Best Windows 7 Laptops, Desktops, and DIY Home or Business PCs

Looking for a new machine running Windows 7? The man who has seen them all rounds up his favorite hardware from the launch.

Suddenly as of late, I’ve been getting a raft of questions about which particular laptop and PC models stand out for use with Windows 7. It must be shopping time, and my guess is that a bunch of you are tired of the aging desktop and notebook products you are using and are now on the hunt for something new. Here, I’ll walk you through the products that I think stand out in this regard, from low-cost netbooks to business laptops, desktops, and the sweetest DIY options out there. And away we go…

Windows 7 Dream Laptop: Acer Aspire AS5738PG

I was asked a few days ago what I thought was the signature Windows 7 notebook, and so I wrote down a set of key specifications and then went about looking for one. Specifically, it had to have good graphics for DirectCompute; it had to have a multi-touch screen for intuitive computing; and, of course, it would help if the PC was affordable. The Acer Aspire AS5738PG proved the best fit on all counts, as it has an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 with 512M dedicated DDR3 graphics memory, an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 15.6-inch widescreen LED display, 320GB hard drive, and a price of $799.99. This is the closest thing to a perfect storm Windows 7 laptop you’ll find.

Top Windows 7 Tablet: HP TX2

One of the things I think folks are going to quickly realize with touch interfaces and notebooks is that current laptop design is difficult to use with these systems because if you use both hands, you tend to push the display back into the table. Holding the display with one hand and then touching it is awkward, but if you have a tablet design you can fold the screen flat and still prod away. Plus, if you are going to use a laptop as a reader a small tablet is better than a big notebook, and one of the things showcased at the Windows 7 launch was a nice Kindle eBook reader. The current best Windows 7 Tablet is the HP TX2, which costs around $800 with a small 12-inch screen, Radeon 3200 graphics and a nice LED backlit display.

Best Business Laptop: Dell Series Z

A lot of companies big and small are starting Windows 7 trials, but don’t really expect to roll the product out for about a year or more (I’m expecting the real wave of Windows 7 machines closer to 2011). This means that manufacturers need a laptop that showcases what laptops will look like in the mainstream a year from now and something that is aggressive on technology. Obviously, this kind of product isn’t cheap at around $2,000 depending on configuration, but it has inductive charging, SSD drives in multiple configurations, and it is arguably the world’s thinnest 16-inch widescreen laptop. In other words, it’s as thin and sexy as anything from Apple and costs about as much as well.

Best Value Laptop Bundle: Costco HP dv6t & All-In-One Printer

Costco is a great place to pick up computer hardware as the vendor has a very liberal return policy and it generally is very difficult to beat its prices. Mind you, you don’t get a lot of help while browsing (well any really) and the choices are limited, but the deals are generally good. Case in point: The combination HP dv6t and printer, which makes a good bundle for a student or small business user. The dv6 is one of a new class of attractive laptops from HP and this one comes with an adequate load-out of baseline features from a 320GB hard drive to 4GB of DDR3 memory. Be aware, however, that as we approach Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving – D-Day for retail shopping) these deals will get a lot better, so be sure to shop around before buying.

Best Windows 7 Netbook: Lenovo S12 29595FU

Netbooks tend to be relatively slow, but actually run rather well with Windows 7, and even better if you have Ion graphics. Ideal screen size is actually 12 inches here, because that size gives you a keyboard you can live with. Unlike most netbooks too, the Lenovo has 2GB of memory and that can make a huge difference in performance along with the Ion graphics capability. At $600, it is a little pricey for a netbook, but hey – you’ll appreciate the lack of compromise. And, actually, given the spec, this is more of a netbook-sized notebook anyway. Sadly, models only come in black at the moment but, thankfully, look great in that color.

Best Windows 7 Gaming Desktop: Alienware Aurora w/ATI 5870

Right now there is only one DirectX 11 card available at market and it is the AMD/ATI Radeon HD 5870. I’m told that Dell has pretty much cornered the market right now for this card and it is offered on their Aurora line which starts at $1299, with the card adding another $250 to the price. This is an Intel I7 based system and it is liquid cooled with a very clean looking case and, for a gaming system, affordable SRP. It’s also a MicroATX form factor so you can put it on your desk and it won’t take up much room.

Best Windows 7 All-In-One PC: HP TouchSmart 300z

This is newly released and it has a low price ($800) for an all-in-one with a touchscreen, a good loadout, ATI Radeon 3200 graphics, and the unique HP TouchSmart interface that really showcases this technology. HP was one of the earliest OEMs working on touchscreen interfaces and it shows in this product, which you can also spec up with more memory and faster processors, although it works just fine in its base entry-level configuration. Good looking and well priced, it’s no surprise that a TouchSmart is what Microsoft used to showcase Windows 7 during the operating system’s beta period.

Top Windows 7 System for DIY Types: Zotac IONITX + Antec Open-Air Skeleton Case

This is actually the most fun I’ve had building a PC in a long time. It takes about 45 minutes to assemble if you get the board with the built-in power supply (because you have to remove the one in the case), less if you don’t. With shipping and all of the parts, the system will set you back around $600 depending on drives and memory configuration. The case costs $94 and the board which includes the dual core Atom processor, NVIDIA Ion Graphics, wired and wireless LAN, and power supply goes for $189. But Windows 7 loves this system configuration, the machine is quiet, performance is adequate, and it pulls about 30 watts of power so it’s very green as well without sacrificing on aesthetics either. An OEM copy of Windows 7 Home Premium costs about $100 (this is what you get when you build your own system). I’ve built three of these and really enjoy messing with them.

Hottest Windows 7 Product: Dell 9.99mm-thin Adamo

Even though Dell hasn’t officially launched this product yet, Microsoft showcased it on both the Today Show and at the Windows 7 launch event, which means the launch is imminent. I’m guessing before black Friday and I’ll cover the system at length when it debuts and I can share details. But this is the MacBook Air for the Windows 7 set and no other Windows 7 product is cooler.

Wrapping Up

I’m having a lot of fun with my Windows 7 test rigs and, man – I’ll never go back to Vista or XP after this. Happily, prices on Windows 7 are likely to get really aggressive in December as OEMs try to eliminate any excess inventory before year-end, meaning you’re liable to get the chance to play around with the operating system soon if you haven’t had the chance to do so yet as well. Best Buy and Costco are both good places to look for deals and I’ve seen Best Buy actually undercut Wall-Mart’s prices on occasion. However, Wall-Mart typically has a super cheap laptop as a loss leader to help drive in-store traffic around Black Friday, so watch for that if you are looking for a really aggressive deal. Rumor is it’s a $300 Windows 7 HP laptop this year.

Have fun shopping!