Alienware M17x R4 Review

No brand name in the gaming computer segment carries more weight than Alienware. Not all of the weight is good – geeks are notoriously independent and some shun the company for no other reason than the fact it’s owned by Dell. This, however, doesn’t seem to have hurt its products or prospects. You’ll be hard pressed to step foot in any gaming tournament or convention without bumping into Alienware. The company has updated its popular M17x laptop to accommodate Intel’s new Ivy Bridge processors, but there is more to it than the hardware. This new revision also alters the chassis, cutting weight down from nearly twelve pounds to a tad under ten and reducing thickness from 2.1 inches to 1.8. Though still by no means a light-weight, these reductions are noticeable. Inside the new M17x there remains plenty of room for impressive hardware. An Intel Core i7-3820QM processor is paired with Nvidia’s new GTX 680M graphics solution and 8GB of RAM. Our review unit came with a 7200 RPM hard drive paired with a 32GB SSD that acts as a cache drive. This configuration is not the most expensive variant, but it is near the top of the line. You’ll have to dish out $2,599 for this specific model. That’s a lot of clams. Let’s see what they buy you.

Design

Alienware’s new laptop looks like… an Alienware. The company has consistently used the same muscular matte-black exterior on all of its laptops, regardless of size, and the new model is no exception. Slightly slimming the profile of the new version does flatter its appearance, but the basics have not changed. If you liked the looks of previous laptops from the company, you’ll like this one, and vice-versa. While the aesthetics are similar to its predecessors the new model does improve touch points. The lid is now a soft-touch material that feels more luxurious and expensive than the hard plastic previously used. This treatment continues along the interior. It’s hard to say if build quality has improved without a side-by-side comparison to the old model, but our impressions are positive. The gaps between chassis panels are tight and difficult to notice because of the way the laptop is designed. Handling the laptop roughly does illicit a few groans of protest from the laptop’s plastics, but nothing out of the ordinary for a large gaming laptop. Connectivity is excellent. There’s four USB 3.0 ports, eSATA, HDMI-In and HDMI-out, DisplayPort, and VGA. Audio hook-ups include not only headphone and microphone jacks but also line-in and S/PDIF. The ports are in the right locations, as well. The video ports are near the rear of the laptop while the headphone and microphone jacks are near the front.

User interface

This new revision includes the same old Alienware keyboard, which is a disappointment. While the layout is spacious and key feel generally acceptable, the keyboard suffers from poorly defined key caps. Touch typing is difficult because fingers can easily become lost. The M17x wasn’t made for productivity, of course, but we know from experience that a gaming laptop doesn’t need to shun typists. Similar complaints can be levied at the touchpad. Though large, it has a flat texture and finicky left and right buttons. Alienware clearly does not intend it as the primary means of input – they even ship a mousepad with the laptop – but that doesn’t change the fact that competitors like Asus offer a better experience. The keyboard is backlit using Alien FX, the company’s branded backlighting solution. A number of different color options are available ranging from the obnoxious (neon green) to the useful (dull blue, white or red). There are no physical controls for the backlighting. You’ll have to use the Alien FX software if you want to make changes.

Display and audio quality

A great gaming laptop must have a great display, and the M17x does not disappoint. The glossy 1080p panel stunned us with its brilliant colors, reasonable black levels and butter-smooth reproduction of our gradient test image. Viewing angles are also excellent on both the horizontal and vertical axis. Our only complaint is the glossy coating. It’s quite noticeable even in a room with moderate lighting and the backlight isn’t strong enough to overcome the problem. With that said, going matte probably would take some umph out of the display’s punch, so gloss was probably the right choice. Audio quality is among the best we’ve ever experienced from a laptop. There’s actually some bass in the system which reduces overall distortion and allows for clear vocals alongside bass tones. At maximum volume, the M17x can fill a small room with enjoyable sound and is on par with a decent pair of desktop PC speakers. The only problem comes from the chassis, which sometimes rattles from the bass.

Cooling

Packing serious gaming hardware in a laptop always creates the potential for heat issues. Laptops can either accept the higher temperatures or counteract them by running the system fan at high speeds. The M17x seems to take the former path. Although the system fan can be a bit loud while playing intense games, it is quiet at idle and at low to moderate load. This results in idle exterior temperatures that top out at around 86 degrees Fahrenheit. While not annoying, you’ll notice the warmth on your palms as you use the keyboard. Heavy load turns up the heat considerably. We measured temperatures in the mid-90s along the keyboard’s surface and temperatures as high as 102 degrees on the laptop’s underside. If the size of this computer hadn’t made it clear to you that the “lap” in “laptop” is in this case rhetorical, the temperatures should.

Portability

With its 17-inch display and weight of nearly ten pounds, the M17x is obviously not a laptop that you’d want to purchase for frequent travel. It does, however, come with a massive 90Wh battery. Is it possible for this huge unit to offer decent battery endurance? Yes. In Battery Eater the Alienware M17x lasted exactly one hour and thirty minutes, while the light-load Reader’s Test expanded life to four hours and thirty-seven minutes. Although many other laptops do better, this is respectable endurance for a gaming laptop and will be adequate for some users.

Software

The Alienware M17x comes mercifully devoid of bloatware. Only two icons exist on the desktop, one of which is the Recycle Bin. No security suite trial is installed by default. The laptop does ship with the AlienRespawn recovery software, but unlike the recovery software on Dell’s mainstream consumer laptops, this incarnation mostly stays out of your way if you don’t want to use it. The AlienFX Editor used to control the keyboard backlighting seems to run more smoothly than previous incarnations but it still suffers from unprofessional look-and-feel. Its default full-screen nature is unnecessary on a 1080p display and the graphical elements of various menus are obviously not as sharp as they could be. There’s also AlienFusion (which handles power management), AlienTouch (which control touchpad settings) and AlienAdrenaline (a utility that lets users define how the laptop’s hardware operates). All of these utilities suffer the same problems as AlienFX and they are largely redundant with Windows’ built-in controls.

Performance

The Core i7-3820QM in our review unit returned excellent benchmark scores. In SiSoft Sandra’s Processor Arithmetic benchmark is reached a combined score of 100.27, the highest score we’ve yet recorded from a laptop. 7-Zip provided a similar result, returning a combined score of 19,007, another record. PCMark 7 also had good things to say about this laptop. It offered up a total score of 4,594 – which beats the previous record holder, the Sony Vaio Z, by over a thousand points. Highlights included, uh, everything. Even the system storage score was high thanks to the solid-state cache drive. Of course, what you really want to know about is gaming. Our M17x includes the new Nvidia GTX 680M, which promises world-beating performance. It keeps its word by providing 3DMark 06 and 3DMark 11 scores of 23,713 and 6,282, respectively. These scores don’t just beat previous gaming laptops. They also defeat some gaming desktops, such as the HP Pavilion HPE h9. In-game performance was equally stunning. Diablo III at 1080p with maximum detail averaged 138 frames per second. Dawn of War 2: Retribution averaged over 100 frames per second at maximum detail and Skyrim averaged 72 frames per second at Ultra High. There’s not a game on the market today that can bring the M17x to its knees if you purchase the optional GTX 680M. It’s an impressive piece of hardware.

