Darter_Laptop

ARTICLE IS IN THE CLEAN UP AND FINAL REVIEW PHASE

  • Reviewer: Al Hood
  • Brand: System76
  • Model: Darter (DAR-U1)
  • Website: www.system76.com
  • Review Article Submitted: May 13, 2007

System Specifications and Other Info

bios-version

302

system-manufacturer

ASUSTeK Computer Inc.

system-product-name

Z35FM

system-version

1.0

CPU

Intel Core 2 Duo: Core 2 Duo T7200 2.0GHz 4MB 667F*

RAM

1.5 GB DDR2 667 MHz (1 x 1 GB + 1 x 512 MB)*

Hard Drive

80 GB 5400 RPM*

Graphics

Intel GMA 950 224 MB Integrated Graphics

Screen

13.3” Widescreen WXGA (1280X800)

Sound

Intel High Definition Audio

Networking

10/100(LAN)

Wireless

Intel 802.11 abg & Bluetooth

Card Reader

4 in 1 Card Reader

CD ROM Drive

CD-RW / DVD-RW (Dual Layer)

Expansion

PCI Express Card Slot (34/54)

Ports

VGA, 3x USB 2.0, Mic In, Headphone Out, FireWire 1394B, S-Video

Battery

6 Cell Lithium Ion

Dimensions

12.4" x 8.9" x 1.24" (W x D x H)

Weight

4.3 lbs

*Upgrade

See http://system76.com/product_info.php/cPath/1/products_id/194

Ordering

Date Ordered

April 20, 2007

Date Shipped

April 26, 2007

Date Arrived

April 30, 2007

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  • Introduction - Completed

  • System Selection and Ordering - Completed

  • Quality
  • Hardware Compatibility - Completed

    • Hardware that works out of the box
    • Hardware that works but required troubleshooting
    • Hardware that did not work
  • Service and Support - Completed

  • Comments from a Windows-Only User - Completed

  • Summary, Conclusion and Overall Rating - Completed

SYSTEM TESTING RESULTS

Device

Works Out of Box?

Works with User Intervention

Notes

Bug #

Screen

Yes

Widescreen format. Very flat and smooth

Correct resolution?

Yes

1280x800

Correct refresh rate?

Yes

60 Hz

3D Acceleration

Yes

Enabling Desktop Effects worked flawlessly. Glxgears = 1,044 fps. Will test 3D graphics with a few games and describe results in review.

External monitor works?

Yes

Power Management

Battery detected?

Yes

Will report battery life

Hibernates?

No

Screen went black and appeared to go into hibernate mode. Cursor appeared in upper left corner. System would not awaken. Had to reboot.

Sleep/Suspend

No

Only one way to reliably put the system in suspend is by pressing the silver suspend button next to the wireless toggle switch on the keyboard. System will hang (i.e., screen remains black) if I initiate the suspend using any other method. For example, by clicking on the red Quit button (upper right) and then click on the Suspend icon. Also had problems with lost network connection when going in suspend mode. Corrected this by turning off the wireless network device and back on again sing the wireless device toggle switch. Investigating this issue.

Blank monitor on inactivity

Yes

Lid Close

Yes

Default setting is for display to go Blank, which it did.

Sound

Sound works?

Yes

Clear and crisp.

Correct volume?

Yes

Although maximum level seems not as loud as other laptops, it is loud enough.

Hardware volume switch

Yes

Rocker switch - works well

Headphone jack

Yes

Worked flawlessly

Mic jack

No

Yes

Unsuccessful at recording my voice. Currently troubleshooting. As of May 23, 2007 - the latest driver update fixed the microphone and is now operating.

Networking

Wired NIC

Yes

Works Flawlessly

Wireless NIC

Yes

Detected wireless networks immediately after booting for the first time.

Wireless NIC & WEP

Wireless NIC & WAP2

Touchpad & Mice

Touchpad

Yes

Works Flawlessly

Touchpad - Doubletap = double click

Yes

Works Flawlessly

Touchpad - turned off while typing

No

Inadvertently touching the mouse pad resulting in interference with typing hasn't been an issue with this laptop

External mouse - USB

Yes

Additional Hardware

CD/DVD drive

Yes

Yes

Able to burn to CD-R, DVD+R. amd DVD+R DL. Experienced intermittent freezing (CPU spikes to 100% every 10 seconds) when Darter driver CD is in the optical drive. CPU spiking stops when I take the driver CD out of the optical drive. As of May 23, 2007 - the latest driver update fixed this issue.

Card reader(s)

Partial

No

Works with SDCard, but not Memory Stick Pro/Duo, RS-MMC.

Fn key

Operation

Keycode

Works?

Bug #

+ F1

Suspend

Partial - will not restore

+ F2

Wireless

Untested

+ F3

Mail

Yes

+ F4

Firefox

Yes

+ F5

Dim Display

No

+ F6

Brighten Display

No

+ F7

Turn off Display

Yes

+ F8

Switch Displays

No

+ F9

Turn off Mouse Pad

Yes

+ F10

Mute Sound

Yes

+ F11

Lower Sound Volume

Yes

+ F12

Increase Sound Volume

Yes

Other special keys

Key

Operation

Keycode

Works?

Bug #

Key

Untested

Pics

There is a darter in there.

darter1.png

Packages includes the following

darter2.png

darter3.png

darter4.png

Rating

1

DOA

Dead on arrival and nothing can be done to resurrect the system

2

BAD

System runs but has major issues that prevent the system from being usable for even the most basic tasks

3

GOOD

System runs, hardware that did not work wasn't/weren't show stoppers, the system required advanced technical knowledge to make it usable

4

GREAT

System runs, hardware that did not work wasn't/weren't show stoppers, some system configuration was necessary that required basic computer knowledge to make it usable

5

PERFECT

System runs and usable, no hardware issues, no system configuration needed

MORE

Can you report output of restricted-manager. It's important to know if restricted drivers are necessary to use this laptop.


CategoryLaptop

UbuntuMagazine/MonthlyReviews/Darter_Laptop (last edited 2008-08-06 16:40:01 by localhost)