Intel Phatom 15.6" Review
This laptop pairs a dinosaur-era CPU with 4GB of RAM, making its 48GB VRAM claim completely useless. It's a $199 lesson in bad specs.
Overview
This laptop is a bizarre, unbalanced mess. The one thing you need to know is that it's trying to be a gaming PC with a single-core Pentium CPU and 4GB of RAM, which is like trying to win a marathon with one leg. It has a GPU with a massive 48GB of VRAM, but that's completely wasted because the rest of the system is so cripplingly slow it can't feed the graphics chip any data. Forget gaming or development. It's a paperweight with a screen.
Performance
The performance is exactly what you'd expect from a 1-core Pentium and 4GB of RAM in 2024: unusable. Windows will struggle to boot. Opening a web browser will feel like a major event. That 98th percentile GPU ranking is a cruel joke. Yes, the integrated graphics has a ton of VRAM on paper, but the CPU is in the 3rd percentile and the RAM is literally in the 0th percentile. The GPU has nothing to work with. It's the fastest engine bolted to a wagon with square wheels.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- It has a 1080p screen, which is the bare minimum. 96th
- It's relatively light at 1.56kg. 90th
- It includes an HDMI port. 67th
- It turns on. Probably.
Cons
- A single-core Pentium CPU is a relic. This will choke on modern Windows.
- 4GB of RAM is unacceptable. You can't run anything. 2th
- 128GB SSD fills up instantly with just Windows updates. 4th
- The '48GB VRAM' spec is misleading marketing fluff for a weak integrated GPU. 17th
- Reliability is ranked in the 3rd percentile. Expect problems.
Specifications
Full Specifications
Processor
| CPU | 1.6 GHz pentium_other |
| Cores | 1 |
Graphics
| GPU | Graphics |
| Type | integrated |
| VRAM | 48 GB |
| VRAM Type | GDDR6 |
Memory & Storage
| RAM | 4 GB |
| Storage | 128 GB |
| Storage Type | SSD |
Display
| Size | 15.6" |
| Resolution | 1920 (Full HD) |
Connectivity
| HDMI | HDMI |
Physical
| Weight | 1.6 kg / 3.5 lbs |
| OS | Windows |
Value & Pricing
At $199, this isn't a value. It's a trap. You are paying for a collection of parts that cannot function together as a useful computer. Save your money or buy a used laptop from five years ago. It will run circles around this.
Price History
vs Competition
Don't even compare this to the listed competitors like the MacBook Pro or Legion Pro. That's like comparing a tricycle to a Ferrari. A more relevant comparison is a used Chromebook or a budget laptop from a reputable brand like Acer or Lenovo in the $300-$400 range. Anything with a modern dual-core processor and 8GB of RAM will feel like a supercomputer next to the Phantom.
| Spec | Intel Phatom 15.6" | Lenovo Yoga Lenovo - Yoga 7i 2-in-1 - Copilot+ PC - 14" 2K | Apple MacBook Air Geek Squad Certified Refurbished MacBook Air 13.3" | ASUS ZenBook ASUS - Zenbook A14 14" FHD+ OLED Laptop - Copilot+ | HP OmniBook HP - OmniBook 5 - Copilot+ PC - 14" 2K OLED | Dell Plus Dell - Plus - Copilot+ PC - 14" 2K 2-in-1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | 1.6 GHz pentium_other | Intel Core Ultra 7 256V | Apple M1 | Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus X1P-64-100 | Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus X1P-64-100 | AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 |
| RAM (GB) | 4 | 16 | 8 | 16 | 16 | 16 |
| Storage (GB) | 128 | 1000 | 512 | 512 | 512 | 1000 |
| Screen | 15.6" 1920x1080 | 14" 1920x1200 | 13.3" 2560x1600 | 14" 1920x1200 | 14" 1920x1200 | 14" 1920x1200 |
| GPU | AMD Graphics | Intel Arc Graphics | Intel Plus | Qualcomm X1 | Qualcomm X1 | AMD Radeon 840 |
| OS | Windows | Windows 11 Home | macOS Big Sur 11.0 | Windows 11 Home | Windows 11 Home | Windows 11 Home |
| Weight (kg) | 1.6 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 1.6 |
| Battery (Wh) | - | 70 | - | - | - | - |
| Compare | Compare | Compare | Compare | Compare |
| Product | Cpu | Gpu | Ram | Port | Screen | Compact | Storage | User Sentiment | Reliability | Social Proof |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intel Phatom 15.6" | 2.3 | 96 | 0.4 | 26.7 | 27.2 | 51.2 | 16.5 | 67.3 | 3.5 | 89.9 |
| Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 14" 2K Compare | 68.8 | 66.3 | 72.2 | 93.6 | 76.3 | 80.3 | 72.1 | 91.9 | 76 | 97.3 |
| Apple MacBook Air Geek Squad Certified Refurbished 13.3" Laptop M1 chip Compare | 48.6 | 54.5 | 5.6 | 90.5 | 77.5 | 93.5 | 48.7 | 0 | 95.1 | 92.5 |
| ASUS ZenBook A14 14" Compare | 91 | 41.6 | 72.2 | 97.2 | 76.3 | 88.3 | 48.7 | 50 | 56 | 96.5 |
| HP OmniBook OmniBook 5 14" 2K Compare | 91 | 41.6 | 72 | 83.9 | 73.9 | 82.9 | 48.7 | 67.3 | 30.6 | 97.3 |
| Dell Plus Plus 14" 2K 2-in-1 Compare | 76.4 | 61.5 | 71.6 | 97.9 | 52 | 74.8 | 72.1 | 50 | 30.6 | 96.5 |
Verdict
Do not buy this. It is fundamentally broken by design. The specs are so mismatched and outdated that it cannot perform basic computing tasks reliably. The high GPU VRAM is a marketing trick that means nothing in practice. This laptop exists to catch unsuspecting buyers who see a big number and a low price. Run away.