Toshiba’s Satellite Laptops

Toshiba has been long known as a good manufacturer of reliable laptops and it is surely not stopping. To date, Toshiba has released new Satellite and Satellite Pro laptops whose specs have yet to be revealed.
The only thing that can be said right now is the glossy black finish which combines stylish slim-line chassis design with desirable features.

The range offers a textured palm rest, touchpad with metallic mouse buttons and a quick launch multimedia bar, with touch-sensitive buttons and LED lighting.
Additionally, it will have the usual Intel and AMD chips along with some graphic card visualization to adhere towards the demands of most techy freaks today.

Sony S1 SGP-T111DE/S Tablet

When Sony makes an attempt at a new product, it tries to capture the aura of both uniqueness and surprise in hardware, plastic and commercials. So it has happened with the Sony tablet, which is not sold under the sub-branding "Vaio", but under the trademark "Sony".

If "Vaio" stands for notebooks, "Bravia" for televisions and "PlayStation" for gaming consoles, why is there no "Tabea" or "Bronko" for the new category of tablet PCs? The marketing as "Sony Tablet" could be seen as the high rank that the Japanese ascribe to the tablets. But it's more likely that the brand awareness "Sony" is to be directly radiated on the tablet. Later, when the tablet sales figures bear fruit and the products vary (screen sizes, application fields, etc.), an own brand might be created.

 Sony is well-advised with carefully entering the tablet market. The early adopters among the customers, excluding those who are already iPad fans, have equipped themselves with an Optimus Pad, a Motorola Xoom or a Samsung Galaxy Tab. These iPad alternatives have been available since the fall of 2010.

The Sony S range now encounters a matured tablet market split up between Android and Apple iOS. WebOS has disappeared from the market in the meantime. A deterrent example, that subsequently reinforced Sony's decision for Android (here 3.1). Had Sony developed its own tablet OS so late in the day, it would have quickly placed the S series on the sidelines.

We would like to present the Sony Tablet S and its hardware and software, and answer the question: Is it just another Android tablet or a fresh alternative to the "established" tablets.

Dell Launches Slim XPS 14z Laptop

Dell is about to include 14 inch new version to its latest line of slim XPS z series. The availability of the product is limited to China only.
XPS 14z is borderless and weighs 4.4 pounds; more or less similar to 13 inch laptop. Dell specialty compressed the optical drive to make it an inch thick.

14z Dell laptops hold Intel i5 and Intel i7 Core Sandy-Bridge-processors, just like the previous XPS 15z. This is the reason Dell claims, it is the tinniest PC on the planet. The model also holds Nvidia GeForce GT 520M graphics option with USB 3.0 and an LED display of 1366×768 HD.
This Dell’s product is available in China only and will be launched on its Golden Week holiday. But accessibility of this product in other regions and US will be announced shortly, probably this week.

In China, the price tag of this product will be 7,699 Yuan. The features involve i5 core processor, 4GB-RAM, 500GB hard disk and 1 GB video card. However, the exact and accurate information of pricing and sales in America is not on hand yet.

Sony updates Vaio S laptop series

Sony has quietly updated its Vaio S range of laptops boosting the specs inside and by adding a new screen size for those keen to go big.
In addition to the 13.3-inch screen size of the VAIO SA model already available, Sony has added a new 15.5-inch model that is now referred to as the VAIO SE model.

Other than the larger screen, the VAIO SE features are very similar to its smaller sibling with the thin (under one-inch) flat design, AMD Radeon Hybrid Graphics (up to 1GB VRAM) and the optional sheet battery that can double your battery life.
There was also a slight update in the VAIO SB with a new colour option of red added to the existing choices of black, white, blue and pink.

In addition, the VAIO SA, SB, and SE series now feature the latest 2nd generation Intel processors ranging from Intel Core i3 to Core i7 processor options.

HP and Dell’s ultra portable laptops

Spoiler alert for gadget lovers as the details of HP and Dell’s ultra portable laptops have been leaked on the
Internet.
 With original design manufacturer Quanta Computer readying production, HP will start producing its ultra portable laptop by the end of the year. Whereas Dell's model, manufactured by Wistron, will be released in January 2012 at the CES.   

