I have been wondering how my Compaq nx9420 holds up to the Microsoft Surface Pro as I have been contemplating purchasing one. Even though it’s pushing 6 or 7 years old now my nx9420 is still a decent machine to work with Unity3D, Visual Studio, and to play older games on but the battery no longer holds a charge, the 5200 rpm 100Gb hard drive slows it down a lot compared to the 256Gb Samsung 830 SSD (replaced by the 840 series) I recently purchased for my desktop.

It’s at a point where given it’s age I feel it’s too old to sell, especially when you can get a decent machine for like $600 now a days. And I am hesitant to put any more money into it like a new battery and a ssd to try and extend it’s life a little more.

So I started to crunch some numbers and look around for performance comparisons I could do and I have documented the few comparisons I have done below.

Based off the Window Experience Index numbers alone it seems comparable to a Surface Pro, but after running the peacemaker browser benchmark there started to be a noticeable performance gap. Running PCMark7 there was a huge performance gap. I know the surface pro is more powerful but I am still trying to get a sense of just how much more powerful it actually is compared to my nx9420.

My laptop used to be my main machine for a number of years until I bought my desktop, And even though I hardly ever use my laptop anymore it sure is nice to have a mobile computer to pack around on long trips and when I am away from home.

The single biggest reason I am holding off getting a Surface Pro is the fact I cannot replace the battery. Even after 6+ years I can still buy a new $40 battery for my nx9420 off eBay. Given that I rarely have a use for a portable machine I will undoubtedly have the Surface Pro for a good 6+ years and if I can’t replace the battery, it no longer becomes a portable device seeing as how it will need to be plugged in all the time. Thus defeating the purpose of a mobile computer.

So without further adieu lets compare numbers shall we !

Windows Experience Index numbers are as follows. Keep in mind the math play below is simply a numerical comparison on the windows experience index numbers alone and does not reflect actual hardware features like the nx9420’s x1600 graphics with DX9 v2 vertex & pixel shader support compared to the HD4000’s (I’m guessing) DX11 v3 or v4 vertex & pixel shader support.

Win 7 experience index 1.0 to 7.9
Win 8 experience index 1.0 to 9.9
7.9 / 9.9 * 100 - 100 = 20.20% diff

Microsoft Surface Pro
Processor: 6.9 / 9.9 * 100 = 69.9% (core i5 third gen)
Memory: 5.9 / 9.9 * 100 = 59.59% (4gb)
Graphics: 5.6 / 9.9 * 100 = 56.56%
Gaming: 6.4 / 9.9 * 100 = 64.64% (HD4000 integrated)
Hard Disk: 8.1 / 9.9 * 100 = 81.81% (ssd)

Compaq nx9420
Processor: 3.7 / 7.9 * 100 = 46.83% (Core i2 dual core T7200 2.0Ghz)
Memory: 4.4 / 7.9 * 100 = 55.69% (4gb but intel chipset only recognizes 3gb)
Graphics: 4.2 / 7.9 * 100 = 51.16%
Gaming: 4.3 / 7.9 * 100 = 54.43% (ati x1600 discrete)
Hard Disk: 4.4 / 7.9 * 100 = 55.69% (hdd 5200rpm)

nx9420 Win7 Experience Index scaled values to Win8 Experience Index (0.202 = 20.20%)
Processor: 46.83% * 0.202 = 9.45%  adjusted result is 56.28%
Memory: 55.69% * 0.202 = 11.24% adjusted result is 66.93%
Graphics: 51.16% * 0.202 = 10.33% adjusted result is 61.49%
Gaming: 54.43% * 0.202 = 10.99% adjusted result is 65.42%
Hard Disk: 55.69% * 0.202 = 11.24% adjusted result is 66.93%

nx9420 verses Surface Pro relative windows experience index
Processor: 56.28% -> 69.9%  = -13.2% slower
Memory: 66.93% -> 59.59% = +7.34% faster
Graphics: 61.49% -> 56.56% = +4.93% faster
Gaming: 65.42% -> 64.64% = +0.78% faster 
Hard Disk: 66.93% -> 81.81% = -14.88% slower

Compared the the performance numbers from the other tests listed below if I was to compare my nx9420 to the Surface Pro based on the windows experience index numbers alone one could get the false impression that the Surface Pro is not that much of a upgrade. Memory, Graphics and Gaming numbers are almost identical when comparing the Win 7 Experience index numbers relative to Win 8’s Experience index numbers.

Peacemaker browser benchmark test results

Microsoft Surface Pro IE10

nx9420 Laptop Chrome v24.0

nx9420 Laptop IE9 64bit

nx9420 Laptop IE9 32bit

nx9420 Laptop Firefox 19

My desktop win 8 pro (IE10 desktop mode 32bit)

My desktop win 8 pro Firefox 19

PCMark 7 results

Microsoft Surface Pro Score: 4657 (paid version)

Source –> MobleTechReview website

Compaq nx9420 Score 844 (free version)

Link to the results are here –> http://www.3dmark.com/pcm7/569200

DOTA 2 results

The Youtube channel SurfaceProGaming has a number of games that show the gaming performance of the Surface Pro.

Dota 2 on Surface Pro runs at about an average of say 30 fps at resolution of 1280x720 (921,600 pixels) while recording fraps.

Using the same graphics settings with the closest resolution my nx9420 lets me select 1024x768 (786,432 pixels) I can run DOTA 2 at an average of 15 to 25 fps without recording fraps. Because of the 5200 rpm HDD is 80% full I only get 5 to 8 fps when fraps is recording.

