Xeno-m

PC PRO (March '03)

Intel’s latest 2.4GHz Pentium 4-M CPUs are now hitting our shores, and Rock has updated its Xeno-M appropriately. It has been three months since the 2.2GHz version was reviewed, and price changes mean you can now get the 2.4GHz notebook at the same £1,499 cost.

Good things come to those who wait, with the Xeno-M now slightly quicker. It turned round a 2D benchmark score of 1.13 over its predecessor’s 1.06. There is a sacrifice to be made, however, in the form of battery life. The new Xeno-M lasted just 89 minutes in our intensive test, and 154 minutes under light use the 2.2GHz notebook managed 102 and 166 minutes respectively.

This is still enough for most people, though, especially if you’re after that extra speed. You can rest assured that the Xeno-M will race through most office applications and also cope well with DVD movie playback via the supplied CyberLink PowerDVD 4 software. There’s even an S-Video output for a high-quality signal to your TV or otherwise.

The Xeno-M can’t cope with 3D games, though. The integrated SiS650 graphics chip noticeably struggles compared with the latest offerings from Ati and Nvidia, and you only need to look at the 3Dmark2001 SE score of 1,010 in 32-bit XGA to see this.

The rest of the specification is otherwise identical to the original. There’s 512MB of PC2100 DDR memory, a 40GB 5,400rpm removable hard disk and a DVD-ROM and CD-RW combo drive in the chassis, as well as the option of mini-PCI Wireless LAN for an extra £69.

It’s also relatively light and easy to carry at 2.8kg, which is rare for such a powerful notebook. You get a three-year, collect-and-return warranty included in the package too. The only concerns are the springy plastic palmrests and lightweight keyboard, especially in a notebook costing £1,499.

At this price, the Xeno-M isn’t going to rival the more competitive notebook manufacturers, but it’s ideal for the power user who doesn’t want to be weighed down on the move.

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