Quaddra 64 - Computer Active (Mar '05)

Rock have managed to cram a lot into this notebook. To begin with, there's an Athlon64 3700+ processor, running at 2.4GHz. This would be a fast processor for a desktop machine - for a notebook, its extremely impressive. There's also 512MB of memory and a large - but not huge - 60GB hard disk as well.

The downside of having such a powerful heart beating inside this notebook is that it is fairly large due to the noisy cooling equipment needed to make sure it doesn't overheat.

Having said that, the Quaddra 64 is designed to be a desktop replacement, so this will be relatively minor concern to Rock's target market - people who want the flexibility of a notebook but spend most of their time at a desk. It did well in our system tests, receiving a score that would be respectable for a desktop PC. It's also not that heavy for such a powerhouse - weighing just over 4kg. It's lighter than many other desktop replacement.

Rock has made good use of the large case, putting in a clear, sharp 17in widescreen with a resolution of 1400 x 900 pixels. This works well with the 128MB ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 graphics card, which is more than enough to power most of the thing this computer is designed for - general office tasks, picture and video editing and light gaming. It may not cope to well with high detail levels in new games, but it will do so better than most notebooks. It also has 5 built in speakers, although you wont get the full effect of surround sound just from sitting in front of the notebook.

There is a webcam mounted at the top of the screen. This is handy for a video conference on the move, for example, without having to take any extra equipment. It takes pictures at 640 x 480 pixels, which isn't very high , but is perfectly good for video calls and emails.

There's a recordable DVD drive that records to all formats bar DVD-RAM and double-layer DVD-R. In addition to the usual array of ports are a memory card reader, mini FireWire and three USB2 sockets. Like most current notebooks, it also comes with Wi-Fi built in. Windows XP Home is installed, plus Ability Office and Panda Anti-Virus. It comes with a three year collect-and-return warranty and a soft case.

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