Minimize me. Just announced, already reviewed by Notebookcheck. In this article we present you an in depth review of the new high end mobile graphics card, the Nvidia GeForce GTX 280M and compare its performance to the AMD Mobility Radeon HD 4870.

With a lot of hot… At the same time nVidia launched the Geforce GTX 280M graphic cards, the barebone manufacturer Clevo introduces the M980NU notebook. Thereby this 18.4 inch desktop replacement notebook is able to host most up-to-date hardware, e.g., the mobile quad-core processors from Intel or up to two of the new GTX 280M graphic cards in SLI connection. We had the opportunity to take a closer look at a first pre-sample.

Infusion Reloaded. Following the Asus M50V, the much anticipated M70V finally became available but will it be able to compete with other well known manufacturers? The “inner workings” of the M70V distinguishes itself from its predecessor, the M50V model, by being built with a Core 2 Duo P8600 with 2.4 GHz. However, even with a 17-inch screen, the M70V has been downgraded to 1440x900, compared to the M50V’s 15-inch screen displaying 1680x1050 pixels.

Netbooks? No thanks! Mini-notebooks, as before, define the image of the current retail charts. Therefore it can't be excluded that even die-hard business users won't come into temptation in view of the partly very low acquisition price. With high requirements on for instance input devices or ports, most mini-notebooks do not look particularly good, though. Lenovo wants to fish with the ThinkPad X200s exactly in this target group for customers.

The Neverending Story… After all the Eee PC models Asus has released since a year (Eee 701, Eee PC 901, Eee PC 1000H, Eee PC S101), the trend continues without stop. The Eee, as father of the mini notebook hype, is still very popular. Furthermore, the evolution of the mini notebooks, which also the Eee PC series has gone through, is easily traceable.

Gentle, yet brilliant entertainer. Now, we got hold of the second representative of the new Dell Studio XPS series for a review. The Studio XPS 16 alias Studio XPS 1640 offers with a 16'' inch display, alternatively in 720p HD or 1080p full-HD resolution, a solid equipment for multimedia applications of all kind. Especially the model with higher resolution panel, which the first time utilizes RGB-LED technology in 'edge-to-edge'-design already known of the new MacBooks, deserves closer attention.

Not everything that shines is gold… but what if it is? The design, or to be more precise, the surface of the laptops with the high gloss finish, is the same for all the new notebooks from Asus. We had the chance to take a closer look at the new models from Asus, like, for example, the Eee T91, the S101, the Lamborghini VX5 and the new W90 gaming machine and here is what we found.

Crossfire for Everyone. Even if the idea of two graphic cards in one notebook was primarily reserved for high performance bolides, gradually you find models with a dual graphic solution in low priced starting devices. Theoretically, the Crossfire technology from ATI makes it possible to operate two different GPUs parallel to one another. In the following review, you can read of which use the combination of two HD3470 graphic cards are.

Multimedia Talent from Asus. Even after the manufacturer Asus had got the stone rolling in the netbook sector with its Eee PC 701 only just a year ago and could steadfastly compete with well-known opponents like Acer, MSI, Fujitsu Siemes, etc., the Asian manufacturer Asus didn't only concentrate on improving the Eee PC, but has also expedited some things in the 15 and 17 inch sector.

Glitz and Glamour. Although the classical Eee 1000H notebook rated first class in our tests and still belongs to the leading models, its design could never really convince. After Samsung launched a serious competitor with the NC10, Asus now counters: The Eee PC S101 especially addresses netbook users who appreciate a good design.

Hoidy-Toidy. If you are familiar with the term "netbook", the first thing you probably think of is the Asus Eee PC. Actually, there is a whole series of netbooks from other brands that also have their good qualities. For those who like well designed netbooks, the HP Compaq Mini 701eg should stand out in front of the crowd, since it looks, in comparison to some more clumsy colleagues, extremely good. How the chic netbook scored in an extensive review, you can read here.

1080p on one netbook - Up till now, not a single netbook could really fully convince us – especially the very large performance cut backs didn't enduringly satisfy us. Nvidia promises improvement and bestows us with the Ion range as a proof of concept, which pairs Intels energy saving marvel with a GeForce 9400 M. We received a small black box which came with one of the 1.6 GHz powerful (?) Atom combined with the 9400M in question, 2 GB RAM and a 160 GB hard disk and garnished with all sorts of connection possibilities. In this editorial, we devote ourselves now to the performance of this combination.

Performance at any costs? A solid state drive is probably the best storage medium for a notebook from a technical point of view. Long life, low weight, low power drain and an extremely fast access rate make solid state drives to a status symbol of notebook fans. Soaring prices and low capacities avert a larger penetration of the market, though. We have received an engineering sample from Intel for testing purposes and put the 80 GB SSD to a comparison test with one from the standard range (250 GB, 5400 rpm). The test device is an aluminum top-version MacBook with 2.4 GHz, 4 GB DDR3 RAM and 9400M.

