Apple Macbook Pro A1297

This MacBook Pro comes with the same 5400-rpm, 320GB hard-disk drive as the previous one, though you can customize it with a faster (7200-rpm) 320GB HDD for $50, or opt for either a 128GB ($300) or a 256GB ($750) solid-state drive. The new laptop comes standard with 4GB of RAM, as did its predecessor (you can upgrade to 8GB of RAM for $1000 more), but the memory is now DDR3 at 1066MHz instead of DDR2 at 667MHz. The system's Intel Core 2 Duo processor steps up from 2.5GHz in the previous generation to 2.66GHz, though with the same 6MB of L2 cache; for an additional $300, you can upgrade to a speedier 2.93GHz processor. The new 17-inch MacBook Pro has a 1066MHz front side bus, too, versus its predecessor's 800MHz front side bus.Like Apple's other unibody laptops, the 17-inch MacBook Pro's wide-screen display uses mercury-free LED backlighting and arsenic-free glass. The screen has a native resolution of 1920 by 1200 pixels. The glossy screen shows bright, vibrant colors and deep, rich blacks. For people who dislike highly reflective glossy screens because of glare, Apple offers an antiglare option for $50 extra. The new model moves the optical drive slot from the right front of the case to the right side. All of the ports now reside on the left side.For connecting an external display, the new Mini DisplayPort supplants the full-size DVI port of previous-generation models. Apple is currently the only company using Mini DisplayPort, and the only Mini DisplayPort LCD it sells is the 24-inch Apple LED Cinema Display. Apple chose not to include a Mini DisplayPort-to-DVI adapter for connecting the new laptop to a DVI connector; it offers the adapter separately for $29.Like the most recent version of the 15-inch MacBook Pro, the new 17-inch MacBook Pro has a dual graphics subsystem--a high-performance nVidia GeForce 9600M GT chip with 512MB of dedicated GDDR3 memory, and a lower-performing, battery-saving nVidia GeForce 9400M that shares 256MB of RAM with the main processor. The earlier 17-inch MacBook Pro had a single graphics engine, the nVidia GeForce 8600M GT, with its own 512MB of GDDR3 memory. Tests of the laptop running Mac OS X by the Macworld Test Center indicate that the 9600M GT graphics offers a significant performance boost over the 9400M. It sprints through PC WorldBench 6 tests at a steady clip. Earning a 102, it comes in a little slower than HP's HDX 18. This MacBook Pro also posted respectable (though not stellar) scores in Unreal Tournament III. At high settings, with a 1680 by 1050 resolution it runs at about 47 frames per second.The new battery on the latest 17-inch MacBook Pro uses lithium polymer sheets instead of cylindrical lithium ion cells. It's now a fixed part--and no longer user-replaceable. According to Apple, the battery's new adaptive charging technology will permit the cell to be drained and recharged at least 1000 times while retaining at least 80 percent of its original capacity; that's between three and five times as many recharges as most laptop batteries can support. In the Macworld Test Center's battery life test--which involves looping a video in full-screen mode from a ripped DVD saved to the hard drive, with the display set to full brightness, and the Energy Saver preferences set never to sleep but to use the lower-powered nVidia GeForce 9400M graphics--the new 17-inch MacBook Pro ran for four hours, 43 minutes on a single charge, versus three hours, 36 minutes for its predecessor, and two hours, 46 minutes for the new 15-inch MacBook Pro. (In the PC World Test Center's battery life tests, running Windows Vista it didn't fare quite as well. It only lasted three hours, 18 minutes.)The new 17-inch MacBook Pro outperformed its predecessor by about 1.8 percent on the Macworld Test Center's system performance suite, Speedmark 5. On most tests, however--including Photohop, iMovie, and iTunes--both machines finished within a second or two of each other. For further details, consult Macworld's benchmark analysis of the 17-inch MacBook Pro

