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The XPS M1730 is Dell’s new 17-inch high-performance gaming notebook, the replacement for the aging M1710. It is based on the latest Intel Santa Rosa platform and features cutting-edge Nvidia GeForce SLI graphics.

Before I start this review I would like to thank Dell for sending us a test unit.

Our test unit specifications are as follows:

• Windows Vista Home Premium
• Intel Core 2 Extreme X7900 (2.8GHz/4MB L2/ 800MHz FSB)
• 17-inch WUXGA display
• Dual Nvidia GeForce 8700M-GT in SLI (256MB each)
• Dual 200GB 7200RPM Hitachi drives in RAID 0 (striped data)
• 2GB DDR2-667 RAM in dual-channel
• Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN wireless
• Integrated Verizon Wireless Mobile Broadband
• 8X DVD Burner
• 9-cell battery

Build & Design

A simple glance at the M1730 establishes that this notebook is not for those who do not want to show off. There is no other notebook like this on the market. For starters, the M1730 is absolutely enormous; its weight starts at 10.6 pounds and is two inches thick.

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Dell chose an intimidating design scheme for their flagship notebook. The visible exterior has a deep glossy black surface with a ‘hydrographic’ design pattern. The intricacy of the design can best be seen in a well-lit room. The back of the lid deserves special attention – two clear plastic windowed areas on the sides have a color background that is illuminated by the LED lights; our test unit has the Smoke Grey panels. The XPS M1730 is also available with Sapphire Blue, Crimson Blue, and Bone White. In the center of the lid is a large shiny Dell logo illuminated by a bright white LED backlight. The lid is an instant attention-grabber and the most visually striking part of the M1730 in this reviewer’s opinion. The speakers in the front of the machine are illuminated by LED lights as is the touchpad and its buttons. While the LED lights on the back of the lid do not change colors, the ones on the front can. All the colors in the rainbow are available (more or less) and each speaker as well as the touchpad can be individually controlled via the Dell QuickSet software. The keyboard is LED backlit and visually impressive. This is the first machine I have ever tested with a backlit keyboard and I would like to see more notebooks implement this feature. It is useful in low light scenarios and for those late-night gaming sessions.

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The build quality of the M1730 is impressive, as it should be for the price. The chassis feels as solid as high-end competing notebooks from Sager and Alienware. There is zero flex in the palmrest or surrounding area, although the area beneath the display does not feel as solid as the aforementioned surfaces. Pressing on the back of the lid did not affect the display. The undersides of the notebook are made from magnesium and add to the build quality of the machine. In addition, they also help with heat dissipation. Moving to the top of the notebook, there is one display latch in the center of the display and it is solid. Its gunmetal color is a smart match for the black and gray exterior. The lid closes with a reassuring ‘click’ and holds secure. The front of the M1730 is angled nicely when the lid is closed; the M1730 may be big, but it is also sleek. Its front end almost looks like it was aerodynamically designed. The gaps between the various parts on the notebook are evenly spaced and everything fits together well, which shows attention to detail.

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Overall I am more than impressed with the level of build quality and the exterior appearance of the XPS M1730. The flashy looks are a selling point of the XPS M1730 – buy this machine to get noticed.

Display

The 17-inch glossy 1920 x 1200 pixel widescreen display that came on our test unit is the only option for the M1730. WUXGA is the highest resolution available on a notebook. This display is fantastic; for starters, it is the brightest single-lamp 17-inch display I have seen on a notebook. The high contrast makes colors pop off the screen; blacks are deep and whites are bright and pure. Viewing angles are excellent; the side-to-side angles are near perfect and there is minimal distortion from above and below. The picture is crystal clear and there is no distortion or graininess. Light leakage is minimal, with only a small amount coming from the bottom of the display.

Speakers

The M1730′s stereo speakers are located at the front of the notebook below the palmrest area. Two small speaker cones can be seen through the speaker grills; they visibly pulse when playing music at elevated levels. For notebook speakers, the M1730′s are wonderful. Treble is respectable and while bass is a bit lacking, it is still noticeable which is not something that can be said about many notebook speakers. Sound is detailed; I could hear bullet shells hitting the ground in games and picks hitting guitar strings in acoustic music. Overall, Dell has equipped the M1730 with two competent stereo speakers which suffice for playing music and games.

The M1730 has two headphone jacks located on the left side, which allows two people to tune into a movie or other audio.

Processor and Performance

I had high expectations for the fully-loaded review unit Dell sent us. The Core 2 Extreme X7900 is a rare and special processor in that it will not work in most Santa Rosa notebooks; its TDP is higher than most notebooks’ cooling solutions can handle. The standard Core 2 Duo mobile processor has a 35W TDP in comparison to the X7900′s 44W. A heavy-duty heatsink is needed to handle its high heat output.

The real advantage to the Intel Extreme processors is their unlocked multiplier, so overclocking is simple. I ran each benchmark that involved scoring the processor twice; the first time with the processor at its stock 2.8GHz clockspeed, and the second time overclocked to 3.4GHz via the BIOS. The maximum overclock is 3.4GHz. Dell allows the end user to set 2.8GHz (stock), 3.0GHz, 3.2GHz, and 3.4GHz via the BIOS, but they recommend that the machine be run with 2.8GHz.

Testing notes: Prior to testing, I defragmented the hard drive and did a Windows Update. I installed the latest Nvidia drivers (169.04) for the video cards. All frames per second (FPS) benchmarks were done with FRAPS.

System Performance Benchmarks

Windows Experience Index

2.8GHz: (view large image)

3.4GHz (view large image)

Performance Difference (Stock vs. OC) (Processor): 0.00%

Oddly enough overclocking the processor did not help the WEI score at all. However, 5.7 is dangerously close to the highest-possible score of 5.9.

PCMark05

PCMark05 Comparison Results

2.8GHz

3.4GHz

Performance Difference (PCMark score): 9.15%

The overclocked processor improved overall performance by about 9%. The M1730 is already blazing fast so it is doubtful whether the extra increase in CPU power will be noticed while running everyday applications. For more processor intensive applications, a nearly 10% gain is significant.

Processor Performance Benchmarks

wPrime

wPrime is a program that forces the processor to do recursive mathematical calculations, the advantage of this program is that it is multi-threaded and can use both processor cores at once, thereby giving more accurate benchmarking measurements than Super Pi.

2.8GHz (view large image)

3.4GHz (view large image)

Performance Difference (32M): 00.77%

Performance Difference (1024M): 10.44%

The effect of the higher-clocked processor is slightly more pronounced in wPrime, which is almost entirely CPU-dependent.

Rendering Performance using Cinebench 10

Cinebench Release 10 is the latest version of Maxon’s rendering benchmark, based on the Maxon CINEMA 4D animation software. It is designed to measure the performance of the processor and graphics card under real world circumstances. More information can be found at http://www.maxon.net/pages/download/cinebench_e.html

2.8GHz: (view large image)

3.4GHz: (view large image)

Performance Difference (Rendering, 1 CPU): 17.00%

Performance Difference (Rendering, x CPU): 14.66%

The overclocked processor provided a significant performance increase in the rendering benchmark.

Hard Drive Performance

HDTune 2.53

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The HDTune result for the dual 200GB 7200RPM Hitach hard drives in RAID 0 is stellar. This is the fastest hard disk performance we have seen in a notebook to date. Both drives were inaudible, even while reading and writing.

Synthetic Gaming Performance Benchmarks

3DMark06

3DMark06 Results and Comparison:

2.8GHz (view large image)

3.4GHz (view large image)

Performance Difference (3DMark score): 2.52%

Performance Difference (CPU score): 13.22%

While the overclocked processor did not make a large impact on the 3DMark score as a whole, it did increase the CPU score by over 13%.

Ageia PhysX RealityMark

The M1730 is unique in that it has an Ageia PhysX physics processor card. Ageia’s RealityMark is a physics performance measurement tool which, according to Ageia, can be used to gauge overall gaming performance during a game with a high amount of physics calculations. It is based on Artificial Studio’s CellFactor: Combat Training game and its Reality Engine. More information on the benchmark can be found here: http://www.ageia.com/physx/rm.html

2.8GHz (view large image)

3.4GHz (view large image)

Performance Difference (PhysX Hardware): 8.80%

There is a huge performance difference between software rendering and hardware rendering as the benchmark shows.

Gaming Benchmarks

Gaming is what the XPS M1730 is all about, so the gaming aspect of this notebook deserves a lot of focus. As such, we’ve broken this aspect of the notebook out into a separate article, the XPS M1730 Gaming Benchmarks can be viewed here.

Heat & Noise

The M1730 has one of the largest cooling solutions I have ever seen on a notebook. The entire backside of the machine is essentially one giant vent. There are two large-diameter fans in the bottom of the notebook which force outside air into the notebook. During normal use the notebook is nearly silent; the fans come on in intervals and usually do not stay on for more than a minute. It takes a skilled ear to hear the fans even with no background noise. In a silent room, a quiet movement of air can be heard when the fans turn on. While gaming the fans are always on, but again, they are extremely quiet. I noticed that in games that make use of the Ageia PhysX card such as Unreal Tournament 3, the left-most vent jets out warm air and slightly more noise is made. I should note that when the system is overclocked, the fans are locked at full blast which IS noisy. I do not recommend running this machine overclocked due to the noise level.

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The surface of the notebook stays slightly above room temperature which is also impressive. The back of the bottom of the notebook can get toasty after a while but it never felt too hot to touch.

Overall, Dell has done an excellent job of finding a way to cool down the beastly components of the M1730 while keeping the machine quiet.

Keyboard

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The M1730 has a full-size keyboard with separate number pad. It is LED backlit which is a handy feature in a dark or low-light area. The overall feel of the keyboard is not as high quality as the rest of the machine in this reviewer’s opinion; the keys feel thin and I do not feel that the keyboard is as solid as it should be. There is an ample amount of flex when slightly more than average pressure is used. On the plus side I like the way the keyboard sounds and most keys are in their normal positions.

Touchpad

The M1730′s touchpad has a high-end feel to it. Tracking is reliable and precise enough for most uses. The touchpad buttons feel solid and make a satisfying ‘click’ noise. The only potential downside to the M1730′s touchpad is its relatively small size; I would not mind if it were a bit larger.

Input & Output ports

All descriptions are from left to right.

Left Side: DVI, S-video, USB, Firewire, 5-in-1 card reader, fixed optical bay, microphone jack, 2x headphone jacks

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Right Side: Expresscard/54, wireless On/Off, Wifi Catcher button, 2x USB, Kensington lock slot

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Front: Stereo speakers, media controls, infrared sensor

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Rear: Power jack, USB, Ethernet

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I like the number and variety of ports offered, but I am surprised to see there is no HDMI port. The M1730 does have a DVI port though, which will output HD content.

Wireless

The M1730 comes with an Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN wireless card as standard equipment, which supports 802.11a, b, g, and n wireless formats. I had no trouble connecting to wireless networks and it held wireless signals well, even through walls. Oddly enough the M1730 does not come with Bluetooth wireless as standard equipment and our evaluation unit did not have a module installed. It did however have Verizon Wireless Mobile Broadband WAN built in, which worked beautifully. I was able to connect to the Internet over the fast EV-DO network within seconds. I measured download speeds around 1 Mbit/second and upload speeds approaching 700kbps. Built-in WAN can be a handy feature but its usefulness on the M1730 is debatable, since this is the type of machine that will spend most of its life on a desk.

Battery

The battery in the M1730 serves as more of an Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) than anything else. Running with the screen brightness at full while surfing on Verizon wireless WAN, I measured 56 minutes of life. With the screen dimmed and the wireless turned off, battery life improved by about 20 minutes. Consider for a moment how much power this notebook consumes; Dell’s regular Inspiron 17-inch notebook achieves almost 3 and a half hours of life with the same battery. With dual hard drives, dual video cards, and an Extreme processor, it is no wonder that the M1730 cannot stay unplugged for long. Anyone buying this notebook is probably not concerned with battery life so I do not view it as a con.

The XPS M1730 AC adapter is as big as some ultraportable notebooks (view large image)

Power Adapter

There are few notebooks that get a mini-review of their power adapter, but the M1730 is one of those special notebooks. Most will be shocked by the sheer size of this brick. It is so large because it needs to provide over 200 watts of power; the standard notebook power adapter provides 65 or 90 watts. The M1730′s adapter weighs several pounds by itself. Its power cord is about twice as thick as the standard Dell power cord. I liked the blue power LED Dell put into the brick; most of the time they are green.

Operating System & Software

The M1730 is available with Windows XP Professional different versions of Windows Vista; ours came with Vista Home Premium 32-bit. I find it rather odd that such an expensive machine does not come standard with Vista Ultimate. I was most surprised at the amount of bloatware pre-installed; there is as much on here as there is on a traditional Inspiron notebook. It took a good half-hour to rid the system of unwanted software.

Customer Support

Dell XPS systems come with special service as part of the price premium. According to Dell, the majority of service calls are answered within 2 minutes. The M1730 comes standard with a 1-year limited warranty and 1 year of XPS warranty support. In-home service is also standard.

Conclusion

Dell has respawned its flagship XPS gaming notebook into an even bigger and more powerful beast. The M1730 is one of the fastest gaming notebooks on the market and is certainly the flashiest. The M1730 is the most attention-grabbing notebook I have seen to date; its exterior appearance is sleek and intimidating. Taking the M1730 to a LAN party is sure to get one recognized. Dell has done a wonderful job with the M1730 inside and out; the software support may not be perfect at the moment but the hardware is all there, which is what counts.
Pros:

• Stunning exterior
• Impressive gaming performance
• Overclockable Extreme processor available
• Gorgeous screen
• LED backlit keyboard
• Customizable LED lights
• Runs cool and quiet

Cons:

• Some gaming performance issues
• Keyboard could feel more solid
• Vista Home Premium and bloatware on a machine starting at $2,700?

Overview and Introduction

The Lenovo ThinkPad X61 12.1” ultraportable notebook was released by Lenovo this year as a replacement for the X60.  The X61 provides a nice chipset, processor, and graphics refresh to the X60 with the adoption of Intel’s GM965 Express chipset which features the X3100 integrated graphics adapter.  In addition, optional features such as integrated Wireless WAN connectivity, turbo memory, and fingerprint security enhance the X61’s functionality.

Lenovo ThinkPad X61s on the left, X61 on the right (view large image)

There are a few models in the X61 family, and this review covers the plain vanilla X61 12.1” notebook model.  The X61 family also features a tablet pc convertible notebook and an “ultimate battery life” X61s ThinkPad.  The laptop that being reviewed is equipped as follows:

Specs

• Processor: Intel T7300 Core 2 Duo (2.0Ghz, 800 MHz FSB, 4MB cache)
• Graphics: Intel GMAX3100
• Operating System: Vista Business
• Display: XGA TFT 1024 x 768
• Hard Drive: 120 GB 5400 RPM Hitachi Travelstar
• Memory: 2GB (1GB x 1GB) up to 4 GB max PC5300 (667 MHz)
• Ports: 3 USB, 1 FireWire, 1 Monitor out, modem, Ethernet 10/100/1000, headphone out, microphone in
• Slots: 1 PC Card Slot, 1 media card reader
• Optical Drive: None (ultra base with optical drive is optional)
• Wireless Network Adapter: Intel 3945ABG
• Dimensions: 10.6” x 8.3” x 1.4”
• Weight: 3.1 lbs
• Battery: 4 cell 2600 mAh  (runtime 3.9 hours)
• TPM chip with fingerprint security
• Bluetooth 2.0+EDR
• Price as configured $1299.00 (plus $69 for 2 gigs of memory from third party)

Reasons for Buying

I was looking for a full featured laptop that had the power of a desktop in an ultra portable form factor to allow for less strain when traveling; also there was a certain amount of “wow” factor being looked for when considering which unit to get.  Toshiba’s Portege was also considered as well as a Macbook Pro, but the ThinkPad’s classic design, power, and reputation for quality build convinced me to get the X61.

Design & Build

ThinkPad X61 (view large image)

The first thing noticed when opening up the box for the X61 was the absence of the IBM logo, it is now replaced with the ThinkPad X series badge on the outside and inside.  The ThinkPad pointing stick buttons are still missing the red and blue lines present in previous iterations of the X-series.  The X-series has always been designed for people on the go, and sacrifices an optical drive to drop carrying weight.  At 3.1 pounds it meets portability need exceedingly well.  The X61 has an optional ultrabase docking station for when you’re at your desk and need more ports.

Thickness of X61 compared to Blackberry Pearl (view large image)

The case is made of tough and rugged plastic, and presents no flex.  The brushed metal hinges are sturdy and don’t have a cheap feel that other laptops have.

The X61 has the ThinkPad’s legendary solid keyboard that has a nice response to the fingers; other laptop keyboards can often feel cheap relative to this.  It is of course a bit cramped for those used to a larger desktop keyboard.

Keyboard view of X61s and X61 (view large image)

The X61’s form factor makes it ideal for being a light weight companion in a briefcase, and with its solid construction it feels safe throwing it in with other files and books.  There is a sort of understated grace to the X61.  The ultra thin lid with the tiny, but strong hinges gives a feeling of elegance that run of the mill notebooks don’t have.  The X61 doesn’t feel cheap at all, which in itself is a powerful feature of the notebook.

Upgrades and Optional Features

The number one recommended upgrade would be the addition of more memory beyond the stock 1 GB provided in the base configuration.  Choosing to save I did the memory upgrade after purchasing the unit.  The memory slots are easily accessible underneath the unit.  The X61 takes PC-5300 memory, and will allow up to a maximum of 4 GB of memory although 32-bit OS’s may report lesser amounts due to addressing limitations.

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The second obvious upgrade would be either a faster and / or larger hard drive.  In this case the 120 GB offered in the base configuration at 5400 rpm was large enough for my current needs.  I opted not to get the optional “Turbo Memory” for this unit.  Turbo Memory is a first attempt at a hybrid drive like technology for Intel, and tests report minimal increases in battery life and performance.   Some users have reported blue screen of death issues and conflicts due to Turbo Memory – although with the T61 I have that’s equipped with Turbo Memory this problem has not occurred.

Lenovo also offers WWAN connectivity for both Cingular and Verizon.  Other users have reported that these units perform well, but might generate excess heat when not in use.  Since I don’t have a wireless plan with either Cingular or Verizon I chose not to purchase this feature.  I have successfully paired a BlackBerry 8830 from Sprint as a WWAN connection which offers acceptable performance when necessary.

The optional Bluetooth module performed flawlessly in Vista, and I had no problem pairing a headset to the X61.

The X61’s optional fingerprint security reader does an admirable job of enabling fingerprint based security identification and password management.  Enrollment was easy, and logging in and enabling the password manager is both fast and accurate.  There were very few errors with the scanner once you got used to the speed necessary to avoid an error swipe.

The one item I wish I had upgraded to was the 8 cell battery.  For such an ultraportable it seemed odd to ship the unit with only a 4 cell battery.  The battery when inserted into the unit over time began to give a little, and made it seem a bit cheap; perhaps the only non premium feel in the design of the unit.

The X6 ultrabase offers an optical drive, and docking station like functionality – I chose not to purchase this item as I have several portable USB drives around; although for those who wish to have a desktop experience at work with full keyboard, mouse, monitor, and optical drive this would seem to be a must have add-on.

The final piece is the warranty – unlike the T61 my X61 came with a base 1 year warranty.  I spent the money and upgraded to the 3 year NBD onsite warranty.  For such a premium product the one year warranty felt a bit cheap.

Screen

If there is an Achilles heel to the X61 it has to be the screen.  Compared to the T61 the screen on the X61 is just plain disappointing.  The contrast and viewing angle in comparison to the T-series is just dismal.  Although most users will be quite close to the screen for viewing, this is not the unit to get if a lot of collaboration without the use of an external monitor is required.  The X61 under review does not suffer from any backlight or dead pixel issues.

Sound

The sound on the X61 is not great – it isn’t horrible, but it often sounds quiet. When trying  to use this as a portable DVD player the sound was too quiet  to hear without being in an absolutely dead silent room.  A great add-on would be noise cancellation headphones to really make the sound experience quite a bit more enjoyable with the unit.

Ports

The X61 has the standard array of 3 USB 2.0 ports, 1 firewire, and a media card reader.  The media card reader came in handy for ReadyBoost, but the other ports are plain vanilla.  One port missing many users seem to need is an S-video out port.  I also wonder when DVI ports will begin replacing the VGA ports found on today’s units.

Left Side

Left side view of X61 on top of X61s (view large image)

Right side view of X61 on top of X61s (view large image)

Processor and Performance

In terms of performance the X61 really shines with the Intel Santa Rosa chipset. The 4MB cache 2.0 GHz T7300 Intel processor gives full desktop performance in an ultraportable notebook.  How much of a difference is this really?  Well, Office 2007 applications probably won’t see a huge difference given that they run just so fast, but math intensive applications like stats packages, video encoding, etc. should see a significant boost.   We were happy to report that the X61 handled everything we threw at it with ease.  The X3100 integrated graphics are a big step up from the last iteration.

Benchmarks

There are two X61’s in my household, both with the same baseline configuration, but they differ in that the stock one has 2 GB’s of memory, and the other unit has 3 GB’s of memory plus 2 GB’s of ReadyBoost memory.  There are also two T61’s in my household, including one with the same processor, chipset, and graphics adapter as the X61’s.  I was surprised to see the X61 with identical specs as the T61 underperform its cousin by so much on the PCMark05 and 3DMark05 tests.  This is not to say it isn’t a fast machine, but I would have expected it to match the performance of its T-series cousin.

Here are the results of the X61, the results were the same for both the stock X61 configuration (2GB memory and no Turbo Boost Memory) and enhanced (3GB of memory with Turbo Boost Memory):

Windows Experience Index

HDTune for X61

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PCMark05 System Results

Strangely the overall system results for the X61 showed that the configuration with less overall memory performed better — go figure:

Battery Life

Battery life with the 4 cell battery has not been great with real world tests being between 1 hour 40 minutes and 2 hours 22 minutes depending on the power setting; the X61’s power manager is great at selecting which profile to use to lengthen battery life.  A curious problem involves the use of the machine when it is hibernating.  Power seems to be draining even when it is supposed to be completely off.  After putting the X61 into hibernate mode overnight we’d wake to find that the battery had been almost completely drained.  I’m still investigating this issue, but in the meantime I just leave the unit plugged in.  I still regret not getting the 8 cell battery instead of the 4 cell battery from the beginning.

Hibernation consistently seems be a problem.  I’ll hibernate the machine with it plugged in, and get a warning message when resuming in the morning saying the battery is extremely low do you want to continue.  After selecting  “yes”  the unit boots – Vista opens with a low battery, and a couple of minutes later it shows a 100 percent charge; very odd.

Heat and Noise

The unit really doesn’t generate a lot of heat or noise for that matter.  Unlike other notebooks I’ve had the X61 is incredibly quiet and cool.  It is nice to work hours on end without the noise of the fan going on and off.

Wireless

The X61 under review has the older 3945abg card, and the performance seems to be better than the newer Intel card in the T61 I have, at least in terms of finding new connections.

Software

This is the one area I believe most manufacturers could work on.  The X61 is loaded with tons of “free offers” (bloatware).  While many espouse a clean install – I simply uninstalled the offending apps, and am happy with the performance of the unit.  The one piece of software the X61 does not ship with is Recovery Disks instead one needs to burn their own, or pay a fee to get them shipped to you.

Conclusion

Buying Choices for the Lenovo ThinkPad X61 Tablet 7767 (Core 2 Duo L7500 1.6GHz, 1GB RAM, 120GB HDD, Vista Business) CDW Corporation | $1,699.99 Newegg.com | $1,649.99 Buy.com | $1,622.99 view detailed pricing from 21 stores starting at $1,527.00 72.7% of people recommend this product – view 11 opinions | rate product

The ThinkPad X61 is an excellent ultraportable worth the premium charged for its light weight, and ultra strong build.  I’d recommend upgrading to 2 GB of memory, the 8 cell battery, and perhaps the X6 ultrabase.  These additional costs should be factored in your purchasing decision.  The processor and chipset refreshes insure that the user will be able to handle any office applications with ease.

Pros

• Full desktop performance in an ultraportable form factor
• Elegant design coupled with excellent rugged construction
• ThinkPad’s legendary keyboard
• Availability of optional features such as Turbo Memory, WWAN connectivity, and Ultrabase

Cons

• Screen is inherently difficult to view at different angles
• Sounds is a bit low
• Battery tends to give a little over time, and hibernation software not 100 percent perfect
• System comes full of bloatware

The Sony VAIO NR is the latest family of stylish, colorful, consumer friendly notebooks from Sony. What makes the NR series genuinely unique for Sony is that the starting price is less than $800 … making the NR the lowest-priced notebook the company has ever produced. You can configure a VAIO NR online at SonyStyle.com in a variety of colors or buy a stock configuration from various retailers.

The VAIO NR is available in three colors (brown, white, and silver) with a full range of Intel processors (from the 1.46GHz Intel Pentium Dual Core Processor T2310 to the 1.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5450) starting at $799. The only screen offering is the 15.4″ WXGA but the notebook can take up to 4GB of RAM. Built-in wireless 802.11 a/b/g is standard.

We reviewed Sony’s silver version of the NR (VGN-NR160E), priced at $829. Following are the specs for the notebook as reviewed:

• Screen: 15.4-inch screen WXGA (1280 x 800) with XBRITE-ECO (glossy finish)
• Processor: 1.5GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5250
• Hard Drive: 160 GB hard drive (SATA, 5400RPM)
• Memory: 1GB RAM (PC5300, 667 MHz, DDR2 SDRAM, 2 x 512 MB) — 4GB max memory
• Optical Drive: DVD+-R Double layer / DVD+-RW Drive
• Ports and Slots: Four USB 2.0, one FireWire 400 port, one ExpressCard 34, one VGA, one MemoryStick Pro reader, one SD card reader, headphone / line-out, microphone-in, modem, 10/100 Ethernet
• Wireless: Wi-Fi (802.11a/b/g)
• Graphics: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 (965 Express chipset with up to 251MB of shared RAM)
• Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium
• Dimensions: 14.2 x 10.6 x 1.5 inches (WxDxH)
• Weight: 6.2 pounds

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Build and Design

The overall first impression that one has when looking at the NR series is that this notebook was designed to look nice yet be affordable. From the range of available colors to the fabric-like textured LCD cover and palm rests the NR is a simple yet striking design. The “granite” silver version looks like metal at a distance but upon closer examination it’s clear that the notebook exterior is made of thick plastics.

As mentioned above, the lid of the VAIO NR also has a nice textured finish with the VAIO lettering in a recessed silver plastic. Overall the look is very clean. After opening the lid and seeing the matching silver plastic interior of the NR I expected a cheap feel to the case with a significant amount of flex to it. Surprisingly the case is very sturdy with relatively thick plastic and metal interior reinforcement in just the right places.

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The VAIO NR lid does not have a latch to hold it closed, but the hinge mechanism works well and firmly holds the lid in place. There is some flex to the screen lid but it’s just enough to keep the LCD from being too rigid. There certainly isn’t enough screen flex to worry about.

Sony officially classifies the VAIO NR as a “portable” notebook. We’re pretty sure all laptops can be considered “portable” but the NR is reasonably thin for a 15.4″ notebook (1.5″ at its thickest point) and has a weight of only 6.2 pounds. That said, the depth (front to back) of the NR is a little large compared to other notebooks in the same class. In fact, we couldn’t get the NR to fit in some smaller 15.4″ notebook bags.

Performance and Benchmarks

The dual core processors that come with the VAIO NR-series provide more than enough performance for average use, even at the 1.5GHz Core 2 Duo configured in our test unit. We would have liked to see an option for an even faster Core 2 Duo “Santa Rosa” processor for those consumers willing to pay a little more … particularly since the NR doesn’t offer a dedicated graphics option. The 3DMark06 benchmarks are low, but this is due to the fact that the NR uses the Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 which shares the notebook’s system RAM. If the NR was equipped with 2GB or more these benchmarks might have been slightly more impressive.

wPrime is a program that forces the processor to do recursive mathematical calculations, the advantage of this program is that it is multi-threaded and can use both processor cores at once, thereby giving more accurate benchmarking measurements than Super Pi.

PCMark05 comparison results:

3DMark06 comparison results:

HDTune results:

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Screen

The 15.4″ glossy screen is a WXGA 1280 x 800 beauty with excellent color and contrast. The display features fairly bright and even backlighting with eight levels of brightness. Horizontal viewing angles are excellent, making the screen an ideal choice for two or more people to watch a DVD or streaming video. However, vertical viewing angles are far from impressive for a notebook in this price range. If the screen is tilted just slightly forward the entire screen “washes out” making it all but impossible to see low contrast details.

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Keyboard, Touchpad and Other Input Buttons

The keyboard on the VAIO NR is perhaps just standard fanfare for Sony notebooks, but it is one of the more unique features of this notebook when you first open it. Unlike most traditional PC notebook keyboards the keys on the NR keyboard look more flat. The keys are well cushioned and responsive to light touch though there is a somewhat noticeable degree of travel. If you prefer the traditional “indented” shape of keys then you might not like the flat surface of the keys on the NR. The keyboard is quite solid with no flex whatsoever. Overall, if you can get used to the lack of dedicated keys and the shape of the keys themselves then you will find this keyboard a genuine joy to use.

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The touchpad is nice and large with a very usable and responsive surface. The mouse buttons are likewise nicely sized, the buttons have a reasonably deep feedback with noisy clicks. Along the top of the keyboard is a dedicated “AV Mode” quicklauch button that in theory lets you activate the media player functions without booting Windows. I had to say “in theory” because the AV Mode button didn’t work on our notebook. We updated the notebook with the latest software and drivers from Sony but every time we pressed the AV Mode button the notebook would just start Windows.

Input and Output Ports

Let’s take a quick tour around the port offerings of the VAIO NR:

Front side: Memory Stick reader, SD card reader, indicator lights, and WiFi on/off switch. (view large image)

Back side: Nothing except the battery, DC power jack, and the modem and Ethernet ports. (view large image)

Left side: Kensington lock slot, optical drive, and two USB 2.0 ports. (view large image)

Right side: ExpressCard 34 slot, two USB 2.0 ports, FireWire port, headphone and microphone jacks, VGA out, and heat vent. (view large image)

Why Sony included a separate reader for the MemoryStick Pro card and another reader for the SD card is likely one of those mysteries that will never be solved. Many notebooks save space and weight by providing a single 5-in-1 memory card slot that reads SD/xD/MMC/MemoryStick type cards. I can only guess that Sony wants to draw attention to their proprietary memory card format.

Audio

The VAIO NR has stereo sound via speakers located above the keyboard. With the speakers located on the top of the interior in this way they tend to direct the sound at you and make for a surprisingly enjoyable listening experience. While the built-in speakers aren’t the best that I’ve heard in a notebook of this size, they are certainly better than most notebooks of this size. The headphone jack is located on the right side (a less than ideal location for people who like to plug in external speakers and use an external mouse at the same time).

Heat and Noise

The VAIO NR runs extremely quiet with the 1.5GHz Core 2 Duo processor. The bottom side gets a bit warm, but temperatures remained comfortable enough to keep the NR on the lap. Temperatures are likely kept within acceptable limits thanks to a rather large heatsink visible through the vent on the side of the NR. Below are images with the temperatures listed in degrees Fahrenheit.

The system fan is quiet when running. You have to put your ear down at desk level to hear it over any other ambient noise in the room. Despite the lack of noise the fan pushes out a significant amount of heat … enough to make your hand uncomfortable if you put your left hand next to the vent during benchmarking.

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Battery

Sony claims the battery life of the standard 6-cell battery at 2.5-4.5 hours of use depending on how you use the notebook. During my test I obtained 3 hours and 2 minutes of battery life using the notebook at half screen brightness, wireless on, and a mixture of web browsing and idling. Clearly you would need to have the screen brightness turned even lower and do little more than let the notebook idle if you want to obtain the full 4.5 hours that Sony claims. You can get a large capacity battery for an advertised 4.0-7.5 hours of usage time unplugged, but the larger battery will add weight to the notebook.

One issue of note regarding the battery is the unusual amount of “battery wiggle” in our test unit, similar to what we found in the Sony VAIO CR. Even with the lock switch in the “locked” position the battery is loose in the back of the NR and makes an audible shaking sound as it moves inside the battery compartment. If the locking switch is set to the unlocked position the battery is so loose that you can accidentally disconnect the battery from the power connectors just by picking the notebook up and tilting it backward. This wouldn’t be an issue if the battery lock switch stayed in the locked position. Unfortunately, the lock switch has a tendency to easily slide into the unlocked position. This is an unacceptable design flaw because it means users can unintentionally power off the notebook while using it. The last thing you want is for your notebook to shutdown while you’re in the middle of typing an important document.

Buying Choices for the Sony VAIO NR160N/S – Core 2 Duo T5250 1.5 GHz – 15.4″ TFT TigerDirect.com | $959.99 J&R Music and Computer World | $879.99 Best Buy for Business | $879.99 Newegg.com | $839.99 CDW Corporation | $879.99 view detailed pricing from 22 stores starting at $807.00

Conclusion

The Sony VAIO NR is a stylish, affordable notebook with a solid set of features that is sure to be appealing to college students or anyone looking for an attractive notebook on a budget. It features enough performance and build quality to keep most users happy. However, thanks to the non-functioning AV Mode, lack of dedicated media buttons, and what can only be called a “design flaw” regarding the battery, consumers might be able to find more attractive choices in the same price range.

Overall, the Sony VAIO NR is a genuinely impressive notebook for Sony, in no small part thanks to the low selling price. That said, there is room for improvement.

Pros

• Very nice looks with a variety of colors you can choose
• Acceptable Intel processors and up to 4GB of RAM provide plenty of system performance
• Screen has excellent horizontal viewing angles
• Solid build quality and sturdiness (with the exception of the battery)
• Stays cool and makes little noise
• Good keyboard with some exceptions (see below)

Cons

• Unacceptable amount of battery wiggle (design flaw)
• Too much bloatware installed
• Screen has bad vertical viewing angles
• Flat keyboard keys and lack of some dedicated keys
• AV Mode doesn’t work

The LG E200 is a 12.1” widescreen notebook recently released by LG.  The E200 is marketed as an entry level ultraportable notebook using the less powerful Pentium Dual-Core processor and ATI RS600ME chipset.  As an entry level notebook it retails at most computer stores in Canada for about $1,000 CAD.

