NOTEBOOKS
Name Price Rating Comment Screen RAM HD MM Supplier Tel Issue Page no Additional comments, notes
Intel
486SX/33
Twinhead Slimnote 350C £1,649 llllmm Plenty of modularity, but an under par keyboard. Col DSTN 4Mb 200 Mb none Twinhead 01256 811366 3 102
486SX2/50
TI Travelmate 4000M £2,999 llllmm Excellent multimedia portable. Col TFT 4Mb 340 Mb docking Texas Instruments 01932 780753 1 93
486DX/33
Brother BCP 631T £2,339 llllmm Respectable performer in compact package. Col TFT 4Mb 120 Mb none Brother 01279 416888 1 96
486DX2/40
Compaq Contura 400C £1,995 lllllm First class and a competitive price. Col DSTN 4Mb 250 Mb none Compaq 0181 332 3000 2 111 recommended
486DX2/50
ACI Performer AC £2,136 llllmm Some neat features, and a clear legible screen. Col DSTN none ACi 0181 830 1958 5 56
AJP 7560T £2,573 lllmmm Fast performance and good battery life. Col TFT none AJP 0181 452 9090 5 57
CIC Cardstar CS200-50 £2,590 llmmmm Good all round performer. Col DSTN none CIC 0181 813 8217 5 58
Compaq LTE Elite 4/50 CX £4,690 llllmm A worthy machine. Col TFT none Compaq 0990 134456 5 60 Speed
Dell Latitude XP 450CX £3,019 lllmmm Incredible battery life. Col TFT none Dell 01344 720000 5 61
Dell Latitude XP 450CX £2,899 lllllm Excellent design and luxurious screen. A pleasure to use. Col TFT 8Mb 340 Mb none Dell 01344 720000 1 97 recommended
Digital HiNote Ultra CS450 £2,490 lllllm Ultra slim design and impressive battery life. Truly portable. Col DSTN 8Mb 335 Mb docking Digital 0181 286 5000 17 62 value
Digital HiNote Ultra CS450 £2,600 lllllm A notebook to lust after. Col DSTN 8Mb 335 Mb none Digital 0181 286 5000 7 88 recommended
Gateway Handbook 486 £1,499 llllmm A mixed bag of high performance and inconvenience. 8Mb 250 Mb none Gateway 2000 0800 782000 3 100
Hi-Grade Hi-Note LBC2-DX2/50N £2,115 lllmmm Well featured with plenty of scope for expansion. Col DSTN none Hi-Grade 0181 591 9040 5 62
HP OmniBook 4000CT £2,385 llmmmm Neat and well designed, but underpowered. Col TFT 8Mb 324 Mb none Hewlett-Packard 01344 369222 17 66
IBM Thinkpad 360CE £2,820 lllmmm Lacks and major flaws, but disappointing for an IBM machine. Col TFT docking IBM 0345 727272 5 63
IBM Thinkpad 701C £3,320 llllmm Superb. Innovative keyboard technology delivers real benefits. Col TFT 4Mb 360 Mb none IBM 0345 727272 7 87 recommended
Minstrel Xpeco Elite £2,329 lllmmm Comfortable machine, sensible price and good performance. Col DSTN none HM Systems 0181 209 0911 5 64
MJN Powerlite 4DX2-50 £1,678 lllmmm Better thought out than your average notebook. Col DSTN 8Mb 260 Mb none MJN 01282 777555 7 92
NEC Versa V/50 £2,720 llmmmm Not well designed, poor pointing device, and slow. Col DSTN none NEC 0181 993 8111 5 65
Samsung 486DX2 £3,299 llmmmm Has some good features but too expensive for performance. Col TFT 4Mb 120 Mb none Samsung 0181 391 0168 2 110
TI Travelmate 4000M DX250MHz £3,283 llmmmm Poor system performance. Col DSTN docking Texas Instruments 01932 780753 5 68
Toshiba 2100CT £2,595 llllmm Very fast but poor screen and keyboard. Col TFT 8Mb 335 Mb none Toshiba 01932 828828 8 94
Toshiba T2400CS £2,570 llllmm Difficult to fault. Col DSTN Toshiba 01932 828828 5 76 recommended
Toshiba T2400CT £3,495 lllllm Top notch perfromance. Col TFT 8Mb 320 Mb none Toshiba 01932 828828 2 106 recommended
