Tips for buying a notebook

The new system benchmark PCMark 7 gave 1,994 points to our EliteBook. Sony VGP-BPS9A/B battery This is virtually the same score as the Dell Vostro 3350 (2620M) achieved, even though it has a more powerful HD 6630M GPU. The popular 2630QM quad-core CPU barely results in a higher 2,157 points (Fujitsu Lifebook NH751, 2630QM, GeForce GT525M).Sony VGP-BPS9A/S battery

5.3Windows 7 Experience IndexProcessorCalculations per second7.1Memory (RAM)Memory operations per second7.2GraphicsDesktop performance for Windows Aero5.3Gaming graphics3D business and gaming graphics6.3Primary hard diskDisk data transfer rate5.9 PCMark Vantage 7734 pointsSony VGP-BPS13A/B battery

The fast-spinning hard drive (320GB, 7200 RPM) brings about some high data transfer rates. Sony VGP-BPS13 battery The HDD score in PCMark Vantage comes to 4,022 points, a good average for a 7200RPM HDD. In the HD Tune benchmark (76 MB/s read) and Crystal Disk Mark 3.0 (88 MB/s read), the hard drive shows a good performance.Sony VGP-BPS13A/Q battery Those interested in fast access only have one way to go, choosing the (128 GB) SSD configuration (LG746EA). The HDD activity LED is located along the front edge of the base unit and is hard to notice since it's so small.

The Radeon HD 6470M wound up showing an even slower performance than we've come to expect of entry-level GPUs. Sony VGP-BPS13/B battery What's more, we could not enter the "Details-set-to-High" results in the database of gaming performance because our benchmark resolution of 1366x768 was automatically reduced to only 1280x768. Sony VGP-BPS13B/B batteryThis phenomenon occurred with all WXGA++ displays tested.Sony VGP-BPS13B/Q battery

Playing Risen, there's absolutely no chance of a smooth frame rate. The HD 6470M can actually manage 23 fps with moderate detail settings (Vostro 3350, same configuration). Our 8460p,Sony VGP-BPS13A/S battery however, managed only 17 fps. High details yielded 12 fps (@1280x768)—far too choppy to play.Sony VGP-BPS13/Q battery

Playing StarCraft2 didn't result in anything better.Sony VGP-BPS8 battery The 153 fps we expected with low detail settings was too much for the HD 6470M (HP 8560p, 2540M, HD 6470M). We only got as high as 135 fps. Switching to moderate detail settings sends the frame rate plummeting to 21 fps (@1280x768). In the native resolution of 1600x900, a completely unplayable 12fps is all that's possible.Sony VGP-BPS8A battery

Gamers will receive no satisfaction from the Radeon HD 6470M,Sony VGP-BPS10 battery especially when it's found within the EliteBook 8460p, which limps behind other laptops of the series. The HD 6470M actually shows a slower performance than usual here. Recent games can only run smoothly in low resolutions and with low detail settings.Sony VGP-BPS2 battery

During typical office use, the fan remains quiet, rarely going into a bouts of increased activity. Sony VGP-BPS2A battery Still, it never fully turns off. This can be regulated by changing the BIOS setting "Fan always on when AC", which is on by default. The hard drive, meanwhile, makes its presence known through a subtle clicking.Sony VGP-BPS2B battery It doesn't quite rumble like the 7200 RPM HDD in previous HP notebooks. The DVD drive is the one that really brings the noise—which is luckily only the case when loading up a DVD: 49 dB(A). When playing the film, the noise level is a great deal lower: 37 dB(A).Sony VGP-BPS2C battery

During our stress test with Prime and Furmark, the fan bumps the noise level up a notch to 46 dB(A). Actually, Sony VGP-BPS22 battery just running 3DMark2006 is enough to reach this noise level. CPU stress, on the other hand, does not get the fan spinning quite as loudly: 41 dB(A). The section on "Throttling" below will explain why the 8460p becomes particularly loud when the GPU is working.Sony VGP-BPS22A battery

The temperature along the top of the base unit always remain low.Sony VGP-BPS13AS battery The temperature difference between idle and heavy use does not amount to much, which has to do with the throttling issue we've been foreshadowing. What's impressive is how the heat is very evenly distributed across the case—see case temperature diagram below. Sony VGP-BPS13S battery

The ability to lower the clock rate in response to heat is characteristic of a Turbo-Boost-capable Intel processor,Sony VGP-BPS13/S battery and is in itself nothing bad. The turbo clock rate is automatically reduced when there's not enough cooling power to sustain low enough temperatures. In the case of our i7-2620M, the maximum turbo clock rate comes to 3.4GHz.Sony VGP-BPS13B/S battery

