Various 5315 configurations are priced between $460 and $650 in the US market.

I have tested a $499 AS5315-2808 model with:

- Intel Celeron Processor 550 (1MB L2 cache, 2.0GHz, 533MHz FSB)
- 1GB DDR2 667 SDRAM
- 120GB hard drive
- integrated Super-Multi drive (DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD-RAM)
- 15.4″ WXGA (1280 x 800) CrystalBrite (glossy) TFT display
- Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
- Two 2W integrated stereo speakers
- 802.11b/g WLAN
- 10/100 LAN
- V.92 modem
- Three USB 2.0 ports
- ExpressCard/54 slot
- VGA and S-video TV-out ports
- 11.1v 4000mAh Battery
- Windows Vista Home Premium OS
- 6.2 lbs Weight

Chassis Design, Display, Speakers

Although budget notebooks often have a cheap look, the Acer Aspire 5315 provides an interesting and stylish chassis design, produced with help of BMW Group designers. The notebook’s lid has a glossy dark gray finish, while the keyboard, touchpad and surrounding areas are matte white. The keyboard is comfortable for use, as same as the touchpad. However, the touchpad buttons are a little bit stiff.

I am quite satisfied with horizontal viewing angles of the 15.4-inch display. Vertical viewing angles are not so wide. Moving your head up or down while working on your laptop gives you an impression of color inversion, so you will have to find the best angle and stick to it.

The display has a glossy coating, called CrystalBrite. It certainly gives more vivid colors than the same display with a matte finish, but it also reflects ambient lights more.

Stereo speakers in the 5315 are not so powerful, as same as in majority of other notebooks, but they sound nice. However, left speaker jingled a little bit, when I played music with volume set to the maximum.

Performance, Battery Life, Heat, Noise

The reviewed notebook configuration has a PCMark 05 score of 2491 points and 324 3DMark 06 points. Its Windows Vista Experience Index is 2.4. The Aspire 5315 provides a decent performance for some light tasks such as web browsing or word processing, but 1GB of RAM is not enough for smooth Windows Vista experience. Of course, its GMA X3100 integrated graphics is not suitable for gaming at all.

The laptop comes with a Hitachi HDD with a rotational speed of 5,400rpm and 8MB of cache. The hard drive has an average performance for present-day laptops. The average transfer rate was 41.5 MB/sec in HD Tune test.

The notebook’s fans are not loud. I am satisfied with its cool operation, but I also noticed the trackpad area can get warmer than other parts of the laptop after a few hours of continuous work. For me, that amount of heat is tolerable.

The 11.1v 4000mAh Li-Ion battery in the Acer Aspire 5315 provided 1 hour and 40 minutes of run time during DVD playback, with wireless turned off and screen brightness set to 90%. A light operation (word processing, web surfing, a couple of .mp3 and Youtube video clip playbacks) with wireless on and 90% brightness drained 5315’s battery for 1 hour and 50 min. Under the same conditions, the battery life can be extended to 2 hours and 10 minutes by switching the Wi-Fi module off and decreasing display brightness to 40%.

Conclusion

The Acer Aspire 5315 is a decent laptop for budget-minded users, who do not expect high processing and graphics performance. But, I wish it has a screen with better vertical viewing angles, a longer battery life, and more RAM for hardware-demanding Windows Vista.

If you want a sub-$600 mobile computer without sacrificing screen size and storage space, the Aspire 5315 can be a good buying choice. But, be sure you also check other cheap notebooks first. For those who don’t care about display size and storage, and prefer greater mobility, there is the Asus Eee PC ultraportable for a similar price.

The EAH3850/G/HTDI/512M has 512MB of GDDR3 video memory, a 256-bit memory interface, and 320 stream processing units. Its core and memory are clocked at 668MHz and 1650MHz respectively. These are stock speeds for the 3850 GPU, which is based on 55-nanometer production technology. The card is DirectX 10.1, PCI Express 2.0, and ATI Crossfire compatible.

This 3850 has an active cooling with large fan (the card occupies two slots) and is powered via a dedicated power cable from the power supply. A 500W PSU is a minimum for the EAH3850.

