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Audio Recordings
These recordings were made with a high resolution, lab quality, digital recording
system inside SPCR's own 11 dBA ambient anechoic chamber, then converted to
LAME 128kbps encoded MP3s. We've listened long and hard to ensure there is no
audible degradation from the original WAV files to these MP3s. They represent
a quick snapshot of what we heard during the review.
Each recording starts with ambient noise, then 10 second segments of product
at various states. For the most realistic results,
set the volume so that the starting ambient level is just barely audible, then
don't change the volume setting again while comparing all the sound files.
Comparable System sound files:
- Asus
Eee Box B202 at idle, 18 dBA@1m and 14 dBA@1m (behind LCD monitor)
-- The recording of the Eee Box was made with the unit at idle, and the microphone
1m away, first on a table in the hemi-anechoic chamber, and then mounted on
the back of an LCD monitor, and the microphone 1m away from the front of the
monitor. It starts with the room ambient, followed by the product's noise.
The acoustics of the Eee Box barely changes with load, which is why only idle
noise was recorded; there's virtually no audible difference at full load.
FINAL THOUGHTS
ION gives the Q110 the functionality of a HD media extender and possibly a
budget gaming system (depending on the game/resolution). The higher power draw
odd the ION chipset forced Lenovo to abandon passive cooling to deal with the
extra heat output. The fan inside actually has a fairly good acoustic character,
but the overall noise level is only low when the system is idle or used for
simple tasks. If the CPU or GPU are pressed, the fan ramps up to quite audible
levels. Much of the noise can be mitigated by placing the system in the included
VESA mount behind a monitor. Muffled by a LCD screen, the Q110 is quiet enough
for most users except under heavy load. Mounting it this way also hides all
the cables.
Noise aside, our biggest beef with the Q110 is its 1.6 GHz single core Atom
processor, which is overwhelmed by Vista. The responsiveness and performance
can be arduous at times — we couldn't imagine using it on a daily basis
as a general purpose PC. It may be well worth waiting for the Q110 to ship with
Windows 7 rather than suffer through Vista and then endure the inconvenience
of upgrading the operating system at a later date. Our other complaints carry
over from the Q100 review:
the ridiculous blue power LED, the almost inexcusable lack of WiFi, and the
high price which seems unavoidable for devices of its size.
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Lenovo IdeaCentre Q100
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PROS
* Very small
* Quiet when idle
* VESA mount
* Full H.264 acceleration
* HDMI output
* Free Windows 7 Upgrade
|
CONS
* loud under load
* slow CPU running Vista
* no WiFi
* crazy blue status LED
* price |
Our thanks to Lenovo
for the Q110 sample.
* * *
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Gateway EC1803h: Netbook
or Ultra-portable?
Asus Eee PC Seashell 1005HA
netbook
Lenovo ThinkCentre M58p Eco USFF:
Green Corporate SFF PC
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