The 12.1in display has a 1,366×768 resolution – a great improvement over regular netbook screens. It’s wide enough to have two documents open side-by-side, and long enough for Windows’ dialog boxes. The screen doesn’t tilt very far back, but horizontal and vertical viewing angles are wider than the average netbook. Image quality is excellent, with high contrast levels and rich colour reproduction. Brightness is even and black levels are deep. Audio quality from the front speaker pair can’t match the impressive screen, but sound quality was still above average, with solid mid-range and even a small amount of bass.

The relatively thin construction of the base unit turns out to be surprisingly sturdy. Surfaces on the top and bottom of the base unit, including the keyboard area, do not flex, with the understandable exception of the lid, which does flex in the middle when you apply some serious pressure. The hinges hold the lid firmly in position; we needed both hands to open the netbook.

A desktop version of Intel’s Atom processor gives a welcome power boost over other netbooks. The dual-core Atom D525 runs at 1.8GHz and is sensibly matched with 2GB of memory. Asus has installed Windows 7 Home Premium to avoid the 1GB memory limit imposed by the Starter edition of Microsoft’s operating system. The extra memory makes everyday programs run far smoother than we’re used to on most netbooks, but it still can’t compete with full-size laptops. In our multimedia benchmarks, the VX6 managed an overall score of 29, which is roughly twice as fast as a single-core netbook.

An Nvidia Ion chipset is a step above Intel’s integrated HD graphics, as it can comfortably play 720p video on the VX6 itself, or Full HD content on an external display via HDMI. Unfortunately playing modern games is asking too much, as Call of Duty 4 crawled along at 5fps. You should be able to play older titles by lowering detail levels. To extend battery life, Optimus power-saving disables the graphics chip when it isn’t needed, but the VX6 still only managed just over five hours in our light-use test – below average for a netbook.

The VX6 has one of the best keyboards we’ve seen on a netbook; the keys are all a good size and have excellent tactile feedback. Unlike many Chiclet-style keyboards we’ve tried, each key didn’t wobble and made little noise as we typed. The touchpad is small but responsive. We weren’t so keen on the rocker-style touchpad button. The large dead spot in the middle isn’t always noticeable, but we would prefer a two-button layout.

The VGA port is positioned immediately next to the HDMI on the left-hand side. Since these ports are towards the back of the netbook, there should be no awkward cables getting in the way of your mouse (for both right and left-handers). The selection is rounded off with a USB 2.0 port and a card reader (SD, SDHC, MMC, RJ45). As with all its netbooks, Asus uses a tiny mobile phone-style power socket. Looking at the right-hand side it becomes apparent why the VX6 can call itself a ‘performance’ netbook. Asus has splashed out on two USB 3.0 ports for the netbook. This new standard is theoretically ten times faster than USB 2.0, as it can reach transfer speeds of up to 625 MB/s in Super Speed mode.

Battery life is very important for a netbook, and generally the best argument for getting an Intel-based system. Run times of from 6 hours (Asus Eee PC 1001P, Samsung NP-NB30, WLAN test) to 10 hours (Acer Aspire One 532, Asus Eee PC 1008P, WLAN test) are the norm. The first Nvidia Ion netbooks of 2009 (e.g. Samsung N510) were also in the same ballpark with almost 5 hours of battery life.

The VX6 is fast, well-built and a joy to use, but regular laptops have much better performance and cost only slightly more. Easily the best-looking and most graphically powerful netbook we’ve seen in the last year, and indeed since Asus conceived the first ever Eee PC. We’d happily take an Eee PC VX6 on the road with us any time, although that price tag might put off many potential buyers.

The G53SW has an average amount of ports for a 15.6-inch notebook; a larger variety would be appreciated. It lacks an ExpressCard slot and eSATA. The right side of the G53SW houses a USB 2.0 port, a USB 3.0 port, Ethernet, a HDMI port, a VGA port, headphone and mic jacks, and the power jack. Two USB 2.0 ports and a DVD burner line the left side of the laptop, and the front lip contains a 5-in-1 card reader.

This “Chiclet” or island-style keyboard has raised flat-topped keys. It features white backlighting, which is great for using the notebook in a darker environment. The keyboard has a very light feel and it is easy to press down the keys. The tactile feedback is adequate however could be significantly improved if the keys had a longer throw.

The touchpad is oversized and has an excellent matte/non-stick surface. It supports multi-touch features such as ‘pinching’ to zoom. The touchpad buttons need serious work, however; they are difficult to press depending on where pressure is applied on the button. Additionally, they are loud and take too much pressure to press.

The 15.6-inch glossy display on G53SW offers full 1920 x 1080 HD resolution. We appreciated the deep blue in Captain America’s uniform and the rich red in his shield while watching a trailer for Captain America: The First Avenger. The colors popped even more we when switched to Vivid mode. The speakers located above the G53SW’s keyboard provided rich and clear audio. Sound during our gaming sessions was equally impressive. The EAX and THX surround audio enhancements made the sound more immersive, heightening our gaming experience.

Powered by the 2nd generation Intel Core i7-2630QM quad-core processor, experience top-of-the-line adaptable speed and responsiveness for the most demanding tasks. Featuring the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460M graphics engine that comes with a massive 1.5GB of GDDR5 VRAM, the ROG G53Sw-A1 leads in DirectX 11 gaming for advanced tessellation and faster graphics rendering. And while others struggle to find the keys in dimly lit areas, the backlit gaming keyboard gives you the edge in the dark to put you ahead of the competition. The ROG G53Sw-A1 showcases a stealth fighter-inspired design with a unique thermal design that promotes airflow and keeps air away from you.

Good battery life is not expected out of a gaming notebook for obvious reasons; high-performance components  consume more power than typical parts. Despite this, the G53SW managed a respectable 3 hours, 11 minutes during our standard battery rundown test  (Windows 7 Balanced power profile, 70% screen brightness, wireless active, and refreshing a web page every 60 seconds).

The $1,449 ASUS G53SW-A1 offers a great combination of blazing-fast graphics, a gorgeous display, and rich audio. Our biggest issue is the keyboard, which not only has an undersized number bad but exhibits a lot of flex. You also have to think about the weight: 8.2 pounds is a lot to carry for a 15.6-inch notebook, especially when the 17-inch version of this ASUS laptop (the G73SW-A1) weighs just about half a pound more.

Business-rugged features include new metal hinges and the Active Protection System, which parks the hard drive in the event of a drop. While not fully rugged, the L420 meets eight military specifications for withstanding high and low temperatures, dust, and other extreme conditions. The L420 is also equipped with a spill-resistant keyboard, which Lenovo rates to withstand up to an ounce of water. These features are comparable to what’s offered by Dell and HP. Other business-friendly features include an integrated fingerprint reader, which lets you log into the notebook in an extra-secure way; TPM; BIOS port locking; and an optional smart card reader.