The exact specifications are not available, but it is certain that the HP and Dell models will be in line with Intel’s Ultrabook design specs. It is assumed that these models will have Apple-esque super thin cases, powerful processors, better battery life and USB 3.0 connectivity.
Even though Dell and HP are doing just as well in comparison to Lenovo, Acer, ASUS and Toshiba, the companies are launching their ultra portable laptops alittle later than other companies. Ultra portable labtops from other companies are due out in the coming months.

The processor to be used in HP and Dell ultra portable laptops, Intel’s Cedar Trail processor, is supposed to be delivered early next year. Any delay in the launch may be attributed to this.

acer aspire one happy 2

I won't go into the details of this laptop, because it's not very different to its predecessor. You can read the entire review of the Acer Happy on Smartbuy's website. So what does the Happy 2 have on offer?

First up, the design. Although Acer has continued to go with the fruit inspired tropical shades for the netbook, the one prominent difference is the droplet design on the cover. Another visible change is that the palm rest area, which was earlier a uniform strip of the same colour as the cover, has now been modified so that only the trackpad is coloured and the sides are white, extending down from the keyboard.

The other new feature in the Happy 2 is the processor. The Happy's Intel Atom N450 processor that I found quite slow on the netbook has been upgraded to an Intel Atom N570. Although I still wouldn't call the Happy 2 a ‘fast' netbook, performance has visibly improved – startup took about 30 seconds, and opening and switching between applications was also snappier. 

 

The Happy 2 comes with the same Windows Starter operating system, but there's also an Android boot-up option, which has been upgraded from version 1.6 to 2.1. It's not a great operating system option for laptops, but it's convenient if you're in a hurry and need to access the web on the go.

The Happy 2's LED backlit LCD screen was quite impressive for watching videos, and I found it quite comfortable to watch a few episodes of Archer. The speakers haven't improved at all though, audio was barely audible in our open office. I needed to plug in headphones if I wanted to use the netbook for any media.

Battery life was above average for a netbook, giving me about 6 hours of video playback.

Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook

What first strikes me about the Acer Aspire S3 is that it is a very thin and light laptop. I've not compared it measure for measure with a Apple MacBook Air but I'd guess it's very close to it. Turn the S3 over and it looks a bit too much like the first generation Air, but open in up and start using it and there's no doubt this is a Windows ? PC. Basically, this is a PC that you can easily carry around with you almost anywhere and it's not going to be a bother.

The Acer Aspire S3 we had for testing was the higher-end model with Intel Core i7 2637M 1.7GHz processor, 4GB RAM, and 120GB Intel SSD. The graphics are Intel's Sandy Bridge processor graphics, HD 3000, and the computer runs Windows 7 Home Premium. All this achieved a WorldBench score of 102, which is not very impressive, but in actual use everything was quick and snappy. I didn't do anything heavy like process video with the S3, and it's not really the sort of computer you would do much of that with anyway. Keep in mind though that this was the S3 with Core i7 processor. The Acer Aspire S3 lineup starts with a Core i3 processor.
One thing that particularly impressed with the Acer Aspire S3 was wakeup and reboot times. When the system is running and you close the display and want to get back into windows, it takes just over a second for the Windows login screen to appear. Even a reboot is very quick and not something you have to loathe anymore.

