HP Pavilion dv9088ea

While we're sorely tempted by the high-definition charms of both the Asus and Toshiba machines, the HP is the better all-round notebook. It's particularly notable for its twin hard disks and masses of disk space, while the capable Nvidia GPU will be a plus for gamers. The TV tuner is an equally welcome addition, as is Windows XP MCE 2005 and a remote control. At £1,106 it's good value as well. Unless you view HD DVD as a must-have, the dv9088ea is our new number-one choice for a media centre notebook.

Author: Dave Stevenson