this multimedia laptop combines excellent performance at a good price. The Dell Studio XPS 16 received a small update recently, and it now includes a 2.13 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 3 GB of memory, a 250 GB hard drive and an ATI Mobility Radeon HD graphics card. Most experts test a previous version with a slower processor and Windows Vista, but reviews are favorable overall, and the revamped Dell Studio XPS 16 with Windows 7 should perform just as well -- if not better.

love the 1080p LCD widescreen, but that is a $250 upgrade on all but the top-of-the-line model. The backlit keyboard also...