Topjoy Falcon Convertible Review (Preproduction Model)

Mini laptop. The Topjoy Falcon currently listed on Kickstarter is a mini convertible with Windows 10 and an actively cooled Gemini-Lake quad-core processor. We used a preproduction model from Topjoy for our review, running it through most of our test series. Find out about the advantages and disadvantages of the minicomputer in our review.

Klaus Hinum, 👁 Klaus Hinum, ✓ Katja Steyrleuthner (translated by Mark Riege), Published 10/28/2018 🇩🇪 🇫🇷 ...

Topjoy has just successfully completed its Kickstarter campaign to finance the Falcon convertible. Currently, two models with differing SSD size are offered. We had the larger model with a 256 GB SATA SSD in our test.

Compared to other small mini-PCs, Topjoy aims to offer a significant performance advantage with the actively cooled Pentium N5000, 8 GB of RAM, and a SATA SSD. There is also the option of a pressure-sensitive active pen. Topjoy itself compares the Falcon to the smaller GDP Pocket 2 that offers a Core M3 and eMMC, and the new Surface GO (see our test) with a Pentium Gold and eMMC. Both have a faster CPU but slower storage.

An interesting detail: According to the Kickstarter campaign, the Falcon not only supports Windows 10 (which was installed on our test unit) but also Ubuntu.

Topjoy Falcon

Processor

Intel Pentium Silver N5000 4 x 1.1 - 2.7 GHz, Gemini Lake

Graphics adapter

Intel UHD Graphics 605

Memory

8 GB

, DDR3-2400 single channel

Display

8.00 inch 16:10, 1920 x 1200 pixel 275 PPI, Multitouch, native pen support, AUO17D8, IPS, glossy: yes

Mainboard

Gemini Lake

Storage

FORESEE 256GB, 256 GB

, 214 GB free

Soundcard

Realtek ALC269

Connections

2 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, 1 HDMI, Audio Connections: Earphones

Networking

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

Size

height x width x depth (in mm): 20 x 200 x 130 ( = 0.79 x 7.87 x 5.12 in)

Battery

22 Wh Lithium-Ion, Battery runtime (according to manufacturer): 8 h

Operating System

Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64 Bit

Additional features

Speakers: Stereo, Keyboard: Island, Keyboard Light: yes

Released

10/25/2018

Weight

680 g ( = 23.99 oz / 1.5 pounds) ( = 0 oz / 0 pounds)

Price

859 Dollar

Links

Topjoy 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

According to Topjoy, the case is made from an aluminum-magnesium alloy. After an easy removal of the bottom plate, you can see that it really is a milled unibody case, which also explains its good stability. Neither the display nor the rest of the main body of the case can be twisted and leave an excellent impression. Currently, the display is still slightly too heavy, causing it to become a little top-heavy and tippy from a 50 ° angle. While Topjoy wants to correct this in the production model, it is questionable whether this might go at the expense of the stability. With Gorilla Glass 4 and a sturdy aluminum back, you can probably only save some weight in the lid.

The hinge itself supports 360 ° turning of the display to flip it on the back, turning the Falcon into a thick small tablet. The hinge leaves a good-quality impression and is relatively hard to move.

The design is kept comparatively simple and does not use any visual accents. Overall, we really like the design and selection of materials.

The Chinese mini-notebook belongs to the smallest Windows notebooks we ever tested, at least in terms of its footprint. However, while the footprint is significantly smaller when compared to a MacBook 12, the notebook is a full 50% thicker.

Size Comparison

Apple MacBook 12 2017 Toshiba Satellite Click Mini L9W-B-102 Microsoft Surface Go MHN-00003 Apple iPad 6 2018 Fujitsu Stylistic V535 Topjoy Falcon DIN A4 ❌

Connections

As customary in small subnotebooks, the ports are rather sparse. The USB-C port is also used for charging and is set too deep into the body of the preproduction model, so that it can only be used with the included charging cable. However, this is supposed to change in the production model. Particularly in small and mobile devices, a modern USB-C connection with power delivery is an excellent design decision, since it enables external batteries and smartphone chargers. Unfortunately, the HDMI port was implemented as a mini-HDMI connection, forcing you to bring the corresponding cable.

