Notebook review: Hi-Grade Notino C5515-1700

Hi-Grade’s Notino C5515 stood out because it has Windows XP Media Center Edition (MCE) installed. However, there’s no integrated TV tuner so you’ll have buy one separately and it will use up one of the two USB ports.

The Notino’s silver skin helps it stand out, yet closer inspection reveals a plasticky construction and hardware components that almost look as if they’ve been forced into the chassis.

Inside the 2.9kg case lie an Intel Pentium M 735 processor (1.7GHz) and 512MB of DDR Ram, which scored just 119 in Sysmark and 1,850 in PCmark.

As some of the notebooks with Celeron M processors scored higher in some areas, we wondered just what difference the hallowed Pentium label was making.

The 15.1in XGA screen has a maximum resolution of 1,024 x 768 and didn’t produce the sharpness that other notebooks, such as the AJP M551G-E, displayed.

The screen seemed to vary in contrast depending on where it was viewed from and the black level was fairly bright, which is annoying when watching DVDs in letterbox mode.

Intel’s integrated 915GM chipset can steal up to 128MB of system memory, but the 3Dmark score of 191 and 4.36fps Far Cry rating won’t appeal to gamers. To be fair, not many of its competitors fare much better.

Only a brace of USB ports are on offer, plus there’s no memory card reader, but you do get integrated 802.11b/g Wifi. The basic DVD writer will be needed to archive data to disc if the small 60GB hard disk fills up quickly, which is very likely if you’re using MCE’s multimedia features to their full potential.

The keyboard feels less robust compared to others here, but there’s a four-way directional pad for navigating around documents and web pages. Hi-Grade also bundles a carry-case, Open Office (which is free anyway) and a one-year collect-and-return warranty.

This article is part of a group test on £699 notebooks. Others are:
Intro and Editor's Choice
Acer Aspire 9503EWSMi 
AJP M551G-E
Elonex Prowire 153
Evesham Voyager A215
Fujitsu Siemens Amilo M 6450G
Hi-Grade Notino C5515-1700
HP Compaq nx6125 (EK157ET)
Mesh Pegasus 3070
MV Sirius+
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