The Dell Studio 14z is for people who know what they want--especially if they're gamers and they're willing to give up a few conveniences. It's a sleek, light laptop with an nVidia GeForce 9400M discrete video card (perfect for portable gaming) powering its 14-inch, 1366-by-768-pixel display, which is about the average size you can get in a $650 laptop. It lacks an optical drive and a flash card reader; but Dell offers an external 8X DVD-RW drive for $120, as well as a flash card adapter for the ExpressPort slot for $20.
We reviewed a configuration available at Best Buy for $750, but Dell's Web site lists a slightly slower version than our review unit. The model on the Dell site packs a 2.0GHz T4200 dual-core processor, 3GB of memory, a 250GB hard drive, and 802.11g Wi-Fi, all for $650.
Pros: 4.5-hour battery life; fairly light weight (4.3 pounds); good for gamers
Cons: Optical drive and card reader cost extra
