Beyond brute processing power, 3-D video accelerators continue to get better.
Hard drives spin faster.
The latter three had blazing-fast disk performance but couldn't keep up with the Armada 7800's superspeedy video. NEC's Versa LX delivered even faster video performance than the Compaq, helping to nudge its overall score just under the top four. The Dell Latitude CP D266XT tied the Versa LX in performance. But it also had the shortest battery life in our tests. The Vivante, at the other extreme, weighs a shoulder-wrenching 10.2 pounds when fully equipped, and its battery refused to die, lasting nearly four hours.