Unsurprisingly, the most powerful notebook here is the also the most expensive. At £1,199, the Asus F3Jv costs almost twice as much as the cheapest, the HP, so a key question is whether the extra money offers an equal amount of value.

The F3Jv is built around one of the fastest mobile processors on the market today, Intel’s Core 2 Duo T7200, which runs at 2GHz and has a whopping 4MB of L2 cache. The Asus also comes with 2GB of fast DDR2 memory, which made for some lightning-quick results in our benchmark tests.

Running Sysmark 2004 and PCmark05, which test how fast a computer operates in Windows and running a wide range of software applications, the Asus scored 263 and 4,751 respectively, streets ahead of the other systems in this group.

Graphics performance was also impressive for a non-gaming notebook, with the popular 256MB Nvidia Geforce Go 7600 chipset achieving a score of 3,203 in 3Dmark05 and a frame rate of 79.21fps in Far Cry.

The F3Jv runs Windows XP Professional rather than the Media Center Edition. The 100GB Sata (serial ATA) hard disk is adequate rather than generous, though if storage space is looking a bit stretched, there’s a multiformat DVD writer to archive files and free up some space. There’s a gaggle of USB ports too, for attaching external hard disks or removable media.

Integrated into the lid of the notebook is a 1.3-megapixel webcam and a microphone, which can be used with videoconferencing services such as Skype and saves having to carry around extra equipment.

The 15.4in WSXGA+ screen is one of the best here, displaying vibrant colours and lots of detail at its maximum resolution of 1,680x1,050. Asus also equips the F3Jv with its ‘Splendid Video Intelligence’ technology. In English, this improves contrast and brightness and making skin tones appear more natural, which is evident when watching DVD movies; more than just a gimmick, we think.

Like all the notebooks here, 802.11g wireless networking is included as standard, and the F3Jv also has a Bluetooth adapter. Other plus points include the DVI port and an Express Card slot for adding expansion devices such as TV tuners when they eventually start to appear in this format.

Using the Asus is a pleasant experience; the keyboard is well laid out, the keys aren’t too springy and there’s plenty of wrist space when typing. The trackpad is also quite big and the long strip below serves as both left and right buttons, which looks pretty chic.

Design-wise, the F3Jv is up there with the best-looking on test. Although it’s quite big and weighs 3kg excluding adapter, the smooth lines and delicately rounded corners make it look rather slim.

At two hours, 19 minutes, however, battery life is a bit of a disappointment and doesn’t really do anything to support Intel’s claim of improved battery life for the Core platform – but there again, it’s perhaps unfair to expect the CPU to compensate for other power-hungry components such as the large, bright TFT display.

Bundled software is comprehensive and includes Cyberlink Power Director, Norton Internet Security 2005 and Nero Express 6, as well as a whole host of Asus-developed tools and features, which are preloaded on the machine. Asus also offers a two-year return-to-base warranty.

This article is part of a group test of budget Core 2 Duo notebooks
See also:
Evesham Voyager C530
Hi-grade Notino D7000-5500
HP Compaq NX7400 (RH393ET)
MSI Megabook M662
Rock Pegasus 665-T56
Sony VGN-C1Z/B

Graphs and tables of features can be read via our pdf downloads above.