Toshiba Qosmio F50

Pros: Its eSATA, HDMI, 500GB storage capacity, gaming potential and top-notch speakers all get a big green tick.
Cons: The 3.7kgs weight may throw some looking for more mobile options
Contact: www.toshiba.com.au
Price: $2199
Score: 4 out of 5

Let’s consider, for a second, where this notebook is likely to live once it’s out of the box.  With an HDMI-CEC output it’s possible you will set it down next to the TV, to be used as a DVD player and media centre. The inclusion of HDMI on top of the S-Video port certainly enriches its usefulness in this department. 

Having a total of 500GB worth of storage space over two 250GB hard drives certainly allows plenty of room for a large music collection and video library, among other things. Should that run out, fear not. Toshiba has added an eSATA port, allowing fast data transfer with eSATA-compatible external hard drives, a great addition for heavy media users.

On the other hand it includes its own hybrid FM tuner and digital/analogue TV tuner, with a standard antennae input and a portable TV aerial - and it has some pretty pumpin’ Harmon Kardon speakers with a subwoofer - so it’s also suitable as an all-in-one entertainment device for the bedroom. The 15.4in screen is nice and bright with reasonable viewing angles, but only offers a 1280x800 resolution, so it’s not a high definition experience. On the positive, however, Toshiba has included the capability to put the DVD in quiet mode, which slows the disc rotation to minimise noise, a very cool feature.

If that isn’t enough to get you giddy it’s also packed with an NVIDIA 9600M GT with 512MB of dedicated GDDR3 memory, so it may even find its way to the ‘computer desk’ for some serious gaming sessions. What we’re trying to hint at here is that the Qosmio F50 really covers its bases, and doesn’t fail in any department as a result.