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The market for laptops with 17 inch displays is small, but it's the only size that works for me when using the machine daily. I am looking for a 17" laptop with quality and performance comparable to premium 13" machines, in particular

  • Very high build quality
  • Metal case
  • High quality keyboard
  • At least a recent Core i5 with 3.2 GHz
  • At least 16 GB RAM
  • SSD with at least 256 GB
  • High DPI display
  • Must run Linux without requiring custom kernels or similar hacks
  • Bonus if the keyboard does not have a numpad, which is useless to me and only serves to move the main keys off-center
  • GPU performance is not critical as I have no interest in gaming or graphics work

The build quality part seems to be the most difficult to fulfill; as usual most laptops that are not built by Lenovo, HP or Apple feel like toys rather than heavy-duty tools designed for professional work.

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  • What do you understand under "high-DPI display"? Some people consider FHD on 24" "high-DPI" and some only UHD on 13". So do you want WQHD (1440p), FHD (1080p) or UHD (2160p)? Does price play a role? Do you have any expectations from battery live?
    – SEJPM
    Commented Jun 25, 2016 at 14:16
  • I'm not sure where you've been looking.. But a lot of Lenovo laptops are made from cheap plastic composites that feel anything but metal, and other brands also provide quality build laptops, it's incorrect to specifically single out particular brands as being superior to everything else when it depends on the user's needs
    – Xylius
    Commented Jun 25, 2016 at 23:59
  • What did you choose in the end?
    – Mawg
    Commented Sep 16, 2018 at 10:26

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