Question:
Gurus Help with Buying Decision Please! (12" <4.5lbs)
I've been lurking here for a while, and would appreciate any feedback on my purchasing decision.
After 5 glorious years of owning and using my Toshiba Portege 4000, I have officially maxed out the machine's capabilities and require a new "very"-portable. I am ready to retire the Portege to a nice end table for light web browsing and email.
After a nearly obsessive search, I am coming very close to a purchase, and am *very* impressed with Asus. I nearly purchased a Tecra M6, but (at the checkout form) backed down after stumbling across the W7J "(p)review". 2 weeks later, I want an Asus, but I need help.
I have been looking very closely at the W5F and W7J, but officially need guru
advice as I have trouble with the model numbers. Any help is greatly appreciated, as I'd like to act very soon (even if it means a pre-order). Here are my requirements:
Preface: I need the ability to go to 2GB RAM in the future / integrated optical.
1) What is your budget?
$2000 max
2) What size notebook would you prefer?
a. Ultraportable; 12" - 13" (no less)
3) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?
Medium to heavy business tasks, including:
-Some coding / development / database
-Diagramming and process flows (Visio, etc)
-Typical web/email/word proc stuff
4) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk?
Taking it with me will be its primary use. I have a desktop for when I work in the office, but frequently (3-4 times a week) need to be out and about at client sites managing other technical team members and their code.
5) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
Probably not. But it would be nice to have a non-integrated video card. Definitely *not* a deal breaker though.
6) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
I like Asus and Toshiba. And Toshiba does not have anything (aside from the M6) that I am interested in. I'm open to other brands, though.
7) How many hours of battery life do you need?
3hrs+ (more the better, but I will have access to AC power)
8) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?
No
9) What country are you buying this in?
USA
Screen Specifics
10) Would you prefer standard or widescreen?
Widescreen, but flexible.
11) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?
d. WXGA or WXGA+ - 1280x768/800 or 1440x900; Wider viewing version of XGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.
12) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?
No preference.
Build Quality and Design
13) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
Sure, but not primarily.
14) How long do you want this laptop to last?
3+ years.
Notebook Components
15) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 120GB?
80GB minimum / preferably 7200RPM
16) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a DVD-ROM, DVD-CD/RW or DVD-RW drive?
Yes, DVD-RW (preferably) must be integrated.
So in a nutshell:
12 to 13" widescreen
Core Duo - 2ghz+
2GB RAM (capable - 1GB is ok to start)
80GB HDD
4.5lbs or lighter
Integrated optical
Integrated video good / standalone card great
$2000 max
I have also considered:
XPS M1210
Thinkpad x61(?)
Thanks!
Answer:
Re: Gurus Help with Buying Decision Please! (12" <4.5lbs)
ThinkPad X61 won't be introduced until Jan / Feb 2007 if they use that numbering, and it won't have integrated optical.
Basically, for integrated optical with 12 to 13" with integrated optical I think the best choices are:
Dell M1210
Sony SZ
MSI 1057
HP nc2400
Asus W5J / W5F
If you haven't already, visit the Asus forum to get help from all the friendly people there!
Answer:
Re: Gurus Help with Buying Decision Please! (12" <4.5lbs)
Thanks abaxter! They are very helpful over in that Asus sub-forum.
A quick question for you:
*Coming from a 4:3 12", am I going to notice much of a size difference going to a 14" widescreen? I'd be willing to if it wasn't a huge jump in size.
Thanks!
Answer:
Re: Gurus Help with Buying Decision Please! (12" <4.5lbs)
I've been ardently searching for a new laptop replacement myself for the past 6 months.
One thing about the W7J & W5F - You can only expand to 1.5 gb on both machines. I just double checked on the asus website.
I think for the amount of money you are spending, you should seriously consider the SONY SZ110/B T2400 - [US model number] (duo core 1.83) - it has Geforce 7400, 1 gig ram, weighs 4 lbs, and allows you to expand to 2 gig max. I checked pricing around $1800 in computer-notebook. This is very competitive with Asus W7J.
I've actually narrowed my choice between:
1. The SONY VGN-SZ26TP [Taiwan model number] - It is the same configuration as above except it is lighter @ 3.7 lbs, cost around US $2K.
