Gigabyte N601 G-Max

The N601 G-Max is aimed at those who want a notebook that provides entertainment as well as productivity.

Arguably its strongest asset is its impressive 15.4in widescreen display. Far from being a gimmick, this type of screen allows you to display more columns when viewing spreadsheets, and to watch widescreen DVDs without a black border at the top and bottom of the picture.

The N601 can play audio CDs without having Windows loaded but it can't play videos or display images in this mode, so you will have to use Windows for the majority of your multimedia tasks.

A nice touch is the audio-visual panel to the left of the keyboard. This means users can control audio and video playback and adjust the volume without using the touchpad.

It's not quite as impressive below the surface as some desktop replacements. This model uses a mobile Pentium 4 1.6GHz processor and just 256Mb of memory, which is the minimum memory requirement to run Windows XP. It will happily run most software, though.

More importantly, the N601 has a 64Mb ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 graphics card. This gives it a similar level of gaming performance as many desktop PCs, so you can play most 3D games without much jerkiness. Problems may arise when you increase the screen resolution or amount of detail in your games, but for the most part its performance is very good.

The rest of the N601's specifications are commendable. Digital camera enthusiasts will be pleased with the inclusion of an SD memory card reader, while the three USB 2 ports will be handy for attaching external devices.

Unusually for a notebook, the N601 has both mini and full-sized FireWire ports, so you'll be able to connect your iPod and other compatible gadgets simultaneously. It also scored a lengthy three hours 37 minutes in our battery tests.

If you're after a competent all-round replacement for your desktop computer, the N601 is hard to beat.

Contact: Gigabyte 08707 554747
www.gigabyte.com.tw

Also consider:
Acer Aspire 1502LMI £1,200.
Lacks widescreen but does have a powerful 64-bit processor.