Testbed And Methods : Two High-End Graphics Notebooks Compared

Testbed And Methods

By Don Woligroski, published on June 25, 2007
Source: Tom's Guide US | Keywords: graphics, notebooks | Themes: Smartphones, Laptops and Notebooks, Desktop Computers, Business

Contents

1. Introduction
2. A Common Hardware Platform, Continued
3. A Common Hardware Platform, Continued
4. Differences In Execution
5. Differences In Execution, Continued
6. Warranty
7. Testbed And Methods
8. Benchmarks: Gaming

7. Testbed And Methods

Manufacturer	M-Tech	Eurocom
Model	D901C	D900C
Dimensions & Weight
Width x Height x Depth	15.5" x 2.5" x 11.75" 39.37cm x 6.35cm x 29.85cm	15.5" x 2.5" x 11.75" 39.37cm x 6.35cm x 29.85cm
Unit & Battery	12lb 8oz / 5670g	12lb / 5443g
Charger and Power Cord	3lb 4oz / 1474g	3lb 4oz / 1474g
Total	15lb 12oz / 7144g	15lb 4oz / 6917g
AC Adapter & Battery
Battery I Capacity	Li-Ion 14.8 V, 6600 mAh	Li-Ion 14.8 V, 6600 mAh
Battery II Capacity	none	none
AC adapter	220 W	220 W
Pointing Device(s)	Touchpad	Touchpad
Display and Graphics Controller
Display Size	17"	17"
Display Resolution	1920 x 1200	1920 x 1200
Graphics controller	nVidia GeForce Go 7950 GTX	nVidia GeForce Go 7950 GTX
System
BIOS	Phoenix 1.00.01 (04/10/07)	Phoenix 1.00.01 (04/10/07)
CPU	Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 (2.13 GHz, 4 MB L2-Cache, FSB266)	Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 (2.93 GHz, 4 MB L2-Cache, FSB266)
Memory	2x 1 GB 400MHz DDR2	2x 1 GB 333MHz DDR2
Hard Drive
Manufacturer & Model	ST910021AS	Fujitsu MHV2120BH
Size	100 GB	120 GB
Performance	(SATA / 7200 / 8 MB / 10.5 ms / 2xRAID 5)	(SATA / 5400 / 8 MB / 12 ms / 2xRAID 0)
Other Drives
Manufacturer & Model	MATSHITA DVD-RAM UJ-850S	TSSTcorp CD/DVDW TS-L632D
Type	DVD +/- RW	DVD +/- RW
Floppy Drive	none	none
Media Bay	none	none
Connectors B=Back, F=Front, L=Left, R=Right
PS2 Mouse/Keyboard	none / none	none / none
USB 2.0	4xRight	4xRight
IEEE1394/Firewire	1xLeft	1xLeft
Serial COM Port	1xLeft	1xLeft
Parallel LPT Port	none	none
Microphone	Yes	Yes
IR port	1xFront	1xFront
Bluetooth	Yes	Yes
VGA / DVI out	none / 1xBack	none / 1xBack
TV out	1xS-Video Back	1xS-Video Back
TV in	1xS-Video Left / 1xCATV Left	1xS-Video Left / 1xCATV Left
AC Power	Yes	Yes
PC-Card Slots	1xLeft	1xLeft
Express-Card Slots	1xLeft	1xLeft
LAN	Realtek RTL8168/8111 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet NIC	Realtek RTL8168/8111 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet NIC
WLAN	Intel 4965AGN PRO/Wireless Network Adapter	Atheros AR5006X Wireless Network Adapter
Wireless WAN	none	none
Audio Connectors	1xMic Front, 1xHedphone Front, 1xLine In Front, 1xSPDIF Front	1xMic Front, 1xHedphone Front, 1xLine In Front, 1xSPDIF Front
Audio Chip	Realtek ALC883 @ Intel 82801HB ICH8 High-Def	Realtek ALC883 @ Intel 82801HB ICH8 High-Def
Modem	1xLeft Motorola SM56 Data Fax Modem	1xLeft Motorola SM56 Data Fax Modem
Card-Reader/Writer	1xLeft Multi Card Reader	1xLeft Multi Card Reader
Fingerprint Security Sensor	none	none
Manufacturer’s Docking Socket	none	none
Software
OS	Windows Vista Business 6.0	Windows XP Pro SP2

As mentioned previously, this match-up is far from ideal. As these basic platforms are equipped with different CPUs, hard disks, RAM, and even operating systems, the results we get will give us a better idea of how differently equipped laptops based on this platform will perform at a variety of tasks. But we must keep in mind that both Eurocom and M-Tech offer a great deal of customization, and that either of the notebooks we tested could have been optioned similarly by either company.