Dell Latitude C640 Battery

The team at NotebookReview.com just finished our in-depth look at the latest generation of AMD’s “Accelerated Processing Unit” (APU) technology. Code named “Trinity” this complex processor combines a central processing unit (CPU) and a graphics processor (GPU) onto a single chip while promising lower power consumption. Keep reading to see if your next laptop should have AMD inside.Those of our readers who stay up to date on the latest processor technology have probably heard about AMD’s FUSION. FUSION is what AMD calls its Accelerated Processing Unit (APU) technology. The first FUSION processors were the part of the Brazos platform of C-series and E-series processors (code named “Zacate”) for the entry-level laptop market. Later in 2011 AMD released its first A-series processors (code named “Llano”) which quickly found their way into a wide range of mainstream notebooks.

The Trinity APUs consists of the three different classes of A-series APUs (A6, A8, and A10) that are divided into two categories; mainstream and ultrathin. The A6 APUs have dual-core CPUs inside while the A8 and A10 chips pack quad-core processors. The important bit of technical minutia to be aware of is that the new Trinity APUs have undergone a radical change in thermal design packages (TDPs). Last year’s A-series processors ran at either 35 or 45 watts … meaning they were intended for mid-range and high-performance notebooks but not ultrathin laptops. The wizards at AMD found a way to DOUBLE the computational performance per watt but at TDPs of just 17 to 35 watts. That directly translates into thinner notebooks and longer battery life.

The base clock speeds for the A-series notebook APUs range from 1.9GHz to 2.7GHz and higher clock speeds are reached via AMD’s “Turbo Core” technology. Turbo Core works in much the same way as Intel’s TurboBoost technology by up-clocking one or more cores depending on the processor demands of the software you’re running. Unlike TurboBoost, AMD’s Turbo Core bases its clock speed increases on the workload of the APU rather than thermal measurements of processor activity.

AMD claims an increase in CPU performance of up to 29 percent and an increase of graphics performance up to 56% over the previous generation of A-series processors. Granted the 29 percent CPU performance boost is pretty impressive, but it’s that 56 percent increase in the GPU that will be of most interest to gamers. Whether you’re a casual gamer who likes playing web-based games or a hardcore gamer who stands in line for every new release in the Call of Duty series, the GPU inside the new A-series APU genuinely lives up to AMD’s label of “discrete-class graphics.” We’ll save the details for the benchmarking section of this review, but let’s just say there’s a reason the GPU takes up half the space on this chip.

The Toshiba Tecra A6 has a silver painted lid and inner surfaces. The bottom, back, sides, screen and keyboard are coloured a flat black. The Toshiba logo on the lid is reflective and surrounded by a square of brushed metal. All in all, it looks quite modern and stylish.The 5 system status LEDs on the front left are all a pleasing green colour and not too bright. However, the “Wireless On” LED is located separately on the front of the laptop and is orange and extremely bright. I find this quite annoying, especially in a dark room. I would have preferred it if Toshiba just used another system LED for showing the wireless status.

The laptop is quite light and fairly solid, I couldn’t notice any flexing of the screen though the screen tends to “wobble” a tiny bit if the screen is pressed, but despite that the hinges feel very solid. The Toshiba Tecra A6 isn’t quite as solidly built as some iBooks and IBM Thinkpads I’ve used in the past but is all in all quite acceptable and much better then some older Toshiba laptops I’ve used.There is quite a bit of warmth just right of the touchpad where your wrists would rest when typing. It’s not uncomfortably hot but it could make your hands a bit sweaty after a few hours of typing.The Tecra A6 features a 14.1 inch Widescreen WXGA display. Unlike a lot of recent laptops the Toshiba uses a matte screen that is more readable in bright light then glossy screens but sacrifices a lot of contrast and some brightness.

Talking about the wireless button — one thing I like about this model is that there is no irritating blue LED’s on the notebook which distract the user (like on some HP’s and Toshibas). Everything is just nice green lights. All the status lights are in a neat row below the hinge of the monitor — and they are all nice looking icons with the light shining through them. Also, application specific buttons are a nice matte silver, none of that tacky looking chrome buttons found on some machines.The notebook gets quite warm under intensive use — the processor temperature remains in the 54 degrees Celsius area when plugged in, and around 49 degrees Celsius when running on battery power. The fan is very efficient and only comes on periodically, about once every ten minute for about 5 seconds when the notebook is being used for intensive tasks like 3D games. The wrist pads get a little warm when plugged in, but nothing to worry about. It can be used on your lap, but this machine is not exactly a X series ThinkPad. It is not uncomfortable, as long as the fan underneath can get some air.

