A 4K Laptop For $440: Chuwi LapBook Plus Review

Name: Chuwi LapBook Plus
Brand: Chuwi

What could go wrong? It's got the looks of a $1000 Ultrabook but with the performance of a $100 netbook. There's a good reason why you don't see many Intel Atom laptops with 4K UHD displays in the market; they are an imbalanced pairing.

Allen Ngo 👁, Published 07/08/2019 🇩🇪 🇫🇷 ...

Laptop Chinese Tech Ultrabook

The 15.6-inch Chuwi LapBook Plus is Chuwi's latest model in its lineup of visually appealing and yet super-cheap laptops. It follows on the footsteps of the smaller AeroBook and HeroBook in terms of chassis design and so many of our existing comments on Chuwi systems can apply here.

The LapBook Plus is most notable for its pairing of an Intel Atom E3950 CPU with a 4K UHD display for just $439 USD — not something you see everyday in the laptop world. Nonetheless, our benchmarks and experience with the model will show why it's not a very good idea to have such a weak processor power a very high resolution display on a Windows PC.

There are no major direct competitors in this space because the LapBook Plus is one of the only laptops with a 4K UHD display retailing for under $500 USD. However, plenty of laptops and tablets with very low power CPUs are available in this price range including the HP Pavilion 15, Acer Swift 3, HP x2, or Lenovo IdeaPad 110.

The official product page for the LapBook Plus can be found here.

More Chuwi reviews:

Test device courtesy of Chuwi

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Chuwi LapBook Plus (LapBook Series)

Processor

Intel Atom x7-E3950 4 x 1.6 - 2 GHz, Apollo Lake

Graphics adapter

Intel HD Graphics 505, Core: 500 MHz, DDR4, 26.20.100.6890

Memory

8 GB

, 1200 MHz, 7-15-15-34, Dual-Channel

Display

15.60 inch 16:9, 3840 x 2160 pixel 282 PPI, BOE NV156QUM-N51, IPS, BOE06F4, glossy: no

Storage

Kimtigo KT256GM28S3, 256 GB

Soundcard

RealTek ALC269 @ Intel Apollo Lake SoC - High Definition Audio Controller

Connections

1 USB 2.0, 1 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, 1 HDMI, Audio Connections: 3.5 mm earphones, Card Reader: MicroSD reader

Networking

Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165 (a/b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/ac = Wi-Fi 5/), Bluetooth 4.2

Size

height x width x depth (in mm): 15.9 x 362 x 242 ( = 0.63 x 14.25 x 9.53 in)

Battery

36 Wh Lithium-Polymer

Operating System

Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64 Bit

Camera

Primary Camera: 2 MPix

Additional features

Speakers: Stereo, Keyboard: Chiclet, Keyboard Light: yes, 12 Months Warranty

Weight

1.53 kg ( = 53.97 oz / 3.37 pounds), Power Supply: 211 g ( = 7.44 oz / 0.47 pounds)

Price

439 USD

Links

Chuwi homepage

Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

see all specifications

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Case

Like other Chuwi laptops, the LapBook Plus is an unabashed knockoff of Apple or, in this case, the 2018 MacBook Air. Colors and surfaces mimic the Apple equivalent even if the chassis itself is noticeably weaker and more flexible to the touch. The hinges in particular tend to creak and become more fragile when opened to their maximum angle. Other 15-inch Ultrabooks like the XPS 15 or Spectre x360 15 have stiffer and sounder bodies that are more reflective of their 4-digit price points. This may look like an Apple, but it definitely doesn't feel like one.

The LapBook Plus can afford to be very thin and lightweight because its very low-power CPU requires no active cooling. In fact, it's lighter than most 15.6-inch laptops with the notable exception of the LG Gram 15. Dimensions are very nearly identical to the Asus VivoBook S15.

Aluminum alloy chassis hides fingerprints well

Smooth and uniform matte metal texture gives a high-end first impression

Lid opened to maximum angle (~140 degrees)

HP Spectre x360 15-df0126ng HP Pavilion 15-cs2019ng Asus VivoBook S15 S530UN-BQ097T Chuwi LapBook Plus Dell XPS 15 9570 i7 UHD Apple MacBook Pro 15 2018 (2.9 GHz, Vega 20) DIN A4 ❌

Connectivity

While port positioning is excellent, port options are a mixed bag. The system utilizes the uncommon mini-HDMI port instead of a full-size HDMI and there is no USB Type-C. A proprietary AC adapter is required for charging whereas many other Ultrabooks have already moved on to universal USB Type-C charging.

Right: MicroSD reader, 3.5 mm earphones, USB 2.0

SD Card Reader

Good luck trying to get that MicroSD card out

Transfer rates from the integrated MicroSD card reader are slow at only about 16 MB/s. Moving 1 GB of images from our UHS-II test card to desktop takes 45 seconds compared to under 8 seconds on the XPS 15.

Perhaps the worst aspect of the spring-loaded card reader slot is that a fully inserted MicroSD card sits inside slot to be very difficult to eject without a long fingernail or sharp pen.

