Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E520 15.6" Review

Lenovo ThinkPad Edge series is designed for buyers who are ThinkPad series too expensive or too boring. The top series includes the E520 perimeter Lenovo ThinkPad Edge, the smaller and previously tested E420 E420 (the two should not be confused with the other). The E520 is very different from the usual B2B mobile.

Featuring a soft matte black finish and reinforced with sturdy metal hinges, the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E520 is 13 percent thinner than previous generations. And the powerful 2nd generation Intel® Core™ i5 processor, with Turbo Boost Technology, will be sure to enhance your productivity on the go. In addition, the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E520 is optimized for both work and play.

Specifications:

• Intel Core i3-2350M 2.30GHz Processor
• 3MB Smart Cache
• 4GB DDR3 Memory
• 500GB (7200RPM) SATA Hard Drive
• 15.6" Widescreen HD (1366 x 768) LED Backlight Display
• Integrated 720HD low light-sensitive webcam
• DVD±R/RW Dual Layer
• Intel HD Graphics
• Intel 1000 802.11b/g/n Wireless LAN
• Bluetooth
• 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet LAN
• ExpressCard /34 slot
• High Definition Audio and Stereo Speakers
• 7-in-1 Multicard Reader
• Fingerprint Reader
• Full-size Keyboard and Touchpad with multi-gesture
• Connections: 4 x USB 2.0 (one powered, 1 eSATA/USB combo), VGA, HDMI, Combo Audio/Microphone jack, RJ-45 (LAN)
• Approximate Unit Dimensions: 14.76 (W) x 9.64 (D) x 1.10 - 1.29 (H) inches
• Approximate Unit Weight: 5.2 pounds

This laptop also scored high in our graphical tests, beaten only narrowly by the Acer Aspire 5750G. We tested out some recent games and found they ran smoothly, although we occasionally had to turn down detail levels. You can also check out and play around with your photos or home movies. Of course, if you'd rather relax with a film, the Lenovo won't let you down. High-definition (HD) films play perfectly and look good on the 15.6-inch widescreen display.

The E520 has two graphic chips: the Intel GMA HD 3000 (integrated in the CPU) and the dedicated AMD Radeon HD 6630M GPU, which has a core speed of 485 MHz and 1 GB VRAM. Thanks to AMD's PowerXpress 4.0 alias "BACON" the laptop can automatically switch between graphic chips. The software still has a few kinks: some programs are not recognized which means that the user has to manually pick the desired graphic card. The hardware of the notebook is rounded off with 4 GB RAM (max. 8 GB on two slots) and a 500 GB hard disk.

It's one of the larger laptops in this month's group, but, surprisingly, it's also the lightest laptop too, weighing just 2.1kg. That, combined with its excellent Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E520 battery life, makes it well suited to travelling. If you're in the cheap seats when travelling, you'll be glad to know that the lid tilts back more than 180 degrees so you can always get a good view of the screen, even if you’re struggling for legroom.

You should have no trouble using peripherals or external displays – as well as an internal DVD writer, three USB2 ports, a combined USB2/eSATA port and a multi-format card reader, there’s also VGA and HDMI video outputs, a combined headphone and microphone audio jack and an ExpressCard/34 slot for future expansion. The only noticeably absent feature is a fingerprint reader, although this is available as a build-to-order option from Lenovo's online store, and system administrators will appreciate being able to disable the various ports and on-board devices in the password-protected BIOS. Finally, if there was any doubt Lenovo hadn’t designed the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E520 AC adapter for business, it comes with a 64-bit copy of Windows 7 Professional.

On top of the features listed above, the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E520 has much more going for it. Not only is the 15.6-inch display crisp and colorful, but there is also a 3.0MP HD webcam integrated above it, so you can enjoy face-to-face communication wherever you are. The design is more streamlined on the latest incarnation of the Dell Inspiron I1564 battery. They’re thinner and feature iPhone-like rounded corners edged with brushed aluminum. The cases are available in Heatwave Red or Midnight Black.

Keep in touch with your employees, your clients and the rest of the world with a slew of available connections: WiFi, Gigabit Ethernet, and options for WWAN, WiMAX and Bluetooth®. During Web calls and video conferences, quickly switch your microphone to "conference room mode" to enhance multiple voices from across the room, and enable keyboard noise suppression technology so that you can freely take notes. Continue to maximize your VoIP experience with our ThinkVantage® Communications Utility — a hub that allows you to control your most important business tools (like the integrated HD 720p low-light sensitive webcam) in one place. Making an important presentation? Use the HDMI out port to project your big ideas on a big screen.

The ThinkPad Edge E520 laptop catch attention with their jaw-dropping, premium design. Small details make a big difference: the stunning infinity screen, a matte finish that’s soft to the touch and real metal accents that project a cosmopolitan image. The laptops are also business performance powerhouses, featuring increased performance of Lenovo Thinkpad Edge E520 adapter and integrated graphics in the upcoming second generation Intel® Core™ processor technology, Lenovo’s Enhanced Experience 2.0 for rapid boot up and a range of wireless connectivity technologies. They also crossover for serious play with Dolby Home Theatre® audio and high definition video conferencing.

The ThinkPad's design, as ever, is functional, and it feels well built. As is usual with ThinkPads, you get a touchstick as well as a large touchpad. Both are responsive and have large buttons. Lenovo has used the full width of the case to accommodate the keyboard and, if anything, the keyboard feels too wide. The moulded keys are slightly convex, providing good tactile feedback when you strike the key, and their action is light and crisp.

Like other ThinkPads, the Edge E520 has very reserved looks. The matt black colour scheme, plastic chassis and trademark Lenovo touch stick all scream business, but that doesn’t make it any less usable in the home – we had no trouble typing on the fantastic Chiclet-style keyboard, which is full-size but still small enough to fit in an additional numerical keypad. Each key has just the right amount of tactile feedback, which meant we were typing at full speed almost instantly. The two sets of touchpad buttons weren’t as firm as we'd like, but the touchpad itself is at least a good size, with a smooth surface that creates minimal friction.

Great package, and very little inside! The supply includes a portable computer, power cord, 6-cell Lenovo Thinkpad Edge E520 battery and a few brochures. On the other hand, is an endless list of accessories such as a fee to update the list of the car, which includes a variety of products from a variety of categories. Pre-installed software is another problem. ThinkPad is the Office, Adobe Reader, and typical of a ThinkPad factory installed, but otherwise offers very little software department. The trial version of Norton Internet Security is a negative sign in the book, as the first boot, it's annoying pop-ups for different users. ThinkPad series has never been a big problem with the software.

Even under the harsh fluorescent lights of our office, we could see the 15.6in screen perfectly thanks to its matte finish. It diffused light reflections exceptionally well, although we still wouldn’t like to use it in direct sunlight. Unsurprisingly, colours aren’t as bright as they would be on a glossy display, and darker images looked slightly grey rather than deep black, but it was still well-suited for working on plain text documents. Viewing angles were only reasonable, but this shouldn’t be a huge problem as the screen has over 180 degrees of tilt.

In respect to performance the laptop leaves no stone unturned. Office and multimedia tasks can be dealt with without any problems. Additional plus points are earned thanks to the energy saving hardware which results in low power consumption while the laptop is idle, and thus good HP ProBook 5310m battery run times. There are a few major flaws, such as the loud DVD drive, the high case temperatures (while the laptop is under heavy load) and the short guarantee period of 12 months. Overall, the laptop is a good deal for 650 Euros and can be a decent alternative to some glossy plastic 15.6 inch mainstream models. However, a few aspects could have been better.

Dell Vostro 1014 Review

The Dell Vostro 1014 is powered by Intel CoreTM 2 Duo processor with Intel 45 Express chipset. It comes with up to 4GB of RAM and up to 320GB of storage space. Other features include four USB ports, a 2-megapixel camera, a digital microphone, a 5-in-1 media card reader, Wi-Fi 802.11n and Bluetooth.

The Laptop is equipped with LED Display, whereas Inspiron has LCD display. Vostro has 4usb ports whereas Inspiron has 3.Vostro has built in Dialup model where Inspiron doesn’t have. It has built in 2MP camera whereas Inspiron has 1.3MP. On the basis of sound its very poor except this Dell XPS L511X battery, it has everything else which you require in a good notebook with affordable price. It is a SMB product regardless to Home user or Business person.

Technical Specification:

• Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T5670 (1.8 Ghz)
• Intel® 45 Express chipset
• Intel GMA X4500MHD
• 14″ inch Wide LED Display (1366 x 768 Pixels)
• 2GB DDR2 RAM 800MHz
• 250GB Hard disk
• Webcam with microphone
• 5-in-1 card reader
• 34 mm ExpressCard slot
• DVD Writer
• Wireless LAN – 802.11b/g/n
• Bluetooth
• 6-cell Lithium Ion Battery
• 65 Watt AC Adapter

This Dell Vostro Series laptop is built on Intel 45 Express chipset and runs the Intel core 2 Duo T6670 processor. The Intel processor has 2.2 GHz clock speed and 2 MB cache memory. The 2 GB RAM memory lets you work on multiple applications at a time. If you want to add more computing power to this laptop, you can extend the RAM up to 8 GB via dual memory slots.

The Dell Vostro 1014 is a budget level small business notebook powered by an Intel Celeron or Core 2 Duo processor.

