Note: the prices offered here refer to the HP CompaQ Presario A960EF, while this review concerns the A960EM--although a letter separates them, the machines are equivalent and the different model numbers refer to computers available from different resellers.

HP's A960 series has got a lot going for it: affordable laptops, with a better finish quality than is usual at this price point, a generous 17 inch screen and a numeric keypad to the right of the regular keyboard.

They're not too heavy, either, weighing in at just 3.1 kg, while many 15'' laptops are heavier than that. 

Of course, to get a build quality this good at such a low price, HP has had to compromise on some of the internal components.

But have they gone too far? What is the A960 capable of?

Handling & Connectivity
At first glance, this is a solid, serious computer, and its good quality materials leave nothing to be desired on the outside case.

As is usually on 17'' laptops, the alphabetic keyboard is complemented by a numeric keypad, like on regular keyboards, but there are none of the hotkeys traditionally found on laptops.

Given how much room there is, it's odd that the right Shift key has been shrunk and put to the right of the arrow keys, which makes it easy to miss.

The trackpad, although off-center with regard to the laptop as a whole, is sensibly underneath the space bar; it's nice and deep, too, making it a pleasure to use.

After that, though, things get a little more complicated, and it's more and more tempting to make comparisons with better models.

In terms of connectivity, for instance, you can use VGA, just three USB ports, a memory-card reader, S-Video and two mini-jacks.

No e-SATA, no HDMI, no Display Port, no digital audio out …

The built-in webcam is average, with a slightly jumpy image and a patchy microphone which only performs well when you crank up the input level, or, failing that, shout.

The speakers, on the other hand, do a commendable job of producing good bass, although, as with so many laptops, plugging in a pair of headphones is the best way to get good sound quality.

S-Video, memory card reader and one of the USB ports	Mini-jack in and out
Webcam	Speaker grill

Processor Power
Despite its stylish exterior, this computer's test results show what it's really made of: its speed is generally below average for a series of tasks, including compressing files, playing videos and image editing.

The only exception to this is its hard drive, which, surprisingly, is somewhat faster than our current reference model.

In reality, this laptop is perfectly capable of doing most of the things that you're likely to demand of a laptop, just not very quickly.

So if the idea of waiting 50 seconds instead of 35 to encrypt a file is beyond the pale for you, then move on.

If, on the other hand, you believe patience is a virtue and are prepared to wait a little longer, then give it a go.

Reading video files was a reasonable success, although the processor just couldn't keep up with huge Full HD content.



Gaming
Before it even gets off the blocks, two factors combine to hold back the A960's performance.

The first stems from its high maximum resolution of 1440 x 900 pixels, which, unfortunately, is just too much for the integrated chipset to handle in the absence of a dedicated graphics card.

The more pixels there are on the screen, the more graphics processor power is needed, and a chipset just can't hack the 3D finesse of today's games.

Best stick Solitaire and Sodokus on the A960 …

Battery Life & Portability
A 17'' laptop is, by definition, bulky.

At 3 kg, this one isn't too heavy but certainly makes its presence felt on your desktop, which is where you're likely to want to keep as its battery life is less than impressive.

It might be unfair to compare this 17'' behemoth to a 9'' netbook, but its 2 hours 11 minutes of continuous video playback at 200 cd/m² seem pretty feeble compared to the Asus EeePC 901's five …