Best 17-inch laptops 2026: 3 Compared (15 Sources)

What are the best 17-inch laptops in 2026?

Background, first written March 2026. The current picks, with dated prices, are in the table above.

Summary

Few laptops still have a 17-inch screen. TechRadar, whose 17-inch guide still names the 2024 Dell XPS 17 as its top pick, explains that panel makers have moved from 17.3-inch to 18-inch screens as laptops switched to the taller 16:10 shape, and that Dell and almost every other laptop maker have seemingly abandoned the 17.3-inch format. [src8] Notebookcheck likewise finds the 17-inch category shrinking, "especially for non-gaming models, leaving fewer pure office notebooks, many of which are aging". [src9] So this card is shorter than it used to be: each of the three laptops below has at least two detailed independent lab tests published since mid-2025.

For most people the pick is the LG Gram 17 (2025), LG's Lunar Lake model (17Z90TL). Three labs tested it and all three measured exceptional battery life for a 17-inch laptop — 15.5 to 22 hours of web browsing — at a weight of about 3.1 lb, half that of the 17-inch gaming laptops. [src1, src2, src3] It has integrated graphics only, so it is not a gaming laptop, and Notebookcheck notes that several 16-inch laptops now weigh less. [src1]

For gaming, the two 17-inch laptops with RTX 50-series graphics that labs have tested are close. Notebookcheck rated both the Acer Nitro V 17 AI and the Lenovo LOQ 17 at 80% with an RTX 5070, and in its comparison the LOQ 17 was five percent faster in Cyberpunk 2077 but 17 percent louder and drew 56 percent more power. [src4, src6] The Nitro V 17 AI is the value pick for that efficiency and LaptopMedia's praise for its optional QHD screen; the LOQ 17 is the choice if you want the extra speed. [src4, src5, src6]

This card's previous top pick, LG's RTX 5050 gram Pro 17, is no longer on it: we found no written lab test of it, only video reviews, and LG's US store listed it at $4,249.99 when we checked on 2026-10-10. [src15] We also found no independent test of the HP OmniBook 7 17 or of the HP 17 budget laptop the card used to recommend. TechRadar lists the HP Laptop 17 as its affordable pick but says it has not reviewed that particular laptop. [src8] The ASUS ROG Strix G17 has also gone: the reviews we found are of its 2023 model (Laptop Mag tested it in September 2023), and the 2025 RTX 50-series 17-inch gaming laptops above have been tested since. [src11] There is no budget pick, because we found no 17-inch laptop under $800 with two independent tests that recommend it (see the Decision Logic below).

Top 3 Models Compared

Best for Each Use Case

Best Overall: LG Gram 17 (2025) — Check price

Notebookcheck rates the 2025 Gram 17 (model 17Z90TL) 85%, "good". Its unit, with Intel's Core Ultra 7 258V, 32GB of memory and a 2560x1600 IPS screen that averaged about 389 nits, weighed 3.06 lb, came with a 154 g charger and ran 21 hours 54 minutes in Notebookcheck's Wi-Fi browsing test. Notebookcheck likes the light design, the high-quality display, Wi-Fi 7 and Thunderbolt 4, and a keyboard whose shallow travel is offset by crisp feedback; it marks down the slightly bendy case and the comparatively high price, and notes that LG dropped the card reader and the face-recognition webcam (a fingerprint reader in the power button handles sign-in). Its verdict is that the Gram is "certainly compelling" but "no longer distinctly stands out from the crowd", because other makers now sell light laptops too: several 16-inch models weigh just over 1 kg. [src1] Consumer Reports tested a Core Ultra 9 288V version with 32GB, 1TB and a touchscreen: 18.25 hours of web browsing, 16.25 hours of 4K video playback and 3.1 lb, which it calls an excellent choice for traveling; it rates the display very good with accurate colours and notes the full number pad. [src3] Tom's Guide gives it 3.5 out of 5. It measured 15 hours 31 minutes in its web-surfing test, calls it "the lightest 17-inch laptop I've ever tested" at 3.2 lb, and likes the bright, colourful touchscreen, but finds that the chassis feels like plastic despite LG's aluminium-alloy claim. Reviewing it at $1,699, it said the Gram 17 "would be more appealing at $1,399 or lower". [src2] When we checked on 2026-10-10, LG's US store listed the 32GB, 1TB touch model (17Z90TL-H.AUB6U3) at $1,399.99, against a $2,199.99 list price. [src12] The Amazon listing we link is a Core Ultra 7 256V configuration with 16GB of memory and a 2TB SSD; the price in the comparison table is for that listing, and the picks table at the top has its live price and stock.

