With the new breed of netbooks sporting bigger, 12-inch HD displays, dual-core processors and 1080p-catering graphics chips, we are sometimes ashamed to even call them 'netbooks' anymore. Asus is the forerunner in this segment, and we've already tested its AMD/ATI based and Intel/NVIDIA powered sub-laptops.
Today, for test comes the Asus Lamborghini VX6. Other than the popular sports-car manufacturer dressing and logos, this uber-netbook packs meaty internals like a dual-core Atom processor and NVIDIA ION graphics with the Optimus auto-graphics switching technology. It includes two USB 3.0 ports to make your data transfers vroom at high speeds. But will the premium car-maker's plastered image make this device's price go up to unreachable levels? Let's find out.
Design and Build:
We've seen such gadget/car manufacturer love-children before, and the VX6 isn't anything less when compared to its predecessors. You've got the golden-black "Automobili Lamborghini" bull-bearing emblem on the top lid. The design somewhat simulates the curves of a sporty car, and things like the mesh grille strip support that statement.
The top is glossy black, and catches nasty finger-prints as you caress it. On the inside, the grey borders complete the macho look of this device. The VX6 is fairly thin and light-weight and it won't be too difficult to chauffeur it anywhere. The build quality felt a tad sturdier than the under Rs. 20,000 netbooks flooding your electronics malls.
The keyboard is exactly like the previous 12-inch models we'd tested. The chiclet design keys have good tactility while proportional sizing and good key placement makes typing quite comfortable. I liked the rubberized area under the keyboard for a comfortable grip. The touch-pad could've been a little better in our opinion, as there was a slight stickiness while sliding fingers over it initially. We eventually did get used to it, but kept wishing for a smoother surface every time we touched that thing. It supports multi-touch gestures like two-fingered scrolling and pinch-zooming, which are always welcome.
To the left of the device, we have a VGA port, one HDMI, one USB 2.0 and a SD/MMC card reader slot. Right-wards, we have a headphone/earphone jack, followed by two (yes, two) spankin-latest USB 3.0 ports and a LAN port. The 6-cell battery protrudes downwards, but doesn't hinder while typing on the lap.
To speak of the display, its the same 12.1-inch 1366 x 768 pixel one we saw in the two Eee PC models we mentioned in the intro. It is fairly clear and crisp, and while the brightness isn't blindingly high, it felt just adequate to our eye. Hi-def videos looked good on-screen. The 1.3-megapixel web-cam atop also delivers quite a clear image when there's sufficient lighting and a correct angle. The speakers are driven by Bang & Olufsen's ICE Power, and while it wasn't a revolutionary experience, the audio was clearer than other netbooks we've listened to and loud enough to watch a movie without a pair of ear phones.
Another thing; with intensive graphics use, the left portion of the device did get warmed up, but not so hot that it would toast your pants (or worse, your lap).
Benchmarks:
PCMark Vantage
Don't compare gigahertz-to-gigahertz, that's what your mamma told ya! As you can see, the 1.8 GHz dual-core Atom is surpassed in overall performance by laptops that have lower clock speeds. The Atom platform was never meant to be powerful, since its main purpose was to cut down power consumption so the computer delivers high battery life.
3DMark 06
Performance does seem to be better than the earlier ION-based 1201NL, but such a high margin is also due to the dual-core Atom processor in the the VX6, whereas the former had a single-core N270 Atom, found in many cheap netbooks.
SiSoft Sandra 2009
Well, the numbers do seem to suggest that the dual-core Atom is considerably faster than the single core N270, but cannot hold its mettle against the Intel Pentium dual-core U4100, which although is clocked lower at 1.3 GHz, but due to the different platform architecture, delivers better performance.
Real World Performance:
Although the retail unit will ship with 2GB RAM, our test VX6 came with only 1GB RAM pre-installed. As a result, despite having a dual-core 1.8 GHz Intel Atom processor, we felt that the unit was slacking in swiftness, especially while multi-tasking with a couple of applications. However, singular tasks were accomplished just fine. We can hope that the retail unit will not face the lag that we faced. For HD video playback, we installed the K-lite video codec pack before-hand, to ensure that the decoding work gets offloaded to the NVIDIA graphics chip. As expected, almost all the 1080p HD videos we threw at it were played back effortlessly.
