The Systemax Assault can’t amaze you with incredible speed, besides the model is not as durable as other models of this kind. But the price is really great! You pay just $1,299 and get a serviceable, durable semi-rugged notebook. The price of the Systemax Assault is less than half of the price such systems usually cost.
Lighter than Most Semi-Rugged Notebooks
The Assault seems to be as durable as other “ruggedized” notebooks. It weights 5.7 pounds that means that this 1.5-inch-thick model is lighter than the majority of semi-rugged notebooks. The Assault comes in a nice magnesium-alloy case, the keyboard deck is spill-resistant, and, moreover, it is designed with a 120GB shock mounted hard drive.
Screen and Keyboard
A standard 14-inch display with a poor resolution (1024 x 768) isn’t the best feature of this model. Definitely, it is that very thing, which brings the price down. The small display is alright using indoor. But in direct sunlight it loses its color definition. The keyboard is a full-sized one, which resembles the Dell's: it is quiet and shallow.
DVD Drive, Connectivity, Card Slots
The low price of the model does not mean that it is bad equipped. It has three USB ports and a FireWire port, a 4-in-1 memory card reader, SmartCard and PC Card slots, and Gigabit Ethernet and modem ports. Still, the I/O ports don’t have protective covers, therefore the model can not be totally protected from dust and humidity.
Systemax Assault T72212P Durability
The drop test was taken with perfect results. No cases of shutting down or any other difficulties were discovered. Our spill test results were excellent as well. However, we recommend you to pay some dollars on port covers to be sure that a cup of coffee won’t damage your notebook. A one-year warranty is not a generous step, still, it also decrease the price of the notebook, as a three-year plan will take $90.
Graphics
The model can be equipped with various Intel processors, from a 1.86-GHz Core Duo T2350 to a 2.33-GHz Core 2 Duo T7600. Our notebook had a 2-GHz T7200 processor and 2GB of DDR2 RAM. It got 3,591 scores on the PCMark05 tests; in fact, the result is about average for such kinds of notebooks. A 3DMark03 score of 1,693 proves the fact that the system is not perfect for running games or graphics-laden applications. But it will be enough for perfect everyday use. One more feature of the model is an 802.11a/b/g wireless card, which represents good throughput rates of 18.2 Mbps at a distance of 15 feet from our access point and 16.6 Mbps from 50 feet.
Systemax Assault T72212P: Great Enough?
The Systemax Assault isn’t the greatest model, but it is, definitely, the most affordable “ruggedized” system and it was able to withstand all the tests. If you don’t care about low-resolution display and if you don’t need incredible graphics, this notebook is ready to keep on working despite of drops and spills.