Chuwi LarkBook Laptop Review: Good Looks, Poor Performance

Name: Chuwi LarkBook CWI509
Brand: Chuwi

Not enough power. If all you want to do is email and some light browsing, then the Chuwi LarkBook might be worth a look. For anything more, a basic Core i3 system will do you better.

Allen Ngo 👁, Published 12/31/2020 🇮🇹 🇳🇱 ...

Chinese Tech Laptop Ultrabook

The Chuwi LarkBook is the company's latest subnotebook that follows the same formula as previous generation models from the manufacturer: create a high-end looking laptop with bottom-of-the-barrel prices and processors. The test unit we have here is one of the very few laptops to come equipped with the dual-core Celeron N4120, but key specifications are otherwise similar to many costlier Ultrabooks including the 1080p IPS display and integrated USB-C port. Chuwi is currently selling the laptop for $489 USD or $399 if on sale.

Competitors in this space include other budget 13.3-inch laptops like the Asus VivoBook S13, Lenovo IdeaPad 3 series, and HP Pavilion 13 series.

More Chuwi reviews:

Test device courtesy of Chuwi

Download your licensed rating image as PNG / SVG

Chuwi LarkBook CWI509 (LarkBook Series)

Processor

Intel Celeron N4120 4 x 1.1 - 2.6 GHz, Gemini Lake Refresh

Graphics adapter

Intel UHD Graphics 600, 27.20.100.8682

Memory

8 GB

, 1200 MHz, dual-channel, soldered

Display

13.30 inch 16:9, 1920 x 1080 pixel 166 PPI, M133X56, IPS, glossy: yes, 60 Hz

Storage

Kingston RBUSNS8180DS3256GJ, 256 GB

Soundcard

Intel Gemini Lake SoC - High Definition Audio Controller

Connections

1 USB 2.0, 2 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, 1 HDMI, 1 DisplayPort, Audio Connections: 3.5 mm combo, Card Reader: MicroSD reader

Networking

Qualcomm Atheros QCA9377 Wireless Network Adapter (a/b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/ac = Wi-Fi 5/), Bluetooth 5

Size

height x width x depth (in mm): 12.3 x 307 x 200.8 ( = 0.48 x 12.09 x 7.91 in)

Battery

34.8 Wh Lithium-Polymer

Operating System

Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64 Bit

Camera

Webcam: 720p
Primary Camera: 0.9 MPix

Additional features

Speakers: Quad speakers, Keyboard: Chiclet, Keyboard Light: no, 12 Months Warranty

Weight

1.093 kg ( = 38.55 oz / 2.41 pounds), Power Supply: 119 g ( = 4.2 oz / 0.26 pounds)

Price

490 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

[+] Add to comparison

» Compare devices

potential competitors in comparison

Rating	Date	Model	Weight	Height	Size	Resolution
76.9 %	12/2020	Chuwi LarkBook CWI509 Celeron N4120, UHD Graphics 600	1.1 kg	12.3 mm	13.30"	1920x1080
91.1 %	12/2020	Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry M1, M1 7-Core GPU	1.3 kg	16.1 mm	13.30"	2560x1600
88.1 %	10/2020	Dell XPS 13 9310 Core i7 FHD i7-1165G7, Iris Xe G7 96EUs	1.3 kg	14.8 mm	13.40"	1920x1200
84.9 %	12/2019	Lenovo IdeaPad S540-13API R5 3550H, Vega 8	1.3 kg	16 mm	13.30"	2560x1600
81.5 %	12/2020	HP Pavilion 13-bb0015cl i7-1165G7, Iris Xe G7 96EUs	1.2 kg	17.7 mm	13.30"	3840x2160
85 %	12/2018	Asus VivoBook S13 S330UA-EY034T i5-8550U, UHD Graphics 620	1.2 kg	17.9 mm	13.30"	1920x1080

Case

Like most other laptops from Chuwi, the metal chassis is a highlight of the LarkBook. Its design is probably sleeker, sharper, and lighter than any other laptop for the price since plastic is much more common in this sub $500 category. Build quality feels good as well with only minor warping of the base and lid and almost no creaking.

A notable drawback to the chassis are the hinges which feel weaker at certain angles. We wouldn't be surprised if the lid begins to teeter more readily after a year or so.

Metal chassis with chrome-cut edges and corners

Hinges become noticeably weaker past the ~140 degree mark

Dark gray surface is slightly roughened to reduce unsightly fingerprint buildup

Chassis design is sharp for a cheap laptop

Top bezel protrudes much like on some newer Lenovo Yoga laptops

HP Pavilion 13-bb0015cl Asus VivoBook S13 S330UA-EY034T Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry Chuwi LarkBook CWI509 Lenovo IdeaPad S540-13API Dell XPS 13 9310 Core i7 FHD DIN A4 ❌

Connectivity

Keep in mind that the laptop integrates mini-HDMI instead of full-size HDMI meaning most users will need an adapter for connecting external monitors.

Right: MicroSD reader, USB-A 2.0, 3.5 mm combo audio

Left: AC adapter, USB-A 3.0, mini-HDMI, USB-C w/ DisplayPort

SD Card Reader

Transfer rates from the SD card reader is slow. Furthermore, an inserted card sits deeper than the edge of the laptop and so the card can be difficult to eject.

Annoyingly, when the laptop is right-side up, the MicroSD reader must be inserted upside-down

SD Card Reader
average JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs)
Dell XPS 13 9310 Core i7 FHD (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 64 GB UHS-II)	194.7 MB/s +743%
HP Pavilion 13-bb0015cl (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 32 GB UHS-II)	78.6 MB/s +240%
Asus VivoBook S13 S330UA-EY034T (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 64 GB UHS-II)	32.2 MB/s +39%
Chuwi LarkBook CWI509 (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 32 GB UHS-II)	23.1 MB/s
maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB)
Dell XPS 13 9310 Core i7 FHD (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 64 GB UHS-II)	204.2 MB/s +667%
HP Pavilion 13-bb0015cl (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 32 GB UHS-II)	85.6 MB/s +221%
Asus VivoBook S13 S330UA-EY034T (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 64 GB UHS-II)	39.7 MB/s +49%
Chuwi LarkBook CWI509 (Toshiba Exceria Pro M501 32 GB UHS-II)	26.63 MB/s

Communication

Wireless transfer rates are very slow when connected to our Netgear RAX200 router with the soldered Atheros QCA9377

