1. Mobile Athlon XP And KT266A: A Superior Combination?

Our review of the Compaq Evo N1015v showed that the Mobile Athlon XP is a capable building block for a reliable and affordable notebook system.

Unfortunately, our measurements showed that the Achilles heel of a system based on the IGP320M was the ATi memory interface, whose below-par performance slowed the whole system down.

Sony's Vaio NVR-23 is equipped with the same Mobile Athlon XP 1800+ as the Compaq, but Sony has chosen to use VIA's KT266A chipset and NvidiaÆs Geforce4 Go 420 graphics. It is a combination that should appeal to gamers.

A special feature of the NVR-25 is the "multi-purpose bay," which allows you to fit a choice of subwoofer, floppy drive or number keypad. All three modules are supplied as part of the package. The DVD-CD-R/W combo drive is permanently mounted above the bay. A memory stick slot is provided at the front for gamers.

With a price tag of approximately $1400 and an overall weight of nearly 4 kg, Sony is not targeting the road/ corridor warrior with the NVR-23. This is essentially a product for the discriminating first-time buyer or for a student living in a small apartment, who is looking for an attractive work tool.