I took the plunge and bought ABS zForce F2 - Page 4

Point taken

Great points. Guess one thing we can agree on (anyone who's dealt with ABS anyway) they sell quality products at low prices with a great history (company started in 1990). I get the opinion they've only recently pumped up the notebook line, but from what I've read their desktops have received many awards over the years. One of these days someone is gonna have to start an ABS forum on here. Anyone second that?

I'd second that, definitely.

Mmm....I see they now offer 333 Mhz RAM and a 7200RPM HDD. I wonder if they'll let me change my configuration (which is still in step 3, in preparation of assembly) to get those components instead...

True. But IMO, the $94 for upgrading the slowest part of the system is worth it. Plus, people can't say that ABS's zForce doesn't offer 7200RPM HDD's anymore.

From a benchmark from an issue of Maximum PC, 5400RPM drives are 80% faster than 4200RPM drives. 7200RPM drives are 15% faster than 5400RPM drives.

My F2 was shipped out yesterday and will supposedly be here on Monday...why does FedEx take so long!?! Anyways, what drivers are you guys using for the 9600? Omega's? If someone could give me some advice how to get the best performance I would appreciate it. Thanks! I'll post benchmarks when I get it too.

1.6GHZ, 1 Gig 333MHZ, 60GB 72000RPM HD, 802.11g/b

Aren't the Omega's pre modded?

Is there a site somewhere that says how to Mod them for a notebook?

Ok, finally got my zForce F2.

1.6 Ghz
1GB DDR333 RAM
80GB 5400RPM HDD
ATI Radeon M10 9600 64MB
WinXP Pro

Here's a quick bench I did using all the latest drivers from Aopen (not the Omega drivers):

AquaMark3-
GFX - 2385
CPU - 7870
Total - 20723

3DMark2001SE - 9451

3DMark2003 - 2525

I haven't had time do any tweaking at all because I'm having trouble with my wireless network. I don't have a router or access point so I'm trying to do a Ad-Hoc with the desktop (with a wireless USB adapter) being the server with ICS on for a DSL connection while the laptop is a client). They share file just fine, but when I try to connect through the ICS it doesn't connect. I'm even running Sygate Home Networking to help. I can see the "Earthlink DSL on Nutrend" in my network connections, but when I try to go online it just won't show. Any help here would be appreciated.

I'll try to do a much more detailed look at the laptop on the weekend. But for now I must say its a great laptop. ABS installed it so all the software is patched and all the drivers are updated (though I did a reformat into WinXP Pro anyways). Though there is heat generated on the right side of the laptop, just on the d keyboard, there did not seem like enough for concern, even after an hr of benchmarking. Optical drive spin up is a bit loud but I can't put that against it much. Very sturdy construction, though I don't know how to use the DJ controls yet.

Ok I just got my Antec notebook cooler and here's my basic review of it with the Aopen 1557 series. First, when I bought it I was skeptical of how it draws air from under the notebook and blows it out since cpu coolers does the exact opposite. But after testing this after hrs of gaming, dvd, and normal usage, I found out it really works well. If you put your hand underneath the fan you can really feel the warm air and if you put your hand between the cooler and notebook you can really feel the cool air. Now before using this when there is very usage on the system I notice the cpu fan spining faster and making more sound. But now with this cooler it does it a lot less, and that's usually only is heavy 100% cpu usage. For DVD and video watching, it doesn't spin at all, meaning the relative temperature is pretty cool. Also the main fan is respective to the bottom of the laptop, and actually after analyzing the heat distribution of the laptop even more I have concluded that that is where the heat is generated the most. This means that the cooler is a perfect fit for this series of laptop.

On a side note, the Antec cooler also accepts an external power adapter or battery pack as a power source, with a voltage that must have an output of between 4.5v and 6v, but this you must buy separate. But its nice to know you have the option of doing so. I'm pretty sure Radio Shack probably has something like this.

dfourthhorseman, nice review. Hows the construction? Is it plastic, metal or a comination?

How's the cd burner, is it really only 8x?

24x read or burn. It says it's 24x read 8x burn