Laptop Review: NEO BASIC B4103 N of Basic Series Laptops & Netbooks
By Miong - Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Matudnila.com was given the oppurtunity to conduct a Laptop Review from the Latest Series of Laptops and Netbooks from NEO Philippines, The BASIC Series. They provided me the NEO BASIC B4103 N Laptop and our review would focused on it from hardware perspective to software and firmware aspects. I used some Windows default tools and open source applications to deliver as much as possible the important details about the Laptop unit.
Physical Laptop Appearance, Aesthetics and Hardware.
Sleek black ID with a glossy IMR cover, though it easily attracts dust, cleaning it with a scratch-free cloth could be easy and manageable.
Common Ports on the right stretch of the Neo Basic B4103 N Laptop are Stereo Audio and Microphone Jacks, 1-USB Port (for me, this is the best location for USB Mouse), LAN Port (for Internet Connection using LAN cable) and the CD/DVD Drive which in these unit comes to be CD writer.
On the left side comes with 2 more USB Ports (so for Basic B4103 N, thers a total of 3 USB Ports only), a Serial Communicattion port. They still putting a serial port on these laptop model wherein recent developments are seldom using Serieal Ports anymore because of Speed difference from USB - Universal Serial Bus technology, though some other Research and Development Application use Serial Ports for testing and debugging.
The DC Charger slot is also located here, Exhaust Vent (could be too hot for a USB thumbdrive plugged beside it) and some other specialized and perosonalized ports with varied application and purpose.
Keyboard Layout is Typical. Wider key area to press improves efficiency though you need to be used to it. Beside the Touchpad is the onboard Microphone inlet. In terms of sensitivity, the mic is impressive but feedbacks a lot. It is also prone to dust accumulation or accidental liquid pouring.
Sypnastics Toucpad V7.2
Touchpad has no much difference with the other Neo Laptops and it uses Sypnastics Toucpad V7.2 to change defaults and Customize Experince without the Mouse. Functionalities like One or two-finger Scrolling, Rotating, Pointing and also supports Pinch Zooms. Below is the Properties Customable Settings of Sypnastics Toucpad V7.2 with Tutorials and Videos for demo purposes.
Look for Sypnastics Toucpad V7.2. Properties at the Control Panel.
Basic B4103 N Laptop has air vents on its base and an exhaust passage at the left side. In terms of hotness its just tolerable, in genral all mobile decives such as laptops easily got warm because there's too little area to circulate air. I have to mention that the exhaust fan of this Laptop is not noisy and its a good points for Neo.
Basic B4103 N Laptop comes with 6-cell Lithium-Ion Battery with Model # C4500BAT-6 11.1V 48.84 Watthour. The battery can last up to 3 more hours or depends on the type of usage. Usually graphics-dependent task consumes the battery fast. Charging time of the battery can last up to 1.5 to 2 hours. During battery charging the adaptor normally becomes hot.
System Properties, Device Managers, Drivers and Applications.
DirectX Diagnostics - I intentionally made some screenshots for Device Diagnostics because some Hobbyist looks for it whenever they have the chance to look up a computer system.
It can be seen in the System Diagnostic Result, Operating System is WIndows 7 Home Basic 32 Bit 6.1 Build 7600. System Manufacturer is CLEVO Co. E412X system model. NEO BASIC B4103 N uses Intel Core i3 CPU M330 at 2.13GHz (4 CPUs), ~ 2.1GHz. Random Access Memory is 2048MB or approximately 2Gb. DirectX version is DirectX 11.
NEO BASIC B4103 N Processor is Intel Core i3 330M, This is its main difference from Neo Basic B4105 which uses Intel Core i5 430M.
How to Perform DirectX Diagnostics for Computers Systems.
Just an added info for users who doesnt know how to do this. From your desktop, launched Run window by Simultaneously pressing Windows Key + R or Launching the Run Window from Start Button and key in dxdiag then hit Enter key.
