I say succumb, because with a laptop of these beast-like dimensions it seems that the only response one could viably have would be one of submission. One of the first things iGadget Life do in their review with their Qosmio G40 is stack a Eee Pc and Macbook on it… nice.

Although initially sceptical about (intimidated by? ;)) the bulk of the laptop and the array of distractions that are revealed once the lid is up and you are greeted with a vast white expanse, a moment to establish familiarity with the hardware and specs reveals the Qosmio for the “entertainment powerhouse” it is.

In reference to the harman/kardon setup, “The sound is just stunning, I have never heard such quality audio come from a laptop, and everybody that heard it was just blown away by the quality.”

Then there is the gorgeous 17 inch screen with HD capability, “The quality is amazing.”

The conclusion is one of high praise, despite admitting that the weight is an issue, a laptop by name doesn’t necessarily mean ‘portable’. However, this did little to quell the belief that “It may not be the best looking of laptops, but feature-wise, that really doesn’t matter, as it wipes the floor with everything I have previously seen.”

Like your laptops fuller of body, and broader of screen? Well it seems that, according to pcadvisor.co.uk anyway, the Toshiba Satellite Pro P300-14P could be the laptop for you.

You see, not only is the beast fitted with a 17inch screen, and available for under £400, but has a particularly impressive sound system, and all the “major facilities you could ever need from a full-size laptop”. With plenty of USB ports, FireWire, S-video out for connection to a TV, plus ExpressCard and SD Card expansion ports, as the boys say – “you feel like you’re getting a lot of laptop for your money”.

Of course, there are negatives – but although “the Toshiba Satellite Pro P300-14P’s WorldBench 6 real-world speed score of 59 is one of the lower scores even at this price point,” pcadvisor.co.uk are quick to point out an easy way of fixing the problem.

For more, make sure to pop over to the site yourself, and have a good look at the review. Final score by the way… A distinctly favourable 4 out of 5.