Elegant in style, the Dell Vostro 1014 features 14.0 inch high definition WLED Anti-Glare screen with an outstanding display of 1366 X 768 pixel resolution. Swanking of 8 X DVD +/-RW, the picturesque laptop traits connectivity options such as wi-fi, bluetooth, and 5-in-1 card reader. Its primary storage of 5400RPM could easily be expanded up to 320 gb. Flaunting of an Integrated 2.0 MP camera, the top end note book抯 other multimedia features include a built-in speaker and speaker phone. Weighing just over a 2kg, the Dell XPS L511X AC adapter is loaded with Mobile Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X4500MHD. The stunning laptop is steered by Intel Core 2 Duo Mobile or Celeron and operates on Genuine Windows 7 Professional.

The notebooks include 1280×720 anti-glare LED backlight displays, Intel’s Core 2 Duo or Celeron processors, the Intel GMA 4500MHD integrated graphics, up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM, up to 320GB of hard drive space, a DVD burner, a 6-cell Dell XPS L511X battery, optional 2MP web camera, a single speaker, 802.11b/g WiFi, Ethernet LAN, and 56k modem connections, four USB ports, an ExpressCard/34 slot, a 5-in-1 card reader, a VGA output, and a Firewire port.

The new Dell Vostro 1014 is a good value for money. It is considered as a far better device that the previous Inspiron model. The backup battery of the laptop is rated high. However, the sound quality of the laptop is despicable and considered bad. The Dell Inspiron 14R batteryf is simply an above average laptop that offers powerful features and super outlook. Overall, it is a typical business correlated laptop that offers well mid range features.

Vostro is one of many series notebook from Dell. A notebook of Dell Vostro 1014 is packed with big technology to produce a great technology to help you keep in touch by using WiFi facility connection. The specification implanted in this notebook is Intel core TM2 Processor T5870 ( 2.0 Ghz, FSB 800, Cache 2 MB ), GDDR2 memory up to 4 GB, also harddisk Serial of ATA 5400 RPM capacity of 250GB. Not only is that, the screen used, 14” WLED screen saving energy. There are several variants of this notebook are black and red.

1.3 MP camera, digital microphone, Four USB ports, Intel® 45 Express chipset, Wireless LAN 802, Media Card Reader, DOS Operating system. Now it is available in online store. Indestructibly make to survive daily sport and slash, in typical black to go with your business method. Vostro 1014 is intended to help you stay your center on your business.

The 2 GB DDR2 RAM is built up in this model which enough for a general purpose laptop. The 250 GB SATA Hard Disk Drive is compelled in this model. The monitor of this model is the 14” Wide Display HD with anti glare or True Life that guarantees you a better picture quality. The screen resolution for the display is 1366*768.

This is a laptop that let you grow your business and even broaden your budget with the simple-to-own 14" 35.6cm Dell Vostro 1014. Ranging from the boardrooms to the coffee shops to even airports and beyond, the convenient, stretchy 1014 lend a hand to be connected and make every single minute count. Outstanding Wireless Connectivity including Wireless and the Wi-Fi technology reduces the dead spots; so that you can unite anywhere your business takes you.

Powered by the Intel Core 2 Duo processor, the Dell Vostro 1014 laptop boost your computing performance. Up to 320GB hard drive of this Dell 14-inch laptop offers you ample of space for your data. The 4GB RAM of this Dell notebook PC lets you listen to music, surf the web, and work on other applications, all at once. The Intel 45 Express chipset of this Dell 14-inch laptop boost the capabilities of your laptop. Integrated with Intel graphics media accelerator graphic card, this Dell XPS L511X adapter enhances your gaming experience. The Dell Vostro 1014 laptop also has Wi-Fi 2 wireless connectivity for accessing the Internet.

Dell Vostro 1014 is a portable laptop designed to improve productivity of its users. It runs on Intel Core 2 Duo T5670 processor with an operating speed of 1.8GHz. The Intel GMA X4500 MHD improves the graphical performance of 1014 laptop. The display system of Vostro 1014 consists of a 14 inch wide LED display with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. The system memory of Vostro 1014 is made up of 2GB DDR2 RAM with 250 GB hard disc. An integrated webcam with a microphone enables videoconferencing facility. its wireless LAN is offered by IEEE standard 802.11b/g/n. Other connectivity options of Vostro 1014 include Bluetooth and a 5-in-1 card reader.

The Cordless Peripherals lets you connected to the wireless keyboards, headsets and mic via Bluetooth connectivity. The reasonable Vostro 1014 takes the benefit of the newest technology so that can take care of your company, no matter you are on your desk or on the road. The Intel Core 2 Duo processors offer trustworthy each day efficiency you require for the business. The Lightweight LED Screen and the energy-efficient 14" 35.6cm WLED screen for crispy viewing. It is being designed with Multiple Peripherals as you are being facilitated with four USB ports with two on each of the side for linking all the peripheral devices.

Backpacked with 6-cell battery, the Dell Vostro 1014 notebook promises backup time up to 3 hours. The extended Dell Inspiron 14R battery life lets you work unplugged for a longer time. The Kensington lock slot ensures maximum security for your laptop.

Dell Vostro 1014 brings in performance along with mobility. It can be used in home to shops to airports and beyond. Its excellent wireless support can be used to connect to Internet from wherever you want. Flexible connectivity options allow easy data transfer from almost any flash cards. Its Bluetooth connectivity enables connecting of wireless keyboard, mouse, and headphones.

This laptop is an affordable choice for businessman, student and simple work out and Internet use. It gives you what it is meant for, what else can you expect in this range. The only drawback is bad sound quality but you can add some extra speakers if you are using it at home. Overall it is a good value for money.

HP EliteBook 8740w Overview

When you edit on the road, it’s often a challenge finding the right machine to be your reliable road warrior. This is when it becomes time to bump your laptop up a notch into the mobile workstation class of machines. Mobile workstations are tough, durable and designed to be desktop replacements. As such they are larger and heavier than a small laptop or netbook, but that’s OK. They are meant to survive in challenging locations.

The HP EliteBook 8740w comes in with a hefty price tag, but for serious creative professionals, it comes with the territory. If you want the best, you have to lay down the cash for it. But I’m not making any final decisions yet. I have a long way to go before I give my final review. Come back for the second part of my review where I dive even further into the hardware and software in the HP EliteBook 8740w battery and show you it’s not all rainbows and unicorns in happy town. No, there are some donwnfalls, and maybe even some pitfalls, in this workstation. For the third part of the review, I will dive into the meat and potatoes of any motionographers life–render times. Oh, and we’ll give away one of these beasts to a lucky reader!

The Quadro 5000M card does support Premiere Pro CS5′s Mercury playback engine and hence one can expect realtime playback when working with multiple layers of native tapeless footage (eg, avchd, avcintra, xdcam, RED (R3d) , dslr etc). Even Neo3D which is a plugin for editing stereoscopic footage in Premiere Pro CS5 works quite well on this machine.

A high-end mobile workstation should offer the kind of performance speeds associated with a modest desktop computer. Or put another way, you might expect your new mobile workstation to perform much like your desktop workstation from a couple of years ago. Either description could apply to the 8740w. It’s very fast for a mobile workstation, but will likely feel somewhat slower than your recently purchased desktop workstation. On MAXON’s CineBench R10 benchmark test, the HP EliteBook 8740w AC adapter scored 10,235 points on the CPU render test and 7,380 points on the OpenGL render test. With the 3DMark Vantage benchmark, it scored a P8184 overall with 10,776 points for the CPU and 7,576 points for the GPU. If you’re not familiar with mobile workstations, don’t be put off if these scores are well below the scores for your current desktop. There are inherent design constraints that cause laptop computers to lag behind their desktop counterparts.

The HP EliteBook 8740w is a BEAST! It has a metal casing; very heavy, very well protected, very much like a tank, which is a good thing but with that said. It's also too heavy to take it on the go. The battery is also huge and heavy, like a giant brick. The combination of the laptop and the HP EliteBook 8740w battery would make it impossible to carry around all day.

I took the photos of the skull with the display in the background to test out the color settings and show how it looked in lighted conditions and at wide viewing angles. As you can see, you’ve got a nice wide viewing angle. No one works at that angle, but yeah, there is no visible darkening when moving about dodging things people are throwing at you. The light reflects on the screen, but it’s not as bright as a display with a shiny screen. It’s anti-glare, but not completely anti-glare. OK, I was going to finish the post a long time ago. I really wish you could see how these photos look on this display.

And that's not where the hefty aspect of the HP EliteBook 8740w ends - it will cost you around $3000 to get your hands on one of these, depending on configuration. But both build quality and specification are largely representative of a laptop at this price level.

The HP DreamColor LED-backlit screen is very bright and makes most graphics pop, it really is better than most desktop LCD displays which makes me very envious when I’m using my desktop computer.

If you're in the market for a mobile workstation with lots of CPU power, RAM and hard drive capacity, and most importantly, an excellent screen, the 8740W is definitely one to consider.

But that’s really not the whole story. We are talking about a mobile workstation with an NVIDIA Quadro 5000M inside. That’s quite a technology feat, especially considering that just a year ago we were going gaga over the Fermi architecture and the heat and power issues associated with it. They’ve chained the beast, so to speak, and have crammed it nicely into a quiet, tight little package that just hums along merrily while a HP EliteBook 8740w adapter nuclear blast furnace is raging inside, mere inches away from my fingers. Let’s not forget, we’re talking of a slightly less powerful version of the workstation monster that earned our coveted Golden Fedora (the only GPU to ever do so on Icrontic,) the Quadro 6000, which Bobby Miller called “the fastest workstation card alive“. My benchmarks in CAD/CAM performance are telling, and our friends over at SolidSmack also pushed the 8740W through some very specific GPU- and CPU-crushing tests.