The L420 has an above average port selection for a 14-inch notebook, including DisplayPort, eSATA, and an ExpressCard/54 slot. It also has a docking station port on the bottom of the chassis. Lenovo is known for its springy, responsive keyboards, and the L420 is no exception. During our hands-on time with the notebook, we enjoyed strong tactile feedback and were able to type this review at a brisk pace with few mistakes. On the Ten Thumbs Typing Test, we achieved our typical score of 65 words per minute with a 3-percent error rate. The ThinkPad L420 features a TrackPoint pointing stick (located between the G and H keys) and a textured touchpad. The pointing stick provides an accurate way of navigating the desktop, and, of the four brands who offer one–Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Toshiba Lenovo’s is the easiest to use.

Lenovo ThinkPad L420 has a 14-inch display with an anti-glare coating and 720p (1366×768) resolution. The display quality is average at best; brightness is satisfactory though by no means “bright”. Contrast is average; the Command Prompt window is not quite deep black as it should be. The 1366×768 resolution is subpar considering this notebook is intended for productivity. Unfortunately the L420 is not available with a higher-resolution screen as of publishing.

Lenovo ThinkPad L420 stayed cool throughout our testing. After we streamed a Hulu video for 15 minutes, the touchpad measured 89 degrees Fahrenheit, the space between the G and H keys registered 85, and the notebook’s underside came in at 86. All of these temperatures are well below what we consider uncomfortably warm (95 degrees).

Lenovo L420 is well-stocked with performance components. The second-generation Intel Core i5 processor is more than capable of handling business productivity tasks; 4GB of RAM is enough for multitasking; the integrated Intel HD graphics work fine for everything but gaming. The hard drive is not impressive; the Seagate 7200.4, while it runs at 7200RPM, is old and slower than most modern 5400RPM drives. It is also noisier than newer drives.

The L420 has a modest 6-cell 57Wh battery. I measured four hours, 36 minutes of life during our standard battery rundown test (Windows 7 Balanced power profile, 70% screen brightness, wireless active, and refreshing a web page every 60 seconds). This is less than I expected; I was looking for a time well north of five hours.

The ThinkPad L420 comes bundled with Lenovo’s typical array of ThinkVantage utilities. These include Enhanced Backup and Restore for keeping your files safe and Fingerprint Reader for adding an extra layer of security when logging into your machine. There’s also Power Manager, which lets you tweak various settings related to the system’s battery. Regardless, this laptop’s great keyboard, snappy performance, and reasonable price make it a compelling option for professionals who aren’t willing sacrifice quality. We wish the sound quality were better, but if a solid typing experience, good performance, and a budget-friendly price are what you’re after, the ThinkPad L420 fits the bill.

Not much has changed in the way of materials and durability, the X1 does get a facelift in the form of a chiclet (and backlit!) spill-resistant keyboard, coupled with a buttonless touchpad. Rest assured, though: Lenovo hasn’t mucked with the secret sauce that makes its keys so comfy to type on. And while you might feel ambivalent about Lenovo once again going with an integrated touchpad, know that this is one of the better ones we’ve tested. The textured pad feels wonderful and makes a satisfying low-pitched sound when you press it.

The ThinkPad X1 features a unique port layout as a result of the thin side profile which is just 16.5mm. You’ll see a headset jack and USB port on one side of the X1, a media card slot on the other, and the rear of the laptop is packed with more ports than you’ll find on any other ultra-thin notebook.

The 13.3-inch screen on the ThinkPad X1 is a HD (1366 x 768 resolution) screen with a “Super Bright” backlight rated at 350 nits. The panel is extremely glossy but that is in no small part due to the addition of Corning Gorilla Glass which protects the screen from scratches and damage that would break a typical notebook screen.

With its 2.5-GHz second-generation Intel Core i5-2520M CPU, Intel integrated graphics, and a 7,200-rpm hard drive, the ThinkPad X1 offers strong enough performance to take on even the most daunting productivity tasks. On PCMark Vantage, a synthetic benchmark that measures overall system performance, the X1 scored a whopping 7,535, about 80 percent above the ultraportable notebook category average of 4,185 and well above the Core i5-2537M powered Samsung Series 9 (6857), the Core i5-2410M powered Toshiba Portege R835 (6115), and the 13-inch MacBook Air (5,390) and its older Core 2 Duo CPU.

Noise levels were mostly a non-issue with the X1 as long as you weren’t seriously stressing the system. During the 3DMark benchmark tests we noticed the system fan was loud enough to be mildly disruptive in a quiet office or classroom setting. The best way I can describe it is the fan sounds like someone is using a hairdryer somewhere on the second floor of a two-story house. You’ll notice the fan noise when you’re stressing the graphics but it isn’t as loud as what we hear on gaming notebooks with discrete graphics cards.

The ThinkPad X1 with Intel Core i5-2520M processor delivered 5 hours and 51 minutes of battery life with the built-in battery. If you need more than 8 hours of endurance, you can always buy a second slice and swap them, but there’s no way to replace the internal battery. Fortunately, the internal battery is rated to last at least 1,000 charge cycles (three years) before it might start to lose capacity.

The ultimate businesss ultraportable, the ThinkPad X1 combines the best notebook typing experience ever with strong performance, a sleek design, great sound, and durability. However, the notebook isn’t perfect. Business users who require more endurance will want to consider the Lenovo ThinkPad X220, which includes a nine-cell battery for $125 less.

The chassis is extremely solid as a result and does not flex even under strong pressure. The lid however could be stronger; it flexes when twisted by the corners; additionally, the fact that minor ripples appear on the screen when pushed in from behind means it could have better support. Overall the build quality is impressive; aside from some glossy plastic and a lid that could be stronger, there is little to complain about.

The 14.1-inch, 1366 x 768 glossy display on the ThinkPad Edge E420s provided bright, colorful images and decent viewing angles. However, because the 200-nit display is covered end to end in glossy infinity glass, the screen can be a bit reflective and colors wash out at angles greater than 45 degrees to the left or right. The ThinkPad E420s’s Intel HD Graphics 3000 chip allowed it to handle any video we threw at it with great aplomb. From a 1080p QuickTime trailer for Thor to a 720p streamed Flash episode of Fringe, videos were smooth and sharp.

Has two USB ports (one of which can sleep and charge) on the right side of the chassis along with HDMI and a combo headset/mic jack. On the back are an Ethernet connection, eSATA/USB port, and VGA out. On the left side are an SD Card reader and a slot-loading DVD drive. We only wish the ThinkPad Edge E420s had a USB 3.0 port to enable faster backups.

