Gigabyte U2442V Ultrabook Review

Though not a particularly popular brand in the US, Gigabyte has earned some loyal fans (one of them being our very own Chippy!) thanks to their ability to make quality computing products. Now Gigabyte has entered the Ultrabook segment with the U2442 “extreme Ultrabook”, as they’re calling it. There are two variants of the U2442: the U2442N and U2442V (which is the one that we’ve got); the only differences is the processor (Core i5 vs. i7). There’s also talk of a non-Ultrabook version which is likely to be referred to as the U2440 — be sure not to mix them up! Does Gigabyte’s first entry into the Ultrabook realm stand up to their prior products? Step inside to our full U2442V review to find out.

Disclosure: Our pals from Dynamism were kind enough to send over the Gigabyte U2442V Ultrabook for us to test.

Hardware

Gigabyte’s U2442V positioning within the Ultrabook space is clear; while the unit meets the guidelines for Ultrabook size and weight, portable performance is the prime objective. Gigabyte has certainly packed the U2442V full of potent components to achieve that goal:

Specs, Size, and Weight

• Intel Core i7-3517U processor, 1.9GHz with Turbo-boost up to 2.4GHz
• 8GB of RAM
• 14″ display @ 1600×900 (matte)
• 128GB SSD
• Nvidia GeForce GT 640M discrete graphics + HD4000 integrated graphics)
• 21mm (tapers to 18mm)
• 1.59kg

Ports

Along with the performance components, the U2442V has one of the best port sets I’ve seen on an Ultrabook:

• 2x USB 2.0
• 2x USB 3.0
• full VGA
• full HDMI
• full SD
• separate 3.5mm headphone output and mic input
• LAN/ethernet (RJ45)

The 4x USB ports and multiple full-sized outputs are especially delightful. Many Ultrabooks are lucky to have more than 2x USB ports and a single full-sized output option. The U2442 goes above and beyond next to most other Ultrabooks, though it can be expected from a 14″ Ultrabook.

Design

The Gigabyte U2442 shares much styling in common with the Lenovo U310 and U410 Ultrabooks. The top of the lid and bottom of the computer are brushed aluminum (the U2442′s is a dark champagne color), while the inside (keyboard deck area) is silver plastic. On the top of the lid there is an accent piece which is colored the same as the lid but it is actually plastic and likely houses the dual WiFi antennae.  Though the designs are similar, the Gigabyte unit has a noticeable foot up in the quality department next to the Lenovo U310 thanks to better assembly. The plastic deck on the U2442V feels solid all the way around and there is no noticeable keyboard flex during normal typing. The hinge strength is just right, allowing you to lift the screen up with one finger while the rest of the U2442V stays flat on the desk.

Toshiba Satellite U940 Review

When I first had hands-on with the Toshiba U940 I was a little worried that it might be built too cheaply. The casing and styling weren’t exactly top-of-the-range but it turns out that Toshiba have put together quite an honest package here. Don’t judge an Ultrabook by the cover because the Toshiba U940 has some unique features and good all-round performance. Read-on to find out more.

This review written mostly on the Toshiba U940
Toshiba U940 review model full specifications.

• Manufacturer: Toshiba
• Model name: Satellite U940  (variants known as U945 in USA)
• CPU type: Intel Core i3-3217U 1800 Mhz
• Graphics: Intel HD 4000
• OS: Windows 8
• Display Size: 14″ 1366X768 LED-backlit LCD.  No IPS, No Touch
• RAM: 4GB
• Battery Capacity: 43Wh
• Backlit Keyboard
• Hybrid HDD: Hitachi HTS545050A7E380 (500GB Single Platter 5400RPM SATA 3Gbs, 7mm) + Samsung MZMPC032HBCD 32GB SATA 6Gbps SSD.
• Weight: 1555gm / 54.8 oz. (measured)
• Ports: DC-in, Line-out / Headphone (3.5mm),Mic-in, SDHC Card Slot, USB3.0 x3, HDMI, Gigabit Ethernet
• Wireless: Intel Centrino N2230, Bluetooth 4.0.
• Other features: Glossy Screen, Array microphone, Multitouch Synaptics Touchpad, Stereo speakers with SRS processing, Wi-Di, WiUSB. Intel Smart Response RAID driver. (No SRT control software installed. Can be disabled in BIOS – F2 on boot) Easy access to memory (1 free slot) , msata port, 2.5” drive bay and WiFi module), removable 43Wh battery.
• Notes: No sensors apart from Win8 location service. No TPM.  No Anti-Theft Software (although Anti-theft is support on the CPU). No VPro.

