| Original URL:
http://www.cadalyst.com/hardware/power-speed-action-mighty-mobile-workstations-are-packed-and-ready-adventure-cadalyst-labs-?page_id=3
Jul 1,
2008
By:
Ron LaFon
Cadalyst
@Xi
Computer is no stranger to making speedy
computers, and the Xi PowerGo Duo XT
mobile workstation submitted for this
roundup is no exception. Based on an
Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 processor rated
at 3.0 GHz with a 4-MB L2 cache, the
system arrived with 2 GB of DDR2 800 MHz
RAM installed, although it will
accommodate 4 GB when fully populated.
Graphics on the Xi PowerGo Duo XT are
handled by the capable NVIDIA Quadro FX
1600M, which features 512 MB of
integrated onboard memory. The system,
as requested, came with Microsoft
Windows XP with Service Pack 2
preinstalled and included NVIDIA drivers
v.6.14.11.7433, dated March 5, 2008.
This system configuration is almost
identical to the one submitted by
Polywell, although Polywell elected to
use older drivers that didn't provide
the level of performance that newer
drivers obviously are capable of
producing. The display is a 17"
wide-aspect ratio glass view panel with
WUXGA resolution of 1,920 x 1,200,
although the benchmark testing was done
at a resolution of 1,280 x 1,024.
The Xi PowerGo Duo XT mobile
workstation is big but powerful.
It weighs in at 11.8 lb but
makes up for its bulk with A+
performance.
|
The Xi
PowerGo Duo XT was, at 15.6" x 1.8" x
11.5" (W x H x D), decidedly on the
large side and, at 11.8 lb, also on the
heavy side. It's not the largest or
heaviest mobile workstation I've ever
seen, but I would be conscious of its
size and weight after carrying it around
for a while. The given weight includes
the lithium ion battery. The system is
relatively quiet in operation and
features one FireWire connector, one
Bluetooth 2.0, and four USB 2.x
connectors.
With the Cadalyst C2008 benchmark
running under AutoCAD 2008, I tested the
Xi PowerGo Duo XT in two different
configurations. With the AutoCAD 2008
native OpenGL drivers, the C2008 total
index score was 223, completed in 93
minutes. With AutoCAD 2008 configured to
use the native Direct 3D drivers, the
C2008 total index score was 267, and the
test ran to completion in 74 minutes.
With the Direct 3D drivers, I tested two
concurrent sessions of AutoCAD 2008 side
by side, with each running a separate
version of the C2008 benchmark. The
combined C2008 total index score was
551, and the time for completion was 75
minutes.
Next, I ran the MAXBench4 benchmark
under Autodesk 3ds Max 2008 with several
iterations in three different
configurations. With the native OpenGL
drivers, the averaged high/low score was
94.39. Using 3ds Max 2008's native
Direct3D drivers, the averaged high/low
score was 178.98. Finally, with the
NVIDIA MAXtreme 10.00.03 accelerated
driver, the averaged high/low score was
190.35.
The
full SPECviewperf 10 benchmark was run
with Xi PowerGo Duo XT, which produced
the following results: 39.01 for 3ds
max-04, 44.67 for catia-02, 30.65 for
ensight-03, 105.07 for maya-02, 39.69
for proe-04, 63.95 for sw-01, 15.26 for
tcvis-01, and 13.55 for ugnx-01. These
scores, in addition to the AutoCAD and
Autodesk 3ds Max scores above, earned
the Xi PowerGo Duo XT an A+ for
performance.
Battery performance was generally good
for the Xi PowerGo Duo XT system, with
an idle rundown time of 1 hour, 43
minutes, and an active rundown time of 1
hour, 22 minutes running a continuous
loop of the Cadalyst C2008
benchmark under AutoCAD 2008. As is
usually the case, the higher the system
performance, the shorter the battery
life. |
