AJP Z71A review

Given that Sonoma is all about portability, we wonder what AJP was thinking when it decided to pack this mobility-enhancing marvel into a laptop that, thanks to its size, will probably spend most of its time sitting on a desk.

Yes, the Z71A is a bit of a bruiser. It's far from the table-straining dimensions of the bulkiest laptops, but at 357mm by 276m it's not an ideal travelling companion.

AJP hasn't squandered this extra bulk, though, and the Z71A is the best specified laptop of this group. The 1.86GHz Pentium M750 processor sits in the middle of the new Sonoma line-up and offers a good balance between performance and power-consumption.

AJP gets a black mark for filling both memory slots with 256MB SODIMMs, since upgrading to the maximum-supported 2GB of memory will involve ditching both of them. Upgrading memory also necessitates removing a staggering 13 separate screws from the underside of the case, but since you'll only need to do this once (or not at all - 512MB should be enough memory for most people), it's a minor annoyance.

The Z71A's generous 80GB hard disk is welcome for the price, as is the DVD+RW drive (although a DVD burner that also handled the -RW format would give maximum flexibility). Sadly, the slot labelled 'ExpressCard' is merely a hole in the case, but you do get the usual PC Card slot that this new Sonoma technology is otherwise intended to replace.

There is a healthy selection of other ports though, and the single USB 2 port at the left of the case to supplement the cluster of four at the rear is a nice nod to convenience. You can also listen to CDs without having to start Windows, thanks to the front panel controls, although you'll want to do so through headphones as the built-in stereo speakers are really only suited for Windows sound effects.

Ultra-high resolutions are a staple on many large laptops, but despite having a spacious 15.4in widescreen screen, the Z71A makes do with a mere 1280x800 pixels. This is still perfectly adequate for most office tasks - you just won't be able to have as many windows open and visible at once as at, say, 1280x1024. The screen's quality is up to scratch though, being both bright and evenly lit. There's a microphone built into the top edge too, which is very handy for voice chat or recorded notes.

The Z71A's keyboard is set far back into its case and there's a good 125mm of wrist rest in front of it with a generously proportioned trackpad bang in the middle. The keyboard is comfortable but otherwise unremarkable, although the positioning of a Function lock rather than the usual Ctrl key at the bottom left is an annoyance that takes a bit of getting used to.

A couple of small fans sit on the underside of the Z71A's case, but these don't make much noise, nor does the underside get particularly hot in use. And speaking of the case, the one wrapped around the Z71A is rather sleek and stylish, particularly in comparison to the clunky lines of the MSI and Hi-Grade laptops. It's sturdy too, with a nice solid feel and no unsightly gaps where the different parts of the case meet.

The new PCI Express integrated graphics used in Sonoma laptops are reckoned to be around four times faster than previous Centrino models. The Z71A certainly turned in an excellent performance in our graphics tests, and while it won't have you playing Half Life 2 in all its graphical glory, it should cope with most 3D games at a reasonable quality setting.

2D performance is equally impressive too, although it was a touch slower than the Hi-Grade, despite having a more powerful processor. The Z71A does use DDR rather than Hi-Grade's technically superior DDR2 RAM, but past experience has shown this to be an unlikely explanation for the performance difference. There are no complaints about battery life, however, and the one hour and 48 minutes result is impressive given the intensive nature of our tests - with care, you'll get at least a morning's work out of the battery.