USB-C (probably Gen.1) with charging function, mini-HDMI, audio port, USB 3.0 (Type-A)

Communication

WLAN antenna inside a small slot — WLAN antenna

The built-in WLAN module comes from Intel and belongs to the entry-level. A sub-optimal placement of the WLAN antenna has some effects in our test, resulting in a weak reception and lower range than other test units with the Intel 3165 WLAN. Here, the small unibody aluminum case shows its disadvantages.

Maintenance

It is very easy to get to the insides of the tiny mini-notebook. The bottom aluminum plate is secured with six small Phillips screws. As soon as you have removed them, you can take off the plate without any trouble. You do not need a prying tool or any force - perfect! Inside, you can access the screwed-in and easily removable battery and the fan. However, you cannot reach the SSD directly, since it is probably on the other side of the motherboard.

Input Devices

Keyboard

Due to the small case size, Topjoy was unable to build in a full keyboard. Instead, a combination of keys of various sizes and a changed layout was used. This initially makes touch-typing impossible, and you would be better off using a two-finger typing system. Particularly the large offset of the key rows feels unusual in the beginning. The keys themselves are set tightly in the case and offer a clearly defined pressure point and sufficiently large stroke. In the production model, the keyboard should also offer a backlight, but currently you can only see the charging light shining through on the right side.

Touchpad

Instead of a touchpad, Topjoy has built a small optical sensor into the center of the space key. This should be considered more of an emergency measure, since its precision was not the best in our test. The main input sources should be the pen and touchscreen. In our test, the touchscreen was sufficiently accurate; but at a 1920x1200 resolution, Windows operation becomes a little tiresome. The optional active pen represents a good solution. However, in our preproduction unit, this was not very accurate yet and could not be perfectly calibrated even with the on-board Windows 10 methods.

Display

The built-in IPS touchscreen offers a relatively high resolution of 1920x1200 pixels in a merely 8-inch diagonal. Subjectively, it leaves a good impression. In our preproduction model, a panel from AUO with the AUO17D8 label was used. Unfortunately, this offers a maximum brightness of barely 270 cd/m², so it is less suitable for outdoor usage. However, Topjoy is planning to use a different display with a brightness of up to 400 cd/m². In our test unit, the usage of PWM even at 100% brightness was striking. This means that even with this panel, a slightly higher maximum brightness should be possible. The color reproduction was relatively good.

The laminated display is protected by Gorilla Glass 4 in front. While this protects the display, it also results in a very reflective surface, which is unfortunately customary for touchscreens.


279 cd/m²	265 cd/m²	252 cd/m²
287 cd/m²	266 cd/m²	264 cd/m²
285 cd/m²	261 cd/m²	263 cd/m²

Distribution of brightness

AUO17D8

X-Rite i1Pro 2

Maximum: 287 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 269.1 cd/m² Minimum: 32.8 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 88 %
Center on Battery: 266 cd/m²
Contrast: 782:1 (Black: 0.34 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 3.6 | 0.55-29.43 Ø5.1, calibrated: 2.7
ΔE Greyscale 3.6 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
Gamma: 2.19

