Handy Computer Guide

Eric Schroeder writing over at Notebook review has posted his review of the Alienware Area-51 m5790 multimedia laptop. ‘The Alienware Area-51 m5790 is a 17" desktop replacement style gaming notebook that is available exclusively via Alienware.com. This is an update to last year's m5750. The differences are just newly added upgradeable features such as Blu-Ray and the Radeon x1900 video card, along with, of course, Windows Vista in all flavors. Windows XP is, unfortunately, no longer available even as an option. This is a slight problem since it's well known that Vista isn't as good as XP for gaming at this moment. So if you're getting this for gaming, you may want to uninstall Vista and put XP on for the time being.’

Read: Alienware Area-51 m5790 Review

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A review of the Toshiba Protégé M400 tablet PC has been posted over at Pocket Lint. 'The Toshiba Protégé M400 is the company first Intel Core Duo processor based Tablet PC, so has the extra boost in performance made the Tablet PC attractive? We take a closer look. Light and compact, the M400 features a swiveling 12.1-inch display at its core. The model can go from looking like a traditional laptop one minute to a futuristic looking book the next whilst being a DVD player in between.'

Read: Toshiba Protégé M400 laptop Review

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CNET have published a review of the Toshiba Tecra A6-EZ6411 business laptop. 'The 14-inch Toshiba Tecra A6 strikes a nice balance between usability and portability--as well as price and performance. We reviewed the Tecra A6-EZ6411 model, one of three preconfigured models available; Toshiba also sells a configurable model (starting at $859) direct from its site, but it's important to note that the A6-EZ6411 is the only Tecra A6 model at the time of this writing that offers Windows Vista. The Tecra A6-EZ6411 comes with Vista Business Edition and can be found online for roughly $1,200. While cheaper laptops such as the Gateway NX270S will likely suffice for basic business use, the Tecra A6-EZ6411 delivers more powerful mainstream specs that will help it better stand the test of time. Despite the presence of some business-minded security features such as a fingerprint reader and hard drive protection, the glossy, reflective wide-screen display may turn off many would-be business buyers. Weighing 5.5 pounds and featuring a 14.1-inch wide-screen display, the Tecra A6 resides smack in the middle of Toshiba's Tecra business laptop lineup. It's larger than any of the three Tecra M series models and smaller than the other two Tecra A series models, both of which feature 15-inch screens and surpass the 6-pound mark and push into desktop replacement territory. At 5.5 pounds, the Tecra A6 is firmly rooted in the thin-and-light category.'

Read: Toshiba Tecra A6-EZ6411 - CNET

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PC Magazine have reviewed the Acer Aspire 9300-500 "desktop-replacement" laptop. 'The Aspire 9300 offers a good blend of features for all things multimedia. The four USB ports are more than enough to connect to various peripherals. You can import video footage from your camcorder using the FireWire port, but I did find that process a little slow with Windows Movie Maker 6.0 (built into Vista). Clearly, that's a performance issue: The video-encoding software heavily taxes the already slow processor. Adobe Photoshop CS2, another demanding application, ran successfully as long as the amount of background tasks was minimal. Still, rendering my scripts took almost five times longer than with the E1705 (Vista). "Skyping" with the integrated 1.3-megapixel webcam was lag-free, and performing tasks such as DVD playback, office applications, and opening ten tabs in the Firefox browser all went smoothly. The system has a 120GB hard drive, whereas the Toshiba Satellite A135-S4467 gives you 160GB of storage. Acer systems are known to have SPDIF or a line-out port, so you can connect external speakers to offset the crappy, built-in ones.'

Read: Acer Aspire 9300-5005 - PC Mag

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A review of the HP Pavilion a1740n desktop PC has been posted over at CNET. 'The 1.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor in the Pavilion a1740n is an adequate dual-core CPU, but if you pay just a little more, you can get the faster 2.6GHz dual core Athlon 64 X2 5000+ in the Dell. We also found that if you're willing to go with a lesser known brand such as iBuypower, you can get a better PC for the same price; for instance, its $850 Value 640 that came with the faster Core 2 Duo E6400 chip, although we'd tweak its config a bit. You could also look at HP's Pavilion m7750n, which, at least on paper, looks as if it would compare more favorably as well. We wish HP had sent us that system instead. Aside from the CPU, the Pavilion a1740n is very much like the other systems we've mentioned. It comes with 2GB of 533MHz DDR2 SDRAM, perfect for running Windows Vista Home Premium. The more expensive Dell has a low-budget graphics card, which is a little better than the HP's integrated Intel chip, but both look weak compared with the iBuypower's GeForce 7600 GS 3D card. That system would be the hands-down winner in the low-mid range category, but it has only 1GB of memory. If you trade the 3D card for another gig of memory, you'd be set.'

