In Game Screens From BulletStorm

BulletStorm ran pretty neat at 720P , 4AA , and all other setting Maxd/ got a decent 30-50FPS and temperature where below 77c all time.

[ad#250]

Full set here http://www.flickr.com/photos/siva_naveen/sets/72157626699484554/

Dell L502 a.k.a New XPS 15 Review

Hi all..
It’s been some time I have posted here. That’s mainly because I have been reading lots of review and comparing loads of laptop to replace my 3 year old Dell M1530. It has been a loyal laptop for years now. But it’s time to move on. This time, since it will be a once 2-3 years buy , wanted to give more preference to CPU and expandability. Lucky for me, Dell just few days before I placed the order slashed the price and gave i7 processor at the rate of i5, which was a surprise. But I did do a mistake by selecting a 9 cell battery, I thought that then power cuts here in Tamil Nadu will get worse and may even worsen. But to my surprise , after the laptop arrived last week , the power cut has gone down and its almost nil , LOL.. Putting my 9 cell battery to real test wont happen anytime soon i think. Anyway let’s move to the review part
I delayed this review for a week mainly to get the feel of the system, to know better  and to know the best and worst of it .

DESIGN:

It’s not a design easily admired at first sight , or even at third or tenth. Seriously DELL has taken a back step in designing their top end XPS system. DELL XPS 1530 design is still the best I have seen from them . Even though few Studio design are good , IMO DELL old XPS design was the best.
New XPS has rounded edges which spoil the look of the laptop and gives a Mac kind of look. The lid is pale ivory white coated . Old XPS had option to choose from , say blue , black , red color and it was for no extra cost . But to change the default LID to a fancy one , you need to spend extra 3500+ Rs , instead of spending it so much , you can go to decalgirl or any other online laptop skinning site and order a good , better looking skin for less than 1500 Rs. I even found skins for less than 400Rs.
Anyway open the lid, you are greeted with a beautifully placed keyboard and a dark metallic grey palm rest over. The touchpad is pretty big and for me it’s a little “NO”. I use a external mouse and this big touchpad even though doesn’t come disturbing while typing, but still pushes the entire keyboard design close to the screen. Compare that to my old DELL XPS M1530, the keyboard in the newer XPS is at least 2-3 cm closer to the screen. It might be a hindrance factor if you try typing while lying down , the fingers might hinder the view of lower 1/3 of the screen.
The latop is pretty bulky and heavy too , in my case its due to the 9 cell battery. But i think those who select a 6 cell will be slightly lighter.
The vents for the GPU/CPU is placed on the left side of the laptop , compare it to the old XPS , which are behind the screen and sometimes a fully opened screen can partly block the vents , also there was big fan on the bottom , making the exhaust of hot air pretty complicated. But New XPS overcomes these problems in grand style. The vent is on the left side and there is only one 3.0 USB port , so unless you stick a big wireless device or receiver that sort on the left side ,the exhaust are pretty much open and big to push out chunk of hot air.
Surrounding the keyboard is two vertical row of JBL speaker on either side of the keyboard. The woofer is placed beneath the laptop. There are three touch keys on the op along with the main power key. Power Key is elongated button and sometimes the press if on the outer edge of the button, doesn’t get recognized as press.
It comes with 1 eSATA port, 1HDMI , 2 3.0 USB port and ports for headphones which can mimic for SPDIF output ( haven’t tried it yet) . Front has a Memory card reader. One thing I found is the USB (3.0) are very tight, could be due to unused port , but still slots are very hard to use.
The display is placed in some kind of groove, so there is some restriction for full opening of the screen. Even though its not a big issue.

SCREEN:

I went for the Full HD 1920x1080P screen.I recommend others to get it too , mainly because the standard display doesn’t seem to perform well and reviews thus far have not been helpful After reading through reviews and comparison  in many sites, it was agreed that this screen is by far the best one . and you won’t be let down too.. The color and brightness is simply outstanding. The clarity is top notch. Watching a 720p/1080p video is a pure delight. I had a WXGA+ 15.4” screen on my old XPS . the screen clarity was superb in that screen too , the brightness , color wise it was excellent .. but the resolution was 1444×900 , but this FULL HD screen is simply the best. For a week now I have kept the brightness around 70% , which I feel is still very bright at night.
To be honest , I am now preferring to watch movies on this 15.6” screen rather than the pale LCD Samsung 40” TV .
Couple the screen with a solid 2.1 JBL, you have a mini home theater on your lap

SPEAKERS:

I was very skeptic about the speaker after reading various reviews. I was wondering whether they can produce much effect , but after installing everything and running a music video (HD) , I couldn’t believe what I was hearing . The bass was right , I mean , the bass was contended to a small space. Since most of the time the laptop is going to be near to a person , the bass is designed to produce the effect to such space. Bass effect is not much loud or too low , It was ample enough to make a distinct bass effect. The 2 speakers on the sides of keyboard aren’t low either, they have enough punch and crispiness to balance the bass effect. The over all effect is very good. Needless to say “ The Best in Laptop “Segment !!