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Following are the specs of the LG E200 being reviewed:

• Processor: Intel T2330 Pentium Dual-Core(1MB L2 Cache, 1.66GHz, 553MHz FSB)
• Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium
• Chipset: ATI RS600ME
• Memory: 1GB DDR2-667 (Up to 4GB and one open slot)
• Display: 12.1” WXGA(1280X800)
• Graphics: Radeon Xpress 1250
• Hard Drive: 120GB SATA 5400rpm
• Optical Drive: DVD Super Multi Dual Layer
• Wireless: 802.11b/g (Dual Hexa-band Antenna), Bluetooth 2.0 +EDR
• Ports:  10/100MB Ethernet, 3 USB, VGA, HDMI, Mic-in, and Headphone
• Battery: 6 Cell Li-Ion
• Dimensions: 306 x 226 x 34.9~36.7 mm
• Weight: 1.98Kg(1.78Kg with weight saver)

Build and Design:

The E200 has a simple uniform design, there is a checkering pattern through its black cover (it is also available with a pink cover) and is silver on the inside.  The top has a nice iPod Nano glossy look to it, and unfortunately like the iPod Nano it is prone to scratches.  It has a latchless lid which carefully shuts without too much force.

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The build is nice and sturdy, but not as solid as a laptop from the ThinkPad series.  The laptop itself is a bit thick for a 12.1” laptop, but this allows for it to take more punishment than a thinner one would.  You can choose whether you want to make it lighter by inserting a plastic travel weight instead of having the DVD drive in — making it 0.2Kg lighter.

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Screen:

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The screen has minimal light bleeding on the bottom and top edges of the screen.  While the quality of the screen is acceptable, the brightness is something that could be improved, overall the screen just leaves you wishing you could crank up the brightness a bit more. Though a dim screen saves on battery life, I’d like to have a nice bright screen when plugged in at least.

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The lid protection is adequate, there’s just a small amount of rippling when firm force is applied to the back of the screen.

Keyboard and Touchpad

The keyboard is quite large for a 12-inch laptop and the keys are pretty comfortable to use, even for my large hands.  The keyboard layout is meant for bilingual use, so it may be a layout many people are not used to.  The keyboard has no flex and the key travel distance is good.

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Although the keyboard is a good size, the touchpad is not.  It is far too small to comfortably use for someone with big fingers.  I would recommend using a bluetooth mouse as it is much easier to use than the touchpad.

Processor and Performance

The Pentium Dual-Core provides more than enough power for everyday use of a computer.  The processor includes support for MMX, SSE, SSE2, SSE3, SSSE3, Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology, and 64 bit support. Each of the two cores shares 1 MB of L2 cache and has a 533 Mhz FSB.   This is not the processor to get if you want to game or do heavy editing as it is a lower end chip.

The system scored a 3.3 on the Windows Experience Index and proved to be smooth during office productivity usage.  The 120 GB hard drive spins at 5400RPM, which is standard on most laptops, but it performs pretty well for a 5400RPM hard drive.  The E200 includes 1GB of built-in ram clocked at 667Mhz.

Windows Experience Index (view large image)

The notebook provides a memory upgrade slot on the underside which is free to add in another module.  This is nice as you do not want to be stuck with another 512MB DDR2 SODIMM lying around.  The other slot is hidden under the keyboard and must be disassembled to get to it, which is a hassle if you plan to upgrade to 4GB of RAM.

Benchmaks

Super Pi

SuperPi is a tool to measure relative CPU performance

PCMark05:

PCMark05 is a benchmarking software which compares overall system performance.

HDTune:

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3DMark06:

3DMark measures system 3D graphics performance, as you would expect, the LG E200 didn’t perform so well with a low score of 357:

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Heat:

As a small computer, the E200 heats up quite a bit under heavy load with most of the heat underneath the laptop and some on the touchpad.  The cooling was well designed so not to disturb the position of the palms with too much heat.  It is very uncomfortable for this laptop to be on your lap.  This laptop has to be used on a table surface or placed on a cooler.

Noise:

Due to the heat this thing generates, the fan makes a lot of noise when it runs at high.  If you are not under heavy load, the fan does not need to run as much and is much quieter.  The fan is located at the top left corner of the laptop and will not interfere with right hand mouse usage.  It would have been nice if LG could had made this laptop run as cool and quiet as its E500 cousin.

Battery:

The battery life on the E200 under heavy load (wifi & Bluetooth on, high brightness, and heavy processor load) came out to be about 1 hour and 40 minutes.  On a light load (Bluetooth off, lowest brightness, and low processor load) it came out to be 2 hours and 50 minutes.  This is disappointing as one of the features that LG advertises is high battery life.

Input/Outputs:

HDMI output is a key feature of this notebook, which allows you to connect this notebook to an HDTV with HDMI input.  This allows for video and audio to be transferred in one cable conveniently.  The drawback of this is that they get rid of the S-Video output, which puts people with older TVs at a disadvantage.

A nice feature on the Expresscard slot and 5-in-1 card reader is that they both have covers for their slots now, instead of dummy cards.  It just shows that LG is listening to their customers.  Webcam and a mic is included for web conferencing with the headphone and a mic jack is located at the front.

Front side view of ports

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Back view of ports

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Right side view of ports

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Left view of optical drive and vent

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Software:

The E200 comes with a barebone Windows Vista Home Premium installation with the exception of drivers and LG’s update software.  They actually provide bloatware separately for you to choose to install, which I found wonderful as I didn’t have to go through the hassle of removing it all.  The discs that come with the laptop were LG DVD suite, LG Intelligent Update (driver updates), and the LG recovery Center DVD (for reinstalling windows).

LG also provides a nice gadget for the sidebar which displays brightness, wifi connections, battery life, presentation modes, external monitor, and other modules.  I found this to be a nice touch as I could access all these different options in one gadget.

Conclusion:

The LG E200 gives you good value for your money as LG put some thought into the little things that people wanted.  My only problem with the laptop is the excessive heat and noise that this thing generates.  LG definitely could have done a better job of keeping this laptop cool and quieter.  I’d love to see a brighter screen also, but other than those issues this is a nice solid notebook that gives you your money’s worth.

Pros:

• Good Build and solid frame
• Good value for 12.1”
• HDMI output
• Option to put in a weight saving frame
• No bloatware
• Easily upgradable to 2GB of ram

Cons:

• The laptop makes so much heat that I can’t use it on my lap
• High noise when fan is on
• No S-video output
• Lower end Pentium Dual-core processor, would have been happier with Core 2 duo
• Battery life not up to par with LG claims

The Tecra A9 is the latest high-end business notebook that Toshiba offers to compete against 15.4″ notebooks such as the Lenovo ThinkPad T61, HP 8510p, and the Dell Latitude D830. Many notebooks in this business category are designed to hold up to the daily rigors of a business environment, and the Tecra A9 is no different. It’s claimed to have a durable chassis, protection for the hard drive, as well as a spill resistant keyboard. Let’s see how this notebook stands up in our testing.

Technical Specifications:

• Windows Vista Business (32-bit)
• Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7500 (2.20GHz, 4MB L2, 800MHz FSB)
• Mobile Intel P965 Express Chipset
• Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN (802.11a/g/n)
• 2GB 1GB x 2 PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM (maximum capacity 4GB)
• 160GB Fujitsu MHW2120BH
• 8x DVD (+/-R double layer) drive
• 15.4″ diagonal widescreen TFT LCD display at 1680×1050 (WSXGA+, Matte)
• 256MB NVIDIA Quadro NVS 130M (up to 255MB additional shared)
• Bluetooth version 2.0 plus Enhanced Data Rate (EDR)
• Type II PC-Card Slot
• 5-in-1 media card reader
• VGA out, Mic/Headphone connectors, IEEE-1394 (FireWire), Three USB 2.0 ports, Serial Legacy Port, 1Gb LAN, Docking Connector
• Dimensions (WxDxH Front/H Rear): 13.2″ x 11.1″ x 1.43″
• Weight: 6.3lbs w/standard battery
• 75W (15V x 5A) 100-240V AC adapter (15oz)
• 5100mAh Lithium Ion battery
• 3-Year Standard Limited Warranty

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Build and Design

The design of the Tecra A9 is not unlike many other business notebooks; very basic and professional looking. The display cover and keyboard are a simple matte silver color, with no sleek sloping curves, just mildly rounded edges all around. The rest of the notebook is black plastic, leading to a design that would blend in with most Thinkpads or Latitudes around the office.

The build quality of the laptop does not feel up to par with most other business grade laptops in the same price range. The palmrest and keyboard exhibit a lot of flex, which is pretty uncommon for this class of notebook. The display lid feels fairly cheap with its thin plastic, but it did prevent ripples from showing on the screen from all but hard presses to the cover. The bottom of the notebook features a Swiss cheese style of cutouts, which has to be the most I have ever seen on a notebook to date.

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Screen

The display found on the Tecra A9 is above average in quality. Colors were clear, but not as vibrant as you might see on a glossy texture screen. One improvement over its smaller brother the M9, it does not have the super sparkly matte texture. This made viewing whites much more pleasant, and overall easy to work with on a daily basis.

Viewing angles are also about average, not distorting until much steeper viewing angles. Steep vertical viewing angles showed the most color inversion, while steep horizontal viewing angles only became mildly washed out. For the average user this screen works just fine at its intended purpose.

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Screen brightness could have been better, as some bright rooms did start to overpower the screen. Viewing the display outside in bright sunlight would be very difficult, so find some shade if you plan to do field work with this machine.

Keyboard and Touchpad

The keyboard has very light typing feel, and is very comfortable to type on. Key texture feels perfect for a business notebook, and gives your fingers just the right amount of grip that you would expect from a high quality keyboard. Typing for long periods of time on this notebook may get to you though, as poor support structures underneath the keyboard give it an almost bouncing feel. Depending on where you type on certain parts of the notebook, you will also get an echoing sound from the keyboard.

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The keyboard is also advertised as being spill resistant, so avid coffee (or soda) drinkers should not be too afraid of shorting out their equipment from an accidental spill. This feature is appearing on many notebooks these days, and should be considered standard on any true business notebook.

The touchpad has a nice mild matte texture, and worked just as you would expect. The included drivers give you plenty of customization options for all the touch zones on the touchpad, as well as adjusting speed and sensitivity. The default settings had the sensitivity slightly low requiring a heavy pressure, which I adjusted upwards to allow a softer touch.

The pointing stick worked just as expected, and had plenty of adjustments in the control panel. The only feature that seemed missing was a center button for the pointer to allow scrolling. It was comfortable to use, but my main preference on this size of notebook is the touchpad.

Audio

The speakers included with this notebook are average for built-in speakers on business notebooks, and below average compared to most consumer machines. Bass and midrange were lacking, but upper frequency tones came through clearly. Volume levels were acceptable, but for anything over the standard Windows notification chimes, I would recommend wearing headphones for greater listening pleasure.

The headphone jack passed very clean audio, and had no hiss present. It would be perfect for hooking up to a stereo, or attaching a pair of headphones for watching a movie on a longer duration flight.

Ports and Features
Starting front and center the Tecra A9 has the indicator light array, headphone/mic jacks, volume knob, and wireless on/off switch:

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The left side has a legacy serial port, two USB ports, mini firewire, PC-Card Slot, and a 5-in-1 card reader:

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The back has a Kensington lock slot, modem jack, power connector, LAN, and VGA out:

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The right side has the optical bay and one USB port:

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Performance

Users should find no trouble performing common tasks on this notebook, as it has more than enough power for you average office productivity suite. Graphics performance on the other hand was lacking, even compared to its smaller brother with a lesser video card configuration. The NVS 130M on the Tecra A9 included 256MB of dedicated video memory, but scored almost 30 percent lower compared to the Tecra M9 with only 128MB on the same card. Even after installing the latest NVIDA drivers the lackluster performance continued.

Listed below are the benchmarks run on the Tecra A9 to give you an idea how it compares to other notebooks in its class:

wPrime is a program that forces the processor to do recursive mathematical calculations, the advantage of this program is that it is multi-threaded and can use both processor cores at once, thereby giving more accurate benchmarking measurements than Super Pi.

PCMark05 measures the overall system performance of a notebook, the A9 came out with a respectable score, though nothing spectacular:

3DMark06 comparison results:

Software

Daily performance with the Tecra A9 went hand in hand with the included software from Toshiba. The function key dropdown menu for example brought the machine to a halt as it slid down, from either poor coding or lack of 3D acceleration. This made simple adjustments like increasing your screen brightness take 5-10 seconds for one notch, where it should take a fraction of a second. Thankfully you could uninstall this program, and still retain all adjustments, just without an onscreen notification.

Excessive bloatware on the notebook was present, but thankfully didn’t put up a fight when removing it through the Vista control panel. It wasn’t as bad as some notebooks we have reviewed in the past, but I would still tell users to remove most of it before they start using the computer on a regular basis.

Heat and Noise

Under normal use the Tecra A9 was fairly tame in terms of noise and heat production. Fan noise was minimal even after prolonged computer use, with only minor spikes of noise under more tasking situations. Benchmarking the system for example made the system increase its fan speed over normal situations, but even then it was not bothersome.

Interesting sticker. Does this mean it shouldn’t be used as a “laptop?” (view large image)

Heat was contained to very reasonable levels, never getting too hot in any “skin contact regions”. The palmrest and keyboard stayed only a few degrees higher than room temperature, and the bottom was only hot near the exhaust fan outlet. Its larger size compared to the Tecra M9 looks to have helped out some, since its smaller brother was very warm in our previous testing. Below are images showing the temperatures in degrees Fahreheit while the Tecra A9 was running inside a room with an ambient temperature of 72 degrees:

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Battery Life

With screen brightness at 80 percent, wireless enabled, “balanced” profile set, and accessing web pages on occasion the system managed 2 hours and 40 minutes on its 6-cell battery. Manufacturers estimated battery life was listed as “up to 3.97hrs”, which I felt was a bit high.

Buying Choices for the Toshiba Tecra A9-S9017 (Core 2 Duo 2.2GHz, 2GB RAM, 160GB HDD, Vista Business) CDW Corporation | $1,749.99 CompUSA | $1,749.99 Buy.com | $1,684.99 view detailed pricing from 21 stores starting at $1,575.00 rate product

Conclusion

Starting at such a high price point ($1,199 online at base configuration) the Toshiba Tecra A9 is priced a bit high compared to other notebooks in its class. Few parts on this notebook really stuck out in comparison to its competitors, or even models Toshiba sells in its consumer line. Graphics and gaming performance was also oddly low, even compared to the smaller Tecra M9 with a lesser card. For the given starting price and performance, it’s hard to recommend this notebook over other models in Toshiba’s own consumer line.

Pros

• Comfortable keyboard and pointing stick
• Very cool and quiet cooling system
• 3-year warranty standard

Cons

• Poor graphics performance
• Included software can bring the machine to a halt

The Sager NP5791 is a top-of-the-line 17-inch high performance notebook based on the latest Intel Santa Rosa platform. It is designed for gaming and features the latest high-end Nvidia graphics cards.

Before I start the review I would like to give a special thanks to Donald Stratton of PowerNotebooks.com for giving us the opportunity to test this machine.

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Our system has the following specifications:

• Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 (2.2GHz/4MB L2/800MHz FSB)
• 17-inch WUXGA (1920×1200) glossy display
• Nvidia GeForce 8700M-GT with 512MB GDDR3 memory
• 2GB DDR2-667 RAM
• 80GB 7200RPM SATA HDD
• 8X DVD+/-RW DL burner
• Intel 4965AGN wireless
• Integrated Bluetooth 2.0
• Windows Vista Ultimate 32-bit
• 8-cell battery

Pricing for this configuration is about $2,000. Other configurations can be had starting from $1,800.

Build & Design

It is obvious from the photos that the Sager NP5791 is no ordinary notebook. It is a clear departure from the industry trend of glossy plastic and bright colors. The NP5791 is a mostly matte-surfaced black notebook with orange trim strips. The back of the lid is a sheet of brushed aluminum and the very top of the lid is a strip of black glossy plastic.

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The plastic on this notebook is without a doubt thicker than what is found on mainstream notebooks. There are no cheap noises made when the chassis is tapped and no vibrations can be felt – while tapping on the left palmrest I could not feel vibrations on the right. The notebook’s chassis is so solid it feels like the inside of the chassis is a solid block of hardwood. It is essentially impossible to twist the chassis. Flex is nonexistent – the only way I could get any of the places on top of the chassis to budge was by putting abnormal pressure on it.

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There are several variants of plastic used in the construction. A matte black plastic covers most of the top of the chassis; it feels smooth and durable. The orange trim bordering the notebook is made of the same plastic, and so are the touchpad buttons. The area surrounding the outside of the lid around the display is also made of the same material except it has a small bit of texture. There is a very thin strip of glossy black plastic bordering the lid, giving it an elegant look. It matches the glossiness of the display and makes the display look bigger than it actually is. Around the keyboard and touchpad is a carbon-fiber textured plastic that adds flare and detail. I like the way it looks when light hits it – the checkered pattern really stands out. Finally, the plastic used on the bottom and sides of the NP5791 is also textured like the area around the lid and thinner yet it still feels well made.

The display is reinforced by the aluminum backing and it adds a degree of insurance against damage. Pushing on the back of the display yields no ripples in the picture. The display can be twisted a small amount but flex is both normal and expected on a 17 inch screen; this screen does not flex as much as a mainstream 17 inch notebook due to its extra strength. The hinges holding the display in place are strong and secure. I like how there are many small rubber pads around the screen so it does not come in contact with the keyboard or chassis area. There are two latches on the top of the display – the one on the left is a lock and the right one is a traditional spring latch. Both work as expected; when shut, the lid has little freedom to move which shows attention to detail.

The gaps between parts of the notebook are minimal and equidistant. It is obvious a great deal of time was spent perfecting the build quality of the NP5791. There is no area of the chassis that showed symptoms of budget-cutting. I am impressed by the solidness and sheer quality of this machine. The NP5791 is certainly one of the best built machines I have come across, counting even the business class machines. The NP5791 feels like it was built to last. The only downside to the fantastic build quality is the added weight from the beefier materials, but extra weight is a small price to pay for that peace of mind.

Display

The Sager NP5791 is available with two screens – a matte WSXGA+ (1680×1050 pixels) and a glossy WUXGA (1920×1200 pixels). Our evaluation unit has the latter. WUXGA is the highest available resolution on a notebook. The NP5791′s top-shelf display is nothing short of impressive – movies, games, pictures, and text look crisp, clear, and detailed. Colors pop off the screen and contrast is high. Even in high light conditions I found the brightness to be more than adequate – it is almost too bright in a dark room. Light leakage is minimal, with only a small amount coming from below. It is only noticeable when viewing a black screen. Side-to-side viewing angles are near perfect and the vertical is very good – the picture only washes out slightly. From below the display darkens and to a lesser degree than I expected. For a notebook panel the NP5791 is definitely one of the best I have seen.

Speakers

There are two stereo speakers on the NP5791. They are located at opposite ends of the rear of the chassis, on the sides and next to the display hinges. I found the odd placement made surround sound from two speakers more believable. The speakers are small and borderline tinny; I am not impressed nor disappointed with them. The sound is detailed (I could hear picks of a guitar and bullet casings hitting the ground) but volume is limited and bass response is nil. Treble (voices) is measurable but again, nothing special. The two speakers are adequate for general usage although I highly recommend a good pair of external speakers or headphones to make for the best sound experience.

Benchmarks and Gaming

The section everyone is here to see! There’s just so much to say and show in regards to benchmarks and gaming performance for the Sager NP791, so for the full benchmarks and gaming performance overview please jump to the Sager NP5791 Gaming and Benchmarks page.

Heat & Noise

The NP5791 is cooled by two fans located in the back right quadrant of the chassis; one is significantly larger than the other. The CPU and video card are both located in this area and the two fans ensure that they get ample cooling. I found that under normal, everyday use the NP5791 gets little more than lukewarm on the surface, which is extremely impressive for a notebook packing as much power as this one. Only the left side of the chassis from the touchpad area and over gets warmer than room temperature; the left side of the chassis stays almost room temperature. The warmest part of the notebook on the surface is the touchpad and the area immediately to the right of it. During gaming, I did not notice any increase in surface temperature. The bottom of the notebook gets warm in the same places as the top, except the temperatures are slightly higher.

Unfortunately the cooling fans are none too quiet. While both are quiet enough at idle, they ramp up to full speed every minute or so and then slow down, which gets irritating. The fans are loud enough to annoy someone in a quiet place at full speed, even if they are several yards away. Although I would take a loud notebook that stays cool over a quiet one that does not any day of the week, it would have been nice if the manufacturer found a quieter way to cool the machine. The NP5791 is loud enough that I would be hesitant to take it anywhere quiet like a library. In a meeting it might even be disruptive.

Overall, I am impressed with the NP5791′s ability to keep itself cool but I am disappointed with the noise level that was apparently necessary to achieve that.

Keyboard

The Sager NP5791 has a full size keyboard with a numeric keypad. This keyboard is fantastic because it excels in a number of ways. For starters, there is no flex, even at the corners or in the middle. The keyboard keys have a slightly rubbery feel and sound and provide resistance all the way down. The way this keyboard responds is pleasing and enjoyable. With many brands, I notice that the keyboard keys have been made out of thinner and thinner plastic over the years. I have yet to see this trend on a Sager notebook – the keys are made of thick plastic and feel high quality.

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However, I have two qualms with this particular keyboard. For starters, there are no dedicated home, page up, page down, or end keys. Instead, they are integrated as secondary functions into the arrow keys and the Function key must be pressed to utilize them. I find this setup awkward and annoying because I frequently use those keys. If the number lock is turned off, then the 1, 3, 7 and 9 keys become the end, page down, home and page up keys respectively. Regardless, it is still an odd setup. My second qualm with the keyboard is the three column number pad. Normally a number pad has four columns. Fortunately this number pad still has all the 17 keys a normal number pad has. The layout simply takes time to adjust to.

Touchpad

The NP5791′s touchpad is offset to the left as it is with most 17-inch notebooks so it aligns with the center of the keyboard. I usually do not have a lot to say about the touchpad but this one is most enjoyable to use. It has a textured feel but it is smooth at the same time; in other words, just the right amount of texture to provide feedback. A column on the right side is dedicated to scrolling. The touchpad buttons are pleasing to use; they are made out of the same matte black plastic as the palmrest and surrounding area and push down with a quiet and satisfying click. They feel solid. In between the two buttons is the fingerprint reader which can be used to log into Windows and remember passwords for various applications, including Internet webpages.

Input & Output ports

All descriptions are from left to right.

Left Side:

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1. Speaker
2. Kensington security lock slot
3. optical drive

Right Side:

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1. ExpressCard/54 slot
2. Memory card reader
3. 2x USB 2.0
4. IEEE 1394 mini-Firewire
5. 56k modem jack
6. Ethernet
7. Coaxial connection (enabled with TV tuner)
8. Speaker

Front:

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1. SPDIF
2. Headphone jack
3. Microphone jack
4. Line In
5. Status lights

Back:

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1. Vents
2. S-video out
3. DVI-D
4. 2x USB 2.0
5. Power connection
6. Serial port

I am impressed with the wide variety of ports offered on the NP5791. What is especially nice is the DVI-D port, which is rare and valuable. The most common uses for a DVI-D port are connecting to high resolution external displays and high definition TVs.

Wireless

The NP5791 accepts a mini-PCI express wireless card; ours came with the Intel 4965AGN supporting 802.11a, b, g, and n wireless formats. I had no trouble connecting and maintaining connections to various secured and unsecured (no, not my neighbor’s) wireless connections. It picked up many wireless connections that my older laptop did not see at all.

Internal Bluetooth wireless also came with our test unit. It functioned as expected.

Battery

With the 8-cell battery, I was pleased to get 2 hours and 40 minutes of battery life. I surfed the Internet and edited text files the entire time with the brightness on level 3 out of 7 (7 being the highest). Needless to say I am impressed with the result because let us not forget this unit is housing a 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 17-inch screen, 512MB video card, and 7200RPM hard drive. The relatively long battery time is an unexpected bonus with this machine.

Operating System & Software

The NP5791 can be ordered with Windows XP, Vista, or no operating system. Ours came with Vista Ultimate 32-bit which has its ups and downs. On the plus side Windows Vista has DirectX 10 and Windows XP does not. Unfortunately Vista proved to be an unstable operating system on this machine as I had trouble installing programs, running them, and seemingly random freezing issues, especially when hibernating. I attribute these problems to Vista alone and not the machine itself because I have had similar issues with every Vista machine I have used.

Besides the operating system, the only other pre-installed software consists of DVD burning software (Nero), BisonCam webcam software, and the fingerprint reader software. No bloatware is to be found.

Customer Support

During my time with the NP5791 I did not have to contact customer support. However, I currently own a Sager notebook – one time I did send an email asking for a BIOS update for it and they got back to me within an hour. The email was answered by a real person and not a machine.

All Sager computers are backed with lifetime technical support. Sager’s support website has a variety of tech support options. Drivers can be downloaded from there as well for both past and present notebooks.

Through PowerNotebooks.com, customers are provided with domestic 24/7 tech support. I contacted PowerNotebooks’ technical support once with my Sager and I was very pleased with the support – my call was answered immediately by a real person, no prompts. My question was answered in short order.

Conclusion

For those looking for a 17-inch gaming notebook in the $1,800 – $2,500 range, the Sager NP5791 warrants serious consideration. In this reviewer’s opinion the NP5791 is an extremely solid, well designed, and polished gaming notebook. To top everything off, its price tag is reasonable and could be considered a bargain when compared to more expensive brands. This is the first notebook I have tested in some time that I will sorely miss. With sleek looks, a beautiful display, and an arsenal of powerful components, the NP5791 is the premier single-GPU 17-inch gaming notebook on the market.

Pros:

• Top notch build quality
• Powerful performance
• Gorgeous display
• Unique looks
• Reasonable price tag
• Available with Windows XP
• Measurable battery life
• Runs cool

Cons:

• Loud fans
• Only one internal hard drive
• Odd keyboard/number pad layout

The Asus Eee PC 701 4G is the new affordable ultraportable notebook that’s bound to be on many consumers’ Christmas wish lists this year. Retailing for $399 or less, the Eee PC isn’t exactly a workhorse, but it will do just about every basic task you’d need from a laptop. Our initial hands-on actually proved it does more than we expected, but the more detailed review below helps explain exactly why we’re so excited about a $400 notebook.

First, the specs for the review unit we have on hand, which is the Eee PC 701 4G:

• Processor: Intel Celeron M ULV 900MHz
• Graphics: Integrated Intel GMA 900 GPU
• Storage: 4GB of Flash-based storage (SSD)
• Memory: 512MB of DDR2 RAM (667MHz)
• OS: Xandros Linux (Asus customized)
• Screen: 7-inch screen with 800 x 480 resolution
• Ports: 3 USB 2.0, 1 VGA monitor out, headphone jack, microphone input, SD card reader (SDHC compatible), Kensington lock slot, Ethernet 10/100
• Webcam (0.3 MP)
• Battery: 4-cell 5200 mAh 7.4V Li-Ion (rated at 3.5 hours)
• Wireless: 802.11b/g Atheros
• Input: Keyboard and Touchpad
• Weight: approximately 2 lbs with battery, 2.5 lbs travel weight with AC adapter.
• Two-year warranty

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Build and Design

The designers at Asus had no easy task creating an attractive ultraportable notebook while also making it cheap to produce. The case seams match up with reasonably tight tolerances, plastics feel thick (though the pearl-like white plastics look cheap) and the display hinges are molded into body with the battery. Lifting the display cover you find the amazingly small keyboard surface and even smaller touchpad resting below the recessed display and speakers. In short, the build quality is quite high despite the low cost.

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The design of the Eee PC is something truly unique in the market. Weighing in at just two pounds and delivering a performance level similar to a full-featured budget notebook, the only notebook that comes close to “directly” competing with the Eee PC is the Fujitsu LifeBook U810 tablet PC … which retails for more than $1,000 at the time of this writing. The next closest competitor to the Eee PC would be traditional ultraportables like the Toshiba Portege R500 ($2,000) and the Sony VAIO TZ ($3,000).

True, the more expensive rivals come preloaded with Microsoft Windows XP or Vista and feature a range of superior technical specs … but our review of the Asus Eee PC shows this tiny white titan packs an impressive punch.

Screen

The screen is 7-inches diagonally with LED back lighting and has a resolution of 800 x 480 pixels. For the sake of a reference, below is what you can see when you pull up the homepage of the site you are on right now:

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The Eee PC might not have a glossy, high contrast display like most notebooks made in the last year, but the bright and even backlight helps make for an enjoyable reading experience. We even found the quality of the colors more than sufficient for viewing movies or You Tube videos.

Below is a screenshot we took on the Asus Eee PC of the YouTube.com homepage, this is a good example of what you’ll see using the Eee PC screen resolution and size:

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Operating System and Software

Asus teamed up with Xandros to develop a customized version of the Linux operating system for the new Eee PC. Microsoft Windows requires a significant amount of storage space on the tiny 4GB SSD, and the added cost from installing genuine Windows would have added to the final retail price of the Eee PC. Despite the lack of Microsoft software the Eee PC is remarkably easy to use. Xandros developed a point-and-click user interface that looks and acts similar to Windows … but easier.

A view of the “Internet” tab displayed after startup. (view large image)

The Asus Eee PC comes preloaded with more than 40 applications for everything from work and email to listening to music and watching movies. Unlike the many free applications that come preinstalled on Windows-based computers, almost none of the applications on the Eee PC can be considered “bloatware.” In fact, almost every application on this notebook is both useful and easy to use.

The “Work” tab. (view large image)

The “Learn” tab. (view large image)

The “Play” tab. (view large image)

Click on the “Web” icon and the Firefox web browser opens. Click on the “Documents,” “Spreadsheets,” or “Presentations” icons and the Open Office application (compatible with Microsoft Office) opens so you don’t have to purchase additional office software. Click on any standard movie file and the video plays in either the Media Player application or inside Firefox … you don’t need to spend hours searching for video plugins and codecs, the movies just play. Don’t waste time downloading iTunes. Just plug in your iPod and the Music Manager detects the music player and begins importing the songs.

The point is that the Eee PC just works. We only wish we could say the same thing about the many Windows-based notebooks we review.

The “Settings” tab. (view large image)

In fact, the only minor issue we had where something didn’t work on the Eee PC right out of the box was the built-in 0.3 megapixel webcam. For whatever reason the camera was by default turned off in the BIOS and we had to go in and enable it for the camera to work. For something that dubs itself as “Easy to learn, Easy to work, Easy to play” that’s not exactly “easy.” We don’t think grandma will figure out how to enable the webcam on her own. However, this issue is easily correctable by a BIOS update from Asus … so if Asus fixes the problem all you have to do is click on the “Add/Remove Software” icon and click the “install” button when a new BIOS is available. On that note, Asus already made several updates available at the time of this review.

If the fact that Asus uses Linux is a concern for you, then don’t worry. Asus recently announced that they are teaming up with Microsoft to release a version of the Eee PC that will come preloaded with Windows in 2008. Neither company specified which version of Windows will find its way onto the Eee PC, but given the 4GB SSD and low voltage processor Windows XP is the obvious choice. Whether or not Windows will help or hurt the performance of the Eee PC remains to be seen. In any case, you can expect the cost of a Windows-based Eee PC to be higher.

Speakers

The speakers on the Eee PC are hard to miss. They are located to the left and right of the screen and, thanks to their black speaker grills, stand out in comparison to the rest of the all white notebook. The location might appear odd, but it provides a clear path to your head for maximum listening pleasure. Despite the diminutive size of the built-in speakers they worked quite well for watching movies, playing games, or listening to some music while moving from room to room in my house. With the volume set to max, the decibel meter registered ~75dB at one foot. The audio was only slightly distorting on high notes, but stayed mostly clear.

As is common with small built-in speakers, the high and upper midrange came through well, but bass didn’t sound nearly as impressive. Thankfully, Asus included a standard headphone jack on the Eee PC so it is quite simple to connect headphones or an external speaker system if you want a superior listening experience.

Keyboard and Touchpad

Most low-priced notebooks currently on the market feature poorly built keyboards that show significant flex/bounce when typing pressure is applied. Much to our surprise, the keyboard on the Eee PC is remarkably firm, though the keys are small and have a large degree of “wiggle” when pressed.

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The keyboard on the Eee PC is very, very compact. The first two days I spent typing on the Eee PC were quite frustrating as the small footprint and tiny keys require you to use a “hunt and peck” style of typing rather than traditional touch typing methods. This means that passwords get mangled, emails look like gibberish, and playing games that require keyboard commands becomes quite aggravating.

Of course, once I got used to typing on the tiny keyboard the keys felt just fine … but this keyboard isn’t designed to be used as a primary/main computer. For users who would buy this notebook as their “main computer” in their home or office, a full-size keyboard and external mouse are recommended.

The touchpad and single button (with left and right “rocker” buttons underneath) are easy to use and responsive. The only issue we encountered with the touchpad was that the small size made it a little difficult to use when moving across the screen and it was easy to press the wrong side of the single touchpad button (so sometimes a right click turned into a left click).

Performance

Our regular selection of performance benchmarks can’t be used with the Eee PC given the fact that it is a Linux-based notebook. However, we can measure the time it take to perform a number of simple procedures in order to give you an idea of how the Eee PC performs. Please keep in mind that the speeds listed below will vary depending on the number of applications you have open at any given time (multitasking always slows things down).

