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Top 15 Notebook PCs

Two ThinkPads join the chart: Both the Best Buy-winning T43 and the R52 feature the new ExpressCard slot.

Kalpana Ettenson

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Thinkpad T43 Notebook Model 2687D8U (1.8GHz Pentium M Centrino, 512MB, 60GB, DVD?RW, Windows XP, 14.1 PCW Rating: 80.2PCW Rating: 80.2PCW Rating: 80.2

Last Rated: May 24, 2005

1. Lenovo Thinkpad T43 Notebook Model 2687D8U (1.8GHz Pentium M Centrino, 512MB, 60GB, DVD?RW, Windows XP, 14.1

1.86-GHz Pentium M 750 processor, 14.1-inch screen, 6.4 pounds, 60GB hard drive, DVD±RW/-RAM drive, Price when ranked: $2049

Bottom Line: This slim black portable updates the ThinkPad T line of elegant corporate notebook, and still includes a biometric fingerprint reader.

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Inspiron 6000 (2-GHz Pentium M processor, 1GB of DDR400 DRAM) PCW Rating: 86.0PCW Rating: 86.0PCW Rating: 86.0

Last Rated: March 28, 2005

2. Dell Inspiron 6000 (2-GHz Pentium M processor, 1GB of DDR400 DRAM)

2-GHz Pentium M 760 processor, 15.4-inch wide screen, 8.4 pounds, 80GB hard drive, DVD±RW drive, Price when ranked: $2271

Bottom Line: Big laptop has strong performance and a high native resolution of 1920 by 1200, plus great speakers.

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Pavilion Dv4000 PCW Rating: 82.1PCW Rating: 82.1PCW Rating: 82.1

Last Rated: May 24, 2005

3. HP Pavilion Dv4000

1.86-GHz Pentium M 745 processor, 15.4-inch wide screen, 7.6 pounds, 80GB hard drive, Double-layer DVD±RW drive, Price when ranked: $1189

Bottom Line: Elegant 15.4-inch wide screen overflows with card readers, including six-in-one and a second-generation ExpressCard slot.

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NX9600 PCW Rating: 80.2PCW Rating: 80.2PCW Rating: 80.2

Last Rated: April 29, 2005

4. Compaq NX9600

3.6-GHz Pentium 4 560 processor, 17.0-inch wide screen, 12.1 pounds, 100GB hard drive, DVD+RW drive, Price when ranked: $2229

Bottom Line: Big-screen laptop produces great sound, but it's extremely heavy and offers poor battery life.

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LifeBook N6010 PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: March 28, 2005

5. FUJITSU LifeBook N6010

3.2-GHz Mobile Pentium 4 538 processor, 17.0-inch wide screen, 12.2 pounds, 100GB hard drive, DVD-RW drive, Price when ranked: $2399

Bottom Line: Large entertainment unit with built-in TV tuner and 17-inch widescreen has the equipment and extra screen space for work and play.

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M460 Notebook (2.13-GHz Pentium M, 512MB 533-MHz DDR2) PCW Rating: 80.0PCW Rating: 80.0PCW Rating: 80.0

Last Rated: March 28, 2005

6. Gateway M460 Notebook (2.13-GHz Pentium M, 512MB 533-MHz DDR2)

2.13-GHz Pentium M 770 processor, 15.4-inch wide screen, 8.0 pounds, 80GB hard drive, DVD-RW drive, Price when ranked: $2019

Bottom Line: Slim laptop has four USB ports, all on the right side, but its pointing stick suffers from an erratic cursor.

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HP Compaq NC8230 PCW Rating: 76.0PCW Rating: 76.0PCW Rating: 76.0

Last Rated: March 28, 2005

7. Compaq HP Compaq NC8230

2-GHz Pentium M 760 processor, 15.4-inch wide screen, 7.3 pounds, 60GB hard drive, DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive, Price when ranked: $2179

Bottom Line: Classy-looking corporate laptop has a quick-launch presentation button and a superhigh-resolution screen.

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Presario V2000 PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: March 28, 2005

8. Compaq Presario V2000

1.8-GHz Pentium M 745 processor, 14.1-inch wide screen, 7.0 pounds, 80GB hard drive, DVD-RW drive, Price when ranked: $1298

Bottom Line: This sleek lightweight unit has it all: good sound and keyboard, fantastic battery life, and a vivid, readable BrightView screen.

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ThinkPad R52 PCW Rating: 75.0PCW Rating: 75.0PCW Rating: 75.0

Last Rated: May 24, 2005

9. Lenovo ThinkPad R52

1.73-GHz Pentium M 740 processor, 14.1-inch screen, 7.0 pounds, 40GB hard drive, DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive, Price when ranked: $1749

Bottom Line: This model's excellent keyboard has dual pointing devices, and its modular bay accepts numerous optional drives.

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CL5620 PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: January 25, 2005

10. Micro Express CL5620

2-GHz Pentium M 755 processor, 15.0-inch screen, 7.2 pounds, 60GB hard drive, DVD±RW drive, Price when ranked: $1599

Bottom Line: Elegant-looking notebook sports a beautiful high-resolution screen and an ultrafirm keyboard.

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Satellite R15-S822 Tablet PC (1.6GHz Pentium M Centrino 725, 512MB, 60GB, DVD/CD-RW, Windows XP Tablet PC, 14.1 PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: May 24, 2005

11. Toshiba Satellite R15-S822 Tablet PC (1.6GHz Pentium M Centrino 725, 512MB, 60GB, DVD/CD-RW, Windows XP Tablet PC, 14.1

1.6-GHz Pentium M 725 processor, 14.1-inch screen, 7.0 pounds, 60GB hard drive, DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive, Price when ranked: $1599

Bottom Line: This convertible tablet is a bit heavy to carry around easily, but its 14.1-inch screen offers lots of room to write.

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W364 PCW Rating: 73.0PCW Rating: 73.0PCW Rating: 73.0

Last Rated: April 29, 2005

12. WinBook W364

2-GHz Pentium M 755 processor, 15.4-inch wide screen, 7.2 pounds, 80GB hard drive, Double-layer DVD±RW drive, Price when ranked: $1799

Bottom Line: Handsome silver laptop is easy to use and has a convenient memory card reader on the front.

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Inspiron 700M PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: October 25, 2004

13. Dell Inspiron 700M

1.8-GHz Pentium M 745 processor, 12.1-inch wide screen, 4.8 pounds, 60GB hard drive, DVD+RW drive, Price when ranked: $1617

Bottom Line: Strongly built laptop offers a wide-aspect screen but has a particularly cramped keyboard.

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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 Low Voltage Pentium M processor, 12.1-inch screen, 5.6 pounds, 40GB hard drive, DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive (optical drive housed in docking station), Price when ranked: $2299

Bottom Line: This ThinkPad boasts the finest keyboard for its size. The only available optical drive are USB- or dock-based.

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X Series PCW Rating: PCW Rating: PCW Rating:

Last Rated: January 25, 2005

15. WinBook X Series

2-GHz Pentium M 755 processor, 12.1-inch screen, 5.5 pounds, 80GB hard drive, Double-layer DVD±RW drive, Price when ranked: $1599

Bottom Line: You can watch DVD movies, home videos, and slideshows without having to turn this lightweight laptop on.

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All systems are tested or retested under our WorldBench 5 test suite.

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