Manufacturer Product Page: EVGA Corporation
TechWIKI Info: EVGA P55 Classified 200 - TechWIKI
Manufacturer's Part Number: 160-LF-E659-KR
Warranty: 3 Year Limited Warranty w/Registration
Buy from: NCIX | DirectCanada | BestDirect
What is black and red and full of sexy all over? Well we can't tell you because it is Classified. That's right, this is another installment of the EVGA Classified show. Our guest star is of the P55 variety sporting the latest mainstream LGA1156 socket from Intel. The term mainstream, which is what the Intel P55 chipset is billed as, doesn't exactly correlate with ultra high-end which is what the Classified name from EVGA is generally paired with. It is this sort of oxymoron that makes this board quite intriguing.
What we have here is the absolute top end of the EVGA P55 lineup. This list of motherboards includes the P55 V, up through the P55 Micro, and the penultimate P55 FTW 200 with a few more motherboards filling in the cracks. The EVGA offerings reach a crescendo with the motherboard we are looking at today, the EVGA P55 Classified 200. EVGA decided that just because the P55 chipset is considered the mainstream counterpart to the enthusiast level Intel X58 chipset, it didn't mean people wouldn't be looking for premium motherboards in this segment.
This is where the Classified steps in. Based on the P55 chipset the EVGA P55 Classified 200 supports LGA1156 i5 and i7 8xx series processors. But unlike other P55 motherboards, the P55 Classified 200 can accommodate Tri-SLI thanks to the implementation of the of the NF200 chipset. The NF200 allows the motherboard to split up some of the PCI-E lanes allowing for three, four, or technically even five video cards to be used at the same time. Typical P55 motherboards only allow two-way SLI or CrossFireX so this definitely opens doors on a platform not typical of its capabilities.
Of course there is much more to the EVGA P55 Classified 200 feature list which we plan on having a look at in full. If you are not familiar with the Classified brand, you are in for a treat. If you are familiar with previous EVGA Classified motherboards, then you know what to expect as EVGA is sure to keep the strong tradition of the Classified name with this latest installment. So sit back, relax, and grab a fresh bowl of popcorn; the show is about to begin and there is something in here for everyone.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
EVGA P55 Classified 200 LGA1156 Motherboard Review
Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7 LGA1366 Motherboard Review
Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7
LGA1366 Motherboard Review
Manufacturer's Part Number: GA-X58A-UD7
Price: $360CDN+ Price Comparison
Manufacturer's Product Page: Giga-Byte Technology Co., Ltd.
Warranty: 3 year limited warranty
Buy from: NCIX | DirectCanada | BestDirect
At this year's Computex we had the priviledge of taking an early look at Gigabyte's X58A motherboard lineup. Even though all of the models were very early samples, it was obvious that these second generation X58 motherboards would bring a lot to the table. People were so impressed with these new models that the EX58A-EXTREME was actually one of 25 products shown off at Computex 2009 that was selected for the Best Choice Award.
After being long delayed due to a problem with Marvell's SATA 6Gb/s controller, the EX58A-EXTREME eventually became the X58A-UD7 that we are reviewing today. This is the Cream of the Crop, the best and most expensive motherboard in Gigabyte's entire motherboard roster. With many motherboards it's hard to know what to talk about but with this one, where do we start? First, this model utilizes Gigabyte's brand new 24-phase power design, which should not only allow for superior extreme overclocking, but higher reliability, lower temperatures, and better energy efficiency as well. Secondly, thanks to the aforementioned Marvell controller, this motherboard support the new SATA 6Gb/s interface. Mostly important though, like all X58A motherboards, the X58A-UD7 supports USB 3.0, which is absolutely going to be one of the most important new technologies of 2010.
Speaking of USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s, it should be mentioned that Gigabyte has devised an easy way of distinguishing the motherboards which support these technologies from those that don't. Basically, any of their boards that use the "A" designation after the chipset name (X58A, P55A, etc.) make use of the new USB and SATA interfaces while other models don't.
Befitting its high-end roots, this is one of the few Intel X58-based motherboards with four mechanical PCI-E x16 slots which are capable of x16/x16, x16/x8/x8 and x8/x8/x8/x8 configurations. Officially, this motherboard 'only' supports 3-way CrossFireX and 3-way SLI, but with single-slot cards Quad CrossFireX is definitely do-able as well. Oddly enough, perhaps the best part of this motherboard is the software. As you will see in the coming pages, Gigabyte have created some interesting new utilities to help manage your system, secure your data, and even lower power consumption, all with a bluetooth-enabled mobile phone.
This is a review that you won't want to miss, if only to see how well USB 3.0 performs compared to USB 2.0. Trust us, it will blow your mind.
ASUS P7H57D-V EVO LGA1156 Motherboard Review
Price: $220CDN+ Price Comparison
Manufacturer's Product Page: ASUSTeK Computer Inc.
Warranty: 3 year limited warranty (with 1st year advanced RMA service)
As you all undoubtedly know Intel recently released the first CPU+GPU hybrid processors on the market in the form of the Clarkdale LGA1156 family, which is comprised of the i5-600 series, i3-500 series, and Pentium G6000 series. These new models cater to the mainstream PC market, with a slant towards budget systems and home theater PC's (HTPC). Specifically, these are the chips that Intel plans to replace the venerable Core 2 Duo series with.
With the release of the processors, Intel also unveiled three new chipsets (H55/H57/Q57). The two chipsets that consumers are likely to encounter in the retail market are the H55 Express and H57 Express. For all extent and purpose, both chipsets are identical, with the H57 distinguishing itself from the H55 with 2 additional USB 2.0 ports and 2 additional PCI-E x1 slots. Not a significant difference by any means.
However, while nearly all H55 motherboards are sub-$150 models, the H57 chipset has given motherboard manufacturers a reason to create some higher-end motherboards sporting more PCI-E x16 slots, SATA 6Gb/s and USB 3.0. The P7H57D-V EVO is one such product. While designing a premium motherboard around an affordable processor series might seem counter-productive, the simple fact of the matter is that most Clarkdale's really aren't that cheap, yet that hasn't stopped them from selling well.
