I have a 17 inch. It's an Dell Inspiron 1721 I've had since 2007. It's running Windows 8.1 Pro and I've upgraded the CPU to to 2.0 Ghz and the Ram to 4GB. Its so big there's space for another hard drive. I'm thinking of installing another HD and putting Linux on it so I can run either Linux or Windows.
I like that wherever I go I pretty much got a desktop sized monitor but I don't like that I cant chill comfortably on my bed and use it because of the size. My next laptop will probably be in the size range you're considering.
Pros: Large screen for watching movies, Full Keyboard, Easily upgradable, Multiple USB, and S-Video
Cons: Uncomfortable while in bed
I love this laptop.
