Intel’s new Atom adds smooth HD video playback to what was already a solid all-round netbook
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| Toshiba NB510 Laptop |
The netbook fad may have died down, but Toshiba is one of several manufacturers keen to show there’s life in the form factor yet. Its NB510 looks strikingly similar to last year’s model from the outside, but it’s the first to sport Intel’s Cedar Trail update to the Atom platform.
Cedar Trail isn’t a huge update, but it does bring improvements. It brings a die-shrink to a 32nm fabrication process, a change that promises reduced power consumption and less heat output. It now has support for faster DDR3-800 and DDR3-1066 RAM (the previous models topped out at DDR3-667), and although the CPU architecture remains relatively unchanged from the previous Pineview platform, the integrated GPU gets a big boost.
Cedar Trail waves goodbye to the old GMA 3150 and ushers in the all-new GMA 3600 and 3650 cores – tweaked versions of PowerVR’s SGX 545 chipset. Where their predecessor struggled even with standard definition video streaming, the new generation introduces Full HD hardware decoding. It’s a change that means you can expect to see HDMI ports appearing as standard on Cedar Trail netbooks.
The Toshiba NB510 uses the slower of the two Cedar Trail processors, the 1.6GHz Atom N2600, and after only a few minutes it’s clear CPU performance is as modest as ever. Put to the test with our Real World Benchmarks, the new Atom delivered an overall score of 0.21 – exactly on a par with the previous generation.
But the GMA 3600 GPU is leaps and bounds better than its predecessor. Testing Crysis on a netbook is faintly ludicrous, but where it wouldn’t even run on last year’s models, the NB510 limped through our 1,366 x 768 Low detail test at 6fps. It isn’t enough to turn the Atom into a gamer, but the extra power may just about be enough for basic titles.
It’s video playback that sees the biggest improvement, however. Our local Full HD test clips played smoothly, and although YouTube HD content was choppy at 1080p, dropping the resolution to 720p delivered a smoother frame rate. Equally, HD content from BBC’s iPlayer didn’t fare too well in our initial tests, but a Flash update buoyed the frame rate to a watchable standard. Video playback still isn’t perfect – there’s the odd dropped frame and the scaling leaves HD images looking rough around the edges – but it’s a huge step forwards.
Battery life remains strong. Our light-use test saw the NB510 last 8hrs 46mins. Pushing the CPU to its modest limits saw that figure drop to only 5hrs 45mins.
Physically, you’d be hard- pressed to tell the NB510 apart from last year’s model. The 1.18kg chassis isn’t rock solid – there’s a little flex when you really grapple with it – but it’s no worse than many of its competitors, and the textured plastic finish feels tough enough to fend off scratches and scrapes.
There’s no lack of features by netbook standards, with three USB 2 ports, D-SUB, HDMI, a headset jack and an SD card reader. Networking is fine, too, with single-band 802.11n wireless, Bluetooth 3 and 10/100 Ethernet.
Toshiba has stuck with the usual 1,024 x 600 resolution for the 10.1in display, but quality is still rather good by netbook standards. The glossy panel reaches a brightness of 266cd/m2, and while the 223:1 contrast ratio is modest, it’s good enough to kick back and enjoy a movie.
The wide touchpad goes about its business without drawing attention to itself, and the keyboard’s large, square keys are comfortable to type on. If there’s a flaw, it’s the shrunken right-Shift key. It took us time to adjust to its size, and in our first hours we often found ourselves dabbing the Page Up and Page Down buttons by mistake.
That’s one blip on an otherwise spotless record. The NB510 is a fine netbook, all the better for the presence of Intel’s new Atom. CPU performance is as limited as ever, but the HD video acceleration turns this 10.1in netbook into a cheap entertainment device, perfect for a commute or long-haul flight. With the usual netbook strengths combined with solid design, the NB510 reminds us why we loved netbooks in the first place.
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Part Code | PLL72E-01W019EN |
| Review Date | 9 Jul 2012 |
| Price ex VAT | £200 |
| Price inc VAT | £240 |
| Overall rating |  |
| Features & Design |  |
| Value for Money |  |
| Performance |  |
| Physical specifications | |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | 262 x 187 x 35mm (WDH) |
| Weight | 1.180kg |
| Travelling weight | 1.5kg |
| Processor and memory | |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Atom N2600 |
| Motherboard chipset | Intel NM10 |
| RAM capacity | 2.00GB |
| Memory type | DDR3 |
| SODIMM sockets free | 0 |
| SODIMM sockets total | 1 |
| Screen and video | |
|---|---|
| Screen size | 10.1in |
| Resolution screen horizontal | 1,024 |
| Resolution screen vertical | 600 |
| Resolution | 1024 x 600 |
| Graphics chipset | Intel GMA 3600 |
| Graphics card RAM | N/A |
| VGA (D-SUB) outputs | 1 |
| HDMI outputs | 1 |
| S-Video outputs | 0 |
| DVI-I outputs | 0 |
| DVI-D outputs | 0 |
| DisplayPort outputs | 0 |
| Drives | |
|---|---|
| Capacity | 320GB |
| Hard disk usable capacity | 298GB |
| Spindle speed | 5,400RPM |
| Internal disk interface | SATA/300 |
| Optical disc technology | N/A |
| Optical drive | none |
| Battery capacity | 4,200mAh |
| Replacement battery price inc VAT | £0 |
| Networking | |
|---|---|
| Wired adapter speed | 100Mbits/sec |
| 802.11a support |  |
| 802.11b support |  |
| 802.11g support | |
| 802.11 draft-n support | |
| Integrated 3G adapter | |
| Bluetooth support | |
| Other Features | |
|---|---|
| Wireless hardware on/off switch | |
| Wireless key-combination switch | |
| Modem | |
| ExpressCard34 slots | 0 |
| ExpressCard54 slots | 0 |
| PC Card slots | 0 |
| USB ports (downstream) | 3 |
| FireWire ports | 0 |
| PS/2 mouse port | |
| 9-pin serial ports | 0 |
| Parallel ports | 0 |
| Optical S/PDIF audio output ports | 0 |
| Electrical S/PDIF audio ports | 0 |
| 3.5mm audio jacks | 1 |
| SD card reader | |
| Memory Stick reader | |
| MMC (multimedia card) reader | |
| Smart Media reader | |
| Compact Flash reader | |
| xD-card reader | |
| Pointing device type | Touchpad |
| Audio chipset | Realtek HD Audio |
| Speaker location | Front edge |
| Hardware volume control? | |
| Integrated microphone? | |
| Integrated webcam? | |
| Camera megapixel rating | 0.3mp |
| TPM | |
| Fingerprint reader | |
| Smartcard reader | |
| Carry case | |
| Battery and performance tests | |
|---|---|
| Battery life, light use | 8hr 46min |
| Battery life, heavy use | 5hr 45min |
| 3D performance (crysis) low settings | 6fps |
| 3D performance setting | Low |
| Overall Real World Benchmark score | 0.21 |
| Responsiveness score | 0.39 |
| Media score | 0.15 |
| Multitasking score | 0.09 |
This is dummy text. It is not meant to be read. Accordingly, it is difficult to figure out when to end it. But then, this is dummy text. It is not meant to be read. Period.
1 comments :
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