Pegasus
Ti - Computer Shopper
(Aug '04)
Rockdirect’s Pegasus Ti 2GHz is one of the first notebooks
to include Intel’s new range of Pentium M processors with
faster clock speeds. The 755 processor runs at 2GHz and has twice
the level cache of the previous generation of Pentium M’s.
The notebook combines this with fast wireless networking courtesy
of an Intel 802.11g 54Mbit/s adaptor. There’s also a gigabyte
of RAM, making this a hybrid between the thin and light designs
generally associated with Centrino brand and more powerful desktop
replacement models.
Its
SYSmark2004 performance is excellent, with a score of 155. This
is on par with a Pentium4 2.8GHz desktop and is extraordinary
for a sub-3kg slim notebook. It’s certainly good enough
performance for any Windows software.
The
ATI Mobility Radeon 9700 graphics accelerator with 128MB of dedicated
memory powers the Pegasus to a score of 2,809 on 3Dmark03. This
is the best score we have seen from a Centrino notebook, but we
suspect that it’s still processor-limited. The 15.4”
wide screen has a native resolution of 1,280 x 800 pixels. This
will cause older games that don’t support wide aspect ratios
to appear stretched, but will make newer games and DVD’s
look great.
This
model isn’t ultra-portable but it’s light enough to
be carried easily with dimensions of 34x355x253mm. It also runs
quite cool.
Battery
life is just short of two hours at 116 minutes. The charger isn’t
especially powerful since, during gameplay on mains power, the
charge level increased just fiver per cent in three hours.
The
Panasonic slot-loading DVD writer supports 4X DVD+R and DVD-R
writing. The 60GB hard disk is respectable for a notebook, but
its real strong point is its 7,200rpm spin speed, which gives
a performance boost over the usual 5,400rpm notebook disks and
must partly explain the SYSmark score. There are no legacy ports,
but three USB2 ports, a VGA port and a small FireWire connector
should suffice. A PC Card slot provides for wireless upgrades
when new standards arrive.
For
high performance from a slimline, portable notebook, the Pegasus
Ti 2GHz is great. It isn’t perfect, but desktop-level performance
from a sub-3kg notebook is a rare and welcome treat.