Conclusion

The M17x is an excellent gaming laptop. It offers a beautiful display, incredible hardware and a great sound system. And while no laptop with a $2,599 price tag will ever be considered inexpensive, given what you receive, it’s a fair price. As a general laptop, however, the M17x has a few issues. Both the keyboard and the touchpad have issues and battery life is a downer. The Asus G75 and Origin EON17-S have better keyboards and the G75 has a better touchpad. Does the target audience care about these problems? We doubt it. If you need a laptop to serve as your primary day-to-day system, you likely won’t be satisfied by a laptop of this size, no matter which model you buy. Every ounce of this laptop is directed entirely towards gaming, and we think that’s the right choice. There is brutal competition in this segment, but the Alienware M17x does manage to stand out. This laptop offers a look and feel that’s custom tailored for hardcore gamers while also delivering outrageous performance and good build quality.

Highs

• Attractive exterior
• Brilliant 1080p display
• Record-setting GPU performance
• Reasonably priced

Lows

• Keyboard and touchpad could be better
• Runs a bit warm, even at idle
• So-so battery endurance

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Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch Review

enovo’s ThinkPad X1 Carbon is undoubtedly one of the best Ultrabooks of the past year. Not only is it rugged enough for the rigors of the road-warrior life, it also offers a bigger screen than most of the competition without sacrificing the slim and small body. And, of course, the ThinkPad keyboard is among the best you can get on any laptop. In the Windows 8 era, what could make a great laptop even greater? The common wisdom these days is: add a touch screen! However, adding touch also means adding weight and sometimes subtracting battery life. Still, considering how good the first generation was, we had high hopes for the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch.
Business casual
ThinkPads haven’t always been the most attractive laptops on the market, but this isn’t usually an issue for the user base. Still, it’s nice that the X1 Carbon Touch is a slick-looking machine. Measuring just 0.74 inches at its thickest point, the X1 presents a thin profile that rivals other ultraportables. The overall footprint is just 13 x 8.9 inches, similar in size to 13-inch laptops. However, the X1 has a 14-inch display, giving you extra screen real estate without taking up more space.
Adding to its impressiveness, the X1 Carbon Touch is the same size as the non-touch version. The weight is heavier – 3.4 pounds instead of 2.99 pounds – though not by very much. It’s possible to tell the Carbon Touch is a half a pound heavier when you hold both, but the newer laptop still feels very light for its size.
Though this is a thin Ultrabook, it doesn’t need to be treated delicately. The X1 has a carbon fiber internal roll cage and lid, and a solid-state drive inside. You’ll get the same durability as other ThinkPads without the weight.
The rubberized coating we’re used to seeing on ThinkPads is present, making the unit easy to grip and providing a comfortable surface for our wrists and hands on the deck.
Because this is a super thin system, the port selection isn’t robust. There are only two USB ports – a USB 2.0 that will also charge small electronics like phones and tablets, and a USB 3.0 – plus a full-sized 4-in-1 memory card reader and a Mini DisplayPort. It’s lacking distinct VGA, HDMI, and Ethernet ports. The USB 3.0 port makes up for this a bit since it’s possible to connect a dongle for Ethernet connectivity or video output. Several other connections can also be connected to the USB 3.0 port thanks to the port’s speed and power.
Everything you’d expect from a ThinkPad
The backlit keyboard is given plenty of room thanks to the wide deck. It features chiclet keys in the style of the ThinkPad Edge series of laptops, and, though this doesn’t look like the trustworthy old keyboard, Lenovo’s reputation for quality in this area is still intact. The tactile feedback on the X1 isn’t as good as on a non-Ultrabook ThinkPad since there’s less space for good key travel. Compared to other Ultrabooks, this is one of the best we’ve used.
The palm rest is nice and deep, and accommodates a generous 4 x 2.4-inch touchpad. In addition, a TrackPoint nub sits in its usual place on the keyboard with physical mouse buttons underneath.
While we appreciate the size of the touchpad, we’re not pleased with its performance. This style of touchpad – where the entire surface is usable and there are integrated clickable areas near the bottom – is only as good as the driver software behind it. Sadly, the driver here needs a lot of work.
There are times when the surface is too sensitive or not sensitive enough, and fiddling with the settings didn’t help. Plus, the cursor jumped whenever we rested one finger on the bottom of the touchpad for clicking. It’s good that the Carbon now has a touchscreen in addition to the TrackPoint, because we abandoned the touchpad out of frustration early on.
Is touch worth it?
The 14-inch touch display features a high-definition 1600 x 900 resolution – a big mark in its favor. We found the touchscreen responsive and didn’t have much trouble even with small elements, such as the buttons found in Windows programs not made for the Windows 8 environment. This is a capacitive/finger touch environment, so no stylus is necessary. Overall, the touch experience is well done.
Drawbacks are few and mostly minor. The viewing angles aren’t as wide on this version as they are on the non-touch Carbon, and the screen is a bit more prone to glare, especially in sunlight. This is notable mostly in comparison to the first generation model. Among the Ultrabook competition, the Carbon Touch is above average in quality.

The viewing angle issue is somewhat mitigated by the hinge’s wide range. It’s possible to lay the display almost completely flat. While it won’t pass for a great tablet, some people like having this versatility for better use in cramped spaces.

