Our review model comes equipped with an Intel Core i5-3317U that runs at a standard 1.7GHz but kicks it up to 2.6GHz with Intels Max Turbo Frequency technology when put under a heavy load. It also comes packed with 8GB of 1600MHz DDR3 RAM and an Nvidia GeForce 610M discrete graphics chip. Its great to see an equipped with something a little stronger than Intels HD 4000 integrated graphics, even if it is a weaker mobile GPU.

The U410 managed a score of 117 on our strenuous . This puts it at about 17 percent faster than our baseline system, which is a fully equipped desktop. This is a nice upgrade from the we reviewed last month, also priced at $799. The U310 managed only a 94 on the benchmark and is missing some key features (certain components and screen size) that the U410 possesses.

Despite the discrete card, the U410 didnt fare too well on our gaming/graphics tests. We ran DiRT 3 and Crysis 2 on high settings at a maximum resolution of 1366 by 768 pixels. It achieved an average of 23.7 frames per second on DiRT 3 and 13.8 fps on Crysis 2, a rate appearing closer to a slideshow than a game. This improves a little with the resolution lowered to 800 by 600 pixels and otherwise dialed down to low settings; DiRT 3 ran at an average of 76.6 fps and Crysis 2 at 38.4 fps. If you dont need it to look pretty or are happy with less graphically intensive games, you may be in luck here.

The U410 also includes a small solid-state drive to accompany a 500GB 5400-rpm drive as cache. Intels Smart Response Technology is the companys way of giving hard drives SSD-like performance without the SSD price. By including a small drive that the user never sees (the user appears to see only one drive) the boot-up times, application processing, and file transferring all become significantly quicker.