ECS Excel G550 Mobile Pentium 4 Notebook Review

Introduction

Mobile computers have been around about as long as the desktop PC. The reason we see more desktop PC’s than portable is simple, the costs of producing a mobile solution is simply too high for the average user. Usually mobile solutions are constrained in speeds as the space requirements, voltage delivery and weight factors limit what can be put into a mobile solution.

In 2000, Mobile PC components started to take a more end user approach with costs coming down on mobile processors, hard disks and other peripherals for the notebook market. Intel’s release of the Pentium 4M allowed fast computing on the mobile market, and with the release just recently of the Pentium M CPU has pushed the costs of the Pentium 4-M CPU’s down to an affordable level. While this has helped costs for other components, like mobile video cards, have still remained high. This is where SiS and VIA have come to the rescue.

SiS first released the M651 chipset for the mobile sector. This chipset brings 533FSB along with the SiS 315 graphics core with up to 64MB frame buffer. The system memory provides memory for the onboard video card, requiring 512MB of RAM to use the full 64MB buffer. The M651 conforms to Intel’s mobile chipset guides supporting Intel Speedstep technology for the mobile Pentium 4. It can also be used in desktop applications, however, SiS has more advanced chipsets for the mobile sector.

VIA has certainly been no slouch either. The P4N266 adds to a cost effective mobile sector with a similar design. The P4N266 supports only DDR-266 memory compared to the M651’s DDR-333. While lower in memory bandwidth, the SavageXP graphics core integrated into the P4N266 is far superior to that of the SiS 315 graphics core. While supporting the same 64MB frame buffer, the system memory provides the video memory. Despite the slower bandwidth on the memory compared to the M651, the VIA P4N266 makes good use of what it has and pushed it to the top of the cost effective notebook chipsets.

ECS was among the first to come up with a cost effective notebook solution with the I-Buddie range. While more of a desktop replacement rather than a notebook, it was one of the most innovative ideas we have seen. Today we look at the Excel G550 cost effective notebook solution supplied by Protac in Australia.

Specifications of the G550 Notebook

CPU
Intel Mobile Pentium 4-M Processor With Speedstep Technology 1.8GHz ~ 2.5GHz
Intel Pentium 4 1.6GHz ~ 2.6GHz
mPGA 478 400MHz FSB

Chipset
SiS M651 AGPset
SiS M651 Northbridge
SiS 962ul Southbridge
SiS 302 TV Output Bridge

Memory
Up to 2.0GB PC2100/PC2700 DDR SDRAM
2x 200-pin SO-DIMM connectors

Video
SiS 315 AGP 4x graphics controller embedded in M651 Northbridge
Supports 8, 16, 32, 64MB Shared System Memory

Monitor
14.1” or 15.1” TFT XGA LCD Monitor supporting max 1024x768 resolutions

Audio
Advance AC’97 audio controller built into 962ul Southbridge

HDD
2.5” UDMA-100/133 IDE interface supporting 20, 40, 60 or 80GB HDD

Optical Storage
Module Bay 12.7mm DVD/CD-RW combo drive.

Battery
Lithium Ion Rechargeable 8 cell 55 watts.

Battery Life
Approx 120 mins on fully charged battery at 100% load.

Battery Charge Time
System off: 3 hrs
System on: 5 hrs

Communications
Realtek RTL8100BL 10/100 Ethernet Controller
ECS Mini PCI V.92 Fax/Data Modem

Keyboard and Point Device
108 keys with laptop function keys
Synaptics Touchpad with 4-way scroll feature.

External Expansion

1x Parallel Port, 1x CRT Port, 2x USB 2.0 ports, 1x Mic Jack, 1x Speaker out Jack, 1x RJ-45 Port, 1x RJ-11 Port, 1x TV Out, 1x unpowered (4-pin) Firewire port, 1x Infrared Port, 1x Type II PCMCIA Cardbus slot.

AC Adapter
Lite-on 19v 3.42 amp 75 watt universal power input adapter.