华硕K75DE笔记本测评

For the original German review, see here.

Asus presents a new 17.3-inch multimedia notebook in the form of the K75DE-TY068H. This category is already filled with multiple contenders, like the Samsung Series 3 355E7C-S05DE or the HP Pavilion g7-2051sg, which also use the AMD Trinity APUs. In addition to these two, we will also use the Sony Vaio SV-E1712F1EW, which runs on Intel hardware but has the same size and price class, for comparison.

The K75DE series offers various configurations. Our test model has an AMD APU A8-4500M, which can be ranked as the medium performance option (out of all the available configurations). The test model is equipped with a DVD burner, but an upgrade to Blu-ray drive or writer is also possible.

Our test model and its Intel-based sibling, the K75VJ, steal the spot of cheapest DTR for private users (Desktop Replacement). DTR models master everyday tasks and have sufficient power for media playback and gaming. In the following review, we will investigate in detail what the Asus K75DE-TY068H has to offer.

The notebook is made entirely of synthetic material and kept in black, which appears metallic due to its surface structure. This grants the laptop a certain visual appeal and the material is comfortable to touch. The synthetic material is covered with the aforementioned structure and is susceptible to fingerprints and smudges, which are quite visible.

The case and the display can be pushed inwards with little force and are prone to creaking. The display is especially sensitive and we recommend handling it near the middle. The two hinges are sturdy and hold the display well. Opening the notebook requires both hands.

The four rubber feet ensure good grip for the notebook. The corners of the case are rounded and the chassis has no gaps in the material. The battery can be swapped out and is secured with two hooks. The laptop can run without battery.

The glossy 17.3-inch HD+ display with LED backlight has a resolution of 1600x900 pixels. The low resolution (106 PPI) limits the work space available slightly, as can be seen when compared to an FHD panel. However, this resolution displays content sufficiently well and the 16:9 format is suited for movie playback.

The average brightness of 223 cd/m² is slightly lower than that of the Samsung 355E7C-S05DE (244.7 cd/m²) and the Sony Vaio SV-E1712F1EW (244.1 cd/m²). The illumination is balanced and there are no bright spots.

The Trinity APU chosen by Asus is a quad-core processor with a base clock speed of 1,900 MHz. This can be increased (using AMD Turbo Core) up to 2,800 MHz.

During the multi-core Cinebench R10 benchmark all cores worked at speeds between 1.9 - 2.3 GHz. The Turbo was never exhausted during the benchmark. On pure battery mode, the performance of each core was limited to 1,415 MHz and did not fluctuate. The single-core benchmark painted a similar picture.

Despite the same hardware platform, the Asus K75DE is slightly more powerful than the Samsung 355E7C. However, it cannot compete with the performance of the dual-core CPU of the Sony Vaio (Pentium B980/HD 7650M).

The CrossFire system offers good results for many of the latest games. In fact, most of the new games can be run at medium or high resolutions fluidly, as long as the notebook is run with the power adapter connected. More demanding games, such as Crysis 3 or Hitman: Absolution, require dropping of graphic details for a fluid picture. This is probably due to the weak CPU, but may also be due to the throttling of the 7670M at load. During our stress test, the clock speed dropped to 454 MHz, which is 146 MHz below the base speed. This indicates that the CrossFire solution is weaker in games than it is in the benchmarks. Our comparison test with Anno 2070 serves to prove our point. The Toshiba Satellite Pro L870-16P, which uses a dedicated Radeon HD 7670M and a Core i5 CPU, is far superior to our test model. This places our CrossFire system at the level of a GT 635M. 

Thanks to Anno 2070 we ascertained a better understanding of how the hardware operates on battery and while connected to a power socket. The game was run at the native resolution of 1600x900 pixels with low details. While connected to a power outlet, the model achieves a frame rate of 61 fps, but on battery, the performance drops to a maximum of 49 fps. This is due to the fact that both the CPU and GPU are throttled.

The micro stutters typical to such a dual-graphics system were noticeable on our test model as well after 30 fps. On our Radeon HD 7640G + 7670M page, the reader will find various other benchmarks with new games using the CrossFire system. An overview of the latest games and their performance on mobile GPUs can be found here.

System Noise

The Asus K75DE-TY068H is a relatively quiet notebook. While idle, it does not get louder than 30.8 dB(A) and the cooler fan remains off for the majority of the time. The hard drive is also quiet at 30.4 dB(A). This makes Asus a better choice than the Samsung 355E7C, which has a higher noise emission.

The DVD playback test paints a similar picture. At extreme load, the Samsung model performs better than the K75DE, as it never gets higher than 39 dB(A). The Asus notebook can reach peaks of up to 44.1 dB(A) in the stress test (Prime95 and FurMark). This is a maximum emission and will rarely occur in everyday use.

While idle, Asus K75DE trumps both the Samsung 355E7C-S05DE and the Sony Vaio SV-E1712F1EW in the Battery Eater Reader's test (minimum brightness and WLAN off). The Asus lasts a great 8:12 hours. In the WLAN surf test, the test model ran a good 4:08 hours, once again leaving the competitors behind. At load and during DVD playback, the gap decreased. The high power consumption values start playing a noticeable role. Taking into account the 50 Wh battery of the K75DE (largest amongst the models we have for comparison), the test model performs quite poorly (Samsung 48 Wh; Sony 44 Wh).