Carla Thornton

MicronPC TransPort GX+

Internal bay options for this handsome two-tone gray-and-silver laptop are a steal. A second 30GB hard drive, for instance, costs only $350. The notebook's modular bay, which sits beneath a fixed floppy drive and houses a DVD-ROM drive at this price, alternatively accommodates a $139 SuperDisk drive or a $229 Zip 250 drive. Graphics professionals and others who need a detailed view will appreciate this laptop's native 1400-by-1050 resolution. Three shortcut buttons at the top of the comfortable keyboard, along with the programmable mouse buttons, offer five convenient ways to launch your favorite applications or Web sites.
The TransPort GX+ turned in a mildly disappointing PC WorldBench 2000 score of 173. Equipped with a Pentium III-900/700 processor and 256MB of RAM, the TransPort GX+ trailed the IBM ThinkPad A21p, which we tested with a PIII-850/700 and the same amount of RAM, by 5 percent. The skimpy documentation excludes specific details about this notebook model.
Little extras set the TransPort GX+ apart. They include a protective cover over rear ports, a plastic business-card pocket on the underside, and text labels stamped into the case that clearly identify all the major components, including the compartment that contains the combination mini PCI modem and network interface. The TransPort GX+'s healthy set of multimedia connections includes an extra audio line-in port and a composite video-out port for a TV. Unfortunately, with only marginal built-in sound and no external volume controls, the TransPort GX+ is far from a portable CD jukebox. The TransPort GX+ ran for 3 hours, 8 minutes in our battery life tests.
Although a little pricey for a PIII-900 laptop with comparatively lackluster performance, the TransPort GX+ is plenty fast for most uses and adds a classy design for corporate buyers and well-heeled individuals alike.

Buying Information

MicronPC TransPort GX+ PC WorldBench 2000 score of 173, Pentium III-900/700 CPU, 256MB of SDRAM, 256KB L2 cache, Windows 2000, 15-inch active-matrix screen, S3 Savage/IX+MV graphics chip with 16MB of SGRAM, 30GB hard drive, 8X DVD-ROM drive, V.90 modem and network adapter, touchpad pointing device, 8.1 pounds (including AC adapter and phone cord), Microsoft Office 2000 Small Business Edition. Three-year parts and labor warranty; free unlimited 24-hour toll-call tech support. $ 2709 PC WorldBench 2000 score of 173, Pentium III-900/700 CPU, 256MB of SDRAM, 256KB L2 cache, Windows 2000, 15-inch active-matrix screen, S3 Savage/IX+MV graphics chip with 16MB of SGRAM, 30GB hard drive, 8X DVD-ROM drive, V.90 modem and network adapter, touchpad pointing device, 8.1 pounds (including AC adapter and phone cord), Microsoft Office 2000 Small Business Edition. Three-year parts and labor warranty; free unlimited 24-hour toll-call tech support. 800/642-7667 http://www.micronpc.com