Another thing; while our unit came with a 250GB hard drive, the retail unit is confirmed to have a 320GB one.
We'd tested Asus's first Optimus-enabled N61Jv laptop a while back and were excited when we saw two display adapters (Intel GMA 3150 and NVIDIA ION) in the device manager on the VX6. Our initial conclusion was incorrect when we stated that the VX6 does not have Optimus tech. We weren't able to conclude since we didn't have any resource which allowed us to confirm that the machine is actually switching graphics automatically. Neither was there any Optimus branding on the VX6 itself. On asking ASUS initially, we were told that this model didn't have it and we took their word for it. A few days later though, they got back to us and clarified that this model does indeed have NVIDIA's automatic graphics switching technology. They also sent us a monitoring tool which let us know which GPU was active at which instance.
So, now with this tool we tried using this machine in a variety of scenario where we switched from graphically non-intensive tasks to heavy ones like playing 1080p HD videos. The tool correctly depicted how the NVIDIA GPU kicked on and off according to the need. The impact of this technology will be seen in the battery performance, so read on below to see how it did.
With respect to gaming, the Street Fighter IV benchmark played back a little laggy 23 FPS with maxed out settings. So forget playing today's heavy-duty PC gaming on this thing. But it wouldn't be so bad to run a NFS Most Wanted or any other game from that era.
Battery Life:
The VX6 came with a 56 Whr (5200 mAh) battery pack. We let it run a 720p video in loop with full brightness and sound. Here, the NVIDIA ION graphics chip was doing the grunt work, so presumably it would drain more battery than its lower power-sipping Intel graphics counterpart. It drained from a hundred to zero in just an hour and a half. This kind of up-time is what we typically get from a 15-inch desktop replacement laptop.
But for a machine that boasts Netbook-like components, the performance is definitely not satisfying. It's 12-inch brother, the 1201NL, ran for a good three and a half hours on the same video drain test. We can presume the low scores are due to the dual-core Atom D525 processor on the VX6; which is actually meant to be used on Net-tops and thus wouldn't be as power-efficient as its single-core N-series siblings (like the single-core Atom N270 on the Eee PC 1201NL). Since we're drawing comparisons, it is also fair to point out that the 1201NL had a slightly higher-rating 63 Whr battery.
But in doing non graphics-intensive tasks, like typing a word document in an online office suite and general surfing over Wi-fi, it delivered better figures. Here, the VX6 roughly lasted for a little over the four hour mark. Here, the up-time is similar to the Eee PC 1201NL when we ran it through the same test. Note: the brightness was kept at 90 percent (the screen ain't blindingly bright at that setting, so we had to) and the battery profile was kept at 'Auto' mode. So, you could get a higher life if you are not using Wi-fi, and put it on 'Power saver' mode.
Thus we can infer that the VX6 will gulp on battery power when intensive apps are running, but give a netbook-grade run-time when you're doing simple tasks. This is exactly what NVIDIA's Optimus technology was supposed to deliver; and it did!
Price and Verdict:
The Asus Lamborghini VX6 sells at an MRP of Rs. 43,000. Let us keep the Lamborghini branding aside for a moment (we know that there will be a time when the charm's ultimately going to wear off), this laptop is better than the previous 12-inch ION-powered ASUS Eee PC 1201NL in two respects - a faster dual-core Atom processor and the USB 3.0 ports. Otherwise, it is more or less the same in terms of functionality.
The VX6 falls in a weird category. It is far too expensive to be called a netbook. Also, 40,000 rupees can also fetch you the 13-inch variant of the Acer Timeline X 4820T we tested; if you're willing to let go of the car-branding. It's fairly slim and light for its size, and has a surprisingly similar battery life despite having a Core i3 processor, which is way more powerful (and mostly power-sipping) than the dual-core Atom on the VX6.
All in all, the VX6 is quite a usable 'high-performance netbook' (ironic, we know) and the only sore points (other than the price, of course) that we'd point is that kinda sticky touch-pad. If you are in love with the VX6, but don't want to shell out 40 grand, then we'd suggest you wait a while. The Eee PC 1215N is exactly the same VX6 internally without the car-like looks and shiny emblems; and has what seems to be, from the press images at least, a smoother track-pad. If they can bring this model here at a cheaper price-point (say, Rs. 30,000 tops), it will be one sweet buy.