I only want to play… Alienware always offers high performance hardware for the desktop as well as for the notebook gamer, for a respective price, it shall be understood. The Alienware M17 is currently one of the most efficient available notebooks from the Alienware product range. It feels very comfortable, especially in high resolution and detail levels, being equipped with an Intel Quad-Core CPU and two ATI Radeon 3870 graphic cards in a crossfire arrangement. If it weren't for calibers like Crysis or GTA IV…

Performance to go. For the time being two models constitute the new Studio XPS series. On the one hand a mobile 13 inch notebook, which can not only be seen as a persistent office notebook, but also as rather powerful multimedia-laptop, because it is equipped with an nVidia Hybrid SLI graphics. On the other hand a classical 16 inch multimedia notebook with a big field of application is offered. At first we will look at the Studio XPS 13, which is especially interesting because it combines performance and durability.

The Aspire 6930G is another Acer notebook that could be interesting for hobby-gamers with limited budget. If you are looking for a budget multimedia laptop with 15 or 16 inch screen, you could consider this notebook along with the similar Aspire 6935G and Aspire 5930G. All three of them are equipped with a GeForce 9600M GT video card with GDDR3 VRAM, and are rather reasonable.

Performance meets Design. Since the presentation of Dell's XPS notebook series, the fan community of efficient multimedia notebooks always followed the launching of new models with a vast amount of interest. This time Dell also made it especially suspenseful in not only changing their assortment but, what's more, with a reorientation of the devices in its range. Dell refers to the considerably higher quality multimedia-orientation of the new XPS 13 and XPS16 models with the additional Studio.

First Class Travelling, the second. The laptop producer Toshiba equips the Portégé decently and sticks to the strengths that we found in our review of March 2008. Thankfully, the worksmanship, the design and the material used have not been changed. Even on the hardware side, the processor, the graphics card, and the RAM were not changed much. In this review you will find out what has changed.

Recently Samsung launched a number of new notebooks based on the Montevina platform. The Koreans are going to expand and penetrate new markets, foremost the US market. We want to check whether these new laptops are likely to survive in competition with other notebooks. Let's start with the compact and mobile 12 inch notebook, the Samsung Q210.

High gloss Sandwich. Almost every manufacturer has them in their series. 10 inch netbooks at an absolutely attractive starting price. LG sends the X110 into the race, a chic mini-notebook with the usual hardware equipment. In the following editorial, you can discover where its strengths - but also its weak points are.

It doesn't always have to be an Eee… There's no question, the Eee 1000H from Asus can convince in many ways and sets the staff for its competitors very high. But, one of the hottest candidates to debase the Eee is the Samsung NC20 netbook. It offers an equally convincing mobility with the same built in hardware and what's more - a very chic appearance. In this regard, the NC10 can even top the Eee.

Amilo in compact form. Triggered by the release of the Asus Eee PCs, the trend towards small netbooks is pretty much unstoppable. New developers are jumping on the bandwagon every day, offering ever more alternatives to the netbook classic Eee PC. How the Amilo Mini Ui3520 compares, and all the results our test sample achieved in comparison to its netbook colleagues will be seen in the following review.

Netbook or not, that is the question. After all the notebooks on the market have steadily added on functions in the last few years, many users have often called into question the necessity of dozens of features, the upcoming netbooks have reconsidered this trend. Equipped with only the most important and basic functions, they found an enormous following. Dell has solved the frequent problem of the screens being to small and unworkable with a, let's say 12" netbook, even though the official nomenclature contradicts it.

Trendsetter. Once, the first Eee PC from Asus, equipped with a 7 inch display, set the long-lasting netbook hype in motion. The netbooks rapidly kept on being perfected. At first, a 9 inch screen provided for a bonus of overview until almost all netbooks were equipped with a 10" display. Asus was always in the front row and characterized the development of the netbooks like no other manufacturer.

Business Trabant. Latitude E6500 and E5500 – those are the names for Dells 15.4 inch workhorses. The first digit doesn't apply to various form factors, as you might presume. No, it stands for the case type. While the E6xxx models try to make bonus points with a robust aluminum case, the E5xxx notebooks set on a plastic case. This results in a slightly bulky chassis, but affects the price of the notebook favorably, though.

In the following editorial we are going to occupy ourselves with the pro cards à la Quadro and FireGL which are mainly integrated in mobile work stations and professional notebooks. These, combined with professional applications based on GL, are said to be especially efficient.

Have you ever asked yourself if your notebook can play GTA 4 smoothly? Or if Crysis runs in high details? We've tested top up-to-date games with contemporary graphic cards so that you can evaluate the strength of your GPU or rather which graphic card you should buy.

179.28 for almost all mobile GeForce cards. NVIDIA is releasing today the first in a series of laptop graphics drivers which is compatible with almost all recent notebooks. The new driver promises a lot: bug fixes, improvements in performance, CUDA and PhysX support. In this review, you will find out how the new graphics driver performed when it was used to run different NVIDIA graphics cards and play the latest games on them.