Review Xplorer s4-3200
I bought my Uniwill (259IA) in a shop in Australia under the name Milleania 6200 the only difference between them being the screen, mine is a 1280 x 800 the Xplorer is a wsxga.
My specs
Intel Pentium-m 735 1.7 Ghz dotham processor
1 Gb of ram (2 x 512Mb 2700 I presume I don’t know how to check)
80Gb Toshiba 4200rpm (I know it slow, but I’ll get to that later)
256Mb VRAM mobility radeon 9700 Gpu
4 x +/- DVD-RW
WXGA 1280 x 800
All the other standard things
Performance
It performs very well, quick to open new windows click links everything happens very quickly, despite it’s 4200rpm hard drive everything is accessed quickly whether this is just because the disk isn’t full or what I don’t know, it takes longer to boot up then “troy1964”s his is a 60 gig 7200rpm (don’t know exact times) but I was expecting a 4200rpm to be slower than it is, so I’m relived (I was worried when I found out that it was a 4200rpm drive the guy in the shop said that it was at least a 5400).
The processor run’s well enough I have very little to compare it to my old computer was a p3 800mhz so this thing kills it. I played C&C Generals on it, it ran very quickly buildings were build in 4 seconds, (it took more like 15-20 on my other computer. If that gives you some indication), Halo runs well on highest settings even when copying a dvd.
Sound
I had heard some horrible things about laptop speakers, so I was pleasantly surprised when they turned out fairly good, they sound nice at slightly louder than normal level but they lose quality fast when they are turned up higher, the built In sub helps think, overall good sound in my opinion at normal levels.
Heat
Internet surfing, and just general usage there is next to no heat, once the cpu is given something to do for long periods of time the right hand side does get warm but
But defiantly tolerable, the hottest part of it is just above the hot air outlet and power hole, but that is still tolerable, I think this laptop dissipates it heat well there is a relatively even spread of heat all over not much difference between hottest and coolest parts leaving me to think it is well designed for heat distribution, there is a hot component in each corner I think, cpu top right, cd drive top left, hard drive bottom left, I think gpu bottom right (not 100%). I haven’t tried it on my lap but I would say it would be decent, there is a fan intake top right hand side on the bottom to look out for though. In the instruction booklet (which doesn’t come with it, it says that on 35 C days parts at the back of the case may get up to 50 C, I think that that would have to be an extreme case because the way it was with me, running for hours at 100% cpu it didn’t get close to that hot.
Noise
Next to silent with the fan not on (it doesn’t kick in until the cpu does a fair amount of work, so that’s good). When the fan is on it is still fairly quite, non obtrusive, defiantly audible but much quieter than my desktop. My hard drive can be noisy but, most people would get a different drive to me anyway.
Build quality
I haven’t taken much notice of the build quality of other notebooks so I don’t have that much to compare it to, I can tell you that the base is very solid next to no give when you push down on it, defiantly not flimsy, the screen is less solid, it is still good, but less sturdy it gives a little when you push down on the lid when the laptop is closed, detracting from it’s sturdy feel.
Screen
I have the 1280 x 800 screen, it looks good, very bright, large and crisp, a bit higher resolution wouldn’t hurt but it is fine for me. As for ghosting I can’t tell so, either there is little ghosting or I just don’t notice. My screen has 1 pixel that is sometime green or white when it is meant to be another colour but it is normally good. If the wsxga screen is a good as this one you’ll be happy.
Touch pad
Originally I didn’t like the touch pad, but after changing the sensitivity way up and a but of practice it becomes reasonable, I think I like the Toshiba touch pads better, but this touch pad is not horrible, it is very usable, I have a mouse plugged in next to me but often use the touch pad instead. I don’t think I have mastered it yet and it will become easier to use, accidentally tapping it while typing is so annoying, I will have to change the settings so that it isn’t as big a problem.
Keyboard
The keyboard has a nice solid feel, the keys are responsive, it feels durable, I haven’t had any problem with button placement, I’m not a touch typer so that might not say much, I imagine it is similar to other new keyboards out there.
Battery
It is a 6 cell battery, I haven’t used it on battery much, but I got around 2 hours 20 minutes with general internet use and a few software installations, so it’s not shocking, especially if you wanted to turn down the brightness and use powerstrip or something like that. It also has an instant on that is suppose to save battery power when watching a dvd, cd, video/music file etc, by not having to boot into windows,
Graphics
GREAT, I have only run C&C generals and halo but they both look great at high setting, I don’t have much to test it with, the one in the shop with standard drives, standard power settings, everything got around 2900 in mobile mark 2003, 10 500 in 2001 (that is just off memory, I can’t remember exactly) not as good as the sager 3790 but the specs were only the same as mine, and with no changes to drives or power settings, I think a 7200 rpm drive and a 2GHz processor plus some settings changes, would drastically improve that score.
Overall
Very happy with it so far, I has done everything I ask of it very quickly, it is a nice size weight ratio, it is fairly large but a reasonable weight. Lots of features including instant on, a silent button (throttles cpu so that it doesn’t need the big fan and can run next to silent), wireless on/off switch (better than a button or an option in windows in my opinion. It has the power to play the latest game (getting half life 2 for Christmas). Heat isn’t a real issue with this laptop. If I had the option I would have got a faster hard drive, but mine is ok. I would have liked another 1 or 2 usb ports on the back instead of having 3 on the right hand side. Great laptop good work the people at uniwill.
If you have any questions about the laptop I will do my best to answer them.
Thanks the people on this forum have been really helpful while deciding on a laptop.
