Fujitsu LifeBook N3510

Fujitsu LifeBook N3510

Published August 25, 2008 at 01:15:47 PM, by Tim Supples

Overview

Fujitsu has always been a big player in technology, from cameras to hard drives to computers. Their laptop computers have not become very mainstream in the United States yet, but ask anyone who has owned one and you will generally hear nothing but good things. The Lifebook N3510 represents the quality and superior design that Fujitsu tends to offer in all of its products. Besides being a practical desktop replacement, the N3510 also offers a beautiful aesthetic design that lets it stand out from most 15.4' machines. The black, semi-matte finish on the lid looks elegant and still feels solid as a rock. On the inside of that lid is the stunning Fujitsu Crystal View screen, a 15.4' WXGA LCD that puts other transreflective (glossy) displays to shame.

Getting down to the guts of the N3510, Intel's Sonoma platform powers this sexy DTR. You will find the Intel 915PM chipset coupled with a Pentium M 740 (1.73GHz, 2MB L2 Cache) on a 533MHz FSB. The 915PM chipset also requires discrete graphics, for which ATI supplied their MOBILITY RADEON X300 with 64MB of dedicated memory. As most of you know, the Sonoma platform supports the newer DDR2 memory and can operate in dual channel mode for increased memory bandwidth. To keep costs down, Fujitsu went with the PC2-3200 (400MHz) modules instead of the PC2-4200 (533MHz) that is supported by the 915PM chipset. Unfortunately Fujitsu did decide to house all of these components in a large chassis, weighing in at a hefty 7.5lbs. Our 17' Dell Inspiron 9300 only weighs 8.1lbs, although with a smaller battery.

Home users will enjoy the N3510's beautiful screen and comfy keyboard, joined by very respectable performance at a great price. Our configuration of the N3510 only runs $1,399 USD direct from Fujitsu, including a CD-RW/DVD-ROM and wireless card. The N3510 is hard to beat for the money, offering excellent build quality, respectable performance, and a top notch screen.

Design

Portability
Unfortunately this is one category where the N3510 isn't designed to excel in. Described as a 'Desktop Alternative' by Fujitsu, this machine is a hefty notebook designed to stay at a desk or around the home most of time. At 14'(W) x 10.3'(L) x 1.6'(H) and 7.5lbs, the term 'thin and light' doesn't come close to applying to the N3510. I wouldn't want to carry this machine around on my daily trek across campus, but if it were my only machine I would be able to make due. It fit well into my Swiss Gear backpack, but was a severe stretch in the Kensington Contour Slim.

Case and Design
Fujitsu definitely made the extra effort to make the N3510 a more aesthetically appealing machine. The outer cover is made of a thick, sturdy plastic that has an almost semi-gloss black finish on it. The Fujitsu logo is emblazoned in silver on the outer cover as well. My only complaint about the casing is that the outside can get very fine scratches rather easily. It also smudges a lot, similar to Thinkpads. There is a single clasp locking the LCD screen in place, just press the button in the center and it releases.

When you raise the screen up, the first thing you notice is the beautiful 15.4' WXGA screen. It is a transreflective screen, with the usual special glossy coating. I don't want to get rambling on the screen too much already, as we will cover it in detail in our Features section; but the screen is so beautiful it is hard not to talk about it. The interior of the notebook is done in a dark silver color, with a black bezel around the LCD itself. It is very neutral styling that doesn't stun with beauty nor offend with gaudiness. LED lights are kept to a minimum, providing a very clean, sharp look.

From left to right you have the Battery Charging, Power, Hard Drive Activity, New Mail, Num Lock, Caps Lock, and Scroll Lock LEDs. The Battery Charging LED lights up red when the notebook is charging and turns to green when charging is incomplete. The power indicator glows red when the battery goes below 50% charge. The power button is in the center of the machine, just below the screen. It glows a pleasing blue when the machine is powered up, or slowly flashes when the unit is in Standby. Also directly next to the power button is the WiFi on/off switch, useful for disabling the wireless card without having to change any settings in Windows. In the far upper right corner is the volume control. It is a double toggle button, pressing it either way will raise and lower the volume.