• Startup: ~12 seconds
• Opening and loading the NotebookReview.com website in Firefox: ~3 seconds
• Starting playback on a 700MB AVI video file: ~3 seconds
• Starting the Open Office application: ~6 seconds
• Opening a 3.64MB PDF document: ~3 seconds
• Opening a 2.35MB PowerPoint presentation: ~10 seconds

For those interested in the speed of the 4GB SSD, hdparm benchmarks the SSD buffered read speed at 21.78 MB/sec. For comparison, a Lenovo ThinkPad T60 with a fast 7200rpm Seagate hard drive has a buffered read speed of 54.62 MB/sec and a Toshiba Tecra A9 with standard 5400rpm hard drive has a buffered read speed of 44.87 MB/sec.

While the Eee PC won’t win any awards for performance within applications, startup is remarkably fast and overall performance is fast enough to keep most users happy.

Port Selection and Expansion

Front: Indicator lights (view large image)

Left side: 10/100 Ethernet port, empty modem port, USB 2.0 port, air vent, microphone in, and headphone jack. (view large image)

Rear view: AC power jack (view large image)

Right side: SD card reader, two USB 2.0 ports, VGA out, Kensington lock slot. (view large image)

If you open the bottom panel on the Eee PC (which may void the two-year warranty) you’ll find a standard DDR2 RAM slot and a PCI-E mini card slot for possible future expansion. We tested the Eee PC with both the standard 512MB memory and a 1GB memory module. Theoretically, a 2GB module of RAM should fit in the slot just as easily as a 1GB module did … but we didn’t have a 2GB module available in the office.

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Heat and Noise

Even with the low voltage processor and SSD drive, the Asus Eee PC produced as much heat as any other notebook in the same price range. The keyboard and bottom of the notebook got quite hot even under normal use, and the fan was always running in an attempt to keep the system cool. Fan noise was among the quietest we’ve heard. The only way to tell the fan is blowing is to put your hand next to the air vent to feel the warm air blow past.

Below are heat overlay images showing where the Eee PC warmed up (in degrees Fahrenheit) during normal extended use. You’ll notice that we only listed one temperature for each side … that’s because the Eee PC is so small that they’re basically only one temperature for the top and one temperature for the bottom.

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Wireless

The Eee PC uses an Atheros AR5BXB63 wireless module for 802.11b/g wireless Internet access. Reception is quite good for a budget notebook. The Eee PC maintained a connection to my home router from anywhere inside my three-level home and from anywhere in my front or back yard. At the editorial offices for NotebookReview.com the Eee PC managed to stay connected to the office router even after I left the building and walked across the parking lot. The wireless connection only dropped to 75 percent signal strength after I walked more than 50 yards away from the building. Being able to travel a distance equivalent to half the length of a football field means you won’t have trouble browsing the web with the Eee PC.

Battery

Under normal use, backlight at 100 percent and using wireless for web browsing and watching a DivX movie at 75 percent volume, the Eee PC managed to deliver three hours and 23 minutes of battery life. We were hoping for more given the low voltage processor and flash-based storage, but for a $400 notebook the battery life is still very good. Lowering the screen brightness and turning off the wireless card should provide enough battery life for prolonged use.

While the battery life was reasonable, we did experience some minor problems with the on-screen battery meter. After two hours and 8 minutes of browsing the web wirelessly and watching a DivX movie the low battery warning popped up on screen and reported that the Eee PC would shut down in 3 minutes unless it was plugged into a power source. The Eee PC then kept working for another one hour and 15 minutes before the notebook shutdown. Bottom line, the on-screen battery indicator cannot be trusted.

Buying Choices for the ASUS Eee PC 4G (white) Buy.com | $399.99 Lagoom | $399.99 Mwave.com | $429.95 rate product

Conclusion

In the end, the Eee PC is the single most impressive notebook we’ve seen priced below $400. The technical specs might look sub par, but the usability and overall performance of the Eee PC rivals notebooks costing several thousand dollars more. Granted, you can’t install Photoshop on this little notebook and you can forget about playing Bioshock on this thing, but the Eee PC can do just about everything you “need” to do with a notebook while on the go.

The only features missing from the Eee PC that really stand out are the lack of Bluetooth 2.0 and the lack of a Verizon or Sprint wireless card option. If Asus can find a way to add these features to the Eee PC we will go as far as to say, “No home should be without an Eee PC.” As it stands now, the Eee PC is a truly impressive ultraportable with a value much higher than the sale price suggests. The Eee PC can’t replace a full-featured desktop or notebook, but it makes the perfect choice if you are in the market for an ultraportable notebook for school, work, or vacation.

The Eee PC might have a weird name, but it’s one of the few products that lives up to the marketing hype. This notebook truly is “easy to learn, easy to work, and easy to play.”

Pros

• Small and light
• Easy to use
• Reasonably well built and durable
• Low price for an ultraportable
• Works right out of the box!
• That’s right. It works right out of the box!
• Did I mention it works right out of the box?

Cons

• A little expensive for a notebook with only 4GB of storage
• No Microsoft Windows pre-installed is a negative for some buyers.
• Plastics “look” cheap
• The battery meter isn’t very accurate.

Editor’s Note: Stay tuned for our special “Eee PC Tweak Guide” where we show how the Eee PC performs after Microsoft XP is installed!

HP recently introduced their flagship laptop, the HP Pavilion HDX “Dragon”.  The laptop is within their consumer Pavilion line and carries over certain design cues recently seen in that line, such as the laser-etched laptop lid, touch buttons and dimpled touchpad.  The HDX uses a custom design scheme and I do not think it is possible to get the laptop in other colours or designs.  HP have been pretty active in their marketing for the HDX, which is suprising as this is a laptop that will appeal to a small niche market.  They have been advertising heavily in the London Underground and on TV.  I do like “The Computer Personal Again” slogans they have been using.

Unlike the American market, HP do not allow you to customize the laptop here in the UK.  There are two pre-configured models, naturally one higher end and one lower end.  The higher end Screen: 13.3-inch screen WXGA (1280 x 800) with XBRITE-ECO (glossy finish)

• Screen: 20.1” 1680 x 1050 WSXGA+ High-Definition HP Ultra Brightview Widescreen Display
• Colour: Black with Dragon laser etching
• Processor: 2.20 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7500
• Hard Drive: 400 GB hard drive (SATA, 2x200GB, 4200RPM)
• Memory: 2 GB RAM (667 MHz, DDR2 SDRAM, 2 x 1GB) — 4 GB max memory
• Optical Drive: HD DVD ROM with SuperMulti DVD±R/RW Double Layer
• Ports and Slots: 4 USB 2.0, 1 HDMI connector, 1 eSata connector, 1 VGA port, 1 RJ45 ethernet connector, S-video TV out, Headphone out, 1 mic-in, 1 IEEE 1394, remote control infrared port (remote optional), integrated stereo mic, cable docking connector, One ExpressCard/54 slot
• Wireless: Intel® PRO/Wireless 4965AGN Network Connection (802.11a/b/g/n)
• Graphics: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600 XT with 256 MB dedicated video memory
• Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium
• Dimensions: 47.5 cm (L) x 33.95 cm (W) x 5.85 cm (min H/max H)
• Weight: 7.05 kg (15.5 lbs), 8 kg package weight

Reasons for Buying

I was looking for an all round laptop, something that could work as a solid gaming machine as well as being a good entertainment laptop for watching movies.  Initially, I considered the Toshiba Satellite X205 (X200) as well as the Dell XPS M2010 and XPS M1710.  I then heard some news about the HP HDX, but did not really consider it much until I saw it.  I saw an HDX in a showroom playing “Fast and Furious 3” on HD-DVD, and I knew I had to have it.

Where and How Purchased

When I was looking into buying the HDX, HP had only just released the laptop in the UK and so no retailers had any in stock.  The UK Price via HP is £1,699, which is around $3,400 USD.  That’s expensive!  But, I had the money and so I swallowed the cost and ventured onto the HP website to place the order.  To my surprise, on that particular day HP listed the item on their site at £1,349, over £350 less than their standard price.  I was sure it was a mistake, but I placed an order anyway.  Very shortly after that, HP restored the price to its £1699.  At that point, I was sure HP would cancel my order, stating it as a pricing mistake.

While it did not get cancelled, HP did delay the laptop delivery by over 3 weeks.  I’m not sure if this was an attempt to get those of us who managed to place an order at the cheaper price to cancel, but the HP Customer Service throughout the delay was shockingly bad.  They only informed me of a delay when I called HP to ask what was going on. It seems that HP like their rival Dell are not too good at handling delays.

Build & Design

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The HDX laptop comes in a lovely big well designed box, and as you would expect from such a premium product, everything has an air of quality surrounding it.  I liked the effort they put into creating the manual (rarely seen these days), as well as some nice novel touches such as including a micro-fibre cloth (to keep it shiny) and a nice poster.

Notice the unique hinge (view large image)

Here is the HDX closing (view large image)

For a laptop of this size and cost, you would expect the build quality and design to be flawless, and it is.  The laptop is constructed using strong plastics and alloys for that all important hinge mechanism.  There’s no flexing or wobbling here.  Naturally, the design revolves around the screen and is beautiful.  I think HP are doing very well in their design for the Pavilion laptops, and I’m glad all the best features are incorporated here.  The use of the touch buttons also gives the laptop a good futuristic feel.  I mean, technically speaking, there is no need for the eject button as there is a good old fashioned eject button on the drive itself, but boy do I love using the touch button.  Volume touch controls are an especially nice touch.

A close-up view of the new “Dragon” high-impact Imprint finish. (view large image)

Screen

Here’s the unique selling point of a laptop like this, its huge screen.  If the screen was poor, then this laptop would make no sense.  Thankfully, HP does not disappoint.  The 20” screen is absolutely gorgeous with brilliant colours, brightness and flawless viewing angles.  There are rumours that HP are working on a full 1920×1200 resolution screen version of the HDX, but personally, I find the current WSXGA resolution more than enough.  Also, in terms of HD-DVD playback, 1080P is not shown to be hugely advantageous in quality terms on screens less than 32” and bigger.  The screen is the best I have ever seen on a laptop.

I’ve taken some pictures of the screen at varios viewing angles.  Seen in the images is Transformers the Movie on HD-DVD.  Sorry about some blur and grain in some photos.  I didn’t want to ruin the photos by using flash, so I had to use ISO200 with no flash, so some blur is inevitable.  Hopefully, from the photos, you can see the screen is excellent.

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Speakers

The inbuilt speakers are very good for a laptop.  There are four speakers built into the monitor, as well as a subwoofer underneath the laptop.  The speakers are made by Altec Lansing and sound superb for onboard sound.  I would say that they were better than most average 2.1 external speaker setups.  They are not comparable to high-end external speakers, and nor did I expect them to be.  For laptop speakers though, sound is very good.

Processor and Performance

The 2.20Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo processor is very speedy indeed.  My last laptop had a Core Duo 1.66Ghz, and the difference is very noticeable when doing CPU intensive tasks such as Photoshop work or Video compression.  The weak point of this laptop are the hard disks, spinning at a lowly 4200rpm.  This is unfortunate, and if I had the option of configuring faster hard disks, I most certainly would have.  General performance is very good, with no noticeable slowdowns during normal or even quite extensive use.

Benchmarks and Gaming

Super Pi

The table below compares the HP Pavilion HDX SuperPi score with some other notebooks:

3DMark06 comparison results:

In terms of gaming ability, I have played Stranglehold, World in Conflict, Medal of Honour Airborne, Dirt, and Call of Duty 4 demo.

I play all the games at 1280×1024 resolution, with details all set to high.  World in Conflict on the whole is very playable, with only extreme slowdown when I zoom into a nuclear explosion.  Generally, framerates are silky smooth.  Call of Duty 4 demo runs superbly.  I played Call of Duty 4 on 1680×1050 res, with most things on high with the exception of Anti Aliasing.  Again, looks and runs great, with FPS feeling like its always above 30.  Dirt plays well and looks great, with the FPS I feel being somewhere around 25-30.  I’ve heard this is a very taxing game, so I’m happy with that.  Strangehold ran great, but I got bored of the game quickly so only played the first few levels before uninstalling it.  I was surprised MoHA ran as well as it did.  It ran at solid good framerates, at 1280×1024 on high settings.  It doesn’t let you change specifics so I don’t know what was going on in terms of AA or filtering.  This is a solid gaming machine and so far, I am happy with the performance of the ATi HD2600XT.  Hopefully with updated drivers, the performance will get better.

Heat and Noise

The fans on this laptop are never really audible.  You can occasionally here a whisper of the fans if you sit silently next to the laptop.  However, even when playing games or long periods or watching HDDVD’s, the fans never really spin to an audible extent.  There is a steady stream of warm air out the back exhausts when you are playing games.  Otherwise, there is no real heat output from the HDX.

Keyboard and Touchpad

The full keyboard is lovely.  The buttons have a great feel to them and it’s very enjoyable typing on it.  It is a full keyboard so there is a numpad as you would expect.  Fittingly with the HDX’s sleek design cues, the lights to indicate CAPS/NUMS lock is discretely hidden and glows blue when turned on.

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The dimpled touchpad seems to be a debate for all that have used them.  Personally, I like the design and feel of the touchpad, but I usually use an external wireless mouse at home.  A very nifty feature HP has incorporate here is a button above the touchpad that turns it on and off.  This is very useful if you are using an external mouse and don’t want to accidently hit the touchpad while typing (a big issue on my old laptop as the keyboard was much smaller).

The backlit touch-sensative media buttons. (view large image)

The touch sensitive quickplay buttons are just fantastic.  They are just so nice to use and some very useful.  The mute button and volume controls being the most useful buttons.  The touch sensitive buttons are not really necessary and don’t improve functionality by much, but I do love HP for using them as it makes the HDX that bit more luxurious.

A remote is included (view large image)

Input and Output Ports

The HDX has the most extensive port selection I have ever seen.  With the exception of PCMCIA (uses ExpressCard instead), I think it has everything.  The two ports that grabbed by attention were HDMI and eSATA.  eSATA is something I have never seen on a laptop, and am looking into an external drive that uses it as I understand its a lot quicker than USB2.  On the back of the laptop, you’ll also find an extensive optical audio output ports.  The HDX caters for 2.1 / 5.1 and 7.1 systems, so that you can take full advantage of your external speakers.  Again, I have never seen such specialised audio outputs on a laptop.  The laptop has a built in infrared sensor on the front, as well as coming with an IR extender to be used with remotes or connecting to a satellite set top TV box such as Sky.

Front

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On the front, we have an IR sensor, microphone input, and two headphone output ports.

Right Side

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Two USB ports, and the HD-DVD/DVDRW drive can be found on the right side.

Back

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The four ports on the right are the optical sound outputs.  Used to optimise sound output for your external speakers. On the left, is the coaxial input to attach an aerial to the integrated HD-TV tuner, IR extender, S-Video.

Left Side

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2 more USB ports, RJ45 Ethernet Jack, Expansion Port 3, External Monitor, eSATA, HDMI, Firewire, MultiCard Reader, Expresscard Slot

Wireless

Being built on the Intel Santa Rosa platform, the wireless card includes support for the draft n standard.  Unfortunately, I don’t have a n standard router so I can’t test this.  Naturally, Bluetooth is also built in and is activated by the same wireless touch key to turn on and off.

Battery

This is something I have not yet tested as I keep the HDX plugged in. I would imagine most people buying this would do the same, you can’t expect much in the way of battery life from such a large screen device with high-end components. I have heard that battery life is just under 2 hours.  This drops significantly when doing computationally intense tasks such as playing games or watching HD-DVDs.

Operating System and Software

Windows Vista Home Premium comes pre-installed.  While HP don’t provide any recovery disks, they have quite nicely setup a recovery partition on the laptop, which contains all the needed files for a complete system recovery back to factory default.  Fortunately, HP also provide instructions on how to create recovery disks if you want to make one.

Customer Support

I am currently just on the standard HP warranty, although I am considering getting a three year full coverage extension.  So far, HP customer service has been way below par. The laptop for some strange reason did not have the fingerprint reader software installed.  When I called technical support, I was put through to some out sourced call centre, who gave me the advice of “go to the hp.co.uk/support website”.  Fortunately, I am technically proficient, so I managed to find the Verisoft Installation program hidden on the laptop.  It’s curious why they forgot to install it, but the so called technical support was terrible.

On a plus note, I had some issues with the HP Quickplay software (it kept telling me to activate it, and then sent me to a dead link).  This time, I used the HP technical chat, which was fantastic.  The HP technician quickly sent me the link to the latest version of Quickplay which works perfectly.  I’m not sure why HP did not install the latest version in the first place, but I was happy the issue was quickly resolved.

Conclusion

Buying Choices for the HP Pavilion HDX9010NR (Core 2 Duo 2.2GHz, 2GB RAM, 120GB HDD, Ultimate 64-Bit) Best Buy | $2,999.99 CompUSA | $2,999.99 Buy.com | $2,467.99 view detailed pricing from 13 stores starting at $2,467.00 100.0% of people recommend this product – view 3 opinions | rate product

The HP Pavilion HDX is truly a wonderful “do everything” laptop.  It was designed by HP to be an entertainment powerhouse, and they have succeeded in that respect.  The laptop has good gaming ability, as well as stellar multimedia features.  The beautiful huge screen and HDDVD make for wonderful movie viewings, and this really does do everything well.

Pros

• Gorgeous design
• That lovely lovely screen
• Superb build quality
• Quick processor and Graphics making it very capable under any environment
• Cool Touch sensitive buttons to control
• HDDVD capabilities
• Very exhaustive list of ports, most notably HDMI/eSATA/optical audio outputs
• No real bloatware installed (Office Trial being an exception, although some may find that useful).
• Much better equipped than rival Dell XPS M2010, which costs the same (usually more).

Cons

• It is indeed expensive (but worth it).
• Rather heavy too
• Can’t seem to find anyone who makes carrying cases for 20” laptops.

Overview and Introduction

The Sony Vaio G series is an exception to the trend towards widescreen notebooks and has a 12.1” XGA display.  The headline features of the G11 are the 1.13kg (2.49lb) weight and 9 hour battery life. How do these seemingly incompatible features stack up in real life? This review is of the Sony Vaio VGN-G11XN/B which is the less expensive of the two G series models current in the UK at the time of this review. The G series was launched in Europe in early 2007 and a refresh (G21) with dual core CPUs was announced while this review was being prepared.

The G11 outside (view large image)

Reasons for Buying

My Samsung Q35 went to a new home and I am nearly happily settled with the Zepto 6024W. However, while the Zepto has the power and screen real estate that I like, it is still a bit big for the days when I want to travel light while the battery performance isn’t as much as I would like. I had seen the Sony a few months ago and was impressed by the small size, weight and very readable display.

The 12.1” Sony G11 between the 13.3” Fujitsu S6120 and the 14.1” Zepto 6024W with 15.4” Samsung X60plus at the back (all displays at maximum brightness) (view large image)

I stumbled across a website offering the G11 at a discounted (just over £1,000) almost 1/3^rd below Sony’s RRP. I suspected that this could be a clearout related to the impending arrival of the new model and, after a short evaluation of the alternatives decided to place an order. I knew from the Q35 that the pixels on 12.1” widescreen are too small for my eyes and the only other 12.1” non-widescreen option is the heavier (and without optical drive but more powerful) ThinkPad X61. In fact, my first attempt to buy a cheap G11 failed because the stock had disappeared before my order was processed but I found another site at a similar price (and they ran out about half an hour after my order went through). Since then I have seen them even cheaper at another site! My G11’s box had what looks like a warehouse label dated 28/02/2007.

What’s in the Small Box?

The G11 came in a commendably small box containing in cardboard packaging:

• The G11 computer
• The PSU, power cable, a battery and a modem cable with UK plug
• A stack of multi-language documents (but no paper copy of a user guide) 

The contents of the box (view large image)

Hardware Specs: Sony VGN-G11XN/B

My configuration comprised the following hardware and specifications:

• CPU: Intel Core Solo ULV U1500 (1.33Ghz) with Intel 945GMS chipset
• Display: 12.1″ XGA (1024 x 768) matte LCD with LED backlight
• Memory: 1GB (2 x 512MB) PC4200 RAM (533MHz)
• Hard Disc: 100GB 5400rpm 1.8” HDD (Toshiba MK1011GAH)
• Graphics: Intel GMA950 integrated GPU
• Optical Drive: Matshita UJ-852S tray loading Super-Multi Dual Layer
• Network: Marvell Yukon 88E8055 Gigabit Ethernet
• Bluetooth: Alps UGPZ6 USB Bluetooth
• Modem: Motorola SM56 Data/Fax modem
• Wireless: Intel 3945 802.11abg wireless
• Ports: 2 x USB 2.0, 1000Mb/s network (RJ45), modem (RJ11), VGA, microphone, headphone, 1 x PC Card slot
• Media card reader: Ricoh hardware supporting SD / SDHC /MMC and Sony Memory Stick in separate slots
• Audio: Realtek ALC262 high definition audio  + single internal loudspeaker
• Touchpad: Alps touchpad 65mm x 39mm
• 6 cell battery (10.8V, 5800mAh = 62.64Whr)
• Sony 45W (16V, 2.80A)  power supply with 2-pin connector
•  Dimensions: published:- 277 x 215 x 23.5 ~ 25.5mm, actual 277 x 214 x 25.5~28.5mm (10.9 x 8.43 x 1.00~1.12” (including feet))
• Weight : published = 1.13kg, actual = 1.12kg (2.47lb)
• Travel weight including PSU and cables 1.39kg (3.06lbs)

The weigh in: Without and with PSU and power cables (kilograms) (view large image)

Software

• Vista Business 32 bit with Vista Anytime Upgrade DVD
• Microsoft Office 2003 SBE trial (installer)
• Microsoft Works 8.5
• Adobe Acrobat 8 Standard (installer)
• Adobe Photoshop Elements 5 (installer)
• Roxio Easy Media Creator 9 (installer)
• Protector Suite QL
• Picasa 2
• WinDVD 8 for Vaio
• Norton Internet Security (installer)

No backup media are supplied with the computer but there is a restore partition (using 9.5GB) on the hard disc. Users have to use the recovery utility to make backup discs (two single layer or one dual layer DVD).

The G11 came with a relatively large pile of leaflets of which the only one in colour and English language only was a Sony Accessories catalog. The biggest document was about the warranty with 122 pages covering 13 languages. Other documents included a simple diagram showing how to get the computer started; a 12-language Regulations Guide; a 6-language Troubleshooting Guide; a 4-language Recovery Guide and some other bits of paper including a product identifier for Microsoft Works. The User Guide is provided as a PDF file.

Design and Build

The dominant feature of the G11 is its light weight which is the result of the use of carbon-fibre material. Without the battery in place the G11 feels as if it might blow away in the wind. Sony have targeted this notebook at business professionals who value battery time over performance and prefer screen height to width since most of their work is with documents. Such people are also likely to have ageing eyes and value legibility of the larger pixels.

The G11’s colour scheme is black. However, the display surround and back seems to be a darker black than the chassis.The main chassis is very rigid. The palm rests sound hollow but nothing feels fragile. The battery is slight loose even when locked into position, but this seems to be a standard Sony design feature. The thin and unusually flexible display is a little disconcerting: Trying to open the display by one corner just results in the whole screen bending. However, it does not feel as if it might break. Pushing on the back of the display can cause ripples on the screen.

The display bends (view large image)

During travel the display is held closed by spring-loaded hinges. The hinges have no looseness and are adjusted to hold the display firmly in position without needing to use two hands to adjust the display position. The hinge is an unusual design which has the pivots built into the back edge of the sides of the chassis and results in the screen being quite low when open. The bar which forms the hinge also stiffens up the bottom edge of the screen.

The hinge (view large image)

The bottom of the computer is smooth, with small protruding feet about 1.5mm (1/16” long). There is a single removable cover for the RAM slot. There are some small air vents on the bottom but they are supplemented by other air vents on the sides. The standard 6 cell battery fits inside the chassis between the keyboard and the hinge and occupies the full thickness of the computer. The battery is slotted in from below and is held in place by two latches, one of which is spring-loaded to facilitate removal.

Underside of the G11: The only removable cover is for the RAM slot (view large image)

The Keyboard

The front edge of the palm rest is bevelled and is a comfortably low 21mm from the table surface. The keyboard on the Zepto 6024W has an almost standard layout. The Fn key occupies the front left corner which suits me fine but will cause other people to run away. There are 83 keys which have clear white markings on a black plastic background. The Ctrl key is in the bottom left corner which will please many people (not including myself).The keys are slightly small 17mm pitch which will confuse touch-typists but there’s no space for anything bigger within the width. Personally, I miss dedicated Pg Up and Pg Dn keys and would have been pleased if these had been provided instead of blank spaces between the left and right cursor keys and the right space bar.

The G11’s keyboard without the battery in place (view large image)

The keyboard is responsive and has a comfortable action in spite of the limited travel. There is some bounce in the central part, but not enough to disrupt typing. The Fn keys include the usual options for display switching, brightness and volume controls. Fn+F10 toggles a zoom option which enlarges the display to 800 x 600 resolution. Fn+F6 toggles the touchpad while Fn+F12 enables hibernation.

The touchpad is a reasonably generous 64mm x 39mm and is slightly recessed into the palm rest. It is an Alps touchpad with a limited range of additional functions. I would have liked to be able to define tap zones for the Pg Up and Pg Dn commands but cannot find this option. The touchpad buttons are right on the front edge of the palmrest. The palmrest is almost covered with stickers listing the key features and the specification.

Front indicator lights and audio sockets (view large image)

There are four indicator lights on the front right edge of the palm rest so they are visible from above and from the front. Someone at Sony has realised that this location is more likely to be visible, at least for people who use a mouse, than the more popular indicator location under the user’s left palm. From left to right the lights are: Battery; HDD (also include ODD and other media) access; WLAN on; and Bluetooth on. The lights have symbols to make them easy to interpret.

The switches at the back of the keyboard (view large image)

The power button is located above the Delete key with a green light on the edge of the chassis. This light is visible whether the computer is open or closed. There are three keyboard indicator lights between the power button and the delete key. These are simple green LEDs with a small printed legend next to them. There are two other buttons between the power button and the display. One button ejects the optical drive. The other is user-configurable but, by default, is preset to stop unwanted action during a presentation such as a screen saver or email alert. Above the keyboard on the left side are a fingerprint reader and a hardware wireless switch.

A Tour of the Sides

Overall, the ports are quite well laid out. The fan exhaust is near the back on the left side while there are no sockets near the front of the right side to get in the way of a mouse. However, the audio ports are at the right side at the front and wires with straight plugs could still get in the way. There is no built-in microphone, There are two USB ports, one each near the back on each side. The USB port on the right side is orientated vertically with the “top” facing towards the back of the computer (so you can’t see the activity light on a flash drive if it is on the top). The power socket location is fine because the power plug is L-shaped (with the nice detail of a built-in LED power light). The tray loading optical drive is very close to the table surface. The photos show how close the G11 sits to the table. The SD card socket can only be accessed by lifting the front of the computer because the front edge slopes inwards towards the base. Perhaps the reason for the sloping sides is that they make it easier to lift the computer. Let’s have a tour of the sockets, clockwise starting at the front.

The front has separate Memory Stick and SD/MMC slots (with activity light on left side) , headphone and microphone sockets some air vents and the loudspeaker grill. (view large image)

Left side from back to front: Power socket, USB2.0 port, network port, fan exhaust, cardbus slot and security slot (view large image)

Right side from front to back: optical drive (with air inlet below), modem port, VGA port and USB 2.0 port. They could have squeezed in another USB port. (view large image)

The back: Just the hinge mechanism (view large image)

The Display

The display is 1024 x 768 (XGA) matte LCD with LED backlight.  I had previously thought that the display in my Zepto 6024W was a good example of a matte display, but it doesn’t stand comparison with the G11’s display which has, in my experience, exceptional brightness and richness of colours without any obvious loss in quality caused by the anti-glare coating. The illumination is very even with the exception of a zone about 3mm high along the bottom edge where there are noticeable slightly brighter patches at about 5mm intervals which, I assume, are caused by the LED lights.

It is difficult for my camera to do justice to this display (view large image)

There are 9 brightness settings. 3/8 gives adequate lighting to extend battery time and the full brightness is almost too bright. Viewing angles are typical for displays of this type. The horizontal viewing angle range is good and the vertical range moderate for text work. However, colour images are best viewed at 90°. They become darker when the top of the screen is pushed back and lighter if it is pulled forward.

The benefit of the matte screen is a much reduced problem of annoying reflections. However, one does not see this benefit unless the computer is put alongside another computer with a glossy screen. This display is usable outside at full brightness if away from direct sunshine

Audio Quality

The G11 contains one small loudspeaker located somewhere under the right palm rest. Not surprisingly for such a small notebook, the audio quantity and quality from this loudspeaker is poor. There is no obvious Sony customisation of the Realtek audio installation to give the optimum audio settings. There is no built-in microphone.

Processor and Chipset

The G11 is designed for stamina, not speed, and is powered by the Intel U1500 Core Solo CPU. This CPU is one of the Ultra Low Voltage family with a maximum Thermal Design Power (TDP) rating of 5.5W compared with over 30W for a standard Core Duo CPU. It is a single core CPU (or more likely a dual core CPU with one core disabled) and is functionally very similar to a Pentium M CPU.

CPU-Z reports for the G11 CPU.CPU-Z does not see the second RAM module (view large image)

This U1500 CPU has voltage range of 0.937V at 6x (800MHz) to 0.968V at 10x (1.33GHz). I had expected to see a lower voltage range given the “Ultra Low” name but these values are in the middle of Intel’s specified range (0.80 to 1.10V). The BIOS is dated December 2006 and no updates have been issued.

Alongside the low power CPU is the Intel 945GMS chipset which is a lower power version of the normal Intel 945GM chipset. Features include the use of only a single memory channel with a maximum speed of 533MHz and maximum address capability of 2GB. The computer as supplied has 512MB RAM on board plus 512MB RAM in the single slot. Sony indicate that the maximum RAM capacity of this model is 1.5GB. It seems that they did not try a 2GB module: It works fine subject to the overall 2GB ceiling. However, I don’t know which 512MB is ignored.

Vista reporting 2GB RAM when a 2GB module is installed (view large image)

Hard Disk

The supplied hard disk is a 100GB 1.8” 4200rpm Toshiba MK1011GAH using the PATA interface. 1.8” HDDs have smaller size, lower weight and less capacity than the 2.5” HDDs used in most notebooks. They also have lower power consumption: Toshiba show 1.1W for seek and 0.3W for idle. They are slower compared to the current generation of  2.5” HDDs with a maximum transfer rate of  28MB/s dropping down to 13MB/s. HD Tune’s results for this disk are below.

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Optical Drive

The optical drive is the Matshita UJ-852S. This is an ultra-slim (9.5mm / 3/8”) thick unit. Inspection reveals that it does not have the full housing used in normal notebook burners: There is just a base and a tray built into the chassis so weight is reduced as well as thickness. This burner supports the full range of DVD / CD burning functions including +/- dual layer DVD and DVD RAM but not disc labelling or the high-definition formats. I have not extensively tested the optical drive, but it has played DVDs, CDs and burnt the recovery media without problems. An interesting feature is that Sony have connected this burner as a USB device and provided a utility to shut off the power.

Nero’s report on the UJ-852S (view large image)

Sony Utilities

Sony provide a number of utilities for the G11. The main interface to these is through the Vaio Control Center. While some of the controls are standard system features, others are special. The most interesting functions are:

(view large image)

• BatteryCare Function: This sets the maximum battery charge to a value less than full capacity (80% and 50% are the default options) and is claimed to extend the battery life. The battery does not recharge if less than 2% below the target capacity.
• Built-in Pointing Device: This control enables / disables the touchpad.
• Hard Drive Protection Setting: Controls the shock protection sensitivity.
• Performance: Changes the memory bus speed between 400MHz and 533MHz.
• Peripheral Device & Storage Media Restriction Setting Utility: Enables restrictions on writing to removable media.
• Vaio Power Management Viewer: This provides access to the customised power schemes and further controls for display colour depth, maximum fan speed and whether certain components are powered.
• The Wireless Device Switch controls whether 2.4GHz or 5GHz wireless is selected and whether Bluetooth is also enabled.

The Vaio Status Monitor provides a viewer showing the status of the various settings.

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Benchmarks for VGN-G11XN/B (Core Solo U1500)

Windows Vista Experience Index

Vista on a low powered computer doesn’t seem to be the best choice but these notebooks were manufactured at the time of Vista’s launch. Sony have subsequently made XP drivers available on request.

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The G11 scored 2.0 on the Windows Experience Index. The weak link was the desktop graphics with 2.0, followed by gaming graphics at 2.8 and the CPU at 2.9 while the HDD scored 3.9. Installing 2GB RAM raised the score to 2.1. For comparison, the Samsung Q35 which also has the GMA 950 scored 2.3. I prefer Vista without the eye candy, bells and whistles and, with those features suppressed, visual performance is quite acceptable.

SuperPi

No review is complete without a SuperPi result. SuperPi is often used as a test for raw CPU performance. The U1500 in the G11 needed 1 minute 46 seconds to complete the calculation to 2 million digits. This is in proportion to the clock speed compared with other Core series CPUs but is significantly faster than a 1.6GHz Pentium M or 1.6GHz mobile Pentium 4.

The table below compares the G11’s SuperPi score with some other notebooks

It has been suggested that SuperPi should be superseded by wPrime which is multi-threaded. The U1500completed the 32M calculation in 124.581s. This is much slower than we are used to seeing for the recent dual core CPUs and is about 10% slower than a 1.6GHz Pentium M CPU but almost twice the speed of a 1.6GHz mobile Pentium 4.

(view large image)

SiSoftware Sandra from http://www.sisoftware.co.uk/ is another software package which contains benchmarking modules and includes a database of test results.

The results graphs for the CPU tests are given below. These results show that the U1500 is slower than a 1.8GHz Pentium M and only slightly faster than a 1.6GHz Pentium 4.

SiSoftware Sandra CPU test results (view large image)

The G11’s memory performance is of interest because it uses the Intel 945GMS chipset with only one memory channel. Sandra shows that the memory bandwidth is about 2200MB/s (a result which is independent of the RAM module combinations) and this speed drops to about 2000MB/s if the memory frequency is dropped to 400MHz.

