Pioneer Computers Australia DreamBook Power 900

The Power 900 is a well-built multimedia desktop replacement that would be ideal for video and gaming enthusiasts. At 5.7kg, it's a huge notebook with more features than we've ever seen.

The 17.1" widescreen display has a coating that reduces reflection and increases contrast. Just above, there's a built-in 640 x 480 CCD camera. The notebook has ample palm rests and full-sized keyboard with dedicated number pad.

The front has playback controls and an LED display for Windows-independent audio CD playback. Pioneer also bundles an external standard definition digital TV tuner with remote--great for that big screen.

Graphics are served up by Nvidia's 256MB GeForce Go 6800 controller that, together with the 3.6GHz Pentium 4 processor and 1GB of memory, achieved an amazing graphic score in 3DMark 2001 (17,173).

Pioneer has also graced the Power 900 with the power of two 100GB hard drives (configured in RAID), two internal dual-layer DVD burners, two FireWire ports and both headphone and S/PDIF audio-out. This model also includes an integrated seven-in-one card reader plus four USB 2.0 and single serial, parallel, and PS/2 ports.

It had poor battery life in our tests, lasting only 50 minutes under a heavy workload.