The track pad is nice and big — something which is a plus. I wish it had a Track point type button, but this will do. Anyone who has used a small track pad (like found on some Packard Bell sub notebooks) would know that a track pad has to be the right size to be usable. The track pad has a nice dedicated scrolling area, and the buttons have a nice feeling to them. I hate buttons on track pads that make a lot of noise. It also has a dedicated button which switches off the track pad completely off — it glows green when activated. This is nice for when you have a mouse plugged in at your desk and you have a lot of typing to do.

I’m going to say it straight. This machine has terrible speakers. Very tinny, and not very loud. I also use my Logitech Z2300 speakers instead. There is even a small little subwoofer installed on the bottom, but I don’t think it has any effect. Must say I am disappointed with this part of the notebook. Luckily I use decent desktop speakers at home. On the go, you will have to use headphones I guess.One nice feature is the volume wheel control. I wish more notebook manufacturers will stick with this feature. Most people prefer to turn a knob than to press Fn+F6 quickly silence a notebook.The earphone jack is also a SPDIF optical out (you can actually see a little red light glowing from it). I don’t have a digital amplifier, but it is nice to have because the notebook is equipped with Intel 7.1 High Def audio. With my 2.1 Logitech Z2300 speakers the sound is as good as ever.

There is more software included, but the user has the option of which packages he wants to install. One part I did appreciate was that there was no “crapware” installed like some other brands. Right from the start the user is given a good clean choice of software without skins and other irritating things (like included in Dell and Packard Bell machines).Software is shipped on included CD’s as well, which I like. Some brands these days do not ship with CDs at all — how cheap can you get? For example, Acer notebooks constantly remind the user to burn a software CD.All my software runs without any problems. Most of my apps focus on web development, graphics editing, benchmarking and of course the standard office type applications.Reception on this machine is fine. I have not had any problems using the wireless features. There is support for 802.11 a, b and g formats, so it is versatile in that sense. In many cases where my friends’ Acer would not have reception, I would be happy enough to have reception and at a decent speed too. I have no idea where the antenna is situated.

I really wish there is more wireless options out for the Expresscard slot though. Cellular providers do not have 3G Expresscards out yet, so I will have to wait. Guess that’s the price you pay for having the latest tech.Warranty and support:The machine ships with a standard one year warranty — nothing special. You can purchase an optional 3yr pickup and return warranty, but I did not opt for it. There is dedicated customer care number on the box, and none of that free 90 day nonsense. It works for the length of the warranty.Overall I am very happy with this notebook. I had the option of returning the notebook should I wish (I normally do if I am not one hundred percent happy) but this notebook just perfectly fits my needs. While it is not perfect (I hate the plastic silver look) its performance is great. If I could make improvements it would be better speakers and a black cover. However, the machine is well built and portable enough for daily use.

The IdeaPad S10-2 is the latest generation 10″ netbook from Lenovo, offering the 1.6GHz N270 Intel Atom processor and a 6-cell extended battery. Lenovo redesigned this netbook to make it look slimmer and more attractive than its predecessor, giving the edges a rounded look and a more modern appearance. In our review we see how well the IdeaPad S10-2 performs in our tests, to help you make an informed buying decision.A solid looking metal hinge with integrated speakers holds the screen in place. Hinge tension is good, but the range of motion is limited – you can’t open the HP Mini enough to lay it flat.

Port selection looks like this: On the left side there is a power jack, USB 2.0, proprietary connector (you can buy a VGA cord that fits this port), multipurpose minijack, and Ethernet (with rubber cover). 
On the right side you have an SDHC Card slot, one normal USB 2.0 and one recessed USB 2.0 (HP has a line of flash storage accessories planned for this slot). Whether these ports are sufficient really depends on personal preference and need. I suspect most folks will be disappointed that there are not more ports (standard VGA being a real sore point).

The setup prompts are brief and you’ll be up and running in a minute or two. Pick your username, password, location and away you go. During startup a quick Linux error message flashes on the screen, and you’ll wonder if something is broken. But it does boot so be patient. Likewise when shutting down there is a crunchy static sound blast that emanates from the speakers.Perhaps the most interesting feature is the Mini 1110NR’s operating system. HP has adapted Linux to their needs and the results are very good. Their distribution is called the Mobile Internet Experience and is built on top of Ubuntu (8.04 I think) and the Gnome desktop environment.