You can also mute the volume, disable the touchpad, and manage external displays using the Fn+F-keys.

To the right of the keyboard are four multifunction buttons. Directly above this column of buttons is a toggle button, which selects between 'player' and 'app' hot-button modes. The four buttons offer the following capability from top to bottom: Stop/Eject (A), Pause/Play (B), Reverse Track (WWW), Forward Track (E-Mail). What is listed in parentheses previously is the 'app' function of each of the buttons. The 'A' and 'B' buttons are completely user-defineable, with the Notepad and Calculator set as default respectively. 'WWW' and the e-mail symbol are configured to launch your default internet browser and e-mail program, respectively. You can also re-configure these buttons with the same options as the A and B buttons, being able to specify a special program or action to perform.

The 'player' function of these buttons works in Windows Media Player, the popular DVD software, and some other assorted media software. You cannot change the settings for the player buttons. There is some neat software to configure the 'app' buttons, which we will discuss in the Features section.

Keyboard
Most people praise IBM and Apple for some of the best keyboards in the industry. Perhaps Fujitsu's keyboards, or at least the one on the N3500 series, are one of the better kept industry secrets. The tactile feedback rivals that of a Thinkpad T43 and is just as quiet. The keys actually feel just a tad smaller than the 14' T43, more along the lines of an HP dv1000 14' widescreen. They are not uncomfortably small by any means, but could be a little larger. Fujitsu opted to not extend the keyboard to the entire length of the notebook, partially due to the hot keys on the right side. There are advantages and disadvantages to this, as there is added room to rest your wrists while typing. The disadvantage is of course not having a larger keyboard.

All of the expected keys are here, including both the Start and Context Menu keys. The function key is in its proper place between Control and Start. While on the IBM keyboards the cluster of Home/End/PgUp/PgDn, Fujitsu has organized these keys like HP did on the dv1000. Going down the right side of the keyboard from top to bottom you have the Home, PgUp, PgDn, and End keys. On the top of the keyboard after F12 from left to right you have Num Lock, Pause/Break, Insert, and Delete. The placement of these keys is a bit of an adjustment, but not a huge deal for most computer users. Overall the N3510 keyboard is superb, making for an extremely comfortable typing experience.

Touchpad
The N3510's touchpad is a decent size, but could be a little bigger considering all of the extra space around it. The texture and responsiveness is about average, nothing special but not bad by any means. People who use this machine as a consistent desktop replacement will definitely want to use an external mouse.

The buttons have a short depress with a solid click to them, but sometimes it seems as though you have to use a fair amount of effort to click them. This might result in users not being able to click when they mean to, a minor yet noteworthy issue. As with most touchpads, Fujitsu has integrated horizontal and vertical scrolling into the touchpad with the bottom and right sides, respectively. This actually works well with the default settings, something you have to adjust with most laptops. In a unique twist, they have also placed a small scroll 'switch' between the mouse buttons. This is a small button of sorts that pivots up and down to scroll, and works quite well.

Design Continued

Connectivity Options
The Lifebook N3510 comes pretty fully loaded with connection options, perfect for using as a DTR without the added cost of a docking station or port replicator. My big complaint with how Fujitsi implemented all the ports is that most of them are on the back. If it is just sitting at a desk 24/7, this isn't a big deal as you only have to hook things up once. But for those who do plan on taking this beast to and fro, they will find blindly reaching around back to feel for ports rather annoying.

The left is pretty straight forward. You have one 4-pin Firewire port, headphone & microphone jacks, Sony Memory stick or SD card slot, one USB 2.0 port, a Type I/II PC Card slot, and finally an Express Card slot. The Firewire port is a welcome addition, although a powered 6-pin port would have been ideal. The card reader seems more like a novelty, as it only supports two formats. What truly shines here is the combination of PC Card and Express Card slots. Express Cards will use the higher bandwidth of the PCI Express bus for newer devices, but until Express Card-based peripherals become common most users will still need a 'legacy' PC Card slot. It is nice to see Fujitsu include both of these.

