Maingear 13.3" Clutch 13 Ultraportable Notebook


Futuremark 3DMark 06 & PCMark Vantage



 
HotHardware's Mobile Test Systems
Covering the bases
 Maingear Clutch 13

Intel Core i3-330UM
Ultra Mobile (1.2GHz)

8GB DDR3

Intel GMA HD

On-Board Ethernet
On-Board Audio

1x128GB SSD         
SATA III SSD

Windows 7
Professional (64-bit)

13.3" LED LCD Display
(native 1366x768)
Acer Aspire 1551-5448

AMD Turion II Neo X2 K625
(1.5GHz)

4GB DDR3

AMD Mobility
Radeon HD 4225 IGP

On-Board Ethernet
On-Board Audio

1x320GB Hard Drive         
5400 RPM SATA

Windows 7
Home Premium (64-bit)

11.6" LED LCD Display
(native 1366x768)
Lenovo ThinkPad X100e

AMD Athlon Neo (MV-40)
(1.66GHz)

2GB DDR2

Radeon HD 3200 IGP

On-Board Ethernet
On-Board Audio

1x250GB Hard Drive          
5400 RPM SATA

Windows 7
Professional (32-bit)

11.6" LED LCD Display
(native 1366x768)
Asus Eee PC 1215N

Intel Atom D525
(1.8GHz)

2GB DDR3

Intel GMA HD
(Pineview) +
NVIDIA Ion 2

On-Board Ethernet
On-Board Audio

1x250GB Hard Drive         
5400 RPM SATA

Windows 7
Home Premium (64-bit)

12" LED LCD Display
(native 1366x768)



 Performance Comparisons with 3DMark06
 Details: http://www.futuremark.com/products/3dmark06/

The Futuremark 3DMark06 CPU benchmark consists of tests that use the CPU to render 3D scenes, rather than the GPU. It runs several threads simultaneously and is designed to utilize multiple processor cores. The CPU score is represented in the graph below, along with the GPU related tests as well.



When looking at the 3D Mark 06 scores, we see the Clutch 13 doing well on the CPU end, but not so well on the GPU end. That's because of the hardware configuration. There's a powerful Core i3 CPU and 8GB of RAM paired with an SSD, all of which help it blow through the CPU and system level benchmarks. But the limited Intel HD graphics lags behind the rivaling machines. If you really care about graphics, the Clutch 13 probably isn't for you. We have to say, for $1500, we expected an Optimus-enabled machine with both an IGP and a discrete GPU.


Maingear Clutch 13 3DMark 06 Score
 


 Performance Comparisons with Futuremark PCMark Vantage
 Details: http://www.futuremark.com/benchmarks/pcmarkvantage/introduction/

Next we ran the system through Futuremark’s latest system performance metric PCMark Vantage. This benchmark suite creates a host of different usage scenarios to simulate different types of workloads including High Definition video and movie playback and manipulation, gaming, image editing and manipulation, music compression, communications, and productivity. We like the fact that most of the tests are multi-threaded as well, in order to exploit the additional resources offered by multi-core processors.



On less GPU-intensive benchmarks, you see the performance benefits that we have been talking about. In overall performance, the Clutch 13 surpasses the competition easily. So basically, in every case outside of gaming, this unit outpaces its rivals, but it's important to note that the rivals all cost a good bit less, often several hundred. When you're looking at these numbers and also thinking about value, we think the Clutch 13 should have stronger graphics scores as well. We understand that having an SSD, 8GB of RAM and a great design commands some of that premium, but even a basic Optimus GPU setup would've made a lot of sense here. It's also very important to note here that the SSD really skews these scores. We haven't had an opportunity to review too many SSD-based machines yet, and the fact of the matter is that having an SSD drastically improves the benchmark scores here in every category except for Gaming. You'll notice that in gaming even the 1215N, at nearly half the price compared to the base Clutch 13, contends well.




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