I've always purchased desktop PCs since I haven't had much of a need for mobility and desktop PCs always had the performance/graphics edge. But with Wi-Fi and better performing laptops I'm thinking of using a laptop as my primary PC and keeping my other machines as servers for my home network etc.

I started by going through PC World and CNET's notebook reviews. On Cnet, they have a pretty active user comment area. Looking at a few different potential models, I scanned through the positive/negative comments for any issues.

There are two interesting bits of current news with notebook technology, first wtih the release of new Centrino-based machines from Intel which is a notebook platform with the new Pentium-M CPU (use less power with good performance), 855 chipset and integrated Wi-Fi. Also, both ATI and Nvidia are releasing new versions of their mobile video chips which can compete with the performance of most desktop systems, DirectX 9 compatible and use less power.

I've only visited Dell's community forums so far, but with lots of owners of Dell notebooks there's lots of interesting discussions about problems with certain models. Most of the other notebook manufacturers probably have a similar setup. Also, you can also watch for any rumors of new models (that include the new graphic chips etc.).
10:15:48 AM