	Topjoy Falcon AUO17D8, , 1920x1200, 8.00	Toshiba Satellite Click Mini L9W-B-102 PVO, , 1920x1200, 8.90	Microsoft Surface Go MHN-00003 Sharp SHP14A6, , 1800x1200, 10.00	Chuwi LapBook SE 1920x1080, 13.30
Display
Display P3 Coverage		42.94	66.5	65
sRGB Coverage		64.4	97.5	94.8
AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage		44.4	67.5	66.5
Response Times			138%	4%
Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% *	37 ?(17, 20)		44 ?(22, 22) -19%	39.2 ?(19.2, 20) -6%
Response Time Black / White *	33.6 ?(20, 13.6)		25.6 ?(11.6, 14) 24%	27.7 ?(14.8, 12.9) 18%
PWM Frequency	200 ?(100, 266)		1020 ?(99) 410%	200 ?(29) 0%
Screen		-22%	53%	-36%
Brightness middle	266	207 -22%	456 71%	227 -15%
Brightness	269	205 -24%	426 58%	210 -22%
Brightness Distribution	88	89 1%	88 0%	89 1%
Black Level *	0.34	0.14 59%	0.31 9%	0.44 -29%
Contrast	782	1479 89%	1471 88%	516 -34%
Colorchecker dE 2000 *	3.6	7.98 -122%	1.3 64%	6.6 -83%
Colorchecker dE 2000 max. *	8.2		3 63%	12.2 -49%
Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated *	2.7		1.1 59%	1.9 30%
Greyscale dE 2000 *	3.6	8.36 -132%	1.4 61%	7.9 -119%
Gamma	2.19 ^100%	2.21 ^100%	2.24 ^98%	2.16 ^102%
CCT	6442 ^101%	7768 ^84%	6687 ^97%	8879 ^73%
Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998)		41	62.3
Color Space (Percent of sRGB)		64	96.8
Total Average (Program / Settings)		-22% / -22%	96% / 74%	-16% / -26%

* ... smaller is better

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
33.6 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined	↗ 20 ms rise
33.6 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined	↘ 13.6 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. » 88 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (21.9 ms).
↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey
37 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined	↗ 17 ms rise
37 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined	↘ 20 ms fall
The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.25 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 45 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is similar to the average of all tested devices (34.6 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

200 Hz

≤ 100 % brightness setting

≤ 266 cd/m² brightness

The display backlight flickers at 200 Hz (Likely utilizing PWM) Flickering detected at a brightness setting of 100 % (266 cd/m²) and below. There should be no flickering or PWM above this brightness setting.

The frequency of 200 Hz is relatively low, so sensitive users will likely notice flickering and experience eyestrain at the stated brightness setting and below.

Flickering occurs even at high brightness setting and may have an effect on the user during everyday use.

In comparison: 54 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 19003 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured.

Performance

A particularity of the small mini-notebook is the actively cooled Intel Pentium Silver N5000. With four cores and a Turbo boost of up to 2.7 GHz, the processor offers a relatively high performance considering the power consumption. In combination with a SATA SSD instead of slow eMMC storage, Topjoy promises a good performance in the entry-level device.

Processor

Thanks to the active cooling, the processor can produce its full performance and even maintain a stable performance during longer-lasting load.

Topjoy Falcon Intel Pentium Silver N5000, Intel Pentium Silver N5000: Ø222 (221.28-228.02)

Lenovo Ideapad D330-10IGM Intel Pentium Silver N5000, Intel Pentium Silver N5000: Ø232 (230.48-237.35)

Acer Swift 1 SF114-32-P8GG Intel Pentium Silver N5000, Intel Pentium Silver N5000: Ø230 (228.26-236.29)

Chuwi LapBook SE Intel Celeron N4100, Intel Celeron N4100: Ø157.8 (150.45-161.13)

Eve-Tech Eve V m3 Intel Core m3-7Y30, Intel Core m3-7Y30: Ø238 (227.93-249.83)

Microsoft Surface Go MHN-00003 Intel Pentium Gold 4415Y, Intel Pentium Gold 4415Y: Ø162.9 (162.13-163.67)

