Top 10 Notebook for over $2.500

The cost of high powered notebooks may have come down in recent years, but it's still possible to spend thousands of dollars on a machine that, quite frankly, might not be any better than something priced half as much. What follows is a list of our top 10 $2500+ notebooks, all from vendors you can trust, all with tremendous performance.

It's important to keep in mind that while we've chosen powerful configurations for each laptop reviewed, there are usually other options available, so it pays to do your own research as well.

Finally, we'd like to give a shoutout to the Dell Precision M6400 and the HP Elitebook 8730w, two powerful machines that just didn't make the cut.

10. MacBook Air

Only on a list of truly premier laptops could the MacBook Air just squeak into the top 10. At .76" thick and with a weight of 3lbs, this extremely stylish notebook is still looking good and a joy to carry around. The 13.3" frame sports a rather lackluster (for this crowd) 1280x800 resolution, and the 1.86GHz Intel Core 2 Duo doesn't overly impress and is probably part of the reason the battery life is under 3 hours. On the other hand, the 2GB of DDR3 RAM should be sufficient for most tasks, and the 128GB drive is generously sized for an SSD. It also comes with a dedicated nVidia GeForce 9400M 256MB. To fit all this into such a small laptop is pretty impressive, but this list is about very impressive laptops, and all that's only good enough to land the MBA a #10 spot. As an aside, it doesn't help that there's a mere 1 USB port and 1 Mini DisplayPort on the whole thing. But to be fair, with a cost of $2500 (+$100 if you want the Mac SuperDrive, which you probably will since the MBA has no internal optical drive), it only just makes our price bottom line.

9. Sony VAIO VGN-TT190

One of the reasons the MBA barely makes the top 10 is because of ultraportables like this VAIO TT. With merely 11.1" of screen it brings a 1366x768 resolution to the party, and it weighs in a shade under the MBA at 2.87lbs. It has 4GB DDR3 RAM and the Intel Core 2 Duo SU9400 1.40GHz helps keep the power consumption down, resulting in up to 7.5 (expect more like 6) hours of battery life. There's no dedicated GPU and the 160GB 5400RPM HDD is a little slower than we'd like, however there is a $600 upgrade for a 128GB SSD which we didn't select. Still, with 2USB ports, HDMI and VGA for your video outputting needs, and a Blu-ray R/W drive for your video inputting needs, this VAIO is a pretty powerful ultraportable for only $2775. It's also important to note that this machine is WWAN capable if you want it to be.

8. Lenovo ThinkPad W700

This monster of a desktop replacement will consume a large portion of your desk, although the weight of 8.3lbs actually seems light when distributed over all that computer. It packs a 17" display and a large 1920x1200 resolution, along with an Intel Core 2 Extreme X9100 3.06GHz and 4GB DDR3 RAM. There is a dedicated nVidia Quadro FX3700M 1GB GPU and dual 320GB HDDs for you to store all the movies and games you could possibly need. This notebook is at least partially engineered for designers too, with an integrated Wacom digitizer and color calibrator. All in all it's a very capable computer, if a fairly bulky one, and what keeps it high up on the list is just the price. The list price for a unit spec'd up like this on Lenovo's website is $5163, although it's currently marked down to a mere $4329.

7. Sony VAIO VGN-AW190

Unlike the ultraportable TT series, the VAIO AW series is designed for multimedia use, and the AW190 is an excellent example. The 18.4", 8.8lb notebook provides an HD ready 1920x1080 (1080p) resolution. Our review model is powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo T9400 2.53GHz, although there was an option for a 2.8GHz T9600 for $300 that we eschewed. One reason why we passed on the upgrade was because we opted for a whopping 8GB of DDR2 RAM instead, which we expected to more than make up the difference. In conjunction with 1TB of HDD (sadly at 4200RPM, although it's possible to downgrade to 640GB 7200RPM if you'd prefer it), this gave our VIAO some pretty big numbers to brag about. It makes use of an nVidia GeForce 9600M 512MB to power the graphics. If that's not enough for you, we should tell you that it comes with Blu-ray R/W, the display supports 100% of the Adobe color gamut, it has an embedded TV tuner and (but of course) an HDMI port as well. One big, gaping downside of this laptop however is the battery life, rated by Sony themselves at an abysmal 1-2.5 hours, so you'll want to keep this baby plugged in at all times. All this can be yours for $3318.

6. Toshiba Qosmio X305-Q708

This gaming laptop has a lot going for it. The 17" (1680x1050) display packs a nice resolution, if not the nicest. More importantly, it comes packing an Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9300 (2.53GHz), 4GB DDR3 RAM, and dual 512MB nVidia GeForce 9800M GPUs. It's important to note that there is also an integrated graphics card, and that the X305 makes use of SLI, allowing you to switch between integrated and dedicated graphics to save battery. It also has both a 320GB 7200RPM HDD and a 128GB SSD, providing ample and speedy data storage. The two typical problem specs with gaming laptops are the weight and the battery life, and at 9.04lbs and around 1.5 hours respectively you can see this laptop was not spared. There's also WiFi and Bluetooth and an eSATA/USB port to go along with 3 standard USB ports. This kind of gaming power isn't cheap, but you are getting a very powerful machine for your $4200 investment.

