Lenovo ThinkPad Z61m

‘In the year since Lenovo announced the first-ever wide-screen ThinkPad, the company has been keeping the Z series fresh by incorporating the latest components without drastically changing the laptops’ excellent design. With the midsize Z61m, for example, Lenovo has stocked the now-familiar wide case with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor and the latest graphics card from ATI, all at a competitive price. So far, so good, but when it came to our performance benchmarks, the ThinkPad Z61m lagged behind the competition. For some, the ThinkPad Z61m’s excellent design and business-friendly feature set will offset its pokey performance; users looking for every last drop of speed, though, should consider the similarly priced (and identically configured) HP Compaq nc8430.’

Here are the specifications of the ThinkPad Z61m model under review:

• Model: Z61m 9450-39U
• CPU: Intel Core Duo 2.0GHz T2500
• Chipset: Intel 945PM Express
• Memory: 1GB DDR2 P5300 2 Slots, 0 Open
• Hard Drive: 100GB Fujitsu(MHV2100BH) SATA
• Screen: 15.4" WSXGA+ 1680x1050 Matte 200 Nits
• Modular Optical Drive: Matshita UJ-850 DVD+/-RW/-RAM
  o 8x DVD+/-R
  o 4x DVD+/-RW
  o 2.4x DVD+R DL
  o 5x DVD-RAM
  o 24x CD-R
  o 16x CD-RW
• Graphics Card: 128MB ATI x1400
• Networking: Intel Wireless 3945A/B/G, Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet, Modem and Verizion EV-DO Network Adapter
• Inputs: 86 Key Keyboard, Two Button Touchpad with Scroll Bar, PointStick with Separate UltraNav Buttons, Fingerprint Reader
• Buttons: Power, ThinkVantage, Power Up and Down, Mute, and WiFi/Bluetooth On/Off Switch.
• Other
  o Bluetooth
  o Webcam
  o ThinkLight
  o Security Lock
• Ports:
  o 3 USB 2.0 Ports - Two Left Side, One Rear
  o Four Pin Firewire Connector
  o Port Replicator/Dock
  o S-Video Out
  o VGA Out
  o 4-in-1 Card Reader
  o Line Out
  o Headphone
  o IR Port
• Slots:
  o 1 PC Card Slot Type II
  o 1 ExpressCard Slot 54
• Battery: Six Cell
• Dimensions:
  o Width - 14.1"
  o Depth - 10.3"
  o Height - 1.6"
• Weight: 6.7 Lbs.
• Operating System: Windows XP Pro
• Warranty: Three Year Warranty With One Year Battery

Sony VAIO NR

Sony unveiled VAIO NR 15.4-inch laptop series. It is “the lowest-priced notebook the company has ever introduced,” according to the Sony’s press release.

The Sony VAIO NR110, NR120, and NR140 notebook models, listed on the official website fo Sony company, are based on the Intel’s GL960 chipset, paired with a Pentium Dual Core processor. These systems come with 1GB of system memory, expandable to 2GB, and depending on model, hard drive with 120GB or 160GB of storage capacity.

The VAIO NR160 is equipped with the Intel Core 2 Duo T5250 CPU and the GM965 chipset. It has 1GB of RAM, supports up to 4GB of main memory, and features a 160GB HDD.

All of the new VAIO NR laptops incorporate the integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100, managing a 15.4″ widescreen 1280×800 display and will ship with a DVD burner. ALL the notebooks have wireless LAN, Ethernet LAN and modem connections, ExpressCard and Secure Digital card slots, four USB ports, a Firewire port, and also a VGA output.

Sony VAIO NR weights 6.2-pound, and according to the product specifications, battery has a life of up to 4.5 hours with a standard battery.

The fashionable NR laptop will be available in three colors:

wenge - a rich brown with copper accents;
silk - a bright white with a matte finish;
granite - a silver hue with natural tones.

It has rounded corners and beveled edges.

The NR110, NR120, and NR140 comes with Windows Vista Home Premium Edition, while the NR160 has Vista Business operating system preloaded.

