Compal Vs. ASUS

The Asus might perform a little better in games because the x1600 does slightly better than 7600 in a few games. If your going to run linix, you might as well go for the compal because nvidia has better drivers for linix. Uh.. The Compal comes with a tv tuner which will be useful in the dorms. U can plug ur lappy into the cable connection they have, so you dont have to bring a tv, thats what im planning to do . Another thing is that the compal has the biometric finger print reader. I dont know if it will be bothersome for you as you would have to push on it everytime you turn on ur comp and such, but it is a nice security feature that will deter potential thieves when they see that reader. They'll know they wont be able to access it, but that wont guarantee that noone will steal it, as college is where many lappies can be stolen easily because of people living in such close proximity. If the price differences are minimal, i would go for the compal, if the compal costs a few hundred dollars over the asus, you maybe should get the asus. Its up to you to decide. Im personally going to get a sager 5760 after the summer with a tv tuner, because Ive never seen current game in max settings before =[. I cant wait! the feeling of anticipation feels so good.

Performance wise, they're both very close, but in terms of aesthetics, the W3J is a big improvement over the HEL80. The HEL80 looks a bit like a clunker when placed with the W3J.

I would take the W3J, since it looks much better, its true the Compal looks like a "clunker".

well you got one thats almost 2 pounds heavier and comes with a larger screen with higher resoultion options (15.4 wsxga+)

versus

something nearly 2 pounds lighter, smaller, and has a lower res screen. You need to figure out how portable you want to be.

You're better off comparing the W3J with the HGL30. Both are 14" widescreen and are more comparable in weight and size. The HGL30 has the Go 7600 graphics while the W3J has the X1600 graphics. The HGL30 has yet to be released, but it looks great and even has a built-in fingerprint reader. My lone complaint about the HGL30 is that it lacks an IEEE1394 port. The VBI version of the HGL30 will have a black case cover, while the Compal version will be turquoise.

hmmm I was considering getting a W3J but I might indeed get the HGL30 on account of it is SO much cheaper... Got an ETA on it's release?

Mike Check

its already out on powernotebooks site and will probably start shipping next week. I do wish they went back to the dark grey lid though.

ah well, you could try a mod if you were feeling up to it and yeah I just saw it on Powernotebooks. I'm very VERY tempted to get it I just need to know if they will ship with no hdd.

Also what's the diff. between 7600 and X1600? Big at all? Esp. in games such as CoD2

Mike Check

The X1600 and 7600 perform nearly identical.

Yeah, they're pretty much identical. The HGL30 definitely looks better than the HEL80, but I still dont' think it's in the same league as the W3J when it comes to looks. The bezel/back of the screen still looks... iffy.

eh I don't care about looks, detracts would-be thieves.... They're out there.... watching.... *hides in a corner*

Mike Check

Do you know any place that offers the VBI version of the HGL30?

Seriously, the only thing holding me back from buying it is that fugly teal lid. What were they freaking thinking!

Feature for feature the Compal Owns the W3J in every way. Don't go for the looks, you'll get used to its looks after a month no matter how good looking it is or how ugly it is. If features such as fingerprint reader and TV tuner are something that sound interesting to you, go for it, for me those features rock.

TV tuner lets you watch Cable TV picture in picture with your laptop, so you can be playing games and watching TV in the same time without having to refocus u r eyes. You can get a special remote control that allows u to change channels/etc really easy too.

Fingerprint reader is an amazing feature as well. As a fellow board member said "if you've never used a fingerprint reader, you've never really lived." What it can do is encrypt passwords for forums, email adresses and even msn messengers and all you have to do is start the program, brush u r finger on the reader and it will log you in wherever you want to program it, its an amazing feature and i wish more laptops had it.

Not to mention, you're also getting a T2600 vs a T2500.'
Plus, the screen WSXGA+ should be much better than a crowded in WXGA on 14.1".

There isnt a VBI version available yet for the HGL30. We will have the HGL30 available on our site tomorrow. It is starting out at $1133.

I dont know what they were thinking when Teal came up as the color of choice for the lid

hey Justin do you ship internationally?

Also, the only thing I think the W3J has going for it is the hot-swappable optical bay. If the HGL30 had that I'd consider moving to the US to buy it. Lol... just kidding... but not really...

And I mean Teal could appeal.... to some people.... colour blind people.... or just blind people.... hmmm . Ah well I stand by it encourages Laptop case mods. Some of them look uber shmick

Mike Check

Hey Mike, We do ship internationally in case you wanted to hold off on your move to the U.S