Review HP Pavilion dv6-6110eg (Llano) Notebook
HP Pavilion dv6-6110eg LZ546EA: acer aspire 5100 battery Can the Fusion APU, Llano, compete with the Intel Cores?AMD based platforms have clearly lost market shares in mobile systems in past years. A small success could be registered in netbooks with APU concept. Sony VGP-BPS9/S batteryThey were suddenly stronger than the Atom competition and supplied almost the same battery life (e.g., see Toshiba NB550D). Sony VGP-BPS9 battery
With the Llano generation, the manufacturer has expanded the APU concept of a main processor with incorporated graphics to bigger systems. Sony VGP-BPS9A/B batteryThe codename Llano covers Accelerated Processing Units that are a blend of Northbridge,Sony VGP-BPS9A/S batterya dual or quad core and a dedicated graphics. See our report: Llano APUs officially launched.
The Pavilion dv6-6110eg bids all keywords that find an open ear in Media Markt (German consumer electronics chain) fliers: dual graphics,Sony VGP-BPS13A/B battery quad core, turbo, Crossfire and long battery life. This bundle is available for less than 600 euros. A tempting bargain? We'll check the capabilities of this new platform for multimedia fans and gamers.Sony VGP-BPS13 batteryCan AMD hold a candle to the Intel Cores? All answers in this comprehensive review.Sony VGP-BPS13A/Q battery
You'll notice that you're holding a haptically and visually classy notebook when you pick up the dv6-6110eg. Sony VGP-BPS13/B batteryThe brushed aluminum lid's and wrist-rest's surface has a metallic cool feel. The screen's bezel and the screen itself aren't the only high-gloss areas. The keys are in a high-gloss grid. Sony VGP-BPS13B/B batteryThe hinge has an extremely firm grip on the lid and is mounted tightly on the base unit. Sony VGP-BPS13B/Q battery
The base unit equals that of the sister model, Sony VGP-BPS13A/S batterydv6-6008eg (Intel) and thus also has the same weaknesses. We could twist the chassis (to an extent), whereby it especially creaks and groans above and beneath the DVD drive. The keyboard is completely different,Sony VGP-BPS13/Q battery though. The entire key bed fits tight unlike the dv6-6008eg that clatters. Even the uncoated, brushed silver aluminum surface makes a superior impression thanks to a fingerprint-free zone. Sony VGP-BPS8 battery
The maintenance cover that leads to the HDD, RAM,Sony VGP-BPS8A batteryWLAN module and DVD drive can be removed without screws. The battery eject slider has to be pushed forcefully in the opposite direction. The cover lifts a bit and can then be pushed away. Unfortunately, we couldn't push the slider back into the center position after the first opening. Sony VGP-BPS10 batteryResult: the cover didn't completely catch anymore and the battery can't be removed. It's a nice idea, but not "worst case user" proof.Sony VGP-BPS2 battery
The user only finds limits when an old, Sony VGP-BPS2A batteryexternal eSATA hard disk or an ExpressCard34 TV card is supposed to be connected. USB 3.0 (2x) is present for other external memories. The user can connect the external flat screen to the HDMI or to the analog VGA port.Sony VGP-BPS2B battery
We find the interfaces positioning very unfavorable to a part. USB, 3 audios, Sony VGP-BPS2C batteryEthernet and HDMI are easily accessed in the front left but, in particular, the unwieldy HDMI cable could take up a lot of room. It looks better on the left: Both USB ports and the power cable are in the far rear. Thus, these cables can be quickly led around the back.Sony VGP-BPS22 battery
Recovery data carriers are no longer trendy at HP's. Sony VGP-BPS22A batteryDVDs are only included among the business devices. The Recovery Manager is available for creating recovery data media and backup images. Other tools, such as the Power Manager sets energy profiles or CoolSense influences fan management (see emissions). Sony VGP-BPS13AS battery
The keys have a clear pressure point and a medium key drop.Sony VGP-BPS13S batteryThe use of the arrow keys is convenient because right/left are almost as big as the letter keys. The entire surface has a tight fit, even above the optical drive. The absolutely even keys lack accuracy (no conic cavity), but the typing feel is basically good. Sony VGP-BPS13/S battery
The mouse replacement is a Synaptics multi-touchpad (Synaptics V7.5). Sony VGP-BPS13B/S batteryThe pad has a light sensor (marked). The touch surface is disabled when we cover it with a hand while we're typing and the illuminated bezel turns off. This is supposed to prevent unintentional inputs.Sony VGP-BPS10/B battery
