Ask Engadget: Best "desktop replacement" laptop?

Although netbooks seem to be all the rage right now, there's still a lot of demand out there for laptops that are only able to be labeled as such due to their design. Take a look at Paul's question as he attempts to locate the best desktop replacement on the market today.

"I am currently looking to replace my desktop PC with a high spec laptop. Portability isn't a concern as it will spend most of its life on a desk. Here are a couple of things I am looking for: biggest screen possible, plenty of HDD space, plenty of RAM, and plenty of GHzs. Cheaper is better, but my budget is up to around $3,000."

This fellow didn't specifically mention gaming as a concern, but we'll go ahead and assume he's not buying a 9+ pound laptop to tinker on Minesweeper all day. So, what's the preferred laptop that weighs more than some mini-towers? And what's a question that's been on your mind? Send it in to ask at engadget dawt com.

[Nik @ Aug 28th 2008 9:34PM]

Why not get a more powerful desktop? I don't get it...

[Carl Vitullo @ Aug 28th 2008 9:36PM]

So that he has the option of moving it. He's not gonna use it to watch movies on long plane rides, but he'll be able to take it to class or something (providing there's a power outlet handy)

[ryan @ Aug 28th 2008 9:41PM]

Fewer wires.

[DarkLight @ Aug 28th 2008 10:06PM]

I use a laptop as a desktop.

Advantage? More space, less clutter. Being able to take it out easily. It's not that I take it out, it's just the convenience that if I ever need to set up a temporal workshop somewhere else (customer's place?) it will not be a pain in the arse.

[GatgetMan @ Aug 28th 2008 10:12PM]

I'll save clak the trouble...

http://www.apple.com/macbookair/

[Matthew C @ Aug 28th 2008 10:13PM]

Higher screen res, less space.

I have a 15 inch wuxga, and love it- great for high end video editing software - and portable (nnot exactly a gamers choice tho)

If I was getting sometiong even bigger - esp 19 or 20 inch, I'd want even higher. But heres where we hit some problems - there pretty much is no higher for laptops.

[BobTurbo @ Aug 28th 2008 10:13PM]

If you are not going to take it off your desk very often, how about getting a smaller laptop and using an external screen? It is a lot cheaper and also easier to move, while giving a much larger screen. I recommend Dell for the screen, and either Dell or Apple for the laptop. The XPS line for Dell and the Macbook Pro line for Apple are where you will find the high specifications you are after. Ideally it should have DVI or HDMI out... though that is not so common at the moment.

[Carl Vitullo @ Aug 28th 2008 10:14PM]

Nice timing, GatgetMan

[Dellbox @ Sep 20th 2008 11:18PM]

Sager!

[who? @ Aug 28th 2008 10:16PM]

I'm with DarkLight, why get a desktop at all?

A cheap desktop + a crappy monitor + a good keyboard + a good mouse + a low-end laptop = less money and more clutter for you than one good laptop.

May I suggest a MacBook Pro refurb?

[Pharmacy @ Aug 28th 2008 10:17PM]

I'm a student living on my own, traveling back home quite frequently and having an XPS m1710 has been very convenient. It's a bit big to bring to class, but I don't need it in that context anyways. It's handy because I'm not sacrificing performance and yet I have something I can easily pack up and go home with.

[GatgetMan @ Aug 28th 2008 10:18PM]

I was typing that at near the same moment as clak... I'm afraid... I'm very afraid...

[Ignatius @ Aug 28th 2008 10:38PM]

Why the hell would they be getting a desktop replacement if they weren't going to game on it? You think a Mac is going to actually ya know, have a wide selection of games at it's disposal? I didn't think so...

[cubiclegangsta @ Aug 28th 2008 11:28PM]

for clak:

[Sora @ Aug 28th 2008 11:58PM]

I'm going to go ahead and assume that clak would reccomend the iPod as a replacement for the PS3.

