TechLife_Australia_Issue_63_May_2017

[ 046 ]

[][]

RADAR

Venom BlackBook Zero 14

A COMPACT BUT TOUGH PROFESSIONAL ULTRAPORTABLE WITH BITE.

THE BLACKBOOK ZERO 14 isn’t quite the

thinnest ultrabook we’ve seen, nor is it the

lightest. It doesn’t have a particularly powerful

processor and it isn’t as flexible as similarly

specced 2-in-1 hybrids. It isn’t the most

expensive, the most affordable or, really, the

most anything. What the BlackBook Zero 14

is, however, is the measured realisation of a

clear and desirable design concept. From the

unusual inclusion of two power adapters,

the lightweight design and the power efficient

seventh-gene Intel Core i5 or i7 CPU, it’s clear

that the Zero 14 is aiming for the title of best

ultraportable professional laptop.

Honed from a black sandblasted metal alloy

composite, this 1.4kg clamshell is around 15%

heavier than most 2-in-1s and ultrabooks

you’d generally pit it against. This higher

weight might seem counter-intuitive in an

ultraportable unit, but when you consider

that it’s largely due to that sturdy metal chassis

combined with a slightly bigger screen

(it’s 14.1-inches rather than the usual 13.3),

that’s a trade-off we reckon many will be

willing to take.

Its black-keyed chiclet keyboard feels

notably deeper and has a stronger and firmer

key feedback than almost any laptop we’ve

tested. The trackpads on Windows PCs have

developed significantly in the past few years

and though we have no complaints with the

powdery temperament of the BlackBook Zero

14’s trackpad, it’s still a little shy of MacBook

or even ASUS levels of performance.

Things get a little less clear when it comes

to the CPU. If CPUs weren’t confusing enough,

with its seventh-gen Core parts, Intel has

decided to adopt the naming convention of

its traditionally more powerful mobile units

(Core i3, i5 and i7) in the efficient but lower-

performing Core M range, as seen in the

BlackBook Zero 14’s Intel Core i5-7Y54.

This CPU allows the unit to get away without

internal fans — stressing to a conservative

maximum of just 86ºC — and that allows the

screen and bottom chassis to slide in at under

14mm apiece. When running PCMark 8’s

general home usage and work benchmarks,

the Zero hits 3,088 and 4,210 respectively —

scores that are almost identical to the ASUS

ZenBook Flip UX360UA’s (see issue 62, page

54) more powerful Core i5-6200U chip.

Where the Core M chips don’t hold up so

well is in intensive multimedia work, like

Cinabench’s multithreaded and single core

CPU benchmarks where the UX360UA’s older

Core i5 came off better with respective scores

of 268 and and 112, against the BlackBook’s

174 and 71. The same held for GPU-heavy

tasks, with the UX360UA’s Intel HD Graphics

520 netting 38fps in Cinebench’s OpenGL

graphics benchmark, notably more than the

Zero 14’s Intel HD Graphics 615, which only

managed 25fps. So the BlackBook Zero 14 isn’t

quite versatile, but it at least manages to keep

up in the most important areas.

We’d expect Venom’s use of a more efficient

chip to afford generous kickbacks in battery

life, but it seems that extra inch or so in the

display cancels out a lot of the battery-boosting

grace afforded by the lower-voltage CPU. The

Zero 14 stretched the demanding PCMark 8

Home (Accelerated) battery benchmark out to

a decent 4 hours and 51 minutes, slightly less

than the UX360UA’s 5 hours and 26 minutes,

but a duration that should still translate to

around a full working day of moderate use.

Venom has, overall, done a good job

keeping the BlackBook Zero 14 to the

‘professional user’ brief. If you’re looking for

a compact Windows machine for getting stuff

done, this super-sturdy 14-inch clamshell

definitely deserves your attention.

[ JOEL BURGESS ]

VENOM BLACKBOOK ZERO 14

From $1,499; as tested, $1,699

(Core i5-7Y54, 8GB RAM, 240GB SSD)

http://www.venomcomputers.com.au

CRITICAL SPECS

Windows 10 Pro 64-bit; 14.1 inch 1080p IPS LCD display;

1.2-3.2GHz Intel Core i5-7Y54 CPU; Intel HD Graphics 615

GPU; 8GB LPDDR3 RAM; 240GB SATA 6Gbps SSD (256GB);

2x USB 2.0, USB 3.0, USB Type-C, micro HDMI,

3.5mm audio jack; 1.4kg

GENERAL

PERFORMANCE

GENERAL

PERFORMANCE

GENERAL

PERFORMANCE

BATTERY LIFE GRAPHICS

PERFORMANCE

GRAPHICS

PERFORMANCE

PCMARK 8 - HOME

(SCORE)

CINEBENCH

• MULTI-THREADED
  CPU

1080P MEDIA

ENCODING:

HWBOT X265 (AVG

FPS)

PCMARK 8 - HOME

(HRS:MINS)

3DMARK ICE

STORM UNLIMITED

(SCORE)

CINEBENCH

• OPENGL (FPS)

3,088 174 4.07 4:51hr 30,182 24.52

4

WINNER

APPROVED

AWARD