By notebook standards the ACI Sovereign Pro is what most people would think of as big. Not in the Sumo class, perhaps, but definitely a heavyweight; so more Frank Bruno than Barry McGuigan.

Still, if performance and functionality are what you crave, size is no bad thing. Just don't expect to lug its 4kg weight further than the car and back, or carry the equally hefty power supply about with you all day.

No, with plenty of space inside its shiny silver (plastic) case, the Sovereign Pro is very much a desktop PC alternative, with lots of features that suit it to the role. These start with the screen, a delightfully bright and clear 15-inch flat panel, with an impressive 1,400 x 1,050 pixel resolution to enable you to display whole pages at a time and still read the contents.

More than that, the supporting ATI Mobility Radeon controller comes with 128MB of dedicated video memory with drivers to handle multiple monitors, including TV output. It also offers a scrollable virtual desktop, plus it's responsive and well specified, putting ticks in all the right boxes for both graphics professionals and games players.

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The processor is fast too, with a choice of Pentium 4 chips clocked at up to 3.4Ghz, the review system shipping with a 2.8GHz implementation accompanied by 512MB of DDR memory. And that memory can be doubled if you need it, with the 400MHz SODIMM slots located underneath the keyboard, which simply lifts out for access.

On the storage front our notebook had a 60GB fixed disk, plus floppy and combination DVD-ROM and CD-RW drive. However, if space is an issue you can choose an 80GB disk instead, while the floppy or optical drive can be replaced with a second hard disk to further increase capacity. Alternatively, the same storage bays can accommodate a DVD-RW drive, a card reader or an additional Lithium-Ion battery.

A 10/100Mbps network interface comes as standard, along with an impressive set of four USB 2.0 ports, a FireWire connector and internal V.90/92 modem. In addition, you can specify either 802.11b or Bluetooth wireless connectivity, the review notebook shipping with an 11Mbps wireless Ethernet card, fitted inside the case so as to leave the single PC Card slot free for other purposes.

Windows XP Professional is pre-installed and usefully this comes ready configured to use both the fixed and wireless networking interfaces, as well as the modem and writeable storage devices.

On the downside, we're not sure of the value of having hardware buttons for playing CDs when not using the notebook as a computer. However, some users may see this as a plus, and everyone will like the full-size keyboard, which gives a good positive feedback.

There's also a very usable mouse pad complete with scroll buttons in a comfortable wrist rest which, together with the large display, make the Sovereign Pro a very nice notebook to work on.

On top of which, it's both powerful and quiet and doesn't get anywhere near as hot as some notebooks we've tried. At around a couple of hours of full-time use, battery life isn't that impressive but, as with most desktop replacements, you'll be connected to the mains most of the time anyway, so it's not a major issue.

Build quality is excellent, there's lifetime labour warranty and technical support and the accompanying manual is well written, leaving only the application software to gripe about.

Here, Microsoft Works is all you get, when on a notebook in this bracket we'd expect the Office suite. But, that apart, we liked the Sovereign Pro, which more than makes up for a lack of portability with the performance and functionality it has to offer.

This hefty notebook features a large, high resolution display coupled with a full-size keyboard and mouse pad. A fast Pentium 4 processor and 512MB of memory provide more than ample performance with lots of storage and networking options. Not for the road warrior, but well built and good value as a desktop replacement.