Coming in at around $220CAD, the P7H57D-V EVO is priced more along the lines of a fully featured P55 motherboard. This makes sense though since this model has exactly the same layout and feature set as the $200CAD P7P55D-E PRO, and can also support the Lynnfield LGA1156 processors. An extra $20 for DVI/VGA outputs is not unreasonable, but can this Clarkdale-oriented motherboard distinguish itself enough to warrant its high price? Well that's what we are here to find out.
Sapphire Radeon HD 5830 1GB GDDR5 Review
Price:Approx $250 USD / $280 CAD
Warranty: 2-years
ATI has been attacking the DX11 market from every single price point as of late and they finally have what appears to be a full deck of cards which appeal to literally every market niche. They have released an astonishing nine cards in the last six months with a few more to come while the competition seems to be doing nothing but spinning their wheels and respinning chips. Even though NVIDIA’s March 26th launch of their GF100 parts is just around the corner, ATI isn’t by any means sitting back and watching the world pass them by considering they are actively working on refreshing their lineup in addition to releasing new products. This in itself is no small feat and it really shows how far this company has come since AMD stepped in to purchase them.
In what probably seems to be a wet dream for many people looking to upgrade their GPUs and a reoccurring nightmare for reviewers, ATI is releasing yet another GPU today: the “Cypress LE” or HD 5830 1GB as it will be commonly referred to. ATI’s HD 5000 series lineup does span almost every price bracket but they felt that there was a big enough performance gap between the higher-end HD 5850 and decidedly more mainstream HD 5770 to warrant a product that would bridge the gap between the two. Previously, this spot was taken up by the HD 4890 1GB which was retailing for around $200 USD before getting the axe in preparation for the HD 5830 launch. With the HD 5850 currently sitting in what many consider to be the leading price / performance spot at around $315 USD and some HD 5770s retailing for less than $170, there was plenty of room to play with.
For all intents and purposes, this is a bit of a “freak” since what we are looking at is a card which is based off of GPU cores that weren’t able to meet the binning requirements for use in the HD 5850. This translates into an identical die size and transistor count as the HD 5850 but in a product that is significantly less powerful. This is a great move from a cost savings standpoint since the cores that were going unused can now be recycled into a competitive product. To make matters even more interesting, ATI is supposedly not giving their board partners a set reference design for them to base their products off of. As such, at launch you will likely see all manner of HD 5830s; some based off of HD 5850 PCBs while others will be using slightly lower-end starting points and more cooler designs than you can shake a finger at.
When it comes to a card like the HD 5830, price is everything and when we reached out to our retailer contacts they came back with answers. Basically, expect launch prices for this card to go all the way up to (and maybe even slightly over) $275 CAD / $245 USD depending on the accessory and game packages. This puts ATI’s new card in an interesting position at $70 USD less than a HD 5850 and about $70 more than a HD 5770 we’re really talking about the middle ground here. As has been tradition with ATI launches these days, stock will also be a bit tight for the first few days at some locations but should improve quickly following that.
In this particular review we will be looking at the Sapphire HD 5830 1GB which makes use of a cooler that is akin to the one used on the HD 5850 Vapor-X and is based off of that card’s PCB. This should give it some incredible temperatures but will also make it significantly longer than the HD 5770. That being said, without further ado let’s get on with this review.
Upcoming Intel Core Series CPU’s Leaked
In another round of incremental updates to its Core series lineup, Intel will be debuting its hexa-core Gulftown processor, along with a few other pieces to fill in some perceived gaps.
A report from OCWorkbench, citing Japanese news sources, claims we will be seeing the six core behemoth on March 16th, 2010. The report states that the Core i7 960 Bloomfield - just 6 months after launch – will likely be pulled.
| CPU | Codename | Cores | Speed (tb:=Turbo Boost) | Socket | Release |
| Core i7 980X EE | Gulftown | 6 + HT | 3.33 GHz (tb: 3.60 GHz) | LGA-1366 | March 16th ‘10 |
| Core i7 970 | ? Bloomfield | ? 4 + HT | ? 3.33 GHz (tb: 3.46 GHz) | LGA-1366 | Q3, 2010 |
| Core i7 930 | Bloomfield | 4 + HT | 2.80GHz (tb: 3.06 GHz) | LGA-1366 | Feb 28th ‘10 |
| Core i7 880 | Lynnfield | 4 + HT | 3.06 GHz (tb: 3.73 GHz) | LGA-1156 | Q2, 2010 |
| Core i5 680 | Clarkdale | 2 + HT | 3.60 GHz (tb: 3.80 GHz) | LGA-1156 | May 2010 |
| Core i3 550 | Clarkdale | 2 + HT | 3.20 GHz | LGA-1156 | Q2, 2010 |
? Information in Debate
[Author's Update]
As an update to this story, on February 2nd, Fudzilla released information stating that the Core i7 970 will be a 6 core, 32nm Gulftown based processor; the original source as also appended this information. If this report is in fact true then one thing is clear; Intel needs to seriously give their head a shake (and fire their marketting team) when it comes to the naming schemes which they promised to be much clearer for consumers. With the current Core i7 975 edition being a 4 core Bloomfield based chip, hiding an entirely new i7 970 Gulftown chip, somewhere in the middle of an old product line is… ridiculous.
Corsair Prepping 3.5″ 512GB SSD
Along with the news that Corsair has launched two new high performance traditional SSD’s lines, comes rumour of a not so traditional product; a 3.5 inch 512GB solid state drive.
The technical specs are scant,however initial reports from Hexus.net suggest the device will feature a beefy 128MB cache and provide impressive speeds of 240mb/s write and 200mb/s read.
The image of the unit shows that the device may simply be a 3.5″ dock, and suggests that the drive(s) housed inside are Corsair high performance drives; likely dual 256GB units in a RAID 0 array given the speed.
It’s not said to be cheap, with speculation that dollar and cents figures will run around 1,250GBP or US$1,748. Two of Corsair’s current Xtreme series 256GB drives ring in it at approximately $1,699 CAD.
AMD ATI Radeon HD 5450 Graphics Accelerator
AMD today announced the introduction of the ATI Radeon HD 5450 graphics card, the latest addition to the award-winning line-up of ATI Radeon HD 5000 Series graphics cards.
