WHAT'S HOT: This configuration of NEC's midweight corporate notebook comes with a removable 6X/4X/24X CD-RW drive. Pop it out and you can swap it for one of four optional drives, including the bundled floppy drive, a 6X DVD-ROM drive ($299), a second 20GB hard drive ($695), or a SuperDisk drive ($199). Need a laptop with easy-to-remove storage, but fear opportunistic thieves? The SXi's hard drive is cleverly hidden behind the battery pack, yet takes only about 5 seconds to free. Just press a button on either side of the case to release the battery--an extra-long pack that serves as a stylish charcoal-colored front edge for the silver SXi--and then you can pull out the hard drive by its tab.

WHAT'S NOT: The SXi's floppy drive cannot be attached externally--it has to take turns sharing the internal bay with the CD-RW drive and any other optional drives you buy. Watching a DVD-ROM movie or listening to music is best done with headphones: The SXi's stereo speakers produce audio that's tinny even by notebook standards.

WHAT ELSE: The SXi is reasonably easy to carry, with a case that measures 1.5 inches tall and weighs only 5.8 pounds when you remove the CD-RW drive and plug in a hollow weight saver. It's not the lightest one-bay laptop with a 14.1-inch screen you can buy, however: IBM's similarly priced, 4.6-pound ThinkPad T20 takes that honor. The SXi sports a comfortable keyboard, and it ships with a simply designed but thorough user's manual that supplements the usual information with FAQ and troubleshooting sections. In our performance tests, the unit edged out the average Pentium III-850/700 notebook by about 3 percent with a PC WorldBench 2000 score of 168.

BEST USE: Expensive and heavy compared with most other two-spindle laptops, the SXi doesn't blaze any new trails in lightweight design. However, it would make a good choice for companies already using NEC's LXi, the SXi's heavier desktop-replacement sibling that can share its internal drives.

SUMMARY

NEC Versa SXi PC WorldBench 2000 score of 168, Pentium III-850/700, 128MB of SDRAM, 256KB L2 cache, Windows 2000 Professional, 14.1-inch active screen, 8MB of video memory, 20GB hard drive, 6X/4X/24X CD-RW drive, built-in V.90 modem and network adapter, touchpad pointing device, 7.8 pounds (including AC adapter and phone cord). Three-year parts and labor warranty; free, unlimited 24/7 toll-call support. $3899 888/632-8701 www.neccomp.com