The EliteBook 8740W is a big beast: it has a 17in screen, a base that's chock-a-block full of ports and slots, and it weighs over 3.6kg. Its LCD screen is one of HP's DreamColor panels and it's one of the best displays we've ever seen on a notebook. Colour reproduction was excellent during our tests and its viewing angles are wider than what you'll find with a typical notebook screen.

In After Effects, I had an old project with the usual solids, C4D movie files and a short list of effects that I felt would be a good starting point for a quick render test. On my old computer, the render took 5 minutes 31 seconds. On the HP 8740w, it took 13 seconds. Wow. I knew my old computer was slow, but I didn’t think it was that slow. Right away, I knew this was going to be an eye opening review. I proceded to move on to test number two.

I am getting picky here but on the outside of the machine, just under the screen, there are a whole bunch of flashing lights (volume, brightness, etc.) that I couldn’t seem to dim or turn off. They got quite distracting when working at night.

You might be thinking: "So where is HP's individual course?" – In the accessories. Two external HP AV08 battery solutions are offered for the largest workstation in the collection (link). They can be strapped to the base unit's bottom via an own interface. There is a 12 cell battery pack with a weight of about 0.8 kilograms and a capacity of 95 Wh (about 150 euro) or a somewhat weaker option, an 8 cell battery pack with 52 Wh and 450 grams (street price of 80 euro) available. The Dell WU946 battery life they reach can extend the recorded rates accordingly (+75% up to + 140%).

The main body of the laptop is covered in the "HP DuraCase" and "HP DuraFinish" which is essentially a hard plastic and strong magnesium alloy inner shell much like its predecessor strengthened by a brushed aluminum outer shell that is scratch resistant. HP uses a darker color on the outside of the mobile workstations and a lighter silver finish on the standard EliteBook series. The outer shell of the screen casing is made of metal, but the inner screen bezel is plastic. The entire chassis from the base to the screen lid feels exceptionally strong and resistant to flex. The keyboard is the only exception to that rule since it has a tendency to "bounce" under your fingertips when you type with heavy pressure.

The EliteBook 8740w also includes QuickLook 3, which offers instant access to your cached Outlook data, even from a powered-off state. Where older iterations of QuickLook could only show you what was already in your Outlook cache, such as e-mails, contacts, calendar events and task lists, the newest version allows you to edit and update this data on the fly, with updates synching automatically upon power up.

The 8740w would be an awfully expensive notebook to bring to a LAN party—but you could and you’d be glad you did. Where it’ll be more at home, however, is in the hands of a professional designer, architect, or technician who needs the high level of color accuracy of its display. Just make sure the purchase doesn’t overdraw your checking account and be sure to eat your Wheaties before you pick it up and start carting it around.

The beauty and strength of the HP EliteBook 8740w makes it look fine, but its real power is inside. The HP EliteBook 8740w  is no run-of-the-mill computer, and the novice user would probably never realize what is inside. It would feel like a first time driver, driving down the streets in a high-speed car. The seasoned computer user will realize how powerful this computer is because it has Intel Core i7 processor, 8 GB 1333 MHzDDR3 SDRAM, and NVIDIA Quadro 5000m. Additional features that can be found are a 17″ LED-backlit WXGA anti-glare HP DreamColor display, 500GB Hard drive, and a spill-resistant keyboard, that is full-sized and backlit. Other additional features are an external VGA monitor, a 2 MP built-in webcam, 4 USB ports, one eSATA port and also a Smart Card Reader, a mic, and headphones. This laptop is called the HP AV08 battery, and it does boast of elite features.

Overall, my first impressions of this machine are this machine, despite the small annoyances, are that it?s well built, quiet and way more power than I?ve ever had before. I opened up about 40 full size photos and didn?t even dent the processing or slow down the performance or responsiveness of the multiple programs running. I plan to apply a little more pressure to see just what it can handle. In the meantime, I leave you with photos of a meat skull posing with the HP EliteBook 8740W.

Pros:
Gorgeous screen
Business-rugged

Cons:
Artifacting and shimmering in high-def video
Touch buttons on top are not super-responsive

Bottom Line:
If you're looking for a business-rugged Dell WU946 battery that has all the power of a desktop and all the sexiness of a Mac, this is the notebook for you.

Dell Vostro V13 Notebook Review

An Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300 CPU powers the Dell Vostro V13, and its 1.3GHz clock speed and two CPU cores help move things along swiftly. You can multitask, watch high resolution videos or create media-rich presentations without getting bogged down. Helping the CPU are 4GB of DDR3 SDRAM, a 500GB (5400rpm) hard drive and integrated Intel GMA 4500MHD graphics.

The 13-inch Vostro V13 is essentially a business laptop in the shell of the slim and stylish Dell Adamo. It has a sturdy aluminum body, curved angular edges, and polished exterior which looks and feels very elegant and premium. The Dell Vostro V13 AC adapter twin metal hinges aren't situated on its spine (where the screen meets the rest of the chassis), but a little inside. This allows the spine to be used as a handle of sorts -- great example of thoughtful design.

For Windows 7 and a Core 2 Duo ULV, the price rises in the range of mid-to-high $600, which is still really good compared with its closest competitors, the HP Pavilion dm3 and Asus UL30A-A1. The Vostro V13 will support up to 4GB of RAM, and can be optionally upgraded with 3G mobile broadband.

The spine acts as a handle of sorts. The location of the screen gives the notebook more strength and changes its centre of gravity. It feels beautifully balanced; when the notebook is lying flat on a desk, the screen can be lifted using only one hand (it doesn't have a latch). The hinges have just the right amount of resistance to allow precise adjustments.

The Dell Vostro V13 is beautiful thin brushed aluminium laptop with a quality professional appearance for those who wish to have an attractive stylish laptop for business or personal use. The price is very good and by not resorting to glossy plastic and bright glowing lights, it gives the impression of a much more expensive laptop, being actually very reasonably priced.

The Vostro V13's Windows Experience Index (WEI) of 3.2 (out of 7.9) was brought down by the graphics subsystem. Both Graphics (desktop performance for Windows Aero) and Gaming Graphics (3D business and gaming graphics performance) scored 3.2. Processor (calculations per second) was rated at 3.9, while RAM (Memory operations per second) got 4.9. The highest score, 5.9, went to Primary hard disk (Disk data transfer rate).

In what is obviously a cost saving move, Dell hasn't extended the aluminum casing under the lid, and instead the deck is covered in black, matte plastic. The full size keyboard, while comfortable to our digits, has a bit too much bounce and flex to it. We should also mention that we happen to like the clickyness of the keys, but those that prefer a quieter typing experience may not dig the Dell 0449TX battery typing experience. Honestly though, it would be hard for a ULV laptop's keyboard to best that on the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 13 -- we're still madly in love with it.

Our configuration of the Vostro V13 cost $991, but its starts at $449. At that price, you get a 1.3-GHz Intel Celeron M ULV 743 processor, Ubuntu Linux version 9.04, 2GB of RAM, a 5,400 rpm, 250GB hard drive, and 802.11b/g wireless. It also lacks one-year next business day on-site service. Another preconfigured model ($619) comes with a 1.4-GHz Intel Core 2 Solo SU3500 processor, Windows 7 Home Premium, 2GB of RAM, a 7,200rpm, 320GB hard drive, and 802.11b/g Wi-Fi.

In fairness, there's not a huge price difference between the top-end V13 and our review model – only $90 in fact, and we'd argue that's well worth it. For the extra cash you get the same beautiful design and build quality, plus an entire extra processor core and 4GB of RAM instead of 2GB, which gives a more practical level of Dell T1G6P battery performance for those who want a laptop that performs well in a variety of situations.

In the Battery Eater Readers test (maximum possible battery life) the Vostro achieved 326 mins away from a power socket. In the Dell Vostro V13 battery Eater Classic test (minimum possible battery life) it only survived for 114 mins, just under two hours. On the other hand, in the more realistic wireless internet surfing test, with 80% screen brightness and the W-LAN module enabled, we reached 239 minutes which is a very respectable time. And the notebook will last long enough in most cases when playing films from the hard drive, as in our test it only failed after 176 minutes, around the three-hour mark.

Power users – those who need the latest graphics processing techniques or a fast enough system for running multiple applications and maybe a compiler or two – will find that the V13 is still adequate. In our tests, running about six applications including the Ekiga softphone client and several business apps, the V13 hummed along quite nicely without choking on a paltry allotment of RAM.

The VGA port on the back is the only 'serious' disappointment - we'd have preferred an HDMI port, but those business types like VGA to hook up their presentation projectors to. The meagre external features are rounded off by a media card reader compatible with SD, MMC and Memory Stick cards, and an ExpressCard 34 slot.

Annoyingly, the 6-cell Dell T1G6P battery which powers the machine also resides under that aluminium baseplate we mentioned earlier—so there is no way to swap in a spare. Also, on test we found the Dell 0449TX battery to be no more than average in performance (3-4 hours), so if you need a laptop that can survive for a full working day in meetings or on the road this may not be the best option.

The far left empty, while the right side only a Memory Stick slot and ExpressCard/34 memory card reader and SD compatible. Sit on a plate is difficult to obtain due to the left and right edges of the inside of the slope. This provides an elegant, but prevents access. The front edge of the box is a pair of audio jacks. There is no optical drive, which can be a deal breaker for some business users.

Yet when it comes to the screen Dell have certainly not held back, the 13.3inch screen isn’t coated with the glossy coating that causes numerous reflections and annoyingly acute viewing angles and is easy to use when reading documents or watching films.