Portability and battery life

Lenovo did a good job ensuring that the touchscreen didn’t add much weight, but what about the other major drawback: battery drain? The original X1 Carbon lasted over 7 hours with average use (not counting power saving measures). How does the Carbon Touch fare?
We had some issues keeping our review unit consistently connected to Wi-Fi, so we weren’t able to run our normal PeaceKeeper battery life benchmark.
Instead, we tested the Carbon Touch’s battery by using it as our work laptop. This included writing in LibreOffice, browsing the Web, editing images, and watching video. We were able to get between 5.5 hours to just under 6 hours of use out of this machine with the screen set at 60 percent brightness. The touchscreen (or the combination of that and Windows 8) definitely impacts the battery life. For an Ultrabook, 6 hours isn’t bad, but it’s on the low end for average scores. If longevity is important, you may want to skip the Carbon Touch in favor of the original.
Getting down to business
We’re used to seeing a bundle of apps on Lenovo computers, mostly aimed at business and enterprise users. The same is true for the Carbon Touch, though we also had to suffer through the ubiquitous and annoying Norton Internet Security until we disabled the program. Most of the other software is at least nominally useful, and the Getting Started Guide for Windows 8 will probably ease some of the growing pains for those switching from Windows 7. We like that Lenovo pre-loads Evernote, Skitch, and SugarSync since these consumer products will also appeal to business types. We can do without the Kindle and AccuWeather apps, though.
IT managers will appreciate the ability to manage the X1 Carbon Touch remotely with vPro and will also be pleased by the available security features. A fingerprint reader is available for logging in (even when the laptop is off), and both TPM and BIOS encryption are options.
Above average performance
Our review unit features the X1 Carbon Touch’s base configuration of a Core i5 processor paired with 4GB of RAM. A Core i7 version is also available ($1,649) if you need more power. However, the majority of users will be fine with the i5 version.
Instead of the typical i5-3317U chip found in many Ultrabooks, Lenovo went with a more robust 1.8GHz Intel Core i5-3427U. Backed by 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD, it performed quite well in our benchmarks. SiSoft Sandra’s Processor Arithmetic benchmark turned in a score of 27 GOPs while 7-Zip reached a combined result of 7,776 MIPS. PCMark 07 turned in a score of 4,926, which outperforms many recently reviewed Core i5 Ultrabooks, including the Acer Aspire S7 with Core i7.
These synthetic benchmarks matched our experience with the Carbon Touch. We saw speedy performance even with heavy multitasking and dozens of tabs open in Chrome and Firefox. When we pushed it with more intense tasks, such as image processing and gameplay, the system stayed fast and responsive. We did notice that the system got hotter when CPU usage got up into the 80 percent to 90 percent range, though not so much as to make us take it off our lap. It remained relatively cool at all other times.

Boot time is swift and resuming from sleep is even faster. It takes just a few seconds to wake up and is already connected to wireless once it does. No need to put the X1 in Hibernation if you’ll be away from it for a while. With the lid closed the laptop sips very little juice.

3D performance is what we’d expect for a notebook with Intel’s integrated graphics. 3DMark 06 and 3DMark 11 returned respective scores of 5,298 and 1,086, indicating that gaming is possible, but only on low settings. More to the point for the audience, the Carbon Touch can handle some GPU-intensive programs, such as image and video editing or encoding programs. You won’t see the fastest performance, but you also won’t be waiting forever for Handbrake to finish, even with longer clips. HD video playback isn’t a problem, either.
Conclusion
The Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Touch is a good successor to the first generation X1 Carbon. It retains almost everything that is good about the original while adding the touchscreen many people value in a Windows 8 machine. You’ll get a an excellent keyboard, a larger than average display without a bulky or heavy chassis, and performance that’s good enough for heavier tasks.
The system’s weak points are mostly due to the touchscreen itself. And if the lower battery life, heavier weight, and poorer viewing angles are deal breakers for you, at least there’s a good alternative in the first-gen X1 Carbon. Even with those issues, this is one of the better Windows 8 touchscreen laptops we’ve tested.
Highs

• Light weight and slim

• Semi-rugged and durable construction

• Excellent keyboard for an Ultrabook

• Multiple inputs, including TrackPoint

• Speedy performance

Lows

• Only two USB ports

• Sub-par touchpad

• Touchscreen means lower battery life

• Viewing angles aren’t as wide as we’d like

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Apple MacBook Air 13-inch (2013) Review

Apple’s WWDC 2013 gave us a revised MacBook Air, but the revision didn’t go as far as expected. Retina, considered an obvious upgrade by some, didn’t make its way to the Air, nor was the chassis itself redesigned. Instead, Apple has just upgraded what’s inside. “Just” may be too weak of a word, however, because the hardware update consists of Intel’s new Haswell architecture and the 4th-generation Core processors based on it. The Apple MacBook Air was the first laptop on the market to offer a dual-core 4th-gen processor, and, at the time of this review’s publication, still has few PC peers. While the new architecture is the Air’s most significant update, it’s not the only one. Apple also dropped the 11-inch model with 64GB drive in favor of an 11-inch model with a 128GB drive (without increasing the price), and also lowered the price of the 13-inch Air to $1,100, a price drop of $200. Though perhaps not innovative, this is still significant, as computers rarely receive new hardware and a price drop simultaneously. Then again, the lowered price may be necessary. The design of the current Air dates all the way back to late 2011. Can Apple’s aging laptop keep up with the latest Ultrabooks?

You’ve seen this before

Though Apple changed the internals, the 2013 model is aesthetically no different from previous years. The laptop’s simple, silver exterior remains among the most elegant in the business, and the chassis tapers forward to a sharp, definitive point. Give the Air a few moments on a grinder and you’d be able to dice vegetables with it.

The Air’s age is starting to show, however. When unboxed this laptop from the rear and momentarily thought we’d picked up a Pro with Retina by accident. Less than a tenth of an inch separates the maximum thickness of the 13-inch Pro with Retina and the 13-inch Air, and while the latter does taper to a much thinner edge, the difference between them is no longer impressive. More importantly, the Air no longer feels remarkably thin next to PC competitors like the Acer Aspire S7 and Dell XPS 13. Apple’s design also lacks the “wow” factor that used to separate it from the pack. When the original MacBook Pro and Air hit the market, they re-invented how a premium laptop should look and feel. Now, several years later, the competition has caught up. Most Ultrabooks offer a similar look and similar quality.

Seeking ports

Connectivity is an area where the Air clearly lags behind the competition. Only two USB 3.0 ports are available, along with a combo headphone/microphone jack, a Thunderbolt port, and an SD card reader.

There’s nothing about the Air that’s explicitly bad, but there’s far too much about it that’s merely “meh.”

Thunderbolt technically is a great addition, but device support remains somewhat limited. Fortunately, the port can be used with HDMI and DVI displays via an inexpensive adapter.

Good keys, but the touchpad surprises

The Air’s keyboard isn’t the best available, but it defeats most Ultrabooks on the market. Key caps are large, key feel is above average, and there’s good separation between each individual key. OS X provides an edge by enabling useful shortcuts that simply aren’t available on a Windows PC. Backlighting is standard and works extremely well. There’s almost no light-leak from beneath the keys and brightness can be adjusted with excellent detail. Past versions of this laptop have received praise for their touchpad, but it no longer feels particularly large, premium, or smooth compared to the best Ultrabook competitors. We’re still a fan of OS X’s gesture support, however, and the touchpad’s surface provides plenty of room to navigate via swipe, pinch, and waggle.