Cinebench R15
CPU Single 64Bit
Average of class Convertible (68.6 - 287, n=79, last 2 years)	211 Points ∼100% +171%
Eve-Tech Eve V m3 Intel Core m3-7Y30	105 Points ∼50% +35%
Apple MacBook 12 (Early 2016) 1.1 GHz Intel Core m3-6Y30	91 Points ∼43% +17%
Apple MacBook 12 (Early 2016) 1.1 GHz Intel Core m3-6Y30	90 Points ∼43% +15%
Topjoy Falcon Intel Pentium Silver N5000	78 Points ∼37%
Average Intel Pentium Silver N5000 (73 - 80, n=12)	77.5 Points ∼37% -1%
Lenovo Ideapad D330-10IGM Intel Pentium Silver N5000	77 Points ∼36% -1%
Acer Swift 1 SF114-32-P8GG Intel Pentium Silver N5000	73 Points ∼35% -6%
Chuwi LapBook SE Intel Celeron N4100	69.8 Points ∼33% -11%
Microsoft Surface Go MHN-00003 Intel Pentium Gold 4415Y	65 Points ∼31% -17%
Fujitsu Stylistic V535 Intel Atom Z3795	38 Points ∼18% -51%
CPU Multi 64Bit
Average of class Convertible (110.1 - 2633, n=82, last 2 years)	1231 Points ∼100% +433%
Eve-Tech Eve V m3 Intel Core m3-7Y30	250 (227.93^min - 249.83^max) Points ∼20% +8%
Average Intel Pentium Silver N5000 (210 - 284, n=12)	240 Points ∼19% +4%
Lenovo Ideapad D330-10IGM Intel Pentium Silver N5000	237 Points ∼19% +3%
Acer Swift 1 SF114-32-P8GG Intel Pentium Silver N5000	236 Points ∼19% +2%
Topjoy Falcon Intel Pentium Silver N5000	231 (221.28^min - 228.02^max) Points ∼19%
Apple MacBook 12 (Early 2016) 1.1 GHz Intel Core m3-6Y30	218 Points ∼18% -6%
Microsoft Surface Go MHN-00003 Intel Pentium Gold 4415Y	164 Points ∼13% -29%
Chuwi LapBook SE Intel Celeron N4100	161 (150.45^min - 161.13^max) Points ∼13% -30%
Fujitsu Stylistic V535 Intel Atom Z3795	118 Points ∼10% -49%

Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64Bit

78 Points

Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64Bit

18.22 fps

Cinebench R15 Ref. Match 64Bit

97.8 %

Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64Bit

231 Points

Help

... in comparison

System Performance

Thanks to the SATA SSD and the relatively fast N5000, the system performance is good for an entry-level device. In the PCMark tests, the Topjoy positions itself at the level of the other N5000 notebooks. While there still remains some respectful distance to the devices that are based on the Core m3, the small devices based on dual-cores and eMMC (such as the Surface Go entry-level version) can be left significantly behind.

PCMark 8
Home Score Accelerated v2
Average of class Convertible (3057 - 5830, n=5, last 2 years)	4482 Points ∼100% +102%
Apple MacBook 12 2017 HD Graphics 615, m3-7Y32, Apple SSD AP0256	3078 Points ∼69% +39%
Eve-Tech Eve V m3 HD Graphics 615, m3-7Y30, Intel SSD 600p SSDPEKKW128G7	2685 Points ∼60% +21%
Apple MacBook 12 (Early 2016) 1.1 GHz HD Graphics 515, 6Y30, Apple SSD AP0256	2550 Points ∼57% +15%
Topjoy Falcon UHD Graphics 605, Pentium N5000, FORESEE 256GB	2216 Points ∼49%
Lenovo Ideapad D330-10IGM UHD Graphics 605, Pentium N5000, 128 GB eMMC Flash	2201 Points ∼49% -1%
Average Intel Pentium Silver N5000, Intel UHD Graphics 605 (1933 - 2393, n=9)	2186 Points ∼49% -1%
Acer Swift 1 SF114-32-P8GG UHD Graphics 605, Pentium N5000, Micron 1100 MTFDDAV256TBN	2141 Points ∼48% -3%
Fujitsu Stylistic V535 HD Graphics (Bay Trail), Z3795, 128 GB eMMC Flash	1139 Points ∼25% -49%
Toshiba Satellite Click Mini L9W-B-102 HD Graphics (Bay Trail), Z3735F, 32 GB eMMC Flash	911 Points ∼20% -59%
Microsoft Surface Go MHN-00003 UHD Graphics 615, Pentium 4415Y, 64 GB eMMC Flash	741 Points ∼17% -67%
Work Score Accelerated v2
Apple MacBook 12 2017 HD Graphics 615, m3-7Y32, Apple SSD AP0256	3946 Points ∼100% +26%
Average of class Convertible (2921 - 6089, n=5, last 2 years)	3924 Points ∼99% +26%
Apple MacBook 12 (Early 2016) 1.1 GHz HD Graphics 515, 6Y30, Apple SSD AP0256	3550 Points ∼90% +14%
Average Intel Pentium Silver N5000, Intel UHD Graphics 605 (3120 - 3606, n=8)	3283 Points ∼83% +5%
Acer Swift 1 SF114-32-P8GG UHD Graphics 605, Pentium N5000, Micron 1100 MTFDDAV256TBN	3259 Points ∼83% +4%
Lenovo Ideapad D330-10IGM UHD Graphics 605, Pentium N5000, 128 GB eMMC Flash	3125 Points ∼79% 0%
Topjoy Falcon UHD Graphics 605, Pentium N5000, FORESEE 256GB	3122 Points ∼79%
Fujitsu Stylistic V535 HD Graphics (Bay Trail), Z3795, 128 GB eMMC Flash	1227 Points ∼31% -61%
Toshiba Satellite Click Mini L9W-B-102 HD Graphics (Bay Trail), Z3735F, 32 GB eMMC Flash	1008 Points ∼26% -68%

PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2		2216 points
PCMark 8 Creative Score Accelerated v2		2672 points
PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2		3122 points
PCMark 10 Score		1990 points
Help

Storage Solution

Our test unit uses a FORSEE SSD with 256 GB, a model that is widespread in China. This offers an average performance for a SATA SSD but is much faster than the usual eMMCs and HDDs in entry-level devices.

	Topjoy Falcon FORESEE 256GB	Average FORESEE 256GB
CrystalDiskMark 3.0
Sequential Read
Sequential Write
512K Read
512K Write
4K Read
4K Write
4K QD32 Read
4K QD32 Write

AS SSD

DiskSpd

FORESEE 256GB

Sequential Read: 472.2MB/s

Sequential Write: 431.4MB/s

4K Read: 12.06MB/s

4K Write: 26.05MB/s

4K-64 Read: 87.9MB/s

4K-64 Write: 188MB/s

Access Time Read: 0.23ms

Access Time Write: 0.444ms

Copy ISO: 474MB/s

Copy Program: 150MB/s

Copy Game: 344MB/s

Score Read: 147Points

Score Write: 257Points

Score Total: 482Points

Graphics Card

The integrated Intel UHD Graphics 605 is only recommended for non-demanding graphics tasks. While the Falcon does not show any weaknesses compared to other UHD 605 GPUs, it is still only sufficient for non-demanding games such as Team Fortress 2 or Counter Strike: GO in ugly graphics settings.

3DMark 11 - 1280x720 Performance GPU
Average of class Convertible (471 - 28708, n=75, last 2 years)	6053 Points ∼100% +716%
Eve-Tech Eve V m3 Intel HD Graphics 615, Intel Core m3-7Y30	1384 (1376^min - 1390^max) Points ∼23% +87%
Microsoft Surface Go MHN-00003 Intel UHD Graphics 615, Intel Pentium Gold 4415Y	1257 Points ∼21% +69%
Lenovo Ideapad D330-10IGM Intel UHD Graphics 605, Intel Pentium Silver N5000	757 Points ∼13% +2%
Topjoy Falcon Intel UHD Graphics 605, Intel Pentium Silver N5000	742 Points ∼12%
Average Intel UHD Graphics 605 (588 - 902, n=13)	701 Points ∼12% -6%
Lenovo Yoga 330-11IGM Intel UHD Graphics 605, Intel Pentium Silver N5000	626 Points ∼10% -16%
Acer Swift 1 SF114-32-P8GG Intel UHD Graphics 605, Intel Pentium Silver N5000	612 Points ∼10% -18%
Chuwi LapBook SE Intel UHD Graphics 600, Intel Celeron N4100	482 Points ∼8% -35%

