Anandtech: Chuwi LapBook 12.3 Reviewed. Perfect notebook for web browsing, Youtube, and Netflix?

[DocSwag]

Source: http://www.anandtech.com/show/11821/the-chuwi-lapbook-123-review-premium-feel-budget-price

TL:DR, the Chuwi LapBook 12.3 is a $300 ish laptop with a great looking 2736x1824 IPS display. It has very low end specs but they're good enough for simple web browsing and video watching.

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So, imagine the shock when this still relatively unknown PC maker surprised us again. Earlier this year, they announced the LapBook 12.3, which is now available. It takes the same basic internals from the LapBook 14.1, couples it to the same display found in the Surface Pro, and packs it all into an all-aluminum chassis. The budget bar has been raised again.

 

The underlying platform is almost unchanged from the LapBook 14.1 that we reviewed in March. At the heart is an Intel Celeron N3450 CPU, which is a quad-core processor based on the Intel Atom lineup, but the latest Goldmont architecture. This isn’t going to be a blisteringly fast laptop, but the N3450 holds its own in light tasks. In addition, Chuwi has bumped the RAM from 4 GB in the LapBook 14.1, to 6 GB in the LapBook 12.3. That’s a very respectable amount for this PC. Storage remains the same 64 GB of eMMC, which isn’t a lot, but is much better than the 32 GB seen in most PCs in this price range. The LapBook 14.1 also had an M.2 slot inside where you could add a SSD if desired, and the LapBook 12.3 makes that even easier with a removable panel on the bottom to access the M.2 slot.

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The star of the show though is the display, with its 267 pixels-per-inch. The 2736x1824 resolution means that it’s also a 3:2 display, giving a bit more display height than a standard 16:9 laptop, and for productivity tasks, that’s been a winning aspect ratio on Microsoft’s Surface lineup. There’s no touch though, but you can’t have everything for this price.

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Overall, the design is quite impressive for a laptop hovering just over the $300 mark. The aluminum construction offers a very premium feel to the laptop, and the build quality and hinge feel solid despite the price. The small size will likely scare away some buyers, but the keyboard feels just as good as its larger cousin, the LapBook 14.1.

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It feels like its almost a shame that Chuwi wasn’t able to calibrate these devices at the factory, since the grayscale would be easily correctable and would make this display one of the best around, but thanks to it’s ultra-low price point, a calibrated display would be a bit of a stretch to expect. Still, the highlights of this display are the pixel density and aspect ratio, and for most people buying this laptop, the green cast isn’t going to be a huge issue, especially if they are coming from a TN display.

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The LapBook 12.3 takes everything that made the 14.1 great, and steps it up a notch. But the amazing thing is that it does this, and doesn’t take the price and put this laptop into another category. The Chuwi LapBook 12.3 isn’t going to be able to compete with Ultrabooks on many fronts, but it does offer a lot of an Ultrabook’s appeal in its thin, light, and sleek design, but with a much, much lower price point. Not very long ago, buying a laptop for under $500 meant it was going to offer several severe compromises, but Chuwi has proven, again, that a low-cost computer doesn’t need to be that way. If you’re ok with the smaller display on the LapBook 12.3, you end up with an amazing laptop for the price.

This laptop is a very interesting product. While specs aren't strong at all, with the device sporting a Celeron N3450 (uses Atom based cores), 6gb RAM, and 64gb eMMC storage, the real interesting part of the laptop is the display. Of course, it's not top of the line as color accuracy isn't great, but this display truly is something that belongs in a laptop 3 or even 4 times the price. It's the same panel used in the Surface Pro (except without color calibration), so without doubt it's a pretty good display. 

 

Obviously with the specs we're looking at this thing won't be good for anything that requires performance such as gaming, but for basic web browsing and watching video it's perfectly adequate. And with that display, your experience is going to be vastly better than any other laptop of a similar price range.

 

Overall this laptop is extremely interesting. The trackpad and speakers suck, but you can get a mouse and some better speakers for only $30 ish. Which means that this laptop really makes a case for someone who just does some web browsing and video watching. The specs don't matter too much, and the screen makes the experience truly enjoyable, especially considering the price point.

[themctipers]

I would get it if there were free returns, just because I don't know if the CPU will be powerful enough for my Chrome usage

also the RAM is probably soldered.. not enough ram for my Chrome.