Need more pixels, please

The MacBook Air 13-inch comes with a 1440 x 900 display. Though that’s a respectable resolution, most Ultrabook competitors above $1,000 now ship with a 1080p display, which puts Apple at a bit of a disadvantage. The difference in pixel density is noticeable in certain situations. Small font on a document or webpage, for example, often renders with a ragged, haphazard look. Competitors caught up in image quality, too. Our normal benchmark won’t work with OS X, so we can’t judge the display from a purely objective standpoint. Subjectively, however, the Air lacks contrast and suffers from limited viewing angles. The display’s saving grace is brightness, which can be turned up so high that outdoors use is possible (if not enjoyable). Audiophiles won’t be pleased with the Air’s sound system. Though generally clear, deep bass can cause distortion, and maximum volume is adequate at best. Anyone planning to watch movies or listen to music should buy a pair headphones or external speakers.

A portable pleasure

At a weight of three pounds, and with a thickness of up to 17mm, the Air is no longer the sultan of slim. Losing the crown does rob the laptop of something that made it special. At the same time, however, it’s not as if this system is chunky. In fact, most Ultrabooks are still a bit thicker and a bit heavier, despite the fact that Apple’s design has been on the market for almost three years.

Even with the price cut, the Air’s inferior display and merely adequate hard drive capacity hinder its overall value.

The 2013 model gained battery life – and a lot of it. Apple claims maximum endurance has made an incredible leap from seven to 12 hours, though that’s representative of a best-case scenario. The Peacekeeper browser benchmark ate through the Air’s battery in six hours and 45 minutes, which is about an hour and a half better than an average Ultrabook. Only Toshiba’s Kirabook and the HP Envy x2 last longer. We were surprised to see our wattmeter report that the Air consumes 14 watts at idle (with screen at maximum brightness) and 34 watts at full load. These figures are worse than the average Ultrabook. Without another Haswell laptop to reference, we can’t be sure of why these results were so unimpressive, but we suspect either OS X power management or the display is to blame.

Haswell for mobile arrives

Our base model MacBook Air 13-inch boasts a Core i5-4250U processor, 4GB of RAM, and Intel HD 4600 graphics. None of our normal benchmarks work with OS X, so we loaded Windows 8 via Boot Camp to perform our tests. SiSoft Sandra’s Processor Arithmetic benchmark came to a result of 39 GOPS, and 7-Zip turned in a final score of 7,174 MIPS. These numbers are adequate, yet a bit worse than the average 3rd-gen mobile Core processor. The i5-4250U’s low maximum clock speed of 1.9 GHz (with a base of 1.3 GHz) can be blamed. The Core i5-3427U, used in the previous Air, had a Turbo boost maximum of 2.8 GHz. That’s right; the new Air is slower than the old one. PCMark 7 redeemed the processor by posting an excellent score of 5,144. Anything above 5,000 is extremely good, and the Air is only the third laptop – after the Kirabook and Sony Vaio T14 – we’ve tested to vault over that mark. The excellent score is largely propelled by the system’s astoundingly quick solid-state storage. Apple’s decision to ditch SATA hard drives may make its laptops more difficult to repair, but the performance benefit is clear. The Air is also our first chance to test Haswell’s Intel HD 4600 graphics in a mobile format, and we’re happy to report IGP performance is strong. 3DMark managed a score of 4,492 in the Cloud Gate Bench and 774 in Fire Strike. These numbers represent a gain of over 50 percent compared to 3rd-gen Intel Core mobile processors with Intel HD 4000. Most games available for Mac will perform well on this laptop.

Reasonably cool and quiet

Past versions of this laptop have at times had issues with heat. That’s a thing of the past, however, as we never recorded an external temperature above 97.1 degrees Fahrenheit while stress-testing the new Air. More mundane use barely warms the laptop’s bottom, which makes it more comfortable to use in any situation. The system fan doesn’t drone to cool the internals, either. At idle the fan isn’t loud enough to register on our decibel meter, and noise at full load reaches just 44.8dB. That’s noticeable, to be sure, but tolerable for most users.

Conclusion

The 13-inch Air’s new $1,100 starting price undercuts competitors like the ASUS Zenbook X31A-DH71 and Acer Aspire S7, but it puts Apple in an uncomfortable position. For the first time in years, the company is selling based on price rather than quality. Even with the price cut, the Air’s inferior display and merely adequate hard drive capacity hinder its overall value. An Asus Zenbook may be $100 to $150 more (for the newest model), but it offers double the storage and a 1080p display. Then there’s Lenovo’s Yoga, which offers a convertible form-factor, superior specifications and a better keyboard at the same $1,100 price point. Or, consider the Dell XPS 13, which is much more expensive (with the 1080p panel) but boasts an amazing display and carbon fiber chassis. There’s nothing about the Air that’s explicitly bad, but there’s far too much about it that’s merely “meh.” With the Apple’s own Pro with Retina now only slightly thicker, and numerous Ultrabooks available, this entry-level Mac has become hard to recommend to anyone except consumers who want OS X but can’t afford a Pro.

Highs

• Good build quality
• Long battery life
•  Extremely quick solid-state storage

Lows

• Design is now just average
• Limited port selection
• Low-resolution display with no option to upgrade
• PC alternatives are a better value

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Samsung ATIV Book 8 Review

Just five years ago Samsung was, to most Americans, primarily a manufacturer of high-end televisions. That market was booming, but, in a smart move, the company’s management decided to make the brand a globe name in other areas. Smartphones have been the greatest success story, but laptops have also been affected. And, as with smartphones, Samsung entered not by offering cut-rate bargain devices but instead a variety of products, including some that push the limits of what’s possible.

In every category, from the display to build quality to performance, the ATIV Book 8 is at or near the top of its class.

The company revealed its new Series 7 Chronos (now called the ATIV Book 8 after Samsung recently changed the naming of its lineups) earlier this year at CES. A thin-and-light 15-inch powerhouse, we found it intriguing, and even picked it as one of our favorite products at CES, but, with almost five months passing, the Series 7 Chronos we loved so much in Vegas sat on the back burner. However, that laptop is now coming to consumers, and its on-paper specs look just as impressive today as they did earlier this year. Our review unit arrived with an Intel Core i7 quad-core, Radeon HD 8770M discrete GPU, and 8GB of RAM. This is impressive hardware for a machine that’s just under an inch thick and weighs about five pounds.
Pricing starts at $1,269, which is a good chunk of change but not unexpected for a system that offers serious power in a slim profile. But does slimness really translate to portability, or is this yet another 15.6-inch system best left at home?

Watch out, MacBook Pro

In a recent article we said that Apple needs to consider updating the Pro’s look, and the ATIV Book 8 is the perfect demonstration as to why. After years of playing catch up, Windows laptops are now able to go toe-to-toe with Apple on aesthetics and build quality. That’s not to say the laptop is a clone, however, because the system uses the subtle brushed-aluminum finish that’s become Samsung’s trademark. And Samsung tells us consumer models will be “Ash Black,” rather than the silver seen in these photos.

