MSI GT627

In fact, the only real stand-out element of this laptop is its screen. The 15.4in panel has a native resolution of 1,680 x 1,050 and packs in plenty of quality. There's no intrusive backlight bleed and darker colours are rendered extremely well. It could have been brighter, but the grittier tone of the display does mean that games, often populated by darker colours, look good.

The price, too, is enticing: to get this much power in a laptop and a Blu-ray drive, you're usually looking at a cost of well over £1,500 exc VAT.

But it's not quite enough to overcome this laptop's many flaws. The idea of putting desktop replacement power in a 15.4in notebook is attractive one, but the MSI GT627's poor build quality, lack of comfort and dismal battery life - alongside the pointless gimmicks - mean that it's not one we'd recommend.

Author: Mike Jennings