Operation OutdoorsThe matt display and the passable average brightness make the R61 fit for outdoor usage, even in very bright environments. But you should note, that you might need to disable the automatic dimming of the display brightness during operation in the BIOS settings, in order to provide sufficient brightness in mode. Battery for Dell Inspiron 1318

Horizontally the display's stability to the vantage point is good facing a loss of contrast at acute angles.Vertically, you can observe a slight darkening or whitening, whereas you can face these phenomenons mainly at graphics, whilst displayed text stays very stable and well legible.Battery for Dell Inspiron 1420Also regarding performance a number of alternatives are available. The processors which the Thinkpad R61 can be equipped with range from a Celeron CPU to Core 2 Duo processors by lntel (T7100, T7300, T7500).

An integrated Intel GMA X3100 or a NVidia NVS 140M video card are available choices regarding graphics. While the X3100 video card is sufficient for Windows Vista, the NVS 140M video card, which was built-in in the reviewed notebook, provides a passable video performance. Battery for Dell Vostro 1400

The performance of the NVS 140M is about the same than of a Geforce 8400M video card. Indeed, it is also based on this chip. So, the R61 is sufficiently powerful in the fields of office of applications and with limitations also for gaming. Stability and drivers specialized for application, hint on that the performance in the fields of applications was considered more important compared to the 8400M. Battery for Dell Inspiron 6400

Depending on the chosen configurations a variety of different choices regarding harddisks and main memory are possible. The R61 notebook we reviewed was equippped with 1GB main memory and a 120GB Hitachi Travelstar harddisk with a revolution speed of 5400 U/min. For standard applications this is by all means sufficient.Battery for Dell Inspiron 1501

Further information about the video card can be found here or in our comparison of mobile video cards. Detailed information about the Core 2 Duo CPU can be found here. Please also look at our benchmark list of mobile processors or at our benchmark list of mobile video cards, in order to compare this notebook to other configurations.3DMark06 SM2.0 Score: 422 points, HDR/SM3.0 Score: 497 points, CPU Score: 1478 points 3DMark03 could not be installed under Vista. Battery for Dell Inspiron E1505

The measured noise emissions are similar to those of the Thinkpad T61. The fan already starts running after a short time and thereafter the noise level is 34.8 dB all the time. The noise could be clearly heard in quiet environments, but was not especially annoying. Very interestingly, the noise level stayed constant even under load. While the case got clearly warmer next to the fan, the revolutions did not increase and therewith also the noise stayed at the same level.Battery for Dell Latitude 131L

The measured surface temperatures are within reasonable limits. At the bottom side we measured a maximum of 44.5°C, what is alright for desk work, but working at the lap could be a little uncomfortable.Similar to the T61 also the R61's sound is quite passable. The sonority could be better, but in total the quality of the sound is acceptable and sufficient for an office notebook.Battery for Dell Latitude E6400

Unlike the T61 the R61 is by default equipped with a 5200 mAh lithium ions. Although the measured runtime is not outstanding, a mobile work is possible. The runtime is in between about 1.5 hours under load and 3 hours in energy saving mode.Battery for Dell Latitude E6410A special strength of the R61 is that it is possible to enhance the runtime. E.g, there is a 7800 mAh available, which is able to increase the runtime by about 50%. Furthermore, using an Ultrabay with a capacity of 2700 mAh makes a further clear improvement possibile. When utilizing the maximum possible capacity, a 7800 mAh and a 2800 mAh Ultrabay, a runtime of up to 6 hours should be possible.

Lenovo Thinkpad R61In total we were surprised that the cheap line of the Thinkpad series scored that well. Besides the thicker case which leads to a higher total weight, the R61 is very similar to the T61. The case does not seem as high-quality as the magnesium case of the T61,Battery for Dell Latitude E6500 but its stability and flexural rigidity is still good. Also its haptics are alright. The input devices basically match those of the T61 and convince by excellent typing behavior and user-friendliness. Also the touchpad and the trackpoint cannot be criticized by any means.

The WSXGA+ display with a resolution of 1680x1050 provides much overview and the measured brightness and illumination is good. Only the stabilty to the vantage point could be better, however, the area of operation is horizontally and vertically sufficient. Battery for Dell Latitude E6510

The R61's performance is also a pro-criterion. Powerful Core 2 Duo processors and a NVidia NVS 140M video card rate good and provide sufficient performance for office applications.Battery for Dell Latitude E6400 ATG The emissions of the R61 are within reasonable limits. While it could be quieter in idle mode, the total noise level is, besides a relatively loud DVD drive, alright. The surface temperature is alright on the top side, but at the bottom side it increases to up to more than 44°C. Finally, also the runtime of the provided 5200 mAh is alright. Furthermore, a bigger main and an Ultrabay are available for further runtime enhancement. Thanks to the company Planet Notebook which kindly provided us with the reviewed notebook. Here you can configure and also buy the notebook.Battery for Dell Precision Mobile WorkStations M2400

Acer goes gaming? We had the chance to review one of the currently most popular and most discussed notebooks, the Acer 5920G. Its specification is very interesting: Core 2 Duo T7300 with 2.0 GHz, NVidia Geforce 8600M GT, 2GB main memory and 200GB hard disk. Is there anything left to be desired? Maybe a brand-new Acer case with interesting design? - Here it is!Battery for Dell Precision Mobile WorkStations M4400

Ever since the completely new Travelmate case, which convinced particularly by its robust and compact construction, was introduced at the Cebit07 in Hannover, hope remained for a similar innovation for the Aspire series. Now time has come. The Acer Aspire 5920G tries to score high with its brand-new design. Battery for Dell Precision Mobile WorkStations M6400Regarding color choice Acer chose a bright-gray - fawn inside (keyboard, palm rest areas, and display) which was combined with a black trough and a shiny black coated display cover. The notebook looks passable, and elegant.

