ASUS U41JF: Arrandale's Not Dead Yet
by Jarred Walton on March 28, 2011 7:35 PM ESTWhy Discrete GPUs Matter: Gaming Performance
We’re skipping out on running any of the High detail testing this time around; with a 1366x768 resolution LCD, we’ll stick to our Low and Medium quality tests. Besides, we’ve checked 900p High performance on the GT 425M several times, and it’s no better this time around. Only two of our eight test titles (DiRT 2 and Mass Effect 2) break 30FPS at our demanding High settings, and then only by a few FPS. Medium is where the GT 425M works best, or even Low quality in a few titles (i.e. Crysis 2, Metro 2033, and Mafia II).
Does anyone else ever get the impression that perhaps Intel is spending a lot more time optimizing for 3DMarks than for actual games? Where we saw the gap between GT 425M and quad-core HD 3000 get as small as 12% in Vantage Entry, or as much as 53% in 3D05, for actual games—even at low/minimum detail—the margin of victory starts at 40% (Metro 2033) and is as much as 97% (Mafia II). On average, the 425M leads at low detail by 62% in our eight titles. We only have results for six games with the MBP13, but the average margin is even greater at 101%. And that’s not even factoring in better compatibility and more consistent performance across a wider selection of titles! What happens when we move to Medium quality?
The GT 425M lead in individual games ranges from 42-143% over the i7-2820QM, with an average lead of 72%, so slightly higher than at our Low details. Compared to the MBP13’s i5-2415M, the lead average is 100%, with individual leads of 71-137%, but we're missing Mafia II and Metro 2033 scores. The two SNB laptops may not have used the same driver version, and we don’t have results for all the games on the MBP13. I can also confirm that an i5-2520M notebook outperforms the MBP13 results by around 5-10% on average. Either way, it’s obvious that even a moderate discrete GPU like the GT 425M still offers a lot more performance than any current IGP. It will be interesting to see how that changes once Llano hits in the next couple of months.
Something else to point out before we move on is that some driver updates appear to have improved performance with the GT 425M, at least in a couple titles. Left 4 Dead 2 is running a lot faster than on the N53JF, though the XPS 15 is still the best result (see next page for a discussion of other points of interest relating to L4D2). The bigger change is in StarCraft II, where the U41JF is at least 10% faster than the next closest 425M laptop.
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veri745 - Monday, March 28, 2011 - link
Now it's about time that they give the LCDs on these a resolution upgrade. I'd like to see atleast 1600x900jrocks84 - Monday, March 28, 2011 - link
I totally agree on higher resolution LCDs being needed! I haven't searched that hard, but the only two 13" laptops that I know of with a decent res are the Macbook Air and the Sony Vaio Z.lexluthermiester - Tuesday, March 29, 2011 - link
I have a Asus EEE 1201N with 1366x768 res. It beats out my old VIAO which was 1280x800. Now granted, the 1201n is only a dual-core Atom , but at a 12" screen and the fact it will some moderate gaming, it packs punch for it's size. Battery life is far better as well.Of course we are talking about a $400 price point with the 1201n. But I guess the point I'm trying to make is that if you look into what it is you want good things can be found. And honestly, the system in this review would tempt me greatly if the 1201n didn't already meet my needs.... but oh so tempting....
ImSpartacus - Tuesday, March 29, 2011 - link
I agree. I know many laptops will have to move to 16:9 for cost reasons, but why can't they just use 1600x900 as a baseline resolution?768 vertical pixels are unacceptable on anything but 11.6" displays.
blue_falcon - Monday, March 28, 2011 - link
The industry is trending towards industry standard resolutions (HD at the moment for most systems). I doubt you'll see a 1600x900 13.3 screen.Penti - Monday, March 28, 2011 - link
Sony still has some, 13.1" 1600x900 laptops that is. Let's see if they get updated to Sandy Bridge too. If you want it you can have it, even though most use standard displays.DLimmer - Monday, March 28, 2011 - link
As usual, excellent laptop review. I relied on http://www.anandtech.com/show/2862/dell-studio-14z... a couple years ago when I bought my wife's laptop, and it still does all she asks of it *and* lasts all day on one charge (with intermittent use).I also grabbed a Gateway P-6831 based on http://www.anandtech.com/show/2490.
Minor typos (first page third to last paragraph):
"One the flipside, ASUS’ Super Hybrid Engine (SHE)" -> *On* the flipside
(page 5, second paragraph from the bottom):
"and it doesn’t need 960 Steam" -> *Stream*
Thank you for providing objective and in-depth reviews we can use when selecting items to purchase.
ImSpartacus - Tuesday, March 29, 2011 - link
I almost bought a 14z instead of my MBP13'09. It was on the thicker side, but had a massive battery and a full voltage processor.Eventually, I had to have that big trackpad and disk drive.
In retrospect the decision was pretty murky.
DLimmer - Tuesday, March 29, 2011 - link
My wife misses the DVD drive occasionally, but we have an external. It's most annoying when you install some software that requires the disc be in the computer to run. Only other time is when she wants to rip a new CD she's bought.All-in-all, giving up the drive for more battery life and less weight was a decent trade-off... however, she wants a drive in her next laptop.
Beenthere - Monday, March 28, 2011 - link
How could you get it more wrong: Asus and Intel. It don't get any worse than that.