The right side of the N3510 is pretty barren, with only a Kensington security lock hole and the CD-RW/DVD-ROM drive.

And now we get to the goodies! From left to right we have the following: power connector, three USB 2.0 ports, S-Video output, VGA output, heat exhaust, LAN connection, and a good ol' dial-up modem. The extra USB ports are certainly welcome, as some machines today only offer a meager two ports. There is a good stretch of plastic between the VGA and heat exhaust, which seems like a perfect spot for a 6-pin Firewire port. As previously mentioned, I dislike the crowding of ports on the backside. It limits the versatility of the notebook, as not all users want to have to either feel blindly or turn the notebook around to plug peripherals in.

Heat and Noise
Unfortunately heat is where the N3510 really lets down. Traditionally, a larger chassis and a sufficient cooling system provides for a cooler running notebook. Despite the excessive 1.6' thickness, idling temperatures at 800MHz run around 50 degrees C according to Mobile Meter, while most Centrino notebooks idle around 10 degrees C lower. Users looking to leave this on a desk all day should consider some type of ventilation for this unit. A cooling pad or lapdesk is highly recommended for those who want to use the Lifebook N3510 in their laps.

Exhaust Vent

The machine itself runs very quiet most of the time, which may explain the heat. A more active fan would probably help cooling. The fan only really kicks in under heavy load, like when gaming. This makes for a nice and quiet Desktop Alternative, although a hot one.

Upgrading and Expansion
Upgrading is pretty standard on the N3510. Users can easily swap out their memory and hard drive, although the mini-PCI card is buried within the casing. One plus for the N3510 is that both of the memory sticks are accessibly from the bottom, instead of one being under the keyboard as with most smaller notebooks. The memory included is 2x256MB Micron PC2-3200 DDR2 modules, rated at a latency of CL4. The Intel 915PM chipset does support PC2-4200 (DDR2 533) RAM as well, so users looking to upgrade can switch to the faster memory if they so desire. It is not 100% clear yet whether upgrading to DDR2 533 from DDR2 400 will offer any noticeable performance increase, but we will thoroughly investigate this matter in an upcoming article. For now, RAM prices are so low that it shouldn't make much of a difference either way.

As you can see in the picture above, the hard drive is enclosed in a thin plastic casing. Once you remove four simple screws, pull the clear plastic tab out and the hard drive comes with it. This is a very easy swap and will allow users the option to upgrade to larger and/or faster drives.

Features

Processor/Chipset/RAM
The Lifebook N3510 uses Intel's latest Pentium M platform, codenamed Sonoma. As most of you know, this update to the popular technology brings a faster front side bus, PCI Express, High Definition Audio, Serial ATA, DDR2 RAM, and more. Our model came loaded with the Pentium M 740, running at 1.73GHz with 2MB L2 Cache on a 533MHz FSB. The Intel 915PM chipset is used, providing discrete PCI Express graphics in the form of the ATI MOBILITY RADEON X300. The higher bus speeds help improve performance as does the faster RAM running synchronous with the FSB. DDR2 is also Dual Channel capable, meaning that using two identical memory modules effectively doubles your memory bandwidth. In real world testing, dual channel capability tends to only give 5-10% performance improvements. While DDR2 is also clocked higher than DDR 333, it has higher latencies which reduce the positive effect of the higher speed. Latency refers to the amount of time it takes for data to enter and leave the memory, thus higher latency produces less performance.

The 915PM chipset does support 533MHz DDR2, but our model came with 2x256MB PC2-3200 (400MHz) DDR2 modules. This was most likely a cost saving decision made by Fujitsu. There is little to no benefit in going with 533MHz DDR2, as those modules have higher latencies than the 400MHz ones. Regardless, the Sonoma platform's new features are a big step in the right direction. The new feature sets added to the Centrino platform make mobile systems capable of doing everything a desktop can, with battery life to spare.