We should also note another aspect of the Dell Vostro V13: RAM. Dell specifies a maximum of four GB DDR3 (1066 MHz) RAM. The Intel GS45 chipset, which is used in the Vostro V13 only offers a single RAM slot. This Dell Vostro V13 adapter should not be obstructive, as Dell's data sheet only mentions 32-Bit operating systems so far. Two GB, should be sufficient for office applications under Windows 7 anyway. As alternatives Windows Vista or Windows XP (downgrade) or Linux Ubuntu are also supported.

The V13 incorporates a 13.3” LED backlit HD enabled display which is HD compatible. The screen is literally wafer thin and almost feels as if it’s not there at all; this can be attributed to its LED backlighting. Dell also chose to include anti-glare technology which we must admit is surprisingly effective with regards to reducing light pollution onscreen.

Ports and Webcam Port selection is average. There is a USB port, an eSATA / USB combo port, Ethernet, VGA, an ExpressCard slot, 5-in-1 memory card reader, headphone and microphone jacks. The keys are a bit noisy when pressed. The touchpad measures 3.2 x 1.7 inches and is great for a notebook of this size. The touchpad surface is slightly recessed and offers the right amount of friction.

Despite its business-oriented facade, we can see the Vostro being used by students or as a replacement for a netbook, though its non-removable Dell Vostro V13 battery and low battery life may limit its attractiveness. Dell's Vostro V13 is an enjoyable, well constructed machine. Its port options are limited, as is its performance, but for the asking price it fits the bill nicely.

HP EliteBook 2540p Overview

In last year’s ultraportable notebook roundup (August 2009), HP’s EliteBook 2530p put in a strong showing, wowing us with its good looks, sturdy construction, and strong performance. Its successor, the EliteBook 2540p, is strikingly similar in many regards but has the advantage of new and improved components and a lower price.

The other benefit of using a low-voltage processor is superb HP EliteBook 2540p battery life. Managing just over seven hours in our light-use test, the laptop should be able to last a full day's work on a single charge.

Like the EliteBook 8440p we looked at back in April, the 2540p adopts a look somewhere between boardroom and livingroom – a working man’s laptop that’s not afraid to show some class. All the functional parts including the keyboard, base and bezel get a rubbery matte black dressing that makes them disappear, but brushed aluminum plates on the palm rest and lid supply a literal dose of cool (as in, chilly wrists in the winter cool).

It’s worth noting that because Ultra-Low Voltage systems like this one have a 1.8-inch hard drive (standard-voltage systems have a 2.5-inch drive), this version of the 2540p has room for three USB ports in addition to an optical drive. The standard-voltage version of this notebook does not have room for an optical drive, and has just two USB ports.

Graphically this isn't the case, however, and the integrated graphics card only allows light photo editing or entry-level gaming. If you need power for high definition (HD) video editing, for example, the MacBook Air or Sony VAIO is the better option.

Despite its size, the 2540p is jam-packed with features. It's one of the last remaining 12-inch systems that come with an internal DVD burner, though this feature is only available with a low-voltage processor. Standard voltage processors require bigger cooling methods, and thus, there isn't enough room for one. It has three USB ports, VGA-Out, an Ethernet port, ExpressCard, and SD slot. Unlike the Lenovo X201, the 2540p managed to squeeze in a DisplayPort and a Firewire port.

With all this rugged durability built into the design, you have to expect a trade-off, which in this case is weight. Some 12-inch business class notebooks tip the scale at 3 pounds or less. The EliteBook 2540p has a starting weight of 3.38 pounds with a 6-cell HP HSTNN-DB22 battery, but the added durability more than makes up for a minor weight increase.

The big win for travelers is the EliteBook’s aircraft-inspired construction. The aforementioned magnesium/aluminum alloy exterior means this things is tough. Extremely tough. It’s purpose built with resistance to general wear, spills, vibration, temperature, dust, drops, and scratching. While we didn’t actually throw our review sample in the microwave or take it scuba diving, HP backs up its claims with a pretty strong warranty should any of these become an issue.

This laptop is comfortable to carry around during a busy day, with all your information within reach. Though there are lighter notebooks available and the extra weight in your bag will be noticeable, it will yet not be exhausting, even when you pack the charger. The weight of this laptop will not be a problem for most users, even those not used to carry around heavy weights.

Closer inspection shows that the HP 2540p is made by Foxcomm (the same company that makes the Apple iPhone and iPad), and Foxcomm is known for their quality hardware but also for their high suicide rates and low worker equality.

Such is the case of HP’s EliteBook 2540p, a 12-inch rugged-but-portable notebook with a low-voltage Intel Core i7 processor, six-cell battery, Windows 7 Professional, and a weight of four pounds. Other features include a 250GB hard drive, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, Wi-Fi (a/b/g/n), Bluetooth, webcam, fingerprint reader, DVD burner, and a three year warranty.

The EliteBook has a 2.3GHx Intel Core i7-640LM and 4GB RAM to give it the speed it needs to feel powerful enough to handle Web browsing, Office apps and pretty much any software on the planet at the time with zippy speeds. Without a dedicated graphics processor however, it scores poorly in any benchmark test for gaming and 3D software. This HP EliteBook 2540p AC adapter is designed for business users though, and most will not find this a downfall as they may never touch the gaming aspect of this notebook in their entire time owning it.

In our Blender 3D rendering and iTunes MP3 encoding tests, the HP EliteBook 2540p's CPU proved that, despite being an ultra-low-voltage model, it can still be used for relatively taxing tasks. It completed the Blender and iTunes tests in 61sec and 62sec respectively, and this represents an improvement of approximately 30sec over the 2530p's Intel Core 2 Duo SL9400 CPU. In the 3DMark06 tests, the 2540p scored 1515, which means its graphics HP EliteBook 2540p adapter is over twice as fast as the 2530p's. It took 1hr 10min to encode a DVD to an Xvid file, and this is on par with what the much bigger Dell Inspiron 15R N5010 achieved in the same test with its 2.4GHz Core i5-520M CPU.

A nice thing about the EliteBook 2540p (and, indeed, most of HP's computers) is the customization options -- you can add a DVD writer in the upgrade bay, add a fingerprint sensor for extra security, use a docking station or add a second hard drive, preinstall a mobile broadband module, and more.

The $1629 Smart Buy (tested) will bump the system up to 4GB of RAM and Intel’s Core i7 640LM, a 2.13GHz low-voltage processor. This system gets better HP EliteBook 2540p battery life than the standard voltage one and has the optical drive. It has the 2540p’s standard a/b/g/n WiFi and then also Bluetooth 2.1. One thing to keep in mind is that the system uses a 1.8-inch hard drive in some builds and a 2.5-inch one in others, which means some users might want to keep storage options in mind. An 80GB SSD is available for $100 over the 160GB 5400RPM disk and a 7200RPM is available as well, though hard drives selection is dependent up on the processor you choose. The standard voltage models get the 2.5-inch equipment and the low-voltage (with optical drive) get the 1.8-inch gear.

The 2540p is fitted with a 62 Wh HP HSTNN-DB22 battery (5,225 mAh). This keeps the notebook on its feet for four and a half hours (275 minutes) while surfing the web. When you consider the increased processor performance compared to the Core 2 Duo SP9400, for example, the battery life seems appropriate. The Dell Latitude E4300 with SP9400 achieved a marginally longer battery life (290 minutes).

HP has done an impressive job with the EliteBook 2540p, delivering just about everything a business user could want while keeping the weight down. If you’ve stayed away from an ultraportable because you hate the thought of an external optical drive, it’s time to take another look.

Pros:
Zippy processor can handle any office task
Small but still fits full keys and big features

Cons:
Screen colors and contrast look muted
Weak gaming and 3D software performance

Bottom Line:
Small enough to travel anywhere, the EliteBook 2540p breezes through business tasks.

Dell Inspiron 3800 14.1" Laptop Review

Dell Inspiron 3800 can be considered as the most excellent computer for the business and home environments. Dell Inspiron 3800 laptop comes with Intel celeron processor with a speed of 600 MHz that provides enormous speed. The laptop is compatible with Microsoft Windows 98 Operating System. This notebook has got 12.1 inch display with tremendous clarity. The memory of this laptop is 32 MB SDRAM and it can be upgraded to run a greatest of 512 MB RAM. The Dell Inspiron 3800 laptop consists of ports such as 9-pin connector port, S-Video connector and 25-hole connector parallel port. Dell Inspiron 3800 laptop comes with 1 W channel stereo internal speakers. The graphic processor used in this notebook is ATI Mobility M1 graphics accelerator that offers advanced graphical experience.

The system we reviewed -- which we tested under both Windows ME and 2000 Professional -- was a high-end configuration featuring an 850MHz SpeedStep Pentium III processor, 128MB of RAM and a 20GB hard drive. However, the key difference between the Dell Inspiron N4020 AC adapter and other desktop replacement systems is that it uses a desktop chipset, the Intel 815E, that significantly boosts the system's performance in key areas such as hard disk throughput. In our benchmark tests, the Inspiron 8000 was impressive, returning an overall Business Winstone 99 score of 37.2 under Windows 2000. The 815E chipset and the powerful 32MB ATi Mobility M4 graphics controller also ensured healthy component benchmarks. We did run into one performance problem with the Inspiron 8000. Incompatibilities between the 815E chipset, the system BIOS and Windows ME meant that our BatteryMark 4.0 test failed to complete. Unfortunately, this isn't just a technical glitch: it's also an inconvenience for users because the power-saving SpeedStep applet is not loaded.

