Mobile Buyers' Guide, December 2009
by Jarred Walton on December 6, 2009 12:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Guides
NVIDIA ION
NVIDIA's ION platform uses the same N270/N280 Atom CPUs we've already discussed, but instead of the anemic GMA 950 Intel GPU you get an ION GPU - essentially the equivalent of the 9400M G. ION is significantly faster than GMA 950, but the Atom CPU is such a huge bottleneck that it really doesn't make for better gaming in the majority of titles. ION also helps with video decoding, and the combination of Atom and ION with the Flash 10.1 Beta allows for fullscreen HD video playback on YouTube, Hulu, and other similar sites. Without ION, you'll want to avoid HD Flash video on Atom netbooks.
The only real option for NVIDIA ION in this price bracket is the base model of the HP Mini 311. It's priced at exactly $400 (barring any holiday sales), and it comes with the bare minimum of amenities. You do get an HDMI port and an 11.6" 1366x768 LCD, but you only get 1GB RAM and an N270 CPU. HP's 311 integrates the 1GB of RAM on the motherboard, though, so you can easily upgrade the RAM on your own after the fact. The other ION netbooks are the Lenovo IdeaPad S12, which starts at around $430 with 1GB RAM and XP or $550 with 2GB and Windows 7; meanwhile, the Samsung N510 doesn't have an inexpensive option, going for 2GB and Windows 7 for closer to $600. In short, all of the ION netbooks are in the next price bracket after we make a few upgrades.
Intel CULV Laptops
Atom has a reputation of "fast enough" performance with great battery life and a low cost. It provides all of that, sure, but the catch is you can get something much better from Intel if you look around. The Celeron SU2300 is a dual-core CPU based on the Core 2 architecture, with a 10W TDP. However, TDP isn't a real indication of power requirements, and in testing it appears most of the 10W CULV CPUs are able to match Atom CPUs (within a few hundred milliwatts) in low power states.
CULV laptops do cost more than Atom laptops, but if you're looking at an Atom-based laptop costing $400 or more, you'd be crazy not to take a closer look at the CULV options. Even the Celeron SU2300 (1.2GHz, 1MB shared cache) is more than a match for the fastest single-core Atom CPUs - in raw performance, it's about twice as fast. Dual-core Atom CPUs should match the slower CULV processors, but pricing is going to be a wash as well.
There are at present two CULV laptops that meet our $400 criterion: the Acer Aspire 1410 and the Gateway EC1435u. The differences between these two laptops are mostly cosmetic, so buy whichever you like. Similar to ION, you get an HDMI port, the CPU will provide substantially more performance, and the GMA 4500MHD graphics will help with video decoding (unlike the GMA 950). You also get two SO-DIMM slots and a standard 2GB RAM (but it's 2x1GB so you'll have to ditch the SO-DIMMs if you want to upgrade to 4GB). Battery life is quite similar to what we've measured with Atom netbooks, with over 7 hours out of a 53Wh battery.
If it weren't for the Celeron SU2300 laptops, NVIDIA's ION would be a lot more attractive. That said, Flash 10.1 still doesn't decode all HD videos without a few stutters on CULV + GMA 4500MHD; 720p is usually fine, but higher bitrate videos and 1080p stutter. It's very likely an issue with the Intel drivers and the Flash 10.1 beta, though, as DXVA allows flawless 1080p x264 playback on these systems. Flash 10.1 also appears to have some image quality issues right now, so we're waiting for the final release to see how things pan out.
Other Inexpensive Options
We'll mention these last, but you can often find sales and used laptops for under $400. As one example, the Gateway NV52 we reviewed a few months ago, originally priced at $500, has been on sale for $400 several times during the past few weeks. If you value raw performance over battery life, the dual-core AMD laptops with HD 3200 graphics are worth a look, especially if you can find them for $400.
Our opinion on used laptops isn't nearly so positive. Unless you know the seller personally, buying used represents a risk, and buying used from an online auction site like eBay could come back to haunt you. Assuming all goes well, you can get a 2-3 year old laptop offering better performance than most new $400 laptops, but it will have (substantially) worse battery life. You might also find that the battery has gone through enough cycles that it needs replacing, which could end up being another $100 cost. We're not going to say you should never buy used laptops, but we definitely recommend caution. As the saying goes: if a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.
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fyleow - Sunday, December 6, 2009 - link
The Studio XPS 13 is a better comparison to the MBP than the Studio 14z IMO. The XPS 13 and MBP both have the same screen size, optical drive, and better build quality.JarredWalton - Sunday, December 6, 2009 - link
It's a different comparison which is more favorable towards the MacBook pricing, but the XPS laptops have always been a premium part. Given the price, I'd actually take the 14z, but some will prefer the XPS 13 with the slot-load DVD.It looks like you get about the same features for the same price, but Dell will get you 4GB plus the ability to upgrade quite a few other parts. I'd imagine the XPS 13 will need the 9-cell battery to match the MacBook battery life.
LCD quality I can't say, since I haven't had a chance to look at either laptop in person. I'm guessing the XPS 13 is better than the 13" MacBook and possibly the 13" MacBook Pro. I know the other XPS laptops have generally had decent LCDs at least.
