Review DELL Vostro V13 , DELL Vostro V131 and DELL XPS 13 Battery Life

DELL Vostro V13 battery Life

Battery Life

The notebook consumes between 12.6 and 14.6 watts depending on the screen's brightness setting in idle mode, respectively very light load. The rates increased to 46.4 watts, respectively 68.8 watts during load. The adapter only consumes 0.1 watts when turned off and is just as modest 0.6 watts in standby.

Current consumption

Off / Standby 0.1 / 0.6 Watt
Idle 12.6 / 13.3 / 14.6 Watt
Load 46.4 / 68.8 Watt
Key: min: , med: , max: Voltcraft VC 940

The DELL Vostro V13's battery life wasn't convincing. The battery was already drained after a very short time in Classic test and had to be plugged into the outlet after 49 minutes. The battery didn't last for a whole movie either in the DVD playback test. It only lasted for 63 minutes.

The LG laptop had to be reconnected to its power cable after 1 hour and 55 minutes in "surfing via WLAN" at pleasant display brightness. The longest runtime (Reader's Test, WLAN off, lowest brightness) was two hours and 35 minutes.

The drained battery needs almost 2 hours for a 100 percent recharge.

Battery runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness) 2h 35min

Surfing with WLAN 1h 55min

DVD 1h 03min

Load (maximum brightness) 0h 49min

DELL Vostro V131 Battery Life

Battery Life

The viable idle and WLAN runtimes (mix of Internet, video load and idle) let us assume that our A520 only needs little power in these operating modes. Our multimeter confirms this: The lowest power consumption in idle ranges from 17 to 21 watts. We measured the lowest and the highest power requirement in idle for this (without battery charging).

The stress test is the opposite (Prime95, Furmark) and is 84 watts. This power consumption isn't enough for the 45 watt quad CPU, 2820QM, and the GT 540, which we explained in CPU throttling in temperature. The reason is the weak 90 watt power adapter. The Fujitsu NH751, with a smaller quad CPU (2630QM) and a GT 525M graphics, is equipped with a 120 watt power adapter to begin with (no throttling). This would have at least been needed for the LG A520.

Current consumption

Off / Standby 0.4 / 0.7 Watt
Idle 17.1 / 20 / 21.5 Watt

Load 78.3 / 83.7 Watt

Key: min: , med: , max: Voltcraft VC 960

The rather modest runtime, the low TFT brightness and the glare-type screen don't exactly encourage mobile use. The WLAN surfing test comes very close to the real battery life. The battery is drained after three hours. The LED screen ran with 100 cd/m2 during the test. Our BatteryEater's load test can depict if a game of StarCraft 2 is possible. The lights go out after only an hour. A 57 Wh lithium ion battery is responsible for the runtime (5200 mAh). It needs acceptable 2:13 hours to fully recharge.

Battery runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness) 4h 29min

Surfing with WLAN 3h 14min

DVD 3h 17min

Load (maximum brightness) 1h 01min

DELL XPS 13 battery Life

Battery Life

The V900 Optimus' power consumption is within the same range as the competition. While only 0.15 watts are needed in standby mode, the consumption increases to 7 watts during load. In comparison: Motorola's Xoom consumes 6.3 watts in load and Samsung's Galaxy 10.1v needs 8.2 watts in this case.

Current consumption

Off / Standby 0.8 / 0.15 Watt
Idle 2.2 / 5.4 / 5.6 Watt

Load / 7 Watt

Key: min: , med: , max: Voltcraft VC 940

The battery, respectively the battery's runtime, is one of the most important things in a tablet because a tablet on a leash (battery charger) is a "no-go". The LG V900 Optimus was also faced with the key question: How long will my battery last?

The lithium ion battery (6400 mAh) lasted for 12 hours and 21 minutes in the first test scenario, the idle mode, so without WLAN/Bluetooth/GPS and minimum display brightness. We had to touch the screen frequently during this test because the display would have otherwise turned itself off automatically every 30 minutes and thus distort the result.

The battery is drained after 7 hours and 15 minutes of WiFi surfing. It's faster when the tablet is put under load, for example, with an HD game. The battery was drained after not quite 4 hours and 48 minutes and the Optimus pad turned itself off in load. The battery needed almost 3 hours for recharging.

These rates are clearly below that of the 10.1 inch Motorola's Xoom (16 hours and 15 minutes), in comparison. The LG tablet can't reach the battery life of Samsung's Galaxy 10.1v, either (13 hours and 5 minutes).

Battery runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness) 12h 21min

Surfing with WLAN 7h 15min

DVD 5h 12min

Load (maximum brightness) 4h 48min

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Review Sony Vaio VPC-Z21Q9E/B Subnotebook

Many have tried and failed so far, until now: An external graphics solution that is supposed to help mobile notebooks to improve their performance at will. The main problem thus far: A relevant high performance external interface for the exchange of data to and from the notebook was missing, which is able to also serve the integrated display at peak performance. Asus 70-NLF1B2000Y battery This problem has now apparently been solved by Sony thanks to the new Intel Light Peak technology - an external monitor makes a lot more sense. Does that mean everything is perfect? Not quite. More on this in the following review.

When it comes to Sony's top of the range models, these have for the past several years been of the favorite 'small black' variety. This options is of course not completely arbitrary, since this is also supposed to represent the material value of the notebook. The online configuration tool on Sony's website in addition also provides three further designs: Blue, gold, and premium carbon. Asus 70-NLF1B2000Z battery
Carbon is the material used by Sony to achieve the best possible performance to weight ratio. The Japanese manufacturer declares an official thickness of 1.7 centimeters, and a total weight of only 1.2 kilograms, which is below Netbook values, in its documentation. We measured to make sure: 1.15 kilograms, and 17 millimeters not including the two millimeter rubber feet, which is therefore correct.

Asus 70NLF1B2000Y battery Optically the case can definitely make a good impression: Elegant, simple, understatement par excellence would be fitting. When it comes to handling the device it quickly becomes obvious though that we are dealing with a plastic case in the sub 1000 euros class. The satin surfaces are good at concealing finger prints and dust particles, and definitely feel qualitative. Without knowing it would be possible to think of 08/15 plastic, in detail the Vaio Z21 can still sway all doubts though. Paint problems, uneven gaps, or even a wobbly battery? - Our reviewed device didn't show any of these weaknesses. Asus 70NLF1B2000Z battery

Apropos battery: Sony has been known for not always taking the precision of the battery size too seriously in the past. This shortcoming was however obviously avoided intentionally with these high-end models. Compared to its counterparts in the 13 inch segment, such as the MacBook Air or the Samsungs 900X3A, with which the battery can either not be removed or only after taking apart the case (warranty?), Sony has attached the battery to the bottom of the base unit in the front region with the help of 8 (!) screws. Changing this is therefore possible, but only with a lot of effort. Asus 90-NLF1B2000Y battery The remaining components cannot be accessed however, with the exception of taking apart the whole case. What for though, the RAM is soldered in place - which prevents any further future upgrades. And also the Solid State Drive has a special format which prevents an easy exchange. Those that want to take a look at the inside of the Vaio VPC-Z21 anyway can do that by watching this video.

Asus 90-NLF1B2000Z battery Before we continue, just another quick note regarding the case: The attractive optical appearance and high quality feel aren't quite matched by the stability of the case. The base unit can easily be dented somewhat by a little pressure in the area around the palm resting area, as well as the keyboard (wireless switch). This becomes more apparent when it comes to the display. The lid of the only 5 millimeter thin component may not let any pressure through to the sensitive display panel, but it can be warped easily. Merely two fingers are enough to create a lot of bending. Asus 90-NLF1BZ000Y battery

The 'Z' in the product description has been an indication for especially good performance reserves for Sony devices for a long time. In the case of the reviewed Vaio Z21, Sony has opted for the dual-core model CPUs from the Intel Sandy Bridge palette. What is interesting is the fact that - in contrast to the initial expectations for the adoption of ULV processors - the standard 35W TDP processors have been used. Asus 90-NLF1BZ000Z battery Sony is currently listing three different models in the online configuration options: i5-2410M as the entry level model, i5-2524M with an already extended VT-x and VT-d functionality, and finally the i7-2620M CPU; in other words the currently fastest available dual-core processor with a base clock speed of 2.7 GHz and a Turbo bandwidth up to 3.4 GHz, as long as only one core is utilized and adequate cooling is provided. In light of the base unit height of only about 12 millimeters, this could be more complicated than thought though. More on this later.

Asus 90-NVD1B1000Y battery Integrated into the notebook, or more accurately: Directly in the CPU unit, there is also Intel's HD Graphics 3000 graphics solution, which is intended for office use and can therefore perform less demanding tasks with less power consumption. When it comes to particular professional tasks the Intel solution does significantly lag behind compared to other independent graphics solutions though. For this reason Sony has equipped the Power Media Dock with an AMD HD 6650M graphics chip with 1 GB of dedicated DDR3 graphics memory. In order to dock the notebook graphics intensive applications have to be closed, and the picture is interrupted very briefly. Following this, after a few seconds, the system is once again ready for use though. Asus 90NLF1B2000Y battery
The Radeon HD 6650M is a mid-range graphics card from the current AMD 6xxxM family. The chip is DirectX 11 compatible, can decode HD material with its UVD3 decoder, supports the output of 7.1 surround sound via HDMI, and can theoretically drive 5 monitors simultaneously thanks to AMD Eyefinity. Apart from graphics concerns, there are therefore also plenty of reasons that are supposed to make the use of this GPU appealing. Asus 90NLF1B2000Z battery

When it comes to the RAM there is the option of either 4 or 8 GB of memory of the DDR3 1333 MHz variety, which is however soldered onto the motherboard, and can thus not be upgraded. The right choices should also be made when selecting the main storage memory, which is inevitably in the form of a Solid State Drive (SSD) in the case of the Vaio Z21. The options are either flash SSD with a capacity of 128-512 GB, or SSDs in the online configuration of the 'third generation', which should have some additional performance. Or reviewed device contained the standard 128 GB entry level solution. Asus 90NLF1BZ000Y battery

Gaming Performance

With the AMD Radeon HD 6650M there is a mid-range graphics chip in the Power Media Dock, which should definitely be capable of processing current games with appealing graphics details. We tested the performance with the aid of several games. In the process the integrated display is utilized with various resolution and detail levels together with the Power Media Dock. Asus 90NLF1BZ000Z battery

Already the first test with the racing game Dirt 2 reveals some mysteries. With 20.7 fps using high settings (1360x768, 2xAA, high presets) the HD 6650 only provides the performance of a GT 520M. Devices with the same graphics solution manage to achieve 30 fps in this case. We started again without the Dock GPU, in other words using the integrated HD Graphics 3000. Result: FRAPS on average gives 17.1 fps. Hardly an advantage as a result of the external GPU? Asus A32-F52 battery
We carried on testing: With Mafia 2 the next graphics challenge is on the agenda. With 33.9 fps to 16.0 fps using high graphics details (1366x768, 16xAF, high) the HD 6650M clearly has an advantage, and is more or less on the expected performance level. The Packard Bells LS11 with the same graphics for example achieves 34.2 fps.

Asus A32-F82 battery Battlefield Bad Company 2 achieves 26.4 fps using high details (1366x76 on average - which is also too little. The LS11 from Packard Bell achieves 32.7 fps with the 6650M in this case. The same picture emerges using medium details: 33.6 fps vs. 49.4 fps with the LS11. We tested the clock speed and temperature of the CPU and GPU in parallel - nothing stands out
Following this comes CoD Black Ops. With 26.6 fps using high details, the HD 6650 remains behind its capabilities. The same graphics card in the Packard Bell LS11 achieves a proud 46.9 fps. Asus L0690L6 battery

We tested the BFBC2 again, this time however with an external display attached to the Power Dock. With 36.7 fps using medium details, no ground is made up in this case either. The same picture shows itself with Dirt 3. With 22 fps using high details, the Z21 HD 6650M contests with the same performance as the HD Graphics 3000, regardless of whether the internal display or an external display via the Power Dock is used. Asus L0A2016 battery
The Catalyst Control Center provides the options 'allow additional displays' and 'accelerate notebook displays' with regard to the XGP station. Regardless of which option is selected: Our gaming benchmarks just don't want to reach the expected results.

Verdict: The gaming benchmarks partially achieve the expected performance level, but also partially remain significantly below the expected performance level. Whether the internal or an external display is opted for remains irrelevant. Altogether the impression of a not completely matured graphics driver arises, which prevents the utilization of a lot of potential performance. Asus 90-OA001B1000 battery

Battery Life

Without the Power Dock the Sony VPC-Z21 is relatively frugal, at least as long as the required performance stays within limits. With 6.4 W - 10.9 W in an idle state, it belongs among the most modest laptops that we have tested so far, in terms of the power consumption. Under load the notebook draws between 45 W and 56 W from the plug, depending on the task. In the standby mode we measured 0.3 W. Asus A22-700 battery

The picture changes as soon as the Power Media Dock is connected. 19 W - 23 W during use without load, and 57 W - 96 W under load, or more specifically during the stress test, explain the significantly bigger rated AC adapter for the Power Media Dock (120 W).

In light of the measured values regarding the power consumption, first indications for the likely possible battery life start to emerge. In the device itself there is an especially thin, two part Lithium-Polymer battery, with a capacity of 45 Wh. Asus A22-P701 battery Sony also offers an optional additional battery with the slice-principle, more specifically a thin plate, which is attached to the bottom of the notebook. With a capacity of 48 Wh this should be capable of doubling the battery life measured by us. With an additional weight of around 520 grams this also increases the total weight of the laptop by about 50% though. The additional battery (VGP-BPSC27) is available from about 125 Euros from retailers.

Asus A23-P701 battery With the integrated 45 W battery we measured a maximum battery life of 546 minutes which equates to about 9 hours, with the BatteryEater Readers test (minimum display brightness, wireless modules off, power saving profile) as could be expected. Using the Classic test (load, maximum brightness, wireless modules on, maximum performance profile) things already come to an end after 70 minutes though, when the battery is empty.
For practical WLAN surfing (profile balanced, wireless modules on, adjusted brightness: -1) we reached a battery life of about 6 hours while surfing a mixture of websites. The mobile use without a power connection is therefore definitely still comfortably possible, even without the additional battery. Asus P22-900 battery

It all started so well: The technical specifications, as well as the additional features in the press releases, spell out a wishlist for the perfect notebook: Small, light, first class materials, a high quality display, ample performance, small emissions, and battery life that makes it possible to forget that electricity is even necessary for its operation.
The reality is unfortunately, as so often, a little different. The devil is in the detail.

Asus A31-1015 battery The case is impressive with a timeless design and high quality feel. Not to be forgotten is the especially thin build, and a total weight of less than 1200 grams. What the carbon fiber chassis can't do though, is to provide a convincing shape rigidity. The case only comes to terms with pressure and bending to a limited extent.

The provided interfaces are well placed, and considering its build the device is also able to give a satisfying assortment. With the Power Dock solution, which uses Intel's Light Peak technology, the device is extended by a GPU as well as additional interfaces during desktop use. Asus AL31-1015 battery
Integrated UMTS/HSUPA, elaborate, even if expensive accessories, and service upgrades (unfortunately no On-Location service) make the device more enticing.
The keyboard takes some getting used to with regard to the typing feeling, as well as the touchpad, which we couldn't really develop a liking for.

