SIGMA SI

Computer Active (June '01)

Everything you’d ever want from a desktop PC in something smaller than a briefcase.

The Sigma Si matches good looks with high performance and plenty of up-to-date features.

Those who require their PCs to be fully portable also have to put up with the occasional compromise. Notebooks rarely match up to their deskbound counterparts in terms of features and power. Poor performance, fewer built-in features, and higher prices have always dogged notebooks and this has meant that direct comparisons with desktop varieties have never really been fair.

The Rock Sigma Si seeks to redress the balance. It’s designed to replace your desktop PC altogether rather than being a portable partner and as such, comes with all the power and features that you’d expect from a desktop PC. A 1GHz Pentium III processor kicks things off. Even with the newer Pentium 4 chip creeping into some new desktop models, this is pretty much cutting edge in the portable market. Combined with 256Mb of memory and a 20Gb hard disk, the Sigma Si achieved strong benchmark scores.

Desktop replacements are nothing new of course, but quite often notebooks of this particular type tend to stretch the notion of portability to the limit. The Sigma Si doesn’t, managing to squeeze an amazing array of features into a very small space. There’s a built-in DVD-ROM drive and a very clear, crisp 14.1in TFT screen. If you want to watch a DVD movie on your TV, there’s a handy TV-out socket. In fact, connectivity is another of the Sigma Si’s strong points. In addition to a built-in floppy disk drive, PC Card slot, infrared and all the usual ports you’ll also find a built-in modem, an Ethernet port for hooking the system up to a network and a FireWire.

All this is crammed into a unit with a footprint that’s only marginally larger than a sheet of A4 paper. We’ve seen lighter, cheaper notebooks in the past but neither the 3.2kg weight or £1,644 cost seem particularly heavy when you consider the powerful, up-to-date technology that rests under the Sigma Si’s bonnet.

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