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How is the A8JS for GAMING?

post #1 of 19
11/26/06 at 11:09pm
Thread Starter 
Hey,
Right now I'm looking at the A8JS to purchase for school, work, and overall gaming.

Specs:
14.1" WXGA (1400x900)
Core2Duo T-7200
GeForce 7700 512MB
2GB DDR2 667 (Corsair / OCZ)
100GB HD (7200rpm-Seagate)
Windows XP Professional
Internal bluetooth + high resolution webcam

Now I really wouldn't be opposed to a desktop replacement, but that pretty much kills the portability aspect of it and also with Vista/dx10 coming out, it just seems like a waste to invest that much right now.

My main area of concern is the A8JS and it's gaming capabilities. I'd like it to be an improvement over my current desktop:
Shuttle SN95G5V3
74gig Raptor
AMD 64 3500+
BBA X800XT AIW
2 gigs Mushkin PC3200

I'm not sure if it does though. I guess there's no harm in waiting, but I'm not even sure when dx10 cards are coming out and even when they'll affect the mobile pc gaming world. Any advice? Who plays BF 2142 on their A8JS and what are your settings??

Thanks!

-rye
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post #2 of 19
11/26/06 at 11:54pm
Not sure if this helps but I just purchased an A8Js and also have desktop 3000+ Athlon 64, 1GB, 6800xt 256mb, 74gb raptor:

Vista shows a performance indicator of 4.5 on the A8Js and less than 4 on my desktop.
3DMark returned gave 1900 on my desktop and 2700 on the A8Js.

On the A8Js, Half LIfe 2 ran very well with all of the graphic options cranked all the way up.

Hope that helps.

Also, notebookreview.com has forums which are quite active....

Bob
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post #3 of 19
11/27/06 at 2:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Osm3um
Not sure if this helps but I just purchased an A8Js and also have desktop 3000+ Athlon 64, 1GB, 6800xt 256mb, 74gb raptor:

Vista shows a performance indicator of 4.5 on the A8Js and less than 4 on my desktop.
3DMark returned gave 1900 on my desktop and 2700 on the A8Js.

On the A8Js, Half LIfe 2 ran very well with all of the graphic options cranked all the way up.

Hope that helps.

Also, notebookreview.com has forums which are quite active....

Bob
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post #4 of 19
11/27/06 at 6:37am
LOL Djembe... This is a larger forum but honestly the Asus section is more active over there.

The A8js is a very good gaming machine. There is nothing that beets it when it comes down to anything under 15.4" I have seen the 7700 overclocked quite a bit to score 3k in 3dmark06 and over 5k in '05.

I think in newer games the 7700 will do better because of its 512MB's of dedicated memory. But the X800XT will do better in older games not requiring as much memory.

I think by the time everything goes DX10, it will be a year down the road, if not more. So buy now and don't look back!
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post #5 of 19
11/27/06 at 12:45pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jedirye
Hey, Right now I'm looking at the A8JS to purchase for school, work, and overall gaming. Specs: 14.1" WXGA (1400x900) Core2Duo T-7200 GeForce 7700 512MB 2GB DDR2 667 (Corsair / OCZ) 100GB HD (7200rpm-Seagate) Windows XP Professional Internal bluetooth + high resolution webcam Now I really wouldn't be opposed to a desktop replacement, but that pretty much kills the portability aspect of it and also with Vista/dx10 coming out, it just seems like a waste to invest that much right now. My main area of concern is the A8JS and it's gaming capabilities. I'd like it to be an improvement over my current desktop: Shuttle SN95G5V3 74gig Raptor AMD 64 3500+ BBA X800XT AIW 2 gigs Mushkin PC3200 I'm not sure if it does though. I guess there's no harm in waiting, but I'm not even sure when dx10 cards are coming out and even when they'll affect the mobile pc gaming world. Any advice? Who plays BF 2142 on their A8JS and what are your settings?? Thanks! -rye
I haven't played BF myself, but I have heard good things from customers who used the W3J+ [Core2Duo w/ATIX1600] and A8Js. They usually run native res and high settings without any problems.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Djembe
Quote:
Originally Posted by Osm3um
Also, notebookreview.com has forums which are quite active....
I feel somewhat responsible for that... I need to make an effort to show up here every day [no matter how busy it gets at the office].
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post #6 of 19
11/27/06 at 12:54pm
Thread Starter 
Well guys... I've fallen in love with the Asus G1, which is essentially the same as the A8J but with some fancy lights, etc. Configured with the same specs, it was roughly the same and I even added an extra AC adapted to the G1. What are your thoughts? The only bummer is I wanted it as a Christmas present (+ birthday combo....... plus I pay half) so I don't know if it would be under the tree in time............ Ahhh.

