We’ve been looking at a whole range of laptops over the past few weeks, ranging from the extremely rugged Panasonic ToughBook CF-Y5 to the more fashion-forward Sony VAIO VGN-C2SL and Samsung Q35, and today I’m looking at another twist on the portable computing theme, the Pegasus 335 by Rock.
Dubbed the “entertainment center you can take with you on the go,” the Pegasus 335 is as close to a mid-range notebook as you can get. It’s not an ultra-fast slot machine, it’s not a dainty fashion accessory, and it’s not a cheap underpowered hunk of chips. Starting at £799 – our trial is around £1,100 – it’s a powerful work laptop with a good dose of multimedia capabilities.
The last Rock notebook we tested was actually the previous version of this Pegasus, the 330. Spode consistently gave it an eight out of ten, but that was back in June of last year and of course the technology has evolved a bit since then. So will the new version still fly high or did the Pegasus have its wings cut off?
In terms of looks, the 335 bears more than a passing resemblance to the 330. It retains the black and silver theme and the exact same dimensions of 316mm x 224mm x 31.9-34.4mm, the weight also remains at 2.1 kg. In fact, physically it’s pretty much identical. I really like the clean and simple look and the rounded edges make it very comfortable to use.
The screen size and resolution remain the same at 13.3 inches and 1280 x 768 respectively. It has a high-gloss contrast finish called X-Glass that really makes the glassy windows of Vista’s Aero finish stand out. Unfortunately, Aero’s rendering is about as much as the Intel 945GM graphics can handle, so you won’t be playing games with it.
However, the inclusion of a 2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 ensures the 335 flies through any 2D work you throw at it. In fact, the Pegasus 335 has a feature that overclocks the CPU by five percent when it’s plugged in, giving you a nice boost when you’ve got some intense tasks to do. Our review unit shipped with 2GB of DDR2 memory, and based on our experience with Vista, it’s wise to go for that amount as well. The included hard drive is 100 GB and rotates at 7,200 rpm. You can also get slower 5400 RPM 120GB and 160GB drives. For maximum performance, however, I would stick with the 100GB hard drive. Then, if you really need more storage space, you can always use an external hard drive.
In terms of connectivity, the Pegasus 335 isn’t exactly packed to the brim, but you’ll find all the essentials are there. A modem socket, two USB 2.0 ports, a DVD burner and an SD/MMC/MS/MS Pro card slot are on the left. Along the front is a switch for turning the wireless network on and off, as well as headphone and microphone jacks.
On the right side you will find a PC card slot, a third USB 2.0 port, a mini FireWire port, an S-Video out and an Ethernet port. Finally, the DC input and the VGA connector are located on the back. That’s a pretty standard list of ports, but the lack of a DVI-out and an ExpressCard slot may limit your options going forward.
The keyboard is a delight with its responsive, well-weighted keys. Most of the buttons are where you expect them to be, with just a few exceptions. I’d prefer to see the left ctrl key just below the left shift key, as I regularly use keyboard shortcuts (e.g. copy and paste) and found that I kept hitting the Fn key instead. I’d also like to see the backslash key in its usual position – the left shift key could easily be shortened to accommodate it. As for the touchpad, it’s very sensitive and accurate, and my only complaint is that since it’s not recessed, it was easy to accidentally swipe your thumb over it and let the cursor fly across the screen.
The integrated speakers aren’t great, with little overall volume and obviously very little bass, but you can’t expect much from a notebook of this size. Of even greater concern is that the headphone jack has a constant background hiss that can be quite annoying if you’re using some sensitive headphones.
There are two buttons next to the power button, both of which have unfamiliar markings. These are indeed two unique features of the Pegasus 300 range. The first is the InterVideo InstantOn button. When the computer is off, you can press this key to boot into a Linux-based media center. It has DVD, CD, MP3 and video players and a TV – a USB tuner is supplied with the notebook. The idea is that you need to avoid fully booting into Windows to take advantage of all these features. However, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that it turns on instantly, as it takes about 15 seconds to start up. The software looks pretty snazzy but isn’t particularly intuitive to use and seemed to have trouble locating media on my computer. Also, since Vista has a built-in media center, you really have to worry about the extra 10-20 seconds it takes for Windows to boot to even bother using that. However, there are no Vista drivers for the included TV tuner yet, but Rock has assured me that the driver is on the way.
The second button is the Silence button, which lowers the clock speed of the CPU so that the fan does not have to be turned on. The system is pretty quiet anyway, but this feature is certainly welcome for avoiding the fan kicking in while you’re watching a movie or listening to music, and of course you’ll extend battery life while this is on. Combined with automatic overclocking, this notebook gives you decent control over the balance between performance and battery life.
I tested the 335 using PCMark 05 and our in-house 2D benchmarks. Sysmark and MobileMark are still not compatible with Vista, so we can’t use them yet. Therefore, to test the battery life, I simply used the laptop until the battery died, and I managed to work with it for about three and a half hours. For comparison, I used the results of our test reports on the Sony VAIO VGN-C2SL and Samsung Q35. They are all based on similar platforms and roughly the same price.
As you’d expect, the faster processor and larger amount of RAM means the Rock outperforms the rest across the board. The differences are generally between 10 and 40 percent, with the exception of the PCMark graphics score, which reflects the fact that all computers use the same weak graphics processor.
Overall I found the Pegasus 335 to be a joy to use – touchpad and shortcut slips aside – and for general everyday use I couldn’t fault it. However, I can’t help feeling that this notebook is just a little behind the competition. Using LEDs to backlight the screen would increase battery life and reduce weight. I’d also like to see a webcam built into the display bezel, and there’s no Bluetooth. After all, without an ExpressCard slot, you’re limiting yourself for future expansion.
“‘Verdict”‘
If you’re looking for a decent notebook that’s portable yet powerful, then the Rock Pegasus 335 is for you. However, like the Sony Vaio VGN-C2SL, the Samsung Q35 offers more features, weighs less and costs less, and would still get my vote in the end.
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Used as our main laptop during the period
Tested for at least a week
Consistent benchmarks used for fair comparisons to other laptops
Verified against recognized industry benchmarks and real-world usage
points in detail
performance 9
value 7
functions 7