When it comes to the display, Sony does (almost) everything right: Good resolution (1600x900, FHD optional), high brightness (around 300 cd/m²), and sufficient contrast, even let the Sony VPC-Z21 look good during outdoor use. A shame: The meager viewing angle stability along the vertical plane, which is especially detrimental during mobile use. Asus A32-1015 battery

Things get interesting again when it comes to the performance. Thanks to the extremely fast SSD, and the Intel i7 Sandy Bridge CPU, the Z21 catapults itself to the top of the rankings in terms of application performance. The external AMD HD 6650M is able to deliver the expected good performance with some benchmarks, but unfortunately falls behind expectations significantly with some gaming tests. The old OpenGL driver for the HD Graphics 3000 could also pose a drawback in some cases, which can potentially lead to problems with some applications. Asus PL32-1015 battery In fact we generally anticipate a problem with the driver (special AMD drivers required for the XGP station), since these are already antiquated when the notebook is delivered, and there are no updates available at the time of writing this review.

As far as the emission of the notebook are concerned, these are primarily a result of the required performance, either users can be pleased with a silent companion, or have to come to terms with a noticeably loud cooling fan and a hot case. This does stay within limits though, since the notebook quickly becomes inconspicuous again following the elevated performance requirements. Asus 70-OA111B1000 battery
Also when it comes to the battery life, a full days use without a power cable is possible, until the power socket is connected again for about an hour, after which everything is possible again.

The Sony Vaio VPC-Z21 is an altogether attractive subnotebook from the upper range. Combined with the Power Media Dock an extended application may be possible, but there are also certain problems associated with this, which can probably be traced back to the applied drivers.
The project 'subnotebook' can be described as a success, the project 'external graphics solution' still leaves a question mark at present though. Asus 70-OA1G1B1000 battery

HP ProBook 5330m-LJ463UT Laptop Review

The HP ProBook series is a lineup of affordable business notebooks with build quality made to keep up with the constantly moving user. The m series was designed to appeal to a broader range, including the enterprise and consumer markets.

With the ProBook 5330m, HP is introducing Beats Audio and a backlit keyboard to the m series for the first time. The model under review includes an Intel Core i5-2520M, although users can opt for a Core i3-2310M for $100 less at $799 USD. Regardless of choice, the 5330m is a huge upgrade, in terms of specs and built-in security features, over the ProBook 5310m released in 2009. Asus 70-OA1G1B1100 battery

At just under 1-inch thick (0.99 inches to be exact), the 5330m isn't the slimmest notebook around, but it definitely feels solid. The anodized aluminum casing and magnesium alloy chassis both give the notebook a tough and smooth feel. The base can flex slightly, but takes a good amount of torsional force to do so. The lid could have been more firm, unfortunately, as a finger can depress the outside case without much force, especially towards the center. At any rate, the "Durafinish" wear protection coating diffuses reflections quite well and actually makes it somewhat difficult to accumulate fingerprints and scuffs anywhere outside of the screen. Asus AP21-MK90 battery

At 3.99 pounds (1.8kg), the HP notebook feels quite dense and weighs about as much as the 13.3-inch Sony Vaio VC-SB1Z9EB with the same CPU configuration. The hefty base means that the user can open the monitor with only one hand.

In terms of looks, the 5330m roughly resembles the HP 4430s, but with a much more boxy and minimalistic build. Instead of smooth edges and round curves that many other notebooks tend to pursue, the 5330m has a bit of a retro and industrial feel to its construct. Unfortunately, this means that the visual appeal of the notebook will be hit or miss depending on user preferences. Those wishing for a sleek and ultra-modern design will have to look elsewhere. Asus AP21-T91 battery

The hinges are good if working on a stable desk, but are not stiff enough to be used during bumpy train rides or otherwise unsteady surfaces. A maximum angle of about 135 degrees is allowed before the bottom of the lid reaches the rear of the notebook base.

Battery Life

The reviewed model is equipped with a 4-cell Li-Ion polymer battery rated at 14.8V and 41WHr. The battery is located on the bottom of the notebook and is thus flat and thin as opposed to larger batteries that attach to the notebook's backend. Asus AP23-T91 battery

The HP Power Assistant allows direct access to power profiles and wireless connections so users can quickly disable and modify power-draining system settings more easily than with the default Windows Power Manager. It also includes a scheduler for user-defined automatic power profile switching.

According to the BatteryEater Classic Test, the 5330m achieved a minimum battery life of 56 minutes before automatic shutdown at 5%. This was done with full screen brightness, WLAN enabled and under the Windows High Performance power option. Asus 15G10N381200 battery

A maximum battery life of 299 minutes was obtained with the Reader's Test at minimum screen brightness, wireless disabled and the Windows Energy Saver mode. A more reality-oriented test was done at 66% screen brightness while surfing the net with Adobe Flash enabled and the Windows Balanced profile. The notebook reached up to 191 minutes, but this result will be highly variable depending on how many videos and applications the user could be demanding. Asus 15G10N381200CM-2 battery

As such, actual run time is highly tied to the user's needs. The notebook will die rather quickly with heavy applications and too many background activities, but should last noticeably longer if used mostly for word processing, notetaking and presentations. Still, at only around 3 hours with some videos mixed in, we recommend keeping the power adapter nearby.

Asus A34-M90 battery For comparison, the larger 15.6-inch ProBook 6560b with the same CPU was able to last a little over 5 hours when left idle, although it includes a larger 6-cell battery. The similarly equipped 12.5-inch Lenovo ThinkPad X220, 14-inch Toshiba Tecra R840-11E and 13.3-inch Sony Vaio VPC-SB1Z9EB can all last a couple hours longer than the 5330m.

The power consumption at idle at the lowest brightness setting comes in at 14 watts, according to the built-in HP Power Assistant. Under load and maximum brightness, the total power draw hovers around 61 watts. Asus A34-W90 battery

For every feature the HP ProBook 5330m excels at, it misses the mark in an equal number of key areas. For example, the notebook base is built sturdy with its magnesium alloy chassis, but its lid is comparatively more delicate. A standard voltage Core i5 CPU can handle most applications thrown at it, but is tied to a weak battery. The screen is passably bright at its center, but is so unevenly lit that prolonged outdoor use should be avoided. There seems to be an unfortunate opposing corollary for each attribute done adequately well. Asus L0690L6 battery

Additionally, there are no options for a larger battery, so heavy notebook users may need to lug around a second battery in case or downgrade the CPU to a Core i3-2310M. Note that the Core i3 model omits the Intel vPro Technology and software, however. A SIM card slot would have been a great addition as well, especially when the older ProBook 5310m included the option. Asus NBP12A100 battery

All in all, the ProBook 5330m offers a very straightforward and unobtrusive design with extra data protection, additional layers of login credentials, a speedy processor and a more sophisticated power manager. Those interested in the built-in security software features and don't require an all-day battery life can consider this HP notebook.

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Review Alienware M18x (GTX 580M SLI, 2920XM) Notebook

The Alienware M18x is one of the largest and most powerful gaming laptops available, and we have already thoroughly tested the model with two AMD Radeon HD 6970M units (CrossFire). Now the alternative version with 2x GeForce GTX 580M in SLI mode has reached us, and looks set to achieve new records in performance with its integrated SSD and Core i7-2920XM CPU. Dell 8P6X6 battery

As the case, screen, and input devices in this model have not changed from the previously reviewed version, we only look at the components which have been altered, with some additional tests and readings.

Connectivity

The M18x offers plenty of choice for connecting external storage media, with USB 3.0 and eSATA ports. We tested both of them using an Intel SSD 510 (ASMedia ASM10510 for USB, SataLink SPIF215A for eSATA) with 250 GB. The eSATA connection was the fastest at an average of 180.8 MB/s. The USB 3.0 connection followed shortly behind at 165 MB/s. As you would expect, the USB 2.0 port came last by some way at 28.1 MB/s. Dell PT6V8 battery

The integrated AR8151 Gigabit LAN port reached 851 MBit/s in our testing (direct connection to a Sandy Bridge desktop with DP55KG mainboard). However, an Intel Sandy Bridge test machine with AR8151 did manage to reach the maximum data transfer rate of 940 MBit/s.

We tested the WLAN Killer Wireless-N1103 card against our older Trendnet TEW-633GR, and managed about 49 MBit from a 3-metre distance. By way of comparison, an Intel 1030 WLAN card only reached 37 MBit. The 2010 MBP13, however, reaches 63 MBit/s which is a little better. Dell 312-0207 battery

Performance

An overclocked Intel Core i7-2920XM main processor, two GeForce GTX 580M high-end graphics cards in SLI mode, a Samsung PM810 SSD and 8 GB of DDR3 RAM all promise absolute top performance. It means the M18x currently in front of us is almost the highest configuration possible. Only the second HDD bay remains unused, and 16 GB of RAM would be possible. Dell 312-0210 battery

The Core i7-2920XM was already overclocked in our review model as delivered, and so it reaches up to 4 GHz in Turbo Boost mode. In the Cinebench R11.5 test, only 5% separates it from the desktop Core i7-2600 model. But as there are additional options in BIOS for overclocking, higher speeds are also possible. The M18x fitted with the 6970M CF, for example, was tested at 4.2 GHz and reached exactly the same scores as the Core i7-2600. Dell D951T battery

For simple overclocking, Dell offers three easy-to-adjust overclocking levels in BIOS. These first and foremost change the Turbo Boost multiplier, but also the core voltage in part. This made possible an improvement of up to 12.9% for single-core performance, and up to 17.6% for multi-core performance (Cinebench R11.5). Our review model was delivered and tested in Level 1 (a 7% and 12% performance boost respectively, compared to the not-overclocked processor). Dell F681T battery

The two PCMark benchmarks by Futuremark are supposed to evaluate overall system and application performance. The results speak for themselves, perched at the top of the league along with the older M18x and the Clevo X7200 (for e.g. in the XIRIOS W710). This proves that the M18x is equipped to handle virtually all usage scenarios thanks to its SSD, overclocked high-end CPU and powerful graphics system. Dell HC26Y battery

Only with professional 3D programs are professional graphics cards at a clear advantage because of their optimized drivers. In the SpecViewPerf 11, the M18x at times only performed at the level of a single Quadro FX 880M mid-range graphics card. Professional users might find what they are looking for with the Schenker Xirios (Nvidia Quadro 5010M) for example.

With the Futuremark synthetic graphics benchmarks and the Unigine Heaven, we first would like to record the theoretical performance of the GTX 580M rig. Dell M15X6CPRIBABLK battery

In the Unigine Heaven test, the GTX 580M SLI takes a clear lead of 22% ahead of the 6970M CrossFire in the same machine (with a slightly faster overclocked CPU). The Radeon 6990M in the CrossFire combination also stays 6% behind the Alienware machine despite its more powerful desktop CPU. In comparison, the 580M SLI in the X7200 is able to claim the top spot again by about 12% thanks to its powerful six-core processor (making it the fastest of the mobile graphics cards). Dell M15X9CEXIBATLK battery

In the 3DMark 11 GPU test the SLI graphics system is only 2% faster than the one in the 6970M CF. The 6990M CF is even a clear 13% faster, while the 580M SLI in the Clevo Barebone can add 9% through its desktop processor.

In the 3DMark Vantage GPU test, the 580M SLI has a clear lead over the 6970M CF (17% slower). In the older 3DMark benchmarks (2001-06), however, the Radeon HD 6970M CF won – again thanks to the somewhat faster overclocked CPU. Dell NGPHW battery

For the integrated SSD, Dell still relies on the old Samsung PM810 (PM830 recently introduced). This is part of the older SATA 3 Gbit/s generation and so it can't keep pace with modern top-of-the-range models like the OCZ Vertex 3 or Intel 510. Compared to the latest Intel 320 series (also still SATA 3 Gbit/s), the PM810 solid state drive keeps up well, being only 5% behind. However, the Intel 510 series connected with SATA 6 Gbit/s, the OCZ Agility 3 and the Vertex 3 are substantially ahead with 37%, 58% and 76% leads respectively (average of all results from the HD Tune reading benchmarks, AS SSD and CrystalDiskMark). Dell SQU-722 battery

But compared to traditional hard drives as well as RAID systems made up of HDDs, the PM810 still rates very highly. This can also be felt during everyday use, with thoroughly impressive start-up times and a fast Windows boot-up (30 seconds with a fully installed system with all games and benchmarks).

Gaming Performance

Dell SQU-724 battery An up-to-date driver is essential with SLI and CrossFire systems especially. We did not find the 275 series driver delivered with the laptop to be convincing. Therefore we updated to the latest 280.26 version (modded driver, as the official one from Alienware is not quite out yet and the Verde driver from Nvidia would not allow itself to be installed).

Additionally to the gaming tests listed in our database, we also took a look at the laptop's performance for the following games:

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine

Dell 453-10184 battery The new demo of this 3D shooter in the Warhammer 40K universe is convincing, with fast third-person action in a familiar setting. The level one 'fight' in the demo ran absolutely smoothly in our test at maximum settings (high) and 1920 x 1080 resolution, with 144 frames a second. So there is room to spare for AA settings. In comparison the integrated HD Graphics 3000 (switchable) was completely out of its depth, with a maximum of 16 fps (overclocked CPU, minimum settings).

Battery Life

DELL 2XRG7 battery The M18x's powerful hardware means that energy consumption is not exactly its forte. Only with no stress and the graphics cards deactivated (restart with processor graphics) could we get it down to a respectable 18W.

Under extreme stress the energy consumption fluctuates between 161 and 305 Watts (depending on whether the 580M graphics cards are running at full or only minimal speed). As the temperature of the cards is still quite low at this stage, this could be happening in order to protect the 330 W mains adaptor.Dell 04YRJH battery During Crysis 2 our instrument showed an average of 210 W in comparison (266 W with Prime95 switched on). So you can see that Furmark produces considerably more stress for the GPUs and therefore could possibly be forcing this protective function (?) to appear.

Like the Radeon model, the 580M SLI version rates highly with a maximum battery life of six hours. This is down to the optional use of the integrated processor graphics following a restart (it is not possible to have Optimus with SLI).

In practice you can expect a little over 3 hours when surfing over WLAN or watching videos. Dell 312-0233 battery

With maximum system load, the 12-cell battery runs out of steam after only an hour. Unfortunately both graphics cards run at a speed of only 50 MHz when the notebook is on battery power, so you also can't enjoy any games during this hour. The performance of the underclocked GeForce graphics cards in this situation is down to the same level as the integrated graphics card; therefore it would be sensible to switch over to the processor graphics.

Verdict

Dell 312-0234 383CW battery It turns out that the Alienware M18x is also an outstanding gaming notebook when fitted with two GeForce GTX 580M graphics cards in SLI mode. Weighing over 5.5 kg, its portability is severely limited, but at least it can be easily moved from one desk to another.

Its aggressive design helps it distinguish itself from the competition; the black version is a little more restrained than the red one. The use of aluminium and rubberized plastic also gives it a high-end appearance.

The input devices also make a good impression, although it is extremely annoying to find keyboard ghosting on a gaming notebook. Dell 4T7JN battery

But the range of ports gave no cause for complaint. USB 3.0, eSATA, and HDMI are among the highlights.

The performance scores are impressive thanks to the high-end components, and are only narrowly beaten by the Clevo X7200 model fitted with desktop CPUs. The SLI system was able to best the older CrossFire set-up of two 6970Ms with a clear lead of 8%. Compared to the 6990M CF, the advantage should only be slight. And so you can actually only criticise the somewhat outdated Samsung SSD in the M18x. We would currently recommend a manual upgrade (from a cheap HDD) to a more recent SSD of the Intel 510 or OCZ Vertex 3 variety. Dell 9T48V J1KND battery

The cooling system was a little quieter than our 6970M CF review model. On the other hand we did measure slightly higher surface temperatures. This represents a slightly better compromise in our opinion.

