Asus/Hi-Grade Ultinote AS8400-850

Asus/Hi-Grade's commitment to driving the notebook market forward is evident through its consistent rollout of products based on the fastest mobile processors available. In fact, at the time of writing, only Asus/Hi-Grade was able to provide PC Pro with a machine built around Intel's SpeedStep Pentium III/850 processor.

It's clear now that the mobile workforce is being addressed with regards to performance. The processor aside, 192Mb of RAM is supplied in this model to ensure that the full potential of the 850MHz clock speed can be achieved. The only real issue with notebook performance these days is graphics, which is still lagging far behind the solutions available for desktop systems. Currently, only ATi offers a 16Mb solution, albeit still running on the maximum available mobile AGP 2x, although S3 will soon eclipse ATi with the imminent release of its 32Mb mobile Savage 4. For the time being, however, the AS8400-850's graphics are served by S3's 8Mb Savage MX.

Putting the AS8400-850 through PC Pro's 2D benchmarks returned the expected scores. The overall result of 2.10 is impressive for any notebook. However, it's beaten by Dell's Inspiron 5000e G750VT (reviewed issue 72, p183), which sports a 750MHz processor. That said, even with the Dell's superior 16Mb graphics subsystem, its graphics score is only 2.67 compared with the AS8400-850's score of 2.75. Comparing the results for database and word processing puts the Dell in a favourable light for consistency of performance across all areas, which can be attributed to overall system tuning and differences in hard disk performances.

Performance considerations aside, the AS8400-850 can be ergonomically applauded for its anodised silver/grey two-tone casing. This isn't to the detriment of build or functionality, with the lid stiffly containing the TFT, while the keyboard and glide pad inputs are comfortable to use and responsive.

The 14.1in XGA native resolution TFT is bright, with an even contrast across its entire screen area. A thin anti-glare layer aids in improving your viewing experience during bright lighting conditions, but it also has the detrimental effect of producing slight sparkling effects in dimly lit conditions. Over long periods, this results in the mild illusion of reduced contrast affecting the quality of the initially vivid colours. This can be best demonstrated when viewing a DVD movie, courtesy of the CyberLink software DVD player, in conjunction with the six-speed non-removable DVD-ROM drive.

Boosting its feature set, the AS8400-850 provides an impressive 20Gb of permanent storage via its UltraDMA/33-connected IBM non-removable hard disk. For most notebook uses, this should see you through the life of the AS8400-850. A mini-PCI 10/100BaseTX network interface card from RealTek provides LAN connectivity, with the same rear jack port used to connect the Aureal software V.90 modem. Finally, Aureal is also responsible for providing sound, with the integrated stereo speakers striving, but lacking, to reproduce sounds far beyond their capabilities.

Packing just one lithium ion battery pack, the AS8400-850 only managed to power through one hour, 34 minutes of PC Pro's continuous usage test. This pales in comparison to the two hours, 26 minutes offered by Gateway's Solo 9300LS as tested in our notebook Labs (see issue 73, p107).

The real litmus test for most users, however, is what you get for your money, and with an asking price of £2,079, you get a reasonable amount. Asus/Hi-Grade's Ultinote AS8400-850 may not provide the best performance, and it certainly doesn't provide the opportunity for extended hours away from a permanent power source, but you do get a well-built, future-proofed purchase, with all the features you really need at a reasonable price. Depending on your priorities, the Ultinote AS8400-850 deserves careful consideration, but if the failings can't be overlooked then you should look elsewhere.

Author: Ian Robson