SIGMA 650

PC Direct (July '00)

Rock's Sigma, along with its almost identical twin, the Viglen Dossier, is one of the heavyweights in this notebook review. This is largely compensated for by its excellent build quality and solid casing, which makes it one of the most robust.

The Spacebar and Enter keys are large and there's little bowing in the keyboard even if you press hard. There's nothing to complain about either when it comes to the touch-sensitive pointing device or its two mechanical mouse buttons.

It scores highly on features, being supplied with a DVD drive and a built-in modem as standard. The Sigma's audio subsystem is slightly disappointing though. Whereas the quality of sound produced by its two built-in speakers is good, and free from distortion except at very high volumes, this notebook doesn't have wavetable synthesis, relying on a basic Crystal SoundFusion FM chip.

With a 14in diagonal and 1024x768 pixel resolution, the Sigma's TFT panel gives a particularly sharp and colourful image. Users who wish to link their notebook to a conventional TV rather than a computer monitor will appreciate the provision of an S-Video output in addition to the VGA-style connector.

You won't find any useful office applications in the software bundle. Instead, there's a copy of Bitware for communications and a software DVD video player, a soft carry case, a copy of Windows 98SE and a well-written user manual.

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