Asus W90

Its specs match or exceed those of a typical full-size desktop PC. You get a 1920-by-1080-pixel, 18.4-inch screen; dual ATI Radeon HD 4870 graphics processors; a single 320GB hard drive plus a free bay for another; 6GB RAM; and an overclockable, 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T9600 CPU.The W90VP felt snappy in every application I tried. Web browsers, productivity software, and other basics posed no threat. The included Bluetooth mouse felt better than the trackpad, although that pointing device worked well too. The springy full-size keyboard includes a number pad, as expected. Aside from the fact that its design, with its large wrist rest, forces you to reach forward to type, this system could easily replace a desktop for typical applications.It also seemed nimble in running media applications and games. Compared with similar desktop replacements, the W90VP fared reasonably well in WorldBench 6, notching a score of 105 (as high as the HP HDX18). It lagged in Photoshop and ran about average in 3D Studio Max tests, but it still had enough power for typical use. What really stood out, though, was how well it handled games. Enemy Territory Quake Wars sprinted along at 88 frames per second--performance that was toward the head of the pack. In Unreal Tournament III, its 80-fps score was a little closer to average. More-recent games, including Crysis Warhead, Left 4 Dead, and Mirror's Edge, worked well at the W90VP's full 1920-by-1080-pixel resolution, with an always-smooth frame rate. Not too shabby considering that the Eurocomm D901C Phantom-X, a monster machine, earned a mark of 133 in WorldBench 6 and costs over twice as much.On our standard game benchmarks, the W90VP maintained its tremendous frame rates at high resolutions better than competitors did, likely thanks to its two Radeon HD 4870 chips, each with 512MB VRAM. But if you want even more power, a simple software overclocking pane increases the CPU's clock speed by up to 15 percent. All of these results combined put the W90VP among other quick PCs overall, desktop or portable.Windows Vista Ultimate seemed quick, although it still took about 82 seconds to boot up and launch Firefox. If that launch time seems long, you could start the limited Express Gate quick-boot environment. When I tried it, the system reached its first splash screen in only 15 seconds, and I got to the Flash-enabled browser in about 33 seconds to watch a Hulu video. You can also listen to MP3s, chat on standard instant-message protocols, browse photos, and make Skype calls; but overall, this narrow environment seems more suited to a netbook than to a desktop replacement that emphasizes tons of power.If you're considering purchasing such a giant (17.5-by-13.2-by-2.5-inch) desktop replacement, the battery life might be an afterthought to you. Apparently it was an afterthought to Asus, too: When unplugged from its massive power supply, the W90VP lasted only 70 to 80 minutes, and that's factoring in the power-saving mode. Many competing laptops lasted twice as long in tests.At least the understated--and perhaps a little bland--design has room for the standard assortment of inputs and outputs. The W90VP even has e-SATA, IEEE 1394, and HDMI, more desktop-style fare. Aside from that, it packs four USB ports, a microphone jack, a combination headphone and S/PDIF output, a VGA port, an ExpressCard slot, a fingerprint scanner, and a multiformat flash card reader for Memory Stick, MultiMediaCard, and SD Card. The Webcam and microphone can make quick recordings. Gigabit ethernet, 802.11n Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth round out the communications and wireless connections. The system even has a modem jack, too--hey, when you're using a machine this massive, why not have everything?Much of the W90VP seems at or above average, but in multimedia capabilities it falls below competitors. About a dozen capacitive touch buttons let you immediately change the volume, control music, and jump to applications no matter what else you're doing. (One dedicated button even swaps between standard and overclocking modes.) However, you can't customize the media buttons to use programs other than the included Asus media-player app. So, for example, while the volume setting adjusts the global sound level, the play buttons won't control Windows Media Center, Windows Media Player, or iTunes.The 18.4-inch screen begs for wide-screen movies and TV shows, but the W90VP only partially delivers. Though the screen shows bold colors and good contrast, it suffers under the same curse as other glossy laptop displays do: irritating glare. Add to that the sad fact that the W90VP lacks a Blu-ray drive--come on, the screen is 1080p already!And for a portable system that claims to be a multimedia magician, the 5.1 surround speakers are all quantity, not quality. I'd rather have had a high-quality stereo set than this lackluster array. During movie playback, only the center channel seemed distinct; since the speakers don't surround the listener, they pretty much all originate from the same point. The subwoofer made only a minimal difference in tone. Worse, sharp sounds frequently caused an annoying buzz, resonating in the case. Music could get loud, too, but it always sounded thin at best and shrill at worst. Though the W90VP is a competent system overall, Asus's subpar media choices here seem like putting regular tires on a monster truck.The Asus W90VP matches the typical specs and performance scores of rivals, especially when powering through high-res games with its dual GPUs. Simple, software overclocking makes it a good fit for gamers. But it lacks the jaw-dropping overall performance and polish of other desktop replacements. Despite its terrific frame rates, its weak media features narrow this desktop replacement's appeal.