 
The outside of the very glossy 13.3-inch display (1366×768 pixels) is brushed aluminum but the main part of the Acer Aspire S3 is made out of something else, magnesium alloy I suspect. Although the two materials are very close to each other in appearance and touch, I would have preferred Acer to stick to one of them throughout, it would give the S3 a classier appearance as well as feel, I think.
Acer has decided to put Dolby Home Theater on the Acer Aspire S3 with two speakers on the bottom, one on the left and one on the right. Although the sound is not bad for this type of computer I'd say it's nothing to boast about. If you really care about great sound from the S3 you will get external speakers or headphones anyway. Also on the outside we find two USB ports on the rear next to HDMI port, AC adapter port and the exhaust from the processor fan. On the left side there's a 3.5mm audio jack and on the right side you find a SD card slot.
In terms of battery life the Acer Aspire S3 shut itself down after almost exactly five hours of Wi-Fi work on battery saving mode. I was on the web, writing, chat, Twitter, etc. doing my normal work without anything taxing the system and I got a warning about battery running out after about four and a half hours. Then at just about five hours, Windows shut itself down. That's not bad considering the specifications and size but if Acer could tweak that to get another hour out of the S3, that would be really good. As it stands, the S3 is at least a credible option for a full day's worth of work for many of us.
My main complaint about the Acer Aspire S3 is the keyboard and trackpad. The keyboard feels "swampy" (what an expression!), with little to no click to it, which I don't like, and the way the arrow keys and page up and down are organized is just a recipe for hitting the wrong key. Same goes for the return key, which is partnered up with "\" and I can't tell you know many times I typed "\" instead of return. The trackpad I kept hitting by mistake and it clicked, scrolled and did all sorts of things even after I had turned off almost all the gesture options; to me it seems there was clearly something wrong there. I was told by an Acer representative that these were both pre-production, and that at least the trackpad will be improved before shipping and I hope that's true.

Windows 8

Windows 8 is beginning to take shape. At a developer conference at the start of June, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer showed off some of the features that will be included in the next version of Windows. It’s not due for release until next year, but we’ve now got a pretty good idea of what to expect from what may prove to be the last ever Windows operating system.
Both Apple CEO Steve Jobs and former Microsoft big-wig Ray Ozzie have said that we are entering a 'post-PC' world. So the challenge for Windows 8 is to prove that desktop computing as we know it is not consigned to history.
We’re far from sure that Windows as we know it is done with yet, but the details we’ve seen so far suggest Microsoft has rethought how we interact with technology in a far more substantial way than ever before. Software will be written in programming languages more applicable to the web, while Explorer menus and even windows themselves look set to be shown the door. Not everything will be radically different, of course, but there’s enough that is to pique even the anti-Microsoft brigade’s interest.
Here, we look at some of those features in detail, outline what we’d like to see in Windows 8, and report on what’s still missing.
We also take a look at the alternatives to Windows, from Apple’s brand-new OS X 10.7 Lion to the most user-friendly version of Linux to date, and the OS that perhaps offers the clearest indication of where desktop computing is heading.

Dell XPS 15 L502X

Although we've seen the Dell XPS 15 L502X before the P11F is a slightly different ? laptop that comes with a touch screen. As an entertainment-focused laptop the touch screen offers a different way to watch DVDs, for example, letting you select options on-screen rather than use the touchpad, making the experience ever-so-slightly easier. However, when navigating around Windows it really isn't much of an advantage.

Although Windows 7 was designed to support touch screens, there are still too many fiddly menus to navigate, and pressing the screen of a laptop feels slightly odd in comparison to pressing the screen of a handheld device. It takes some getting used to, but ultimately you'll still probably find yourself using the physical keyboard and touchpad for most tasks. Bear in mind, though, that Windows 8 will be much more touch-friendly and is likely to be released in around a year's time. So if you're prepared to wait and make the upgrade to the next-generation of Windows when it comes the Dell XPS 15 L502X P11F could come into its own.

The touchscreen on the Dell XPS 15 L502X P11F seems to be little more than a gimmick. There's no stylus provided, meaning you'll be using your fingers, and the screen's glossy finish shows up greasy fingerprints a treat. It's also a pain to use in bright conditions, the reflective finish meaning that you need to be careful where you place the laptop in relation to any light sources.
If you want to watch movies on your laptop the Dell XPS 15 L502X P11F is a pretty good choice, although far from perfect. The screen doesn't support full HD (though you will find variations of this model available with a resolution of 1920x1080, albeit without touchscreen functionality) and the standard optical drive doesn't read Blu-ray Discs, but again you can pay extra for this feature should you want it. It's the audio quality, provided by the JDL speaker system, that really make the entertainment experience – you won't need to worry about rigging the Dell up to external speakers in order to get high quality surround sound.
Gaming, too, is well catered for – the Dell XPS 15 L502X P11F managed minimum frame rates of 31fps in the FEAR graphics test on maximum settings, suggesting that you'll be able to run most games without too much trouble. The 1GB GeForce 525M graphics card seems to be a strong performer, and you do have the option to upgrade this component too.

