Top 10 Notebooks

Thanks in part to a $100 price cut, Dell's corporate-targeted Latitude CPi D300XT hangs on to the top spot on our power chart for the third month in a row. The portable remains a pleasure to use and is one of the quickest models we've tested, with a PC WorldBench 98 score of 159.

As with its forebear, the nearly identical Latitude CPi D266XT, the D300XT's pleasing charcoal-gray case measures just 1.75 inches thick (compared with the current notebook standard of 2 inches) and includes one modular bay on the side. Weighing 7.4 pounds and with slightly more than 3 hours of battery life, the D300XT is more than adequate for doing work away from the office. You can increase its travel life by buying an optional second battery ($169) and using two batteries at once. However, the notebook's $3399 price doesn't include a modem.

The Latitude CPi D300XT comes with a responsive, accurate touchpad and a great keyboard. All the keys are of sufficient size, offer crisp action, and occupy the expected positions; adapting from a desktop keyboard to the CPi D300XT's is a snap. And you shouldn't have to worry about upgrading the hard disk any time soon--at 6.4GB, it's among the biggest notebook drives available.

The CPi D300XT's brilliant screen produces a sharp image from edge to edge. We do have one gripe with the casing around the display, though: It's slightly wider at the top of the screen, so when the notebook's lid is closed, it protrudes slightly over the edge of the case. If the notebook should ever fall onto its side, the fragile screen would end up absorbing much of the impact.

As with most notebooks, the D300XT's basic stereo capabilities yield tinny sound. But the included software wavetable synthesizer produces good MIDI music.

Dell earns good service and system reliability marks from PC World readers, and we've seen a reduction in wait times in our anonymous calls to its tech support. The advice we receive continues to be accurate, although some reps seem impatient.

SUMMARY

Dell Latitude CPI D300XT PRO: Very fast; excellent keyboard CON: No modem even at this price