Product Listing

Dell Vostro 3300 - Mind This Business

By Andy Sim - 28 Apr 2010
Launch SRP: S$1866

Crunch Time

Performance Results

From here on, we'll draw a direct comparison between the Dell Vostro 3300 and HP's ProBook 8440b. Both of these business machines fall under the ultraportable category, and best of all, they are also powered by the new fangled Core i5 processor. However, keep in mind the ProBook has a marginally larger screen (14-inch), and is running off an integrated GPU. Still, it's a decent comparison point and we'll detail a few more finer points of the hardware we're comparing before we present the test results.

As mentioned, both Dell and HP notebooks use the same Core i5 520M (Arrandale) processors with a beefy clock speed of 2.4GHz, partnered by the HM57 Express chipset. The new Arrandale CPU consists of two dies mainly, a smaller 32nm core for the processor, and an additional 45nm die where the graphics and memory controllers reside. Both dies reside on the same CPU package as they are designed to boost a mobile system's performance. Let's go back to the notebooks. In the memory department, the Vostro is primed to maximize the 32-bit platform (Windows 7) with an unabashed 4GB worth of DDR3 RAM, while the ProBook configuration we got only has 2GB to offer. Based on their specs, Dell's offering might stand in a better stead given its inclusion of a discrete GeForce 310M GPU. As a reference to see how far we've progressed, we'll also be throwing in the older HP ProBook 4411s business notebook which carts the previous generation platform Core 2 Duo P6570 processor.

Notebook Comparison Table
Specifications / Notebook Dell Vostro 3300 HP ProBook 6440b HP ProBook 4411s
Processor Intel Corei5-520M (2.4GHz dual-core) Intel Corei5-520M (2.4GHz dual-core) Intel Core 2 Duo P6570 (2.10GHz dual-core)
Chipset Intel HM57 Express Intel HM57 Express Intel PM45
Memory 4GB DDR3 2GB DDR3 3GB DDR3
HDD 500GB SATA 7200RPM 320GB SATA 7200RPM 500GB SATA 7200RPM
Video NVIDIA GeForce 310M Intel GMA HD ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330

 

FutureMark PCMark05 and PCMark Vantage

As you can tell from PCMark05's CPU scores below, there was little to tell the two executive notebooks apart given their use of similar processors. Both results hovered in the 7,500 PCMarks range. However, Dell's business offering is arguably the superior candidate given its overall systems score on both benchmarks, thanks to a perkier GPU and greater RAM capacity. The older ProBook 4411s, of course, was almost irrelevant with its slower clock speed.


The results are even more telling with Vantage, where the Vostro had a clear lead with a commendable final tally of 6,701 PCMarks compared to the ProBook's 5,155 score. Dell's product was also ahead in the Gaming and TV suites. It was an expected outcome since applications used for both suites were designed to be graphically intensive, and Dell's choice of a discrete new GeForce 310M GPU has understandably swung things in its favor. More importantly, we tried firing up a few applications on the Vostro (with WiFi on) to see how it would fare in real-world conditions. There's Internet Explorer 8 with a number of tabs open, Windows Media Player with an audio file running, Live Messenger was hovering in the background, and we even threw in Windows 7's default "Mahjong Titans" just to zap the notebook's resources a little more. Our verdict? CPU usage hardly went past 30%, and operations were smooth sailing all around with hardly a lag or stutter.

 

FutureMark 3DMark06

As part of our testing regime, we ran 3DMark06 as well to obtain a whiff on how the notebooks will fare with intensive grapics renders. Yet again, the Vostro has the advantage in the graphics prospect with its use of a discrete GPU. With a built-in memory of 512MB, It's more than capable of undertaking less exhaustive applications such as Flash videos or popular Flash-based games on Facebook, to name a few examples. The ProBook, on the other hand, is dependent on an integrated GMA HD solution and that's on top of a lesser system handicapped by RAM. Being so, it's hardly a surprise that the Vostro managed to trounce its rival with a final 3DMark figure of 4,196, compared to the ProBook's humble result of 1,758 3DMarks. By comparison, and most naturally, the ProBook 4411s' discrete Radeon GPU still fared a whole lot better than Intel's integrated HD package.  

 

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9.0
  • Design 9
  • Features 8.5
  • Performance 9
  • Value 9
  • Mobility 8.5
The Good
Robust build
Decent performance
Attractive price
The Bad
Lacks HDMI
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