ASUS V6000V

Here is another portable option for the mobile professional or student requiring the latest performance without the usual weight.

The ASUS V6000V weighs just 2.6kg and scored 92 in our PC WorldBench 5 productivity application benchmark--a very high score for a notebook this light.

It uses Intel's updated Centrino platform. It features a distinguished design, sturdy build and dropped-down hinges for the 15" display. There's also ample palm rest area on either side of the touchpad/scroll buttons. Fetching blue status LED lights are used in various places and application shortcut keys are placed discreetly above the keyboard.

Unfortunately, we noticed that the palm rests tended to get a bit warm, and we had intermittent cursor skipping issues even with the Synaptics Touchpad software installed and tweaked.

The DVD writer and PC Card bays are located on the left of the machine, in addition to the infrared, FireWire and VGA-out ports. On the right, you'll find four USB 2.0 ports, audio connections, Ethernet plus 56Kbps modem ports and the multi-card reader.

This is a solid unit (with a few niggling issues) that ships with a two-year pick-up-and-return warranty, and a good software bundle.