The only downside to the Sonoma platform is the higher power consumption. The processor itself consumes more power, as a result of the higher bus speed. The 533MHz FSB Dothan processors have a thermal design power (TDP) of 27W, compared to 21W of the 400MHz FSB chips. Due to the higher bus speed, the new Pentium M chips 'idle' at a lowest clock speed of 800MHz, up from 600MHz of the previous generation. The chip is powerful enough that one could run it locked at 800MHz to maximize battery life and still enjoy speedy performance. The 1.73GHz chip in our N3510 is the best bang for the buck CPU available in most Sonoma notebooks, offering middle of the road performance. When using this system on the battery, the N3510 offers enough performance that it is advisable to lock the CPU speed at 800MHz to conserve the most power. Just don't expect the more intensive applications to load very quickly, due to the slower 5400RPM hard drive.

GPU
The 915PM chipset requires the manufacturer to use discrete PCI Express graphics instead of the integrated Intel GMA 900 package. PCI Express graphics cards require more power than their AGP-based counterparts, potentially affecting battery life. The 64MB ATI MOBILITY RADEON X300 is included in our Lifebook N3510, with no other video options. The X300 is the PCI-E replacement for the MOBILITY RADEON 9200 & 9600 GPU's, offering performance roughly equivalent to that of the 9600. The new GPU inherits the architecture of the MOBILITY RADEON 9600, but includes a number of enhancements such as new power-saving (POWERPLAY 5.0) and image quality (LCD-EE) technology. POWERPLAY 5.0 monitors system activity and dynamically adjusts clock and voltage based on system usage. The LCD-EE technology compensates LCD response time and allows better image scaling. Key features include DirectX 9 hardware acceleration support, 4 rendering pipelines, 2 vertex pipelines, and 64MB of dedicated video DDR RAM. The core clock is rated as 300MHz while the memory runs at 225MHz, or 450MHz effective. Clock speeds do differ between notebook manufacturers, as does 3D performance due to different drivers.

Gaming performance is reasonable at low resolutions with Half Life 2. The limited VRAM and system RAM inhibit gaming from performing smoothly at low resolutions, but it is capable. As you will see in our performance section, Doom 3 performance is pretty much atrocious. It was smoother at 640x480 than Half Life 2 as Doom 3 performs better with less memory, but the graphics themselves were low quality and slow. As with other X300-based systems, gaming isn't really an option with today's 3D titles. Older games play well and even admirably, but that is about all this 3D card can do well.

Display
Our Lifebook N3510's screen is where the machine really starts to shine. Fujitsu's Crystal View displays are well known for being some of the best laptop screens out there, and for good reason. The brightness, clarity, and color reproduction are all top-notch. A while back, we compared the N3510's screen to that of the Sony FS550. Our results from the screen comparison were quite astounding. Despite both the N3510 and FS550 using transreflective screens, the quality difference was night and day. The Sony's screen was a little brighter overall, but Fujitsu really has better quality and color reproduction.

The WXGA screen is very sharp, making browsing web pages and reading documents a pleasure. The widescreen is useful for opening multiple browser or word processor windows at once, having your IM client window open, or whatever else you feel like having open. Since this is a result WXGA and not a WSXGA+ or WUXGA, the vertical resolution is disappointing. Widescreen aspect ratios do not provide a real benefit for individual web pages, as most web sites (including ours) are coded for a standard aspect ratio like 800x600 or 1024x768. WSXGA+ or WUXGA would be MUCH more beneficial for most users, as you have the vertical scrolling room to see more of a web page at once. Keep in mind this is not a negative against the quality of Fujitsu's screen, but against their choice to only offer a regular resolution screen.

The WXGA screen does very well in outdoor conditions, with little noticeable color fading even in direct sunlight. The reflections are definitely prominent, I would say slightly more so than the HP dv1000. As most owners of transreflective screens know, the trick is that you eventually get used to the reflections and focus on the screen itself. Its just like having a glass-tube TV with your living room lights, you eventually train your eyes to focus on the screen and not the glare. For those who can't get used to that, you might do better to seek out a matte screen. There is little noticeable color inversing, with very wide viewing angles. The N3510 would be great for watching movies, as the screen is more than sufficiently bright and color reproduction is top notch.