Hardware Canucks has released our full review on the video card with a complete run down on its performance and benefits.
The ATI Radeon HD 5450 graphics card delivers a state-of-the-art HD multimedia and game experience at a value price. Sharing the same leading edge features found in the critically-acclaimed ATI Radeon HD 5800 Series – support for DirectX 11, ATI Eyefinity multi-display technology and ATI Stream technology – the ATI Radeon HD 5450 provides an uncompromising Microsoft Windows 7 experience.
- Cutting-edge technology for today’s software: The ATI Radeon HD 5450 graphics card offers great performance, allowing users to get the true Windows 7 experience with full DirectX 11 support, for less than USD $60 for a 512MB memory configuration.
- Expanded productivity with multi-display technology: Featuring support for ATI Eyefinity multi-monitor technology, the ATI Radeon HD 5450 graphics card helps users be more productive in today’s visually rich applications by expanding their on-screen real estate, putting more information at their fingertips.
- Silent running: Offering leading-edge performance per watt, the ATI Radeon HD 5450 redefines entry level performance and ultra-low power consumption, making it possible for AIB partners to deliver passive cooling models to market in addition to whisper-quiet, single slot fan-cooled versions.
- Rich HD multimedia experience: Home theater buffs will particularly appreciate the ATI Radeon HD 5450 graphics product. This passively-cooled, ultra-quiet card is a home theater PC builder’s dream, enabling high quality, high-definition home theater experiences. The home theater experience is enriched with features such as HDMI 1.3a with Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio for the ultimate media PC.
“The ATI Radeon HD 5450 offers consumers another next-generation graphics product from AMD, and further reinforces our price-performance value at a wide range of price points,” said Matt Skynner, vice president and general manager, AMD Graphics Division. “With the addition of the ATI Radeon HD 5450, home theater enthusiasts and casual gamers have access to cutting-edge features and solid performance at an incredible value.”
The ATI Radeon HD 5450 is available immediately from a number of partners, including ASUS, ASK, Club 3D, DMM, GBT, HIS, LDLC.com, MSI, Sapphire, TUL, VT and XFX. For more information, visit the product page.
Gigabyte Launches PCI-E USB 3.0 Add-In Card
Gigabyte is taking steps to allow more “dated” PC’s to embrace the movement to USB3.0 with the introduction of its new PCI-E expansion card, the GA-USB3.0.
USB 3.0 still hasn’t widely caught on with a majority of motherboard manufacturer’s; most opting to only include a one or two connections on only their premiere lineup.
Gigabyte is offering this card as an separate item for anyone to purchase and install. It operates on a PCI-Ex1 expansion slot, offers two USB3.0 connections and requires power from a typical molex connection. In typical Gigabyte fashion the card is built on blue 2oz copper PCB and is based on an NEC USB 3.0 controller.
The device is currently available from many local or online retailers for a list price of $39.99 USD.
Silverstone Announces HDDBoost – The SSD Experienc...
Silverstone has struck innovation gold (provided it works as well as it sounds) with its latest announcement about HDDBoost, a technology that combines both SDD’s and mechanical hard drives into one large, fast storage device.
Simply put, HDDBoost connects a traditional 3.5 HDD of any size, with the a super fast 2.5inch SSD of your choice, and claims to improve speed of the new “combined” storage drive by up to 70% over the mechanical.
The device connects the two drives through a physical adapter that eliminates the need for software or drivers. It works by creating a sequential mirror of front-end data of the hard drive immediately after installation, onto the solid state drive. Thus, files that are most commonly used will be read from the SSD resulting in access times of under 1ms, over 10 times faster than traditional drives. To reduce writes, HDDBOOST stores the initial mirror data on the SSD, putting the rest on the HDD. Consequently, most of the data will still be read from the hard disk, but will reduce the amounts of writes done to the SSD.
The drive is currently only available in Japan, and has been given a price of 37 Euro ($50USD). North American availability is unknown.
A full run down on the details of HDDBoost can be found on Silverstone’s Website
Hippa Data Security: Doesn’t have to mean High Cost for Small Medical Practices
The thought of spending time and money to overhaul a fully-immersed and often entirely adequate paper system can be overwhelming to small medical practices. Smaller practices do not usually have the technological resources to keep up with new standards of protected health information (PHI) storage and delivery. However, it is possible for even small, rural community clinics to join the EHR system without needing to hire a full IT team.
Solo physician clinics and small medical practices may wonder why they need to change their system if they like it, it’s familiar, and – most importantly – it works. Paper charts with patient information offer little to no security or backup in case of physical damage. Insurance may cover the building and most of its’ contents in a fire or flood, but patient charts will be wiped clean and started anew. Perhaps one of the biggest benefits of moving to an EHR system is the ability to save, maintain, update, and backup important patient personal health data.
Contrary to popular belief, HITECH compliance does not always require a large capital surplus to ensure your patient’s private data is backed-up and protected. Small medical practices can get away with spending a few thousand dollars to implement technology from a company that offers sizable, on-demand service.
Technological options for healthcare organizations have come a long way from the complex server or appliance based solutions. Several years ago, these were the only options and could cost upwards of $50,000. Even with that cost, these solutions were far from comprehensive and only provided part of the encryption protection required by HIPAA. “Cloud computing” has revolutionized the way we think about spending IT dollars and is quickly replacing former costly solutions.
“Cloud computing” is a term that refers to applications that can be leveraged over the internet. This type of solution eliminates the need for costly and confusing software packages or excessive servers requiring IT maintenance. Typically, the physician or practice will pay a per-user fee for access to a system that is maintained by a third party. This enables the application to be fully customized to fit a big metropolitan hospital or small rural community clinic.
About Author
With Hipaa data security you can protect your data in motion using software such as Encrypt-A-Note, a HITECH compliant and industry leading software, as a service secure messaging portalApple MacBook 13-inch
The new 13-inch widescreen Apple MacBook is the powerful new value laptop, replacing the Apple iBook. Available in both white and black colors, the MacBook is Apple's first completely redesigned Intel-based laptop in the thin and light spectrum. Although this laptop is meant to be thin-and-light, weighing 5.2 pounds is relatively heavy for its size. But built to last, the MacBook is composed of a durable polycarbonate shell that provides a unique solid feel. The brightly lit, glossy widescreen display is breathtaking, and the keyboard is top notch in comfort and tactile feedback.