  External Build, Ports

  
  The U940 doesn’t impress at first glance. Slightly cheap looking plastics, an ugly underside and battery unit and a relatively heavy weight. This is going to look like a mainstream laptop before the second quarter of 2013 but in comparison with many mainstream laptops you can’t deny that it’s relatively light and thin.  It’s a practical design that allows the incorporation of a good set of ports on both sides of the Ultrabook. The same can be said of the underside which only looks a little messy because it’s got a removable access panel. More about that later. More about the 3-cell 43Wh removable battery later too. Some mainstream laptop features can be desirable. Here’s the underside with the access  panel removed.
  
  
  

  Working Fascia (Keyboard, Screen, Mouse)

  A mainstream 14” laptop of 2011 and 2012 has a 1366×768 screen so as we head into 2013 we don’t expect to be seeing 1366×768 on a 14″ Ultrabook. The obvious advantage is that it’s cheap and you can read text very easily, even in mobile situations (trains for example.) The color balance is, even to this amateur eye, quite poor and putting the U940 next to a Lenovo Twist reveals a serious difference in contrast, black levels, color range and viewing angles. Disappointing, but usable and with some tweaks to the Intel graphics adapter color settings a reasonable working range can be found. Many will be linking the U940 up to an external monitor though so for that scenario it’s not a huge issue. On a positive note the thin screen bezel looks  nice.
  
  
  
  When using Ultrabooks on the desktop we often side-by-side the Ultrabook and screen, raise the Ultrabook on a laptop stand and add an external keyboard and mouse but with the U940 we can report that the keyboard and mouse are very usable for longer periods of desktop use. The mouse pad is especially good although you’ll need to practice two-finger right-click because the right-click hit area is small. The pad is generally very good and provides smooth two-finger scrolling. It’s a Synaptics unit with the usual, extensive range of settings and tuning.
  The keyboard isn’t as good as, say, the Lenovo X1 Carbon or Lenovo Twist and it’s similar to the Z830/930 in that it has shallow travel and a slightly smaller keycap area than many keyboards but it’s not causing any issues here. We had a few spacebar issues on a Z830 last year; there’s no evidence of that here. The keyboard is backlit.
  Function keys are reversed and include media playback controls. The Wi-Fi control is actually an Airplane-Mode switch under Windows 8
  If the screen had been slightly better quality this would be an excellent value set-up but as it is it’s slightly unbalanced with a poor screen matched with a good keyboard and an excellent mousepad.
  
  
  

  General Performance

  The Toshiba Satellite U940 being tested here is the Core i3 version with a 500GB hybrid hard drive and 4GB of RAM which sounds, on paper, quite poor. The reality of it is that Toshiba have come up with a well balance system build. The Intel-based Smart Response storage system (based on RAID technology) and a 1.8Ghz Ivy Bridge core (that has a base frequency higher than the low-end Core i5) and an excellent WiFi system really help to make the U940 more productive than it sounds. Don’t forget that the Core i3 3217U has all the Intel Quick-Sync and HD 4000 goodness that the other Core options for Ultrabooks have so there’s not much missing. Turbo Boost (controlled overclocking) is the only significant difference between Core i3 and Core i5/i7 and you’ll see that in CPU-heavy test results below. The reality is though that the Core i3 lowers the price (and puts a cap on extreme battery drain) for few disadvantages. In fact, this 45Wh battery is looking like a 5hr unit as this article is typed on Live Writer with Wi-Fi on, screen at 50% brightness and a few Windows 8 apps running in the background. Toshiba’s eco mode locks the CPU down to 800Mhz but also allows basic working with the fan off. You’ll probably see 5.5hrs in that mode under that same conditions.
  That brings us to the battery. The removable 4-cell 45Wh battery isn’t huge (which gives more weight to the battery life we’re seeing) but because it’s removable you’ll be able to carry a spare for all-day working. It’s a simple 4 cylindrical cell design so although it’s going to cost $99 from Toshiba, street prices are already lower than that. 30% lower in some search results from Europe, for the official part. Prices should come down, especially if the U940/U945 sells well.
  Let’s take a look at the disk speeds…
  