3DMark - 1280x720 Cloud Gate Standard Graphics
Average of class Convertible (2965 - 135871, n=62, last 2 years)	26325 Points ∼100% +487%
Eve-Tech Eve V m3 Intel HD Graphics 615, Intel Core m3-7Y30	7138 (7124^min - 7152^max) Points ∼27% +59%
Microsoft Surface Go MHN-00003 Intel UHD Graphics 615, Intel Pentium Gold 4415Y	6602 Points ∼25% +47%
Topjoy Falcon Intel UHD Graphics 605, Intel Pentium Silver N5000	4485 Points ∼17%
Lenovo Ideapad D330-10IGM Intel UHD Graphics 605, Intel Pentium Silver N5000	4200 Points ∼16% -6%
Average Intel UHD Graphics 605 (2874 - 4485, n=10)	3518 Points ∼13% -22%
Lenovo Yoga 330-11IGM Intel UHD Graphics 605, Intel Pentium Silver N5000	3349 Points ∼13% -25%
Acer Swift 1 SF114-32-P8GG Intel UHD Graphics 605, Intel Pentium Silver N5000	3261 Points ∼12% -27%
Chuwi LapBook SE Intel UHD Graphics 600, Intel Celeron N4100	2826 Points ∼11% -37%

3DMark 06 Standard Score		4171 points
3DMark 11 Performance		824 points
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score		3723 points
Help

... in comparison

World of Warships - 1366x768 Low Preset AF:Trilinear
HP 15-da0405ng NVIDIA GeForce MX110, i5-8250U	89.2 fps ∼100% +261%
Acer Aspire 3 A315-41-R7BM AMD Radeon RX Vega 3, R3 2200U	67.3 fps ∼75% +172%
Acer Spin 5 SP513-52N-566U Intel UHD Graphics 620, i5-8250U	66.7 (39^min - 89^max) fps ∼75% +170%
Lenovo IdeaPad V110-15IKB 80TH001SGE Intel HD Graphics 610, Pentium 4415U	47.3 fps ∼53% +91%
Acer Aspire 3 A315-21-651Y AMD Radeon R4 (Stoney Ridge), A6-9220	30 fps ∼34% +21%
Lenovo Ideapad 320-17AST-80XW0013GE AMD Radeon R2 (Stoney Ridge), E2-9000	25.5 fps ∼29% +3%
Topjoy Falcon Intel UHD Graphics 605, Pentium N5000	24.7 (11^min - 35^max) fps ∼28%
Average Intel UHD Graphics 605 (22.7 - 24.7, n=2)	23.7 fps ∼27% -4%
Acer Swift 1 SF114-32-P8GG Intel UHD Graphics 605, Pentium N5000	22.7 fps ∼25% -8%
Lenovo Tablet 10-20L3000KGE Intel UHD Graphics 600, Celeron N4100	20 fps ∼22% -19%

	low	med.	high	ultra	QHD	4K
GTA V (2015)	11.7	9.29
World of Warships (2015)	24.7
Final Fantasy XV Benchmark (2018)	5.15
X-Plane 11.11 (2018)	9.1	6	5.5
World of Tanks enCore (2018)	53	8.9
Dirt Rally 2.0 (2019)	11 (too slow)
Total War: Three Kingdoms (2019)	6.5
League of Legends (2019)	49.8	39	26.6	24.9	23.6	15
F1 2019 (2019)	8.2
Hearthstone (2020)	31.1

Emissions

Noise Emissions

Without any load, the integrated fan remains turned off, keeping the Convertible almost completely silent. We can only hear a very faint coil whining when copying data. During CPU or GPU load, the small fan starts running and makes quite a ruckus at up to 47 dB. However, in the production model, you are supposed to be able to turn this off (probably quickly leading to some thermal throttling instead).

Temperature

Thanks to the fan, the aluminum case remains comfortably cool even under heavy load. We measure a maximum of 35 °C (95 °F) at the hot spot on the bottom after longer-lasting full load.

Max. Load


30 °C 86 F	30 °C 86 F	31 °C 88 F
27 °C 81 F	30 °C 86 F	31 °C 88 F
28 °C 82 F	29 °C 84 F	30 °C 86 F

Maximum: 31 °C = 88 F
Average: 29.6 °C = 85 F


32 °C 90 F	33 °C 91 F	28 °C 82 F
32 °C 90 F	31 °C 88 F	28 °C 82 F
32 °C 90 F	31 °C 88 F	29 °C 84 F

Maximum: 33 °C = 91 F
Average: 30.7 °C = 87 F

Power Supply (max.) 32 °C = 90 F | Room Temperature 19 °C = 66 F | Fluke 62 Mini + Fluke t3000 FC

(+) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 29.6 °C / 85 F, compared to the average of 30.2 °C / 86 F for the devices in the class Convertible.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 31 °C / 88 F, compared to the average of 35.3 °C / 96 F, ranging from 19.6 to 55.7 °C for the class Convertible.
(+) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 33 °C / 91 F, compared to the average of 36.7 °C / 98 F
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are cooler than skin temperature with a maximum of 30 °C / 86 F and are therefore cool to the touch.
(±) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.1 °C / 82.6 F (-1.9 °C / -3.4 F).