Video Device / Built In Video Card and Driver
NEO BASIC B4103 N uses Intel Grahics Media Accelerator HD Core i3 Chip type. Memory is 730MB and has a display resolution 1366 X 768 at 32bit 60 Hz
Sound Device / Built-in Sound Card and Driver
I shows only on-board Sound Device - High Definition Audio. No prints from other more Enhance Sound Card Drivers like Realtek Sound Drivers or Soundmax Sound Drivers
NEO BASIC B4103 N Device Manager Properties
WinDirStat - Directory Statistics by Bernhard Seifert
WinDirStat 1.1.2.80 (Unicode) Shows where all your disk space has gone and helps you clean it up."
NEO BASIC B4103 N Windows Experience Index
NEO BASIC B4103 N Windows Experience Index assesses Key System Components on a scale of 1.0 to 7.9 . Based on the Index results NEO BASIC B4103 N lowest Index Rating is the Graphics Components which has 4.1 out of 7.9 and the highest index is its Processor with rating of 6.0 from 7.9. Over all Windows Experience Index for Neo Basic B4103 WIndows Experience Rrating is 4.1 - It is determine by the lowest component rating. Windows Experience Index Score changes over time as you use your system. Hard Disk also affect the rating so it is better to maintained well your hard disk.
NEO BASIC B4103 N Performance from Music Editing Softwares
Virtual DJ works well, Got no problem.
FL STUDIO 8 on NEO BASIC B4103 N
FL Studio 8 copyright by Image-Line, a Precise, High Definition Music Creation Software.
I installed FL Studio 8 on NEO BASIC B4103 N so that I can weigh in if the system can simulate well with the software. In terms of operating the software, there no problem, with its Intel i3 processor it should be okay. But I have some observations when I play the music I have created, It cant deliver all the elements well to hi-fidelity. I guess its because od the defaults sound driver, it may need another sound driver like what I have mentioned beforehand in this review.
Price.
NEO Basic B4103 N in Cebu is Php 29,999.00 while NEO Basic B4105 is Php 35,999.00
Conclusion
I usually dont give ratings on my review on any products, I reserved it for my readers to rate it up. In case you have suggestions or comments Please write within this review your comments or email me directly at miong@ymail.com your concerns so that other readers can learn from out from it.
NEO BASIC B4103 N of Basic Series Review on Cebu Events Blog
Physical Laptop Appearance, Aesthetics and Hardware.
Sleek black ID with a glossy IMR cover, though it easily attracts dust, cleaning it with a scratch-free cloth could be easy and manageable.
Common Ports on the right stretch of the Neo Basic B4103 N Laptop are Stereo Audio and Microphone Jacks, 1-USB Port (for me, this is the best location for USB Mouse), LAN Port (for Internet Connection using LAN cable) and the CD/DVD Drive which in these unit comes to be CD writer.
On the left side comes with 2 more USB Ports (so for Basic B4103 N, thers a total of 3 USB Ports only), a Serial Communicattion port. They still putting a serial port on these laptop model wherein recent developments are seldom using Serieal Ports anymore because of Speed difference from USB - Universal Serial Bus technology, though some other Research and Development Application use Serial Ports for testing and debugging.
The DC Charger slot is also located here, Exhaust Vent (could be too hot for a USB thumbdrive plugged beside it) and some other specialized and perosonalized ports with varied application and purpose.
Keyboard Layout is Typical. Wider key area to press improves efficiency though you need to be used to it. Beside the Touchpad is the onboard Microphone inlet. In terms of sensitivity, the mic is impressive but feedbacks a lot. It is also prone to dust accumulation or accidental liquid pouring.
Sypnastics Toucpad V7.2
Touchpad has no much difference with the other Neo Laptops and it uses Sypnastics Toucpad V7.2 to change defaults and Customize Experince without the Mouse. Functionalities like One or two-finger Scrolling, Rotating, Pointing and also supports Pinch Zooms. Below is the Properties Customable Settings of Sypnastics Toucpad V7.2 with Tutorials and Videos for demo purposes.
Look for Sypnastics Toucpad V7.2. Properties at the Control Panel.