[Dizzle @ Aug 29th 2008 4:06AM]

My Intel MB Pro 15" runs WindowsXP about as reliably as as a P3. Sure it's stable enough ... but the fans go into overtime when running Firefox and IE, games consistently lock up and crash (GTA:SA, Elder Scrolls, Assassin's Creed, RE:4), and 3D Viz applications drag and are latent with memory errors that never occured on my much older and slower P4 Dell.

[Deed @ Aug 29th 2008 6:38AM]

Oh come on clak you're not even trying now.

[d @ Aug 29th 2008 7:56AM]

NOT the macbook air! If you want a desktop replacement laptop, and you like apple, then definitely not the macbook air. It's underpowered and there's not enough HD space. My macbook is good for portability, but, within the Apple line, a 15'' macbook pro is probably what your looking for.

[lance @ Aug 29th 2008 8:13AM]

I replaced my desk with a lappy. after 10 years on winblowz I bought a mac and love it so much I may just need medication.
Advantages of a lap is instant dual monitors by adding a big 28" out the side. Built in battery, low space requirement. And of course I can just unplug everything really quick ( i have the cords tie strapped together for quick in and out).
Best thing i ever did.
i use it for design (web and print), office (open office), and normal net and media stuff. all good here.

[who? @ Aug 29th 2008 9:53AM]

@Dizzle

My cousin had the same issues! He brought it in, they told him he had a faulty graphics card! They just gave him a new MacBook Pro and now it runs awesome! WoW FTW!

[Eric @ Aug 29th 2008 10:21AM]

Dell Precision M6400, coming soon.

nuff said

[JJV @ Aug 29th 2008 4:41PM]

I feel bad for Nik.....lol

[Nik @ Aug 29th 2008 5:34PM]

Why would you feel bad for me?

[Leindurstit @ Aug 28th 2008 9:34PM]

Apple MacBook Pro 17" with 2.6GHz processor and 1920/1200 display.

(unironically)

[McKade @ Aug 28th 2008 9:38PM]

Leindurstit, we think alike. I was also going to say Macbook Pro. MACS!!!!!!!!!

[Leindurstit @ Aug 28th 2008 9:41PM]

Nah, we don't really. I just wanted in on this before Clak (if it's even the real him... I'm still doubting it) posted the same exact thing.

[Richard Lai @ Aug 28th 2008 9:41PM]

For the MacBooks you should wait until the second week of September.

[Scott @ Aug 28th 2008 9:44PM]

Totally agree I use one at work to do all my graphic work and the thing is a beast, manages final cut with 720p footage and dosent choke at all. an made it all the way to china for the games and back for photo shoots and never faultered once. love it.

[JohnTitor @ Aug 28th 2008 9:58PM]

wtf, macbook pro is a great (although overpriced) laptop with good hardware for the size
but if we are talking Desktop Replacement, it would not be my top choice
the most powerful laptop for the fast 4 years or so has been the versatile Clevo D900C (it often appeared on Engadget under various rebrands)

the one I would suggest is the one built by Sager, as it is the same as any other but probably the cheapest you'll find, here's a link from PCTorque
https://secure.pctorque.com/system-configuration.aspx?SystemsID=32

now the D900C is gonna be heavy, and a power hog, but as a desktop replacement I'd say it well overpowers the Macbook pro with its upto Core 2 Quad 9550, upto 8GB of RAM, upto 2x 9800M GT in SLI, and 3 Harddrives (RAID capable)

[heshmati4 @ Aug 28th 2008 10:01PM]

I agree, wait until Sept/Oct for the revamp macbooks!

[Kamokazi @ Aug 28th 2008 10:02PM]

If he was after OS X, he wouldn't be asking us, since there is pretty much only one option there. I think it's safe to assume he's after a Windows PC (or maybe Linux), and even though you can run that on the 17" MBP, it just isn't price-comparable with most 17" Windows laptops with similar specs. (I'm not trying to enhance the notion that Macs cost more than Windows PCs...some are comparable, some are not...this one is not.)