Dell has roving promos all the time from free S+H to free components and upgrade. Each promo lasts for about 2 weeks, so if you don't care for what they are offering, you can wait a couple of weeks and see what they're offering next time. I ordered my notebook with a free 2nd battery for the 2nd modular bay, which doubles the time I can use the notebook on Dell Inspiron N4020 battery.

The Inspiron 3800 delivers style and affordability in a lightweight design. Choose from a wide range of options and colors to create the computer that is just right for you.

The 12GB IBM TravelStar hard disk is removable, and the memory sockets are readily accessible beneath a panel in the base, but we did notice that the 128MB supplied occupied both sockets, so if you need to upgrade you will lose a 64MB module. The existing memory count should be sufficient for most users, though.

The low price, user-friendly features, and excellent documentation and support of the Dell Inspiron 3800 make it worth a look. The Inspiron, available in your choice of forest green, dark blue, maroon, or midnight gray, comes with both a pointing stick and a touch pad. Our 6.7-pound test model came with a CD-ROM drive; we recommend you opt for the DVD-ROM drive, a $149 upgrade. Also note that Dell may be offering this model with a Celeron/500 or Celeron/600 by the time you read this, not the Celeron/550 we tested. As a multimedia player, the Inspiron is adequate but not specially provisioned. You cannot play an audio CD without turning on the computer, for example, and there are no separate hardware media controls. Performance and Dell 0M4RNN battery life (2:48) were solidly midpack.

Dell Inspiron 3800 comes with 12.1 inch display and it is an integrated graphics multimedia Laptop. This Laptop is available at reasonable price and it uses Intel celeron processor for the superior performance. Dell Inspiron 3800 laptop is totally customizable and it comes with wonderful keyboard and perfect structure. Dell Inspiron 3800 laptop uses video-out port for watching video on a TV.

The left bay takes batteries only, while the right can be used for options like a CD-RW, Zip, LS-120 drive, a second hard disk or a second Dell Inspiron N4020 battery pack. There's a software utility that allows you to hot-swap drives, excepting a hard disk of course, and the floppy module can be run externally from the parallel port if the main bay is already in use.

All the requisite connectors are here, including a pair of USB ports, S-Video, and -- in a first for a Dell notebook -- IEEE 1394. A mini-PCI slot lets you choose between a 56Kbit/s modem only or a combo card that adds a 10/100 Ethernet Dell Inspiron N4020 adapter. SpeedStep problems under Windows ME aside, the Dell Inspiron 8000 is one of the fastest and most capable desktop replacement notebooks available.

The Inspiron 3800 laptop by Dell contains specifications that work well both in the office and at home. Dell Inspiron 3800 Laptop is primarily designed for small and average business class users and home users. Dell Inspiron 3800 Laptop is appropriate for the users to complete their needs. Dell Inspiron 3800 Laptop is very powerful and it helps to finish the tasks speedily.

The Dell machine offers a good keyboard, good Dell 0M4RNN battery life and plenty of power and features for an attractive price. The only downside is the construction of the case, which we'd like to see toughened up a bit.

Specifications:
Intel Celeron 500 MHz (100MHz bus)
32KB L1 cache, 128KB on-die cache
14.1" TFT XGA Active-Matrix Display
8MB ATI Rage Mobility M1 2X AGP video
32MB SDRAM memory
Dual Pointing: Point Stick & Touchpad
6GB Ultra ATA Hard Drive, .5MM
Modular 24X CD-ROM drive
Modular Floppy Drive
Internal Modem V.90 56K Modem (ordered)
Xircom v.90 56 model PC card (received)
Windows 98SE w/ WinME upgrade
Microsoft Works Suite 2000
Norton Antivirus 2001
9-cell Lithium-Ion Battery, 53WHR
2nd battery (Free promo)

Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E420s Notebook Review

The Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E420s delivers a more affordable ThinkPad experience to small business users without cutting corners on reliability and looks. On the contrary, this luscious looking business notebook combines chrome accents with extras like Dolby Home Theater v4 to deliver a notebook worth asking for by name.

Specifications:

• 14-inch "edge to edge" glossy display (1366x768 resolution)
• Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
• Intel Core i5-2410M dual-core processor (2.3~2.9GHz Turbo Boost, 3MB cache, 35W TDP)
• Intel HM65 chipset
• Integrated Intel HD graphics
• 4GB DDR3-1333 RAM (1x 4GB, supports up to 8GB - 2x 4GB)
• 320GB 7200RPM Seagate hard drive (ST320LT000, 7mm height)
• Intel WiFi Link 1000 BGN wireless network adapter
• No internal Bluetooth
• Integrated 720p webcam
• Slot-load DVD burner (HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GS30N)
• Integrated biometric fingerprint reader
• Internal non-removable Li-polymer 48.8Whr battery
• Weight: 4.14 lbs.
• Dimensions: 13.7 x 9.3 x 0.9~1.2 inches

Lenovo Thinkpad E420S price is mid-ranged. Given the set of specs, the Lenovo Thinkpad price in India is placed at attractive point. The Lenovo Thinkpad Edge E420s adapter have been suggesting that it is a business laptop. Both stylish and subtle, it is capable of eliciting screen without being obnoxious about it. The Lenovo Thinkpad Edge E420S review tells that this sophisticated styled device is a perfect piece for small business.

Advanced technology and built-in conveniences boost your productivity and streamline your workday. The Edge Series offers innovative solutions and productivity-enhancing technology in a versatile, reliable, easy-to-use laptop.

The ThinkPad Edge E420s features a spill-resistant, island-style keyboard that provides the same legendary quality and responsiveness we've come to expect from Lenovo business notebooks. With curved, "smile-shaped" keys that make it easy to avoid adjacent-key errors, a comfy rubberized palm rest that cradles your wrists, and a heavy dose of tactile feedback, the Edge E420s allowed us to achieve a high rate of 86 words per minute on the Ten Thumbs Typing Test, 8 percent above our typical score. Too bad the keyboard isn't backlit, like the new HP ProBook 5330m.

You will find 4GB of RAM and 320GB of hard drive space included on this laptop computer. We were surprised to see such a large amount of memory and storage space for this basic computer; you'll have plenty of room for storing all your important data.

The Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E420 is priced at Rs 38,725. You can easily get a better spec’d laptop at this price, but this one does not want to beat the competition in terms of specs; it wants to beat them in terms of functionality and durability. At this price, the Edge E420 is targeted more towards SMBs and professionals wanting a laptop with all their business functionality preloaded onto it. If you’re a professional wanting the experience of a ThinkPad and you have a limited budget, then the Edge E420 is a good buy.

You should expect a battery life of about five hours for average daily use, which is very good for a 14-inch laptop. It should also be noticed that the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E420s battery is integrated in the housing, people from Lenovo resorting to this trick to reduce the size and weight of the laptop. This mean that the battery will not be easy to change, and those who tend to remove the battery from the notebook when using it plugged cannot do so.

The Edge E420s may be slim, but it doesn't skimp on power. It's equipped with a second-generation Intel Core processor, the 2.3GHz Core i5-2410M, and 4GB of RAM. If this setup doesn't make the laptop as powerful as a mobile workstation, it has plenty of power for most business software. In PCMark Vantage, our general-performance benchmark test, the Edge E420s scored 6,688 points; this puts it ahead of SMB laptops with previous-iteration CPUs, such as the Asus B43J-A1B ($700 street, 3.5 stars), which scored 6,310 points with its Core i5-560M. And though the E420s is fast in regular use, it's a hair slower than our previous (and still-available) Editors' Choice, the Lenovo ThinkPad X220 ($1,299 direct, 4 stars): In our CineBench R11.5 processor test the Edge E420s scored 2.5 to the X220's 2.82.

The E420's soft-touch black lid, with gently rounded corners and a silver-colored edge, adds a subtly classy note to the traditional ThinkPad aesthetics. With the lid open, you can see that the soft-touch finish repeats on the surface below the keyboard, which (as usual) is one of the best reasons to consider any ThinkPad. Here, the keys are gently curved, contoured, and separated, making touch typing a delight.

We read out the minimum Dell WHXY3 battery life with the tool, BatteryEater Classic Test. Among other things, an Open GL calculation is executed and the maximum display brightness, the WLAN module and the dedicated AMD graphics are enabled. The whole capacity is used up after short 72 minutes and a power outlet shouldn't be too far away. The contrasting assessment, with minimum display brightness, disabled WLAN and enabled processor graphics, is given by the Reader's Test of our benchmark program. The runtime of 7 hours and 42 minutes is acceptable, whereas a lot more would be possible with the new Sandy Bridge CPUs.

There's a time and place to act a fool, like at a Ludacris concert for example, or when entertaining your in-laws during a holiday function in which you're trying to encourage a hasty departure. Likewise, there are situations where showboating simply isn't appropriate. Wondering what this has to do with a laptop review? Well, the same concept applies to PCs. Think about it -- if your main goal is to pack as much horsepower underneath the hood as humanly possible, regardless of weight or battery life, then you're looking for a desktop replacement. And the flashier, the better, presumably because you'll be toting it around to LAN parties in between trips to the chiropractor. On the other hand, if you spend most of your time in board rooms and pitching PowerPoint presentations to co-workers and clients, a flashy system with an LED light show sends the wrong message. This is where the ThinkPad Edge 420s comes in.