 

Overall performance is good, though not outstanding, a WorldBench 6 score of 117 indicative of a system that will deal with everyday tasks easily, though might lack the grunt to deal with high-end applications. The battery life was short of five hours, which is slightly disappointing and could prove problematic if you can't access the mains for any period of time. At just under 2.8kg it's too heavy to carry around for long periods.
There's 4GB of RAM, expandable to 8GB should you want, and the Dell XPS 15 L502X P11F's hard disk will provide you with 500GB of storage. The high-speed USB 3.0 interface is catered for, there's HDMI (though no VGA) and a mini DisplayPort too. You'll also find a combo USB 2.0 and eSATA port.
The design of the Dell XPS 15 L502X P11F is fairly smart, though suggests an entertainment-focused laptop rather than an office worker's tool, and it feels fairly sturdy too. The keyboard is slightly odd, with a wide but short Return key and a Caps Lock key that is far too big and easy to accidentally hit when you're gunning for the A. The touchpad is nice and big, and very easy to use, which only adds to our doubts about the usefulness of a touchscreen.

Toshiba Qosmio X775

The Qosmio is Toshiba's top-end multimedia and gaming notebook line. This latest iteration sports a striking design, 1.5GB graphics card, and dual hard drives. Is it any better than previous generations? Read our review to find out.

A reasonably powerful gaming notebook with a low-res screen, outlandish design and mediocre build quality.

Our Toshiba Qosmio X775-Q7272 has the following specifications:

·                              17.3-inch glossy 900p display (1600x900 resolution)

·                              Intel Core i7-2630QM quad-core processor (2.0GHz, up to 2.9GHz Turbo Boost, 6MB cache, 45W TDP)

·                              Intel HM65 chipset

·                              Nvidia GeForce GTX 560M graphics card w/ 1GB GDDR5 dedicated video memory

·                              Graphics automatically switchable to integrated Intel graphics (Nvidia Optimus)

·                              6GB DDR3-1333 RAM (1x 4GB + 1x 2GB; supports up to 8GB - 2x 4GB)

·                              Dual 500GB 7200RPM Seagate hard drives (ST9500423AS)

·                              Atheros AR9002WB-1NG wireless network adapter

·                              No internal Bluetooth

·                              Integrated webcam

·                              Tray-load Blu-ray ROM/DVD burner (MATSHITA BD-CMB UJ141EL)

·                              1-year limited warranty

·                              8-cell Li-ion battery (47Wh)

·                              Weight: 6.6 lbs.

·                              Dimensions: 16.3 x 10.8 x 1.1~2.4 inches

Sony VAIO Z Series

The VAIO Z Series was born of Sony’s desire to build the ultimate notebook. Feather-light yet immensely powerful, it fused ultra portable dimensions to desktop performance and made precious few compromises along the way. Now, Sony’s all-new VAIO Z has arrived, and it's ready to rewrite the ultra portable rules once again.

Physically, the VAIO Z bears little resemblance to its former self. Sharp, boxy lines are formed from slices of carbon fiber, to create a chassis which measures a mere 17mm thick. It looks positively delicate, and its 1.15kg weight means it feels just as barely-there in the hand. There certainly isn’t the unflinching tautness of the Apple Macbook Air, and the obvious seams and slight give in the carbon sheets don’t exude the tough, go-anywhere air of Lenovo’s ThinkPad X1.

Achieving such slenderness has required more than just bold aesthetic changes, however. Sony has also done away with two of the VAIO Z's most notable features, namely the internal optical drive and dedicated graphics.

This is where the novel Power Media Dock steps in. Resembling a simple external optical drive, it crams in an AMD Radeon HD 6650 graphics chipset, and acts as a docking station too. Look to the rear and there's one USB 2 port, one USB 3 port, a Gigabit Ethernet socket plus D-SUB and HDMI video outputs. Unhook a flap on the dock's top edge, and you’ll find another USB 2 port for quick attachment of a USB flash drive or similar.