The unit has two DVI ports, and an S-Video output, while HDMI output with HDCP support is provided via a DVI-HDMI adapter. The card has a built-in multi-channel 5.1 surround audio which can be transmitted to a HDTV through the adapter, so there’s no need for additional audio cables.

Along with the HDMI adapter, in the package there are also a DVI to VGA/D-sub adapter, short HDTV cable, power cable, CrossFire bridge, copy of Company of Heroes - Oposing Fronts game, CD with drivers, user’s manual, and a CD wallet.

Asus EAH3850/G/HTDI/512M Tests, Benchmarks

I have tested the EAH3850 512MB on a system featuring the AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ processor at 3.2GHz, Asus M2N-E SLI motherboard, 2GB of DDR2 800MHz memory, the Cooler Master M620 620-Watt power supply, and Windows Vista Ultimate 32-bit.

The configuration scored 9177 3DMark 06 points.

The Desktop Performance for Windows Aero and 3D Business and Gaming Graphics Performance tests in Windows Vista show 5.9 points in the both categories.

The EAH3850 512MB is good for playing Crysis on lower resolutions.

The card has a decent performance in World in Conflict with medium and high graphics details, even under high resolutions.

The reviewed unit is excellent for playing Company of Heroes at 1280×1024 in Directx 9 mode, with the other settings on high. DirectX 10 significantly reduces frame rates.

The Asus EAH3850 512MB runs F.E.A.R. smoothly with all settings on maximum.

HD Video Playback, Temperature

I have played the Coral Reef Adventure trailer in a high-definition 1080p .wmv format in Vista’s Windows Media Player and found that the picture was sharp and clear. ATI Radeon 3850 GPUs are claimed to have a built-in UVD (Unified Video Decoder), but the reviewed Asus unit behaved like it doesn’t have it. The playback run smoothly, but processor utilization during the playback varied between 25 and 34 percent, which is unusually high for a GPU with UVD chip.

Asustek claims the EAH3850/G/HTDI/512M runs “20°C cooler than the reference 3850 design”. My test showed it operates at 31°C on idle, and 50°C under heavy load, which are very low temperatures for a GPU. Additionally, the fan is not loud at all.

Conclusion

Priced at around $180, the EAH3850/G/HTDI/512M is a decent graphics solution for mainstream gamers. According to some reviews, it provides better performance than an around $35 more expensive Nvidia GeForce 8800GT 256MB, when the EAH3850 is overclocked. Also, cool operation and a lot of accessories + free game included recommend this card as a good buying choice.

The Celeron E1200 - model BX80557E1200 - comes with a heatsink and fan. The CPU can be purchased for under $60.

Intel Celeron E1200 Benchmarks

I have compared the E1200 with two similar chips - the single core Celeron 420 and dual core Pentium E2140, both with a 1.6GHz clock speed and 800MHz front side bus. The dual core Celeron has very similar performance to the E2140, which is around $13 pricier.

CPU	Intel Celeron 420 (Single Core)	Intel Celeron E1200 (Dual Core)	Intel Pentium E2140 (Dual Core)
Frequency	1.6GHz	1.6GHz	1.6GHz
L2 Cache Size	512KB	512KB	1MB
Socket	LGA 775	LGA 775	LGA 775
Front Side Bus	800MHz	800MHz	800MHz
64 bit Support	Yes	Yes	Yes
Wattage	35W	65W	65W
Manufacturing Technology	65nm	65nm	65nm
Price (NewEgg, 02/23/08)	$43.99	$58.99	$71.99

The three CPUs were tested on a Windows Vista powered desktop PC, featuring the Asus’ P5K-VM motherboard, 2GB of 800MHz DDR2 memory, an Nvidia GeForce 7300GT video card, Western Digital’s 320GB hard drive at 7200rpm, and a Cooler Master’s 620W power supply.

Both dual core chips have identical Windows Vista Experience Index score in CPU calculation tests - 4.7 points. The Celeron 420 lags behind with 3.8 points.

In a PCMark 05 test, the E1200 is only 6.6% slower than the Pentium E2140, which has twice larger L2 cache memory size.