The only major drawback is the horrendous price of just over 5000 Euros for this review model. It means the M18x is highly likely to remain a niche product – but an extremely good one.

Review Dell Vostro 1540 Notebook

Dell W7H3N battery Dell expands its own B2B range with the entry level notebook, Vostro 1540, which has a 15.6 inch screen, the common 1366x768 pixels of resolution and a matt surface. In addition to the Vostro 3550 and Vostro 3555 laptop, the Dell Vostro 1540 is the third notebook of this size category and should especially attract price conscious buyers. The starting price is about 369 euros plus value added tax (439 euros including VAT) and thus costs about 20 euros less than the new Vostro 3550. Our test device represents the premium configuration and costs 579 euros w/o VAT, respectively 689 euros including VAT plus shipping. Dell 7012P battery

You get an Intel Core i3-370M dual core processor, a 4 GB DDR3 RAM and memory capacity of 500 GB for your money. Of course, WLAN standard 802.11n and Bluetooth 3.0 +HS are also built in. But you won't find UMTS, USB 3.0 or a docking port. Read in this review, how this basic office notebook fares - or if you should invest a few more euros to get a device with more up-to-date components.

Case

Dell 083KV battery The Vostro 1540 stands out from the other devices with a silver stripe. This laptop is not the right choice for aficionados of designer objects or products. The textured and rubberized display lid adds a small highlight. Overall, the design looks a bit too conservative and dull. But the manufacturer avoids taking a bigger "risk" this way. The plastic case's feel isn't satisfying. The silver edging and display bezel make a cheap impression. In return, the workmanship is solid and doesn't reveal any obvious weaknesses that we would have to mention negatively. Dell 1894W battery

The stability continues the already mediocre image. The wrist rest and keyboard yield visibly and noticeably under slight pressure in the left area. Interestingly, the DVD drive appears to support the case here. On the other hand, strong pressure causes the gap size between the silver stripe and the wrist rest to change. The display lid is also rather instable and can be easily twisted or depressed from the outside. The tightly pulled hinges have to be mentioned favorably as they keep the display in the desired position. Minus points in this aspect remain to be a slight teetering and the fact that the device can only be opened with both hands. Dell 2127U battery

The bottom doesn't have a maintenance cover because the RAM banks and the WLAN module are found directly underneath the keyboard. The hard disk and other components are only accessible after removing a few screws on the bottom and disassembling the wrist rest. Basically, this step is also simple and done within a few minutes.

Battery Life

Dell 4127U battery The older hardware isn't only noticed in performance, because the efficiency of the components has improved significantly with the launch of Intel's Sandy Bridge CPUs. We draw a comparison with the HP ProBook 4530s with an Intel Core i3-2310M including embedded graphics. The Dell Vostro 1540 with an Intel Core i3-370M consumes between 9 and 17.2 watts in idle mode. Thus, the laptop is on about the same level as current multimedia laptops with a significant performance plus. An example from this division would be the Medion Akoya P6631 notebook. The above mentioned comparison configuration consumes a maximum of 12.6 watts in office use, which results in a difference of 26.7 %. Dell 8027U battery

The rates of our test device and the HP notebook are equal during load (51.6 to 51.2 watts). However, we must point out the average is a lot lower in the newer ProBook and that it nevertheless bids a plus of performance. Although the Vostro 1540's hardware was state-of-the-art about a year ago, this power consumption is no longer acceptable and the majority of potential buyers will likely opt for the latest and not inevitably more expensive hardware. Dell BAT-I5000 battery

The battery life, in combination with the included 6 cell battery, suffers under the consumption rates. Overall, it results in a weak range between 4 hours and 40 minutes in idle mode (BatteryEater's Reader's test) and 82 minutes during load and maximum screen brightness (Classic test). The assessment "Surfing via WLAN" represents a realistic average. But the resulting battery life of 3 hours and 27 minutes isn't really satisfying, either. The HP ProBook 4530s, with newer Intel hardware, reaches a battery life of about 8 hours, whereas there are configurations that manage up to 10 hours. Dell BAT30WL battery

Verdict

The Dell Vostro 1540 is an average office laptop for users without big demands. The case's design is unexciting and the feel isn't high-end. The scope of interfaces, the communication options and the matt 15.6 inch screen are acceptable, but nothing special. The hardware configuration isn't cutting edge with an Intel Core i3-370M, but the processor's performance can keep up with the Intel Core i3-2310M. However, the graphics and multimedia performance comes too short. The biggest drawback is likely the CPU's comparatively poor performance and the short battery life. Dell IM-M150261 battery

In view of this, the usual short warranty period of only 12 months (B2B) and the not directly accessible hard disk are only minor minus points. Overall, it's not a special laptop that is available for starting at 369 euros plus VAT. And this takes us to the next major drawback: The Dell Vostro 3550 with Intel Sandy Bridge CPUs and a more attractive design only costs 20 euros more. The new Vostro 3555 with AMD's Llano APUs even cost 40 euros less with a price starting at 329 euros. Dell IM-M150261-FR battery In view of this fact, we find the Vostro 1540 too expensive. In our opinion, it should sooner be on the price level of HP's 635 for around 299 euros including VAT.

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Review Sony Vaio VPC-SE1Z9E/B Notebook

Sony ventured into the business field with the Vaio SB range (13.3 inch) in the spring of 2011 (docking port, 3G, matt TFT, etc.). VGP-BPS9/S The Vaio SB1Z9EB (upgrade: SB2L1E/W) was basically a coherent business bundle, but messed up in the rating with its color and viewing angle weak screen, as well as high system noise during CPU load.

Will things now get better? The 15.5 inch laptop with the same looks and features (docking, etc.) brings a Vaio Plus screen with a Full HD resolution into play. If the system noise is now also all right, the 13.3 inch SB would therewith be straightened. VGP-BPS9/B So much will be revealed: There is an improvement. Find out why it's still not enough for a "Very Good" in the final rating in our comprehensive review of the Vaio VPC-SE1Z9E/B.

Case

Black or silver. Sony sells the low-priced (silver) and the higher priced (black, test device) versions of its Vaio SE model in these colors. The matt surfaces are good to handle, but not too dull. Fingerprints only play a secondary role in the life of this Vaio. VGP-BPS9A/B They are barely visible. The case is made of a combination of plastic (interior, display bezel) and light magnesium (lid, base tray). Thus, the Vaio SE is very light for a 15.5 inch device: 2033 grams. Typical for a 15.6 inch unit would be 2.5 kilograms.

The black plastic insides are fairly slip-proof and bid a lot of room for resting the hands. The wrist rest fits absolutely tight but we can depress the key field with moderate pressure to an extent. The Vaio SE doesn't have a perfectly stiff base unit. The area around the optical drive has a good stability. But we can twist the whole chassis with both hands to a certain degree. VGP-BPS13/Q

This also applies to the lid. Its hinge isn't pulled tight and the lid is kept very unstably in place. The stop at the maximum opening angle is soft (about 140 degrees) and the hinge jerks creakingly at its stop at this moment. The lid's hard magnesium surface prevents stronger yielding, but the diameter of 15.5 inches is too much for it. The teetering lid is the hinge's biggest shortcoming (e.g. bumpy road trips by car). The lid is contrasted with a narrow plastic strip in the front area. It can prevent the unsightly wear of the painted magnesium surface. VGP-BPS13/S

The big maintenance cover on the bottom leads to the hard disk, WLAN module, RAM (1 socket) and battery. The latter can also be removed for permanent desktop use.

Performance

The Intel Core i7-2640M (2x2.8 GHz) is still scarce on the market. It is the fastest dual core processor from the Sandy Bridge generation and can clock up to 3.5 GHz via Turbo 2.0 (overhead with good cooling). VGP-BPS13A/B

The DDR3 memory controller and an Intel HD Graphics 3000 are embedded in the processor. A dedicated AMD Radeon HD 6630M (1024 MB), which can be disabled via graphics switch (power mode Stamina/Speed) is also installed. Thus, users have the control over the active GPU. This array is supported by six gigabyte of DDR3 RAM. 4096 MB of that is soldered to the mainboard and 1x 2048 MB are inserted. The system can be equipped with a total capacity of 8 GB. VGP-BPS13A/Q

Is the fastest i7 dual core worthwhile or does the less expensive Core i5 model, for less than 1000€, suffice? We first compare the single core computing speeds with Cinebench R10 Single 64 bit. It should be extremely strong due to Turbo 2.0, which can even boost the clock over the wattage of 3.5 GHz for a short period. An adequately dimensioned cooling system is a requirement for this. VGP-BPS13A/S

The i7-2640M (2.8-3.5 GHz) manages 5470 points when calculating on one core. That is only slightly more than the i5-2430M achieves in perfect conditions (4800; Sony Vaio VPC-EH1S1E). The 2620M, the predecessor CPU (2.7 GHz), which is found in many subnotebooks, manages 5479 points at best (good cooling system, e.g. LifeBook S751). The predecessor CPU has the same score? Since the 2640M in the Schenker XMG P701 PRO manages a better 5642 points, both results indicate an inferior cooling system. VGP-BPS26

The result looks different when all cores are processing (closer to reality). The i7 2640 reaps in 3.13 points in Cinebench R11.5 64 bit. That is more than the i5-2540M (also 4 threads) with 2.67 points (Samsung Chronos 700Z5A-S01DE). The suspicion of a poor cooling system isn't confirmed: The Schenker XMG P701 PRO with a 2640M achieves an almost equal 3.17 points. PCGA-BPS22

We could rule out throttling in case of sole CPU load in another test (following three screenshots): The processor stress test, Prime95 (multi core), starts with 3.3 GHz only to stay at a steady 3.1 GHz after about two minutes. Only when graphics load is added at the same time, in this case with Furmark, a throttling to 2.9 GHz to 800 MHz can be provoked every ten seconds. As soon as the graphics load is closed, the clock again rises to a stable 3.1 to 3.3 GHz immediately. PCGA-BPS21A

In short, the difference in processing speed of the i5 and the i7 dual core configuration is measurable, but low. Users who need higher multi core computing power (e.g. video rendering, image processing) should prefer an i7. CPU throttling only is shown in an (unrealistic) scenario with simultaneous GPU stress.

Battery Life

VGP-BPS9A/S The Vaio test device's idle power requirement is between 10.4 watts (energy saving, minimum brightness, wifi off) and 25.2 watts (high performance, maximum brightness, wifi on). Especially the maximum measurement is surprising. Such rates aren't typical even for 45 watt Intel quad core laptops nowadays (e.g. i7-2630QM, Gigabyte P2532N, 12-19 watts). The battery was fully charged.

VGP-BPS9 The Vaio SE1 54 62 consumes up to 87 watts in the stress test (CPU+GPU 100%) when the clock quickly changes due to the temperature (clocks: 800 MHz, 2.9 GHz, 3.1 GHz). Prime95 (CPU load only) needs 74 watts for itself (no throttling). Furmark (GPU load only) treats itself to 61 watts. The Vaio SE1 with a Core i7 thus definitely needs the 90 watt power adapter (323 grams).

VGP-BPS10 The 15.5 inch device with its 49 watt hour lithium polymer battery (4400 mAh) is disappointing in battery life. It's only enough for 2:40 hours when surfing on the Internet (via WLAN). The battery life was measured in Stamina mode (Intel HD 3000) with a brightness of roughly 100 cd/m2. The Vaio SE can last for a lot longer with lowest brightness, wifi modules off and idle. The Reader's Test first finished after 5:35 hours. It is 3:20 hours with a Blu-Ray movie. 2:38 hours pass before the next session can start again (charge time). Due to the low wifi runtime, mobile users, who would otherwise be attracted to the Vaio SE, are forced to purchase the battery slice. See docking station & battery slice Sony Vaio SA and SB for a review of these accessories in the smaller Vaio SB (13.3 inch). VGP-BPS13

Verdict

All that glitters is not gold. Nevertheless: Hopes of a balanced combination of professional work device and entertainment suitable consumer have basically been met. Sony builds in the contrast and viewing angle strong Full HD screen that many have been waiting for. Adept laptop users know that such a high-end screen isn't a matter of course in a market that bargains for the best price when buying components. VGP-BPS13S

The second core issue is the system noise. It has improved and the user only has to live with a tolerable maximum of 40 dB (A) during normal load. On the other hand, the waste heat has unfortunately climbed and tops the Vaio SB 13.3 inch laptop by almost 10 degrees (bottom up to 56 degrees).

VGP-BPS13AS Where the 13.3 inch notebook of the Vaio SB series still offered four to five hours of battery life, the 15.5 inch Vaio SE blunders: 2:40 hours don't knock anyone's socks off nowadays and aren't enough for this price range. The optional battery slice can lessen this shortcoming, but it costs extra and makes the laptop heavier.

The input devices are upper midrange and can't achieve the perfection of a HP EliteBook or Dell Latitude. Here, the feedback is too weak and there, the touchpad keys have a too short stroke. On the other hand, the layout is very spacious and it has a keyboard light. VGP-BPS13B/S

The new dual Core i7-2640M (2.80 GHz) isn't easily surpassed in performance. Together with the gaming suitable AMD Radeon HD 6630M, users are well equipped for the next few years. There is no explanation why Sony cuts back on RAM and installs an odd number of 4 + 2 GB at a laptop price of over 1500€. Fans of performance and silence will miss an SSD. Even a model for a bit more than 100€ would have increased the system performance greatly and also eliminated the quiet HDD clacking. VGP-BPS13B/Q

All and all, we can ascertain that the weak points in the SB series (TFT, system noise) have been eliminated or, in other words, the SE series hasn't inherited them. In return, the battery life and waste heat have deteriorated. The pros and cons are evened out and the rating "Good" remains unchanged in the end. Although we did it in this case: A comparison between the SB and SE range is only possible to an extent due to the classification of subnotebook, respectively multimedia. VGP-BPS13B/B

Buyers who value a very good Full HD TFT should take a closer look at the Vaio SE series. The entry level model, Vaio VPC-SE1E1E (silver rather than black) with a Core i5 and without 3G/Blu-Ray is available for just under 1000€. The same Full HD screen (VAIO Plus display) is also part of this version.

Review Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 18382DG Tablet/MID

Sony-vgp-bps13S When you think of tablets, you probably first think of the Apple iPad 2, the Motorola Xoom or the Asus Transformer. But from now on, you should remember this name too: the Lenovo ThinkPad tablet (model 18382 DG). Why? It's quite simple: everything those tablets can do, the Lenovo tablet can also do - and more.

The ThinkPad tablet is based on the Nvidia Tegra 2, which works with a speed of 1 GHz and has 1 MB of RAM. In addition the ThinkPad tablet is equipped with wifi, GPS reception and a 3G/ UMTS modem. The hard drive in our model is a generous 64 GB. That should be enough to start with. It makes similar tablets like the Motorola Xoom or the Sony S1, with their base level of onboard memory at 32 and 16 GB respectively, look practically miserly. Sony-vgp-bps2a

The Lenovo tablet's memory can also be expanded using ordinary SD flash memory cards.

For the display, Lenovo has not gone for any old cheap panel, but has chosen an IPS display with a screen diagonal of 10.1 inches. And with the resolution too, Lenovo has not made any compromises; in this device it is 1280 x 800 pixels.