The E420s is well-equipped to handle everyday tasks including office productivity. The Core i5 processor is fast enough for even demanding applications such as Adobe Photoshop. 4GB of memory is plenty for multitasking and the Seagate hard drive is reasonably fast. The E420s is not gaming friendly since it only has integrated graphics.

The E420s is more or less silent for normal productivity tasks. Its single fan exhausts air out the right side of the chassis; it stays off most of the time. At maximum speed the fan develops a slight whine but is bearable. The fan does a good job keeping the notebook cool; the area around the vent on the bottom of the notebook is the only area that gets warm. All exterior temperatures shown below are listed in degrees Fahrenheit.

With its embedded battery, the ThinkPad Edge E420s lasted an impressive 6 hours and 41 minutes, nearly two hours longer than the 4:55 category average and similar to the Toshiba Tecra R840 (6:34). Note that the E420s’ battery is non-removable similar to Apple MacBooks or the Alienware M11x. Lenovo most definitely opted for the internal battery to keep the E420s as thin as possible. Li-polymer batteries like the one in the E420s can be shaped to fit the interior of the notebook unlike the Li-ion batteries most notebooks have.

This laptop offers a great typing experience, solid performance, and strong battery life. The ThinkPad Edge E420s is easily recommendable for all of the above-mentioned qualities. It represents a good value at its $799 price point. Step up to a traditional ThinkPad for a higher resolution screen.

For its keyboard, of course, it has an island-style layout. This makes Sony which was known for long before other PC makers jumped on board and started ditching those pillowy and closely arranged keys. Then, below the thick speaker strip (but above the keyboard) you will find multimedia keys, as well as buttons to launch Sony’s VAIO Care and Media Gallery software. Moreover, the glowing green power button is still built into the side of the hinge, which is an attractive touch. It has full-sized Chiclet-style backlit keyboard.

This notebook weighs 6.6 pounds and has 15.3 x 10.4 x 1.6 inches. This type of VAIO F is still light enough to carry around the house with ease. For the most important part, the VAIO F Series never became uncomfortably hot. After 15 minutes of streaming a Hulu video at full screen, the temperatures is about 86 degrees Fahrenheit on the underside of the notebook, 97 degrees in the center of the keyboard, and 98 degrees on the touchpad. Then, on the bottom of the notebook—near the vents on the left side—the temperature is 110 degrees.

This notebook is completed with Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit operating system. There is also 3-in-1 memory card reader. For the USB ports, there are 3 USB 2.0 ports. It has also HDMI/VGA and FireWire. Then, there is 6 GB DDR3-1333 dual-channels RAM (1x 4GB, 1x 2GB). Its hard disk drive is 640GB 5400RPM Toshiba hard drive. Besides, it is also completed with Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6250 AGN wireless LAN. Then, there is also Internal Bluetooth. Those looking to upgrade the VAIO F will find it relatively easy to do. There are separate compartments on the bottom for the RAM and also its hard drive. Both RAM slots are occupied in your works.

Bright LED-backlit 15.6-inch display has a native resolution of 1,366×768 pixels, whereas many higher-end laptops offer better resolutions. On a screen this big, you can look closely and see the pixels, but both video and text appear crisp, albeit with limited viewing angles before looking washed-out. Unfortunately, the speaker was a big disappointment. The Aspire’s cost-conscious single speaker, situated under the top left of the grille above the keyboard, was fine for spoken-word material, but its lack of stereo sound and low overall volume couldn’t hold a candle to other 15.6-inchers for music or movies.

The full-size keyboard is complimented by a 10-key numeric pad, which adds some number crunching functionality. Unlike most chiclet-style keyboards, in which a distinct square button is used, Acer uses a floating wafer top design. And The touchpad has a silky matte finish, which feels great under the fingertips.

The Acer Aspire AS5742G-7200 comes equipped with a healthy selection of input and output ports. Connections include a VGA output, Ethernet port, HDMI output, microphone and headphone connections, a two-format card reader (SD and MMC), three USB ports, an 8x Super-multi DVD drive/burner, and a 1.3-megapixel webcam. The Ethernet port on the left side of the laptop provides a wired networking connection. In addition to this wired connection, there’s also built-in 802.11n Wi-Fi.

The Intel Core i5-460M CPU in this Acer Aspire isn’t a next-gen Sandy Bridge processor, so it doesn’t benefit from any of the latest Intel improvements. On the other hand, it’s as good as most Core i5 laptops from last year. The Aspire 5742G-7200 handles multitasking, streaming HD video, and nearly every daily computing task well. That being said, with new Intel processors already having debuted, you might be best served by waiting for a next-generation upgrade (although mainstream dual-core models are still a couple of months away).

The Aspire 5742G-7200 uses the same battery pack as the less expensive non-dedicated graphics versions of the laptop. The six-cell battery has a rated capacity of 4400mA which is fairly typical of more affordable laptops. In DVD playback tests, the system last roughly two and a quarter hours. This is slightly lower than the models based solely on integrated graphics and is a bit lackluster but consistent with laptops of this size battery. More traditional usage should yield roughly three hours of usage before going into standby mode.

While the exterior of the Acer Aspire 5742G still has a glossy overall look, they have moved to a weave style pattern for the plastic. This does a much better job than the previous 5740 model at hiding smudges and fingerprints from view. Of course, the glossy texture still collects them, they just aren’t as visible. If you want great performance without the high price, the Acer Aspire AS5742G-7200 desktop replacement laptop is worth looking at.

At 15.2 x 10.2 x 1.4 inches, this 15.6-inch laptop is easy to carry in a backpack, but its weight 5.8 pounds makes it somewhat hefty for this class of notebook. The palmrest wasn’t as smudge-resistant as the lid, collecting plenty of finger prints after a heavy day of typing. That said, it was easy to wipe clean with a cloth without much trouble.

The K53E has a spartan collection of input and output ports. It does not have any high-speed data connections such as USB 3.0 or eSATA, and there’s no way to add it since the K53E lacks an ExpressCard slot as well. All picture descriptions are left to right.

The keyboard has a familiar feel as it’s the same one ASUS uses in most of its consumer notebooks. It does not have a backlighting feature. The keys are square and flat-topped. Keystrokes are mostly fluid and feel a bit rubbery, which isn’t a bad thing. Key travel the distance between pressed and unpressed positions could be longer and would improve feedback.

ELAN touchpad is oversized and has a smooth matte surface for easy finger movement. It supports multi-touch functions such as ‘pinching’ with two fingers to zoom. The problem with the touchpad is the buttons; they are way too noisy. People across the room will know each and every time you click. Loud touchpad buttons are a consistent design flaw in consumer notebooks.

