(IDG) -- A few weeks back, my dentist told me he was in the market for a new home system and asked whether I thought he should get a notebook or desktop. (Of course, he asked me this while I had a wad of gauze and a suction tube in my mouth. Why do dentists do that?)

My pat answer has always been to go with desktop systems. As a rule, they're easier to use and expand with better multimedia and other options, and offer more processing power for the buck.

But within the last year or so, the line between desktop and notebook systems has blurred as notebook performance has improved and prices continued to drop. My dentist said he liked the idea of a portable system he could take into the living room, on an airplane, or even into the office for a round of Doom between appointments (an idea that made me very nervous.)

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Computerworld Minute

You can take it with you

To make an intelligent decision regarding a serviceable home computer system, it's important to cut through the hype and get down to what you really need. Unless you're looking to crunch numbers on massive spreadsheets or want supercharged graphics for serious gaming or high-end image editing, you can get by just fine with a mid-range processor in the 200-to-300-MHz range. You'll also want a fast modem for Internet surfing, a good display, enough memory, and a decent-size hard drive.

Let's take a look at some of the systems making our November "Top 10 Notebooks" (see link below). Our number-one pick for budget notebooks is the $1999 Gateway Solo 2500SE. The Pentium II-233 processor is plenty fast; the PC WorldBench 98 score of 125 puts it at the top of budget system performance. The 2500SE also features a 12.1-inch active-matrix display, 32MB of RAM, a 2.1GB hard drive, 16-bit sound, stereo speakers, and an 8X/20X CD-ROM drive. For an extra $100, you can add a 56-kbps modem.

In short, these are totally respectable numbers for a better-than-decent home PC. What's more, the 2500SE weighs in at 7.1 pounds -- the lightest Pentium II laptop we've tested. You can pick it up and bring in out to the park if you want: The lithium ion battery is good for more than three hours on average.

Looking for something cheaper? Similar systems on our chart include the $1483 WinBook XL233 DSTN with a Pentium 233-MMX processor and the $1499 Chem USA ChemBook 5033 with a speedy AMD K6-300 processor, which clocks in at the speed of a Pentium MMX-266.

New deals on notebooks

Another reason to think laptop these days is that notebook makers have been holding virtual fire sales recently on midrange systems. This is a cyclical occurrence: As faster new machines debut, vendors look to clear inventory by repositioning systems with slower processors as midrange models. The difference now is that these models are totally serviceable as home desktop replacements.

Earlier this month Toshiba announced a new line of Satellite notebook PCs. The Satellite 4010CDS and 4015CDS, which cost about $2000, include a 12.1-inch dual-scan display, 4.1GB hard drive, 32MB of memory, a 24X CD-ROM drive, and a 56-kbps modem, as well as a Yamaha 3D stereo sound system.

Similarly, Acer recently expanded its Extensa line with budget-price Pentium MMX-266 notebooks. The Extensa 500 base model ships with a dual-scan display and sells for $1499. If you want an active-matrix display you can pay an additional $200 for the model 502T. Both notebooks come with a 20X CD-ROM drive, 32MB of SDRAM, a 12.1-inch screen, a 56-kbps modem, a 4GB hard drive, built-in stereo speakers, and audio controls on the front for playing CDs.

Shop around and you'll find plenty of comparative offerings from the usual suspects -- IBM, Dell, and Micron. If you're just looking for a fully equipped system to leave at home, desktop systems still hold an advantage in both price and performance. But if you need to use your PC in more than one place, you can find some seriously good deals on light, durable notebooks these days.