Networking
iperf3 transmit AX12
HP Pavilion 13-bb0015cl Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201	1327 (1209^min - 1398^max) MBit/s +341%
Dell XPS 13 9310 Core i7 FHD Intel Killer Wi-Fi 6 AX1650s	975 (786^min - 1026^max) MBit/s +224%
Asus VivoBook S13 S330UA-EY034T Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265	623 (313^min - 643^max) MBit/s +107%
Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry Apple AirPort Extreme M1	552 (257^min - 620^max) MBit/s +83%
Lenovo IdeaPad S540-13API Atheros/Qualcomm QCA6174	447 (247^min - 510^max) MBit/s +49%
Chuwi LarkBook CWI509 Qualcomm Atheros QCA9377 Wireless Network Adapter	301 (258^min - 338^max) MBit/s
iperf3 receive AX12
Dell XPS 13 9310 Core i7 FHD Intel Killer Wi-Fi 6 AX1650s	1439 (1386^min - 1504^max) MBit/s +478%
HP Pavilion 13-bb0015cl Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201	1422 (1307^min - 1500^max) MBit/s +471%
Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry Apple AirPort Extreme M1	672 (614^min - 682^max) MBit/s +170%
Lenovo IdeaPad S540-13API Atheros/Qualcomm QCA6174	501 (257^min - 533^max) MBit/s +101%
Asus VivoBook S13 S330UA-EY034T Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 8265	410 (231^min - 484^max) MBit/s +65%
Chuwi LarkBook CWI509 Qualcomm Atheros QCA9377 Wireless Network Adapter	249 (210^min - 322^max) MBit/s

Chuwi LarkBook CWI509; iperf3 receive AX12; iperf 3.1.3: Ø248 (210-322)

Chuwi LarkBook CWI509; iperf3 transmit AX12; iperf 3.1.3: Ø301 (258-338)

Webcam

ColorChecker Chuwi LarkBook CWI509: 12.14 ∆E min: 3.16 - max: 22.12 ∆E

Maintenance

The bottom panel is tricky to open as there are screws hidden underneath the rear rubber feet

Accessories and Warranty

There are no extras in the box other than the AC adapter. The usual one-year limited warranty applies, but oversea buyers may need to pay for shipping and handling and deal with longer wait times.

Input Devices

Keyboard

Key feedback is not uniform. The main QWERTY keys, for example, are slightly on the soft side and with quieter clatter than the firmer and louder Backspace key. Even the Enter key feels different with its spongier and lighter feedback than the QWERTY and Backspace keys. Typing on the LarkBook may take some getting used to.

Touchpad

The Precision-enabled clickpad is decent in size (11.5 x 6.5 cm) and with a smooth glide when moving at fast speeds. Unfortunately, there is noticeable sticking when moving at slower or medium speeds and so the cursor tends to jump frequently.

The integrated mouse buttons are both clicky and very shallow. Feedback is weak and could have been stronger.

Standard keyboard layout with no backlight

The main QWERTY keys have decent feedback and travel, but the Enter key is strangely softer and with weaker feedback

Clicking on the clickpad could've been firmer for more satisfying feedback

Up and Down arrow keys are very spongy. Furthermore, grease will accumulate quickly on the keycaps

Display

The LarkBook utilizes an IPS panel with the model name M133X56 that can be found on no other laptop in our database as of this writing. Though texts and images are crisp due to the glossy overlay, colors are way off as our X-Rite measurements below will show. Maximum brightness is also dimmer than on most other Ultrabooks. Nonetheless, the high contrast ratio makes it a decent display for 1080p video playback.

Users sensitive to onscreen flickering may want to avoid using this laptop for long periods due to the presence of pulse-width modulation on almost all brightness levels.

Edge-to-edge glass. However, the display is not a touchscreen

Narrow side bezels. The bottom "chin" bezel is much thicker


244.7 cd/m²	240.7 cd/m²	235.9 cd/m²
225.2 cd/m²	235.3 cd/m²	212.8 cd/m²
200 cd/m²	221.9 cd/m²	194.5 cd/m²

Distribution of brightness

M133X56 tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2

Maximum: 244.7 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 223.4 cd/m² Minimum: 6.77 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 79 %
Center on Battery: 235.3 cd/m²
Contrast: 980:1 (Black: 0.24 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 8.37 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5, calibrated: 2.64
ΔE Greyscale 9.8 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
92.4% sRGB (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
60.1% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
67.8% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
92.7% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
69.9% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.16

Download ICC File (X-Rite i1Pro 2)

	Chuwi LarkBook CWI509 M133X56, IPS, 13.30, 1920x1080	Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry IPS, 13.30, 2560x1600	Dell XPS 13 9310 Core i7 FHD Sharp LQ134N1, IPS, 13.40, 1920x1200	Lenovo IdeaPad S540-13API CSOT T3 MND307DA1-2, IPS, 13.30, 2560x1600	HP Pavilion 13-bb0015cl AUOCA8D, IPS, 13.30, 3840x2160	Asus VivoBook S13 S330UA-EY034T N133HCE-EAA, IPS LED, 13.30, 1920x1080
Display		25%	5%	6%	-3%	-36%
Display P3 Coverage	69.9	98.6 41%	70.9 1%	73.4 5%	65 -7%	42.16 -40%
sRGB Coverage	92.7	100 8%	99.1 7%	98.6 6%	93.4 1%	63.2 -32%
AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage	67.8	85.9 27%	72.9 8%	72.6 7%	66.5 -2%	43.59 -36%
Response Times		3909%	29%	-17%	-43%	830%
Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% *	32 ?(14.8, 17.2)	31 ?(14, 17) 3%	52 ?(27.6, 24.4) -63%	45.6 ?(21.6, 24) -43%	52.4 ?(25.2, 27.2) -64%	40.8 ?(22, 18.8) -28%
Response Time Black / White *	34.4 ?(19.6, 14.8)	26.1 ?(14.9, 11.2) 24%	33.2 ?(19.2, 14) 3%	30.8 ?(16.8, 14) 10%	41.6 ?(21.2, 20.4) -21%	29.6 ?(16.4, 13.2) 14%
PWM Frequency	1000 ?(99)	118000 ?(49, 155) 11700%	2475 ?(20) 148%			26040 ?(20) 2504%
Screen		49%	46%	39%	38%	0%
Brightness middle	235.3	417 77%	543.3 131%	321 36%	514.1 118%	280 19%
Brightness	223	395 77%	524 135%	314 41%	501 125%	265 19%
Brightness Distribution	79	91 15%	92 16%	94 19%	91 15%	89 13%
Black Level *	0.24	0.39 -63%	0.38 -58%	0.19 21%	0.37 -54%	0.24 -0%
Contrast	980	1069 9%	1430 46%	1689 72%	1389 42%	1167 19%
Colorchecker dE 2000 *	8.37	1.12 87%	3.02 64%	3.3 61%	4.35 48%	5.6 33%
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. *	15.79	2.71 83%	7.61 52%	6 62%	6.5 59%	20.7 -31%
Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated *	2.64	0.77 71%	1.23 53%	1.7 36%	2.26 14%	4.3 -63%
Greyscale dE 2000 *	9.8	1.7 83%	5 49%	3.5 64%	5.2 47%	4.1 58%
Gamma	2.16 ^102%	2207 ^0%	2.02 ^109%	2.08 ^106%	2.12 ^104%	2.44 ^90%
CCT	7557 ^86%	6870 ^95%	6550 ^99%	7245 ^90%	6308 ^103%	6614 ^98%
Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998)	60.1		66.8 11%	64.5 7%	60.6 1%	40.1 -33%
Color Space (Percent of sRGB)	92.4		99.6 8%	98.4 6%	93.3 1%	63 -32%
Total Average (Program / Settings)		1328% / 816%	27% / 36%	9% / 26%	-3% / 20%	265% / 140%

