Review-Zenith Director Plus Ultra Laptop

Here is the much awaited review on the Zenith Director Plus Ultra Laptop... :hap2:
Finally after a long long long (it was really long believe me!! ) wait..i got my hands on this amazing and superbly priced Zenith Director Plus Ultra laptop. Got it for Rs. 42640 inc. of taxes etc.!! A pretty good deal...if u see the performance and features.. :D
The config. is:
Intel Core 2 Duo P8400(2.26 ghz,3 mb cache, 1066 Mhz fSB)
4gb DDR2 800 Mhz RAM
320 gb sata 2 hd
nVidia Geforce 9600M GS with 512 MB Vram
2 Mp camera
HDMI port
E-sata port
Dual layer dvd writer
etc. etc.
I'll be writing about the different aspects of the laptop..though I havent fully done any benchmark tests except 3dmark 06 or any other..i'll update them as I try new things on it ..but for the time being..lets start :
Pics:




CPUZ and GPUZ screens:





Build Quality:
The Build Quality is quite good..I mean no less than HP or Dell! The body is also metallic and glossy...but one con is that your fingerprints really stay on the body! Another one is related to the dvd drive...well its material is kinda ok..plasticky and luks a little cheap..but anyways..it does the job.....

Features:
This laptop has got top class features...a latest C2D processor -P8400! ..4 gb DDR 2 RAM..and this isnt the usual 667 mhz ram! I was surprised to find out that on the backside of the laptop..it was mentioned that it is 800mhz ram! Boy was I happy! :eek:hyeah:
And the best one that catches everyones eye is the Nvidia Geforce 9600M GS 512 MB graphics! Other features include a 320 gb Sata 2 hardisk...an e-sata/Usb combo port..so its effectively got 3 usb ports..Also has an HDMI port, a port replicator,memory card reader etc. The webcam is 2 Mp..havent played around with it much though

Performance:
Ok now..this is going to be a really long section..
I've installed Windows 7 64-bit build 7000...
I wont be able to provide any benchmarks etc. as of now..and would request you all to guide me how to go about doing that..only benchmark i did was with 3dmark06..it gave 4360 marks for the GPU! that was at 1280x800 resln.
Will update with more benchmarks though...
Now come the games i've tried on it
1. Burnout paradise- Highest settings..1280x800..8x antialising..giving around 24-25 fps..get more fps if anti aliasing is brought down to 2x or 4x.. :clap:

2. Crysis- All high settings! but at 960x600 and it runs at 23 fps average..resln. is low though...havent tried any mixed settings or custom resolutions as of now..but will try soon.. :hap2:

3. Prince of Persia- This is the latest one..runs at highest settings again! 1280x800..evrything on high! and at 30 fps average!

4. Cod:World at war - Running at Highest settings again! 1280x800..and evrything on Extra..gives 24-30 fps..so runs absolutely smooth! Id like to mention here that i wasnt getting that much fps previously..when i had 185.20 drivers..but now with 185.66 drivers..the performance has increased! I am using the modded drivers from NVIDIA & Laptop News | Latest NVIDIA drivers and related news | laptopvideo2go.com

5. Far Cry 2- It runs at 1280x760 at a mix of high-very high settings..giving more than 20 fps..so again runs quite smooth! :eek:hyeah:

6. GTA 4: Finally coming to GTA 4.. .. Well i've installed all the latest patches..that is uptill 1.0.3.0 .I had run the benchmark test..here are the results..i had tried many diff. settings and diff. reslns.

Statistics
Average FPS: 20.93
Duration: 37.13 sec
CPU Usage: 99%
System memory usage: 59%
Video memory usage: 80%
Graphics Settings
Video Mode: 1280 x 720 (60 Hz)
Texture Quality: Medium
Texture Filter Quality: High
View Distance: 23
Detail Distance: 27
Hardware
Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate
Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate
Video Adapter: NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GS
Video Driver version: 185.66
Audio Adapter: Speakers (Realtek High Definition Audio)
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU P8400 @ 2.26GHz
When there is daytime in the game..the fps is quite good..b/w 19-25 ... but at night time..it sometimes goes down to 15-16...but this is when i keep resolution at 1280x720 or 1280x800..when at 1024x768..it runs smooth even in night time..but the sharpness in the game graphics goes down so id like to keep it at 1280x760

7.Godfather II: Installed it today..and again as usual its running at high settings! :eek:hyeah: :hap2: at 1280x800 (only shadows at medium)

More games are waiting to be installed.. The partition i had kept for games is almost full now.. (only 15 gb left)

Battery Life:
I havent got the chance to check this.. ..coz every time i turn it on..its for gaming.. but will check the battery life when I take the laptop to my programming lab in college...but once I ran it w/o plugging in..
ran for an hour or so..and still a lot of it was left..i think it should definitely last more than 2 hrs..The P8400 processor consumes less power..

