Apple finally joined all other manufacturers with Intel Core i7 Macbook Pro notebook refresh. Dan Ackerman at Cnet takes a look at the 15.4 inch Macbook Pro to find out what this platform upgrade brings you.

Even though thin-and-light notebooks and netbooks pretty much dominate the headlines these days there still is a big market for larger and more capable notebooks. Samsung R780 NP-R780-JS03DE 17.3 inch Entertainment Notebook aims to provide with all your multimedia needs with a large 1600 x 900px widescreen display. Sebastian Jentsch at NotebookCheck posted an in-depth review and his verdict was that the Samsung R780 tries to combine the strengths of an office oriented notebook and multimedia notebook. It bid pretty well due to  silent operation, well capable Intel Core i5-520M 2.40 GHz and nVidia Geforce GT 330M dedicated graphics. Not to mention a very attractive price tag of €900.

We recently posted a review on the new Sony’s notebook featuring latest Intel platform the Sony Vaio Z VPCZ114GX/S that features Intel Core i5 this time we have a review on the 16.4 inch Intel Core i7 packing multimedia powerhouse the Sony Vaio F11 VPC-F11Z1/E. Not only it is an ultimate multimedia notebook but due to nVidia GeForce GT 330M dedicate graphics it actually can handle latest games if you don’t push the graphics settings to high. So what exactly does it bring to the table (yes literally to the table as it is a bit to big to fit in your lap) for the RRP €1,499. Sebastian Jentsch at NotebookCheck is able to answer our questions. In his review he found out that Sony Vaio F11 VPC-F11Z1E is a powerful notebook thanks to the Intel Core i7 720QM quad-core processor and dedicated nCidia GeForce GT 330M graphics. It offers abundance of connectivity such as HDMI, eSATA, SPDIF and FireWire. Oh and there is 8 GB of RAM and 64 bit Windows 7.

Sebastian Jentsch at NotebookCheck posted a review on the Samsung NP-R580-JS03DE 15.6 inch Multimedia Notebook. He thinks the Samsung R580 Aura Hawk brings value for money as at €800 offers Intel Core i5-520M 2.40 GHz, nVidia Geforce GT 330M dedicated graphics and large 500 GB hard drive.

Sony probably is a manufacturer with the longest list of sexy portable notebooks and this one might be the one that tops the list as it is not only sexy but packs a punch within as well. Joanna Stern at Engadget posted a review on the Sony Vaio Z VPCZ114GX/S 13.1 inch Portable Notebook and she thinks the Sony VAIO Z is a wonderful portable notebook to use which it should be for the $2,000 RRP but somehow wonders if there still is a place in the market for highly priced portable when there are so many cheaper CULV powered notebooks out there that are as sexy and portable as the Sony Vaio Z VPCZ114GX/S while offering even longer battery life. So if you are just looking for a portable notebook for basic tasks you are better of with buying a CULV notebook but if you want a truly powerful portable and have money to spare you can’t go wrong with Sony Vaio Z VPCZ114GX/S and we couldn’t agree more as it features Intel Core i5 2.53GHz, nVidia Geforce GT 330M + Intel GMA HD Dynamic Hybrid Graphics System and a 13.1 inch screen with a resolution unheard of for a portable notebook at 1600 x 900 pixels. So yeah, we definitely think it’s worth the money.