Work Midsize and desktop replacements

Editors' Top Laptops
updated May 17, 2006

With desktop-caliber processing power, these large laptops can do the heavy lifting of computer-aided design, multimedia authoring, or intensive number crunching. In addition to performance, most desktop replacements offer nice perks such as large, widescreen displays, full-size keyboards (some with a dedicated numeric keypad), and DVD burners. Though these models are far too heavy for regular travel or commuting, you can take them down the hall for a presentation, to a different room in your home office, or on the occasional business trip. Here are some of the best.

-- Michelle Thatcher, associate editor

For home: Desktop replacements | Thin-and-light laptops | Midsize laptops | Gaming laptops | Less than $1,000

Work Midsize and desktop replacements

Laptops	Editors' rating	Price	Summary
Acer TravelMate 4650 Released: 06/01/2005	7.8 Very good	Email me when product is available	The TravelMate 4650 gives home and small-office users all the speed, battery life, and features they need at a very low price. Specs: Intel Pentium M (2 GHz) , 2 GHz, 1 GB DDR2 SDRAM , 6.2 lbs, 15 in TFT active matrix , Microsoft Windows XP Professional

Apple PowerBook G4 (17-inch) Released: 01/31/2005	7.3 Very good	Email me when product is available	The foxy Apple 17-inch PowerBook delivers the performance and the features most users will need, but it's more expensive than a similarly outfitted Windows laptop. Specs: Motorola PowerPC G4 (1.67 GHz) , 1.67 GHz, 512 MB DDR SDRAM , 6.8 lbs, 17 in TFT active matrix , EPA Energy Star , Apple MacOS X 10.4

		Email me when product is available

HP Business Notebook Nx9420 (Core Duo 2 GHz, 1 GB RAM, 80 GB HDD) Released: 03/09/2006	7.5 Very good	Email me when product is available	If you're looking for a 17-inch wide-screen laptop that offers corporate-caliber security, power, and battery life, the HP Compaq nx9420 is the only game in town. Specs: Intel Core Duo (2 GHz) , 2 GHz, 1 GB DDR2 SDRAM , 7.5 lbs, 17 in TFT active matrix , EPA Energy Star , Microsoft Windows Vista , Microsoft Windows XP Professional