SD Card Reader
average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs)
Dell XPS 15 9570 i7 UHD (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II)	174 MB/s +650%
HP Spectre x360 15-df0126ng (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 microSDXC 64GB)	149.3 MB/s +544%
HP Pavilion 15-cs2019ng (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II)	36.6 MB/s +58%
Asus VivoBook S15 S530UN-BQ097T (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 64 GB UHS-II)	32.6 MB/s +41%
Chuwi LapBook Plus (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 microSDXC)	23.2 MB/s
maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB)
HP Spectre x360 15-df0126ng (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 microSDXC 64GB)	193.8 MB/s +1119%
Dell XPS 15 9570 i7 UHD (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II)	192 MB/s +1108%
HP Pavilion 15-cs2019ng (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II)	35.6 MB/s +124%
Asus VivoBook S15 S530UN-BQ097T (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 64 GB UHS-II)	34.6 MB/s +118%
Chuwi LapBook Plus (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 microSDXC)	15.9 MB/s

Communication

An integrated Intel 3165 module provides WLAN and Bluetooth 4.2. Transfer rates are limited to a theoretical 433 Mbps compared to 1.73 Gbps with the Intel 9560 commonly found on newer Ultrabooks. We experienced a couple of connectivity issues during the start of testing, but they never propped up again thereafter.

Integrated M.2 1216 module means you won't be able to upgrade the wireless

Networking
iperf3 transmit AX12
Asus VivoBook S15 S530UN-BQ097T Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265	606 (306^min - 655^max) MBit/s +144%
Dell XPS 15 9570 i7 UHD Killer Wireless-n/a/ac 1535 Wireless Network Adapter	575 MBit/s +132%
HP Pavilion 15-cs2019ng Intel Wireless-AC 9560	562 (507^min - 591^max) MBit/s +127%
Chuwi LapBook Plus Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165	248 MBit/s
iperf3 receive AX12
HP Pavilion 15-cs2019ng Intel Wireless-AC 9560	676 (636^min - 689^max) MBit/s +105%
Dell XPS 15 9570 i7 UHD Killer Wireless-n/a/ac 1535 Wireless Network Adapter	525 MBit/s +59%
Chuwi LapBook Plus Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 3165	330 MBit/s
Asus VivoBook S15 S530UN-BQ097T Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265	294 (161^min - 330^max) MBit/s -11%

Maintenance

The bottom panel comes off easily with just a Philips screwdriver so long as you are careful around the sharp edges. Nearly all components are soldered and not upgradeable including the WLAN and RAM.

Lots of unused empty space surrounding the battery

Accessories and Warranty

There are no extras in the box other than the AC adapter. While there is a one-year manufacturer warranty, the overseas shipping and handling will more than likely be a hassle for most users.

Input Devices

Keyboard

The backlit keyboard is easily one of the best aspects of the LapBook Plus. It offers firm feedback, deep travel for an Ultrabook, and low-moderate clatter not unlike the keyboard on the HP Spectre x360 15. We especially applaud the full-size NumPad and Arrow keys as these are usually much smaller or narrower than the main QWERTY keys on most other laptops like the Asus TUF FX505DT.

Touchpad

The large clickpad (13 x 9 cm) is unfortunately defective on our test unit. The cursor would frequently pause or jump for seemingly no reason to be essentially unusable. It's a shame because gliding is otherwise quite smooth when moving at medium-fast speeds on the slightly roughened surface.

Clicking on the firm clickpad produces a shallow and satisfying audible click. The main issue is that it takes quite a bit of effort to input a click and so it can become tiring very quickly when browsing or dragging and dropping.

Be careful not to hit the corner Power button by accident

Large clickpad was not functioning correctly on our test unit

Travel is surprisingly deeper and firmer than on most other Ultrabooks

Finally, some full-size Arrow keys and NumPad keys

Display

It's clear that Chuwi invested a lot on the 4K UHD display relative to the rest of the laptop. The high quality BOE NV156QUM-N51 IPS panel here can also be found on the Lenovo Yoga 730-15IKB that retails for four times the price. The visual experience between these two laptops are therefore very similar including the high contrast ratio of about 1000:1, average response times, and the respectable color coverage. The backlight in particular is brighter than any sub $500 laptop we've seen in this size category.

Pulse-width modulation is present on all brightness levels up to 99 percent which might impact users sensitive to onscreen flickering. The glossy overlay eliminates any graininess issues common on matte displays for crisp texts and images.

Glossy overlay with no edge-to-edge glass

Minor uneven backlight bleeding along the top right corner


335.1 cd/m²	371.4 cd/m²	343.6 cd/m²
327.3 cd/m²	360.2 cd/m²	332.2 cd/m²
305.6 cd/m²	337.9 cd/m²	318.6 cd/m²

Distribution of brightness

BOE NV156QUM-N51 tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2

Maximum: 371.4 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 336.9 cd/m² Minimum: 17.9 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 82 %
Center on Battery: 360.2 cd/m²
Contrast: 1092:1 (Black: 0.33 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 4.13 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.95, calibrated: 3.8
ΔE Greyscale 5 | 0.5-98 Ø5.2
87.8% sRGB (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
57.3% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
64.5% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
88.2% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
68.1% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.23

Download ICC File (X-Rite i1Pro 2)