10 minutes ago, DocSwag said:

The trackpad and speakers suck

Nevermind. No go

[RGProductions]

can you even drive the display on YT vids with that hardware?

[themctipers]

4 minutes ago, RGProductions said:

can you even drive the display on YT vids with that hardware?

if a m3 can do 1080p 60fps youtube a quad core celeron can. 

[Zodiark1593]

4 minutes ago, themctipers said:

I would get it if there were free returns, just because I don't know if the CPU will be powerful enough for my Chrome usage

also the RAM is probably soldered.. not enough ram for my Chrome.

Nevermind. No go

Of all people, its the power users that can squeeze out a usable experience from this thing.

 

3 minutes ago, RGProductions said:

can you even drive the display on YT vids with that hardware?

You're not really stretching the GPU much here tbh, as video tends to be hardware accelerated, and even driving a 4k ui is of little challenge to smartphone SoCs.

 

For those with desktops already, I'd say this looks to be an excellent companion device.

[Droidbot]

speakers are aids and the trackpad drivers are made by some unknown chinky company and it's really bad apparently

 

or it's ELAN, which is probably worse

[themctipers]

2 minutes ago, Zodiark1593 said:

Of all people, its the power users that can squeeze out a usable experience from this thing.

 

You're not really stretching the GPU much here tbh, as video tends to be hardware accelerated, and even driving a 4k ui is of little challenge to smartphone SoCs.

 

For those with desktops already, I'd say this looks to be an excellent companion device.

I bogged down an i5 7200u with Chrome

 

and a shit ton of other background apps, and windows 

[DocSwag]

10 minutes ago, RGProductions said:

can you even drive the display on YT vids with that hardware?

I'm pretty sure it can. Seems like hardware is powerful enough to do that.

[RGProductions]

Just now, DocSwag said:

I'm pretty sure it can. Seems like hardware is powerful enough to do that.

it was more of a joke

[Zodiark1593]

9 minutes ago, themctipers said:

I bogged down an i5 7200u with Chrome

 

and a shit ton of other background apps, and windows 

Not sure that's something to be proud of.

 

I'm going the opposite direction in playing Skyrim on a 2 GB, 1.8 GHz Atom Z3770F, a chip that typically has no business being near Skyrim. Hence squeezing my hardware for all it's worth.

 

A basic user would be frustrated with an Atom system. As for me, I force the thing to submit to my will.

 

[themctipers]

Just now, Zodiark1593 said:

Not sure that's something to be proud of.

 

I'm going the opposite direction in playing Skyrim on a 2 GB, 1.8 GHz Atom Z3770F, a chip that typically has no business being near Skyrim. Hence squeezing my hardware for all it's worth.

 

A basic user would be frustrated with an Atom system. As for me, I force the thing to submit to my will.

 

I returned it because coffee lake was coming soon. Still is, soon. 

 

Im using a core duo. It works. Lags while typing in:

firefox

chrome

discord

telegram

terminal

 

cursor lags too. 

[Zodiark1593]

8 minutes ago, themctipers said:

I returned it because coffee lake was coming soon. Still is, soon. 

 

Im using a core duo. It works. Lags while typing in:

firefox

chrome

discord

telegram

terminal

 

cursor lags too. 

A power user makes it not lag.

 

And I'm fairly certain that Core Duo gas faster single thread than my Atom.

[themctipers]

2 minutes ago, Zodiark1593 said:

A power user makes it not lag.

 

And I'm fairly certain that Core Duo gas faster single thread than my Atom.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

 

cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-Duo-T2350-vs-Intel-Atom-Z3770/m3830vsm5592

[Droidbot]

11 minutes ago, Zodiark1593 said:

A power user makes it not lag.

 

And I'm fairly certain that Core Duo gas faster single thread than my Atom.

this, atom systems are quite comfy on the go.

 

I'd like this but a little bit smaller, like a faster GPD Pocket. I've already got a fast laptop in my Elitebook 2570p, which is about to have a 3740QM dropped into it that's faster than a U series quad. 

[Zodiark1593]

26 minutes ago, themctipers said:

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

 

cpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Intel-Core-Duo-T2350-vs-Intel-Atom-Z3770/m3830vsm5592

I didn't quite think Atom had surpassed Core Duo performance (single thread) with the Silvermont generation, and I'm fairly certain Core 2 Duo wasn't too far ahead of Core Duo on a per core basis (comparing against lower clocked C2Ds). And to think my phone is faster than that even...