And the Lenovo ThinkPad tablet has still more to offer: for example, a good price. With the specs named above, the tablets costs around 666 Euro at present (high street price including tax, as of 1/10/2011). In the Lenovo web shop the 64 GB model costs 749 Euros including tax. Sony-vgp-bps2b

Case

Visually, the Lenovo ThinkPad tablet is immediately striking. With dimensions of 14 x 58.4 x 181.7 mm it is not one of the slimmest tablets, and so initially it appears rather bulky. You also have to have a good grip on it because of its weight; at 750 g, the ThinkPad is not exactly the lightest tablet around. To compare: the iPad 2 weighs only 613 g, although the Motorola Xoom is similar to the Lenovo at 730 g. Sony-vgp-bps2c

The chassis is black all over, and for the material the manufacturer has opted entirely for plastic. This has the disadvantage that the back of the tablet can easily be pressed inwards. From time to time the two parts of the case shell creak if you press too hard on the tablet. We would have expected a slightly more superior first impression from something with the ThinkPad branding. VGP-BPS8A

Around the 10.1 inch display, Lenovo has left lots of room for holding the tablet. Four relatively large buttons stand out and put one in mind of a harmonium. These are not just touch-sensitive buttons, as with many other tablet models, but real mechanical buttons, almost like those on a keyboard.

Battery life

VGP-BPS8B The Lenovo tablet's energy consumption when recharging is substantially higher than for 7-inch tablets, but with a maximum of 8.7 Watts it is on the same level as the other 10-inch machines. Our readings also showed that the recharging adaptor barely drew any electricity (0.2 Watts) when the tablet was switched off. However, in stand-by mode, the adaptor uses a little more (0.7 Watts).

VGP-BPS8 The Lenovo tablet's battery (2-cell, lithium polymer) has a capacity of 24.1 Wh. Recharging is performed using the charging adaptor (included) with a USB output and the appropriate USB cable. Alternatively the tablet can be charged via an ordinary USB port on your PC or notebook. In the last case, the recharging process will probably take longer.

VGP-BPL8 Even with the charging adaptor which is provided with the tablet (5.35V, 2A), recharging the battery takes patience. A completely empty battery can take up to 24 hours (!) to reach 100% battery capacity again. We tried out all the settings we could find on the tablet, but always with the same result: the recharging process could not be hurried.

But this is intentional. We found the relevant notice in the handbook on page 36. Only once the tablet dock is available (a forthcoming expansion) will a fast recharging method be supported. VGP-BPL9

If the battery takes so long to recharge, it should at least last for a long time throughout our battery life test scenarios. Or so you would think.

With heavy use, where stress is put on the Tegra 2 CPU, we observed a battery life of 6 hours and 2 minutes. Once recharged, we started the second test. In this case, for surfing on the net via WLAN, the display was set up so that the screen contents would be easily readable. During the test, different web sites were loaded in turn. The battery held out for 9 hours and 45 minutes in this scenario. VGP-BPS10

In the next test an H.264 video was played continuously at maximum screen brightness. All wireless, GPS and 3G connections were deactivated at this point. In this situation we measured a battery run-time of 7 hours and 3 minutes.

As a final test, the tablet didn't have to do much at all: WLAN/ GPS/ 3G/ Bluetooth were deactivated, and the screen set to minimum brightness. In this mode the battery lasted for more than 14 hours. PCGA-BP7

A maximum 14 hours of battery life, and then 24 hours plugged in to the mains to recharge? It is a mystery to us how Lenovo imagined this would work in practice.

Verdict

The Lenovo ThinkPad tablet is able to impress us in almost every respect, at least to begin with. It has a first-class, capacitive IPS display, lots of memory as well as wifi and 3G connectivity. Everything you would expect in a mobile device. PCGA-BP71

The ThinkPad tablet represents a successful entry into the tablet world for Lenovo. At times it really makes the competition look old in terms of functionality, connectivity and price. Whereas other tablets only offer 16 or 32 GB SSDs, Lenovo trumps this with 64 GB. Nor has Lenovo cut corners with the 10.1-inch display; the IPS panel used here is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass from impact, scratches and wear and tear, and significantly increases screen readability outdoors at the same time. PCGA-BP71A

Inside the ThinkPad tablet is a 1 GHz Tegra 2 chip made by Nvidia, as in many other similar devices. The tablet's performance is at the level you would expect.

The major negative aspect that emerged from our testing was the battery, not in terms of its stamina - in fact the tablet was convincing once again in this respect - but in terms of the recharging cycle which is most definitely too long. The battery sometimes needed over 24 hours to recharge to 100% capacity, when using the charging adaptor supplied with the tablet. This has a significant negative impact on our rating of the battery. PCGA-BP71AUC

The current high-street price of the 64 GB model with wifi and 3G is 666 Euros. The ThinkPad tablet pen costs about 33 Euros in the Lenovo web shop.

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Review Toshiba Satellite Z830-10J Ultrabook

Toshiba starts off into the era of high performance subnotebooks with the Satellite Z830. As an ultrabook, the 13.3 inch device promises a battery runtime of five hours and a system boot in less than seven seconds. ACER TravelMate 8473G battery The device places itself seamlessly in the list of comprehensively reviewed ultrabooks, which are almost all available on the German market.

Our review Acer Aspire S3-951 (13.3 inch)
Our review Asus Zenbook UX31 (13.3 inch)
Our review Asus Zenbook UX21 (11.6 inch)
Our review Lenovo IdeaPad U300s (13.3 inch)

Toshiba sticks to its line and transfers the look & feel (materials) of its Portégé and Satellite R models to the new device category. Although the silver looks and the partly brushed surface (wrist rest, lid) suggest aluminum, the case is made of a light magnesium aluminum alloy with a honeycomb structure (inside). The latter give the perceptibly thin surfaces a good stiffness. ACER TravelMate 8473T battery

The manufacturer's aim is clear: The ultrabook should be as light-weight as possible and as stable as necessary. The attempt is successful because the 1110 gram, 13.3 inch Z830 weighs less than the 11.6 inch Asus Zenbook UX21 (1147 grams). The 13.3 inch Toshiba Z830 even has a longer battery life. In contrast, the other ultrabooks are real heavy-weights: Aspire S3 (1400 grams), Asus Zenbook UX31 (1300 grams), Lenovo IdeaPad U300s (1300 grams). ACER TravelMate 8473TG battery

The wrist rest, single areas on the bottom and the display lid can be dented with little force. This does not diminish the quality because Toshiba ensures a very good torsional stiffness of the base unit due to an inner reinforcement. The case is even supposed to survive a drop test from a height of 76 cm on a steel plate (on its sides). The manufacturer let the Technical Control Board execute this test in addition to a pressure test (100 kg surface), which the Z830 passed. In an analogy to the plastic apron for cars, it can be said: It's probably just the slightly yielding chassis that makes the Z830 resistant. ACER TravelMate TimelineX 8473G battery

The almost wafer-thin lid warps very easily and looks more like a piece of cardboard. The hinges fit tight on the case and let the lid stop softly at about 135 degrees. The hinges could use a bit more traction, though. The lid closes on its own when the device is shaken.

ACER TravelMate TimelineX 8473T battery The lid has a narrow rubber lip at its upper edge that lies on the case when it's closed. The small gap that needs a fingernail to be opened is impractical in hectic situations. The device's bottom is absolutely even and there is no maintenance opening. The RAM (2 GB built-in, 2 GB inserted) can be upgraded. The entire bottom can be removed for this.

Performance

The Intel Core i5 2467M (default: 1.60 GHz, Turbo up to 2.30 GHz) is an energy efficient, ultra low voltage dual core processor from the 2011 Intel Core generation (Sandy Bridge). It is currently the only available CPU alternative for the Z830 in Germany. The identical Portégé Z830 is sold with an i7 2677M or even i3 2367M processor in the USA. The former is installed in the Asus Zenbook UX21E, an 11.6 inch device. ACER TravelMate TimelineX 8473TG battery

The RAM has the usual capacity of 4 GB (DDR3). Two gigabytes are soldered to the mainboard (on board), and two are inserted. The Intel HD Graphics 3000 is integrated on the CPU (shared memory). The Z830's actual acceleration during work is provided by its 128 GB mSATA 300 SSD from Toshiba (Toshiba SG2 Series, 32 nm, THNSNB128GMCJ). The price in (very rare) retail: 260€. The slim case doesn't accommodate a 2.5 or 1.8 inch disk, but a module with a size of 3x6 centimeters instead. Acer Aspire One D250 battery

Processor

The (1.6 GHz) Core i5 2467M's TDP is 17 watts (35 and 45 watts are usual for laptops). In contrast to the Intel Core i7 2620M (dual core, 35 watts) frequently used in 13 inch devices lately, the TDP is a lot lower. However, the standard clock is also comparatively low. But just how much slower does the low voltage i5 calculate in comparison to a 2620M, as it's for example built into a Vaio SA2Z9E (13.3 inch)? Acer Aspire One D250-1Bb battery

The processor test, Cinebench R11.5 (64 bit, multi core processing) rewards the Z830 with 1.91 points. This result is duplicated in all repetitions as well as on battery power (3 runs each). The 2620M manages 3.03 points and the i7 2677M, in the UX21E, 2.13 points. Our ultrabook with a Core i5 CPU is thus only a bit below the processing speed of a Core i7 ULV processor. However, it can only just keep up with the Core i3 2330M (2.1 points) among normal laptop processors. Acer Aspire One D250-1Br battery

Turbo 2.0 does its job without complaint. That isn't a matter of course in a slim case. The clock during the Cinebench multi core test was 2.1 GHz. The clock drops to (stable) 2.0 GHz at most when Prime95 simulates high load on all cores. This is within the Turbo range and is well above the standard clock of 1.6 GHz. Short: Turbo 2.0 works perfectly in our CPU benchmarks. Acer Aspire One 10.1 inch battery

System Performance

PCMark Vantage and PCMark 7 both assess the application performance as a whole. The results of the Z830 is 8731, respectively 2951 points. This seems little when compared with the Asus UX21E (11054 and 3612 points) or the Samsung Series 9 900X3A (10833 and 3448 points). Normal i7 dual core notebooks without an SSD only achieve about 2000 points (Vostro 3350). The subjective speed is agreeably fast. Installations are finished in no time and programs are loaded within fractions of a second. Acer Aspire One 8.9 inch battery

Battery Life

Power Consumption

The consumption measurements from the outlet (battery charge: 100%) show a modest ultrabook. We only measured five watts in idle (minimum). The TFT screen can increase this up to 10 watts with maximum brightness, keyboard backlight and operating mode "High Performance" (CPU/GPU-idle). The Z830 fares well here; even the 11.6 inch Asus UX21E has a power consumption of 6.6 to 11.1 watts. Acer Aspire One A110 battery

The power consumption triples in maximum load (36 watts). When the i5 2537M is busy with only the processor stress test, the Z830 consumes 31 watts (stable @ 2.0 GHz). The power consumption increases to 32 watts when the 3D benchmark, Furmark, is added.

Battery Life

Acer Aspire One A150 battery The Z830 can only meet Intel's demand for an ultrabook battery life of at least five, better seven, hours when the user limits his activities to reading or typing with dimmed light. The Z830 achieves a runtime of 4:27 hours in the WLAN test. The brightness was set to 100 cd/m2 for the test.

The Z830 needs three hours to recharge the built-in battery. When power-use can't be avoided, the battery is empty after 120 minutes. A look at the other ultrabooks shows that their battery life isn't much better: A Lenovo U300s manages five hours, an Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook (HDD version, Core i5) only 3:30 hours (both WLAN test) and an Asus UX31 also only manages five hours. Acer Aspire One D150 battery

Verdict

The Toshiba Satellite Z830 10J changes hands for a grand. The user benefits from the lightest 13.3 inch ultrabook (1110 grams) of all times. Even the MacBook Air 13 is heavier with 1330 grams. The magnesium aluminum lightweight construction is very similar to the Satellite or Portégé R series (see R830). However the weak points, such as the wobbly screen, have been eliminated.

ACER Aspire One P531h-1766 battery Compared to other ultrabooks, the Z830 has many interfaces, and the majority is even handily located at the rear. The backlit keyboard unfortunately doesn't grant a business-style typing comfort due to its short key drop. However, the layout is very good. The battery life of 4:27 hours in practical use (WLAN test) regrettably fails Intel's 6 hour demand. Since 9:30 hours are possible in idle, users very well have optimization options when reading or typing emails. The matt and fairly bright screen displays pallid colors, but we can still recognize the content acceptably (doesn't dim on battery power). ACER Aspire One P531h-1791 battery

We quite liked the performance with Toshiba's 128 GB SSD and Intel's Core i5 2467M (1.6 GHz), especially because the performance is never throttled (thermal throttling) and is even available on battery power (not GPU performance).

Unfortunately, the biggest drawback comes from the base plate: The fan permanently rotates audibly even though the measured level of 31.4 dB (A) is low. The buzzing quality will be annoying for the silent-PC fan. Toshiba should make improvements via fan management or constructive modifications. Until then, the fan will remain to be the only real fault of the otherwise overall well-designed Toshiba ultrabook. ACER Aspire One P531h-1Bk battery

Review Toshiba Satellite L750-16W Notebook

Toshiba's Satellite L750 range clearly targets private customers. Toshiba advertises it as a stylish design piece for little money. However, the buyer's wallet shouldn't be too small either. The L750-16W costs €700 and if the Satellite will be seen as a design piece lies in the eye of the beholder.

The specifications give hope for good performance: A new Intel Core i5 and the Nvidia GeForce GT 525M are built in as key components. The Satellite L755 is identical to the Satellite L750 range, but the latter has a superior configuration and also a higher price. ACER Aspire One P531h battery

The Toshiba L750-16W will be available in a gray-black design in stores. The display lid and the wrist rest are made of light gray, glossy plastic. There are different sized, bright dots on it, which merge to a diamond pattern when looking at it from a distance.

The Satellite L750/L755 series is also available in black, white, red and chestnut brown. We have a Satellite L750 in zinc gray in review.

The display lid is made of glossy, black plastic just like the loudspeaker bar, and the gray dots are also found here. The bottom is made of black plastic and has two maintenance covers. ACER Aspire One Pro 531f-2G64Bk battery

All corners and edges of the laptop are rounded. Users who want to maintain the surface shine will have to polish the many glossy surfaces often. Greasy stains and fingerprints also become quickly visible on the plastic.

The Satellite is remarkably rigid. The display lid can be dent clearly, but no color distortions are passed on to the screen. The hinges are strong and have a good grip on the screen. But the base unit has to be held down to open the laptop because it would otherwise lift up along. ACER Aspire One Pro 531h-1G16Bk battery

The area of the optical drive can be dented a bit on the bottom. The rest of the notebook hardly yields. The area between the keyboard and display seem particularly stable. The base unit can't be warped and doesn't emit any creaking noises.

Performance

The Toshiba Satellite L750/755 is available in many various configurations. Processor options range from the entry level Intel Core i3 2330M, the midrange processors Core i5 2410M and 2430M, up to the high performance Intel Core i7 2670QM. Intel's integrated HD Graphics 3000 or Nvidia's entry level graphics cards, GeForce GT 520M or the GeForce GT 525M can be selected as the graphics solution. ACER Aspire One Pro 531h-1G25Bk battery

Moreover, Toshiba advertises a Blu-Ray drive on its homepage that isn't available in any model of the range until now.

