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Maxdata's latest notebook, the NB Pro 7000X Combo, is the company's first to use Intel's Centrino technology and combines reasonable performance and a long battery life with a host of connectivity features.
A slim, two-spindle chassis, finished in silver and grey, gives the 7000X a stylish appearance, although it's no lightweight, weighing in at a hefty 2.8kg.
Powering the 7000X is a 1.6GHz Pentium-M processor and 256MB of DDR-SDRAM memory. Centrino technology isn't all about pure performance - it's about giving the mobile user good performance for the longest possible time. In VNU Labs' tests, the 7000X achieved a battery life of just under four-and-a-half hours when tested with Ziff-Davis Media's BatteryMark v4.0.1, which is impressive from the 4400mAh battery.
On the downside, graphics performance is disappointing - instead of using a mobile ATI or nVidia GPU, Maxdata has opted for an Intel integrated solution that uses shared system memory for the video memory. While this isn't a problem for productivity applications, it's not suitable for modern games or other 3D applications. Although the generous 15in. TFT screen is commendably thin, it doesn't flex too much and only has a native resolution of 1,024 by 768 pixels, which is unimpressive for a screen of this size.
The keyboard is well placed and set up. However, although the keys are responsive, the keyboard's overall build quality isn't that good - it flexes when you type. The mouse buttons and touchpad both work well.
Apart from the Intel PRO/Wireless LAN, there's also a Broadcom 10/100 Ethernet for standard network connections. In addition, a V.92 modem and an infrared port are fitted.
For storage, there's a Fujitsu MHT2040AT hard drive, which has a spin speed of 4,200rpm and a 40GB capacity. The front-mounted optical drive is a QDI CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo device and for extra storage there's a multimedia card slot, which accepts Memory Stick, Secure Digital and MultiMedia cards, enabling a wide range of external cards to be used. As with many notebook PCs, the CD player can used without actually having to boot the system.
The sides of the chassis are relatively uncluttered, with one just slot containing the Kensington Security slot and the other a Type II PC card slot, the speaker control and multimedia card slot. The rear panel contains the remaining I/O ports - single VGA, parallel, FireWire and S-Video, three USB 2.0 and two audio ports, but no PS/2 mouse/keyboard ports. Windows XP Pro is the preinstalled operating system, although copies of Nero Express and Vision Express, CyberLink PowerDVD 4 XP and anti-virus and personal firewall software were also bundled.
Graphics performance aside, though, the Maxdata NB Pro 7000X Combo is a well-featured notebook PC that has a decent battery life and connectivity options, which are ideal for the mobile business user.
Contact: Maxdata (01344) 788 900
www.maxdata.uk.com
Specifications:
- OS: Windows XP Professional
- CPU: 1.6GHz Intel Pentium-M
- Memory: 256MB of PC2100
- Graphics: Integrated Intel 855
- Hard disk: 40GB Fujitsu MHT2040AT Ultra ATA/100
- Optical drive: QDI CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive
- Display: 15in. TFT, 1024 by 768 pixels
- I/O: VGA, parallel, S-Video out, FireWire, Type II PC card, MMC slot, three x USB 2.0, line in and out, 10/100Base-T, V.90 modem, infrared
See also:
All Notebooks & Tablets PCs
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