It’s an elegant solution. A power supply feeds the Power Media Dock from the mains, but a single connector provides both a data and a power connection to the laptop itself. Sony’s proprietary implementation of Intel’s Light Peak technology (the very same used in the Thunderbolt ports on Apple's recent MacBook Pro) then jets all the graphical, USB and network data via the VAIO Z's single USB 3 port. Plug it in, and the laptop's screen flickers off and on as the AMD chipset takes over from the integrated GPU.

LENOVO Z570

 Specs: 15.6-inch LED display, Intel Core i3 2.1 GHz, 3 GB RAM, 640 GB HDD; NVIDIA GT520M; Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, HDMI; Windows 7 Basic; 2.8 kg

This Lenovo machine is for casual gaming, movies and Internet fun. It looks simple and lacks the zing of some of its fellow Lenovo laptops, but its 15.6-inch LED screen is excellent for games and movies. The sound is pretty decent too. Lenovo has put in some good apps for daily use, and you are sure to find them handy. As for the tests, this laptop is a very good performer. 

With just an Intel i3, 2.1 GHz processor, 3 GB RAM and NVIDIA GT 520M graphics card, this machine still managed magnificent scores. It scored 5178 marks on PC Mark Vantage and 3301 marks on 3D Mark 06. We expected the battery to last longer, but it remained alive only for four and a half hours. Other features of this laptop include a 640 GB hard drive, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, HDMI output and a 2 megapixel web cam. The configuration is pretty good. Perhaps just a bit of imagination on its crust and this notebook would have awesome.

The Samsung Series 7 GAMER

Samsung has launched a new 3D laptop that's geared up for gaming. The Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit laptop can take advantage of up to 16GB of DDR3 RAM. The 3D-ready Series 7 Gamer Edition laptop has 8GB as part of its standard RAM quota but can also take advantage of another 8GB on the motherboard. 

 The Samsung Series 7 GAMER is a 17.3in-screen 3D-enabled laptop with 8GB of DDR RAM. An further boost can be gained via the 8GB flash memory ExpressCache embedded in the laptop’s motherboard. This, says Samsung, also comes in useful in everyday use and it boosts the laptop startup times by as much as 25 percent.

A pair of 750GB hard drives provide the storage. A Blu-ray drive, 2Mp webcam and 4 Watt speakers with a built-in subwoofer also feature on the 3.8kg laptop. 

The laptop is powered by a quad-core Intel Core i7 processor and 2GB of AMD Radeon 6970M GDDR5 HD graphics. The SuperBright HD 3D display works at 120Hz and is designed to be used with Bluetooth-enabled active shuttering 3D glasses. Aware that even the most avid gamer must occasionally reluctantly turn their hand to essays and reports, Samsung equips the Series 7 Gamer laptop with four distinct modes: Gaming, Balanced, Library and Green. 

Some of these modes extend the off-mains battery life, while the Library mode powers down the fans usually used to cool the powerful graphics chip, making operation whisper-quiet. 

In its souped-up Gaming mode, the CPU is cranked up, the turbo cooling system turned up to 100 percent and the touchpad deactivated, so you don't accidentally swipe it. The main control keys, meanwhile, are highlighted in red and the Windows key disabled. 

Alienware M18x Review

Like a Michael Bay movie, it's getting harder and harder for Alienware to top itself. But somehow, it keeps doing it. Case in point: the M18x. Featuring an 18-inch full HD screen, an overclocked Core i7 processor running at 4 GHz, two of Nvidia's most powerful GPUs, and WirelessHD streaming, this gaming rig is hyperbole personified. As you might expect, this gaming monster doesn't come cheap. Our configuration costs a whopping $5,552. So do the special effects justify the cost of admission?