Alienware M17

The million dollar question (give or take $998,001): Does the m17 deliver the goods? Yes. I've roamed Fallout 3's post-apocalyptic wastelands at the laptop's 1920-by-1200-pixel native resolution. It's completely playable, and I didn't run into any game-killing snags.What caught me off-guard is that it didn't exactly blow the doors off PC WorldBench 6, scoring only an 84. Frankly, between the GPU, the 4GB of RAM, and the 160GB hard disk drive (spinning at 7200rpm, no less), I was expecting a little better. I suppose the 2.26-GHz Core 2 Duo P8400 CPU shoulders some of the blame, but the good news is that this won't affect your gaming experience in the slightest. Both Enemy Territory: Quake Wars and Unreal Tournament III, running at 1680 by 1050 pixels and high settings hum along at 44 and 51 frames per second, respectively. By comparison, HP's HDX18, also a desktop replacement, has a bigger, bolder screen and earned a commanding score of 102 in WorldBench 6--but squeaks along in modern games. Running the same two games at the same settings, the HDX18 manages only 17 fps in ET:QW and 38 fps in UT3.The M17 has a big 17-inch screen. Though not as eye-blastingly bright as some laptop displays I've seen, it's certainly sharp enough for watching Blu-ray movies (though our unit came with a DVD-RW drive), and it handled some of the murkier corners of the Left 4 Dead zombiethon game. Even so, the screen doesn't get the picture quite right at the default settings. Some colors get a little muted and warmer colors get cool. Also, the screen is glossy. That means colors look good when viewing the LCD indoors, but viewing anywhere near daylight will bring a little glare.It also goes without saying that desktop replacement notebook batteries don't last long. In this case, you get just under 2 hours on a charge.That's really not surprising given this laptop's big, gawky, heavy design: It weighs a full 9.5 pounds and measures 15.6 by 11.7 by 2 inches. Even compared with Alienware's Area 51 m15x, which we reviewed a number of months ago, the m17 is a half-step backwards to old-school boxy notebooks.I have a love/hate relationship with the keyboard on the m17. For a moment, let's dwell on the positive. I like the unusual font and the backlighting on the keys that make them easier to see in dim lighting conditions. And being able to change colors is a nice, if goofy, touch. Though the QWERTY key spacing is a little on the tiny side, it is functional and more than springy enough to satisfy me. And the shortcut buttons are neatly labeled and work exactly as you'd expect.Now the negatives: First, I like that the laptop's keyboard has a number pad, but this pad is so tiny and scrunched together, I'd almost prefer Alienware not bother and just stick with a larger standard keyboard. And while the lit keys are neat, they pretty much always need to be on. Without the backlighting, seeing the keys is tricky. For touch typists, that's not a big deal, but for advanced hunt-and-peckers (like me) it's a problem.My biggest beef is with the rubberized wrist rest. Or maybe I should say, "wrist landing pad." Its so huge, I could park a can of coke on it without fear of hitting it as I type. Seriously, it feels like an unnecessarily large gap between the keys and the edge of the notebook (my guess is that the beefy GPU needs room to breathe). I do like the touchpad and its long, thick mouse button bar, but trying to go back and forth between that and the keys forced my hands into an awkward angle. So make sure you've got good carpal tunnel coverage on your medical plan before buying this laptop (or get an external mouse). A plus, though, is that the machine's coating feels good. Its supple, rubbery matte covers most of the beefy computer. It's even on the Batman codpiece-like laptop lid.The rest of the case offers a reasonable stable of features: A PC Card and SDHC card slots, three USB 2.0 ports, VGA, FireWire, and ethernet jacks. This machine also has some solid multimedia nods that I like: an eSATA port, an HDMI out, and an optical audio-out (TOSLINK). And thank you, Alienware, for throwing in an old-time analog dial for cranking the audio. I'm not joking: I actually prefer the analog dial. And the laptop provides fairly solid audio with its 2.1-speaker configuration. While a little tinny, the two front-firing cones are acceptable enough for cube rocking--and surly looks from neighboring officemates.On the software side, Alienware gives you a gussied-up launch page. Basically, the Command Center breaks down the lighting and offers some power management, but not much more--though it sure looks pretty. I just think the notebook would be better served with more sophisticated tweaking options. Maybe it's me, but I assume gamers are a little more comfortable flipping switches to eke out performance.That gripe aside, those who want to get their game on will get a good deal out of the Alienware m17--especially considering that last year the m15x sold for over twice as much. As a gaming machine, the m17 delivers speed where it counts, but it lags a little in more conventional office-application tests.

