Our new rating system v8 explained: Lower but more realistic scores together with sustainability assessment

[Redaktion]

We have revised our rating system, and the new version 8 is being used for all tested devices since the beginning of June. We show what has changed in the evaluation and what impact this has on the results.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Our-new-rating-system-v8-explained-Lower-but-more-realistic-scores-together-with-sustainability-assessment.853123.0.html

[ikjadoon]

These look like great changes.

I hope NBC can provide consistent data after this re: unplugged performance & battery life.

It feels misleading to have 1) performance measured in peak performance modes and 2) battery life measured in peak efficient modes.

I want to know how responsive a device is *in the efficient mode* when I'm unplugged.

[BarryJH]

Please always check 2 things in each review:
1. Temporal dithering
2. PWM

If not possible or skipped for some reason then mention that these test are not done, this will save readers time for this crucial information.

[splus]

Notebookcheck ratings have always been COMPLETELY useless. The worst laptop would get 80 and the best laptop would get 90. 90% of laptops would get something between 85 to 87. That means they are all the same, which totally isn't the case. Sorry guys, but NOBODY is looking at your ratings, and rightfully so.
Your reviews, on the other hand, are mostly very good and definitely very detailed.

[Vaidyanathan]

Please always check 2 things in each review:
1. Temporal dithering
2. PWM

If not possible or skipped for some reason then mention that these test are not done, this will save readers time for this crucial information.

These are always checked as part of every review. Currently, temporal dithering tests are limited to full smartphone reviews, but we will look into expanding their scope.

[Vaidyanathan]

Notebookcheck ratings have always been COMPLETELY useless. The worst laptop would get 80 and the best laptop would get 90. 90% of laptops would get something between 85 to 87. That means they are all the same, which totally isn't the case. Sorry guys, but NOBODY is looking at your ratings, and rightfully so.
Your reviews, on the other hand, are mostly very good and definitely very detailed.

The rating reflects a weighted average score in individual subsections of the test. Ratings are only comparable against that particular device class. However, it is possible that a device's rating goes up because its performance is excellent but say, connectivity is poor. The new rating is more stringent, esp with respect to performance and aspects such as throttling.

[Vaidyanathan]

These look like great changes.

I hope NBC can provide consistent data after this re: unplugged performance & battery life.

It feels misleading to have 1) performance measured in peak performance modes and 2) battery life measured in peak efficient modes.

I want to know how responsive a device is *in the efficient mode* when I'm unplugged.

I understand your point, but there has to be some standardization somewhere. Each OEM has their own take on power limits for a particular processor. So, using whatever is the highest offered perf setting, or at least a Balanced mode that can boost to the highest PL2, makes things more comparable across devices. Then any limitation is on the device itself and not due to the reviewer's selection of power plans.

And it is obvious that the battery won't last long in these settings. A laptop running in dGPU mode cannot last as long as one that is running in MSHybrid mode even with light web browsing loads and low display brightness. Besides, most laptops automatically switch to a low PL2 when unplugged, so using the most conservative power plan is more reflective of real-world usage.

The new rating takes into account performance throttling on battery as well :)

[indy]

Have to agree with the poster than mentioned the majority of reviews were in the 80-90% range.  I stopped looking at the numbers after a while, and looked at individual areas I was interested in.  But mostly the verdict, because the reviews are quite extensive.  I'm not sure this will change my lack of interest in the scoring.

Sustainability is really silly.  If humans want to "save the planet," they can and will reduce the production of humans moving forward (Which the Russians, Japanese, Koreans, Italians, etc are starting to do already.)  We are destroying it, and no measures to date are really putting a dent in that versus just not consuming resources in the first place.  The only way we can do that is to voluntarily stop reproducing so much, but politically that is impossible and so we are where we are.  Reducing the "carbon footprint" of a device by a few watts ain't going to make a lick of difference when so much wattage is used to produce the device in the first place.