Performance
For the purpose of our review, Lenovo provided a sample equipped with a 2.26GHz Intel Core i5 430M processor, 4GB of DDR3 memory, integrated Intel HD graphics and a 64-bit install of Microsoft's Windows 7 Professional operating system.
This mid-to-high-end configuration fetches £700 at retail, making the Edge some £300 cheaper than a similarly spec'd T-Series ThinkPad.
Few notebooks have yet been given the attention of our revamped benchmark suite, hence the current lack of comparison systems. We'll endeavour to add a wider range of comparison notebooks at a later date, but for the purpose of this review we'll be gauging performance by comparing Lenovo's ThinkPad Edge 15 to an Intel CULV-based Acer Timeline 3810T.
| Comparison systems | ||
|---|---|---|
| Laptop | Lenovo ThinkPad Edge 15 | Acer Timeline 3810T (Intel CULV) |
| Processor | Intel Core i5 430M (2.26GHz, 3MB L3 cache, dual-core) | Intel Core 2 Duo SU9400 (1.40GHz, 3MB L2 cache, dual-core) |
| Memory | 4GB DDR3 1,066MHz | 2GB DDR3 800MHz |
| Graphics | Intel HD Graphics | Intel GMA 4500MHD |
| Display | 15.6in - 1,366x768 | 13.3in - 1,366x768 |
| Wireless | Intel WiFi Link 1000 (b/g/n) and Bluetooth 2.1 | Intel WiFi 5100 (b/g/n) and Bluetooth 2.0 |
| Disk drive | Seagate Momentus 320GB, 5,400RPM, 8MB cache | Hitachi 500GB, 5,400RPM, 8MB cache |
| Optical drive | Dual-layer DVD recorder | None |
| Graphics driver | Intel 8.15.10.2057 | Intel 7.15.10.1666 |
| Operating System | Windows 7 Professional, 64-bit | Windows 7 Home Premium, 32-bit |
| Price | £700 | £500 |
| Benchmarks | ||
| Geekbench 2.1.6 | A cross-platform benchmark used to measure memory and processor performance. Run using high-performance mode. | |
| Cinebench 11.5 | Using Cinebench's multi-CPU render, this cross-platform benchmark stresses as many cores as possible. Run using high-performance mode. | |
| 3DMark06 | A PC benchmark used to test the DirectX 9 performance of a system's graphics card. Run using high-performance mode. | |
| Battery test | In order to measure battery life, we run the notebook on balanced power settings and loop a 720p movie trailer, measuring the time taken to hibernate. | |
| Power consumption | Using balanced power settings, we record mains power draw whilst playing back a 720p movie trailer. | |
As expected, the Core i5-powered ThinkPad is by far the superior performer - to the tune of 154 per cent where CPU and memory are concerned.
Cinebench - utilising all four threads available to the Core i5 chip - paints a similar picture.
Although both notebooks utilise integrated Intel graphics, the performance gap between the Core 2 Duo's associated GMA 4500MHD and the Core i5's on-chip Intel HD Graphics is clear to see.
Both notebooks will still struggle to game at decent image quality settings, but should you choose to add an optional Blu-ray drive to your ThinkPad, Intel's HD Graphics will make light work of high-definition playback.
The added performance of the Core i5 chip does have its drawbacks, however. The ThinkPad Edge 15's standard six-cell, 48 watt-hour battery lasted only two hours and 49 minutes during our video-playback test.
Battery life can of course be improved by using the notebook in power-saving mode, but business users may be left wanting. We'd like to see the ThinkPad Edge 15 offered with Intel's new ultra-low-voltage Core i5 540UM processor - a change that should deliver a better mix of performance and battery life.
Using the notebook from a mains power source, the system consumes roughly 21 watts whilst playing back a 720p video.
Summary
The ThinkPad Edge 15 offers very good all-round system performance. During general usage, we found the notebook to be highly responsive and able to boot into Windows 7 in under 35 seconds - a very respectable time for a notebook equipped with a spindle-based hard-disk.
Under load, the notebook became warm but never too hot, and the fan is able to keep relatively quiet - it's almost silent when idle.
The one major drawback would have to be battery life - a problem that Lenovo should now be able to solve following the launch of Intel's ultra-low-voltage Core i5 processors.