Toshiba Qosmio X305-Q708

This $4200 laptop packs a 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Extreme processor with four CPU cores; 4GB of RAM; and two nVidia GeForce 9800M GTS video cards, each with 512MB of RAM, set up in SLI mode. In addition to running in standard SLI graphics mode, the Qosmio X305-Q708 lets you dial down to use the integrated GeForce 9400M graphics; this increases the laptop's battery life (which is just 1 hour, 24 minutes in full graphics mode) and decreases its heat and noise. The laptop measures 16.2 by 12.10 by 2.5 inches and weighs 12.4 pounds with the power brick in place.On PC WorldBench 6, the Qosmio X305-Q708 turned in a somewhat disappointing score of 100. That's 33 points behind the mark posted by the competing Eurocom D901C Phantom-X, despite Toshiba's inclusion of such components as a 128GB solid-state drive to handle the OS, and a 320GB hard-disk drive to store files in). Nevertheless, the X305-Q708 did a creditable job with Enemy Territory: Quake Wars and Unreal Tournament III, cruising through them at high settings and 1680-by-1050-pixel resolution, managing frame rates of 52 frames per second and 75 fps, respectively. In comparison, Alienware's more affordable m17 posted frame rates of 44 fps and 51 fps on the same two tests.Unfortunately, after loading this Quosmio with high-end components, Toshiba skimped on the 17-inch screen. It is fairly bright, displays vivid colors and sharp text, and even supports a fairly wide range of horizontal viewing angles, but its WSXGA 1680 by 1050 resolution is a bit underwhelming. Most other laptops in its class--even the Gateway P-7811FX (which costs about one-third of what the X305-Q708 costs--have a 1080p-friendly 1920-by-1200-pixel resolution.But what you lose in screen resolution, you gain in visual flair. The X305-Q708 comes in a black and red case with reflective flames, glowing red LEDs, and lots of curves. The brash design won't appeal to everyone, but it adequately frames a generous array of ports, including three USB 2.0 ports, one eSATA port (which doubles as a fourth USB 2.0 port), an Express Card 54 slot, and a four-pin FireWire port. You also get a modem port (tucked away beneath a hard-to-open plastic port cover), a multiformat flash card reader, and built-in support for a wireless USB device. On the video front, the Qosmio X305-Q708 provides VGA, HDMI, and DisplayPort outputs. Since this pricey laptop fully supports 1080p resolution when outputting video to an external monitor, it's a shame that there isn't a Blu-ray drive.The laptop's keyboard sports a superglossy coating that looks fairly sleek but makes the keys unusually slippery. Most of the keyboard (which comes complete with a four-column number pad) feels full-size, but the spacebar is extremely narrow. You'll also notice some flexing as you type, and overall the keyboard feels thin and cheap. The touchpad, which sits flush with the palm rests, has a fine grain texture that distinguishes it from the rest of the body. The effect is attractive, but often the right side of my palm would touch it as I was typed, moving the cursor somewhere else in the document--to my intense frustration.The Qosmio X305-Q708 excels in delivering pitch-perfect sound, thanks to four Harman/Kardon speakers and an embedded subwoofer. Games, music, and movies all sounded superb, with a wide range of highs, mids, and lows. Even at full volume, the audio exhibited no noticeable distortion. Though the speakers sound great on their own, the included Dolby Control Center software can deliver remarkably effective simulated surround sound--as long as you sit directly in front of the machine. Unfortunately, the lower-left speaker sits directly beneath your left wrist as you type, muffling the sound significantly.On the software side, Toshiba refrained from installing a bunch of bloatware on this laptop. Besides Windows Vista Ultimate, an Office trial, and various CD/DVD applications, this is a clean laptop. Toshiba does include a number of its own apps, including a voice command utility, and facial recognition software. The voice application worked adequately after calibration, but ambient sounds--even the clicking of the keyboard--caused it to open and close applications. Similarly, the system's face-recognition software, which lets you log in without using a password, worked well enough--but only when there was sufficient ambient light.Is the Toshiba Qosmio X305-Q708 worth buying? That's the $4200 question. In light of its unimpressive screen resolution and odd keyboard, you'll have to provide your own keyboard, monitor, and mouse if you plan on having a serious gaming session at home. And though this desktop replacement has some of the most advanced hardware on the market, plus a class-leading sound system, you can get comparable gaming and multimedia performance for a fraction of the price from competing laptops. That said, half the appeal of this machine consists in watching it turn heads at your next LAN party. Trust me, it will.

