Specs. discussion
| System Name | Voodoo PC Envy m:855 |
| Processor | AMD Athlon 3200+ (1MB L2 cache) |
| Motherboard | VIA K8T800 |
| Memory | 1GB (2 x 512MB Micron PC2700) |
| Hard Drive | Hitachi 60GB 7200RPM |
| Screen | 15" SXGA+ (1400x1050) |
| Graphics card | ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 64MB |
| Optical drive | Panasonic DVD-RAM UJ-811 |
| Optical drive characteristics | 2x DVD-RAM, 2x DVD-R, 1x DVD-RW , 16x CD-R, 8x CD-RW, 8x DVD (read), 24x CD-R (read) |
| Sound | VIA AC'97 onboard |
| Modem | Smart Link 56k |
| Network | VIA PCI 10/100 Ethernet, IEEE802.11g Wireless miniPCI Adapter |
| Operating system | Windows XP Professional SP1 |
| Weight | 3.925kg (without charger) |
| Dimensions | 33cm (w) x 28cm (d) x 4.3cm (h) |
| Warranty | Voodoo PlatinumCare 1-year |
| Price | ~£2050 |
| Shipping | £120 ($225) |
Let's not forget that we're looking at the specifications of a laptop. One would easily be forgiven for thinking that we're perusing a midrange desktop PC. Pure performance arrives with a cost, and that's equally borne by the price tag or around £1800 (excluding shipping from the U.S) and near-4kg weight. Thin-and-light it certainly isn't. A desktop replacement in the true sense of the words. AMD's Athlon 64 Model 3200+ was proven itself to be a capable performer in a desktop environment, there's little to suggest that it won't replicate its performance in a mains-powered environment.
It would be remiss of us to unduly criticse various features here. The beauty of laptops and PCs from the likes of Voodoo PC is the almost infinite amount of pre-sales customisation that can take place. Add in an UXGA screen, for example. Some of the more notable performance inclusions consist of the excellent Hitachi 60GB 7200RPM hard drive. The faster-spinning drive makes Windows that touch snappier than, say, the usual 4200RPM drives. The screen was characterised by an impressive brightness level, but then was found wanting in the viewing angle department, and the standard 4:3 format is now quickly being replaced by widescreen models.
One area of disappointment was in the use of PC2700 memory. The Athlon 64 3xxx and accompanying VIA K8T800 chipsets work best with PC3200 RAM, such that, at 2GHz clock speed, a CPU-to-RAM divisor of 10 is used. Voodoo PC's use of PC2700 memory lowers available bandwidth and potential performance. It's little touches like these that aren't displayed on the glossy advertising, yet they contribute to overall performance.
There's everything you'd expect in a high-power PC. A DVD burner, albeit with a maximum writing speed of 2x for both -R and -RAM formats, 802.11g (54Mbps) built-in Wireless, FireWire, USB 2.0, to name but a few. The internal component that most catches our eye and rreinforcesthe gaming nature is ATI's Mobility Radeon 9600 graphics card, complete with discrete 64MB of onboard memory. It's doubly difficult to engineer a powerful graphics card for laptop or mobile PCs. Battery capacities force designers to think about the balance between performance and power requirements. The MR 9600 shares many of the traits inherent in the desktop counterpart. 0.13-micron manufacturing process allows ATI to use only 1.0v operating voltage whilst keeping the basic 4-pipe design intact. The mobile part also carries all the lovely DX9 features that mark out the 9xxx line, so it's capable of running all the latest effects. The main concession has been in clock speeds. The model contained within the Voodoo PC laptop ran with a core speed of 350MHz and 400MHz (DDR) memory, but it's still able to deliver high image quality through antialising and anisotropic filtering. The card also uses intelligent power switching between 2D and full-on 3D work. There's little need to run at maximum capacity in Word, for example.
Speaking of power switching, the Voodoo PC's Athlon 64 Model 3400 CPU is automatically adjusted from the nominal 2GHz to 800MHz (4x 200MHz FSB) when in battery mode, which also allows for a drop in voltage and fan speed. The premise is simple - conserve battery life in the most efficient manner. An 800MHz Athlon 64 is more than capable of running DVDs and DivX media, and with the MR 9600 being a potential bottleneck in most recent games, pure clock speed should only be missed in isolated scenarios.
Notice the slower speed in battery mode?. We also like the in-built 802.11g Wireless function. The proliferation of broadband routers and Wi-Fi seems to be neverending, so any high-end laptop wouldn't be complete without Wireless support.
The Voodoo's range and signal strength were both good, and that's from a source that was 30-feet and 2 thick walls away. The ability to literally move and surf is a valuable feature, even with a heavy laptop such as this. What causes us serious concern is the price. At £1800 with a delivery surcharge of £120 it's rather too expensive. Similar laptops from the likes of Time manage to cram in near-identical features and a decent software bundle for £1500, and, importantly, are located in the U.K for easy support access and returns. The m:855 carries Voodoo PC's 1-year PlatinumCare warranty, which, considering the location of the company, will have to be based on a collect and return scheme.