The keyboard is particularly suited to typists, though potential users will have to look past an extremely spongy keyboard base. It was not very easy to do so, as the action of the keys without spring deflection is weak at best. The pressure point is measurably clear, though it comes very close to being simply squishy. When typing, we had the feeling that we were using a premium keyboard.Dell Studio 14zn Battery,charger,adapter

The free-standing keys offer large hands enough breathing room, increasing typing accuracy. In comparison with the competition, the successful layout with its large keys, the distinct space between them and their clear markings stand out above the rest.Dell Inspiron 14 Battery,charger,adapter

Asus generally likes to give its devices hardware-buttons, which makes the activation of energy-related functions or wireless modules easier. This is not so on the U30JC, which lends the work surface a cleaner look. Even the power key is tucked away under the right display hinge. Understatement is in fashion.Dell Inspiron 1464 Battery,charger,adapter

There is, in fact, a hardware button, which serves to activate both wireless modules. It is located awkwardly and almost invisible on the front left side. The switch is difficult to move and gives the impression that it was incorporated into the chassis late in the development cycle. All other functions such as display brightness, loudness, mute, picture source or WLAN/Bluetooth are controlled through function keys (Fn + F1, F2, etc.).Dell Inspiron 15 Battery,charger,adapter

The touch pad is located just slightly below the surface of the palm rest. Its surface has the same Alu-look as the rest of the immediate area. It is made of a hard plastic, is very large and is sensitive all the way to its edges. Movement is nimble and accurate, though there are disadvantages.Dell Inspiron 1564 Battery,charger,adapter

The model is a Multi-Touch-Pad (Elan Smart Pad V2.2; Driver ETDWare 7.0.5.9_WHOL). As far as two-finger gestures, we were only able to roll (two fingers next to each other) or zoom (two fingers coming together or moving apart). A horizontal or vertical scrollbar is missing; the activation of this function is also missing from the Smart-Pad software. The same goes for the zoom function: according to the Smart-Pad Tool, it simply doesn't exist. Users won't use it anyways, as the movement is very hesitant even though the sensitivity is correctly dialed in.Dell Inspiron 17 Battery,charger,adapter

The glare-finish 13.3-inch panel has a native resolution of 1366x768. This 16:9 standard resolution lends an acceptable overview to the display. Working with several, detail-rich applications at once such as Word or Excel is not recommended, though.Dell Inspiron 1764 Battery,charger,adapter

With a black value of 1.36 (middle) we were able to ascertain a low contrast of 166:1. A measurably higher contrast would have been easier on the eyes, though the result is something that can be coped with. Colors on the display are rather subdued as opposed to vibrant and exciting. The utilization of a glare-type display optically gives the colors back some of their proper brilliance.Dell Vostro 3300 Battery,charger,adapter

The panel, despite the contrast, is still able to impress with a good brightness level. On average we measured 227 cd/m2. We measured a maximum light density of 237 cd/m2 in the upper right hand corner. In the face of mobile ambitions and reflections on the display a luminance of 250 cd/m2 would have been desirable.Dell Vostro 1220 Battery,charger,adapter

The 13.3-inch panel lacks a matte finish, which is to say that it has a glare-type panel. Use under direct sunlight is possible, though in situations of strong sunlight a shady area should be sought out. Positive: running on Battery,charger,adapter power does not threaten the U30JC's brightness. A light sensor is not built in.Dell Vostro 1220n Battery,charger,adapter

In line with the robust and largely matte surfaces and the small 13.3-inch form factor, using this notebook on the move is possible. Interested parties should be aware: the Battery,charger,adapter life is greatly reduced when at maximum brightness compared to the values in our tests.Dell Inspiron 1470 Battery,charger,adapter

The vertical viewing angles of the glare-display are very small. Horizontally we were able to move left and right to about 45 degrees. At this point, the display darkens noticeably and the colors falsify. Vertically the same effect begins at 20 degrees of deviance. The picture becomes dark quickly and the colors invert. In the darkroom photo the small vertical viewing angles are clear to see.Dell Inspiron 1470n Battery,charger,adapter

Dark writing on bright backgrounds are less dependent on the viewing angle than colors and pictures. The low viewing angles hardly have major consequences for users of the notebook; watching a film with friends can be difficult when one or another is not satisfied with their viewing position. Viewers looking on from above could only recognize the outlines of what was on screen.Dell Inspiron 14z Battery,charger,adapter