	Chuwi LapBook Plus BOE NV156QUM-N51, IPS, 15.6", 3840x2160	HP Pavilion 15-cs2019ng BOE080D, IPS, 15.6", 1920x1080	Dell XPS 15 9570 i7 UHD LQ156D1, IPS, 15.6", 3840x2160	Asus VivoBook S15 S530UN-BQ097T LP156WFC-SPD1, IPS LED, 15.6", 1920x1080	Apple MacBook Pro 15 2018 (2.6 GHz, 560X) APPA040, IPS, 15.4", 2880x1800
Display		-0%	17%	-38%	31%
Display P3 Coverage	68.1	67.2 -1%	79.1 16%	38.51 -43%	98.7 45%
sRGB Coverage	88.2	88.1 0%	98.8 12%	57.9 -34%	99.9 13%
AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage	64.5	64.4 0%	79.2 23%	39.79 -38%	86.6 34%
Response Times		-34%	-14%	-2%	4010%
Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% *	40 ?(21.2, 18.8)	43 ?(22, 21) -8%	46.4 ?(22.8, 23.6) -16%	38.8 ?(20.8, 18) 3%	43.2 ?(20.4, 22.8) -8%
Response Time Black / White *	25.2 ?(14, 11.2)	29 ?(16, 13) -15%	32 ?(18, 14) -27%	26.8 ?(16, 10.8) -6%	31.2 ?(16.4, 14.8) -24%
PWM Frequency	962 ?(99)	208 ?(90) -78%	980 ?(25) 2%		117000 ?(75, 150) 12062%
Screen		1%	5%	-13%	40%
Brightness middle	360.2	320 -11%	494 37%	262 -27%	520 44%
Brightness	337	293 -13%	457 36%	256 -24%	492 46%
Brightness Distribution	82	86 5%	88 7%	90 10%	88 7%
Black Level *	0.33	0.26 21%	0.34 -3%	0.21 36%	0.39 -18%
Contrast	1092	1231 13%	1453 33%	1248 14%	1333 22%
Colorchecker dE 2000 *	4.13	4.5 -9%	5.2 -26%	5.8 -40%	1.2 71%
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. *	8.15	8.81 -8%	17.5 -115%	14.3 -75%	2.3 72%
Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated *	3.8			4.6 -21%
Greyscale dE 2000 *	5	4.71 6%	2.7 46%	2.5 50%	1.3 74%
Gamma	2.23 ^99%	2.45 ^90%	2.1 ^105%	1.99 ^111%	2.18 ^101%
CCT	7532 ^86%	7085 ^92%	7038 ^92%	6528 ^100%	6738 ^96%
Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998)	57.3	58 1%	71.2 24%	36.6 -36%
Color Space (Percent of sRGB)	87.8	88 0%	98.8 13%	57.6 -34%
Total Average (Program / Settings)		-11% / -6%	3% / 4%	-18% / -17%	1360% / 889%

* ... smaller is better

Color space covers approximately 88 percent of sRGB to be similar to many flagship Ultrabooks including the HP Spectre x360 13. There are no options for full AdobeRGB coverage unlike on the XPS 15 or ZenBook Pro 15 UX580.

Further measurements with an X-Rite colorimeter reveal just average grayscale and an overly cool color temperature out of the box. Our calibration attempt improves both aspects for a more accurate display especially for colors at lower saturation levels. Green and Red are represented less accurately than other primary and secondary colors even after calibration.

Display Response Times

ℹ

Display response times show how fast the screen is able to change from one color to the next. Slow response times can lead to afterimages and can cause moving objects to appear blurry (ghosting). Gamers of fast-paced 3D titles should pay special attention to fast response times.

↔ Response Time Black to White
25.2 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined	↗ 14 ms rise
25.2 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined	↘ 11.2 ms fall
The screen shows relatively slow response rates in our tests and may be too slow for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 56 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (21.1 ms).
↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey
40 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined	↗ 21.2 ms rise
40 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined	↘ 18.8 ms fall
The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.165 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 57 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (33.1 ms).

Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)

ℹ

To dim the screen, some notebooks will simply cycle the backlight on and off in rapid succession - a method called Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) . This cycling frequency should ideally be undetectable to the human eye. If said frequency is too low, users with sensitive eyes may experience strain or headaches or even notice the flickering altogether.

Screen flickering / PWM detected

962 Hz

≤ 99 % brightness setting

The display backlight flickers at 962 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) Flickering detected at a brightness setting of 99 % and below. There should be no flickering or PWM above this brightness setting.

The frequency of 962 Hz is quite high, so most users sensitive to PWM should not notice any flickering.

In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 17263 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured.

Outdoor visibility is decent when working under shade. Otherwise, anything brighter will accentuate glare and wash out colors. Be prepared to constantly adjust the display angle because of the glossy screen. Viewing angles are wide with some noticeable color and contrast degradation only if viewing from abnormally extreme angles.

Performance

The quad-core Intel Apollo Lake Atom x7-E3950 is the only processor option available. This rare CPU is comparable in performance to the more common Cherry Trail Atom x5-Z8350 as found on cheap tablets and netbooks like the Asus Transformer Book or Lenovo IdeaPad Miix 310. Performance is significantly slower than anything from the Core ix series since Atom CPUs can be passively cooled.

System RAM is fixed at 8 GB DDR4. LatencyMon shows issues handling real-time audio even when the wireless is disabled.

Processor

CPU performance from the quad-core Atom x7-E3950 is abysmally slow. Multi-thread performance is about 30 percent faster than the Atom x5-Z8350 in the Chuwi Hi10 Air, but overall performance is still some of the slowest for any modern laptop. Alternatives with Core i3, Celeron N4100, or even Core m are able to perform faster than what is offered here on the LapBook Plus.

See our dedicated page on the Atom x7-E3950 for more technical information and benchmarks.

