I found a very interesting website related to battery…not limited to laptop aka notebook battery only. Most of the articles there grab my attention, so instead of summurize them, it is better for me to direct linking their articles.
Table of Content :
Battery research is focusing heavily on lithium chemistries, so much so that one could presume that all portable devices will be powered with lithium-ion batteries in the future. In many ways, lithium-ion is superior to nickel and lead-based chemistries and the applications for lithium-ion batteries are growing as a result.
Lithium-ion has not yet fully matured and is being improved continuously. New metal and chemical combinations are being tried every six months to increase energy density and prolong service life. The improvements in longevity after each change will not be known for a few years. (more…)
Acer Aspire 4530 is my third notebook, which I review / commented in this blog. The first one is Acer 4520 (AMD Turion x2) which you can read here and the second one is Lenovo Y410 (Core 2 Duo) which you can read here.
For the record, all three notebooks, I bought and setup it using Windows Vista Ultimate with latest driver available, properly restart and defrag all of them before benchmark it using Windows Vista Experience Index. So, roughly, what I am going to write here is my short experience with my new laptop, and how good or bad it is compare to the other two.
Finally, I have a chance to buy and test a notebook base on mobile CPU Core 2 Duo 1.86 GHz. If you read my blog before, you will notice, that i buy a sub RM2000 notebook for my sister in law, which is Acer Aspire using AMD Turion 2.0 GHz.
My expectation on this notebook was a bit high compare to Acer Aspire consider the price tag extra RM 300.00. Furthermore it use oh well state of the art C2D processor. But…. using Vista Performance Index, surprisingly the score is very identical. Both score 4.8 for the CPU.
The physical look of Lenovo notebook seem better and sturdier compare to plasticky Aspire, but some people prefer the cheerfull color of Aspire. Webcam on Lenovo is better, so do the LCD screen. But, Aspire clearly beat Lenovo in sound department. Sound from Lenovo sound sooo tiny and underpar, compare to current notebook, even they claim Dolby certified and got subwoofer (i cant sense any single bass lol)
Spec wise, the Lenovo come with 160 GB hard disk (latest check, the current aspire also come with 160 GB hard disk). Aspire weight a bit less compare to Lenovo but not so significant to my shoulder.
However, as expected, C2D base notebook use less power compare to Turion base notebook. Lenovo able to work almost 4 hours, with casual use. Wifi, Bluetooth were set to OFF.
Detail spec :
roduct Information
Lenovo Y410-T5550 Notebook
- Intel Centrino Core2 Duo T5550 1.83GHz Processor.
- Intel PRO / Wireless 3945ABG.
- Intel X3100 256MB Shared Display with Dual View & TV-Out.
- 14.1″ WideScreen WXGA with VibrantView.
- 2.0GB DDR2 Memory.
- 160GB SATA Hard Disk Drive.
- Slot-In RAMBO DVD±RW/DL/RAM Super Multi Drive.
- 100Mbps LAN, 56K Modem, Firewire, Bluetooth, Webcam 1.3 Megapixel, PCMCIA & Card Reader.
- 2×1.5W Stereo Multimedia Speakers & 1x2W SubWoofer Speaker.
- Support Dolby® Home Theater™ Surround Sound.
- Shuttle Control & Shuttle Centre.
- Audio-DJ Control Panel.
- Weight: 2.3kg include 6-Cell Li-Ion Battery.
- One Year Lenovo Carry-In Warranty.
- FREE Lenovo Ready 2 Go Traveller Bag.
Vista Performance Index :
- Processor : 4.8 (same with Turion 2.0 GHz)
- RAM : 4.5 (both system has 2 GB of Ram, using DDR2 667)
- Graphics : 3.5 (clearly X3100 chipset inferior to GeForce7000M chipset)
- Gaming Graphics : 3.5 (Score better than Geforce 7000M)
- Hard Disk : 5.2 (seem intel base chipset handle hard disk better)
Last 2 weeks, my sister in law who are still a student in University Malaya, ask me to find her a good notebook for RM2000. Thats it. No more.
Criteria what I was looking for are :
But man, RM2000 for a good notebook? Seriously I had my difficult time to satisfy my mandatory criteria with that limited budget. HP, Sony, Toshiba, Fujitsu and Asus already rule out. None of them offer a decent performance notebook for the masses cheaper than RM2500. So what the available option do I have?
After some homework with uncle google and my favorite public forum (lowyat.net), I found one candidate. Acer 4520.
Specification :
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I bought this unit and install Windows Vista Ultimate. Upon Windows Experience Index, this notebook manage to get :
- Processor : 4.8 (one of my PC use Pentium Dual Core 1.8Ghz get 4.8 too)
- RAM : 4.8 (and 2GB DDR667 for the rig above (945GC mobo) get 4.8 too)
- Graphics : 4.5
- Gaming Graphics : 3.0 (Able to run Aero and basic 3D application without any problem)
- Hard Disk : 5.0 (better thanI expect from mobile hard disk)
Wow..to be honest I am pretty impress with this little beast. For RM2000 (approx USD500) I got this kind of performance.Not bad. Vista Aero effect is activated and this notebook handle Vista flawless. Pretty responsive.
Battery life (under balance scheme, slightly logger than 2 hours) : Browsing, Office Apps, Watch DVD etc.
And what i love most is, the sound quality from this typically tiny notebook speaker. Obviously much better than my Dell Inspiron. The sound really live up to their claim :: Dolby certified 
.
In term or reliability, I can’t comment yet. Need to wait another couple of months. But for now, this notebook is really a good bargain, especially for student out there.