The pad's comparatively smooth surface is submerged into the aluminum wrist-rest.Sony VGP-BPS10A battery The keys' click noise loudness varies depending on the click position. The medium key drop, together with a clear pressure point, supplies the user with a good feedback and allows fast use.Sony VGP-BPS10A/B battery
Apparently, HP has heard the complaints about the weak brightness of many consumer laptops. Sony VGP-BPS10/S batteryThe background LEDs shine brighter than in many other devices of the low-cost price range and achieve an average of 226 cd/m2. Even the distribution of brightness, is very good with 88%. This isn't crucial for indoor use. Sony VGP-BPS21A/B battery150 cd/m2 are sufficient here. But is the brightness also enough for sunlight?Sony VGP-BPS21 battery
Overcast, view from the frontThe display's vertical viewing angles of 15 degrees are very narrow, Sony VGP-BPS21A batterybut typical for the majority of consumer laptops. We can sooner deviate to the left or right, but only up to roughly 45 degrees. Beyond that, the screen dims clearly and colors fade.Sony VGP-BPS21/S battery Ghosting can get extremely annoying in pictures or movies. The Lifebook NH751, for example, proves that a better job can be done here.Sony VGP-BPS21/B battery
PCMark Vantage determined a score of 4962 points.dell vostro 1710 battery The latest Core i3 (Samsung 200B5B-S01DE, 2310M, 4874) and equally weak i5 system (Asus X53E-SX082V, 2410M, HD 3000, 4887) are also within this range. Our Fusion dv6 can however only keep up with the i5 because the fast 7200 rpm HDD ensures a high HDD sub score (4341). dell vostro 1720 batteryThe gaming sub score of 4560 isn't particularly high (e.g. Samsung RF511, GT 540M: 5496).Dell Vostro 1310 battery
Our test system managed 1675 points in the new PCMark 7. This time, Dell Vostro 1510 batterythe i3 competition has a slight advantage: Vostro 3350 (1751), Asus U30SD (1772), ProBook 4530s (1921). The A8-3500, with HD 6620G, tested by anantech reached 1690 points.Dell Inspiron 1545 battery
5.9Windows 7 Experience IndexProcessorCalculations per second6.7Memory (RAM)Memory operations per second7.2GraphicsDesktop performance for Windows Aero6.4Gaming graphics3D business and gaming graphics6.4Primary hard diskDisk data transfer rate5.9 PCMark Vantage 4962 pointsdell xps m1530 battery
An advantage over the Intel Core, with HD Graphics 3000, could develop because of the Crossfire option, Dell inspiron 1721 batterywhere the HD 6520G and the HD 6750M (should) work together, and with the integrated HD 6520G's higher performance. In practical use, the HD 6755G2 (GPU combination's name) generates mixed results in the synthetic benchmarks.dell vostro 1700 battery3DMark Vantage (P/E) finishes its runs reproducibly with blue screens. A run with the above results was first successful in the HD 6520G's energy saving mode (but with enabled Crossfire).dell latitude e4300 battery
3DMark06 finished with 7287 points (7380 without Crossfire). dell latitude e5500 batteryThis is on a par with the HD 6550M and Geforce GT 525M. The popular Geforce GT 540 achieves an average of 8200 points. The HD 6770 in the Intel based sister model, dv6-6008eg, even achieves 10762 points in this benchmark. dell xps m1730 batteryThe HD 6750M accomplished a proud 9381 points as a solo GPU in the Apple MacBook Pro 15 Early 2011 (i7-2720QM). But this isn't comparable due to the strong 2720QM.dell studio 1737 battery
3DMark 11 finishes with P1511/G1529 points (P1200/G1100 without Crossfire). dell latitude e5400 batteryThese scores are slightly above the mentioned Apple MacBook Pro (HD 6750M): P1319/G1159). The performance without Crossfire appears identical to that of the MacBook. The Crossfire's increased performance, battery dell inspiron e1505which we however could only record in 3DMark 11, brings a 20 to 30% higher performance.dell latitude e6500 battery
The 500 GB HDD from the manufacturer, Hitachi, works fast, as we would expect from a 7200 rpm HDD. Dell inspiron 1300 batteryIt reads with 84 MB/s in sequential read (HDTune). Crystal Disk Mark, as the second test, records 91 MB/s. In view of the latest trend toward SSD memories, the HDD is a system bottleneck, Dell vostro 1400 batteryhough. Even when we pick out a weaker system in terms of processor, such as the Samsung 900X3A (i5-2537M, 1.4 GHz), 23 thousand points in the HDD sub score (4341 here) let PCMark Vantage skyrocket to a total score of 8657 points.Dell inspiron 1420 battery
