Toshiba’s Qosmio F50 is ideal for multimedia, but it is also well suited as an all-purpose notebook. If you can live with the glossy display, there is plenty to like about this unit and it has performance to match its looks.

With stacks of features and plenty of connectivity, the F8Va is the perfect choice for the home user who wants a mid-sized desktop replacement unit. Its battery life is poor, and we think its design could be better, but it's a solid unit overall.

If you don’t mind your laptop attracting more attention than you, the HP DV5-1010TX_01 is a fast but heavy unit that comes with a built-in TV tuner and Blu-ray player for a reasonable price.

If you can fork out the cash and don’t mind the design, then the Sony Vaio VGN-FW17GU is a well-performing unit that features a Blu-ray burner.

The NEC Versa P9210-2500DR offers great performance and excellent connectivity at a reasonable price. If you can stand the large size, heavy weight and occasional typing difficulties, then this device should make you very happy.

If you’re looking at $5000-plus high-end notebooks, then the HDX9313TX should certainly be considered. This laptop is maxed-out in most respects and it caters to those who need serious grunt. As an entertainment and gaming notebook, it will definitely do the job.

A well-performing unit that succeeds in both style and substance, the HP dv6800 is a good device for most environments. Its relatively low battery life and lack of Gigabit Ethernet, and the fact that Blu-ray movies overscan at 1080p are the only negatives and these are minor points.

For users wanting a home entertainment centre or a powerful desktop replacement to work with, the dv9800 is a very strong contender.

There's a lot to this notebook, and while it works great for the most part, it could still use a little refinement, especially with regards to its video input ports. Overall though, it's a great media centre notebook and it does have tremendous storage capacity.

Lenovo thrills us with many useful features on this IdeaPad Y710-200, but it fumbles the ball a little in its implementation of the 'Game Zone'. It's also let down by a lack of Gigabit networking and a digital TV tuner.

With an 18.4in high-definition screen, a 5.1 speaker configuration, a digital TV tuner and a Blu-ray player built-in, the Gemstone Blue is almost like a complete home theatre setup. It's fairly easy to use and it's a good performer, so it's a good choice for anyone after a desktop replacement.

Once you get over the fact that you could buy several PCs at this price, the Alienware Area-51 m15x-R1 is an extremely capable desktop replacement for the keen gamer.