Benchmarked -- Engadget

benchmarked posts

ASUS' $1,500 Core i7-equipped G51J gaming laptop gets reviewed

by Darren Murph posted Nov 10th 2009 at 12:23PM

Here's hoping you held off on purchasing that Core 2 Duo G51 just a few months ago, 'cause ASUS has just pushed out the exact same laptop with a Core i7 within and a price tag that's $200 skimpier. The G51J-A1 was launched alongside Windows 7, and the crew over at Hot Hardware managed to toss it on the test bench to find out what kind of gains could be expected when going from Intel's last-gen CPU to the newly-announced Core i7-720QM. The long and short of it is this: the new CPU enabled this machine to smoke the C2D sibling in every test, with graphical performance being nothing short of astounding. 'Course, the omission of a Blu-ray drive was somewhat of a bummer, but for just $1,499, it's not like we really expected one to be included. Hit the read link for the full skinny, but only if you've got some disposable income that you don't mind parting with.

Maingear SHIFT reviewed: $7,000 can shatter a lot of records

by Darren Murph posted Nov 5th 2009 at 11:01AM

It's the priciest rig we've seen since we laid eyes on Alienware's latest gaggle of machines back at TGS, and it's not even from a company that you would generally take seriously in the gaming PC arena. But according to Computer Shopper, that small-man bias should be shelved, and fast. Maingear's newly unveiled SHIFT can be had for just over $2,000 if you stick with the basics, but CS managed to review a loaded-out $7,113 edition that produced "record-shattering performance." The "uncompromising design" and build quality was also lauded, through the college-fund shattering price tag prevented it from notching a 10/10 rating. Feel free to tap the read link for the full skinny, but honestly, this thing simply did exactly what it should've done for the price; anything less than world-beating would've been a disgrace at seven large.

Fusion-io ioXtreme and ioXtreme Pro PCI Express SSDs sneak out

by Darren Murph posted Oct 27th 2009 at 3:21PM

Mmm, flash. Fusion-io's product line has largely targeted enterprise users, but with the introduction of the ioXtreme PCI Express SSD back at E3, it was clear that the next-gen storage outfit was serious about breaking into the consumer market. Today, the 80GB ioXtreme and ioXtreme Pro (which was previously unheard of) have both broke cover over at Hot Hardware, with the former being useful for single-drive installs and the latter good for multi-drive setups. We should note that Fusion-io is obviously behind schedule on these, and there still doesn't look to be a definite price and release for the laypeople out there. That said, if the company's shipping out products that punch out an average write rate of 300MB/sec and read rate of 775MB/sec (yes, seriously), we'd say it's darn near ready for the real world.

Intel's SSD Toolbox, firmware update promise boost in performance

by Darren Murph posted Oct 26th 2009 at 4:06PM

We won't say that we love products leaving the oven before they're completely done, but we do adore gratis firmware updates that better a product even after you've purchased it. That being said, we're actually stoked that Intel has decided to out its second major firmware update for the second-gen 34nm X25-M SSD, and unlike the first, this one has the potential to put smiles on lots and lots (as opposed to a few) faces. The newfangled SSD Toolbox includes an SSD Optimizer for the aforementioned device, which promises to help users "more effectively monitor and manage the SSD's health." It also offers a performance boost to sequential write speeds by delivering up to 100MB/sec on the 160GB model, which represents a rather substantial 40 percent uptick over the existing firmware. The best news of all? Intel's doing more than just blowing hot air, as the benchmarking gurus over at Hot Hardware found out. Hit the read link for their eye-opening analysis.

Update: Down for more benchmarks, including ones focused on TRIM testing? Good!

HP Mini 311 with ION benchmarked: it goes very fast

by Nilay Patel posted Oct 5th 2009 at 7:02PM

We've already seen the NVIDIA ION-based HP Mini 311 perform impressively during demos, but now that the netbook is hitting reviewers it's time for some real benchmarks -- and according to the crew at Laptop, they're more than solid. The 311 scored a 1,917 on the PCMark 05 test, almost 500 points above the average netbook, and put up a scorching 1,386 in the 3DMark06 test -- 1,200 points over the netbook average, and basically the same score as a MacBook Air. That's not too surprising, seeing as ION is just a netbook-oriented variant of the GeForce 9400M, but it's still rather impressive -- and combined with 1080p video playback, the potential for some light gaming, and (eventually) ION-accelerated Flash, we'd say the Mini 311 is looking like a real contender.

