LG Ultra PC 17: A big, lightweight laptop with graphics pep

LG made a version of its ultra-light laptop that plays video games.

- JARED NEWMAN

LG tends to fly under the radar as a PC maker, yet its laptops— including the recently launched LG Ultra PC 17—are some of the most interesting ones around.

Weighing in at 4.3 pounds, LG’s Ultra is surprisingly light for laptop with a 17-inch display and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 graphics card inside. It’s as if LG sized up its Gram 17 notebook, which at three pounds is perhaps one of the most underappreciated laptops on the market (go.pcworld.com/ unlp), and decided to make a version that plays games.

The result is admittedly less breathtaking than the aforementioned Gram—it doesn’t quite feel like it’s defying physics when you pick it up—but also more practical. The Ultra’s 17-inch screen really shines when you’re using it for a round of Deep Rock Galactic or a run through Hades. While its performance has notable limitations, it’s ultimately a careful balance with portability and battery life.

SPECS AND FEATURES

The LG Ultra we reviewed costs $1,700 on Amazon (go.pcworld. com/17am) and includes the following specs:

• 17-inch 2560x1600 IPS LCD display

• 10th Generation Intel Core i7-10510U “Comet Lake” CPU

• Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 GPU with 4GB VRAM

• 16GB DDR4-2666 RAM

• 512GB NVMe SSD

• Webcam

• Wi-Fi 6

• Leftside: HDMI, USB-A 2.0, 3.5mm headphone jack, MicroSD card slot

• Right side: Laptop lock, gigabit ethernet, USB-A 3.1 (x2), USB-C 3.1