[JohnTitor @ Aug 28th 2008 10:03PM]

by the way there's several places to get the Sager version of the D900C
but I suggested PCTorque because they seem to have a good track record

and what I would suggest the dude on his $3000 budget is it configured with:
1920x1600 (WUXGA) res
Core 2 Quad Q9450 cpu
Arctic Silver compound
4GB of RAM
1x GeForce 9800M GTX 1GB
200GB 7200RPM harddrive

[CraigJ @ Aug 28th 2008 10:21PM]

Last I heard Macs ran Windows too. VMWare Fusion is kickass... Ger you Mac, Windows and Linux on, all at the same time...

Maxed out MBP is my choice, but as posters ahead of me said, wait 2 or 3 weeks. Oh, and get you extra memory from Crucial, 'cause it's a rape job from Apple.

The 7200 RPM option is a must have....

[Josh @ Aug 28th 2008 10:35PM]

I love my macbook pro. Works wonderfully well, and i got to avoid vista (no beef with microsoft - i use XP at work and it works splendidly - vista just seems a bit out of wack at the moment). I haven't dual booted it yet but have all of the resources to do so, just don't see the need at the moment...

I just put a 22" monitor on it and solved all of my small monitor problems for photoediting...

[alberto @ Aug 28th 2008 10:48PM]

In my world of graphic design. The 17" Macbook Pro is my only option. But this guy is looking to replace his PC not his Mac. SO me suggesting to switch to a Mac...am asking him to switch software too. That's just not kool.

But if I had my choice. I would go with Alienware. Yeah, some people may think they are over rated, but i have experience them to be one of the pickiest builders out there. I couldn;t get you under $3000, but i was able to do $3,300.

Here are the specs

Area-51® m17x

Video/Graphics Card: Dual 512MB NVIDIA® GeForce® Go 8700M GT – SLI Enabled
Display: 17" WideUXGA 1920 x 1200 LCD with Clearview Technology – Black
Includes Non-Illuminated Keyboard – Exclusive Design!
System Lighting: Alienware® AlienFX® System Lighting - Blue
Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo T9300 2.5GHz (6MB Cache 800MHz FSB)
Memory: 4GB† Dual Channel DDR2 SO-DIMM at 667MHz – 2 x 2048MB
Operating System (Office software not included): Windows Vista® Home Premium with Service Pack 1
Notebook Tuners and Remotes: Without Media Center Remote Control or TV Tuner
System Drive: Single Drive Configuration - 320GB 7,200RPM (16MB Cache) w/ Free Fall Protection
Optical Drives : 8x Dual Layer Burner (DVD±RW, CD-RW)
Wireless: Internal Intel® Wireless 4965 a/b/g/Draft-N Mini-Card
Sound Card : Internal High-Definition Audio with surround sound

Truth is, you could go to almost any manufacturer and configure the ultimate laptop you can get at the price you want. It all depends on what brand you personally like.

[phanbouy @ Aug 29th 2008 1:14AM]

"The 7200 RPM option is a must have...."

i'd suggest getting the cheapest HDD and then installing an aftermarket one yourself. you'll save a couple hundred and get the latest and greatest Hitachi or WD, etc., with the highest data densities (and therefore performance). In fact, some of the newer perpendicular-tech drives are as fast at the 5400 rpm as 7200 (and one advantage at 5400 is vibration; another power consumption; yet another heat.

it's a bitch to user-install a HDD on a MBP, but one advantage is that you can just custom install OSX afterwards, leaving out languages and printer drivers you don't need (will save at least 4GB of space)

[buu700 @ Aug 29th 2008 6:37AM]

For the Sager, here's a good configuration that stays within the $3000 budget (including shipping):