Though the chassis isn’t unibody, build quality is excellent, with tight panel gaps, flex is not apparent in any surface. The display is attached with a broad hinge that keeps the touchscreen in place during use, and the system’s corners are not as sharp as those found on the MacBook Pro. The lack of an optical drive helps the rigidity and frees up space and weight for reinforcing the laptop’s body.

Plenty of ports

Dropping the optical drive also makes the laptop’s flanks available for connectivity – an advantage Samsung has used to provide four USB ports (two 3.0, two 2.0), HDMI-out, VGA-out, Ethernet, and an SD card reader. This is a good selection that compares favorably to the MacBook Pro and nearly ties with the Zenbook UX51Vz, which has one less USB port and drops VGA in favor of DisplayPort.

A few input problems

While the ATIV Book 8 has a premium look, the keyboard is a disappointment. Built from silver plastic, the keycaps feel flimsy and cheap next to the expanse of brushed aluminum surrounding them. Users who plan to write the next great American novel on their laptop may want to pass on this in favor of the Zenbook or MacBook Pro, both of which offer superior keys.
Backlighting is standard and offers several brightness settings. Light-leak is minimal, so the keyboard works well for people who frequently type in the dark.

Touchpad quality is good thanks to metallic construction and a wide area for users to wag their fingers. Multitouch gestures are smooth and easy to use on the low-friction surface. We can say the same of the display, too, as it’s coated with glass that lets fingertips glide with ease.

Serious entertainment

The 15.6-inch 1080p display on the ATIV Book 8 looks fantastic the moment it’s turned on. Solid results in our benchmarks backed up this impression. We found the panel can render 96 percent of the sRGB gamut, posting respectable contrast and black level results. This is not the best display in the class, but it’s certainly good, and it beats both the Toshiba Kirabook and the Asus Zenbook UX51Vz by a slim margin.

The 15.6-inch 1080p display on the ATIV Book 8 looks fantastic the moment it’s turned on…

Our only real complaint is brightness, which topped out around 230 nits. Not bad, but not superb. Many competitors offer 300 nits or brighter. This issue was noticeable in a sunlit room, and outdoor use is difficult. Audio quality is solid, and, combined with the display, makes this laptop a respectable entertainment center. Maximum volume isn’t astoundingly loud, but it’s good enough for a small room and there’s some reproduction of bass. Headphones or external speakers are recommended but not absolutely required.

Processor powerhouse

Our review unit arrived with a Core i7-3635QM processor, a low-voltage version of Intel’s standard mobile quad-core. Though Samsung reduced its clock speed to sip power, the part still served up outstanding performance. SiSoft Sandra’s Processor Arithmetic benchmark reached a score of 101.2 GOPs, and 7-Zip managed a combined score of 18,126 MIPS. These figures are nearly equal to the most powerful laptops we’ve tested and well over twice what an average Ultrabook can manage.
PCMark 7, a general system benchmark that tests multiple components, came to a more mundane score of 4,104. Though still good, this score is short of the best. So-so storage performance is the main culprit, as the ATIV Book 8 does not come standard with a solid-state drive. At least the performance is compensated with storage, as a 1TB drive is standard.

Instead of relying on Intel HD graphics, Samsung packed in one of AMD’s new(ish) Radeon 8770M GPUs. This mid-range graphics part drove the system to a 3DMark Cloud Gate score of 5,637 and a Fire Strike score of 703. While these numbers are certainly better than Intel HD, they don’t make for a hardcore gaming system. Only titles with relatively simple 3D graphics will run smoothly beyond medium detail.

Surprising portability

No 15.6-inch laptop will qualify as ultra-portable, but at 5.5 pounds, the ATIV Book 8 is no heavier than average. Mid-size laptop bags will be able to stow the system, and the weight is manageable when carried.
Battery life is the ATIV Book 8’s biggest surprise. In our tests, the laptop blew away the category average with a Battery Eater result of two hours and 47 minutes. This extended to seven hours in our Web browsing test and almost 11 hours in our light-load reading test.

Battery life is the ATIV Book 8’s biggest surprise. In our tests, the laptop blew away the category average…

These figures are almost double what we’d normally expect from a system in this category and even beat the majority of 11.6-inch to 13.3-inch Ultrabooks we’ve tested. The MacBook Pro can hang with the ATIV Book 8, but the Asus Zenbook UX51Vz offers roughly two-thirds the endurance. The laptop’s excellent endurance is even more impressive in light of its power consumption, which ranges from 17 watts at idle (with 100 percent display brightness) to 67 watts at load. That latter figure actually is in league with some all-in-one desktops like the Lenovo Horizon and Acer Aspire U. Why is that? Neither of those all-in-ones had quad-core processors or discrete graphics, and the ATIV Book 8’s high-end hardware needs a lot more juice to run.

Warm at idle, not much warmer at load

Cooling the impressive hardware in this laptop is a challenge, and at idle the fan seems like it might not be up to the task. We recorded an external temperature of 94.2 degrees Fahrenheit, which is tolerable, but a bit high compared to similar systems. The fan was quiet, however, emitting no more than 40.9 decibels of noise.
Putting load on the system increased the external temperature to 104 degrees in a limited area above the keyboard. Though high for all 15.6-inch systems, this figure is not at all that unusual for a laptop that has discrete graphics. Nor is the noise reading of 47dB unusually loud, given the specifications.

Software

Our review unit’s start screen came packed to the gills with add-on software, some of which made sense (like Pinball FX 2 and Plants vs. Zombies, two great games), and some of which didn’t (Jamie Oliver’s Recipes? Seriously?). The good news is that the Windows 8 start screen makes ignoring bloatware just a matter of right-clicking and then tapping “uninstall.”

The only serious bloatware offender is (surprise!) Norton. While some other companies have moved to installing Norton only as a Windows 8 app that does not interrupt the user with ads, Samsung is still using the old-fashioned trial install. This isn’t hard to get rid of, but it’s annoying until you do.

Conclusion

The Samsung ATIV Book 8 is the company’s premium effort in the popular 15.6-inch category, and it’s a fine laptop. In every category, from the display to build quality to performance, this laptop is at or near the top of its class. We were even surprised to find that the battery not only exceeds what is typical for a large laptop but also actually beats the results we’ve recorded from many 13.3-inch Ultrabooks. We’ve never tested a laptop with a screen this large that could achieve such results without relying on an external add-on battery.
Complaints? Well, the keyboard is a bit of disappointment given the system’s price, and external temperatures are above average at idle. But that’s it.
Let’s talk price. The MSRP of our review unit is $1,269, which is nothing to laugh at. However, the MSRP of a Retina MacBook Pro 15 is $2,199, and the Asus Zenbook UX51Vz, whose price came down recently, still starts around $1,799. The Zenbook is a favorite of Digital Trends, and we still think it looks and feels a bit more expensive, but the ATIV Book 8 offers better endurance and competitive overall performance for hundreds less, which makes for a real bargain.
If you’re in the market for a premium 15.6-inch laptop, be it a thin-and-light or a desktop replacement, you must give the ATIV Book 8 a long, hard look. We can say without a doubt that it’s among the best laptops we’ve ever tested.

