Top 15 notebook PCs

From...

By Carla Thornton

(IDG) -- New portables equipped with Intel's high-powered Pentium III Processor-M CPU nearly pulled off a clean sweep of our power chart this month.

The new processor's bus speed increases from 100 MHz (the PIII chip's standard) to 133 MHz, and the secondary cache doubles to 512KB. The top-rated Dell Inspiron 8100, which carries a PIII-M-1000/733 chip, posted a PC WorldBench 2000 score of 197, a 7-percent improvement in performance over PIII-1000/700 notebooks.

Although the Inspiron 8100 wasn't the fastest new M-chip-equipped laptop we tested, it grabbed our Best Buy thanks to its moderate $2,413 price tag. IBM's speedy PIII-M-1133/733 ThinkPad T23 system smoked the competition with a PC WorldBench 2000 score of 212, the highest we've ever recorded for a laptop; however, its burdensome $3,367 price tag held it to third place.

The value chart didn't have much turnover. We tested several new candidates this month, including the tenth-place Gateway Solo 3450, a 3-pound model with an included docking base.

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We liked the tough aluminum-alloy skin, built-in DVD-ROM drive, and 3-hour battery life of WinBook's 5.2-pound (without the AC adapter) X1 laptop, but its $2,298 price kept it off our chart. Gateway's new Solo 1200, a Celeron-800 unit priced at only $1,199, was another intriguing candidate, but slow performance made it an also-ran.

We tested Fujitsu's new LifeBook C series as well, a notebook with four USB ports. The company discontinued the Pentium III-850 unit we reviewed, however; we'll look at another model soon.

Top 15 notebook PCs

1. Dell Inspiron 8100: For small to medium-size businesses or multimedia pros seeking a decked-out desktop replacement, the 8100 does it all.
2. Toshiba Satellite 3005-S403: Ready for work with a complete set of productivity applications or for entertainment with dedicated audio controls, the Toshiba Satellite 3005-S403 is a well-rounded laptop.
3. IBM Thinkpad T23: For businesses and well-heeled individuals who prefer the eraserhead pointing device and can afford a top-of-the-line lightweight laptop, the T23 is a best-of-breed winner.
4. HP Pavilion N5470: The 7.7-pound HP Pavilion N5470 is far from lithe, but its new AMD Mobile Athlon 4-1000 processor provides near-Pentium III-1000 performance and holds the price down to around $2000, which is impressive for a portable with a combination DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive.
5. Acer TravelMate 743TLV: With Intel's fastest mobile chip and a built-in fingerprint reader, the 743TLV offers top-of-the-line performance and better security than most other portables.
6. Dell Latitude C600: The C600 offers almost everything a company would want in a portable, highly flexible business laptop: wireless networking, both eraserhead and touchpad pointing devices and the ability to rotate a wide range of add-in devices, including a second battery. The $2486 price looks high for a Pentium III-750/600 laptop, but seems reasonable considering everything else you get.
7. Compaq Presario 1800: Intel's top processor, a big screen, a large hard drive and peerless audio controls make the Presario 1800 a nicely souped-up consumer laptop for music and video fans.
8. Enpower ENP-325W2: : Individuals or small companies looking for top mobile performance at a good price may want to check out this unexciting but comfortable and speedy laptop.
9. MicronPC TransPort GX+: Although a fine machine overall and plenty fast for most applications, the pricey Transport GX+ falls short in performance when compared with other Pentium III-800/650 notebooks running Windows 2000. Unless you need to outfit your company with fast portable disc burners, other notebooks offer more oomph for the money.
10. Chem USA ChemBook 3830: : Despite mildly disappointing performance for its configuration and a somewhat flimsy keyboard, the ChemBook 3830's storage, speed, and sizable screen make it a remarkable deal for a sub-$1500 portable.
11. WinBook J1: Individuals or small companies willing to trade SpeedStep technology for a fast, cheap Pentium III-1000 laptop need only add productivity software to turn the J1 into a good portable for home or business.
12. Micro Express NP4800D: If they can live with the NP4800D's skimpy support materials and undersize command keys, power users and small businesses can score a great deal with this decked-out model from value-king Micro Express. It's fast and loaded with features usually found on much more expensive portables.
13. HP Omnibook 500: Frequent travelers with deep pockets will appreciate the fast, handsome Omnibook 500 the most. Its flexible design lets you trim connections to lower the notebook's weight, or add bays and legacy ports and even use three batteries at once. All but big-screen fans (and those with thin bank accounts) will be pleased.
14. Fujitsu Lifebook S Series: The LifeBook S Series would make a good traveling companion for corporate nomads who use mainstream office applications and who don't mind a small screen and keyboard. It weighs less than 4 pounds, yet it carries a powerful processor, comes with loads of storage, and conveniently holds a DVD-ROM/CD-RW combination drive in its internal bay.
15. Gateway Solo 3450: The 3-pound Gateway Solo 3450 offers snazzy looks and a pretty good keyboard, and a 12.1-inch screen, the biggest you'll find on this class of notebook. It's no multimedia machine, but with a longer-lasting replacement battery the Solo 3450 would make a terrific portable for getting work done on the road.