Acer Ferrari 3200

Pros: Athlon 64 processor, fast Radeon 9700 graphics

Cons: Hard drive; could use more RAM

Summary: The laptop is very fast. Runs Half-Life 2 and CS:Source great! With wireless, gigabit LAN, 4 USB2.0 ports, FireWire, IR, and Bluetooth standard, this laptop provides excellent value for the price. Also a plus is that is comes with Windows XP Pro standard, not Home. And there's a DVD writer.

However, my original hard drive (a Toshiba) failed after a few months. Replaced under warranty by Acer very quickly with a Hitachi drive that is a lot quieter, cooler, and faster (even though it is still the same RPM speed drive). It seems the Toshiba drive has been giving a lot of people problems.