Calpella" platform

What would the ultimate full-size laptop need to include to convince you to ditch your desktop for good? Our dual-screen laptop concept merges some of the best tech from Apple, HP, Intel, Lenovo, Toshiba, and others, along with some old-fashioned "if only" whimsy. Read on for the full parts list, and let us know what you think.
TWIN, SLIDING SCREENS: These bright, glossy-coated, OLED wide screens support hover andHP TouchSmart PC-style multitouch input; plus full high-def. The left display slides across and closes over the right screen to pack down. Tilt and swivel adjustments are also possible. Back in the real world: Lenovo just announced its ThinkPad W700ds laptop, a desktop replacement with a 17-inch primary display, plus a 10.6-inch secondary screen.
INSIDE: Intel's mobile Core i7 CPUs should hit in early 2009; its next-gen "Calpella" platform is expected by year's end.DUAL WEBCAMS: Able to support multiparty, HD-capable video chat, and optimized for low-light situations.SPEAKERS: Harman/Kardon stereo speakers with underside subwoofer--like those found in Toshiba's Qosmio notebooks. We'd also take the SLI graphics, HDMI port and S/PDIF interface from recent Qosmio models, such as the X305.BLU-RAY SLOT DRIVE: Able to burn BD-R and BD-RE discs at 8X;supports DVD±RW, too.Related LinksPreviously: Building the Perfect Smart PhoneTop 5 Full Size Power LaptopsTop 10 All-Purpose LaptopsNext: The Ultimate Ultra-Portable LaptopSo, what did we miss in our full-size laptop design? Brainstorm with us below. While you're at it, we'd love to hear your ideas for your dream lightweight laptop. That's next on our list.Would you want it to be inexpensive like a Netbook, yet elegantly designed like a business-class ultra-portable? Would it boast a Gobi chip for wireless data (able to switch between EVDO and UMTS/HSPA); what about dual-screens like the One Laptop Per Child concept design (pictured)?