[-] Sager 9262

Sager 9262 Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Desktop Replacement Gaming Notebook Qty: 1
17" WUXGA Super Clear Glossy w/ Wide Viewing Angle (1920x1200) Qty: 1
Intel® Core 2Quad™ Q9450 | 12MB Cache | 2.66GHz | 1.066MHz FSB Qty: 1
Arctic Silver 5 High Performance Thermal Compound Qty: 1
4096MB (4GB) DDR2 800MHz (Requires 64 Bit Operating System) Qty: 1
1X nVIDIA GeForce 9800M GTX w/1GB Qty: 1
RAID 0 (Data Stripping - Requires 2 Identical Hard Drives) Qty: 1
160GB | 5400 RPM | SATA Qty: 1
Add 2nd 160GB | 5400 RPM | SATA-150 HDD Qty: 1
No 3rd Hard Drive Qty: 1
8X DVD±R / RW / 4X + Dual Layer Drive with Software Qty: 1
Intel PRO/Wireless 4965AGN / 802.11N Qty: 1
Built in 10/1000 Fast Ethernet / LAN Network Card Qty: 1
Microsoft Windows VISTA Home Premium 32/64-Bit Edition Qty: 1
2.0M Integrated Digital Video Camera Qty: 1
Free Notebook Carrying Case Qty: 1
Microsoft Wireless Notebook Optical Mouse 4000 USB Qty: 1
No Office Software Qty: 1
Built-In Bluetooth Module Qty: 1
Sager 1 Year Warranty, Lifetime Tech Support Qty: 1
(No Accidental Protection Policy) Qty: 1

[Galley @ Aug 29th 2008 12:54PM]

Once you go Mac, you'll never go back!

[steven @ Aug 29th 2008 5:01PM]

I went Mac. I went back.

[Limezor @ Aug 28th 2008 9:34PM]

"Portability isn't a concern as it will spend most of its life on a desk."

Why would you want a laptop that spends most of its time on a desk? Desktop-Laptop?

[JohnTitor @ Aug 28th 2008 10:06PM]

maybe that once in a while trip or lan party

[Mario @ Aug 28th 2008 9:36PM]

Gateway P-7811FX.....the best desktop replacement you can buy.

[xValentine @ Aug 29th 2008 3:07AM]

Beat me to it :D

That's one fine gaming laptop at a pretty decent price.

[surfthedrum13 @ Aug 29th 2008 10:57AM]

I 2nd the above...

And he will have $1500 left over...

[Matthew @ Aug 28th 2008 9:37PM]

15" Macbook Pro works for me.

[ryan @ Aug 28th 2008 9:42PM]

This isn't about you, and if you had bothered to read through the entire post, you'd have gotten to:

"...I am looking for: biggest screen possible"

[Mike10010100 @ Aug 28th 2008 9:37PM]

Anything with a quad core CPU, decent graphics card, and Harmon Kordon (sp) or any other surround sound output should suffice.

Should settle for between 17 and 20 inch screen. Light up keys are a plus.

I had an old Toshiba Satellite (with tv tuner/ Pentium 4 w/ hyper threading) and got a good 4 years out of that thing before it broke down.

Toshiba and Sony make good desktop replacements, but i'm not aware of any that are quad core.

[Aquen @ Aug 28th 2008 9:37PM]

I highly recommend the 17in Macbook Pro with the high resolution screen.
You can get one for around $3,000 with a 2.5GHz Core 2 Duo, 4GB RAM, a 250GB hard drive, a SuperDrive, a 512MB GeForce 8600GTm, and a 17inch 1920x1200 high res display.

For a couple hundred more you can top it out at 2.6GHz and throw in a 7200rpm drive.

[Derek @ Aug 28th 2008 9:56PM]

So the guy makes a suggestion and gets low ranked? That's pretty ridiculous.

[heshmati4 @ Aug 28th 2008 10:03PM]

This innocent guy makes a suggestion and all the Apple haters come out and low rank him.

Play nice children!