Reviews

Wide, light, and enduring…Acer brings into play a format so far untypical of netbooks with the 11.6" Aspire One 751 and calls it a "Widescreen Netbook". Image and sound are supposed to be rendered especially "breath-taking" through this niche-modell, not leaving anything to be desired. Our review shows how the new form factor acquits itself in practice and compared to the competition.

Elegance in 12.1 inches. With the Asus N20A we can introduce another of the currently rather popular mini-notebooks. Developed for the consumer market, for this 12.1-inch subnotebook Asus has amongst other things also attached particular importance to elegant looks. You can find out whether the N20A can deliver on what its looks promise in the following test report.

Welcome to the third dimension. The Gyration Air Mouse GO plus is a mixture of a normal mouse, remote control and air mouse (see Nintendo Wii), which directly competes with the already longer available Logitech MX Air. Read in our review about how the Air Mouse cuts off in the single exercises.

The Frugal One. With the Aspire One A110/ A150, Acer has passed other Asus EeePC clones last year and reached the Netbook throne. It seems the Taiwanese company has found the right price-performance mix as they sold more and more items without any spectacular aspect and reached a market share of 37 %. With new additions, the product mix covers a wide spectrum of Netbook segment. We had reviewed the immediate successors Aspire One D150 and Aspire One 531 and now focus on the Acer Aspire One D250. Our review shows the improvements built into the model and how it fares with competitors.

Pocket Size. An ultra-compact and light notebook as a permanent chaperone, perpetual access to internet, never again computer-free time? Sony also makes their contribution to make this lifestyle reality come true with its VGN-P series in an eight inch format and hopes that they will attract a wide range of potential buyers with their stylistic mini-devices. We are taking a closer look at the white Sony Vaio VGN-P21Z in the following review.

Media Artist. Dell offers the new Studio 1555 models at a competitive price of 499.00 Euros and also promotes these accordingly. For this seeming bargain price you get a rather meager equipped basic version, though. But if you configure it well-considered, you still can achieve an attractive price for value ratio. Where the strengths, or rather the weaknesses of the low-priced multimedia starter are found should be uncovered in this extensive test.

Endurance Runner. Acer would like to ensure extensive mobility with the new "Timeline" models. This is implemented through the form of an especially flat case, as well as through above-average battery life. Thanks to energy-saving hardware components, a high-capacity battery, and last but not least the "PowerSmart" function, a battery life of more than 9 hours can be realized. Find out here what else the attractive 14" has to offer.

Sheer Mulitmedia in 15.6 inches Already at first sight, the Acer Aspire 5935G's designated application field was obvious. This does not only apply to the design, which pleases with typical multimedia control elements. No, also the other components are completely orientated on this field, for instance the glossy display in 16:9 cinematic format, the BluRay drive option and the Dolby surround audio system with subwoofer.

AMD Multimedia Entertainment. The Acer Aspire 5536G presents itself as fully orientated on multimedia. Therefore the glossy Acer CrystalBrite TFT monitor is tailored for the standard 16:9 cinematic format. A combination of a Realtek AL C888 soundcard and a Dolby optimized surround system with two built-in Acer 3DSonic stereo loudspeakers provide for a good sound. Equipped with an ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 graphic card and HDMI support, you can also enjoy movies on external monitors in full-HD.

Multimedia For Everybody. The dv6 series by the American manufacturer Hewlett-Packard scores with an exciting price/performance-ratio. All the series' models are positioned well below the mark of 1000 Euros, and there is variant by all means suited for gaming: the model dv6-1140eg, equipped with an ATI 4650 graphics card. Also an obligation for multimedia users: a 15.6" HD display in the 16:9 format.

15 inch DTR Gaming. A barebone from the Taiwanese manufacturer Clevo, which comes with a 15 inch display but can be configured with high-performance hardware components, is harbored behind the mySN XMG5 from the German notebook reseller Schenker Notebooks. Efficient dual or quad core CPUs from Intel can be selected from just like the GTX 260M graphic card from Nvidia, currently still the number two, behind the GTX 280M of the same batch from the Californian GPU manufacturer.

