Although Sony's Vaio SV-E14A is not a member of ultra-thin notebooks and its installed components are at most on a midrange level, the generated waste heat has to be discharged from the case. Lenovo ASM 42T4752

Sony solves this by using a permanently running fan that does its work quietly. Nevertheless, it is always audible and comes to the fore particularly in quiet surroundings. We achieved a noise level of 40 dB (A) and more during load. Thus, it can get unpleasantly loud when playing computer games. No matter what you are planning to do with Sony's Vaio, you should not expect a silent system. Lenovo ASM 42T4756

We can see where Sony focused on in cooling management when looking closer at the case temperatures. The case stays below 30°C almost everywhere in use without significant load. It first heats up and settles to just below 40°C on the bottom during constant load over a longer time (stress test, 100% CPU and GPU load). Overall, Sony's Vaio always remains within an uncritical range. Lenovo ASM 42T4796

The Vaio does not earn kudos in terms of audio output. When the preinstalled Dolby software is enabled, the rendered music sounds restrained and muffled without a hint of bass. It is even worse without the software. The tinny music rattles from the device and can likely only be used for basic system sounds. You could actually expect more from a midrange multimedia device in this regard. Lenovo FRU 42T4702

Sony's Vaio remains within the expected range for this configuration with its power consumption of 7.7 to 10.9 watts during use without load. It is particularly the automatic graphics switching that contributes to this as it disables the dedicated GPU when not used. We measure up to 55.8 watts during load. The 90 watt power supply should easily be able to deal with this. Lenovo FRU 42T4751

Despite the attractive price, Sony did not make cutbacks in battery capacity. We find a 59 Wh battery in the device which lets us hope for a good runtime considering the observed power consumption.We achieve a very good 6 hours and 20 minutes in our practical wifi test (brightness approx 150 cd/m2, energy savings mode, surfing via a script that changes the website every 40 seconds). Thus, the Vaio SV-E14A is also qualified for use on the go. Lenovo FRU 42T4755

What is actually left over from Sony's Vaio SV-E14A after the performed tests? We look back at the stylish average quality case, the adequate connectivity, the throughout good input devices and a somewhat weak screen that unfortunately is absolutely common for this price range. Lenovo FRU 42T4791

The notebook does a good job in performance "despite" its Sandy Bridge CPU. It is not as much the processor or graphics chip that limits the subjective performance, but the slow hard disk installed is to blame.
The Vaio is also spared from reproach in terms of emissions. The case is always pleasantly tempered, but you have to live with a permanently running fan, even if it is quiet most the time. Lenovo FRU 42T4793

In any case, the battery life is a positive surprise in this test. With practical rates of over 6 hours, the compact multimedia all-rounder can even partly excel up-to-date ultrabooks. This is not as much due to the notebook's low power consumption as the high-capacity 59 Wh battery that Sony installs in the chic device. Lenovo FRU 42T4795

When an elegant case is a must and not every fraction of performance is vital - but a wide application field has to be covered and a good battery life is important - Sony's Vaio SV-E15A1M6EW could be a possible option. However, you have to live with the screen. However, hardly a manufacturer supplies anything better in this price range. Lenovo FRU 42T4797

Don't they look sharp, those thin Ultrabooks? Equipped with Intel's newest ULV processors, fast SSD's and metal cases, most of them are looking for customers with fat wallets.Students with small budgets, who don't want to make do with sluggish netbooks, have other alternatives thanks to AMD. Based on the E-series APUs, there is a wide selection of low cost sub-notebooks. One of these is the Asus U32U-RX042V. Lenovo FRU 42T4817

The compact 13.3-inch unit is equipped with a 1.65 GHz dual core E-450, an ample 8 GBytes of RAM as well as a 500 GByte hard drive. A special highlight is the strong 8 cell battery, which is supposed to provide this notebook with particularly long run times. Regrettably, on the German market at least, there are currently only models with 4-cell batteries available. Additionally, there is also less RAM installed. Lenovo FRU 42T4819

With an entry price of less than 500 Euro (~$610 USD), the U32U undercuts even the cheapest Ultrabooks by at least 200 Euro. Thus, Asus becomes a direct competitor to Lenovo's ThinkPad Edge E325, or alternatively at just under 600 Euro, the base configuration of the new Dell Vostro 3360 (Core i3-2367M, 4GB RAM, 320 GByte HDD). Lenovo 42T4930

In opposition to the ThinkPad Edge E325, where the model we tested caught attention with a bright red display lid, the design of the U32U is comparably inconspicuous. Colors range from matte silver-gray to classic black, there are no eye catchers to be found. This is not to be understood as a criticism: not every buyer prefers a colorful, playful design, subtle designs also have their attraction. Lenovo 42T4931

