Fujitsu has always been known for its
powerful notebooks. From the entry level model right up to extreme gaming, it
has blazed a set of benchmarks in the middle-to-upper class in terms of
computing performance. The Tested labs of PC.com had been given the great
opportunity to test out Fujitsu's latest in notebook offerings, the 3rd
Generation iCore equipped Fujitsu LifeBook LH772. This will be the opportune
moment to see if the LH772 lives up to the brand's heritage or not.
Pretty
in pink
Let's get it all out and put it on record:
the Fujitsu LifeBook LH772 has three colour schemes: white, black, and stark
pink. The PC.com sales team (and, as likely as it sounds, their conspirators in
Fujitsu Malaysia) thought it'd be pretty funny to bring in the most un-manly of
colours of the LH772 in for review. In short, the pink model gets to be in the
limelight this time. None of the guys want to touch it but the bling design and
sparkly pink shimmers caught the eye of yours truly. And so, here's the review!
As for the design, well ... it's Fujitsu inside and out, as it applies the
Takumi philosophy all around. Suffice to say, while the shocking pink is found
on every nook and cranny of the LH772 - including the accents of the keyboard -
it somehow complements the minimalistic design concept that is used throughout
the notebook's look and feel. The top lid, typing area, palm rests and screen
bezel did not feel out of place as they complement each other in terms of
stylistic balance.
Boot-up
mess
Overcoming the shocking colour scheme is
pretty easy and things got underway when the LH772 had been setup for the
proper review run. While expecting the notebook to startup and fly off in a
flash, it instead decided to stay in booting sequence for almost 2 minutes.
Restarting twice and going into save mode revealed the problem: too much
bloat-ware. Removing most of the non-essentials and clearing up the system area
of the links ensured the next boot sequence being hyperfast, 45 seconds in
all!
Power
performer
Despite being slow to start at the
beginning, once everything has been fine-tuned, the LH772 is a powerhouse that
had been redefined. With its third generation i7 i7- 3612QM 3.1GHz core, 8GB
RAM, and NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M LE with Optimus technology with 2GB dedicated
video memory, it is clear that Fujitsu is playing for keeps when it comes to
performance. Even if the LH772 is not a focused gaming notebook per se, it has
enough processing prowess to be one. Benchmark results have shown that it can
smoke the competition, barring proper extreme gaming systems. The only thing
holding back its potent capability is the bloat-ware that has been crammed into
it.
Fine
tuning
It's easy to tell that the LH772 needs some
tweaking before its full potential can be unlocked. Removing the odd bloat-ware,
switching over to high performance mode, boosting the video graphic performance
on the software front, and this pink wonder is more than ready to take on any
enriched HD content. Be it heavily rendered videogames to 1080p raw HD movies,
the LH772 managed to run them all with minimal lag. Interestingly, when the
notebook starts to struggle, the cooling system will start to make its presence
known as it stresses itself out to keep the notebook from overheating. There
will some minor choppy performance as well but thankfully such situations are
very rare.
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Info
·
Price: $1,114
·
Dimensions (H x W x D): 345 x 242.1 x 35.5mm
(with rubber foot)
·
Weight: Approx. 2.18kg
·
Processor: Intel® Core™ i7-3612QM1 (6MB cache,
up to 3.10GHz) with Intel® Turbo Boost Technology
·
Memory: 8GB DDR3 1600Mhz (Max. Memory
Supported - 2 x 8GB DDR3 1600MHz, Dual Channel)
·
Storage: 1TB (5400rpm)
·
Operating system: Windows 7 Professional 64bit
·
Display: High Definition SuperFine LCD 14-inch
(16:9) SuperFine HD 200nits back-light LED, 1366 x 768 pixels
·
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M LE with
Optimus technology with 2GB dedicated video memory
·
Connectivity: Bluetooth 4.0, 10/100/1000 Mbps
Ethernet and WLAN 802.11BGN wireless network connection
·
Ports: USB 3.0 x 4 (Anytime USB charge x 1), VGA
(external display), RJ45 (LAN), HDMI, HDA-in, HDA-out, Power Adapter DC-in
·
Expansion: D / SDHC / SDXC / Memory Stick /
Memory Stick Pro
·
Performance test: 1678.5
·
PCMark 7: 2,451
·
3DMark 11: P1133, X353
Verdict
·
Extreme powerhouse that could do without the
extras
·
Value: 8/10
·
Features: 9/10
·
Performance: 8/10
·
Design: 9/10
·
Usability: 9/10
·
Score: 8.6/10
|
Acer Aspire V5- 571G - Few whistles to blow
Being the first to adopt the Ultrabook
concept, Acer had practically become the first for everything there is to find
on Intel's ultra slim platform. Despite making other traditional notebooks, the
company is still going ahead with releasing many more Ultrabooks in the market.
Among the new Ultrabooks that Acer dished out is the Acer Aspire V5. Guess
what? I found this lying around in the office so off it goes to our review
labs.
Splitting
apart
Given that the whole Ultrabook is
surrounded with matte plastic, it doesn't really gives off the high end vibe.
But not to worry, the V5 feels solid enough. It is just the plastic on the
display feels flimsy. There is a time when I almost accidently split the screen
open at the sides. Thankfully, there is no damage at all. Acer may want to take
note on that part of the screen for its future models.
Throw
that gloss
Being the larger version of the recently
launched Ultrabook range, the V5 I got happens to be a 15.6- inch LCD display.
As heartbreaking as it is, it must be said that the screen is really not the
strong point of the V5. With a splash of gloss all over the screen, it is
susceptible to fingerprints and rendered useless when used outdoors. The colour
reproduction from this is quite average because it is hard to tell the
different shades of most colours. Only the reds look exceptionally good. For
photographers and graphic designers, you may want to consider other options.
Meeting
requirements
Throughout my time with the V5, I enjoyed
using it quite a bit. It handles daily needs like web surfing, casual gaming
and word processing quite well. On the other hand, high end gaming needs is
beyond the capabilities of the V5 as it lags a lot. While lowering the game
settings will ensure smooth game play, it doesn't really translates to
"epic gaming experience.”
More
stamina
This is just my assumption but I am
guessing in order to make this 15.6-inch Ultrabook portable, Acer sacrificed
its battery life. Under heavy usage, the battery life is just under two hours.
Even with on and off usage, it may net me a little more than two hours. It is
quite powerful but it is distressing to know that I need to charge it often.
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Info
·
Price: $721
·
Dimensions (H x W x D): 23 x 382 x 253 mm
·
Weight: 2.3kg
·
Processor: Intel Core i5 -3317UM
·
Memory: 4 GB
·
Storage: 500 GB
·
Operating system: Windows 7 Home Premium,
64-bit
·
Display: 15.6 inch, 16:9, 1366x768 pixels
·
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GT 620M 1024 MB
·
Connectivity: WiFi, Ethernet, Bluetooth
·
Ports: USB2.0 x 2, USB3.0 x 1, HDMI, VGA
·
Battery: 4-cell Lithium Ion (Li-Ion, 2500 mAh)
·
PCMark7 score: 1,858
Verdict
·
It could have been a better Ultrabook but the
V5 get the job done.
·
Value: 9/10
·
Features: 8/10
·
Performance: 7/10
·
Design: 8/10
·
Usability: 8/10
·
Score: 8.0/10
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