Acer Aspire 4710

It's a great 14.1-inch entertainment notebook which features Intel Core 2 Duo processor and the recently introduced “Gemstone” chassis design.

According to the specifications of the Acer Aspire 4710 this laptop is not based on Intel’s “Santa Rosa” platform, but on previous “Napa” platform with corresponding Core 2 Duo CPU, Intel 945GM Express Chipset and the integrated Graphics Media Accelerator 950. Acer Aspire 4710 has 14.1″ widescreen CrystalBrite display with 1280 x 800 pixel resolution, supports up to 4GB of DDR2 system memory, and comes with a built-in optical drive.

The 4710 features Intel 802.11a/b/g wireless module, a Gigabit Ethernet, and a 56K modem, as well as integrated web camera, four USB ports, an ExpressCard slot, a 5-in-1 card reader, and a Firewire port. For external displays, this notebook provides VGA and S-video outputs, while regarding sound system there are Dolby-certified surround technology and two built-in stereo speakers.

In the North American market, Acer Aspire 4710 comes with Windows Vista Home Premium operating system, and the Indonesian 4710 model ships with Linux BE (Basic Edition) operating system.

The actual price on www.ebay.com is abouth 800$!

Asus C90

Asus C90 is a 15.4-inch gaming barebone notebook, designed for easy upgrade and can be easily overclocked. With the assistance of ASUS’ “Turbo Gear”, CPU can be overclocked up to 20%. It's made for users who want to combine mobile computing with top-of-the-line performance.

Asus C90 uses Intel’s desktop processors compatible with LGA775 socket, and supports up to Core 2 Extreme X6800 CPU at 2.93GHz with 1066 MHz front side bus. It has 4 operating modes: Overclocking, Gaming, Standard, and Power Saving.

The notebook has a standard MXM graphics module for “high compatibility of different graphic processors from the industry”. This barebone laptop supports up to NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT video card and its 15.4-inch widescreen display provides 1680-by-1050 pixel screen resolution.

The whole system is built on Intel 945 G chipset and enables a maximum of 3GB DDR2 system memory at 800MHz (two SO-DIMM slots) and features support for SATA hard drive and DVD, HD-DVD and Blu-Ray optical drive.

This gaming barebone laptop has 802.11 a/b/g/n wireless, a Gigabit Ethernet, an optional built-in Bluetooth and it alsomhas a 56K modem.

A variety of ports and slots is corporated in C90: HDMI, S-Video and VGA outputs, a MCX connector for TV-RF, an eSATA connector, three USB ports, FireWire, ExpressCard slot and 8-in-1 media card reader.

It also has a built-in web camera, and optional factory built-in fingerprint reader, Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 1.2, and a hybrid TV tuner.

If you include a standard 6-cell battery(which has 1-2 hours run time) it weighs approximately 6.8 pounds.

Dell Latitude D830

• Intel Core 2 Duo T7300, 2.00GHz
• 15.4 inch Wide Screen WUXGA LCD
• 2.0GB, DDR2-667 SDRAM, 2 DIMM
• 256MB NVIDIA Quadro NVS 140M
• 80GB Hard Drive 9.5MM 7200RPM
• 90W AC Adapter
• 8X DVD+/-RW w/ Roxio Creator and Cyberlink
• Intel 4965 WLAN (802.11a/g/n)
• 9-Cell/85 WHr Primary Battery
• 6-Cell/48-WHr Modular Battery
• Vista Business, with media English
• Dimensions are 1.39" x 14.2" x 10.34"
• Weight is 6.5lbs with 9-cell battery and optical drive

When I first pulled the D830 out of its protective envelope boy was I impressed. Things have changed since the days of my 500m. I expected the build quality to be good, but it was unexpectedly good. It's really quite solid. It's also very pleasant to look at it; I think the rather subdued appearance is much nicer than the flashy white-bumper Inspiron.

The keyboard looks like a typical Dell keyboard; it's very similar in appearance to the keyboard on my 500m. I found that the keyboard is generally more pleasant to use; the keys have a slightly greater travel and a greater amount of feedback as well. There isn't any flex in the keyboard as far as I can tell, though I am not a terribly hard typist. Overall it's a decent keyboard, good, but nothing special.

