1. What's Good, What's Not So Good?

Driven by lower demand for its component products, motherboard maker Gigabyte has moved into the mobile computing market. In our experience, the company's laptop and notebook computers offer good performance at relatively low prices.

Although it has its flaws, the Gigabyte W511A with a MSRP of $1,595 mostly lived up to our expectations and proved itself a good choice for desktop replacement duty.

If you are looking for a high performance entertainment notebook at a low price, the W511A is worth considering. Gigabyte says that the W511A will be available in the USA soon.

This widescreen mobile computer is based on Intel's 1.87 GHz Pentium M 750 CPU chip. In addition to a highly agile ATI MRX700 graphics chip and super-high-contrast 15.4" glare-resistant display, the notebook also features a convenient IR remote control for audio and video functions. As our tests show, it is very well-suited for gaming, running office applications.

On the negative side, typical of lower priced notebooks, the W511A's fit and finish are less than perfect. Also, battery life is short due in part to the power hungry memory Gigabyte chose to include in the notebook. And, the notebook suffers from a noisy optical drive and cooling system. This noise comes close to overpowering the audio coming out of the speakers, making the W511A best for AV purposes when used with headphones or connected to a home audio-video system.