Basic B4103 N Laptop has air vents on its base and an exhaust passage at the left side. In terms of hotness its just tolerable, in genral all mobile decives such as laptops easily got warm because there's too little area to circulate air. I have to mention that the exhaust fan of this Laptop is not noisy and its a good points for Neo.
Basic B4103 N Laptop comes with 6-cell Lithium-Ion Battery with Model # C4500BAT-6 11.1V 48.84 Watthour. The battery can last up to 3 more hours or depends on the type of usage. Usually graphics-dependent task consumes the battery fast. Charging time of the battery can last up to 1.5 to 2 hours. During battery charging the adaptor normally becomes hot.
System Properties, Device Managers, Drivers and Applications.
DirectX Diagnostics - I intentionally made some screenshots for Device Diagnostics because some Hobbyist looks for it whenever they have the chance to look up a computer system.
It can be seen in the System Diagnostic Result, Operating System is WIndows 7 Home Basic 32 Bit 6.1 Build 7600. System Manufacturer is CLEVO Co. E412X system model. NEO BASIC B4103 N uses Intel Core i3 CPU M330 at 2.13GHz (4 CPUs), ~ 2.1GHz. Random Access Memory is 2048MB or approximately 2Gb. DirectX version is DirectX 11.
NEO BASIC B4103 N Processor is Intel Core i3 330M, This is its main difference from Neo Basic B4105 which uses Intel Core i5 430M.
How to Perform DirectX Diagnostics for Computers Systems.
Just an added info for users who doesnt know how to do this. From your desktop, launched Run window by Simultaneously pressing Windows Key + R or Launching the Run Window from Start Button and key in dxdiag then hit Enter key.
Video Device / Built In Video Card and Driver
NEO BASIC B4103 N uses Intel Grahics Media Accelerator HD Core i3 Chip type. Memory is 730MB and has a display resolution 1366 X 768 at 32bit 60 Hz
Sound Device / Built-in Sound Card and Driver
I shows only on-board Sound Device - High Definition Audio. No prints from other more Enhance Sound Card Drivers like Realtek Sound Drivers or Soundmax Sound Drivers
NEO BASIC B4103 N Device Manager Properties
WinDirStat - Directory Statistics by Bernhard Seifert
WinDirStat 1.1.2.80 (Unicode) Shows where all your disk space has gone and helps you clean it up."
NEO BASIC B4103 N Windows Experience Index
NEO BASIC B4103 N Windows Experience Index assesses Key System Components on a scale of 1.0 to 7.9 . Based on the Index results NEO BASIC B4103 N lowest Index Rating is the Graphics Components which has 4.1 out of 7.9 and the highest index is its Processor with rating of 6.0 from 7.9. Over all Windows Experience Index for Neo Basic B4103 WIndows Experience Rrating is 4.1 - It is determine by the lowest component rating. Windows Experience Index Score changes over time as you use your system. Hard Disk also affect the rating so it is better to maintained well your hard disk.
NEO BASIC B4103 N Performance from Music Editing Softwares
Virtual DJ works well, Got no problem.
FL STUDIO 8 on NEO BASIC B4103 N
FL Studio 8 copyright by Image-Line, a Precise, High Definition Music Creation Software.
I installed FL Studio 8 on NEO BASIC B4103 N so that I can weigh in if the system can simulate well with the software. In terms of operating the software, there no problem, with its Intel i3 processor it should be okay. But I have some observations when I play the music I have created, It cant deliver all the elements well to hi-fidelity. I guess its because od the defaults sound driver, it may need another sound driver like what I have mentioned beforehand in this review.
Price.
NEO Basic B4103 N in Cebu is Php 29,999.00 while NEO Basic B4105 is Php 35,999.00
Conclusion
I usually dont give ratings on my review on any products, I reserved it for my readers to rate it up. In case you have suggestions or comments Please write within this review your comments or email me directly at miong@ymail.com your concerns so that other readers can learn from out from it.
NEO BASIC B4103 N of Basic Series Review on Cebu Events Blog
