- Respectable 3D Graphics
- Good LCD Panel
- Expensive
- Software Packages Extra
- Older Peripheral Ports
- Intel Core 2 Duo T8300 Dual Core Mobile Processor
- 2GB PC2-5300 DDR2 Memory
- 120GB 5400rpm SATA Hard Drive
- 8x DVD+/-RW Dual Layer Burner
- 17" WSXGA+ (16800x1050) Wide LCD with 1.3MP Webcam
- NVIDIA GeForce 8700M GT Graphics with 512MB Memory
- v.92 56Kbps Modem, Gigabit Ethernet and 802.11a/b/g Wireless
- Four USB 2.0, FireWire, Type II PC Card Slot
- 15.6" x 11.5" x 1.8" @ 7.5 lbs.
- Vista Home Premium
7/24/08 - It has been some time since the Velocity Micro NoteMagix M57 Ultra originally shipped and the system is really starting to show its age. It is very evident just looking at the peripheral ports that are included on the system. Most new laptops offer ports such as HDMI and even eSATA. This system instead offers up a DVI port and a Type II PC Card slot.
Considering the age of the system, one would expect that the prices would have dropped to put it more in line with offerings from other companies. This isn't the case though. The base setup is hundreds of dollars more than its competitors, yet offers very little to show for it. It does come equipped with a newer Core 2 Duo T8300 mobile processor and they have upped the memory to 2GB of PC2-5300 DDR2, but this is fairly standard options on the 17-inch notebooks.
The graphics are the only real high point for the NoteMagix M57 Ultra and they should be for a gaming specific laptop. The 17-inch screen uses a 1680x1050 resolution that gives a good balance of overall resolution without the display text being so small as to be hard to read. This combined with the GeForce 8700M GT graphics let it run most of today's games without issues.
Storage options also fall well behind the times. The base 120GB 5400rpm drive is smaller than what can be found on base systems and the 200GB 7200rpm drive fails to match the performance of larger dual drive systems or even the capacity of 320GB drives.
The big problem though is the price. As was mentioned before, the NoteMagix M57 Ultra is several hundred dollars more than systems that offer better graphics, more hard drive space and a higher resolution screen. This really detracts for any recommendation for the laptop even for a gamer.
