Review: chembook: Asus Z70va-x -just unpacked it

First off.. I won't bore you with photo's...(1) you've all seen them; (2) they honestly don't do the case justice....

Second... I won't bore you with bench marks... I'm not a gamer.... I bought the machine for work --I do do CAD

This is an elegently designed, very solidly constructed, extremely professional looking machine. It's like a BMW laptop.... Very tasteful, with plenty of power

The screen quality is top notch... I personally prefer "matte" to "glossy" screens, and this is one has very good color representation, it's really crisp, and I don't see a single dead pixel.

The keyboard is crisp, and responsive.... and the keys texture is very well thought ou

The Carbon Fiber Case doesn't just look great, it FEELS great.

The sound surprised me... It wasn't a high priority for me, but this is better quality than I expected, and while it definitely won't fill a room with sound, it's fidelity is good and there's enough volume there to make sitting next to it sound nice... and plugged into external speakers or headsets.... it's great.

The expandability is great with the swap bay... If you make presentations and don't want any wires... throw in the second battery, then swap the DVD burner back in when you are done... I got the built in bluetooth, port bar, extra battery, extra AC power cord... port bar is nice looking... I recommend it

And the free case isn't half bad.... much nicer than I expected.... all black with the asus logo... It's not set for a full mobile office, but.... servicable for most things and again... tasteful

I dealt with Matt and Shannon at www.discountlaptops.com

I thought they were honest, responsive, very helpful, more than fair and exceptionally reasonable....

I ordered the machine late Tues day, and recieved it today

I would like to see is this machine with the 128mg ATI FireGL graphics card.... If Asus would do that, they could probably give Dell a serious run for market share in the entry level graphic workstation market --3D rendering, etc... in terms of computation and video... running 3D Studio. Viz, accurender, Artlantis, etc. and playing Doom are very different things... Right now... Dell and IBM own that Mobile Workstation market.... Sager has the 9880 --but it's HUGE....

IMO, This machine with an openGL card , fogether with it's light weight, long battery, life cpu power, and expandability, would be a serious contender against a Thinkpad T43p in terms of looks and power... and while the Dell still has the 256 mg nVidia Quadro FX, IMO it's BUTT UGLY... I can't even concive of looking at that every day.... But I'd take Z70va case over the IBM' Thinkpads any day.... if it could only match the openGL graphic power


I bought:

Chembook 2370Va -X
15.4" WSXGA (1680x1050) Wide -Screen Active Matrix Display
2.13 GHz Intel Pentium-M (770) Processor (Sonoma / 2 MB L2 Cache / 533 FSB)
Upgrade to Artic Silver 5 (AS5) Thermal Cooling CPU Compund Paste
128 MB Dedicated DDR2 - Ati Radeon X700 PCI-Express Video Card
2 GB DDR2 (533 MHz) CORSAIR Dual Channel Memory Configuration (1 GB x 2)
60 GB Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
None
8X DVD±R (DL) / 4X DVD±RW / CD-RW / DVD Combo Drive w/ Software
None
Internal 56k Modem
Internal IntelPRO 2915ABG Wireless Ethernet/Lan (802.11 a+b+g)
Internal Bluetooth Wireless Card
8-cell Smart Lithium Ion Battery
Add 2nd battery (swaps with CD)
Built-in 4-in-1 card reader (SD/MMC/MS/MS PRO)
S-video out, 4 USB (2.0), 1 PCMCIA, IR, IEEE Firewire
10/100/1000 BaseT Ethernet LAN Port
2nd AC Adapter plus Port bar III (Power, VGA, 4 USB, Parallel, LAN)
None
Free Deluxe Carry Case
*FREE* Notebook Essentials Software
MS Windows XP-Professional Installed, CD Included
2 yr ChemUSA warranty w/ 1-way paid shipping
Lifetime Tech Support
1 yer On-site Extended Warranty & Help Desk Options Options (Begins after factory warranty ends)

Ordered it the 20th, and got it on the 23rd, and it's a very nice machine.... and very nice folks at discount notebooks.com... I highly recommend both






--
whomung

Uhhhhh... so now, I'll fess up and tell the rest of the story.......

Despite loving the Asus laptop, OpenGL has always been high on my list --That's what a started with --wanting a mobile CAD station.... but it seemed out of my budget, so I was going to settle...

I wanted that Quadro FX card in your Dell sooooooo BAD..... The Dell has *everything* I want --but the case.... And I agree, it's really not bad looking --I just happen to like charcol over silver --but that's personal taste --so what?.... It is a little thick looking.... But given *everything* else I've seen that Quadro card in.... that card is either it's big, or hot, or both --because all the cases it's in are boxy.... And the M70 's the laptop card of choice right now if you do mobile CAD/3D rendering.....

BUT..... I was lucky..... (Maybe) AND... what I'm about to say again speaks to the quality of service from Discountlaptops....

AFTER I BOUGHT THE ASUS LAPTOP, IT WAS BUILT, AND ON THE FR*CKING UPS TRUCK ON THE WAY TO MY HOUSE.... I found an "open box" IBM Thinkpad "T43p 2668-H2U" at a hell of a price --and it has the ATI fireGL card only 128mb --and not as nice as the Quadro.... But it's openGL, and that's the main thing.

