Labs

Compared to many of the laptops here, the Zoostorm looks unapologetically dull. No glossy lid or sharp design touches here, just the bare necessities. But when you look at the price tag you may start to wonder if that's necessarily a bad thing. And although the case looks rather plasticky, its strong base and stiff lid feel more than up to protecting the fine components inside.

When it comes to specifications, it's not unusual for Zoostorm to offer more than you might expect for the money. The Intel Core 2 Duo T7700 is the fastest processor on test here, and it shows. A score of 163% in our benchmarks put the 3384-6628 at the

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head of the pack, helped along by 2GB of memory. For everyday Windows tasks, this is a seriously fast laptop. Gaming performance is a little less impressive due to the modest nVidia GeForce 8600M GS chipset, but 54% in our 3D benchmark means you could get away with all but the most demanding titles as long as you're prepared to compromise on quality settings.

Despite its basic appearance, using the Zoostorm was a pleasure. The unassuming keyboard is a fine example: each key has plenty of travel and a positive action that leaves you in no doubt whether you've pressed it or not. It's a similar story with the trackpad, which doesn't look fancy but works well. Each of its buttons gives a reassuringly crisp click.

The display, all too often a disappointment in lower-cost laptops, turned out to be decent too. Although whites appeared slightly murky at times, the image was far from reprehensible, with ample brightness. There's no cutting-edge HD DVD or Blu-ray drive in this machine, but thanks to the glossy screen finish ordinary DVDs look particularly good.

Zoostorm's 3384-6628 may be rather lacking in personality, but at this price it offers excellent performance with all the essential features.