15. Conclusion

There's a market niche awaiting notebooks with desktop prices and comparable features, which the ThinkPad G40 successfully addresses. While they're a bit heavy, and hence not as mobile as a notebook with a mobile CPU, they can definitely stand up to their more expensive, mobile competitors in terms of performance and battery run-down time. AC outlet movers will fall in love with a machine such as the ThinkPad G40, while road warriors will prefer a notebook with a power-saving mobile processor and a lower weight.

However, the ThinkPad G40 is not suitable for users who require high 3D performance for gaming and the like. The integrated graphics solution is simply not powerful enough, while it is still sufficient for relaxed gaming sessions during a lunch break.

We also found that there was no truth to the claim that notebooks with desktop CPUs are louder. As long as the cooling system is properly designed, machines like the ThinkPad G40 will purr away as silently as their competitors.

The ThinkPad G40 is solidly built and has a good keyboard that is more than the equal of the ThinkPad T40 .

The mini PC, on the other hand, has the advantage of expandability, with slots for a dedicated graphics board and any number of ports for peripherals. And if you're expecting a mini PC to produce a mini noise, well, you're gravely mistaken. The notebook stands in far better stead than the desktop PC.

All in all, a notebook like the ThinkPad G40 is definitely an acceptable substitute for a desktop PC. Admittedly, notebook technology always remains behind desktop technology in terms of performance. The ThinkPad G40 will, thus, consistently lose out to a desktop system, such as Shuttle's SB61G2 mini PC in a head-to-head benchmark run. In the real world, however, the desktop system is not all that much faster as you would expect it to be, even by only comparing the specifications of both systems.

If I were to choose between the two, I would opt for a notebook, mainly for two reasons. First, I like the fact that the notebook offers some mobility while taking up less space compared to even a mini desktop PC. Second, I prefer quiet systems. The computing power of the machine is of secondary importance to me. Of course, your preferences might be quite different. The choice is yours.