Drag0nFire - Sunday, December 6, 2009 - link
Thanks for the article. Clearly a lot of thought went into the recommendations at each price point.For future reviews, I was wondering if it might be practical to do a review of tablet technology? I evaluated the options a few years ago and decided it wasn't worth it. But Win7 brings some exciting new opportunities...
Thanks!
jabber - Sunday, December 6, 2009 - link
Got mine delivered a few weeks ago. 1.3Ghz CULV works a treat, really slick and teamed with 4GB of ram, a 320GB 7200rpm HDD and a Geforce 105M grahics it zings. Joy of joys it has a decent sized screen and a DVD burner. Ran it yesterday at work for 7 hours and it still had 2 hours+ left to run when I got home.Playing Eve online I get around 40FPS at high quality settings and 60+ at mid settings.
CULV is the way to go.
Mk4ever - Sunday, December 6, 2009 - link
Since their release, I haven't heard a word about them at Anand's.Do you hate them? Are they stealth to your radar?
The HP Smart Touch tx2 has a lot of features that are not available on anything else. And afaik, it still has the best IGP/GPU on a Tablet PC.
Popular, cheapest tablet, small size, good balance of performance/options...
Are you willing to look into it?
JarredWalton - Sunday, December 6, 2009 - link
Thanks for the comment. Tablets are certainly something to mention, and I'll see about updating post-conclusion tomorrow.Personally, I've never been sold on the tablet concept. I've used a couple and came away unimpressed... it's not a feature I feel I need. So yeah, I pretty much overlooked the category.
Getting the price down is certainly a bonus, and the tx2z is about the cheapest I've seen for a tablet. I'm not sure if having a better GPU really makes a difference, but the HD 3200 is certainly 2-3 times faster in graphics tests than the GMA 4500MHD. For under $1000 for a reasonable configuration, it looks good for those that want a tablet PC.
At least one review (CNet) for the tx2z says that the tablet input is sluggish, and battery life is mediocre with the default 6-cell battery (around 3 hours). The 8-cell battery can get about 5 hours of battery life, but it juts out the bottom of the chassis and that's not a good feature for a tablet IMO.
At present, I don't know that there's much more to be said. If HP offered to send one, I'd look at it, but they haven't sent much of anything to us (the HP Mini 311 came direct from NVIDIA).
Mk4ever - Monday, December 7, 2009 - link
All the points you mentioned are absolutely valid. I'll add some points from my experience.I decided to get a small notebook with good IGP a bit more than a year ago. My best option was a ATI 3200 IGP, and I wanted a 12' notebook max. My only option at the time was HP tx2510us. It was a tablet. I didn't like that fact, but it was my only option. It was offered for around $950 back then.
The tablet part turned out to be a great bonus indeed, that I can not overlook in a future purchase. I still rarely use the touch, but it is really useful when using Adobe Illustrator, and for commenting on word documents or solving math problems without a calc (to train my lazy brain) or taking notes. Also flipping the screen alone adds to the portability of the PC, as you can handle it easier when you are standing up or walking, or even wanna read a pdf or a file like how you would hold a book while reading.
The thing is, for the price, the flipping screen and the touch part can be considered as a free bonus. It can be really useful. If you don't like it, simply don't use it, and it is still a great notebook.
I agree with the abysmal battery life, but to tell the truth, and from my experience, it is in line with what most low/midrange laptop batteries offer. And my battery life saw an improvement with Win7.
The HP tx series is popular. When my friend got me my tablet (I live in Middle east where the model wasn't available, he bought it for me from Circuit City or Wall Mart I guess), he told me he saw 2 other people buying the same tablet at that moment. Reviews of how convenient it is for guys in colleges fill the internet. They like the portability of it with the screen flipped to take notes during lectures.
Also, HP tx2 series is especially interesting to review for 2 reasons: One of the few that support multi-touch ( Windows 7 finally supports that feature, and I guess it's worth reviewing this feature on a Technology website, whether it's bad or good, so we know what to expect), and because it has an AMD Turion Ultra, which I haven't seen reveiwed on Anadtech ( it should at least be compared to regular Turions, to test energy savings and battery performance claims to say the least, don't you think?)
I hope you will consider reviewing an HP tx2, if you get the chance.
JarredWalton - Monday, December 7, 2009 - link
Thanks for the feedback. Multi-touch on tablet might make it more useful, though I honestly don't like the idea of touching my screen... fingerprints, bad! :) I've actually tried (several times) to get a laptop with a Turion Ultra. Now I'm looking for Turion II Ultra. I'm hoping AMD can help out, but HP I think is one of the few currently making laptops with Turion II Ultra CPUs, and the big OEM thing can be a problem. We'll keep at it, though....MrMom - Sunday, December 6, 2009 - link
Any matte screens available for under $1k? All this glossiness makes my head hurt!IlllI - Monday, December 7, 2009 - link
here http://www.photodon.com/c/Standard-Custom-Sizes.ht...">http://www.photodon.com/c/Standard-Custom-Sizes.ht...don't limit your options just b/c of the screen