Sony VAIO FE590

The Sony VAIO FE590 is a fully customizable 15.4" Core Duo based laptop. It comes with an optional motion eye camera, the choice between an nVidia 7400 Go graphics card or Intel 950 integrated graphics, Bluetooth, Core Duo processor, up to 2GB RAM, 160GB HD, and a DVD Burner.

The model being reviewed here features the following:

• Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce Go 7400
• LCD Display: 15.4" WXGA (1280x800) display with XBRITE HiColor technology
• Wireless LAN: Wireless LAN (802.11a g)
• Processor: Intel Core Duo Processor T2400 (1.83 GHz)
• Memory:1,280MB DDR-SDRAM (DDR3-533, 256 MBx1 1024 MBx1)
• Hard Drive: 80 GB Hard Disk Drive
• Optical Drive:CD-RW/DVD Drive
• Battery: Standard Capacity Battery (BPS2B)

Reasons for Choosing:

I needed a workhorse laptop that would be suitable for a wide range of applications both as an Audio Video (AV) centre and a laptop that as a student I could travel to and from university with. The VAIO FE is very light for its size and has a great look too it. In terms of battery life it gets close to four hours when I'm in lectures throughout the day and around 3 hours watching videos, it has a beautiful crystal clear screen which is fantastic for my 3D art as the colors stay true.

Price and Buying from Sony:

I live in Australia, but at the time I ordered the only way to get the VAIO FE customized was ordering directly via Sony Style USA. I paid $1,435 and received free delivery; I purchased an extra 1GB stick of RAM from NewEg.com as Sony charges prices that are simply extortionate for their RAM.

I feel the price I paid for the VAIO FE was a great deal, but sadly I got hit with another $300 fee from Australian customs for importing the laptop, and on the very same day the FE was released in Australia for $1,670 USD with the camera, nVidia 7400 Go card, DVD burner and 100GB hard drive, though it only had 512MB of ram and a 1.66GHz Core Duo, it was still a little annoying.

Toshiba Satellite P100 and P105

This notebook is not without its pedigree; the Satellite range is Toshiba's long-running notebook line that traces it roots to the very first truly portable computers in the late 80's. Over time it has been super-ceded by the Tecra business line, but it still probably constitutes the lion's share of Toshiba's notebook sales in North America. These notebooks are ubiquitous in retailers across the continent, a testament to their good value and solid reputation.

The P100 is the first notebook that I have tested that features Intel's new dual core mobile platform Core Duo. The launch of Core Duo came at a time when Intel had pretty well sewn up the mobile performance crown. They probably could have rested on their laurels for another six months - possibly longer.

As the owner of an AMD Turion notebook, and the reviewer of many Intel notebooks, I can honestly say that there is a huge difference between the seamless integration of Intel's Centrino technologies and AMD's sm rg sbord approach. Hopefully AMD has been watching and learning because the addition of Core Duo to the Centrino platform stands to make what was already a big performance gap into a gaping chasm.

In Canada the P100 comes in two flavors; the P100-J100 ($1,999 CDN) and the P100-J500 ($2,399). The primary differences between the two are processor (T2300 versus T2400), memory (512 MB versus 1024 MB) and hard drive (100 GB versus 120 GB). Toshiba sent us the higher-end model for review. In the U.S. this notebook is customizable via the Satellite P105 model is essentially the same as the P100, but available with a higher end configuration graphics graphics card for certain SKUs. If you're buying the P105, most aspects of this review apply to this model too. Retail stores mostly carry the P105.

Specs:

• Intel Core Duo T2400 1.83GHz processor
• 17-inch glossy widescreen (1440 x 900)
• nVidia 7300 Go graphics card
• 120GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
• 1GB RAM
• 802.11 a/b/g Wireless via Intel 3945abg card
• DVD dual layer burner