KEYBOARD:

Keyboard is a chicklet designed one. The keys have enough space between them and response / feedback to the presses are also good. The SPACE and BACKSPACE have a loose key noise upon pressing , other keys are very quiet and very soft too. Bloggers , or heavy forum goers will be delighted to type on this keyboard. I preferred a Backlit one , and its simply gorgeous at night . Moving from a normal, below par keyboard to a chicklet based plus backlit keyboard is big jump for me.

PERFORMANCE AND GPU:

The laptop comes pre-installed with Windows 7 Home Premium 64Bit with all drivers and required apps installed. There is no option to get a FREE-DOS version or Linux one. I am a person who wants to keep things to minimum , hence have reinstalled the OS with the DVD DELL gave. After clean install the system is very responsive and light too. The Original laptop comes packed with some trial software and some bloatwares. Even though they are essential , for example Wireless TV , I am not sure whether I will use t not. So haven’t installed them yet. One thing I found is the Windows 7 cant recognize the basic Ethernet card , so its better you back up or have a copy of all the essential drivers separately and readily available or at least the driver for Ethernet card. Once you have Ethernet in place , then all other drivers can be downloaded from the DELL website. Except for that one small annoyance , all other drivers and components were easily installed by windows 7. But still there are 4 components which needed DELL drivers . Mine is a Intel i7 2630M CPU , which has a 4 core and 8 virtual ones. And a 4GB DRR3 RAM , a 2GB 540M Nvidia card and a 500GB HDD @ 7200 RPM. The Windows experience index gives a 4.8 Mark , mainly because the desktop graphics is handled by the onboard Intel graphics card , rather than the dedicated 540M nvidia card

The scrore are
Processor : 7.4
RAM : 5.9
Graphics : DEKSTOP : 5.7
Graphics : 3D and gaming : 6.6
HDD : 5.9

So IMO the score is actually 5.9 , least from RAM and HDD . A additional 4GB would push this 5.9 to somewhere around 6.9 or 7.2 or even more. And new SSD will push the score even more.
Installed crisis 2 and settlers 7 thus far and ran former at 720P and later to maximum and both ran smoothly. I think this laptop can handle most games at 720 P and some games at native 1080P resolution. I am not a avid gamer , I already have a PS3 and still I have many games unfinished on it. But after playing a game on Laptop with a good graphics card is a delight . Any day Keyboard + Mouse rocks !!
I played Crysis 1 in my M1530 last time and it ran the game at medium and now Crysis 2 at 720p .
Actually I haven’t benchmarked the system using any tool like SisSandra or Fur etc , I have read and seen all benches , so why do it again to see the results ?
The Laptop runs pretty cool . Even after heavy gaming the temperature doesn’t run too hot. The good thing is the graphics card is asked to work only when there is a need for high end graphics , all other times the Intel Onboard graphics takes care. This is good , because the component is least used and ready when needed , this improves the longevity of the component, this is achieved through the OPTIMUS technology by Nvidia.that’s why the system is able to run cool most of the times. Even after heavy gaming for hours , the palmrest on the left side becomes little hot , but compare that to my hot pan XPS 1530 .., there all the graphics , from desktop to gaming is carried by 8600M GT card. It will become hot soon , so after using my old XPS , this new XPS is a grand welcome particularly incase of heat exhaustion ,lower temperature and effective use of the components.

[ad#250]

PROS:

1.) Fast CPU – second generation i7
2.) Best laptop screen you will ever see
3.) Best speakers on a laptop
4.) Good 2GB Graphics card
5.) Well placed and nice built keyboard with backlit

CONS:

1.) Bland and Bulky Design
2.) Few keys are noisy ( Space and BackSpace )
3.) Tight USB Slots
4.) Large Touchpad (My personal dislike)
5.) Flimsy Power Button

CONCLUSION :

Overall this new XPS 15 series is worthy upgrade. Performance to cost is excellent. At Rs 65,000 Rs , you get very decent specs and excellent screen and audio. This laptop is best for mobile multimedia and even a great replacement for PC.. or for those who need mobility and PC like performance.

GALLERY:

Any queries , doubts  , do leave it in the comment section below … Will try to post few benchmark results and few ingame video clips if possible.

Update : 3D Mark 11 @ 720p http://3dmark.com/3dm11/1173751

-Urs Siva

Logitech M505

Hi all

Its been some time i posted a entry here . I wanted to change my aging Logitech Notebook mouse which i purchased when i got my Dell XPS 1530M 2 years back , The mouse is still working , really a awesome product from Logitech. But off lately , there has been some issue with clicking. so anyway wanted to move on to something new , So after a long search I wanted to get Logitech M505 , even though its available in India , it cost around 2100Rs , but when got through Ebay from U.S , it cost me around 1500Rs including shipping , anyway its not about the money , i wanted to dissolve some money ..