Sandra’s memory bandwidth test result (view large image)

PCMark05

The PCMark05 score for the VAIO G11 was 1,554 PCMarks. The table below compares the PCMark05 test result with some other notebooks. The result is in the same range as other notebooks with similar hardware. 

The detailed PCMark05 test results for the VAIO G are:

3DMark05

The VAIO G11 managed a score of 357 3DMarks for 3DMark05. The test was run at 1024*768 resolution with no anti-aliasing. This result is significantly worse than for the Samsung Q35 which also has the Intel 945GM GPU and may reflect power-saving changes in the GMS chipset (the single channel memory access being one) which affect performance. The G11 is compared below with other results for notebooks with integrated graphics.

3DMark06

The 3Dmark06 score for the G11 was 147 3DMarks. This test was run at 1024*768 with no anti-aliasing. This is better than for the Intel 945GM GPU in the Samsung Q35, perhaps because the benchmark on the latter would run at the higher 1280 x 768 resolution. The G11 is not designed for gaming beyond the occasional visit to Solitaire or similar strategy games. The G11 is compared below with other results for notebooks with integrated graphics.

Cinebench

Cinebench is a good rendering benchmark tool based on the powerful 3D software, CINEMA 4D. Its rendering tasks can stress up to sixteen multiprocessors on the same computer. It is a free benchmarking tool, and can be found at http://www.cinebench.com. It has been recently updated from version 9.5 to 10 and I have included some results below for both versions. Cinebench also includes an OpenGL benchmark which will be of interest to those people who use software which uses OpenGL.

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Battery, Power Supply and Cooling System

The interesting part of the G11 is the power management and whether the claimed 9 hours of operation away from a power socket is realistic.

The power supply is an impressively small and light 45W (16V, 2.8A) unit which has a 2 pin power connector. It’s shorter, but thicker, than my mobile phone. Sony kept the travel weight down by supplying a short (70cm) mains power lead. Fortunately, the low voltage lead is a more generous 1.9m. The PSU is efficient and does not heat up substantially during use. The PSU does not have a power light, but the there is one on the power plug.

The power light on the power plug (view large image)

The G11’s PSU alongside a Samsung 90W PSU on a CD case (for scale) (view large image)

The 6 cell battery is rated at 10.8V, 5.8AH, 61.64WHr which is the highest rating for a 6 cell battery that I have encountered.  The charging rate is only about 18W when the computer is on, but this probably helps the battery life. Sony’s specs give a minimum charging time (with the computer off) of just over 3 hours. So how does the battery perform? My first test was to have the computer on, but idle, in Vista’s Power Saver mode with the display on half brightness and no internet or wireless. Over about 20 minutes and using the supplied utility to turn off the power to the optical drive, the power drain dropped from about 10W to less than 6W which gave a forecast run time of over 10 hours. This is without using Sony’s more aggressive power management tweaks.

93% charge and forecast over 10 hours remaining! (view large image)

So what about real-life tests in use? First, my standard DVD playback test using the 3-hour Dances With Wolves. Starting with 80% charge and the display 2 notices below full brightness, there was 29% power remaining. This suggests that DVD playback of nearly 6 hours at usable brightness is feasible. The optical driver was actually only running for about 2 minutes in 20 minutes, so the DVD data must be cached in the RAM. However, there is one obstacle: The supplied WinDVD insists on shutting down when the battery charge drops below 15%! Perhaps Sony believe that G11 users should always have enough power remaining for a couple of hours of work. Another test has been to run the Prime95 torture test. This dropped the battery charge by 11% over 30 minutes, indicating potential to run the CPU on full load under battery for nearly 5 hours.

I haven’t actually tried to use the G11 for a full day on battery but the evidence points to 9 hours of light use with no wireless, etc, being achievable. Even if the true life is 7 or 8 hours, for most people that represents more than a full working day because of interruptions when the computer can sleep. Functions such as wireless internet and Bluetooth use power. My tests suggest that with these functioning then the battery time may be reduced to around 7 hours: 2 hours 20 minutes of editing this review with wireless and Bluetooth working reduced the battery charge by 30%.

What about heat and fan noise? Heat is not a problem with this notebook. The left side of the keyboard (over the CPU) gets warm but not uncomfortable. The underside and the palm rests stay cool and the highest CPU temperature I have observed (during the Prime95 torture test) was 69°C. However, the fan can become noisy when the CPU is under load. I suspect the underlying problem is that the limited space means a small fan which has to spin quickly although it is not blowing out much hot air. A “whirr” is more noticeable than a “roar” because of the higher frequency of the sound.

Warranty and Customer Support

Sony provide a one year return-to-base warranty as standard. This is two years in some European countries. On-site repair and extended warranties are available at extra cost. However, an extended warranty has to be registered within one month of the computer’s purchase, which is before any potential problems may become evident. I have not needed to contact Sony’s customer services. So far, everything has worked as I would expect.

Conclusions

If you need a lightweight notebook with easy-to-read display and all-day battery life then the G11 has to be on your shortlist. The single core CPU means that at times there is noticeable unresponsiveness. The new G21 with a dual core CPU will address this problem but at the expense or reduced battery time (the currently available information for the G21 says 7 hours).  If the price were lower this notebook would appear to many more people. As noted earlier, I only bought it because the price had been reduced.

Contrary to Sony’s information, this model is upgradable to 2GB RAM using a 2GB module. It also supports SDHC. However, my attempt to use an SDHC card for ReadyBoost was unsuccessful because the system said it was too slow although it is fine in another notebook. While Vista is a questionable choice for this hardware, it runs fine once the eye candy and other extras are disabled. So far, I’ve not had a single crash, which suggests mature drivers.

Overall, the G11 is a good example of how light a notebook can be made without losing serious functionality or battery life. If someone can add a couple of inches to the G11’s width to create a 14.1” widescreen notebook and drop in a dual core CPU, I can then dispose of my 14.1” Zepto. Although its 2.35kg is relatively light for the size range, it feels really heavy in comparison with the G11! Proof of the usability of the G11 is that this review was drafted on it.

Pros

• Compact size, light weight but good construction quality
• Excellent display
• Impressive battery life
• Reasonable hard disk capacity and speed for this form factor
• Extremely small and light power supply
• Built-in optical drive
• Excellent attention to detail

Cons

• Very slow CPU
• Noisy fan when CPU is under load
• Mediocre audio
• Bouncy keyboard with small keys
• High price
• Limited port count

Standard aspect ratio business notebooks are becoming more difficult to purchase these days from different manufacturers, but Lenovo has pulled through for another generation with the ThinkPad T61. The 14″ 4:3 T61 is one of the last models of its kind on the market, and it is still every bit as durable and refined as the models before it.

The Lenovo T61 4:3 14.1″ notebook is offered with a wide array of options, with processors spanning from the Intel T7100 to the T7800, ram up to 4GB, hard drive up to 200GB, Intel turbo memory, Intel Wireless-N, and either the 128MB nVidia NVS 140M or Intel X3100 graphics cards.

The following are the features of the 14″ T61 being reviewed:

• Screen: 14.1-inch SXGA+ (1400 x 1050) TFT Display,150 NIT, 200:1 Contrast
• Processor: 2.0GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 (4MB L2 Cache,800MHz FSB)
• Hard Drive: 100GB hard drive (Hitatchi 7k100 7200RPM)
• Memory: 1GB x2 2GB Total (PC5300, 667 MHz, DDR2 SDRAM) 4GB max memory
• Optical Drive: DVD+-R Double layer / DVD+-RW Drive
• External Ports and Slots: Three USB 2.0, one ExpressCard slot, VGA, headphone / line-out, microphone-in, modem, 1Gb Ethernet
• Wireless: WiFi (Intel 4965AGN 802.11a/b/g/n), Bluetooth 2.0 w/ EDR
• Graphics: nVidia NVS 140M (256MB)
• Operating System: Windows Vista Ultimate
• 9-cell Li-Ion battery (10.8V, 7.8AH)
• Dimensions: (WxDxH): 12.3″ x 10.0/10.9″ w/battery x 1.2-1.4″
• Weight: 4lbs 11.1oz, 5lbs 11.6oz w/9 cell battery (6lbs 10.3oz travel weight)

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Build and Design

Comparing the outside of the 14.1″ T61 to the older T60, it’s hard to figure out what all has changed. One clue that may stand out depending on how familiar you are with the hinge setup, is the left hinge is wider than the right hinge. Another subtle change that many diehard Thinkpad users will notice is the sticker has changed from being the older multi-color IBM logo, to just “ThinkPad Tseries”. Other than that no visible changes have been made. Internally the 14″ T-Series has gained a new LCD roll cage, which helps significantly to reduce screen lid flex, and ripples from pressing hard behind the screen.

Opening up the T61 another subtle but slightly odd change is the LCD is off center. If you are really picky about that sort of thing it may drive you insane, but I didn’t even notice it after using the notebook for more than five minutes.

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Structure wise the notebook is as strong as ever. Just like the T61p, chassis flex is not present, body panels don’t squeak under hard pressure, and palm support is excellent for typing. The palm rest has been redesigned from the previous model, but it doesn’t look much different without closer inspection. The front lip overhang has increased, and tasks like upgrading ram are a bit easier, since the palm rest seemed easier to slide off and reinstall.

Performance and Benchmarks

The T61 was an excellent all around performer, without any lag or delay opening programs or switching between programs. Much of this can be attributed to the amount of ram and the 7200rm hard drive which was configured with this model. Even tasks such as light gaming were possible with its business grade nVidia NVS 140M, comparable to the consumer nVdia 8400 GT.

Listed below are the standard benchmarks we run on our laptops to make it easier to compare models head to head.

wPrime is a program that forces the processor to do recursive mathematical calculations, the advantage of this program is that it is multi-threaded and can use both processor cores at once, thereby giving more accurate benchmarking measurements than Super Pi.

PCMark05 comparison results:

3DMark06 comparison results:

Screen

The only weakness of the 4:3 T61 is the screen in my opinion. The 200:1 contrast ratio really shows throughout normal use, with menus and other screen objects looking washed out. Some darker screens were difficult to view, with screen elements blending into the background. Brightness levels were acceptable for a 14.1″ notebook, and I found my comfortable levels to be set at about 85%.

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Viewing angles were average, with the colors tending to invert quickly on its vertical axis. Horizontal angles were better, keeping colors true to more extreme angles. Refresh times were also about average, with items like the mouse cursor showing some faint trailing on quick movement.

Keyboard, Touchpad, and Fingerprint Reader

The keyboard hasn’t changed much, in fact it is the identical part number to the one found on the older T60. This is great news for those hoping that the trusted layout and feel stayed the same into the new model. Same goes for the touchpad and fingerprint sensor. With many keyboard reviews, you generally see that particular model being compared against the “ThinkPad Keyboard” and this really holds true. You can type comfortably for hours at this keyboard as if it was your desktop in front of you. The support under the keyboard is very sturdy, with absolutely no flex anywhere.

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The touchpad, while being on the small side compared to versions found on other laptops, is still easy to operate. I find the semi-rough texture to be preferable to a polished feel for better control, and it seems to hold up longer to oils on your finger without getting too slick. The Trackpoint hasn’t changed much over the years, and gives the same feel as it always has. The buttons for both the touchpad and trackpoint give a nice solid clunk when pressed, never needing to be forced to register the click. The fingerprint reader works great, although in general they take a while to get used to the swiping motion. If you have never used one before, it may be a few days before you get the single stroke login down pat.

Input and Output Ports

Front: Wireless on/off switch. (view large image)

Left Side: Heatsink Exhaust, VGA, modem, LAN, microphone, headphone/lineout, USB, PC-Card and Expresscard slots. (view large image)

Right Side: HD Bay, Optical bay, 2 USB, Kensington lock slot. (view large image)

Rear: Battery and AC power jack. (view large image)

Audio and Speakers

The speakers on the T61 (as with the previous ThinkPad models) are slightly below average. With the speakers pointing directly down on the lower edge of the palmrest, sounds were muted slightly. If you had the laptop on a soft surface like a bed, the speakers would be completely blocked. Peak volume levels were lacking for loud movie entertainment, but the headphone jack was an acceptable alternative. Sound output was clear and free of any hiss or other interference. A coax digital output is also available through the advanced or advanced mini dock for connecting to your home stereo.

Networking

This T61 was configured with the Intel 4965AGN wireless card, and in daily use it worked without any problems. Reception was always strong and clear if you were within reasonable range of the access point, and it never had any odd dropouts that would kill a long file download. Wired performance was also excellent with the onboard Intel gigabit interface, never giving any hiccups.

Heat and Noise

The T61 managed heat much better than the older T60 under normal use. In situations where the CPU and/or GPU would be close to an idle state, heat was dispersed passively through the chassis and keyboard with the fan turning on in small intervals. Under heavier loads the fans would come on more, but temperature levels stayed in acceptable ranges. Fan noise was minimal, with the 7200rpm drive almost always louder. Below are temperature overlays listed in degrees Fahrenheit:

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Battery

The 9-cell battery on the T61 got just over 4 hours and 30 minutes in testing, with screen brightness at 80%, CPU set to adaptive, and with light internet activity. This was a bit less battery life compared to my 15″ T60 running XP, but the key difference seems to be that Vista is slightly more intensive in background activities. For in-flight entertainment, the T61 should be fine for getting through an entire DVD movie.

Conclusion

Buying Choices for the Lenovo ThinkPad T61 8895 – Core 2 Duo T7500 2.2 GHz – 14.1″ TFT Best Buy for Business | $1,752.99 ComputerGiants.com Inc. | $1,520.00 view detailed pricing from 2 stores starting at $1,520.00

Being one of the last 4:3 notebooks on the market today, the Lenovo T61 is a clear winner for those who still haven’t adjusted to the widescreen format choices. It offers a ton of power for the demanding business user, and you are still able to get most of the features available to the widescreen T61 models. Overall it’s great to see Lenovo still notebook format as an option to its customers.Pros:

• Runs very cool
• Fan doesn’t come on as much as previous models
• Excellent performance
• Great keyboard, touchpad, and touchpoint

Cons:

• Screen has limited contrast

The Asus G2S-A1 is one of Asus’ new G2 gaming series notebooks made in response to Santa Rosa. It is a 17.1 inch desktop replacement notebook (DTR). While maintaining a mobile status over an actual desktop, it is one of the heftier DTR’s weighing a heavy a 9.6 pounds (4.3 KG). The weight and large footprint however, are justified by the powerful parts within, and allows Asus to be accurate in placing this notebook in its gaming series. Below are full specifications for this notebook:

• CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo Processors T7500 2.2GHz, 4MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB
• LCD Size & Resolution: 17.1 WUXGA (1920×1200) Glossy
• MB Chipset: Intel 965PM
• Optical Drive: 8x Super-Multi DVDRW Dual layer with Light Scribe
• Memory: 2048MB DDR2 667Mhz (1GBx2) Two sockets for expansion up to 4GB
• VGA Card: nVidia GeForce 8600M GT w/256MB VRAM support Support GDDR3 type VRAM, 256MB
• Hard Drive: 160GB 5400rpm SATA
• WLAN: 802.11A/G/N
• LAN/Fax Modem: 10/100/1000, Fax Modem
• Battery/Run Time: Li-ion 8 cell/2hrs
• USB/1394/IrDA/S-Video/DVI: 5/1/0/1/0 (AV-In*1, HDMI*1, eSATA*1)
• Bluetooth: Yes v2.0 +EDR
• Card Slots: 5-in-1 (MMC, SD, MS/MS-Pro, XD) / Express Card
• Color/Weight/Dimension (W*D*H): Silver/ 9.6 lbs / 16″*12″*0.18″
• Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium
• Camera: 1.3MP Webcam w/Integrated Mic
• Special Features: ASUS Direct Messenger, ASUS Direct Flash, Gaming feature – Gaming focused keyboard

Reasons for Buying

Asus G2S (view large image)

As a student and frequent PC gamer, I wanted a notebook with powerful components capable of gaming, a large 17” screen, and a reasonable price. Mobility wasn’t a dominating factor as the notebook would be on my desk most of the time, while occasionally being moved and around the house and brought to school.

I initially looked at the Dell Inspiron 1720 and the Toshiba X200. I decided against the 1720 soon after looking into it for two reasons: One, I didn’t believe the nVidia 8600M GT DDR2 would suffice for my gaming needs, and two, reports of extended shipping periods and defects were too common for my liking. I decided against the Toshiba X200 because of its sluggish HDD running at 4200rpm, its modest 1GB of RAM, its high price in Canada as opposed to the U.S., and I didn’t like the 1.8GHz processor. Upon asking for assistance in the forums, the Asus G2S-A1 was immediately recommended. After some additional research, I decided this notebook was perfect: It had the GDDR3 version of the 8600m GT, it had a powerful processor and plenty and RAM, it was somewhat mobile, and it had an appealing price tag.

Where and How Purchased

After some bad experiences in the past with online purchasing, I decided to buy my Asus directly from a “brick and mortar” store. I visited a Canada Computers outlet, where I ended up purchasing my notebook because I was impressed with the service, and the overall store environment. The store was large, organized and had an abundance of computers, parts and accessories.

The price I paid was a temporary sale price (~ $1,800.00), which I believe was a very good deal as most other places I looked retailed it for ~ $2,000.00.

Build and Design

Because of the G2’s gaming grade components, I was not at all surprised to find this notebook is a beast. Weighing in at a massive 9.6 pounds, it is certainly heavier than your average DTR. Then again, this is not your average DTR. While it is particularly heavy, I was surprised to find its actual footprint isn’t as big as I expected, and I was impressed that it was less than 2” thick. However, I found it odd that the screen was extended on the top and bottom quite a bit with two large strips of plastic, making the overall width of the notebook quite long.

I was content with the build of this notebook. The chassis is very strong and does not give at all when pressure is applied. I wasn’t as thrilled with the screen casing, as it did twist. However, no ripples appeared when the outside was pressed. The hinges proved to be very strong and moved in a fluid motion, but the latch did not hold the screen down as securely as I might have liked.

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In terms of looks, this laptop doesn’t disappoint. I loved the lid, which appears to either laminated brushed aluminum or some fake material that looks like laminated brushed aluminum. Either way, it’s pretty. Upon opening the lid you will immediately recognize this notebook as a gaming machine. The webcam has a sleek, neat looking design, and the vents that border the keyboard share a similar design with their red paint-job. Most of the inside has a glossy surface that looks great, just beware of fingerprints. I loved how the palm-rest is made of actual brushed aluminum. Not only does it look and feel cool, but it even stays cool when the rest of the notebook gets hot. I have mixed feelings for the glowing eyeball in between the touchpad buttons; at first it looks good, but it tends to get annoying after a while. I was thankful that it could be easily turned off simply by disabling the touchpad.

Screen

If there is one thing that stands out on the Asus G2S-A1, it is the beautiful 17-inch WUXGA screen. The colors are exquisite, vibrant, and the screen is very bright. There is virtually no ghosting while gaming, and (according to Asus) the screen has a whopping 8ms response time. Just like every other notebook on the market, this screen utilizes a company-specific technology (ex. Dell = Ultrasharp, TrueLife etc.). The technologies are ColorShine and Asus Splendid Utility. ColorShine is simply a technology by Asus that is pretty much self explanatory: It enhances colors. The Splendid Utility on the other hand is a piece of software that allows you to customize the screens settings for your personal preference, and for specific uses. For example, if you were to view a DVD, you might set it to “theatre mode”.

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The WUXGA is fantastic and offers a true HD experience. It also permits you to work with several open windows simultaneously.

I do have one gripe though: There is visible backlight bleeding on the top and bottom of the screen. I won’t go so far as to say it’s obtrusive, but it’s certainly noticeable on a dark screen.

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I was lucky to have no dead pixels, but that was not a worry for me anyway. Asus has a 30-day dead pixel policy that dictates that your Asus laptop will be replaced if a dead pixel is found within 30 days.

Speakers

The one true disappointment I have with this notebook is integrated speaker quality. The speakers were placed under the notebook, directly below the aluminum palm-rest. Rubber feet elevate the two channels off of the surface the laptop is on.

My first test with the speakers was a simply music test. While it didn’t sound “bad” they felt weak and a bit tinny. There was absolutely no bass present. The volume was disappointing too; when gaming or watching DVD’s, the speakers just couldn’t get loud enough to realistically reproduce the sounds.

While I am disappointed, I wasn’t expecting to use the integrated speakers anyways, except during travel. When on my desk, my G2 is always connected to a 5.1 speaker setup (it achieves surround sound because the speakers have a hardware based matrix processor). And so I recommend to anyone who intends on purchasing this notebook to purchase external speakers with it. The integrated ones just don’t do the job.

Processor and Performance

I am thoroughly impressed with the performance of this notebook. I am of course not surprised; if a 2.2GHz Core 2 Duo T7500, 2GB of 667MHz RAM and a nVidia 8600m GT w/256MB GDDR3 vRAM didn’t render great performance, I would have been concerned. Booting up is always quick, and simple programs like IE7 or Microsoft Word open at lightning speed upon a double click. After using an old Pentium 4 desktop for some time, I truly enjoyed the multitasking capabilities I had. I can easily be downloading music, listening to music, running a virus scan and browsing the web all simultaneously with only a hint of slowdown. In terms of gaming performance, I basically got what I expected: I can run somewhat graphic intensive games at reasonable resolutions and very high settings. The only games I have tried to run so far are Doom 3 and Far Cry. My results playing the games are as followed:

Doom 3:

• Settings- 1024 x 768, Maximum Settings
• Average FPS: 86 fps

Far Cry:

• Settings- 1024 x 768, High Settings
• Average FPS: 80 fps

I am impressed with the gaming results and would feel confident playing any new DX10 at medium-high settings. I don’t think I could ask much more from an 8600m GT.

Benchmarks

I used two programs to test the performance of the notebook: “Super Pi” and “HD Tune”.

Super Pi forces the prcoessor to calculate Pi to 2 million digits of accuracy, below are some comparison results:

HD Tune Results:

Transfer Rate:  

• Minimum 17.2 MB/sec
• Maximum 47.7 MB/sec
• Average 35.6 MB/sec

Access Time:

• 17.3 ms

Burst Rate:

• 77.9 MB/sec

CPU Usage:

• 6.7%

Heat and Noise

While gaming machines typically produce excessive heat and noise, the G2 has proved itself to be an exception; at least with noise. The notebook uses an efficient fan-cooling system, with two vents purposefully placed alongside the keyboard to take in cool air, and a large vent along the back to push out hot air. While the fans are almost always on even during light usage, they are not at all noisy or distracting. In terms of heat, however, it produces what would be expected of a gaming machine: Lots of it! During long periods of intensive use, the bottom of the laptop will become very hot, and would likely burn you mildly if you placed it directly on your lap. The keys on the keyboard itself actually get somewhat warm, as does the glossy surface around it. The palm-rest however, strategically made of brushed, aluminum stays pleasantly cool. Outside the back vent, there is a constant stream of hot air. While the air is not scalding, it still is quite hot and thankfully the vent doesn’t actually “blow” the air out; it simply “pushes” it.

Keyboard and Touchpad

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I am very happy with the keyboard and touchpad on the G2. The keyboard is unlike any I’ve ever used on a notebook; the typing experience is similar to that of an actual external keyboard. The keys go down as far as I’ve ever experienced on the laptop, and with each pressed key is a satisfying click. While I have noticed some keyboard flex, it is not in excess and actually contributes to “cushy keying”. In terms of gaming this keyboard is completely competent, and with the main gaming keys labelled distinctively in red, it establishes itself as of a gaming keyboard.

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The touchpad is satisfyingly large and responsive, and I especially liked its texture which can be described only as a good compromise between rough and smooth. That said, I didn’t find the buttons such a joy to use. I found that too much pressure was needed to push the buttons, and the audible “click” is far too loud.

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In between the touchpad lies a unique, glowing eye. It isn’t just there to be pretty as most may assume; it’s also an indicator of whether the touchpad is enabled or disabled. As commented before, it seems like a neat detail at first, but the glowing eye tends to get annoying after a while. As long as you don’t actually use the touchpad, this is easily fixed simply by disabling the touchpad.

Most people will appreciate the dedicated media keys located along the front edge of the notebook, in front of the touchpad. Unfortunately, pressing them is awkward. The buttons do not stick up at all, and I find that to properly press them I need to use my fingernail. Nevertheless, they still do the job and are more convenient than using the mouse all the time to control media. Sitting right next to the media keys is a button of the same type that is labelled “power”. While I believe it was designed to boot some kind of Asus media software in XP, in Vista it simply boots Windows and then Windows Media Center, rendering it quite useless.

Input and Ports

You’ve got to hand it to Asus; they stuffed just about as many ports as they could on the G2 with only a few flaws. As well as the standard array of ports found on DTR notebooks (except for a DVI), it also includes some bonuses like a premium HDMI port. I was surprised in Asus’ decision not include a DVI port. It’s not devastating, but it means that if someone wants a beautiful picture on an external display (not an analog connection), they will have to find something that’s HDMI-compatible. Another gripe is the fact that all but one of the five USB 2.0 ports are located on the rear of the machine, to the consumer’s inconvenience. While it might have been nice if Asus had put more than one USB port on the side, it can be easily solved by using a USB hub. Below is a complete list of inputs and ports:

• 1 x HDMI
• 1 x eSATA Port
• 1 x Express card
• 1 x Microphone-in jack
• 1 x Headphone-out jack (S/PDIF)
• 1 x VGA port
• 5 x USB 2.0 ports
• 1 x IEEE 1394 port
• 1 x RJ11 Modem jack for phone line
• 1 x RJ45 LAN Jack for LAN insert
• 1 x Wireless ON/OFF switch (Wireless Console to control Wireless/BT)
• 1 x SIR
• 1 x CIR
• 1 x TV-out(S-Video)

The back view of the G2S-A1 with lock slot, S-video out, VGA out, HDMI, and four USB 2.0 ports. (view large image)

The left side view of the notebook with modem and Ethernet ports, USB port, microphone and headphone ports, SPDIF output jack,firewire, ExpressCard, multi-card reader, and wireless on/off. (view large image)

The front side view with media control buttons and eSATA port. (view large image)

The right side with Lightscribe DVD drive and power jack. (view large image)

The bottom view with vents, memory expansion access, and battery. (view large image)

Wireless

There’s not really much to say in terms of wireless. It has an 802.11A/G/N wireless card that connects with no trouble to my router in the basement, and easily recognizes routers of neighbour’s.

It has v2.0 +EDR Bluetooth and infrared, however I can’t comment on either as I have to yet to use them.

Battery

Battery life for the G2 was adequate. I was not expecting long battery life for such a beast, and my expectations proved true. Under normal use with screen brightness high and wireless on, I could achieve just more than 80 minutes of use. Under normal use with brightness low and wireless off, the notebook had juice for more than 135 minutes. While battery life would be better if Asus had put a nine-cell or even a twelve-cell battery in G2, battery life was satisfactory and I don’t think I could have asked for much more from a gaming machine.

Operating System and Software

I am personally pro-Vista, and actually enjoy using it as opposed to XP. While it is true that there are some flaws includng a minor decrease in gaming performance, there are many reasons that I think the Vista upgrade is a worthy upgrade. A few of the reason include:

• Quick Launch is very convenient and makes searching for ANYTHING in Vista simple and easy (advanced searching has some improvements too)
• With Vista’s beefy security, the whole operating environment becomes much safer and more secure
• Simple programs like Windows Photo Gallery and Windows Live Mail, while often overlooked, are very useful and are decent and simple substitutes for expensive, third-party software

These are only a few reasons that make Vista a beneficial upgrade. Not required, but beneficial. I guess it’s just personal opinion and preference when it comes to Microsoft’s new OS.

In terms of the software put on by Asus, there are definitely too many useless programs preinstalled, like “Chk Mail” and trials for antivirus software and productivity suites. It ends up being only a minor annoyance though, as the programs are easily uninstalled.

Extras

There are a few extra goodies that come with the G2, like an OLED notification display and a gaming mouse.

The OLED display is a neat feature that notifies you of some basic activities going on in your OS while like an instant message or a new email. While it seems like a neat gimmick, it tends to be more of a “cool accessory” rather than anything especially useful.

Also integrated into the notebook are side gaming lights that flash monotonously when any DirectX 9 or later game is played. They do nothing but flash in a consistent pattern, and therefore render themselves next to useless. I quickly disabled them, but for those who really want the gaming laptop feel, the lights are a fine extra.

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Also included are a gaming mouse and an LCD cleaning cloth. The gaming mouse is actually a Logitech MX 518 with Asus decor. It is extremely ergonomic to use (at least for right handed users) and with an abundance of customizable keys and on-the-fly sensitivity change, it establishes itself as a great, optical gaming mouse. While the LCD cleaning cloth is a rather small extra, it nevertheless appreciated. I find myself in constant need of a cleaning cloth as I always like to keep my screen particle-free, and the cloth included is great at trapping anything on the screen.

Customer Support

Since I have had no problems so far, I can’t comment on Asus Support. With Canada Computers though, I am confident that they would be easy to deal with and helpful, as I’ve already experienced this when purchasing the notebook.

Conclusion

After spending many hours with my new Asus G2S-A1, I am thrilled to say that the NBR forum members were right in recommending me this machine. You certainly get what you pay for: A strong, attractive notebook with powerful application and gaming performance. Extras like the OLED display and media keys impact the overall user-experience very well, and I couldn’t be happier with what I have. Sure, there are a few flaws like weak speakers and no DVI port, but they should be no reason to turn away from this notebook. I would easily recommend this to anyone who needs a DTR with great gaming performance, and don’t want to spend an arm and leg.

Pros

• Good, solid build
• Very attractive and stylish
• Relatively quiet
• Great gaming and application performance
• Gorgeous WUXGA screen
• Great keyboard

Cons

• It’s heavy, even for its class
• Lots of heat
• Missing a DVI port
• Touchpad buttons need too much pressure and are loud
• Very average speakers

Introduction

Panasonic has been making fully rugged U.S. military standard 810F notebooks for a number of years, catering to those that need to take their computer into some of the most extreme environments in the world.  Recently, Panasonic introduced the fully rugged Toughbook CF-30.  It features a 13.3″ XGA anti-glare and anti-reflective coating screen rated at 500 Nit (candelas per square meter, which measures brightness) and an industry first and only 1000 Nit touchscreen version, both sporting a 1.66GHz L2400 Low Voltage Core Duo processor, 512MB RAM, and 80GB HDD. The entire chassis with exception to the keyboard, and screen is made from magnesium alloy and comes with fully sealed keyboard, ports and hard drive making it ready for any conditions it faces regardless if its indoors, outdoors, snow, rain, dust… you get the idea. However, the downside to all this added protection is its bulkiness and hefty weight of 8 pounds.

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Panasonic manufactures all of its Toughbooks (except the CF-51/52) in Kobe, Japan.  Unlike most notebook manufacturers that buy base hardware from Taiwanese companies such as Quanta, in order to maintain 100% quality control, every Toughbook is built from scratch at the Kobe plant (except the LCD panel).  Matter of fact, Panasonic is so anal about the quality assurances over its notebooks that between the R&D and QA departments, over 1000 Toughbooks are damaged every year in its rigorous testings to produce the toughest notebooks in the world.

The unit under review today is the non-touchscreen. (If you have no use for the touchscreen, I highly suggest saving yourself $600 to $700 and get the non-touchscreen). I also took the liberty of removing its paltry 512MB of RAM and added 3GB of RAM as well as added a modular DVD RW drive. Lastly, even though the hard drive is 5400rpm, I opted to replace it with the 100GB Travelstar 7200rpm version as it is considered one of the fastest conventional notebook hard drives out there.  The following are the specs of the CF-30 being reviewed:

• Screen: 13.3 XGA (1024 x 768) Daylight Readable Transmissive TFT Display, 500 Nit
• Processor: 1.66GHz Intel Core Duo Low Voltage L2400 (2MB L2 Cache, 667MHz FSB)
• Hard Drive: 100GB SATA 150 Hard Drive (Hitachi Travelstar 7K200 7200RPM)
• Memory: 3GB (PC5300 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM) 4GB max
• Optical Drive: DVD+-R Dual Layer/DVD+-RW Drive
• External Ports and Slots: 3 x USB 2.0, Firewire 400, 54/34 ExpressCard slot, PCMCIA slot, SmartCard Reader, SD Card Reader, VGA, Serial, headphone/line-out, microphone-in, Modem, Gigabit Ethernet.
• Wireless: Wi-Fi (Intel 3945ABG 802.11a/b/g), Bluetooth 2.0 w/ EDR
• Graphics: Intel GMA 950
• OS: Windows XP Professional with SP2
• 91 Watt-Hour Li-Ion (10.65V, 8.55Ah)
• Dimensions: (WxDxH): 11.9” x 11.3” x 2.8”
• Weight: 8.2 Pounds

Build and Design

My initial impression of the notebook when taken out of the box was awe. It almost felt like taking out a slab of granite rock shaped like a notebook due to its weight, size and feel. It is very well packed, so even if the box is thrown around in the back of the FedEx truck, the notebook will most likely not be damaged. It is a Toughbook after all!

I always like to admire the build quality of a product when initially received and I took my time looking at the notebook from all angles. The build quality is really breathtaking and second to none. It is the most industrial looking notebook I have ever come across with its silver lid, an X like mark in the middle, black screws all around, black trim and of course, the signature solid metal handle. The silver finish (except the palm rest) has a rough texture feel, similar to the surface of a cinderblock.

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It’s worth noting that all ports, connectors are covered by waterproof and dustproof doors with a locking mechanism so they won’t open accidentally. The smaller ports are covered by rubber sealed covers. Just one main reason why the Toughbooks are used by the US military in Iraq, there is sand everywhere!

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I consider the hard disk to be the most vulnerable and yet the most important part of the computer. It really won’t matter if your notebook can survive a 10 story drop, if your hard drive fails, and you lose all your critical data, nothing else will matter. That is why; the hard drive in the CF-30 is actually suspended in the middle of a custom made cage by soft gel padding which protects the hard drive by absorbing all the shocks, drops and vibrations.  In addition, there is a heating rod within the cage that will activate and warm the hard drive before it starts spinning if it senses the ambient temperature to be too cold.