The MacBook's new features have raised the standard for what value-focused laptop should be. While the rest of Apple's computers have simply just received Intel chips in similar enclosures to their PowerPC predecessors (like the MacBook Pro), the MacBook was built from the ground up using Intel's fast and efficient Core Duo processor. The MacBook is arguably the ultimate companion for students and even business professionals since Apple officially supports Windows XP via the BootCamp software.
Some major improvements over the iBook include a wider trackpad, magnetic LCD closure, MagSafe AC adaptor, fantastic keyboard (which can easily be removed for disassembly), and a built-in iSight webcam. Apple has also recently upgraded their iLife suite of software packages, as well as its Front Row multimedia software. Meanwhile, other hardware improvements include improved feet on bottom of the laptop so that they do not fall off, as well as internal improvements including customer replaceable hard drive, digital audio-input, extensive wireless connectivity options, extend desktop support with external display, and extended battery life. However, if you are a high performance user, hardcore gamer or graphic designer you may want to consider Apple's MacBook Pro lineup for more horsepower and standard performance features.
Acer Ferrari 4005 WLMi
As the leading computer notebook brand in EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa), Acer has teamed up with Ferrari to be the official supplier to Scuderia Ferrari, the racing team of Ferrari. Leveraging this partnership, Acer is able to introduce exclusive, racing inspired notebooks that are elegant, cutting-edge, and powerful, much like the actual Ferrari automobile. The new Acer Ferrari 4000 revamps the previous generation Acer Ferrari models by pumping more horsepower and sporting a new design.
The Acer Ferrari is designed to impress, especially with its sleek looks and powerful components. Like the Acer TravelMate 8100 series, the Ferrari 4000 is composed of Acer's Folio design. To distinguish the new platform from its predecessors, the 4000 retains its own racing-inspired theme made up of an elegant thin-and-light carbon fiber casing in sleek black and Ferrari-red trims. Even the included Bluetooth mouse matches the system. Under the hood, the Acer Ferrari 4000 (model 4005 WLMi) sports AMD's new Turion 64 mobile processor, running at 2.0GHz on ATI's Radeon Xpress 200M chipset. Other prominent features include a luminous 15.4-inch widescreen LCD with razor sharp 1680 x 1050 native resolution, a new modular slot-loading dual layer DVD burner, 100GB hard drive, and 1GB RAM. This attractive package also combines a myriad of other bells and whistles.
Avid gamers will be satisfied with the performance from the mid-range ATI MOBILITY RADEON X700 graphics with 128MB DDR VRAM. Although the Ferrari 4000 possesses some characteristics of a desktop alternative, it measures only 1.2 inches thin and weighs 6.3 pounds with its 8-cell battery. While not the most ideal computer for intensive travel, it's still a well-balanced machine suited for moderate portability and is actually more portable than other notebooks in the same class.
The stunning Acer Ferrari 4005 WLMi gives you power and status, for a hefty $2,199 price tag.
Design
Portability
Although the Acer Ferrari 4000 possesses some attributes similar to a desktop alternative notebook, this is a performance laptop that won't break your back. Measuring 14.3-inches wide, 10.5-inches long and only 1.2-inches thick at the front section and extending 1.4-inches thick towards the back, the Ferrari is ideal for large sized cases and backpacks. I had difficulty slipping this computer in most of the mid-sized carrying cases, but I found the lightweight Samsonite L35 carrying case to be the perfect companion. Even the stylish Boa XM backpack from Booq will house the Ferrari comfortably.
The Bluetooth mouse matches the system nicely.
At 6.3 pounds with the 8-cell battery, the Ferrari is not intended to accompany you everywhere you go, but is rather suited for occasional travel. Unlike the Fujitsu N3510, which weighs a pound more and is .4-inches thicker, the Ferrari is a well-balanced machine that is feasible for travel while offering a spacious viewing area. The thought of being able to watch a DVD movie on such a large display anywhere I go makes it more appealing to take out and about, where typically laptops with a screen of this caliber are made to be used on the desk and nowhere else.
Case and Design
Acer and Ferrari were able to assemble an aesthetically impressive notebook that illustrates originality and style. The new Ferrari 4000 uses the same chassis as the Travelmate 8100 series and is composed of the same Folio design, but instead possesses its own racing-inspired theme. Moving away from the all Ferrari red design found in the previous generation Ferrari models, the revamped Ferrari 4000 comes in a sleek black finish but keeps the Ferrari's 'Rosso Corsa' red trim on the side panels and on the edge of the top lid. Not only is the carbon fiber lid lighter and stronger than other materials, it also gives off a distinctive look with the black and grey checkered shades.
The silver Acer logo is emblazoned in the top lid while the yellow prancing horse emblem is embossed in the center of the carbon fiber lid.
The two tone color scheme keeps it sleek and refined, with the interior constructed from polycarbonate plastic wrapping around from the keyboard area to the bottom chassis. The edges are curvaceous and the rubberized surface around the palm rest and keyboard area is smooth, resembling the texture of a racing tire - it's also one of the most comfortable textures my palms have ever rested on. In addition, the rubber-like texture serves to insulate heat generated from the internal components.
Sleek and durable chassis gives it an original style.
The yellow prancing horse emblem is found again on the palm rest area.
There are two sets of status indicators found on the computer; the first is located on the upper-left corner above the keyboard (below the display screen) and the second set is on the front of the computer. The upper-left corner below the display contains LED indicators for power (power button), hard disk, caps lock, and num lock. All indicators emit a greenish glow when activated.
Conveniently located on the front panel are a set of highly useful indicator lights which provide a quick glance at the power, battery charge, Bluetooth, and Wireless LAN. Both the power and battery status indicators emit a green glow when active (or amber for the battery when it's charging) , while the Bluetooth and Wireless LAN buttons light up a dazzling blue and amber glow, respectively. The Bluetooth and Wireless LAN buttons are used to enable or disable their associated functions.