  
  Above: Toshiba U940 CrystalDiskMark score and Lenovo Twist CrystalDiskMark score for comparison.
  Write speeds aren’t great on this unit and that’s likely to be a function of the Samsung SSD which maxes out at a theoretical 90MB/s according to our research. The read speeds are totally acceptable though. 14MB/s at 4K reads is going to really help those fragmented files. It’s not clear how the Intel SRT and RAID technology really work but the end result is that this is the best Hybrid HDD/SSD setup that we’ve used in real-world terms. We saw one lock-up while a disk was doing some heavy work for a few seconds but apart from that it’s been a smooth experience. For comparison, here’s the diskmark score we got on the Lenovo Twist which uses an Expresscache hybrid setup.
  
  

  Audio / Video Performance

  We’ve already mentioned the poor screen quality and that could impact your enjoyment of hi-resolution images and films. The speakers aren’t anything to get too excited about either as they sound extremely thin. Digital audio is available through the HDMI port naturally and if not, headphones are advised.
  In terms of capability the Core i3 Ultrabook platform is almost as capable as any other Ultrabook. FullHD videos in H.264 format shouldn’t  be a problem at all and bitrates of 60Mbps or more should be possible if the format is a common one. For MKV fans there’s likely to be enough CPU power for some less common codecs too although MKV is not natively supported. Note that Windows 8 does not support MPEG2 decoding and has no support for DVD unless a codec add-on is bought. Petty, Microsoft.
  The HD4000 GPU also includes a hardware encoding unit and rendering videos (from a conversion program or video editor) is very fast if the software supports Intel Quick Sync / Intel Media SDK. We tested Cyberlink PowerDirector 10 and got a 6X real-time render to disk.
  The Wi-Fi card included, an Intel Centrino N2230, is dual-channel, single band and supports Wireless Display (up to 60fps 1080p) and Wireless USB with a compatible receiver. This was not tested.
  

  Gaming

  We tested a couple of Windows 8 games which worked well and we saw some possibilities with recent (not new) 3D focused games when resolutions and features are tuned down but this is not a gaming notebook by a long shot. Gaming can seriously degrade battery performance down to the sub 2hr level.
  
  

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  WiFi Performance

  We didn’t perform any strict throughput testing but it appears that the antenna quality is good as we got strong signals in places where other Ultrabooks have struggled. Note that the N-2230 WiFi module is dual-stream but only single, 2.4Ghz. band. WiFi Direct, Smart Connect and Wi-Di are supported. Performance was not quite up to the excellent performance seen on the Thinkpad Twist but was definitely in the ‘good’ category compared to other Ultrabooks. Note that some tuning / upgrade is possible here as access to the WiFi card is easy.
  Bluetooth was not tested for quality but an image transfer worked from a smartphone.
  

Lenovo Ideapad Yoga 13 Review

The Yoga 13 is a truly exiting form factor and a well-made device. It’s a good Ultrabook and yet there are serious issues to be considered. The Yoga 13 is missing a few features and fails on a few aspects related to the convertible form-factor and convergence. Read on for a full review of the Lenovo Ideapad Yoga 13.
This review written on the Lenovo Ideapad Yoga 13.

