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[ Go to April 1997 Table of Contents ]
WinLab Reviews
-- by Jonathan Blackwood and Jim Forbes
Toshiba's Infinia is one of the best multimedia platforms ever introduced, and the newest model manages to outshine its predecessors. The Infinia 7200 made its way on to our Recommended List last January. In a very crowded marketplace, the 7200 was one of the few PCs whose parts were chosen not because they were the least expensive, but because they were simply the best for the job. Even though some of its benchmarks were slightly lower than those of equivalent systems, it was easy to recommend the Infinia 7200. One of the new breed of high-end convergence systems, the Infinia blends the best of high-performance desktop computing with such topflight accessories as acoustically isolated speakers attached to the sides of a truly outstanding 17-inch monitor, an 8X-spin CD-ROM drive and very good stereo sound. It has a Universal Serial Bus (USB)-based module that lets you select and control tuning for FM radio and television, plus good stereo sound and support for audio CDs. The system also includes a modem and can serve as an answering machine. How did Toshiba improve on a best-of-breed machine? For starters, the base configuration got a nudge here and there, making slight improvements. By themselves, these additions don't seem to do much. The net effect, however, is stunning. The new Infinia 7220 sports faster, 40-nanosecond video memory and the latest version of S3's Virge DX 64-bit video accelerator. The hard drive's gotten bigger-it's now become a Maxtor 3.7GB. But the real pice de resistance is the addition of bleeding-edge technology to an already state-of-the-art PC. The Infinia 7220 sports an Intel 200MHz MMX processor and, even better, it comes with an internal Toshiba DVD drive, the first DVD we've seen that's integrated into a PC. Adding a 200MHz MMX to the mix boosted Wintune scores about 14 percent over the original Infinia 7200. The machine's now doing a much better 388.8MIPS. The use of faster video memory and an improved PCI graphics accelerator, as well as the MMX processor, increased video throughput 32 percent on our tests, going from 12.66Mpixels per second to 16.67Mpixels per second on the Infinia 7220. So big it's worth the wait Toshiba's decision to move a bigger hard drive, however, slowed uncached disk scores for the Infinia; this unit's disk performance dropped about 15 percent, from 3.26MB per second to 2.77 MBps. On the other hand, the sheer volume of storage outweighs the lower disk score. Multimedia-rich machines simply need this much storage ... or more. The drop in hard disk data throughput certainly didn't affect overall application performance. The bigger cache on the MMX helped this machine better its predecessor's showing on our Word and Excel tests. The 7220 took 9 seconds to run the Excel macro, 25 percent faster than the 7200. It spent 11 seconds on Word, an impressive 33 percent improvement. Still, the Infinia 7220's scores remain somewhat lower than those of a conventional desktop system and won't match those of a high-performance hot rod, like our Recommended Dell OptiPlex GXi MMX system. That's not surprising, given this machine's focus on multimedia. In addition, the Infinia 7220 we tested was not a true production model, and our experience has been that most production versions produce better (faster) results than prototypes. But benchmarks tell only part of the story. The Infinia remains a watershed product. In our tests, its DVD drive reached 8X-spin performance when used to play back conventional CDs, or 9X when DVDs were used. CD goes Hollywood DVD is the up-and-coming optical disc standard that finally gives Hollywood the ability to cram a full-length movie onto a single CD-ROM-sized disc (see sidebar on the next page). The implications for entertainment are awesome, but the real excitement will come from what DVD does for the convergence PC. DVD starts by improving the performance of both the video and audio subsystems on your computer. It accomplishes this feat through the addition of full-motion video and stereo-quality Dolby Stereo Sound. The difference really shows when you compare the 7220's Dolby to the 7200's Surround Sound. About the only thing we could find to criticize about the 7220 were the slightly weak 5-watt stereo speakers. Still, they have great fidelity and are superior to those you'll find on almost any other PC. It would be nice, however, if this system's audio-tuning software would permit you to adjust tonal attributes such as bass and treble. Toshiba engineers clearly gave the Infinia package design a great deal of thought. The case is based on a stable, wider-than-average tower box that makes it easy to load DVDs and floppy disks. The controls for this machine are located where you can reach them, although it could take you a little time to find the on/off switch, which is hidden behind a hinged door panel in the front. All other user controls for the Infinia line, including those of the new 7220, are clearly marked or self-explanatory, and easily found. That includes the InTouch Module, which can be used to play audio CDs, adjust volume, tune FM and TV stations, answer incoming phone calls and play DVDs. You can remove the module from the front of the monitor case and move it around on your desktop. If you'd like to run multimedia from across the room, Toshiba also sells an optional wireless remote InTouch controller that handles the same functions. The system's interior is relatively clean, with reasonably good component access. After several hours of use, the prototype we examined remained surprisingly cool. The Infinia can fit up to 128MB of system memory in its system case. Energy sipper The 7220 is designed to be powered on and left that way; it supports Energy Star (Green PC) specifications, so it drops to a low-power, easy-on-the-electric-bill mode when not in active use. Unlike some green machines we've tested, the Infinia is easily awakened from its sleep mode and springs quickly to life. One especially nice touch: Toshiba placed a suspend mode switch on the front of the system case and also on its InTouch multimedia control module. The package comes with comprehensive documentation that helps you get the most from your system. We strongly recommend that you read it before attempting to hook up the various features. Cable PC The TV tuner built into this system is cable ready-all you need to do is run the coaxial cable from your wall receptacle to the back of this machine. Eventually, Toshiba engineers hope to let you watch cable movie stations with the 7220, but then you'll need to run the cable from the decoder box to the machine. Generally, however, the 7220's setup, from opening the box to powering it on, is a simple matter. The television images displayed on this system's monitor are more than acceptable, but they're not quite as good as any you'd find on the small, portable Sony color televisions of pre-Infinia days. And unfortunately, while the FM receiver on the 7220 is nice, it lacks the sensitivity needed to tune in distant stations clearly. It's hard to compare the Infinia 7220 to any other computer, except perhaps Packard Bell's Platinum Pro line. Overall, the Infinia 7220 offers tremendous audio, great video and relatively good performance. This update easily replaces its older brother on our Recommended List.
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