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Top 15 Notebook PCs

Three new models from IBM earn high places on this month's chart.

Dan Sommer

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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: $2032

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

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Gateway M405CS Pentium M Integrated 24x 10x PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: May 27, 2004

2. Gateway Gateway M405CS Pentium M Integrated 24x 10x

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 solid performance for a low price. Order it with the lithium ion battery (as we did) to get the battery life we saw in our tests.

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Aspire 2000 PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: February 27, 2004

3. Acer Aspire 2000

1.6-GHz Pentium M processor, 15.4-inch wide-format screen, 8.1 pounds, 60GB hard drive, DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive, Price when ranked: $1599

Bottom Line: Very good performer offers an alluring wide-aspect 15.4-inch screen, but only so-so sound.

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Inspiron 5150 PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: March 29, 2004

4. Dell Inspiron 5150

3.06-GHz Pentium 4 processor, 15.0-inch screen, 10.3 pounds, 60GB hard drive, DVD+R/RW drive, Price when ranked: $1749

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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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 wide-format screen, 9.7 pounds, 80GB hard drive, DVD±RW drive, Price when ranked: $1799

Bottom Line: Toshiba's wide-screen notebook is a suitable desktop replacement if you don't need good stereo sound or upgradable storage.

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M6810 PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: June 21, 2004

6. eMachines M6810

2-GHz Mobile Athlon 64 3200+ processor, 15.4-inch wide-format screen, 9.0 pounds, 80GB hard drive, DVD±RW drive, Price when ranked: $1399

Bottom Line: Speedy, affordable wide-screen notebook would be ideal for home users. It has loads of features.

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ThinkPad R51 Notebook PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: July 28, 2004

7. IBM ThinkPad R51 Notebook

1.5-GHz Pentium M processor, 15.0-inch screen, 7.4 pounds, 40GB hard drive, DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive, Price when ranked: $1694

Bottom Line: Slim R51 suits users who care more about mainstream features than bells and whistles. Excellent keyboard.

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ThinkPad T42 PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: July 28, 2004

8. IBM ThinkPad T42

1.7-GHz Pentium M processor, 14.1-inch screen, 6.9 pounds, 60GB hard drive, DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive, Price when ranked: $2299

Bottom Line: IBM pays terrific attention to detail in this impressive business notebook. The keyboard is outstanding, and the unit has speed to match.

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TravelMate 8000 PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: July 26, 2004

9. Acer TravelMate 8000

2-GHz Pentium M processor, 15.0-inch screen, 7.6 pounds, 60GB hard drive, DVD±RW/-RAM drive, Price when ranked: $2299

Bottom Line: This business laptop boasts elegant design, moderate weight, and very strong performance.

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Tecra M2V-S310 Notebook PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: June 21, 2004

10. Toshiba Tecra M2V-S310 Notebook

1.5-GHz Pentium M processor, 14.1-inch screen, 5.7 pounds, 40GB hard drive, DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive, Price when ranked: $1499

Bottom Line: Lightweight business notebook offers good battery life and generous storage expansion. Model includes just 256MB of RAM at this price.

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Chembook 2056 PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: July 26, 2004

11. Chem USA Chembook 2056

1.7-GHz Pentium M processor, 15.0-inch screen, 7.3 pounds, 60GB hard drive, DVD±RW drive, Price when ranked: $1999

Bottom Line: Strong performance and long battery life distinguish this portable. The system's optical drive is mounted on the front for easy access.

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NP1620A PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: May 27, 2004

12. Micro Express NP1620A

1.6-GHz Pentium M processor, 14.1-inch screen, 6.4 pounds, 60GB hard drive, DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive, Price when ranked: $1399

Bottom Line: Has a whopping 1GB of RAM--our unit's maximum and twice that of most notebooks.

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Portege M205-S810 PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: July 28, 2004

13. Toshiba Portege M205-S810

1.5-GHz Pentium M processor, 12.1-inch screen, 7.1 pounds, 60GB hard drive, DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive, Price when ranked: $2399

Bottom Line: This stylish convertible tablet/notebook handles both functions adequately, but excels at neither. Good battery life and very responsive to screen taps.

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ThinkPad X40 Notebook PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: July 27, 2004

14. IBM ThinkPad X40 Notebook

1.2-GHz Pentium M processor, 12.1-inch screen, 5.6 pounds, 40GB hard drive, DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive, Price when ranked: $2299

Bottom Line: Ultraportable ThinkPad boasts the finest keyboard for its size. Optical drive is USB- or dock-based.

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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, 40GB hard drive, DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive, Price when ranked: $2200

Bottom Line: The VGA camera mounted on this unit's small, easy-to-read screen supports video and stills. The tinny speakers and 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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