Lenovo Ideapad Yoga 13 Review model full specs.

• Manufacturer: Lenovo
• Model name: IdeaPad Yoga 13
• CPU type: Intel Core i7-3517U (Ivy Bridge, 1.9Ghz nominal)
• Graphics: Intel HD 4000
• OS: Windows 8
• Display Size: 13.3″ 1600 X 900
• Screen Type: LED-Backlit LCD
• Touch Technology: 10-point Multi-touch
• Synaptics Touchpad
• RAM: 4GB
• SSD: 128 GB (Samsung MZMPC128HBFU-000L1)
• Battery capacity: 54 (Wh)
• Weight: 1530gm / 51.9 oz. (measured)
• Ports: 1xUSB2.0, 1xUSB3.0, No  USB sleep-and-charge, 1x full SD card slot. 1 X HDMI, 1 x headset port.
• Ambient light sensor, rotation sensor.
• NO TPM module, No VPro, Sealed battery. No expansion ports or access covers.

First Impressions and unboxing.

You’ll find a Lenovo Yoga 13 unboxing and detailed first impressions post already on the site.

External Build, Ports

Lenovo have done their usual good job on build quality with the Yoga 13. The device looks stylish and feels solid with a grippy and clean finish all over. That rubberized finish extends to the keyboard area too (see image above) because when the Yoga 13 is being used in tablet mode, you don’t want a slippery finish causing problems. If you haven’t seen the tablet mode yet, it’s the main feature here as the screen can rotate back 360 degrees around the hinge.

The hinge mechanism is solid and stiff so there’s very little play in the touchscreen which is important as it’s going to get prodded on a regular basis. In term of screen stability it beats the Lenovo Twist and, likely, every other rotating center-hinge design. It’s not as easy to get into tablet mode though. The 360 degree rotation requires the unit to be completely lifted up. There’s a little scope for fumbling here so be well-practiced if you’re doing this in the coffee shop or boardroom.
The Yoga 13 is a relatively thin Ultrabook considering its features but it’s a solid 1.5KG / 3.3lb in weight which is one of the issues we’ll talk about later in this review.
Port offerings are minimal on this Ideapad. 2xUSB (one of which is USB3.0), one full-size HDMI and a full-size card-reader are all you’re getting so if you’re looking for Ethernet or DisplayPort, you’re out of luck. Audio in/out is via a combo headset port. Power, rotate lock and volume buttons are provided on the device edges. There’s no access panel on the rear for upgrades and the battery is sealed inside.

Working Fascia (Keyboard, Screen, Mouse)

Let’s take our time here because these are the parts of the Lenovo Yoga 13 an owner will be using most. The screen is a 13.3-inch 1600×900 IPS display which is comfortable to read. There’s a glossy finish though so a little screen positioning might be needed. IPS helps here.

As for colors and brightness we can only say we’re disappointed. Although we haven’t done any color gamut or brightness measurements there’s an obvious yellow tint to the screen and a backlight that needs 75% power where other Ultrabooks are working with under 50%. It does, we admit, feel comfortable when using in an office but we worry that it’s not going to be good for anyone working outdoors or near windows. That includes commuters.

Moving on to the keyboard it’s a similar story. The overall experience is very comfortable indeed and over the last two weeks the Yoga has been used to write around 30 articles containing tens of thousands of words. It’s not quite up to the standard of the Lenovo Thinkpads but it’s very very good. The only issue here is that it doesn’t have a keyboard backlight. Functions keys are sensibly reversed. We had no problems with touchpad interference.
On the touchpad, it’s smooth and does its job. It’s up there as a ‘good’ touchpad, but perhaps not the best. Don’t forget to learn two-finger right-click which is more reliable than finding the right click area on the pad.
Overall we’ve got a very good office and home set-up here but a set-up that’s lacking in features for other extremes.

