Computers
KUU Xbook 3 (laptop) : test / review
Published on: 05-09-2023 / Modified: 05-09-2023
I bought my first computer when I was 12 at the end of the 80s, which was a very long time ago, and back then the world of computers was very different. The choice was limited, computers were very expensive and not very powerful.
Today, having a computer is accessible to everyone, and I realize that the arrival of smartphones has demonstrated something quite simple. The vast majority of the population are consumers who don't produce anything with computers. The phone has therefore enabled them to consume the media or social networks wherever and whenever they want, without the hassle of a computer. However, there is still a segment of the population that needs the computer to produce something, whether for school or work, and a smartphone would be useless here.
The product I'm going to present to you today is aimed at a population that needs to "produce" something with a computer without needing power and, above all, without breaking the bank. The KUU Xbook 3 laptop is an entry-level computer designed to meet all office needs, whether you're a student or a working adult. It could well be your children's first computer
.
Special offer
Gearberry is offering the KUU XBook 3 at a promotional price of €244 until the end of September 2023. This is the lowest price I've found for this product. In this price range there's a little competition from Thomson and Chuwi, but the reviews are less positive than for this model.
To take advantage: KUU Xbook 3 at Gearberry
What is KUU?
KUU is a Chinese brand that sells desktop and laptop computers, as well as tablets. This brand has been around for a few years now, and I've already had the opportunity to test one of their products(KUU Lebook Pro), which I've been using for almost 2 years now. KUU has a store on Amazon(KUU on Amazon) and the reviews for this product are good
.
Overview
The KUU Xbook 3 laptop has a fairly classic format with a fairly traditional design too. It doesn't really stand out from the rest, but I don't think that's the point anyway. I see that KUU has changed its logo and that it's visible on the top panel, this logo reminds me a little of Alienware Dell's gaming brand but this KUU is clearly not a computer for gaming.
The screen is a 14.1-inch display with visible borders, which is a good screen size for a computer in this price range. Maximum resolution is 1080p, which is sufficient for a screen of this size. This is an IPS-type screen, so there will be a lighting effect on the sides that will make blacks grayer depending on the viewing angle. The top and bottom edges are thicker, as on most laptops. A camera has been integrated into the top edge for video conferencing. There's no indicator light when the camera is working, which I think is a shame.
In terms of connectivity, on the left side there's a proprietary connector for power, a mini HDMI port and a USB 3.0 port. On the other side there's a USB 2.0 port, a headphone output and a micro SD card reader. This KUU Xbook therefore offers fairly basic connectivity, the bare necessities are present but the addition of a USB hub might be necessary for those who want to connect a greater number of devices, but in principle this pc is sufficient on its own.
Heat dissipation is from below via specific openings in the curved part and if you put this pc on your lap you'll clearly feel that it's producing heat from below. I ran it at full speed for about ten minutes, and the heat was perceptible but not problematic. On the other hand, I didn't hear any ventilation noise even when running a benchmark tool, which tends to push the whole machine to its maximum. Overall, then, this is a very quiet PC.
The touchpad is quite large, but far enough away from the keys not to generate accidental clicks. The buttons are not visible, but are directly integrated into the touch zone on the bottom left and right, requiring a little effort to press as the touch zone covers them. As the buttons are located below the touch zone, you'll need to be careful to click without dragging, as this will cause the cursor to move and you may well click next to the place that should have been clicked - it's a matter of habit.
Overall, the level of finish is quite decent for a computer in this price range. I don't feel I've got a computer in my hands for less than €300. I just find the opening system a little harsh, but I imagine it will soften with use.
Operating system
The KUU Xbook 3 comes standard with a version of Windows 11 Pro that I think is perfectly legitimate. After answering the usual start-up questions, I ran the usual updates and all went very smoothly. I then ran a full scan of the machine, which revealed no threats. This may seem obvious, but I've already received a Chinese machine containing suspicious files.
The Office suite is pre-installed, but to use it you'll need an account where Office is already activated. If you don't have an Office license, you can use WPS Office, which is also pre-installed. Of course, you can also opt for an alternative such as LibreOffice
I imagine it's also possible to install something other than Windows
Features
I'm not going to go into a detailed technical description, because when you buy this kind of product, the main motivation isn't related to the technical part. So I'll just summarize what you need to know in a few points.
