ASUS N61Jv-X2: Optimus GT325M Meets Arrandale
by Jarred Walton on March 13, 2010 10:00 PM ESTASUS N61Jv-X2 LCD Quality
We ran our standard series of tests on the ASUS N61Jv-X2 16.0" LCD using ColorEyes Display Pro. The results, as we alluded to earlier, are quite poor. Contrast ratio is higher than many of the other laptops in our entry-level list, but the difference between 270:1 and 200:1 isn't all that great. What we'd really like to see is a contrast ratio of at least 500:1, as that usually means blacks and dark colors will look a lot better.
Interestingly enough, the panel in the N61Jv test unit comes from HannStar and is specced at a 600:1 contrast ratio. We're not sure how they managed to come up with that figure, but we didn't come anywhere near the rated contrast ratio. The maximum brightness on the other hand matches the rated 220nits value almost exactly. Perhaps HannStar "accidentally" divided the maximum white level by the 100nits black level… that would give the stated 600:1.
It's unfortunate that the LCD doesn't achieve the rated specs, as otherwise this would be an excellent display for the N61Jv. Color accuracy is by no means perfect, but it's at least competitive and we'd be happy with a 2.0 average Delta E as long as the contrast ratio was better. Color gamut is also higher than most laptops, measuring nearly 60%. Horizontal viewing angles are good, but vertical viewing angles are quite limited, just as with other TN panels. Of course, we'd also like to get an anti-glare (matte) display in place of the current mirror finish, and a panel that isn't TN would be great for improving vertical viewing angles, but one thing at a time.
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digitalicecream - Sunday, March 14, 2010 - link
Not just that, but you have to be sitting RIGHT in front of the screen at the correct elevation in order to see the movie well. I have the latest powerDVD 9 Ultra and the movie looks like garbage AT BEST. I'm going to post a video on youtube so you can all see what I'm talking about...It's definitely a dealbreaker for some. For me, well I found this out after I bought it but DVD movie playback is not why I got this.
Does explain the lack of a Bluray drive though.
Gaming looks great btw.
digitalicecream - Sunday, March 14, 2010 - link
I take it back. I turned off AVIVO hardware acceleration in powerDVD and made some fine tuning and it looks great... my bad.bobjones32 - Sunday, March 14, 2010 - link
With all this optimus tech talk, it's dissuaded me from purchasing an m11x. The m11x has the 335M, compared to the 325M in this laptop, and I'm wondering if anyone knows how much they differ?16" mammoths just don't interest me. I really want something portable like the m11x, with it's fantastic battery life, but I want some options to pick between.
1) Any chance that Anandtech will be reviewing the m11x? I was surprised it was never covered beyond the CES reveal.
2) Any word on the 335M extending beyond its apparent m11x exclusivity any time soon, in case it's noticeably faster than the 325M?
gomakeit - Sunday, March 14, 2010 - link
I second that as well - I'm putting off on the m11x because of Optimus and the relatively lowsy CPU spec. Hopefully it'll get a refresh sometime during summer. But I'm interested in seeing a review from Anand nonetheless.Fastidious - Sunday, March 14, 2010 - link
I was originally concerned a bit about that as well but got a M11x anyways. I keep reading reviews just to make sure I didn't make a bad choice. Even this much larger system seems worse in games albeit better in CPU heavy tasks. Optimus is cool and I wish I had it but it really isn't that bad having to manually switch GPUs(just press fn+f2 on the M11x). Unless I'm plugged in I'm rarely gaming heavy stuff and I'm instead in conserve energy mode with the Intel GPU, less bright screen, etc. The CPU in the M11x is the weak point but the battery life in it is great so it depends what kind of balance you want. I don't think there is any laptop with a great CPU and great battery life in a smaller form factor. I get around 6-8 hours with decent screen brightness, wireless and just general browsing/word/light games on the Intel GPU. You can game just about any modern game but you might need to tweak settings(often specifically CPU heavy settings such as shadows) or lowering the resolution a bit but doing that doesn't bug me.http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=5...">http://www.notebookreview.com/default.a...are+m11x... is the best review of the M11x I've seen
JarredWalton - Sunday, March 14, 2010 - link
M11x has a faster GPU for sure, but the problem is CULV -- even overclocked -- can start to become the bottleneck. We're still waiting for a review sample; Alienware has said next month due to demand. It's a promising unit, for sure, but the lack of Optimus really makes it like a faster version of the old UL series.hagen81 - Sunday, March 14, 2010 - link
at notebookcheck you have a list of mobile graphic cards as well as some benchmarks, there's quite a diff between 335M and 325Mf4phantom2500 - Sunday, March 14, 2010 - link
Is this computer able to power down one of the CPU cores? If so what kind of difference does that make to battery life? Seeing as this is an Arrandale CPU with hyperthreading, 1 core should be plenty fast in battery mode.lloyd dd - Thursday, March 18, 2010 - link
it would be cool if the i5 had a mode in which you could power down 1 core and turn off turbo and underclock the active core.that plus optimus should give great battery life, with the performance when needed.
JarredWalton - Sunday, March 14, 2010 - link
Arrandale can put one core into a deep sleep state, but just how far that goes is difficult to say. Obviously, the standard Arrandale with the Intel HD graphics draws more power than CULV + GMA 4500MHD, but it also appears to draw quite a bit less power than an older Core 2 + 4500 laptop (see relative battery life chart).