K53E offers a widescreen 15.6 inch display with the standard issue resolution of 1366 x 768. Its glossy surface has a tendency to easily pick up reflections in a brightly lit room. The LCD does have some minor screen-door effect when viewing at close range, with lines between pixels being most visible when browsing the web or typing documents. Brightness levels are more than adequate for viewing indoors, although not bright enough to remain visible outside in anything more than an overcast sky.

ASUS K53E includes a 2.3-GHz Intel Core i5-2410M dual-core processor, 6GB of DDR3 memory, and Intel GMA HD graphics, making this laptop a strong performance. The K53E comes with a 640GB Seagate hard drive, which has lots of space and is quiet; it has very reasonable performance despite its 5400RPM speed (high performance drives run at a faster 7200RPM). The 6GB of included RAM is generous; I expect to see more notebooks come with 6GB standard now instead of 4GB, which has been standard for about two years now.

The K53E’s integrated Intel graphics are significantly better performing than previous-generation Intel graphics though this still is not a gaming notebook; for gaming, look for a notebook with a dedicated AMD or Nvidia graphics card. For everything except gaming, integrated Intel graphics are more than enough.

The K53E is cooled by a single fan that exhausts air out the left side of the notebook. In general usage such as surfing the Internet, the fan is for all intents and purposes inaudible. While running the processor at maximum capacity such as while encoding MP3s, the fan turns faster and is audible but not annoying; it mostly sounds like a rush of air. The notebook itself stays cool to the touch top and bottom and is only barely warmer around the fan area.

Comes standard with a six-cell battery that provides more than enough runtime to get most users through their day. Using the LAPTOP Battery Test (Web surfing via Wi-Fi), the notebook lasted for an impressive 5 hours and 43 minutes, far surpassing the average of 4:02. By comparison, the Toshiba A665 mustered 4:26. Even the 4820TG, which has switchable graphics, could only manage 5:11.

ASUS stands this notebook with both a 2-year standard global warranty and a 30-day stuck hot pixel guarantee. During this warranty period ASUS includes free 2-way overnight shipping if something should go wrong. For $749, the ASUS K53E-B1 gives buyers a stylish design and top-notch overall performance. We just wish the keyboard felt a little more solid and that the Wi-Fi performance was stronger from longer distances.

The VAIO F has a full size keyboard with separate numeric keypad. The backlighting is a convenient feature; it is light-sensitive and has several brightness levels depending on the amount of ambient light. The keyboard itself is chiclet-style, meaning there is more than usual spacing between the keys. The keys are square and flat-topped so it takes some getting used to. The keys have a soft feel and are quiet.

16 inch display with a 900p (1600 x 900) resolution, 16:9 aspect ratio, and LED backlighting. The glossy surface means increased clarity but lots of reflections; avoid well-lit areas. The picture quality is average at best. The color is bland and appears washed out. Contrast is below average; the Command Prompt window looks slightly gray and not a deep dark black. Brightness is satisfactory. Viewing angles are poor; tilting the display more than a dozen degrees off-center distorts the colors immediately. A multimedia notebook like the VAIO F should have a much better quality panel, especially considering this one has a Blu-ray player. The 1600 x 900 resolution is bare minimum for a 16/17.3-inch notebook; ideally it should have a 1080p (1920 x 1080) resolution to fully support Blu-ray playback.

An Intel Core i7 quad-core processor, Nvidia GT 425M graphics card, and 6GB of RAM are nothing to sneeze at. The 5400RPM hard drive is middle of the pack for performance; ideally a 7200RPM drive would come standard. Whether it be gaming of Adobe Photoshop, it is tough to find something this notebook can’t perform well in.

The VAIO F has a single fan that exhausts warm air out the left side of the chassis. The fan is nearly silent idling. The fan spools up quickly under load and is very noticeable; it can be heard in a room above minor background noise. The cooling system does a good job of keeping the VAIO F’s chassis cool; even after playing 3D games, the top and bottom of the notebook is barely warmer than idle.

With the Windows 7 Balanced power profile active, 70% screen brightness, wireless active, and refreshing a web page every 60 seconds, the VAIO F lasted two hours, 42 minutes. This is an acceptable time for a desktop replacement notebook but isn’t particularly impressive compared to the latest 15-inch, 16-inch and 17-inch multimedia notebooks.

Sony VAIO F is an overall well-rounded desktop replacement multimedia notebook. Highlights include excellent performance, a good keyboard, and a nice array of input/output ports. The biggest downside is the lackluster design, which is unusual for Sony; the VAIO F looks rather generic. The display is equally disappointing; it is washed out and dull. Lastly, the screen resolution is only 900p, not 1080p as it should be since this notebook has a Blu-ray player.

The Toshiba NB550D’s casing is based extensively on that of the NB500, other than the speakers in the palm rest. The matt plastic surfaces have a high-quality look, and the overall workmanship is convincing. The non-slip, rubberized surfaces below the keyboard and in the region of the lid are an unusual feature; as well as having a nice feel to them, these guard successfully against scratches and a build-up of dirt or dust.

Though the case is mostly black, the netbook still manages to stand out from the crowd; the rubberized surface of the lid comes in either metallic brown, metallic lime-green or metallic orange, depending on your taste. Other than that it is a very straightforward, uncomplicated design, tapering towards the front for ease of use.

The netbook is for the most part robust. The keyboard flexes only in the central region. The hinges stick out from the back of the lid and hold it firmly in place, though we did notice some wobbling of the lid. Why Toshiba decided to make the screen bezel glossy, despite the rest of the case being matt, is a mystery, as the glossy surface has a tendency to pick up dust and scratches.

The netbook’s dimensions of 262 x 190 x 16.6 – 35.5 mm, and its weight of around 1.27 kg including the six-cell battery which it comes with, are within the normal range for a netbook with a 10-inch display. The relatively large access panel on the underside of the base unit is a pleasant surprise, allowing you to change the RAM or hard drive in minutes.

As for performance, the test results we obtained are positive and they show that this Toshiba NB550D netbook is indeed faster than most, even though it only runs at 1GHz and has 1GB of RAM. Compared to the fastest netbook we’ve seen to date, the Acer Aspire One Happy, the Toshiba NB550D puts on a great show.

It recorded times of 4min 25sec and 4min 54sec in the Blender 3D and iTunes MP3 encoding tests, with the iTunes time being especially fast for a netbook. What this suggests is that the Toshiba NB550D is indeed well suited to performing media tasks, more so than other netbooks on the market. However, you still won’t want to use it for encoding media files, as it will still be too slow for most tasks.

