Labs

Also from MSI, and also with an AMD processor, the GX610 is a more stylish affair than its 17 inch sibling. At least, it looked that way until, after a minute or two of tinkering, its gloss black exterior was covered with our grubby paw prints. To keep it looking its best, you'd better carry a duster.

Although its screen measures a standard 15.4 inches, the GX610 still squeezes in a full-size keyboard complete with numeric keypad. Typing on this was much more comfortable than with the other MSI: the keys had enough resistance not to seem sloppy, and a decent amount of travel. Our one quibble was that the trackpad is mounted off-centre, though most users would quickly adapt.

What'll take a little more getting used to is the display. The GX610 is aimed

In a portable entertainment system like this, we'd also have liked a bit more oomph from the built-in stereo speakers. Luckily, there's a dedicated output that you can hook up to a 5.1 surround system to give games and DVDs a bit more wallop. There's also an HDMI video port.

One area in which the GX610 certainly doesn't lack clout is its 3D games performance. Thanks to an ATI Xpress 2600 graphics chipset, it turned in a very impressive 32.2 frames per second in our Call Of Duty 2 test, indicating that all but the most recent and demanding games will be fully playable with high detail settings. On the 2D front, things were decent enough: the GX610's AMD Turion64 processor managed a score of 128%. But that's not much more than the Sony, which costs £130 less.

If entertainment is your thing, the GX610 goes a long way to justifying its price tag with its exceptional 3D gaming performance. But the lacklustre display, and the middling 2D scores delivered that AMD chip, mean there are better buys here for most users.