The Enduring One Asus offers an almost unmanageable range of mini-netbooks by now. One among the many, the Asus Eee PC 1000HE "netbook", now shines with Intel's updated N280 Atom CPU and a 6-cell battery, making it an attractive endurance runner variant. Our review clarifies whether or not it indeed reaches the grandiosely announced battery life of 9.5 hours, and how the mini-notebook performs in comparison to the competition...

Small, lightweight, and a lot of storage space. This is how one could describe the new external 2.5" hard disk from Toshiba. 465GB of usable space and a USB 2.0 port are supposed to convince for less than 120 Euros. You can read how the HDD comes off in the following review.

Candid Camera! Especially notebook users are thrilled when buying a new mobile computer, which almost always has an integrated webcam ex-factory. The built-in lenses are usually meant to be used exclusively for video telephony and fail in adverse conditions even at this task. But what does it look like with external high-quality hardware? If the partly very expensive devices are worth their money will be revealed in the following test.

Occasional Gamer. With the launch of the GX and GT series, MSI continues to take greater control of the gaming sector. The company has a wide product range, which helps in fulfilling the needs of the many enthusiastic gamers, who enjoy playing on the laptop. Whether the buyer chooses a big, high performance gaming machine or a smaller, far more handy, but still good performance laptop, like the MSI GX 400, he/she is almost always certain to find the perfect laptop in MSI's laptops' category.

Topless. Apple hasn't necessarily changed their new models to a glossy display in an "edge-to-edge" design for an unrestricted rejoicing of their fan community. While multimedia users and private users probably can still yet neglect the disadvantages of such a screen, it looks different for professional users who spend a whole, long day in front of the device. Apple also has a matt display alternative for these customers, but only in a bigger 17 inch MacBook Pro (MBP).

Expensive piece of jewelery. Despite the economic crisis and boom of netbooks, some manufacturers still dare to develop notebooks to fulfill the wishes of customers wanting something special. With the Adamo 13 by Dell, they now offer the first model from a new series, which is out-of-line from the usual product range and presented on an own website. While it is slim, light-weight and comes with a high standard of design, the technical properties shall also not get a raw deal. To find out whether you can really fall in love with this designer piece made from glass and aluminum, as Dell promises, read the following review.

Glitz and Glamour. HP promises "chic design and high end entertainment" with the HDX16. In fact you're dazzled by all of the high gloss and chrome surfaces when opening the laptop. The reflective 16-inch display with full HD resolution, as well the touchpad, which could also have been a makeup mirror, contribute their parts equally. Equipped with a broad range of interfaces as well as solid hardware components (Core 2 Duo CPU, 9600M GT graphics) the laptop leaves little to be desired when it comes to multimedia.

Netbook from Toshiba. The fight for netbook-market shares goes on. It might be that every renowned notebook manufacturer has, in the meantime, brought one or even more netbook models onto the market but the demand for mini-notebooks doesn't appear to come to a stop. One model is followed by the next. If Toshiba's NB-100 can stand out from the broad mass of netbooks and presents an enrichment for the already very big netbook range or rather goes with the flow, is unveiled in this test report.

12.1" dressed in black Our editorial department received another one of the currently popular mini-notebooks in the 12.1" format: the HP Compaq 2230s. You will find out how well the laptop (developed primarily for usage in companies of small and medium size) satisfies the requirements of a business-device in the following review.

Heir to the Throne? Acer already landed a direct hit with the first Aspire One A110, which became the best-selling netbook of 2008. As these tiny devices have provided a proper boost to the balances of many manufacturers in such a short time it is no surprise that Acer also wants to see other models meet the same success of the A110 with future models. Following the Aspire One D150, the Taiwanese manufacturer brings another compact 10-incher onto the market with the Aspire One 531.

Bargain for Gamers. ATI obviously has hit a captivating homerun with the 4600 series. Good performance data and a sizeable price advantage compared to Nvidia's competition make the hardware especially interesting for gaming starters. The German reseller Schenker Notebooks is, for instance, at the very front, bringing out a compact 15.6 inch notebook based on the Compal HLB Barebone with their MG6. We have taken a closer look at the device with an ATI Mobility Radeon HD4650 and Intel Core 2 Duo T9800 with 2.9 GHz.

