SIGMA

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What PC? (April '01)

Weighing 3.2kg, the aptly named Rock was the heaviest machine on test. However, this isn’t backbreaking stuff and you get the features to justify the size. Rock has earned a name in the market for making well-specified portables at a good price, and the Sigma continues this tradition.

The main reason for the extra size is the display, which at14.1in is easily the biggest here. The size isn’t immediately noticeable: the casing in minimal and there is only a thin silver border around the edges. The Sigma has the feel of a functional all-rounder rather than the slinky refinement of the Asus Hi-Grade.

The slightly bigger case is put to good use. It conceals powerful components, most noticeably an 800MHz Pentium III processor. With a generous 128 MB of RAM this makes for a very fast PC- it scored 136 in our SYSmark test. However, the Sigma uses a standard desktop processor that makes no allowance for the limited power supply of a notebook, so you can expect its Lithium Ion battery to last about half an hour or less than the two and a half hours of the Hi-Grade. It has a 14Gb hard disk- the second biggest in this test.

You don’t really buy a notebook for graphics performance, but the Sigma’s 8Mb ATI Rage Pro does a better job than most. There’s also an s-video output.

As with the Hi-Grade, the 8-speed DVD drive, stereo speakers and huge display make the Sigma especially suited to movies on the go. Work will be just as pleasant thanks to its extra-responsive keyboard and smooth trackpad.

In terms of expansion, the machine has all of the standard ports, including PC Card slots and a single USB socket. There’s also an interface for a docking station, and an IrDa infrared sensor.

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