Verdict:
What's a zoostorm? It's another decent system from PC Nextday, that's what. A good machine, and the best here for occasional gaming, but there are better all-rounders.
At £699, the Zoostorm is at the top end of our price range. That doesn't translate into the highest specifications across the board, but it does have the highest-ranking processor. It's from Intel's newest family of Core 2 Duo mobile chips, which claim a 40% increase in performance and a 40% drop in power consumption. The 2.0GHz
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T7200 in the Zoostorm duly obliged by topping the table in our 2D benchmark with a score of 151%. The Zoostorm's modest 1GB of RAM reduced its margin over the Gateway, which has 2GB. But as if to prove a point, its Radeon Mobility X1600 graphics then went on to beat all other contenders to the 3D prize, rustling up a passable 11.1fps. This is still no machine for hardcore gamers, but if you're desperate to have that option, this is the only laptop here that will do the job.
Beyond its powerhouse potential, the Zoostorm is pleasant if unremarkable. The screen is bright and evenly lit, marginally topping the Gateway for clarity. The keyboard is comfortable for extended periods, and its stereo speakers, while lacking the crispness of the Gateway's, offer a little more bass thanks to a subwoofer on the underside. Our only gripe is the 120GB hard disk, not tiny for a budget machine but topped by others here.
By James Nixon
SPECIFICATIONS:
Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 (2.0GHz)
1GB RAM
120GB hard disk
Battery life: 4h 27min
DVD movie playback: 2h 9 min
Recharge time: 2h 30 min
