At this level, the performance is very low. This limits the user to usual activities e.g surfing the web, writing emails. Using applications like Word or Excel is possible, though at a very low speed. Gaming and other high performance tasks are impossible. People looking for a secondary laptop or using non-complex applications only will be satisfied.

• 3DMark 06 1024 x 768

  646.33 #

• Cinebench xCPU 64Bit

  1490 #

The reviewers’ opinions tended predominantly towards moderate satisfaction concerning the laptop design. The notebook’s appearance was decently received and should prove to be at the taste of many users.

The build quality is above average providing for the necessary protection of the computer’s internal parts. The build quality should be acceptable for users moving the laptop around on a frequent basis, even after a couple of years. The external parts might however wear out after medium-term usage , resulting in cracks or squeaking sounds.

• Base Unit Flex

   : 

  3.3/5

  The laptop chassis is quite resistant, however few imperfections with gaps and cracking sounds might annoy the user. The surface will suffer from some scratches if the computer is not protected during transportation.

• Hinge Stability

   : 

  2.5/5

  The hinge, connecting the screen to the laptop body, is not up to the standards of flexibility and tightness. Some difficulty will be experienced when trying to open the laptop with one hand. There might as well be some annoying wiggling experienced when walking around.

• Display Panel

   : 

  3.9/5

  Some minor colour distortions might occur under significant pressure on the back of the display, or when moving the screen back and fourth. Hardly any gaps between the different parts of the frame can be found.

Generally the reviewers deemed this laptop to be above average. Users could expect this display to provide for average satisfaction with office work as well as multimedia use. Gamers and professional designers might however not find this display to their taste. To get a more comprehensive review of this display, users should check the ratings of the different attributes of this screen.

• Display Resolution

  1366 x 768

  This resolution is also called HD-ready. Viewing more than one website on the monitor is almost impossible, as one window takes up almost the whole space. Graphic designers might not be completely satisfied with this resolution, as this latter might be too small. High resolution picture and video editing is plainly impossible. This resolution is a good option for gamers as many graphic cards will be powerful enough to support the native resolution of this display. Watching most movies will be possible without any black bars at the top and bottom of the display.

• Color Reproduction

   : 

  3.3/5

  The color spectrum covered by the display is acceptable. Both color saturation and natural appearance of the pictures are good enough for viewing HD movies and gaming. Professional designers however will find that only a higher level of color reproduction will satisfy their needs.

• Contrast

   : 

  2.5/5

  The contrast between the darkest color -black- and the brightest color -white- is below average in this computer. This results in having the darkest areas being washed out resembling a dark shade of gray, while the brightest areas appear to be of a light grayish color. Movies can be enjoyed provided that the room is completely darkened. Most office workers will find the readability to be sufficient, while some might be annoyed by the close shades of gray characterizing both the dark text and the bright background. The needs of professional designers will surely not be met with this notebook.

• Contrast Value

  377.75 :1

• Brightness

   : 

  3.5/5

  The maximum brightness of this computer is adequate for viewing the screen comfortably, even under bright ambient light. However, the users must be cautious to only push the brightness to its maximum in bright conditions, eg. outdoors. Setting the brightness to a high level will drastically decrease the battery life. In addition, using the notebook at maximum brightness in a dark room will be tiring for the eyes.

• Average Brightness

  198.62 cd/m²

• Reflections

   : 

  1.3/5

  The reflections on this screen cause its usability to be close to minimal. Users will only be able to comfortably view the display in either dark environment or with the least possible amount of lighting. Outdoor use will prove to be absurd; patience and continuous focus will be required for any actual and efficient use of this laptop under medium lighting conditions.

• Viewing Angle

   : 

  2.0/5

  Looking at the screen from the side causes color distortions. Two people watching a movie have to sit close together for both of them to get a good picture. Even when you move in your chair color deviations will be noticeable. On the plus side, this display provides for some privacy in public spaces.

The internal speakers of this laptop provided for a below average sound quality. Low sounds are still recognizable. Music can still listened to although the users should account for the necessity of external speakers when planning to watch a movie with a group. Musicians should not even stop to consider this laptop for their work, and gamers will be disappointed as the sound will be convincing. Even maximum volume will not make the sound experience enjoyable.

• Maximum Volume

   : 

  2.7/5

  This laptop provides for a great opportunity to test your hearing abilities. At maximum volume, users can expect the sound to be loud enough to partially cover the space in one room. It would be difficult to enjoy a movie with a group of people if you are not all sitting close to the laptop. Headphones or external speakers should prove to be a good back up for action/thriller movies to be enjoyed.

• Sound Clarity

   : 

  3.0/5

  The clarity of the sound is still ok at this level. While demanding audiophiles will think of it as a disaster, the rest of us will find the sound experience provided by this laptop satisfactory when watching movies or playing games.

• Lows

   : 

  2.0/5

  Although this computer barely provides for an identifiable bass, low tones can still be recognized which, for some users might be sufficient. It is worth noting however that the sound experience will not be enjoyable at all when requiring deep/heavy bass for watching action movies, or playing violent war games.

This keyboard will be valued by most users as convenient for frequent use. Be it for writing long emails, or surfing the net, most users will be satisfied with the comfort and the speed this keyboard provides for. If your professional life requires long typing hours, along with the highest levels of comfort, then you might want to consider a keyboard with higher rates.