Sound

The speakers on the N3510 are on par with most notebooks quality-wise, offering nice mid and high level sound reproduction. Bass is of course lacking, but for movies it isn't very noticeable. Music sounds more lacking than movies, as bass is more prominent in music. The upside to these speakers is that they do get VERY loud for a laptop without an external sound card. On a recent road trip, DVD's were easily heard in all parts of the car. Both the N3510 and the HP dv1000 are marketed as multimedia notebooks, but the N3510 definitely has volume on its side. The dv1000's speakers have more low-end punch to them, but don't get nearly as loud.

Wi-Fi
The Lifebook N3510 comes with the standard Intel Pro2200BG wireless card, which supports both 802.11b and g networks. In general, there are no issues with this particular card. Fujitsu does not bundle any special software, instead leaving wireless management to the Windows Wireless ZeroConfig controls. For some reason, we have had periodic difficulty with this machine. The card would sometimes not connect properly, would not detect known wireless networks properly, and other random and odd issues. Our first guess would relate this to an old driver or maybe just a quirky mini-PCI card. Fujitsu does include an automatic driver update utility, but all drivers were up to date at the writing of this article. There might be an updated driver available directly through Intel though. We have also heard of similar wireless issues with N3500 notebooks, but like our issues none of them were severe.

Features Continued

Optical Drive
Our Lifebook N3510 test model came with a Teac CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive. Reading a CD does generate a fair amount of noise during spin-up, but once it settles in to reading the noise isn't very loud. DVD playing is relatively quiet, since it only spins up to 8X. Since this is just a CD-RW/DVD-ROM, it is a fairly ordinary drive.

The support read and write capabilities are as follows:

• Read: 24X CD-ROM/CD-R, 8X DVD-ROM
• Write: 24X CD-R, 10X CD-RW

For those who purchase an N3510 model equipped with the Dual Layer Multi-Format DVD burner, the read and write capabilities are as follows:

• Read: 24X CD-ROM/CD-R, 8X DVD-ROM
• Write: 24X CD-R, 10X CD-RW, 8X DVD+R/-R, 2.4X DVD+R DL, 4X DVD+RW/-RW, 3X DVD-RAM

Hard Drive
The 60GB 5400RPM drive made by Hitachi is the only non-4200RPM drive available in the Lifebook N3500 series. Other N3500 models do offer higher capacity drives, but all at a meager 4200RPM spindle speed. As we investigated in the RPM Guide, 5400RPM drives are the best bang for the buck in drive performance. Application loading and Windows boot-up is relatively speedy, with no major complaints. There is no audible noise from the hard drive, making this a good machine for regular usage as a primary DTR machine; and it doesn't break the bank either!

Battery
Fujitsu supplies a 9-cell 7200mAh 77.8 Whr battery with the N3510 series. With most Centrino notebooks you get around 4-5 hours of normal usage. Due to the N3510's power sucking screen, the average battery life you will see with this machine is around 3 hours. Surprisingly, watching a DVD movie in the car with maximum brightness did not entirely kill battery life. I was able to watch my Scrubs Season 1 DVD for about an hour straight with maximum brightness, maximum volume, WiFi disabled, and the power settings on Portable/Laptop. After that hour, I still had about 55-60% of battery life left according to Windows. The general battery life on this machine is sufficient for taking around the home or office to type away at different locations, but neither the battery life nor size make the N3510 reasonably portable.

AC Adapter

Fujitsu's AC adapter measures 5.5" (L) x 2.2" (W) x 1.2" thick, making it one of the smaller power bricks out there. The cables are also generous in length, measuring 6.5 feet on the wall-side and 6 feet on the computer-side. Unfortunately, with all that extra length some kind of cable management system is necessary. Users will find themselves quickly getting some Velcro straps to control this bad boy. The wall-side plug is a two-prong adapter, which will let you use it where you might not always have a grounded three-prong plug available. Lastly, the power connector on the back of the laptop is flat versus sticking straight out of the back. This is nice for using it in cramped spaces, as you don't have to worry about it bending and possibly damaging the power socket.

