Xtreme CTX T2700

The fusion of peak specifications and fast graphical processing means high-end gaming machines lend themselves well to creative professionals. Rock’s concession to this market is the CTX T2700, which as well as housing a lightning quick Intel Core Duo, has the graphical prowess of any high-end desktop.

Importantly, Rock has chosen to augment the NVIDIA GeForce Go 7900 GTX with 512MB of onboard RAM – twice the standard amount. This difference is instantly clear – long-winded rasterising tasks are done with the minimum of fuss and our Photoshop benchmarks were dismissed with ease.

This wise move is fortified by matching the graphics output to a slim and well-built 17-inch screen. The native 1,680x1,050 display is bright and crisp, and more than capable of wringing the best from the 7900 GTX. Colour reproduction and matching through NVIDIA’s preloaded software is responsive and easy to use, and video playback and shadowing is outstanding.

An optional extra is the X-Glass display, which promises to improve colour matching and widen the viewing angle to 1,920x1,200. Though our review machine lacked the extra resolution, the added reflectiveness undermined its responsiveness with creative software, and seems an unnecessary outlay.

For a 17-inch laptop, the CTX weighs-in at 4.25kg. This, twinned with the added weight of the power supply, means the CTX isn’t the most portable of laptops. Yet when you consider the 100GB hard disk inside, together with the dual-layer DVD writer, you begin to understand why: this machine makes no compromise to practicality, and Rock has focused on producing the most powerful and responsive gaming machine it can.

Here it has certainly succeeded. The Core Duo T2700 running at 2.33GHz is uncompromisingly fast, and proves itself here as a fine processor for the creative industries. Rock has matched this with 1GB of fast DDR2 667MHz RAM, which, in our tests, proved explosive running everyday chores and resilient to even the most demanding tasks.

The large footprint of the CTX should yield ample connectivity, yet Rock has focused its inputs at the back of the machine. Two USB ports, an SD Memory card slot and PCI slot run down one side, while the other is bereft of any ports bar the DVD writer. At the back, DVI, S-Video, Ethernet, FireWire, two further USB ports and line in and out make up the connections; all of which could be quickly occupied in a working environment. Bluetooth and WLAN are both provided, though, and go some way to make up for the minimal number of ports.

The offshoot of such Core Duo power is excessive battery drain, the CTX manages only a 75 minute battery life. Again, though, this is the trade-off for such power, and given this laptop won’t really be used on train journeys or roving presentations, doesn’t diminish its stock too badly.