Design

Everything about the M18x is huge. The notebook has a similar design to the M17x; it's just bigger. The aluminum lid (ours came in Nebula Red; black is also available) is adorned with a chrome Alienware logo in the center and a rubber panel at the bottom. A black soft-touch finish on the deck resists fingerprints. The front retains the distinctive backlit grilles on either end, which are all the more intimidating on this system. The red extends around the sides of the notebook, and massive vents run along the entire back of the machine, not unlike those on the ASUS G74SX-A2.

Where the M17x was a relatively trim 16 x 11.9 x 1.8 inches and 9.6 pounds, the M18x weighs a whopping 13 pounds and measures 17.2 x 12.7 x 2.1 inches. Other 18-inch notebooks don't even come close: The Acer Aspire 8951G weighs 8.8 pounds. The G74SX, a 17-inch system, checks in at 10.6 pounds. Heck, the M18x's power brick alone weighs 4 pounds.

 As with all Alienware notebooks of the past two years, one of the coolest things on this laptop is the backlighting. You can change the keyboard, the logos, the front grille--even the ring around the touchpad--to a number of different colors, depending on your mood or what you're doing. It's just awesome. The AlienFX utility to change the controls is fun to use; you can easily spend a lot of time tinkering with the color schemes.

Heat

Overclocking a CPU will definitely cause things to heat up, which is the case with the M18x. After we streamed a Hulu video at full screen for 15 minutes, the touchpad was a cool 78 degrees and the space between the G and H keys was 86, but the underside near the rear was a hot 99 degrees Fahrenheit. Expect the chassis to heat up more after an hour or two of gaming. 

Keyboard and Touch-pad

The keyboard on the M18x not only has a full number pad on the right, but also a set of five macro keys running down the left. A button at the top of the column lets you switch between three modes, so you can have up to 15 macros per game.

While the keys are quite large, we think they could be beveled less to give more space on top to rest your fingers. Also, we noticed a bit of flex to the layout, especially on the left side near the ASDW keys. While you're not likely to notice it while typing, there shouldn't be any flex at all on a notebook that costs this much.

At 3.9 x 2.2 inches, the M18x's touchpad is the same size as that on the M17x; something slightly larger would be appreciated, even if gamers are more likely to use an external mouse. Powered by Synaptics, the touchpad is also capable of multitouch gestures, though Alienware turns them off by default. This may be for the best, as gestures such as pinch-to-zoom and rotate didn't always work. 

 Display and Audio

The massive 18.4-inch, 1920 x 1080-pixel WLED display on the M18x is a sight to behold. The glossy panel has edge-to-edge glass. Movies and games simply popped off the display, and it was so large that it enveloped us in the action. When we watched a Blu-ray of Iron Man, the red and gold of Tony Stark's suit sparkled, and explosions were wonderfully fiery. The same goes for games; every little detail--from a disintegrating hay stack to blowing snowflakes--was rendered well.

ASUS K53SV-B1

ASUS K53SV-B1 design with a simple yet handsome look, with a lid that is patterned horizontal stripes and fine textured.
With kuran 15.1 x 10.1 x 1.4 inches and weighs 6 pounds, ASUS K53SV-B1 light enough to move from room to room, but not for the trip.

When tested, the ASUS K53SV-B1 is not too hot, touchpad temperature only reached 85 degrees after the play Hulu videos in full screen for 15 minutes. Temperature between the G and H and at the bottom of the laptop is also pretty cool to only 86 degrees. But the air temperature in the flow of wind is hot during the laptop is powered on

Button on the keyboard-B1 ASUS K53SV lightly textured with well spaced keys. The layout presented a little flex, but pretty good.


Created by Elan, which is 3.3 x 1.9 inches K53SV hidden touchpad is responsive and supports a lot of movement. Film pinch-to-zoom and the three fingers through the silky smooth pictures. Plus, you can launch the My Computer window with the three-finger swipe and turn down Windows with the film.

ASUS K53SV-B1 appears sporting a 15.6-inch LED display widescreen with 1366 x 768. Sharp images and vibrant when we viewed full-screen QuickTime trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 2. We could easily see the eyelashes Potter for close-up shots.