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Screen

If the purpose of your notebook is to view  tons of movies, pictures, detailed graphics, you need to look elsewhere.  This 13.3” screen only sports a resolution of 1024 x 768 which by today’s standards is very low.  Even my previous Sony TZ with an 11.1” had 1366 x 768 resolution.  Turns out Panasonic decided to use the lower resolution due to the nature of where this notebook will be used.  If this notebook is mounted inside a police cruiser, you wouldn’t want to squint your eyes looking at information while chasing down a suspect.  For the touchscreen version, the icons and buttons have to be large enough for a person to use his/her fingers.  It just has to display information clearly and large enough especially 3 to 4 feet away.  This is one of the few notebooks remaining that still sports a standard size ratio screen instead of the common widescreen.  The reason once again is that its targeted towards businesses and not the multimedia crowd.  However, I have received word from Panasonic that it may soon incorporate all of its Toughbook lines with wide screens.  Being that its becoming too expensive to purchase standard aspect ratio screens from the manufacturers since they are all moving towards widescreen production.

The below screen is only set at 40% brightness.

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The brightness of the screen at max is unlike anything I have ever seen before.  Let’s just say that I need to have the screen at half brightness and sometimes, it still feels it’s a bit too bright especially in a dark environment.  Of course, when taken outside, it’s a whole different story.  Even at less than full brightness in direct sunlight, everything on the screen is legible and you see no glare at all.  Unlike other LCD screens I have seen, there is actually another clear screen on top of the LCD screen, like a double pane glass window.  Its because of this outer protective “shell”, the LCD is able to resist elements such as water and dust.  However, while the protection is great, if you’re not looking at it from an optimal angle, text can look a bit fuzzy due to the double pane screens.

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Keyboard, Touchpad

I wasn’t really expecting anything extraordinary, however, I was pleasantly surprised at the good feedback it gave.  Panasonic wasted no space it in its quest to make sure the user receives the full keyboard treatment.

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As you can see, there is no wasted space on either side.  The Page Up, Page Down are all dedicated keys and does not require the Fn button.  Speaking of which, Panasonic put the Ctrl in the familiar place to the left of the Fn key as opposed the other way around like so many other laptop manufacturers have done.  Coming from the ThinkPad, I am very picky about my keyboards, which is why I was quite amazed at the similar feeling the Toughbook keyboard gave me.  It feels extremely solid with zero flex.  So solid in fact that there is no flex ANYWHERE on the notebook.  After removing the keyboard, I found the reason why there is no flex is because below, the motherboard is completely covered and sealed and the keyboard sits on top of a thick panel.

The Touchpad on the other hand is a different story.  It is semi rough to prevent being slipped off while using it, but it is very small with little room to maneuver.  But the one positive thing about it is that its recessed enough that your finger won’t wander off thinking you’re still on the touchpad.  The Touchpad buttons have a good feel to them, making solid clicks when pressed.  They are also made of hard rubber instead of plastic for better tactile feel if you were using gloves.

Input and Output Ports

Front:  The solid metal handle, speaker grill, the ruggedized ON switch as well as the Wi-Fi switch.  Again, making it easier if you wanted to turn it on while wearing gloves.  If you have the touchscreen version, there is a plastic stylus inside the handle.

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Left:  There are two door flaps. The first contains the multi pocket which contains the Expresscard 54/34 slot, PCMCIA slot as well as the modular DVD drive.

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If you need more battery life, you can swap out the DVD with a bay battery for those extra hours away from the outlet.  The second door contains the battery.  All you have to do is unlatch the door, pull the tap up and flip it open.  Panasonic made it difficult to open the battery door to prevent accidental openings.

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Rear: 2 x USBs, Docking port, VGA port, Audio Headphone, Mic, Serial port.

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If you have the docking station, you can just slide the small cover door and dock without having to flip down the entire cover.

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Right: Hard drive, SD Card, Mini Firewire, Modem, Gigabit Ethernet port, 1 x USB, Power port.

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Clear markings on the door cover showing what is behind each one.

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Heat and Noise

Unlike most notebooks, the CF-30 is passively cooled which means there are no fans anywhere to be found thus removing another point of failure from the picture. Because the Toughbook needs to be able to withstand from the elements such as water and dust, there can be no vents to make it water and dust proof. No vents mean no fans, hence the reason it has not moved to the Santa Rosa platform and utilizing the LV Core Duo processor instead to reduce as much heat as possible.

Even the motherboard is designed for maximum flexibility, with all of the I/O connectors located off the main board, so if there is a breakdown in a connector, only the daughter board has to be replaced rather than the main board.  Another reason for the low voltage processor is that this notebook isn’t intended to spend most of its time tethered to an AC outlet, rather to be used in the field, out in the wilderness, so it needs to maximize the battery life.

Strange not to see vents even by the RAM cover.

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This notebook does not produce ANY sound at all! It is completely silent.  I would have to press my ear firmly against the right palmrest area to hear the tiny buzzing of the hard drive.  I have not heard any hard drive sound regardless of what I’m doing whether its running tasks or booting up.  Even with zero fans, zero vents, the CF-30 barely gets warm on the palmrest and just slightly warm at the bottom.  Everything is cool to the touch.  If you have the strength and endurance to have an 8Lb notebook on your laptop for an entire day, you would not be bothered by the heat at all, that’s how cool the CF-30 stays.  Custom built heatpipe assemblies transmit the heat away from the internal components.

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Battery

The battery life on this machine is the best I have ever come across.  With Wi-Fi on, Bluetooth off, screen at 40%, I get approximately 7 to 8 hours browsing the internet with a few tabs open, and using MS Word or Excel.  All thanks to the low voltage processor, integrated video and the lack of fans to drain the battery.  When I take the Toughbook out with me, I leave the AC adapter at home even if its over the weekend.  It’s a very liberating feeling to know it can last me a very long time.

Security

Since this was not a built to order Toughbook, it did not come with an integrated fingerprint reader.  However, it does have the TPM module embedded in the motherboard for added security.  I allocated 10GB to a TPM drive that needs a log-on password to access the hidden drive.

Sound

I was a bit disappointed to learn that it only has one speaker, but since it wasn’t made for multimedia, it wasn’t a deal breaker for me.  However, when I did use it to watch a movie, the sound blew me away in terms of volume and bass.  Compared to an Asus W2, ThinkPad T60p, Sony TZ, the CF-30 wiped the floor with them with only a mono speaker.  It was very loud, clear and with sufficient bass that made watching TV and movies very enjoyable.

Performance and Benchmarks

Keep in mind this machine isn’t designed with raw power in mind.  Despite having the Core Duo processor instead of the next generation Core 2 Duo, it has more than enough muscle to work on everyday business applications such as MS Office, Outlook and various non graphics intense programs.  For those that still want to have a few older games during down time, the Intel onboard graphics will do just fine.

Super Pi comparison results:

Super Pi forces the processor to calculate Pi to 2 million digits of accuracy, below are some comparison results so you can see how the CF-30′s LV2400 processor competes.

wPrime:

wPrime is a program that forces the processor to do recursive mathematical calculations, the benefit of this program is that it is multi-threaded and can use both processor cores at once, thus giving more precise benchmarking measurements than Super Pi.

PCMark05 comparison results:

PCMark05 tests overall system performance.

HD Tune

HD Tune measures the hard drive performance:

I am extremely impressed with this hard drive.

Operating System & Bundled Software

Buying Choices for the Panasonic Toughbook 30 (Core Duo 1.66 GHz, 512 MB RAM, 80 GB HDD) B&H Photo-Video | $4,599.95 Next Warehouse | $4,409.22 CompareMaster.com | $4,355.64 view detailed pricing from 5 stores starting at $4,355.00 rate product

Again, unlike most computer companies that have a hidden partition on the hard drive for restoring your notebook to the factory default state, Panasonic has included a physical recovery disc, thus eliminating the need to create any partitions without charging an extra fee for it.  I applaud Panasonic for not install ANY bloatware on the notebook.  There are no useless programs, promotions, anti-virus to be found anywhere.  It is such a liberating feeling to have just the barebones installed.  Using XP Pro, it only took 30 seconds to the user password screen, and another 10 seconds until a program can be executed.  Now that is FAST sans SSD!

Final Conclusions

I am more than satisfied with the Toughbook and it is everything Panasonic advertised it to be.

Pros

• Can be used in almost any environment
• Built-in handle for portability
• Extremely long battery life
• High quality
• Rigid screen lid.
• Can be used as a weapon

Cons

• Not for the faint of wallet
• No bleeding edge hardware
• Heavy and bulky
• Expensive upgrades
• Not made for gaming.

When Fujitsu announced the LifeBook U810 mini Tablet PC, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it and guess what, we just got one in our office. This tiny tablet is amazing. I can’t say it would be a permanent replacement to a full-size tablet or notebook, but it is a great travel companion. It runs on Intel’s A110 processor and has a 40GB hard drive. The 5.6-inch WSVGA display is small, but still up to Fujitsu’s standards, meaning it looks great.

Fujitsu LifeBook U810 Tablet PC specs as reviewed (price as tested $1,099)

• Intel Processor A110 800MHz
• Intel 945GU Express Chipset
• Windows Vista Business with Microsoft Office OneNote 2007
• 5.6″ WSVGA Crystal View display with passive touch screen
• 1GB DDR2 400MHz SDRAM memory
• 40GB (4200 rpm) hard drive
• 10/100 Ethernet (with included cable)
• Atheros Super AG Wireless LAN (802.11a/b/g)
• Integrated Bluetooth wireless
• Integrated Fingerprint Sensor and embedded TPM
• 1 x USB
• SD slot
• Type I/II Compact Flash slot
• Microphone and headphone jack
• Main battery: 4-cell Lithium-Ion (5200 mAh, rated up to 5.5 hours)
• Dimensions: 6.73”(W) x 6”(D) x 1.26”(H)
• Weight: 1.8lbs with 4-cell battery
• One-year International Limited Warranty

Design and Build

The U810 is a solid little tablet. The chassis is sturdy and I didn’t notice any flex. The mini-keyboard has a little flex, which reminded me of the LifeBook T2010. After a while though you wouldn’t want to type on this keyboard because it really is too small. Fujitsu planned out every inch of this design. There is a pointing stick on the right corner and the mouse buttons on the left, just incase you don’t want to use the pen or touchscreen.

It takes awhile to get used to the mouse, but the passive touchscreen isn’t always as responsive as I wish. Sometimes your finger doesn’t register on the screen unless you push hard, so I opted to use the pen, which let me navigate faster. The 5.6″ screen isn’t that hard to read and the display is great. It has nice bold vivid colors, with little graininess. I wouldn’t want to work on this all day, but for those one-day business trips it would be perfect.

Since the keyboard is so small some of the keys are combined like the Home, Tab, Page-up and Page-down. It isn’t a problem though. The U810 converts into tablet mode easily thanks to its solid hinge and the screen automatically changes orientation. It really is small enough to put in a purse or small case and since it only weighs around 1.8lbs with the battery, I am sure you won’t notice the weight. It has a glossy gunmetal colored lid, which hides dirt well and black suede patches on the bottom to reduce heat, a Fujitsu trademark.

Performance

The U810 sports Intel’s A110 800MHz processor. It has 1GB of RAM and a 40GB hard drive. Not to bad for such a tiny tablet, but I think I would rather have Windows XP Tablet PC Edition instead of Vista. Don’t get me wrong Vista works fine on the U810, but you would gain more performance from Windows XP, which is an option.

Super Pi

In the below results of Super Pi, where the processor is timed in calculating Pi to 2 million digits: The U810 didn’t do bad at all considering it’s built on a different platform then the rest of the notebooks. Remember it has a different processor, small hard drive and it’s running Vista.

It takes over a minute to boot-up. I almost forgot I turned it on until I heard it beep. I haven’t ran any benchmark tests yet except Super Pi and probably won’t run to many since we know this isn’t made to be some high-performance gaming tablet. There will be a few tests covered in the full review to come next week, so stay tuned for those results. I will be testing out Fujitsu’s battery claim of 5.5 hours also. I hope it lasts that long and so far it seems pretty close.

First Impressions

Overall I am impressed with the U810. It has a nice array of features including one USB 2.0, docking connector, headphone jack, microphone jack, a Type I/II Compact Flash slot and Smart Card slot. It also has the option of External monitor/VGA and Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45) on the included cable. All of this is packed into such a small tablet. Although I do wish it had just one more USB port. It even has nice wireless options including Atheros Wireless LAN 802.11 a/b/g and BlueTooth 2.0.

The U810 connected to the Internet with no problems, but it does have poor signal strength in some areas. The Bluetooth comes in handy if you want to connect a mouse, which some users will because this tablet is so small. It also has an included VGA plug, so you can connect it to another monitor as well. The U810 is a great travel companion and could be used for those important presentations. The battery life seems good so far, but I will be testing it under other conditions in my full review. So check back next week to see more pictures and benchmarks on this tiny wonder. It has been a big hit in our office so far!

Video

Check out our hands-on video of the LifeBook U810 in action.

Affordable gaming and multimedia notebooks are nothing new to HP, and the updated dv6500z follows along with that tradition. Starting as low as $649, the AMD-based notebook offers users a notebook with outstanding features at a great starting price. One particularly useful feature included on this notebook when optioned with a dedicated graphics card is an HDMI port, giving this notebook a front and center position in any home theater. Read on to see how well this model holds up in our testing.

Our pre-production review unit of the dv6500z is priced at $1,133 as configured ($1,033 with online rebate at the time of this writing) with the following specifications:

• Windows Vista Home Premium (32-bit)
• AMD Turion 64 X2 Dual-Core Mobile Technology TL-60
• nVidia nForce 630M chipset
• Broadcom 4321AG 802.11a/b/g/draft-n
• 2GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM (2 x 1GB, maximum capacity 4GB)
• 160GB Seagate 5400.3 (reviewed with 80GB Seagate 5400.3)
• 8x DVD (+/-R double layer) drive
• 15.4″ 1280×800 w/ webcam (WXGA,Glossy)
• nVidia 8400M GS
• Expresscard slot/54
• 5-in-1 media card reader
• HDMI, VGA, S-Video, Expansion Port, Modem, 1Gb LAN, IEEE 1394,Serial, and Mic/Two Headphone connectors
• Three USB 2.0 ports
• Dimensions (WxDxH): 14×10.1×1.3/1.45” at rubber feet
• Weight: 6lbs 1.5oz with 6-cell (6lbs 11.6oz with 12-cell), 6lbs 12.6oz travel weight
• 60W (20V x 3.25A) 100-240V AC adapter (13.6oz)
• 6-Cell Lithium Ion Battery 55Wh (11.5oz)
• 12-Cell Lithium Ion Battery 95 Wh (1lb 5.7oz)
• 1-Year Standard Limited Warranty

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Build and Design

The dv6500z has a very nice sleek design, with a beautiful glossy feel. The display cover has the durable plastic Imprint finish, which holds up quite well to minor abrasion without scratching. The body has all smooth, rounded edges, making it really comfortable in your hand while carrying it around. The screen also sports a latchless design, removing the release switch from the front of the lid. The removal of this part also helps when it comes to picking out a slipcase for the notebook, as latches will sometimes snag on tight fitting cases. Although the lid lacks any latch to keep it held shut, the hinges feel fairly strong, keeping the lid secure. The cover itself feels quite durable, and is fairly rigid. The lid feels fairly strong, but pressing firmly onto the back of the cover will produce ripples on the screen.

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Opening up the notebook, you see a similar imprint finish surrounding the keyboard. It has the same super durable finish, but the panels themselves don’t feel that strong. Moderate pressure from your thumb is enough to flex the palmrest surface.

The body of the dv6500z feels pretty durable, and doesn’t creak when being held. The plastic used for the bottom of the notebook seemed to be of a high quality material. All of the access panels were thick enough to not cave in under pressure, even at the cooling vents where the material was not solid. All of the user upgradable components had an easy to remove panel, including the harddrive, ram, wireless cards, and backup battery. The optical bay was also user upgradable or swappable, with a single set screw.

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Screen

The glossy display on the dv6500z is very bright and vibrant, but in an extremely narrow viewing angle. No matter how you adjust the screen, you can never find a position where the entire screen is a solid black color. Too far forward and the screen starts getting washed out, and too far back and the colors darken or invert. Overall contrast also seems to be lacking, with blacks never reaching a true deep black. Viewing bright pictures or watching cartoons the screen’s poor contrast doesn’t show through, but reading text or watching dark movies the black colors have an almost gray look.

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Brightness levels were more than adequate for viewing the screen outside, or in a brightly lit conference room. My comfortable viewing level was 50-60%. Pixel refresh rates seemed to be top notch, with no ghosting in games or fast paced movies, or mouse trails on a black screen.

Speakers

Speakers are located above the keyboard, near the screen pivot point. This location puts them out of the way from your arms and wrists while typing. Music and movies came through clearly, but midrange and bass felt lacking. Volume levels were about average, but even with media player and windows volume levels maxed the speakers didn’t seem to reach their true high mark.

This notebook also includes two headphone jacks, which would be very useful if watching movies or listening to music on a plane with a buddy. Audio quality from both jacks was top notch, without any hiss or other forms of distortion.

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Keyboard and Touchpad

The keyboard on the dv6500z was very comfortable for extended typing. Individual key action was very smooth, and only required a light press to trigger the button. Keyboard flex was kept to a minimum with good support from below on both sides (even above the optical bay). Spacing between keys was similar to that of a desktop keyboard, and the layout was easy to follow. Gamers and other advanced users will enjoy the ctrl key placement on the far left side, with the function key just right of it.

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The touchpad is a super slick glossy style, having the same imprint finish as the rest of the notebook. Compared to other textured touchpads I have used in the past, it felt really strange at first. Once I got used to it, I almost wished all of my other notebooks had this same finish. Gliding your finger across the surface required almost no effort, and the sensitivity of it was perfect. Not once did I find a window or object that wouldn’t release after being dragged around the screen, or items that I had to forcefully click to get register a hit. The touchpad buttons were just as nice, with the identical imprint finish. Both buttons had a smooth action, with good feedback. A button located above the touchpad also allows the user to disable the touchpad, which comes in handy if you have an external mouse attached.

Performance and Benchmarks

Overall speed of this notebook was excellent for day to day use, as well as some gaming. The dual core AMD Turion TL-60 really pulled through with the nVidia 8400m GS video card. With the default settings, Half Life 2: Lost Coast ran perfectly without any loss of frame rate. Media Center ran flawlessly, and with a HDTV tuner, let us pause and rewind live TV without so much as a hiccup.

Below are benchmarks you can use to compared this particular model against others in its class:

wPrime is a program that forces the processor to do recursive mathematical calculations, the advantage of this program is that it is multi-threaded and can use both processor cores at once, thereby giving more accurate benchmarking measurements than Super Pi.

PCMark05 measures the overall system performance of a notebook, the 6910p came out with a respectable score, though nothing spectacular:

3DMark06 comparison results:

We did not run any hard drive benchmarks on this notebook, since the drive installed in the machine failed early in our review. We had a preproduction model that had seen better days, and the hard drive looked to have almost taken a direct impact. The model included with the notebook was a Seagate 5400.3 160GB drive, and we replaced it with a Seagate 5400.3 80GB running Vista Ultimate.

Heat and Noise

The dv6500z is pretty tame in terms of noise and heat output. The fan stayed off most of the time during basic tasks like browsing the web or typing. Under more stressful activities like running benchmarks or playing games the fan would usually stay on at a quiet, low speed. You could barely hear the fan unless it you had your ear next to the exhaust vent. Sometimes if the heat output peaked, the fan would come on at a faster, more audible speed, but would slow down moments later.

The palmrest and keyboard did warm up during use, but stayed within reasonable temperatures. Below are heat overlays showing the temperature of the upper and lower notebook surface in degrees Fahrenheit.

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Battery

For this review we had two different batteries to test, a 6-cell and the much larger 12-cell. Each battery was tested with the LCD backlight at 80 percent, and just using Internet Explorer with an active WiFi connection. This would simulate a regular day at school killing time inside or between classes. During this test the 6 cell managed 3 hours and 20 minutes, with the 12-cell getting 4 hours and 50 minutes.

Port Selection

Front: Wireless on/off switch, IR port, microphone jack, and two headphone jacks. (view large image)

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Right: Expresscard/54 slot, optical drive, USB, and AC jack. (view large image)

Conclusion

The HP dv6500z turned out to be a pretty nice budget multimedia notebook. The build quality and material selection was excellent, and the durable imprint finish holds up great to wear. Although the screen could have been improved, it was still fairly nice. The keyboard and touchpad turned out to be superb, and the finish on the touchpad couldn’t have been better. Add the HDMI output into the mix, and it’s hard not to recommend this notebook.

Pros

• Durable Imprint Finish
• Super smooth accurate touchpad
• HDMI, VGA, and S-Video Outputs (everything you could ask for)

Cons

• Some flex to the palmrest under pressure
• Display cover doesn’t stop the LCD from making ripples under strong pressure.

The HP Compaq 8510p is a member of the latest revision in Hewlett Packard’s business line. HP labels the 8510p as a performance model, little sibling to the aptly named 8510w (workstation); the question burning in everyone’s minds of course, is whether the 8510p, and especially the relatively untested ATI Radeon mobility HD 2600, can live up to the expectations surrounding these new computers.

Reasons for Buying

Back in April of this year my previous laptop, an Acer Travelmate 800, finally bit the bullet as I wrote the last words of a massive term paper. None too pleased with this I decided that regardless of whether or not I could fix it, the relationship was over. The trust was gone! She served me well for four years but with the warranty expired and my games running slower than paint peeling, it was time for a change.

So, pulling my old desktop out of retirement, I spent the summer trolling the NBR forums and the web for my next machine…

I considered many other laptops, such as the:

• Asus G1s-A1, F3Sv, F8sv, V1s
• Dell Inpsiron 1520, Vostro 1500
• Sager 2090
• Thinkpad T61p

But each and every one of these machines had problems I couldn’t accept, be it a grainy screen, audio jack problems, Core 2 Duo whine, two year warranty only, three month delay, or otherwise.

I had heard rumours of a mysterious new notebook HP was set to release: the 8510p. As an update to the fairly well-received nc8430, I was quite interested. Several friends and co-workers use HP business notebooks and always have good things to say. In the end it came down to the T61p and the 8510p, but unable to wait past the beginning of school, time forced my hand. Sorry, Lenovo.

Where and How Purchased, Customer Service

Sadly being a Canadian means more than just eating lots of back bacon and maple syrup. Technology releases are generally delayed up to two months from their US release dates. Knowing HP was notorious for this (I waited 3 months for the original HP Compaq X1000 to come out in Canada before giving up and getting the Acer), I decided to pursue other avenues of acquiring my new machine.

First off, I dealt with HP Canada several times before buying. I had questions about the warranty and the model itself. Customer service via email was not very helpful, and directed me to phone in with all my questions. Phoning customer service was a pleasant experience however; there was a 30 second wait and after that I talked to a well-spoken young lady at length. She answered all of my questions even though the 8510p was not even available in Canada at the time.

I then found a company on the Eastern seaboard (http://www.shopblt.com) that would accept an international credit card with a domestic shipping address added to the card.

Although HP delayed their initial shipment to the reseller by 7 days, I was able to ship it to a friend in Washington State, cross the border and return by August 28th, only 2 weeks after HP effectively ‘launched’ shipment of the 8510p (but almost 4 weeks after their paper launch).

Dealing with Bottom Line Telecommunications was, in a word, excellent. I emailed them often with questions and always received an answer within one hour during business time. The staff were prompt polite and helpful. The ordering process was painless and effective. I received updates every time something happened, and indeed my laptop was shipped 45m after I placed my order.

The only qualm I have is that the shipping prices on their site are automatically calculated based on weight and nearest warehouse. Normally this is fine, but on the day they received the units, neither was updated to reflect the higher weight and the fact that Texas had the only shipment of the new computers.

Thus at first my shipping price was quite low, but suddenly leapt upward at the last minute of the ordering process as the weight and origin of shipping were actually taken into account. However, considering they just received the notebook that day and I was already jumping at the gate to order, I can’t really blame them. The shipping costs are now accurate on their site.

Also, when my unit arrived it was packed inside a larger box with only some flimsy cardboard shredding for packaging. Thankfully it wasn’t damaged but the laptop box was able to move about freely inside the larger shipping box. I’m now sure if this was BLT or FedEx, though.

I brought the machine across the line myself. Taking advantage of the fact that laptops are covered under the technology category at Customs Canada and thus exempt from fees, I did not pay any duty or brokerage costs. I paid $200 CAD in taxes (PST+GST).

Specifications as Reviewed

I was lucky in that I purchased a pre-configured model (RM269UT#ABA), and so there was no delay in shipment. I know there are several frustrated souls on the NBR forums who just recently received their customized laptops, but who ordered far before I did.

In the end I paid:

$1395 USD ($1450 CAD)
$50 USD for express shipping (hey, I was in a hurry!)
$200 CAD in taxes
= ~$1700 CAD. An extra gig of ram was $40 CAD.

When compared to purchasing in Canada (if I had waited), HP advertised the price at $1600 CAD before taxes and shipping. They do not sell direct in Canada and you must buy from a reseller. I saw several of the latter taking pre-orders for my model for upwards of $1800 CAD at that time however. In the end I figure I saved $200 or more by heading south to purchase, but I realize this isn’t an option for everyone.

Anyway on with the show!

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HP Compaq 8510p (RM269UT#ABA)

• Windows Vista Business
• Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 (2.0 GHZ 800MHz front side bus 4MB L2 cache)
• 2GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM (1GB installed myself)
• 160GB 5400rpm SATA, HP 3D DriveGuard
• 15.4″ WSXGA+ (1680 x 1050)
• ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600, 256MB
• Intel 802.11a/b/g (4965AG), Bluetooth 2.0
• Intel Gigabit Network Connection (10/100/1000 NIC), 56K v.92 modem
• 8-cell Lithium-Ion Battery (73WHr)
• 3/3/0 HP business warranty

Initial Impressions, Build & Design

An HP Compaq nc6120 alongside the 8510p (view large image)

Upon returning home with my new machine it was already 11:30pm but I decided to start it up to at least take a look around (and check for any dead pixels!).

The first thing I noticed was how light and sturdy the laptop seemed while closed. My old 14.1” Acer was about 5.5 lbs and I was worried upgrading to a 15.4” chassis would be a large weight increase. Not so! The 6.1 lbs weight and dimensions (1.1″ x 14.0″ x 10.2″) of the 8510p make it very comfortable; my old Acer would creak and groan even when being handled. The 8510p didn’t make a noise as I carried it around, picked it up by a corner, flipped it around, stuck it over the edge of my table, etc.

HP nc6120 on the left, 8510p on the right (view large image)

As my last notebook was also a business model, it looked almost identical to my new computer. Clean lines, dark underside and inner area, lighter coloured lid, etc. However, the 8510p’s finish was much more polished and refined than that of the Acer. I did notice that the lid immediately picked up several fingerprints though.

On the body itself, the only place I can produce some minor flex through standard pressure is right at the top middle near the screen. On the keyboard, I can produce flex through light-moderate pressure right above the DVD drive, but nowhere else. This is of course facilitated by the fact that HP has changed the keyboard in this revision to include giant plastic spacers right above the DVD area drive to fill up the spots on the keyboard they didn’t have any keys for.

8510p on the left, nc6120 on the right (view large image)

Regarding the screen chassis, there was an issue in the older revision nc8430 where the screen bezel could be separated. I am happy to report this is NOT an issue any more as I was unable to reproduce the problem even after 15m of attempts (ugh HP/Vista setup… let me get to that in a minute). I can twist the screen to produce rippling, and push it from behind to get the same effect, but the pressure required is such that unless you drop a book on your LCD you should be fine

The hinges do not seem to have evolved since the 8430, as bumping the laptop jiggles the screen. On the other hand, it is quite resistant to actually moving so in this aspect there should not be any issues.

8510p in the foreground, nc6120 behind (view large image)

Just below the keyboard on either side of the space bar are two rubber spacers. I’ve been told these are to prevent the screen from impacting the keys during transport when the laptop is closed. They’re kind of annoying in that you have to keep them relatively clean or they will mark up the LCD, but I suppose the alternative is seeing your whole keyboard mark up the LCD. The lesser of two evils!

These screen marks were present upon opening, but easily cleaned off (view large image)

Upgrading the RAM was easy as pie, as both slots are located on the underside of the laptop, one screw away. I love how HP did this, as I’ve wasted quite a few hours digging into laptops to install RAM for friends and family.

As reported by a few other 8510w/p owners, I can jiggle the battery slightly when it is in place. But the movement is nothing extreme and the battery is actually kind of difficult to get out until you get used to the mechanism.

My unit does have some imperfections—there are two bumps on the lid, one near the HP logo and one at the top near the printed icons which rest on the front of the lid. There is a blotch of plastic in the middle of the spacebar at the bottom, as well as inside the hole the right lid ‘claw’ snaps into when closed. But considering my old Acer first showed up DOA, and the reseller took six weeks (!) to make things right again, I wasn’t going to complain.

Finally, the light indicators on the machine are thankfully located on the front, so they’re hidden when you are using the computer. I don’t know about any other 8510p users but I find the bright blue wireless light rather annoying.

Screen

When I first turned on the machine, the screen was very bright but unevenly lit. There were dark patches in each bottom corner as if the backlight didn’t work there. However upon booting into Vista for the first time these anomalies disappeared and have not returned.

The viewing angles are decent enough horizontally and vertically. I can read text horizontally to 90 degrees, but of course the colours wash out.

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In terms of brightness, it’s “bright enough” as many other 8510p users will attest. I think it could be brighter, but the screen is still very usable. The maximum brightness is good, but it seems the screen gets dark very fast below higher brightness levels. I can use it at say, 80% and above, but anything below is too dark for me.

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Also, as it’s a matte screen I haven’t had any reflections at all, which is quite nice when watching my friends struggle to see their glossy screens in class.

I have some backlight bleed on both sides of the screen as (I assume) there’s a backlight on either side; it’s about a fifth of an inch, and not really noticeable unless you’re looking for it. You can see it quite easily at extreme viewing angles but dead on it’s almost impossible to notice.

In regards to the quality of the LCD, I quite like it. The colours are vibrant—there is not a hint of graininess. Like other 8510p users I’ve disabled ambient light sensor control, as my screen constantly changing was just too weird.

I have one dead pixel, in the far bottom left corner. It’s black/grey and disappears in the taskbar, thankfully. The screen appears to be a Quanta.

Speakers

The speakers take up almost the entire front of the notebook. I’m assuming there are only two tiny ones in there, so I’m not quite sure why they decided to make a speaker grill which covers the front of the notebook almost completely. Either way, I would call them decent; no better, no worse. They’re functional for business activities and pretty much anything non music. However as with all notebook speakers they are tinny, with no bass and very poor highs. The mid range isn’t bad though.

Set-up and Operating Systems

As I mentioned earlier, the first boot was uh, not a very good experience. Between Vista and HP setting up the computer, the total initial start up time was 70 minutes. Now I don’t know if that’s the norm with new laptops these days, but that much time seems rather excessive.

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Upon first loading Vista I was struck by the sheer resource requirements of the system while running the default HP setup. HP only installed their own applications and some anti-virus stuff but there were 77 processes on the go, for a total of 800mb RAM used.

Right away I was bombarded by Intel Active Management Technology, Bluetooth, HP SecureGuard, User Account Control, and a few other rather annoying programs. Half of these are Vista’s problem but I was less than impressed with the software at first boot. A novice user would be completely overwhelmed with all the activity going on.

HP SecureGuard would ask me if it wanted to remember all my passwords every time I went to a website. UAC would jump all over me whenever I tried to install something. Intel AMT, Bluetooth and HP SecureGuard leap at my face every time the system rebooted to tell me various things they thought were of the utmost importance. In short, I was unhappy with the invasiveness of Vista and HP’s software. I was of course able to disable all of this in the end but it took a few minutes to find the right way for each program.

XP vs. Vista

As someone used to a streamlined Windows XP Professional install, seeing almost half my 2 GB of ram used at idle was just too much. Desperate to revert to my beloved XP, I immediately stuck my own SP2 installer CD in. Of course, I completely forgot you need to slipstream customized SATA drivers in beforehand…

…Skip ahead three hours, and I’m installing XP Pro once again, with the proper SATA drivers. Everything went fine until I went to install the Radeon HD 2600 XP drivers. No one even supports it yet! No modders, not ATI, nada. I had to use HP’s default drivers, which although relatively new, are in no way guaranteed to continue to be updated in any frequent fashion. Acer was years behind on driver updates, and frankly I wasn’t about to take a chance on HP’s diligence.

To my great surprise, HP included actual Vista install DVDs (32/64bit) with my 8510p. Despite the fact that these DVDs are plastered with the HP logo, they are in fact clean installs of the OS. A fresh Vista 32bit install made my system much faster. I then used the HP drivers/programs CD that came with the machine to reinstall the essentials. While I’m not really happy with my tweaked-to-there-and-back install of Vista using 550mb of ram as compared to XP @ 200mb…I guess I’ll take it for now.

Performance

Under the hood of my 8510p is the latest Core 2 Duo revision, clocking in at 2.0 GHz with a 4mb cache.

Super Pi results:

PCmark05 results:

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PCMark05

PCMark05 measures the overall system performance of a notebook, the 6910p came out with a respectable score, though nothing spectacular:

The hard drive is a Hitachi Travelstar 5400 160 GB SATA. I’ve noticed a few other 8510p owners have received Seagate instead, which is kind of disappointing as I prefer Seagate.

HDTune results:

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Windows Experience Index:

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At least we come to what you’ve all been waiting for—a test of the elusive ATI Radeon HD 2600 256mb. Of course, I’m still not quite sure about this GPU myself. Everest and every other program I’ve used so far (O/C apps, other ID programs, etc) all list my GPU as GDDR3. Everest even clocks me in at 500 core/400 memory. But both ATI Tool and ATI Tray Tools claim it runs at 300 core/400 memory!

