least 16 MB of RAM, an active-matrix color display, an integrated CD-ROM drive, an integrated sound system, an integrated pointing device, and a 3-1/2-inch floppy drive.
Performance
We assessed the performance of each notebook with our suite of applications-based and low-level InterMark tests. Before testing, we installed Windows 95 onto formatted hard disks after wiping the notebooks' preconfigured hard disks. We restored a mirror image of the hard disks when it came time for our usability and features testing.
The applications benchmarks use popular programs such as Word, Excel, and FoxPro, which help us gauge real-world notebook performance. The Windows applications test suite includes Microsoft Word 6.0 and 7.0, Excel 5.0 and 6.0, and FoxPro 2.6. All applications execute macros that exercise common functions of each application. For example, the Word for Wi
ndows test includes file I/O, search-and-replace functions, and formatting subtests.
Our Windows-based, low-level InterMark tests exercise the Windows Graphical Device Interface (GDI), as well as all low-level graphics, CPU, FPU, memory, graphics, and the hard drive components of a computer. The GDI component determines how well a system executes basic graphics calls within Windows. We ran all the Windows-based tests in 640- by 480-pixel resolutions and 256 colors using vendor-supplied graphics drivers.
Screen Quality/Battery Life
We focused on three aspects of screen quality: crispness, intensity/color range, and viewing-angle range. The screen-quality tests measure horizontal and vertical line placement, color and gray-scale depths, and the frequency of LCD streaking. We used Sonera Technology's DisplayMate Professional 1.0 to analyze a wide range of display capabilities.
To determine color quality, we displayed a color bar on each screen and assigned a score that rang
es from one (worst) to five (best). The difference between the best and worst screens is not that great, because they are all active-matrix color displays. After plotting the viewing angle using our Heads-Up-Range-Device (HURD), we computed the group's viewing-angle scores.
We measured battery performance with our
Thumper 2 system
. Thumper emulates a typical word processing session. Robotic arms and optical sensors detect and control each system's power management scheme. Before testing, we completely drained and recharged each notebook's battery according to the manufacturer's instructions. We then configured each system's power management features to spool down the hard disk after 2 minutes of inactivity and shut off the backlighting after 1 minute. We allowed each system to enter standby mode during the test cycle. At intervals, Thumper's robotic arms would wake up each system so that it would run until the battery died.
Usability/Features
We assessed t
he quality of each keyboard, concentrating on key placement. We worked extensively with the notebooks to see how comfortable they became after extended use, and we rated the response and feel of the keys. We also evaluated pointing devices and considered the usefulness of status indicators.
Finally, we asked each vendor to complete a lengthy questionnaire to give us a detailed description of each system's features, such as the amount of RAM provided and the service and support options. We then weighted each feature and calculated an overall features score.
Contributors
Jim Kane, Project Manager/NSTL,
has been testing hardware and software products for NSTL for the past six years.
John McDonough, Technical Editor/NSTL,
has been writing for high-tech publications for several years.
Maggie Bender, Tester/NSTL,
has been testing products for the BYTE Lab Reports for the l
ast two years.
Susan Colwell, Technical Editor/BYTE,
coordinates the combined testing between the BYTE Lab and NSTL.
photo_link (24 Kbytes)
BYTE's Thumper 2 tests a notebook's battery life by mimicking a word
processing session and monitoring power management capabilities.
How We Tested
