Desktop replacement notebooks are essentially high-end notebooks that are close to desktop PCs in terms of features and performance. If you are after a fast notebook that can be used in the office or taken home, then there’s a notebook here that would certainly suit.

In this feature we look at six Wintel notebooks and two Apple notebooks. In addition to the vendors reviewed here, we also invited Compaq/HP, Dell, Fujitsu, IBM, NEC, Panasonic, and Sharp, none of whom were able to submit a product for review.

Of the Wintel notebooks, only one had a Pentium III processor, while the rest had a Pentium 4. Intel’s new mobile Pentium 4 processor is built on 0.13-micron technology, and features a 400MHz frontside bus, 512KB of Level 2 cache and support for DDR RAM, so we were quite keen to see how these new technologies affected performance. This was also the first time we tested the Apple PowerBook G4 800.

Recent developments

CPU speeds
Both Intel and AMD broke the 1GHz speed barrier some time ago. The mobile Pentium 4 processor starts at 1.4GHz, and has 1.5GHz, 1.6GHz, 1.7GHz, and 1.8GHz options. What was more interesting, two of the vendors used the desktop version of the Pentium 4 processor, rather than the mobile version. Although the desktop version is small enough to fit into a notebook, and somewhat cheaper than the mobile version at the same clock speed, it generates more heat and draws more power. Some tier-one vendors initially used the desktop chip before the mobile chip became available, but now you’re only likely to see the desktop chip in clone notebooks. Not only are they cheaper but they also run at much faster speeds—the fastest desktop CPU can run at 2.5GHz.

The advantages stop there though, and we believe there are disadvantages. Desktop CPUs require large heatsinks, which tend to make the notebook a lot heavier. Desktop CPUs also don’t make use of Intel’s SpeedStep technology, which adjusts the clock speed and processor voltage to save battery life. The mobile Pentium 4 processors can go into a Deeper Sleep Alert State, which reduces the processor voltage during brief periods of inactivity.

Once again, we didn’t receive any notebooks with AMD processors, which was a shame since the company has recently released a new line of mobile processors.

Graphics
In the past, graphics was the major dividing line between desktops and notebooks, but that’s not so much the case these days. With today’s ATI and nVidia graphics accelerators, we are able to run true 3D graphics on notebooks at very high speeds. Another interesting development is nVidia’s GeForce 4 420 Go graphics accelerator, which includes a range of system power controls called PowerMizer. This not only adjusts the power consumption of the graphics processor, but also the CPU and the display.

Recent developments (con't)

Portability
Common with the desktop replacement notebooks is the all-in-one design, sometimes referred to as three-spindle. This means that the hard disk, floppy drive, and CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive are built-in and can be used simultaneously. The downside is this makes the notebooks somewhat larger and heavier, but at least you don’t need to cart around extra peripherals.

Networking
Bluetooth and 802.11b wireless connectivity is increasingly being built into notebooks, at least as an optional extra. The Toshiba notebook shipped with an integrated Bluetooth antenna but it didn’t come with the Bluetooth module. Several notebooks also came with integrated 802.11b wireless modules built in. All the notebooks in this review featured an integrated 56K modem and integrated 10/100 Ethernet network interfaces.

Thermal Stress Testing
In order to compare the heat generation of the mobile Pentium III, mobile Pentium 4 and desktop Pentium 4 processors, we ran thermal stress tests on three of the notebooks. We locked up each of the notebooks for six hours in an enclosed environment, and made them run WinBench for the whole duration. We recorded the temperature of inside the box every 15 minutes. As you can see in the table to the left, the Pioneer notebook, which uses a desktop CPU, generates much more heat than a notebook with a mobile CPU. This also means it uses up more power.

Battery Life
All the Pentium 4-based notebooks had a difficult time running Ziff Davis’s Battery Mark test successfully so we decided to create our own battery test called BMark. Most of the P4 based notebooks managed to run BMark for around 90 minutes, which wasn’t very impressive. However, keep in mind that all the power-saving features were turned off and each notebook was made to work at full speed the entire time. In a normal working environment, you’d see much better battery life.

How we tested

• Standard performance and compatibility benchmarks.
• Display quality including evenness of illumination, clarity, colours, and resolutions supported.
• Audio including the audio chip used and sound quality, volume level, speaker/s location, I/O, and ease of use.
• Keypad including key size, spacing, layout, travel, feedback, support, and colour differentiation.
• Pointing device including location, button size, travel and feedback, additional features, and functionality.
• Workmanship and design including ergonomics, robustness, and durability.
• System expandability including the number of I/O ports, upgradability of CPU, memory, and hard drive.

We also rated each of the notebooks in the areas of interoperability, futureproofing, return on investment, and service.

Interoperability: We looked at the number and types of connectors available.

Return on Investment: We looked at the overall cost and performance of the notebook.

Futureproofing: Futureproofing looked at the expansion potential of each of the notebooks, including maximum RAM capacity, provision for a second battery or drive, and the number of PC Card slots.

Service: Service looked at the duration and conditions of the warranty.

