In Pictures: The Most Notable Notebooks of 2007

We test many notebooks throughout the year, so we see some pretty interesting portables. We picked out the extremes in the products we've tested since the first of the year--the fastest, the slowest, the biggest, the smallest, and the most stylish.

Alan Stafford, PC World

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Best gaming performance: Alienware Area-51 m5750 8 of 12

With a 256MB discrete graphics card, a 2.33-GHz Core 2 Duo T7600 processor, and 2GB of RAM, the mobile Alienware really cooks at gameplay (though it cost $3269 when we tested it). It hit a frame rate of 126 frames per second in Far Cry at 1280 by 1024 resolution and 32-bit color, leaving most other desktops in the dust. It has since been superseded by the Area-51 m9750. Full Review | Manufacturer's Specs

Lightest: Fujitsu LifeBook P1610

Eight Fujitsu LifeBook P1610 ultraportable laptops barely outweigh one Aspire 9810-6829. The 2.2-pound, $2419 (when we last saw it) P1610 comes without a built-in optical drive and doesn't have much oomph, but it also doesn't put a dent in your trapezius--and it has a touch screen and an 80GB hard drive. Peyton Manning could probably throw one 60 yards downfield in a tight spiral. Full Review | Latest Prices

Fastest: Apple MacBook Pro

The fastest Windows Vista notebook we've tested this year (through 10/25/07) is a Mac. Try that again: The fastest Windows Vista notebook we've tested this year--or for that matter, ever--is a Mac. Not a Dell, not a Toshiba, not even an Alienware. The $2419 (plus the price of a copy of Windows Vista, of course) MacBook Pro's PC WorldBench 6 Beta 2 score of 88 beats Gateway's E-265M by a single point, but the MacBook's score is far more impressive simply because Apple couldn't care less whether you run Windows. Full Review | Latest Prices

Slowest: Fujitsu Pink LifeBook P7230, Sony VAIO VGN-TXN15P/B [tie]

Just a second, please--I'm watching grass grow, and I may need to mow again before Fujitsu's and Sony's puny subnotebook PCs get anything done. The $1679 Pink LifeBook P7230 and the $2300 Sony VAIO VGN-TXN15P/B (see slide number five for a picture of it) tied for slowest notebook we've tested this year, with the same PC WorldBench 6 Beta 2 score of 32. They take their own...sweet...time. Full Review, Fujitsu | | Latest Prices, Fujitsu | Full Review, Sony | Latest Prices, Sony

Longest battery life: Sony VAIO VGN-TXN15P/B

It may be slow (see slide number four), but you'll have plenty of time to wait with this $2300, broadband-ready VAIO ultraportable: It turned in the best battery-life performance we've seen, lasting just over 6.5 hours. With a spare battery--only $300 from SonyStyle.com--you could fly cross-country and back and never have to rejuice. Full Review | Latest Prices

Biggest screen: HP Pavilion HDX, Acer Aspire 9810-6829 [tie]

Travel bulletin: All major airline carriers now require customers who are lugging an HP Pavilion HDX ($3000) or an Acer Aspire 9810-6829 ($2999; see slide number one for its picture) to check the notebook as luggage or to pay for two seats if they intend to carry it on. That's really unfair, since airline crews are freed of any need to operate the cabin's overhead monitors--people seated 20 rows back can watch movies played on either notebook's 20.1-inch screen. Full Review, HP | Latest Prices, HP | Full Review, Acer | Latest Prices, Acer

Smallest screen: Sony VAIO Micro PC VGN-UX390N

This $2500 UltraMobile PC (UMPC) runs Windows Vista, packs a 32GB flash-based hard drive, and a screen so small that it ought to be on a cell phone. The 4.5-inch screen accepts pen input and recognizes handwriting--you just have to write very, very small. Full Review | Latest Prices

Best gaming performance: Alienware Area-51 m5750

Least expensive: Everex StepNote SA2053T

Most ultraportables cost more than bigger notebooks, but this loss leader, sold only at Best Buy, bucks the trend. For $680, you get a 1.73-GHz Core Duo T2080 processor, 1GB of RAM, a DVD burner, a 100GB hard drive, and two batteries. What, two batteries? You'll need 'em: The SA2053T ran down a single battery faster than any other notebook we've tested so far this year. Full Review | Latest Prices

Most expensive: Toshiba Portege R400-S4931

Like the Everex StepNote SA2053T, the Toshiba Portege R400-S4931 we tested has a 12.1-inch screen and comes with two batteries--plus a 1.2-GHz Core Duo U2500 processor, 2GB of RAM, a DVD burner, and an 80GB hard drive. But Toshiba priced its ultraportable at $3499, making it the most expensive notebook we've tested so far this year (but the year's not over yet). Full Review | Latest Prices

Fastest-looking: Acer Ferrari 5005WLMi

I can't afford a Ferrari, unless it's made by Acer (or Fisher-Price). The $2399 Acer Ferrari that we tested sported the roadster's legendary black-and-blazing-red color scheme, and it performed well, especially in our gaming tests. You'll have to make your own vroom-vroom sounds, though. Our Ferrari has been mothballed, but you can opt for the Ferrari 5000-5832 if you have racing in your blood. Full Review | Latest Prices [for the Ferrari 5000-5832]

Purtiest-looking: Fujitsu Pink LifeBook P7230

What the heck is that--the Pink Screen of Death? Nope. Board meetings at Halliburton will never be the same when everyone is issued a Fujitsu Limited Edition LifeBook P7230 ($1679). It's pink--really pink. Barbie pink. Kewpie doll pink. Paris Hilton pink. If it got any deeper pink, it'd be fuchsia. So if you feel pretty in pink, this is the laptop for you. Everyone else, stick to ThinkPads. Full Review | Latest Prices