Chuwi LapBook Plus HD Graphics 505, x7-E3950, Kimtigo KT256GM28S3; CPU Multi 64Bit: Ø124.4 (124.01-124.67)

Teclast Tbook 16 Power HD Graphics 405 (Braswell), Z8750, 64 GB eMMC Flash; CPU Multi 64Bit: Ø123 (120.92-124.88)

Chuwi AeroBook 13 inch 2019 HD Graphics 515, 6Y30, Netac SSD 256GB; CPU Multi 64Bit: Ø198 (196.89-200.66)

Apple MacBook Air 2018 UHD Graphics 617, i5-8210Y, Apple SSD AP0256; CPU Multi 64Bit; macOS: Ø277 (266.55-285.88)

Cinebench R15 | Cinebench R11.5 | Cinebench R10 | wPrime 2.10

Cinebench R15
CPU Single 64Bit
Acer Swift 3 SF314-55-31N8 Intel Core i3-8145U	150 Points +266%
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet Intel Core m7-6Y75	119 Points +190%
Microsoft Surface Pro (2017) m3 Intel Core m3-7Y30	108 Points +163%
Lenovo Tablet 10-20L3000KGE Intel Celeron N4100	69 Points +68%
Chuwi AeroBook 13 inch 2019 Intel Core m3-6Y30	66 Points +61%
Asus X555DA-BB11 AMD A10-8700P	64 Points +56%
Chuwi LapBook Plus Intel Atom x7-E3950	41 Points
Chuwi Hi10 Air Intel Atom x5-Z8350	30 Points -27%
Chuwi HeroBook 14 Intel Atom x5-E8000	27 Points -34%
HP x2 210 G1 Intel Atom x5-Z8300	26 Points -37%
CPU Multi 64Bit
Acer Swift 3 SF314-55-31N8 Intel Core i3-8145U	361 Points +189%
Microsoft Surface Pro (2017) m3 Intel Core m3-7Y30	258 Points +106%
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet Intel Core m7-6Y75	234 Points +87%
Lenovo Tablet 10-20L3000KGE Intel Celeron N4100	208 Points +66%
Chuwi AeroBook 13 inch 2019 Intel Core m3-6Y30	198 Points +58%
Asus X555DA-BB11 AMD A10-8700P	180 Points +44%
Chuwi LapBook Plus Intel Atom x7-E3950	125 Points
Chuwi Hi10 Air Intel Atom x5-Z8350	97 Points -22%
Chuwi HeroBook 14 Intel Atom x5-E8000	94 Points -25%
HP x2 210 G1 Intel Atom x5-Z8300	93 Points -26%

Cinebench R11.5
CPU Single 64Bit
Acer Swift 3 SF314-55-31N8 Intel Core i3-8145U	1.77 Points +247%
Microsoft Surface Pro (2017) m3 Intel Core m3-7Y30	1.24 Points +143%
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet Intel Core m7-6Y75	1.08 Points +112%
Asus X555DA-BB11 AMD A10-8700P	0.83 Points +63%
Chuwi LapBook Plus Intel Atom x7-E3950	0.51 Points
Asus Transformer Book T200TA PL Intel Atom Z3775	0.4 Points -22%
CPU Multi 64Bit
Acer Swift 3 SF314-55-31N8 Intel Core i3-8145U	4.01 Points +149%
Microsoft Surface Pro (2017) m3 Intel Core m3-7Y30	2.85 Points +77%
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet Intel Core m7-6Y75	2.62 Points +63%
Asus X555DA-BB11 AMD A10-8700P	2.3 Points +43%
Chuwi LapBook Plus Intel Atom x7-E3950	1.61 Points
Asus Transformer Book T200TA PL Intel Atom Z3775	1.49 Points -7%

Cinebench R10
Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit
Acer Swift 3 SF314-55-31N8 Intel Core i3-8145U	13074 Points +247%
Microsoft Surface Pro (2017) m3 Intel Core m3-7Y30	8846 Points +135%
Lenovo Tablet 10-20L3000KGE Intel Celeron N4100	5904 Points +57%
Asus X555DA-BB11 AMD A10-8700P	4808 Points +28%
Asus Transformer Book T200TA PL Intel Atom Z3775	4014 Points +7%
Chuwi LapBook Plus Intel Atom x7-E3950	3769 Points
Chuwi HeroBook 14 Intel Atom x5-E8000	3219 Points -15%
Trekstor SurfTab duo W3 Intel Atom x5-Z8300	2966 Points -21%
HP x2 210 G1 Intel Atom x5-Z8300	2135 Points -43%
Rendering Single 32Bit
Acer Swift 3 SF314-55-31N8 Intel Core i3-8145U	5953 Points +357%
Microsoft Surface Pro (2017) m3 Intel Core m3-7Y30	4071 Points +212%
Asus X555DA-BB11 AMD A10-8700P	2192 Points +68%
Lenovo Tablet 10-20L3000KGE Intel Celeron N4100	2013 Points +54%
Chuwi LapBook Plus Intel Atom x7-E3950	1304 Points
Asus Transformer Book T200TA PL Intel Atom Z3775	1144 Points -12%
Trekstor SurfTab duo W3 Intel Atom x5-Z8300	951 Points -27%
Chuwi HeroBook 14 Intel Atom x5-E8000	910 Points -30%
HP x2 210 G1 Intel Atom x5-Z8300	855 Points -34%

wPrime 2.10 - 1024m
Chuwi HeroBook 14 Intel Atom x5-E8000	1168 s * -23%
Chuwi LapBook Plus Intel Atom x7-E3950	949 s *
Asus Transformer Book T200TA PL Intel Atom Z3775	762 s * +20%
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet Intel Core m7-6Y75	698 s * +26%
Asus X555DA-BB11 AMD A10-8700P	507 s * +47%
Acer Swift 3 SF314-55-31N8 Intel Core i3-8145U	463.9 s * +51%

Cinebench R15 | Cinebench R11.5 | Cinebench R10 | wPrime 2.10

* ... smaller is better

Cinebench R10 Shading 32Bit

2669

Cinebench R10 Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit

3769

Cinebench R10 Rendering Single 32Bit

1304

Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64Bit

9.78 fps

Cinebench R11.5 CPU Multi 64Bit

1.61 Points

Cinebench R11.5 CPU Single 64Bit

0.51 Points

Cinebench R15 Ref. Match 64Bit

97.8 %

Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64Bit

16.79 fps

Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64Bit

125 Points

Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64Bit

41 Points

Help

... in comparison

System Performance

PCMark results are consistently ahead of the HP x2 with the Atom x5-Z8350 but still far below the average multimedia laptop. The extremely low scores translate to slow launch times and even annoying delays in typing.