An Intel Core i5 2430M and an Nvidia GeForce GT 525M is installed in our Satellite L750-16W. Regrettably, Toshiba doesn't implement Nvidia's Optimus Technology, which activates the Intel HD Graphics 3000 integrated in the processor during undemanding graphic tasks and thus saves energy. Therefore, the HD Graphics is permanently disabled while the GeForce GT 525M has to calculate even the most basic tasks and unfortunately increases the power consumption a bit. More about that in Battery Life. ACER Aspire One Pro 531h-2G25Bk battery

The memory solutions are designed generously. The hard disk has an unformatted memory capacity of 750 GB and rotates with a faster 7200 revolutions per minute. The main memory is a fast 8 GB DDR3 RAM which clocks with fast 1333 MHz in Dual Channel Mode.

Power Consumption

Acer AP12A3i The power consumption isn't the notebook's biggest strength. Since the Optimus Technology hasn't been enabled by the manufacturer, the Nvidia graphics card also works in idle. As a result the idle rate of 12 watts is rather high despite an energy efficient processor. Notebooks with Optimus manage a power consumption of less than 8 watts in idle. The notebook even consumes power like "a big one" during load. The Satellite L750 could be mistaken for a basic gaming notebook in view of 78 watts. This energy hunger is inappropriate in relation to the available performance. Acer 3IDF5/65/BT

Battery Life

A 48 Wh lithium ion battery is used in the Satellite L750. The laptop manages a runtime of good four and a half hours with that. This battery life can only be achieved with disabled network adapters, the lowest screen brightness level and a basic text, such as displaying a text document.

Our WLAN surf test, where we simulate surfing on websites in medium brightness, is a lot more realistic. The notebook lasts for 220 minutes, which should be enough for most users. Acer 3IDF5/67/93

The Satellite only lasts for 127 minutes when playing a DVD in maximum display brightness. This is enough for a 90 minute children's movie, but it gets quite tight when watching a longer movie, such as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2, with a runtime of only 125 minutes.

The minimum battery life under load is determined with BatteryEater's Classic test. It loads the CPU and GPU by rendering a moving 3D object. The Satellite only lasts for not quite 80 minutes - an acceptable rate. Acer AP13D6F

The battery needs 137 minutes to recharge.

Verdict

The Toshiba Satellite L750 can't excel in our test. The design is contemporary and the base unit is stable so that the case is well suited for private customers. The connectivity is up to date, but not outstanding. All state of the art interfaces are available with HDMI and USB 3.0 and users shouldn't be missing any interfaces.

The keyboard is good, but the gaps between the keys could have been a bit wider. The numpad will delight users who have to enter long number columns. On the other hand, the touchpad is a bit imprecise and not palpably separated. Thus, the fingers tend to quickly slide off the touchpad. Acer AP13D7F

The screen is reflective and not very bright. Consequently, it isn't very convincing in bright surroundings. As more often than not, the contrasts and viewing angles are also limited. The processor is strong enough for most applications. Throttling occurs when the processor and graphics card are loaded by demanding games or programs. It lets the processor clock drop to only 800 MHz. Acer 3ICP5/65/BB

The hard disk is very fast and stores enough data. The Satellite is only suitable for games to an extent. For one thing, the performance is slowed down considerably during load peaks. The laptop remains agreeably cool and fairly quiet during routine tasks. In return, the power consumption is quite high for a notebook of this performance category.

Acer 3ICP5/65/88 Overall, the Satellite L750-16W is aimed at users who need a solid notebook, but don't want to squeeze out the last MHz of performance. The processor's performance is easily sufficient for editing pictures or videos.

Posted by: luckystar at 02:45 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Review Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E130 NZU5FGE Subnotebook

Lenovo launched its ThinkPad Edge series in 2010. The pro sides of a ThinkPad - in particular everyday suitability and very good inputs - were to be made available to everyone for a low price in form of the Edge. TOSHIBA Satellite M327 battery It began with the Edge 13 subnotebook (HD 3200, AMD Turion Neo X2 L625), followed by the 15.6 inch Edge 15 and in late 2010, the Edge 11 was released. Although Lenovo has always reserved a place in its series for AMD's components, the first and today's 11.6 inchers are based on an Intel platform. The Core i3 380UM has now been replaced by the Pentium 977 (Sandy Bridge).

TOSHIBA Satellite M328 battery The AMD alternative E135, in review at the same time, should not be kept secret. A steep price of EUR 700 (RRP) was demanded for the Intel-based Edge from late 2010. Today, Lenovo only demands EUR 375 for the free-DOS version; our Windows system is available for starting at EUR 430 on the virtual shelves.

We wrote it in the first paragraph: The 11.6 incher convinces in many fields. Is it a phenomenal offer for little money? Is the market-share groping manufacturer giving away its devices in order to sell as many as possible? Find out in the review whether there are really no drawbacks.3 TOSHIBA Satellite M332 battery

One thing is certain: The handy chassis does not try to catch attention with daintiness. A weight of 1518 grams is over the average of other 11.6 inch devices. The Aspire V5-171 weighs 1326 grams and Asus' UX21E in an aluminum unibody reaches 1147 grams. Even Wortmann's 14 inch 1450 II ultrabook has a better weight/inch ratio with 1634 grams.

TOSHIBA Satellite L750 battery The weight of the angular casing with rounded corners is noticed accordingly. The Edge E130 nevertheless has a nice feel to it; the non-slip yet sleek surfaces of both the wrist rest and lid are pleasant to use. A red lid is optionally available besides the black one. We would refer to our upcoming review of the E135 sister model (AMD version) for more details. This laptop features exactly the same casing, interfaces and build-quality.

TOSHIBA Satellite M336 battery Like in previous Edge models, the i-dot of both ThinkPad logo's (lid + wrist rest) are illuminated by a small, red LED (permanent when in use / blinks during sleep). The hinges keep the lid connected very securely to the base unit. That is favorable for transportation, but we need both hands for opening the lid anyway. The opening angle has shrunk to approx. 135 degrees due to the lowered hinges (Edge 11= 180 degrees). The hinges are not made of solid metal; they are underneath a silver-colored plastic cover.

TOSHIBA Satellite M338 battery The plastic chassis proves to be very pressure resistant and the screen's stiffness is outstanding for this price range. We can only dent its surface by applying high force. The base unit warps marginally. The user will notice this when the laptop is picked up at a corner (opening). However, it would be bold to expect a highly rigid chassis in this price range. The battery fits tight in the case and leaves a gap above the keyboard when it is removed, for example during permanent AC-mode.

Performance

TOSHIBA Satellite M339 battery Two CPU versions of the Edge E130 are available currently: The Pentium 977 (in our test device) represents the entry-level model and starts at EUR 390 as well as the Core i3 2367M as the premium model that starts at EUR 540. The Pentium 977 sports two cores with a clock of 1.4 GHz. The 17 watt CPU from the Sandy Bridge architecture (2010 - 2011) makes an outdated impression because it was replaced by Ivy Bridge in mid 2012. Turbo Boost and Hyper Threading are unknown features for the Pentium as well as for the alternative Core i3 2367M. In the following paragraphs, we will assess whether the i3 performance advantage justifies the high surcharge.

TOSHIBA Satellite M500 battery The integrated graphics is Intel's HD Graphics. 4096 MB of working memory from Hynix are inserted as a single 4GB bar and Seagate's Momentus Thin 320 GB HDD complete the bundle.

Processor

Basically, the Edge E130 is a good subnotebook. Thus, interested parties may ask whether the Pentium 977's (1.4 GHz) computing power is sufficient or whether the expensive Core i3 version represents a more solid investment for the future. Furthermore, there is also the APU-based Edge E135 that even only costs EUR 350 without Windows. TOSHIBA Satellite M505 battery We compare the computing performance by using Cinebench R11.5 64 bit single and multi-core test.

The following bar graph shows that AMD's E2-1800 (E135) is 32% faster than the Pentium 977 when calculating graphics only. However, it is hopelessly inferior in pure CPU load. The alternate i3 2367M is a bit better with its superior HD 3000 in the GL test (+18% Toshiba Z830). The advantage of 23% in the multi-test is also within limits.

TOSHIBA Satellite M505D battery In a nutshell: Performance fans will neither be happy with the Pentium nor the Core i3. If ThinkPad advantages are only secondary, it might be worthwhile to take a look at Acer's Aspire V5-171 featuring a Turbo Boost Core i5 and HD 4000. By the way, both CPU and graphics performance are also available on battery power. The tests showed similar results (OpenGL test also).

Gaming Performance

TOSHIBA Satellite M600 battery The gaming performance is accordingly moderate. However, the HD Graphics or Radeon HD 7340 (Edge E135) only differ in detail. The performance impression is very bad across the board. Even Fifa 13, marked in green, occasionally stutters in minimum details and was partly unplayable in medium details. The E135's performance was almost the same in this game.

Battery Life

Power Consumption

TOSHIBA Satellite M640 battery Low power requirement always points to a good runtime, providing the manufacturer did not make cutbacks in battery capacity. This is fortunately not the case in view of 63 watt hours. The power consumption ranges between 7.5 watts in idle mode and 33 watts during high performance (3DMark 2006). A 3DMark 2006 needs 27 watts and is representative for games.

TOSHIBA Satellite M640D battery The E135 APU system is only marginally more efficient: we measured 7.7 to 10 watts in idle (minimum/maximum). However, the load situations make the difference, where the E2-1800 laptop only consumes 24 to 29 watts (3DMark 06/stress test). Consequently, the E135 should provide longer runtimes during heavy use (battery and screen are identical).

The 65 watt PSU is designed very generously for this power consumption. It recharges the battery completely in 2:41 hours even during maximum load.

Battery Runtime

TOSHIBA Satellite M645 battery The battery runtimes even easily satisfy high demands. In cases where the Aspire V5-171 and the Travelmate B113-M exhibit weakness due to their 37 watt hour batteries (three hours), the much cheaper Edge E130 runs for six hours. We are talking about the Wi-Fi test using a brightness of 150 cd/m2 (slightly lowered), energy-saving mode and disabled Bluetooth. A script opens a website, some including video contents, every 40 seconds.

TOSHIBA Satellite P740 battery The E135 APU model runs for exactly the same 368 minutes. APU-based models can run for a longer time, like Samsung's 305U1A proved early this year. The 11.6 incher lasted for 8:27 hours (507 minutes). The battery is first completely drained after 3:15 hours even during constant CPU load induced by BatteryEater Classic test.

However, the fairly high weight of 1.518 kilograms has to be accepted in favor of the good battery life. The too dark screen is unfortunately not as ideal for outdoor use. The battery's charging behavior can be modified via the Energy Manager. If you waive on half an hour of runtime, so only enable a battery charge of 95%, you can increase the battery's service life. TOSHIBA Satellite P745 battery

Verdict

Complaining on a high level is part of a notebook tester's job. A rating of 86% however defuses any larger points of criticism. The customer gets a solidly built subnotebook for starting at EUR 375. It is neither extremely thin nor extremely lightweight. In return, the input devices are beyond any reproach and the non-slip surfaces are a delight.

TOSHIBA Satellite P745D battery Performance fans will turn their backs on a 5400 rpm hard disk and Pentium processor. Everyone else will be satisfied by the Office performance because it is fused with a runtime of over six hours. The not very bright but matte screen is unfortunately not as suitable for use on the terrace.

The 11.6 inch laptop is always adequately quite in the office. Extensive peripherals can be connected owing to two USB 3.0 ports and HDMI/VGA. A USB 3.0 dock featuring ports for external screens is certainly a tempting idea to prevent a cable mess. In terms of software, the ThinkVantage tools make a clearly arranged and sensible impression.

TOSHIBA Satellite P750 battery If you now believe this device is a personal must-have, you might want to wait a few days for the in-depth review of the look-alike Edge E135. The sister model features AMD's E2-1800 APU (HD 7340) and a swift 7200 rpm HDD.

Review Lenovo B570-M58G4GE Notebook

Processor

TOSHIBA Satellite P750D battery The CPU in our test model is the middle-class dual-core Core i3 2330M. Customers should not expect the processor to set any records, as the CPU runs at 2.2 GHz. However, thanks to the "Hyperthreading" feature, the dual-core processor can work on 4 threads simultaneously. The Turbo Boost feature (which can be found in the Core i5 and i7 models) is not available for the Core i3 series.

We compare the results of the Core i3 processor against the Core i5 CPU to see if the i5 is worth an extra 80 Euros. We used the Cinebench 11.5 (Multi CPU) benchmark to record the performance of the three processors. The i3 scored 2.12 points, whereas the i5 2410M can score up to 2.61 and the 2430M can top that score with a maximum of 2.71 points. TOSHIBA Satellite P755 battery

In Cinebench 10 (Single CPU), the performance gap widens further. Core i5 processors profit from their Turbo Boost feature. While the Core i3 of our test model scored 3599 points, the 2410M scored 4670 and the 2430M scored 4809 points. Users interested in more performance, and willing to pay extra for it, should pick the Core i5 processors.

TOSHIBA Satellite P755D battery In comparison to other models with the same processor, the B570 can score quite high in the Cinebench benchmark. Competition, such as the Chiligreen Platin TS, is beaten by the B570 in this benchmark. On the other hand, the Asus Pro P53E beats the B570. Thankfully, the difference in performance is not very great (a few percent).

System Performance

TOSHIBA Satellite P770 battery We used the PCMark benchmark from Futuremark to measure the system performance of our test model against that of the competition. The benchmark simulates processes, such as, picture editing, video acceleration, and surfing on the Internet with multiple tabs open. Finally, a score is calculated and we enter it into our extensive benchmark database.

Our test model scored 4613 points in the PCMark Vantage. A laptop with the Core i5 2430M, such as the Dell Inspiron 14z (N411z), and the same 5400 rpm HDD and HD Graphics 3000 IGP can score 6806 points - almost 50% more. TOSHIBA Satellite P770D battery

The B570 placed at the top of the bottom one-third models in our database. This is a significant achievement for an entry-level office notebook of this price-class.

In PCMark 7, the B570 left the Chiligreen Platin TS (same CPU/GPU and slightly faster HDD) behind in the dust with 1816 and 1583 points respectively. The Dell Inspiron 14z (equipped with the i5 2430M) scored 2271 points here (+25 %).

Battery Life

Power Consumption

TOSHIBA Satellite T110 battery The power consumption of the B570 is in the expected region for a device of this price class. Thanks to the processor's IGP, the laptop has a low idle consumption value of 6.8 W. With full load (CPU and GPU at 100% load) and highest display brightness, the laptop reaches its maximum consumption of 54 watts. The power adapter delivers 65 watts, easily covering this maximum value.

Battery Life

TOSHIBA Satellite T110D battery The run time is usually the deciding factor for laptops of this price segment. We used the Battery Eater tool to measure the run time. In the idle test, the test simulates the reading of a text document. The laptop is set to minimum brightness and wireless modules are switched off for this test. The B570 reaches around 7 hours in this test - a good value.

TOSHIBA Satellite T115 battery WLAN surfing with changing websites (which have Flash content and videos), and brightness set to around 150 cd/m², can drop the run time to 3.5 hours. Reading more text articles instead of watching videos should increase the run time enough to reach 4 hours.

The B570 delivers a decent 205 minutes (3h 25min) for DVD playback. The director's cut of the classic movie, "The Boat", which has a run time of 208 minutes, can not be played entirely. However, films with a standard run time can be played easily till the end. If the notebook is placed under high load, the battery is depleted after 1 hour and 19 minutes. TOSHIBA Satellite T130 battery

Verdict

The Lenovo B570 is a matter of preference - it may please some users and disappoint others. However, the laptop is cheap - 420 €. For that price, the customer receives an overall sturdy office notebook which is very sturdy.

