Carla Thornton

ChemBook 6300C

The ChemBook 6300C offers built-in 802.11b wireless connectivity, a headphones port that doubles as an S/PDIF connection for hooking up surround-sound speakers, and, something rarely seen in notebooks, two FireWire ports. Chem USA also includes a composite adapter so that you can connect it to TVs that are not compatible with the notebook's S-Video port. Four silver shortcut buttons complement a handsome dark blue case with a slight ergonomic slope.
At 7.5 pounds (not including the AC adapter), the 6300C weighs in on the heavy side. The battery on the 6300C we tested had a tendency to stick: To dislodge it, we had to slide the battery release button and simultaneously give the notebook a vigorous shake.
A desktop-replacement style notebook, the 6300C offers a convenient all-in-one design with a fixed combination drive on the right and a fixed floppy drive on the left. The laptop's 15-inch display looked bright and crisp at its native 1400 by 1050 resolution, and its battery life of 2.6 hours and PC WorldBench 4 score of 93 are both typical for a 1.8-GHz Pentium 4-M notebook.Beneath the notebook's touchpad are two long mouse buttons and a distinctive, hour-glass-shaped scrolling button--together, they nicely complement the 6300's quiet, solid-feeling keyboard. Despite the fact they are located far beneath the notebook's curved front edge, the built-in speakers deliver sound that's a cut louder--though not better--than most notebooks we've reviewed, and a press-in jog dial on the left side makes it easy to lower, raise, or mute the volume. When you're roaming, an LED indicator on the front of the case lets you know when a wireless connection is available, but, unfortunately, the notebook doesn't have a hardware switch to turn wireless networking on or off. Though thin, the user's manual covers all the basics and more.
Large, high-resolution screens like the ChemBook 6300C's are a dime a dozen these days, but when they're teamed with good sound and dual FireWire ports, the result is a better digital-editing and presentation machine than most.

Buying Information

ChemBook 6300C PC WorldBench 4 score of 93, 1.8-GHz/1.2-GHz Pentium 4-M CPU, 512MB of DDR266 SDRAM, 512KB of L2 cache, Windows XP Home, 15-inch active-matrix screen, ATI Mobility Radeon graphics with 16MB of SDRAM, 30GB hard drive, 8X DVD-ROM and 8X/8X/24X CD-RW combination drive, built-in V.90 modem and network interface, 802.11b wireless, touchpad pointing device, 8.4 pounds (including AC adapter and phone cord); Quicken 2001, Sun Star Office. One-year parts and labor warranty; free 24-hour toll-call technical support. $ 1999 PC WorldBench 4 score of 93, 1.8-GHz/1.2-GHz Pentium 4-M CPU, 512MB of DDR266 SDRAM, 512KB of L2 cache, Windows XP Home, 15-inch active-matrix screen, ATI Mobility Radeon graphics with 16MB of SDRAM, 30GB hard drive, 8X DVD-ROM and 8X/8X/24X CD-RW combination drive, built-in V.90 modem and network interface, 802.11b wireless, touchpad pointing device, 8.4 pounds (including AC adapter and phone cord); Quicken 2001, Sun Star Office. One-year parts and labor warranty; free 24-hour toll-call technical support. http://www.chemusa.com 800/866-2436