Netbook with style. Following the Mini 2133 and the Mini 701, HP's most recent netbook release has been available for some time now, featuring an updated Intel Atom CPU and a 10.1" LED display in order to fulfill current standards. One hardly finds any innovations compared to the present models, apart from the chassis' design. The reflecting display, designed in an edge-to-edge way, remains and does not let the HP Mini 2140 appear to be "business-like" at all.

Access to the World Wide Web anywhere, anytime?Having internet connectivity without being bound to a modem or telephone jack is the new freedom discussed in detail within this article. Development, technology, hardware, and comparitive tests will provide suggestions, hints, and tips for choosing notebooks and notebook accessories for internet connectivity via GPRS/UMTS

MSI showed some good intuition and in the Q1 of 2009 brought into their range numoerous notebooks with potent GPUs. MSI EX625 was the first laptop with ATI 4600 series graphics card actually available on our market. After reviewing it, we can say thet MSI overtook its rivals in the technology race and catched up with them on the field of design.

Subnotebook, Netbook or Something in between? AMD has given the starting signal for the new category of slim, light and low cost subnotebooks with the Athlon Neo MV-40. The HP Pavilion dv2, which system is built on the AMD Yukon range, is now available as the first representative. Can the precusor-model of a new category meet the demands...?

Ultra-Portable at 12.1-inches? With extensive communications equipment, a 12.1" screen and weighing in at around 2 kilos, the Esprimo Mobile U9210 targets travelling professionals. You can find out how far this laptop meets such a person's requirements in our test report.

Aluminum Starter Brick. The currently smallest aluminum MacBook with 2.0 GHz Core 2 Duo, 160 GB HDD and without keyboard lighting in review. Does the economical configuration suffice or should you dig considerably deeper in your pocket for the 2.4 GHz version?

Phased-Out Model The business subnotebook Esprimo Mobile U9200 is on sale for 400 – 500 Euros and offers, thanks to Pentium dual core, a considerably better performance, a brilliant and matt 12 " screen at a weight short of 2kg. You will discover if the peewee is a bargain or not in the following review.

Business Alternative from Asus. The Taiwanese manufacturer Asus should be a name for many who are interested in computers. Mainboards, graphic cards, EeePC and gaming notebooks are only a few fields with which the name is connected. The Asus B80A presents itself to us, untypically and therefore exotic, as a born-and-bred business notebook in a dying out 14.1" format. Can the newbie take it up with the established competition from Lenovo, HP and Dell or has Asus overtaken themselves in this area and won't find the link despite all effort?

A good, cheap alternative, or maybe just cheap? With their current netbook boom, Eee PC and co have proved many critics wrong. Many people want to use cheap, portable netbooks, with minimal hardware, as a mobile office. Due to this high demand, the netbooks are a growing trend. The HP 6735s belongs to this "trend", as it is cheap, portable, and it offers an interesting mix of connections.

The Original. Acer fielded the A110L Netbook last summer. These 8.9" netbooks were originally shipped with Linpus Linux Lite. Later on, devices with XP were offered. The tested notebook came with pre-installed Linpus Linux, but was tested with Windows XP Home 32-bit as operating system. This review will clarify in how far the AOA110-Aw is in accordance with out criteria and under which circumstances changing to Windows XP is possible.

Big, light, and beautiful Whilst a little late, Apple has finally put the 17 inch MacBook Pro into the new Unibody Aluminium case with the Nvidia MCP79 Chipset. Unusually, this lightweight laptop has an irremovable 95 Wh Li-Pol battery, which nonetheless achieves a battery life of up to 8 hours. You can find out just how the high-end notebook gets on in the review right here.

"Don’t call it a netbook!" Sony launches a "PC system" of a special kind with the Vaio VGN-P11Z. The manufacturer demanded that it's not a netbook in the press release. "Don't call it a netbook!" it was declared then. It certainly belongs in the league of the mini-notebooks, optically and from its proportions. The reserved connectivity and the display size are attributes, which suggest a netbook. Even the built in hardware is partly identical to that of a netbook. Why then, not simply call this device a netbook?