Highs:

• Attractive design and good build quality
• Good, high-contrast display
• Outstanding performance in apps
• Adequate game performance
• Lots of storage space
• Excellent battery life
• Good value 

Lows:

• Keyboard is just average
• Runs a bit hot at idle

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Vizio Thin+Light Touch CT15T-B0 Review

You likely know Vizio for its HDTVs. As the company is proud to proclaim, it’s the top-selling LCD HDTV brand in the U.S., and has been at or near the top of the LCD market since 2007.
But Vizio’s comparatively new to the PC space, having brought its first laptops and all-in-one PCs to market just about a year ago. Since then, it updated its initial line of laptops to include touch screens, speedy new 802.11ac (Gigabit Wi-Fi) chips, and standard-voltage processors, rather than the low-voltage chips that usually make their way into sub-inch-thick laptops.
With its nice 1080p IPS touchscreen, a silver-metal exterior, and 0.68-inch thickness, the AMD-based 15.6-inch Thin and Light Touch (model CT15T-B0) that Vizio sent us for review looks great. And at 4.84 pounds, it’s reasonably light for a laptop of this size.
At $1,190, the CT15T-B0 model is priced reasonably well, given its high-resolution screen and powerful components (including a 128GB SSD and 8GB of RAM). But if you want the extra raw CPU muscle (and likely somewhat less-powerful graphics) that comes with the Intel-based Core i7 model, the price is considerably steeper, at $1,470.
Let’s see if Vizio’s first year in the PC business has helped it become more than just company known for its TVs.

A familiar design

Vizio hasn’t changed its laptops’ exterior aesthetics since last year’s models, which means you get slim, good looks and generally rigid-feeling construction. But you’ll have to live with limited port selection as well as the same shallow, flat, non-backlit keyboard that we saw on the CT14-A4. Vizio also didn’t change the tapered sides around the keyboard area, which have sharp edges that can dig uncomfortably into your hands or wrists when typing.

Discussing the ports is easy because, well, there aren’t many – especially for a 15-inch laptop. The right edge houses a blue USB 3.0 port and an HDMI connector for plugging in to an external monitor or HDTV. On the left, there’s a second USB 3.0 port and a headphone jack. The power jack is also here.
That’s all the laptop offers for tethered connectivity. There’s no SD card slot, no Ethernet jack, and only two USB ports to plug in adapters for the ports the system lacks. If you opt for a Vizio laptop, you’ll probably want to invest in a travel-friendly USB hub.

Speedy Wi-Fi, but why?

One of the main new features on Vizio’s latest line of laptops and AiOs is the addition of 802.11ac Wi-Fi chips (also known as Gigabit Wi-Fi). Vizio deserves some credit for including cutting-edge tech here, as 802.11ac chips have yet to make their way into most laptops and other consumer devices. But that’s also part of the problem.

We appreciate that Vizio continues to update its laptops with better specs, but no amount of internal rejiggering is going to outshine its laptop’s major design issues…

You’ll need an 802.11ac router to take advantage of the faster Wi-Fi speeds, and they’ve only started to trickle onto the market over the last several months. Theoretically, 802.11ac routers have a max speed of up to three times what’s possible with the 802.11n Wi-Fi chips that are common today. But average home broadband Internet speeds are still hovering below 10Mbps, or less than one percent of the 802.11ac’s maximum achievable speed.
So the new chips in Vizio’s laptops, while fast, won’t make your Internet speeds move any faster, unless you’re rocking some ultra-fast broadband, like Google Fiber.
Still, 802.11ac does operate on a 5GHz frequency, which should lead to less interference and possibly greater range. We’re happy that Vizio included new Wi-Fi chips as a cutting-edge feature for the future. But it’s just not really a major selling point for today.

Screen Envy

One of the CT15T-B0’s bright spots (literally) is its 15.6-inch screen. It’s not the best we’ve seen in terms of color reproduction, as it was only able to display 78 percent of the sRGB scale in our testing. But its resolution is a welcome 1080p (1920 x 1080), and its max brightness of 308 nits has only been (barely) bested recently in our testing on the laptop front by Acer’s Aspire R7. The Vizio also has an IPS panel, so there are no major viewing angle issues – a problem that still plagues plenty of mid-range laptops.
Of course, Vizio’s new laptops have 10-point touchscreens. And like pretty much all the touch-enabled laptops we’ve seen since the launch of Windows 8, touch was very responsive in our review unit. There is, though, a raised plastic lip around the edge of the laptop’s lid, which your fingers will likely bump up against when swiping in from the sides of the screen – at least until you get used to it. But the lip keeps the screen from crashing into the keyboard when closed, so it’s there for an important reason.

Great touchpad, lousy keyboard

At close to five inches diagonally, the laptop’s touchpad doesn’t feel cramped, but it does feel like it could be bigger with all the room in the wrist area. It’s nearly flush with the wrist area, which makes swiping in from the sides a pleasant experience. We didn’t have the same issues getting Windows 8 gestures to work as we did with Vizio’s 14-inch model that we looked at last year. We’re hoping that means the company improved its drivers, allowing for a better touchpad experience for everyone who’s purchased a Vizio laptop.
While we found the touchpad fairly enjoyable to use, the same can’t be said for the keyboard. The CT15T-B0’s keyboard suffers from the same issues as all other Vizio laptops. Most of the keys, apart from the up/down arrow keys and the Function row, are fairly large. They’re also very flat and bunched right up on each other, making it difficult for touch typists to orient their fingers when typing. The key travel is shallow, even by Ultrabook standards. In the past, we’d say the keyboard is okay if you aren’t the type that does a lot of typing. But these days, if you don’t do much typing, you’re better off saving yourself some money and bulk and opting for a tablet instead.
We don’t want to sound overly harsh, but the keyboards on Vizio’s laptops are some of the worst we’ve used as far as feel and travel goes. Whenever the company gets around to overhauling its exterior designs, whipping up a much-improved keyboard should be at the top of its list.

Problems old and new

Those looking to tackle demanding tasks or do some gaming with their thin and stylish notebook will no-doubt appreciate the CT15T-B0’s relatively new quad-core A10-4657M processor. But you’ll definitely want to do your gaming or video editing on a desk.

