Question:
Asus Z96J vs HEL80
Thanks to you guys I've narrowed it down from "WHAT THE HELL DO I NEED" - to one of these two. I spoke with Donald from Powernotebooks.com and he STRONGLY recommended the HEL80 for it's extended batteries and extra features for around the same price. I was tempted, but the Asus still looks quite good.
I've read around, and heard quite a few things about the fact that the HEL80's video card is underclocked. If so, by how much? I know the X1600 is the stronger card over the 7600 only by a slight margin, but if it's underclocked, how big does that gap grow?
I'm getting close to a decision, I can feel it!
Thanks all!
Answer:
Re: Asus Z96J vs HEL80
In synthetic 3DMark benchmarks, the HEL80 has about 20% less video performance compared to the Asus Z96J. If you are mainly going to use this laptop for gaming, I'd go for the Asus.
However, the Compal does have better fit and finish, and the extended battery is a nice feature. The fingerprint reader is something else worth mentioning; quite useful.
What will you be doing with the notebook most of the time?
Answer:
Re: Asus Z96J vs HEL80
I agree with Chaz, I'd definitely go with the Asus over the Compal.
Another brand of Asus thats a better deal, configurable and pretty much the same is the S96J.
Its propably worth taking a look at, this company is a very trustworthy one great customer service.
http://www.rjtech.com/s96j.htm
Its also a VBI "Verified By Intel" which means it comes with a standard 2 year warranty, except the battery only has 1.
Answer:
Re: Asus Z96J vs HEL80
I'm mainly a casual gamer, with my main focus being City of Heroes/Villains.
My main concern is down the road is that I want Command and Conquer 3 to look nice. If the 7600 will work just fine, and I can STILL get an extended battery life out of it, consider me sold.
Answer:
Re: Asus Z96J vs HEL80
And another question:
How do the keyboards compare for these two? They'll be for school, so obviously I'll be doing plenty of typing.
Answer:
Re: Asus Z96J vs HEL80
I'm not 100% sure since i own neither of these laptops...But I have read a review of hte Z96J applauding its keyboard, but saying that the scratchpad buttons feel "cheap".
That said, I've read a worse review about the HEL80, saying about how the keyboard flexes and many keys around the caps lock etc get stuck. Now thisis probably just an extreme case, where this particular laptop was obviously faulty. But it is something to consider.
Answer:
Re: Asus Z96J vs HEL80
I'll say this: the gaming on my HEL80 without any overclocking is fine at high/max settings (native resolution at 1680x1050).
Regarding the keyboard, the HEL80's keyboard is a little more bouncy than normal. But to me, all laptop keyboards are bouncy (haven't had the privilege of trying a ThinkPad keyboard yet though). I always use external keyboards with my laptops anyway though.
Answer:
Re: Asus Z96J vs HEL80
I'm mainly a casual gamer, with my main focus being City of Heroes/Villains.
My main concern is down the road is that I want Command and Conquer 3 to look nice. If the 7600 will work just fine, and I can STILL get an extended battery life out of it, consider me sold.
I would be inclined to vote for the Compal HEL80 in that case. Really has a nice set of features, plus the design & build are excellent. The Asus is a great 3D performer but looks a bit plain in comparision.