Centoris W259-3165

Optima's latest Centoris looks to be worth more than its price tag would have you expect. You get a DVD writer capable of both (+) and (-) rewriting, in addition to wireless networking with Wi-Fi on/off switch.

At 3kg, the W259-3165 has an average weight, but its worst-case battery life of 70 minutes is quite good, as is its performance--although this is one area affected by cost-reduction measures.

The mid-to-low score of 65 in PC WorldBench 5 wasn't so much because of the Intel Pentium M Processor 725 and 256MB SDRAM pairing, as it was because of the use of integrated graphics (this is a normal way to minimise a machine's price, and you'll see it in other notebooks around the $1500 mark). Our graphics benchmark, 3DMark 2001SE, returned a very low score of just 2482.

The Centoris includes S-Video TV-out and S/PDIF audio-out, in case you'd rather watch DVDs on your TV than on the 15.4" display and use your own speakers/home theatre system.

Optional extras for this model include Bluetooth, a USB port replicator or floppy drive, a carry bag and a second battery. A one-year parts and labour warranty, with free courier pick-up and return, is supplied.