Review: Short review of the A8Jm

[sykozylot]

i recently purchased an MX (A8Jm) from portableone (http://laptopsinc.com/Merchant2/merc...ory_Code=P1MX).

here are the specs:

- Intel Core Duo T2400 1.83GHz 2MB Cache, 667FSB
- 14.1" Ultra Viewing Angle (UVA) 160° WXGA LCD (1280x800)
- 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 533
- NVidia GeForce Go7600 512MB VRAM (Upgradeable)
- 60GB Shock Mounted 7200RPM Hard Drive
- Dual Layer Multi Format DVD±RW Drive
- Built-in 1.3 Mega-Pixel web camera w/motion detection security
- 5 USB 2.0 Ports, Firewire, S-Video, Express Card, VGA & DVI Ports
- SD/MMC/MS/MS PRO Card Reader
- Integrated 10/1000 Gigabit LAN
- Integrated Intel Tri-Mode 802.11a+b/g Wireless LAN
- Integrated Global 56K Modem
- Integrated Bluetooth V2.0 EDR PAN
- Built-in Touchpad pointing device w/scroll & lock function
- High-Xchange efficiency copper molding heat sink with heat pipes and Arctic Silver 5 (CPU & GPU)
- Built-in High Definition Audio w/Surround Sound
- Embedded Trusted Platform Module Security (TPM 1.2)
- Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
- Only weighs 5.25 pounds w/6 Cell Battery
- 3 Year warranty

altogether + tax + the warranty it ended up just below 2k. there goes all the cash i saved over the summer..

i've had it for about a week or so. my previous notebook was a 15" Dell 1505 with a P4 3.02 and a 64mb go5200. needless to say this was a step up.

i was also considering the Dell e1705, e1505, and XPS m1210. the e1705 had the right performance, but was too big. the e1505 was a little large, and the GPU was not quite as good as i wanted. i almost purchased the m1210, but again the GPU kept giving me second thoughts. i finally settled on the A8Jm because of the size and the GPU.

Initial Impressions

Seems stable, speedy, and sturdy. i was surprised to find a vendor that actually had the internal bluetooth on the A8Jm, so portableone gets bonus points for that. they also claim they added a custom cooling system to it.

being a university student, i needed something that was quiet and portable. my old P4 system was anything but quiet. the A8Jm is much quieter. the fan comes on once in a while, but it's not very noisy at all. hardly audible in a classroom.

something i found odd was that my harddrive was divided into a 18gb C partition and a 36.4gb D partition. that just seems odd and impracticle. i emailed portableone about it (who are very good at responding to emails btw) and they said that was the configuration Asus gave it to them in.

Build Quality

the notebook's chassis seems very sturdy. infact, the more i use it, the more i realize how my old Dell was a steaming pile of crap (albeit a cheap, reliable pile of crap). the build quality of the Asus is just on a whole new level.

the notebook is also very easy to carry around. something that surprized me a bit was that it was actually about a centimeter or two wider than my 15", but it was much shorter.

one thing i did notice is that there is a small amount of keyboad flex in the center, around the 5, 6, 7, t, y, g, and h buttons. not a big deal, but it's there. it was there in my Dell also.

the touchpad feels nice and smooth. the scroll function and click buttons took a few minutes to get used too, but after a bit of use it was second nature.

i havent had much time to play with the integrated mic or camera, but those aren't big interests of mine.

the speakers are decent as far as notebooks are concerned. i wasn't expecting a whole lot, but they are adequate if you're not extremely concerned about sound quality or volume. in my room i hook it up to a basic 2 speaker + subwoofer Altek Lansing system (XA2021), and it sounds quite nice. on the road i generally use sony earbuds, which also sound good.

the LCD screen is very crisp and bright. no dead pixels. it is glossy, and i often like to sit outside by a fountain on campus and do hw there or blog or such, and i was worried how that would work out. it does reflect quite a bit of light when under the sun, but is still readable and usuable.

as far as asthetics are concerned, the notebook is quite sleek and elegant.

chicks dig it.
ok, well maybe not, but i'll take any help i can get.

