The Chuwi LapBook 14.1 Review: Redefining Affordable
by Brett Howse on March 10, 2017 8:00 AM ESTWireless
Chuwi has surprised me yet again. Instead of using a bargain basement wireless NIC, they have gone with the dependable Intel Wireless-AC 3165 solution. This isn’t the latest and greatest Intel wireless NIC, but it is at least an 802.11ac model which includes built-in Bluetooth. The big change over this and the Intel Wireless-AC 7265, which was also a “Stone Peak” NIC, is that the 3265 is 1x1 only, meaning it has a peak connection speed of 433 Mbps, compared to the 867 MHz of the faster 2x2 solution. There is a newer version of this card, the 3168, which would likely lower power consumption, but with the fact that a 1x1 wireless solution was almost guaranteed, the 3265 is a good choice.
Although it’s not 100% fair to compare the ASUS UX305 here, it shipped with a 2x2 solution, but with the Intel Dual Band Wireless-N 7265, which was the same generation of Wireless NIC, but with only 802.11n support. The result is that, even though the Chuwi is a 1x1 solution, it basically outperforms the 2x2 802.11n solution in the UX305. Compared to the Realtek 1x1 802.11n NIC in the HP Stream 11, the Intel 3265 walks all over it, especially since the HP was 2.4 GHz only. Anything that is 802.11ac requires 5 GHz, which has less range, but far more bandwidth. Despite the 1x1 wireless, the Chuwi has a very respectable wireless solution. There had to be cuts somewhere. If anyone is still running an 802.11n router, take this as a good set of data to support an upgrade.
Audio
The LapBook has two speakers on the underside of the notebook, which is often the case on smaller laptops where space is at a premium, but that can greatly vary the sound output depending on what surface the laptop is on, so it is never the best way to proceed.
The LapBook does get surprisingly loud, with 86 dB(A) measured at maximum volume with the SPL meter an inch over the trackpad, but the tone of this notebook is terrible. There is almost no low end bass at all, so music has almost no range at all. This is one of the worst sounding speakers I’ve ever seen in a notebook, but then again there are plenty of headphones that cost more than this entire machine, so I suppose you have to cut it some slack.
Thermals
Generally, in this section, we’d look at the performance and ensure the cooling solution is adequate to keep the system functioning at full performance, and while that has been tested, there’s really not much to say. Since the laptop is fanless, there is no audible cooling solution, which is certainly a nice benefit, and the CPU never got over 80°C at 100% load for several hours of operation. Despite this, the laptop itself barely even got warm to the touch, with just a bit of a warm spot on the bottom where the CPU is. Doing research for this article, I did come across a couple of complaints about this laptop overheating and shutting down. That’s clearly not a good thing, but the device we received showed no signs of that. I think it’s something the company should take seriously, and a small bit of effort on the engineering side would help a lot.
Thanks to our friends at FLIR, we can use their FLIR One thermal imaging camera to get a look at the heat output on this notebook. This photo was after 90 minutes of 100% load, and the lapotop temperatures were very low. There was a bit of heat, up to around 34-35°C, right above the CPU, but the keys never felt hot to the touch.
Software
Long have we lived in an age where laptops come loaded down with plenty of unnecessary software. Sometimes it’s somewhat useful, such as system tools or software for fan speed, or what have you, but often it’s trial software, or just unnecessary utilities. I’m very happy to see that Chuwi has proven you can offer a low-cost notebook, without all of the software they would normally get paid to install for you.
Just Windows
The Chuwi LapBook 14.1 came with clean Windows 10. There was no additional software installed. In fact, other than them adding a few icons to the desktop for This PC, Control Panel, and Documents, it is as close to a pure Windows 10 install as any laptop I have used, other than Surface devices. Nice job Chuwi.
