I have already described the good things about ITC METABOX 740u and there are plenty of them. In fact, many aspects are just outrageously good to the point of being brilliant.

Let’s just summarise the things we like best about this machine:

• The first to catch the eye is the magnificent CSV screen. 17 inch of super glossy real estate.

• Matching in width is the full-size keyboard that includes a Num Pad.

• This media machine is able to play your CDs without the need to boot up Windows with all the information you need (plus the time) presented in a nice blue display on the front.

• You don't have to tout along external speakers as the five built-in speakers, with the help of SRS WOW technology, does great justice to your music choice.

• The core brilliance of the ITC METABOX 740u is of course its sheer speed. If you have the need for speed you can now play Need for Speed while you're on the road (but hopefully not driving!)

• Other nice touches are the inbuilt HDTV tuner with remote control, the VGA camera and all the connectivity ever devised for a laptop. That connectivity even extends to the 10-in-1 card reader.

So what are the “Bad” things of the ITC METABOX 740u?

None, apart from the few “gotchas” described below.

We could not even find any dead pixels on a screen that large…

There are no big issues with this machine.

At least not that we have discovered so far.  But there are a couple of “gotchas”

One of them is the positioning of the sleep button right next to the volume button.

A couple of times I've wanted to turn the volume down and put the 740 into sleep mode.

Another minor issue is the upside-down orientation of the four USB ports.

Normally no big deal, but when I'm out on the road I often use a USB Wireless Broadband CDMA/G3 Modem which has an antenna which needs to be put in an upright position.

If there are any concerns they fall under the category of “Heavy”.

The ITC METABOX 740u, not surprisingly, is rather heavy.

The industrial-sized power adapter alone weighs 1.39Kg and is perfectly brick-shaped.

Playing the latest version of Need for Speed saw the power consumption soar to 224 Watts.

This machine, with all the goodies that we could possibly cram in, was also rather heavy on the budget.  Expect little change from 6200 Aussie dollars.

That includes, however, the bragging rights to the fastest laptop on your block.

Stay tuned for Part II which will cover extensive benchmarking on the ITC METABOX 740u, using a raft of benchmarking tools, including 3DMark of course and many DirectX 9 game benchmarks.

How much you pay for a METABOX depends of course on the specification level.

If you go to ITC's web site you will find a configurator that will help spec out your machine according to your budget.

However, make sure that you leave some dough in the kitty for a weightlifting programme...:)

The METABOX 740u starts at around $3625 (AUD) for the least expensive unit.

ITC is a big player in the Australian market with hundreds of resellers in Western Australia alone.  They can custom build a laptop for you within 48 hours for any of the METABOX or Millennia series (we also plan to have a review on the Millennia 8000 in a few weeks time). For more information you can visit their web site on www.itchannel.com.au

The METABOX 7X0 series consist of many models - the 730 and the 740 are currently the top units.

We will be reviewing the Centrino-based 730 shortly as well and then compare the two units.

- Introduction, Setup

- Specifications, The Ultimate Notebook?

- 3DMark05 & 3DMark03, Overclocking