The Toshiba NB550D’s hard drive transfer speed was a little slower than expected at 20 megabytes per second, but its 3DMark06 score of 1882 is better than we expected to see out of a netbook. It doesn’t mean that you can use the netbook for gaming, but it gives it a little more oomph when it comes to processing videos and photos on the screen.

A battery life of 3hr 13min was achieved by the Toshiba NB550D’s 6-cell battery, which isn’t a great result when compared to many recent netbooks we’ve seen, such as the Aspire One Happy and the HP Mini 5103. But you might be able to get more out of it when you enable Eco mode or a custom power profile and a low screen brightness.

The Toshiba NB550D netbook is an interesting machine, and an exciting alternative to many of the recent Intel Atom N550 systems, not least because of its hardware in the form of the new AMD C-50 APU including the AMD Radeon HD 6250. Its office performance is limited because of the 1 GB of RAM and a lot of bloatware in its initial state, but its smooth HD playback shows the potential of the netbook’s hardware. Another advantage of the NB550D is its large six-cell battery and low energy usage in idle.

Design

Aesthetically, there’s a lot going on with the GT660. Almost too much. Unlike the GT725 and GT627, which lacked the audacious flair of most gaming notebooks, it seems like MSI pulled together as many cool-looking elements as they could while still keeping the GT660 below two grand. So it’s got some funky cuts along the edges and a glossy, beveled lid complete with glowing MSI logo.

Under the hood you start to notice how busy the GT600 looks. There’s a mix of matte and glossy–though the latter dominates–and the piano black of the display bezel and top of the deck fades into a glossy slate color, which then turns into a textured honeycomb pattern on the palm rest surrounding the touchpad.

Two speakers ringed in red sit on the left and right of the upper deck, and between them is a control deck outlined in red and chrome with touch-sensitive LEDs. Though MSI claims this element evokes a Knight Rider aesthetic, it reminded us more of Aquaman’s underwear. A light tap activates each function, including enabling or disabling Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or the Windows key, and switching between power modes. There’s even a button users can program to launch an oft-used app. A shield-shaped power button sits in the center. Though we found this strip very useful, it picked up fingerprints.

Keyboard & Touchpad

Open up the lid and you’d be greeted with an extended keyboard that includes an alpha-numeric keypad on the right side. It’s a nice addition but if you’re a regular laptop-user, the orientation is confusing that you always tend to hit the wrong keys when typing. One needs some time to get used to the extra keys and learn to familiarize where the Enter button is. The chiclet-type keys are appropriately sized with special color labels on the gaming keys (asdw) and the arrow keys. And while it’s glossy black on the outside, it’s rough and textured in the inside — the palm rest has this honeycomb finish and the trackpad feels like sand-paper and is somewhat flushed to the left. The left and right click buttons are not separated but shaped accordingly to differentiate the two.

The touchpad is pretty big–3.2 x 1.9 inches–but it could be even larger if the designers had used more of the available space. The slightly rough touch surface and mouse button has a thick chrome outline that flows down into a chevron shape. Under the single mouse button are status indicators for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, Battery, Sleep, and the hard drive are appreciated. Plus, our fingers kept naturally gravitating to the bottom edge of the notebook where the mouse buttons usually sit. On this system they’re higher, which took some getting used to.

Display

The 16-inch display is bright and crisp with a maximum resolution of 1366×768 pixels (I was actually expecting it could be higher, somewhere in the 1600×1200 range, because of the large real estate). The glossy display is also prone to glare in the outdoors and against bright light sources.

Ports and Webcam

MSI was certainly generous with the ports on the GT660. On the left you get two USB 3.0 ports, a USB 2.0 port, a memory card slot, and an Express Card slot. The Blu-ray drive takes up most of the right edge, leaving room for the other USB port, headphone, mic, audio in and audio out ports. Finally, the eSATA, HDMI, VGA, Ethernet and power ports sit in the center of the notebook’s back edge. The webcam on the GT660 is a surprisingly high-end unit that can capture video in HD: 1280 x 720, 30 fps. Video quality at this size isn’t stunning, but once we adjusted the settings (brightness, hue, saturation, etc.) the resulting images were decent.

Performance

MSI Exclusive TDE+ technology: MSI’s GT660 gaming notebook  is the world’s first NB computer to come with TDE+ technology to enhance both processor and display performance. With MSI’s own TDE+ (Turbo Drive Engine+ technology), you can increase processor, memory, and display chip performance instantly with one touch of the luminescent Turbo hotkey above the keyboard. The power boost gives you crisp response even with resource-hungry graphics applications and more importantly, when you’re slaying orcs or battling baddies on the other side of the galaxy.

Advanced nVIDIA GeForce GTX 285M discrete graphics card: The MSI GT660 gaming laptop comes equipped with nVIDIA’s most advanced GeForce GTX 285M discrete graphics card with 128 3D stream processor and 1GB GDDR3 of display memory and nVIDIA® CUDA™ technology to truly unleash the machine’s image and graphics processing potential, allowing the GT660 to execute such high load tasks as conferencing and ripping with ease. The GeForce GTX 285M discrete graphics card also supports nVIDIA® PhysX™ Technology, introducing you to a whole new world of extreme playing, courtesy of super dynamic and realistic graphics.

Battery

Autonomy is not really the highlight of the GT660. The laptop took 1 hour 46 minutes during our endurance test, despite its new battery cells 9800 mAh. Finally, its size, 16 inches, and weighing 3.46 kg really does not help to nomadism. We therefore speak more portable, but it is the case for all of these machines, apart from some exceptions including Alienware M11x.

Design
While other brands have reinvented themselves several times over, Fujitsu’s business-oriented LifeBook notebooks look more or less the same as they did a few years ago. Underneath the matte black lid, which has Fujitu’s logo printed in understated gray font, the laptop features a lighter interior, including a white, pillowy keyboard and silvery palm rest (the bezel and area above the keyboard are still black, lending the interior a colorblocked effect). The palm rest is slightly bumpy, which makes the notebook look rugged, although this feature is purely cosmetic. The touchpad has a smaller circular one next to it, which we’ll elaborate on later.

More than anything, what makes the S760 look dated are the half dozen buttons above the keyboard (not to mention five LED lights and two discreet speakers). These buttons are meant to unlock the computer before the OS boots (you can choose one of up to 800,000 combinations). The idea is that these buttons aren’t connected to the keyboard, something hackers can track with keyloggers. The idea is a neat one, although aesthetically we still wish that space above the keyboard were blank.