Viglen Dossier 486 ST £3,050 llllmm Pleasant to use. Col TFT Viglen 0181 758 7000 5 77
Zenith Z-Star EX £1,699 llllmm Beautifully implemented modular design. Keenly priced. Col DSTN 4Mb 200 Mb none Zenith 01756 702800 4 110
486DX2/66
Mitac 4023 £1,499 lllmmm Robust though small and light. 8Mb 340 Mb none Mitac 01952 207200 10 97
Rock Estima 486 DX2/66 £1,698 lllmmm Reasonable power management but poor keyboard. Col DSTN 8Mb 323 Mb none Rock 01753 567899 6 98
486DX4/75
AST Ascentia 910N £3,495 lllllm Good build quality and excellent performance. Ideal for travellers. Col TFT 8Mb 510 Mb none AST 9 85
Dell Latitude LX475D £1,499 lllllm Good value, well designed. Col DSTN 8Mb 420 Mb none Dell 01344 720000 13 100
NEC Versa M/75TC £4,195 lllmmm Feature rich but poor battery life. Col TFT 8Mb 250 Mb None NEC 0181 993 8111 5 97
NEC Versa 500D £1,475 llllmm Well built with good performance. Col DSTN 8Mb 340 Mb none NEC 0181 993 8111 17 93
NEC Versa 2000C £2,395 llllmm Excellent ergonomics and good performance at a reasonable price. Col TFT 8Mb 720 Mb none NEC 0181 993 8111 17 66
Samsung Sens 700 £2,824 llllmm Rugged good performer. Col TFT 16Mb 250 Mb none Samsung 0181 391 0168 12 115
Sharp PC-8900 £3,595 lllmmm Low performance at a high price. LCD VGA 8Mb 320 Mb 16-bit sound Sharp 0161 205 2623 9 89
Thinkpad 370C £2,740 llllmm Solidly engineered, good quality. Col TFT 8Mb 340 Mb none IBM 0345 727272 12 105
Toshiba T21 10 £995 llllmm Not enough RAM, but solid no frills notebook. Mono LCD 4Mb 334 Mb none Toshiba 01932 828828 14 124
Toshiba T21 50CDT £3,195 lllllm Mobile multimedia the way it is supposed to be. Col TFT 8Mb 520 Mb 2x,16 Toshiba 01932 828828 9 88
486DX4/100
Aries Perfecta 7400 £2,512 lllmmm Not without its faults but some good design features. Col TFT 8Mb 510 Mb none Aries 01582 745555 11 102
Brother Pro Book 761T £2,349 lllmmm Disappointing performance and indifferent screen Col TFT 8Mb 540 Mb none Brother 01279 416888 17 60
CTX ExBook £1,999 lllmmm Neat machine, good for general use. Poor port layout. Col TFT 8Mb 514 Mb none CTX 01923 818461 17 61
CTX ExBook £2,650 lllmmm Well constructed, but not the best value around. Col TFT 16Mb 480 Mb none CTX 01923 818461 13 98
Compaq Contura 430 CX £2,395 lllmmm Steady workhorse, good quality basic build. Col TFT 8Mb 721 Mb none Compaq 0181 332 3000 17 61
Compaq LTE 5100 £4,480 llllmm Robust, fully featured and flexible. Needs another 8Mb RAM. Col TFT 8Mb 810 Mb 2x,16 Compaq 0990 134456 16 103
Dual Pentmedia £3,300 llmmmm A low cost notebook with obvious compromises. Col TFT 8Mb 320 Mb none Dual 01223 576622 2 107
Ergo CD Brick £3,195 llmmmm Flimsy construction. Not worth the money. Col DSTN 16Mb 500 Mb 2x,16 Ergo 01159 452565 8 96
Ergo Powerbrick 100 £3,595 llllmm Too many rough edges, though hefty specs make it quick. Col TFT 16Mb 500 Mb none Ergo 0115 452565 4 121
Gateway 2000 Liberty £2,599 llllmm High specs and good performance, but lightweight build. Col DSTN 8Mb 720 Mb none Gateway 2000 0800 462000 7 90
Opti 741 £2,382 lllmmm Competent machine without outstanding features. Does the job. Col DSTN 12Mb 503 Mb none Opti 0181 507 1818
Panasonic CF-41 £4,499 llllmm Impressive but expensive multimedia portable. Excellent display. Col TFT 8Mb 450 Mb 2x,16 Panasonic 0500 404041 4 111

Last Update: 11/10/96

Name: PC Pro