« Return to: Top 15 Notebook PCs
| Rank | Power notebook | Issue tested | Overall rating | Street price (1/11/02) | PC WorldBench 4 performance score1 | Comments | Base config: CPU2 | Base config: Screen (inches) | Base config: RAM (MB) | Base config: Hard drive3 | Base config: Pointing device | Base config: Multipurpose bays | Extra features4 | Overall design | Battery life (hours:min)5 | Average weight (pounds)6 | Vendor's reliability/ service |
| 1 | Best Buy Dell Inspiron 8100 | Jan 02 | 90 | Very inexpensive $1658 | Windows 2000 Good: 100 | Built for multimedia, with GeForce2 Go graphics plus IEEE 1394 and S-Video ports. (  Dec 01) | 1-GHz Pentium III-M | 15 | 256 | 20 | Touchpad, eraserhead | 1 | Very good: 8X DVD-ROM drive, built-in modem and network adapter, Microsoft Office XP Small Business Edition 2002 | Outstanding | Good/ 3:01 | Heavy/ 9.0 | Good/Fair |
| 2 | Dell Inspiron 4100 | Jan 02 | 89 | Average $2228 | Windows 2000 Very good: 107 | Accommodates lots of add-ins; has dual pointing devices. Optional color palm rests and screen backs cost $20. ( Jan 02) | 1.2-GHz Pentium III-M | 14.1 | 256 | 20 | Touchpad, eraserhead | 2 | Very good: 8X DVD-ROM and 8X/8X/24X CD-RW combo drive, built-in modem and network adapter, Office XP SBE 2002 | Very good | Average/ 2:58 | Heavy/ 8.1 | Good/Fair |
| 3 | IBM ThinkPad A30p | Feb 02 | 88 | Very expensive $3399 | Windows 2000 Outstanding: 113 | Features dual modular bays, ergonomic sloping case, and huge hard drive. PDA syncing bay device optional. ( Feb 02) | 1.2-GHz Pentium III-M | 15 | 256 | 48 | Eraserhead | 2 | Very good: 6X DVD-ROM and 4X/4X/24X CD-RW combination drive, built-in modem and network adapter, Lotus SmartSuite | Outstanding | Average/ 2:19 | Heavy/ 8.5 | Good/Fair |
| 4 | New Dell Latitude C810 | New | 87 | Average $2625 | Windows XP Professional Very good: 101 | All-in-one has dual optical drive design. Unit is unavailable with both standard and wireless networking connections built in. | 1.13-GHz Pentium III-M | 15 | 256 | 30 | Touchpad, eraserhead | 1 | Good: 8X DVD-ROM and 8X/8X/24X CD-RW combination drive, built-in modem and network adapter | Very good | Good/ 3:00 | Heavy/ 9.1 | Good/Fair |
| 5 | HP Omnibook 6100 | Jan 02 | 86 | Expensive $2849 | Windows 2000 Very good: 106 | Corporate speedster has wireless-ready design and handsome, thin case with modular bay. (  Jan 02) | 1.13-GHz Pentium III-M | 15 | 256 | 30 | Touchpad, eraserhead | 1 | Good: 8X DVD-ROM drive, built-in modem and network adapter | Outstanding | Very good/ 3:58 | Average/ 7.8 | Good/Fair |
| 6 | Gateway Solo 9550xl | Jan 02 | 85 | Average $2599 | Windows 2000 Very good: 107 | Includes giant screen and high-end multimedia connections, but unit is big and heavy. ( Jan 02) | 1.13-GHz Pentium III-M | 15.7 | 256 | 30 | Touchpad | 2 | Good: 6X DVD-ROM and 4X/4X/24X CD-RW combination drive, built-in modem and network adapter | Very good | Good/ 3:42 | Heavy/ 9.3 | Fair/Fair |
| 7 | IBM ThinkPad T23 | Jan 02 | 85 | Expensive $3249 | Windows 2000 Good: 105 | Equipped with a whopping 48GB hard drive and a big screen with a light at the top. ( Dec 01) | 1.13-GHz Pentium III-M | 14.1 | 256 | 48 | Eraserhead | 1 | Good: 8X DVD-ROM drive, built-in modem and network adapter, Lotus SmartSuite | Outstanding | Average/ 2:41 | Light/ 6.5 | Good/Fair |
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| Rank | Value notebook | Issue tested | Overall rating | Street price (1/11/02) | PC WorldBench 4 performance score1 | Comments | Base config: CPU2 | Base config: Screen (inches) | Base config: RAM (MB) | Base config: Hard drive3 | Base config: Pointing device | Base config: Multipurpose bays | Extra features4 | Overall design | Battery life (hours:min)5 | Average weight (pounds)6 | Vendor's reliability/ service |