In Conclusion

When comparing the Surface Pro to my nx9420 running DOTA 2 the Surface Pro has a noticeable increase in capability but in my opinion not enough to justify getting one. The fact that my nx9420 is 6+ years old and still “somewhat” keeps up with the Surface Pro in DOTA 2 is a strong indicator that my nx9420 is still a fairly decent system for what I use it for.

I don’t play too many games on my laptop other then simple games like Angry Birds, The Binding of Issac and older games like the legacy of kain series of games that I recently played on my laptop. For larger games like Starcraft 2, World of Warcraft, Skyrim, Crysis etc I will always play on my desktop.

If the Surface Pro showed a more drastic performance in DOTA 2 AND had a removable battery I would have given some serious thought into getting a Surface Pro but that’s not goanna happen after running these comparisons. Investing in a 128Gb SSD and a new battery for my nx9420 is a far more viable solution economically and strategically because after I decide to sell or retire my laptop I can always add the SDD to my desktop and a new battery is cheap at around $40.

I had also looked into the Razer Edge Pro but although it’s more graphically capable then the Surface Pro again it too has no removable battery, and a lower resolution the then Surface Pro, and no stylus pen.

My next portable computer will be a tablet but only if it has a discrete graphics chip, pen input, and a removable battery. I think I may be waiting quite a few years for that to happen.

Hope this gives some people a sense of how much of an upgrade buying a Surface Pro would be compared to using a older laptop.

I just finished watching COCOON and COCOON: The Return and thought I would post a bit of a review.

COCOON ( NetFlix, Zip.ca)
COCOON: The return (NetFlix, Zip.ca)



Another review and another callback to 1985. Well maybe more of a heads up then a review. 

I don't know about you but the 80's seem to have some of the best and most memorable movies ever made. I don't think you could ever get a better cast to play in this movie. They are just so perfect and true for the roles that they play. Sadly many of the cast had passed away only a few years after the making of these movies.

*** BEGIN SPOILERS ***

If you have not seen these movies before the first movie involves a group of people (the aliens) renting a boat to go collect these large cocoons from the ocean that are covered in coral. They rent a house with a pool that is next to a old folks home. They use the pool to keep the cocoons in but they don't know that a few of the people from the old folks home have been sneaking in
and using the pool. The cocoons make the old people healthier more energetic and feel younger, and as such begin to behave younger. Eventually word gets out and everyone from the whole old folks home rush the pool where the cocoons are kept. This leads to everyone being kicked out of the pool by the aliens. The life force energy from the pool is thus drained and the aliens in the cocoons are not able to be returned to there planet, but the aliens tell the old people they can go with them to there planet where they will never die, get old, or get sick etc. And a bunch of the old people leave on the space ship at the end of the movie.

The second movie continues off the first movie, where the cocoons from the first movie were put back into the ocean and the aliens this time are back to pick them up. Some of the old people also return back to earth with them. This time when they are collecting the cocoons from the ocean they see a oceanographic institute retrieving one of the cocoons that they think is an meteor that landed but find out that it actually contains an alien. The aliens and old people get together to rescue the captured alien. Nearing the end of the film some of the old couples decide that they are not going to return to the alien planet and thus decide to stay on earth where they will eventually die of old age.

*** END SPOILERS ***

Those last two paragraphs gloss over much of the movies storyline points but you get the general idea.

If you have not seen them at all or have not seen them in a while I recommend checking them out. I give them both a 9/10. All round classic 80's movie experience. The first film was directed by Ron Howard and the second film was directed by Daniel Petrie.

I'm not going to review just any new fangled movie that has come out recently, oh no, I'm crankin the way back machine to the year 1986! Don't run away screaming just yet, you will defiantly want to check out Little Shop of Horrors!  Staring Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene, Vincent Gardenia, Steve Martin, James Belushi, John Candy, and Bill Murray to boot!

So unless you were born after 1978-ish you may not have seen this movie gem. To start off it's a musical! NO NO Don't run away! it's a musical comedy! Yeah thats right, this movie ain't no gone with the wind. It's funny and the songs get seriously stuck in your head big time.   

With such memorable lyrics as ...

• I'm just a mean green mother from outer space and I'm bad
• I'd find a pussycat and bash in its head
• Feed me, Seymour. Feed me all night long.

The movie starts off a little slow but continue to build and build to the climactic ending. It is just as good now as it was way back when it first came out. You should defiantly try to remember to pick it up next time you are in the video store or better yet netflix or zip.ca it.

This is the kind of movie they just cant make any more! (my opinion)  The acting is what you would expect from the cast except I found Ellen Greene's voice she played a bit out over the top but still good. 

But I think the best part of this movie is that there are no cgi effects just puppeteering! And dam is it good! It is hard to think of how they pulled off some of the puppeteering work in this movie cause it is very very well done and a testament to the fact the excellent work can be done through puppeteering instead of cgi all the time.

There is just so many great things going for this movie you should really check it out.  The steve martin and bill murray dentist scene, the alien plant trying to bite a ladies butt, steve martin snorting laughing gas, and the last musical number with the plant "I'm a big green mutha from outter space and i'm bad"!

If you have not seen it in a while it's worth watching again, if only to have the songs stuck in your head!   

I've got steve martins dentist song stuck in my head right now! I give this movie a 9/10!

My boy, I think someday
You'll find a way
To make your natural tendencies pay
You'll be a dentist