Pentium II notebooks

Home Office Computing, Nov, 1998 by Rich Malloy

We test six super-powered portables--five with Intel's newest 300MHz mobile processor--that can put any desktop to shame

The new crop of sport utility vehicles has a lot in common with the latest line of notebooks. The early SUVs--epitomized by the original Jeep Cherokee--emphasized off-road maneuvering and rugged handling, but paid little attention to creature comforts. Now you can buy 4x4s from Lincoln and Mercedes-Benz that boast leather seats, sunroofs, and ultra-smooth rides.

Similarly, early notebooks had monochrome screens, bulky cases, poor keyboards, and slow processors. In fact, not long ago, most notebooks had more compromises than actual features. But today's top-of-the-line notebooks are the Lincoln Navigators of the laptop market, powered by Intel's blazing 300MHz Pentium II processor. With 64MB of RAM and gorgeous 13.3- or 14.1-inch active-matrix LCD screens, you can barely tell the difference between these notebooks and desktop PCs.

And when your work's done, these notebooks are powerful entertainment centers. With built-in audio speakers, stereo controls, and DVD drives, you have a virtual movie theater on your desk or on your airline seat tray during a long flight. Sadly, there's no dispenser for hot buttered popcorn or cold soda.

The Torture Test To get a good idea of how this new generation of portables performs, we analyzed early engineering versions of five notebooks based on the brand-new 300MHz Pentium II: the Compaq Presario 1810, Dell Inspiron 7000, Gateway Solo 5150, Micron TransPort Trek 2, and NEC Versa SX. Because the 300MHz chip was in limited supply, we also looked at a notebook with the fast 266MHz Pentium II under the hood--IBM's ThinkPad 600. By the time you read this, IBM will have released notebooks powered by the 300MHz Pentium II.

To make our comparisons, we put the notebooks through a battery of tests commonly used at CFG Technical Labs. These included our PowerHour battery endurance test and a performance benchmark based on Symantec's Norton Utilities System Information test that measures processor, multimedia, and hard disk performance. To get a better idea of each notebook's real-world application speed, we also used a Microsoft Word macro that simulates typical word processing tasks and an Adobe Photoshop test, timing a 15-degree rotation of a 1.5MB bitmap image.

In addition to these standard CFG Labs tests, we also examined each unit's screen in various lighting conditions, along with its operating temperature (or lap warmer factor), noise level, and the quality of its audio and video. And after our work was done, we popped in a DVD disc to test the movie-going experience.

As a group, these notebooks are clear winners. Not only do they have the muscle to get any home office work done, they also have the creature comforts to help you enjoy your time off as well. In fact, of the 200 notebooks we've tested in the past year, these are by far the most appealing we've had the pleasure to use.

SPEED DEMONS: 300MHZ PENTIUM II NOTEBOOKS

Compaq Presario 1810

The mantra of the Compaq designers must have been, "Work hard. Play hard. Feel soft." The Presario 1810's rounded case is protected by a thin but pliable rubberized coating which makes typing and lugging the notebook a joy.

And the Presario 1810 not only feels good, it also sounds good. Compaq has installed JBL Pro speakers behind large contoured grilles under the palmrest, with small bass ports on the side panels. The result is fantastic audio with a palpable 3D effect. Even routine Windows 98 beeps and alarms sound impressive. This is one notebook that doesn't need any external speakers.

To complement its great sound, our test unit included a second-generation DVD drive for playing movies and reading all types of CD-ROM discs. The DVD player software was slick, but we couldn't get the fast forward to work correctly, and the software based Mediamatics video decoder delivered jumpy motion at times. Normally, the Presario's screen displays images at 1,024 by 768 resolution. To increase performance, the DVD player switches to 800 by 600 mode, yet keeps a full-sized image. Afterward, it switches the display hack to 1,024 by 768.

Under the hood, our Presario had 64MB of RAM and a generous 6.4GB hard disk. In our performance tests, the system finished in second place, just a single percentage point behind the pacesetting Dell Inspiron.

The Compaq has a number of nice little features. You can use the DVD drive even while the system is closed and shut off, which means it's easy to use the notebook as a CD music player while traveling. We also liked the sideways-mounted, space-saving USB port, but had one problem: Which way is up?

Against that, we had some problems with the Presario. For example, there's no reset pinhole; if the system completely freezes, you must disconnect the AC power and remove the battery to reset it. It lacks a TV-out connector for presentations. And, although its 13.3-inch screen is smaller than most of its rivals', its battery life is a lackluster 2.4 hours.