Labs

Media Center PCs

Toshiba Qosmio G20-126 [PC Pro]
COMPANY: Toshiba	PRICE: Ł1,701(Ł1,999 inc VAT)
RATING:	ISSUE: 135 DATE: Nov 05

Verdict: It's expensive and bulky but you won't find another notebook-based Media Center to match its combination of power, features and style.

Although all of this month's systems can be used as a standard PC, it isn't their main focus. In contrast, the Qosmio is primarily a high-power notebook, but with the added bonus of also being a Media Center, making it ideal for those who want a portable entertainment machine and workhorse that can be put out of sight when not being used.

As a Media Center it's superb, largely due to the glossy 17in widescreen display. The TruBrite technology really lives up to its name: if you value your eyesight you'll have to lower the brightness when word-processing or surfing the Internet, it really is that blinding. At its native 1,440 x 900 resolution it offers gloriously vivid images for DVD viewing, although as with all glossy screens it suffers from reflections in well-lit rooms.

Wisely incorporating a hybrid analog/digital tuner, you'll be able to watch Freeview channels and enjoy the

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Harman Kardon stereo speakers. They're loud enough for a decent-sized room and the sound has just enough bass to eliminate the need for external speakers. On the downside, the keyboard size doesn't take advantage of the full width of the G20-126.

Inside the stylish chassis you'll find a powerful 2.13GHz Pentium M 770 processor on Intel's 915 chipset, ably supported by 1GB of DDR2 memory. Incredibly, it outperformed all eight machines in the main test, with an overall 2D score of 0.93. It was no gaming slouch either: lower the detail to High and switch off anti-aliasing and you'll enjoy games like Far Cry with no problems at 1,280 x 1,024 thanks to the GeForce 6600.

The RAID-configured hard disks (yes, there are two) offer 180GB of storage and Toshiba has installed a DVD-RAM drive to make backups. Wireless 802.11a/b/g and Bluetooth is integrated, as is 10/100 Ethernet and a modem. A card reader accepts SD, MS and xD-Picture cards and there are four USB 2 ports, a mini-FireWire and Type II PC Card slot. You can output from VGA, S-Video and the less common D-Video for scart connections. An S-Video input lets you hook up other devices.

We like the classy touch-sensitive buttons beneath the screen, and the fact that the G20-126 is virtually silent at all times. Top it off with a light-use battery life of two hours, 35 minutes and you have an ideal Media Center notebook. The price puts it out of reach for most, but if money isn't an issue you won't be disappointed.