Eh?

-rye
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post #7 of 19
11/27/06 at 1:27pm
Good things come to those who wait?
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post #8 of 19
11/27/06 at 3:34pm
I've been using my A8JS to fire up Company of Heros. Most of the settings are on High or Ultra and I have to say, it plays pretty damn well. I can't tell a difference from that and my work machine (Dual Opterons, Geforce Quadro, 4gb of ram, blah blah blah). Anyway, so far, the lappy has been great for games, although I do admit I primarily bought it as a programming station but knew I'd want to fire up a game or two every once in a while

Chris
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post #9 of 19
11/27/06 at 5:58pm
Last I heard is that the 7700 512mb is a hell of a card, better than the 7600 and x1600 256mb.
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post #10 of 19
11/28/06 at 12:18am
Thread Starter 
The Asus G1 has a 5400rpm hdd. wth????????

In other words, how will that affect me?

-rye
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post #11 of 19
11/28/06 at 12:49am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jedirye
The Asus G1 has a 5400rpm hdd. wth????????

In other words, how will that affect me?

-rye
Um, not exactly sure what you're asking... if you're somehow confused as to why there's not a 7200RPM drive in there, keep in mind the "performance" boost isn't that great [just some minor seek time improvement], most of the power you'll want is what they've already focused on [better CPU and graphics]. A faster hard drive on a performance notebook like this just means an even hotter notebook, with even less battery life.
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post #12 of 19
11/28/06 at 6:33pm
Thread Starter 
The A8JS had the option of upgrading and that's not even a "gaming notebook". I currently have a 10krpm hdd, so I probably will notice the difference significantly more than if I had a 7200rpm hdd.

-rye
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post #13 of 19
11/28/06 at 6:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jedirye
The A8JS had the option of upgrading and that's not even a "gaming notebook". I currently have a 10krpm hdd, so I probably will notice the difference significantly more than if I had a 7200rpm hdd.

-rye
Ok, that makes more sense... However keep in mind ASUS has been very careful when picking components [ones that keep cost & heat low, and battery life high].
The G series will have that same "option" of upgrading as the A8Js, which will void any ASUS Notebook warranty...
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post #14 of 19
11/28/06 at 7:12pm
Thread Starter 
Well I plan on ordering through MileStone PC and I think they offer a warranty of their own. I wonder, maybe I'll email them about when they'll expect it (their site lists mid December but they might know more) and perhaps they can throw in a 7200rpm hdd for me (for cash, of course), as they allow you to customize all their Asus models.

-rye
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post #15 of 19
11/28/06 at 7:29pm
I know some resellers do offer the option, it's just that until we beleive it's possible for anyone to do a better job of repairing ASUS Ensemble notebooks than ASUS themselves, we will not back them. This is why we do not offer customization on the Ensemble line...
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post #16 of 19
11/28/06 at 7:52pm
Thread Starter 
Do you guys have preorders for the G1/2 yet? Maybe you can sway me to your side


-rye
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post #17 of 19
11/28/06 at 8:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jedirye
Do you guys have preorders for the G1/2 yet? Maybe you can sway me to your side


-rye
We should have them up by tomorrow.
E-mail me and I can send you an update sooner.
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post #18 of 19
11/29/06 at 2:09am
Thread Starter 
I will be PMing you my e-mail then...

-rye
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post #19 of 19
12/1/06 at 5:45pm
Your x800xt (basically getting 5500 3dmark05 , 6000-6500 when overclocked) owns the 7700 which only has about 4450 3dmark05 scores. The x800xt has higher # of pipelines, pixel processors, fill rate, and memory bandwidth. Finally , your raptor is a lot faster/better for gaming then a laptop hard drive.

The asus is better for the ram and the processor, but not by too much considering your purposes.

Id just bring the desktop because imho its a lot better for gaming . But if you dont want to do that there is no better laptop in price/performance ratio ive seen then the asus G1. Go for it if you like. Just know you'll slip in gaming performance (sorry for honest answer but thats what will happen no matter how cool asus g1 looks).

the desktop at my house has similar specs:
pentium 4 HT 3.2ghz
74gb raptor
asus X800XT @ 540/550
1.75gb PC3200 RAM

and I game a lot on my friends laptop (toshiba satellite):
2.0ghz core duo
256mb 7600
2gb-667 RAM
120GB 5400rpm HD

they really dont compare at all in image quality / performance, the desktop is a clear winner.
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