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BrokenCrayons - Friday, March 10, 2017 - link
Chuwi hits all the right specifications for RAM and storage space that I'd like to see in a budget laptop and being fanless is nice too. I'd actually prefer a 11.6 inch screen and a 1366x768 screen because, for a small and cheap portable, 14 inches is actually more than I'd need and I'd rather push fewer pixels with the relatively weak GPU. Some of the touchpad and heat concerned expressed in the Amazon review section are a bit off-putting as well and I don't like an all white system. I just with HP would offer up a 64GB version of their Stream 11. If they did, I'd be falling all over myself to buy one.DanNeely - Friday, March 10, 2017 - link
According to what I found the really cheap windows license comes with a 32GB SSD requirement from MS. Assuming that's still the case 64GB would require HP to charge nearly $100 more for $10 of hardware, Chuwi is probably cheating MS to hit this price with 64GB.http://www.cnx-software.com/2016/09/02/hardware-re...
Bullwinkle J Moose - Friday, March 10, 2017 - link
Doubtful that 32GB is really an MS requirement but more likely the minimum recommended size for a boot driveI've restored Win 8.1 32-bit to 16GB and 64-bit 8.1 to 20GB boot partitions before
32GB is likely the smallest SSD boot drive you will see in actual use
If I had problems booting Windows from the internal M.2 slot, I would run Windows to Go from the USB3 port which is fast enough for this class of processor and can then easily switch to a Linux thumb drive whenever I like
A 256GB Corsair GTX thumb drive would boot Windows a hell of a lot faster than that internal 64GB eMMC drive anyway and provides better security for my data
For example, anyone stealing the laptop would have an empty internal drive while my data remains safe in my pocket until the insurance replaces the hardware
DanNeely - Saturday, March 11, 2017 - link
I'm pretty sure it's legit. That was just the 1st cite I found, but matches what I've seen a few other places since W10 launched. MS has offered heavily discounted windows installs to low end computers since the initial linux based netbooks appeared almost a decade ago. In one way or another they've always limited it to the lowest tier of systems. The fact that mainstream makers either don't offer 64GB varients or charge prices significantly above the cost of the extra flash (eg the HP stream is $200 vs 260 on Amazon) is strongly suggestive that its where they're currently setting the cutoff.32GB is restrictive enough (to the extent of causing problems with major win10 updates) that I wish MS would raise the limit to 64GB; but I haven't seen any evidence that they have. Other than that, the numbers are IMO reasonable for the netbook class system that have always been the targets of the program.
dragosmp - Friday, March 10, 2017 - link
Would you test the Asus 402 and 403 ? In a similar sort of vein, they're apparently marketed as "premium budget notebooks" and go for 250-350$. The difference is the 403 is 1080p and the 402 is 768p.I think this category has some potential. If I found a 4GB/1080p e403 in the UK I'd buy one now.
crimson117 - Friday, March 10, 2017 - link
I'm really hoping this laptop makes a Chewbacca sound when you open the lid.andychow - Friday, March 10, 2017 - link
In the registry, change the ExcludeFromCPL value for windowslogon to get the option in the sound panel, or just replace the windows logon .wav file directly.pattycake0147 - Friday, March 10, 2017 - link
Or provide you with some chewy granola bars in the box.wolfemane - Friday, March 10, 2017 - link
Nice! Very cool to see a review of this cool little device!!! I got one of these for my wife this past Christmas. Was on a flash sale @ Newegg for $200 and she really wanted a super cheap 2 in 1 type system that supported micro sd. Before recovering it I had 0 faith in the product at that price and really thought a far more expensive known brand would be better for what she was going to use it for. Boy was I wrong. Other than our main computers it's the single most used device in the house. A bit heavy, but works far better than I would have ever expected of such a cheap device. Color accuracy of the screen is the shining aspect of this little machine. The color accuracy is so good, and the performance is good enough to do basic quick photoshop work, that my wife now uses it to give clients "sneak peaks " post photo op.coder111 - Friday, March 10, 2017 - link
How well does this run Linux?Is there a version with Linux preinstalled?