43. Which Graphics Notebook For Whom?

For whom is each of these four notebooks best-suited?

At about $1,400, the Acer Aspire 5672 WLMi is a very nicely-equipped notebook with a dual core Intel CPU, recommended for ambitious SOHO users. Through its Hypermemory implementation video memory can increase from 128 MB to as high as 512 MB, albeit at a cost in available system RAM. Just like all shared memory concepts, this works as a drag on overall system performance. But for everyday business or home use this really plays no significant role. The 5672's graphics subsystem is best-suited for adventure games and less graphically intensive strategy games. For fast-moving racing games, the Acer's display is simply too slow. At just over two hours, battery lifetime remains acceptable.

For about $1,700 you can purchase an Asus A7J, a comfortable multimedia machine with a truly bright and extremely contrast-rich display, super sound, and an integrated TV tuner/FM radio receiver. When rendering TV signals, the display's high resolution translates into a relatively large letterbox around the video material. Because of its excellent color delivery, this unit is well-suited to hobbyist level image editing. DVD video playback is a real experience on this device, except for its noisy optical drive. But when it comes to fluid frame rates at maximum graphics quality, the 3D performance of the Radeon Mobility X1600 isn't adequate to handle current high-end games. Tomb Raider Legends, with its Next Generation Content disabled, or the Inside Levels in Oblivion run smoothly on the A7J. The high-speed racing game Need for Speed Most Wanted, the demanding Outside Levels in Oblivion, and Tomb Raider Legends with improved shader effects (Next Generation Content) are outside the X1600's delivery envelope. Those who want fluid play must reduce graphics quality to play these games on the A7J. Also the system restore process needs improvement on this Asus notebook, primarily because it takes much too long to complete.

With the Aurora M7700 you get a little bit more of everything: Noticeably more 3D performance, heavier weight, better sound, lots of ports and connectors, two hard disks, great service, and lots of ambient noise. And naturally, this baby costs a pretty penny, about $4,470 according to the Website configuration tool. We cheerfully concede that this is a large sum of money. But what you get with this unit is a genuine desktop replacement that's completely focused on 3D performance. It's a monstrous beast, to be sure, but one that's tailor-made for serious gamers. The performance of the GeForce Go 7800 GTX with its 256 MB of video RAM delivers smooth, flicker-free rendering for nearly every game. Tomb Raider Legends, Need for Speed Most Wanted, and Spellforce 2 all ran without a hitch. Oblivion is more demanding. Its large panoramas and heavy vegetation in the Outside Levels push frame rates beneath 25 fps. At 80 fps, Oblivion's Inside Levels run with super-fluid speed. The quick response time of the display is also a plus, because it increases the realism and immediacy of the experience when playing racing games such as Need for Speed Most Wanted.

Alas, however the Aurora M7700 is unsuited for use as a high-end workplace PC because of its noisy and perpetually active cooling fan. Potential buyers should weigh this unit's documented weaknesses in system recovery against its superfast support downloads and tech support hotline (free for 12 months after system purchase). The two cores of the AMD FX-60 CPU run only at reduced clock rates on battery power, so as not to harm or very quickly drain the battery. But this kind of notebook isn't really intended for mobile work or play, as its battery life results so clearly show.

With its Compaq nx9420, Hewlett Packard offers professional uses a very high-value business notebook for around $1,700, with a high-resolution 17" display, comprehensive security features, and definite gaming potential. Battery life with the standard battery is noteworthy at 3 hours and 20 minutes, especially in view of the large display. An extended 12-cell battery, available for about $200, can nearly double that time period. The performance of the Mobility Radeon X1600 cannot deliver fluid frame rates at maximum graphics quality for all 3D games. But if you reduce the graphics quality and resolution somewhat, this business machine turns into a veritable playmobile. That said, the relatively slow pixel refresh rates on its display will still cause problems for fast-moving racing games.