burner, meets MIL-SPEC 810G durability standards
Cons: unimpressive pointing stick, no USB 3.0 ports
LED-backlit HD anti-glare
12.5
1,366 by 768 pixels
6-cell Li-ion
Up to 8.5 hours
DVD+/-RW SuperMulti DL ($1,200 and up models only)
VGA
Silver
Integrated Intel HD 3000
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Kensington slot, fingerprint reader, facial recognition technology
Webcam, MIL-SPEC 810G compatible
12.02
1.08
8.23
3.68
1 year
LJ458UT#ABA
886111736638
3 MB L3
16 GB
7,200 rpm
Microphone/headphone jack
Microphone/headphone jack, Bang & Olufsen stereo speakers
1 USB 2.0/eSATA, 2 USB 2.0
1 USB 2.0/eSATA
2-in-1
802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR
Intel Core i5-2410M
Intel
2.3 GHz
DDR3
4 GB
320 GB