13. System Performance: Sysmark2002

For the sake of completeness we also carried out this benchmark, although most notebooks that are available on the market at the moment have enough power to run simple office programs and Internet applications. As a result, the M6800N from Asus is no exception to the rule. It placed last, only because it is equipped with the weakest processor of all of the tested candidates.

Battery Run Down Time

A direct comparison of the battery run down time of all candidates seems unreasonable at first because the systems from Asus, Dell and Yakumo run with Pentium-M and mobile Athlon64 CPUs, and are therefore theoretically at an advantage. Furthermore, the battery life amongst the candidates varies a great deal.

But we can draw interesting conclusions from the results.

Mobilemark is a benchmark that tests battery run down time. As such, it doesn't put much strain on either modern graphics chips or current processors. Both the Asus as well as the Yakumo notebooks have the same display size. That, coupled with the fact that the battery in the Athlon64 notebook has a fifty percent higher capacity, leads us to the conclusion that the mobile Athlon64 paired with the desktop chipset K8T800 uses power much less sparingly than a Pentium-M with an equivalent chipset.

The measurements clearly show how much battery life depends on the application being used, therefore proving typical manufacturer's claims that, for example, "the maximum battery life of gaming notebook X is up to four hours" to be absurd. The results of the measurements prove that the display of a gaming notebook equipped with a rechargeable battery of conventional capacity running under full load goes black after two hours at most. For the manufacturer to even talk about mobile gaming fun using a notebook with a desktop PC and high-end graphics like the Blackbox-M11 is complete nonsense: Despite the fact that a heavy, high-capacity battery is used, the machine doesn't even last ninety minutes under full load before the battery runs dry.

The M6800N from Asus is a good compromise of operating efficiency and mobility, since it is not only the lightest machine of all, but also the most efficient in all of the three tested categories.

Unfortunately it was impossible to measure the battery run down time with different Powerplay settings because the Asus' driver for the graphic card, version 6.14.0010.6396, didn't provide these settings. In other words: Those who use the Asus M6800N have to live without the option to increase/decrease the core and memory clocks of the graphic sub system in order to improve/diminish the performance of the system, or, as the case may be, to sacrifice maximum possible 3D performance for the benefit of longer battery life.