The mid-range laptop has quickly become the mainstay of the industry. Offering cutting-edge specifications, such laptops have the power and performance to complete any task you demand of it. The group we have gathered here offer the best in mobile performance, both in terms of processing power and battery life. Alternatively, with machines based around desktop processing, you’ll find the latest in raw power.

It’s not only the latest specifications you’ll find in these machines, but also the most recent technologies – whether that’s 802.11g for the fastest wireless connection, or Gigabit Ethernet for a quicker wired connection. Users looking for expandability will be impressed by the use of DVD-rewriter technology in almost all the machines on test. And with screens up to 17 inches in size, we’re sure you’ll find the ideal desktop replacement laptop without breaking the bank.

CONTENTS
ACER ASPIRE 1714SMI
AJP M6000NE
BENQ JOYBOOK 8100
ELONEX PROWIRE 121
EVESHAM VOYAGER XT
HP COMPAQ NX7010PG588ET
NEC VERSA P520

REVIEW CO-ORDINATORS:
Alex Bentley
Michael Browne

PHOTOGRAPHY:
Adrian Lyon

BENCHMARKING

The WL performance benchmarks are designed to offer the reader a chance to compare laptops on an even plain, simulating real-world experiences to test the components in battery life mode. Obviously, if your system will be plugged in to mains power for a large portion of the time, you will see an improvement over the benchmarks registered in our tests. The 3DMark 2001 SE test is carried out with the system running on mains power, as it is unlikely that users will wish to test their system’s 3D accelerator to the max when running on battery power.