If you can fork out the cash and don’t mind the design, then the Sony Vaio VGN-FW17GU is a well-performing unit that features a Blu-ray burner.

The LG W1 Pro Express Dual was let down by its speakers, encoding abilities and battery life, but the TV-tuner, number pad and the excellent screen are draw cards worth noting. Overall it's a strong machine, both structurally and component-wise.

The MSI MegaBook EX600 is a solid, but far from outstanding unit. It will handle most basic tasks with ease, but will struggle with more demanding applications.

The LG P1 Pro Express Dual notebook is a nice machine to work with. It feels good, has some useful features and performed as we expected it to from the hardware installed. It will provide a good user experience for everyday use.

A formidable notebook choice with a classy design. Although it's aimed at the casual user in both price and performance, we still feel that an extra $100 can get you a more powerful Intel-based machine.

A worthy alternative to Toshiba's flagship G40, the Qosmio F40 is a well built and useful entertainment machine.

Acer is really trying to do something different with this notebook. Its boldness isn't for everyone, but if you're in the market for a new power portable, check it out.

The VAIO VGN-CR13G is a reasonably solid, if unspectacular, notebook that features a lovely design and reasonable specifications. A decent choice if you are after an all-purpose machine.

This laptop is a good size and offers better performance than its predecessor. Its bronze style probably won't resonate with many users, and its glossy screen is prone to reflections, but we think it looks pretty good.

This is a value-priced power notebook that's well geared towards multimedia use.

The Toshiba Tecra A10's excellent CPU is wasted thanks to a puny 1GB of RAM. If you want a decent machine with a sub-$1500 price tag, then this is a device worth considering — as long as you upgrade the memory.

A great value multimedia machine, the 5z70 provides a DVD writer, wireless networking and graphics grunt at a competitive price.