The touchpad feels the same as the one on my 500m. It's responsive and easy to use, but again, nothing terribly special. I really like the buttons under the touchpad. Instead of having a short, hard click the D830 has buttons that have a longer, softer click to them which I just find to be rather nice. The same can be said for the power button and media buttons.

According to the various reviews I read, the D820 seemed to have a rather lacking screen and I was afraid this problem would carry over to the D830. Initially I felt that my fears had come true, but after further consideration and comparison, I find that the screen is quite nice, though it's certainly not perfect.

One of the first things I noticed when I turned on the computer was the unusually large amount of light leakage coming from the bottom of the screen.

One of the reasons I turned down the D630 was a that speaker quality was reported to be pretty bad. I usually use headphones when listening to movies or music but I'd like to have a decent set of speakers for the rare times I don't. That being said, the speakers on the D830 are pretty good as far as laptop speakers go. Being set on the sides of the keyboard means they are quite clear when I am sitting at machine and the sound carries itself pretty well even across the length of a living room. The sound does start getting fuzzy at really high volumes, but my ears usually start to ring before it gets to that point.

The single core AMD Barton processor in my desktop is clocked at 2.3GHz and I have not known it to really struggle with anything I threw at it. Subsequently I did not think I'd need the fastest processor I could get and went with the 2.0 GHz Intel T7300 because it was a nice round number. Recently I needed to do a fair amount of video encoding and I split the task between the D830 and my desktop. I daresay I was somewhat surprised as to how much faster the T7300 was compared to the older AMD processor. Encoding a certain video file was nearly twice as fast on the D830. I guess there's no doubt that multiple cores are the wave of the future.

I think the Latitude D830 is an excellent machine. Those who believe Dell only makes cheap, low end computers haven't seen one of their newer Latitude notebooks. Though its stats might not be as good as those of an XPS M1710 and its case may not be as good as that of a Thinkpad, the D830 is a high quality system with a high quality build and by all means a high quality notebook.

Sony VAIO C

The Sony VAIO C comes in a number of configurations and colors. You can configure a VAIO C online at SonyStyle.com or buy a stock configuration from various retailers. When you configure the VAIO VGN-C190 at SonyStyle.com you have a dizzying array of colors to choose from (Green storm, Pink swirl, Angel, Red storm, Blue streaks, Urban Gray, Spring Green, Blush Pink, Espresso Black, Sea Shell White). Sony also offers a free 60 character engraving in the top left side of the screen -- I don't recommend this if you want to protect resale value of your notebook though.

The keyboard on the VAIO C is quite usable, it's got 86-keys spread out over 6-rows and the keys are full sized. The key travel is decent and the touch is light. If you have long fingernails it's kind of easy to catch the key above the key you're pushing down and pop it up a bit -- so trim those nails or you might be popping off keys (I've seen this happen on the VAIO SZ). The keyboard is really pretty firm too, there's a little bit of flex on the side areas, but nothing horrible and will be unnoticed by most.

The Sony VAIO C ends up being a decent portable notebook that's very nice looking and is built well. It overlaps a bit with the VAIO SZ, but because it's cheaper and not quite as powerful due to the integrated graphics, there's room for it in the VAIO lineup. It also stacks up well feature for feature against the MacBook. The VAIO C is of course missing the built-in camera, slot loading drive and OS X that the MacBook has. On the flip side, the VAIO C offers a media card reader, Wireless on/off switch, S-Video and an expansion slot in the form of the ExpressCard that the Apple MacBook is missing. If you'd like to be able to use Mac OSX I'd say go with the Apple MacBook, but if you're sure that Windows XP or Vista is your OS of choice I think the VAIO C should win out so long as price is in line between similar configurations of these notebooks (and at the current time they are).

TOSHIBA Satellite A200

Given its large dimensions, the Toshiba Satellite A200 is well suited to home desktop use. With strong dual-core performance and a range of multimedia features, it is a system with plenty to offer the whole family.