CPU / Processor:
This pc is equipped with an Intel Celeron J4125 CPU. This may not mean anything to you, but Celeron indicates that this is a processor with modest performance, so you shouldn't expect to run complex processes with this type of computer. I'll come back to performance in one of the following paragraphs.
GPU / Graphics card:
There's no dedicated graphics card but the GPU is integrated into the CPU, it's an Intel UHD Graphics 600 and here too it's an entry-level GPU. That's not to say you won't be able to play games with this computer, but you'll have to make a lot of sacrifices on the level of detail if you hope to run a recent big game.
Memory
This pc is equipped with 8Gb of RAM, which is probably a bit low by today's standards, but for office and multimedia use it's enough.
Hard disk
This pc is equipped with a 256Gb hard disk that will be partly occupied by the operating system, so you can count on just over 200 Gb of free space. That's not much in absolute terms, but then again, for office use, it's more than enough. In my circle of friends, I have many users of computers of this type, and after 10 years, they still haven't managed to fill up their little hard disk. If, on the other hand, you store a lot of videos, you'll probably need to consider external storage, either via an external USB hard drive or using a cloud service
Component testing
Overall performance test
To test overall performance, I use Passmark software, which compares a computer's performance with thousands of other tests. I obtained a score of 2027 points in total, which is below the world average and quite predictable for a computer in this price bracket. Performance is in the bottom 21% of the table. The little Beelink PC, which also uses a Celeron, does a little better, but it's only a box and not a complete computer.
2D performance test
Graphics performance is undoubtedly this computer's biggest weak point. This won't be a problem for office work or playing YouTube videos, but for a good gaming experience, you'll have to look for another machine.
Memory performance test
Memory performance isn't extraordinary either, but as with the previous two tests, this is a normal result, but it will mean that memory access will be slower than with a mid-range computer. This will be felt, for example, when you switch from one application to another: you'll have to wait a few seconds longer.
Hard disk performance test
The hard disk doesn't fare too badly and even offers fairly decent performance for a computer of this type. I measured read/write times and obtained good results, as the following image attests:
These are good results for a machine of this type, and in office use this hard disk will offer a good level of comfort in use.
Battery test
This pc is equipped with a 29260 mWh battery and with an average consumption of 20 to 25Wh you should be able to use this pc between 2h30 and 3h before needing to recharge the battery. That's pretty decent autonomy, but not enough to last a full day without recharging. Autonomy will naturally depend on what you do with your computer, so this calculation is purely indicative
If you've never had a laptop before, it's not advisable to leave it plugged in all the time, as this will affect the life of your battery. To keep your battery in good health, it's best to charge it up to around 90% and then use up its capacity to around 10%, before recharging it again. I often hear people around me complaining about their laptop battery, and they've all made the same mistake by plugging their laptop in all the time.
Sometimes certain laptops perform less well when they're running on battery power alone, but this isn't the case with this one, and I haven't measured any difference in performance.
Consumption
I measured the power consumption of the KUU Xbook 3 with a wattmeter and observed a consumption fluctuating between 15 and 22 watts using Passmark at the same time so that the pc was 100% occupied during the measurement. Ideally, you'd have to remove the battery to get the total consumption, but the conclusion on consumption would be the same: this laptop doesn't consume much power.
Screen test
I tested the screen with a colorimetric probe to measure color fidelity, the color space used, contrast and brightness.
Let's start with the color space:
The color space (also called gamut) corresponds to the palette of colors a screen is capable of displaying. There are different standards; I used REC709 to measure this screen and found that it doesn't even meet the standard. The white triangle should be as large as the black triangle, but we can see that the colors produced by this screen are more limited than the standard. It's not very surprising to see this in this price range, as this screen is not designed for photo/video editing.
Colors
I measured a colorimetric deviation of 6.88 with a white at 8.8 for a temperature of 7926K. So the white isn't really white, it's slightly bluish. It's not so noticeable if you're not used to having a good screen, but if you compare it with a screen that's capable of displaying white correctly, you'll see the difference
Contrast
I measured a contrast ratio of 804:1, clearly not a benchmark but again in this price range, it's pretty normal. Low contrast means that if you're watching a dark film, for example, the shadows will quickly become too dark and you'll lose detail.
Brightness
I measured an average brightness of 129 cd/m², peaking at 150 cd/m². This is a bright enough level to work in a normal light environment, but you won't be able to use this screen outdoors in the sunshine, as you won't be able to see anything.