Keyboard
Its spill resistant keyboard is a pleasure to use, and the quirky ScrollWheel is a ‘take it or leave it’ feature which you can simply ignore if it does not feel right to you. It may, though prove a useful ice-breaker in some client meetings. And you might not want to use the Web camera software in view of clients, unless you have preconfigured it to remove some of the more consumer-focussed elements.

Ports
Connectivity is good comprising VGA and HDMI video out ports, three USB 2.0 ports, and an ExpressCard/54 slot for add-in cards. An optional docking port replicator (£91 ex. VAT) provides a second mains adapter, four USB ports, an eSata port, printer and serial ports, VGA and DVI video outputs, and an Ethernet port.

Graphics & Battery Life

We wouldn’t have expected gaming to be one of this 13-inch business notebook’s strengths, but its discrete Nvidia GeForce 310M graphics card and 512MB video memory make it an excellent work-and-play machine. It notched a score of 3,787 on 3DMark06, whereas the average score for an ultraportable notebook is 1,068. Meanwhile, it ran World of Warcraft at an impressive 129 fps at 1024 x 768 resolution and a slower, but still playable 49 fps at 1366 x 768 resolution. Even in Far Cry 2, a more graphically demanding game, the S760 managed an acceptable 33 fps at 1068 x 768 resolution (slowing to 11 fps at 1366 x 768).

Although its fast hard drive, strong gaming performance, and bright display make the S760 a versatile notebook, battery life is its Achilles heel. The six-cell battery lasted just 3:06 on the LAPTOP battery test, whereas the average ultraportable lasts 5:30. The HP EliteBook 2540p and the Lenovo ThinkPad X201s have even better endurance; they lasted 6:54 and 8:31, respectively. You would get more endurance out of this system if you opted for integrated graphics instead or the modular bay battery, but the latter adds another $138 to an already expensive notebook.

Performance
Performance

By most metrics, the S760 offers better than average performance, but we have to wonder if the slight performance boost is worth the price you have to pay. Squeezed into this small machine is a 2.4-GHz Intel Core i5-520M processor, 2GB of RAM, and a 320GB, 7,200-rpm hard drive (as a business machine, it runs 32-bit Windows 7 Professional). Thanks to all these components, it blew away the category average (3,243) in the Windows benchmark PCMark Vantage with a score of 5,890. Still, we saw even higher scores from lower priced systems, such as the Lenovo ThinkPad X201s ($1,659; 6,106) and the HP EliteBook 2540p ($1,624; 6,002).

The S760’s 7,200-rpm hard drive booted in a reasonable 1:10, and transferred a 4.97GB mixed media folder at a rate of 27.2 MBps, which is slightly faster than the category average (25.3 MBps), not to mention other business-friendly ultraportables, such as the X201s (18.8 MBps), the 2540p (18.2 MBps), and the $899 Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 13 (23.5 MBps).

We had no problem carrying out our usual routine on the S760. We didn’t even notice Norton Internet Security running a full system scan in the background while we streamed music from Slacker and then played clips from Hulu at full screen. At no point did we notice any hiccups in the music or video playback. The notebook was also able to transcode a 114MB MP4 file to AVI in 57 seconds, whereas the average ultraportable takes 2:07.

Design
Unlike the U30Jc or the UL50, the lid of the N61Jv is glossy with a subtle wavy pinstripe pattern, much like the K42F. This looks cool, but it doesn’t do a great job of hiding fingerprint smudges. Inside, however, ASUS has made several interesting design changes. The palm rest is rubberized, making it very comfortable to the touch.

Above the chiclet-style keyboard is the most striking feature: a silver speaker bar perforated by tiny holes. At the right side is a circular chrome power button encircled by a backlit ring; on the other side are buttons to control multimedia playback and to launch the ExpressGate Instant-On environment. At either end of the silver bar are two translucent strips that light up blue when the notebook is on. All in all, it has a very retro-chic look, like something Braun might have designed in the 80s.

Weighing 6 pounds even, the N61J is a bit heavier than most notebooks in its class, most of which have smaller 15.6-inch screens. The Samsung R580, for example, weighs 5.6 pounds. However, the N61Jv, at 15.4 x 10.6 x 1.1—1.5 inches, cuts a thinner profile to the R580’s 16.2 x 10.7 x 1.3—1.6 inches.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The palm rest has a sort of “rubbery” textured plastic found on some mice and keyboards, along with the Alienware M17x and ASUS G73J. The technical description is a “soft touch rubberized painted plastic” surface for the palm rest; whatever it’s called, we like it, and we wish the top cover used the same material. The keyboard is of the chiclet variety and has a good feel and key action. We only have one minor complaint with the keyboard, and that’s the use of a half-size “0″ key for the number keypad. Above are two different keyboards, on the left is the ASUS N61J and on the right is the Acer Aspire 5740G; Acer gets the number keypad right. If a company is going to go to the trouble of fitting a 10-key into a notebook, they need to use the standard layout. Yes it’s a minor quibble, but it’s our only real complaint with the keyboard. We do feel there are better keyboards out there, but that’s largely a matter of personal taste—I’m partial to the Lenovo ThinkPad T410 approach, with raised and contoured keys that feel more like a desktop keyboard. If on the other hand you prefer chiclet keyboards, the N61J won’t disappoint.

Display and Audio
The 16-inch LED-backlit display on the N61Jv was plenty bright, and we liked the crisp colors. While its resolution of 1366 x 768 was adequate for a notebook at this price, its glossy surface kicked back reflections and angles were somewhat limited. Image quality was fair. While watching a 720p episode of Fringe on Fox.com, we could easily make out the wrinkles in the characters’ faces, though a DVD of Heroes looked somewhat grainy.

Despite the fact that the N61Jv has Altec Lansing Speakers and SRS Premium Sound, we were somewhat disappointed overall. There was very nice definition when listening to Led Zeppelin’s “Over the Hills and Far Away,” but bass was sadly lacking on this entertainment system. During the chorus, the higher notes drowned out the lower tones, making it sound a little harsh. Tweaking the settings using the SRS control panel did little to help. On the plus side, the volume was fairly loud when streaming Weezer’s “Beverly Hills” on Slacker.

Ports
ASUS provides a single eSATA port and two USB 2.0 ports. The big extra is that ASUS has added an NEC USB 3.0 controller for one more USB port on the left side

Performance
The 2.26-GHz Intel Core i5-430M processor and 4GB of RAM (upgradable to 8GB) powered the N61Jv to an excellent score of 5,841 in PCMark Vantage, which measures overall performance. That’s about 900 points higher than the desktop replacement average, about 40 points higher than the Samsung 15.6-inch R580, which has the same processor, and practically equal to the similarly sized Acer Aspire 5740G. The 17-inch Samsung R780 ($799) has the same processor, but scored about 100 points higher.