Benchmarks
Business Winstone 2001 V1.0.2 is a system-level, application-based benchmark that measures a notebook’s overall performance when running popular business applications.

Content Creation Winstone 2002 V1.0 is a system-level, application-based benchmark that measures a notebook’s overall performance when running content creation applications.

Winbench 99 V2.0 is a subsystem-level benchmark that measures the performance of a notebook’s graphics, disk, and video subsystems in a Windows environment.

BMark is a test custom-built by RMIT Labs to measure battery life on notebook computers running Windows. BMark is a command line application that runs a series of number crunching calculations while simultaneously playing an MP3 file.

PS5Bench is a very limited cross-platform benchmark that can be run on either the Mac or PC, which runs a series of filters in Adobe Photoshop. This only measures the relative CPU performance of each platform and does not really exercise the graphics or hard drive subsystems.

What we tested

Acer TravelMate 632XC
The Acer TravelMate was definitely one of the best looking notebooks in this feature. The exterior is a nice muted grey and the keypad is all black. The arrangement of keys is a little different to what we are used to; the whole keypad is slightly curved. After a while typing with this layout, we actually found it quite comfortable. The Acer has a good assortment of ports including USB, FireWire, and video out. It also features a smart card reader, which Acer is promoting as a security feature. The smart card can be used to log into the notebook, and can store all your settings. However, this will of course be a problem if the card is lost or stolen.

The Acer didn’t perform as well as we expected. It ended up being the slowest notebook in this feature. The main culprit for its poor performance was the graphics accelerator. It was only equipped with 16MB of video memory, which would have caused it to suffer in most tests. The Acer has a high price tag, and based on its performance we would look for something a bit faster and less expensive.

AOpen OpenBook 1845
The AOpen OpenBook was one of two notebooks we looked at to feature the desktop Pentium 4 CPU. In this case, it used an Intel Pentium 4 1.8GHz processor. The notebook also shipped with 256MB of RAM, 32MB of graphics memory, and a 30GB hard disk drive. The AOpen notebook didn’t have the stylish curves of a name brand, but it certainly stands up well against the other clone notebooks. The AOpen notebook has a combo DVD/CD-RW drive, and also has a S/PDIF output, which allows you to connect your notebook to a Dolby AC-3 receiver for 5.1 or DTS surround sound (just in case your work involves watching a lot of DVDs). It also features standard ports like USB, FireWire, and video out.

The AOpen also didn’t perform as well as we had expected. In fact, most of the 1.6GHz notebooks performed better. Its graphics processor was underpowered, which would have ultimately affected its overall score in Content Creation Winstone and Business Winstone. On a better note, the AOpen recorded the best result in Bmark with a time of two hours and 29 minutes. This was up to 60 minutes longer than some notebooks, but to its advantage it also had the largest battery.

Apple iBook G3 600
Apple’s iBook has been around for some time now. It’s a lot more affordable than the Apple Powerbook G4 and can still pack a good punch. At the heart of the iBook we looked at is a 600MHz PowerPC G3 chip with 256MB of RAM and a 20GB IBM hard disk drive.

The iBook uses the same ATI Mobility graphics chipset with 16MB of RAM that powers some Wintel notebooks. The footprints typical for a 14.1in notebook but the weight is somewhat less than a similar Wintel notebook. It weighs only 2.8kg, which is at least partly due to the fact that the notebook has no floppy drive, although it does feature a DVD/CD-RW drive. Memory expansion is limited to 640MB, compared with 1GB for most Wintel notebooks. The iBook doesn’t have any legacy ports, but offers two USB ports, FireWire, and video out.

As explained in the “How We Tested” section, comparing performance between Mac and Wintel notebooks is not easy. We relied on benchmarks in Adobe Photoshop to give us some indication of the Mac’s ability. These benchmarks showed the iBook running rings around the Toshiba—which was one of the best-performing Wintel machines—and only slightly slower than the Powerbook G4.

What we tested

The PowerBook is only 2.6cm thick and only weighs 2.5kg. This is quite remarkable considering it has a 15.2in display. This display is absolutely stunning and has superb picture quality. The PowerBook’s grey-silver design looks very reserved, but modern and stylish at the same time. The keypad is made up of transparent black keys, which offer excellent feedback, and the huge palmrest area makes it comfortable to use.

The PowerBook also features a 40GB IBM hard disk, and a one-inch thick slot-loading DVD drive. Like the iBook, the PowerBook ditches legacy ports in favour of USB. The back of this notebook features a DVI port for plugging into an external LCD, as well as a FireWire and video out. The PowerBook also has a built in AirPort (Apple’s name for 802.11b wireless) antenna cable, which attaches to the end of the optional AirPort Card.

It was no surprise the PowerBook outperformed the iBook and the Toshiba in PSBench. Apples have always been known to perform well in graphics applications. However, being only one test, we can’t assume it’s faster overall. For the first time we tested the battery performance of a Mac, using a Windows 98 emulator to run BMark. Even though the Apple did quite well, it would have been working rather hard, running its own OS, Windows under emulation, and the benchmark.

