page-6 | Asus UL30A - Simple, cheap and efficient. | Laptops

Asus UL30A - Simple, cheap and efficient. - Benchmark

Saturday, 28 November 2009 09:11 Laptopfreak

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Article Index
Asus UL30A - Simple, cheap and efficient.
Specifications
Construction and Design
Construction and Design continued
Special Features
Benchmark
Conclusion
All Pages

Page 6 of 7

Benchmark

Please note the ratings are invalid as CPU-Z constantly displayed the computer was running at 1648 MHz, regardless of profile. Besides, the CPU is not supposed to go much faster than 1300 MHz.

Windows Experience Index

The UL30A obtains a base rating of 3.4 points, determined by the lowest common denominator which in this case is “Gaming graphics – 3D business and gaming graphics performance”. This is because the computer only has an integrated GPU.

The computer is compared with Acer’s TM 8371, which has the following specifications:
-    Intel® Core 2 Duo SU9400 – 1.4 GHz – 3 MB L2 cache - 800 MHz FSB
-    Intel® GS45 (Cantiga-GS) + ICH9M
-    2x 2048 MB Samsung DDR3 SDRAM – PC3-8500 - 1066 MHz
-    Intel® GMA 4500M Shared onboard
-    1x 500 GB 5400 RPM
-    6 celled 2.8 Li-Ion battery
-    Microsoft Windows Vista Business SP1 (build 6001)

The Acer TM8371 has a starting price of around £700, and you can find a review of it right here:

http://www.laptop-review.eu

Danish review - www.Laptopworld.dk

Boot times and out of standby:

Boot and out of standby times are measured from when the power button is pressed and the Windows desktop appears.

The computer starts up in about 54 – 55 seconds, which is quite acceptable and the same goes for the TM8371. I might also mention the secondary OS starts up in 8 seconds.

Battery life

Idle test settings
Power4Gear’s power profile ”Battery Saving”, brightness at 1/16, hard drive standby after 10 minutes and WiFi active.

Classic test settings
Power4Gear’s power profile ”High Performance”, brightness at 16/16, hard drive standby after 10 minutes and WiFi active.

Note that since CPU-Z’s measures were invalid, the CPU frequencies are not given.

As can be seen on the graph, the computer can run for as long as 14 hours and 46 minutes when idle, which is very impressive when compared to most other computers around. Just last week we praised Acer’s 8 hour battery life, but Asus has really raised the bar here. Inclassic mode, the UL30A lasts only an hour less than the TM8371 does in idle.

Processor

wPrime

We would expect Acer TM8371’s Intel SU9400 to be stronger in wPrime, but Asus UL30A’s Intel SU7300 overtakes it comfortably with 12 seconds, quite a large difference. It may be because the Acer was running a number of programs in the background that were affecting performance, or perhaps the reason is Windows 7 performs better than Windows Vista.

In Sandra we can see the processor performs quite poorly in relation to a cheap CPU in a desktop computer. Part of this is because Intel’s ULV processors first and foremost aim to use less power, which inevitably means lower performance.

Graphic

Both computers score relatively low in 3DMark. They are not made for gaming though, so this is not much of a surprise.

RAM

The Acer was unfortunately not taken through SiSandra’s programs, but the Asus still obtains an acceptable score.

Microsoft Office Load

In general the three programs take about 6 – 8 seconds to start up, which is alright. There are minor differences in the two computers because of programs running in the background.

Overall

Both computers score about 3200 points, decent enough for their class.

Hard disk read

The HDD reads 65 Mbs per second which is alright for a 5400 RPM drive.

Comparison
The Asus UL30A and Acer TM8371 contain many of the same hardware components, giving them fairly similar results in the benchmarks. However, the UL30A has a far superior battery life and costs some £125 less as well.