Temperatures:
Id like to clear first that evry gaming laptop will always produce quite some heat when under load..The normal GPU temp. (idle) is around 50 C.. and when under load it goes to around 70 C..not more than that..so its quite safe and under control...
The palmrest and trackpad area gets only a little warm even when gaming or any other cpu intensive work..but the air vents do become hot...There is one vent at the back and one adjacent to it..on the side..but the thing is that its not exactly on the side..its a little bit towards the base of the laptop..so the heat escaping does not quite get out fast out and so it gets a little hot there..But other regions of the laptop are quite under control ...and i havent quite felt the need to use a cooling pad till now..

Sound:
The speakers of the laptop arent that good but I keep my own speaker system plugged in..so its not much of a problem..Volume is ok..neither very low nor very loud... Quality is also decent.. And previuosly I had been using a lenovo thinkpad laptop..and it had intel sound.. this one has Realtek audio..and i've noticed some better sound quality(if u plug in speakers that is ) .. But as there are no shortcut keys ,one has to always press the Function keys to change the vol. levels..Same goes for many other functions like turning on Wifi ,Bluetooth etc. :no:

Well thats it for now..but stay tuned..im gonna try more things ..and u can temme wateva u want me to try..but but but..i wont be able to install Linux or any other OS on it! Coz i dont really want to format my hd or mess up with something like that..coz theres already loads i've put into this laptop already..

My final verdict: I love this lappy! For 42k this one is a must must buy!
Performance is totally awesome!! and y friends really envy me now..
Id give it 9/10 :hap2:
 
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Hi ppl.... I too have this laptop... But the one under Croma Entertainment brand name.... Its the same but with C2D T6400... and I got it for 40k..... And after almost 2 mnths of use (or abuse) I must say its worth it. I am working an staying as a PG in Mumbai so I've used it only for casual gaming ie. when I m not working/ cleaning room/ washing clothes etc :ashamed:.... So you see even though its been 2 mnths I couldnt spend enough quality time with my baby... Add to it the fact that we dont have a TV at room so we connected a TV tuner card.. but the problem is that now she is a public property (panchali) and I just cant have enough of her after others have almost... you know... used her:p .... But nothing is perfect and she is still mine so I gave her enough accessories to make her more... Perfect.... Like a Belkin laptop cooling pad for her to keep her cool(which is out of order now, btw)..... A Belkin USB hub..... A Microsoft USB mouse.... And most of all.... an XBOX 360 controller... Oh yeah..... its like giving your girl fancy items.. just for ....you know... Intimate sessions..... Okay, I m not a techie or a geek who uses fraps or 3dmark scores and go pompom abt it... Its like saying my babes got bigger (.)(.) than yours ... which is just so wrong you knw..... I'm just a guy who appreciates beauty in all things:cool2: ... And the games I'm playing now are all *ahem* versions.... Now dont look at me like that... I appreciate the work put in by all the developers... I really do... But the thing is that the stuff that makes all these games worth while is its Multiplayer.... And I dont hv a decent net conn for that.... Im stuck with this stupid Tata Plug 2 surf.... 'cos me being a PG dont hv the documents to prove im a resident of mumbai... In my defense all I can say is that instead of helping some International Capitalist Im helping some indegenous ENTREPRENEUR... who sells these games for 200 for game with 2 DVDS and 100 for 1 DVD or CD or whatever... Waise bhi Sabhi ko jeena hai yaar... Well I do hv GTA4 original ... though I had a hard time with its stupid DRM... partly due to really helpful Plug 2 surf:mad: .. Other than that I hv HAWX, Assassins Creed, Tomb Raider Anniversary, Dead Space, Burnout Ultimate Box, all the versions that I talked about earlier and I must say lappy handles them like a breeze (however it did crash when I tried HAWX DX10 in medium settings)
So my real intention behind this write up was not to sound like a weirdo but to continue this thread just like a long term experience review... For I believe the real impression of a gadget is not when it is brand new, but when all the novelty factor has worn off and when you are faced with its hard realities... So others can know if all their hard earned money do indeed pay off or not... It would be nice if the MODS could make a new thread for long term reviews for every gadget and sticky it so that prospective new buyers could go through it and know what the owners already have to say abt it.
PS. As I said earlier I didnt want to sound like a complete whack but just that it is my first ever investment.. you know... like your first love:D .
SO out of 5 I would give her
:) :) :) :)
I had to cut one 'cos I had to format it once, and reinstall vista as there were some driver problems and also hats off to Zenith and Croma for giving me a Vista recovery disc and every Driver that I could possibly need.
 
hi guys really good thread and superb reviews. both of them. but i wanted know if i can use windows XP as im very fond of it and if all drivers for XP are available. please reply.

thanks a lot.
 
MohitPreet said:
its now for 39k i think!!
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I think 39k is the price of the student version, not the version which Abhisheksohal has bought.

The student version has 2GB RAM compared to 4GB RAM in the laptop reviewed in this thread.
 
I already mentioned that i brought it from Chadigarh..the zenith showroom in sec. 20 C...and sorry for replying so so late...i was busy enjoying my vacations.. :D
And its been more than 3 months now with the laptop..and im totally enjoying the experience :D ..
 
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