I bought my Uniwill (259IA) in a shop in Australia under the name Milleania 6200 the only difference between them being the screen, mine is a 1280 x 800 the Xplorer is a wsxga.
My specs
Intel Pentium-m 735 1.7 Ghz dotham processor
1 Gb of ram (2 x 512Mb 2700 I presume I don’t know how to check)
80Gb Toshiba 4200rpm (I know it slow, but I’ll get to that later)
256Mb VRAM mobility radeon 9700 Gpu
4 x +/- DVD-RW
WXGA 1280 x 800
All the other standard things
Performance
It performs very well, quick to open new windows click links everything happens very quickly, despite it’s 4200rpm hard drive everything is accessed quickly whether this is just because the disk isn’t full or what I don’t know, it takes longer to boot up then “troy1964”s his is a 60 gig 7200rpm (don’t know exact times) but I was expecting a 4200rpm to be slower than it is, so I’m relived (I was worried when I found out that it was a 4200rpm drive the guy in the shop said that it was at least a 5400).
The processor run’s well enough I have very little to compare it to my old computer was a p3 800mhz so this thing kills it. I played C&C Generals on it, it ran very quickly buildings were build in 4 seconds, (it took more like 15-20 on my other computer. If that gives you some indication), Halo runs well on highest settings even when copying a dvd.
Sound
I had heard some horrible things about laptop speakers, so I was pleasantly surprised when they turned out fairly good, they sound nice at slightly louder than normal level but they lose quality fast when they are turned up higher, the built In sub helps think, overall good sound in my opinion at normal levels.
Heat
Internet surfing, and just general usage there is next to no heat, once the cpu is given something to do for long periods of time the right hand side does get warm but
But defiantly tolerable, the hottest part of it is just above the hot air outlet and power hole, but that is still tolerable, I think this laptop dissipates it heat well there is a relatively even spread of heat all over not much difference between hottest and coolest parts leaving me to think it is well designed for heat distribution, there is a hot component in each corner I think, cpu top right, cd drive top left, hard drive bottom left, I think gpu bottom right (not 100%). I haven’t tried it on my lap but I would say it would be decent, there is a fan intake top right hand side on the bottom to look out for though. In the instruction booklet (which doesn’t come with it, it says that on 35 C days parts at the back of the case may get up to 50 C, I think that that would have to be an extreme case because the way it was with me, running for hours at 100% cpu it didn’t get close to that hot.
Noise
Next to silent with the fan not on (it doesn’t kick in until the cpu does a fair amount of work, so that’s good). When the fan is on it is still fairly quite, non obtrusive, defiantly audible but much quieter than my desktop. My hard drive can be noisy but, most people would get a different drive to me anyway.
Build quality
I haven’t taken much notice of the build quality of other notebooks so I don’t have that much to compare it to, I can tell you that the base is very solid next to no give when you push down on it, defiantly not flimsy, the screen is less solid, it is still good, but less sturdy it gives a little when you push down on the lid when the laptop is closed, detracting from it’s sturdy feel.
Screen
I have the 1280 x 800 screen, it looks good, very bright, large and crisp, a bit higher resolution wouldn’t hurt but it is fine for me. As for ghosting I can’t tell so, either there is little ghosting or I just don’t notice. My screen has 1 pixel that is sometime green or white when it is meant to be another colour but it is normally good. If the wsxga screen is a good as this one you’ll be happy.
Touch pad
Originally I didn’t like the touch pad, but after changing the sensitivity way up and a but of practice it becomes reasonable, I think I like the Toshiba touch pads better, but this touch pad is not horrible, it is very usable, I have a mouse plugged in next to me but often use the touch pad instead. I don’t think I have mastered it yet and it will become easier to use, accidentally tapping it while typing is so annoying, I will have to change the settings so that it isn’t as big a problem.
Keyboard
The keyboard has a nice solid feel, the keys are responsive, it feels durable, I haven’t had any problem with button placement, I’m not a touch typer so that might not say much, I imagine it is similar to other new keyboards out there.
Battery
It is a 6 cell battery, I haven’t used it on battery much, but I got around 2 hours 20 minutes with general internet use and a few software installations, so it’s not shocking, especially if you wanted to turn down the brightness and use powerstrip or something like that. It also has an instant on that is suppose to save battery power when watching a dvd, cd, video/music file etc, by not having to boot into windows,
Graphics
GREAT, I have only run C&C generals and halo but they both look great at high setting, I don’t have much to test it with, the one in the shop with standard drives, standard power settings, everything got around 2900 in mobile mark 2003, 10 500 in 2001 (that is just off memory, I can’t remember exactly) not as good as the sager 3790 but the specs were only the same as mine, and with no changes to drives or power settings, I think a 7200 rpm drive and a 2GHz processor plus some settings changes, would drastically improve that score.
Overall
Very happy with it so far, I has done everything I ask of it very quickly, it is a nice size weight ratio, it is fairly large but a reasonable weight. Lots of features including instant on, a silent button (throttles cpu so that it doesn’t need the big fan and can run next to silent), wireless on/off switch (better than a button or an option in windows in my opinion. It has the power to play the latest game (getting half life 2 for Christmas). Heat isn’t a real issue with this laptop. If I had the option I would have got a faster hard drive, but mine is ok. I would have liked another 1 or 2 usb ports on the back instead of having 3 on the right hand side. Great laptop good work the people at uniwill.
If you have any questions about the laptop I will do my best to answer them.
Thanks the people on this forum have been really helpful while deciding on a laptop.
)
