All Laptops

The Bottom Line: Alienware's big and bulky 15-inch M15x pulls out most of the stops, thanks to a superpowered CPU.

Specs: Intel Core i7 (1.6 GHz), 3 GB DDR3 SDRAM, 250 GB, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English, 15.6

The Bottom Line: A large-screen laptop with very good performance, the Gateway NV7802u is an attractive choice for home or office.

Specs: Intel Core 2 Duo (2.2 GHz), 4 GB DDR3 SDRAM, 500 GB, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition, 7.3 lbs, 17.3 in TFT active matrix

The Bottom Line: The design and portability of the Asus UL50AG make it one of the slickest 15.6-inch DVD-drive-equipped laptops we've seen, but an ultralow-voltage processor compromises its computing power.

Specs: Intel Core 2 Duo (1.3 GHz), 4 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 500 GB, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition, 5.1 lbs, 15.6 in TFT active matrix, EPA Energy Star

The Bottom Line: Nokia's entry in the crowded Netbook field shows that the company's hardware know-how translates to computer design, but a poor choice of CPU should give you pause.

Specs: Intel Atom (1.6 GHz), 1 GB DDR II SDRAM, 120 GB, Microsoft Windows 7 Starter, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium, 2.8 lbs, 10.1 in TFT active matrix

The Bottom Line: The Dell Inspiron i1545-4374PBU is a good, if basic, laptop with a strong price-to-performance ratio.

Specs: Intel Pentium (2.16 GHz), 4 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 320 GB, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition, 5.7 lbs, 15.6 in TFT active matrix, EPA Energy Star

The Bottom Line: For a budget Windows 7 thin-and-light that won't need to recharge often, you could do a lot worse than the Toshiba Satellite T135-S1309.

Specs: Intel Pentium (1.3 GHz), 3 GB DDR3 SDRAM, 320 GB, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium, 13.3 in TFT active matrix

The Bottom Line: The Gateway NV5207u is certainly above average for the money, but its processor is a dog.

Specs: AMD Athlon 64 X2 (2.1 GHz), 4 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 320 GB, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit Edition, 6.8 lbs, 15.6 in TFT active matrix

The Bottom Line: Good design and some really nice-sounding speakers round out the Toshiba Satellite A505-S6980, a very affordable mainstream laptop with excellent battery life for its size.

Specs: Intel Core 2 Duo (2.2 GHz), 4 GB DDR II SDRAM, 500 GB, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium, 7.2 lbs, 16 in TFT active matrix

The Bottom Line: Sony's bold experiment--a high-end luxury system with essentially Netbook components--makes an enviable coffee shop conversation piece, but one that includes some serious sticker shock.

Specs: Intel Atom (2 GHz), 2 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 128 GB, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium, 1.6 lbs, 11.1 in TFT active matrix, RoHS, EPA Energy Star

The Bottom Line: While it's hard to argue with a $330 laptop, the old-fashioned-looking L455-S5975 cuts some serious corners to get you a package that will suit only basic users.

Specs: Intel Celeron (2.2 GHz), 2 GB DDR II SDRAM, 250 GB, Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium, 15.6 in TFT active matrix