In PCMark 05 CPU-specific benchmark the difference is even smaller. The Pentium is only 1.2% faster.


The 3DMark 06 benchmark, aimed to test computer’s performance from a gamer’s standpoint, shows the both E1200- and E2140-powered configurations have almost the same speed.

The E2140’s advantage in the Cinebench 10 3D content creation test goes up to 10.3 percent over its Celeron dual core sibling.

All of the three tested processors are almost equal in weakness when playing Crysis, even at the lowest resolutions and detail levels (minimum requirements for Crysis under Vista: Intel Pentium 4 at 3.2 GHz, Intel Core at 2GHz, AMD Athlon 3200+).

In World in Conflict real time strategy, the dual core CPUs have the same average frames-per-second score and are more than twice faster than the Celeron 420.

The tested configurations provide decent gaming performance in F.E.A.R.’s built-in benchmark, but only under lower resolutions.

Regarding temperature, the 420 and E1200 Celerons run at 27C -30C on idle and under load respectively, with fan speed of around 2100rpm. The Pentium E2140 runs hotter - between 30-35C - but its fan spins at only around 900rpm, so it is much quieter than the both Celeron processors.

Conclusion: Celeron E1200 - Cheap Dual-Core Replacement for Pentium E2140

If you want to have a Socket 775 CPU with two cores for just $60, the Intel Celeron E1200 is currently the only choice for you. In almost all tests, the E1200 and Pentium E2140 give very similar results, but the Pentium’s larger cache is its advantage in some of the benchmarks. The E1200 is a decent and affordable dual core alternative to the Pentium with the same clock speed.

Buy: Intel Celeron E1200 1.6GHz LGA 775 65W Processor

This particular product - model ADX6400CZBOX - comes with heatsink and fan. AMD also offers the Athlon 64 X2 6400+ Black Edition ADX6400CZWOF with an unlocked multiplier. It ships without a cooling device.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ vs 6400+ Benchmarks

I have replaced an old Athlon 64 X2 4200+ at 2.2GHz with the 6400+ in a Windows Vista desktop PC machine featuring the Asus M2N-E SLI motherboard, 2GB of 800MHz DDR2 memory, the Asus EAH3850 512MB video card, and a Cooler Master 620W power supply. The performance improvement after this upgrade is significant and goes up to 46 percent in some tests.

The upgrade from the 4200+ to 6400+ increases Windows Experience Index in Vista OS from 5 points to 5.5 points, in both overall and CPU calculation tests.

In the default PCMark 05 test the 6400+ is 30% faster than the 4200+.

In PCMark 05’s CPU-specific benchmark the difference is even greater. The 6400+ CPU is approximately 46% faster.
The default 3DMark 06 benchmark shows the 6400+ is 18 percent faster.

In 3DMark 05 CPU-related test the Athlon 64 X2 6400+ CPU has an advantage of 43% over the 4200+.

Obviously, the 6400+ outperforms the 4200+ in Cinebench 10, which is based on Cinema 4D software for 3D content creation.
Crysis, a hardware-demanding first person shooter game, shows greater performance advantage of the 6400+ CPU, especially when playing in lower resolutions.

World in Conflict real time strategy game runs a lot smoother with the AMD’s top of the line Athlon CPU.

However, the Athlon 64 X2 6400+ has some disadvantages when compared to the 4200+. These are greater power consumption and higher temperatures during work. The 125W 6400+ and 89W 4200+ processors with their stock coolers generate 35C and 25C temperature on idle respectively. Under heavy load (PCMark 05 CPU test) these temperatures are 48C and 35C.

Conclusion: AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ - a Good AM2 CPU Upgrade

Currently priced at around $160, the Athlon 64 X2 6400+ is certainly much pricier than the $70 4200+ processor. However, it is an affordable price for a 3.2GHz CPU and it is worth it, if you consider its huge performance advantage over the slower and cheaper 4200+ chip. On the other side, the 4200+ runs cooler than the 6400+. If you use your desktop PC only for light work (such as web surfing or word processing) the slower CPU will suit your computing needs with less generated heat and lower power consumption. But, for hardware demeaning users, i.e. gamers and video editors, the 6400+ is a good choice. This does not apply to overclockers. They should rather buy the Athlon 64 X2 6400+ Black Edition and pair it with some of the more powerful after-market CPU coolers. Considering its price/performance ratio, I can recommend for sure the 6400+ as a Socket AM2 upgrade option or for a fresh AMD-based PC build.

AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ 3.2GHz Socket AM2 125W Processor
AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ Black Edition 3.2GHz Socket AM2 125W Processor

The card has a core clock speed of 620Mhz and 1700Mhz memory clock, which is higher than 540Mhz and 1400MHz respectively in the GeForce 8600 GT reference model.

Made for budget-minded gamers and multimedia users, the XFX GeForce 8600 GT Fatal1ty incorporates support for DirectX 10 games and NVIDIA PureVideo HD technology for hardware decoding of high definition multimedia content.

This video card is HDCP-capable. It has two Dual-Link DVI ports providing a resolution of up to 2560×1600 and a TV-Out/HDTV connector for an output of up to 1080p. There is also a SLI Bridge for dual card configurations. The unit does not require an additional cable from the power supply and takes up one slot in a computer case.

Besides the GPU, the XFX GeForce 8600 GT 256MB Fatal1ty Professional retail package includes an S-Video cable, DVI-VGA adapter, drivers CD, and a free Company of Heroes game DVD.

XFX offers the Double Lifetime Protection warranty for its 6, 7, and 8 Series graphics cards, which means that if you decide give the card away to someone, XFX will still honor the protection plan for the second owner as well.

XFX GeForce 8600 GT 256MB Fatal1ty Benchmarks

I have tested the XFX GeForce 8600 GT 256MB Fatal1ty on a system featuring the AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ processor at 2.2GHz, the Asus M2N-E SLI motherboard, 2GB of DDR2 800MHz memory, and Windows Vista Ultimate 32-bit operating system.

This configuration has a 3DMark06 score of 5138, 3DMark05 score of 10100, PCMark05 score of 5465 points, and a Windows Experience Index base score of 4.0 (Desktop performance for Windows Aero: 4.0; 3D business and gaming graphics performance: 4.5).

In Quake 4 game benchmark, at a 1280-by-1024 display resolution and Ultra-High graphics detail settings with anti aliasing (AA) turned off, the average performance is 80.16 frames-per-second. When I turned AA on, the average frame rate dropped to 45.64fps.

F.E.A.R can be played at a 1280×960 resolution and Maximum settings at 43fps on average, according to a built-in performance test.

Optimal settings for playing Crysis on the tested machine with the XFX GeForce 8600 GT 256MB Fatal1ty are a resolution of 1024×768 pixels and Medium detail settings with anti aliasing turned off. An average frame rate was 23.5. At Very High settings and AA turned off, average is only 5fps.

Company of Heroes at a 1280×1024 resolution with DirectX 10 turned on, AA off, and with graphics settings recommended by the game, gives an average of 28fps. At 1280×1024 and the highest settings with AA off the average is 14fps, while with AA on it’s 13fps.

A high-definition movie playback (Coral Reef Adventure trailer in a HD 1080p .wmv format) consumed between 17% and 22% of CPU power.

During the tests, the XFX GeForce 8600 GT Fatal1ty temperature was 72C. On idle, it was 58C.

Conclusion

Priced below $150, the XFX GeForce 8600 GT 256MB Fatal1ty Professional Edition is a decent factory overclocked graphics solution for budget gamers and those looking for a silent but powerful GPU for a media center PC. The card is not suitable for playing the latest games on higher screen resolutions, but for those still having 17-inch displays it can be a good choice. Also, if you intend to buy the XFX’s 8600GT Fatal1ty, be prepared to sacrifice higher graphics settings and anti-aliasing in the name of better frame rates.

Although it is small and low-priced, the MSI K9AGM2-FIH provides users with all features found in a decent Home Theater PC system. Its HDMI port, which is HDCP-compliant, enables an easy one-cable audio/video connection to HD TVs and monitors, while the Realtek ALC888 chip manages the 8-channel sound system.