Sony Vaio PCGR505BP
Unlike the other notebooks we looked at, the Sony VAIO comes with a docking station, which adds a DVD/CD-RW drive, a floppy drive, and a host of I/O connectors including a FireWire port. Together with the docking station the Sony VAIO weighs in at 3.1kg. On its own, it only weighs 1.9kg making it the lightest notebook in this review. It may be light, but it’s also strong and robust. The display panel is not at all flimsy and we didn’t notice any rippling on the screen when we applied pressure to the back. The display quality is excellent, but the screen is a little small at 12.1in.

The palm rest and keyboard are very stable. The VAIO uses a glidepad and also features a jog shuttle, which conveniently allows you to scroll without moving the pointer. The VAIO was unfortunately the slowest notebook we tested, and we don’t think it would make a good desktop replacement. It’s a little underpowered in the processor department, with a 1.13GHz Pentium III processor, but the graphics is more of a worry. It uses Intel’s 830MG chipset, which in our opinion doesn’t offer much in the way of graphics performance, and uses the main system memory instead of having any dedicated video RAM.

The VAIO is very innovative, and combined with the docking station offers the flexibility that many of the other notebooks can’t. However it’s too underpowered to be considered a serious desktop replacement.

Toshiba Satellite Pro 6100
The Toshiba Satellite features a mobile Pentium 4 processor along with 256MB of RAM, a 40GB hard disk, and a DVD-ROM drive. It features an all-black colour scheme, and even the keypad is black. It is the only notebook we looked at not to have a glidepad, instead opting for a trackball. There was very little bounce in the keyboard and the layout was quite good.

The Toshiba Satellite has a Secure Digital slot, which can easily transfer data from devices such as digital cameras and PDAs that use SD memory. The Satellite Pro also has a Slim Select bay, which enables you to take out the DVD/CD-RW drive and replace it with a second hard disk or battery to suit your needs. The Toshiba uses a 32MB nVidia GeForce4 420 Go graphics accelerator. This proved to be a very fast 2D and 3D graphics accelerator. Along with its excellent disk scores, the Toshiba posted the fastest scores in Content Creation Winstone and Business Winstone.

In 3Dmark the Toshiba was beaten by the two clone notebooks, which were equipped with more video memory. The Toshiba also performed really well in our disk tests, thanks to its 5400RPM hard drive.

Xenon Metro Mobile Pro M40
Pioneer P4 Power Notebook We decided to review these two notebooks together, since they are both rebadged Clevo notebooks, and are almost identical. The shells on these notebooks are slightly different, but the insides are practically the same. The Xenon uses a mobile Pentium 4 processor, which runs at 1.6GHz, while the Pioneer features a 2.2GHz desktop Pentium 4 CPU.

These two notebooks are the heaviest, not only because they both have a large footprint, but also because they both have an enormous heatsink and two large fans and one small fan to keep the CPU cool. In the case of the Pioneer this makes sense, because it uses the desktop version of the Pentium 4, which requires extra cooling, but we can’t understand why Xenon chose this configuration. These two notebooks are the heaviest, not only because they both have a large footprint, but also because they both have an enormous heatsink and two large fans and one small fan to keep the CPU cool.

In the case of the Pioneer this makes sense, because it uses the desktop version of the Pentium 4, which requires extra cooling, but we can’t understand why Xenon chose this configuration. Performance between the two was interesting. The Pioneer was faster than Xenon, but not by much. We had a feeling that the Pioneer notebook may not have been running at its full rated speed in order to conserve power or reduce heat.

Both notebooks have four USB ports, support a native resolution of 1400 x 1050, and have 64MB of video memory on board. They have standalone audio CD players that let you play audio CDs when the notebook is turned off. The notebooks have two drive bays on the right-hand side. One is taken up by the optical drive, while the second can house a second optical drive, second battery, or a floppy drive.

These clones are significantly cheaper than any of the name brands, and offer comparable performance and better flexibility than the name brand notebooks. For instance, none of the name brands can support a second optical drive, though we’re hard pressed to think why you’d need one. On the down side they are very heavy, and not the most aesthetically pleasing

And the winner is...

• Apple Powerbook G4 800
• Toshiba Satellite Pro 6100

None of the Wintel notebooks impressed us as much as the Apple Powerbook G4. On the engineering side of things the Apple is leaps and bounds ahead of the Wintel notebooks. Wintel notebook designers need to take a leaf out of Apple's book and relieve us from plain-Jane notebooks. The 15.2in wide screen, fast G4 800MHz processor, and DVI port make this the most attractive desktop replacement notebook. The Apple is pretty much the Porsche of notebooks; everything else is a Holden Commodore.

However, we realise style is not on the minds of all corporate users, and what's more many organisations don't have the infrastructure to support Mac OS. More Holden Commodores get used as company cars than Porsches, after all. The Toshiba stands out of the Wintel crowd, offering excellent performance, good features, and a weight and size that make it comfortably luggable, all without breaking the budget.

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