Regardless, some HD 2600 owners with DDR2 have posted their scores on the NBR forums, and as you’ll see they’re a few hundred points lower than mine. Sticking with my assumption of GDDR3 then, it’s underclocked either way (stock is supposedly 500/600 according to ATI), so bear that in mind when viewing these results!

Anyway on to the benchmarks; these were all done using the Catalyst 7.8 drivers.

3dmark05 results:

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3dmark06 results:

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3DMark06 comparison results:

3DMark06 tests the graphics performance of a notebook, as you’d expect the dv2550se doesn’t tear up the competition here as it wasn’t designed as a 3D gaming notebook.

Gaming

Unfortunately I don’t really have any recent games nor have I had the time to acquire any newer game demos. Until I can find the time to pick up a copy for myself, here’s the best I can do:

Counter-Strike Stress Tests

Recommended settings and results:

Highest settings and results:

Half-Life 2: Lost Cost Stress Tests

Recommended settings and results:

Highest settings and results:

World of Warcraft

All tests done at 1680×1050, with all video settings maxed.

Shattrath City (bank + main building area)

24bit color 24bit depth 1x multisample = average 45-50 FPS
24bit color 24bit depth 8x multisample = average 17-20 FPS

Flight (tested on nether ray and netherwing drake around Terrokar Forest…no it’s not my account!)

24bit color 24bit depth 1x multisample:

Flying at horizon level = 65-90 FPS while rotating the camera around
Flying at ground level = 27-42 FPS while rotating camera around

Max possible FPS (facing a wall…did this for fun) = 127.1

Doom 3

High Quality, 1680×1050, no AA = 63 fps regardless of where I was
High Quality, 1280×1024, 8x AA = 35-60 fps – average high 30s mid 40s

[The results were lower in open areas, higher in corridors; never any real lag though]

Ultra Quality, 1280×1024, 8x AA = 15-60 fps – average high twenties low 30s

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The system hiccupped a few times in the massive underground portion of Mars City, especially the maintenance areas, but was relatively playable inside the compound

Heat and Noise

In all honesty, after spending a summer reading about new generation laptops running excessively hot and loud, I was worried about the 8510p. Coming from a 5+ year old notebook which was whisper quiet and cool except for the fan (which whined like crazy), I had my doubts. But the 8510p really does deliver in terms of both heat dissipation and quietness.

The unit doesn’t really get too warm anywhere except the underside, where the RAM and the wireless create quite a toasty combination. Other than that, I’ve been benchmarking and gaming for hours now and have had little issue with heat anywhere on the unit. As other owners have noted, the left wrist rest does get warmer than the right, which is rather paradoxical as the right side has the hard drive.

Depending on the power scheme and whether idling/under load, the temperatures varied as follows:

While sitting in front of the computer, the fan is only really noticeable at high RPM. At medium speed you can just barely hear it, and low is basically inaudible. It pumps out pretty warm air but you can put your hand in front of the vent and not experience any real discomfort.

The hard drive is noticeable during high activity when the fan is at low or medium RPM, but otherwise is drowned out by background noise. I must say though, as this is my first Hitachi, I’m not too impressed with the overall noise level. It clicks up a storm quite often; my Seagate drives (2.5”) are nowhere near as loud.

One disconcerting issue with my 8510p is that the fan runs all the time. I’ve checked the bios and that feature is disabled, so I’m not quite sure what the problem is.

Keyboard, User Interface

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The keyboard itself is quite nice to type on. The keys have good depth and respond nicely to touch. I really wish HP would have done something with the extra space on the right side above the DVD drive. There’s an annoying bit of empty keyboard area filled only by plastic panels, especially right around the arrow keys.

The touchpad is quite nice to use, although I normally hate anything but a mouse. Unlike my last machine it responds quickly and accurately; having a third button in the middle does takes some getting used to. The same goes for the pointing stick buttons. I’ve personally always preferred pointing sticks to trackpads, and this one is pretty good.

While I haven’t completely activated the finger print reader features yet, I’ve begun the process accidentally now so many times that I’ve had quite a bit of time to play around with it. Provided you don’t swipe too quickly the sensor seems to work well enough, but often it will ask me to swipe a few extra times just to be sure.

The built-in microphone is actually fairly decent. I can turn up the receiving volume and it can hear me fairly clearly from a sitting position, even if it is a little quiet. Moving closer produces a recording with clear quality and good volume. Of course, bending over to speak every time you want to use voice chat or record something isn’t that feasible.

Above the keyboard are two pre-programmable touch sensitive buttons and a touch-sensitive volume control. I find the volume control too finicky for my taste, and the programmable buttons sometimes don’t respond either.

Ports, Wireless, Battery

The HP 8510p has four USB 2.0 ports, a DVD drive, HDMI, VGA, headphone/line out, microphone port, firewire, Ethernet and modem connections, a docking connection, power connection and even a secondary battery connection.

From the front: screen latch and indicator lights.

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From the left side: memory card reader, PC card slot, two USB 2.0 ports, HDMI, fan vent, firewire, Ethernet port, and security lock slot.

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From the rear: VGA out, power connection, battery area.

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From the right side: modem connection, DVD drive, two USB 2.0 ports, microphone port, and audio port.

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From the bottom: you can see the hard drive, RAM, and wireless slots all clearly, as long with the battery and docking station connectors.

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The only issue I have with the port arrangement is that, as a right handed person, I like my mouse pad right by the laptop on that side. When I have external audio and/or other USB devices connected on that side, I have to move the pad away or the cables run right over the pad. Furthermore, when there are items connected on that side, it’s often annoying to open the DVD drive as there are cables running right in front of it. One or two USB ports in the back would have been nice.

Finally, when rebooting my DVD drive will randomly clunk and make strange noises. It doesn’t happen every time, but still very strange.

Wireless

I haven’t had any issue with wireless connections at this time. The wireless interface is one of the few areas where I quite like Vista so far. It picks up networks quickly and effortlessly, connecting is a breeze, and there’s quite a bit of information available if I’m looking for it. The only downside is that it takes a few more clicks to get to the advanced wireless information when compared to XP.

Battery

With screen at 80% brightness, Bluetooth off, wireless on, set to power saver mode, I seem to average about 3.5 to 4 hours battery life, depending on the office/school/work tasks I’m doing at the time.

A movie watching yielded around 2:15.

Documentation, Warranty

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The 8510p came with a start-up manual, warranty card, and a few other small documentation pieces. There is easily enough documentation to get a novice user going. Considering most full laptop manuals are rather thick, I’d rather save a few trees than have every single unit come with a real manual anyway.

The HP restore DVD comes with all the software and drivers needed for Vista 32/64bit. As noted above, HP also supplies clean Vista install DVDs, which is a real bonus!

The laptop also comes with a standard three year international warranty. Wherever you are HP will service the machine as long as they operate out of that country and can support the model. If not then you’ll have to go to the nearest country where they can do the repairs.

Conclusion

Buying Choices for the HP Compaq Business 8510p (Core 2 Duo 2GHz, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, Vista Business) CDW Corporation | $1,479.99 Buy.com | $1,397.99 PC Connection | $1,429.95 view detailed pricing from 20 stores starting at $1,361.00 100.0% of people recommend this product – view 1 opinion | rate product

Although I had my doubts, the HP Compaq 8510p has certainly lived up to my expectations, and even exceeded them in some cases. While there are some minor drawbacks, they are acceptable given the overall quality of the notebook. The 8510p will please anyone looking for a new computer, regardless of whether they’re a gamer, businessperson, student or otherwise. Considering all the positive aspects of this notebook as well as the low price, there can be no doubt this is a top tier machine.

Pros

• Excellent performance for the price.
• Sturdy reserved design, light and small.
• Beautiful screen other than brightness issue.
• No Core2Duo whine! (Or grainy screen, or audio problems…)
• Standard three year international warranty, business class support.
• Runs very cool and fairly quiet.
• HP supplies clean Vista DVDs.
• Overall very good user interface.
• Excellent battery life.
• Good selection of ports.

Cons

• Cooling fan runs constantly.
• Screen could be brighter.
• HP SecureGuard software is intrusive and bothersome.
• Lid picks up fingerprints.
• Rubber bumpers on keyboard have to be kept clean unless you want marks on the screen.
• Touch sensitive buttons, especially sound, are finicky.
• Wasted space on keyboard.
• Somewhat awkward arrangement of USB and sound ports on right side.
• DVD drive randomly clucks during some reboots.
• HDD can get loud during high activity

The notebook under review is Hewlett Packard’s 14” dv2550 Special Edition (Verve) Pavilion. It is built on Intel’s Centrino Duo (Santa Rosa) platform, and is marketed as an “Entertainment PC”. The notebook has been used daily for a period of 40 days at the time of review. The specs of the dv2550se are as follows:

• Processor: Intel Core2Duo T5250 1.5GHz
• Ram: 2GB
• Video: Integrated Intel GMA X3100 (384Mb shared)
• Screen:  14” BrightView Widescreen WXGA 1280 x 800
• Hard Drive: 160Gb, 5400rpm
• Wireless: Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG
• Battery: 12 Cell
• Ports: 5-in-1 integrated Digital Media Reader, 3 USB 2.0,  2 Headphone out, 1 microphone-in, VGA (15-pin), S-video, RJ-11 (modem), RJ -45 (LAN), expansion port, Firewire, Consumer IR.
• OS: Windows Vista Home Premium

The Verve will soon be sold via HP.com as the configurable Pavilion dv2600t, but currently is only available via Best Buy.

HP Pavilion dv2550se / Pavilion dv2600t (view large image)

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Reasons for Buying:

I first decided almost a year ago that I needed a new laptop. I wanted something small and powerful like Dell’s XPS M1210. However, being a ski bum made financing the purchase quite difficult. I decided to wait for Santa Rosa and some money. Then, to my excitement, the XPS M1330 was announced. However, still being in a financial bind from my winter stint in Whistler, tuition took priority leaving the M1330 beyond my grasp – Dell’s XPS premium price could not be justified.

Thus, 14” models became the compromise between size/performance and price. I considered many, including the:

• Zepto Znote 6224W (too risky to import a laptop)
• Dell Inspiron 1420 (too bulky and unattractive)
• Sony VAIO CR (too expensive for its specs)
• Asus A8Sc-A1 (same as the VAIO)
• Asus F8SV (not available at time of purchase)
• HP dv2500 series Pavilions

I originally wanted a small powerful notebook with good 3D performance. However, I could no longer wait for a 14” model with an Nvidia 8600 GT.  Then HP’s Verve caught my eye, and I was torn between performance and style. I made a 360, convincing myself its performance would be more than enough and the price would still allow me to buy groceries while in school. The day it was released in Canada (which so far has been the only dv2500 released in Canada), I headed out to Best Buy with credit card in hand.

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Where and How Purchased:

I purchased this at Best Buy for $1,200CND – considering our dollar, I would have saved about $250 had I crossed the border to make the purchase. However, compared to other available notebooks, it is still good value. The only painful part was dealing with the salesman at Best Buy – it took 40 min to actually purchase.

Build & Design:

HP Pavilions are some of the best looking notebooks available, with a sleek appearance and clean lines. They are an attempt at reducing the trend of MacBook popularity by breaking free of the utilitarian mold. The dv2550se takes this design and further improves it, adding the “Verve” Imprint finish with a unique pattern and attractive colours. HP has put great detail into the finish, including printing the wave pattern right onto the trackpad.

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The build quality is good, and pretty much identical to the previous dv2000 generation notebooks. While not as strong as a ThinkPad, its construction can be considered above average for this price range. Overall it feels sturdy, everything fits together snugly, and the screen hinges are comfortably stiff (minimal bounce). The plastics used feel strong and scratch resistant. However, without a magnesium frame in the screen, there is a little flex, and when pressed from behind there are screen ripples at the top left where some internal part is pressing against the display. The screen can be extended back to a maximum of 45 degrees. After a month of use, I am beginning to notice keyboard marks on the screen. They do come off when rubbed with the included microfiber cloth.

The dv2550se includes a 12 cell battery which raises the notebook off the desk. This may be undesirable to some people because of the added thickness and weight, but it does offer improved cooling and longer battery life. However, because the battery is off-center, it becomes a little awkward when supported by a lap.

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Screen:

For anyone who has seen HP’s BrightView glossy screens, they appear bright, crisp, and vibrant – very impressive. However, they do have their flaws. Viewing angles are poor (not a big concern on laptops used by one person), and the glossy screen is very reflective (useless outdoors). Even with these concerns I would still pick this screen over any other option. However, caution must be taken when editing photos due to the contrast differences with slight changes in viewing angle. The 1280×800 resolution is well suiting of the 14” screen size. Backlighting is very even, with a barely noticeable dimming at the bottom corners.

The first dv2550se I purchased came with a very annoying bright green stuck pixel. I returned it to Best Buy only to receive a new screen with a dead pixel. I decided that the dead pixel would be tolerable, as it is no more noticeable than dust accumulation on the screen. At the launch of the dv2550se in Canada, many people in the forums here at notebookreview were complaining of stuck and dead pixels – it seems HP knowingly or unknowingly released a batch of screens with quality issues.

Speakers:

The sound quality of the Altec Lansing speakers is excellent for their size. I have yet to bother using my spare external 5.1 speakers. They can be turned up quite loud, are very clear, and never crackle – unlike the Polk Audio speakers I experienced with an older HP. However, bass is limited due to size restrictions – perhaps in the future HP will find place for a mini-woofer.

Two headphone jacks are conveniently located at the front of the notebook. This is great if you’re sitting on a plane, but frustrating if you intend to use external speakers. This can be worked around by purchasing an HP QuickDock for external speakers.

Processor and Performance:

The dv2550se is equipped with a 1.5Ghz Intel T5250 Core 2 Duo processor. It is the slowest of Intel’s Santa Rosa chips (excluding their low power chips), but is far from slow. I was hesitant purchasing a notebook with a “value” processor, but realized it is more than capable for most computing tasks. If your hobby is video editing, 3D rendering, or scientific computing, I would look elsewhere. However, if you edit the odd video, render a few 3D scenes, or simulate the occasional turbulent flow model, the dv2550se is more than capable – it will just take a little longer.

The same can be said for the integrated Intel X3100 graphic included in this notebook. It is more than capable at handling HD video, the odd game, and Vista Aero. However, if you want to play modern 3D games in all their glory, look elsewhere.

While the CPU and GPU offer only base performance in this Special Edition notebook, HP can at least be commended for including 2Gb of RAM. In a Vista world, 2Gb is almost a prerequisite for multitasking with applications like Word, Firefox, Photoshop, and AutoCAD.

Like in most laptops, a 5400rpm HDD is the major performance bottle neck. As this notebook is intended to replace my desktop (the current trend), I have yet to become used to a slower hard drive. However, having a 12 cell battery makes upgrading to a 7200rmp HDD very appealing.

Benchmarks:

Vista Experience Score

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PCMark05

PCMark05 measures the overall system performance of a notebook, the 6910p came out with a respectable score, though nothing spectacular:

Super Pi comparison results:

Super Pi forces the prcoessor to calculate Pi to 2 million digits of accuracy, below are some comparison results:

3DMark06 comparison results:

3DMark06 tests the graphics performance of a notebook, as you’d expect the dv2550se doesn’t tear up the competition here as it wasn’t designed as a 3D gaming notebook.

WPrime

wPrime is a program that forces the processor to do recursive mathematical calculations, the advantage of this program is that it is multi-threaded and can use both processor cores at once, thereby giving more accurate benchmarking measurements than Super Pi.

HD Tune

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Heat and Noise:

Heat and noise are almost nonexistent in the dv2550se. Intel’s Core 2 Duo processors are very efficient and generate little heat. Additionally, having integrated graphics further reduces power consumption and heat generation. Most of the time the fan is off or operating below ambient noise levels. At high speeds, the fan does not “whine”, nor is it high pitched. When the load is removed the fan quickly returns to its low speed.

The hard drive is the only part which seems to generate heat, warming up the left wrist pad – enough to cause a mild sweat. I’m not sure if the problem is because HP does not adequately remove heat from the area, or because they are installing HDDs that generate excessive heat. Either way, it is only mildly annoying.

The DVD drive is loud when spinning at full speed. However, it is tolerable while watching a DVD movie.

Keyboard and Touchpad:

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Both the keyboard and touchpad are quite comfortable and easy to use. The placement of the ‘delete’, ‘home’, and ‘end’ keys are much better than some notebooks I have used. There is no noticeable flex in the keyboard. The blue backlit heat sensitive media buttons at the top of the keyboard are both attractive and functional. However, accidently brushing against the QuickPlay buttons will launch the QuickPlay software.

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Input and Output Ports:

The dv2550 includes the following ports: a 5-in-1 integrated Digital Media Reader, 3 USB 2.0,  2 Headphone out, 1 microphone-in, VGA (15-pin), S-video, RJ-11 (modem), RJ -45 (LAN), expansion port, Firewire, ExpressCard reader.

Considering HP is marketing their new Pavilions as Entertainment PC’s, I am a little disappointed that they do not include a digital video-out port (DVI or HDMI). With almost all TV’s you find on display in stores today being digital, and the Centrino Duo platform supporting HDMI, it would only make sense to include 1 digital out rather than 2 analogue signals.

Wireless:

The dv2550se has built in 802.11agb wireless. It can easily be turned on or off using the switch at the front of the notebook. Unfortunately HP has chosen not to include Bluetooth or 802.11n wireless. However, if you mainly use wireless for the internet, the included 802.11agb works very well – I have reached speeds of 10MB.

The dv2550se has built in consumer IR. Included is a little remote that fits into the Expresscard slot. It is used to control Windows Media Center and QuickPlay.

Battery:

The 12 cell battery lasts a long time. I can carry it around all day without searching for a power source.

I performed the following battery kill test to measure it’s performance:

• Watch a DVD movie with volume on medium.
• run wPrime stability test (1 thread).
• run a virus scan.
• Wireless turned on

During this test, the CPU was operating at an average of 80%. It took 2hours and 3min before the computer shut itself down.

Operating System and Software:

The dv2550se comes pre-loaded with Windows Vista Home Premium and a variety of HP bloatware. HP has moved away from including recovery disks, and instead provides a recovery partition from which disks can be made. The Vista Anytime Upgrade disks are also no longer present (they were included in the older dv2000 series notebooks).

After a clean install of Windows, I reduced the amount of RAM used at boot-up by 200Mb.

The only non-bloatware software included by HP is the QuickPlay software. While useful, the interface is not as attractive as the similar Media Center software built into Windows. With Vista, it also loses the feature being able to play a dvd or media without booting into Windows (a Quickplay feature that works only under XP).

Customer Support:

I have not yet had to deal with HP customer support. The warrantee is for one year only. Spending $300 for additional coverage does not seem like a good investment for a $1200 product.

Conclusion:

The HP dv2550se Verve is aimed at people looking for a compact and stylish laptop for their everyday computing need. It is a great multimedia notebook with 160Gb of storage and 2Gb or RAM. While not intended for modern 3D gaming warfare, it will handle light gaming and offers excellent performance for value. However, for a special edition notebook, a faster processor would have been nice.

One major complaint I have for HP is the use of the Verve Imprint Finish on their upcoming dv2600 series notebooks. They take the one feature that makes it a special edition and include it on an entire line of notebooks which offer no new functionality over the current dv2500 series.

Pros

• Looks great
• Very little heat or noise
• Long battery life
• 2Gb or Ram
• Excellent speakers

Cons

• No 802.11n wireless
• No Bluetooth
• No DVI/HDMI
• The Verve Imprint finish can be found on dv2600 series notebooks

The Gateway M-series notebooks provide multimedia performance in a sleek, stylish design. Packing Intel Core 2 Duo processors, plenty of RAM and large-capacity hard drives these budget notebooks are certainly attractive to many consumers looking for a portable multimedia center for bringing movies, music and digital photos on the go. But do the latest notebooks from Gateway offer more than good looks? Let’s take a closer look.

Our Gateway M-6816 ($949.99) review unit features the following specifications:

• Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (32-bit)
• Intel Core 2 Duo processor T5250 (1.5GHz)
• 15.4″ Ultrabright WXGA TFT LCD
• 2GB DDR2 system RAM
• 160GB PATA HDD (5400rpm)
• Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 (up to 384MB shared)
• DVD+-RW SuperMulti dual layer drive
• 10/100 Ethernet
• Wireless LAN: Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 802.11a/b/g
• 1.3 megapixel webcam
• 5-in-1 memory card reader
• ExpressCard 54 slot
• 6-cell Li-Ion battery (2400mAh)
• Dimensions: 1.1 – 1.5″ (H) x 14.00″ (W) x 10.00″ (D)
• Weight: 6.29 lbs
• Warranty: One Year Parts and Labor Limited Warranty

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Build and Design

The M-6816 features a striking all-new design with a “graphic-inlay premium finish,” that looks quite similar to the Imprint Finish on the latest generation of HP notebooks. That said, Gateway’s choice of dark spots which gradually fade away is much more subtle than anything we’ve seen in HP’s Imprint Finish. The M-6816 appears durable, with an eye-catching design thanks in no small part to the thick plastics and metal accents. Integrated above the notebook’s keyboard is a brushed-metal multimedia control panel, featuring smooth-cut keys in a “tooth” pattern and a touch-sensitive volume adjustment.

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The lid hinge feels surprisingly solid for a consumer notebook in this price range and the rounded edges of the notebook make for a much cleaner and thinner overall appearance. To be perfectly honest, the only potentially negative issue about the build and design is the choice of glossy plastics/coatings on the screen lid and palm rests. The glossy plastic is a magnet for fingerprints (as you can see in our photos).

Screen

Although the 1280×800 resolution display on the M-6816 is far from high definition, the screen provides rich colors, superb clarity and good brightness. There were absolutely no problems with the screen on our review unit: the refresh rate seems excellent when videos or games with fast motion are displayed and there are no stuck pixels. As is common with glossy screens, colors and contrast are quite good and both images and video “pop” off the screen. Brightness is good but not quite as impressive as some of the screens we’ve seen in the last year. For example, at maximum brightness there is enough light coming from the screen to make for an enjoyable viewing experience … but not enough light to cause eye strain.

Horizontal viewing angles are average and the backlight brightness remains even across the screen while viewing at extreme horizontal angles. There is some minor color inversion when you view the screen from sharp vertical angles (such as standing above the notebook or looking up at the screen from the floor. Of course, as with any glossy screen reflection from room lights can become a problem … depending on the room and the lights.

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Webcam

The integrated 1.3 megapixel webcam on the M-6816 is a nice feature with mixed performance. The pre-installed Gateway Web Camera software makes it quick and easy to capture still images or live video using the built-in webcam. The video frame rate was good enough to capture smooth motion but colors came out a bit green under our florescent office lighting. Overall, the webcam is perfectly capable for online video chat or business video conference calls.

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One negative web camera-related issue that kept “popping up” during review was the “pop up” Gateway Web Camera control interface. While it was nice to have quick access to the web camera controls, every time the mouse pointer came close to the left side of the screen the annoying pop up control panel would appear … making it difficult to select items on the Windows desktop.

Keyboard, Touchpad and Other Input Buttons

The keyboard on the M-6816 was a welcome improvement over most keyboards we see on consumer notebooks. The keys have a good texture with excellent cushion and travel. The keys aren’t as silent in operation as those found on more expensive business class notebooks, but there was minimal “clack” while typing. Gateway also includes dedicated page up, page down, home, and end keys. Of special note is the fact that the keyboard has almost no flex across the board. Even with significant pressure applied, the keyboard on the M-6816 remained quite firm.

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The touchpad was responsive with a nice texture and felt durable. The scroll section of the touchpad is clearly marked and immediately responsive for page scrolling. The touchpad buttons have deep, cushioned feedback and responded well to normal pressure. That said, the touchpad buttons did make loud “clicks” when pressed … which may prove annoying to some users (or office coworkers).

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As mentioned previously, the media buttons on the M-6816 are integrated above the notebook’s keyboard in a brushed-metal multimedia control panel. The media buttons are actually located under the smooth-cut “tooth” pattern in the metal and respond instantly to light pressure. These buttons allow you to instantly start Windows Media Player, watch a DVD, listen to a CD or music file, or control iTunes with ease. A touch-sensitive volume adjustment is located to the right of the media buttons and lights up with blue LED back lighting when pressed.

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Performance and Benchmarks

Gateway chose to offer the M-series in a range of configurations based around the Intel Core 2 Duo T5250 (1.5GHz) processor. While the T5250 with its 2MB of L2 cache and 667MHz frontside bus provides excellent performance for an entry-level consumer notebook, it would have been nice to have faster (Core 2 Duo “Santa Rosa”) processors with twice the cache and 800MHz frontside bus as an option for people who need faster multimedia encoding or image editing.

The Intel X3100 integrated graphics with up to 384MB of dynamically allocated shared memory provides enough video horsepower for an average consumer machine. The primary benefit of integrated graphics is extended battery life and reduced heat. However, many 15.4″ notebooks in the same price range are offering entry-level dedicated graphics cards. For example, a similarly configured HP dv6500t is available for $918.99 with nVidia GeForce 8400M GS graphics … which provides at least twice the video/graphics performance compared to the Intel X3100 chipset.

In any case, the M-6816 is an everyday consumer notebook and not a “gaming machine” so the lack of dedicated graphics isn’t a deal killer. In fact, the reduced weight and heat as well as increased battery life should be considered as reasons for wanting integrated graphics.

One odd specification related to performance is Gateway’s use of older PATA hard drives in the M-series notebooks. Although these older drives don’t severely limit everyday performance in any way, it’s odd that Gateway chose PATA drives over the SATA type hard drives seen in most current notebooks. In any case, the hard drive did not cause any issues with our synthetic benchmark tests, as seen below.

Super Pi comparison results:

PCMark05 comparison results:

3DMark05 comparison results:

3DMark06 comparison results:

HDTune results:

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Input and Output Ports

Overall, Gateway includes the standard fanfare of ports on the M-6816. If anything can be considered lacking in this section it is the limited number of USB ports. Most notebooks in the 15.4″ notebook class provide four or more USB ports for connecting accessories and external drives. Gateway only provides three USB ports. The rest of the port selection includes:

Front view: Microphone in and headphone out jacks. (view large image)

Right side view: Optical drive and a single USB port. (view large image)

Left side view: Ethernet, two USB ports, heat exhaust, 5-in-1 card reader, ExpressCard 54 slot and wireless on/off switch. (view large image)

Rear view: Modem jack, Kensington lock slot, VGA out, and DC power jack. (view large image)

Audio

The built-in speakers on the M-6816 are average for a consumer 15.4″ notebook, and by that I mean to say the speakers are not particularly impressive. Both of the small speakers located above the keyboard produce a “tin can” sound quality with plenty of highs, some reasonable mid range and absolutely no bass. On the bright side, the speakers are located in a good position to direct sound up and toward the user. The sound quality is perfectly fine for Windows alert sounds and website music. Unfortunately, anyone listening to music files or viewing movies on this notebook will want to use headphones or external speakers for superior sound quality.

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On that note it’s worthwhile to mention that the audio out port on the M-6816 is located on the front directly below the touchpad buttons. This is a great location for a headphone connection but is less than ideal for using external speakers. The audio output was clean (there was no static or cracking in the sound coming from the headphone jack).

Heat and Noise

The M-6816 does an excellent job of controlling both internal heat and noise. The cooling fan was rarely louder than a whisper even on the high setting. The massive copper heatsink visible through the air vent on the left side of the notebook likely contributes to the M-6816′s ability to keep temperatures under control. CPU temperatures peaked at no more than 52 degrees Celsius during benchmarks and hard drive temperatures averaged less than 40 degrees Celsius. The palm rests never became too hot during our tests and the left palm rest spiked at no more than 92 degrees Fahrenheit. The bottom of the notebook remained reasonably cool … never exceeding the upper 90s. The hottest temperature reading we took during our review was the fan exhaust temperature during benchmarking, which reached 102 degrees Fahrenheit in our office (77 degrees room temperature). Bottom line, the M-6816 stays cool.

The top view with Fahrenheit temperature readings. (view large image)

The bottom view with Fahrenheit temperature readings. (view large image)

Battery

Battery life on the M-6816 with the standard 6-cell battery was only average. With the screen brightness set to full, wireless on, and Vista power settings set to “Balanced,” the Gateway powered down in just more than two and a half hours (2 hours and 18 minutes). With power management set to “Power Saver” and screen at half brightness the battery lasted 3 hours and 2 minutes while browsing the web. We hoped the M-6816 would do better in terms of battery life thanks to the integrated graphics, but this wasn’t the case.

Conclusion

The Gateway M-6816 is a solid consumer notebook with plenty of power for everyday use. The quality 15.4″ glossy display, durable build, sizable hard drive, and reasonably cool temperatures help make the M-6816 a real value. The Core 2 Duo processor and solid 2GB of RAM mean this Gateway has enough performance to keep the average user quite happy … as long as you don’t care about playing the latest video games.

Bottom line, the Gateway M-6816 is an excellent value in the 15.4″ consumer notebook class. That said, for a little bit more money you can find similar notebooks with dedicated graphics cards for reasonable gaming performance.

Pros:

• Good performance for everyday use
• Nice screen
• Solid, stylish construction
• Minimal heat and noise

Cons:

• Glossy plastics around screen and on palm rests are prone to fingerprints
• Only three USB ports … unacceptable on a 15.4″ notebook
• Annoying pop-up web camera control panel

The Toshiba Tecra M9 is a business-grade notebook competing against the Dell D630 and Lenovo T61. It is an update to the older Tecra M5, using the latest 800MHz Santa Rosa Intel platform. Compared to the Lenovo T61, HP 6910p, and Dell Vostro 1400, its starting price of $1,349 is slightly higher from the rest. Let’s see how this notebook stands up to the rest in the pack.

Our review system had the following specifications:

• Windows Vista Business (32-bit)
• Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7500 (2.20GHz, 4MB L2, 800MHz FSB)
• Mobile Intel P965 Express Chipset
• Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN (802.11a/g/n)
• 1GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM (maximum capacity 4GB)
• 120GB Fujitsu MHW2120BH
• 8x DVD (+/-R double layer) drive
• 14.1″ diagonal widescreen TFT LCD display at 1440×900 (WXGA+, Matte)
• 128MB NVIDIA Quadro NVS 130M
• Bluetooth version 2.0 plus Enhanced Data Rate (EDR)
• Type II PC-Card Slot
• 5-in-1 media card reader
• VGA out
• Mic/Headphone connectors
• IEEE-1394 (FireWire)
• Three USB 2.0 ports
• Serial Legacy Port
• Dimensions (WxDxH Front/H Rear): 13.2″ x 11.1″ x 1.43″
• Weight: 5lbs 4oz w/standard battery
• 75W (15V x 5A) 100-240V AC adapter (15oz)
• 5100mAh Lithium Ion battery
• 3-Year Standard Limited Warranty

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Build and Design
The design of the Tecra M9 is not unlike many other business notebooks; very basic and professional looking. The display cover and keyboard are a simple matte silver color, with no sleek sloping curves, just mildly rounded edges all around. The rest of the notebook is black plastic, leading to a design that would blend in with most Thinkpads or Latitudes around the office.

The build quality of the laptop does not feel up to par with most other business grade laptops in the same price range. The palmrest and keyboard exhibit a lot of flex, which is pretty uncommon for this class of notebook. The display lid feels fairly cheap with its thin plastic, but it did prevent ripples from showing on the screen from all but hard presses to the cover. The bottom of the notebook features a Swiss cheese style of cutouts, which has to be the most I have ever seen on a notebook to date. I would have to imagine that they are for heat dispersion, but as you will read on the notebook does get very warm under average stress.

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Screen
The display on this notebook is a matte texture, like many business notebooks. The texture seems to go overboard in comparison though, as this screen has a high level of “sparkle” that gives the screen a dirty look. Colors look average, but with the excessive matte texture most intense colors appear to be washed out.

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Viewing angles are limited causing most dark or midrange colors to wash out or completely disappear moving vertically above or below normal viewing angles. Horizontal viewing angles are a bit better, but still phases out much sooner than other notebooks in this class. Some may call this a privacy feature, but it just looks like a lower quality LCD used in a expensive notebook.

Brightness levels are ok, but at times I wished I could go two or three notches above its max setting. The screen easy starts to wash out in a bright office setting, and would probably be hard to read in a well lit conference room.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The keyboard has very light typing feel, and is very comfortable to type on. Key texture feels perfect for a business notebook, and gives your fingers just the right amount of grip that you would expect from a high quality keyboard. Typing for long periods of time on this notebook may get to you though, as poor support structures underneath the keyboard give it an almost bouncing feel. Depending on where you type on certain parts of the notebook, you will also get an echoing sound from the keyboard.

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Toshiba lists the keyboard as being spill resistant, and even goes on to say the following, “Toshiba also improved their spill resistant keyboard to help protect against accidental spills of liquids, including soda, beer and coffee with cream and sugar, an upgrade from the previous protection against water.”

The touchpad has a nice mild matte texture, and worked just as you would expect. The included drivers give you plenty of customization options for all the touch zones on the touchpad, as well as adjusting speed and sensitivity. The default settings had the sensitivity slightly low requiring a heavy pressure, which I adjusted upwards to allow a softer touch.

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The pointer stick worked just as expected, and had plenty of adjustments in the control panel. The only feature that seemed missing was a center button for the pointer to allow scrolling. It was comfortable to use, but my main preference on this size of notebook is the touchpad.

Audio
The speakers included with this notebook are average for built-in speakers on business notebooks, and below average compared to most consumer machines. Bass and midrange were lacking, but upper frequency tones came through clearly. Volume levels were acceptable, but for anything over the standard Windows notification chimes, I would recommend wearing headphones for greater listening pleasure.

The headphone jack passed very clean audio, and had no hiss present. It would be perfect for hooking up to a stereo, or attaching a pair of headphones for watching a movie on a longer duration flight.