Read: HP Pavilion a1740n - CNET

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Peter Toth writing over at Notebook Review has posted a review of the Core 2 Duo and Nvidia Go 7600 powered Sony VAIO FE-91S notebook PC. 'I purchase the VAIO FE on the Sony Japan website as I wanted to configure it to my needs. The final cost was 214,000 Japanese Yen, which is around $2,000 US dollars. This included the computer and a Sony Protection plan of 3 years. If something were to happen with the laptop Sony would pickup the machine and return it upon fixing the problem. It seemed like a good deal for the latest technology, and a better price than I would have got in Hungary. After I ordered the laptop online it took 2 weeks for delivery.'

Read: Sony VAIO FE Review

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PC Magazine have published a review of the Acer Aspire L310 small-form-factor desktop PC. 'Crammed into the L310 are a 250GB SATA hard drive, an Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 processor, 1GB of system memory, and a slot-mounted DVD burner. These components combine to equal a solid desktop PC, particularly for the casual user. If you're upgrading from a $1,200 tower you bought back in 2003 and you never installed any expansion cards, let alone memory, then a system like the Aspire L310 might be one for you. The dual-core E6300 is certainly fast enough for today's rich-content Web sites and for doing light photo editing (red-eye removal, cropping, and resizing photos). Sure, the L310 comes with "only" integrated Intel GMA 3000 graphics, but that's sufficient for the Aero effects in Vista's Home Premium edition. The 250GB drive is enough for a couple hundred thousand MP3s or digital photos, so if you don't download a lot of video files, you should be set (you could download over 30 full-length movies, but then your hard drive would be full).'

Read: Acer Aspire L310 - PC Mag

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A review of the lightweight Fujitsu LifeBook P7230 notebook PC has been posted on Laptop Magazine. ‘Measuring 10.7 x 7.9 x 1.1 inches, the attractive and solidly built LifeBook P7230 (see photo gallery) is slight enough to tuck into the smallest carry-on, and at three pounds, it's light enough to carry all day. With such diminutive dimensions, however, come sacrifices: The keyboard is cramped and may fatigue your fingers during extended typing stints, particularly if you have big hands. Likewise, the touchpad is tiny, and the petite mouse buttons offer insufficient tactile feedback; you'll definitely want to use an external mouse hooked up to one of the LifeBook P7230's three USB ports. The 10.6-inch widescreen display, with its average 1280 x 768 (WXGA) native resolution, delivers adequate screen real estate, though text looks considerably smaller than what you'll see on even a 12- or 13-inch display with comparable resolution. That said, the LifeBook P7230's display is crisp and bright enough for productivity tasks and is the perfect size for watching DVDs on a plane or train.’

Read: Fujitsu LifeBook P7230 Laptop Mag

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Trusted Reviews have published their review of the affordable Gateway GM5066B desktop PC. 'Today I’m looking at one of Gateway’s new line of PCs that ships with Windows Vista preinstalled. Being the Home Premium version of Microsoft’s latest OS, the PC has a strong emphasis on multimedia, with the inclusion of a TV tuner card and Windows Media Center remote. Also, rounding out the multimedia buzzword credentials of the PC, it conforms to Intel’s Viiv standard. However, the GM5066B isn’t a Media Center PC that you would expect to sit quietly under your TV and is more of a typical family all-rounder, just with a few bells and whistles added on. Whether all these multimedia additives will ever be used by your average family remains to be seen – who really has a TV aerial in their office or wants to have a PC in their lounge? – but certainly I could see this sort of PC being perfect for a student or teenager. However, if you’re into your games you’re definitely going to want to save your pennies for something with a bit more oomph, either that or buy a graphics card separately and swap out the pitiful GeForce 7300 LE that comes with this machine.

Read: Gateway GM5066B - Trusted Reviews

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Notebook Reviews have published a review of the Toshiba Satellite P105-S6217 desktop replacement PC. ‘The Toshiba P105 front is thin and thickens towards the rear where the bulk of the components such as hard drive, CPU, GPU, and respective heatsink/fans are located. This gives it the illusion that it's thinner than it actually is, which is great. The top cover features an Onyx Blue metallic look that's very stylish I must say. From a distance it may appear black. The downside to the shiny lid is that it will attract finger prints. There's no flex at all to the case of the P105. The chassis is very sturdy and firm feeling. The lid seems to be made of a magnesium composite material and offers good protection, while the rest of the casing is plastic and thick enough to feel rugged. Unfortunately the keyboard does have flex issues in the middle areas. Another bummer is that Toshiba gives you cheap plastic inserts to protect the PCMCIA / ExpressCard slot instead of the far superior option of using a flap.’

Read: Toshiba Satellite P105-S6217 Review

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Digital Trends have posted a review of the powerful HP TouchSmart IQ770 full-featured all-in-one desktop system 'We first spotted the new HP TouchSmart IQ770 PC concept at the 2007 Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year. Touted as the perfect companion to your home’s kitchen or office, the TouchSmart IQ770 features an innovative touch screen display that you can use either with your finger, or the included stylus. When compared to other systems from a pure design perspective, the TouchSmart IQ770 definitely screams PC rather than art, the Sony VAIO W series or Apple iMac are both much better looking systems. HP doesn’t even try to hide the DVD drive or media card reader, and there are more stickers on the system than a Volkswagen Vanagon at Woodstock. However, to most people the piano black finish is a good enough reason to give the system prominent placement in the home.'