Today, for test comes the Asus Lamborghini VX6. Other than the popular sports-car manufacturer dressing and logos, this uber-netbook packs meaty internals like a dual-core Atom processor and NVIDIA ION graphics with the Optimus auto-graphics switching technology. It includes two USB 3.0 ports to make your data transfers vroom at high speeds. But will the premium car-maker's plastered image make this device's price go up to unreachable levels? Let's find out.
Design and Build:
We've seen such gadget/car manufacturer love-children before, and the VX6 isn't anything less when compared to its predecessors. You've got the golden-black "Automobili Lamborghini" bull-bearing emblem on the top lid. The design somewhat simulates the curves of a sporty car, and things like the mesh grille strip support that statement.
The top is glossy black, and catches nasty finger-prints as you caress it. On the inside, the grey borders complete the macho look of this device. The VX6 is fairly thin and light-weight and it won't be too difficult to chauffeur it anywhere. The build quality felt a tad sturdier than the under Rs. 20,000 netbooks flooding your electronics malls.
The keyboard is exactly like the previous 12-inch models we'd tested. The chiclet design keys have good tactility while proportional sizing and good key placement makes typing quite comfortable. I liked the rubberized area under the keyboard for a comfortable grip. The touch-pad could've been a little better in our opinion, as there was a slight stickiness while sliding fingers over it initially. We eventually did get used to it, but kept wishing for a smoother surface every time we touched that thing. It supports multi-touch gestures like two-fingered scrolling and pinch-zooming, which are always welcome.
To the left of the device, we have a VGA port, one HDMI, one USB 2.0 and a SD/MMC card reader slot. Right-wards, we have a headphone/earphone jack, followed by two (yes, two) spankin-latest USB 3.0 ports and a LAN port. The 6-cell battery protrudes downwards, but doesn't hinder while typing on the lap.
To speak of the display, its the same 12.1-inch 1366 x 768 pixel one we saw in the two Eee PC models we mentioned in the intro. It is fairly clear and crisp, and while the brightness isn't blindingly high, it felt just adequate to our eye. Hi-def videos looked good on-screen. The 1.3-megapixel web-cam atop also delivers quite a clear image when there's sufficient lighting and a correct angle. The speakers are driven by Bang & Olufsen's ICE Power, and while it wasn't a revolutionary experience, the audio was clearer than other netbooks we've listened to and loud enough to watch a movie without a pair of ear phones.
Another thing; with intensive graphics use, the left portion of the device did get warmed up, but not so hot that it would toast your pants (or worse, your lap).
Benchmarks:
PCMark Vantage
Don't compare gigahertz-to-gigahertz, that's what your mamma told ya! As you can see, the 1.8 GHz dual-core Atom is surpassed in overall performance by laptops that have lower clock speeds. The Atom platform was never meant to be powerful, since its main purpose was to cut down power consumption so the computer delivers high battery life.
3DMark 06
Performance does seem to be better than the earlier ION-based 1201NL, but such a high margin is also due to the dual-core Atom processor in the the VX6, whereas the former had a single-core N270 Atom, found in many cheap netbooks.
SiSoft Sandra 2009
Well, the numbers do seem to suggest that the dual-core Atom is considerably faster than the single core N270, but cannot hold its mettle against the Intel Pentium dual-core U4100, which although is clocked lower at 1.3 GHz, but due to the different platform architecture, delivers better performance.
Real World Performance:
Although the retail unit will ship with 2GB RAM, our test VX6 came with only 1GB RAM pre-installed. As a result, despite having a dual-core 1.8 GHz Intel Atom processor, we felt that the unit was slacking in swiftness, especially while multi-tasking with a couple of applications. However, singular tasks were accomplished just fine. We can hope that the retail unit will not face the lag that we faced. For HD video playback, we installed the K-lite video codec pack before-hand, to ensure that the decoding work gets offloaded to the NVIDIA graphics chip. As expected, almost all the 1080p HD videos we threw at it were played back effortlessly.
Another thing; while our unit came with a 250GB hard drive, the retail unit is confirmed to have a 320GB one.