Low-Cost Notebook with pitfalls. 500,- Euro…too expensive? 400,- Euro…too expensive? Then how about a HP 550? At 369,- Euro MSRP, Hewlett Packard has given the HP 550 FU408EA a clear place on the market and shows that even the cheapest entry-level offering should be mobile. In the following review we determine where HP has cut back and which tasks the bargain notebook is suited for.

Business Device from Tradition. As Value Line models are thought for private users, under the name "ThinkPad" devices are found for professional use. The T-series tries straddling between performance, power efficiency and portability besides a row of other ThinkPad chain. Read more to find out how successful the tested T400 (Type: 6474-19G, also known as NM819GE) takes this challenge.

1660 Grams of Gaming. What was practically unthinkable at the arrival of the Geforce 9600M GT graphics card is now no longer a problem. LG packs this Nvidia performance-oriented mid-range graphics card into a compact 13.3" enclosure and as a result creates one of the highest performing compact Multimedia notebooks. Even if the P310 was introduced as a business laptop, gamers will arguably show the most interest in it.

This time we review a Toshiba laptop that was classified within the consumer notebooks segment only due to the fact that it is equipped with a glare screen. Namely, it is generally a clone of Tecra A10 notebook with a modified configuration. As we've gathered, the primary aim for its to designers was to make this notebook energy efficient.

Netbook +/- The NC20, the successor to the popular NC10, has just been released by the Korean producer Samsung. The netbook has a 12 inch display, and uses, contrary to the general trend, a CPU and an integrated graphics chip from VIA. In this review, we will compare the Nano U2250 to the Intel Atom chip, and give an in-depth evaluation of the NC20.

Size matters.Not only in the gaming sector but also in professional CAD/CAM applications does performance play an important role. Obviously, the performance-independent expectations of users on an adequate notebook differs considerably from gaming devices, which is why the leading business notebook manufacturers have their own series for this target group in their repertoire. The Thinkpad W700 with a Quad-Core CPU and Quadro FX 3700 graphic is the flagship device from Lenovo.

The KHLB2 is the latest barebone by Compal, a Taiwanese ODM notebook manufacturer. As it is a so called whitebook, it will be offered by many resellers under different names, e.g., in by Germany Schenker as mySN MG6 or by Deviltech as Fire 9060. The present model is equipped with an ATI HD 4650 and a brand new LEDbacklit screen with 16:9 aspect ratio.

The Emperor's new clothes. Even though the Eee PC from Asus probably has the highest profile among the mini-notebooks, the title of the most sold netbooks goes to Acer with the Aspire One A110. With this however, the staff for the 10 inch follow-up model, the Aspire One D150, is set especially high. Particularly the competitors have lined up well with numerous models in the 10 inch category

Flat, handy – mobile? Samsung designed the X360 series in view of mobility. The device is light, compact and focused on typical office applications. Read more to find out, how this 13.3 inch notebook with a reflective screen and energy saving Intel Core 2 Duo SU9300 Processor cuts off in our tests.

Ambivalent Newcomer. Alike nearly all big and small manufacturers also Lenovo has various netbook models, which have to assert themselves in the highly competitive market, in its product range. The competition pressure is high, the margins are small and the commonly used Atom platform gives only little leeway to get ahead in performance. Launched rather late, the Lenovo Ideapad S10e tries to attract potential buyers by a stylish look and some smart ideas.

Gaming Allure. When looking for a compact gaming notebook, given the often restricted graphics card performance in the 15" market, there is a big risk of just giving up. The fact that the Geforce 9600M GT so commonly provided can be outdone, even in this mid range of machines, is proved by MSI with its GT627. Equipped with a Geforce 9800M GS graphics card, this compact laptop can handle even the most recent gaming titles with ease.