| 1 | Best Buy Gateway Solo 5350 | Feb 02 | 82 | Average $1799 | Windows XP Professional Very good: 94 | Comes with removable hard drive, handsome black-and-silver case, and one modular bay, but no big extras. ( Feb 02) | 1-GHz Pentium III-M | 14.1 | 256 | 20 | Touchpad | 1 | Good: 8X DVD-ROM drive, built-in modem and network adapter, Microsoft Works 2002 | Very good | Good/ 3:30 | Average/ 7.0 | Fair/Fair |
| 2 | New Dell Latitude C610 | New | 81 | Expensive $2396 | Windows XP Professional Very good: 99 | Revamp of older model allows wireless and standard networking options to be built in, eliminating need for PC Cards. | 1-GHz Pentium III-M | 14.1 | 256 | 20 | Touchpad, eraserhead | 1 | Good: 8X DVD-ROM and 8X/8X/24X CD-RW combination drive, built-in modem and network adapter | Very good | Very good/ 3:56 | Average/ 7.8 | Good/Fair |
| 3 | Compaq Presario 1720 | Mar 02 | 80 | Average $1599 | Windows XP Home Very good: 95 | Lightweight, well-equipped consumer laptop comes with DVD/CD-RW combination drive and IEEE 1394 port. ( Mar 02) | 1-GHz Pentium III-M | 14.1 | 256 | 20 | Touchpad | 1 | Good: 6X DVD-ROM and 4X/4X/24X CD-RW combination drive, built-in modem and network adapter | Average | Good/ 3:13 | Average/ 6.8 | Fair/Poor |
| 4 | IBM ThinkPad R30 | Jan 02 | 80 | Average $1949 | Windows 2000 Good: 88 | Two-spindle unit has most standard connections, a light at the top of the screen, and built-in 802.11b wireless support. ( Jan 02) | 1-GHz Pentium III | 14.1 | 256 | 30 | Eraserhead | 1 | Good: 8X/4X/24X CD-RW drive, built-in modem and network adapter, Lotus SmartSuite | Outstanding | Average/ 2:22 | Light/ 6.7 | Good/Fair |
| 5 | New HP Pavilion N5445 | New | 80 | Average $1649 | Windows XP Home Very good: 94 | Dedicated audio controls and IEEE 1394 port highlight this handsome consumer-oriented all-in-one with fixed drives. | 1.06-GHz Pentium III-M | 15 | 256 | 20 | Touchpad | 0 | Good: 8X DVD-ROM and 8X/4X/24X CD-RW combination drive, built-in modem and network adapter, Microsoft Works 2002 | Average | Good/ 3:35 | Heavy/ 8.6 | Good/Fair |
| 6 | Fujitsu LifeBook C Series | Jan 02 | 79 | Average $1499 | Windows 2000 Good: 88 | Offers four USB ports and DVD/CD-RW combination drive. Price drops $150 this month. (  Jan 02) | 1-GHz Pentium III | 14.1 | 128 | 30 | Touchpad | 0 | Good: 8X DVD-ROM and 8X/8X/24X CD-RW combination drive, built-in modem and network adapter | Average | Good/ 3:18 | Average/ 7.7 | Good/7 |
| 7 | Toshiba Satellite 5005-S504 | Mar 02 | 79 | Average $1899 | Windows XP Home Very good: 95 | Fantastic sound and dedicated audio controls; plus SD and SmartMedia slots. Price falls by $200. ( Mar 02) | 1.1-GHz Pentium III8 | 15 | 512 | 30 | Touchpad | 0 | Good: 8X DVD-ROM and 8X/4X/24X CD-RW combination drive, built-in modem and network adapter, Lotus SmartSuite | Very good | Poor/ 1:47 | Heavy/ 8.7 | Good/Fair |
| 8 | Compaq Presario 2701 | Mar 02 | 79 | Average $1999 | Windows XP Home Very good: 97 | Dual optical drive design allows for both DVD-ROM and CD-RW drives. Price includes $99 optional second battery. ( Mar 02) | 1-GHz Pentium III-M | 15 | 512 | 30 | Touchpad | 1 | Very good: 8X DVD-ROM drive, 8X/4X/24X CD-RW drive, built-in modem and network adapter | Very good | Good/ 3:19 | Very heavy/ 10.1 | Fair/Poor |
| Percent of overall rating | 20 percent | 15 percent | 5 percent | 10 percent | 10 percent | 5 percent | 10 percent | 25 percent |
For more details, see "A Guide to PC World's Star Ratings."
1 Performance word scores reflect comparisons of PCs in the same category (power or value) running the same operating system. See "Your Guide to the Top 100" for more details.
2 Except where noted, all CPUs are SpeedStep chips, which run at a slower speed when on battery power.
3 In gigabytes.
4 Word score reflects both listed and unlisted features.
5 Unless otherwise noted, all notebooks come with a lithium ion battery.
6 Includes computer, AC adapter, power cord, floppy drive, and optical drive.
7 Insufficient data to give a rating.
8 Single-speed desktop CPU.