AMD's 3.4GHz Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition review roundup: fast, but not Intel fast

by Darren Murph posted Aug 13th 2009 at 12:32AM

Say what you will about AMD, but don't you dare call it lazy. Within a matter of weeks, the outfit has launched a 2GB FirePro for um, pros, a 785G integrated chip for laypeople and now a new Phenom II X4 for the gamers in attendance. The all new Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition is the "highest clocked quad-core processor for desktop PCs," checking in with a stock frequency of 3.4GHz and support for DDR3 and AMD OverDrive 3.0. Based on the Dragon platform, the chip is actually identical to the 955 it replaces at the top save for the clock speed, and during the collective web's testing, it easily outpaced every other AMD option out there. Unfortunately, it still couldn't put the hurt on a smattering of Intel chips, with the Core 2 Extreme QX9770 and Core i7 920 besting it in all but a few tests. All told, the chip was found to be an incremental (albeit fun) update, but given that it's currently priced between Intel's Core 2 Quad Q9550 ($219) and the aforesaid Core i7 920 ($279), it's not a clear-cut bargain at $245. Still, give it a lil' shelf time, let the MSRP sink and it just might be worth another look in due time.

Read - HotHardware review
Read - Tom's Hardware review
Read - Anandtech's review
Read - PC Perspective's review
Read - Elite Bastards review
Read - Neoseeker review
Read - Overclocker's Club review

Continue reading AMD's 3.4GHz Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition review roundup: fast, but not Intel fast

Dell's Phenom II-equipped XPS 625 benchmarked to the hilt

by Darren Murph posted Mar 6th 2009 at 2:27AM

Yeah, we already heard that Dell's Phenom II-equipped XPS 625 was a solid value, but what does that really mean? The testing fiends over at HotHardware sought to find out, and after putting this gaming beast through more tests than it ever wanted to endure, they mirrored most of the earlier (positive) sentiments. In fact, it was found to boast one of the best price-to-performance ratios out there, and the "minimalist" software installation definitely earned brownie points in our book. One thing that bothered critics, however, was the excessive amount of noise. We too have noticed that Dell's ginormous XPS towers -- which, by the way, reviewers also found to be unnecessarily heavy and unwieldy -- can emit some serious decibels under heavy loads, but you'd think the engineers in Round Rock would've figured out a solution by now. Still, those quirks are probably small hassles to deal with given the savings compared to similar rigs, but we'd highly recommend digging into the read link just to be sure.

Lenovo IdeaPad Y530 tested in every way imaginable

by Darren Murph posted Jan 31st 2009 at 2:11AM

Lenovo's 15.4-inch IdeaPad Y530 has been around the block a time or two, but if you've been putting off a buy as you wait for someone to test this puppy out good-fashion, your day has arrived. The benchmarking fiends over at HotHardware have abused (in a good way, of course) the Y530 in pretty much every way possible, even straining the Core 2 Duo CPU and the NVIDIA GeForce 9300M to see how they fared in gaming scenarios. Critics were particularly wowed by the display's crispness and overall stability of the machine -- not once during the gauntlet of tests did this bugger crash or weep under pressure. Of course, serious gamers should probably look elsewhere, but those scouting a do-it-all laptop at a sub-$1,000 price point should definitely dive into the read link below.

Video: OQO model 2+ MID gets unboxed, previewed

by Darren Murph posted Jan 20th 2009 at 10:12AM

We were pretty stoked about the OQO model 2+ when we got to spend a few quality minutes with it at CES this year, and apparently actually getting one delivered to your house is even more spectacular. The cool cats over at MID Moves were able to score one of the Gobi / OLED-equipped handhelds for review, and rather than making us wait until all opinions were formed, they've hosted up a nice preview video along with a few high quality unboxing shots. Initial impressions seem pretty positive, with the SSD helping things along quite significantly. Granted, we would've preferred a WiFi-on battery life of more than two hours, but what fun would it be to not have a single gripe to harp on? More pictorial delight is in the read link, and the vid's just past the break.