The ThinkPad Edge E420s’ keyboard is easily one of the best in the business with chiclet style keys. The keys are slightly concave which makes typing a much nicer affair. The tactile feedback is extremely good; there was zero flex from the keyboard deck while typing. The plush palmrest further enhances the typing experience on the device. This Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E420s like its predecessors is a remarkable device to type on.

The ThinkPad Edge E420s’ keyboard is easily one of the best in the business with chiclet style keys. The keys are slightly concave which makes typing a much nicer affair. The tactile feedback is extremely good; there was zero flex from the keyboard deck while typing. The plush palmrest further enhances the typing experience on the device. This Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E420s like its predecessors is a remarkable device to type on.

Considering the fact that that isn’t the widest chassis on analyze typing on the keyboard is comparatively comfy, yet you have to learn to avoid unintentionally knocking the particular trackpoint if you don’t want your cursor scooting off with annoying times.

Our review unit had a second-generation 2.30Ghz Intel Core i5, 4GB of DDR3 RAM, Intel HD3000 graphics, 320GB of storage and Windows 7 Professional. With this, the notebook scored a 3.8 in the Windows Experience Index, a score mainly because of integrated graphics. For a business machine, the integrated graphics are more than enough, however Lenovo has made the provision for those who want a more powerful machine with optional AMD Radeon HD6630M graphics. Lenovo's RapidDrive technology is also present using which boot and shutdown times have been drastically cut to about 15 seconds.

This laptop was rated by reviewers as rather noisy. In quiet environments such as libraries, lecture halls and the like, the laptop will make itself noticed. The noise of this laptop will challenge noise sensitive users, particularly in quiet environments.

Given that it isn’t the widest chassis on test typing on the keyboard is relatively comfortable, but you need to learn to avoid accidentally knocking the trackpoint if you don’t want your cursor scooting off at inconvenient moments.

The 14.0” 1366 x 768 Edge E420 screen is definitely not going to provide any wow factor, it’s very average. Average level brightness, average viewing angles, average screen resolution and average color depth. This is what you expect in this price range laptop. The good thing is that the screen is matte instead of glossy, I personally find glossy screens a strain on the eyes after several hours of viewing. The Edge E420s has an infinity screen that is a somewhat glossy finish, so if you really hate screen reflection the cheaper Edge E420 might actually be preferable for you.

Pros:
- Simple & beautiful appearance
- Excellent keyboard feedback
- Powerful enough for most tasks
- More durable than most consumer laptops (however, not as durable as traditional ThinkPad)
- Solid build quality
- Up to 5 hours on 'balanced

Cons:
- Weight above 2 kg (E220s or E420s recommended for mobile users)
- Missing roll cage (feature of traditional ThinkPad)

The given Lenovo Thinkpad Edge E420s battery runtimes can be understood with a look at the consumption rates. The system consumes between 6.4 and 10.9 watts without load and is thus on a very efficient level. The consumption during load is also acceptable with a maximum of 50.3 watts and is within limits. There aren't any problems seen in the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E420s AC adapter facility because it can provide a capacity of 90 watts and therefore still has reserves.

The 14-inch display is covered with edge-to-edge glass, and the 1,366-by-768 resolution gives you the ability to watch videos in crisp 720p HD. Set in the bezel just above the screen is a high-definition webcam (also 720p), which features low-light sensitivity so you can Skype without turning on all the lights.

The E420s has an ample array of ports including HDMI v1.4, a USB/eSATA combo port, and a slot-load DVD burner. The inclusion of a DVD burner is notable given the thinness of the chassis; many notebooks are coming without them these days. The E420s lacks USB 3.0, a docking station port, and an ExpressCard slot. Something strange about this notebook is the lack of status lights; at the very least, a hard drive status light should have been included. All picture descriptions are left to right.

For lack of a better term, we'll resort to calling the E420s a 'sleek and sexy' laptop, an oft-used phrase to describe just about any black notebook that catches the eye. Lenovo modernized the design by avoiding plastic on everything but the buttons and speaker grill. One thing we're not as keen on as Lenovo is the 14-inch infinity glass display. We don't have any problem with the 1366x768 (16:9) native resolution for a laptop this size, but the thick bezel, while certainly replicating the TV-screen aesthetic that Lenovo touts, looks a bit odd on a laptop and results in wasted real-estate.

Once you get past the glossy display and lack of a backlit keyboard it’s hard to find things not to like about the Edge E420s. The keyboard offers an amazing typing experience, the Dell WHXY3 battery lasts long enough to get most users through the day and the processor isn’t a slouch. Combine this with the ThinkPad build quality and matte black finish, and you have a business notebook that can take on higher priced competitors.

All in all, the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E420 shapes up as an attractive general-use laptop if gaming and processor-intensive tasks--or superlong battery life--aren't of major concern. It's good looking, easy to type on, and equipped with a useful array of features and software. None of its minor flaws should be deal-breakers for its intended audience of budget-minded users.

Hewlett Packard ProBook 4430s Laptop Review

HP’s ProBook 4430s is the latest in the company’s line of affordable, well-equipped, not-terribly-exciting small business notebooks. It was designed to handle non-enterprise business tasks while having some media capabilities. Most business laptops see at least some personal use these days and the smaller the company the more likely the HP ProBook 4430s AC adapter will serve both purposes.

HP ProBook 4430s Specs:

• Model Number XU013UT
• Operating System – Windows® 7 Professional 64
• Processor – Intel® Core™ i3-2310M (2.10 GHz, 3 MB L3 cache)
• Graphics – Intel® HD Graphics 3000
• Display – 14″ diagonal LED-backlit HD anti-glare (1366 x 768)
• Hard Drive – 320 GB 7200 rpm SATA II
• Optical Drive – DVD+/-RW SuperMulti DL LightScribe*
• Memory – 4 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 SDRAM
• WLAN – 802.11b/g/n WiFi
• Webcam Module – 720p HD Webcam
• Bluetooth module – Bluetooth 3.0 HS Combo
• Fingerprint Reader – Yes
• Battery – 6-cell 47 WHr
• Adapter – 65W Smart AC adapter

If the brushed-aluminum-and-black, 4.5-pound 4430s were a bit thinner, it might turn even more heads. But going with the stocky profile enabled HP to include a DVD-RW drive. The rest of our $579 test unit's components were capable, though unspectacular: an Intel Core i3-2310M, 4GB of system memory, and a 7200-rpm, 320GB hard drive. The display is a 1366-by-768-resolution, 14-inch widescreen with exceptionally even backlighting.

For consumers, laptops such as the HP ProBook 4430s are a perfect example of this dilemma. Touting a 14-inch display and a starting price of $579 USD, the ProBook 4430s has its sights set towards budget-conscious business users who don’t want to be shortchanged on features or aesthetics. Can it pass the test? Read on to find out.

The biggest issue is the bloatware. You're going to want to do a reinstall right away (bcoz lots of HP unwanted software's)the other thing it has HDD with 4 Primary Partitions (Boot, C:drive, HP Recovery & HP Tools)means you are not able to shrink your C to create more logical partition and if you need more partitions you needs to reinstall and by using HP's restore partition you'll just end up right where you started. Going to contact HP support for getting installation media to reinstall my machine according as per my wish with Hard disk Partitions. Except this this HP HSTNN-LB2R battery is really fast and great.

The LED backlit display is very nice and bright. The system ships with a USB 3.0 port which we quickly put to use connecting a WD Portable 2TB Hard Drive.

You can find HP ProBook 4430s for about 570 USD for "beginners" set with 14" screen (1366X768) and Intel Core i3 processor (more expensive sets comes with i5 and i7 processors) "Beginners"set comes with integrated graphic card. You will find useful the HP ProtectTools security suite (works with fingerprint reader hard drive encryption). Also HD webcam of HP ProBook 4430s power adapter will help you vlog and make video calls with your business partners while listening music with SRS premium sound from Card Reader. After that you can connect your notepad to HD TV trough HDMI (also VGA port is included) port and watch some movie (you can find ProBook 4430s with BD-Rom or DVD-Rom, depends on price).

Although the ProBook 4430s has a few minor flaws, it's excellent considering the price. Remember, we're talking about a laptop with a second-gen Intel Core i3 processor that starts at just $579. Many consumer laptops at this same price have cheap plastic bodies with terrible glossy displays. This laptop is an entirely different and more refined beast.

In terms of connectivity, HP includes four USB 2.0 ports, gigabit Ethernet, VGA-out, audio out/in ports and an SD memory card slot. Noticeably absent were both HDMI and USB 3.0 ports, which is a major disappointment as USB 3.0 is rapidly becoming the standard for new computers and HDMI is already standard. There is also Bluetooth 3.0 and 802.11b/g/n wireless connectivity built-in. Microsoft Windows 7 Professional is the operating system that HP chooses for this computer, which again speaks to the business users but doesn't completely leave out the home users either.

This device is powered with 2.1GHz dual core Intel Core i3-2310M processor and 4GB RAM which make this device has a powerful productivity to handle your business tasks. By using Intel’s integrated Graphics, the ProBook is still good enough to handle most of any business application graphics and if you often work on multimedia presentations then you don’t have to be worried anymore because this ProBook 4330s handles those multimedia as well. We can say that this device graphics performance maybe not too good for professional graphics designers but you can still happy to know that this ProBook handle pretty good your business multimedia works. For power, the laptop using a 6 cell 47Wh HP ProBook 4430s battery and it lasted for 3 hours 31 minutes.

