John And Intel Investors - A Positive Review/Benchmarks on 5 Pentium II notebook PCs.
Note that a battery life of >4 hours was achieved by IBM !!! So much for the C|NET bashing!
Paul
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zdnet.com
Pentium II boosts laptop
speed
Battery life separates first notebooks to use new
CPU; ThinkPad stars
By Christopher Yates, PC Week Labs
04.01.98
Tests of five of the first
notebooks to use Intel
Corp.'s first mobile
Pentium II chip showed
that IBM's ThinkPad is
the best of the bunch, blending fast system
performance and attractive features with a
battery that lasted almost 4 hours.
In PC Week Labs' benchmark tests,
notebooks powered by the just-released
266MHz Pentium II Processor with MMX
Technology came closer than ever to
matching their desktop equivalents in
performance. Even more significant is the
narrowing gap in performance between
notebooks using the same processor,
which indicates that system performance
is becoming a commodity, as it already is
with desktop PCs. However, battery life
differed by as much as an hour and a half.
(Download an Excel spreadsheet of the
benchmark results.)
We tested Compaq Computer Corp.'s
$5,399 Armada 7800, Dell Computer
Corp.'s $3,799 Latitude CPi D266XT,
Digital Equipment Corp.'s $4,328 HiNote
VP 765, IBM's $5,799 ThinkPad 770ED
and Toshiba America Information Systems
Inc.'s $5,899 Tectra 780DVD.
Making no compromises between
performance and battery life, IBM's
ThinkPad 770ED is our Analyst's Choice.
Honorable mention goes to Toshiba's Tecra 780DVD, which
showed solid performance with more than 3.5 hours of battery life.
The only drawback placing Compaq's Armada 7800 behind the
ThinkPad and Tecra was its battery life, the shortest of the group at
less than 2.5 hours. Relatively short battery life also hampered
Dell's Latitude CPi. But because it weighs almost 2 pounds less
than the other notebooks (7.1 pounds), the Latitude wins the
unofficial "most portable" award.
Like the Armada and Latitude, Digital's HiNote VP 765 performed
well, with the exception of battery life. If not for their short battery
life, we wouldn't have any reservations recommending any of these
three notebooks.
Something else to worry about
For corporate IS, the parity of system performance among Pentium
II-powered notebooks lets them refocus their attention. Buyers can
spend less time worrying about system performance and
concentrate more on ergonomics, battery life and manageability.
In tests using PC Week Labs' Business Winstone 98
application-based benchmarks, all of the new notebooks
performed almost as fast as a reference desktop system using a
266MHz Pentium II chip (see benchmark chart). On average, the
Pentium II-powered notebooks performed 10 percent to 20 percent
faster than 266MHz Pentium-based notebooks tested previously.
Battery life using the new processor ranged from 2.5 to 4 hours.
The brightness of the ThinkPad's display significantly affected its
battery life. When we lowered the brightness from the level we
normally use for benchmarking (but still kept it very readable), the
ThinkPad's battery life extended to 4.5 hours. Intel will release a
lower-powered version of this processor that should extend battery
life or allow the use of more power-hungry devices without affecting
battery life.
Now for the weigh-in
As we've noted over the last year, portable is a relative term. The
ThinkPad 770ED, Armada 7800 and Tecra 780DVD notebooks
are positioned as desktop replacement systems (at least in terms
of weight). All three weigh at least 9 pounds in travel form. In a
more portable package, the HiNote VP weighs 8.4 pounds. The
Latitude CPi is the only notebook of the group we'd call truly
portable.
Despite the differences in weight, the external dimensions of the
notebooks are all within half an inch of each other. The only unit
less than 2 inches thick is the Latitude at 1.7 inches.
All the notebooks came with TFT (thin-film transistor) displays that
were bright and easy to read. However, when we placed them side
by side, we noticed subtle differences in display quality. The
ThinkPad's larger, 14.1-inch display (the other notebooks have
13.3-inch screens) was by far the brightest, but the displays on the
other four were more than adequate. All five have exceptionally
sharp 1,024-by-768-pixel (XGA) resolution.
Upgrading the memory and hard drives on any of these notebooks
took less than a minute. At most, only a screw or two had to be
removed to gain access to the memory and hard drive.
IS staff is tired of power adapters being lost or left at home will
appreciate Compaq's Armada 7800, which incorporates the
adapter within the notebook. Previously we weren't sold on this
approach because it made for a larger notebook. However, this
Armada is no larger than the Tecra 780DVD or ThinkPad 770ED,
both of which require users to lug an external power adapter with
the unit.
All of the notebooks include a modular bay. The ThinkPad's
modular bay is the easiest to use, allowing users to remove and
insert devices without turning the system upside down. Ejection
buttons and safety latches are conveniently located on the front of
the unit. The ThinkPad also has a neat Windows utility that notifies
users if the device in its modular bay can be safely removed.