Read: HP TouchSmart IQ770 - Digital Trends

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A review of the affordable Gateway MT6825b Vista Home Premium laptop has been posted over at Computer Active. ‘Sturdy, solid and even reasonably stylish, the Gateway MT6825b certainly gives a good first impression. This feeling continues when you open it up to reveal a glossy 15.4in widescreen display, well-sized keyboard and a smart looking brushed-aluminium panel where you rest your wrists during typing. The screen looks great when viewed straight on, although brightness does start to wane if you view it from more of an angle.’

Read: Gateway MT6825b – Computer Active

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Laptop Magazine have reviewed the sleek Portable One UXM520 notebook PC. 'Featuring an attractive all-silver body with black highlights, the UXM520 is portable enough to take anywhere. The system sports a solid keyboard with keys that have just the right amount of springiness without feeling too bouncy or hollow. The layout is a bit cramped, but that's to be expected from a notebook with an 11.4 x 8.5-inch footprint. We're less forgiving of the tiny touchpad, which was unresponsive at times. To the upper-right of the keyboard are three quick-launch buttons that offer one-touch access to your e-mail client, Web browser, and integrated 1.3-megapixel webcam that takes grainy photos and shoots murky video.'

Read: Portable One UXM520 - Laptop Mag

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Notebook Review have published a review of the Acer Aspire 5634WLMi multimedia notebook. 'The ‘thin and light’ folio design of this notebook is aesthetically appealing although the build does not feel very solid. The casing on the unit appears to be fairly thin however LCD is better built and screen flex is not an issue. Provided undue stress is not placed on this notebook, the build quality should not be an issue. Audio ports (audio out/in, microphone-on) are conveniently located on the front of the unit, although this can be a little annoying when connecting external speakers. Also located at the front are wireless LAN and Bluetooth/3G switches (Bluetooth optional). The four USB ports are well placed, two on the left hand side and two at the rear.'

Read: Acer Aspire 5634WLMi Review

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PC Magazine have published a review of the Sony VAIO VGN-TXN15P ultraportable PC. 'The VAIO TXN15P is just an inch thick (10.7 by 7.5 by 1 inch, HWD), and at 2.8 pounds, puts precious little extra weight on your shoulders. When it comes to materials engineering, Sony isn't shy about using the latest trends. The lid is made up of carbon fiber, which is light, sturdy, and moldable. Just look at the cracker-thin screen that folds on top of the keyboard like a piece of paper. And don't think for a minute that the thinness of the screen compromises the brightness, because the 11.1-inch XBrite widescreen can light up an entire room like a fresh new bulb. It's ideal for in-flight DVD movies, photo slide shows, and multicell spreadsheets. Typing on the 17mm keyboard requires plenty of patience and a willingness to adjust. It's not as comfortable as the full-sized one found on the Lenovo ThinkPad X60 (Vista), but the X60 is also a pound heavier. The TXN15P uses a touchpad and two mouse buttons that work well together. And because of the low-voltage components, it runs really cool for hours at a time.'

Read: Sony VAIO VGN-TXN15P - PC Mag

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The affordable Toshiba Satellite A135-S4467 laptop has been reviewed over at ZDNet . ‘The Toshiba Satellite A135-S4467 performed well on CNET Labs' Multitasking, iTunes encoding, and Photoshop CS2 tests, matching or nearly matching the scores of two Vista laptops with the same 1GB of RAM but slightly faster T5500 CPUs: the Toshiba Satellite U205-S5057 and the Asus W7J (a Windows XP system we upgraded to Vista ourselves). The A135 is speedy enough for casual productivity use, media playback, and Web surfing although we ran into some minor stuttering when multi-tasking or accessing Vista's various options menus. With integrated Intel 945GM graphics, gaming is best restricted to older games at lower resolutions. If you're looking for a 15-inch laptop designed for gaming, the Asus G1 is worth a look. The Satellite A135 ran for 1 hour and 58 minutes on our DVD battery drain test, using the included six-cell battery. We expected better than that, given the lack of high-powered components. A larger, eight-cell battery is available as a $152 option, but bear in mind that an extended battery will protrude slightly from the back of the system. The similarly priced Gateway NX570 did much better, although that was on our older, less strenuous, battery test, so the real-world difference would be less pronounced.’

Read: Toshiba Satellite A135-S4467 – ZDNet

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Personal Computer World have posted their review of the Panasonic Toughbook CF-Y5 notebook PC. ‘The Toughbook CF-Y5 is Panasonic's latest foray into the corporate rugged-laptop market where businesses might not mind paying a little bit more for something that will last. One of the first things we noticed was its weight. Including the power supply the notebook weighs just 1.95kg, which is superb for a 14.1in LCD based laptop with an inbuilt DVD writer. Special tricks include being able to withstand a 100kg mass placed on top of the laptop.’

Read: Panasonic Toughbook CF-Y5 – Personal Computer World

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