2. IBM X60S 1702 series. They cost $100 - $200 less than Sony for similar configuration except it has only the intel 950 graphics card (Sony has the Geforce 7400), also it has no webcam. But the plus side is that they are ridiculously light @ 2.6 lbs. You are allowed to expand to 4 gigbyte max. And the battery life should be higher than Sony.
The decision for me now is whether I really need the GeForce 7400 and the webcam. Since I would be using it primarily for college, I am debating the convenience and necessity of a webcam and microphone. I hate to buy an external mic and joggle it during class everytime I want to record something. Does anyone know if the X60S have a built in microphone?
I guess trying it out for hours at the store is my way of finding out which I prefer.
Answer:
Re: Gurus Help with Buying Decision Please! (12" <4.5lbs)
Oops, the IBM X60 does not have an optical drive.
Answer:
Re: Gurus Help with Buying Decision Please! (12" <4.5lbs)
Oops, the IBM X60 does not have an optical drive.
Thanks crdiner- my only problem with Sony is that they aren't great performance-wise, and they put sooo much bloatware on the machine.
We've been having an ongoing discussion about the 1.5GB RAM max in the ASUS forum. That's a huge dealbreaker with me, because of the development applications I use. I'm not sure if it will make a big difference yet.
Answer:
Re: Gurus Help with Buying Decision Please! (12" <4.5lbs)
what makes you say that the SZ is not great performance wise?
Answer:
Re: Gurus Help with Buying Decision Please! (12" <4.5lbs)
Another great option in the 12" size is the HP business line nc4400 that has just been added to the line.
This laptop is only 3.9lbs and offers the dual core.
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en...4-1847961.html
The company I work for just purchased two of the nc2400's which only weights 2.8 lbs. This only offers the solo core though.
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en...4-1847110.html
Good luck on your decision!
Answer:
Re: Gurus Help with Buying Decision Please! (12" <4.5lbs)
Thanks crdiner- my only problem with Sony is that they aren't great performance-wise, and they put sooo much bloatware on the machine.
We've been having an ongoing discussion about the 1.5GB RAM max in the ASUS forum. That's a huge dealbreaker with me, because of the development applications I use. I'm not sure if it will make a big difference yet.
I use to think Sony are overpriced and too fancy. I looked at almost every computer available within past 6 months. And somehow, I always come back to Sony's. If you look at the configuration between Sony and Asus W7J, they are almost identical - including the GeForce 7400, Core Duo 1.83 ghz, I think these are the most two important performance enhancer, with having a 7200 RPM hard drive not far behind. To me, Sony's slower DVD record speed is a non-issue as I don't copy DVD much and if I do, it does the job. More important for me is battery life and I think Sony wins here. In Taiwan, W3J's cost almost the same as similarly configured Sony. Sony weighs a tad less. AS for the bloatware, well, it's not an issue for me as I haven't encountered any program I can't uninstall for the past 3 years on my computer, so I don't think it will be a problem on Sony, just initial time consuming thats all. I guess it comes down to personal taste, I haven't actually try both of them on hand. Perhaps I will like the style and construction of W3J better as having 1.5 limitation isn't much an issue for me. I'm will do so tommorrow as I need to buy a laptop in Taiwan within 3 days.
Another intersting thing I noticed just now is that BenQ BENQ S73G-T21 just slashed its price to around US $1,250 in Taiwan. It was about $1,450 few days ago. It sports an ATI X1600, but with only Duo Core 1.66, has 2 meg max expansion. Only weighs in @ 4 lbs.
Hm, I'm thinking with $750 I save, I can buy a nice Conroe based deskstop with top of line GPU that will smoke any laptop in existence.
Or settle for a super light, 3.7 lb, Sony premium SZ model for $2K and use it at home via external monitor.
Or party hardy with that $750....
Decisions, decisions.
BenQ
Answer:
Re: Gurus Help with Buying Decision Please! (12" <4.5lbs)
what makes you say that the SZ is not great performance wise?
Sonys in general are hindered by the obscene amount of bloatware and services (from pre-installed utilities) they preload on the machine. Re-installation at the OS level is a lost cause due to very specific drivers required. Because of that the machines are typically (from my experience and related benchmarks) not great at performing.
Of course, that's just my opinion and experience.