With its 2.8kg weight and 157-minute battery life, mobility is not the main focus. What you get instead is a large and vibrant screen and well-made keyboard, providing great usability for home office work and viewing both videos and photos.

Thanks to its Intel Core 2 Duo processor, performance is outstanding. Despite just 1024MB of memory, it is fast and responsive, even when multi-tasking. Unfortunately, graphics performance doesn't back it up. Powered by Intel's older GMA 950 integrated GPU, anything more than basic gaming is out of the question.

For easy playback of multimedia files, a bank of instant access keys is located above the keyboard. Built-in stereo speakers from respected audio manufacturer Harman Kardon also provide decent sound quality.

Adding another feature missing from many rivals, an integrated webcam is built into the top of the screen panel. Able to capture video and still images, you can easily take snapshots and use online video conferencing software to contact colleagues, family and friends.

Unfortunately, the 80GB hard drive is limited, but it does run at a decent speed. While it provides enough storage for basic home use, it may be worth buying an external drive for long-term storage. However, the rewritable DVD drive can be used to store excess data.

Much more pleasing for multimedia users is the inclusion of four USB ports and a single mini-Firewire connection. Making it simple to connect multiple digital devices, you can easily extend usability with external peripherals.

Toshiba has included a large bundle of software to get you started. Tools for home office use, DVD playback and creation, and internet security are all provided. A range of proprietary Toshiba utilities are also installed to help with day-to-day system use and maintenance.

While its size means it's not the best choice for frequent travellers, the Toshiba Satellite A200 is nevertheless an impressive entry-level media centre. With strong performance and multimedia features at an affordable price, this could be your ideal family laptop.

Acer Aspire 5100

The good: Inexpensive; wide-screen display; includes most important ports and connections; relatively light for its size; includes double-layer DVD burner; 64-bit capable.

The bad: Dim display; underpowered graphics; slow hard drive; no FireWire or S-Video ports; tinny speakers.

The bottom line: The unexciting yet inexpensive Acer Aspire 5000 is a decent desktop-replacement laptop for basic home and small business use.

Note: This product is part of the Acer Aspire 5000 series. See all products in the Acer Aspire 5000 series.

HP Compaq 6720s

HP Compaq 6720s Specifications:

* Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T5470 1.60GHz , 2MB L2 cache, 800MHz FSB
* OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic
* Hard Drive: 120GB SATA (5400RPM), HP DriveGuard
* Screen: 15.4" WXGA BrightView Widescreen (1280 x 800)
* Graphics: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
* RAM: 1 x 1024MB DDR2
* Optical Drive: 8x DVD+/-RW SuperMulti with Lightscribe
* Battery: 6-cell lithium-ion (47 Watt/hour)
* Wireless: Intel Wireless LAN 802,11a/b/g MOW2, mini-PCI card, Bluetooth
* Ports: 3 USB 2.0 ports, VGA, stereo microphone in, stereo headphone/line out, power connector, RJ-11/modem, RJ-45/Ethernet,
* Slots: ExpressCard/54 slot, Secure Digital (SD) slot
* Dimensions: 1.27 in (at front) x 14.1 in x 10.5 in / 32.3 mm (at front) x 358 mm x 266.8 mm
* Weight: 2.5Kgs (5.5 lbs)

HP Compaq 6720s looks and feels pretty solid. It's not really a consumer notebook thus is has no extra bells and whistles for media playback like a remote control or media buttons. HP Compaq 6720s made out of black and grey plastic and fits perfectly on my lap. There is enough space to rest your palms on while typing and it feels very solid (the screen can be twisted a little however). You really need to push hard on the lid in order for the ripples to appear.