Risen: Only smoothly playable in low detailsThe Radeon HD 6755G2 Dual Graphics, Dell inspiron 1521 batteryas the combination of HD 6520G and HD 6750M is called, performs more bad than good in the gaming tests. The tests are severely interrupted by a few blue screen crashes and the Crossfire option partly proves to be a bottleneck. dell studio 1535 batteryThe reason: Crossfire doesn't work with DirectX 9, but exactly this is usually the graphics default of most games in medium and low details. Thus AMD is in a dilemma here:Dell inspiron 1525 battery Crossfire could improve the performance, but this feature is rarely used because the base performance is too low. Be that as it may, the gaming tests were generally executed with this option because Crossfire is the default setting. Dell latitude e6400 batteryWe disabled the option when the game crashed and the non-Crossfire fps were recorded in the database. Dell latitude d620 battery
Risen: A bit older, but nevertheless still a challenge for hardware.Dell latitude d630 batteryWe don't have any luck here. Only 23 fps are possible even in medium settings. Too bad, because a GT 540M accomplishes 33 fps in medium with just a Core i3-2310M.Dell inspiron 1526 battery
Battlefield: Bad Company 2: The latest shooter is the only game that runs perfectly in high details. Dell inspiron 6400 batteryIt is on a par with a Geforce GT 550M, but 10% below a HD 6750M (Apple MacBook Pro 15 Early 2011, i7-2720QM). Only 32 fps are possible with a GT 540M (34 here).Dell inspiron 1501 battery
Call of Duty: Black Ops. The shooter delights many notebook gamers because it already runs smoothly on weak hardware,Dell vostro 1000 battery such as i3-390M + GT 540M (Akoya P6630; 36 fps), in high details. However, our APU system is only on a par with a HD 6470M and, with 25 fps, Dell vostro 1520 batteryis even a bit weaker than the Vostro 3350 (i5-2410M, 29 fps). Thus, the HD 6750M lags significantly behind the expectations (57 fps in high, Apple MacBook Pro 15 Early 2011 (i7-2720QM).Dell inspiron 1720 battery
The gaming results vary strongly, which could be due to the weak CPU or Crossfire support / not support.Dell vostro 1500 battery Mafia II delivers 3 fps less, Battlefield refused to work with Crossfire (crashes), but then runs very strongly. Call of Duty: Black Ops didn't deliver more than 30 fps and stuttered intensely, although it has low requirements. Dell latitude d820 batteryWe didn't notice micro stutters like Computerbase recorded in the gaming tests of the desktop Llano APU with enabled Crossfire option (visually & in the frame rates). Dell latitude d830 battery
These results are unsatisfactory for gamers especially since there haven't been this many graphic crashes on a midrange notebook for a long time.dell studio 17 battery It's simply no longer standard to be agonized by crashing games nowadays. AMD has to make improvements here fast (likely via drivers) so that willing gamers won't sit frustrated in front of a blue screen. Dell studio 15 batteryBy the way, the Catalyst driver was the most recent one.dell studio 1535 battery
The fan turns up to 37.7 dB (A) during games and in the 3D benchmarks Toshiba PA3534U-1BRS(15 centimeters in front of the case's edge). It's a lot calmer in office mode. You only have to tolerate 32 to 34 dB (A) when the dv6 is rarely put under load. The fan runs constantly and is never disabled.toshiba pa3535u-1brs battery We measure 43.4 dB (A) in a stress test (Furmark & Prime95 at the same time). This rarely achieved rate isn't annoying though because it runs constantly.hp pavilion dv2000 battery
The loudness can be reduced with the tool, CoolSense.Lenovo thinkpad t60 battery However, only with performance losses. Thus, a "quiet mode" can be selected, which decreases the fans rotation speed. This reduces the Cinebench R11.5 CPU score to 1.86 points (rather than 2.0). The "cool mode", Lenovo thinkpad x60 batterywhich also cuts back the computer performance but lets the fan run permanently, decreases the score to 1.86 (instead of 2.0). Games and benchmarks were executed in the "performance optimized mode" (default).IBM thinkpad X60S battery
The waste heat on the case's top is always low.Lenovo thinkpad t500 batteryWe don't reach more than 29 degrees after a stress test. The maximum rate on the work surface is only 34 degrees. The base plate shows higher temperatures with 42 degrees, but only on one spot. The surrounding areas are a lot cooler, which pushes the average down to only 31 degrees. Lenovo thinkpad t61 battery