Coming to the product , The mouse is really small , same , but slightly bigger than my notebook mouse .The mouse has laser as apposed to the usual optical. Laser is slightly better than optical in precision, noticeable and useful for person who work on photoshoping and gaming. The mouse has a flip open cover , into which two AA battery goes neatly , there is small switch on the back, which opens the hatch , so cool.

There is also a small provision for the Unifying USB . Unifying USB is the latest from Logitech which uses one of the USB and to it you can pair numerous wireless products of Logitech like this mouse , and their wireless keyboard and other products. This is really handy for those who have limited usb provision.

[ad#250]

The installation process was very smooth on Windows 7 , the Os pulled the required drivers and accompanying software from Windows Update. Anyway i download a software called Setpoint (Version 6) , which allows you to modify other setting and buttons of the mouse. The Mouse comes with a cool scroll sideway feature , where the scroll button can be clicked on sideways , particularly useful if you program it to move the page up/down , so it eventually eliminated the scrolling and with just click of the scroll button to the side will result in page scrolling , couple this with Firefox “yetanothersmoothscrolling” add-on , makes browsing a pleasurable experience .

the mouse overall is slightly heavy , may be after using the almost weightless Logitech Notebook mouse , this is pretty heavy. It works on all surface. But anyone who is moving from another mouse will have to tweak the Mouse pointer speed and other setting to get used to . When the mouse is used with surface such as table or normal magazine , the mouse is really very responsive and precise. As i use it on the bed , it is pretty much lagging .. mainly because of its weight and also since i was used to weightless mouse. It will take some time .. this is the usual case with any change . It takes time….

Anyway will leave now with few pictures of the mouse

-Urs Siva

Xperia X10 – Xperience unlimited !

Hi,

UPDATE : Uploaded Few photos , Still more to come..

Last Saturday i got my Sony Ericsson Xperia X10. Special thanks to my Chithi , who made it possible. I was waiting for this beauty for a long time. First when it was rumoured as “Rachael”, I just couldn’t take my eyes of it… the black body coupled with the Blue interface, did SE know my favourite colours ?. Anyway here i am with the Goddess of Mobile.
While i am still very new to Android OS , i am still having a quite a hard time to figure out what is. Since it’s a great leap from a SE bred OS to Android. But needless to say, Android is really user friendly. You will get all the basics from the word start, but going beyond the basic needs time and patience, since its ability is far stretched, and with nearly thousands of apps (mostly free, thanks to Google`s Open source and Open market) , power of android is limitless. Where shall we start?

Like my previous other reviews on W995 and PS3, this one could be elaborate and the review is from my point of view…

DESIGN:

The Monolith design of the X10 makes it quite a beauty and SE is very good at designing their Flagship models like K750, K800, K850, Satio , W995 , X1.  X10`s design will top the predecessors by a large scale. The blackness, i say blackness because the glossy screen and the grey side lines make it look much darker and give a richer look. Same cannot be said to the back side. Back is mostly of Matte finish, which was there in K800… Actually on the long run the back side is the one which takes most of the insult from the exterior world, but This time the matte finish is much more velvety than the rough material in K800. Take my old W995, it was silver at the beginning, but now it’s white.. The silver coating faded and the true colour of the material is exposed. But matte on the other hand, the quality remains the same after years. I personally like the Matte finished back since its durable and reliable too… No need to worry where i place my phone .

The Three small flat silver keys on the bottom, Volume button and a camera button on the side and main power button on the top, which also acts as lock button. This is all the physical input X10 has got. There are two LED`s in between the two keys which gives futuristic look in the night.  The bottom end is nicely cut at a slanting angle. Which I think makes it a unique design.
On the top, you have the micro usb port for data transfer and for charging.

USER INTERFACE AND OTHER SE APPS

Well anyone moving from other OS to android would have a slight difficulty in adopting themselves to the open source platform. It’s great, but you should be patient and try to learn… It’s not like other SE where interface is neatly lined up, X10 is whole lot different game. You have widgets, taskbar / notification bar on top, Pages, menu icons… Simply put it’s a mini Computer.