The Core 2 Duo T5470 is the slowest of the new 800MHz FSB CPU’s but it's still really fast. The Intel Speedstep Technology changes the multiplier from 6x to 8x in order to maintain maximum performance and maximum battery time. The only thing this processor lacks compared to its faster brothers is a higher frequency, 2MB cache and Vanderpool Technology (hardware accelerated virtualisation). Windows Vista boot up time from the BIOS to the Windows logon screen is about 32 seconds. The hard disk is a Hitachi HTS541612J9SA00 which means it’s a 120GB SATA drive at 5400RPM with 8MB cache. Windows feels really snappy despite only 1GB of RAM but with one open slot I think I will upgrade to 2GB soon. I don’t play games on it but with integrated X3100 graphics you shouldn’t expect very much.

Conclusion

If you are looking for a laptop without any bells and whistles with low weight and a friendly pricetag then the HP Compaq 6720s is for you. If you want to play new games at a high resolution then this is not what you are looking for. I would totally recommend it to my fellow students as they always seem low on cash and shouldn’t be playing games at your university anyway.

Pros

* Excellent screen
* Long battery time
* Great multitasking
* Great value for money
* Well designed
* SD/MMC cardreader
* Stays cool

Cons

* Standard installation full of bloatware
* No recovery/Vista disks
* No FireWire/TV-out/DVI/HDMI
* Mono speaker

Laptop and PC compare

I have the luxury of having both a desktop and a laptop, and I would like to share with you the advantages of each. Choosing the right machine for you will depend on what you want the computer for, how many and what kind of applications you will run, and how much you have to spend.

Processing Power
CPUs generate need plenty of power and so can really eat up batteries. For this reason the laptop normal favours less powerful process that extend battery life. Having said that, you probably wouldn’t notice the difference if all you use is Word, Internet Explorer, and Outlook. These don’t make that much demand of the processor and a laptop would be more than happy running all three at once. On the other hand, encoding a DVD or tweaking a 10 megapixel photograph requires some processing power. The amount of speed you require will very much depend on your patience and how much time you have. If you are in no hurry, a laptop can cope with these tasks but may take 2 or 3 times longer compared to a desktop of the same price.

Clear the Decks
If you don’t want to devote an entire table to your computer then a laptop can be convenient. Check your emails on the kitchen table, and then at lunch time, fold it away in a few seconds and store it on the shelf. Desktop computers can also have fold away keyboards that slide underneath the desk on a tray but you still need to have the monitor on the table.

Upgrading
As your computer ages the demands that you will want to make of it will probably increase. Recent innovations of HD DVDs drives, solid state hard disk drives, and faster CPUs can make your old system seem redundant. Generally speaking, desktop PCs are easier to upgrade components than laptops. With a laptop, you can up the RAM, or replace the Hard Drive, but that’s about it. With a desktop you have really got a sort of mechano kit – you can upgrade the graphics card, add firewire ports, and add additional hard disk drives and optical drives. Replacing an optical drive in a laptop is possible, but is many times more expensive and needs specialist knowledge.

Carbon Footprint
Laptops use less electricity – the one I am using to type this article is using 20-30W. In contrast a computer may typically use 100-150W. For this reason I would say that laptops are the more eco-friendly option. Because of the laptop’s all-in-one design, if a component gets damaged, it often is more cost effective to buy a new one than repair it. This negates the low-power advantages somewhat – but my gut feeling is that laptops are still greener. They might get written off if you’re unlucky, but the saved electricity is a 100% certainty.

Good Ergonomics
Experts say that setting up your computer is the key to avoiding RSI (repetitive strain injury) or a bad back. With a laptop, the screen is a little too low when sitting on a typical table, ideally the top of the screen should be at eye level. A friend of mine uses a stand to raises his MacBook Pro to the correct height, with a USB keyboard positioned on the desk. This is an ideal setup, but probably cost him around £70.

Comparing Costs
The cheapest desktop PCs are around £300 where as laptops start at around £400. This doesn’t sound too bad, but you also have to factor in the difference in performance. Some laptops are just as powerful as tower PCs and so they are known as desktop-replacements. These typically weigh a massive 4kg and they are a bit more expensive.

Zach Hope is the author of Speed-Up-Windows-XP.com, a site that can teach anybody to significantly speed up Windows to invigorate old computers. You can eliminate slow boot times today and transform your really slow computer.