[Via Slashgear, thanks Kris120890]

Continue reading Video: OQO model 2+ MID gets unboxed, previewed

Dell's XPS 730x H2C Core i7 gaming PC benchmarked and tested exhaustively

by Darren Murph posted Dec 23rd 2008 at 1:05PM

If you thought the original XPS 730 H2C was boss, get a load of this. The incredibly diligent benchmarkers over at HotHardware have taken the Core i7-powered XPS 730x H2C under their wings for a fortnight of testing, and they've got a baker's dozen worth of review pages to display their findings. We can't even begin to cover the array of graphs, bar charts and triple-digit FPS numbers here, but we can tell you that critics were duly impressed with how well the Core i7 performance compared to older Core 2-based offerings. Gaming performance was predictably "fantastic," and even the single GeForce GTX 280 that it was packin' held its own under pressure. All in all, this fanciful machine was deemed "a worthy update to what [reviewers] thought was the best XPS 700 series system to date," and if you've got the coin, you'll probably be incredibly pleased with what it delivers. Dive deep (and we mean deep) in the read link below.

Samsung's NC10 netbook benchmarked and in the wild

by Darren Murph posted Oct 11th 2008 at 3:02PM

Ah, how convenient! Just hours after finding out that Samsung's NC10 netbook would one day be at home here in the United States of America, along comes a host of unboxing / in the wild photos and even a few benchmarks to get you ready for its arrival. Granted, the writeup is in translated German, but fortunately for us the photographs do most of the talking. For what it's worth, the 10-inch NC10 seemed to edge out the Eee PC 901 in most tests, but not by any wide margin. Also of note, the keyboard was praised for having keys that weren't bite-sized, though the trackpad beneath it was a touch on the small side. For a few more impressions and JPEGs penned in the universal language, give that read link a visit.

ASUS Eee Box B202 detailed and tested on video

by Darren Murph posted Aug 15th 2008 at 11:23AM

It's one thing to see a device unboxed in pictures, but we all know a video tells a million (give or take a few) words. HotHardware's Dave Altavilla has posted up a sub-5 minute clip detailing the ins and outs of ASUS' Eee Box B202, and even from an enthusiast of all things cutting-edge, he was pretty impressed by the Atom-powered machine. The most interesting bit is probably the video playback test; we won't spoil how it handled (or mishandled) 1080p playback for you -- jump on past the break and have a look for yourself.

Continue reading ASUS Eee Box B202 detailed and tested on video

Raon Digital hands out surprisingly high benchmarks for Everun Note

by Darren Murph posted Aug 13th 2008 at 3:32PM

Call to action: strap that skeptic hat on, and strap it down tight. Good to go? Good. Raon Digital's first big wave of marketing hoopla for its forthcoming Everun Note netbook includes a very useful specifications list, a number of press images and a few benchmark screenshots that boast remarkably high figures. The CrystalMark screens are pretty impressive at first glance, though it's hard to say how quickly your battery would drain if it were maxed out in order to achieve such goals. Couple that with the questionable legitimacy of the shots and you've got a perfect reason to wait for an independent hands-on review before falling too hard for this here device. But yeah, we're cautiously optimistic.

[Via SlashGear]

Read - Everun Note benchmark
Read - Everun Note marketing pack [PDF]

Gateway's 17-inch P-6831FX gaming laptop gets reviewed

by Darren Murph posted Jul 3rd 2008 at 4:46PM

Given that Gateway just pushed out a round of updates including the relatively ginormous P Series, we reckon it was only logical to expect a review shortly. To be frank, the P-6831FX critiqued over at HotHardware is far from being the most potent machine with a 17-inch panel, but unlike many of its luxurious competitors, this one is actually affordable. So, how much gaming joy can $1,349.99 bring you? Quite a bit when the 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTS and 3GB of RAM are included. Reviewers found gaming performance to be downright remarkable, though the 1.67GHz CPU did hamper it a bit in other areas. It should be noted that the unit now arrives with a slightly faster CPU among other minor extras, so if it was good then, we're guessing it's a runaway winner now.

Three WD VelociRaptors get setup in RAID 5 array, testing ensues

by Darren Murph posted Jun 29th 2008 at 12:24PM

Western Digital's hasty VelociRaptor already got reviewed by its lonesome, but for those thinking of getting a RAID system into their rig, HotHardware has taken a trio of 'em, setup a RAID 5 array and put the drives through their collaborative paces. The configuration was made possible thanks to an Areca PCIe X8 hardware RAID card, and the results were rather impressive -- to no one's surprise, might we add. Across the entire volume, performance was generally linear save for a few small valleys along the way, burst speed was 598MB/sec and average read speed was 209.4MB/sec, which pretty much blew the doors off of everything that came before it. Number lovers, there's more where this came from in the read link below.