PCMark 10
Score
Average of class Multimedia (4542 - 8670, n=72, last 2 years)	6801 Points +494%
Asus VivoBook S15 S530UN-BQ097T GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, SanDisk SD9SN8W256G1027	3711 Points +224%
Apple MacBook Air 2018 UHD Graphics 617, i5-8210Y, Apple SSD AP0256	2174 Points +90%
Chuwi LapBook Plus HD Graphics 505, x7-E3950, Kimtigo KT256GM28S3	1144 Points
HP x2 210 G2 HD Graphics 400 (Braswell), Z8350, 64 GB eMMC Flash	872 Points -24%
Essentials
Average of class Multimedia (8480 - 12420, n=72, last 2 years)	10551 Points +265%
Asus VivoBook S15 S530UN-BQ097T GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, SanDisk SD9SN8W256G1027	6710 Points +132%
Apple MacBook Air 2018 UHD Graphics 617, i5-8210Y, Apple SSD AP0256	4504 Points +56%
Chuwi LapBook Plus HD Graphics 505, x7-E3950, Kimtigo KT256GM28S3	2891 Points
HP x2 210 G2 HD Graphics 400 (Braswell), Z8350, 64 GB eMMC Flash	2662 Points -8%
Productivity
Average of class Multimedia (6089 - 10742, n=72, last 2 years)	8903 Points +533%
Asus VivoBook S15 S530UN-BQ097T GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, SanDisk SD9SN8W256G1027	6236 Points +343%
Apple MacBook Air 2018 UHD Graphics 617, i5-8210Y, Apple SSD AP0256	3902 Points +177%
Chuwi LapBook Plus HD Graphics 505, x7-E3950, Kimtigo KT256GM28S3	1407 Points
HP x2 210 G2 HD Graphics 400 (Braswell), Z8350, 64 GB eMMC Flash	1121 Points -20%
Digital Content Creation
Average of class Multimedia (3651 - 13548, n=72, last 2 years)	9225 Points +822%
Asus VivoBook S15 S530UN-BQ097T GeForce MX150, i5-8550U, SanDisk SD9SN8W256G1027	3315 Points +231%
Apple MacBook Air 2018 UHD Graphics 617, i5-8210Y, Apple SSD AP0256	1609 Points +61%
Chuwi LapBook Plus HD Graphics 505, x7-E3950, Kimtigo KT256GM28S3	1001 Points
HP x2 210 G2 HD Graphics 400 (Braswell), Z8350, 64 GB eMMC Flash	605 Points -40%

PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2		1371 points
PCMark 10 Score		1144 points
Help

Storage Devices

An uncommon Kimtigo 256 GB M.2 SSD can be found on our test unit. While sequential read and write rates are standard for a SATA III SSD, its read and write rates of smaller 4K blocks are slower than usual. Thus, workloads involving large amounts of smaller files instead of larger ones will take much longer to complete including Windows Update software installations.

See our table of HDDs and SSDs for more benchmark comparisons.

Free secondary M.2 slot sits adjacent to the primary M.2 slot

access to the primary M.2 slot requires removing the entire bottom panel

	Chuwi LapBook Plus Kimtigo KT256GM28S3	HP Pavilion 15-cs2019ng Toshiba KBG30ZMV256G	HP Spectre x360 15-df0126ng Toshiba XG5-P KXG50PNV2T04	Asus VivoBook S15 S530UN-BQ097T SanDisk SD9SN8W256G1027	Chuwi HeroBook 14 SanDisk DF4064
AS SSD		263%	344%	111%	-65%
Seq Read	391.5	1153 195%	2018 415%	504 29%	127.9 -67%
Seq Write	419.4	736 75%	773 84%	202.7 -52%	85.9 -80%
4K Read	7.36	46.51 532%	24.62 235%	27.67 276%	9.33 27%
4K Write	15.16	114.1 653%	92.8 512%	51.1 237%	10.77 -29%
4K-64 Read	139.4	618 343%	845 506%	373.6 168%	27.59 -80%
4K-64 Write	137.7	461.4 235%	957 595%	173 26%	8.6 -94%
Access Time Read *	0.361	0.421 -17%	0.147 59%	0.365 -1%	0.408 -13%
Access Time Write *	0.462	0.233 50%	0.057 88%	0.603 -31%	0.904 -96%
Score Read	186	780 319%	1071 476%	452 143%	50 -73%
Score Write	195	649 233%	1127 478%	244 25%	28 -86%
Score Total	479	1822 280%	2684 460%	921 92%	105 -78%
Copy ISO MB/s	464.9		1652 255%	810 74%	59 -87%
Copy Program MB/s	77.7		328.5 323%	332.5 328%	15.61 -80%
Copy Game MB/s	162		700 332%	557 244%	37.2 -77%

