Absolutely jam packed with features, this notebook isn't your run-of-the-mill basic-function productivity laptop. At every turn we found hardware above and beyond the call of duty including a 64MB FX5200 graphics card, sexy widescreen display, 80GB hard disk drive and DVD-RAM/DVD-R/RW slot mounted drive for all your backup and home movie-making needs. A hybrid somewhere between legacy continuation and dismissal, this notebook features three rear-mounted USB 2.0 ports and parallel connectivity.
The Notino W6700 is housed in a sturdy magnesium alloy reinforced casing to help protect your investment from bumps and everyday usage, and aesthetically it evokes Apple's iBooks. As attractive as it is, the features on this 'book are spectacular, combining the power of a gaming designed 64MB graphics adaptor and Intel's powerful Pentium-M low voltage processor.
Although boasting an 80GB 4,200rpm notebook drive, inclusion of the additional DVD-RAM/DVD-R/RW drive allows you to archive critical data offsite or create home movies or redistribute large files.
A fairly quiet operator, the unit omits little more than a hum when in use, even under load. Using the slot-loading DVD drive was the largest source of noise. During our testing the disk reading was actually quite audible even through the housing.
Returning positive benchmarking results, the Notino managed an overall SYSmark2002 score of 174 points, 24 overall clear of the other Centrino notebook we tested this month. 3DMark01SE showed this unit's superiority by posting a very competitive 6,672 marks at 1,024 x 768 at 32-bit colour quality.
Quite similar to Dell's Latitude 8600, both units are geared towards 3D display and gaming as much as they are to office productivity type applications.
The inclusion of extra RAM and DVD authoring capability makes for stiff competition, even given the price gap between these two models.
A little lighter than the Dell and just shy of three kilos, the Hi-Grade offers plenty at a price a bit high for basic users, but reasonable for those after grunt and features.