* ... smaller is better

Color space is great at over 90 percent of sRGB to show that the laptop is capable of reproducing similar colors to many mid-range to high-end Ultrabooks. Cheaper panels tend to cover just 60 percent of sRGB only such as the one on the VivoBook S13.

Grayscale and colors are horrendous out of the box. Color temperature in particular is far too cool which is common to see on budget laptops. Calibrating the panel ourselves addresses the problem for a significantly better and more color accurate viewing experience. We highly recommend calibrating the display or applying our calibrated ICC profile above to get the most out of the screen.

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
34.4 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined	↗ 19.6 ms rise
34.4 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined	↘ 14.8 ms fall
The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 91 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (21.5 ms).
↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey
32 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined	↗ 14.8 ms rise
32 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined	↘ 17.2 ms fall
The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 36 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is similar to the average of all tested devices (33.7 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

1000 Hz

≤ 99 % brightness setting

The display backlight flickers at 1000 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 1000 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 17900 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured.

Outdoor visibility is poor due to the glossy overlay and low maximum brightness. Expect a lot of glare and squinting even if working under shade.

Wide IPS viewing angles. Colors and contrast degrade if viewing from extreme angles

Performance

Processor

Raw multi-thread CPU performance is comparable to the Celeron J4125 or Core m3-8100Y the latter of which can be found on the Microsoft Surface Go or HP ProBook x360 11.6 convertibles. This particular processor is very slow especially in single-thread performance where even the 5-year old Apple MacBook Air can outperform it in by almost 25 percent. The end-user experience is nowhere near as snappy as laptops powered by the Core i series.

More benchmark comparisons on the Celeron N4120 can be found on our dedicated page here.

Chuwi LarkBook CWI509 Intel Celeron N4120; CPU Multi 64Bit: Ø219 (216.74-224.4)

Chuwi LapBook Plus Intel Atom x7-E3950; CPU Multi 64Bit: Ø124.4 (124.01-124.67)

Chuwi HeroBook 14 Intel Atom x5-E8000; CPU Multi 64Bit: Ø93.3 (92.16-97.02)

HP x2 210 G2 Intel Atom x5-Z8350; CPU Multi 64Bit: Ø96.1 (93.86-96.75)

Jumper Tech Ez Book X3 Air Intel Celeron N4100; CPU Multi 64Bit: Ø209 (208-211.45)

GMK NucBox K1 Intel Celeron J4125; CPU Multi 64Bit: Ø238 (199.13-242.53)

Cinebench R15: CPU Multi 64Bit | CPU Single 64Bit
Cinebench R20: CPU (Multi Core) | CPU (Single Core)
7-Zip 18.03: 7z b 4 -mmt1 | 7z b 4
Geekbench 5.5: Single-Core | Multi-Core
HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2: 4k Preset
LibreOffice : 20 Documents To PDF
R Benchmark 2.5: Overall mean

Cinebench R15 / CPU Multi 64Bit
Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry Apple M1	1020 (817^min - 1020^max) Points +355%
Asus VivoBook S13 S330UA-EY034T Intel Core i7-8550U	703 Points +214%
HP Pavilion 13-bb0015cl Intel Core i7-1165G7	685 (673.49^min - 684.52^max) Points +206%
Lenovo ThinkPad X395 AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 3300U	481 Points +115%
Dell XPS 13 7390 2-in-1 Core i3 Intel Core i3-1005G1	406 Points +81%
Apple MacBook Air 2020 i3 Intel Core i3-1000NG4	333 (293^min - 333^max) Points +49%
Microsoft Surface Go 2, m3-8100Y Intel Core m3-8100Y	247 (213.96^min - 218.42^max) Points +10%
GMK NucBox K1 Intel Celeron J4125	243 (199.13^min - 242.53^max) Points +8%
Average Intel Celeron N4120 (223 - 234, n=3)	227 Points +1%
Chuwi LarkBook CWI509 Intel Celeron N4120	224 (216.74^min - 224.4^max) Points
Apple MacBook 12 (Early 2016) 1.1 GHz Intel Core m3-6Y30	218 Points -3%
Jumper Tech Ez Book X3 Air Intel Celeron N4100	211 (208^min - 211.45^max) Points -6%
Chuwi LapBook Plus Intel Atom x7-E3950	125 Points -44%
HP x2 210 G2 Intel Atom x5-Z8350	97 Points -57%
Chuwi HeroBook 14 Intel Atom x5-E8000	94 Points -58%
Trekstor Primebook C13 Intel Celeron N3350	88 Points -61%

Cinebench R15 / CPU Single 64Bit
HP Pavilion 13-bb0015cl Intel Core i7-1165G7	220.9 Points +202%
Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry Apple M1	208 Points +184%
Asus VivoBook S13 S330UA-EY034T Intel Core i7-8550U	171 Points +134%
Dell XPS 13 7390 2-in-1 Core i3 Intel Core i3-1005G1	157 Points +114%
Apple MacBook Air 2020 i3 Intel Core i3-1000NG4	141 Points +93%
Lenovo ThinkPad X395 AMD Ryzen 3 PRO 3300U	126 Points +72%
Microsoft Surface Go 2, m3-8100Y Intel Core m3-8100Y	121 Points +65%
Apple MacBook 12 (Early 2016) 1.1 GHz Intel Core m3-6Y30	91 Points +24%
Apple MacBook 12 (Early 2016) 1.1 GHz Intel Core m3-6Y30	90 Points +23%
GMK NucBox K1 Intel Celeron J4125	75.3 Points +3%
Average Intel Celeron N4120 (73 - 74.5, n=3)	73.6 Points +1%
Chuwi LarkBook CWI509 Intel Celeron N4120	73.2 Points
Jumper Tech Ez Book X3 Air Intel Celeron N4100	68.4 Points -7%
Trekstor Primebook C13 Intel Celeron N3350	45 Points -39%
Chuwi LapBook Plus Intel Atom x7-E3950	41 Points -44%
HP x2 210 G2 Intel Atom x5-Z8350	28 Points -62%
Chuwi HeroBook 14 Intel Atom x5-E8000	27 Points -63%