I also get a 2.13 M cpu instead of a 2, plus the hot swap drive bay, intigrated bluetooth, "14" SXGA screen in a magnesium case.... the port selection kinda blows, but it's enough, but the case is pretty sleek looking.... and still have the 60gig, 7200 RPM drive....I haven't seen it in person yet.... but from photo's, I don't think It's as nice as the asus, but I personally prefer it to the Dell.. Might be wrong, but it looks a sleek, but a little "tank" like, the the asus really is simply really nice looking.....

Anyway.... Before the Asus even got to my DOOR I called Discountlaptops and told them I was going to turn the machine around.... They said no prob, 30 day, no questions asked return policy, and we had already discussed cards at length and new my consideration.... I almost bought a Sager 9880 from them just for the Quadro.... but couldn't see myself pulling it out at a clients office..... Tooooo BIG

Anyway.... Discount isues an *Immediate* RMA #. I pay to ship it back. There is NO restocking fee, and my card is credited in 2-3 days after that..... I can't recommend DiscountLaptops highly enough.... I was amazed

But I had to try it the Asus machine --So I unpacked it, and that's what I posted on, and I watched a DVD tonight.... and it really is as lovely as I say.... Honestly... If I didn't **really** want openGL, I'd totally keep it and feel lucky.... It's got everything a pretty demanding laptop user could want, and it's really classy looking --but for me to discover I can get a Thinkpad with the same configuration for basically the same money.... --minus the extra battery, adapter and port repilicator --BUT WITH OPEN.GL... I had to go for it. So I did... I'll get it next week --"Thinkpad T43p 2668-H2U" two gigs RAM, 7200 RPM drive

I don't see too many people in here running big CAD or Rendering software, I'm sure they must be here... I know the Dell M70 Quadro is Autodesks laptop of choice..... And I found one at a good price.... about the same as all this.... So I was really torn --The Ausus was on it's way (and I like the machine and DiscountLaptops), and the Dell and Thinkpad were both available --I was going nuts

FOR ME... I think what pushed me towards the IBM was the combo of personally prefering IBM's case appearance (closer to the Asus look), and that the video card in it was openGL and so would work with most anything I try -- it's not as quick as the Quadro --but it's enough for me for now-- since I'm not a full time render studio, mostly I spend most of my time in ADT 2004, and some ArchiCAD... but I want to explore Accurender, Artlantis, and possibly Viz. And I need openGL to even consider those.

So I'll report on the Thinkpad later... but Seriously, if it wasn't for the openGL issue, I'd LOVE to have the Asus Z70va-x --I don't think you could go wrong with it... it's just a great balance of features and style.

But if Asus would build a Z70va-x type model with the ATI "FireGL" card... and come in at the right price... they could be a serious market force for Architectural, engineering entry level Mobile CAD graphic Stations... I'd buy one in a heartbeat...., and If DiscountLaptops sold it, I'd buy from them again.

--
whomung

soon to have
Thinkpad T43p
Pentium M 770 2.13ghz,
2 GB RAM,
60GB 7200rpm HDD, 15.1 SXGA+(1400x1050) TFT LCD,
128MB ATI FireGL V3200,
CD-RW/DVD-R Multi-Burner, I
BM 802.11a/b/g wireless(MPCI),
Bluetooth/Modem(CDC), 1Gb Ethernet(LOM),
UltraNav, Secure Chip, Fingerprint Reader, 9c Li-Ion, WinXP Pro

The only thing is, I'm getting an "open box".... I think I can have the H2U --IDEALLY with no RAM installed, for $2300.... So I can put in two gigs of, and see what I can do to undervolt, overclock --and still come out at $2600... Add a port repicator for another $150.... It's pretty good....

I'm really open to hearing about best places to look for a Thinkpad... but everything I've seen so far puts the Q2U at least $700 minimum over my $2600 budget

I've got a few hundred gigs of external drive space on my desk, so while a hundred gig/2.23 machine would be unquestionably better --to have one, I'd bet I'm now looking closer to $3250 at least --(unless someone here knows where to go to get a really decent price on one --that I haven't found)....

sooooo... Love to do it, but my budget just isn't there.... for the difference in money, I'd rather buy a slightly slower machine and a copy of Accurender or Artlantis.... I've got to balance everything as best I can..... Next year will be different.

Till then... I really want an genuinely mobile graphic workstation... and I got a *teensy* budget shortfall.... The config I'm talking about with the Thinkpad is still "entry level"... but it's probably enough to hold me for me for a while.... and it opens the door to all the 3D CAD modeling, photo rendering --and I can afford the software, too.

Hahhahaha... that's true.... But when the Asus is open, it's definitely pretty.... With a dark, minimalistic Visual Style.... or silver.... it's sexy

How do the t43p cases stack up?.... I'm waiting now for shipping... and from the photo's, I'm a little worried it'll look a little like a thin tank....