The U30JC is outfitted with an Intel Core i5-430M. The 32mm CPU has two physical cores each at 2.26 GHz (standard clock speed). The clocking when using Turbo-Boost lies between 2.26 and 2.533 GHz. Turbo-Boost overclocks individual processor cores automatically, where the applications at hand determine how many cores should have their frequencies raised.Dell Inspiron 1570 Battery,charger,adapter

Applications may also make use of up to four cores (Hyper-Threading). When all four cores are at work, all four of them are clocked not at 2.533 GHz but rather at 2.35 GHz. Only when an individual core alone bears the complete computing burden (Single Core Benchmark), then its frequency is raised by Turbo-Boosting to the indicated 2.533 GHz.Dell Inspiron 1570n Battery,charger,adapter

A special feature of the Core i5-CPU: the integration of the memory controller and the IGP-graphics card (GMA HD) in the processor unit. This allows for an interesting connection with the dedicated Nvidia 310M graphics chipset. The so-called Nvidia Optimus technology automatically switches between the Intel HD graphics and the dedicated GPU. Different from earlier hybrid-GPU solutions, the Optimus technology does not switch back and forth continuously between the two graphics units, which always led to a change in frame buffer and interruption of the VGA-output signal.Dell Inspiron 15z Battery,charger,adapter

The Intel HD is always active, as its frame-buffer is continuously used for display output. The dedicated Nvidia GPU is therefore not physically connected to the VGA-out; instead the Geforce 310M writes the display information directly to the frame buffer of the GMA HD. On these grounds,Dell Latitude Z600 Battery,charger,adapter there is no lag time or black screens when the system switches between the two graphics cores. Everything happens automatically which makes a physical hardware switch unnecessary. Users of the Optimus system can count on good Battery,charger,adapter life from their equipped devices, as the dedicated graphics can be completely turned off.

4.7Windows 7 Experience IndexProcessorCalculations per second6.7Memory (RAM)Memory operations per second5.9GraphicsDesktop performance for Windows Aero4.7Gaming graphics3D business and gaming graphics5.2Primary hard diskDisk data transfer rate5.8With the PCMarkVantage software suite we tested the combined performance of the CPU, graphics, RAM and hard drive. We wanted to know how strong a system without dedicated graphics (Intel HD) differentiated itself from that with the Nvidia 310M. We configured Optimus via the Nvidia control panel as such and then ran PCMark Vantage twice, each in Asus High Peformance Mode).Dell Inspiron 1370 Battery,charger,adapter

The overall result of 4,057 points is surprising in a mostly negative way. The result is not itself a bad one, but it lies around the same level as a Core 2 Duo P9500 system (i.e. MSI Megabook GX620). Test systems with the 430M-CPU were almost always able to put up at least 5,000 points (Acer Aspire 4820TG-434G64Mn) if not 6,000 points (MSI GX640-i5447LW7P).Dell Inspiron 13z Battery,charger,adapter

Why is the system being thwarted in this manner? The pure calculation speed of the processor lies at the same level as other 430M-notebooks.Dell Inspiron 15 Battery,charger,adapter Wprime, SuperPi and Sisoft Dhry/Whet are performing at the normal 430M levels. It is the hard drive and the weak graphics that the PCMark Vantage is rating as low. The HDD score (2,083) is about 1,000 points lower as that, for example, in the Acer Aspire 7745G-434G50Bn (430M, HD5850). Due to the slow Seagate hard drive the other scores (productivity, music, etc.) each lose a few hundred points a piece., which when brought together, affects the total score above. Check out the following analysis of the hard drive.Dell Inspiron 1525 Battery,charger,adapter

The gaming score (3,255) is one which would be expected from a system without a dedicated graphics card (mySN MB6, Intel HD). As a reminder: the Optimus system is deactivated during standard Office operation as is the Nvidia CUDA hardware acceleration. An Acer Aspire 5740G-434G32Mn (HD5470) achieves 4,206 points here. A 430M + 310M configuration in a Dell Vostro 3500 manages almost 3,900 points.Dell Inspiron 1526 Battery,charger,adapter