Acer pioneers new ways not only regarding color design. The total case design of the 5920G including shaping is innovative. All in all the case got thicker and got gently rounded edges. Called Gemstone design by Acer it is a matter of taste, a dilemna between innovative design and creative accents. Battery for Dell Vostro 1000

Obviously, the design of the top side, i.e. keyboard, touchpad and surrounding parts, should be most striking. Diagonals were introduced and were continued by beveled keys and LED moldings. Whether you like it or not is just a matter of taste, because it does not have any impact on user-friendliness. Battery for Dell Inspiron 1520

An essential pro of the new case is that robustness and stability was improved. The case hardly yields under pressure and also the flexural rigidity is very good. Looking for creaking noises, which were often audible at former Aspire notebooks, is in vain. Battery for Dell Inspiron 1521

The display is attached with two also very nicely designed hinges. They are capable of holding the display steady, but a slight see-saw after adapting the display's position is possible. However, it is difficult to estimate the durability of the metal hinges covered by plastics. Battery for Dell Inspiron 1720The display lock covers something interesting. The web cam was movable placed in the center of the display frame and also works as release device for both of the display hooks. However, it is not possible to adapt the angle of inclination of the cam by itself.

"The USB problem"The Acer Aspire 5920G is also generously equipped with interfaces. It provides a total of 4 USB ports, a VGA, a S-Video, and a HDMI port, Firewire, ExpressCard, and audio ports including an optical out (S/PDIF). But, note: The USB port at the right side is that near to the DVD drive that it is impossible to open the drive, if a fat USB stick or connector is connected to it...Battery for Dell Inspiron 1721

The layout of the Acer Aspire 5920G's keyboard as well as the keys' sizes are alright. Also typing feels good. The keys can be softly pushed and face a easily recognizable point of pressure. The keyboard unit is tightly attached to the case, so, contributing to the high-quality impression. The space bar's right edge is beveled and quasi passes into the AltGR key. This is only a matter of look which does not have any impact on usability. Battery for Dell Vostro 1500

Right above the keyboard there is a beautiful blue button with imprinted "e" which can be used to invoke the "Empowering people toolbar". This is a Softwaretool, which can be used to configure the notebook in a user-friendly way - just like already known by Lenovo's ThinkVantage button. Battery for Dell Vostro 1700Left and right besides the keyboard are moldings with hotkeys. At the left side you can activated WLan and Bluetooth or start the web browser, or the e-mail client. The hotkeys at the right side control the Mediaplayer.

The surface of the touchpad is spacious. Its gliding properties are good. Regarding response and precisions there is also nothing left to criticize. The most important point of critique are the according buttons, which can be pushed by applying comfortable force, but are rather loud. Also the operability of the scroll key in the middle could be better.Battery for Dell Latitude E6510Color DiagramThe Acer Aspire 5920G is equipped with a 1280x800 WXGA display, whose surface heavily reflects. With this resolution the overview on Window Vista's desktop is acceptable, but a higher resolution would not cause harm...

All considered parameters have good measurement values. The maximum brightness amounted to very good 178.4 cd/m2 at the bottom part of the panel. The illumination of also good 81.1% could also convince. The average brightness of 160.5 cd/m2 is also good.The measured black value of 0.7 cd/m2 is a little high, so, leading to an acceptable contrast ratio of 255:1. The scroll test proved that the speed of reaction is also alright. Battery for Dell Precision M4500

Operation OutdoorsWorking outdoors is not comfortable at all, because of the reflecting surface. Depending on the brightness of the environment and the angle of incidence, medium to heavy reflections occur.Battery for Dell Latitude D630 ATGThe WXGA panel is average regarding stability to the vantage point. Although the display has vertically and horizontally sufficient areas of operation, there are partly big changes outside them. Horizontally, you'll face a loss of contrast and reflections at acute angles. Vertically, the display darkens, when looking from bottom up and heavily whitens, to an extend that it is hardly legible, when looking from top down.

The Acer Aspire 5920G is equipped with an Intel Core 2 Duo T7300 CPU which is powerful with a clock rate of 2.0 GHz. But, the highlight of this notebook is indeed the NVidia Geforce 8600M GT video card. It sometimes makes notebooks with this equipment popular, because its power is sufficient for playing up-to-date games. Battery for Dell Latitude D630 UMAAlthough it scored high in benchmark tests as well as in application test, it is still clearly outperformed by comparable competitor notebooks like, e.g., Asus G1S or MacBook Pro. Also at the FEAR performance test the Aspire 5920G reached at medium and maximum configuration only below-average values.