HEXUS.gaming, HEXUS.hd, HEXUS.battery
| HEXUS.gaming - Quake 4 v1.30 netdemo - 1,280x800 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dell XPS M1330 | Novatech Centrino 2 | HP Pavilion TX2520 | Toshiba Satellite A300D | Dell Inspiron 690G |
| 35.35 | 17.25 | 25.66 | 67.65 | 14.1 |
Gaming is represented by venerable Quake 4 run at 1,280x800 with 0x AA but 8x AF. In-game settings are medium. The discrete Radeon HD 3650 runs amok here, clearly distancing itself from the also-discrete GeForce 8400M GS in the Dell XPS M1330. Re-running at the native 1,440x900 resolution returns an impressive 57.55fps average frame-rate.
Out of the integrated solutions the Puma-equipped HP Pavilion TX2520 does best.
| HEXUS.hd - QuickTime 1080p clip (h.264) playback load | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dell XPS M1330 | Novatech Centrino 2 | HP Pavilion TX2520 | Toshiba Satellite A300D | Dell Inspiron 690G |
| 30.55 | 24.5 | 40.1 | 37.55 | 40.7 |
The QuickTime test measures CPU load whilst a two-minute, 1080p (H.264) Iron Man trailer is played back. The lower the CPU load, the better, of course, and all laptops can play it back without juddering, helped by the graphics cards and IGPs
Intel's Centrino 2 wins out here. The test is important because it indirectly determines battery life.
| HEXUS.battery - percentage left after 60m of Batman Begins | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dell XPS M1330 | Novatech Centrino 2 | HP Pavilion TX2520 | Toshiba Satellite A300D | Dell Inspiron 690G |
| 72 | 39 | 51 | 32 | 42 |
Speaking of which, the Toshiba Satellite A300D-15B's battery life isn't great. The battery test is simple enough. We run the Batman Begins DVD, from the optical drive, with screen brightness set to medium (around 50 per cent in Windows Mobility Center) and wireless turned off. The laptop is set to Vista's power-saver mode and we see how much battery juice is left after one hour of the film has run its course.
High-performance components are compromised by a meagre 43WHr battery. Toshiba really needs to bundle a larger-capacity battery with this machine, something in the region of 80WHr, for it to be an effective mobile entertainment laptop.