A score of 99 on WorldBench 6 is nothing to shout about--in either anguish or joy. It’s sufficent to get the job done but not much more--though subjectively the 4430s feels lively enough. Still, it's not for gamers: Frame rates in our tests reached the high 20s in frames per second--teasingly close to playable, but not really there. Video playback at any resolution is smooth. The sound is loud and clear, but it emphasizes the midrange when played through the laptop's speakers. We measured the HP HSTNN-LB2R battery life at 4 hours, 46 minutes, which isn't the best we've seen, but does beat several comparable units such as the Toshiba Satellite L755-S5258.

This laptop really lives up to its description: ultra portability without sacrificing performance. I'm posting this review after a two week of ownership. Good bright display, Awesome aluminum design, bluetooth and keyboard. Excellent hinges. Decent webcam and audio. Great HP EliteBook 8560w Mobile Workstation battery life (able to get backup upto 5 hours). Fast Sandy Bridge processor. USB 3.0 port removes the USB bottle neck from external devices. Great for external hard drives. 4 USB ports, more than usual in this form factor. Windows 7 Pro 64bit. The fan is quiet, and it won't set your lap on fire. Sturdy construction. Light and easy to manipulate with one hand. The biggest issue is the bloatware. You're going to want to do a reinstall right away (bcoz lots of HP unwanted software's)the other thing it has HDD with 4 Primary Partitions (Boot, C:drive, HP Recovery and HP Tools)means you are not able to shrink your C to create more logical partition.

In terms of security, HP included an interesting new feature in HP ProtectTools. Adding to the built-in encryption functions and biometric fingerprint scanner—turning a user’s fingerprint into a key to unlock the notebook—the ProBook 4430s also has a new facial recognition feature.

Work, meet, play. Create, stream, watch, listen and do more. This versatile, secure and stylish HP ProBook with a 14.0-inch diagonal HD display makes an impression in and out of the office.

The 4430s comes equipped with a 6-cell 47Wh battery. In our MobileMark 2011 battery-life test it lasted 3 hours 31 minutes. This actually beats out the Lenovo X1, which managed only 3:10 with its 40Wh HP ProBook 4430s battery, but other systems are better equipped for the road, like the Dell Vostro (9:37, 80Wh), which offers a battery twice as large and lasts three times as long.

The HP ProBook 4430s is a beautiful machine that has the build quality to back up the look and feel of the device. HP did a great job at making its lower end machines not feel like second class citizens. There are a few areas of improvement, notably the resolution, but overall, for the price of $649.00, this an excellent machine for business or even personal use.

Review of Dell Inspiron XPS M170

This Dell Inspiron XPS M170 notebook review will look at this device, which has just the right balance of computing power and features to suit the novice and advanced user. If you have any movies and games that you wish to view, the Dell XPS M170 will do the job - and do it with aplomb.

The first laptop we’ve seen with the GeForce Go 7800 GTX graphics card, the Inspiron XPS M170 from Dell is aimed very much at the gaming market – but it can do much more than just play games. The screen is a beauty: a 17in TFT with a maximum resolution of 1,920×1,200. UltraSharp and TrueLife technologies ensure picture quality is both sharp and resonant – the screen may be a little reflective, but the image is considerably better than your Dell Inspiron M5110 battery.

The 17-inch, Wide-UXGA True Life display supports up to 1920 x 1200 pixels, which is presently the maximum possible combination of screen size and resolution for a laptop. There is an option to add an inbuilt remote control and TV tuning system at some extra cost but it needs to be precisely informed to Dell at ordering time. Intel Microprocessor with a clock speed of 2.26 and the main board comprising of Mobile Intel 915 PM express chipset with a bus speed of 533 MHz, are the components which assure of the value for money. Among all the gaming parallel products, XPS M170 stands out as the slimmest, durable, capable and extreme performer. XPS M170 is six times less voluminous than Dell desk top.

It's rare to find a notebook that has decent speakers, but with the Dell XPS L701x 3D battery being a premium level entertainment package, Dell went out of their way to provide for some decent built-in sound. The integrated sub-woofer provides for some decent bass that's always missing from the average notebook. It also provides for extra oomph with sound volume, at top volume the sound is definitely too loud.

In keeping with gamer-chic (if that’s possible?) the silver and black chassis is fitted with LED lights on three sides, which can be changed using the software applet to any or all of 11 different colours. A transparent panel on the lid allows users to customise the system by adding their own printed images.

The Dell Inspiron XPS M170 was previously known as the XPS Gen 2 and its looks are very much similar to XPS Gen 2. The Dell Inspiron M5110 AC adapter weighs 8.6 pounds. Its exterior is available in gunmetal and black colors. It has slightly curved edges which makes it look slimmer than its original size. Six LEDs are carefully placed around the chassis which emit light in sixteen different colors. The perimeter lighting makes it fascinating. The Dell Inspiron XPS M 170 uses Nvidia's Geforce Go 7800 GTX. The 7800 has a 24-pixel pipeline, to support Direct X 9 Shader Model 3.0, and around 300 million transistors.

Of course, when I say everything else remains identical, there's little purpose in rattling off all the specifications in detail; suffice to say that Wi-Fi 802.11b/g and Bluetooth are also on board, along with everything you'll ever need in the wired department; DVI and S-Video out included. In fact, our review of the Dell Inspiron M5110 battery would be an excellent starting point for finding out whether this notebook is for you; just keep in mind that the graphics have been bumped up a couple of notches in comparison.

The keyboard is the same layout I’ve had on my previous two Dell laptops and its feel is excellent. My 8100 keyboard was very well broken in with a lot of the letters worn off the keys and the space bar worn smooth. One complaint I’d have about the M170 keyboard and funny enough about the Acer Ferrari keyboard is both keyboards bezels below the space bars are too high and your thumb (ok, MY thumb) bumps into it when typing. Maybe I have some genetically misshaped thumb in that it doesn’t curve down to meet the keyboard before hitting the bezel, but my Dell Inspiron M5110 adapter had a nice sloped bezel that was a millimeter or two lower than the space bar… thus avoiding contact when typing. I can live with the problem, but it makes me wonder what the two manufactures were thinking when they designed the bezel keyboard relationship. It almost feels like they thought, “Hey these are game machines… not for work… maybe we don’t even need a keyboard?… oh, maybe I guess we should put one in just incase…” But the Inspiron 9300 has the same bezel keyboard relationship as far as I can tell… I think the 9300 is meant as a work computer, could be wrong though.

The Inspiron XPS M170 is a powerhouse of a laptop that will appeal to high-end multimedia users. You can expect about 3 hours running time, depending on useage. Over you to you Alienware!

One area that the Inspiron XPS M170 could really use work is the price and software. It only comes standard with a Word Processing software. And this with one of the highest prices for a desktop replacement on the market. Also, it features the Windows XP Media Center operating system but it doesn't really have any features such as a TV tuner to take advantage of the extra features of the OS.

The CPU used in the Dell Inspiron XPS M170 is an Intel Pentium M 2.13 GHz. The built-in memory is 1 GB of DDR2 SDRAM. With these powerful specs, running the provided Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition becomes a simple task.

Equally impressive is the usability and configuration of the XPS. While the keyboard is small - occupying just 287mm of the 394mm chassis width - the keys are well built and allow for a highly comfortable typing action. The mouse buttons and touchpad are equally well made.

For its display it has a large 17” XVGA True Life display which supports 1920 x 1200 pixels. With this the Dell XPS M170 is suitable for watching DVDs and the Window Media Center software adds a plus point for managing music, photos and movies. It also offers remote control, which makes it a portable TV. This Dell Laptops notebook is a very outstanding gaming machine with its state-of-the-art graphics chip and 87.5 frames per second performance. This performance is one among the best notebooks which have gaming facilities. The Dell XPS L701X 3D battery is an exclusive notebook with gaming and multimedia facilities.

Technical Specs:

• 2.13GHz Intel Pentium M 770 processor
• Windows XP Home
• 1GB DDR RAM
• 100GB hard drive
• 17in 1,920×1,200 TFT display
• 256MB GeForce Go 7800 GTX graphics card
• 24x/24x/20x (CD-ROM/-R/-RW) 8x/8x/8x/4x/4x/4x (DVD-ROM/-R/+R/+R DL/-RW/+RW) drive
• 802.11b/g facilities
• Bluetooth
• Microsoft Works 7.0
• Windows Media Center
• Norton Internet Security 2006
• 1-year collect-and-return warranty
• 399x294x45mm
• 3.9kg

Acer Aspire S3 Laptop Review

Acer’s ultrabook doesn’t look massively different to that from any other manufacturer, but there's one crucial specification difference: instead of a big SSD, Acer has kept costs down with a combination of flash storage and a conventional hard disk. The 20GB SSD automatically caches files from the 320GB hard disk as you use them, which Acer says will make the Aspire S3 almost as responsive as an ultrabook equipped with a fully-fledged SSD. We didn’t notice it during a cold boot, which took over a minute to reach the Windows desktop, but it resumed from sleep mode in a much snappier two seconds.

It's pretty clear that every Ultrabook maker is gunning for the MacBook Air, and the Aspire S3 is no exception. However, Acer had to make some sacrifices to keep its price low--no duralumin or unibody designs here. The lid of the Acer Aspire S3 battery is a brushed aluminum, but the underside and deck are made of a silver-colored plastic, and it's made to look like a unibody design even though it is not. The black hinge area at the rear accommodates the S3's ports as well as an air vent. Four rubber pads on the bottom also keep the S3 from sliding around on a desk.

Straight out of the box, the 13-inch Aspire S3 is a beautiful piece of hardware. Just 13mm at its thickest point, it's substantially thinner than the 13-inch MacBook Air (which is 17mm at its thickest, though more starkly tapered toward the front). It's also essentially the same weight: both are just under 1.4kg.

