Evesham Voyager C550 Core Duo notebook

Performance-wise the Voyager C550 lags behind the Acer, although this was kind of expected due to the slower processor and lower amount of memory. However, the gap between the two was a lot bigger than we'd anticipated: as the Evesham only scored 290 in SYSMark 2002 - 72 points slower than the Acer. The PCMark 2005 scores were much closer together and the faster hard drive in the Voyager C550 scored it a few extra points. The MobileMark 2005 performance score is also a way behind the Acer with 184 up against 259 points.

Sadly, the battery life was less than impressive. The Voyager C550 turned in a time a minute short of two hours in MobileMark 2005 - not what I expected to see from a brand new Centrino Duo notebook. This might improve slightly on production models - we tested a pre-production sample that wasn't set up entirely as well as it should've been. The DVD playback test in MobileMark 2005 showed equally poor battery life at 113 minutes - seven minutes short of two hours - so forget about watching even the normal version of a Lord of the Rings movie on the Voyager C550, at least while you're away from mains power.

The X1600 chipset is more than capable of producing playable frame rates in the latest games, albeit some won't be able to do this at the full-screen resolution. The Voyager C550 managed 66.35fps in Far Cry at 1,024 x 768 which is very playable.

Where Evesham does beat Acer is on the warranty as you get no less than three years' cover with the Voyager C550, although this only applies in the UK and the last year is return to base instead of on site. The price is lower too, with Evesham asking only £1,249 for the Voyager C550 - £500 less than the Acer. Saying that, you get less for your money, not only in terms of features, but the Voyager C550 just isn't as well designed as the Acer. Still, if you can't afford the Acer the Voyager C550 isn't a bad laptop by any means.

Due to some supply issues with the 1,680 x 1,050 panels from Asus, initial models of the Voyager C550 will ship with 1,280 x 800 panels. Consequently, Evesham has reduced the price on these models to £1,199 inc. VAT.

Verdict

It's impressive to see a Centrino Duo machine this quick from a UK system integrator but the Evesham Voyager C550 falls short in more ways than one, with most disappointing aspect being the poor battery life. That said, it does sport a decent specification and a very attractive price.

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