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ECS G556 Barebones

post #1 of 62
1/10/04 at 6:48pm
Thread Starter 
After spending much time looking around for a Pentium M/ATI M10 laptop, I narrowed my search down to the Asus M6N, ECS G556, and the Clevo M385E. Then I found out that the M6N only has 18 bit, or 265K colors, which is puny compared to the 32 bit LCD in the ECS G556 and Gateway M505X. So I ask, is there any vendors of either barebones or complete G556 in the US? Any leads would be greatly appreciated.
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post #2 of 62
1/13/04 at 11:37pm
I too am very interested in the ECS G556 (Syntax AM5600)...so hard to find, I've been Googling and Googling and yet to find a NA vendor carrying them...

I did find a few that carry the ECS G551 (Syntax AM5100, Super Talent G551), so I figure they’ll carry the G556 when available:

•http://www.syntaxusa.com/catalog/pro...roducts_id=102
•http://www.syntaxusa.com/wheretobuy_usa.htm
•http://www.directpc.ca/portable-thin-pc.ref
•http://iocombo.com/product/showprodu...productid=02LC
•http://www.accupc.com/search_result_k.jsp?keyword=g551
•http://www.kingstarusa.com/notebook.htm
•http://neocomputers.com/customkitite...=AM510064&tpc=
•http://www.laptops4me.com/product_in...oducts_id/4115
•http://shop.store.yahoo.com/asiaproc...mp4c64wl1.html
•http://www.ltcom.com/page/customers/...d=NBSTG551DR15
•http://www.xcanpc.com/catalog/produc...roducts_id=649
•http://www.ntcw.com/Merchant2/mercha...ode=NB-ECSG551
•http://www.digitalstormonline.com/ca...t.asp?id=16484
•http://www.digitalstormonline.com/ca...t.asp?id=17996
•http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?p=DMG551-COM&c=fr
•http://store.yahoo.com/kmexpress/dmg551-com.html
•http://store.sunwilltech.com/dm-g551-b.html
•http://store.yahoo.com/kinglite/sysn...dm-g551-b.html
•http://store.yahoo.com/compuvest/254000203-01.html
•http://www.eglobalci.com/ProductDetail.asp?id=5355
•http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...8&category=177
•http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...8&category=177
•http://www.polywell.com/us/notebook/polynote3015ns.asp
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post #3 of 62
1/14/04 at 5:45pm
Thread Starter 
I have always wondered how Voodoo can get ahold of the G556 (m:460) when it is not yet available in North America (says a ECS USA rep. he does not know of a release date). I just contacted Voodoo and the rep said that Voodoo has direct links with the factory that makes the G556 and special-orders their machines. I can't understand why ECS just won't send the model to N.A. already.
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post #4 of 62
1/14/04 at 7:42pm
Thread Starter 
I do not completely understand what exactly Syntax and Super Talent do. They seem to be distributors for notebook ODMs such as ECS and Asus. Then there is no reason to claim these laptops as their own. If they are in fact OEMs that assemble completed notebooks, it is just as puzzling, since malabs.com sell both Super Talent completed notebooks and barebones. If they are Super Talent barebones, then Super Talent have done nothing to the laptop! Why then rename the model name of the original ODM? Why do these companies exist at all, since any reseller can easily complete a barebones notebook. I can do that as easily as I can assemble a desktop computer, if not more easily.
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post #5 of 62
1/15/04 at 5:47pm
Thread Starter 
Good news. A Syntax rep said that the AM5600 is due to release in NA late February.
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post #6 of 62
1/15/04 at 8:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by deltawalkerl
.... I found out that the M6N only has 18 bit, or 265K colors, which is puny compared to the 32 bit LCD in the ECS G556 and Gateway M505X.
ok it raise a new question : how many colors can we actually distinguish ? Samsung also sell LCD with 250K colors … is a true color screen more comfortable?
I own an old Toshiba satellite (2800-200), and i was using true colors (32 bits). Since a week I switch to 16 bits color in W2K and I can’t see the difference, perhaps because my screen only supports 18 bits? I read that “normal” people can make the difference between 20000 colors “only” … what are your opinions ?
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post #7 of 62
1/15/04 at 9:45pm
Quote:
Then I found out that the M6N only has 18 bit, or 265K colors, which is puny compared to the 32 bit LCD in the ECS G556 and Gateway M505X.
Pretty much all laptops use 18bit panels, and even desktop monitors that display faster than 25ms use 18bit panels. The gateway is definately 18bit on the 505x & 505xl, says here on the specs, go to: http://products.gateway.com/products...=m505xl&seg=hm then click "complete specifications"

