All Laptops

The Bottom Line: While its aesthetics leave something to be desired, the iBuyPower Battalion M865TU gaming laptop is a decent cocktail of no-frills performance and price.

Specs: Intel Core 2 Duo (2.9 GHz), 4096 MB DDR3 SDRAM, 500 GB, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit Edition, 15.0 in TFT

The Bottom Line: Samsung brings a different look to a generic Netbook build with the N310, but is there any good reason this costs almost $500?

Specs: Intel Atom (1.6 GHz), 1 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 160 GB, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, 2.9 lbs, 10.1 in TFT active matrix, EPEAT Gold, EPEAT gold

The Bottom Line: The 11-inch, AMD-powered Gateway LT3103u does well on price and performance, but drops the ball on battery life when compared with the competition.

Specs: Athlon 64 (1.2 GHz), 2 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 250 GB, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic, 3 lbs, 11.6 in TFT active matrix

The Bottom Line: The Hannspree Hannsnote doesn't set the Netbook world on fire, but it's a surprisingly usable and well-featured mini-laptop at a competitive price from a new manufacturer.

The Bottom Line: Attempting to create a premium-priced version of a Netbook, Sony has added an HD display to the Vaio W. It's an attractive step-up package, but the internal components are the same as are in cheaper models.

Specs: Intel Atom (1.66 GHz), 1 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 160 GB, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, 2.6 lbs, 10.1 in TFT active matrix, RoHS, EPA Energy Star

The Bottom Line: The stylish design and high-end feel of the Toshiba U505-S2940 don't make up for mediocre ergonomics and performance that can be had for less in other laptops.

Specs: Intel Core 2 Duo (2.1 GHz), 4 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 320 GB, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit Edition, 4.9 lbs, 13.3 in TFT active matrix, EPA Energy Star, RoHS, EPEAT Gold

The Bottom Line: Swelling the ranks of 11.6-inch Netbooks, the Asus Eee PC 1101HA impresses with its design and battery, but having to overclock a slower version of Intel's Atom CPU is a dodgy workaround.

Specs: Intel Atom, 1 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 160 GB, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, 3 lbs, 11.6 in TFT active matrix

The Bottom Line: Dell's Mini 10v keeps a lot of the features of the more expensive Mini 10, while dropping the price below $300. It's one of only a handful of $299 Netbooks that doesn't look and feel especially cheap.

Specs: Intel Atom (1.6 GHz), 1 GB DDR2 SDRAM, 160 GB, Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition SP3, 10.1

The Bottom Line: If you're searching for a great-looking thin-and-light laptop at a good price, the Lenovo IdeaPad U350 bridges the gap between personal and professional and is worth checking out. But its design is more successful than its horsepower.

Specs: Intel Pentium (1.3 GHz), 3 GB DDR3 SDRAM, 250 GB, Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium, 3.5 lbs, 13.3 in TFT active matrix, EPA Energy Star, RoHS

The Bottom Line: As a highly configurable budget-range black box, Dell's Inspiron 1545 laptop line can be a good value--as long as you don't pile on the upgrades.