Color up your life.Toshiba wants to pep up the dismal world of notebooks with color with its new Portégé A600 business devices. The new series combines reliability and stability of the notebooks till now with a trendy outfit. According to Toshiba this combination is being asked for always more frequently from businesspeople. How this very promising straddle cuts off in the end will be seen in the following test report with numerous evaluations.

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.

"Big Swirl" With the "Notebook Cooler 200" Antec presents a laptop stand with integrated 200mm fan. At least according to Antec it should "... keep your laptop cool and safe". Find out in this test report how this cooler keeps this promises and whether workmanship and noise level are at its best.

MSI on the Fast Lane.It hasn't been all too long ago that we tested the Megabook GX60 from the renowned manufacturer Micro-Star International, better known under their abbreviation MSI. (Review Megabook GX600). MSI has used the time and worked on a successor model. Doing this, the manufacturer not only refurbished the built in hardware but also gave the whole notebook a new design, or rather a new case. We had the opportunity to put the successor model, the MSI Megabook GX620-9543VHP, through its paces.

Asus N10E is one of the lastest additions to the broad range of Asus notebooks. It's an unusally well equipped mini-laptop and thus almost qualifies for a luxury netbook. Although one could simply call the N10E another Eee PC in a more splendid package, such a generalization is not justifiable, because it does not cope with many aspects, which are covered in detail in this article.

Two times two equals four. When Intel took its first step in the direction of dual core processors, one thing was clear - the footrace to each individual MHz that had existed up to this time would be superseded by the number of cores on a chip. The quad core CPUs are now the first step in this direction. After the desktop models, these are also available for notebooks.

There is no such thing as impossible! A compact 13.3 inch notebook, combined with a high performance graphic card of the type ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3870 – Impossible, you think? Wrong. With the Graphic Booster, FSC launches as one of the first manufacturers an external graphic card for notebooks, which can flare up an external screen when necessary, transforming your mobile office to a gaming device.

Part 2: Wireless and mobile. Following the comparison tests of single, universal budget headsets, we will take a closer look at a selection of headsets in the next report. Not only along with mobile phones, but amongst notebooks the compact headsets are coming into fashion, thanks to an increase of internet telephony.

Compaq notebooks designed for business use (indicated by 'b') are valued around the world and particularly in Central Europe. Users especially appreciate their battery life and the durability of their case. Thereby models with Intel CPU are traditionally more expensive than their AMD-based counterparts (in this case – the similar HP 6735b). It's now time to check the capabilities of the Centrino 2 model, the HP 6730b. For our test we got a model with a matte WSXGA+ screen, which is ideal for business professionals.

Mobile Office. Security, mobility and reliance. Those are the three pillars that the Dell Latitude E6400 is built on. Even if a thoroughly efficient graphic solution for the E6400 with a Quadro NVS 160M graphic card would be available, the notebook concentrates on these core competences in order to offer a good starter price. How good the Dell Latitude E6400 cuts of in exactly these points you can read in the following test.

Smallest in League. The Dell Precision M2400 is with its 14 inch screen the smallest notebook of the powerful workstation series from Dell. Because the size of the case has an direct impact on the reserve capacities in terms of performance, because the built-in hardware finally has to be sufficiently cooled, the Precision M2400's performance is also lowest of this model lineup.

Toshiba goes Gaming! Toshiba's Qosmio X300 is a dream come true for gamers. The moment one starts with unwrapping, it becomes clear that this is not a common notebook. The design, colours, and size of the case make the Qosmio X300 as unremarkable as a Ferrari or Lamborghini on the street.

Waiting is over... After the first excitement about the new notebook series of the danish notebook producer Zepto at the beginning of last summer, Zepto disappeared from the news. However, it seems as if Zepto is now ready to actually deliver the new multimedia all-rounders with outstanding design to customers.

W500, Part 2. After we had reviewed a pre-release sample in our first review, we now got hold of an officially available model for this test, which was equipped with Core 2 Duo T9400 CPU and ATI FireGL V5700 graphics card. Read in the following review how this 15 inch workstation made by Lenovo performs compared to various competitors.