Cinebench R20 / CPU (Multi Core)
Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry Apple M1	1863 Points +280%
HP Pavilion 13-bb0015cl Intel Core i7-1165G7	1863 Points +280%
Dell XPS 13 7390 2-in-1 Core i3 Intel Core i3-1005G1	948 Points +93%
Apple MacBook Air 2020 i3 Intel Core i3-1000NG4	587 Points +20%
Microsoft Surface Go 2, m3-8100Y Intel Core m3-8100Y	527 Points +8%
Chuwi LarkBook CWI509 Intel Celeron N4120	490 Points
Average Intel Celeron N4120 (376 - 516, n=3)	461 Points -6%
Jumper Tech Ez Book X3 Air Intel Celeron N4100	451 Points -8%
GMK NucBox K1 Intel Celeron J4125	304 Points -38%
Chuwi LapBook Plus Intel Atom x7-E3950	272 Points -44%

Cinebench R20 / CPU (Single Core)
HP Pavilion 13-bb0015cl Intel Core i7-1165G7	558 Points +236%
Dell XPS 13 7390 2-in-1 Core i3 Intel Core i3-1005G1	403 Points +143%
Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry Apple M1	401 Points +142%
Apple MacBook Air 2020 i3 Intel Core i3-1000NG4	348 Points +110%
Microsoft Surface Go 2, m3-8100Y Intel Core m3-8100Y	298 Points +80%
Chuwi LarkBook CWI509 Intel Celeron N4120	166 Points
Average Intel Celeron N4120 (159 - 166, n=3)	163.3 Points -2%
GMK NucBox K1 Intel Celeron J4125	161 Points -3%
Jumper Tech Ez Book X3 Air Intel Celeron N4100	152 Points -8%
Chuwi LapBook Plus Intel Atom x7-E3950	93 Points -44%

7-Zip 18.03 / 7z b 4 -mmt1
HP Pavilion 13-bb0015cl Intel Core i7-1165G7	5507 MIPS +142%
Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry Apple M1	5441 MIPS +139%
Dell XPS 13 7390 2-in-1 Core i3 Intel Core i3-1005G1	3851 MIPS +69%
Apple MacBook Air 2020 i3 Intel Core i3-1000NG4	3438 MIPS +51%
Microsoft Surface Go 2, m3-8100Y Intel Core m3-8100Y	3282 MIPS +44%
GMK NucBox K1 Intel Celeron J4125	2361 MIPS +4%
Chuwi LarkBook CWI509 Intel Celeron N4120	2279 MIPS
Average Intel Celeron N4120 (2145 - 2412, n=3)	2279 MIPS 0%
Jumper Tech Ez Book X3 Air Intel Celeron N4100	2155 MIPS -5%
Chuwi LapBook Plus Intel Atom x7-E3950	1454 MIPS -36%
Chuwi HeroBook 14 Intel Atom x5-E8000	1286 MIPS -44%

7-Zip 18.03 / 7z b 4
Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry Apple M1	34614 MIPS +382%
HP Pavilion 13-bb0015cl Intel Core i7-1165G7	22445 MIPS +212%
Dell XPS 13 7390 2-in-1 Core i3 Intel Core i3-1005G1	10942 MIPS +52%
Apple MacBook Air 2020 i3 Intel Core i3-1000NG4	7921 MIPS +10%
Microsoft Surface Go 2, m3-8100Y Intel Core m3-8100Y	7554 MIPS +5%
GMK NucBox K1 Intel Celeron J4125	7494 MIPS +4%
Chuwi LarkBook CWI509 Intel Celeron N4120	7184 MIPS
Jumper Tech Ez Book X3 Air Intel Celeron N4100	6873 MIPS -4%
Average Intel Celeron N4120 (5832 - 7436, n=3)	6817 MIPS -5%
Chuwi LapBook Plus Intel Atom x7-E3950	4569 MIPS -36%
Chuwi HeroBook 14 Intel Atom x5-E8000	4432 MIPS -38%

Geekbench 5.5 / Single-Core
Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry Apple M1	1727 Points +293%
HP Pavilion 13-bb0015cl Intel Core i7-1165G7	1595 Points +263%
Apple MacBook Air 2020 i3 Intel Core i3-1000NG4	1096 Points +150%
Microsoft Surface Go 2, m3-8100Y Intel Core m3-8100Y	882 Points +101%
Average Intel Celeron N4120 (438 - 449, n=3)	442 Points +1%
Chuwi LarkBook CWI509 Intel Celeron N4120	439 Points
GMK NucBox K1 Intel Celeron J4125	435 Points -1%
Jumper Tech Ez Book X3 Air Intel Celeron N4100	404 Points -8%

Geekbench 5.5 / Multi-Core
Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry Apple M1	7578 Points +404%
HP Pavilion 13-bb0015cl Intel Core i7-1165G7	4964 Points +230%
Apple MacBook Air 2020 i3 Intel Core i3-1000NG4	2028 Points +35%
Microsoft Surface Go 2, m3-8100Y Intel Core m3-8100Y	1615 Points +7%
Average Intel Celeron N4120 (1505 - 1561, n=3)	1525 Points +1%
Chuwi LarkBook CWI509 Intel Celeron N4120	1505 Points
Jumper Tech Ez Book X3 Air Intel Celeron N4100	1407 Points -7%
GMK NucBox K1 Intel Celeron J4125	1394 Points -7%

HWBOT x265 Benchmark v2.2 / 4k Preset
HP Pavilion 13-bb0015cl Intel Core i7-1165G7	5.96 fps +355%
Dell XPS 13 7390 2-in-1 Core i3 Intel Core i3-1005G1	3.122 fps +138%
Apple MacBook Air 2020 i3 Intel Core i3-1000NG4	2.23 fps +70%
Microsoft Surface Go 2, m3-8100Y Intel Core m3-8100Y	1.96 fps +50%
GMK NucBox K1 Intel Celeron J4125	1.46 fps +11%
Chuwi LarkBook CWI509 Intel Celeron N4120	1.31 fps
Jumper Tech Ez Book X3 Air Intel Celeron N4100	1.24 fps -5%
Average Intel Celeron N4120 (1.02 - 1.38, n=3)	1.237 fps -6%
Chuwi LapBook Plus Intel Atom x7-E3950	0.98 fps -25%