But something went wrong in this review when the CPU clock rate dropped all the way down to 800 MHz (or less). Sony VGP-BPS10/B battery The i7-2620M did exactly this when the GPU was simultaneously experiencing heavy use (Furmark, Cinebench R11.5 Shading) and CPU stress test (Prime95, all cores). Once we lower the level of GPU stress, Sony VGP-BPS10A battery the turbo kicks back in after about 10-15 seconds and the CPU runs at the normal level (usually 3.2 GHz). Whether Prime95, Wprime, SuperPi or Cinenbech Multi/Single, the dual-core processor always shoots back up to its usual clock rate and is not throttled. Sony VGP-BPS10A/B battery

We picked up on the CPU throttling (during simultaneous GPU stress) on account of the peculiarly low power consumption during the extreme demands of the stress test. Sony VGP-BPS10/S battery The 40 watts measured (100% CPU & GPU Load!) are less than half of the 87 watts observed when stress-testing the identically-configured Dell Latitude E6520 i7/FHD. Sony VGP-BPS21A/B battery

As the gaming tests and 3D benchmarks show, Sony VGP-BPS21 battery the GPU is not spared this reduction in performance. Upon manually preventing the CPU throttling (Throttlestop), the GPU temperature rises nearly to the point of overheating (up to 107ºC) and rather than running at the usual 750 MHz,Sony VGP-BPS21A battery its clock rate drops to 400 MHz (core). The scores and frame rate we observed were, however, uncommonly low for the HD 6470M considering they do not require simultaneous CPU stress. Sony VGP-BPS21/S battery

In short: those looking to squeeze out every last drop of performance the laptop has to offer will be disappointed with the HP 8460p. Sony VGP-BPS21/B battery Affected by an insufficiently cooled HD 6470M, the CPU has a good deal of its power stripped for the sake of keeping temperatures down.dell vostro 1710 battery Those working only with CPU stress (no GPU stress) will not notice any reduction in clock rate whatsoever because it does not occur in that scenario. dell vostro 1720 battery

Note: While testing our sample laptop,Dell Vostro 1310 battery we repeatedly observed a reduction in clock rates (CPU+GPU, GPU-Solo) due to an overly high GPU temperature. The update to the Catalyst 8.821.1.0 has since resolved the issue.Dell Vostro 1510 battery

The power consumption observed for the 8460p stays between a low 12 to 18 watts when the laptop's idle. Dell Inspiron 1545 battery The lower end of this range is only reached, however, when the screen brightness is all the way down and wifi/mobile network module off. Under heavy use,dell xps m1530 battery we were not surprised to find the power consumption fluctuating between a low 49.5 and 60.6 watts since our previous discovery of CPU throttling. The Vostro 3550 with the same CPU used up 67 watt, Dell inspiron 1721 battery the Latitude E6520 as much as 87 watt (both without any fluctuation). When Prime95 alone brings about 60-watt power consumption, it definitely catches your eye when Prime95+Furmark still use only 60 watts. dell vostro 1700 battery

The battery life turns out to be a strength of the EliteBookdell latitude e4300 battery. Five hours browsing in the internet via wifi or a good four hours watching a DVD—that's pretty respectable even without very powerful performance. Fully charging the battery takes a short two hours. dell latitude e5500 battery

HP EliteBook 8460p LG744EA with WXGA++ DisplayThose looking to impress potential clients with their sleek laptop should steer clear of the HP EliteBook 8460p. dell xps m1730 battery The case is however, very sturdy has an appealing design. This, however, comes at the price of lugging around a heavy 2.44 Kg plus the power supply. dell studio 1737 battery

The input devices make for comfortable typing and the easy-to-press mouse buttons speed up your work flow—the trackpoint represents an alternative way to navigate the cursor.dell latitude e5400 battery Various ports: docking port and battery slice port, eSATA, USB 3.0, ExpressCard54 and SmartCard Reader. HP's left nothing out here.dell inspiron e1505 battery

Despite the matte screen,dell latitude e6500 battery mobility is limited by the mediocre screen brightness of only 195 cd/m². What's more, the poor viewing angles of the WXGA++ display and the less-than-sRGB color space do not quite satisfy the highest business standards. Those looking for more should branch out and consider the 8560w (available with DreamColor technology).Dell inspiron 1300 battery

The performance of the speedy i7 dual-core processor and above-average hard drive are excellent but could be much higher still with an SSD (LG746EA configuration). Dell vostro 1400 battery The case temperature always remains low, although the noise level can get rather high during constantly heavy use. Dell inspiron 1420 battery The CPU throttling during simultaneous CPU+GPU stress was particularly disappointing. Although this is usually irrelevant for office work, this might make the 8460p a black sheep among professionals with high expectations. Dell inspiron 1521 battery

1 Express Card 54mm, 2 USB 2.0, 2 USB 3.0, 1 Firewire, 1 VGA, 1 DisplayPort,dell studio 1535 battery RJ-11 Modem, 1 Kensington Lock, 1 eSata, 1 Docking Station Port, Audio Connections: line-out, microphone jack, Card Reader: SD, MMC, 1 SmartCard, 1 Fingerprint Reader, port for second batteryDell inspiron 1525 battery

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