Located on the upper right hand corner are four easy-launch keys to instantly launch your frequently used applications. Each button has symbols designated for email, web browser, Acer eManager, and a user programmable option. The email button is used to launch your email client, such as Microsoft's Outlook; however, it is also user programmable to designate other applications. The web browser key is used to launch your favorite web browser, but is also user programmable. The Acer Empowering key ('e' symbol) is used to launch the Acer eManager application (more on this in the software section). Lastly the user programmable button is available for you to assign your favorite application via the Launch Manager software. Unfortunately there are no multimedia hot keys despite the available room around the top section of the keyboard.
Quickly launch your favorite application.
Design Continued
Keyboard
The black, full-sized 88-key ergonomic keyboard contains all the essential keys, particularly the Windows and Ctrl keys at the bottom left of the keyboard, where normally some laptops contain only the Fn key. The PgDn, PgUp, Home and End cursor keys are also present and are placed vertically on the right side of the keyboard. The Caps Lock, Shift, Alt, Tab, Backspace, and Enter keys are of appropriate size. Like most laptop keyboards, the numeric keypad is embedded within the keys located near the center of the keyboard and is activated with the num lock key. In addition, there are function keys to adjust the audio volume, alter the screen brightness, put the system to sleep, disable or enable the touchpad, and switch to an external monitor when connected. When toggling one of these function keys, such as the audio for example, it will activate an on-screen volume indicator. This helps you identify exactly which volume settings you want to select. The on-screen indicator applies to other function access buttons as well, with the exception of the screen brightness, which is not available.
With respect to usage, the 'Acer FineTouch' keyboard offers decent key travel distance and excellent response. You will notice from the picture the keyboard employs a five-degree curve for a more ergonomic placement, which I find neither an advantage nor disadvantage compared to the straight-laced arrangement keyboards. Some users may need to be accustomed to this unusual layout while others will pick it up immediately. On that note, I can type quickly, accurately, and comfortably with this keyboard. You may think this is the same keyboard found on the Acer TravelMate 8100 series, but in fact it feels slightly different in terms of its depression levels and noise generation. The keys are soft and feel light when depressing them (not as stiff as the ThinkPad T42, softer than the Acer TravelMate 8103/8104, but not as soft as the PowerBooks). Overall, the Ferrari keyboard has minimal spring, allowing the keys to be quite responsive (slightly more responsive than the Acer TravelMate 8103/8104) while exhibiting little noise (quieter than the TravelMate 8100 series' keyboard). Like the TravelMate 8103/8104, the keys depress at a comfortable 2.5mm of depth which feels comfortable when typing. Some may find the travel too shallow, especially if you're accustomed to the 3mm travel distance from the IBM ThinkPads. The keyboard is centered nicely with 1.2-inches of room on each side, and there is sufficient room around the palm rest area to ensure your wrists also enjoy a comfortable typing experience. This is certainly a solid keyboard that comes close in comparison to the likes of the IBM ThinkPads and even Apple Powerbooks. As I've stated similarities and differences, I prefer the Ferrari keyboard over the the TravelMate 8100 series' keyboard.
Touch pad
To match the laptop's overall wide-aspect design, the touchpad measures 3-inches wide and 1.5-inches in length, offering sufficient surface area to allow comfortably gliding of one's finger. Like the palm rest area, the black flush surface is clean and smooth, sensitive to touch and responds accurately to movement. As with most touch pads, it also allows for tapping to execute an action if you prefer not to use the click buttons. To the right and bottom edge of the surface area, the touchpad has a function to scroll vertically or horizontally. This allows you to scroll in applications like Internet Explorer when sliding your finger in the appropriate direction.
The two click buttons are appropriately sized, emitting slightly less noise than the TravelMate 8100 series' touchpad buttons. For added convenience, there is a useful center click button that serves as a four-way scroll button to scroll up or down and move left or right within a page. The left and right click buttons are brushed in gray metallic.
Connectivity Options
Thanks to its wide frame, the Ferrari 4000 is loaded with a multitude of connectivity options surrounding all sides of the computer. Since the cables are spread out on all sides of the machine, there are no protruding parts that can accidentally break off during transit; as an added benefit, cable clutter is greatly reduced. The computer offers a whopping four USB 2.0 ports instead of the common two ports found in most laptops. For users who prefer to connect their laptop to an external monitor, television or projector, the Ferrari 4000 supplies all available video outputs, including DVI-D, VGA, and S-Video. DVI is an option not commonly found on your average consumer notebooks. This is a must for anyone planning to use an LCD monitor or digital projector.
DVI-D & S-Video
VGA
On the front panel, you will immediately notice the left and right speaker grilles made of tiny hole-punches that gives the notebook a very distinctive look. The 5-in-1 card reader is capable of reading Secure Digital (SD), Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, MultiMediaCard (MMC) and xD-Picture cards, allowing the transfer of files from the majority of digital cameras. Next to the 5-in-1 card reader is a built-in mono microphone that is stationed inside a tiny hole-punch. An Infrared port is available for short range wireless IR devices such as PDAs and printers. The Speaker/Line-out/Headphone jack connects to audio line-out devices such as speakers and headphones and includes SPDIF support. Next to it is the Line-in/Mic-in port that accepts microphones and line-in devices such as an audio CD player. As mentioned in the preceding section, there are two backlit buttons for activating Bluetooth and Wireless LAN. Both radios can also be disabled when not in use in order to conserve the battery.
Two stiff hinges hold the LCD panel together, located near each corner of the display. The LCD panel contains dual latches that keep the lid securely closed, preventing any type of movement when shuffling the laptop around. When shut, the screen hovers slightly over the keyboard and palm rest area, reinforced by eight rubber pads to prevent the screen from touching the keyboard and wrist area.
On the rear, there is a DVI-D port that supports digital video connections like modern LCD flat panel monitors. There is also the requisite S-Video port to connect to a television or display device with S-Video input. Lastly we have the huge 124-pin Acer ezDock connector that connects to the Acer ezDocking station for expandability.
The battery pack fits nicely without protruding and is made to offer a hand grip when carrying the notebook.
On the left-side: VGA port, ventilation slots, Ethernet 10/100/1000 jack, phone port, one of the four USB 2.0 port, 4-pin IEEE 1394 FireWire port, and PC Card slot.