although they are 18bit, they can still claim to display 16million colors/32bit by using dithering methods, ie. flashing 2 colors so fast it appears visually as another.

here is more info: http://www4.tomshardware.com/display...05/lcd-06.html

in short: don't rule out any laptop with an 18bit display, cuz most likely the one you think that don't, DO, but just lie about it.
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post #8 of 62
1/15/04 at 9:48pm
Thread Starter 
Please point your web browser here. This image is divided into large, 2" by 2" boxes, each with a smooth gradient of colors. If you seen small boxes within the large boxes, that means that your display is not capable of displaying 24-bit colors. It also means that your eyes are able to discern all the colors in a 24-bit color system, because otherwise the gradient would appear smooth even if you don't have a 24-bit display.
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post #9 of 62
1/15/04 at 9:51pm
Thread Starter 
Interesting. The complete specifications do indeed state 18-bit colors. But this page on Gateway's website states 32-bit colors. 18-bit displays can claim to have 16.2 million colors by using a four pixel matrix algorithm, called dithering as you mentioned. But it does not support 16.7 million colors like a true 24-bit display can. Dithering also does not make up for the lack of an alpha channel, which is the extra 8-bits in a 32-bit display.
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post #10 of 62
1/15/04 at 10:14pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by deltawalkerl
Please point your web browser here. This image is divided into large, 2" by 2" boxes, each with a smooth gradient of colors. If you seen small boxes within the large boxes, that means that your display is not capable of displaying 24-bit colors. It also means that your eyes are able to discern all the colors in a 24-bit color system, because otherwise the gradient would appear smooth even if you don't have a 24-bit display.
Nice link. I tested it and its exactly as you say. I set my video to 16-bit and sure enough I see the little boxes inside the larger ones. When I set to 32-bit, the little boxes are gone.
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post #11 of 62
1/15/04 at 10:34pm
Thread Starter 
I can't take the credit for it though. Aussie gave me the address.
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post #12 of 62
1/15/04 at 10:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by deltawalkerl
Please point your web browser here. This image is divided into large, 2" by 2" boxes, each with a smooth gradient of colors. If you seen small boxes within the large boxes, that means that your display is not capable of displaying 24-bit colors. It also means that your eyes are able to discern all the colors in a 24-bit color system, because otherwise the gradient would appear smooth even if you don't have a 24-bit display.
I performed this test on my Gateway M505X. When I left it set at the default 32 bpp, I saw smooth gradients within the 2" by 2" boxes. But when I set the display to 16 bpp, I saw small boxes within the large ones. So however the display is doing the greater color depth seems to be working very well.
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post #13 of 62
1/15/04 at 10:44pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by BargainSeeker
I performed this test on my Gateway M505X. When I left it set at the default 32 bpp, I saw smooth gradients within the 2" by 2" boxes. But when I set the display to 16 bpp, I saw small boxes within the large ones. So however the display is doing the greater color depth seems to be working very well.
This indicates that the Gateway probably has a 32-bit display. I personally have never seen this image with a 18-bit display employing dithering. But Aussie claims that even if an 18bit display has dithering it would still produce the small boxes.
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post #14 of 62
1/16/04 at 12:22am
ugh.... don't really want to get into this just cuz i've seen dozens of these kinds of messages in other forums, and its all info thats searchable. but in short:

