All-Purpose 'Santa Rosa' Notebooks Debut Wheeling WV

Each of the all-purpose notebooks (those with screens
between 13.3 and 15.4 inches in size) featured in this month's chart is a newly
released, Windows Vista-equipped model that we've tested with WorldBench 6 Beta
2, the latest version of the PC World Test Center's benchmark suite for PCs.

Our Best Buy, HP's $1309
Pavilion dv6500t,
and Gateway's third-ranked, $2270
E-475M use Intel's
updated Centrino technology. Previously code-named Santa Rosa, the updated
platform now goes by either Centrino Duo (for general models) or Centrino Pro
(for business models outfitted with extras like Active Management technology
that IT staff can use to maintain laptop fleets).

Notebooks that use
Centrino Duo's or Centrino Pro's Intel 965 Express chip set feature an 800-MHz
frontside bus (up from 667 MHz), DDR2-800 memory support, built-in draft
802.11n Wi-Fi with 802.11a/b/g backward compatibility, and a new CPU socket
that supports a range of new Core 2 Duo mobile processors, most of which now
provide 4MB of Level 2 cache.

The multimedia-oriented HP Pavilion
dv6500t uses the new 2-GHz Core 2 Duo T7300 processor, while the
small-business-focused Gateway E-475M includes a 2.2-GHz Core 2 Duo T7500 chip.
Both laptops had stellar battery life, helped by the new chip set's ability to
save power by underclocking during periods of low CPU usage. The Gateway also
turned out to be the fastest Vista notebook we've tested to date. It bested our
previous top WorldBench 6 Beta 2 scorer, a Micro Express NP5760 desktop
replacement running an older 2.33-GHz Core 2 Duo T7600 chip, by 1 point--83 to
82.

The fourth-place Lenovo
ThinkPad T60, with
a 14.1-inch display and almost 5 hours of battery life, is a great example of a
traditional, moderately sized notebook. At $1899, however, it's significantly
more expensive than the second-place Asus
A8JR-4P021C or the
Fujitsu
LifeBook A3120,
which missed a place on the chart. The Asus's 5.5-pound weight and nice design
give it the makings of a quality notebook for students and worker bees alike,
but its battery life of exactly 2 hours was well below average for a notebook
of its size.

We were similarly disappointed by the Fujitsu A3120's
battery life; it lasted a mere hour and a half on one charge. Still, its
6.4-pound weight is light for a laptop wielding a 15.4-inch screen, and the
system features a stylish cream-colored exterior and a unique touchpad that
lets you jot down notes or draw within selected applications.

Click on the links below for the latest online notebook
rankings or a comprehensive list of all Notebooks we've tested.

• Most current
  Top Ultraportable Notebooks chart


• Most current
  Top All-Purpose Notebooks chart


• Most current
  Top Power Notebooks chart


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