On the right-side: the remaining three USB 2.0 ports are found positioned horizontally, the slot-load Super-Multi DVD+/-RW drive (hot swappable), power connector and security keylock to connect a Kensington-compatible security lock.
Heat and Noise
In a notebook, components such as the hard drive and the cooling fan are responsible for generating heat and noise. The cooling fan on the Acer Ferrari, which is located on the left side of the notebook, operates constantly regardless of whether the processor throttles down . Unfortunately, the Ferrari's fan noise is more noticeable than that of the Acer TravelMate 8100 series. During general Internet/email usage with the AC power plugged in, the continuously spinning fan creates a low-pitched whooshing sound as the air passes through the system's vents. When using the Acer Ferrari for gaming, also with the system plugged into the AC power, the noise generated from the fan is substantially more noticeable as it spins faster to remove excess heat from the chassis. Whether or not the noise level of the fan is tolerable will depend on the individual user. After using a wide range of notebooks and experiencing vastly different levels of noise, I found that the fan noise generated from the Ferrari is louder than I would prefer.
Heat build up on the Ferrari is minimal. Mobile Meter reported around 45-49 degrees Celsius at full performance (2.0 GHz) when idle. During heavier loads, temperatures reached around 51 to 56 degrees. The system becomes warm, but never reaches uncomfortable levels. A few areas like the touchpad and palm rest can become lukewarm. Compared to the Acer 8104, which recorded 61 degrees during heavy load and 46-50 degrees during idle, the Ferrari actually runs cooler, perhaps due to the faster and louder spinning fans. The rubber material as mentioned in the Design section may also play a key role in minimizing the heat output.
Upgrading and Expansion
Upgrading the Acer Ferrari 4005 is simple, thanks to the easily accessible compartments located on the bottom side of the machine. The Wi-Fi mini-PCI adapter, memory, and hard drive are all user replaceable. There are two RAM modules pre-installed in the computer, two 512MB sticks of 333MHz (PC-2700) DDR made by Hyundai for a total of 1024MB (1 GB).
To replace the hard drive, the user simply needs to remove the hard drive access panel. The Acer Media Bay, which currently houses the slot-load optical drive module, allows the user to swap the optical drive for another modular device, such as a secondary battery or hard disc drive. Simply release the latch located at the bottom to detach the optical drive. In addition to the Ferrari's wide-array of connectivity options, the optional Acer ezDock is available to transform the notebook into a true desktop computer with many of the same connectivity and expansion options.
The slot-load optical drive bay can be swapped out for another drive.
Features
Processor/Chipset/RAM
The Ferrari is powered by the high-end AMD Turion 64 ML-37 clocked at 2.0 GHz with 1MB L2 cache. Essentially, the Turion 64 processor is a mobile variant of the Athlon 64, meaning Turion retains the powerful AMD64 micro-architecture. As the '64' moniker implies, Turion supports 64-bit operation and is designed to work with 64-bit operating systems like Windows XP 64-bit and the upcoming Windows 'Vista' (Codenamed Longhorn). There are two types of Turion chips, ML and MT flavors. Since Turion is still relatively new, the ML variety is the most common. ML chips have a Thermal Design Power (TDP) of 35W, meaning at most the chip will dissipate 35W of power. The MT chips stand to offer the most competition against Intel's Pentium M as they consume a mere 25W, but right now the MT Turion's are few and far between. The AMD64 architecture does not use a conventional front side bus (FSB), instead using HyperTransport technology to interconnect the different components and runs at 1600MHz (800MHz upstream & downstream).
Dell Inspiron 9300
Overview
A lot of laptop gaming enthusiasts are familiar with the high performance machines from Alienware, Voodoo, and other 'boutique' laptop companies. Dell, in an attempt to enter the boutique laptop market, released their XPS Gen 2 laptop. This machine combines the powerful GeForce Go 6800 Ultra graphics card with the popular Pentium M CPU in a relatively lightweight 17" widescreen frame. The XPS is faster, lighter, and even cooler with a longer battery life than its Pentium 4 based competitors. The only catch here is that the starting price of the XPS Gen 2 is an astounding $2,749. For those who can't afford the XPS yet still desire similar performance, Dell also offers the Inspiron 9300. Using a similar chassis and offering 'lower performance' options, the Inspiron 9300 is an incredible value. The best part is that users still have the option to select many powerful components, including the TrueLife WUXGA 17" LCD and the powerful 256MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 6800 graphics card, which only lacks some clock speed from the Go 6800 Ultra available in the XPS Gen 2.
After upgrades, the Inspiron 9300 offers a lot of features for the money. The base model includes a Pentium M 730 (1.6 GHz), 256MB DDR2 533 RAM, 17' WXGA screen, 40GB hard drive, 64MB ATI MOBILITY RADEON X300 graphics, and CD-RW/DVD-ROM for $1499 before any discounts. However, after a few upgrades, the Inspiron 9300 really starts to shine. For a mere $150, you can exchange the low performance X300 graphics for the high-end NVIDIA Go 6800. For another $125, you can upgrade the midrange WXGA+ LCD to an amazing WUXGA TrueLife display. Combined with an integrated TV tuner upgrade for $160, the Dell Inspiron 9300 suddenly becomes a powerful and versatile desktop replacement laptop at an amazing price. Our particular configuration cost just over $2000 before any Dell discounts and you can see the full configuration on the next page. However, users on a budget should be aware that Dell frequently offers promotions that can truly make the Dell 9300 even more affordable.
Design
Portability
Classified as a DTR laptop with a 17" widescreen and weighing in a bit over 8 lbs, the Dell 9300 is not intended to be carried around. Although it is lighter than most 17" laptops, the sheer size of its chassis renders transportation a hassle. The 9300 is far from petite, measuring 15.5-inches wide x 11.3-inches long and 1.6-inches thick. With the 6-cell battery in our machine, the weight came to about 7.8 lbs with the optical drive. As a side note, most laptop bags do not support 17" models, so be sure to check before purchasing a case. Some companies have special "XL" case models designed specifically for 17" laptops. Of course, those weigh more than their standard counterparts, and are often considerably more expensive.