TOSHIBA Satellite T135 battery This laptop offers enough performance to fulfill its purpose. Swapping out the RAM or HDD for a better module is a simple matter thanks to the easy-to-access flap on the bottom of the notebook. The keyboard is a dream-come-true for users who type a lot. The B570 also has low emissions - it is rare for a notebook to score 94% in the Emissions test in our reviews. Users, who plan on keeping the laptop for home use, will not have a problem with the reflective display. The brightness is sufficient for indoors use.

TOSHIBA Satellite U battery Although the Lenovo B570 is nowhere as good as the ThinkPad series, it does offer good quality for its price class. The laptop is available with a standard one year warranty, which can be extended for a premium.

Posted by: luckystar at 03:08 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Review Dell Latitude E6420 ATG Notebook

No matter if at the office, on the construction site or in the pickup, a Latitude ATG should be able to deal with difficult work environments. The time has come for the Latitude ATG when Acer's Travelmate suffers from scratched paint and sand trickles out of HP's EliteBook. Acer Aspire 5742Z battery The manufacturing, in compliance with the military standard 810G, and the high weight not only look impressive. The 3.6 kilograms are heavy in the (included) case. However, the latter could be omitted because the steel hinges and powder-coated bottom (magnesium) make the case (almost) unnecessary.

The technical specs are rather unexciting at first glance: Core i5 2520M and Intel HD Graphics 3000 for over EUR 2,000. These innards are already available for EUR 700 in the business sector (e. g. HP HP ProBook 5330m LG719EA). An argument for the high price would sooner be the 256 GB SSD that not only makes the Latitude ATG as quiet as a mouse but also ultra fast. Acer Aspire 5742ZG battery

Has Dell equipped its 14 inch Latitude appropriately for tough use in rough environments? Or is an ATG superfluous because tough guys would prefer the Latitude XFR (full ruggedized) anyway. Will the non-glare screen look good out in the sun? And who needs such a laptop anyhow? We will clarify these and more questions in the following in-depth review.

Acer Aspire 5750 battery We often describe the stability and resistance of a device with praising or carefully chosen words in our notebook reviews. There's hardly a laptop that is rated as absolutely insufficient. This is because the cases manufactured in the few factories have strongly closed in on one another in terms of quality. The rating of approximately 80% (average good) for workmanship is therefore the rule. The ATG not only goes one step further regarding material and stiffness, it represents the upper range among the "standard" notebooks. The manufacturer uses the term "semi-ruggedized" for a normal Latitude case that has been supplied with rubber edges and a stiff aluminum lid. The normal E6420 already got a rating of 96% for its workmanship, so what could have been improved now? Acer Aspire 5750G battery

The rigid base unit of the normal E6420 has been maintained; all ports remain in place. The thick rubber coating at the rear corners is fastened with screws and can be removed easily. The bulky handle is fastened very tightly to the base unit. It doesn't twist even the slightest bit and seems to be fastened absolutely securely.

Acer Aspire 5750G-2312G50 battery The most impressive update, when compared to the standard Latitude, is however the massive lid. It has a thickness of 12 millimeters, is made of ballistic armor (extremely scratch resistant alloy) and is combined with a high quality brushed aluminum - thus, the ATG outdoes every standard notebook by miles. Of course, only in terms of robustness because the weight lays heavily in the included case: 2,920 grams are a steep weight for a 14 incher. Lift it with a straight arm? Alike the tester, most will fail here. But at least the ATG can be used as a dumbbell replacement. Acer Aspire 5750TG battery

Comparable ruggedized laptops from the competition aren't inevitably quite that heavy. For example, Panasonic has always followed the strategy of using very light materials and accepts warping for its Toughbooks (e. g. CF-53). The devices are constructed so that they warp but not break under pressure. Dell doesn't have this kind of crumple zone. In return, the perceived and real robustness are perfectly in line. Acer Aspire 5750Z battery

By the way, Dell has the Latitude XFR Rugged laptop for tough guys in its range (military grade components). See the E6400 XFR (reviewed 2009). It's not a modified, but a stand-alone case. Here, all corners are shock-proof; the device survives drops and the ports are kept free of dust.

Acer Aspire 5750ZG battery ATG users don't necessarily have to be construction managers, architects or civil engineering experts. We can very well imagine the ATG for people who don't always want to treat a laptop quite as cautiously and carefully. A case isn't an absolute must for the ATG. The device will survive all of that without taking internal damage. Nevertheless, we wouldn't let the ATG fall from a table and we wouldn't expose the chassis to humidity or wetness either. It is really just that what Dell sells it as: A standard Latitude for rough but not harsh or even extreme handling. Acer Aspire 5755 battery

The surrounding rubber lip, which protects the screen and keyboard from infiltrating dust particles, as well as the single clasp are identical to the one in the basic Latitude. The same applies to the keyboard and touchpad, but more about that under Input Devices.

Performance

Our test device is equipped with a Core i5 2520M which includes the integrated Intel HD Graphics 3000 (IGP). The single RAM module from Hynix is a SO-DIMM with a capacity of 4 GB (maximum 8 GB as 2x 4 GB). For this, it is necessary that Windows 7 Professional 64bit is installed on the 256 GB SSD. Acer Aspire 5755G battery

The options at Dell range from a Core i5, as in the test device, up to a Core i7 2640M (2.8 GHz) and from 250 / 320 / 750 GB hard disks up to 128 / 256 GB SSDs. The surcharge for the 256 GB SSD in the test device is EUR 339. The processor graphics can be complemented by an NVIDIA NVS 4200M for an extra charge. In these cases, Nvidia's Optimus technology would take care of automatic switching (+ EUR 80). Acer Aspire 5755Z battery

Processor

The Core i5 2520M has a nominal clock of 2.5 GHz, but can be clocked up to 3.2 GHz and higher via Turbo 2.0 depending on the cooling. We criticized the E6420-test device with Nvidia's NVS 4200M in this regard because the 35 watt GPU reached up to 99°C thermally. This can't happen again since only the processor integrated Intel HD 3000 Graphics is in the ATG. However, the NVS 4200M can also be configured here. Acer Aspire 5755ZG battery

The conclusive processor tests from Cinebench make a very good impression. The scores are all in the upper range of this processor. Cinebench R11.5 finishes with 2.87 points (best score: 2.89 points). The single core test looks especially good: 713 seconds in SuperPi 32m is the shortest and thus best time for an i5 2520M.

Acer Aspire 7251 battery In the energy settings, Dell has the setting "Ultra Performance" that claims to "reduce CPU throttling" and "increase fan speeds". However, the performed benchmark tests didn't record any significantly different results when we compared them to the default setting "High Performance". But a performance difference was seen in the modes "cold" and "silent". The frequency is limited to 1.8 GHz here. Nevertheless, Cinebench R11.5 finishes with almost the same score: 2.84 points. In contrast to that, the single core test Super Pi needs approximately 1/3 longer (2m test 49 rather than 29 seconds). Acer Aspire 7551 battery

System Performance

The standard Latitude E6420 was equipped with a 7200 rpm hard disk and a Core i3 2310M (2.1 GHz). Now a stronger Core i5 calculates in the chassis and an SSD from LiteOn LAT-256M2S) replaces the spinning colleague. That not only reduces the 14 incher's noise but also increases the total performance by approximately 40%. The Core i5 that is now installed naturally also contributes to that. We record the performance with PCMark Vantage (score: 11,900 points) and PCMark 7 (score: 3,814 points). The standard Latitude only achieves 5,534 points (-45%) in the first system benchmark. Acer Aspire 7551-2755 battery

Temperature

The observations we made in system noise can also be seen in the temperatures. Except for the CPU area, the temperatures remain low even during high load. The waste heat is distributed very evenly over the chassis in idling. Regardless of the scenario, the wrist rest stays cool with a maximum of 30 degrees in every situation.

Acer Aspire 7551-3068 battery The ATG with its i5 2520M (2.5 GHz) ran through the stress test without problems. For one thing, we ascertained that the processor benchmarks are above average (see Performance/Processor). For another, the tools record a clock of 2.5 GHz during multi core load. Thus, we don't have to speak of throttling because it doesn't drop below the base clock. A third indicator for constant high performance without throttling is the homogeneous power consumption during the stress test.

Battery Life

Power Consumption

Acer Aspire 7551-3416 battery No one will now be surprised that the power consumption is on a low level when looking at the well-aligned runtime. The maximum idling power consumption of 18.4 watts, which is due to the brightness setting of 763 cd/m2, is striking. The technically similar E6420 consumes 13 watts in this assessment, but the maximum brightness is only 278 cd/m2.

Battery Runtime

Acer Aspire 7551-3634 battery The battery runtime of 6:30 hours in the wifi test is impressive especially since we are only dealing with the standard battery (60 Wh, 6 cells). The screen's brightness was dimmed to 150 cd/m2 during the test, so considerably lower than the maximum 763 cd/m2. We assume that the highest brightness setting would reduce the ATG's runtime by about an hour because the LED backlight is a big power consumer next to the CPU.

Acer Aspire 7551-5358 battery The battery runtime test in minimum and high load (not stress test) finishes after 9:57 and 1:17 hours. The brightness was set to the minimum, flight mode was enabled (wireless off) and the processor was idling in the first case. In the second case, not only the processor load nagged at the power reserves, but the high brightness of 763 cd/m2 did as well.

The runtime when playing a DVD with a dimmed 150 cd/m2 achieved 5:41 hours, so a bit less than in the wifi test. The time needed to recharge a fully drained battery is pleasantly short with 1:52 hours (repeated). Acer Aspire 7551G battery

All of that is impressive. The Latitude ATG will essentially have the same runtime as the standard Latitude. Our normal E6420 with a 9 cell battery (97 Wh), WXGA++ screen (1600 x 900) and Core i3 managed 8:50 hours in the wifi test and 12:21 hours when idling.

If you want even more, you can opt for Dell's MultiBay battery (4 cells, 48 Wh), which can be inserted into the shaft instead of the DVD drive (EUR 125). The 6 cell main battery can also be replaced by a 9 cell battery (97 Wh). Acer Aspire 7551G-5407 battery

Verdict

The Dell Latitude E6420 with the tag ATG supplies additional portability (handle) and ruggedness (ballistic armor). That will appeal to everyone who doesn't exactly treat his/her device with kid gloves, or people who use their laptop remote from cushioned business lounges.

The ATG is an alternative particularly for use outdoors in the sun. The screen's brightness sets a new record with a large gap: 763 cd/m2. A loyal companion with high reliability is created in combination with the shock-proof SSD and prolific typist-suitable input devices. Acer Aspire 7551G-5821 battery

If you have reasons for a semi-ruggedized notebook, you luckily don't have to choose from hundreds of models. In addition to Panasonic (Toughbook C1), only Getac (S400) and Wortmann (TERRA Mobile INDUSTRY 1280) offer corresponding devices. However, there are other niche players.

Review Samsung Series 7 XE700T1A-H01DE Tablet/MID

Acer Aspire 7551G-6477 battery Samsung presents its own interpretation of a Windows 7 tablet in the form of the XE700T1A. Officially, it has the rather awkward name Samsung Notebook Series 7 Slate PC 700T1A. In doing so, Samsung consciously calls the XE700T1A a slate PC and not a tablet, as it's advertised as a full PC. In fact there's a second generation Intel Core i5 ULV processor on the inside, which is also commonly found in current Ultrabooks.

Acer Aspire 7551Z battery A second box is supplied with the tablet containing accessories that complete the slate PC. There's a handy docking station and a nifty Bluetooth keyboard. Also included is a digitiser pen, which serves as an alternative input to using your finger. This comprehensive range of items bundled in the box admittedly comes at a really high price of around 1300 Euro.

Acer Aspire 7551ZG battery The XE700T1A shouldn't just function as a mobile computer, but also as a competitor to Android devices. In order to do this, the program Touch Launcher is preinstalled, which allows the user to start small applications via a grid of shortcuts, like a calendar, a to-do list, or an RSS reader, which is based on the start screen on Android tablets.

The concept isn't completely new - around a year ago we reviewed a similar device: the Asus Eee Slate EP121. This, too, is equipped with an Intel Core i5 and runs Windows 7. Admittedly the Eee Slate lacks the docking station connection so that users have to do without the convenience of a docking station. Acer Aspire 7552G battery

So now we want to find out whether Samsung has bitten off more than it can chew or whether the XE700T1A really can unite the best of a Windows 7 notebook and Android tablets.

Case

The front presents itself with a large piece of glass that's punctuated by the home button in the middle at the bottom. At the middle of the top there's the front camera. Likewise on the front there are the usual Windows 7 and Core i5 stickers, which prove to be consumer friendly in that they're on an easily removable transparent film. Also on this film is the Samsung service sticker with the serial number. If you remove the three stickers out of aesthetical reasons, you should keep the service sticker for your guarantee. Acer Aspire 7552G-5107 battery

The edges of the slate PC are in two tiers. Bordering the glass slab the edges are made of a highly-glossy plastic and towards the bottom they're made of a grey, matte plastic. The rear is made of a brushed piece of metal in which several groups of ventilation slots are milled. Towards the bottom you'll find the Intel- and Windows 7 logo inscribed into the material, as well as the necessary conformity declarations. The silvery Samsung logo is embedded concentrically. In the top left, surrounded by a thin silver ring, there's the rear camera. Unfortunately fingerprints are very noticeable, depending on the angle at which you look at it. Acer Aspire 7552G-5488 battery

Due to the end-to-end glass slab on the front and the metal plate on the rear the XE700T1A is very rigid. Even under great pressure it can't be bent, instead giving off creaking noises when trying to twist it. The tablet is very well manufactured and fulfils the high expectations of this price range. All gaps are tidy, and together with the good stability and the attractive materials, the slate PC seems very valuable. Acer Aspire 7552G-6061 battery

The docking station is markedly small and handy and can easily be transported. This is mostly thanks to the tablet's foldable stand, whereby the docking station transforms into a right-angled 17mm high box. The stand is made from brushed metal, whilst the rest of the upper side is plastic that's coated in the same visual look. The sides are made of a metal band that goes all around, whilst at the front the Samsung logo is embedded. At the back, recesses are milled in for the five connections. The underside is made from a layer of nonslip rubber, in which, again, the Samsung logo is engraved. Acer Aspire 7560 battery

The keyboard is flat and weighs just under 300 g. The upper side is made from plastic, yet through its coating it looks like the brushed rear of the tablet. The keys are made of a matte black plastic. The underside is a slick black metal on which fingerprints and greasy smudges come into their own. Via an easily removable plastic cover which jacks the keyboard up somewhat, you'll find the slot for both of the necessary AAA batteries. The keyboard can slightly be bent, yet there are no sinister creaking noises. Acer Aspire 7560G battery

Performance

Computing is handled by a current, second generation Intel Core i5 processor in Samsung's slate PC. The Core i5 2467M is a ULV-processor, which is built similarly to its i5 series big brothers, but it only runs at a clock speed of 1.6 GHz. In return, with a 17 Watt TPD, the 2467M only needs half the cooling capacity of a standard voltage Core i5. This processor also has the Turbo Boost feature and can thus (at least theoretically) overclock both cores up to 2 GHz, when a high level of performance is required. This processor is currently particularly popular on Ultrabooks, which are also very thin and are thus limited in their cooling capacities. Acer Aspire 7741 battery

On the same die as the processor is the graphics solution from Intel, the HD Graphics 3000. This runs at a base speed of 350 MHz and can also be overclocked via Turbo Boost up to 1 GHz. This graphics card is sufficient for office tasks and playing Full HD videos, yet it's greatly overwhelmed by games or demanding 3D applications.