LibreOffice / 20 Documents To PDF
Jumper Tech Ez Book X3 Air Intel Celeron N4100	155 s * -18%
Average Intel Celeron N4120 (131 - 157, n=3)	141.3 s * -8%
Chuwi LarkBook CWI509 Intel Celeron N4120	131 s *
GMK NucBox K1 Intel Celeron J4125	124 s * +5%
Apple MacBook Air 2020 i3 Intel Core i3-1000NG4	97.8 s * +25%
Microsoft Surface Go 2, m3-8100Y Intel Core m3-8100Y	85.4 s * +35%
HP Pavilion 13-bb0015cl Intel Core i7-1165G7	47.6 s * +64%
Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry Apple M1	12.88 s * +90%

R Benchmark 2.5 / Overall mean
Jumper Tech Ez Book X3 Air Intel Celeron N4100	1.756 sec * -7%
Average Intel Celeron N4120 (1.642 - 1.649, n=3)	1.645 sec * -0%
Chuwi LarkBook CWI509 Intel Celeron N4120	1.642 sec *
GMK NucBox K1 Intel Celeron J4125	1.577 sec * +4%
Microsoft Surface Go 2, m3-8100Y Intel Core m3-8100Y	0.942 sec * +43%
Apple MacBook Air 2020 i3 Intel Core i3-1000NG4	0.918 sec * +44%
Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry Apple M1	0.732 sec * +55%
HP Pavilion 13-bb0015cl Intel Core i7-1165G7	0.554 sec * +66%

* ... smaller is better

Cinebench R10 Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit

6432

Cinebench R10 Shading 32Bit

3452

Cinebench R10 Rendering Single 32Bit

2159

Cinebench R11.5 CPU Multi 64Bit

2.68 Points

Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64Bit

9.02 fps

Cinebench R11.5 CPU Single 64Bit

0.88 Points

Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64Bit

73.2 Points

Cinebench R15 Ref. Match 64Bit

97.8 %

Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64Bit

16.9 fps

Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64Bit

224 Points

Help

... in comparison

System Performance

We ran into Windows Update issues on our test unit and certain benchmarks like PCMark 10 or Blender wouldn't even run properly. Thus, we're only able to provide our PCMark 8 Home Accelerated test results below. Scores are about half that of the Asus VivoBook S13 equipped with an older but more capable Core i5-8550U.

PCMark 8 - Home Score Accelerated v2
Dell XPS 13 9310 Core i7 FHD Iris Xe G7 96EUs, i7-1165G7, Micron 2300 512GB MTFDHBA512TDV	4407 Points +134%
HP Pavilion 13-bb0015cl Iris Xe G7 96EUs, i7-1165G7, Samsung PM991 MZVLQ512HALU	3769 Points +100%
Asus VivoBook S13 S330UA-EY034T UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U, Kingston RBU-SNS8180DS3512GJ	3566 Points +89%
Chuwi LarkBook CWI509 UHD Graphics 600, Celeron N4120, Kingston RBUSNS8180DS3256GJ	1884 Points
Average Intel Celeron N4120, Intel UHD Graphics 600 ()	1884 Points 0%

PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2		1884 points
Help

DPC Latency

LatencyMon reveals DPC latency issues related to Ndis.sys. Furthermore, 4K UHD video playback at 60 FPS is imperfect with 15 dropped frames during our minute-long YouTube test. We had to rerun this test twice because the CPU would periodically jump to 100 percent utilization and drop even more frames during our first run. Don't plan on doing any multi-tasking when streaming 4K video without incurring noticeable frame drops.

DPC Latencies / LatencyMon - interrupt to process latency (max), Web, Youtube, Prime95
Chuwi LarkBook CWI509 UHD Graphics 600, Celeron N4120, Kingston RBUSNS8180DS3256GJ	2390 μs *
HP Pavilion 13-bb0015cl Iris Xe G7 96EUs, i7-1165G7, Samsung PM991 MZVLQ512HALU	2334 μs * +2%
GMK NucBox K1 UHD Graphics 600, Celeron J4125, HIKVision C100 NGFF SSD 128GB	1717 μs * +28%
Jumper Tech Ez Book X3 Air UHD Graphics 600, Celeron N4100, 128 GB NVMe	1010 μs * +58%
Dell XPS 13 9310 Core i7 FHD Iris Xe G7 96EUs, i7-1165G7, Micron 2300 512GB MTFDHBA512TDV	1009 μs * +58%

* ... smaller is better

Storage Devices

Our unit ships with a 256 GB SATA III M.2 SSD from Kingston. Sequential read and write rates are good at over 400 MB/s each. NVMe drives, which are not compatible with the LarkBook, are both faster and more expensive.

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

	Chuwi LarkBook CWI509 Kingston RBUSNS8180DS3256GJ	Dell XPS 13 9310 Core i7 FHD Micron 2300 512GB MTFDHBA512TDV	Lenovo IdeaPad S540-13API Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ	HP Pavilion 13-bb0015cl Samsung PM991 MZVLQ512HALU	Asus VivoBook S13 S330UA-EY034T Kingston RBU-SNS8180DS3512GJ
AS SSD		164%	202%	122%	-8%
Seq Read	425.6	2091 391%	2792 556%	1632 283%	485.5 14%
Seq Write	417.1	1396 235%	2564 515%	896 115%	351 -16%
4K Read	28.45	49.29 73%	47.14 66%	44.66 57%	30.94 9%
4K Write	48.14	104.2 116%	89.5 86%	128.4 167%	61.6 28%
4K-64 Read	928	827 -11%	1159 25%	862 -7%	323.8 -65%
4K-64 Write	328.5	1636 398%	1468 347%	778 137%	439.9 34%
Access Time Read *	0.175	0.066 62%	0.069 61%	0.064 63%	0.108 38%
Access Time Write *	0.189	0.365 -93%	0.043 77%	0.081 57%	0.174 8%
Score Read	999	1086 9%	1486 49%	1070 7%	403 -60%
Score Write	418	1880 350%	1814 334%	996 138%	537 28%
Score Total	1931	3499 81%	4054 110%	2586 34%	1150 -40%
Copy ISO MB/s	473.6	1544 226%		1283 171%	546 15%
Copy Program MB/s	198.6	613 209%		806 306%	106.2 -47%
Copy Game MB/s	415.3	1451 249%		1182 185%	151 -64%
CrystalDiskMark 5.2 / 6		285%	319%	177%	17%
Write 4K	63.9	97.5 53%	133.9 110%	96.5 51%	64.5 1%
Read 4K	34.38	50.9 48%	44.98 31%	36.81 7%	24.91 -28%
Write Seq	373.9	1811 384%	2730 630%	1168 212%	453.4 21%
Read Seq	411.7	1836 346%	2403 484%	1476 259%	424.9 3%
Write 4K Q32T1	124.1	521 320%	252.2 103%	389.5 214%	257.8 108%
Read 4K Q32T1	139.5	357.5 156%	335.6 141%	347.8 149%	200.4 44%
Write Seq Q32T1	500	2879 476%	2983 497%	1398 180%	504 1%
Read Seq Q32T1	537	3204 497%	3535 558%	2364 340%	459.6 -14%
Write 4K Q8T8					284.4
Read 4K Q8T8					301.2
Total Average (Program / Settings)		225% / 208%	261% / 252%	150% / 142%	5% / 1%