The K9AGM2-FIH supports AMD Athlon 64 X2, Athlon 64, Athlon FX and Sempron AM2 CPUs and has a HyperTransport FSB speed of 1GHz. There are two DDR2 DIMM slots (240pin / 1.8V) supporting up to 4GB of dual DDR2 400/533/667/800MHz system memory.

The ATI Radeon X1250 integrated GPU can handle the Aero user interface of Windows Vista operating system. This graphics solution includes Avivo technology for vibrant images and smooth video playback, and supports DirectX 9.0.

Along with HDMI and VGA outputs, on the motherboard’s back panel there are a 6 in 1 audio jack, four USB 2.0 ports, a Gigabit Ethernet port, a Firewire, PS/2 keyboard and mouse ports, and a Parallel port.

Regarding internal slots and I/O connectors, there are a PCI Express x16 slot, a PCI Express x1 slot, two PCI slots, four Serial ATA 2 connectors with support for RAID 0, 1 and 0+1 mode, one ATA 133 connector, and a Floppy drive connector, as well as three USB 2.0 pinheaders supporting additional 6 ports, SPDIF In and Out connectors, TV-Out, audio and Firewire pinheaders, and a CD-In connector.

The reviewed motherboard is not overclocking friendly. In its BIOS, for better performance, you can setup only memory timing options, such as CAS Latency, Min RAS Active Time, RAS Precharge Time, and RAS to CAS Delay. In addition, you can select how much system memory the integrated GPU can utilize for graphics purposes.

Besides the K9AGM2-FIH, in the retail box there are MSI driver/utility CDs, SATA, SATA power, and IDE cables, a backpanel I/O shield, and a user manual.

MSI K9AGM2-FIH, ATI Radeon X1250 Benchmark

The tested system includes the MSI K9AGM2-FIH, the AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ processor, 2GB of DDR2 800MHz memory, a Western Digital’s 320GB 7200rpm hard drive, and Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit operating system.

The PCMark05 score of the benchmarked system is 3833 points.

I have tested the ATI Radeon X1250 chip in the MSI K9AGM2-FIH motherboard and found that it really enables flawless playback of videos, including high definition formats. Coral Reef Adventure trailer in a high-definition 1080p .wmv format, played in Windows Media Player consumed around 50% of CPU power. However, the playback was smooth and without a glitch.

As expected, the gaming experience is not as great as in systems with dedicated video cards, including the most affordable newer GPUs. The motherboard with its integrated X1250 scores 308 3DMark06 points and 1052 3DMark05 points. For comparison, the Asus GeForce 8400GS low-end video card, paired with the same motherboard, achieved 1580 3DMark06 and 3412 3DMark05 points.

The recommended setup for Quake 4 game under the MSI K9AGM2-FIH and ATI Radeon X1250 GPU are low graphics detail settings and 640×480 pixels resolution. With these settings game runs smoothly, with 109,4 frames-per-second on average during benchmark. World in Conflict Demo at 800×600 and very low settings gives an average of playable 25fps. The integrated GPU cannot handle hardware demanding Crysis Demo, but F.E.A.R. is playable at lowest settings and resolution.

Conclusion

The K9AGM2-FIH mainboard is a good solution for building a silent small home theater PC, since it features a Micro ATX form factor, an HDMI port, and the ATI Radeon X1250 quiet and cool integrated graphics, and currently has a price tag of around $70. On the other side, some AMD 690G-based Micro ATX motherboards have a DVI-D port in addition to a VGA, so users requiring DVI-D or dual monitor connections should take a look at mobos such as the Asus M2A-VM HDMI.

Buy: MSI K9AGM2-FIH at xPCgear | Asus M2A-VM HDMI at xPCgear

Along with 256MB of DDR2 video memory, the reviewed NVIDIA GeForce 8500GT-based graphics card features a 128-bit memory interface and 16 stream processors. The card’s core, shaders, and memory are clocked at 500MHz, 1093MHz, and 667MHz respectively. The core and shaders are clocked higher than in 8500GT reference model (450MHz, 900MHz), while the memory is slower than the 8500GT’s default of 800MHz. XFX has implemented a passive thermal solution called Ultrasilent Cooling in this XFX GeForce 8500GT 256MB PCI-E video card. The card is powered through a PCI Express slot, and does not require an additional cable from the power supply. The card is NVIDIA SLI-compatible.