As for RAM there's 4 GB of fast DDR3 memory with a speed of 1333 MHz which is soldered onto the mainboard. The SSD also greatly contributes to the performance of the tablet, yet with a capacity of 64 GB it might not suffice for some users. Acer Aspire 7741-333G25Mn battery

Processor

A 3D scene is rendered in Cinebench; by reference to the duration of the rendering the processor is then judged. Here the Intel Core i5 2467M performs relatively poorly: at 1.63 points in Cinebench R11.5 it lines up far behind its twins found in Ultrabooks, where the same processor reaches 1.9 points. A reason for this is presumably the worse heat dissipation on the slate PC and as a result a lower effectiveness of Turbo-Boost. Acer Aspire 7741-5137 battery

System Performance

Application performance in different scenarios is measured with PCMark. Here too the XE700T1A is somewhat below that of similarly equipped Ultrabooks. The Toshiba Satellite Z830-10J scored 2951 points in PCMark 7, which is only a few points ahead of the slate PC with 2885 points. However, the Asus Zenbook UX21E-KX004V finds itself much further ahead, with 3476 points, despite having the same processor and graphics card. Acer Aspire 7741-7870 battery Due to the SSD, the device can hold its own in PCMark against much stronger systems with Core i7 2630QM and Nvidia GeForce GTX 560M, like, for example, the Asus G74SX-3DE. Of course the Samsung Series 7 doesn't get close to the computing power of a DTR.

Battery Life

Energy consumption

The energy consumption is correspondingly low through using a ULV processor and integrated graphics. The SSD is also much more energy efficient than conventional hard disks. At 7 – 10 Watt when idle the tablet is nothing to sneeze at. The similar Eee Slate from Asus needs between 7.6 and 12 Watt when idle and up to 30 Watt under load, whilst the XE700T1A remains much more economical with a maximum of 20 Watt. In standby Samsung's slate PC is a step ahead at 0.2 Watt compared to the Eee Slate with a high energy consumption of 0.8 Watt. Acer Aspire 7741G battery

Windows Tablets that are based on the Atom platform, like the Dell Latitude ST, are even more economical, thus the Dell Tablet needs a maximum of 12 Watt. In return it doesn't have anything close to the performance level of Samsung's Sandy Bridge slate PC.

Battery Life

Samsung promises a maximum battery life of 6 hours and 6 minutes. Surprisingly we were able to greatly surpass this value in our measurements. With WLAN off, display brightness at its lowest level and when idle, we reached almost seven and a half hours. Acer Aspire 7741G-333G25Bn battery

Our WLAN test is more practical, whereby the internet is surfed via WLAN. The display brightness is set to medium (150 cd/m²). Here the tablet reaches a good five and a half hours and greatly sets itself apart from the competing Asus Eee Slate with just three hours of surfing available.

The shortest battery life was obtained via BatteryEater Classic, which renders 3D scenes at the brightest display setting. Here the slate PC held on for almost two hours. This is a good score, especially when you compare it with the Asus Eee Slate's score here of one and a half hours. Acer Aspire 7741G-333G32Mn battery Of course the entire performance of the tablet isn't available when away from the mains. In Cinebench R11.5 the XE700T1A only reaches 1.51 points instead of 1.63.

Verdict

With the slate PC, Samsung is on uncommon ground and offers an interesting concept. For this the manufacturer demands a massive wad of cash. In return the user is promised the best from the world of notebooks and tablets. And as a matter of fact, the XE700T1A is convincing.

The case has a premium feel to it and is manufactured precisely. The materials are expertly chosen and the tablet feels very valuable. The attachable docking station is particularly impressive, which also shines with its good workmanship. The Bluetooth keyboard excellently fits in with the look of the rest of the equipment. On the whole the design is functional and sophisticated, even rather stylish. Acer Aspire 7741G-334G50Mn battery

The range of connections is sufficient and the docking station does well to expand here. With WLAN b/g/n and 3G you can be connected to the internet almost everywhere. A current USB 3.0 port would have enhanced the tablet even more.

Particular attention was paid to the software in this review. The preinstalled software is well adapted to the tablet and fits well within Windows 7. Unfortunately these can only be circumstantially added to, above all because there's a limited range of programs for Windows tablets. This means that the tablet can't compete with the Android Market, which has an app for every need. Acer Aspire 7741G-3647 battery

The input devices are convincing in large part: the touchscreen responds to finger-input very well. There are only glitches with the stylus in the lower corners. There, the cursor strays far from the tip of the stylus.

Despite being highly reflective, the display is remarkable. Its high brightness makes display content discernible even in bright surrounding light conditions, and the very good viewing angles allow the user to look at the screen from all angles. Acer Aspire 7741G-374G64Mn battery

The performance is very good for a tablet, yet rather low for a notebook. For Windows 7 the performance on offer is adequate. The slate PC is suited to office applications and surfing the internet. Compared to Windows tablets based on the Atom platform, the XE700T1A shines.

Heat isn't always sped away from the device well enough, which leaves the top of the tablet very warm in parts. Fan noise is reasonable and discreetly stays in the background. The battery life is also good for a tablet at over five hours when surfing the internet. Acer Aspire 7741G-434G50Mn battery

Overall, Samsung has created a consistently performing device, whereby there are barely any important points of criticism. Even if the Samsung tablet can't keep up with Android devices in terms of usability, nor can it keep up with the performance of a notebook, there's a good symbiosis of tablet and notebook. The device is certainly an interesting option for professional users that depend on a Windows environment.

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Review Sony Vaio VPC-SB4X9EB Notebook

Last year, the SB series bundled some revolutionary ideas that Sony made for their future mainstream notebook range so to create a very affordable, attractive package. These ideas were inspired by the success of inexpensive subnotebooks from the competition, which offered average-speed hardware alongside a long battery runtime. TOSHIBA Satellite L775 battery However, graphics performance wasn't to be completely left on the wayside either. Sony responded to this with a hardware button that enabled the user to switch between the energy-efficient, integrated graphics unit from Intel and the dedicated and faster graphics card from AMD, according to the desired application field.

Today, when most notebooks switch between the dedicated and integrated graphics fully automatically according to the load, Sony stays true to itself and the hardware button on the VPC-SB4X. This shows just how fast innovative alterations become a standard feature in the computer world. TOSHIBA Satellite L775D battery This doesn't have to be a disadvantage for Sony. It can rather be a purchase decision - for users who want to decide for themselves how the laptop is supposed to work.

But now the important question: What new features does the latest scion sport?

Case

For starters - nothing has changed in the 2012 model compared to the 2011 device in this point. Thus, Sony keeps all pros and cons of the predecessor in its new lightweight. More details about the case can be found in the review of its forerunner. In following, a summary of the most important facts:

TOSHIBA Satellite M30 battery The non-slip and very elegant looking, around 1.7 kg light and almost 2.4 cm thin case knows how to impress with familiar design gimmicks. The smooth, metallic processing of the plastic surface in the wrist rest area pleases with fingerprint resistance. In contrast to that, the rough magnesium lid captures every touch and presents them in bright ambient light (but not too obviously). The stability of the delicately designed lid doesn't convince completely - regardless whether it is the pressure resistance of some surfaces or the spongy hinges that allow the screen to wobble. If you don't need a portable rock, you will certainly take a liking to the stylish chassis. TOSHIBA Satellite M301 battery

Performance

Last year's device (pre-series model) was still equipped with a Core i5 2520M, which continues to be available in Sony's online configurator, along with other similar processors such as the Core i3 processors (also in review). However, the Core i5 2450M that has become very popular among manufacturers is in our test device. It has an almost identical set up (Turbo Boost is only 100 MHz lower with 3.1 GHz) and it promises swift processing at a moderate price. TOSHIBA Satellite M302 battery The conventional 640 GB hard disk offers a sufficient memory capacity. But considering that at least half a dozen so-called ultrabooks were unleashed into the notebook world last year, and that some are more than EUR 200 cheaper although they partly offer a similar configuration and a swift, shock-proof SSD drive, it is important to compare and consider personal preferences before buying.

Processor

TOSHIBA Satellite M305 battery The technical specifications of the Core i5 2450M are quite state of the art. The dual core processor supports a default clock of 2.5 GHz and Turbo Boost up to 3.1 GHz. In addition to that, it features Hyper Threading which enables calculating two processing threads per clock and core at the same time. Sony squeezes every last MHz of clock speed out of the 2450M. The strict separation in speed or stamina (= endurance) via hardware button pays off here. As the Cinebench R10 proves in single core rendering, the dual core in the little Vaio achieves a score that can compete with the next fastest processor, the 2520M or even Intel's entry-level quad core processor, the Core i7 2670 QM. TOSHIBA Satellite M306 battery

When flipping the switch, you notice that no compromises are made - when it says speed, it means speed – at least in terms of CPU power, but more about that later. It is evident in the little Sony that Turbo Boost is fully exploited in the single core tests, where only one processor core is loaded. The loaded core then calculates with 3.1 GHz. However, the score in the 64 bit Cinebench R11 (approx. 7% lower than with the same processor in other devices) shows quite well that throttling sets in and stops both cores at 2.2 GHz to prevent overheating when the device is warm (the test was performed at the end of the CPU benchmarks) and both cores were loaded to capacity. TOSHIBA Satellite M307 battery In any case, the overall ranking of 65 (from 683 tested notebooks at the time of the review) is impressive in Cinebench R10 64 bit's Shading run. Even 17" quad core behemoths that feature a professional graphics card (HP Elitebook 8760W) lag a bit behind this Core i5 2450M and AMD Radeon 6470M combination in the OpenGL load test.

System Performance

The logical contenders of the VAIO are slim 13.3" subnotebooks. All currently available ultrabooks also probably belong to this category. TOSHIBA Satellite M308 battery However, you will only find an equally slim case in Apple's MacBook Pro 13 if you need a DVD drive. Acer's Aspire 3830TG would also bundle a very reasonably priced and nevertheless powerful total package, but again without a DVD drive. Compared with the efficient VAIO, both of these slim subnotebook versions configured with a conventional magnetic hard disk are slower in PCMark Vantage (by around 10%). However, especially the Acer is a lot cheaper here. Of course, its installed processor isn't as expensive, but it's not possible to save EUR 300 by ordering the same processor from Sony. TOSHIBA Satellite M310 battery However, you get a much faster 3830TG equipped with a Core i7 and a speedy SSD drive for around EUR 1100. It also achieves an approx. 84% better overall score in the total result of PCMark Vantage than for example our equally expensive VAIO. The VAIO lags behind a bit in PCMark 7. Thus, it is now the Aspire's SSD version for about the same price that is faster by a whole 120% and achieves a more than a twice as high total result - owing to the SSD and the faster processor. Even the cheap Aspire alternative is better by 2% here. TOSHIBA Satellite M311 battery

However, there's nothing to complain about subjectively. The booting process isn't really accelerated because of the conventional hard disk. Nevertheless, the notebook never makes a slow impression - providing speed mode is enabled. This brings along the disadvantage that the fan is a bit louder (the VAIO is never really silent anyway), but you notice that the full hardware performance is demanded right away. But Sony tries to extract everything out of the 49 Wh battery with all its might in "Stamina" mode and thus sacrifices a lot of the perceived speed. But we'll go in-depth about that in the battery section. TOSHIBA Satellite M320 battery

Mass Memory

The 640 GB and rather slow 5400 rpm hard disk installed in the VAIO comes from Toshiba. Seen only subjectively, it is neither very fast nor slow, but it scores awfully poor in the HDTune benchmark. With 55 MB/s, it achieves a 30% lower result in the test of the average transfer rates compared to the equally fast turning Western Digital hard disk built into the Aspire's cheaper alternative. The hard disk is also located in the lower third of the entire test field with its poor 4K read speeds (0.4 MB/s), which is especially important for starting programs or the operating system - other hard disks do a much better job here. TOSHIBA Satellite M321 battery

Graphics Solution

As in the first generation of the VPC-SB, Sony installs a dedicated graphics solution (AMD Radeon HD 6470M) in addition to the processor-integrated solution, Intel HD Graphics 3000. It can be switched via the speed button (positioned upper left). Thus, the user can choose between a long battery runtime as well as a quiet, cool device or increased processing power. The Intel solution should theoretically have sufficient processing power for everyday multimedia utilization (incl. YouTube HD videos) to present a smooth video playback. TOSHIBA Satellite M323 battery Nevertheless, the video playback jerks extremely (above all during the standardized wifi surfing test) due to the energy saving mode that goes hand in hand with activating Intel's graphics and thus affects the entire system. But more about that later.

On the other hand, the Radeon HD 6470M renders all of this smoothly, as it should be. However, its drawback is the somewhat louder fan noise. Even most games (except for hardware guzzlers) can usually be played smoothly in low to medium details. TOSHIBA Satellite M325 battery

Gaming Performance

To illustrate the graphics unit's performance more clearly graded, we opted for the latest game of the building strategy series Anno (Anno 2070). The little VAIO doesn't even come close to its limits in low settings (resolution: 1024 x 768, low details) and always supplies a smooth frame rate (40 - 60 fps). However, the game is very pixelated and quite unattractive. Thus we set it to medium details and play in the slim model's native resolution (1366 x 76 . Here, the frame rates drop to a minimum of 16 frames per second. The game isn't completely smooth with an average of 19 fps, but it is still fairly pleasant to control as long as the screen view isn't changed. TOSHIBA Satellite M326 battery

Verdict: A useful speed in low settings, but if you want to play games you'll have to buy another device. The VAIO can't hold a candle to the Aspire 3830TG, often used for comparison here, because its installed GeForce 540M is at least one performance category higher. So, if you play an occasional game and want to be mobile at the same time, you'll sooner turn to an Acer. But the VAIO wasn't made for gaming anyway. If you would like an overview of the gaming performance of various mobile graphics solutions, we would warmly recommend taking a look at our notebook gaming performance comparison. TOSHIBA Satellite M327 battery

Temperature

The maximum temperature is 42.7°C in the upper right third of the keyboard after longer maximum load. That likely won't be a problem for most users because the fingers only have to be placed there when the backspace key or power button is used. The rest of the top stays at around 32°C. The maximum temperature in the wrist rest area is pleasant 30°C. The bottom reaches a temperature of up to 50.2°C (again, in the power button area); the other areas stay lukewarm with around 35°C though. However, the VAIO is unfortunately not made for use on the lap - the vents are on the outer right where they will very likely be covered by the right knee. TOSHIBA Satellite M328 battery

When the VAIO isn't put under much load, the maximum temperature reaches 29°C (top) and 32°C (bottom) and is thus fairly cool.