Case and Design
The Dell 9300 laptop casing is constructed out of sturdy magnesium alloy and reinforced plastic. It has a matte finish, covered with a shiny silver paint. The hinges are made of the same material, which definitely makes it solid enough for long term use. When the laptop is closed, there is a slight gap between the lid and the body of the laptop.
The status lights next to the power button denote Num Lock, Caps Lock, Scroll Lock, Wi-Fi on/off, and Bluetooth on/off. The lights glow green when the corresponding function is on. Note that the base model does not include Bluetooth, which requires a $49 upgrade.
The multimedia function keys are built into the front side of the laptop, and are very convenient for watching movies or listening to music. They include volume control, play, pause, fast forward, reverse, and stop. As shown in the picture, the buttons glow light blue when depressed.
Play, Pause, Fast Forward, Reverse & Stop.
There are also status lights located on the hinge, which displays whether your laptop is on/off, hard drive activity, and if your laptop battery is currently being charged. These lights glow green when active.
This placement for this indicator can be seen even when the lid is closed.
Keyboard
The Dell 9300 has the standard laptop keyboard with no keys missing, except for the separate numeric pad. Instead, a "virtual" numeric pad can be accessed by pressing certain keys while holding down the Function key. Considering that this is a 17" laptop, having a numeric pad is very important, which is a major negative in its design. Of course, you can always just purchase a separate USB numeric pad to offset this inconvenience. The keys are a bit small for a 17" laptop, but depress a satisfying amount. They produce a clicking noise when depressed, which can become annoying. The Function key is between the Left Control and Windows key, which could take some getting used to.
There is plenty of space to rest your arms when typing. You will also find a lot of empty space surrounding the keyboard, which could have been used either for enlarging the laptop keys, or to integrate a numeric pad. The function keys are impressively plentiful: standby, hibernate, wireless/bluetooth enable, Dell QuickSet Battery Meter display, Task Manager window open, CD/DVD tray eject, increase/decrease screen brightness, power management mode activation, volume control, and speaker enable/disable.
Touchpad
The touchpad feels annoyingly coarse and is too small, especially given the size of the laptop. Even most 12" laptops have larger touchpads than the one on the 9300! This especially becomes a nuisance when doing photo editing and other related tasks. This problem is exacerbated by the fact that the touchpad is amazingly unresponsive, which makes even simple mouse movements a chore. Thankfully, since the Dell 9300 is not an on-the-go laptop, you can just use a normal USB mouse most of the time instead of the touchpad.
There is also a horizontal and vertical touch scroll built in. Strangely, they do not function without being specifically enabled by the user.
Design Continued
Connectivity Options
As a 17" DTR laptop marketed directly towards the multimedia segment, the Dell Inspiron 9300 has an incredible array of connectivity options, including 6 USB 2.0 ports, DVI, S-Video, Firewire, and more. There are a few complaints, though. The Inspiron 9300 is missing a few legacy ports, such as the printer port and a serial port. This is acceptable, because they are called legacy ports for a reason, but it never hurts to have them available. People who still have older hardware need to keep this in mind. In addition, for a laptop of this size, I wish Dell added an additional FireWire port for a total of two. Another noticeable complaint is that there is no Compact Flash reader: the laptop only supports SD cards. Other than that, the Dell Inspiron 9300 has a good array of connectivity options with proper placement.
The left side of the laptop houses the CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive, as well as 2 of the 6 total USB 2.0 ports and a ventilation opening. Many laptops have the CD drive on the right side, which could interfere with the mouse, so this is a terrific choice by Dell.
The right side of the laptop contains the PCMCIA card slot, SD slot, Firewire port, headphone jack, and microphone jack. It is disappointing to see a new Sonoma-based laptop without an Express Card slot. Express Cards will use the high bandwidth of the PCI Express bus and eventually replace PC Cards. In all reality, new notebook purchasers today should consider the PC Card a legacy connection and aim to have both of these slots on their machine.
On the front, you will find the stereo speakers and multimedia buttons.
The back of the Dell 9300 is heavily populated, containing 2 exhaust ports, S-Video, LAN, modem, 4 x USB 2.0 ports, VGA, DVI, and the power connector. DVI and S-Video are not typically offered in value laptops, so this again is a great choice by Dell.
Heat and Noise
Surprisingly, the Dell 9300 is a very quiet, especially for a desktop replacement laptop. During normal usage, such as web browsing or word processing, you can't hear the fans unless you put your ear right down by them. Even when playing the latest games, the Dell 9300 remained silent. In 2D mode browsing web pages, the laptop would be warm at most. However, when playing 3D games for long periods of time, the laptop would become fairly hot, requiring you to place it on a desk instead of your lap.
Upgrading and Expansion
Like most laptops, the Dell 9300 only offers a few user upgradeable components: the integrated wireless, RAM, and hard drive. These components are accessed by unscrewing panels on the back. Even though the graphics card is PCI-E, which is touted to be upgradeable, the Dell 9300 does not offer an easy way to do it! Unfortunately, the same also is true for the CPU. A nice feature is that both of the RAM slots are on the bottom of the machine. A lot of laptops today come with one slot under the keyboard, making RAM upgrades painstaking at times.
Features
CPU
The Dell 9300 supports all Pentium M CPUs up to 2 GHz. Our Dell 9300 configuration uses the Pentium M 730 1.6 GHz ( Dothan) with 2MB L2 cache. Following the standard rule of thumb, the 1.6 GHz processor is roughly equal to a (1.6 x 1.6) 2.6 GHz Pentium 4, or an AMD 64 2700+ (1.6 GHz). Therefore, we can expect performance is about equal to a modern low end desktop machine. However, this is compensated by a longer battery life, due to the low power consumption (27W TDP) inherent in the Pentium M 'Dothan' processor.
This is a newer Sonoma-based Pentium M CPU, meaning it supports newer features like dual-channel DDR2 533 RAM. However, don't expect performance to increase by much, due to the lackluster latency timings of the DDR2 RAM with our model. Unfortunately, with the new features comes an increase in power consumption: the Sonoma Pentium M CPUs have a 27W TDP, up from 21W. Since it is a mobile CPU, the Pentium M has a special feature to further save power: Enhanced Intel SpeedStep. This technology clocks the CPU down to 800 MHz when idle, saving considerable battery life when performing mundane tasks like browsing the web or reading e-mail.
