Solid business notebook performance and extended battery life. Plus product lifecycle longevity and familiar ThinkPad design.

The HP Compaq nc6400 performs well with exceptional battery life.

We quite liked the N100 and while its performance wasn't spectacular it was consistent with what we expected for a machine with these specifications.

We quite liked the N100 and at this price, this iteration is well worth it.

A well designed and rugged notebook backed up by decent performance.

If you don't want to play lots of games and need a solid notebook for office tasks, the Z61t should fit the bill quite nicely.

If you need a solid multimedia notebook and don't intend on playing games, the M100 fits the bill nicely.

Pioneer has definitely aimed for the performance market with its DreamBook Light 822 notebook, which is the most powerful notebook we looked at this month. Running an Intel Core Duo T2500 (2GHz) processor and 1GB (2x 512MB) of DDR2 533MHz RAM, the 14in DreamBook pulled off an impressive score of 97 in PC WorldBench 5 and 17,469 in 3DMark 2001 SE. These results place the DreamBook above other notebooks in its price range.

While it could be a little sturdier, the abundance of connectivity options and the $2299 price make it a sensible purchase for anyone looking for a large, strong performing notebook.

With 3G Internet built-in, this is an excellent notebook for business users who demand a superior product and excellent build quality.

The NEC Versa P8210 is an interesting notebook sitting on the fence between productivity and gaming.

If you need a notebook that will last for four hours while on the road, and double as a media centre once you get back to base, then look no further.