Performance isn't the only area where notebooks have caught up
to desktop PCs-the hard-drive capacity of the notebooks we tested
ranged from 3GB to 8GB. By installing a second hard disk in the
modular bay, 16GB can be achieved. Compaq has incorporated
one of the newer desktop technologies, AGP (Accelerated
Graphics Port) graphics, in its Armada 7800. AGP provides a
66MHz dedicated graphics bus that improves video performance
in some three-dimensional applications.
All of the notebooks comply with the DMI (Desktop Management
Interface), but the Armada's Enhanced Intelligent Manageability
software includes by far the most useful set of management tools.
We continue to see improvements in power management setup
capabilities. With the exception of the HiNote, all of the new
notebooks offer Windows-based power management setup
screens. Whereas Compaq and IBM link their custom setup
screens with the Windows 95 power icon, Toshiba and Dell require
users to launch a separate program. We prefer Compaq's and
IBM's approach because it leaves less room for confusion and
error by the user.
With an eye toward the upcoming releases of Windows 98 and
Windows NT 5.0, all of the Pentium II notebooks except the HiNote
comply with ACPI (Advanced Configuration and Power Interface)
standard. ACPI will allow the operating system rather than the
BIOS to control power management.
All five notebooks sport fast CD-ROMs. There's a catch, however:
In several instances, the entire notebook would vibrate as a CD
was spun to its maximum speed. These vibrations are caused in
part by a CD disk that is just slightly out of balance. When the
offending disk was spun at 20X speeds, vibrations occurred in all
of the notebooks.
Digital's HiNote VP includes a combined CD-ROM/floppy drive,
which occupies only one drive bay. Simultaneous access to
floppy-disk and CD-ROM drives is supported on the ThinkPad and
Tecra through the use of a floppy port.
Those who need multimedia capabilities should take a look at the
Tecra and ThinkPad, both of which offer DVD (digital versatile
disk) drives, video-in and video-out capabilities, and support for
the MPEG-2 standard. The Tecra also includes a digital camera,
which can be used for videoconferencing or video capture.
Gripes? We had a few. The power adapter cable for the Latitude
and HiNote notebooks attaches on the side. We prefer the
connection at the rear of the notebook, so that the cable is out of
the way.
The ThinkPad's on/off switch, located on the side and uncovered,
can be accidentally turned on. The Tecra's switch is in the same
place but is protected by a sliding door, and the other vendors
locate the switch above the keyboard.
The pointing device on the Armada, Tecra and ThinkPad is a track
point; the HiNote and Latitude have touchpads. Our only complaint
about typing on the notebooks is that the Armada lacks a palm
rest.
PC Week Labs Executive Summaries:
Armada 7800
Equipped with excellent management software and an integrated power
supply, Compaq's 9-pound Pentium II-based Armada 7800 notebook is
clearly a good choice for corporate buyers. Only its short battery life
prevents the Armada from being an outstanding system.
PROS:
CONS:
Good performance; 13.3-inch
TFT screen with
1,024-by-768-pixel (XGA)
resolution; built-in power
adapter; good management
tools.
Short battery life; heavy; no
palm rest.
USABILITY ...............................
B
CAPABILITY ............................
B
PERFORMANCE .....................
C
INTEROPERABILITY .............
B
MANAGEABILITY ..................
A
Compaq Computer Corp., Houston; (800) 345-1518;
www.compaq.com/products/portables
Latitude CPi D266XT
Weighing nearly 2 pounds less than the four other Pentium II-based
notebooks evaluated here, Dell's 7.1-pound Latitude CPi offers desktop
performance in a portable package at an affordable price. The Latitude's
only significant drawback is a short battery life.
PROS:
CONS:
Good performance; 13.3-inch
TFT screen with
1,024-by-768-pixel (XGA)
resolution; low price.
Short battery life; power adapter
cable attaches on the
notebook's side.
USABILITY ...............................
B
CAPABILITY ............................
B
PERFORMANCE .....................
C
INTEROPERABILITY .............
B
MANAGEABILITY ..................
B
Dell Computer Corp., Round Rock, Texas; (800) 388-8542;
www.dell.com/products/notebook/latitude/index.htm
HiNote VP 765
Digital's 8.4-pound HiNote VP 765 delivers decent performance using the
new Pentium II processor, but the notebook should have longer battery
life and support for ACPI. The HiNote's combined CD/floppy drive will be
appreciated.
PROS:
CONS:
Good performance; 13.3-inch
TFT screen with
1,024-by-768-pixel (XGA)
resolution; CD/floppy drive; low
price.
Short battery life; power adapter
cable attaches on the
notebook's side; no ACPI
support.
USABILITY ...............................
B
CAPABILITY ............................
C
PERFORMANCE .....................
C
INTEROPERABILITY .............
B
MANAGEABILITY ..................
B
Digital Equipment Corp., Maynard, Mass.; (800) 344-4825;
www.windows.digital.com
ThinkPad 770ED |
