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Monday November 9, 2009 12:53 PM AEST
Skip Navigation LinksPC Authority > Group Tests > Luxury Laptops - 10 models tested and reviewed
Luxury Laptops - 10 models tested and reviewed

Luxury Laptops - 10 models tested and reviewed

by Mike Jennings  on Dec 2, 2008
Tags: Luxury | Laptops
Mike Jennings tests a selection of laptops that offer stunning power and fantastic features in a dozen luxurious packages
Cancel the credit crunch and banish your budget – laptops that promise a little more class have never been better, or more affordable. Whether it’s an ultraportable or desktop replacement you’re after, we’ve rounded up 10 laptops that will have you gasping with admiration from the moment you take them out of the box.

If you’re looking to pamper yourself, technologically speaking, you’re in for a treat. Every laptop in this Labs is packed with luxury, inside and out. We have some surprisingly capable small systems – including the remarkable Lenovo X300 and the leather-clad Asus U6 – that pack decent performance as well as lovely screens and fantastic keyboards into slim, sub-2kg cases.

And there’s plenty on offer at the larger end of the scale, too. Dell’s XPS M1730 has not one but two powerful graphics chips inside. There’s also the largest laptop ever – the HP Pavilion HDX9313 – with a 20in screen and Blu-ray drive for high-definition movie playback.

It isn’t the only machine with Blu-ray, either. Acer’s widescreen Aspire 8920G and the Rock both come with high-definition readers and native resolutions that can cope with the glorious detail of HD video. Meanwhile, Sony’s VAIO VGN-FW11ZU features a Blu-ray writer.

There’s no point having a luxury laptop if you’ve nothing to carry it around in. So we’ve also rounded up some of the best laptop bags around and put them through their paces — you can see our verdict on page 40.

In fact, there’s little here not to like: formidable power and dozens of features packed into many a stylish chassis. If you’ve ever had a taste for luxury, then look no further.

How we Test:


Plus, how we work out the ratings

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Every month, we take a lot of time to calculate the scores you see at the bottom of each review. But everyone’s needs are different, and this month’s range of laptops is so varied it’s worth viewing the scores with more perspective than usual.

Pure benchmark performance, for instance, isn’t the be all and end all: the Lenovo X300 isn’t the quickest laptop, but as a slim business PC it doesn’t need to be. Meanwhile, desktop replacements such as the HP Pavilion are often driven with more demanding tasks and tend to be packed with power – so benchmark scores become more important.

Similarly, battery life is more important for some laptops than others. The Fujitsu Siemens Lifebook P8010 lasts for hours, and it should – it’s designed to be carried around and used on the move. Battery longevity isn’t so vital for a desktop replacement, though, so the poor lifespan of the Dell XPS M1730 isn’t so critical.

It’s all about priorities. While all the scores are important, different laptops are designed for different uses.

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Performance

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We still put each machine through our usual gruelling set of benchmarks, though, using real-world applications such as Word, Access and Photoshop (see the Benchmarks PDF in the Editorial section of our cover disc for more). The overall 2D result is relative to a score of 1.00 from our reference PC – a dual-core 3.2GHz Pentium D 840 system with 1GB RAM, a 10,000rpm hard disk and Nvidia GeForce 6600 GT graphics.

Battery Life

For our light-use test, we run a simple timer app until the battery runs out, and for the intensive test we push the processor to its limit with our multitasking benchmark. This gives us a minimum and maximum battery life. In both cases, we use the power-management settings most suited to longevity and performance.

Features & Design

Here we examine the machine’s spec, including its interfaces, hard disk and optical drive. We factor in software bundles and warranty, as well as each company’s performance in our Reliability & Service Awards. The rating includes subjective points for items that can’t be measured objectively, such as the build quality.

Value for Money

The Value for Money score is based on a weighted average of every score; we then factor in exactly how much each machine costs (including delivery).

Overall

The Overall rating is a straight average of the Performance, Battery Life, Features & Design and Value for Money scores.

Ratings explained

The star ratings you’ll find at the bottom of each review are relative only to the products on test in any particular Labs. A one out of six rating doesn’t mean the product is the worst of its type ever to be made, just the least impressive that month. Likewise, a six out of six score isn’t necessarily an indication of perfection.

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Feature table - click on image to make bigger
This article appeared in the December, 2008 issue of PC Authority.


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