Is It Worth Getting A 17-Inch Laptop, Or Are They Too Big to Work On?

We shift to Laptops because they are compact enough, and it is easier to carry them with you, yet versatile enough to run the applications you want. You can do your serious work without being affected by your surroundings; you can start your work at home, in the office, or in a college classroom. Laptop size does matter for everyone. Let’s see one example, to begin with.

Computer games are some of the best moments of everyone’s childhood. Although the games might differ from person to person, the experience, fun, and enjoyment are perfect for all of us. With the emergence of mobile, tablets, consoles, and even gaming laptops, the game playing experience has enhanced. When it comes to gaming, a person will always favor a bigger screen for a more realistic feeling and a broader vision angle.

Is A 17-Inch Laptop Too Big to Work On?

To do so, let’s begin with the pros and cons of the same.

Size

People usually prefer a larger display, to perform their work optimally depending on their hobbies and work. As a larger screen avails more space to fit components, you will find efficiency and robustness.

Standard laptop sizes

Nvidia’s Max-Q Gusties 17-inches extra power Laptop is known to provide a similar level of versatility and robustness, serving as the ideal solution for gaming, graphical visualization, video editing, 3D design, and many more resource-hungry tasks. But even after so much functionality, you will have to compromise with portability if your laptop has a 17-inch screen.

Now when it comes to a smaller laptop, there also exist advantages of laptops with smaller sizes. Laptops with small displays are more compact and frequently lighter. Some laptop models in the market exist, which provides a better resolution along with a better angle of vision even after having a smaller size.

Thus, you will get a slim laptop in a smaller size, which will potentially be saving few pounds of weight. They are easy to carry without being a trouble for you when the weight comes into consideration.

Wider Viewing Angle

The most significant advantage of a larger display in technical terms is known as a wide viewing angle. Large displays are more prominent, allowing you to perceive and watch everything comfortably even when you are further away from the screen.

The best thing about a 17-inch laptop is that it will enhance your productivity and overall experience because of the broader display with a better viewing angle overall.

Weight

The problem lies when it comes to weight. Although few laptops are lighter as well, on average, they hold the extra weight. Now it totally depends on you whether a few more pounds of weight are your primary concerns to worry about or not.

For example, weight is not going to be a concern for some people. But for some others, a few more pounds will affect the overall stability, as bulkier laptops are more prone to slippage or accidents than smaller ones.

But for others, it’s just plain uncomfortable and heavy, just like carrying extra weight on your shoulders, and most of the time, it becomes irritating. Again, the right thing with the larger ones is the experience they give to you. The smaller laptops though light in weight, do not provide comparable expertise when it comes to a large screen.

The dilemma is that almost all the laptops available in the market with a screen measuring 17-inches are bulkier in size; for example, Dell XPS 15 is about 4.42 lb, and most of the 17-inch laptops are from 5 lbs and up. But, when do you need the bigger screen size or when do you need smaller ones! 

Ease of Working

Suppose you are a versatile person who prioritizes work over comfort like you can work while sitting comfortably on airplane seats or crowded coffee shops. In that case, small displays are great as they occupy less space on the table.

When it comes to travel and that too via air, where you get limited space, you will not prioritize a larger laptop as it would not fit in your sitting space and be trouble and will offer a discomfort to your fellow passenger.

Coming to the college or school students who have to carry it most of the time and have to carry it along with them on their backs, I think they will not prefer to vote for a heavy thing. There is one more reason why the students will not choose the larger ones.

They would not favor buying a second bag to carry them because, at times, they do not get fit into the regular bags. Along with weight and space, a small display usually consumes more energy and is the factor that will be considered at times.

Factors to Consider Before Purchasing A Laptop

is 17 inch laptop too big

You should consider whether you will be using the laptop mainly in your home or if you are primarily going to take it on the road while traveling or going back and forth to work.

If you are primarily using the computer in one place like your home or workplace, I think a 17-inch laptop is ideal. You get a more realistic screen, and this also makes it possible to have, for example, a 4k panel and making use of the 4k display.

If you are using your laptop screen mainly for video editing or photo editing, or gaming on your laptop, I think a 17-inch laptop is absolutely the way to go. The more realistic screen you have for those tasks, the better workflow you will have.

You will also be able to get either a 4K panel or one with a higher refresh rate, for example, a 140hertz or 144hertz, or now you may have a 300-hertz monitor screen coming out in laptops. If you are gaming, having a higher refresh rate makes a big difference in the total experience. If you are a lot into photos or video editing, having a 4K monitor can be useful.

The difference in size and weight is so big that you will notice it every minute when you are carrying it. Even if you get one of these lighter ones like MSI 75, what about when you travel by plane, and you have limited space where you are sitting!

If you come into a meeting set up and bring up a 17-inch laptop on the table, people will immediately start asking you why you have such a giant computer or a gaming laptop while you are in a meeting setting. 

The power and actual specifications of 17 inch and smaller laptops are usually quite similar. There is not that much extra power that you will get for upgrading to a 17 inch. The main thing actually can be the screen reality that you will get.

However, the one thing that differs quite a bit in most 17 inches on the market is that 17-inch laptops usually have quite a big power adaptor, which is not a USB C adaptor.

You will have a barrel connector, and this means that you cannot bring a smaller charger. There is a vital importance of the USB C adaptor. Suppose you lost your charger, you can buy or get it quickly in case of a C-type adaptor, but you will have to face some difficulty to get it at ease when it comes to big power adaptors.

Verdict

There are pros and cons to everything. It depends on what task you want to perform on the laptop. For what you need it, does a little extra weight affects you? It all depends on you. To my best, I have compared both the screens.

So, go on with your preference and choice. We can’t commit that you won’t feel comfortable while working on a 17-inch laptop. But it depends on the type of work you are doing and your work habits majorly.

Chris Martin is a professional tech writer. He's been covering tech tutorials, hardware reviews, and more as a professional writer for over seven years now and it doesn't look like he'll be stopping anytime soon! In addition to writing about the latest gadgets on the market, he also covers topics such as how to set up your home network or troubleshoot any computer problems you may have.

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