In calibrating this screen, I created an ICC profile that partly corrects the colorimetric discrepancy and gives a more realistic image. If you'd like to use this file to adjust your KUU Xbook 3, just send me a request in the comments and I'll send you the file.
I've also tested the camera, and here too the rendering isn't excellent, as the resolution isn't sufficient to offer a sharp image.
Keyboard
The KUU Xbook 3 is a machine designed for the international market, and the keyboard has been designed with this in mind. It's a qwerty keyboard, which corresponds to what's used in many countries, but probably not in French-speaking countries such as France or southern Belgium. To remedy this problem, KUU has supplied an overlay to be applied to the keyboard to transform it into an azerty (or other) keyboard and thus match your keys to your preferences. However, you'll still need to adapt the keyboard in Windows as well.
The overlay adapts quite well to the keyboard and doesn't really have a negative impact on key presses - you won't press two keys, for example, because of the overlay. What bothers me a bit is that I'm used to feeling the keys to be able to locate my hands and type without looking, but the overlay makes me lose my bearings, so I sometimes have to reposition my hands. This solution is an alternative to the stickers offered with some computers, but if you prefer stickers, you can easily find them on Amazon.
Wifi speed
The KUU Xbook 3 is wifi 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz compatible, I tested the 5Ghz speed and got 160 Mbps download and almost 21 upload. I have a connection capable of 400 Mbps download, but I rarely get this kind of speed on wifi. Testing a phone just after this pc, I got a download speed of over 200 Mbps. This would seem to indicate that the wifi speed is not optimal, but this level of speed is still more than sufficient to use the Internet in good conditions
.
Audio quality
With speakers
The speakers are integrated on either side of the keyboard and produce a sound dominated by high frequencies, with low frequencies not very well represented. The volume is not very high either, I measured just over 80db at the output of the speakers.
With headphones
I tested audio quality with headphones using the same solution as for my smartphone tests. I scanned all frequencies up to 20Khz and measured the KUU Xbook 3's ability to reproduce each frequency. I also measured the volume level and distortion.
The first thing that struck me was the volume, which is quite low compared to what I'm used to testing. Even with the sound on full blast, the volume is very average; you're clearly not going to blow your ears off with this computer, but perhaps that's no bad thing. I suspect that the volume was limited at the source, because the external speakers wouldn't be able to handle too much volume anyway.
The sound through the headphones is fairly neutral, I find; it doesn't force either the high frequencies or the bass; this type of sound reminds me a little of radio sound. The quality is therefore decent, but nothing more. If you want to listen to Spotify with headphones while working, you'll be able to do so, as the sound quality is sufficient for this type of recreational listening.
I note moments in the frequencies where fidelity deviates sharply. During my test, I noticed that the sound sometimes passed over the speakers while the headphones were plugged in. This only lasted for a second, but it happened several times and could explain certain peaks on the following graph.
The dynamic range is correct, so I don't really see any problems here.
With the sound at full volume, the volume isn't very high, but I did measure some distortion on certain frequencies. Nothing unusual for a machine in this price range
Gaming test
The performance tests on this PC clearly show that it's not designed to play overly complicated games. However, simpler games can be played, such as Horizon Chase Turbo, which doesn't require much power to run smoothly. If you want to play Fortnite or PUBG, you'll need to reduce the graphics level as much as possible, and even if you do that, the frame rate may not be sufficient to play in good conditions
Conclusion / Opinion
When I test hardware, I do it in the same way for all products, whatever their price level. I take objective measurements, and obviously entry-level products can't compete with the top of the range. That doesn't mean they're bad, but they have to be considered for what they are. This is somewhat the case with this KUU Xbook 3 laptop, because if you read the test quickly, you won't find much positive, whereas in the end, this laptop offers good value for money.
At the time of writing, this laptop is available for around €200 and at that price, there's almost no need to think, because for that price you get a laptop that will tick a lot of boxes for those who need a laptop to do office work, watch videos or spend time on social networks. Who is this kind of computer for? I can see several possibilities: students, the elderly and those in between who don't need performance.
So you have to consider the strengths and weaknesses of this product in relation to its price point.
Strengths
Fast hard disk
Disk space
Sufficient performance for office use
Finish
Size/weight
Power consumption
Battery life
Windows 11 Pro pre-installed
Weaknesses
Colors too cold (correctable with profile)
Low-frequency rendering with speakers
Sound volume with headphones
Questions/Comments