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Top 15 Notebook PCs

New this month: a wide-screen multimedia model with booming sound from Dell, and a Ferrari-red entrant from Acer.

Narasu Rebbapragada

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HP Compaq Nc6000 PCW Rating: 4.0PCW Rating: 4.0PCW Rating: 4.0

Last Rated: March 29, 2004

1. HP Compaq Nc6000

1.6-GHz Pentium M processor, 14.1-inch screen, 6.6 pounds, 60GB hard drive, DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive, Price when ranked: $2021,

Bottom Line: Lightweight corporate notebook comes with dual wireless capabilities and great battery life.

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Gateway M405CS PCW Rating: 3.5PCW Rating: 3.5PCW Rating: 3.5

Last Rated: May 27, 2004

2. Gateway M405CS

1.5-GHz Pentium M processor, 15.0-inch screen, 7.1 pounds, 40GB hard drive, DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive, Price when ranked: $1333,

Bottom Line: Offers solid performance for a low price. Order it with the lithium ion battery (as we did) to get the battery life we saw in our tests.

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Dell Inspiron 9100 PCW Rating: 4.0PCW Rating: 4.0PCW Rating: 4.0

Last Rated: August 24, 2004

3. Dell Inspiron 9100

3.2-GHz Pentium 4 processor, 15.4-inch screen, 11.5 pounds, 60GB hard drive, DVD+R/RW drive, Price when ranked: $2330,

Bottom Line: This extra-thick desktop replacement has a DVI port and dual pointing devices; it plays loud, rich sound on its built-in subwoofer.

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Acer Aspire AS2003LMi PCW Rating: 4.0PCW Rating: 4.0PCW Rating: 4.0

Last Rated: February 27, 2004

4. Acer Aspire AS2003LMi

1.6-GHz Pentium M processor, 15.4-inch screen, 8.1 pounds, 60GB hard drive, DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive, Price when ranked: $1599,

Bottom Line: Very good performer offers an alluring wide-aspect 15.4-inch screen, but only so-so sound.

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Dell Inspiron 5150 PCW Rating: 3.0PCW Rating: 3.0PCW Rating: 3.0

Last Rated: March 29, 2004

5. Dell Inspiron 5150

3.06-GHz Mobile Pentium 4 processor, 15.0-inch screen, 10.3 pounds, 60GB hard drive, DVD+R/RW drive, Price when ranked: $1751,

Bottom Line: This notebook has a high-resolution screen. It's hefty, however, and you can't remove its optical drive to swap in a second battery.

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IBM ThinkPad R51 PCW Rating: 4.5PCW Rating: 4.5PCW Rating: 4.5

Last Rated: July 28, 2004

6. IBM ThinkPad R51

1.5-GHz Pentium M processor, 15.0-inch screen, 7.4 pounds, 40GB hard drive, DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive, Price when ranked: $1699,

Bottom Line: Slim R51 suits users who care more about mainstream features than bells and whistles. Excellent keyboard.

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IBM ThinkPad T42 PCW Rating: 4.0PCW Rating: 4.0PCW Rating: 4.0

Last Rated: July 28, 2004

7. IBM ThinkPad T42

1.7-GHz Pentium M processor, 15.1-inch screen, 6.9 pounds, 40GB hard drive, DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive, Price when ranked: $2299,

Bottom Line: IBM pays terrific attention to detail in this impressive business notebook. The keyboard is outstanding, and the unit has speed to match.

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Toshiba Tecra M2V-S310 PCW Rating: 3.0PCW Rating: 3.0PCW Rating: 3.0

Last Rated: June 21, 2004

8. Toshiba Tecra M2V-S310

1.5-GHz Pentium M processor, 14.1-inch screen, 5.7 pounds, 40GB hard drive, DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive, Price when ranked: $1499,

Bottom Line: Lightweight business notebook offers good battery life and generous storage expansion. Price includes just 256MB of RAM.

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Chem USA ChemBook 2056 PCW Rating: 3.0PCW Rating: 3.0PCW Rating: 3.0

Last Rated: July 26, 2004

9. Chem USA ChemBook 2056

1.7-GHz Pentium M processor, 15.0-inch screen, 7.3 pounds, 60GB hard drive, DVD±RW drive, Price when ranked: $1999,

Bottom Line: Strong performance and long battery life distinguish this unit. The optical drive is mounted on the front for easy access.

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Acer Ferrari 3200 PCW Rating: 4.0PCW Rating: 4.0PCW Rating: 4.0

Last Rated: August 24, 2004

10. Acer Ferrari 3200

1.8-GHz Low-power Mobile Athlon 64 2800+ processor, 15.0-inch screen, 8.0 pounds, 80GB hard drive, DVD±RW drive, Price when ranked: $1999,

Bottom Line: Nicely equipped Ferrari-red notebook boasts slot-fed DVD burner and plenty of ports.

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IBM ThinkPad X40 PCW Rating: 4.0PCW Rating: 4.0PCW Rating: 4.0

Last Rated: July 27, 2004

11. IBM ThinkPad X40

1.2-GHz LV Pentium M processor, 12.1-inch screen, 5.6 pounds, 40GB hard drive, External DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive, Price when ranked: $2299,

Bottom Line: Ultraportable ThinkPad boasts the finest keyboard for its size. Optical drive is USB- or dock-based.

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Toshiba Portege M205-S810 PCW Rating: 3.5PCW Rating: 3.5PCW Rating: 3.5

Last Rated: July 28, 2004

12. Toshiba Portege M205-S810

1.5-GHz Pentium M processor, 12.1-inch screen, 7.1 pounds, 60GB hard drive, External DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive, Price when ranked: $2399,

Bottom Line: This stylish convertible tablet-notebook handles both functions adequately. Good battery life and is very responsive to screen taps.

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Sony VAIO PCG-TR3AP3 PCW Rating: 3.5PCW Rating: 3.5PCW Rating: 3.5

Last Rated: May 27, 2004

13. Sony VAIO PCG-TR3AP3

1-GHz ULV Pentium M processor, 10.6-inch screen, 4.0 pounds, 40GB hard drive, DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive, Price when ranked: $2200,

Bottom Line: The VGA camera mounted on this unit's small, easy-to-read screen supports video and stills. The tinny speakers and shallow keystroke are drawbacks.

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JVC Mobile Mini Note PC MP-XV841US PCW Rating: 3.0PCW Rating: 3.0PCW Rating: 3.0

Last Rated: July 27, 2004

14. JVC Mobile Mini Note PC MP-XV841US

1-GHz ULV Pentium M processor, 8.9-inch screen, 3.9 pounds, 40GB hard drive, DVD-RW/-RAM drive, Price when ranked: $2300,

Bottom Line: Well-equipped ultraportable boasts an integrated DVD burner and a wide-format screen for on-the-road movies. Includes Pinnacle Studio 9 SE.

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HP Compaq Tablet PC Tc1100 PCW Rating: 2.5PCW Rating: 2.5PCW Rating: 2.5

Last Rated: July 27, 2004

15. HP Compaq Tablet PC Tc1100

1-GHz ULV Pentium M processor, 10.4-inch screen, 7.1 pounds, 40GB hard drive, External DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive, Price when ranked: $2299,

Bottom Line: Four-pound tablet PC converts to a smoothly working notebook with a keyboard addition. Screen taps require more force than we'd like.

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All systems are tested or retested under our WorldBench 5 test suite.

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