If you are doing a spot of work on the go, then you'll be pleased to know that the Aspire S3 offers a very quick resume from sleep time of just over a second and a quick start-up from off as well. A lot of that is helped by the very quick speeds of the SSD, so how those times differ if you opt for the Acer Aspire S3 AC adapter hard disk-based model remains to be seen.

This leaves twin USB 2.0 ports and HDMI at the back, and leads to similar issues as with Dell’s recent XPS 14z: it makes USB devices awkward to plug in and exposes them to possible damage when picking the laptop up or putting it down at a slight angle (as many people frequently do). The USB ports are also far too close together.

The island-style keyboard on the S3 isn't the worst we've ever used, but it was a bit stiff; keys were large and well spaced (with the exception of the arrow keys, which were a pain), but we would have preferred a little more travel and responsiveness. On more than one occasion, the keyboard missed our inputs when we were typing at a fast pace, and we had to make a conscious effort to press harder. And since the trackpad doesn't pick up a hovering palm, the cursor doesn't skate across the screen unexpectedly. However, it is cursed with integrated mouse buttons. Instead of having separate mouse buttons, you need to push the left and right corners of the pad down to simulate mouse clicks.

The dull gray color isn't very eye-catching, but the overall slim silhouette is still appealing--this is a good-looking laptop, but not a great-looking one. It has a bit of a sedate business laptop vibe to it.

Acer has set out to offer high performance at a lower price points than its rivals. Our review unit featured a high-end Intel Core i7-2637M dual-core processor running at 1.7GHz. This can be increased to 2.8GHz to handle complex multimedia tasks using Intel's Turbo Boost functionality.

On the graphics side of things, you get the typical Intel integrated graphics results. The Dell R3026 battery was more than competent at playing back local and streaming HD video and obviously wasn’t much of a gaming rig. It notched a fairly unplayable 10fps on Just Cause 2. During that gaming test the system's bottom left side got warm, but the rest of the machine stayed relatively cool and the fan in the back didn’t rev up.

Speaking of coffee shops, you need to have a battery life to accommodate the portability of the device. Run the device to its fullest potential and it will last you for about 2 hours. That’s it. Use it conservatively and you may just touch the 4-hour mark depending on your usage. The battery life isn’t anything to boast about but it is better than what is found on most entry level notebooks. One of the reasons why the Acer Aspire S3 battery suffers is that the device has an HDD along with the SSD. The advantage is 320GB storage as the largest SSD available today is 256GB.

Pros:
Thin. Light. Core i5 processor and 4GB memory provide potent performance. Combination of spinning hard drive and SSD provides larger storage capacity without losing speed. More affordable than competitors.

Cons:
Display has lower resolution, limited viewing angles. Construction feels cheap.

Bottom Line:
The Acer Aspire S3 has a super-thin profile, larger storage capacity than competitors, and unmatched affordability, but it has some rough patches, like a cheap-feeling construction and a disappointing display.

In the end, the Acer Aspire S3 attempts to be an affordable, visually attractive, and usable Ultrabook. It only partly meets those goals. The keyboard is mostly good, but the laptop's mediocre audio quality, lack of high-speed USB, shorter-than-average Dell R3026 battery life, and modest performance make it less than appealing. Still, if you need a very thin, very light Windows PC for mostly nondemanding office and Web chores, the Aspire S3 may suit you.

It's a shame neither of the two USB ports support the fast USB3 standard, but there is a memory card slot for copying photos from a digital camera as well as a full-sized HDMI port for connecting another monitor. Where the S3 really excels is performance – the 1.6GHz Core i7 2637M processor and 4GB of memory make this the fastest ultrabook we've seen yet. Also present is a 240GB solid state disk (SSD) which is big for a SSD.

The market for ultrabooks has also expanded to include a few other laptops, like the Samsung Series 9. We’ve seen that in person, and the one area where it’s clearly better is contrast ratio on the LCD—and a matte LCD as well. We haven’t been able to test it yet, but we should have that one soon enough. Performance of the base model with an i3 ULV processor will certainly be lower than what we’re testing with the Acer S3 and ASUS UX31E, but we saw the upgraded NP900X3A-A02US model with i5-2537M and a 128GB SSD going for as little as $999 last week; sadly, the price is now back up to $1430, which isn’t nearly so interesting. It’s one to keep an eye out for, though, as $999 is a massive discount compared to where the Acer Aspire S3 charger launched and that particular model has pretty good specs.

This is a great, top-of-the-line Ultrabook with super performance. It would get an Editor’s Choice if it wasn’t for the price. But if you can find it on the street for around $1,500-$1,600, a Highly Recommended award would certainly be justified.

Review of Dell XPS L701X

When were just about to forget about Dell XPS notebook series Dell reminded us that this performance and style oriented series is still alive be releasing Dell XPS 14, 15 and L701x.

This high level of performance allows for regular office work, multitasking, multimedia and HD video applications to run at a high speed. This Dell XPS L701X battery is adequate for professional video editing and other high performance tasks. It also supports quite well games such as “Call of Duty 4”. This laptop is ideal for users who demand high speed performance.

Dell takes advantage of the slightly thicker rear of the chassis to house other ports, too. The gigabit ethernet port lives here, as do two digital video outputs: one HDMI and one mini-DisplayPort connector. You'll find no VGA port, we're happy to note.

XPS L701x is designed to be the loudest, clearest and cleanest laptops on the planet with built-in high-fidelity JBL speakers and Waves MaxxAudio® technology. Together they produce rich, full sound that delivers booming bass and razor-sharp clarity to your favorite movies, music and games.

I’m not going to make some half assed attempt at trying to justify why customers in the UK get shafted as opposed to customers in the USA. It’s been happening for years, and not just by Dell. The USA get cheaper prices, and more features. For example, I know you can pick up a backlit keyboard option for the whole range of Dell J70W7 battery for just $15 extra. The option doesn’t even exist yet in the UK, and it would have been something I would have definately gone with, because I do spend a lot of time typing in the dark, or with hardly any light on. That being said, the nice thing about the Dell XPS range is the fact that the parts are easily interchangable.

The GT 445M scores a little over 10K on 3DMark 06 at 1280x1024 on a bone stock machine. Vantage gave me a weird garbled screen, so I don't have any results for it yet. The chipset used is HM57, and memory is by Hyundai, but that might be different according to current stock at the factory I guess. The HDD on the lower right is the one I added in myself, the other one was factory installed. This machine also has 4 slots for DDR3 So-Dimm RAM. Dell XPS L701X battery delivered with an i5 processor have a different motherboard with only 2 slots. You can easily reach the RAM and HDD by removing a single screw on the bottom of the Dell XPS L701x.

However, what immediately catches the eye about the 17.3in XPS is its unapologetic bulk. With a starting weight of over 3.4kg and dimensions of 415 x 287.3 x 32.8-38.5mm, this laptop takes its role as a desktop replacement seriously.

The Dell XPS L701x's audio quality is impressive. Music playback is quite listenable, sounding fairly accurate and transparent, even when audio enhancements were disabled. Stereo imaging seems a little vague, but the JBL-designed speakers even deliver reasonable midbass content, though real bass was still absent.

This resolution allows the user to browse a website and skype at the same time, with the two windows open next to one another. High resolution video and picture editing might be problematic, while graphic design and low resolution editing are trouble-free. Gamers will need to afford a powerful graphic card to be able to support the native resolution. Most movies will be viewable with no black bars at the top and the bottom of the monitor.

Opening the XPS L701x up reveals a matt black screen bezel, which should make quite a few people happy. While the keyboard surround and palm-rest area are constructed from another single sheet of aluminium, this time it's in a brushed black finish matching the rest of the interior. Though fingerprints will be visible here, it's nowhere near as bad as something like Dell J70W7 battery, and is a small price to pay for the quality feel and solidity when resting your hands on it.

The clarity of the sound is still ok at this level. While demanding audiophiles will think of it as a disaster, the rest of us will find the sound experience provided by this laptop satisfactory when watching movies or playing games.

Speaking of price, it would cost you $1,149 to configure a Dell laptop like our review model - not too bad for a premium unit equipped with goodies such as discrete graphics and a Blu-ray ROM/ DVD+/-RW combo drive, enabling high-definition playback of Blu-ray movies with the included PowerDVD 9.6 software. The only difference is that Dell XPS L701X AC adapter (tested by our colleagues at PC World US) comes with two hard drives, an option which appears not to be available in the US.

Powerful graphics. Powerfully smart. The XPS L701x laptop has what it takes to take you to new levels of performance.

So far then, we're very impressed with Dell's new range. Unfortunately, the L701X's 17.3in screen is where we come across our first real disappointment. Dell still needs to differentiate its highest-end XPS Studio line, and one of the ways it has done this is by limiting the 'vanilla' XPS L701x to a maximum display resolution of 1,600 x 900. While this will be plenty for the vast majority of users, it can be a major caveat for those hungry for more desktop real estate. Because of this, sharpness isn't quite as good as on Full HD screens either, though it's certainly adequate for most and the lower resolution does make viewing small icons and text easier.

This Dell XPS L701x will be considered by most users to be on the heavy side. You might find it best to only move this notebook under exceptional conditions and use it as a desktop replacement. You will definitely notice the heavy weight when putting the notebook on your lap. If you factor the extra weight of the Dell XPS L701X charger, carrying around this computer will tire you, even if your praise yourself to be in good shape.