Direct X10 Notebooks ahoy!!

What are the two most important things for first person shooters (also commonly known as FPS games)? Great game play and immersive environments. Though the former is entirely the domain of the game design team, hot-blooded gamers want, nay need, the latest hardware. After all, how else can we run these titles with mind-numbing frames per second at near-impossible resolutions. The next generation of games are built upon the DirectX 10 platform which first appeared with the Windows Vista operating system. As you can see from the images, the difference in character detail between this and the last-generation DirectX 9 titles is nothing short of amazing. However, immersive graphics comes at a price. For desktops, this means getting a top-of-the-line graphics card (GPU) such as the Nvidia GeForce 8000 series or ATI Radeon HD 2000 series chipset . When it comes to notebooks, things are a little simpler as most Santa Rosa portables with discrete GPUs are DirectX 10 compatible. We take a look at the latest mobile gaming rigs with high-end GPUs you'll want to get for your next frag fest. Click here for a feature comparison table. 1. Acer Aspire 5920G (Core 2 Duo T7300 Processor 2.0GHz, 2GB RAM) CNET Asia rating: 6.8 out of 10 The good: High-end specifications; excellent performance; brilliant screen. The bad: Grey coloring; misplaced USB port; overall design. The bottom line: The Aspire 5920 may not be the best looking notebook out there, but when it comes to performance this portable delivers. It's fast, feature-packed and is excellent value for money. Graphics card: Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT with 1GB TurboCache memory 3DMark06 score: 3,288 Review | See full specs | 2. Toshiba Qosmio G40 (Core 2 Duo T7300 Processor 2.0GHz, 2GB RAM) Outlook Though our full review has yet to be posted, we tested the gaming performance of the Qosmio G40 and came away quite impressed. Besides being Toshiba's flagship entertainment model, its powerful Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT graphics card is more than competent when it comes to virtual fragging. Graphics card: Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT with 512MB TurboCache memory 3DMark06 score: 2,945 See full specs | 3. BenQ JoyBook S41 (Core 2 Duo T7100 Processor 1.8GHz, 1GB RAM) CNET Asia rating: 7.1 out of 10 The good: Integrated Webcam; powerful graphics performance; inexpensive. The bad: Basic warranty coverage; no multimedia buttons; underpowered speakers. The bottom line: As possibly the only 14.1-inch machine to hold the powerful Nvidia GeForce 8600M GS graphics card, the JoyBook S41 offers fantastic performance for a portable unit. If only it had dedicated multimedia buttons and better internal speakers. Graphics card: Nvidia GeForce 8600M GS with 1GB TurboCache memory 3DMark06 score: 2,743 Review | See full specs | 4. HP Pavilion HDX (Core 2 Duo T7700 processor 2.4GHz; 4GB RAM) First take Enter the Dragon! With a 20 inch widescreen, HD DVD drive and HDTV tuner, HP�s Pavilion HDX has supersized the desktop replacement into a fire-breathing, multimedia beast. It's high-end ATI GPU should also make short work of most first person shooters without breaking a sweat. Graphics card: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600 XT with 256MB discrete memory 3DMark06 score: Not available First take | See full specs | 5. ASUS G2s (Core 2 Duo T7500 Processor 2.2GHz, 2GB RAM) Outlook As the Santa Rosa version of the ASUS G2, the faster platform coupled with a high-end Nvidia graphics chip should bring most current games to its knees. Thanks to its DirectX 10 compatibility, it should also have no problems running next-generation titles, either. Graphics card: Nvidia Geforce 8600M GT with 256MB discrete memory 3DMark06 score: Not available See full specs |