Speakers

The built-in stereo speakers are located on the left and right sides of the notebook. They are not particularly loud and produce no bass. While the highs are distorted at maximum volume, the quality is sufficient for non-demanding YouTube watching. However, for listening to music you should use the audio port, which produced a good sound quality without additional noise in our test with high-quality AKG K701 headphones.

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

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
» 4% of all tested devices in this class were better, 2% similar, 94% worse
» The best had a delta of 5%, average was 20%, 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 26%, worst was 134%

Power Management

Power Consumption

In terms of the power consumption, there is no unusual behavior. Without load, the notebook is very energy-efficient, but under extreme load there is a brief spike of up to 20 watts due to the SoC boost.

Power Consumption

Off / Standby	0.6 / 1.73 Watt
Idle	2.5 / 4 / 4.1 Watt
Load	8.1 / 19.6 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.

	Topjoy Falcon Pentium N5000, UHD Graphics 605, FORESEE 256GB, IPS, 1920x1200, 8.00	Toshiba Satellite Click Mini L9W-B-102 Z3735F, HD Graphics (Bay Trail), 32 GB eMMC Flash, IPS, 1920x1200, 8.90	Microsoft Surface Go MHN-00003 Pentium 4415Y, UHD Graphics 615, 64 GB eMMC Flash, IPS, 1800x1200, 10.00	Fujitsu Stylistic V535 Z3795, HD Graphics (Bay Trail), 128 GB eMMC Flash, IPS, 1920x1080, 8.30	Chuwi LapBook SE Celeron N4100, UHD Graphics 600, SanDisk DF4032, , 1920x1080, 13.30	Average Intel UHD Graphics 605	Average of class Convertible
Power Consumption		11%	-50%	-51%	-47%	-26%	-186%
Idle Minimum *	2.5	1.8 28%	2.88 -15%	4.9 -96%	2.7 -8%	2.8 ?(1.9 - 3.8, n=13) -12%	4.98 ?(0.8 - 16.6, n=74, last 2 years) -99%
Idle Average *	4	3.2 20%	4.8 -20%	7.4 -85%	6.3 -58%	5.01 ?(3.5 - 6.5, n=13) -25%	7.94 ?(3.8 - 20.7, n=74, last 2 years) -99%
Idle Maximum *	4.1	4.4 -7%	7.5 -83%	7.5 -83%	7.6 -85%	5.65 ?(3.9 - 7.5, n=13) -38%	9.74 ?(3.9 - 29.9, n=74, last 2 years) -138%
Load Average *	8.1	10.8 -33%	16.9 -109%	11.8 -46%	12.6 -56%	13.3 ?(8.1 - 15.8, n=13) -64%	40.4 ?(5.4 - 101.3, n=74, last 2 years) -399%
Load Maximum *	19.6	10.6 46%	23.8 -21%	8.9 55%	24.6 -26%	17.5 ?(13.2 - 23.5, n=13) 11%	57.9 ?(8.9 - 155.7, n=74, last 2 years) -195%

* ... smaller is better

Battery Life

Topjoy advertises 8 hours of battery life for the Falcon. In the WLAN surf test with 150 cd/m2 of brightness (50% in our test unit) the device lasted a little longer than 5.5 hours. This is below-average for a convertible ~~and not even a top-value compared to other devices with a similarly sized battery~~. However, this might also be due to our test unit being a preproduction unit. Update: Windows reports a too high Wh value for the battery, according to Topjoy its 22 Wh.

