Laptop comparisons
| Laptop | ASUS U20A | Acer Timeline 5810T | HP Pavilion dv2-1030ea | MSI Wind Atom |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Pentium SU2700 (1.30GHz, 2MB L2 cache, single-core) | Intel Core 2 Duo SU9400 (1.40GHz, 3MB L2 cache, dual-core) | AMD Athlon Neo NV-40 (1.6GHz, 512KB L2 cache, single-core) | Intel Atom N270 (1.6GHz, 512KB L2 cache, single-core) |
| Motherboard | ASUS GS45 | Acer GS45 | HP 690E | MSI U-100 (i945GE+ICH7M) |
| Memory | 3GB DDR2 | 4GB DDR3 | 2GB DDR2 | 1GB DDR2 |
| Memory timings and speed | 6-6-6-18-2T @ 800MHz | 6-6-6-15-2T @ 800MHz | 5-5-5-15-2T @ 639.4MHz | 4-4-4-12-2T @ 640MHz |
| Graphics card(s) | Intel X4500MHD | Intel X4500MHD | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3410 512MB (550MHz core, 1,000MHz mem) | Intel GMA 950 |
| Screen size and native res | 12.1in - 1,280x800 | 15.6in - 1,366x768 | 12.1in - 1,280x800 | 10in - 1,024x600 |
| WiFi | Intel WiFi 5100 802.11a/b/g/n | Intel WiFi 5100 802.11a/b/g/n | Broadcom 802.11b/g | 802.11b/g |
| Disk drive(s) | Hitachi 320GB, 5,400RPM, 8MB cache | Hitachi 500GB, 5,400RPM, 8MB cache | Western Digital 320GB, 5,400RPM, 8MB cache | Western Digital 120GB, 5,400RPM, 8MB cache |
| Optical drive(s) | 8x DVD ReWriter | 8x DVD ReWriter | External DVD-ReWriter | None |
| Graphics driver | Intel 7.15.10.1666 | Intel 7.15.10.1666 | CATALYST 9.1 | Intel 6.14.10.4906 |
| Operating System | Windows Vista Home Premium SP1, 32-bit | Windows Vista Home Premium SP1, 32-bit | Windows Vista Home Premium SP1, 32-bit | Windows 7 RC |
| Weight | 1,822g | 2,350g | 1,668g (without optical) | 1,042g |
| Current price | £799 (as tested) | £649 (as tested) | £569 | £265 |
| Benchmarks | 7-zip (7z4.65, 32-bit)
compression of 205MB worth of
photos HEXUS.PiFast - calculation to 10m places CINEBENCH - multi-CPU render VLC 0.9.9 playback of Terminator Salvation 480p, 720p, and 1080p.mov MPC-HC playback of Terminator Salvation 1080p.mov Enemy Territory: Quake Wars v1.5 - 1,024x600 and 1,280x800 Battery test -Terminator Salvation 480p movie (VLC) looping |
|---|
Notes
The ASUS U20A's single-core processor is identified as a Pentium 1.3GHz SU2700, but it's based on 45nm technology. The other specifications are similar to the Acer Timeline we took a look at recently.In terms of benchmarks, 7-zip is a compression program that's multi-threaded for optimum performance. We're compressing 59 photos into one file and measuring the time taken to do so.
HEXUS.Pifast tests single-core performance and CINEBENCH stresses as many cores as are available.
The video-playback tests take in three resolutions of the Terminator Salvation trailer, as found here. We use VLC player to play a one-minute section - from minutes one to two - on the 480p, 720p, and 1080p clips. An average CPU utilisation is then derived from the Resource Monitor. The 1080p test is re-run if the laptop supports GPU-based acceleration via MPC-HC.
A nod towards gaming, Enemy Territory: Quake Wars is fired up and run at 1,024x600 - the base resolution common to most netbooks - and the machine's native resolution of 1,280x800.. A script sets the game to medium-quality.
The above tests are run on mains power with the laptop(s) set to high-performance mode.
Lastly, the battery test involves setting the laptop to power-saver mode, using the 480p Terminator Salvation QuickTime movie on a looped basis, with screen set to mid-brightness (50 per cent) and WiFi/Bluetooth switched off. We time how long it takes for the laptop to go from full charge into hibernation, and should the laptop have a discrete video card that accelerates the content, we test it via MPC-HC, as per the 1080p tests.