• Layout

   : 

  2.9/5

  Many users will have a hard time readjusting to the layout of this keyboard. Some of the keys might be placed, shaped or sized differently compared to a conventional keyboard layout, leading to frequent typing mistakes and a decrease in typing speed. Overall users will not be satisfied with this layout, although with persistence it can still be manageable.

• Keyboard Size

   : 

  3.3/5

  Although the size of this keyboard is still decent, typos might be a bit more frequent as the keys might not be large enough, depending on the size of your hands. The palm resting area could be too small for some users, although it is generally suitable and comfortable. All in all, the keyboard is proportionate enough and should still fulfill the needs of most users, especially after some getting used to.

• Key Responsiveness

   : 

  3.2/5

  The responsiveness of this keyboard allows for most users to be satisfied with individual key feedback. The keys do require some pressure for efficient typing, without being either too soft or too stiff for manipulation. Most users will find this keyboard supportive for long typing hours as the keys can be pressed down without any difficulty and they respond back quite fast. Although this keyboard might not be responsive enough for some, the general feel of the keyboard should be within the ranges of satisfaction for most of us.

• Keyboard Flex

   : 

  4.3/5

  This keyboard will prove to be resistant to increasing amounts of pressure, and would only start to bend when significantly pressed. The plastic below the keyboard thus barely flexes, which will only be noticeable when seriously hammering this thing. You can thus expect high levels of speed and comfort when using this computer, even for long typing hours.

• Keys Clicking Sound

   : 

  3.0/5

  The sound produced when clicking on individual keys could be considered by some at the verge of being disturbing. Most users however will not be bothered by it.

Reviewers considered the trackpad of this laptop as falling a little bit below general standards. Problems with either the accuracy of the touchpad, its size, its slipperiness or its roughness might be at the origin of this rating. The touchpad button does not seem to rank high neither, and problems with either precision or smoothness will make extensive use a modest experience. Some users might already be thinking of having an external mouse within reach, thus making up for the shortcomings of this trackpad.

• Sensitivity

   : 

  3.5/5

  Your expectations of an accurate touchpad should be generally satisfied. The levels of precision and speed provided by this touchpad are quite decent, and for most users, this touchpad will be just enough for daily use. Although the accuracy can be fine tuned in the Windows or Mac settings, the basic accuracy hardware wise is enough.

• Touchpad Size

   : 

  3.3/5

  The size of this touchpad is above average. You can browse through large displayed pages, although it might require frequent finger movement. Putting the sensitivity settings up on your computer should make your mouse move faster, and thus cover “more ground”, without much sacrifice of the accuracy of your pointer.

• Buttons

   : 

  2.3/5

  The reviewers considered the quality of this trackpad button to be less than average. Although this button quality might be sufficient for some, it will be less than desired for most. Problems with the unclear feedback, excessive softness or stiffness of the button will be obstacles for efficient use. The clicking sound produced by this button might as well be a little too obtrusive for pleasant use.

• Buttons Noise

   : 

  1.0/5

  The sound while pressing the mouse buttons is an unpleasant clattering that delivers an impression of minor quality.

The battery life is outstanding. You will be able to use your laptop for the better part of a whole work day. This of course requires you to turn down the brightness of your screen, as the display uses a lot of energy. You should also only plan to do office work and light browsing. If you are going to play games, stream videos, or surf websites with a lot of flash advertisement, the expected battery life will be considerably shorter. The energy saving mode should be enabled at all times, if not this will of course cause the battery life to drop even shorter.

• Battery DVD/Video

  4:45 h

  When performing energy consuming tasks, this battery will last from 4 to 5 hours. Be it for watching a couple of movies, preparing presentations, or streaming videos, this battery will not fail you for quite some time. Note: Gaming requires much more power thus you will only be able to enjoy it for a much more limited time.

This computer is for most users still comfortable to carry around, although for those used to lighter computers, it might seem a bit heavy at the beginning. Mobile users will most probably need a somehow large bag to carry this laptop around, a backpack in this case would be ideal. Even when factoring the extra weight of the charger, walking with this computer will still be fine for most users.

The laptop is almost completely silent under all circumstances. There is almost no noise emitted from the fan, the hard drive, CD drive, or any other parts. Even a noise sensitive person will find this laptop at the utmost of discretion, fitting the quietest environments.

• Noise Idle

   : 

  4.0/5

  Normally you do not notice the noise of the laptop ventilation while idle.

• Noise Normal Use

   : 

  4.5/5

  This laptop is silent while doing low performance tasks such as surfing the web, or editing a text. Even in a very quiet environment like a library, any noise from your laptop is unnoticeable, perfect for helping you focus on the task at hand.

• Noise Full Load

   : 

  4.5/5

  The laptop remains almost silent, even when using this laptop at full load when watching movies, gaming, or editing videos. Working in quiet environments will be no problem, also this makes this computer ideal for watching a horror movie, as the computer noise will by no means be obstructive to the scary movie sounds.

The laptops stays always cool. All reviewers found, the heat from the notebook will not be a problem for your fingers or legs. You can watch movies, even play games on a hot summer day without the laptop emitting any heat.

• Heat Top: Full Use

   : 

  5.0/5

  The laptop keeps quite cool at normal use. That’s very convenient.

• Heat Top: Normal Use

   : 

  5.0/5

  The temperature on top of the notebook is excellent. It never gets too warm.

• Heat Bottom: Normal Use

   : 

  3.7/5

  The bottom of the notebook warms up a little but is not getting too hot to place it on your lap.

• Heat Bottom: Full Load

   : 

  4.5/5

  There is no spot on the laptop that is overheated at anytime.