Evesham Quest A220

With processor and graphics specifications soaring by the minute, it’s easy to get lost in the hype and buy something you really don’t need. Priced at £699, the no-frills Evesham Quest A220 will make for a good second computer or will suit anyone who won’t be running power-hungry tasks.

Dull, bulky and feeling plasticky, the chassis of the Quest A220 is uninspiring, but on the plus side it weighs 2.85kg. There’s a handy instant-on function for playing DVDs and CDs without having to first load Windows, but the in-built speakers are pretty ropey.

Based on an AMD MT-30 Turion 64 Mobile processor and 512MB of memory, it’s a notebook that will run day-to-day tasks, such as word processing, web browsing and basic image editing. AMD’s mobile processor doesn’t do too badly in the battery stakes, achieving just over two hours and 30 minutes in Mobilemark.

The 60GB hard disk is quite small compared to the latest and greatest mobile computers, but about what we expected at this price. However, games fans will shudder at the inclusion of the integrated Sis 760 chipset, which steals just 32MB of system memory to display images.

Unsurprisingly, it wouldn’t run 3Dmark05 and scored a measly 161 in 3Dmark03, which is far from enough to power the latest 3D titles at any respectable resolution setting.

Nevertheless, the 15.4in widescreen display (1,280 x 800 screen resolution) is bright, sharp and has decent viewing angles. It’s nothing like the X-black displays found on many Sony notebooks, but performs well when watching DVD movies or working in Windows.

It’s no replacement for your desktop PC, but if you are looking for an additional computer for your home network, the Evesham Quest A220 is a good budget option.