Comments on: Intel CULV platform is just a money machine

By: The Twisted Team

The Twisted Team — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 10:51:27 +0000

What about it? Expensive and made for show-off. They are releasing similar Dell Vostro 13 now (you already can buy one at Dell UK), again based on those low-performance processors.

By: Malaysia Laptop

Malaysia Laptop — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 08:43:19 +0000

I think ultra portable laptop will replace all the netbook soon enough. Just take a look at the new Dell Adamo XPS.

By: The Twisted Team

The Twisted Team — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:46:51 +0000

Now first of – DDR3 hasn’t got much more value over DDR2 and, in fact, is slower than DDR2 in those cases it works at 800 MHz (line in GS45 with 800 MHz FSB processor) due to worse timings compared to DDR2.

Thing is that it works with less voltage, which also saves power.

It doesn’t really matter if you use 4 GB over 3 GB – most people still use 32-bit OS, where all you get is a bit over 3 GB (if you have four), and Windows Vista is as good with 3 as with 4 anyway. After all, you are considering ULV platform, so it’s not all about performance.

Our advice is to also seek something similar to Acer’s Timeline (13″ is Acer AS3810T or TZ, 14″ is AS4810T or TZ and 15.6″is 5810T/TZ), with both dual core CULV processor (SU4100 or SU9400, but the later is more expensive) and ATI Mobility Radeon 4330, which would allow you to have everything in one sub 1.8 kg. notebook. May be Acer 4810T, as it’s light and fast enough, plus it doesn’t compromise biuld quality (excellent) or performance (sure it’s under DV6′s T6600, but with 3+ hours battery life on top of the HP), and it has DVD too.

Not sure if Dell have something close to Timeline and at similar price.

You can always take a model w/o descrete graphics, as Intel’s GMA 4500M is suitable for everyday work and even movies (it has H264 acceleration for Blurays and such with DXVA, read: Media Player Classic Home Cinema, for example)

Any questions are welcome.

By: Paul Z

Paul Z — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:21:04 +0000

Hey, I googled problems with ultra low voltage processors and I found this article in the course of my research. Thankfully, I was tipped off about the processing problems before I bought a Dell Inspiron 1470. However, most of the info I’ve read about CULVs report the problems while using 3GB DDR2 RAMs. My first question is would the 4GB DDR3 RAM available with the Inspiron 1470 compensate for the CULV low processing speed while still maintaining an excellent battery life? I am essentially shopping for a laptop for under $750 that has a decent battery life (a battery life like the CULV is a huge plus since I will be taking it to law school in a few months and the portability would be nice, but I need a 3 hr. min), is well built (won’t fall apart if it gets knocked around in a backpack a bit), has Win 7, and a good Memory (how much benefit/longevity value in the DDR3 over DDR2?). Built in CDRW/DVDRW is important but not necessary as I could get an external one pretty easily for around $50. Webcam and Bluetooth also plusses but not essential. I really like the Inspiron 14 with core 2 duo SU7300, but read better reviews on the HP DV6-1355DX with core 2 duo T6600. Any question you at The Twisted Team or any other readers could answer would be greatly appreciated. I’ve been doing a lot of computer shopping and I’m learning a lot quickly, but am still woefully underinformed on computers and I just don’t want to buy something I’ll regret. (By the way, yes I realize I’m bargain shopping with a price ceiling of $750, but I don’t use a comp for intense gaming, I just want a good, reliable computer that’ll last for the next 5-6 years and I can listen to music while having multiple webpages up, while writing a paper, and having Messenger or Skype running in the background). Sorry for the long message but I could use the help!