Labs

It's amazing what you can pick up on a trip to Tesco these days. Cream crackers, frozen carrots...and this Core 2 Duo laptop.

Right from the off, the Gateway proves that 'value' doesn't have to be synonymous with frumpy, no-frills packaging. Sure, its textured charcoal grey plastic exterior may not turn the head of the Mac-toting graphic designer sitting next to you on the train, but it's by far the most hard-wearing and scratch-resistant of the finishes on any of the laptops on test, and it should stay looking smart for longer.

Open it up and that understated elegance continues. As you can see, a removable sticker boasts that the wrist rest is made from 'aircraft grade aluminium'. We couldn't verify that if it crashed on our heads, but it looks good, and gives you something smooth and comfy to plonk your hands on.

Interior design

Inside the Gateway, things are every bit as solid. Its main components - the same Intel Core 2 Duo processor as the Zoostorm, but rated at 1.73GHz, a roomy 160GB hard disk, and a whopping 2GB of DDR2 RAM - form the most impressive ensemble on show. And for a laptop costing under £600, it offers plenty of performance. It flew through our 2D benchmarks, notching up 141%, the second highest score here. The extra RAM makes a big difference, especially in tasks such as image editing, where it enables the Gateway to hold all the necessary information in its memory, which is quick to access, rather than having to swap it out to the slower hard disk for want of space. If you're tempted to increase the memory still further,

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you'll be disappointed to find that both the RAM slots (tucked away beneath a flap on the underside) are already full, but it's unlikely you'll really need to upgrade.

There had to be a weak spot, and in this case it's 3D performance. Like many laptops before it, the Gateway failed to complete our demanding 3D graphics test, using the game Call of Duty. This switches on all the latest graphical effects, such as 8x anisotropic filtering and 4x anti-aliasing, to really test a PC's mettle; and the MT6839b's integrated Intel 945GM graphics just couldn't handle it. But unless you're a keen gamer, and prepared to find the hefty budget you'd need to afford true gaming power in a laptop, this is a fair compromise to make to get an otherwise capable system at this low price.

Aero plain

One of Windows Vista Home Premium's selling points is its good-looking interface, known as Aero, which employs all sorts of translucent and three-dimensional graphical effects. The Gateway's 15.4in widescreen lets you make the most of this, with a bright and sharp 1,280 x 800 pixel display that was evenly lit right to the very corners. The screen's contrast was the best of this bunch, making highlights bright and shadows truly black when playing DVDs. This is thanks to the fashionably shiny finish of the screen's surface, in this case branded Ultrabright. The disadvantage is that this increases reflections when used in bright sunlight, but overall that's a small price to pay. DVD playback was smooth, and with the battery holding out for two hours and 18 minutes you could watch a film between charges. A weight of just 2.8kg also makes the Gateway better suited than some others to life on the move.

Working for long periods shouldn't prove a drag, either. The standard layout of the spacious keyboard allows accurate typing, and the keys are responsive - so much so that we ended up typing this article on the Gateway. Despite predictably tinny sound quality, it also provided music while we worked.

For £599, the Gateway won't offer you perfection, but it's a very smart, well-specified PC with all the power you need to make the most of Vista every day.