RAM
Since the Dell 9300 uses the latest Sonoma chipset, it can support dual channel DDR2 RAM. Even though it's running at 266 MHz (266MHz x 2 = 533MHz effective), with higher latencies comes less performance. In fact, DDR2 533 performance is still at or below that of high quality DDR 400. Fortunately, the RAM is upgradeable up to 2GB.
GPU
Dell offers its customers to select the powerful NVIDIA GeForce Go 6800 graphics card with the 9300 model. However, in an effort to minimize heat and power consumption, Dell underclocked (lowered) the speeds from the recommended 375 MHz core speeds to 290 MHz. The video RAM clock speed was also underclocked from 300 MHz to 295 MHz. Even with this seemingly drastic reduction in speed, we can still expect the Dell 9300 to dominate in all 3D areas. The Go 6800 GPU is a derivative of NVIDIA's desktop 6800 product, inheriting its 256bit memory bus, 12 pixel pipelines, and 5 vertex shaders. Unlike the desktop NVIDIA 6800 graphics card, it is made on a 110nm process instead of 130nm to lower heat and power consumption, and is (unfortunately) not unlockable to 16 pipes and 6 vertex shaders like some of the desktop cards. The NVIDIA Go 6800 also features battery saving technology that turns off parts of the GPU when they are not in use. In 2D mode, the graphics card lowers its own voltage and clock speeds to further save power.
NVIDIA's approach on its Go 6800 product is that it favors high core frequencies over pipeline count. The result is a GPU that excels mainly at lower resolutions (1280x1024 or below), with low AA and AF filtering. Therefore, the combination of this GPU with the ultra high UXGA resolution screen makes little sense. However, a 12 pipeline card is still the second most a laptop graphics card has at the moment: the ATI MOBILITY RADEON X800XT with 16 pipelines has just come out, available only in the super high end gaming machines. Games like Half Life 2 easily run on max graphics settings, with 4xAA and 8xAF, at a screen resolution of 1440x900. However, running at the native UXGA resolution in Half Life 2 resulted in a drastic reduction in FPS to around 20-40fps, making gameplay difficult. Doom 3 at High image quality and 1280x1024 resolution looked amazing and it produced bearable FPS, although it may still be a bit slow for the hardcore gamers. For most users, the NVIDIA Go 6800 will run most current games seamlessly, even at above average game settings.
Display
Our Dell 9300 laptop uses the high resolution transflective (Dell calls this feature TrueLife) WUXGA screen. In both 2D and 3D mode, the picture is amazingly sharp and the color is vibrant, especially at its full resolution of 1920x1200! Screen quality is completely satisfactory no matter what the task. Brightness and contrast are excellent. The maximum brightness is too bright to be used indoors, and should be used outdoors for amazing results. Movies are reproduced in brilliant colors, and gaming is a delight with no image ghosting. Even text at the maximum resolution was easily readable, due to the sharpness of the display. Many people have complained about the quality of Dell's UXGA screens, such a sparkling effect, but we did not encounter this problem with our screen.
Both the viewing angle, brightness, and the response rate are excellent. There is a "sweet spot" in the viewing angle, but the LCD is very forgiving so the image looks relatively sharp and bright even from the side.
Features Continued
Sound
Aside from the standard integrated stereo speakers on the side of the keyboard, there is a subwoofer on the bottom of the laptop, which improves bass considerably. The result is a great stereo sound experience with above average bass. Still, nothing still beats a good pair of headphones. Although Sonoma platform supports Intel's High Definition Audio, the Dell Inspiron 9300 does not.
Wireless
The Dell 9300 uses the standard Intel PRO/Wireless 2200BG (802.11b/g) card, which should be suitable for most needs. The card can be turned off when not needed to save power by simply pressing a function button. Wireless speed and strength, like mody laptops with this card, was never an issue. Dell uses the standard Windows wireless connection software to manage connections, which works well overall.
Optical Drive
The Dell 9300 uses a CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive, suitable for watching movies and listening to music. Although there are no DVD burning capabilities in the standard model, the base model does offer CD-RW support. Although DVD playback speed is a bit lacking, the drive still performs adequately. Dell allows you to upgrade to a DVD +/- RW/R Combo drive if you are in need of DVD writing and faster DVD reading capabilities.
The disk drive speeds are as follows:
- CD Read 24x
- CD Write 24x
- DVD Read 8
Hard Drive
Dell offers a limited range of hard drives in terms of performance. Although the customer can choose between hard drives with 40GB, 60GB, 80GB, and even 100GB capacities, there is little to no choice with the hard drive RPM. Dell doesn't even display the RPM, merely describing them based on their capacity. The sole exception is the 60GB 7200RPM model, which will improve load times considerably, but you can expect all other drives to be the slowest hard drives available: 4200RPM hard drives. Note: It appears that a number of 9300 owners have received 5400RPM drives in lieu of 4200RPM models. It appears that Dell substitutes what model is readily available in a given instance, but the actual spindle speed of the 40GB drive that is supposed to ship with the 9300 is 4200RPM. If you want to see real world numbers on the differences in drive performance, check out our RPM Guide.
Our model included a Toshiba 80GB with a slow 4200RPM. The noise from the hard drive was not noticeable unless I put my ear right next to the laptop. The area around the hard drive did not get noticeably hot.
Battery
Even though the Dell Inspiron 9300 utilizes the low power Pentium M CPU, battery life is still low due to the large LCD and the powerful graphics card. The supplied battery is a 53 WHr 4400 mAh standard 6 cell laptop battery, which is barely enough for a short movie, or for an hour or two of simple web browsing, word editing, and other simple tasks. However, it will only last an hour or less of intense gaming. Our tests showed that even when performing simple tasks such as word processing or web surfing, battery life will not go over a mere 2 hours. Obviously, the Dell Inspiron is meant to be constantly plugged in. If you need additional battery life, try our Advanced Battery Optimization Guide, or you can purchase a spare battery from Dell's website.
