5. Toshiba Qosmio G35-AV600

The front is the Qosmio's pretty side: it begins with a slot-loaded optical drive at the left, lid release/catch, wireless networking on/off slider, plus indicator lights for AC power, on/off, battery, hard disk activity, memory card slot and wireless networking.

When we wrote our first review of an earlier Qosmio model a year ago we called that model a "beautiful monster." The latest incarnation in this series retains that moniker, and manages to offer more capability for around $2,500 (based on MSRP pricing for each unit at the time it was reviewed). It carries on the basic silver-black color scheme from the earlier models, and features a half-matte/half-glossy finish on the palm rest and areas around the keyboard on the lower deck. Both the top and keyboard decks have an unfortunate tendency to pick up fingerprints and smudges, but at least Toshiba provides a micro fiber cloth with the unit that you can use to wipe it down (including the screen).

Table 5 offers specifications for the Toshiba Qosmio, and details its speeds and feeds, as well as its ports, slots, connectors and some of its internal elements.