Physically, it's the same as the Linux version, and it has less storage space, but it does feel a little faster and it's much better suited to playing videos.

Although it comes with a strong variety of connections and good screen performance, the Acer TravelMate 6592 (831G08Mn) is let down by a relatively small hard drive.

It's fast and has all the essentials, but in the end the art makes or breaks it.

The Pavilion dv3000 (dv3021TX) will not disappoint its target audience of business users and multimedia enthusiasts. With the exception of hardcore gamers, it will please anyone on the lookout for a new, flashy notebook. Recommended.

A mixture of smartphone and notebook, this stylish ultraportable from HTC lacks the strengths of either category and will not satisfy business users on the go.

There's a lot to this notebook, and while it works great for the most part, it could still use a little refinement, especially with regards to its video input ports. Overall though, it's a great media centre notebook and it does have tremendous storage capacity.

The Toshiba Satellite A300 provides excellent processing power and a sleek design for a price that won't break the budget.

Lenovo thrills us with many useful features on this IdeaPad Y710-200, but it fumbles the ball a little in its implementation of the 'Game Zone'. It's also let down by a lack of Gigabit networking and a digital TV tuner.

With an 18.4in high-definition screen, a 5.1 speaker configuration, a digital TV tuner and a Blu-ray player built-in, the Gemstone Blue is almost like a complete home theatre setup. It's fairly easy to use and it's a good performer, so it's a good choice for anyone after a desktop replacement.

Once you get over the fact that you could buy several PCs at this price, the Alienware Area-51 m15x-R1 is an extremely capable desktop replacement for the keen gamer.

The overall build quality, decent feature-set and low price of the Satellite L300 make it a great choice for anyone after a new notebook for the classroom, office or home.

For mobile professionals who want to forget they're even carrying a tablet-convertible notebook, the P1620 is a valid candidate. It's not perfect, but it has enough features to be a useful office productivity tool while on the road.