We'd tested Asus's first Optimus-enabled N61Jv laptop a while back and were excited when we saw two display adapters (Intel GMA 3150 and NVIDIA ION) in the device manager on the VX6. Our initial conclusion was incorrect when we stated that the VX6 does not have Optimus tech. We weren't able to conclude since we didn't have any resource which allowed us to confirm that the machine is actually switching graphics automatically. Neither was there any Optimus branding on the VX6 itself. On asking ASUS initially, we were told that this model didn't have it and we took their word for it. A few days later though, they got back to us and clarified that this model does indeed have NVIDIA's automatic graphics switching technology. They also sent us a monitoring tool which let us know which GPU was active at which instance.
So, now with this tool we tried using this machine in a variety of scenario where we switched from graphically non-intensive tasks to heavy ones like playing 1080p HD videos. The tool correctly depicted how the NVIDIA GPU kicked on and off according to the need. The impact of this technology will be seen in the battery performance, so read on below to see how it did.
With respect to gaming, the Street Fighter IV benchmark played back a little laggy 23 FPS with maxed out settings. So forget playing today's heavy-duty PC gaming on this thing. But it wouldn't be so bad to run a NFS Most Wanted or any other game from that era.
Battery Life:
The VX6 came with a 56 Whr (5200 mAh) battery pack. We let it run a 720p video in loop with full brightness and sound. Here, the NVIDIA ION graphics chip was doing the grunt work, so presumably it would drain more battery than its lower power-sipping Intel graphics counterpart. It drained from a hundred to zero in just an hour and a half. This kind of up-time is what we typically get from a 15-inch desktop replacement laptop.
But for a machine that boasts Netbook-like components, the performance is definitely not satisfying. It's 12-inch brother, the 1201NL, ran for a good three and a half hours on the same video drain test. We can presume the low scores are due to the dual-core Atom D525 processor on the VX6; which is actually meant to be used on Net-tops and thus wouldn't be as power-efficient as its single-core N-series siblings (like the single-core Atom N270 on the Eee PC 1201NL). Since we're drawing comparisons, it is also fair to point out that the 1201NL had a slightly higher-rating 63 Whr battery.
But in doing non graphics-intensive tasks, like typing a word document in an online office suite and general surfing over Wi-fi, it delivered better figures. Here, the VX6 roughly lasted for a little over the four hour mark. Here, the up-time is similar to the Eee PC 1201NL when we ran it through the same test. Note: the brightness was kept at 90 percent (the screen ain't blindingly bright at that setting, so we had to) and the battery profile was kept at 'Auto' mode. So, you could get a higher life if you are not using Wi-fi, and put it on 'Power saver' mode.
Thus we can infer that the VX6 will gulp on battery power when intensive apps are running, but give a netbook-grade run-time when you're doing simple tasks. This is exactly what NVIDIA's Optimus technology was supposed to deliver; and it did!
Price and Verdict:
The Asus Lamborghini VX6 sells at an MRP of Rs. 43,000. Let us keep the Lamborghini branding aside for a moment (we know that there will be a time when the charm's ultimately going to wear off), this laptop is better than the previous 12-inch ION-powered ASUS Eee PC 1201NL in two respects - a faster dual-core Atom processor and the USB 3.0 ports. Otherwise, it is more or less the same in terms of functionality.
The VX6 falls in a weird category. It is far too expensive to be called a netbook. Also, 40,000 rupees can also fetch you the 13-inch variant of the Acer Timeline X 4820T we tested; if you're willing to let go of the car-branding. It's fairly slim and light for its size, and has a surprisingly similar battery life despite having a Core i3 processor, which is way more powerful (and mostly power-sipping) than the dual-core Atom on the VX6.
All in all, the VX6 is quite a usable 'high-performance netbook' (ironic, we know) and the only sore points (other than the price, of course) that we'd point is that kinda sticky touch-pad. If you are in love with the VX6, but don't want to shell out 40 grand, then we'd suggest you wait a while. The Eee PC 1215N is exactly the same VX6 internally without the car-like looks and shiny emblems; and has what seems to be, from the press images at least, a smoother track-pad. If they can bring this model here at a cheaper price-point (say, Rs. 30,000 tops), it will be one sweet buy.