ASUS K53SV-B1 with Altec Lansing speakers located above the keyboard. When tested by playing Blink 182′s “What’s My Age Again” and Neon Tree “Animal,” is the audio loud enough to fill a small room, but it lacks the richness and depth of the Dell XPS 15. Activating ASUS Sonic Focus audio software does not produce a noticeable difference in sound quality.

On the right side-B1 ASUS K53SV there are two USB 2.0 ports, audio in and out jacks and a Kensington lock slot. The left side offers three USB 2.0 ports, HDMI output, Mini D-Sub VGA port and an Ethernet jack. In front of the unit, located below deck, is a 5-in-1 smart card reader. Unfortunately, K53SV does not have USB 3.0 ports. 3-megapixel Webcam on ASUS K53SV-B1 rude when taking video with your Asus LifeFrame 3. But image quality is improved somewhat when the conversation turned to space

ASUS K53SV-B1 with 2 GHz processor quad-core Intel Core i7-2630QM second generation, which can be increased up to 2.9 GHz using Intel’s turbo technology improves. You also get 6GB of RAM and Nvidia GeForce 540M GT graphics processor. Notebook scored 6503 on PCMark Vantage, which gauges the overall performance of Windows. That’s higher than the average score of the mainstream notebook category (5551) and dual-core ASUS K53E (5729). However, the HP Pavilion dv6t scored slightly higher (6673), and the Dell XPS 15 reaches 8548. Dell has the same CPU and GPU like ASUS, but the 7200-rpm drive is faster.

Lenove 3000

Stylish, Lenovo 3000 notebooks are designed specifically to meet the needs of small businesses. Designed by many of the same world-class engineers that bring you ThinkPad® notebooks, the Lenovo 3000 Family offers dependable machines with exceptional software and hardware at a great value to help growing businesses meet customer needs and stay ahead of competition.

Looking for the perfect PC for home or home office? New Lenovo 3000 Y Series notebooks are equipped with dual-core Intel® processors, advanced graphics, large hard drives (capable of storing vast music collections) and popular widescreen displays that make them a great choice for home, family or personal use - particularly when using multimedia applications.

Lenovo G570

Unfortunately, the Lenovo Essential G570 can often cost as much as speedier and more full-featured business laptops. Our review system, as configured, will cost you around £600 (although the line starts at around £300).

The configuration we tested sports a list of components more impressive than most budget laptops. Along with the second generation Intel Core i5-2410M processor, there's also 6GB of installed RAM (upgradeable to 8GB) and a 750GB hard drive. The G570 also comes packed with integrated Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1.Unfortunately, the Lenovo Essential G570's performance leaves something to be desired. In our World Bench 6 test suite, the G570 managed a score of 84. It can handle day-to-day tasks, but it's far from the fastest laptop on the block.The Lenovo Essential G570 has no discrete graphics card. Instead, it relies on the integrated graphics of the Intel processor. This is fine for video playback, but not for gaming or other strenuous 3D rendering. In a game such as Dirt 2, for example, the G570 managed a barely playable frame rate of 36.5 frames per only with the lowest settings at a very low resolution of 800 by 600. In our Far Cry 2 tests, the G570 did much worse with a frame rate of 19 frames per second (low quality settings, 800 by 600 pixel resolution).

HP Pavilion dv7 and dv7t series

Designed to handle all your entertainment, our sophisticated Pavilion dv7t laptop series features a wider screen (17.3" diagonal) that's perfect for HD. Options include Blu-ray, Radeon HD graphics with GDDR5 ultra-fast memory, and a 1080p panel.

Second generation power

Get a major power boost with this series' Intel 2nd generation Core i3 processor, which features:

·                          More power when you need it and increased energy efficiency when you don't

·                          Intel Turbo Boost Technology³, which automatically speeds up the system when it needs extra              performance

·                          Multitasking with Intel HT Technology, which lets each processor core work on two tasks at once⁴

·                          High frequency and large cache size for even more responsiveness

Premium design

The clean, streamlined design includes:

·                          A stylish, dark umber (or optional steel gray) metallic finish

·                          A 17.3" diagonal high-definition^§§ Brightview LED display (upgradeable to high definition 1080p)

·                          An island-style keyboard with numeric keypad