Not only is the N61J’s hard drive a relatively spacious 500GB, but it also zips along at 7,200 rpm, enabling it to blow past a number of notebooks in its category. We were able to duplicate a 4.97GB folder of multimedia in 2 minutes and 31 seconds, a rate of 33.7 MBps. That’s 45 seconds faster than the R580 (26.2 MBps), and more than 10 MBps faster than the Sony VAIO E (21.7 MBps). Boot time, too, was a fast 57 seconds.

Design

After churning out umpteen NV notebooks with updated specs but the same design, Gateway has re-thought this line of laptops. Following a trend set by HP and Dell, Gateway ditched its super glossy lid and instead went with a subtly patterned one whose finish has a bit too much kick to be called matte, but is still subdued enough that it’s not reflective. The result is an attractive, more understated surface that masks fingerprints. The lid and palm rest’s silver color and fine pattern of wavy lines should also prove gender-neutral.

Gone, too, are the touch-sensitive multimedia controls above the keyboard. Instead, there’s a thin chrome strip above the keys that houses LED lights for Wi-Fi and battery status, as well as a discreet power button. The multimedia keys are now baked into the top row of the keyboard, as they are on Macs. In addition to multimedia keys, there’s a dedicated button for launching Social Network Service—Gateway’s own dashboard for Facebook, Flickr, and YouTube (more on that later).

The chiclet-style keyboard—basically, Acer’s FineTip design—is new to the NV series, too, although Gateway still fits in a full number pad, something many other 15-inch systems lack. As a result, though, the touchpad is placed left of center, so that it falls in the center of the keyboard, but not the palm rest itself. The NV59C09u feels surprisingly compact at 15 x 10 x 1.3 inches and 5.4 pounds; it weighs the same as the Editors’ Choice–winning HP G62t and is lighter than the minimalist 5.6-pound 15-inch MacBook Pro and older 5.6-pound Gateway NV.

Keyboard & Touchpad

Its full size keyboard uses very large chiclet keys so that mistypes are rare. Like the R580, a full size numeric keypad lies adjacent to the keyboard—great for accountants and number crunchers. The mouse buttons aren’t completely silent, but their resistance is minimal and pleasant to use. The large, gesture-enabled touchpad responded smoothly to pinching and zooming, as well as to one-fingered scrolling. With a smooth, low-friction surface and an easy-to-press touch button to match, this redesigned NV is an improvement over its predecessors.

Display and Sound

When we watched the first Iron Man movie on Blu-ray, the picture looked bright and sharp on the 15.6-inch screen, as did a lower-resolution SNL Digital Short on Hulu. Still, the benefits of having a Blu-ray drive are mostly lost on a 1366 x 768 display. A higher resolution would have been nice, although we suppose that’s a reasonable trade-off to make in a sub-$800 machine. The speaker strip, barely noticeable above the keyboard, produced slightly metallic bass notes when we played “Telephone” by Lady Gaga and “Paint it Black” by the Rolling Stones.

Ports

With the built-in HDMI port, the NV59C09u can double as a standalone Blu-ray player—all you need is an HDMI cable and an HDTV. It has your standard connectors, such as 3 USB ports, VGA, audio jacks, and Ethernet port. A multimedia card reader (SD, xD, MS, MS Pro, MMC) can be found in the front bezel. The 320GB hard drive is in line with its peers, although the Samsung R580 also gives you 500GB of storage space and an eSATA port for expansion.

Performance

The NV59C09u’s list of specs echo what we’ve seen on lots of budget notebooks lately: a 2.13-GHz Intel Core i3-330M processor, 4GB of RAM, and a 5,400-rpm, 320GB hard drive. In general, it performs better than the average mainstream laptop. Its score of 4,846 in PCMark Vantage, for instance, falls almost 700 points above the average. Then again, the less expensive HP G62t ($599) comes with the same processor and amount of RAM, as well as a larger, faster 7,200-rpm hard drive, and it notched a much better score of 5,306. The Dell Studio 15, which packs a more powerful Core i5 processor and a 7,200-rpm hard drive, also steamrolls the NV with a score of 5,735. The Samsung R580, which has a 2.26-GHz Core i5-430 CPU and 4GB of RAM, bested them all with a score of 5,804.

The NV converted a 114MB MPEg-4 file to AVI in 1 minute and 4 seconds using Oxelon Media Converter, which is faster than average. The machine was powerful enough that we didn’t notice Norton Internet Security running in the background as we watched a Hulu clip at full screen. Meanwhile, its boot time of 1:03 is right on the money in terms of what you can expect of a notebook this size. However, its 5,400-rpm hard drive transferred a 4.97GB mixed media file in 4:51—a rate of 17.5 MBps, which is slower than the mainstream average of 22.5 MBps as well as the Samsung R580’s speed of 26.2 MBps.

A 48WH (6-cell) battery is a very common capacity for laptops in this class. Based on some of these battery scores on MobileMark 2007—the Dell 1564 finished it in 3 hours 29 minutes, the HP dv6-2150us in 3:46, and the Samsung R580 in 3:42—you wouldn’t expect anything more from the NV59C09u. It scored 3 hours 42 minutes. One notable exception is the Asus UL50VF-A1, which ships with a much bigger battery (84WH) and more energy efficient parts, and consequently, scored 8 hours in the same test.

The Gateway NV59C09u seems like a great value if you’re buying it for the Blu-ray drive alone. With any laptop, though, you’ll have to look at the entire picture. Beyond the Blu-ray drive, everything else—a low-end Core i3 processor, integrated graphics, and a plain design—is just average. Even though our Editors’ Choice, the Samsung R580 ($830) is slightly more expensive, there’s just more value.

Design
We loved the EliteBook’s sturdy design when we reviewed the 14.1-inch 6930p, but it’s especially apropos in the 2530p, whose 12.1-inch screen makes it ideal for road warriors. The 2530p, too, has a DuraCase lid, made of brushed anodized aluminum and magnesium alloy. The 3.8-pound 2530p feels a bit heavier than other ultraportables, owing mostly to its rugged build. For example, the Sony VAIO Z Series weighs only 3.3 pounds and features a larger 13.1-inch display. Nevertheless, the 2530p is plenty light for travel and is easy to hold in one hand.

On the inside, the palm rest and thin strip surrounding the touch-sensitive keys are a matching gray, but the keyboard is black. Because the keyboard extends to the edges of the 11.1-inch-wide deck, the keys were comfortable to type on, despite the notebook’s otherwise small size. As with the 6930p, the keyboard and touch buttons are quiet, and the rubbery touchpad has a good amount of resistance, but the touch buttons are narrow; HP also includes a pointing stick with its own corresponding set of mouse buttons. The stick was responsive and has a good rubbery texture.