* ... smaller is better

CrystalDiskMark 5.2 / 6

AS SSD

DiskSpd

Kingston RBUSNS8180DS3256GJ

CDM 5/6 Read Seq Q32T1: 537 MB/s

CDM 5/6 Write Seq Q32T1: 500 MB/s

CDM 5/6 Read 4K Q32T1: 139.5 MB/s

CDM 5/6 Write 4K Q32T1: 124.1 MB/s

CDM 5 Read Seq: 411.7 MB/s

CDM 5 Write Seq: 373.9 MB/s

CDM 5/6 Read 4K: 34.38 MB/s

CDM 5/6 Write 4K: 63.9 MB/s

Disk Throttling: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8

No graph data

GPU Performance

The UHD Graphics 600 is over 50 percent slower than the already slow UHD Graphics 620. It barely manages to run DOTA 2 at the lowest settings above 30 FPS. This is no gaming machine, after all.

Note that graphics performance is about two times slower than on the Core i3-8100Y even though their multi-thread CPU performances are comparable.

3DMark | 3DMark 11

3DMark
1280x720 Cloud Gate Standard Graphics
HP Pavilion 13-bb0015cl Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs, i7-1165G7	21542 Points +448%
Lenovo ThinkPad X395 AMD Radeon RX Vega 6 (Ryzen 2000/3000), R3 PRO 3300U	16787 Points +327%
Microsoft Surface Laptop Go Core i5 Intel UHD Graphics G1 (Ice Lake 32 EU), i5-1035G1	11894 Points +202%
Dell XPS 13 7390 2-in-1 Core i3 Intel UHD Graphics G1 (Ice Lake 32 EU), i3-1005G1	10966 Points +179%
Asus VivoBook S13 S330UA-EY034T Intel UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U	10677 Points +172%
Microsoft Surface Go 2, m3-8100Y Intel UHD Graphics 615, m3-8100Y	6564 Points +67%
Apple MacBook 12 (Early 2016) 1.1 GHz Intel HD Graphics 515, 6Y30	6078 Points +55%
Chuwi LapBook Plus Intel HD Graphics 505, x7-E3950	3997 Points +2%
Chuwi LarkBook CWI509 Intel UHD Graphics 600, Celeron N4120	3932 Points
GMK NucBox K1 Intel UHD Graphics 600, Celeron J4125	3366 Points -14%
Average Intel UHD Graphics 600 (2346 - 4958, n=20)	3365 Points -14%
HP x2 210 G2 Intel HD Graphics 400 (Braswell), Z8350	1841 Points -53%
Chuwi HeroBook 14 Intel HD Graphics 400 (Braswell), E8000	1594 Points -59%
1920x1080 Fire Strike Graphics
HP Pavilion 13-bb0015cl Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs, i7-1165G7	4577 Points +870%
Lenovo IdeaPad S540-13API AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), R5 3550H	2594 Points +450%
Lenovo ThinkPad X395 AMD Radeon RX Vega 6 (Ryzen 2000/3000), R3 PRO 3300U	2245 Points +376%
Microsoft Surface Laptop Go Core i5 Intel UHD Graphics G1 (Ice Lake 32 EU), i5-1035G1	1713 Points +263%
Dell XPS 13 7390 2-in-1 Core i3 Intel UHD Graphics G1 (Ice Lake 32 EU), i3-1005G1	1521 Points +222%
Asus VivoBook S13 S330UA-EY034T Intel UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U	1320 Points +180%
Apple MacBook Air 2020 i3 Intel Iris Plus Graphics G4 (Ice Lake 48 EU), i3-1000NG4	922 Points +95%
Microsoft Surface Go 2, m3-8100Y Intel UHD Graphics 615, m3-8100Y	866 Points +83%
Apple MacBook 12 (Early 2016) 1.1 GHz Intel HD Graphics 515, 6Y30	735 Points +56%
Jumper Tech Ez Book X3 Air Intel UHD Graphics 600, Celeron N4100	486 Points +3%
Chuwi LarkBook CWI509 Intel UHD Graphics 600, Celeron N4120	472 Points
GMK NucBox K1 Intel UHD Graphics 600, Celeron J4125	433 Points -8%
Average Intel UHD Graphics 600 (307 - 637, n=21)	421 Points -11%
HP x2 210 G2 Intel HD Graphics 400 (Braswell), Z8350	234 Points -50%
2560x1440 Time Spy Graphics
HP Pavilion 13-bb0015cl Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs, i7-1165G7	1351 Points +1026%
Microsoft Surface Laptop Go Core i5 Intel UHD Graphics G1 (Ice Lake 32 EU), i5-1035G1	440 Points +267%
Microsoft Surface Go 2, m3-8100Y Intel UHD Graphics 615, m3-8100Y	259 Points +116%
Chuwi LapBook Plus Intel HD Graphics 505, x7-E3950	142 Points +18%
Jumper Tech Ez Book X3 Air Intel UHD Graphics 600, Celeron N4100	123 Points +3%
GMK NucBox K1 Intel UHD Graphics 600, Celeron J4125	120 Points 0%
Chuwi LarkBook CWI509 Intel UHD Graphics 600, Celeron N4120	120 Points
Average Intel UHD Graphics 600 (85 - 124, n=12)	107.5 Points -10%