Upon closer examination, it becomes clear that the metallic looking surfaces in truth are mostly plastic. Only on the display lid, a thin cover of brushed aluminum was added. A truly ultra thin case is not possible this way, but a thickness of 24 millimeters is still very thin. Without the battery sticking out of the bottom, the notebook would be a few millimeters thinner. The unit's weight varies noticeably, depending on the installed battery (4 cells: 1.55 kg, 8 cells 1.75 kg). Lenovo 42T4931

This much is sure: A flawless unibody case with perfect stability can't be expected in this price range. Especially the front edge below the touch pad can be dented noticeably with a finger, which is accompanied by a slight creaking. The display, held by two strong hinges turns out to be more solid, sporting good torsional rigidity as well. One should touch the display frame only softly, otherwise pressure points appear on the screen. Lenovo 42T4806

Overall, case and workmanship are on an average level, the U32U clearly can't keep up with the high quality build of the Vostro 3360. This is also true for the ThinkPad Edge E325, which showed similar quality problems. Lenovo 42T4807

Unfortunately, there were no positive surprises in regards to interfaces, but the U32U does offer a solid standard set. Altogether, it provides 3 USB ports, two of which support the current USB 3.0 standard. External displays can be hooked up via HDMI or VGA, but we did wish for an additional DisplayPort. Lenovo 42T4814

The positioning of the connectors seems well considered. All connectors are located toward the rear of the left and right sides, so that annoying wires are kept out of the user's work area. Asus also paid attention to a sensible order: Furthest in front are the connectors used most, like Audio connectors or the 3-in-1 card reader (SD, MS, MMC), while the Kensington Lock and GBit LAN are mounted to the rear. Lenovo 42T4815


The AR9002WB-1NG WiFi radio was manufactured by Atheros, which has been acquired by Qualcomm recently. This is an entry level module supporting the IEEE 802.11 b/g/n standards but its unable to connect to 5GHz networks. Since only one transfer stream is supported, the maximum transfer rate is limited to 150 MBit/s. Lenovo 57Y4564

Bluetooth 3.0 + HS is also provided by this adapter, but not the current 4.0 version. An integrated Wide area network module is not available, 3G, UMTS or LTE can only be used through separately purchased USB sticks. Lenovo 57Y4565

The 0.3 Mega pixel webcam doesn't offer a particularly fine resolution, which can be seen in the poor quality of images and video. Neither sharpness nor chroma noise levels could convince us. At best, this is usable for occasional video chats. The same goes for the microphone: This too, disappoints with muddy speech recordings, noises and limited dynamic range. Lenovo 57Y6354
The expectedly minimal scope of delivery is limited to a driver CD, requiring an external Optical drive to use, as well as a pack of pamphlets, consisting of a quick start guide and warranty information. As a tiny extra, Asus included a cable tie for the 65 Watt power supply. Lenovo L09M3P13

The 64 Bit Windows 7 operating system, including all drivers has been pre-installed. Additionally, various service applications from Asus are included, to set up Backups or for using the web cam. Thankfully, users are spared annoying test versions, tool bars and such. Lenovo L09M6D13


To open the service hatch at the bottom, a hidden screw beneath one of the notebook's small rubber feet has to be removed first. After that, the hatch can be taken off without difficulty and offers a view of the interior.Regrettably, upgrades are limited to the 2.5-inch hard drive and the two RAM modules. Changing the WiFi radio, processor or other components is not possible and neither is cleaning cooling fins or fan. Lenovo PP31AT128


Asus installed a black chiclet keyboard in a slightly sunken position. While a dedicated number pad had to be sacrificed, due to size considerations, the keys have a comparably generous size with 15 millimeter edge lengths. The layout adheres to common standards, which shortens the time it takes to get used to the keyboard. Even the arrow keys are provided in full size and the manufacturer has implemented practical short cuts for various multimedia functions. Lenovo SU2300

Annoying: even when typing with a light touch, the keyboard sags a lot. The entire surface follows up and down by 1 to 2 millimeters while typing. Even though the medium pressure point gives relatively good feedback, this creates an unpleasant, indirect feel while typing. Furthermore, we wished for more structured key surfaces or slightly concave key tops, to better prevent typos. Lenovo 57y6309


The surface of the 85 x 50 millimeter Synaptics touch pad proved to be extremely smooth, which only allows easy swiping with completely dry fingers. If you use it in summer with sweaty hands, you'll have to fight against stuttering finger movements. Aside from that, the touch pad is very precise and supports all important multitouch gestures (pinch zoom, rotation, page change with two fingers among others). Lenovo l09s6d21

Below the touchpad, there are mouse buttons in a glossy metal finish. Both feature a loud and hard pressure point, but only when pushed in their center. They still reliably produce a click when pushed at their edges, but tend to jam and so leave an impression of poor quality. Lenovo 121000791

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