A desktop replacement in the body of a midrange PC, complete with high-end goodies like HDMI, eSATA and even a 10-key number pad. It performs like a desktop, too, mopping the floor with most of the competition. All that and it's one of the least expensive 15-inchers we tested, even with a 2.53-GHz Core 2 Duo processor and 4 GB of RAM. Snap one of these up before Asus realizes what it stumbled onto and ups the cheddar on this surprising overachiever.
HP Pavilion dv5t 
$1,628 
Futuristic metallic design looks cool and resists smudges.Comfortable keyboard.
Sony Vaio VGN-FW198 $2,099
You can't deny Vaio's clean lines and overall good looks, but this fancy lad just doesn't behave as well as its peers.
Dell Studio 15 $1,423 
Aesthetic skews more "cubicle" than "hipster." Hampered by weak gaming performance and awful battery life of just 1.3 hours.
- RAM Size: 4 GB
- Clock Rate: 2.53 GHz