3DMark 11
1280x720 Performance GPU
HP Pavilion 13-bb0015cl Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs, i7-1165G7	6578 Points +985%
Lenovo IdeaPad S540-13API AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), R5 3550H	4164 Points +587%
Lenovo ThinkPad X395 AMD Radeon RX Vega 6 (Ryzen 2000/3000), R3 PRO 3300U	3325 Points +449%
Microsoft Surface Laptop Go Core i5 Intel UHD Graphics G1 (Ice Lake 32 EU), i5-1035G1	2280 Points +276%
Dell XPS 13 7390 2-in-1 Core i3 Intel UHD Graphics G1 (Ice Lake 32 EU), i3-1005G1	2133 Points +252%
Asus VivoBook S13 S330UA-EY034T Intel UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U	1949 Points +222%
Apple MacBook Air 2020 i3 Intel Iris Plus Graphics G4 (Ice Lake 48 EU), i3-1000NG4	1941 Points +220%
Microsoft Surface Go 2, m3-8100Y Intel UHD Graphics 615, m3-8100Y	1378 Points +127%
Apple MacBook 12 (Early 2016) 1.1 GHz Intel HD Graphics 515, 6Y30	1186 Points +96%
Chuwi LapBook Plus Intel HD Graphics 505, x7-E3950	765 Points +26%
Chuwi LarkBook CWI509 Intel UHD Graphics 600, Celeron N4120	606 Points
Jumper Tech Ez Book X3 Air Intel UHD Graphics 600, Celeron N4100	603 Points 0%
GMK NucBox K1 Intel UHD Graphics 600, Celeron J4125	589 Points -3%
Average Intel UHD Graphics 600 (410 - 854, n=27)	558 Points -8%
Trekstor Primebook C13 Intel HD Graphics 500, Celeron N3350	543 Points -10%
HP x2 210 G2 Intel HD Graphics 400 (Braswell), Z8350	349 Points -42%
Chuwi HeroBook 14 Intel HD Graphics 400 (Braswell), E8000	247 Points -59%
1280x720 Performance Combined
HP Pavilion 13-bb0015cl Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 96EUs, i7-1165G7	4586 Points +652%
Lenovo IdeaPad S540-13API AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (Ryzen 2000/3000), R5 3550H	2941 Points +382%
Lenovo ThinkPad X395 AMD Radeon RX Vega 6 (Ryzen 2000/3000), R3 PRO 3300U	2589 Points +324%
Dell XPS 13 7390 2-in-1 Core i3 Intel UHD Graphics G1 (Ice Lake 32 EU), i3-1005G1	2375 Points +289%
Microsoft Surface Laptop Go Core i5 Intel UHD Graphics G1 (Ice Lake 32 EU), i5-1035G1	1989 Points +226%
Asus VivoBook S13 S330UA-EY034T Intel UHD Graphics 620, i5-8550U	1928 Points +216%
Apple MacBook Air 2020 i3 Intel Iris Plus Graphics G4 (Ice Lake 48 EU), i3-1000NG4	1352 Points +122%
Microsoft Surface Go 2, m3-8100Y Intel UHD Graphics 615, m3-8100Y	1260 Points +107%
Apple MacBook 12 (Early 2016) 1.1 GHz Intel HD Graphics 515, 6Y30	1014 Points +66%
Chuwi LapBook Plus Intel HD Graphics 505, x7-E3950	754 Points +24%
Chuwi LarkBook CWI509 Intel UHD Graphics 600, Celeron N4120	610 Points
Trekstor Primebook C13 Intel HD Graphics 500, Celeron N3350	571 Points -6%
Jumper Tech Ez Book X3 Air Intel UHD Graphics 600, Celeron N4100	564 Points -8%
Average Intel UHD Graphics 600 (362 - 983, n=27)	552 Points -10%
GMK NucBox K1 Intel UHD Graphics 600, Celeron J4125	546 Points -10%
HP x2 210 G2 Intel HD Graphics 400 (Braswell), Z8350	392 Points -36%
Chuwi HeroBook 14 Intel HD Graphics 400 (Braswell), E8000	319 Points -48%

3DMark | 3DMark 11

3DMark 06 Standard Score		4151 points
3DMark 11 Performance		685 points
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score		3372 points
3DMark Fire Strike Score		439 points
3DMark Time Spy Score		137 points
Help

... in comparison

	low	med.	high	ultra
Dota 2 Reborn (2015)	38.9	15.2	8	7.4
X-Plane 11.11 (2018)	6.92	4.68	4.26

Emissions

Temperature

The laptop will always be warmer on its left half than the right half due to how the motherboard is positioned inside. Hot spots can become as warm as 41 C to 47 C when under high loads which we find to be noticeable but not vexing.

No internal fan means no exhaust grilles

AC adapter after running high loads for over an hour

Max. Load

Idle


36.2 °C 97 F	41 °C 106 F	28.8 °C 84 F
36 °C 97 F	35.6 °C 96 F	27.4 °C 81 F
30.2 °C 86 F	28.2 °C 83 F	26.8 °C 80 F

Maximum: 41 °C = 106 F
Average: 32.2 °C = 90 F


32.6 °C 91 F	46.8 °C 116 F	40.4 °C 105 F
30 °C 86 F	38.2 °C 101 F	37.2 °C 99 F
29.4 °C 85 F	32.6 °C 91 F	33.6 °C 92 F

Maximum: 46.8 °C = 116 F
Average: 35.6 °C = 96 F

Power Supply (max.) 39 °C = 102 F | Room Temperature 20 °C = 68 F | Fluke 62 Mini IR Thermometer

(±) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 32.2 °C / 90 F, compared to the average of 30.7 °C / 87 F for the devices in the class Subnotebook.
(±) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 41 °C / 106 F, compared to the average of 35.9 °C / 97 F, ranging from 21.4 to 59 °C for the class Subnotebook.
(-) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 46.8 °C / 116 F, compared to the average of 39.4 °C / 103 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 22.3 °C / 72 F, compared to the device average of 30.7 °C / 87 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are cooler than skin temperature with a maximum of 30.2 °C / 86.4 F and are therefore cool to the touch.
(±) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.3 °C / 82.9 F (-1.9 °C / -3.5 F).

Stress Test

Running Prime95 causes the CPU to boost to 2.5 GHz for about 15 seconds until reaching a core temperature of 86 C. Thereafter, clock rates and temperature would drop to 1.9 GHz and plateau at 76 C, respectively. The limited Turbo Boost potential is to be expected from a passively-cooled laptop.

Running on battery power will not limit performance. A 3DMark 11 test on batteries would return nearly identical scores.

	CPU Clock (GHz)	GPU Clock (MHz)	Average CPU Temperature (°C)
System Idle	--	--	36
Prime95 Stress	1.9 - 2.0	--	76
Prime95 + FurMark Stress	1.5 - 1.6	150	73

Speakers

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

Chuwi LarkBook CWI509 audio analysis

(+) | speakers can play relatively loud (82.4 dB)
Bass 100 - 315 Hz
(-) | nearly no bass - on average 22.2% lower than median
(±) | linearity of bass is average (12.6% delta to prev. frequency)
Mids 400 - 2000 Hz
(+) | balanced mids - only 4.7% away from median
(+) | mids are linear (6.9% delta to prev. frequency)
Highs 2 - 16 kHz
(+) | balanced highs - only 4.7% away from median
(±) | linearity of highs is average (7% delta to prev. frequency)
Overall 100 - 16.000 Hz
(±) | linearity of overall sound is average (19.1% difference to median)
Compared to same class
» 54% of all tested devices in this class were better, 6% similar, 40% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 19%, worst was 53%
Compared to all devices tested
» 40% of all tested devices were better, 7% similar, 53% 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
» 3% of all tested devices were better, 1% similar, 96% worse
» The best had a delta of 4%, average was 25%, worst was 134%

Energy Management

Power Consumption

Idling on desktop consumes between 5 W and 9 W which is not all that different from the usual Core i-powered laptop even though the Chuwi is passively cooled and significantly slower. We're able to record a temporary maximum draw of 27.8 W from the small (5.5 x 5.5 x 3 cm) 24 W AC adapter as shown by the graphs before thermal throttling kicks in.