Battery Life

With a minimum of 6.7 watts even in Stamina mode, the Sony treats itself to more power than for example the ultrabook contenders. Therefore it's not surprising that the lithium polymer battery's tightly measured capacity of 49 Wh is drained after only four and a half hours in the standardized wifi surf test, with enabled energy saving settings (battery can be exchanged; is located underneath the maintenance cover). We also noticed that our YouTube HD video stuttered so intensely that a new frame only appeared on the screen about every 3 seconds. TOSHIBA Satellite M332 battery Thus, we presume that the Stamina mode not only switches the graphics card, as Sony describes, but also limits the CPU in terms of speed and power input. It's logical that the performance has to be reduced for energy saving purposes, but this is not feasible. Especially, if we consider that there are less expensive devices that supply a stable performance everywhere and at all times, even in energy savings mode - and which even last longer owing to larger batteries. An example for this would be the HP Folio 13-2000. The performance is acceptable when not watching HD videos, though. The energy saving settings of the VAIO is definitely sufficient for reading your favorite e-paper in any case. TOSHIBA Satellite L750 battery Nevertheless, a step backward is noticed when compared to the first test device. The prior model lasted for about 40 minutes longer at the time.

When full power is demanded from the slim Vaio, it only runs for about an hour (58 min) before it has to go back to the power outlet. For example if you want to read an eBook without wifi and in the lowest brightness setting, you will get 6 hours and 48 minutes from the battery in the Sony (simulated with BatteryEater's Reader's benchmark). The forerunner also did a better job here and lasted almost two hours longer. TOSHIBA Satellite M336 battery

However, it is odd that Sony still supports Windows' energy plans even in Stamina mode. Thus, Windows' High Performance mode can be enabled in Stamina mode and Windows' energy saving mode can be activated in Speed mode. This could lead to disappointment in terms of battery life or performance among less experienced users. Therefore, it's important to double-check if hardware and software settings are really compatible. TOSHIBA Satellite M338 battery

Verdict

Well, the Sony VPC-SB04 looks extremely elegant and also feels that way. The keyboard is high-end and the touchpad is also impressive (except for the somewhat odd positioning of the fingerprint scanner between the click keys, which leads to unintentional activation). The delicately designed, matte black case simply looks tempting and Sony has managed to put a lot into the light device. Not many manufacturers install a DVD drive in such a slim case. And if it then even runs under Windows, the competition truly becomes scarce. Then we'll put an outdoor suitable screen on top, which should make any contemplating about the price unnecessary. TOSHIBA Satellite M339 battery

However, if you start to dig a bit deeper into the Vaio, you'll find the devil in the details. Stamina mode partly limits the performance noticeably and doesn't really supply a plus in runtime (around 4.5 hours of practical runtime).
In contrast to that, Speed mode reduces the battery runtime even more and the thus enabled AMD 6470M GPU is too weak for up-to-date games.
Here, too many compromises are made to include all features that ultrabooks offer apart from a DVD drive. If you buy an ultrabook, you buy battery runtime fused with long-lasting, mobile surfing fun. So, what makes this Sony special? TOSHIBA Satellite M500 battery

The Sony doesn't accomplish a clear purchase recommendation, already because the frequently criticized aspects of its predecessor have been maintained. Nevertheless, if you want an outdoor suitable, elegant, light and well-equipped subnotebook and can accept the aforementioned drawbacks, you can take the Sony - it is an impressive and slim overall package of a portable PC at a reasonable price.

Review Sony Vaio VPC-Z23N9E/B Subnotebook

TOSHIBA Satellite M505 battery The Z range has also been revised within the framework of the latest Sony portfolio refresh. The newest flagship (or as Sony calls it: "The Ultimate workstation") is the 13.1 inch Vaio VPCZ23N9E/B. The subnotebook weighs less than 1.2 kilograms and features an anti-reflective Full HD screen (1920 x 1020). The biggest highlight will likely be the included Power Media Dock, which offers a Blu-ray burner and the AMD Radeon HD 6650M graphics card as an external solution, in addition to a port expansion. TOSHIBA Satellite M505D battery The idea of an external graphics solution didn't quite work in the Sony Vaio VPC-Z21Q9E/B precursor. It was in particular problems with the driver that limited the fun with the lightweight considerably. Has Sony learned from mistakes and will it now show new strengths? Or do the old weaknesses still exist? The following test is to give answers.

We will deal particularly with the modifications in this review. We would refer to the in-depth review of the previous model, the Sony Vaio VPC-Z21Q9E/B, for information about identical components.

Case

TOSHIBA Satellite M600 battery Sony relies on an elegant, timeless, black design for its premium subnotebook. No difference is seen on the outside when compared to the previous Sony Vaio VPC-Z21Q9E/B. The Japanese manufacturer still uses the carbon chassis with an aluminum wrist rest. The material is very light and thus the 13.1 incher's weight doesn't even add up to 1.2 kilograms. Fingerprints or dust aren't visible on the surface.

TOSHIBA Satellite M640 battery The display hinges do a good job. The bottom allows access to the battery. However, eight screws have to first be removed. Merely the partly insufficient stability gives reason for complaint on the case itself. Due to its construction, the chassis can be deformed with only slight pressure and emits a cracking noise. This is particularly noticed on the display lid. However, comparable notebooks that are also put on such a radical diet, for example the Toshiba Portégé Z830 Ultrabook with a total weight of only 1.1 kilograms, struggle with the same "problem zones". TOSHIBA Satellite M640D battery

Performance

As in its predecessor, Sony again relies on a dual core processor from the brand name Intel. To be precise, it is Intel's Core i7 2640M in the case of our premium subnotebook. The CPU is based on the Sandy Bridge architecture and has a clock of 2.8 GHz. Providing it is sufficiently cooled, it can be increased to 3500 MHz for a short time owing to Turbo Boost. The chip manufacturer, Intel, specifies a thermal design power of 35 watts. TOSHIBA Satellite M645 battery

Intel's HD Graphics 3000 solution is integrated on the CPU unit. The graphics card supports DirectX 10 and Shader 5.0. Consequently, it is sooner designed for Office tasks. The AMD Radeon HD 6650M, integrated in the Power Media Dock, supplies a higher graphics performance. The graphics chip supports DirectX 11 and provides 1024 MB built-in video memory. The external graphics solution core clocks with 725 MHz. It can basically be called a midrange graphics card. The graphics card is enabled automatically when the Power Media Dock is connected. Unlike the previous model, the external graphics card is now also used for the representation of the internal display. TOSHIBA Satellite P740 battery

The 13.1 incher has a total of 8192 MB DDR3 RAM available (1333 MHz). Sony also combines two solid state drives (SSD) with 256 GB each. The memories run in a RAID 0 array (performance).

Processor

We noted massive driver problems during the Cinebench test in the test with the previous model. The integrated Intel HD Graphics 3000 only supported OpenGL 1.1.0 in the older model. At least, Sony has solved this problem in its new model. According to Everest, the Intel HD Graphics 3000 GPU integrated in the CPU now supports OpenGL 3.1. TOSHIBA Satellite P745 battery The subnotebook achieved very good 5547 points in Cinebench R10 and is thus currently the best notebook with an Intel Core i7 2640M processor in our database. Thanks to Turbo Boost, the clock fluctuated between 3.2 and 3.4 GHz in the test.

The 13.1 incher also managed good 3.17 points in the Cinebench R11 CPU test. In comparison, the Apple Macbook Pro 13, with an Intel 2415M, only achieves 2.42 points. Thus, the Sony Vaio VPCZ23N9E isn't likely to run out of CPU power. TOSHIBA Satellite P745D battery

System Performance

We analyzed the system performance using the benchmarks PCMark Vantage and PCMark 7 from Futuremark. We didn't connect the Power Media Dock for this so that solely the Intel HD Graphics 3000 was enabled. The subnotebook achieved 11183 points in PCMark Vantage. In comparison, the Lenovo ThinkPad T420s 4174-PEG managed 11911 points with the same CPU and an NVS 4200M. The Sony test device places itself at the far top of our database with a score of 4252 points in PCMark 7. TOSHIBA Satellite P750 battery For comparison, the Sony Vaio VPC-Z21Q9E precursor only reached 3246 points. Sony has accomplished a significant increase here.
It's only surprising that the Sony Vaio VPC-Z23N9E/B only manages 3689 points in PCMark 7 when connected to the Power Media Dock, despite the stronger and enabled GPU (6650M).

Mass Memory

Sony relies on two solid state drives (SSD) with 256 GB each. However, they aren't two discrete mass memories, but rather a fusion of both components. Both SSDs (SAMSUNG MZRPC512HAFU-000SO) work in a RAID 0 array whereas the memories are written in parallel. Consequently, a much higher performance is possible compared to single solutions. That is also reflected in our tests. TOSHIBA Satellite P750D battery

The results in AS SSD are high. Thus, the sequential read rate was 845.19 MB/s and the sequential write rate was strong 743.19 MB/s. Sony is also the number one in our database in the latter test. The Schenker XIRIOS W710 Workstation "only" manages a read rate of 534 MB/s with the OCZ Vertex 3 (RAID 0, 2 x 120 GB).

TOSHIBA Satellite P755 battery Our Sony test device is equally the number one in AS SSD's 4K-64 read test with 410 MB/s. Its predecessor "only" achieved 191 MB/s here. The Sony Vaio VPC-Z23N9E managed 204 MB/s in the 4K-64 write test and the Schenker XIRIOS W710 Workstation has to admit defeat with its 271 MB/s. Overall, the Sony's solution convinces across the board and delivers one of the currently fastest memory solutions for notebooks in a slim 13 inch model.

Graphics Solution

TOSHIBA Satellite P755D battery As usual, we first looked closer at the graphics performance using the 3DMark range. The Power Media Dock was connected for this and consequently, the external graphics card was enabled. In 3DMark 06, the graphics card places itself in front of other notebooks equipped with a Radeon HD 6650M with 7996 points (4507 points with Intel HD Graphics 3000). For example, the Packard Bell EasyNote LS11-HR-050GE achieves 7250 points using the same graphics card and an Intel Core i5 2410M.

TOSHIBA Satellite P770 battery Only one notebook with the same graphics chip has a significant lead on our test device in the latest benchmark software 3DMark 11. The Sony Vaio VPC-Z23N9E/B achieved 1260 points while the Asus K73TA-TY022V scored 1409 points. Sony's Vaio VPC-Z21Q9E managed almost identical 1261 points in 3DMark 11 with the Radeon HD 6650M.

Gaming Performance

The AMD Radeon HD 6650M graphics card installed in the Power Media Dock belongs to the midrange GPUs and should thus be strong enough for a few games in medium detail settings. We checked whether this is really the case with the external graphics card based on three games. TOSHIBA Satellite P770D battery

We first tested the gaming performance with Mafia 2. The game is quite playable in medium detail settings and resolution with 37 frames per second. However, the Sony Vaio clearly lags behind compared with other notebooks that have the same GPU. The Lenovo G770 M533AGE manages 45 frames per second with the same graphics card (+20%).

TOSHIBA Satellite T110 battery In another test, we looked at the performance in the rally simulation Dirt 3. Here, the graphics card doesn't completely convince in High Performance. The Sony Vaio just renders 17 frames per second, while its predecessor exhibited a better performance with 22 frames. Lenovo's G770, with the same GPU, supplies 19 fps here and thus, the Z23's result is at least within the expected range for this GPU.
Curiously enough, even systems with an integrated Intel Graphics HD 3000 accomplish the same frame rates here: HP 6460b: 18 fps. It looks similar with medium presets: the Z23 can't break away from the HD 3000 division with 25 fps. Lenovo's G770 that sports the same GPU also calculates about 20% faster here with 30 fps. TOSHIBA Satellite T110D battery

The subnotebook had to show its aptness in the race game F1 2011 as the final test. The external graphics card couldn't impress us here. The system merely accomplished 24 frames per second (medium presets), which is on a par with an Intel HD Graphics 3000 (Acer Aspire 3830TG / 22 fps).
A test platform consisting of an AMD A8-3520M CPU and a 6650M graphics solution manages better 31 fps (+30%) in comparison. TOSHIBA Satellite T115 battery

Overall, the AMD Radeon HD 6650M graphics card built into the Power Media Dock makes a mediocre impression in gaming operation. The graphics card's potential isn't always exhausted, as was the case in its predecessor. Sony unfortunately doesn't supply any updated drivers that could equal performance improvements at the moment.

Temperature

TOSHIBA Satellite T130 battery The temperature development under low load remains inconspicuous. We measured a maximum of 27.1°C on the top; it reached a maximum temperature of 32.6°C on the bottom. We put the notebook to a multi-hour stress test with Prime95 and Furmark. The case temperature increased considerably here. However, this test represents an extreme situation and likely won't be reproduced in practical use. We measured 39.3°C on the top, while the device even reached a temperature of up to 47.4°C on the bottom. Nevertheless, there's nothing standing in the way of using it on the lap while performing normal office tasks. TOSHIBA Satellite T135 battery The temperatures always stay in a pleasant range here.

Many laptops experience performance issues after some time of full load. Sony's premium subnotebook is not affected. The CPU clock remains steady at 3.2 GHz in the stress test and is even above the default clock. That means it can exploit the Turbo mode even when GPU and CPU are loaded to capacity. The roaring fan apparently provides sufficient cooling reserves (CPU max. 85°C acc. to HWInfo) at the expense of the soundscape. TOSHIBA Satellite U Series battery

Battery Life

Power Consumption

The 13.3 inch Sony Vaio VPCZ23N9E/B has a relatively low power consumption in low load. Our measurements recorded a consumption of between 6.2 watts and 11 watts. The notebook's consumption increases considerably during load. Our measured peak was 61.6 Watt - that is over 10 Watt more than that of its predecessor.
The power consumption skyrockets when the Power Dock is connected. We measured a power consumption of nearly 100 W together with the previous Vaio Z21 model. This is the reason that the Power Dock comes with its own power adapter. TOSHIBA Satellite U400 battery

Battery Runtime

A flat 45 Wh battery is used in Sony's subnotebook. It had to stand up to a total of three test scenarios. First, we started the Reader's test using the BatteryEater software. We enabled the energy savings profile on the notebook and selected the minimum screen brightness for this. Additionally, all communication modules were turned off. The notebook lasted for good eight hours, but that is still an hour less than its precursor. TOSHIBA Satellite U405 battery
We set the screen brightness to a pleasant level (~150 cd/m2), enabled wifi and simulated everyday surfing in a more realistic test. Here, the Sony Vaio shut down after 6 hours and 6 minutes.
We determined the battery runtime in a load situation in the last test. We again used BatteryEater, but this time the Classic test. Here, we enabled the High Performance profile, set the brightness to maximum and turned on all communication modules. The power adapter had to be connected a lot sooner. Sony's subnotebook only lasted for 58 minutes. The aforementioned stronger additional battery can be acquired if you'd like a longer battery runtime.
As a side note, the Power Media Dock is only available on AC power. TOSHIBA Satellite U405D battery

Battery Runtime

A flat 45 Wh battery is used in Sony's subnotebook. It had to stand up to a total of three test scenarios. First, we started the Reader's test using the BatteryEater software. We enabled the energy savings profile on the notebook and selected the minimum screen brightness for this. Additionally, all communication modules were turned off. The notebook lasted for good eight hours, but that is still an hour less than its precursor.
We set the screen brightness to a pleasant level (~150 cd/m2), enabled wifi and simulated everyday surfing in a more realistic test. Here, the Sony Vaio shut down after 6 hours and 6 minutes. TOSHIBA Satellite U500 battery
We determined the battery runtime in a load situation in the last test. We again used BatteryEater, but this time the Classic test. Here, we enabled the High Performance profile, set the brightness to maximum and turned on all communication modules. The power adapter had to be connected a lot sooner. Sony's subnotebook only lasted for 58 minutes. The aforementioned stronger additional battery can be acquired if you'd like a longer battery runtime.
As a side note, the Power Media Dock is only available on AC power.

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