By Dan Ackerman, CNET.com
28/10/2008
URL: http://asia.cnet.com/reviews/notebooks/0,39050488,44034282p,00.htm

For several months after they became a buzzed-about topic, the only 18-inch laptop we had actually seen in person was Acer's inventive Aspire 8920. Now we're seeing a mini flood of them, with new models arriving from HP, Sony, and Toshiba. These new 18-inch displays--and a handful of new 16-inch ones--differ from the 17-inch systems they aim to replace in more ways than the addition or subtraction of an inch of screen space. The displays on these new 16- and 18-inch laptops offer a 16:9 aspect ratio, which matches that of HDTV screens and works perfectly with HD content. (Most current laptop screens are 16:10, which leave you with black bars on the top and bottom of your display when viewing HDTV programs or Blu-ray movies).

Editors' note : This review is based on tests done by our sister site CNET.com. As such, please note that there may be slight differences in the testing procedure and ratings system. For more information on the actual tests conducted on the product, please inquire directly at the site where the article was originally published. References made to some of other products in this review may not be available or applicable in Asia. Please check directly with your local distributor for details.

Design

The new 18-inch HDX18 (along with the 16-inch HDX16) clearly shares basic DNA with HP's recent 17-inch Pavilion dv7, with a similar rounded keyboard, touch-sensitive media controls, and off-center touchpad.

The new HDX laptops actually have very little in common, design-wise, with the massive 20-inch original HDX laptop which hasn't seen anything other than some internal component upgrades since its introduction. That model is tremendously fun but highly impractical. The new HDX18 is a more traditional multimedia system, well-suited for the den or dorm room--and even decently tricked out, it's less expensive than similar options from Sony and Acer.



The HDX18 will look familiar to anyone who has seen HP's recent mainstream multimedia laptops from the past year, such as the Pavilion dv7 or the Pavilion dv9700. The 18-inch model is heavier than those 17-inch systems, and wider as well, so you'll need a little more space for one.

The edge-to-edge glass look, where the display has a single flat piece of glass over the entire screen and bezel, is definitely the way to go for media-friendly laptops, but HP seems perhaps a little too in love with its patterned lids and wrist rests. The subtle wavy-lined designs extend even to the touchpad itself, but don't really stand out and won't be a deal-maker (or deal-breaker) for consumers.

Features

We've usually counseled consumers to avoid proprietary media software packages for controlling movies, music, and other digital files. Every PC maker seems to have its own version, but none are easier or offer better features than stalwarts such as Windows Media Center or iTunes. That said, there are a few noteworthy tweaks to HP's MediaSmart software, including some new Internet-streaming video content and Slingbox support. An external TV tuner antenna and a credit card-style remote control (which tucks into the ExpressCard slot) are also included, rounding out the system's media-friendly credentials. Speakers, with a small subwoofer under the chassis, are about as good as laptop speakers get, which is to say acceptable for movie-watching, but headphones will serve music better.



The 18.4-inch widescreen LCD display offers a 1,920 x 1,080-pixel native resolution, which is the same as a 1080p HDTV display, making the HDX18 perfect for Blu-ray or other HD content. Surprisingly, 18-inch displays really don't feel that much larger than their 17-inch counterparts because, while wider, they're not as tall, thanks to the move from 16:10 to 16:9 aspect displays.

The HDX18 includes features that are considered de rigueur for entertainment-minded desktop replacements, including an HDMI-out for hooking the Blu-ray drive up to an even bigger screen and an eSATA port for adding a large external hard drive. Note that HP has replaced our review unit's 160GB 7200rpm hard drive with twin 250GB drives (both 7200rpm and 5400rpm are available), and our Blu-ray recordable drive won't be available until later in the year--for now, only a Blu-ray-playing/DVD-burning drive is offered.

Performance And Battery Life

The HP HDX18 has a powerful 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T9600 CPU, which is similar to the T9500 found in the Acer Aspire 8920. The fourth 18-inch laptop we've seen recently, the Toshiba Qosmio G50, had a slightly older Core 2 Duo T7350, but all four were fairly evenly matched in out benchmark tests. In real-world tasks, including Web surfing, working with Photoshop, or playing back HD video, you're unlikely to notice a difference.







Most 18-inch systems have versions of Nvidia's midrange GeForce 9600 GPU, and again the HDX18 churned out a few more frames per second in Unreal Tournament 3 at 1,280 x 800-pixel resolution, but the difference was minimal, and getting more than 60 frames per second on a non-gaming machine is pretty impressive.



The HDX18 ran for 2 hours 16 minutes on our video playback battery drain test, which is about average for a desktop replacement. Because desktop replacements spend most of their time tethered to a single location, battery life isn't usually a big factor. Toshiba's Qosmio G50, however, seriously impressed us with more than 3 hours in the same test.



System configurations:

HP HDX18
Windows Vista Home Premium (64-bit); 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T9600; 3,072MB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz; 512MB Nvidia GeForce 9600M GT; 160GB Toshiba 7,200rpm .

Acer Aspire 8920
Windows Vista Ultimate Edition SP1; 2.6GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T9500; 4,096MB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz; 512MB Nvidia GeForce 9650M GS; 320GB Western Digital 5,400rpm.

Toshiba Qosmio G50
Windows Vista Home Premium (64-bit); 2.5GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P7350; 4,096MB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz; 512MB Nvidia GeForce 9600M GT; 250GB Seagate 5,400rpm (x2).

Service And Support

HP includes an industry-standard one-year parts-and-labor warranty with the system, including toll-free 24/7 phone support. The comprehensive support Web site includes real-time chat with a technical support representative, FAQs, and driver downloads.