Tablet Mode

If you’re expecting an always-available tablet with the Lenovo Yoga 13 you’re going to be disappointed. If you expect to do some ‘easel’ scenario work you could also be disappointed. The Yoga 13 is a heavy, sometimes cumbersome bit of kit that is often too wide for tablet use. 1.5Kg (3.3lbs) and 13.3” restricts the usage scenarios down to a few which require the support of a table, lap or belly. Unlike the Twist, the display mechanism isn’t even that good for quickly showing other people content as the process of converting the Yoga is two-handed. It’s not quick to get it into tablet mode at all, despite what you might see on Intel’s advertising.  [On that point, don’t start showing it off on London train stations because the little boy that says ‘Crikey!’ is likely to run off with it!]

This awkwardness in converting from tablet or ‘easel’ to laptop means it becomes annoying if you’re switching between Windows 8 desktop and Windows 8 Modern UI, especially if the power cable is connected. You’ll also notice that if you’re using the easel mode on the breakfast table, you’ll get bits and pieces all over the rubberized surround on the keyboard. As you drag the device around it’s likely to get scuffed too on that area too. We put the Yoga on a shelf in tablet mode and were a bit worried when we dragged all the dust off the shelf with it the next day. Rubber feet on laptops are there for a very good reason.
When in tablet mode, the keyboard does feel a little strange behind the fingers, but you get used to it and it’s locked-out so doesn’t register any key presses.
Finally, on the negative points, there’s no digitizer so if you want to get precise with selection, enable hovering or do some accurate pen-based annotations using Windows desktop applications, you can’t.

If the Yoga 13 was lighter it might be more useful as a convertible but, quite honestly, it’s the most awkward tablet we’ve ever used.
The touchscreen is genuinely useful in laptop mode and there are games that are great fun in easel and tablet mode. Reading on a table is OK too but for this amount of money you’d be better off getting a recent 10” Android tablet for games or reading and a touchscreen laptop/Ultrabook for Windows 8.
There’s one more thing that needs to be mentioned for the users that wants a relaxed tablet-style experience – the fan. It was on 100% of the time on this test device and the it generates quite a bit of warmth to the rear / at the left-hand holding point in portrait mode as a tablet.
We’ll be interested in testing the 11.6” Lenovo Yoga 11S because it’s slightly lighter, smaller and has a lower-power CPU in it which could drastically improve the tablet experience but in 13.3”, 1.5KG guide, the Yoga isn’t working as a tablet for us. It’s cool, fun and exciting, but not very practical.

NEC Lavie Z Review **** The World’s Lightest Ultrabook

After spending time with the NEC LaVie Z, we’re ready to give you the full report. What’s obvious is the incredibly light weight of this device; it is hands-down the lightest Ultrabook we’ve seen — lighter even than many 11.6-inch Ultrabooks despite the LaVie Z being in the 13.3-inch class. Beyond the weight is the fastest CPU Ultrabook we’ve tested and a speedy SSD. In this review we’ll give you the lowdown on the build quality, aesthetics, performance, and more.

We’d like to thank Dynamism, importer extraordinaire, for providing the NEC Lavie Z for our review.

NEC Lavie Z Hardware Tour

First we like to get you familiar with the device itself:

Left: fan exhaust, full SD slot

Front: LED indicators

Right: 3.5mm headphone, USB 2.0, USB 3.0, full HDMI, power

Bottom: Fully sealed, no access to RAM, HDD, or battery

Specifications

The NEC Lavie Z that we’re testing is powered by one of the fastest processors that you can find in any Ivy Bridge Ultrabook, the Intel Core i7-3517U @ 1.9GHz, which can use Turbo Boost to clock up to 3.0GHz . Inside is also 4GB of RAM, HD 4000 graphics, and a 128GB SSD.
The display is 13.3-inches with a 1600×900 resolution. The NEC Lavie Z weighs in at 875g. This makes it lighter even than many 11.6-inch devices.