Setup Method

The Fujitsu Lifebook N3510 was set to run at full performance by setting the power scheme set to 'Home/Office Desk', meaning that the CPU will not underclock while running the tests. For the battery performance test, the power scheme was set to 'Portable/Laptop'. This activates SpeedStep technology, which lowers CPU speed when not needed, thus increasing battery life. Screen brightness and audio were both set to 50% and Wi-Fi was turned on. Each test was repeated 3 times to ensure accuracy. Before each test was run, the laptop was rebooted and its hard drive defragmented.

Business Winstone 2004 runs business related applications through a series of scripted activities and uses the time a PC takes to complete those activities to produce its performance scores. Each application runs 5 tests through a series of demos and activities. Business Winstone 2004 FAQ . Business applications include:

• Microsoft Access 2002
• Microsoft Excel 2002
• Microsoft Frontpage 2002
• Microsoft Outlook 2002
• Microsoft PowerPoint 2002
• Microsoft Project 2002
• Microsoft Word 2002
• Norton AntiVirus Professional Edition 2003
• Winzip 8.1

Multimedia Content Creation Winstone 2004 is a single large test that runs multimedia applications through a series of scripted activities and returns a single score. Applications include:

• Adobe Photoshop 7.0.1
• Adobe Premiere 6.50
• Macromedia Director MX 9.0
• Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 6.1
• Microsoft Windows Media Encoder 9 Version 9.00.00.2980
• NewTek's LightWave 3D 7.5b
• Steinberg WaveLab 4.0f

You can read more from: Multimedia Content Creation Winstone 2004 FAQ .

Business Winstone 2004 Batterymark measures a laptop computer's battery life by simulating real-world usage. The program measures the time it takes to drain the battery by running applications such as Microsoft Office XP, Norton AntiVirus, and WinZip through a series of scripted activities to drain the battery in a realistic way.

3DMark 2001 SE PRO build 3.3.0 measures graphics performance by benchmarking the CPU, memory, and graphics through a series of 21 tests, including simulated games, theoretical tests, DX8 feature tests, and image quality tests. Resolution was set to 1024x768 with all default settings.

3DMark 2003 build 3.6.0 measures DX9 performance through a series of 3D game based sound, graphics, and CPU tests. Resolution was set to 1024x768 with all default settings.

PCMark 2004 build 1.3.0 uses real life application tests to generate a combined score by running specific tasks like application loading, game tests, 3D rendering, multimedia encoding, and more. Resolution was set to 1024x768 with all default settings.

Doom 3 (Version 1.1) using the built-in time-demo, initiated with the console command 'timedemo demo1 precache'.

Test 1:

• 800x600 resolution
• Quality Setting: Medium
• 0xAA
• VSynch Disabled
• High quality special effects enabled
• Shadows enabled
• Specular enabled
• Bump Maps enabled

Half Life 2 (Source Engine 7) timedemos Coast 05 and Canals 08 from Anandtech.com with the following tests and graphic settings:

Test 1:

• 1024x768 resolution
• Medium model detail
• Medium texture detail
• Blob shadows
• No reflect
• 0xAA
• 0xAF
• Trilinear filtering

Test 2:

• 1024x768 resolution
• Highest image settings
• 4xAA
• 8xAF

Configurations:

System	Fujitsu Lifebook N3510	Acer TravelMate 8103	Sony FS550
OS	Windows XP Home w/SP2	Windows XP Pro w/SP2	Windows XP Home w/SP2
CPU	Pentium M 750 1.73 GHz	Pentium M 750 1.86 GHz	Pentium M 730 1.6 GHz
Bus	533 MHz	533 MHz	533 MHz
RAM	512MB DDR2 400 CL=3 Double Channel	512MB DDR2 533 CL=4 Single Channel	512MB DDR 333 CL2.5
Hard Drive	Hitachi 60GB 8MB Buffer 5400RPM	Seagate 100GB 8MB Buffer 5400RPM	Hitachi 80GB 8MB Buffer 4200RPM
Video	ATI RADEON X300 64MB DDR	ATI RADEON X700 128MB DDR	Intel GMA 900
Battery	7,200 mAh	4,800 mAh	4,400 mAh

Performance

General Usage (Business Winstone 2004)

Multimedia Content Creation (Business Winstone 2004)

As you can see from the above Winstone tests, the N3510 holds it own with models priced several hundred dollars more. The strong processor and 5400RPM drive help it do well in these tests.

