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Top 15 Notebook PCs

Models from Gateway and Micro Express lead a band of newcomers onto the chart.

Alexandra Krasne

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NC6000 PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: March 29, 2004

1. HP NC6000

1.6-GHz Pentium M processor, 14.1-inch screen, 6.6 pounds, 60GB hard drive, DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive, Price when ranked: $1992

Bottom Line: Lightweight corporate notebook comes with dual wireless capabilities and great battery life.

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M405CS PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: May 27, 2004

2. Gateway M405CS

1.5-GHz Pentium M processor, 15.0-inch screen, 7.1 pounds, 40GB hard drive, DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive, Price when ranked: $1522

Bottom Line: Offers fast performance for a low price. Order it with the lithium-ion battery for long battery life (over 5 hours on one charge in our tests).

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Inspiron 5150 PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: March 29, 2004

3. Dell Inspiron 5150

3.06-GHz Mobile Pentium 4 processor, 15.0-inch screen, 10.3 pounds, 60GB hard drive, DVD+RW drive, Price when ranked: $1779

Bottom Line: This notebook has a high-resolution screen. It's hefty, however, and you can?t remove its optical drive to swap in a second battery.

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M6807 PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: March 29, 2004

4. EMachines M6807

1.8-GHz Mobile Athlon 64 3000+ processor, 15.4-inch screen, 9.1 pounds, 60GB hard drive, dual-format DVD+-RW drive, Price when ranked: $1609

Bottom Line: The first notebook we've tested that has a Mobile Athlon 64 CPU whips through applications and piles on the features.

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Satellite P15-S420 Notebook PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: May 27, 2004

5. Toshiba Satellite P15-S420 Notebook

3-GHz Pentium 4 processor, 15.4-inch screen, 9.7 pounds, 80GB hard drive, dual-format DVD+-RW drive, Price when ranked: $1849

Bottom Line: Wide-screen notebook is a suitable desktop replacement if you don't need good stereo sound or upgradeable storage.

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ThinkPad R50 PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: January 23, 2004

6. IBM ThinkPad R50

1.4-GHz Pentium M processor, 14.1-inch screen, 6.5 pounds, 40GB hard drive, DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive, Price when ranked: $1569

Bottom Line: Well-rounded, affordable laptop turned in strong performance, and has long battery life and a great keyboard.

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Latitude D505 PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: March 29, 2004

7. Dell Latitude D505

1.2-GHz Celeron M processor, 15.0-inch screen, 7.1 pounds, 40GB hard drive, DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive, Price when ranked: $1357

Bottom Line: Business portable delivered lackluster performance; its sleek modular optical drive has a built-in release.

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NP1620A PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: May 27, 2004

8. Micro Express NP1620A

1.6-GHz/600-MHz Pentium M processor, 14.1-inch screen, 6.4 pounds, 60GB hard drive, DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive, Price when ranked: $1469

Bottom Line: Outperformed similarly equipped notebooks, thanks to a whopping 1024MB of RAM--our unit's maximum and twice that of most notebooks.

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ThinkPad T41 Notebook (IBM-23733HU) PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: December 21, 2003

9. IBM ThinkPad T41 Notebook (IBM-23733HU)

1.6-GHz Pentium M processor, 14.1-inch screen, 5.9 pounds, 40GB hard drive, DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive, Price when ranked: $2048

Bottom Line: Eraserhead and mouse buttons feel a bit flimsy, and the battery is awkward to remove, but the overall design is still pleasing.

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Satellite A45-S250 Notebook PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: April 29, 2004

10. Toshiba Satellite A45-S250 Notebook

2.8-GHz Pentium 4 M processor, 15.0-inch screen, 9.3 pounds, 60GB hard drive, dual-format DVD+-RW drive, Price when ranked: $1599

Bottom Line: Wedge-shaped portable allows easy typing; carries twice as many USB ports as most notebooks, along with useful audio controls.

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ThinkPad X31 PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: December 22, 2003

11. IBM ThinkPad X31

1.3-GHz Pentium M processor, 12.1-inch screen, 6.4 pounds, 20GB hard drive, DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive, Price when ranked: $1399

Bottom Line: This near-perfect small notebook's only flaw: The optical drive is located in a separate $199 docking station.

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BTO Portege m100 PM-1.2LV 256MB 40GB CD-RW/DVD-ROM 802.11b 12T-XGA (Toshiba-PPM10U0002T7) PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: November 22, 2003

12. Toshiba BTO Portege m100 PM-1.2LV 256MB 40GB CD-RW/DVD-ROM 802.11b 12T-XGA (Toshiba-PPM10U0002T7)

1.2-GHz Pentium M processor, 12.1-inch screen, 5.3 pounds, 40GB hard drive, DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive, Price when ranked: $1749

Bottom Line: Sporty notebook combines a good keyboard, solid performance, strong audio, and long battery life.

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Lifebook P5020D Notebook (Fujitsu-FPCM20206) PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: December 21, 2003

13. FUJITSU Lifebook P5020D Notebook (Fujitsu-FPCM20206)

1-GHz Pentium M processor, 10.6-inch screen, 4.7 pounds, 60GB hard drive, DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive, Price when ranked: $1899

Bottom Line: Relatively compact for a portable with a modular bay, the P5020 also has one of the smallest screen sizes here.

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Latitude X300 Notebook Computer (Dell-X300SB) PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: November 07, 2003

14. Dell Latitude X300 Notebook Computer (Dell-X300SB)

1.2-GHz Pentium M processor, 12.1-inch screen, 6.0 pounds, 40GB hard drive, DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive, Price when ranked: $2306

Bottom Line: On its own, this portable weighs just 3 pounds; its 1.9-pound media slice adds a full set of connections and great sound.

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VAIO PCG-TR3AP3 PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: May 27, 2004

15. Sony VAIO PCG-TR3AP3

1-GHz Pentium M processor, 10.6-inch screen, 4.0 pounds, 80GB hard drive, DVD-RW drive, Price when ranked: $3000

Bottom Line: The VGA camera mounted atop this notebook's screen is a neat add-on. But the small (albeit easy-to-read) screen, tinny speakers, and a shallow keystroke are drawbacks.

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All systems are tested or retested under our PC WorldBench 4 test suite.

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