Ports and Features
Starting front and center the Tecra M9 has the indicator light array, wireless on/off switch, firewire connector, headphone/mic jacks, and volume knob:

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The left side has a modem jack, Kensington lock slot, exhaust port, one USB port, PC-Card Slot, and SD card slot:

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The back has a serial port, VGA connector, and AC plug:

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The right side has two USB ports, the optical bay, and the LAN port:

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Performance
With the T7500 Intel Core 2 Duo processor, and Nvidia NVS 130M graphics card, the system had no problem working any productivity software, or even average computer games. Startup and shutdown times seemed to lag, but some of that could be blamed on Toshiba only including 1GB of ram in this configuration, instead of the highly recommended 2GB for Vista.
Listed below are benchmarks used to compare this notebook against others we have reviewed:

wPrime is a program that forces the processor to do recursive mathematical calculations, the advantage of this program is that it is multi-threaded and can use both processor cores at once, thereby giving more accurate benchmarking measurements than Super Pi.

PCMark05 measures the overall system performance of a notebook, the 6910p came out with a respectable score, though nothing spectacular:

3DMark06 comparison results:

Software
Daily performance with the Tecra M9 went hand in hand with the included software from Toshiba. The function key dropdown menu for example brought the machine to a halt as it slid down, from either poor coding or lack of 3D acceleration. This made simple adjustments like increasing your screen brightness take 5-10 seconds for one notch, where it should take a fraction of a second. Thankfully you could uninstall this program, and still retain all adjustments, just without an onscreen notification.

Excessive bloatware on the notebook was present, but thankfully didn’t put up a fight when removing it through the Vista control panel. It wasn’t as bad as some notebooks we have reviewed in the past, but I would still tell users to remove most of it before they start using the computer on a regular basis.

Heat and Noise
Thermal performance of the notebook was of concern through most of this review. The exhaust vent during normal use put out heat between 110 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. While running PCMark05 exhaust temperatures reached a record 150 degrees, higher than any notebook I have reviewed in the past. During the first run through PCMark05, the wireless card vanished from Windows Device Manager (from what I could only imagine as overheating) and Device Manager was unable to locate the wireless card until the notebook cooled down.

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Fan noise was always present after the system had been on for over 15-20 minutes, and it was warm enough to always heat up objects nearby. Using our decibel meter, the fan noise at low speed registered 45dB at 6″ away from the vent. It blended in with most other office noises, but could stand out in a very quiet classroom.

Battery Life
With screen brightness at 80 percent, wireless enabled, “balanced” profile set, and accessing web pages on occasion the system managed 2 hours and 29 minutes on its 6-cell battery. I do not believe this system would be able to watch a full length movie in flight without an extended battery present. Manufacturers estimated battery life was listed as “up to 3.38hrs”, but I don’t see how that would be possible at anything close to average use.

Buying Choices for the Toshiba Tecra M9-S5515X (Core 2 Duo 2.2GHz, 2GB RAM, 160GB HDD, XP Pro) Toshiba | $1,899.00 TigerDirect.com | $1,899.99 CompUSA | $1,899.99 view detailed pricing from 24 stores starting at $1,765.00 100.0% of people recommend this product – view 1 opinion | rate product

Conclusion
Starting at such high price point ($1,349 online at base configuration) the Tecra M9 is priced above other business grade notebooks in its class. With its flimsy chassis, lackluster screen, and the fire breathing dragon hidden behind the exhaust vent, it’s hard to see why customers would want this over other models Toshiba sells. Although the specifications and features of the Tecra M9 are quite good for a business notebook, users looking to purchase the Tecra M9 should consider looking at models in the Toshiba home user lines instead.

Pros

• Comfortable keyboard and pointing stick
• Beer resistant keyboard (?)
• Clean sound from the headphone jack
• Pointing stick doesn’t drift
• 3-year warranty standard

Cons

• Super hot exhaust
• Flexing palm rest and keyboard
• Sparkly screen with poor viewing angles

The 14.1″ HP Compaq 6910p is one of the latest professional line portable business notebooks currently being offered by HP.  The 6910p is much like the smaller 12.1″ screen HP 2510p we recently reviewed in terms of looks, but of course this larger notebook packs more power. The 6910p starts at a reasonable price of $1,199 with a basic configuration that includes the Intel Core 2 Duo (Santa Rosa) processor.

The 6910p is squarely in the business notebook category, this means there is no sacrifice made when it comes to security and communications features you’d want to have as a business person. Our review model has integrated Verizon EV-DO and you can get 802.11n for faster wireless. There’s a fingerprint reader for biometric security and it offers a TPM integrated security chip. The 6910p, being a business notebook, is designed so that it can share a common image with other HP notebooks if an IT department is standardizing on this brand. Furthermore, it offers Intel Centrino Pro so IT managers can remotely do such things as security updates to users machines.

HP Compaq 6910p notebook (view large image)

The configuration of our review machine is as follows:

HP Compaq 6910p specs:

• CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 2.00GHz
• OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Business
• Hard Drive: 120 GB SATA @ 5400RPM
• Screen: 14.1″ WXGA Widescreen (1280 x 800) (WXGA+ option available)
• Graphics: Intel GMA X3100 integrated graphics
• RAM: 2.0GB DDR2 SDRAM (2 x 1GB)
• Optical Drive: DVD SuperMulti drive (DVD+/-RW) w/Double Layer Support
• Battery: 6-cell lithium ion, 55WHr
• Wireless: Intel PRO / Wireless 802.11 a/b/g/n
• Optional WWAN: Integrated HP ev2200 1xEV-DO Wireless Module
• Security: Fingerprint reader, TPM hardware-based encryption
• Weight: 5.2 lbs
• Dimensions: 13″ (Width) x 9.4″ (Depth) x 1.1″ (Height)
• Ports/Slots: docking connector; 1 IEEE 1394 (FireWire); 3 Universal Serial Bus (USB 2.0); VGA monitor out; S-video out; RJ-45 Ethernet LAN; RJ-11 modem; Type I/II PC Card Slot; SmartCard; SD card reader; headphone/speaker jack; microphone
• Warranty: 3 year parts and labor

Looks

The 6910p is all business in its looks using only dark gray and black colors. It’s a clean and boxy look. To keep the look clean HP even goes so far as to make the media buttons touch sensitive instead of regular push button style. While the touch sensitive buttons look nice and the lights on them are pretty, I personally prefer the protruding buttons as it’s generally more user friendly to be able to “feel” a button. Thankfully the touch sensitive buttons do not beep loudly when touched like the old HP dv6000 series did, that wouldn’t go over well in a business environment.

Touch sensitive buttons (view large image)

Design and Build

The overall build quality of the HP 6910p is very good. A latch is used to hold the screen down when stowed, I really like the rubber gripped latch opener because it’s easy to feel and find without looking down at the notebook and easy to operate. There’s no fiddling to open the screen. The screen has rubber stoppers around it to prevent the screen from slamming into the keyboard when you close it.

The lid of the notebook is constructed of a firm mag-alloy material and will endure the bumps of the road. When the back of the lid is pushed on no screen ripples appear, indicating that the protection is quite adequate. The same mag alloy material is used on the palm rests area which makes sure this area is sturdy and doesn’t sink under the weight of your hands. The keyboard is also firm with absolutely no mushiness or sink to it.

One knock is that HP included a plastic dummy insert for the the PCMCIA slot, a flap is preferable as those inserts are tricky and tend to get lost eventually.

HP 6910p above view with lid closed (view large image)

The hard drive is shock mounted for protection and also has an accelerometer built-in. The HP 3D DriveGuard software uses the accelerometer to track for sudden movements or detect an abnormal orientation — such as when the notebook is being carried. If the 3D DriveGuard software detects such movements it will park the hard drive read/write head so as to protect data stored on the platter. The entire bottom of the laptop is as sturdy as the lid with little flex to it, so your protection there should be good.

HP Compaq 6910p bottom view (view large image)

Input and Output Ports

The HP Compaq 6910p offers a standard array of ports for a business notebook. FireWire, S-Video and 3 USB ports are all part of the mix. Here’s a tour around the HP Compaq 6910p to see what ports you get:

HP Compaq 6910p front side (view large image)

On the front we have: Wireless light, power light, battery light, drive light / HP 3D DriveGuard light, integrated stereo speakers, display release latch and SD card reader below the latch.

HP Compaq 6910p left view (view large image)

On the left side we have: Type I/II PC card slot, power connector, 2 USB 2.0 ports, stereo headphone / line out, stereo microphone / line in, FireWire 1394a port, vent

HP Compaq 6910p right side view (view large image)

On the right side we have: 1 USB 2.0 port, Optical Drive, RJ-45 Ethernet jack, RJ-11 / modem jack

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On the back side we have: Power jack, S-Video jack, VGA out, Kensington slot lock

The screen

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This review notebook has a 14.1″ WXGA (1280 x 800) matte screen. The screen brightness is good, it’s certainly not the brightest screen out there and not on par with a Sony or Fujitsu screen, but it’s adequate. There are no complaints to be had regarding light leakage, the screen is evenly lit. As usual with notebook screens, the vertical viewing angles are not so great while the horizontal viewing angles are decent. Worth a mention is that HP includes an ambient light sensor

There is no option for an LED backlit screen like you can get on the smaller 12.1″ screen HP Compaq 2510p.

Sound

The sound was very good on the 6910p, it has some of the best speakers I’ve heard on a business notebook. The audio is crisp and the speakers can get very loud at top volume settings. The two speakers are located on the front right side below the palm rests area, the fact they face forward makes audio project well. The speakers are good enough that I wouldn’t bother with a set of external speakers in a meeting or for on the road, you’ll get plenty of volume and clarity just using the built-in speakers. For those times you don’t want to disturb others with audio, there’s a headphone jack well positioned on the left side towards the front — there’s a headphone icon on the palm rest above the port to make it easy to find that.

Performance and Benchmarks

With the Intel Santa Rosa Core 2 Duo processor platform on board you can rest assured performance will be at the top of the curve for notebooks. With our review unit we got an Intel T7300 2.00GHz processor, which is certainly adequate for a business notebook. With 2 GB of RAM on board there were no issues running Windows Vista Business and you won’t get any lag when multi-tasking. You get the option of choosing between ATI Radeon X2300 graphics or Intel X3100 integrated graphics, the integrated option being cheaper but not quite as good in terms of performance. Our review unit came with the Intel integrated, which will generally be fine for most business users. The Windows Vista Index score for the 6910p was decent, the lowest score was a 3.4 for graphics (which isn’t awful) and the processor scored well at 4.9

Super PI is a program that forces the processor to calculate Pi to 2 million digits of accuracy, below you can see how the T7300 performed:

wPrime is a program that forces the processor to do recursive mathematical calculations, the advantage of this program is that it is multi-threaded and can use both processor cores at once, thereby giving more accurate benchmarking measurements than Super Pi.

The 3DMark05 synthetic graphics benchmark results for the 6910p with its X3100 integrated graphics interestingly beat out the AMD/ATI based graphics Compaq 6515b — though only by a hair.

PCMark05 measures the overall system performance of a notebook, the 6910p came out with a respectable score, though nothing spectacular:

Notice another 6910p a member of our forums had with a 2.20GHz processor and ATI X2300 128MB graphics scored quite a bit higher in both PCMark05 and 3DMark05.

For a complete readout of the components inside the 6910p we have see the following report: Everest benchmark

Keyboard and Touchpad

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The keyboard is as good as the overall build quality of the 6910p. There was no flex in the keyboard, the layout was free of any annoying quirks, and responsiveness was good. The keys have a good amount of travel, and are not too stiff. A nice added touch is that the keys have a special coating called DuraKeys that HP claims will prevent letters from wearing off after extensive use — something that’s a problem on just about every notebook I’ve ever used.

The touchpad has rubberized buttons with good tactile feedback and a nice large size so they’re easy to feel. The touchpad area is generously sized, it’s responsive despite the fact it has a slick surface — some people prefer a rougher textured touchpad. There is a scroll area on the right side of the touchpad that allows you to easily scroll up and down through web pages.

I personally prefer using the including pointing stick navigation, this is a blue nub in the middle of the keyboard that allows you to navigtate the cursor around the screen without having to move your hand down to the touchpad area. Many business users are used to having this input mechanism, so it’s important to have and in my opinion much faster than using a touchpad once you’re trained on it.

Off to the right you’ll see there’s a fingerprint reader for biometric security. This has become almost a standard in business notebooks these days, and is nice to have. If you don’t use biometric security and prefer to use a strong typed password as login, you can disable the reader.

Battery Life

The default provided battery for the 6910p is a 6-cell 55WHr battery that performed reasonably well. With wi-fi on, screen at half brightness and in ‘Balanced mode’ the battery gave 3 hours and 37 minutes of life. Half of that time the notebook idled and the other half it was used for light office work. You can expect somewhere between 2 and 2.5 hours if you’re playing a movie with screen at full brightness, while if you’re doing light work with screen brightness down you could probably get over 4 hours of battery life.

Heat and Noise

The 6910p is fairly quiet overall, the only time I really heard any noise generated from it was when running benchmarks such as PCMark05 and 3DMark05 — in other words, applications that really make the notebook work hard. The fan did get a bit loud during these times of intense usage, but under normal conditions you won’t have any issues with too much heat or noise. I installed Notebook Hardware Control and according to its measures the CPU temperature remained at about 50C when idling. There were no hot spots on the notebook, you could easily use it in your lap comfortably and the palm rests won’t make you sweat.

Wireless

The HP 6910p included the latest Intel 802.11n capable wireless chipset, the Intel 4965agn. While I didn’t test the wireless with an 802.11n router, the wireless range and throughput was very good using an 802.11g router we have in our office. Wireless on/off power is managed using HP’s Wireless Assistant software, or you can simply tap on the touch sensitive wireless on/off switch at the top of the keyboard. The touch sensitive button is a little finicky and I would have preferred a “real” button, even if such a thing doesn’t look as fancy.

In addition to the Wi-Fi built-in HP has included a built-in HP WWAN card that works with Verizon’s network. Specifically the 6910p uses an integrated HP ev2200 1xEV-DO Wireless Module. Reception and connecting was good using this card, I have a Verizon Wireless card modem for my everyday notebook and in the same room as the 6910p the HP notebook was getting better reception and throughput. This indicates the reception antennas have been well placed on the 6910p.

Software

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Outside of the ubiquitous Norton anti-virus software you get on any HP notebook, there was nothing I would describe as bloatware installed. There were a number of useful business-oriented utilities, primarily for handling security. Windows Vista Business did not present any surprises and worked without a hitch. HP still offers Windows XP Pro on this machine, which many businesses still use and probably will continue to do so for some time.

The Compaq 6910p had 81 processes running after bootup, the more bloatware you have installed and processes you have to start the slower bootup usually is, and then in turn the system might be slower overall.

Conclusion

Buying Choices for the HP Compaq 6910p (Core 2 Duo 2GHz, 1GB RAM, 80GB HDD, Vista Business) CDW Corporation | $1,279.99 Buy.com | $1,248.99 PC Connection | $1,279.95 view detailed pricing from 22 stores starting at $1,163.00 100.0% of people recommend this product – view 1 opinion | rate product

The HP Compaq 6910p offers a nice blend of portability with performance at a reasonable price. The build quality is very good and the look is clean and stylish, but it won’t win any awards. The build quality, 3-year warranty and excellent security features will suit a business buyer well. I wish the 6910p were more configurable via the HP.com site, like the Dell D630 and Lenovo ThinkPad T61 are on those company’s sites, but at least there’s a wide range of 6910p configurations available from various e-tailers.

Overall it can be said that with the Compaq 6910p, HP has designed a well rounded 14.1″ screen portable business notebook that leaves little to complain about and many things to like.

Pros:

• Solid build, light enough to easily carry, pleasing design though nothing flashy
• Excellent wireless connectivity options
• Great performance with Intel Santa Rosa platform
• Reasonable price
• Generous 3-year warranty

Cons:

• Can’t configure online to your precise liking
• Plastic insert instead of a flap for PC card slot
• Touch sensitive buttons are not very responsive
• No good dedicated graphics options available to support DX10

The Sony TZ is the latest offering from Sony in the ultra portable market. With its small size and extreme low weight, it is a must on any business traveler’s notebook list. The Sony TZ combines a new LED backlight display, solid state drive, over-sized battery, and ultra low voltage processors from Intel to make it an all around extended battery performer. Read on to find out how the paper specs stack up in real world use.

The Sony TZ (VGN-TZ191N) we are going over today has the following configuration:

• Windows Vista Business (32-bit)
• Intel Core 2 Duo Processor U7600 (1.20GHz, 2MB L2, 533MHz FSB)
• Mobile Intel 945GMS Express Chipset
• Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN (802.11a/g/n)
• Sprint Mobile Broadband (EV-DO Rev. A)
• 2GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM (1 slot, maximum capacity 2GB)
• 32GB Samsung SSD Ultra-ATA HD
• 8x DVD (+/-R double layer) drive
• 11.1″ diagonal widescreen XBrite TFT LCD display at 1366×768 (WXGA, Glossy, LED Backlit)
• Premium Carbon-Fiber Casing
• Intel GMA950 w/ up to 224MB
• MOTION EYE camera and microphone
• Bluetooth version 2.0 plus Enhanced Data Rate (EDR)
• ExpressCard slot (ExpressCard/34)
• 5-in-1 media card reader
• Memory Stick PRO (with MagicGate functionality) Secure Reader
• VGA, Modem, 1Gb LAN, IEEE 1394, Dock, and Mic/Headphone connectors
• IEEE-1394s (FireWire)
• Two USB 2.0 ports
• Dimensions (WxDxH Front/H Rear): 10×7.8×0.9/1.2
• Weight: 2lbs 10.5oz actual, 3lbs 4oz travel weight
• 60W (19V x 4.62A) 100-240V AC adapter (10oz)
• Standard Lithium Ion battery (11.1oz)
• 1-Year Standard Limited Warranty

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Build and Design
Sony’s designers worked overtime to make the TZ not only an ultra portable notebook, but to make it an ultra portable notebook that looks good. Lines match up, panel thicknesses stay the same, hinges are molded into body with the battery, AC plug, and power button integrated, and it’s topped off with a carbon fiber lid to seal the deal. Lifting the display cover you find the glossy keyboard surface reflecting the world around you with keys standing out like ripples on a pond. This notebook could be perfectly described in one word; glamorous.

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The build quality of this notebook is excellent. Having such thin panels merging together across various parts of the notebook you would almost expect to see uneven panel spacing or gaps, but this notebook has none. Panels merge together with razor thin clearances, and even flexing the notebook doesn’t make the parts squeak or groan from plastic rubbing together. Support is excellent around the base of the laptop, leaving just the screen with some amount of flex. I can’t really place too much blame on Sony for that, since it is only 4.75mm thick. Overall I found the Sony TZ to be of excellent quality, only lacking on allowing certain parts to be upgraded by the user.

Screen
Sporting a new LED backlight screen, a first for a Sony ultra-portable, the laptop is able to achieve great color reproduction and backlight distribution. Watching movies, editing pictures, or just browsing the web was very enjoyable. I only wish this laptop had the performance of a gaming machine, so that the screen could be used for more recreational purposes. Comfortable brightness levels on the TZ were around midrange, with anything above too bright for my poor eyes. As is common with most notebook displays, viewing angles were excellent horizontally, but poor vertically. The purple anti-glare screen coating combined with the poor viewing angles helped make dark colors invert at shallow angles.

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Protection of the screen from the display cover is on the weak side, since it is extremely thin. Throughout the review procedure, the only damage I was able to inflict were key marks left on the screen from the LCD pressing on the dirty keys. These were only temporary marks, I was able to rub them off with a soft cloth (which Sony included with the notebook). Besides flexing the screen into a taco shape or accidentally sitting on it, I don’t see most users having any problem with the screen.

Speakers
The speakers on the Sony TZ are located right below the pivot point of the display, providing a clear path to your head for maximum listening pleasure. They worked quite well for watching movies, playing games, or listening to some music around the office. With the volume set to max, the decibel meter registered ~64dB at one foot. The audio was only slightly distorting on high notes, but stayed mostly clear. During normal use high and upper midrange came through well, but don’t expect any lower notes from speakers this small.

Keyboard and Touchpad
The keyboard on the Sony TZ is very compact, and takes a bit to get used to typing on. It took a few hours of use before I could type without peaking at the keys. Passwords were mangled, friends were confused with my typing, and websites locked me out for too many login attempts. Once I got used to it the typing was fairly comfortable, but this keyboard is not ideal as a primary machine used during an entire work week. For users who would buy this machine as the main computer in their office, a docking station with full-size keyboard would be highly recommended.

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The touchpad was easy to use, and very stable with finger tracking. It did not appear to have any lag moving across the screen, nor did it have any pause when it sat idle. My only complaint with the touchpad was the upper boundary was flush with the keyboard tray, making it easy to slide your finger right off the surface. The soft texture made the touchpad easy to control, as well as very comfortable on the fingertips.

Performance and Benchmarks
The only modern game I found to work at decent frame rates was Half Life 1 as mentioned in my first look. Watching movies, editing photos, and using productivity software worked out much better. The beautiful LED backlit screen really made those activities enjoyable. Below are the standard benchmarks to see how this laptop stacks up against others notebooks. Keep in mind that the TZ compares favorably to other notebooks in the ultra portable notebook class.

PCMark05 comparison results:

3DMark06 comparison results:

wPrime comparison results:

Port Selection
Front:

Headphone, microphone, memory card readers, and media controls. (view large image)

Right:

Optical drive and VGA (view large image)

Rear:

Battery (view large image)

Left:

(Under Cover) Ethernet/Lan, Modem, Firewire, ExpressCard slot, two USB ports and a security lock slot. (view large image)

Software
Once you dig deep past the bountiful bloatware, and get a chance to uninstall most of it, the TZ really becomes different machine. Power usage drops, programs load faster, startups and shutdowns speed up … I can’t recommend enough that users clean off all of the bloatware before they start using the notebook. If you add up all the preinstalled software, by far the most has to do with specific Sony notebook features like backlight adjustment or eject functions. If you take off too many, you start to lose vital functions. I really wish Sony incorporated all system functions into one software package.

Battery
Under normal use, backlight at 80 percent, Sony Optimized power profile set, and using wireless for web browsing, the TZ pulled off six hours and 43 minutes. I was hoping for more, as the preproduction model seemed to go more than seven hours, but it was still very good. Watching movies on the laptop got just less than four hours, meaning you could get through even the longest movies on a flight without a recharge.

Charging the battery took quite long compared to what I have been used to. More than five hours to get a complete charge was not out of the question, and two hours to get over 50 percent. Most other laptops will charge at a faster rate up to the 75-80 percent level, but the TZ had no such feature.

Heat and Noise
Even with the low voltage processor and SSD drive, the Sony TZ could produce heat with the best of them. The bottom of the notebook got quite hot even under normal use, and the fan was always running after the notebook had been on for over 20-30 minutes. Fan noise was minimal, and the only way to tell it was blowing would be sticking your hand next to the outlet, and feeling the warm air blow past.

Below are heat overlay images showing where the Sony warmed up (in degrees Fahrenheit) during normal extended use.

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Buying Choices for the VAIO TZ Series Notebook VGN-TZ190N/BC Amazon.com | $2,955.36 Buy.com | $2,886.99 Sony Electronics, Inc. | $2,999.99 view detailed pricing from 17 stores starting at $2,643.00 rate product

Conclusion
Compared against every other ultra portable notebook I have worked with, the Sony TZ was by far the brightest, lightest, and smallest of the bunch. The screen was gourgeous, battery life was excellent, and the notebook barely weighed anything. I would recommend this notebook to anything considering a portable laptop, especially those who demand the lightest possible items for travel.

Pros

• Amazing LED backlit screen
• Almost seven hours of battery life
• SSD Hard Drive

Cons

• Bottom gets very hot, pants required.

The HP Compaq 6720s is HP’s latest 15.4″ widescreen notebook featuring the new 800FSB Core 2 Duo CPU. It sports a 15.4″ WXGA BrightView screen, onboard Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100 and weighs about 2.5Kgs. It’s targeted at the business market as a budget notebook.

HP Compaq 6720s Specifications:

• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T5470 1.60GHz , 2MB L2 cache, 800MHz FSB
• OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic
• Hard Drive: 120GB SATA (5400RPM), HP DriveGuard
• Screen: 15.4″ WXGA BrightView Widescreen (1280 x 800)
• Graphics: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
• RAM: 1 x 1024MB DDR2
• Optical Drive: 8x DVD+/-RW SuperMulti with Lightscribe
• Battery: 6-cell lithium-ion (47 Watt/hour)
• Wireless: Intel Wireless LAN 802,11a/b/g MOW2, mini-PCI card, Bluetooth
• Ports: 3 USB 2.0 ports, VGA, stereo microphone in, stereo headphone/line out, power connector, RJ-11/modem, RJ-45/Ethernet,
• Slots: ExpressCard/54 slot, Secure Digital (SD) slot
• Dimensions: 1.27 in (at front) x 14.1 in x 10.5 in / 32.3 mm (at front) x 358 mm x 266.8 mm
• Weight: 2.5Kgs (5.5 lbs)

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Reasons for Buying

My trusty old Dell Latitude C610 was not sufficient for everyday use anymore. I carry my notebook with me everyday to my university so I was looking for a light notebook. When I heard a new HP commercial on the radio about the 6720s for only €599 (excl VAT) I got interested. It turned out this notebook had everything I needed including low weight and a very friendly price tag.

Where and How Purchased

I bought the 6720s at www.obcs.nl for 666.81 including taxes and shipping. This was a very good deal for me as I got everything I wanted at a very friendly price.

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Build & Design

The 6720s looks and feels pretty solid. It’s not really a consumer notebook thus is has no extra bells and whistles for media playback like a remote control or media buttons. It’s made out of black and grey plastic and fits perfectly on my lap. There is enough space to rest your palms on while typing and it feels very solid (the screen can be twisted a little however). You really need to push hard on the lid in order for the ripples to appear.

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Screen

The 15.4″ screen has a Samsung panel (LTN154X3-L01) with a 1280×800 resolution and comes with a reflective BrightView coating. My 6720s did not have any dead pixels and I could not see any signs of backlight bleeding. The picture is very crisp and clear. The viewing angle from left and right are very good. This is one of the best screens I have ever seen on a laptop. If you are considering buying this notebook you should really purchase one with BrightView.

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Speakers

The speakers are a bit of a let down. True, business users rarely need high quality sound but HP snuck a big mono speaker into this one. The soundcard is a Soundmax Digital HD Audio but it does not feature any digital outputs, only headphones and microphone. The speakers are above the keyboard, so if you close the lid then the screen is blocking the speaker. My advice: buy headphones or connect your external speakers.

Processor and Performance

The Core 2 Duo T5470 is the slowest of the new 800MHz FSB CPU’s but it’s still really fast. The Intel Speedstep Technology changes the multiplier from 6x to 8x in order to maintain maximum performance and maximum battery time. The only thing this processor lacks compared to its faster brothers is a higher frequency, 2MB cache and Vanderpool Technology (hardware accelerated virtualisation). Windows Vista boot up time from the BIOS to the Windows logon screen is about 32 seconds. The hard disk is a Hitachi HTS541612J9SA00 which means it’s a 120GB SATA drive at 5400RPM with 8MB cache. Windows feels really snappy despite only 1GB of RAM but with one open slot I think I will upgrade to 2GB soon. I don’t play games on it but with integrated X3100 graphics you shouldn’t expect very much.

Benchmarks:

Benchmarked with Super Pi, HD Tune and Everest.

SuperPi benchmark results:

HDTune:

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Everest:

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Heat and Noise

One thing that struck me was the lack of heat. After working a few hours on it only the hard disk got a little hot. The bottom was only a little bit hot at the location of the CPU and chipset. The surface and keyboard did not get hot. When the AC adapter is plugged in the notebook tends to keep running at maximum (1.6GHz) speed. While typing this review the fan was spinning on low speed but was never too loud for a quiet workplace. At high speed the fan is noticeable but not too loud.

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Keyboard and Touchpad

As this is my first widescreen laptop it took me a little while to get used to the wide touchpad. The touchpad is from Synaptics with printed scrollzone on the right and it feels really good. The buttons beneath the touchpad feel a bit cheap and need very little force to press. I guess this is personal but I would rather have sturdy buttons so I don’t accidentally click on them. The keyboard flexes a little in the middle but it didn’t disturb me as it types just fine. There are no dedicated media or volume control buttons, volume can be controlled by pressing Fn and F11 or F12. There is just one extra button to control wireless/Bluetooth. More than enough for me.

Input and Output Ports

Input and output is somewhat standard. There are three USB 2.0 ports, Ethernet, power, VGA and modem ports on the left side. The front sports a SD/MMC cardreader and headphones/microphone connectors. Above the USB ports there is one ExpressCard slot with dustcover. On the right side there is a hole for a Kensington lock. Too bad there are no FireWire or TV-out ports.

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Wireless

The Wireless LAN is driven by the Intel 3945ABG. This Wireless LAN card does not need an introduction and does exactly what it’s meant to do. It also comes with Bluetooth. Windows Vista had no problem recognizing the Bluetooth device out-of-the-box so no extra drivers were necessary. As you might expect there is no infrared port on this notebook. But hey, who uses that these days?

Battery

HP estimates that the battery lasts about 4.5 hours. After a few tries believe that this estimate is quite right. I have not yet completely drained the battery, only for about 50 percent. I’m quite happy with it and 4.5 hours should be enough for me and when its not I just have to find a power outlet as the adapter is light enough to carry around with me.

Operating System and Software

I personally can’t stand the standard installation from any manufacturer. They always seem to cram it full with all their tools, trial versions of antivirus software and other bloatware I don’t need. The 6720s was no exception. It took about one hour before I could finally enter Windows Vista and do something. I had to sit through an entirely automated system backup of the harddrive which took a long time. As there were no disks provided in the box you were supposed to make your own copies of your installation. I quickly reinstalled Windows Vista Basic from scratch with minimal HP tools in order to keep my system clean. Now Windows Vista feels a lot snappier and cleaner. Too bad they didn’t include a Windows Vista disk.

Customer Support

No experience with customer support. There is a one year warranty and it was possible to upgrade. There are several so called “Carepacks,” each with different covering, duration and costs.

Conclusion

If you are looking for a laptop without any bells and whistles with low weight and a friendly pricetag then the HP Compaq 6720s is for you. If you want to play new games at a high resolution then this is not what you are looking for. I would totally recommend it to my fellow students as they always seem low on cash and shouldn’t be playing games at your university anyway.

Pros

• Excellent screen
• Long battery time
• Great multitasking
• Great value for money
• Well designed
• SD/MMC cardreader
• Stays cool

Cons

• Standard installation full of bloatware
• No recovery/Vista disks
• No FireWire/TV-out/DVI/HDMI
• Mono speaker

The LG R500 is the new top-of-the-line notebook in the R-series from LG Electronics. The notebook offers a solid foundation for performance thanks to Intel Core 2 Duo (Santa Rosa) processors, nVidia GeForce 8600m GS dedicated graphics and plenty of RAM and HDD storage space. Although LG officially advertises the R500 as a “business notebook” the R500 is also perfectly capable of serving as a full-featured consumer notebook or budget gaming notebook. Unfortunately for our readers in the US, the LG R500 only available outside the US at this time … starting at about $1,899 in Canada or 1,499 euros.

Our LG R500 review unit features the following specifications:

• Microsoft Windows Vista Business
• Intel Core 2 Duo processor T7300 (2.0GHz)
• 15.4″ Fine Bright WXGA TFT LCD
• nVidia Geforce 8600m GS 256MB
• 2GB DDR2 system RAM
• 160GB SATA HDD (5400rpm)
• DVD SuperMulti dual layer drive
• 10/100/1000 Ethernet
• Wireless LAN: Intel 4965AGN
• Bluetooth
• 1.3 megapixel webcam
• 5-in-1 memory card reader
• 1GB Intel Turbo Memory
• 6-cell Li-Ion battery (2600mAh)
• 90W AC adapter
• Dimensions(WxDxH): 357mm x 260mm x 33-38mm
• Weight: 2.8 Kg (with battery)

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Build and Design

The overall construction of the R500 is plastic but the notebook is remarkably solid and suffers from little or no flex even when significant force is applied. The design itself is very “traditional” in terms of overall shape but there are unique accents in terms of paint and refined edges. The LCD lid on the R500 does not have a latch to hold it closed, but the hinge mechanism works well and firmly holds the lid in place.

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The screen lid and palm rests are coated with a distinct “wave” pattern and high gloss finish. The wave pattern on the lid is a combination of black and blue while the wave pattern on the palm rests and touchpad is a combination of light and dark gray. The overall effect is both stylish and unique … but some users might find it makes the notebook look less professional. The angled front edge of the notebook gives the R500 a distinct design. The only negative issue with the angled front edge is that the 5-in-1 card reader located at the front of the notebook is somewhat recessed on the angled edge … which makes it difficult to insert or remove memory cards.

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One minor annoyance with the design of the LG R500 is the blue LED on the back of the screen lid. While the blue LED is a nice touch by itself, whenever you open a web browser to surf the internet wirelessly the blue LED flashes on and off until you close the web browser. Needless to say, if you’re browsing the web at a local coffee shop, at work, or in class you have a bright blue light flashing that says, “Look at me! I’m on the internet!” We really wish there was an option to disable this LED.

Screen

The 15.4″ widescreen display on the R500 is a gorgeous WXGA 1280 x 800 glossy display with excellent contrast and rich colors. Although the resolution isn’t quite as impressive as some of the WXGA+ 1440 x 900 displays we’ve seen, the display on the R500 doesn’t suffer from “graininess” or any other problems such as stuck pixels or bleeding edges. The display features fairly bright and even backlighting even under the strong lights in our office.

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Vertical viewing angles on the R500 are average with colors “washing out” as you view the screen from above and colors beginning to invert as you view the screen from below. That said, most people don’t view their notebook screens in this way and the screen looks fabulous from normal viewing angles.

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Horizontal viewing angles proved even more impressive on the R500 as we could still easily read text and view images on the screen even if we stood to the far left or far right of the screen. Multiple people certainly won’t have any trouble watching a DVD or viewing a business presentation on this notebook.