1> mostly all laptop displays use 18bit panels
2> the gateway is definately NOT a 32 bit panel since panels only go as high as 24bit
3> 32bit is just a color model consisting of R*256 G*256 B*256 Alpha*256, actual output IS 24bit, 16.7million colors! When you are able to SEE THROUGH YOUR LCD is when YOU'LL HAVE A 32-bit PANEL.
4> believing that this image is going to help you figure out whether you have an 18bit panel that displays 16.2 million colors or a 24 bit panel that displays 16.7 is quite frankly, retarded. Seeing a difference between changing your display settings between 16bit color(65K) vs 32bit(16m) is another story tho, I see that a difference in my backdrop! so what exactly is the point of the pic?

taken from toms hardware:
"A major problem with LCD panels found in most notebooks is that they are limited to an 18-bit color depth (6 bits per color component). Although it is possible to change the color setting in the control panel to 32-bit color, it really makes no difference in visual quality. ATI addresses this issue in the Mobility Radeon 7500 with its new Frame Modulation technology, which brings the 18-bit LCD panels up to 24-bit, improving the overall quality of the display. Frame modulation creates intermediate color levels, which lead to an 8-bit-per-color component that uses temporal and special dithering."

Taken from 3d gpu:
"GeForce FX Go mobile GPUs also include a sophisticated dithering circuit to map the full range of colors from a video onto the gamut of colors on the 18-bit LCD displays used exclusively in notebook PCs. Together, the scaling and dither support ensure that the video playback appears smooth, vibrant, and accurate, regardless of the external display used."
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post #15 of 62
1/16/04 at 12:34am
Thread Starter 
Umm...why do you insist on explaining the meaning of 32bit, when I have already stated that the extra 8-bits is an alpha channel? I have never claimed that 32 bit displays have 2^32 colors. I know perfectly well that 32bit displays have 2^24 or 16,777,216 colors. You claim that most of all notebooks have 18bit displays. Sure, intuition tells you that. But can pure logic tell the same? Surely not, since you do not have collective data from all notebook LCDs of the world. If you ever heard of the Pythagorean Paradox, you should know that for results to be scientific logic must be trusted rather than intuition. Furthermore, I know of at least one notebook that has a 32-bit display, that is the Elitegroup G556. The output yields 2^24 colors, but it still takes 32 bits to represent one pixel, hence the name. Finally, the dithering algorithm is an imperfect compromise. If you look at a pointillist painting, you can discern the small dots of fundamental colors even though a first look yields different colors. The same apply for dithering. It merely imitates 24-bit colors, but not impossible to tell it apart.
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post #16 of 62
1/16/04 at 1:22am
Quote:
why do you insist on explaining the meaning of 32bit,
because for some reason when a manufacturer says they have a 32bit display it seems from your posts that they mean they use a 32 bit PANEL when they only mean they display 32bit color whch they can from an 18bit panel

Quote:
You claim that most of all notebooks have 18bit displays.
NO.... if you want to be accurate, I'd say most laptops have 16bit/32bit displays, and use 18bit Panels, maybe some use 24 bit, and none use 32bit panels.

Quote:
collective data from all notebook LCDs of the world
no I don't, I just know what the sales person at screentek told me when i was looking for a screen for my dell csx about a year and a half ago.
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post #17 of 62
1/17/04 at 12:10am
Quote:
Originally Posted by deltawalkerl
Good news. A Syntax rep said that the AM5600 is due to release in NA late February.
Which one?
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post #18 of 62
1/17/04 at 12:29am
Thread Starter 
What do you mean? It's the Syntax AM5600, which is in turn based on the Elitegroup G556. accupc.com is a Syntax barebones reseller. They will have it in March.
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post #19 of 62
1/17/04 at 2:22am
Quote:
Originally Posted by deltawalkerl
What do you mean? It's the Syntax AM5600, which is in turn based on the Elitegroup G556. accupc.com is a Syntax barebones reseller. They will have it in March.
I wanted to know which reseller. I already knew that G556 = AM5600 (see my previous post in this thread).
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post #20 of 62
1/17/04 at 11:08am
Thread Starter 
O right...you are the one who told me that. Silly me, I forget sometimes. But accupc.com will probably carry the AM5600 since they already carry the AM5100. You don't have an exact release date for the 5600, do you?
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