5. MacBook Pro (15")

It's rare when you can call a MacBook good value for performance without even considering style (which it of course has in spades), but the MBP actually stands out pretty strongly here. The resolution on the 15" screen is just average at 1440x900, but the Intel Core 2 Duo 2.5GHz is competitive and the 4GB DDR3 RAM is strong. We upgraded the respectable 320GB HDD to 7200RPM from 5400RPM for $50, but ignored the $500 SSD option. The MBP packs a capable nVidia 9600M 512MB GPU, and can last around five hours running on battery thanks in part to built in support for switching between dedicated and integrated graphics. It weighs 5.5 lbs and features 2USB ports, a FireWire800 port, a Mini DisplayPort, and an ExpressCard slot. All told, the 15" MacBook pro strides the line between the clunking desktop replacements and the lightly powered ultraportables with grace and dignity. More to the point, the price is right in the middle too, offering a taste of both worlds for just $2550.

4. Lenovo X301

Returning to the true ultraportables for a moment, we have the 13.3" Lenovo X301. It features an excellent resolution for its size (1440x900) and is fairly lightweight, tipping the scales at a meager 3.3lbs. The processor is an efficient Intel Core 2 Duo SU9400 (1.4GHz), although it only bumps the battery life to around 3.5 hours. We were able to throw in 3GB RAM and a 64GB SSD, to go along with the standard Webcam, Bluetooth and WiFi, for a reasonable (for this price range anyway) price of $2985. If that's not enough storage space, you can double the SSD size for $400, although unfortunately there is no option for a dedicated GPU. And as far as design, it's a ThinkPad, so you know you're getting something sturdy with lots of black. We should add that we were particularly fond of the X301's superb keyboard, and it's nice that it has 3 USB ports. This is definitely a business person's type of laptop.

3. Lenovo IdeaPad Y730 - 40523EU

This 17" (1920x1200) offering from Lenovo gives you plenty of power for gaming or multimedia. It runs Windows Vista Ultimate and wields an Intel Core 2 Extreme X9100 3.06GHz with 4GB DDR3 RAM, which means it can do almost anything you'd want it to. Given those spectacular specs it's a slight letdown to have merely a single 320GB 5400RPM HDD, but the ATI Mobility Radeon 3650 512MB GPU is fine, and the whole package together is still very impressive. It also features a Blu-ray drive as well as Bluetooth and WiFi. The weight isn't bad for such a powerful laptop at 8.05lbs, although it's still quite heavy, and while Lenovo doesn't rate the 6-cell battery we would guess it'll net you between 2-3 hours. The list price for this item is $3499, although it's currently marked down to a more affordable $3199. We're not sure if this is a selling point or not, but we felt we should mention the cover is a glossy orange.

2. Toshiba Portege R600

We've already seen an 11" and a 13" ultraportable, and now here comes Toshiba with a 12.1" entry. The resolution isn't bad for the size at 1280x800, but that's hardly the best part. With the Intel Core 2 Duo SU9400 1.4GHz powering it, this laptop is rated at up to 7.53 hours of battery life (although you should expect a little less). It comes with 3GB DDR2 RAM and a 128GB SSD. There's no dedicated GPU so the graphics will only be average at best, but with a weight of only 2.4lbs you'll have so much fun just picking this laptop up with one hand that you'll forgive it a few slight omissions. It has 1 USB/eSATA port to go along with 2USB ports too. This laptop will run you $3000, but if portability is your thing, you won't find a better option.

1. Dell XPS M1730

Ah, the customizability of Dell. There seems to be no limit to what you can do with the 17" (1920x1200 standard) M1730, and the price can range dramatically. We selected a review model which sported an Intel Core 2 Extreme X9000 2.8GHz (which Dell said was overclockable to 3.4GHz, joy) and 4GB DDR2 RAM. For storage we got dual 320GB 7200RPM HDDs, and for graphics we chose dual nVidia GeForce 8700M GT 512MB GPUs. The M1730 is graced with a generous sampling of ports, including 4USB, DVI, HDMI, FireWire, S-video and ExpressCard, and sports the standard Bluetooth/WiFi and webcam. You can also get Blu-ray and even WWAN! While many laptops of this size and strength give up on battery life, Dell has opted for a 9-cell battery, giving the notebook half a chance at a life away from home. Of course, such a huge battery has its side effects, and the 10.6lb weight makes it very unlikely you'll choose to travel much with it, battery life or no battery life. If you're not convinced, we'd like to next inform you that it's about 2" thick, or nearly as thick as 3 MacBook Airs. Nevertheless, if you can get over the weight issue and see the computer for what it really is on the inside, you will see a premium computer. The price on Dell's website lists it at $2999 for this specification (reduced from $3648), and you'll be hard pressed to find a more powerful notebook anywhere for that price.