Packard Bell EasyNote TE69HW-29574G50Mnsk Notebook Review

The review notebook comes with a glossy 15.6-inch display with a native resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels. The brightness of 203.3 nits is nothing to get too excited about, although most bargain-priced notebooks don't have displays that are any brighter. Both the contrast (446:1) and the black value (0.46 cd/m²) are decent, however.

The Packard Bell Easynote TE69HW is a inexpensive 15.6-inch home and home office notebook. The system can handle simple tasks such as web surfing, word processing, video conferencing, and watching videos. Our review notebook is available for about 300 Euro ($410).

The Easynote makes use of a dual-core, Haswell-generation Intel Celeron-2957U CPU. The processor is clocked at 1.4 GHz and lacks Turbo Boost. The TDP is specified at 15 watts according to Intel. The Celeron handled the Cinebench CPU benchmarks at the full speed. Of the notebooks mentioned, the G500s had the highest scores, since it features the strongest processor.

Since the Easynote ships without an operating system, we installed Windows 8. We encountered no issues during the install and ended up with a smooth-running system. The result of the PCMark 7 test is actually pretty decent, although the G500s scored higher once again because of its more powerful CPU.

A glance at the comparison table below shows that the identically equipped Aspire E1-532 didn't fare nearly as well as our Easynote. The feature set of the processors, which are otherwise virtually the same, explains the apparent discrepancy: the Celeron 2957U supports Intel's Quicksync technology (hardware-based video coding/decoding), but the Celeron 2955U does not. The PCMark 7 benchmark test takes advantage of Quicksync and the Easynote scores much higher as a result.

The hard drive is a Seagate Momentus Thin with a storage capacity of 500 GB and a rotational speed of 5400 RPM. The transfer rates are within the normal range for a 5400 RPM hard drive.

The HD Graphics GPU supports DirectX 11 and operates between 200 and 1000 MHz. Since the TE69HW is equipped with the most powerful GPU, it outperforms the other competitors in the various 3D Mark tests.

The notebook can handle some current games at a reduced resolution and with the quality set to low. A game like Fifa 14 with very low hardware requirements can be played at a higher resolution and higher quality. The frame rate can be improved a little by adding a second memory module, since the RAM then runs in dual-channel mode, which improves the GPU performance. The net result is an increase in the frame rate of about 20 %.

Not much to say as far as the system noise is concerned: the notebook works quietly and unobtrusively regardless of the load level. During idle, the fan frequently doesn't spin at all and the only source of noise is the soft whooshing sound of the hard drive.

The stereo speakers are located on the bottom and sound rather anemic. Bass is lacking and the speakers can sound a little tinny at times. Voices are easy to understand, however.

Power Consumption

During idle, all three notebooks in our comparison consume almost the same amount of power, although the Easynote still needs less than its competitors. Under medium load (3D Mark 06) and full load (stress test with Prime95 and Furmark), the Easynote draws 22.8 and 26.5 watts, which falls right in between the requirements of the 250 G2 and the G500s. Overall, the power consumption is as expected for a notebook with a Haswell ULV processor.

During our practically relevant WLAN test, a script visits various websites every 40 seconds. For the test, the Power Saver Profile is active and the display brightness is set to around 150 nits. The Packard Bell Easynote lasted for about 4 hours and 45 minutes before we had to plug it back in. The G500s (3hours 14 minutes) didn't last quite as long; the 250 G2's run time (4 hours 34 minutes) is quite comparable.

All in all, the Packard Bell Easynote TE69HW-29574G50Mnsk is a good notebook and powerful enough to handle the daily work load. While many manufacturers equip their low-cost systems with Bay Trail processors, Acer/Packard Bell rely on a Haswell CPU instead. This is a definite plus, because the latter clearly outperforms the former. The Easynote is quiet, remains cool, and consumes very little power, which results in a good battery life. In Germany, Packard Bell covers the notebook for 24 months against defects. The display quality is less convincing, but certainly acceptable considering the price bracket.

We've mentioned it already: Packard Bell's Easynote is essentially a version of the Acer Aspire E1-532 (Acer owns the Packard Bell brand name). The two systems are thus quite comparable and feature similar emissions, battery life, as well as energy consumption. The CPU the Easynote is equipped with supports Intel's Quicksync technology, which in turn leads to a higher PCMark score. During everyday operation, this difference isn't really noticeable. The Aspire E1-532 features a better keyboard, is also available with a matte display and costs about 30 Euro (~$40) less. We find the Aspire to be the more visually appealing as well - but that's certainly in the eye of the beholder.

The Lenovo G500s is a better alternative if CPU power is important. The HP 250 G2 has the lowest power consumption of the three systems in our comparison.