* ... smaller is better

CrystalDiskMark 5.2 / 6

AS SSD

Kimtigo KT256GM28S3

CDM 5/6 Read Seq Q32T1: 547 MB/s

CDM 5/6 Write Seq Q32T1: 476.8 MB/s

CDM 5/6 Read 4K Q32T1: 92.1 MB/s

CDM 5/6 Write 4K Q32T1: 81.3 MB/s

CDM 5 Read Seq: 455.5 MB/s

CDM 5 Write Seq: 395.8 MB/s

CDM 5/6 Read 4K: 13.04 MB/s

CDM 5/6 Write 4K: 58.7 MB/s

GPU Performance

Integrated Atom GPUs are more about streaming than gaming. We're able to play 4K UHD videos on YouTube at 60 FPS at a CPU utilization of around 50 to 60 percent. The catch is that everything else will slow to a crawl and so even the simplest of user inputs like fast forwarding, pausing, exiting, or resuming will have very long delays.

3DMark 11 | 3DMark

3DMark 11
1280x720 Performance GPU
Asus VivoBook S15 S530UN-BQ097T NVIDIA GeForce MX150, i5-8550U	4506 Points +489%
Microsoft Surface Pro 6, Core i5, 128 GB Intel UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U	1881 Points +146%
Apple MacBook Air 2018 Intel UHD Graphics 617, i5-8210Y	1572 Points +105%
Acer Swift 3 SF314-55-31N8 Intel UHD Graphics 620, i3-8145U	1415 Points +85%
Asus X555DA-BB11 AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo), A10-8700P	1288 Points +68%
Microsoft Surface Pro (2017) m3 Intel HD Graphics 615, m3-7Y30	1251 Points +64%
Apple MacBook 12 (Early 2016) 1.1 GHz Intel HD Graphics 515, 6Y30	1186 Points +55%
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet Intel HD Graphics 515, 6Y75	1154 Points +51%
Chuwi LapBook Plus Intel HD Graphics 505, x7-E3950	765 Points
Lenovo Tablet 10-20L3000KGE Intel UHD Graphics 600, Celeron N4100	608 Points -21%
Teclast Tbook 16 Power Intel HD Graphics 405 (Braswell), Z8750	408 Points -47%
Chuwi Hi10 Air Intel HD Graphics (Cherry Trail), Z8350	278 Points -64%
Chuwi HeroBook 14 Intel HD Graphics 400 (Braswell), E8000	247 Points -68%
1280x720 Performance Combined
Asus VivoBook S15 S530UN-BQ097T NVIDIA GeForce MX150, i5-8550U	4126 Points +447%
Microsoft Surface Pro 6, Core i5, 128 GB Intel UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U	1509 Points +100%
Apple MacBook Air 2018 Intel UHD Graphics 617, i5-8210Y	1472 Points +95%
Microsoft Surface Pro (2017) m3 Intel HD Graphics 615, m3-7Y30	1239 Points +64%
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet Intel HD Graphics 515, 6Y75	1179 Points +56%
Acer Swift 3 SF314-55-31N8 Intel UHD Graphics 620, i3-8145U	1032 Points +37%
Apple MacBook 12 (Early 2016) 1.1 GHz Intel HD Graphics 515, 6Y30	1014 Points +34%
Asus X555DA-BB11 AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo), A10-8700P	861 Points +14%
Chuwi LapBook Plus Intel HD Graphics 505, x7-E3950	754 Points
Lenovo Tablet 10-20L3000KGE Intel UHD Graphics 600, Celeron N4100	558 Points -26%
Teclast Tbook 16 Power Intel HD Graphics 405 (Braswell), Z8750	363 Points -52%
Chuwi HeroBook 14 Intel HD Graphics 400 (Braswell), E8000	319 Points -58%
Chuwi Hi10 Air Intel HD Graphics (Cherry Trail), Z8350	318 Points -58%

3DMark
1280x720 Cloud Gate Standard Graphics
Asus VivoBook S15 S530UN-BQ097T NVIDIA GeForce MX150, i5-8550U	18770 Points +370%
Microsoft Surface Pro 6, Core i5, 128 GB Intel UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U	9769 Points +144%
Apple MacBook Air 2018 Intel UHD Graphics 617, i5-8210Y	7231 Points +81%
Acer Swift 3 SF314-55-31N8 Intel UHD Graphics 620, i3-8145U	7152 Points +79%
Microsoft Surface Pro (2017) m3 Intel HD Graphics 615, m3-7Y30	6096 Points +53%
Apple MacBook 12 (Early 2016) 1.1 GHz Intel HD Graphics 515, 6Y30	6078 Points +52%
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Tablet Intel HD Graphics 515, 6Y75	5769 Points +44%
Asus X555DA-BB11 AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo), A10-8700P	4033 Points +1%
Chuwi LapBook Plus Intel HD Graphics 505, x7-E3950	3997 Points
Lenovo Tablet 10-20L3000KGE Intel UHD Graphics 600, Celeron N4100	3869 Points -3%
Teclast Tbook 16 Power Intel HD Graphics 405 (Braswell), Z8750	1767 Points -56%
Chuwi HeroBook 14 Intel HD Graphics 400 (Braswell), E8000	1594 Points -60%
1920x1080 Ice Storm Extreme Graphics
Microsoft Surface Pro (2017) m3 Intel HD Graphics 615, m3-7Y30	31512 Points +76%
Asus X555DA-BB11 AMD Radeon R6 (Carrizo), A10-8700P	26331 Points +47%
Chuwi LapBook Plus Intel HD Graphics 505, x7-E3950	17895 Points
Lenovo Tablet 10-20L3000KGE Intel UHD Graphics 600, Celeron N4100	11944 Points -33%

3DMark 11 | 3DMark

3DMark 06 Standard Score		4884 points
3DMark Vantage P Result		2744 points
3DMark 11 Performance		835 points
3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score		23656 points
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score		2880 points
3DMark Time Spy Score		161 points
Help

... in comparison

	low	med.	high	ultra
Rocket League (2017)	21.4	15.3

Emissions

Temperature

Surface temperatures are cool around the palm rests, clickpad, and most of the keyboard. The hot spots are concentrated around the corner nearest the passively cooled CPU where temperatures can reach over 50 C when subjected to prolonged extreme processing stress.