Battery Runtime


WiFi Websurfing		5h 37min

	Topjoy Falcon Pentium N5000, UHD Graphics 605, 22 Wh	Toshiba Satellite Click Mini L9W-B-102 Z3735F, HD Graphics (Bay Trail), 39 Wh	Apple MacBook 12 2017 m3-7Y32, HD Graphics 615, 41.4 Wh	Microsoft Surface Go MHN-00003 Pentium 4415Y, UHD Graphics 615, 28 Wh	Fujitsu Stylistic V535 Z3795, HD Graphics (Bay Trail), 17.7 Wh	Chuwi LapBook SE Celeron N4100, UHD Graphics 600, 37 Wh	Lenovo Ideapad D330-10IGM Pentium N5000, UHD Graphics 605, 39 Wh	Acer Swift 1 SF114-32-P8GG Pentium N5000, UHD Graphics 605, 53.9 Wh	Eve-Tech Eve V m3 m3-7Y30, HD Graphics 615, 48 Wh	Average of class Convertible
Battery Runtime		78%	60%	33%	-25%	32%	103%	120%		65%
WiFi v1.3	337	600 78%	540 60%	448 33%	252 -25%	444 32%	684 103%	740 120%		555 ?(335 - 876, n=73, last 2 years) 65%
Reader / Idle		1066		771						1137 ?(562 - 1667, n=30, last 2 years)
Load		251		180		347				128 ?(53 - 294, n=50, last 2 years)
H.264				384		564			607	654 ?(374 - 875, n=17, last 2 years)

Verdict

Pros

+ Robust case

+ Small size

+ Stable CPU performance thanks to a fan

+ Case remains cool under load

Cons

- Keyboard and trackpoint take some getting used to

- Pen not calibrated accurately

- PWM in the current preproduction model

- Weak WLAN reception

The Topjoy Falcon is a small convertible with a high-quality case. While in terms of the input devices, you need to make some significant concessions in parts, the performance of the Gemini-Lake quad-core remains without blame, thanks also to the integrated fan. In terms of the display, Topjoy still intends to make some improvements and use a model with higher brightness. This would have been our main complaint about the built-in AUO panel (in addition to the PWM usage up to 100% brightness). We really recommend the optional active pen, since it helps considerably in the operation of the small screen.

Overall, the Falcon is a very interesting concept, but it still needs some tuning in its current state. For the reduced Kickstarter price starting at $399 (~350 Euros), you could get a practical second notebook for the road at an affordable price. However, you would need to trust that Topjoy will still do its homework.

Topjoy Falcon reaches over $170K in Kickstarter funding (Source: Topjoy)

Topjoy Falcon reaches over $170K in Kickstarter funding 10/30/2018

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Editor of the original article: Klaus Hinum - Founder, CTO - 2984 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2005

I am one of the founders of Notebookcheck. My primary focus is on articles about new CPU and GPU technology. With my scientific background (Ph.D. in computer science) I try to put facts before feelings in my work. I have been writing and working for Notebookcheck since 2005.

contact me via: @klaushinum, Facebook, klumpad, LinkedIn, Xing

Translator: Mark Riege - Translator - 462 articles published on Notebookcheck since 2018

Having worked as a programmer for 20 years (medical devices, AI, data management systems), I've been following the computer scene for many years and especially enjoy finding out about new technology advances. Originally from Germany but living in the US, I've been working as a translator more recently, with Notebookcheck allowing me to combine my interest in new devices and translation. Other interests include Buddhism, spending time in Tibetan monasteries, and translating ancient Tibetan texts.

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> Notebook / Laptop Reviews and News > Reviews > Topjoy Falcon Convertible Review (Preproduction Model)

Klaus Hinum, 2018-10-28 (Update: 2019-08- 4)

Topjoy Falcon Convertible Review (Preproduction Model)

Case

Size Comparison

Connections

Communication

Maintenance

Input Devices

Keyboard

Touchpad

Display

Display Response Times

Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)

Performance

Processor

System Performance

Storage Solution

Graphics Card

Emissions

Noise Emissions

Temperature

Speakers

Apple MacBook 12 (Early 2016) 1.1 GHz audio analysis

Power Management

Power Consumption

Battery Life

Verdict

Pros

Cons

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