The ROCK SL

Front – Two catches release the notebook lid and large IR receiver is positioned at the front of the unit. The SL Pro is surprisingly slim for what’s packed under the hood.

Back – It’s not often you see a COM port, but still essential for some professional applications requiring a legacy interface. Another noticeable feature is the DVI port, enabling you to connect an external TFT screen for pure digital Dual Head capability or as a replacement primary monitor. We noticed the huge air vent sensibly put right at the back of the unit to ensure essential system components get enough airflow. Cables supplied with the SL Pro give options for Component, S-video and Composite video outputs, but interestingly it also features an S-Video input. DC input, 2xUSB2.0 and modem connection complete the rear interfaces, however you’ll also find a Kensington lock secured directly onto the alloy chassis.

Left – Despite there being 4 3.5mm audio sockets, the embedded audio does not offer analogue surround sound output, one of the ports however is an SPDIF digital connection that will support up to 7.1 wide speaker configuration. The other 3 ports are for line-in, mic and headphones. The Sony DW-Q520A DVD Writer fitted as standard supports up to 8X DVD+/- write speeds and make a popular choice for performance in the laptop market. There is no support for DVD-RAM, but this will not be missed by the majority of notebook users.

Right – The SL Pro features only one PCMCIA port which came as a surprise, however another 3xUSB2.0 ports and a mini-Firewire connection makes it quite expandable considering the amount of devices available on the market utilising USB. The in-built card reader supports MMC, SD and Memory stick and another Infrared port is located next to the Realtek gigabit LAN connection.

Bottom – The bottom of the unit is riddled with air intakes for the processor, two graphics cards, memory and chipset. We expected a much larger battery, but again this laptop is not really designed to be used on the move that often, it’ll give you about an hours worth of productivity although many 3D features on the 7950GTX’s are down-clocked automatically when running on battery power – and this can not be overridden. Two small speakers at the front of the unit are just part of the SRS WOW system integrated in the SL Pro and a small subwoofer is situated just below the product label.

Overall external – The idle noise of running is fairly loud, but no more than a similar specified PC, if not slightly quieter. The underbelly certainly gets hot, a flat surface to mount this machine on is essential to remain cool. We did give the SL Pro a try on our laps and was comfortable to use for atleast the duration of it’s battery life. There’s even space for putting your coffee and a pack of sandwiches next to the keyboard. Comparatively speaking, this photo of a 13.3” laptop against the 20” monster gives a good idea of its sheer size.