But I think customization done by SE , like imparting blue theme onto Android 1.6 cleverly hides the screen limitation of the older OS. Also their two most important apps , Timescape and Mediascape are really nice apps.
[ad#250]
First the Timescape , this is one stop place for all the updates from your friends . This app grabs all the stuffs related to your friends from various different sources like Facebook , Myspace , Twitter,SMS sent from them ,call logs, and neatly puts them in a orderly fashion. Even though , its not perfect as for an example you cant reply to the tweets . you just see them. For replying and other stuff , it links to the browser, which is kind of defeats the whole purpose. But still its far better update aggregator which is put in a exotic looking title listed package than other apps in market.
Second  comes the Mediascape. This inbuilt app is a media aggregator , which retrieves information and other stuffs from internet. While you are playing a song , just hit a Infinite button and it tries to grab all the relevant media info`s regarding that particular song . Like YouTube videos , Playnow related media and general search results. Performance wise , there is no equalizer , which is a definite let down for me , as moving from a W series , I would expect at least a decent equalizer , leave alone the “Clear Bass “feature of w995. The app in general is slightly slower . but still does the job good. The clarity is very good than other music players in the MARKET.

Both apps are good , but could have been done better.

X10 is packed with Snap Dragon 1GHZ processor , only few android phones feature this processor. Along with 384 MB RAM , performance wise X10 is a beast. Browsing the phone in general is fast , thanks to the mighty Snap Dragon.And X10 Supports OpenGL2.0 which makes the phone to perform better at latest power hungry games.

TOUCH SCREEN

Touch is very new to me , for last 6 years I have been using keypad and with K850 there was partial touch buttons … but still no full blown touch. But after just few days of handling the phone , I would say , touch is pretty cool . For typing messages , if you are fast at your normal PC keyboard , then you should be fine. At first you may miss few words , or type in wrong buttons , but within few hours or few messages , you will get used to it . After that it’s a totally whole different story with touch. Using touch over the 4” screen is a bliss , and with Fast UI , you will definitely love touch on x10.

X10 uses Capacitive screen , and doesn’t support Multi touch feature . SE recently confirmed that Multi touch will not be possible with X10 ,as there is hardware limitation , but I seriously doubt it , since I think and many other feel that this is to evade the recent Multi touch lawsuit filed against prominent phone companies .

4” screen is most prominent highlight of X10. The screen looks absolutely gorgeous even at 65k colors.

If you are new to touchscreen , it may take time to settle with it. But Touch will come very handy in times when you just want to type / do stuffs just by a flick of the fingers.

BATTERY

One thing many have to understand is these high end phones comes packed with serious processing power and coupled with loads of features , and unlike normal phones , battery backup is always slightly less in these phones compared to normal phones .

For me , it comes for a day . First few days the battery was slightly less , but as I am entering into 6^th day , the battery backup seems to improve , this is always the case with Li-Po Batteries.

One big drawback which I felt was , using the data cable both for charging and as data transfer. SE has given a usb enabled charger where you connect the Micro USB data cable for charging. This is ok but when you want to transfer files , you need to remove the cable and use it along with your PC , this can get tiresome, anyway I have ordered a separate Micro Usb cable , for data purpose. Android system has a nice tool which gives you which apps / system periphery is utilising how much battery.. Mostly because of the 4” screen , most of the battery is drained by the screen. This is expected.

CAMERA:

X10 is the only Android phone which has 8.1 MP. With proposed 720p recording coming soon to X10, this is one hell of a beast. Haven’t really taken much photos with X10 yet , but will update the flickr as I take them. The interface is neat and handy .

[Will update this part later .. if possible i will do a comparison with my old 8 MP W995]

ANDROID OS

Android, Google Bred OS, open source and currently exapanding in exponential. Supported by Hardcore developers and Open source enthusiast , Android is here to stay. Unlike other OS like iOS and WinMO , Google does pretty good job at updating thier OS at constant speed. X10 base firmware is now at 1.6 , far below the current Froyo(2.2) , this is because , SE and other mobile companies , take the Source code and modify to their willing to give it a stand-out look and feature for thier mobiles, thats where Timescape and Mediascape comes in. This comes at cost . Since Google is releasing updates are faster rate , Companies need to alter the source code so that their modification stays intact.So this leaves customers to trail behind the actual latest Android. But Google has recently said that with Gingerbread(3.0) Android , there will be unification and they themselves going to implement complete UI(User Interface ) overhaul .

But good news for X10 users is , currently X10 is rooted , meaning that they can install the 2.1 source code. , but still Bootloader is still not hacked , when that occurs , we would be able to install Custom ROMS like Cynogen MOD onto X10 , that would simply make X10 really the phone it was meant to be…

Final Thoughts

Sony Ericsson Xperia X10 is a device which is capable to outdo HTC desire and Nexus by large scale , its only downside is the Firmware. SE has to update their base software to a decent 2.1 which would enable 16Million colors , which would greatly enhance the already awesome display. Moreover , a better base kernel would make Phone much more faster and reduce battery consumption. There is more to 2.1 Version of Android , But since SE has said there will be update in Q4 this year , we have to wait. This is a great gadget and one of the best phones I have had and i can assure you that it will grow on you as time passes by….

Any doubts or need clarification leave them in the comment section below.

-Urs Siva