Question:
Notebook in Perth
G'day guys, I'm looking to get my first notebook around the January mark. Keep in mind that I live in Perth, Australia so most likely I wouldn't see the latest models for a couple of months (at least) after they'd get released elsewhere. Great place to live if you don't mind being 6 months behind technology.
Cheers.
General Questions
1) What is your budget?
$2,500 (bear in mind that's Australian)
2) What size notebook would you prefer?
c. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen
3) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?
Gaming, Uni work, internet (wifi req.)
4) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk?
Taking notebook other places (uni mostly)
5) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
Yes, most recent titles, not particularly inclined to FPS though.
6) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
Really would prefer to go with ASUS as I've had pretty good experience with their products to date.
7) How many hours of battery life do you need?
3+ would be great, but not particularly a huge issue for me.
8) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?
So long as there are decent pics of the item to give a good idea of it no problems.
9) Please select your country's flag as a post icon and tell us what country are you buying this in?
Yep.
Screen Specifics
10) Would you prefer standard or widescreen?
Not too phased, again would prefer a better laptop so if a widescreen model has better specs, no worries.
11) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?
Hard to say as I've not had a laptop before, currently running a desktop with 1280 x 1024 on a 17" LCD screen.
Standard
a. XGA -1024x768 - Large and easy to read text + graphics icons, but you fit less stuff on the screen.
b. SXGA - 1400x1050 - Compromise resolution between XGA and UXGA.
c. UXGA - 1600x1200 - Very small text and graphics icons, you can fit lots of stuff on the screen.
Widescreen
d. WXGA or WXGA+ - 1280x768/800 or 1440x900; Wider viewing version of XGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.
e. WSXGA+ - 1680x1050; Wider viewing version of SXGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.
f. WUXGA - 1920x1200; Wider viewing version of UXGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.
12) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?
Whatever presents better viewing options in indoor setting (probably reflective I would guess).
Build Quality and Design
13) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
Would really rather not carry around an ugly brick, but I don't want a VX1 either.
14) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last?
Probably buying January.
Notebook Components
15) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 160GB?
Preferably in the 100gb range
16) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a DVD-ROM, DVD-CD/RW or DVD-RW drive?
A combo drive would suffice, dvd writer not really required.
Answer:
Re: Notebook in Perth
i don't know what the prices are for these notebooks, but the asus f3j, z96j, hp nc8430, or acer 5672 are options.
Answer:
Re: Notebook in Perth
There are a couple of F3J models I'm looking at - the F3Jv which has T7200, Nvidia 7600go 120 gb sata HDD and a WXGA+ colourshine screen for $2649, the other is the F3Jp which has T5500, Radeon X1700, 80GB (not stated sata) HDD, and WXGA screen for $1949.
What I'm wondering is what a better resolution for games is, with the native res. on the F3Jv being 1680x1050 and the native res of the F3Jp being 1280x800, and also whether or not the $700 price difference is worth it, particularly since the cheaper of the two has the more recent GPU in it.
Answer:
Re: Notebook in Perth
actually, wxga+ is 1440x900, not 1680x1050 (wsxga+). was that a typo? anyway, one thing to note is that at least with the new games, you would have to stay at around wxga resolution for smooth game play. you will probably have to drop some of the eye candy if you want to play at the higher resolutions.
Answer:
Re: Notebook in Perth
Yep my bad, one of the sites I was looking at was wrong, it's WSXGA, so still the 1680x1050. So in your opinion, worth the significant price hike?
Answer:
Re: Notebook in Perth
Yeah, the F3Jm sounds like the one for you. Plus there's a shop in WA who are selling them pretty cheap, have a look here http://www.cybershop.net.au/Notebooks/AsusF3Jm.shtml
Answer:
Re: Notebook in Perth
it really depends on your preferences. you will probably want to use wxga as your resolution for games. if you like the wsxga+ for your daily usage, or need the higher cpu speeds and hd space, then perhaps it's worth it.
for me, i would go with the cheaper option, just b/c i am fine with wxga, don't think i will ever utilize the higher cpu speed to its full potential or would really need all that hd space.
oh, and btw, sata doesn't really mean much for notebooks, as they aren't really able to utilize sata to reap its benefits. its performance is not noticeably different from any other hd interface.
Answer:
Re: Notebook in Perth
Awesome. Cheers for the info, much appreciated. Now we'll just have to wait and see if we get anything new in the next few months that is better.