Rock Xtreme CTX notebook

Conclusions

Performance: The dual-core 2.16GHz Intel Core Duo processor and ATi Mobility Radeon X1800XT graphics are a heady combination. The two processors make light work of media encoding and other intensive tasks, and mean you can always get the system’s attention. Gaming is similarly stellar, offering playable frame rates at high resolutions with top quality settings. So the Rock really is a great all rounder, equally at home with either leisure or more serious applications. There's also enough grunt in the X1800 to be able to play games at the native resolution of the screen at 1920x1200.

Specification: We’d have liked to see 2GB of RAM in such a gaming-oriented notebook, and dual-core processors also benefit from more memory. Other than that, there’s virtually nothing we’d add to this system which isn’t already available as an optional extra. With a full complement of wired and wireless networking devices built in, a decent optical writer and a reasonably sized, fast hard disk, you won’t be missing your desktop for features, either. The Core Duo chip inside may even have a few desktop users pining to switch.

Form factor: The Xtreme CTX doesn’t buck the trend in power desktop replacements. Weighing in at 3.8kg, and with a 17in widescreen display, this is a heavy, bulky beast, although we don’t know of a notebook this powerful which isn’t. You won’t want to carry this notebook around with you all the time, but it’s not so massive as to stop you making the odd journey, unlike the back-breaking Evesham Quest. And it’s sufficiently stylish to turn a few heads if you do whip it out in Starbucks.

Value: At close to £1,900, this notebook won’t be winning any awards for value. But here again, there’s nothing out of the ordinary in the price tag, considering what you get for the money. Add the second GB of RAM, which will push the cost over two grand, and you’ll have a portable that should last you for a few years. With the fastest dual-core mobile CPU and graphics currently available, the only future-proofing missing is 64-bit OS support, which Intel Core processors don’t yet support.

Final thoughts

Despite the paradoxical nature of power notebooks, there are definitely situations where they make sense. With Rock’s Xtreme CTX offering little compromise on gaming or application performance compared to a desktop, if you don’t have the space for a big PC but can’t bear to make any sacrifices, this could well be the solution. It’s not cheap, but it does the job required with aplomb and style. So if you are after desktop power in a just-about-portable package, Rock’s Xtreme CTX would be two grand well spent.