… we break out in a sweat just thinking about how hot the Intel-based model might get.

In our testing, the laptop’s bottom got noticeably warm when handling light tasks like surfing the Web or editing documents. When firing up benchmarks that heavily taxed the CPU or GPU, things definitely got toasty.
Our infrared thermometer measured top temperatures of 108.3 degrees Fahrenheit on the bottom rear of the laptop when maxing out the CPU, and a hard-to-hold 116.9 degrees when heavily pushing the system’s integrated Radeon HD 8670M graphics. Up top, while the wrist area remains reasonably cool, the keyboard can get warm, and the speaker grill above the keys gets nearly as hot as the bottom of the laptop. And, though the CT15T-B0 was quiet when idle, the fan often is audible under heavy workloads, as it labors to dissipate the heat from the 35-watt processor.
The CT15T-B0’s heat issues aren’t easy to dismiss. Under heavy load, it’s one of the hottest laptops we’ve tested in a long time. But at least if you use your PC on a desk, you can avoid handling the hottest parts of the laptop.

Reasonable performance, but at a cost

With its 2.3GHz AMD A10 quad-core processor, the CT15T-B0 held its own in terms of CPU performance, but it really only stacks up well against low-voltage Core i5 and i7 chips that are typically found in Ultrabooks. Those who want the most powerful CPU performance for editing or transcoding video or tacking other CPU-heavy tasks quickly will want to opt for the pricier Intel-based CT15T-B1. If you do so, you’ll double your storage space as well, as that model ships with a 256GB SSD.
But we break out in a sweat just thinking about how hot the Intel-based model might get; its i7-3635QM processor has a max power rating that’s 10-watts higher than the AMD version we’re looking at here, which already approaches 120 degrees under maximum load.

For most users, though, the AMD-based model’s performance should suffice. Our review unit felt very responsive, thanks in part to its 128GB SSD, which also helped the system boot in a speedy eight seconds.
Gamers may appreciate the AMD model’s on-chip Radeon HD 8670M graphics. But don’t expect a huge performance gain over what you’ll get from Intel-based graphics. In 3DMark, we got scores a bit better than what we saw in with the Surface Pro, but a bit lower than what we saw from Toshiba’s Kirabook. Bottom line: You’ll be able to play most games, but at reduced resolution and game settings.
Battery life, as you might expect, given the CT15T-B0’s large screen, hot processor, and thin form factor, isn’t great. We wouldn’t say it’s terrible given those caveats, but we’d like to see more longevity. The CT15T-B0’s lasted 2 hours and 10 minutes in our high-drain Battery Eater test, just a bit longer than Acer’s Aspire R7. And on the less-demanding Peacekeeper battery test, the Vizio lasted about 4 hours and 18 minutes, again just besting Acer’s R7.
The CT15T-B0 has better battery life than the 14-inch Vizio model we looked at late in 2012, but it certainly isn’t impressive, especially given the claims Intel has been making about its just-announced Haswell processors. Those who want better battery life will have to look elsewhere, or wait to see how long Vizio’s laptops last when equipped with brand-new Intel 4th-generation Core processors.

Conclusion

At $1,190, the CT15T-B0 sounds reasonably attractive for a system that’s Ultrabook-thin with capable components, has a 1080p IPS touchscreen, and features good-looking metal design. It also lacks anything in the way of questionably useful, pre-installed software, which we like – a lot. And we’d certainly recommend this model for most users over the much-pricier Intel-based variant, which approaches $1,500.
But as much as we like its specs on paper and its aesthetics on our eyeballs, the CT15T-B0 is difficult to recommend once you actually use it. It gets too hot for comfortable use, unless you’re doing light duties. And if you’re a light-duty person, you should get something with a less power-hungry, heat-generating processor.
The keyboard is, well, flatly bad (and badly flat). It’s better than using a touchscreen keyboard, or the Surface’s Touch Keyboard cover, but it’s worse than the keyboards on competing laptops by no small amount. And the keys aren’t backlit, which should be a standard feature on all laptops this expensive at this point in the game.
We appreciate that Vizio continues to update its laptops with better specs, but no amount of internal rejiggering is going to outshine its laptop’s major design issues. We hope the company recognizes this and will bring a fresh chassis design with new laptops sometime in 2013.
Until then, there are plenty of similarly thin, similarly priced laptops with better keyboards and more ports, that are also comfortable to use and easy to look at. Sony’s Vaio T14 Touch, for example, can be had for about $50 less than the Vizio CT15T-B0 and has similar specs and a Blu-ray drive. And for those who would rather ditch the optical drive for an innovative screen design, there’s also the Acer Aspire R7, which starts at $999.

Highs

• Good-looking design
• Nice 1080p IPS screen
• Thin and relatively light
• No bloatware
• High-speed Wi-Fi

Lows

• Runs hot
• Same design and keyboard woes as other Vizio laptops
• Few ports for a laptop this big
• Battery life could be better

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Google Chromebook Pixel Review

                                                       

Surprises are not Google’s forte. The company which re-defined the word “beta” often offers services well in advance of their “official” release, and though hardware can’t follow this trend by its nature, the press is rarely blind-sided by a product. And then, out of nowhere, came the Pixel.
Until now, Google has been happy to promote hardware through cut-rate pricing. The entire Nexus line leans strongly on value to sell units. Pixel, however, doesn’t rely on that excuse. It puts a banner in the ground and shouts “Google can do quality, too. Just you watch!”
So, can Google do quality? The answer looks positive on paper. All of the expected specifications are here: Core i5 processor, Intel integrated graphics, 4GB of RAM, solid-state drive – but the display is the start of the show. The Pixel comes equipped with a 2560 x 1700 panel, the highest-resolution display on any laptop today (Retina is 2560 x 1600). This excellent equipment helps justify the Pixel’s starting price of $1,299, but is Chrome OS ready to support a premium laptop?

Runway competition

The Pixel looks like a modern incarnation of a laptop built in 2006. The boxy and flat display lid, featureless interior, and full-width hinge are elements reminiscent of older PCs instead of today’s latest and greatest. All of this cumulates in a design that works, but has a whiff of engineering prototype.

The lack of obvious branding and featureless surfaces may be a boon to some, but they keep the system from looking as expensive as it should. Which is a shame, because build quality is excellent. Every surface feels sturdy from every angle. There’s no bending, no flexing, and no creaking of materials. A MacBook may look better, yes, but the Pixel is neck-and-neck when it comes to feel.
There are some small touches worth noting as well. An LED strip on the lid acts as the laptop’s defining aesthetic feature and, while usually lit blue, it fades to Google’s rainbow of colors when the lid is closed. Also, as we recently found out, this LED strip also blinks frantically when the user enters the Konami Code. We also appreciate the lack of material surrounding the display, which rival’s Dell’s XPS 13 for barely-there bezels.
Connectivity is a sore point, however. While the ports are in convenient locations, the Pixel only serves up two USB 2.0, mini-DisplayPort, and a 2-in-1 card reader. The lack of USB 3.0 is a disappointment. Moving files to and from an external drive will always be tedious on the Pixel. Google may think this doesn’t matter (the cloud, and stuff, you know?), but come on. This is 2013 – not 2023. Not everyone has converted to the cloud concept.