Stress Test

We stress the laptop to identify for any potential throttling or stability issues. When running Prime95, CPU clock rates jump to 1.9 GHz for the first few seconds before falling and stabilizing at 1.6 GHz. Core temperature eventually plateaus at about 81 C when under 100 percent utilization.

Running on batteries will not impact performance. 3DMark 11 results are nearly the same when running on batteries or on mains.

	CPU Clock (GHz)	GPU Clock (MHz)	Average CPU Temperature (°C)
System Idle	--	--	43
Prime95 Stress	1.6	--	66
Prime95 + FurMark Stress	~1.4	--	81

Max. Load

Idle


46.2 °C 115 F	34.2 °C 94 F	30.4 °C 87 F
36.2 °C 97 F	32.4 °C 90 F	29.2 °C 85 F
33.6 °C 92 F	30.8 °C 87 F	29.8 °C 86 F

Maximum: 46.2 °C = 115 F
Average: 33.6 °C = 92 F


31 °C 88 F	36 °C 97 F	51 °C 124 F
30 °C 86 F	35 °C 95 F	38.8 °C 102 F
29.6 °C 85 F	32 °C 90 F	34.4 °C 94 F

Maximum: 51 °C = 124 F
Average: 35.3 °C = 96 F

Power Supply (max.) 38 °C = 100 F | Room Temperature 23 °C = 73 F | Fluke 62 Mini IR Thermometer

(±) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 33.6 °C / 92 F, compared to the average of 31.3 °C / 88 F for the devices in the class Multimedia.
(-) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 46.2 °C / 115 F, compared to the average of 36.9 °C / 98 F, ranging from 21.1 to 71 °C for the class Multimedia.
(-) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 51 °C / 124 F, compared to the average of 39.2 °C / 103 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 28.3 °C / 83 F, compared to the device average of 31.3 °C / 88 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are reaching skin temperature as a maximum (33.6 °C / 92.5 F) and are therefore not hot.
(-) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.8 °C / 83.8 F (-4.8 °C / -8.7 F).

Speakers

The stereo speakers are weak in volume with poor bass reproduction. Perhaps the latter is to be expected from a sub $500 laptop, but the low volume impacts the overall multimedia experience and it can make conference calls difficult to hear.

Frequency diagram (checkboxes can be checked and unchecked to compare devices)

Chuwi LapBook Plus audio analysis

(-) | not very loud speakers (69.8 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 17.2% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (10.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 3.8% away from median
(±) | linearity of mids is average (13.8% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 4.5% away from median
(±) | linearity of highs is average (12.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(-) | overall sound is not linear (35.5% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 98% of all tested devices in this class were better, 1% similar, 1% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 18%, worst was 45%
Compared to all devices tested
» 93% of all tested devices were better, 1% similar, 6% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Apple MacBook 12 (Early 2016) 1.1 GHz audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (83.6 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(±) | reduced bass - on average 11.3% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (14.2% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 2.4% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (5.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 2% away from median
(+) | highs are linear (4.5% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(+) | overall sound is linear (10.2% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 5% of all tested devices in this class were better, 2% similar, 93% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 19%, worst was 53%
Compared to all devices tested
» 4% of all tested devices were better, 1% similar, 95% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Energy Management

Power Consumption

The system draws 6 W to 11 W when idling on desktop depending on the brightness level and power profile. While efficient, it's not as efficient as we were anticipating from an Atom-powered laptop likely due to the brighter than average display and more demanding 4K UHD resolution. Running 3DMark 06 draws 21 W to be similar to a Core i5-powered Surface Pro 6.

The very small (~10 x 4.5 x 3 cm) 36 W AC adapter is more than enough to power and recharge the system simultaneously no matter the onscreen load.

Prime95 initiated at 20s mark. Note the short-lived spike when Turbo clock rates are highest

Power Consumption

Off / Standby	0.34 / 0.5 Watt
Idle	6.6 / 11.3 / 11.7 Watt
Load	21.1 / 20.2 Watt


Key: min: , med: , max: Metrahit Energy Currently we use the Metrahit Energy, a professional single phase power quality and energy measurement digital multimeter, for our measurements. Find out more about it here. All of our test methods can be found here.

