Best desktop replacement laptops

The Samsung Series 7 Gamer is huge, expensive, and unattractive, but it's also one of the best gaming laptops that we've seen this year. If you don't mind its beefy 17-inch form, you won’t be disappointed.

No one puts together custom high-end gaming laptops, including this desktop-busting 17-inch EON17-SLX, better than Origin, but you'll pay for that expertise.

A hefty investment if nicely configured, the Maingear Nomad 17 delivers for serious gaming, although the look may not be for everyone.

It's not the prettiest laptop out there, but the Digital Storm x17 is ahead of the competition at providing maximum power at a minimum (but still significant) price.

We have yet to see a truly great gaming laptop built from the ground up with Windows 8 in mind, but the 17-inch Toshiba Qosmio X875 can be configured into a powerful, reasonably priced mainstream gaming machine.