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Webcam

The integrated 1.3 megapixel webcam on the R500 is a nice feature with mixed performance. The pre-installed LG SmartCam software makes it quick and easy to capture still images or live video using the built-in webcam. The video frame rate was good enough to capture smooth motion but colors came out a bit pink under our florescent office lighting. Overall, the webcam is perfectly capable for online video chat or business video conference calls.

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Keyboard, Touchpad and Other Input Buttons

The keyboard on the R500 was a pleasant surprise. The full-sized keyboard is solid with almost no flex and even includes a dedicated number pad. The keys have minimal travel with excellent cushion and response, and there is a good combination of dedicated keys and fn combo keys.

The only issue I encountered with the keyboard involved the layout. Since the R500 doesn’t use the standard US keyboard layout I found myself making many typos. That said, this isn’t really an issue since the R500 isn’t being sold in the US.

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The touchpad and touchpad buttons are slick and responsive. Both the touchpad and buttons are covered in the same “wave” pattern and high gloss finish as the palm rests. This gloss coating gave the touchpad a very durable feel and the recessed fingerprint reader located between the touchpad buttons worked well without being accidentally triggered while using the touchpad.

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The only dedicated media buttons on the R500 are related to volume and SRS virtual surround sound controls.

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Performance and Benchmarks

The R500 we received for review is equipped with the Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 processor, 2GB of DDR2 RAM and nVidia GeForce 8600m GS dedicated graphics. The dual core processor and plenty of system RAM are more than enough of a foundation for everyday performance, but the 8600m GS video card means the R500 is perfectly capable of playing most current video games and won’t suffer any lag when viewing high definition video files.

In addition, the R500 packs 1GB of Intel Turbo Memory. Intel claims that Turbo memory provides improved software loading speed … about 2.6 times faster than HDD and about 20 percent shorter booting time. While our own tests of various notebooks equipped with Intel Turbo memory haven’t proven these claims, the LG R500 was impressively fast during regular web browsing, word processing and playing multimedia files. Our standard set of benchmarks also indicate the R500 provides more than enough performance for most uses.

Another item of note in terms of overall performance is that the R500 comes with virtually no bloatware pre-installed. Given the fact that most notebooks in this same class come loaded with dozens of useless applications that hog system resources it’s refreshing to see a notebook without a ton of bloatware.

Super Pi comparison results:

PCMark05 comparison results:

3DMark05 comparison results:

3DMark06 comparison results:

HDTune results:

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Input and Output Ports

The port selection on the R500 is quite good for a 15.4″ notebook in this price range. The inclusion of HDMI out for high definition video output, three USB 2.0 ports, Firewire, card reader and PC Card slot mean most users will have every port they need for day-to-day use.

Left side view with heat vent, VGA out, USB port, and PC Card slot.(view large image)

Front view with 5-in-1 memory card reader in the center under the front edge. (view large image)

Right side view with Firewire, headphone out, microphone in, audio out, optical drive, two USB ports and security lock slot. (view large image)

Rear view with HDMI and S-video out, battery, modem, Ethernet and DC power jack. (view large image)

Audio

The built-in speakers on the R500 are better than some built-in speakers but lacked the full range and bass that can be heard in notebooks with built-in subwoofers. That said, the R500 benefits from virtual surround sound via “SRS WOW HD” and “SRS TruSurround XT.” These software-based virtual surround sound audio engines help turn the “tin can” sound from the R500 into reasonably loud and clear sound.

The SRS WOW HD setting actually made listening to music and DVD movies a reasonably enjoyable experience using the built-in speakers. Pressing the SRS button located next to the volume buttons switches between SRS WOW HD, SRS TruSurround XT and SRS Off. Personally, I couldn’t tell the difference between SRS Off and SRS TruSurround XT.

Heat and Noise

The R500 does a spectacular job controlling both heat and noise. The fan remained whisper quiet yet kept heat under control. The areas near both the memory and hard drive (left palm rest) did feel warm during benchmarking, but temperatures remained comfortable enough to keep the R500 on the lap. The ambient temperature in our office was 77 degrees Fahrenheit during testing and the fan exhaust temperature never jumped above 101 degrees. The most heat came from the AC adapter which averaged around 102 degrees Fahrenheit.

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The bottom view with Fahrenheit temperature readings. (view large image)

Battery

Battery life on the R500 with the 6-cell battery was only average. With the screen brightness set to full, wireless on, and Vista power settings set to “High Performance,” the R500 powered down in just more two and a half hours (2 hours and 33 minutes). With power management set to “Power Saver” and screen at half brightness the battery lasted 3 hours and 4 minutes while browsing the web.

Conclusion

The LG R500 is a solid business notebook with plenty of power for consumers interested in everyday gaming. The quality 15.4″ glossy display, durable build, sizable hard drive, and a good selection of ports help make the R500 great for business professionals who don’t mind a little more weight than a 14.1″ notebook. The Core 2 Duo processor, plenty of available RAM, and nVidia dedicated graphics likewise give the system an impressive feature set in terms of performance.

Bottom line, the LG R500 is an excellent notebook in the 15.4″ display class for business professionals and consumers alike. Too bad we can’t buy this here in the United States.

Pros:

• Excellent performance
• Awesome screen
• Solid construction
• Minimal bloatware
• Low heat and minimal noise

Cons:

• Poor location for multi-card reader
• Glossy “wave” pattern is beautiful or ugly depending on your point of view
• Annoying blinking LED when you browse the internet.

The HP Compaq 8510p was released in August 2007 as is part of the “performance notebooks” in their business line. This means you get the Santa Rosa chipset, the magnesium alloy display enclosure, HP 3D Drive Guard and HP Protect software package. The specific unit being reviewed here is a preconfigured model (RM303UT). HP offers a number of pre-configurations varying processor speed, memory and operating system as well as the option to customize your setup.

Specs

• Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Professional
• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo processor T7300 2GHz 4MB L2 cache 800MHz front side bus
• Chipset: Mobile Intel PM965
• Memory: 1GB 667MHz DDR2 SDRAM
• Hard drive: SATA 160GB 5400rpm, HP 3D DriveGuard
• Removable media: DVD+/-RW
• Display: 15.4″ in WSXGA+
• Graphics: ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600, 256MB of video memory (512MB Hypermemory)
• Audio: High Definition Audio, stereo speakers, stereo headphone/line out, stereo microphone in, integrated microphone
• Wireless: Intel 802.11a/b/g (4965AG), Bluetooth 2.0
• Communications: Intel Gigabit Network Connection (10/100/1000 NIC),9 56K v.92 modem
• Expansion slots” One Type I/II PC Card slot supports 32-bit CardBus and 16-bit cards, Secure Digital slot
• Ports and connectors: Four USB 2.0 ports, VGA, HDMI, stereo microphone in, stereo headphone/line out, 1394a, power connector, RJ-11/modem, RJ-45/ethernet, docking connector, secondary battery connector
• Dimensions: (h × w × d) 1.1″ (at front) x 14.0″ x 10.24″
• Weight: 6.1 lbs (weight will vary by configuration)
• Power: 8-cell Lithium-Ion Battery (73WHr) with HP Fast Charge, 90W HP Smart AC Adapter

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Reasons for Buying

My old laptop died and I researched for about a month before deciding on the 8510p. My broad requirements were a 15.4″ WSXGA+ laptop with good battery life and XP Professional.  It came down to the 8510p and the T61. I actually purchased both units and because HP offers an unconditional 30-day return policy I opened it first (Lenovo has a horrible restocking fee policy).  Both systems were spec’d identically with the exception of battery capacity and video card.  I was worried that the 256MB dedicated card in the 8510p would kill battery life, so the first thing I did after setting up the 8510p was to test the battery. I played a 2h 10min DVD on default settings (60 percent brightness, Bluetooth on, wireless on) with audio playing through the laptop speakers. I was able to play the entire DVD plus have another 30 minutes of battery life to do some work on the internet. With that I was sold on the 8510 and returned the T61 without ever opening it.

This 8510p was purchased for $1,479 directly through HP via a phone representative.

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Build & Design

Overall the feel of this build is pretty solid. When carrying the laptop around I find that the DVD drive occasionally pops open (when power is on), but I think that tends to happy on any tray-based drive. There is not much flex in the screen, even when closing the top with one hand. Pushing from the back of the screen produces ripples in the LCD.

The case is a slightly blueish grey with black accents. The understated silver HP logo is a nice touch in an era when company logos seem to get bigger and bigger. Being a graphic designer, I’m not in love with the typeface used on the keys, but I don’t imagine many people would care about this. Each of the ports on the side is marked by a small icon on the edge of the keyboard. While useful, I could do without this as it clutters an otherwise minimal look.

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Screen

The 8510p comes with a WSXGA+ screen (1680×1050). The screen is good quality, bright and easy to read. I had no dead pixels and did not detect much light leakage. I’ve been using the screen with brightness turned all the way up as it seems to produce the truest white color. One note, initially the “ambient light sensor” feature was enabled. Personally I find it disturbing to have the screen brightness constantly changing, especially because I was not aware of this feature at first and couldn’t figure out why my screen kept changing.

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Speakers

The speakers are located along the front edge of the laptop, taking up about 75 percent of the area from left to right. I like this location as opposed to having speakers on the face of the keyboard. Sound seems to be less directed at you and more ambient. Audio is good, though bass is limited as one would expect on a business laptop. External speakers / headphones are a must if you want to listen to music or play games seriously. But for lighter applications, watching non-special effects driven movies, or games such as Civilization, these speakers are just fine.

Processor and Performance

The new Santa Rosa chipset is certainly an improvement over the Pentium M 755 laptop which died on me. The preconfigured unit came with 1GB RAM so for another $40 I added another 1GB Patriot dimm. (The benchmarks below are with 2GB RAM installed).

The ATI Radeon Mobility HD 2600 is a dedicated video card with 256MB ram. This is a new card and according to HP I have the newest drivers installed. However I’ve run into a few blue screens of death doing various operations. These seem to be video driver related as the ATI Catalyst software catches the errors before Windows does and allows you to stay in session.

I was able to run Bioshock with settings on “high.”  I detected a slight choppiness at times, but this could be due to my trackball being a insensitive or the slower 5400rpm hard drive. Games such as Pirates! and Civilization run with no problems.

Benchmarks

Due to what seems to be a video driver issue I am not able to run either PCMark05 or 3DMark06. If/when this gets fixed I can post new benchmarks. In the meantime, I was able to run a few other tests.

Super Pi comparison results:

Super Pi forces the prcoessor to calculate Pi to 2 million digits of accuracy, below are some comparison results so you can see how the HP’s T7300 processor competes.

HDTune results:

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PassMark results:

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Heat and Noise

I was a bit wary about buying an HP business laptop after reading about the fan noise issue with the 6710b. However, this machine is extremely quiet. During normal use I almost never hear the hard drive or the fan. In fact the fan really only comes on when playing games. Additionally there is heat buildup on the left front of the laptop (where your left palm rests). It is not unbearable but certainly noticeable.

Keyboard and Touchpad

I am very happy with the quality and feel of the keyboard. The keys have a bit of texture too them and I find it very easy to touch type with.  One annoyance I have is that there are two keys between the left CTRL and ALT (fn and Microsoft windows). I am continually pressing the fn key instead of CTRL and it is taking a bit of retraining on my part to compensate for this.

The stick pointer is average; nowhere as good as Lenovo’s. I find myself using the touch pad more. Both the touchpad and stick have three mouse buttons that have programmable functions. I programmed the middle button to be my right click.

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The 8510p also comes with a fingerprint reader. It works, but not perfectly. I really has the feel of an add-on component as opposed to something native to Windows. At times the function is greyed-out at the login screen (when come back from the screensaver or randomly on restart). The “credentials manager” software also has its quirks.  It is a separate program to manage your passwords (based on the fingerprint login) and seems to pop up at odd times. I’m not so sure I will continue using this feature.

Finally HP has incorporated a touch sensitive strip at the top of the keyboard called “HP Quicklaunch buttons.”  There are customizable buttons to control various programs as well as a volume control and mute.  I find the volume control here particularly useful.

Input and Output Ports:

The 8510p has four USB 2.0 ports, VGA, HDMI, stereo microphone in, stereo headphone/line out, 1394a, power connector, RJ-11/modem, RJ-45/ethernet, docking connector, secondary battery connector.

Rear view with battery, power jack and VGA out. (view large image)

Front view with indicator lights and screen latch. (view large image)

Left side view with security lock slot, Ethernet port, firewire, vent, HDMI, two USB ports, PC Card slot, and memory card reader. (view large image)

Right side view with audio out, microphone in, two USB ports, optical drive and modem. (view large image)

Bottom view including the battery and docking station connector. (view large image)

Wireless

Along with the new Santa Rosa chipset you get Intel’s new 4965AG wireless setup. By far this is more solid than the 802.11g in my previous laptop. I have not had any dropped connections and no problem configuring various networks when traveling. Bluetooth also comes standard with this configuration. I was quickly able to connect to my phone and actually setup an internet connection via Sprint’s “phone as modem” feature.

Battery

The 8510p comes with an 8-cell battery which, thankfully, does not protrude like the T61 battery. As mentioned above, in my informal test I played a 2h 10min DVD and had about 30 minutes left over for normal usage. I regularly get more than three hours of battery life during normal usage (Word/Internet/Photoshop).  HP offers two additional batteries for this unit that SNAP ON to the base (good design idea). These are offered in 8-cell and 12-cell sizes, which effectively make your battery 16-cell or 20-cell.

Buying Choices for the HP Compaq Business 8510p (Core 2 Duo 2GHz, 1GB RAM, 160GB HDD, Vista Business) PC Connection | $1,429.95 TigerDirect.com | $1,499.99 Buy.com | $1,397.99 Best Buy for Business | $1,391.99 CDW Corporation | $1,479.99 view detailed pricing from 20 stores starting at $1,361.00

Conclusion

The HP Compaq 8510p is a very good laptop for those looking for a low priced, quality machine with a dedicated graphics card and a clean design.

Pros

• Very quiet
• Good build quality
• Good performance
• Understated, clean, sophisticated design
• Only bloatware is Norton Protection Center
• Fingerprint software is a bit quirky

Cons

• Video driver issues under XP Pro
• Left CTRL key is too far to the left
• Lack of full-size FireWire port
• Can someone make a lighted PC keyboard?

Overview and Introduction

The Dell Vostro 1700 is a brand new 17″ model business notebook. Like most Dell notebooks, the Vostro 1700 is customizable and it can be configured as either a budget type laptop or powerful desktop replacement.

• Intel Core 2 Duo T7100 1.80GHz
• WXGA+ (1440 x 900)
• 2.0 MP camera
• 2048 MB 667 MHz Dual-Channel DDR2 SDRAM (2×1024 MB)
• Hard Drive 160GB Serial ATA (5400RPM) (the only one available at time of order; 7200RPM drives are now also available)
• DVD+/-RW Drive 8x
• Primary 6-cell 56WHz Li-Ion Battery
• 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT
• Intel Pro Wireless 3945 802.11a/b/g
• Vista Home Premium
• 1 year warranty

Reasons for Buying

Due to the nature of my work I move to different locations every few months so I have been using notebooks for most of my professional career. All models so far have been 14″ or 15″, however, this time I opted for 17″. Though I move often, I do not travel all the time (I fly on average only once a month) so size and weight was not critically important. On the other hand, I use my notebook to watch DVD movies and Internet TV (in fact, I use it in this capacity far more than my TV set and DVD player at home) so a 17″ notebook was a good choice for me. In my spare time sometimes I like to play games and, since I like games which are demanding on performance (first person fantasy or shooters), good graphic card was also important.

As I change notebooks often, I do not like to overspend so I set myself a top budget of 1200 euros. Unfortunately for this price the choice of 17″ notebooks is limited. Practically it was Dell or HP. All other vendors were either too expensive (like Toshiba or Asus) or did not have the configuration I wanted (like Lenovo or Acer). Eventually I narrowed the choice down to the Dell Inspiron 1720 and the HP Pavilion dv9500t (the Vostro was not yet available when I starting looking for a new laptop). Finally I decided for Dell since for roughly the same price it offered slightly better graphics (Nvidia 8600M GT instead of GS on the HP).

Where and How Purchased

I ordered first the Dell Inspiron 1720 from Dell’s Spanish web site only to see a day later the new Vostro line which offered exactly the same specifications but for a lower price, something I did not expect since I thought the Vostro was supposed to be a business model, like the Latitude line. I rang Dell and asked for advice. The sales person told me that, with the exception of the fancy colors on the Inspiron, there is not much difference between the two hardware-wise and it is no problem if I want to cancel the Inspiron order and get the Vostro instead.

The final price, VAT included, was 950.04 euros, a saving of 200 euros over the Inspiron. This price included free shipping and 50 euros off. I ordered it over the phone since Vista Home Premium was not available on Dell’s web site for the Vostro line. The sales person was happy to change the default Vista Business edition into Home Premium.

So far, so good. One must admit that less than 1000 euros for a 17″ notebook with Core 2 Duo processor and Nvidia graphics is a total bargain. However, not all was good news. It took four working days to process my order, even though I placed the order the day Vostro came out (10 July 2007). First I was told that Dell will refund me the difference from the Inspiron so I do not have to worry about payment. Two days later I was told that this is not possible so I have to make another payment. Eventually I paid by a bank transfer since Dell takes ages to unblock the amount of a cancelled order on a credit card and I did not have enough limit for the Vostro. As soon as I made the payment, that was the last I heard of the sales person. He neither replied to any of my emails nor phone calls.

After several calls to Dell’s Customer Service, I managed to have the order processed and got a delivery date of 9 August. Three days before this date I still had not heard anything from Dell and the web tracking showed that my Vostro is still in pre-production. I called Dell only to be told that as far as the system is concerned the delivery date is still OK. But the next day I received an email that the delivery is delayed until September. Very unprofessional of Dell, not to inform the customer earlier of such a delay. Eventually my Vostro arrived on the 22 August.

Build & Design

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The Vostro 1700 is big and heavy, even for a 17″ notebook. It is all black so it is difficult to argue whether it is pretty or not, but it is unlikely that one will find it ugly. On the other hand, stains and fingerprints get stuck on the black paint very easily and they are difficult to get rid of (see the backside image below where the fingerprints are clearly visible).

Being so big, the screen actually takes more effort to open than an average laptop. In fact, I find that to release the latch and lift the screen I need to use both hands. USB connectors also take effort to pull out, so overall impression is that of a strong build. The part above the keyboard, around the On/Off button, bends somewhat when pushed harder but that is the only minor issue I could find with the case which otherwise is solid.

The screen seems well protected. I tried bending it as well as applying a small force on different places but could not notice any image distortion.

The dimensions of the Vostro 1700 are 39.4 cm x 29.3 cm x 4.4 cm (W x D x H) or 15.5″ x 11.5″ x 1.7″. As you can see, it is quite thick in addition to being large so finding a case for it is not an easy task if you, like me, also carry many other things in the case.

Screen

I opted for the Widescreen XGA+ 1440×900 though higher resolution is offered by Dell. Browsing through the web forums, it seems general opinion is that the Nvidia 8600M GT is not powerful enough to handle higher resolutions. I find the native resolution always much sharper looking so I stayed with the XGA+.

The colors and the brightness are more than adequate for a budget notebook (in fact, the brightness is excellent) and it is a real pleasure to play a game or watch a movie on a 17″ screen. Certainly the initial experience is stunning when compared to a 14″ or 15″.

The horizontal viewing angles are very good, unfortunately the same cannot be said for the vertical viewing angles. Couple of degrees up or down and most colors look differently.

Speakers

The internal speakers are unimpressive. Though the sound is more than loud enough, the quality is poor. I would certainly recommend headphones or external speakers if you want to listen to music.

Processor, Performance and Benchmarks

Note that all tests were run with the latest Nvidia released ForceWare drivers (162.22 for Vista, downloaded from www.laptopvideo2go.com). The Dell stock drivers performed so poorly (processing around 5 fps on the first 3DMark05 test) that I stopped on the first test and upgraded them.

Super Pi comparison results:

Super Pi forces the prcoessor to calculate Pi to 2 million digits of accuracy, below are some comparison results:

PCMark05 comparison results:

PCMark05 represents the overall system performance of a notebook.

3DMark06 comparison results:

3DMark06 represents the overall graphics performance of a notebook.

Windows Vista Experience Index

Overall the performance is above average. The Vostro 1700, with its multitasking Core 2 Duo and Nvidia graphics, is well suited for all kind of applications, be they business or pleasure. Using simultaneously MS Word, PowerPoint and browsing the web while Windows Media Player plays music in the background poses no problems to the Vostro. All programs run without any delay and switching between them is instant. From games I tried the World in Conflict demo (yet to be released, graphically very demanding game) and on medium video settings it was perfectly playable. On high settings, with DX10 enabled, I had to disable few options or lower the resolution before I could get a playable frame rate.

Heat and Noise

I find the Vostro 1700 generally very quiet. The fans are hardly noticeable and even the noise of the DVD drive is nothing to complain about.

It gets very hot on few places (but not all) at the bottom so I would not recommend using it in your lap. Being a heavy and big 17″ notebook, the extra heat would probably not be the only reason for not using it in one’s lap. The air vents are on the left side and, depending on the load, sometimes are blowing plenty of hot air. I find this somewhat unpleasant as I tend to rest my left palm there before typing. It will likely also bother left-handed people using an external mouse.

Keyboard and Touchpad

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The keyboard is solid quality and it is a full one (including the numeric keypad) so using the Fn key is almost unnecessary as most keys from a desktop keyboard are directly available. However, it does not really feel like a desktop keyboard. The Home/End/PageUp/PageDown keys, which I use often when I browse through documents or web pages, are smaller than the rest and are right above the numeric keypad. As such they are not very approachable since the keyboard cannot be inclined like a desktop one. I would have preferred to have them below the keypad. Maybe it is just a matter of getting used to it.

I am unimpressed by the touchpad and would recommend using an external mouse. It is too small (which is ironic considering the size of the machine and all the available space) so most of the time you will end up with your finger in the scrolling area. At the end I disabled scrolling which is the only way to make the touchpad usable unless you have really small fingers.

Input and Output Ports

All the usual ports are there but nothing more than that. No DVI or HDMI output. However, considering the price range of the Vostro, it would probably be unrealistic to expect more. One thing I find strange is that there is no port for a Docking Station, yet Dell markets the Vostro as a business model.
Back-side view – three USB ports, the modem connection and the S-Video output are here in addition to the power supply connection

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Left-side view – the wireless switch and the ExpressCard slot are here (note also the air vents mentioned before)

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Right-side view – the busiest in the terms of connectors (and rather annoying if you are right-handed and use an external mouse) housing the headphones/microphone connections, DVD drive, 8-in-1 memory card reader, IEEE 1394 (Firewire), an external monitor output, Ethernet port and two more USB ports (to make 5 in total)

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Wireless

Dell’s offer is very good in this field though I only opted for the basic 802.11a/b/g card because by the time Wireless-N becomes popular here, for me it will probably be time for a new laptop anyway.

I tried it in few Wi-Fi spots with poor coverage (where my old laptop struggled to maintain a good connection) and I was pleasantly surprised to see that it worked very well.

Battery

I did not do much testing here as most of the time I run my notebook on AC power and use it as a mobile desktop replacement. Which is what the Vostro 1700 essentially is, so users concerned with battery life should probably not be looking at something as big as the Vostro 1700.

I tried running on the 6-cell battery while using the Vostro moderately (MS Word with Windows Media Player in the background and the Wi-Fi enabled) and it managed for two hours and twenty minutes before the low-battery LED went on at 10% left, which is not too bad, considering its size and components.

Operating System and Software

As mentioned before, the Vostro 1700 comes with Vista Business if ordered on Dell’s web site (though Vista Home Basic is also available on some configurations) but when ordering over the phone it was no problem to select Vista Home Premium.

Although Dell markets the Vostro line with an option of having Windows XP or Vista, this is not the case with the Vostro 1700 where XP is not available.

I received a DVD with the operating system but I read on the forums that this is not the case for many people. Note that I ordered my Vostro from Dell Spain (but asked for the operating system in English which was not a problem).

Preinstalled on my system were Roxio, Microsoft Works and Norton Internet Security with 30 days subscription. The DVDs of these applications were included as well as a DVD with the drivers.

Customer Support

I have not had to use Dell’s customer support since receiving my notebook so I cannot comment on it, however, as mentioned before, contacting Dell during the ordering/delivery phase was a problematic experience.

Conclusion

Buying Choices for the Dell Vostro 1700 (Core 2 Duo 1.8GHz, 1GB RAM, 120GB HDD, Vista Home Basic) Dell, Inc. | $964.00 66.7% of people recommend this product – view 6 opinions | rate product

In summary, the Dell Vostro 1700 is a budget home office mobile desktop replacement. Its value-for-money is excellent but do not expect it to excel in anything.

Pros

• Price (considerably cheaper than all competitors for a similar config)
• Most components are customizable
• Good performance, both in business applications and gaming
• Solid build

Cons

• Long and unpredictable delivery times
• Very heavy and big, even for a 17″ notebook
• Keyboard requires getting used to as it is different both from a desktop and from a typical 15″ laptop
• Can get quite hot under a heavy load

The Toshiba Qosmio G45 is a full entertainment system packed into one slightly oversized 17” widescreen notebook. It combines a 1080P high resolution display, HD-DVD Player, surround sound system, TV Tuner, and gaming machine into one device that can be carried to different locations inside your backpack.

The Qosmio under review is only offered in one configuration at this time, with the part number of G45-AV680. It has the following specifications:

• OS: Windows Vista Ultimate (32-bit)
• Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T7300 (2.20GHz, 4MB L2, 800MHz FSB)
• Chipset: Mobile Intel P965 Express Chipset
• Wireless: Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN (802.11a/g/n), Bluetooth version 2.0 plus Enhanced Data Rate (EDR)
• Memory: 2GB PC2-5300 DDR2 SDRAM (maximum capacity 4GB)
• Hard Drive: 320GB Total Space (160GB x 2)
• Optical Drive: HD DVD-R/DVD SuperMulti (+/- double layer) drive (in one optical drive), supporting 13 formats
• Screen: 17.0″ diagonal widescreen TrueLife TFT LCD display at 1920×1200 (WUXGA, Glossy)
• Graphics: 512MB nVidia GeForce Go 8600m GT
• Web Cam: 2.0 megapixel webcam
• Slots: ExpressCard slot (ExpressCard/34 and Express Card/54) and PC-Card Slot, 5-in-1 media card reader
• Ports: VGA, HDMI, and S-Video out, Mic, 2 Headphone, line out, 2 IR out,  IEEE-1394 (FireWire), Five USB 2.0 ports
• Dimensions (WxDxH Front/H Rear): 17.25″ x 11.75″ x 1.759″
• Weight: 10.6 Advertised, 9lbs 15oz actual w/ battery
• 90W (19V x 4.62A) 100-240V AC adapter (1lb 10.6oz)
• 9-cell (85Wh) Lithium Ion battery (1lb 2.3 oz)
• 1-Year Standard Limited Warranty

Toshiba Qosmio G45 (view large image)

Build and Design

Compared to most notebooks the Qosmio is an extremely flashy computer. The display cover is glossy black with the Qosmio brand name embossed over it; proudly announcing its name to those around you. Opening the laptop reveals its glossy white palm rest and keyboard surround, nicely contrasting the top cover, with chrome dials and touch-sensitive selection buttons to control various functions. Bright blue LEDs illuminate all soft media buttons, as well as the volume dial and power switch when the unit is powered up. The LED’s can be disabled if the user so wishes, by pressing a soft-key above the keyboard.

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Underneath the glossy plastic shell, bright blue LEDs, and chrome knobs is an alloy frame that supports the entire laptop. Many laptops these days have a metal alloy frame and it usually results in a very durable case having little flex. However, even though the Qosmio has this alloy frame, it seems the frame isn’t thick enough as there is plentiful flex to be found. The palm rest, the keyboard, and bezel around the keyboard all bow in with moderate pressure. The flexing becomes most apparent when the laptop is not on a flat surface. With one corner hanging off of a desk surface, weight from your wrist and arm while typing will bend the corner down a quarter inch or more. For such a high price tag you would expect better build quality when other Toshiba models costing a third less feel more durable.

Screen

Being a multimedia oriented machine, this laptop revolves around a high quality display. Coming in at 17”, with a WUXGA resolution, and a glossy finish it is something to behold. Wide horizontal viewing angles let you share movies with friends next to you, but limited vertical angles had the screen dim sharply as you moved to steeper vantage points. Colors were vibrant, whites were pure, and backlighting was even across the screen. Backlight bleed was only noticed at maximum brightness levels, but it’s very hard to notice this unless you really look for it.

Throughout the review period, the backlight failed by turning off multiple times. The inverter whined on startup and at seemingly random intervals the backlight would just shut off. The first time it happened I thought the machine had locked and shutdown, but noticed by looking closely at the screen the desktop was still visible. At first I thought it was a fluke, but after several occurrences it got on my nerves. With a price tag of $3,200, you would hope that flaws like this would be caught early in the manufacturing process. I’m hoping this was just an issue with our review unit.

Speakers

The 4.1 speaker setup on the laptop is one of the best setups I have heard to date. Bass was clear and defined, midrange and high were both pretty accurate. I was able to get the volume quite loud before any distortion was heard, although with particularly loud bass you will get the plastic case to rattle.

The main speakers are located right above the keyboard, with the 2 smaller speakers located on either side of the LCD. The subwoofer is on the bottom side of the laptop near the left side.

Keyboard and Touchpad

The keyboard on the Qosimo felt large enough for comfortable typing, but could have had a dedicated number pad if the designers had relocated the volume dial and media controls. With its current layout there is plenty of extra whitespace around the entire typing surface to keep things uncluttered. The typing surface felt very solid and supported, and flexed much less than the rest of the body. Keystrokes required minimal pressure to recognize a key press, keeping my wrists stress free while writing. Typing was also quiet compared to some keyboards, so clacking away in a quiet room is not a concern.

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The touchpad surface is large (3”x1.8”) allowing plenty of control in games and other mouse intensive activities. The two mouse control buttons provide a positive click when pressed, although I do prefer touchpad buttons with more travel. The fingerprint reader on this notebook was located between the buttons, staying out of the way during normal use.

Performance and Benchmarks

With only one Qosmio G45 configuration at the moment, you are limited to the base configuration. This leaves you with the fast, but nowhere near top end, Intel T7300. As such, some processor intensive benchmarks came up less than laptops well under its price bracket.

Super Pi comparison results:

Super Pi forces the prcoessor to calculate Pi to 2 million digits of accuracy, below are some comparison results so you can see how the Qosmio’s T7300 processor competes.

WPrime 32M comparison results

WPrime is a benchmark similar to Super Pi in that it forces the processor to do intense mathematical calculations, but the difference is this application is multi-threaded and represents dual core processors better.

PCMark05 comparison results:

PCMark05 represents the overall system performance of a notebook.

3DMark06 comparison results:

3DMark06 represents the overall graphics performance of a notebook.

Heat and Noise

Heat and noise with the Qosmio G45 were never overwhelming, even when the laptop was running benchmarks. From its massive size, it had a large surface to warm up gracefully, as well as acting as a passive heatsink. Fan noise stayed within reasonable levels, usually being drowned out by other office noises. During normal uses (web browsing) the laptop would warm up to a nice level, leaving most touchable surfaces 6-10 degrees warmer than room temperature. Shown below are IR temperature readouts of the upper and lower surface of the notebook as it was cooling down from a benchmark that ran 2-3 minutes earlier.

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Battery

Mobile life on the laptop comes in short at 2 hours and 40 minutes, on the balanced profile and the screen brightness one notch down from top. If you want to watch a HD-DVD movie on a plane, your battery drops even lower to 60 minutes. With a machine of this size, if you are planning on doing much work away from an AC outlet I would suggest getting a spare battery.

Additional Features

The Qosmio G45 includes both an external HDTV tuner, and a HD-DVD Burner. The burner, being the most expensive item, probably drove its price up quite a bit. Both of these included items worked without issue when tested. The HDTV tuner clearly brought in 5 digital channels available inside my apartment, having a slight pause changing stations. The HD DVD burner was tested using the included Toshiba software, and burning 14 GB of data to a 15 GB disc took 55 minutes and 30 seconds. Not quite the fastest process compared to CD’s or DVD’s, but our single included HD-DVD burned successfully without making a coaster.

Input and Output Ports

Let’s take a visual tour around the ports of the Qosmio G45.

Left Side

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On the left side is a Kensington lock slot, USB, PC-Card/Expresscard, Firewire, and another USB port

Front

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On the front we have the HD-DVD burner

Right Side

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On the right side are 2 Headphone jacks, microphone input, line-in, USB, and 56k modem

Rear

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On the back is the ower connection, 2 IR sender ports, S-Video, 2 USB, VGA, HDMI, LAN

Software

The Qosmio ranks up with the best of them in terms of bloatware. It comes with many free software programs, toolbars, and Toshiba utilities. One utility that feels especially bad is the dropdown bar that acts as a visual indicator for FN key control functions. When activating this bar either through moving the pointer to the top of the screen, or holding down the FN key, the system can sometimes lock for 5-10 seconds before the bar moves slowly down. Adjusting the backlight level for example becomes a heavy task for the notebook, whereas on other machines it takes a split second.

Conclusion

Buying Choices for the Toshiba Qosmio G45-AV680 (Core 2 Duo 2GHz, 2GB RAM, 160GB HDD, Vista Ultimate) TigerDirect.com | $2,899.99 Toshiba | $2,999.99 Buy.com | $2,790.99 view detailed pricing from 14 stores starting at $2,674.00 76.5% of people recommend this product – view 51 opinions | rate product

With its steep price, quality issues, and questionable durability, its hard to recommend the Qosmio G45 over other quality Toshiba notebooks like the Satellite X205 gaming notebook. The key issues that would change this decision, if fixed, are the flimsy chassis and buggy hardware failures. Another might be to offer a HD-DVD-rom drive instead of the burner, and really lighten the cost of the machine.

Pros

• Screen great when operational
• Gaming performance was more than adequate for the latest games
• Speakers kick you know what

Cons

• Problematic hardware and software
• Screen backlight failures
• Toshiba utilities that cause the computer to freeze