High-end laptops

8. Toshiba Satellite P855-32G - £650 (around AU$1,000/US$1,030)

The Toshiba P855 is one of the better conventional laptops we've seen of late, offering a lot of performance for a relatively small price tag. Though it's in the high-end section of this roundup, it's really more of a mid-range laptop in terms of its price.
Sporting a third-generation 2.5GHz Intel Core i5-3201M and 8GB of RAM, the P855 is certainly no slouch. Its bright screen, Nvidia GeForce GT 630M graphics card and clear Harmon Kardon speakers mean this is the perfect home entertainment powerhouse.

9. Asus N56V - £800/US$900 (around AU$1,220)

Beneath the stylish exterior of the Asus N56V, there lies a sleeping beast - a brand new Intel Core i7-3720QM 2.6GHz processor. This new hardware means staggeringly fast load and response times, unfaltered HD video playback, seamless photo editing and even high frame rate gaming.
It features dedicated graphics and a strong battery life compared to its rivals, along with clear Bang & Olufsen speakers and easy to use input options. An impressive high-end machine that handles multitasking well.

10. Sony Vaio S Series 13P - £950/US$1,000 (around AU$1,450)

The features of this laptop, not to mention the asking price, establish the Sony Vaio S Series 13P in the top tier of ultra-portable, ultra-premium notebooks. The boxy, executive design might not appeal to all, but usability and portability are enviable.
If you need a powerful, portable business machine, the Sony Vaio S Series 13P should be topping your list. But if you want a media machine for streaming movies and so on, look elsewhere.

11. Apple MacBook Pro 13-inch - £1,000/AU$1,350/US$1,200

The mid-2012 MacBook Pro 13-inch is a significant step up from its older brother. The new processors and their improved graphical capabilities give it a considerable power boost over its predecessor, and USB 3.0 ports enable it to connect with high-speed storage peripherals.
The 13-inch MacBook Pro is ideal for those who need a little more configurability and storage than the MacBook Air can offer, but also need a very portable machine. Creative professionals and gaming enthusiasts might be better off with a 15-inch MacBook Pro, though.

12. Dell XPS 15 - £1,280/AU$2,000/US$1,600

While the Dell XPS 15 doesn't have the skinny credentials to qualify as an Ultrabook, it boasts a huge spec sheet, and an incredible hardware configuration inside a great-looking chassis. We're not sure we've seen anything as impressive on a PC as its Corning Gorilla Glass, Full HD display, though it doesn't quite have the "wow" factor of the MacBook Pro with Retina display.
If you're looking for a high-end PC that marries good looks and superb performance, and are more Windows than Mac, then you really shouldn't look any further than the Dell XPS 15.

13. Apple MacBook Pro with Retina display - £1,800/AU$2,500/US$2,200

The new Apple MacBook Pro's most exciting new feature is, of course, its Retina display. With a 2880 x 1800 resolution at 220 pixels per inch, it crams over 5.1 million pixels into its 15.4-inch screen. That's over three million more than an HD TV.
However, it does mean that after-market upgrades are almost impossible, and sacrifices have been made, such as the lack of a hard drive, optical drive and Ethernet or FireWire 800 ports. Clearly aimed at video editors, photographers and graphics professionals, the Retina screen is beautiful, but the laptop's high price tag will put some off.