Stay in contact. Since the launch of the Eee PC from Asus, the run of compact and affordable Netbooks continues. While many manufacturers initially distanced themselves from this trend, today a famous notebook brand can hardly afford to abstain from this segment. Even the Irish Dell manufacturer therefore brought an ultra-compact notebook to the market. The name: Dell Inspiron Mini 9.

Small Block in Windows In our detailed test update we give the new MacBook with Windows a trial. Furthermore, you'll find detailed measurement data about system noise and battery life of this small aluminium notebook in this article.

MacBook Pro 15" & Windows. In our second review of the MacBook Pro 15" with 2.53 GHz C2D we especially address the aspects emissions, battery life, and benchmarks under Windows and MacOs X. Learn in this article about the advantages and disadvantages of the new design notebook from Apple.

Precision in Latitude Look. The Precision M4400 is presumably just right for all those who already liked the Dell Latitude E6500, but weren't sure, because of the too low graphics performance. Based on the same mobile 15.4 inch platform, the M4400 offers first-class performance for 3D visualizations by a powerful Quadro FX 770M graphics card by nVIDIA. This article covers how this mobile workstation performs in our tests.

Asus Eee PC 900 + 1 The improvements of the Eee PC 901 compared with the older 900 are numerous. A new CPU, faster chipset graphic, Bluetooth, Draft-n WLAN, and a capacious battery are the most striking denouements. In the following detailed review you can learn if this package is able to convince.

PowerBook 12" Successor. Apple actually introduces a 13.3" MacBook Pro with the new Aluminium MacBook. In contrast to its bigger brother this smaller consumer laptop does neither have a dedicated graphics card nor FireWire nor ExpressCard slot. In this review you'll find out whether this new design notebook is to be recommended.

Alu-Block Pro 15". The new Apple MacBook Pro notebooks, the 5^th generation, are available and are completely re-engineered. The most important innovations are a newly designed aluminium case made of a single part, two graphics cards, and a crystal touchpad. The following review covers how the new 'Professional' notebook performs in our first test.

Smart Business Starter. The Lenovo Thinkpad SL300 is the last representative of the SL-Series in our tests. As the label suggests, it deals with with a compact 13.3 inch office notebook, whose affordable base price allows a wide audience to be introduced to the Thinkpad model lineup. Equipped with an integrated 4500M HD GPU, HDMI port, and optional Blu-Ray drive, the notebook also shows characteristics of a multimedia machine.

One for all. The models of the T-series made by Lenovo were always the solid base of the complete product range. With display sizes of 14.1" and 15.4", equipped with current and if desired also powerful hardware, the current T-models can cover a wide range between mobility and performance. Combined with typical Thinkpad qualities, they are still serious contenders among business notebooks.

Full Metall Jacket. Like many other manufacturers, Dell also launches several new models on time for the start of new Intel Centrino 2 platform primarily in the business area. The E6500 series is thought primarily for professional office users with an increased mobility need and high quality demand. With the high-quality magnesium case the notebook sets the bar particularly high in respect to stability, for the competition.

Little Puma. The MSI Megabook PR211 is situated both physically and pricewise just above the most expensive Netbooks. With AMD's Puma platform, the theoretical performance of the machine also sits above the Netbooks and with standard usage should be clearly less restricting in this regard. Find out what kind of impression the little Puma made on us in the following comprehensive review.

The mobile workhorses. Notebooks of the 14.1 inch category are due to their powerful components, their screen size, and their weight ideal mobile tools for businessmen as well as for students. In contrast to the smaller and lighter subnotebooks, their powerful components are also ready for demanding applications.

Handyman in all aspects. Designed as typical multimedia notebook, the Aspire 5930G by Acer does not only convince by its multimedia qualities, but also surprises by a good workmanship, a comprehensive connectivity and finally also by a solid calculation performance, which is hard to find in this weight and price category and is second to none.

Thinkpad for Everyone. Lenovo intends to attract attention of the very big number of potential customers in the low price category by the launch of the Thinkpad SL series. Thereby, the SL models should offer the successful Thinkpad qualities at an attractive entry level price, which makes it affordable for everyone. Overall, the SL series approaches the consumer sector.