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 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.

While it might not quite resurrect a dying breed, the A9 (PTS52A-00V00F) proves that big old-fashioned business notebooks still have a worthy place in the ultra-mobile world. Worth investing in.

A well-rounded mix of features and performance makes the LifeBook A6010 a good candidate for basic business and personal use.

The NEC Versa E6510-2505DR is a very cost-effective and powerful machine that is difficult to fault. Although the faux leather looks and feels fake and the non-standard keyboard may occasionally cause typing errors, users who can look past these faults will find it to be an excellent device.

With the nc8430 you get what you pay for. While it may cost a little more than some other dual core machines, it offers great performance across both desktop tasks and gaming, and has all the features you'd expect to find in a high-end business unit.

The Lenovo N100 performs well, with its 1.83GHz Core 2 Duo processor and 1GB of RAM offering more than enough power for day to day desktop tasks.

The Tecra A7 may be the wiser option as it offers better performance for a similar price, but it depends on whether you value battery life or graphics performance.

If you’re looking for a desktop replacement with processing power, plenty of storage, an excellent screen and great connectivity options then the Dell Studio 17 (1735) is a hard product to beat.

The ASUS M51VA-AS045G is mid-range laptop with a fantastic array of connections and strong processing performance. Unfortunately the screen’s default dimness may prove annoying for novice users and the lack of Gigabit Ethernet at this price point is disappointing.

The Toshiba Satellite Pro A300 is a unit that sits comfortably between the entry-level and mid-range notebook categories, featuring an excellent range of expansion ports and decent performance when balanced against its price tag. What lets it down is the dull design.

HP's Pavilion tx1001 is not a powerful performer, but for a small premium you get the benefit of touch-screen functionality with your notebook. It still offers all the perks of the Pavilion range, but brings a new physical element to computing.