Eurocom D901C Phantom-x

Clad in an unassuming black shell reminiscent of classic business-centric Dell laptops, the Phantom-X won't win any beauty pageants. This laptop measures 15.9 by 11.9 by 2.4 inches and weighs 12 pounds, so it's likely to stay firmly rooted on a desk or table unless you plan to incorporate it into your weight-lifting regimen. And you'll want to have a power outlet nearby, as the Phantom-X clocks in a paltry 1 hour, 19 minutes when freed from its ingot-like power brick.But desktop replacements are about performance, not portability or battery life, and the Phantom-X delivers power in spades. The model we tested sports a 3GHz Xeon Quad Core X3370 processor, 8GB of RAM, and two 80GB solid-state drives hosting Windows Vista (meanwhile a 7200-rpm 320GB hard-disk drive provides file storage space). Add to those components a pair of nVidia GeForce Go 9800M GTX graphics processors running in SLI, and you have a devastating combo. It posted a tantalizing score of 133 on our WorldBench 6 performance test suite. That alone makes it a speed king.Meanwhile, on Enemy Territory: Quake Wars and Unreal Tournament III, this desktop replacement dominated. At high settings and a resolution of 1680 by 1050 pixels, the Phantom-X delivered frame rates of 48 frames per second and 87 fps, respectively. For perspective, consider the Toshiba Qosmio X305-Q708, which earned a scored of 100 on WorldBench 6, but notched frame rates of 52 fps and 75 fps on the two game tests. Eurocomm's machine can also run at an even higher resolution. Adjusted to its native setting of 1900 by 1200 pixels, it drove Unreal Tournament III at a respectable 50 fps. Its 17.1-inch screen is bright and clear under typical fluorescent lighting--more than adequate for extended gaming sessions.The Phantom-X offers DVI and VGA ports, a 7-in-1 card reader, a combination Blu-Ray drive and DVD burner, a Webcam, S-Video input and output jacks, and a TV tuner, in addition to the standard modem, ethernet, Express Card, USB, and bluetooth options. Line-in, S/PDIF-Out, Mic and Headphone Jacks are lined up along the front of the case, which you'll likely be utilizing to supplement the two built-in speakers: these adequately play CDs and MP3s, but if you're looking for a bit of bass or hoping to capture the dulcet subtleties of weapons fire, you'll want to bring in your own set of speakers or headphones. For audio quality, Toshiba's Qosmio X305-Q708 still rules the roost.The laptop stands on four stubby legs, and four fans run along the bottom of the frame, cycling out warm air. Even after extended use, the whirring of the fans remained reasonably quiet--louder than a whisper, but not bad. Though the machine runs fairly warm, it never gets uncomfortably hot: Park it on your lap, and you'll cut off the circulation to your legs long before you risk scorching yourself.The Phantom-X's trackpad is adequate, but most gamers will want to swap in a proper gaming mouse anyway. In contrast, the machine's keyboard--a vital, permanent fixture--feels cramped. Though the full, proper number pad is a welcome addition, it leaves little breathing room for the rest of the system's keys, many of which--including the arrows and the all-important (for gaming) Function row--are undersize.The Phantom-X lacks dedicated media shortcuts, forcing users to rely on function-button combinations. Another issue is questionable key placement, which can wreak havoc on the unwary. Take the Sleep hotkey, which lies sandwiched between hotkeys for lowering the volume and muting the sound. Tap the wrong key as you answer your phone, and you've suddenly suspended your laptop and dropped out of the World of Warcraft raid that was the centerpiece of your day. The Phantom-X sports a pair of programmable 'Game Keys' for setting up short macro commands, but programming them entails consulting the manual and finding an arcane (but essential) applet.If your chief concerns are power and versatility, and you aren't fazed by the hefty price tag($5950) and the strictly utilitarian design, the Eurocom Phantom-X is worth a look. If you're a little more price-conscious, however, you might do better with an alternative such as the HP HDX18, the Gateway P-7811FX, or the Alienware m17, each of which delivers fairly good gaming performance at a fraction of the Phantom-X's cost.