	Chuwi LapBook Plus x7-E3950, HD Graphics 505, Kimtigo KT256GM28S3, IPS, 3840x2160, 15.6"	HP Pavilion 15-cs2019ng i5-8265U, GeForce MX250, Toshiba KBG30ZMV256G, IPS, 1920x1080, 15.6"	Dell XPS 15 9570 i7 UHD i7-8750H, GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q, Toshiba XG5 KXG50ZNV512G, IPS, 3840x2160, 15.6"	Asus VivoBook S15 S530UN-BQ097T i5-8550U, GeForce MX150, SanDisk SD9SN8W256G1027, IPS LED, 1920x1080, 15.6"	HP Spectre x360 15-df0126ng i7-8750H, GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q, Toshiba XG5-P KXG50PNV2T04, IPS, 3840x2160, 15.6"	Microsoft Surface Pro 6, Core i5, 128 GB i5-8250U, UHD Graphics 620, Toshiba KBG30ZPZ128G, IPS, 2736x1834, 12.3"
Power Consumption		-40%	-205%	-51%	-141%	-3%
Idle Minimum *	6.6	4.9 26%	9.48 -44%	3.1 53%	2.1 68%	4.3 35%
Idle Average *	11.3	7.9 30%	16.1 -42%	6.3 44%	6.7 41%	8.7 23%
Idle Maximum *	11.7	10.1 14%	16.9 -44%	8.6 26%	11.4 3%	9.4 20%
Load Average *	21.1	60 -184%	90.8 -330%	56.4 -167%	77.7 -268%	24.5 -16%
Load Maximum *	20.2	38 -88%	134.4 -565%	62.7 -210%	131.5 -551%	36 -78%
Witcher 3 ultra *				45

* ... smaller is better

Battery Life

Battery life is short at just 3.5 hours of real-world WLAN use when set to 150 nits brightness (setting 4/10). In comparison, the Asus VivoBook S15 manages almost 6.5 hours when subjected to the same WLAN conditions. The very small 36 Wh internal battery is at least partly responsible for the wide discrepancy.

Recharging from empty to full capacity takes the full 2 hours.

Battery Runtime


WiFi Websurfing		3h 31min

	Chuwi LapBook Plus x7-E3950, HD Graphics 505, 36 Wh	HP Pavilion 15-cs2019ng i5-8265U, GeForce MX250, 41 Wh	Dell XPS 15 9570 i7 UHD i7-8750H, GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q, 97 Wh	HP Spectre x360 15-df0126ng i7-8750H, GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Max-Q, 84 Wh	Asus VivoBook S15 S530UN-BQ097T i5-8550U, GeForce MX150, 42 Wh	Apple MacBook Pro 15 2018 (2.6 GHz, 560X) i7-8850H, Radeon Pro 560X, 83 Wh
Battery Runtime		41%	173%	150%	84%	191%
WiFi v1.3	211	297 41%	576 173%	528 150%	388 84%	614 191%
Reader / Idle		480		1127
Load		79	76	135
Witcher 3 ultra			62			88

Pros

+ aluminum alloy chassis hides fingerprints well

+ sleek appearance especially for the price

+ full-size NumPad and Arrow keys

+ comfortable typing experience

+ high quality 4K UHD panel

+ thin and lightweight

+ two M.2 2280 slots

+ completely silent

+ large clickpad

+ inexpensive

Cons

- very slow MicroSD reader; MicroSD cards can also become stuck

- poor audio quality; speakers could be louder

- infuriatingly slow system performance

- hinges are weak and tend to creak

- defective clickpad on our test unit

- non-upgradeable RAM

- no full-size HDMI port

- short battery life

- no USB Type-C

Verdict

In review: Chuwi LapBook Plus. Test model provided by Chuwi

As slim and sexy as it may appear, performance is just too slow to recommend for anything more than a simple print server or emailing station. Even the simplest of actions like clicking and typing have noticeable delays to make the LapBook Plus a poor choice for multimedia, streaming, or browsing purposes.

To Chuwi's credit, the keyboard is actually quite good compared to other Ultrabooks and the 4K UHD display is unmatched at this price range. Unfortunately, these respectable qualities are of no practical use since they've been dragged down by one the slowest processors you can get on any laptop coming out this year.

A good-looking laptop trapped in Intel Atom purgatory. The very slow processor drags down what could have been a decent inexpensive Ultrabook. Users would be better off with a last generation Core i3 laptop for tangibly faster and more reliable performance.

Chuwi LapBook Plus - 2019-07-05 07/05/2019 v6 ^(old)
Allen Ngo

Chassis

70 / 98 → 71%

Keyboard

92%

Pointing Device

56%

Connectivity

41 / 81 → 51%

Weight

69 / 20-67 → 100%

Battery

72%

Display

87%

Games Performance

51 / 85 → 60%

Application Performance

45 / 92 → 49%

Temperature

87%

Noise

100 / 95 → 100%

Audio

30%

Camera

21 / 85 → 25%

Average

63%

72%

Multimedia - Weighted Average

Price comparison

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Allen Ngo - Lead Editor U.S. - 5229 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2011

After graduating with a B.S. in environmental hydrodynamics from the University of California, I studied reactor physics to become licensed by the U.S. NRC to operate nuclear reactors. There's a striking level of appreciation you gain for everyday consumer electronics after working with modern nuclear reactivity systems astonishingly powered by computers from the 80s. When I'm not managing day-to-day activities and US review articles on Notebookcheck, you can catch me following the eSports scene and the latest gaming news.

contact me via: @AllenNgoNBC

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Reviews > A 4K Laptop For $440: Chuwi LapBook Plus Review

Allen Ngo, 2019-07- 8 (Update: 2019-07- 9)

A 4K Laptop For $440: Chuwi LapBook Plus Review

Case

Connectivity

SD Card Reader

Communication

Maintenance

Accessories and Warranty

Input Devices

Keyboard

Touchpad

Display

Display Response Times

Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)

Performance

Processor

System Performance

Storage Devices

GPU Performance

Emissions

Temperature

Stress Test

Speakers

Chuwi LapBook Plus audio analysis

Apple MacBook 12 (Early 2016) 1.1 GHz audio analysis

Energy Management

Power Consumption

Battery Life

Pros

Cons

Verdict

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