By Adli Yashir

Before you dismiss the Versa E6510 as a run-of-the-mill notebook, look again.

Look beyond its faux leather cover and you will discover that the mid-sized E6510 has enough computing muscle for business, games and graphics applications.

While the E6510 is one of the prettier models in NEC's stable, it is not as attractive as the HP dv5 or the Sony Vaio VGN-Z17GN.

Its middle-of-the-road design, however, makes it a good choice for corporate types who tend to prefer serious-looking notebooks. Road warriors should not have many complaints about the notebook's 2.4kg weight either.

Gamers will appreciate the excellent gaming prowess of this machine.

The E6510 has mostly high-end gear. The test machine comes with Intel Centrino 2, a technology that promises a good balance between computing muscle and battery life.

In the processing department, you get an Intel Core 2 Duo 2.53GHz processor with 2GB RAM, a 14.1-inch screen, built-in DVD burner and a webcam.

There are ports and slots aplenty. NEC designers were able to squeeze must-haves like four USB ports, a Firewire port and LAN and modem ports.

There is even a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) for channelling high-definition content.

The software bundle is good to boot. Among other things, there is anti-virus software like McAfee Security centre, Magic Director, a video editing tool, and Power Cinema 5.0 Its Nvidia GeForce 9600M GS graphics card comes with 256MB GDDR2 dedicated video memory, which promises an intense viewing and gaming experience.

The 5,239 points that this notebook scored on the 3DMark 06 benchtest is one of the highest I have in my personal notebook review database.

According to the MobileMark 2007 test, the notebook lasts 123 minutes on batteries and registers a high score of 243 performance qualification points.

While the graphics performance is awesome, the audio is just so-so as it lacks additional features such as an integrated subwoofer or Dolby Digital Surround sound technology.

Final say

Great multimedia and gaming performance from a not-so-great looking notebook.

This article was first published in The Straits Times, Digital Life on Dec 3, 2008.

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