Lenovo Thinkpad W700

You can truly pile on the options when configuring the W700, but our test system (normally priced at $3963, but listed at $3295 as of 12/01/2008), while not bare-bones by any means, was relatively modestly equipped, with a 2.8-GHz Core 2 Duo T9600 CPU, 4GB of RAM, and 64-bit Windows Vista Ultimate. You can also choose either a 3.06-GHz Core 2 Extreme ($600 extra) or a 2.53-GHz Core 2 Quad Extreme QX9300 (a mere $1000 extra). Lenovo says you can pack the W700 with up to 8GB of RAM, though in late November its online configurator only allowed me to specify 4GB. Our test system had two 7200-rpm, 160GB hard drives configured in RAID 0 (striped, for performance); you can specify up to two 5400-rpm, 320GB drives, or two 7200-rpm, 200GB drives. And while our model didn't have it, you can also go for a Blu-Ray Recordable optical drive--but that'll set you back an additional $450.
The T9600 CPU yields plenty of oomph, though. In our PC WorldBench 6 tests, the W700 earned a score of 99, which is only a few points shy of the best score we've seen from a laptop. And at a little under 3 hours on a charge, its battery lasted a bit longer than the average desktop replacement notebook we've tested.
Because the W700 is a mobile workstation, it comes with mobile workstation graphics--either the nVidia Quadro FX 2700M with 512MB of dedicated graphics memory, or the nVidia Quadro FX 3700M, with 1GB of memory ($400 extra), that came with our test system. That's a ton of graphics memory, especially for a laptop, and it proves useful in applications that can take advantage of it. For example, I installed the 64-bit version of Photoshop CS4, which has several GPU-accelerated tools and shortcuts, and the W700 cruised along. And while workstation graphics aren't usually geared for gaming, our test unit performed well compared with other notebooks in this category that we've tested. For example, in Far Cry at 1280-by-1024 resolution with antialiasting enabled, it ran at a blistering 219 frames per second. To put that in perspective, HP's consumer-level HDX18 desktop replacement laptop recently scored 102 in WorldBench, but achieved only 113 frames per second in the same game test.
You can specify a 17-inch wide-screen display with either 1440-by-900 resolution or the 1920-by-1200 resolution of our test system; the former's brightness rating is 200 nits, while the latter's is 400 nits. The higher-resolution display has a better-than-average color-gamut capability of 72 percent of Adobe RGB (most laptop displays, according to Lenovo, have gamuts of around 45 percent). However, it did not seem overly bright to me. My desktop monitor, a 24-inch Samsung 245T, which has a rating of 300 nits, appeared much brighter. Also, be aware that, while a narrow angle of view is not uncommon on a laptop, this viewing effect will be more pronounced on high-end graphics models like the W700. At least its dual-link DVI port can drive separate super-high-resolution monitors if the LCD's 17 inches aren't enough for you.
As I've noted, high-end graphics users are the target market for the W700--that much is obvious thanks to a couple of key add-ons: A built-in color calibrator and, as well, a built-in tablet.
The first of these is an embedded version of Pantone's Huey, which Lenovo says adjusts the color quality settings up to 60 percent more accurately than doing the job without it. It works with an on-screen utility and a tiny hardware calibrator built into an area beside the trackpad buttons; you click a button and close the lid, and the calibrator does all the work. When finished, you can view the before-and-after settings. The changes produced by the calibrator were noticeable and, to my eye, correct.
The W700 is also the first laptop to incorporate a WACOM drawing tablet (and that should give you an idea of how ginormous the W700 is). It measures 128mm by 80mm, or roughly the size of two playing cards side by side, and is located in the right palmrest. You must use a digitizing pen, which stows in a slot on the side of the notebook, but it works well with applications like Photoshop and Corel Painter. In addition, it works with Windows Tablet PC input, so you can, for example, use it to insert your signature into documents. It's pressure-sensitive, and you can adjust just how sensitive it is.
The ThinkPad W700 isn't exactly stylish: It's a huge and functional business box. At least it's not garish, like some big Dell and HP models. For the most part, it looks--and acts--like a ThinkPad. That means excellent keys with lots of travel, a logical layout (with a separate number keypad located to the right of the main keys), and both eraserhead and trackpad pointing devices. Typing doesn't get much better than this.
Even though the display is very large, the bezel around the panel adds an inch-and-a-quarter on the top and bottom, and three-quarters of an inch along the sides. That makes the entire notebook larger than it probably should be. As it stands, the notebook measures 12.2 by 16.1 by 1.6 inches. On the other hand, the W700 is pretty light for such a large case--9.1 pounds with its battery installed (add another 2 pounds for the meaty power brick). Either way, that's substantially less weight than other large-screen desktop replacement notebooks.
The ThinkPad W700 may look understated--and it's a bit of a kitchen-sink approach to computing--but it's a top-flight notebook. For on-the-go graphics artists, or those looking for the ultimate mobile workstation, it's hard to beat