Despite some odd feature choices, this is an affordable powerhouse of a laptop. A great value mid-range Centrino 2 laptop, as long as you're not worried about battery life.

Although the mobile marketplace has been changing in the face of Centrino and the slow but gradual tablet PC adoption rate, large form factored (greater than single spindle) notebooks are still the order of the day.

In a world filled with gorgeous Sony, Apple and even Dell laptops, a sober, matte black machine aimed at consumers has to be truly special to turn heads. The IdeaPad Y430 is a well-built Centrino 2 machine that lacks nothing in the way of features, speed or value

It's the return of the twin graphics chip powered laptop, but this time Core2 Duo power is under the hood.

A fantastic specification notebook with all the trimmings you'd expect to find on more expensive notebooks, the Joybook 8100-V13 has a 15.4in widescreen WXGA with native 1280 x 800 resolution. With ATI's Mobility RADEON 9600 graphics, boasting 64MB dedicated video memory, it's great for DVD playback or gaming -- the unit returned 9,502 marks under 3DMark01SE Pro, more than enough to provide comfortable gameplay with a decent number of fps even in recent games. BenQ has gone as far as to include not just a DVD-ROM for DVD movie playback, but an optical DVD writer, capable of 2-speed DVD+R media writing, ideal for both business archiving or for personal backup.

Packed with great features and offering decent coverage, the DIR-655 is a winner at this price.

While we wait with bated breath for the imminent (or was that eventual?) release of Microsoft Media Centre into Australia, the number of companies cashing in on the media functionality of next generation consumer electronics is growing quickly.

It’s one of the thinnest laptops available and it looks stunning, with an industry first up its sleeve.

It’s not the most powerful, but its games performance and features help the Toshiba A350 stand out in the price bracket for mid-price laptops

A solid but unremarkable notebook offering a good set of features and excellent warranty.

A super-light laptop with great battery life, but the screen is both its stand-out feature and, for some, its Achilles heel

Long-lasting battery, enough power to go, and a lightweight design: this has it all in a small package

Still one of the best examples of laptop design in the market, but there are compromises

We've put both mini-notebooks through their paces, and while Linux fans may disagree, the winner is clear.