Laptops might have taken a hit in sales after the launch of the iPad, but PC makers are coming back with a range of high-performance machines that look good and perform well.
Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M3
This can be an ultrabook and a gaming laptop!The polycarbonate used on the Aspire M3 is not of the highest quality, visually speaking, but offers a solid build quality. The only niggle is that the laptop’s lid has a lot of flex in it. The machine’s display hinge isn’t very solid either.
The Intel Core i5–2467M that powers the Aspire V5 has been carried forward to the Aspire Timeline Ultra M3. Intel’s HD 3000 teams up with the nVidia GeForce GT640M (1GB) for graphics.
Display crispness is in a generous dose, but there does tend to be some screen noise around the text at times. We’re not sure what causes this though as it seems to be an intermittent issue.
Essentially, the Aspire Timeline Ultra M3 is a bumped up version of the Aspire V5, with the only real difference being the graphics. The M3 scores better on most benchmarks and the difference is enough to ensure that the M3 feels
zippier in standard usage conditions.
zippier in standard usage conditions.
Gamers would be delighted to pay that little bit more for the GeForce GT640M graphics card. The benchmark scores clarify that the potential does translate into utilizable performance.
The battery life clocked in at 3 hours and 18 minutes in the battery tests, at full brightness and in the high-performance power mode. In real-life performance, you should ideally get about 4 and 1/2 hours of usage on a single charge. The laptop’s pricing is pretty good for its performance.
Specifications
Processor:Intel Core i5-2467M @ 1.6 GHz
Graphics: nVidia GeForce GT 640M with 1 GB RAM and Intel HD 3000
RAM:4 GB
Display: 15.6-inch, 1366x768 pixel
Storage: 500 GB HDD
Connectivity: 2 USB 2.0, 1 USB 3.0, HDMI, SD card slot, Ethernet and Wi-Fi
Price: Rs 51,705
Ratings*
Features:7.5
Performance: 8
Build quality: 6.5
Value for money: 7
Total: 7.5
*All ratings are out of 10
Toshiba Satellite L850
A very powerful laptop, or a desktop replacement straight out of the box, this looks like a traditional laptop, with a no-frills design. The lid has a brushed metal finish, a reprieve from the hateful glossy finish of some rivals. The build quality does justify the price.The laptop’s tiled keyboard is well spaced out, helped by the margins offered by the 15.6-inch display no doubt. The touch pad is located towards the left. Call us old-fashioned, but we like it to be centre-aligned, since that is just how the hand is naturally positioned on the keypad.
It houses a quad-core Intel Core i7-3610QM processor clocking at 2.3 GHz, with a Turbo Boost mode taking it to 3.3 GHz and 8 GB of RAM. Thanks to this power package, the L850 scores very impressively on all benchmark tests. The AMD Radeon HD 7670M should satisfy the gamer among us, to a certain extent. It does score better than the GeForce GT630M that comes in the rival Acer Aspire V3.
The 15.6-inch display on the Satellite L850 is absolutely brilliant. The brightness levels are quite high, and tend to act as an antidote to the slightly reflective nature of the laptop’s display.
No matter what, the battery will not last more than 90 minutes under full load. Don’t expect this to last more than 2 and 1/2 hours under standard usage conditions either.
The Toshiba L850 is a solid desktop replacement, and is a viable alternative to the Aspire V3, in a slightly higher price bracket.
Specifications
Processor: Intel Core i7-3610 QM @ 2.3 GHz (Turbo mode to 3.3 GHz)
Graphics: ATI Radeon 7670M (2 GB)
RAM: 8 GB
Display: 15.6-inches, 1366x768 pixels
Storage: 750 GB hard drive
Connectivity: 1 USB 2.0 + 2 USB 3.0, HDMI out, Ethernet and Wi-Fi
Price:Rs 56,000
Ratings*
Features: 8
Performance: 8
Build quality: 6.5
Value for money: 7
Total: 8
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