Prime95+FurMark initiated at 10s mark. Consumption would spike to 28 W for about 15 seconds before falling and stabilizing at 19 W

Power Consumption

Off / Standby	0.9 / 1 Watt
Idle	5.2 / 7.3 / 8.9 Watt
Load	18.1 / 27.8 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 LarkBook CWI509 Celeron N4120, UHD Graphics 600, Kingston RBUSNS8180DS3256GJ, IPS, 1920x1080, 13.30	Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry M1, M1 7-Core GPU, Apple SSD AP0256Q, IPS, 2560x1600, 13.30	Dell XPS 13 9310 Core i7 FHD i7-1165G7, Iris Xe G7 96EUs, Micron 2300 512GB MTFDHBA512TDV, IPS, 1920x1200, 13.40	Lenovo IdeaPad S540-13API R5 3550H, Vega 8, Samsung SSD PM981 MZVLB512HAJQ, IPS, 2560x1600, 13.30	HP Pavilion 13-bb0015cl i7-1165G7, Iris Xe G7 96EUs, Samsung PM991 MZVLQ512HALU, IPS, 3840x2160, 13.30	Asus VivoBook S13 S330UA-EY034T i5-8550U, UHD Graphics 620, Kingston RBU-SNS8180DS3512GJ, IPS LED, 1920x1080, 13.30
Power Consumption		10%	-23%	-41%	-53%	-38%
Idle Minimum *	5.2	1.9 63%	3.9 25%	5.6 -8%	4.6 12%	2.8 46%
Idle Average *	7.3	6.4 12%	5.9 19%	8.2 -12%	10.6 -45%	5 32%
Idle Maximum *	8.9	7 21%	6.3 29%	9.1 -2%	11.4 -28%	8.3 7%
Load Average *	18.1	25 -38%	39.7 -119%	37.6 -108%	43.2 -139%	42.8 -136%
Load Maximum *	27.8	30.3 -9%	47.5 -71%	48.3 -74%	46 -65%	65.8 -137%
Witcher 3 ultra *			34.8		39.9

* ... smaller is better

Battery Life

Runtimes are short at just under 4.5 hours of constant WLAN use. Furthermore, charging from empty to full capacity is very slow at almost 3 full hours. The system cannot be recharged via USB-C.

Battery Runtime


WiFi Websurfing		4h 26min

	Chuwi LarkBook CWI509 Celeron N4120, UHD Graphics 600, 34.8 Wh	Apple MacBook Air 2020 M1 Entry M1, M1 7-Core GPU, 49.9 Wh	Dell XPS 13 9310 Core i7 FHD i7-1165G7, Iris Xe G7 96EUs, 52 Wh	Lenovo IdeaPad S540-13API R5 3550H, Vega 8, 56 Wh	HP Pavilion 13-bb0015cl i7-1165G7, Iris Xe G7 96EUs, 43 Wh	Asus VivoBook S13 S330UA-EY034T i5-8550U, UHD Graphics 620, 42 Wh
Battery Runtime		261%	147%	136%	1%	88%
WiFi v1.3	266	960 261%	657 147%	627 136%	269 1%	501 88%
Reader / Idle			1800		649
Load			193		78

Pros

+ over 90 percent sRGB coverage

+ no fan; silent operation

+ DisplayPort-over-USB-C

+ sleek chassis design

+ 2x M.2 SATA III slots

+ high contrast ratio

+ relatively cheap

+ loud speakers

+ lightweight

Cons

- blurry webcam especially around the edges and corners

- dropped frames during 4K UHD video playback

- very poorly calibrated display out of the box

- no support for USB-C Power Delivery

- PWM on almost all brightness levels

- no IR camera or fingerprint reader

- very slow CPU performance

- slow wireless performance

- no keyboard backlight

- long charging time

- short battery life

Verdict

In review: Chuwi LarkBook CWI509. Test unit provided by Chuwi

Unless if you can find one deeply discounted, the Chuwi LarkBook is a little costly at its MSRP of nearly $500 USD. You would be better off investing in a four-year old Dell XPS 13 as even a Core i3-powered configuration will run laps around the LarkBook. The longevity of the LarkBook is also questionable as we've had issues related to the hinges and keyboard keys of earlier Chuwi test units like the AeroBook.

The sleek design and crisp IPS display are dragged down by the slow processor performance and imperfect 4K UHD video playback.

The LarkBook is visually attractive and its display is actually pretty good after calibration. As a primary laptop for streaming and browsing, however, you're going to want something faster and longer-lasting.

Price and availability

The Chuwi LarkBook is currently available on the official Chuwi online store for about $400 to $500 USD.

Chuwi LarkBook CWI509 - 2020-12-31 12/31/2020 v7
Allen Ngo

Chassis

78 / 98 → 80%

Keyboard

71%

Pointing Device

72%

Connectivity

47 / 75 → 62%

Weight

74 / 20-75 → 98%

Battery

60%

Display

75%

Games Performance

21 / 78 → 26%

Application Performance

61 / 85 → 72%

Temperature

91%

Noise

100%

Audio

79 / 91 → 87%

Camera

26 / 85 → 31%

Average

66%

77%

Subnotebook - Weighted Average

Pricecompare

Loading Comments

Comment on this article

Allen Ngo - Lead Editor U.S. - 5191 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

Please share our article, every link counts!

> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Reviews > Chuwi LarkBook Laptop Review: Good Looks, Poor Performance

Allen Ngo, 2020-12-31 (Update: 2020-12-31)

Chuwi LarkBook Laptop Review: Good Looks, Poor Performance

potential competitors in comparison

Case

Connectivity

SD Card Reader

Communication

Webcam

Maintenance

Accessories and Warranty

Input Devices

Keyboard

Touchpad

Display

Display Response Times

Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)

Performance

Processor

System Performance

DPC Latency

Storage Devices

Disk Throttling: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8

GPU Performance

Emissions

Temperature

Stress Test

Speakers

Chuwi LarkBook CWI509 audio analysis

Apple MacBook 12 (Early 2016) 1.1 GHz audio analysis

Energy Management

Power Consumption

Battery Life

Pros

Cons

Verdict

Price and availability

More articles related to this device

Related Articles

Pricecompare