PCMark04
The great thing about PCMark04 is that the tests really show the strengths and weaknesses of a machine. The processor and memory of the N3510 are very near the Acer Travelmate 8103 in performance, but the X300 graphics doesn't compare to the 8103's X700 graphics. The FS550 holds its own, but the slower processor, DDR333 memory, and integrated graphics put it at the bottom of the chart.

System	N3510	8103	FS550
CPU	3397	3577	3038
Memory	3202	3186	2852
Graphics	1932	3282	781
HDD	2404	3163	2439

3D Performance

The 64MB X300 is a budget graphics solution, more meant for removing the integrated graphics system burden than adding actual 3D performance. That said, older games will play well under the X300.

3DMark2001 SE

3DMark 2003

3DMark 2005

Gaming Performance

Doom 3

Half-Life 2
The N3510 scored the following on our HL2 tests:

Level	Coast 05	Canals 08
Test 1 - AA/AF OFF	63.60 fps	41.25 fps
Test 2 - 4X/8X	29.56 fps	16.05 fps

Below you can see the results with AA/AF off:

And now with AA/AF enabled:

Battery Performance

The Fujitsu performs below par for a Centrino notebook, but is on target with other DTR's. The larger screens in DTR notebooks draw more power, but the Fujitsu has a higher power draw screen than most.

Conclusion

Pros:

• Stylish design
• Breathtaking screen
• Above-average keyboard
• 5400RPM hard drive
• 4 USB 2.0 Ports
• Discrete graphics
• ExpressCard & PC Card support
• Cost effective DTR
• Multimedia hot keys

Cons:

• Runs very hot
• Small touchpad
• Below average battery life
• Lack of high resolution displays
• Intermittent wireless card issues
• Large for a Centrino 15.4'
• X300 not sufficient for games, no other graphics options

Recommendation
Fujitsu has built a sturdy, stylish, and overall high quality machine. The Lifebook N3510 has the best LCD screen I have yet to see on a notebook, offering better image quality and color reproduction than other transreflective (glossy) screens. Our configuration offers a nice compromise of performance and value to make for an affordable DTR. The 5400RPM drive is a nice bonus that NONE of the other N3510 configurations offer and the discrete X300 graphics are a nice addition to reduce the burden on system resources.

Unfortunately the large size, excessive heat, and lack of 3D performance do leave the N3510 wanting in a few areas. For those keeping this on a desk, the size won't be as much of an issue. However with true thin & light 15.4' machines like the Asus Z71v around, the N3510 has a hard time competing in that regard. It is also clear that Fujitsu needs to put a little more attention into the cooling system. With such a large chassis, it shouldn't take much to provide efficient ventilation and cooling, but that is not evident here. The ATI MOBILITY RADEON X300 graphics are a good option for the average home user as it eliminates the burden of integrated graphics and provides a potentially better movie watching experience. On the other hand, anything more than mild gaming will bring this system to its knees and there are no higher end graphics options. The X300 will handle older titles well, but most current Direct X 9 games will prove a challenge. Hard core gamers need look elsewhere for a value gaming machine, perhaps at the Dell Inspiron 9300.

The average home or small business user will find the N3510 a nice match for their needs. It works well as a part-time desktop replacement that can be moved around a home or office, but isn't really suitable for any situation that requires more portability. The screen and keyboard will satisfy just about any user, although some will want a higher resolution screen and a larger touchpad. The biggest advantage the Lifebook N3510 has over its competitors is the price tag; at a mere $1,399 USD you can't beat the performance to value ratio.

Availability/Warranty
The Fujitsu Lifebook N3510 is available in several configurations, ranging from $1,399 to $1,999 USD. The version featured here is currently priced at $1,399. All feature the same processor, screen, memory, video card, wireless card, and battery. The N3510's come with a one-year international limited warranty.

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Technical Specifications

No specifications are available.