The HDCP-ready PV-T86J-UAHG provides a Dual Link DVI, supporting digital output up to 2560×1600 pixels, an analog VGA port, and an S-Video/HDTV output with up to 1080i resolution.

This GPU comes with a single S-Video cable, a drivers CD, and a user manual.

Regarding warranty, XFX offers the Double Lifetime Protection for its 6, 7, and 8 Series graphics cards. “Double Lifetime” means that if you decide give the card away to someone, XFX will still honor the protection plan for the second owner as well.

I have tested the XFX GeForce 8500 GT unit on a Windows Vista Ultimate machine featuring the AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ processor at 2.2GHz, the Asus M2N-E SLI motherboard, and 2GB of DDR2 800MHz memory.

• Introduction
• Crysis & XFX GeForce 8500GT 256MB (PV-T86J-UAHG)
• World in Conflict & XFX GeForce 8500GT 256MB (PV-T86J-UAHG)
• F.E.A.R. & XFX GeForce 8500GT 256MB (PV-T86J-UAHG)
• Quake 4 & XFX GeForce 8500GT 256MB (PV-T86J-UAHG)
• HD Content Playback
• Conclusion

The MSI RX2600PRO-T2D256EZ/D3 has 120 stream processing units, a 128-bit bus width, and 256MB of DDR3 memory, while the company also offers a DDR2 version - the T2D256EZ/D2. The T2D256EZ/D3 has a 600MHz core clock speed and a 1400MHz memory clock, and supports resolutions up to 2560×1600. It has two dual link DVI connectors and a video out port, and comes with a HDTV cable, DVI to HDMI adapter, DVI to VGA adapter, S-Video cable, and an S-Video and Composite cable.

MSI gives a 1-year warranty on this video card.

Unlike some of big higher-end power-hungry graphics cards occupying two brackets in a computer case, the RX2600PRO-T2D256EZ is a single-slot PCI Express solution and does not require a cable from the power supply. However, the card is not so small, since it has a large aluminum heatsink.

I have tested this GPU unit on a Windows Vista Ultimate machine featuring the AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ processor, the Asus M2N-E SLI motherboard, and 2GB of DDR2 800MHz memory.

• Introduction
• MSI RX2600PRO-T2D256EZ/D3 DirectX 10 Benchmarks – Crysis, World in Conflict
• MSI RX2600PRO-T2D256EZ/D3 DirectX 9 Benchmarks – F.E.A.R, 3D Mark06
• HD Content Playback Performance
• Conclusion

The 720N has a 0.264mm pixel pitch. It features a horizontal scanning frequency of 30-81 kHz and 56-75 Hz vertical frequency. This monitor connects to a computer’s video card via an analog VGA interface. The manufacturer provides a three-year warranty for this monitor.

According to our opinion, the reviewed SyncMaster 720N delivers a very bright and clear image on every inch of its LCD panel. The viewing angles are really wide, so you will have no problems with watching movies or TV from any position in your room. Using the 720N and the GeForce 7300GT video card, we have played some 3D games such as FarCry, Colin Mc Rally and F.E.A.R, and concluded that the display’s 8ms response time is quite satisfactory for gaming. In addition, during fast scrolling of web pages and documents, the fonts are readable unlike on LCDs with 12ms, 16ms or longer response time.

The Syncmaster 720n is also suitable for dual monitor configurations, since it has a narrow left and right bezels measuring around 0.59 inches. When you put two of these displays side by side, you get a total of approximately 1.18-inch space between the active screen areas, which is not bad.

The Samsung SyncMaster 720N can be found in the market for around $160. However, for an additional $20-$30 you can find the Samsung SyncMaster 920NW, the 720N’s 19-inch widescreen (WXGA) cousin, with a 1440 x 900 resolution, a higher contrast ratio of 700:1 and a response time of 5ms.

But, if you want to save some desktop space with an XGA LCD monitor, the Samsung SyncMaster 720N is a good choice, considering its price and display quality.