Interface issues

One of the Pixel’s headline features is the inclusion of touch input. This is the highest-resolution touch display on the market (even all-in-one desktop PCs are behind), so that’s great, right? Well … no.
Touch is present, and it works, but that’s where the good news ends. Navigation is laggy and choppy. Our movements were sometimes met with a split-second of nothing before the Pixel sprung to life, and fast scrolling often moved in jerks and starts.

We know that input, not performance, is the problem. How? The touchpad isn’t plagued by these issues. As with the less expensive Chromebooks on the market, the touchpad on the Pixel is among the best. Our input was met with instant response and scrolling proved butter smooth. The laggy touchscreen isn’t a sensitivity issue, either; the touchpad scrolls through a page more quickly than the touchscreen when both are at their default settings.
As for the keyboard, we came away unimpressed. Space is ample in spite of the laptop’s small frame, and key caps are large, so typing is pleasant at first. However, the keys lack travel and feel vague when they bottom out. These traits make the experience less precise than it could be.
That’s not to say the keyboard is bad. We think it average. But consumers spending over $1,000 on a laptop will be expecting more.

Display: The killer feature

The incredible 2560 x 1700 display will draw anyone looking to buy a Pixel in its direction. There’s no doubt that this panel is among the best sold today. We found it bright, colorful, and incredibly sharp.
There are also other, more subtle advantages. Scaling is one. Both Windows and Macs have to deal with legacy apps coded with much lower display resolutions in mind. If they’re not scaled, they may be unusable; but scaling often introduces a blurry look. Chrome OS avoids this problem because everything can be scaled within the browser. The result is a more uniform experience that always makes maximum use of the pixel count.

Speaking of which, the extra 100 vertical pixels aren’t included for novelty. Google has designed the laptop with a 3:2 aspect ratio instead of the wider 16:9 found on almost every competitor. Because most Web pages are designed to scroll vertically, rather than horizontally, the Pixel can display more content than competitors.
Audio quality has been a sore spot in earlier Chromebooks – but not here. We were blown away by one of the best laptop sound systems we’ve recently heard. Maximum volume is extremely loud, some bass is reproduced, yet the mid-range remains clean and vibrant. Most users won’t need to supplement the system with external speakers.

The Chrome OS experience

Chrome OS hasn’t had any major additions since the last Chromebook we reviewed, the Acer C7 Chromebook. That’s not a complaint. Formerly just a browser in a box, the experience is now more reminiscent of a Windows machine. There are windows, a task bar, a system tray, and more.
Google has also taken steps to make sure the operating system isn’t useless offline. Users can now edit documents and emails while in offline mode (assuming the laptop has been previously synced with Gmail and Google Drive). Changes are automatically saved online when an Internet connection is re-established. Some Web apps can be installed and used offline, as well, though support for this is a bit sparse.

These advancements are important. Chrome OS is actually better than Windows or OS X when browsing the Web and performing tasks through Web applications. It feels quicker and provides a more focused interface.
Even so, many features still aren’t offered. Parental controls, advanced power management, keyboard customization, display calibration – all of these are absent. There are many tasks this system can’t perform because the operating system lacks the required features.

Quick with some caveats

Most benchmarks won’t work on Chrome OS, which leaves us without objective scores to present. That’s not a serious issue, however, because the hardware isn’t exotic. The Core i5 processor, clocked at 1.8 GHz, is similar to that found in many Ultrabooks. Other specifications include 4GB of RAM and Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics.
All of this makes for an experience that’s quick and fluid. Web browsing isn’t difficult for a Core i5 to handle, so if that’s all you expect your Chromebook to handle, the hardware in the Pixel may actually be overkill.
There are some issues, however. Intel HD 4000 isn’t a quick graphics solution to begin with, and we felt it performed worse than it should during our tests. Even simple 3D games played in-browser were often unsatisfactory. And while the solid-state drive is quick, its base capacity of 32GB is incredibly small. Yes, most storage will be in the cloud, and Google offers Pixel buyers 1TB of free cloud storage (for three years). But what if users want to install Web apps or listen to music offline?

Battery life in Peacekeeper’s browser benchmark proved poor at 2 hours and 52 minutes. This is among the lowest results we’ve recorded from a thin-and-light computer. Less strenuous testing bumped life to about 5 hours, which is adequate, but still below average.

Quiet and cool

Stressing the Pixel enough to kick the fan into high gear is difficult because of the limited selection of demanding apps. Games are the best bet, and, when needed, the fan does become audible. In most other situations, however, the fan is nearly silent. We couldn’t register any sound above ambient on our decibel meter and our ears could only detect the fan in a dead-silent room.
Temperatures remained tolerable in spite of the sleepy fan. At idle, we measured nothing above 89 degrees Fahrenheit. Gaming brought this figure up to 98.9 degrees, which is noticeable, but well below average compared to Windows Ultrabooks. Users who want a quiet and cool system will find the Pixel a good choice.

Conclusion

Google’s new Chromebook Pixel is a tool. It is designed to handle one thing – the Web – better than any other product. And it’s successful. It renders websites with incredible sharpness, and the Core i5 processor can handle multiple tabs without breaking a sweat.
As a laptop, however, the Pixel falls short. Design is middling, battery life is poor, internal storage is scant, and keyboard quality falls short. Then there’s the operating system itself. Beyond the fact that it’s not Windows, Chrome OS lacks many features that users take for granted in a modern PC.
For a few users – those who use the Internet for everything – the Pixel could be a revelation. There’s nothing else that even comes close to providing a better online experience. Most expect a laptop to be a PC, however, not just a tool – and that’s where the Pixel’s falls apart. Smart consumers will pass up the Pixel and instead buy the 13-inch MacBook Pro with Retina, which is a far more powerful system that’s just $200 more.
We might be able to recommend the Pixel if the price was a little better for the Web tool that it is. Instead, Google has priced its flagship Chromebook to compete with the laptops on the market – and it just can’t.

Highs:

• Rock-solid build quality
• Excellent touchpad
• Sharp, bright 2560 x 1700 display
• Unparalleled Web performance
• Runs cool and quiet
• 1TB of free cloud storage for 3 years

Lows:

• Uninspired design
• No USB 3.0
• Short battery life
• Overpriced