Best Value: Acer Nitro V 17 AI (ANV17-41) — Check price

Notebookcheck rates the Nitro V 17 AI 80% and says it "is aimed squarely at budget-conscious gamers who value quiet and power-efficient gaming over maximum frame rates". Its unit (ANV17-41-R4CJ: AMD Ryzen 7 260, RTX 5070, 16GB on a single memory module, a 1920x1080 144Hz IPS screen) cost $1,449 on amazon.com at the time of the January 2026 test. Against it: the Full HD screen averaged only 238 nits, does not cover the full sRGB colour space and looks washed out (a QHD 165Hz panel is optional); the single memory module costs some performance; the webcam is 720p; the SSD throttles under sustained load; and it draws 8 W in sleep. It weighed 5.95 lb with a 464 g power supply and ran 4 hours 40 minutes on Wi-Fi. [src4] LaptopMedia ordered the QHD version (2560x1440, 165Hz, 96% of DCI-P3, no PWM flicker) with the same processor and graphics, and calls it "a safe and practical choice for gamers who value stability and a good screen over raw, unbridled power". Acer limits the RTX 5070 to 95 W, so it is slower than most of its competitors, but it stays cool and stable; there are two memory slots and two M.2 slots, no webcam shutter and no fingerprint reader or IR camera, and the battery lasted 6 hours 23 minutes in LaptopMedia's test. [src5] The Amazon listing we link is the ANV17-41-R0FJ, an RTX 5060 configuration with a 1920x1080 180Hz screen, 76 Wh battery and 5.97 lb weight, per Acer [src13]; it had no purchasable new offer in our daily checks through 2026-10-09.

Best you can buy today: the Lenovo LOQ 17 below, the other 17-inch RTX 50-series laptop with two lab tests, was available to order at Lenovo's US store at $1,449.99 for its RTX 5050 model when we checked on 2026-10-10. [src14]

Faster Gaming Alternative: Lenovo LOQ 17 (17IRX10) — Check price

Notebookcheck also rates the LOQ 17 80%. Its unit paired an Intel Core i7-14700HX with an RTX 5070 that Lenovo lets you overclock, which Notebookcheck credits with above-average graphics performance; at just under $1,500 it called the laptop "still one of the more affordable RTX 5070-based laptops". It praises the two memory and two SSD slots, the input devices, the dirt-resistant surfaces and the webcam shutter, and criticises the plastic case, which rattles in places, the port layout, the middling screen brightness (about 297 nits on average), weak Wi-Fi, SSD throttling and the noise under load. With a 60 Wh battery it lasted 3 hours 8 minutes on Wi-Fi, last among the laptops it was compared with, and it weighed 6.38 lb plus a 690 g power supply. [src6] LaptopMedia tested an RTX 5060 version with the same processor and calls it "a textbook example of a smart, value-oriented gaming laptop", singling out the keyboard's offset, full-size arrow keys and the fast, flicker-free 165Hz screen; its biggest complaint is battery life of under five hours. [src7] The listing we link is the RTX 5050 model with a Core i5-13450HX, 16GB and 1TB. Lenovo's US store listed that configuration at $1,449.99 when we checked on 2026-10-10, and also offers the LOQ 17 with up to an RTX 5060. [src14]

Key Market Trends (2026)

• The 17.3-inch format is fading: panel makers have moved to 16- and 18-inch screens in the taller 16:10 shape, and TechRadar says Dell and almost every other maker have seemingly abandoned 17.3 inches; its top pick is still the 2024 Dell XPS 17. [src8]
• Office models are disappearing first: Notebookcheck finds the 17-inch category shrinking "especially for non-gaming models", with many of the remaining office laptops aging. [src9]
• Lunar Lake gives a big laptop all-day battery life: the LG Gram 17's Core Ultra 200V processor gave 15.5 to 22 hours in three labs' browsing tests. [src1, src2, src3]
• RTX 50-series graphics reached 17-inch value gaming laptops: the Nitro V 17 AI comes with an RTX 5060 or 5070, and the LOQ 17 with an RTX 5050, 5060 or 5070. [src5, src7]
• Gaming 17-inchers still run out of battery fast: the two tested here lasted 3 to 6.5 hours in Notebookcheck's and LaptopMedia's tests. [src4, src5, src6, src7]

Important Caveats

• The linked listings are not the configurations the testers reviewed: the Gram 17 listing has a Core Ultra 7 256V with 16GB (the testers had 32GB), the Nitro V 17 AI listing an RTX 5060 (tested with an RTX 5070), and the LOQ 17 listing an RTX 5050 with a Core i5-13450HX (tested with a Core i7-14700HX and an RTX 5070 or 5060). [src1, src3, src4, src5, src6, src7, src13, src14]
• Battery tests differ between outlets in brightness and workload, so compare a laptop's numbers within one outlet, not across outlets. [src1, src2, src3]
• The gaming laptops' power supplies add weight that spec sheets often leave out: Notebookcheck weighed the Nitro V 17 AI's at 464 g and the LOQ 17's at 690 g. [src4, src6]
• A Full HD panel stretched to 17.3 inches gives 127 pixels per inch, so text looks coarser than on the Gram 17's 2560x1600 screen. [src1, src4]
• Notebookcheck's Nitro V 17 AI had a single memory module; both gaming laptops have two memory slots, so a second module can be added. [src4, src5, src6]
• Prices on this page are dated; the live price and stock for each linked listing are in the picks table at the top.