Performance

now to the moment everyone's been waiting for - how does it game?

well i don't need to sing the praises of the Core Duo 2400. everyone knows these things rock. i was going to wait for merom, but it was just taking way too long and school is starting. i can always upgrade in a year or so once i get more cash.

here are the games I am currently playing:
Guildwars
Knights of the Old Republic (I and II, i like to go through them)
Oblivion

i'm connected to a 19" CRT in my dorm, so the resolutions i play at do not match with the A8Jm's 14" widescreen. also, the resolutions are drastically higher than the A8Jm's LCD, so if running on the A8Jm's screen the frames should be significantly higher.

the 512mb 7600 rips through Guildwars. i play at everything maxxed out (except 4x AA) at 1600x1200. frames stay above 30, with no lag or problems at all, and the game is beautiful. with that said, Guildwars is very well made, and not too demanding on the computer.

let's move next to KotOR, probably the best starwars RPG series ever (too bad the second one was rushed and buggy). again max settings (except 4x AA) at 1600x1200. the average was around 22 frames. KotOR isn't a FPS, so you dont need incredibly high frames to have a good gaming experience. with that said, my resolution is extremely high, so i could probably lower it to let's say 1280x1024 and still have a magnificently beautiful game.

and now to what is possibly the most demanding game on the current market - Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. let me first say that this game is beautiful. but you already knew that, and if you didn't shame on you.

i'm running Oblivion at 1154x862 at max settings (shadows, water settings, and such), except the view distance. i have the distant lands settings turned on, but the view distance for grass and trees is set about a third of the way. HDR is on. i also went into the Nvidia control panel and set AF to 16, just for kicks.

i decided todo the fraps frame bench while I was outside in the hilly forest running around on my horse while spinning in circles. i figured that would give me a good idea of the limitations of my card. while spinning in circles outside in the forest while viewing the distant lands, i averaged around 15fps. hmm a little low. keep in mind that usually when you are playing Oblivion you are not doing what i just described. also, i could probably play with the settings as well as turn AF down to get better frames. of course, when i'm inside or not spinning in circles on my horse, the frames are higher.

hopefully when i get a bit more cash i can newegg some more ram and get a little boost.

Concluding thoughts

i am very happy with this notebook. its small, sturdy, and performs very nicely. it's not gaming monster, but the 512mb 7600 is no slouch. as far as 14" gaming notebooks go, i dare say this is the best one you can get.

[apollo78]

Nice review!

Just one question: Which audio-chip is used in the A8jm?

Any Realtek ALC8xx?


Thanks a lot!

[sykozylot]

Originally Posted by apollo78

Just one question: Which audio-chip is used in the A8jm?

in the Device Manager, it tells me SoundMAX Integrated Digital HD.

[WirelessMouse]

Hello to everyone!

@ sykozylot

Would you happen to have 3DMark05 scores for that Asus A8Jm of yours? I would just like to see how it would stand against the Asus S96j which I'm eyeing. I was really impressed with the 4k 3DMark05 scores and for such a cheap price... I'm still think of what laptop to get with a good video card. I also want to ask if you know that Asus laptop with the 512 mb X1600 video card inside? Thanks!

[sykozylot]

Originally Posted by WirelessMouse

Hello to everyone!

@ sykozylot

Would you happen to have 3DMark05 scores for that Asus A8Jm of yours? I would just like to see how it would stand against the Asus S96j which I'm eyeing. I was really impressed with the 4k 3DMark05 scores and for such a cheap price... I'm still think of what laptop to get with a good video card. I also want to ask if you know that Asus laptop with the 512 mb X1600 video card inside? Thanks!

i'll run a bench today and post the scores.

i've never heard of a notebook with a 512 x1600.

something else to consider is that the A8Jp with merom and a 512 7700 will be released soon.

[sykozylot]

3dMark 05: 3807 with no OC or anything. most scores that i've seen for the A8Jm are somewhere around 4k, so i'll play a bit with my settings.

[WirelessMouse]

Thanks a lot Sykozylot... Seems like the A8Jm has a 3.8-4K 3DMark05 score which is the same with the S96j. I thought the Nvidia card was faster...

Also, thanks for the news about the A8Jp. I might as well just wait for that... if I get a S96j now, it might get kinda outdated. -_-

[sykozylot]

i used the "Find Optimal" OC settings, which took me to 448/469
got a 3dMark 05 score of 4118.

[agent80]

Does the A8JM suffer from any of the display issues?

[ExplodingLemur]

Originally Posted by agent80

Does the A8JM suffer from any of the display issues?

It doesn't cause cancer, nor does it eat my cats or drink straight from the milk carton...though since you didn't specify what display issues you mean, I don't know if that's the answer you're looking for

[sykozylot]

aside from glare under bright lighting, i have not noticed any "display issues."

[Djembe]

Originally Posted by agent80

Does the A8JM suffer from any of the display issues?

I can only guess at your meaning, but if you're referring to the display issues found in the S/Z96J & W3J models, that was caused by a faulty video BIOS for the ATI x1600 video card. Since the A8Jm does not use that video card it also does not have that issue.

[Spud387]

Whats the battery life like?

[ExplodingLemur]

Originally Posted by Spud387

Whats the battery life like?

I get 3 hours.

[sykozylot]

generally a little over 3 hours if i close unneccesary programs.