 

Edited...

[captain_to_fire]

1 hour ago, DocSwag said:

great looking 2736x1824 IPS display

 

1 hour ago, DocSwag said:

Overall this laptop is extremely interesting. The trackpad and speakers suck, but you can get a mouse and some better speakers for only $30 ish. Which means that this laptop really makes a case for someone who just does some web browsing and video watching. The specs don't matter too much, and the screen makes the experience truly enjoyable, especially considering the price point.

It kinda looks like a MacBook Air

[DocSwag]

2 minutes ago, hey_yo_ said:

 

It kinda looks like a MacBook Air

Is that necessarily a bad thing though?  

[captain_to_fire]

Just now, DocSwag said:

Is that necessarily a bad thing though?  

Not really. I'm just concerned with that Celeron processor and that screen resolution especially with thermals.

[DocSwag]

Just now, hey_yo_ said:

Not really. I'm just concerned with that Celeron processor and that screen resolution especially with thermals.

Why are you concerned about the screen? I don't understand...

[themctipers]

1 minute ago, Zodiark1593 said:

I didn't quite think Atom had surpassed Core Duo performance (single thread) with the Silvermont generation, and I'm fairly certain Core 2 Duo wasn't too far ahead of Core Duo on a per clock basis. And to think my phone is faster than that even...

I have to deal with GMA 950. the real reason to upgrade  

Just now, DocSwag said:

Why are you concerned about the screen? I don't understand...

i would be seeing as $1000+ CAD laptops have 768p TN.

[captain_to_fire]

Just now, DocSwag said:

Why are you concerned about the screen? I don't understand...

Wouldn't that resolution 2736 x 1824 take a toll on a low powered Intel processor?

 

It sort off reminded me with my old LG G3 which used the Snapdragon 801 which is thermal throttling a lot because the 1440p display is just too much for the Snapdragon 801 to handle that why Samsung sticked to 1080p for their Galaxy S5.

[DocSwag]

3 minutes ago, themctipers said:

I have to deal with GMA 950. the real reason to upgrade  

i would be seeing as $1000+ CAD laptops have 768p TN.

But why exactly? It's the same display used in the surface pro so it's not a bad display.

1 minute ago, hey_yo_ said:

Wouldn't that resolution 2736 x 1824 take a toll on a low powered Intel processor?

 

It sort off reminded me with my old LG G3 which used the Snapdragon 801 which is thermal throttling a lot because the 1440p display is just too much for the Snapdragon 801 to handle that why Samsung sticked to 1080p for their Galaxy S5.

Yeah but that's only under load when it becomes an issue. And it's not like you're gonna use this thing for gaming.

[themctipers]

Just now, DocSwag said:

But why exactly? It's the same display used in the surface pro so it's not a bad display.

Yeah but that's only under load when it becomes an issue. And it's not like you're gonna use this thing for gaming.

im concerned that the screen is fucking amazing and $1000 laptop HAS 768P TN

[Zodiark1593]

8 minutes ago, hey_yo_ said:

Wouldn't that resolution 2736 x 1824 take a toll on a low powered Intel processor?

 

It sort off reminded me with my old LG G3 which used the Snapdragon 801 which is thermal throttling a lot because the 1440p display is just too much for the Snapdragon 801 to handle that why Samsung sticked to 1080p for their Galaxy S5.

The SD801 wasn't equipped with the fill rate and bandwidth performance required to reliably drive the high resolutions (both of which, Apple's chosen GPUs excelled at). While the chip is fast enough to render just the UI itself, the overdraw from certain interactions (such as sliding down the top menu) will quickly swamp memory and fill rate.

 

The Intel GPU should not suffer quite so grievously. Even single channel DDR4 should provide ample bandwidth, so long as overdraw is kept to a minimum, which Windows seems to do better than Android.

 

For gaming, you're probably not going to use native resolution anyway, though shader performance will probably bottleneck before anything else 

[DocSwag]

3 minutes ago, themctipers said:

im concerned that the screen is fucking amazing and $1000 laptop HAS 768P TN

But why exactly .

 

The screen is good... so it's good. 

 

Obviously its not as good as the surface pro display as it's not color calibrated.

 

It doesn't seem like it has any real issues tbh.