Above the keyboard are touch-sensitive controls for Wi-Fi, volume, mute, HP Info Center, HP Presentation Options, and one to disable and enable the touchpad. The controls were responsive to taps, although the volume controls required a bit more pressure. In addition to discreet increase and decrease buttons is a convenient strip along which you can slide your finger to adjust the volume.

Screen and Audio
The 2530p comes equipped with a 12.1″ anti-glare widescreen with a typical WXGA resolution.  At 1280 x 800 pixels, this display is capable of displaying fine details without making things too small to work comfortably while on the move.  Of course, the resolution might be limiting if you plan to use this notebook as a mobile video and photo editing platform … but most people interested in a 12-inch notebook aren’t editing high-resolution photos on the road.

When viewing the screen from straight ahead, colors are rich and the contrast is excellent. Full-screen movies are look quite good with deep blacks and good viewing angles.  Horizontal viewing angles are particularly impressive so you won’t have trouble showing a presentation to multiple people sitting at a desk. The vertical viewing angle from above starts to wash out at extreme angles and colors begin to invert from below … but the overwhelming majority of users will never view the screen from high above or far below.

Features and Webcam
The 2530p has two USB 2.0 ports, a FireWire port, a VGA port, Ethernet and modem jacks, mic and headphone ports, docking and battery connectors, and a Kensington lock slot. It also has an ExpressCard/54 slot and an SD Card reader. Ideally, we would have liked to see at least one more USB port.

The 2-megapixel webcam captured sharp, well-lit still photos. Our VGA video showed delays, even when we captured video, which doesn’t involve a (potentially slow) Internet connection. When we made a Skype call, our friend noticed some latency around our mouth but, predictably, said the picture became more fluid as she shrunk the window.

Performance
Performance on little laptops, like the EliteBook 2530p, is not about how fast it goes, but rather can it do the job and how long the battery lasts. Our EliteBook 2530p came with the Intel SL9400 low voltage processor, with a clock speed of 1.86GHz, and 6MB of cache. For graphics, HP uses the Intel GMA 4500MHD integrated graphics chip. I don’t expect really high scores, but I do expect that it will be able to complete the tests.

Despite the above statement I still wanted to get an idea of the speed of the machine. As you can see from the numbers the speed is very low. The two tests I used are 3DMark 06 and PCMark 05. In 3DMark the EliteBook 2530p got 875 and in PCMark it did not get an overall score, but you can see the individual scores are low, but okay. These numbers are disappointing, but not surprising, hopefully it does better in the next test. The next test is a battery test and I used MobileMark 2007 for this. MobileMark does a good job testing battery life under working conditions because it runs programs like Office and Photoshop, all while keeping track of the running time. For the first battery test I used the MobileMark 2007 default power settings and I got 5 hours and 27 minutes. One thing I need to give HP credit for is their fantastic system restore disks. Rather than providing one disk that restores the system to factory settings, they provide two disks. The first one will do a clean install of the OS. The second disk has the drivers and applications, but you get to chose which drivers and apps it installs. This is a fantastic system that I hope finds its way into HP’s consumer products.

Design
For a budget system, the MSI A6200 sports a rather classy design. The glossy black lid and palm rest are adorned with subtle gray pinstripes that reminded us of an upscale business suit.  The touchpad, which sits in a concave area of the palm rest, also carries the pattern. The dek and bezel are also made from glossy black plastic, and the front lip of the system carries a tasteful array of status lights in bright blue and green. Unfortunately, all this gloss adds up to a fingerprint magnet.

At 14.7 x 9.7 x 1.2 inches and 5.4 pounds, the MSI A6200 is no ultraportable but it feels surprisingly light for a 15.6-inch notebook with an optical drive. We were able to carry both the notebook and a pile of textbooks around in our bag all day without feeling like we were lifting something heavy. That’s a bit lighter than competitors like the Gateway NV5934U (5.6 pounds) and the Toshiba L505-ES5018 (6 pounds).

Keyboard and Touchpad
Because of its screen’s wide aspect ratio, the A6200 has room for a numeric keypad and plenty of space to stretch out your hands. The island style keyboard has keys with a comfortable matte plastic surface but less tactile feedback than we’d like. On the Ten Thumbs Typing Tutor test we managed to reach 86 words per minute, far better than our usual 80 wpm rate. However, we also had a 3-percent error rate (worse than our typical 1-percent rate), because the keys didn’t snap back at us as forcefully as we like.

The indented touchpad looks very attractive and provided accurate navigation around the desktop. However, it does not support multitouch gestures such as pinch-to-zoom, a feature most modern notebooks now support. The mouse buttons are paired into a single mouse bar, which is less pleasant to click than two discrete buttons, but offers decent feedback.

Heat
During light use the A6200 stayed relatively cool, but when we played a Hulu video at full screen minutes, it got warmer. After 15 minutes of streaming video, the keyboard reached 95 degrees Fahrenheit, the touchpad heated up to 97 degrees, and the bottom warmed up to 95 degrees. We consider temperatures above 95 degrees to be uncomfortable and above 100 degrees disturbing. The Gateway NV5934u, by comparison, had a keyboard that reached 98 degrees and a bottom that measured 100 degrees.

Ports and Webcam
a6200_sh1For a budget system, the MSI A6200 does not skimp on ports. On its back side are a Kensington lock slot, a VGA-out connection, HDMI port, and two USB ports. Having those connections on the back of the notebook is a little odd, and means you have to reach around behind the system when plugging in devices. The left side contains an Ethernet port, a 4-in-1 memory card reader, audio in/out jacks, and an ExpressCard 54 slot. The right side has one more USB port, for a total of three.

The 1.3-megapixel webcam offered mediocre quality images in normal lighting conditions.  In extreme low light, we were able to get a clear, though largely colorless picture. But when we turned on a light source behind us in an otherwise dim room, the picture got worse as our face became extremely dark in comparison to the background.  When conducting a Skype call, images were sharp but a little jerky.

Performance
The MSI A6200’s 2.13-GHz Intel Core i3 M330 CPU allowed it to get reasonable performance scores that were slightly above the mainstream notebook category average and similar to those offered by other sub-$600 15 and 14-inch consumer notebooks. On PCMark Vantage, a synthetic benchmark that measures overall performance, the A6200 scored a respectable 4,191, which is more than 300 points higher than the category average and far better than the 3,531 turned in by the Toshiba Satellite L505-ES5018. The Core i3-powered Dell Inspiron 14 (4,720) and Gateway NV5934U (4,248) had slightly higher scores, while the HP G62t (5,306) did much better.