Ports

The port set includes 1x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0, full HDMI, full SD, and a 3.5mm headphone jack

 

Impressive Samsung Series 7 Specs and Pricing Confirmed. Pre-Order

The Samsung Series 7 Ultra isn’t an Ultrabook convertible which means it’s not getting the best of media attention right now but please, take a closer look because the specs are spot-on for many of you that could be looking for a ‘pro’ Ultrabook. Full HD, Discreet graphics, full SSD and a touch option. In out opinion this could be one of the best Ultrabooks yet. It’s available for pre-order now in Germany so here’s the detail, pricing and an idea of availability. I will be checking this out at CeBIT in about 4 weeks.
2 model ranges have surfaced in online retail channels in Germany.
NP 730U3E – Core i3-3337U, 6GB RAM, 128GB SSD. 1920×1080, Radeon HD 8550M 128/256GB SSD, No Touch, Price: 999 Euro. Expected March (according to most sources.)
German readers: (Amazon.de offering Core i5, 4GB version for 799 today. This price looks too good to be true.)
NP 740U3E –  Core i5-3537U, 4GB RAM, 256GB SSD, Windows 8, Radeon HD 8550M 128/256GB SSD, Touchscreen.
A Core i7 touchscreen version with 6GB RAM and 256GB SSD is showing at 1399 Euro.
(Prices inclusive 19% sales tax)
Official specs indicate 30 mins less battery life for the touchscreen version. (7.3hrs official for touchscreen version.) All models have Centrino WiFi, back-lit keyboard, WiDi, 1.46KG weight.
Obviously there’s going to be variation in different countries but the base specs look great. The only thing we can’t confirm right now is the battery capacity. At 1.5 KG it could house the same battery unit as the Series 5 which would make it 45Wh. We hope it’s more than that. Fingers crossed for 60Wh which would be the icing on the cake in our opinion.

Dell XPS 13 gets Hi-res screen on next week

Dell’s XPS 13 has been available for a while and has been well received but a couple of features were not as well liked as others. Next week an updated version of the Ultrabook will be available which addresses one of the major  perceived shortcomings and adds a few other related improvements as well
When originally released the  XPS13 came with a 1366×768 screen resolution that seemed out of place on a premium Ultrabook but starting next week the PC will be available with an upgraded to a 1920×1080 resolution. Along with the higher resolution screen Dell also states there will be improvements to the screen including an increase in the viewing angle to 178 degrees, increased brightness at 350 nits from the current 300 and an increased color gamut at 72% over the 45% in the lower screen res version.
At the moment PC manufacturers are starting to embrace higher resolution screens in their Ultrabooks and with the new XPS13 Dell is positioned to compete on the same playing field as Acer, Asus and Samsung.

Sony VAIO T14 and T15 Touchscreen Ultrabooks

Not that long ago at CES 2013 Sony announced they were introducing two new additions to the Vaio T-Series lineup, a touch-enabled T-14 and a new T-15 model, also with a touchscreen and today these two new Ultrabooks are available to order from Sony and Best Buy
Specs listed for the T14 and T15 on Sony’s website state both come with 1 USB 3.0 port, USB 2.0 (1 on the T14, 2 on the T15), VGA, HDMI and a headphone port. The T15 also adds a numeric keypad and a backlit keyboard.
On Sony’s website you have the option to customize the new PC’s with various hardware  options and also opt for an upgrade to Windows 8 Pro or choose from a standard configuration, with the T15 being available in 3 different standard options starting at $949.99 for a core i5 Ivy Bridge CPU, 8GB RAM, 750GBHDD/24GBSSD hybrid device, DVD burner and of course a full HD 1080p screen also standard.  The top of the range option comes with a core i7 CPU and also upgrades the storage to a 256GB SSD and Blu-ray drive for $1399.99.
The T14 comes in only 1 standard configuration starting at $899.99 and comes with a lower resolution screen at 1366×768, 6GB RAM, 500GB HDD/24GB SSD hybrid drive and DVD burner and while you can customize most of the available options a higher resolution screen is not one of the options.
Best Buy also lists the T14 and T15 and has the base T15 configuration going for $929.99, though it only seems to appear from the direct Best Buy link