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choices choices (light laptops)

post #1 of 8
6/28/04 at 1:39pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks to the great advice I've recieved from this forum, I've narrowed my choices down to two laptops. Now I need to choose one within a couple weeks :P Maybe you can help

my price range is around 1500. My needs for this laptop are schoolwork, web surfing, and possibly more intensive applications like 3d editing software.

My two choices are the Asus M3N and the Fujitsu Lifebook s6210.

I'll list what I see as the pro's on either side.

Fujitsu:

-Crystal View Screen (I've heard a lot of talk about this, but I'm not sure what this really is and how good it is. does it just mean it has a larger viewing angle?)
-Weight (4lbs - 1 lb lighter than the Asus)

Asus M3N:

-14" screen (1 more inch of screen)
-for the same price, can get 256mb of RAM more and a Dothan chip (Fujitsu says Dothan chip is available in July, so I'm not sure how that will go, and how much more it would cost.)
-6.5 hours of Battery (advertised) as compared to 4 hours on the Fujitsu



So it basically boils down to whether the screen is worth all the pro's that Asus has. Is there a website where I can read more about Crystal View? Do you have any opinions about it? And do you know of any retail stores that carry the Fujitsu so that I may go take a look at it sometime? (I live in the Bay Area, so most of the big names like Best Buy and Frys are here)
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post #2 of 8
6/28/04 at 1:49pm
huh? m3n?

why not m5n it's 3.5 lbs, much smaller footprint

since you're going for ultraportable here.
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post #3 of 8
6/28/04 at 2:13pm
go to fry's they will have the fujitsu, whether that model or not, u will get an idea of the screen quality. bestbuy won't have fujitsu, so go to frys.
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post #4 of 8
6/28/04 at 2:16pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the suggestion!
I was thinking about it, but I'm not sure if I want a 12" screen (it just seems a bit little ). Plus as it gets even smaller, the power for the same price drops too much too :P

I'm not looking for ultraportable as much as simply portable. 5 lbs or less, small size doesn't matter too much (although thin is nice), as long as it will fit in a sleeve and into my backpack
my reason is this: I want to carry this laptop around with me around school. If I got a 8 lb laptop, my motivation to lug it in and out of my backpack will drop. So a large factor here is weight, and not so much the footprint.
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post #5 of 8
6/28/04 at 2:18pm
ok just want to make sure we're on the same page here, because given your situation it doesn't seem like it:

you have already considered the 15'' thin-and-lights like the cl56, aopen 1557, mitac 8050 right?

because they would be fine in your backpack to and from school at < 6.5 lbs.

and naturally they have much, much more powerful video cards than any ultraportable
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post #6 of 8
6/28/04 at 2:21pm
m3np @ jncs.com has sxga+ screens
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post #7 of 8
6/28/04 at 2:37pm
Thread Starter 
aikeo: actually, I was thinking about the mitac 8050 earlier. The power of that thing is tempting!! (the video card :P) I discarded it early on because I didn't think I wanted something that large. But now that I know a bit more about laptops, I think I'll reconsider it again. Thanks

dt34: alrighty, I hope they have it :P


awingedpig: NO WAY! that's great! I gave up hope for an SXGA screen in the asus a while ago! thanks for the tip! (its a bit more expensive though )






Current options:

-----High power, medium size
$1514
Asus M3N
www.rjtech.com

14" 1024x768 XGA screen
1024 RAM
1.7ghz Dothan
40gig 5400 hd
DVD/CD-RW
wireless G
5lbs



-----Medium power, medium size, good screen
$1504
Asus M3N
www.jncs.com

14" 1400x1050 SXGA screen !!
512 RAM
1.6ghz Banias
40gig 5400 hd
DVD/CD-ROM
Wireless G
5lbs



-----Medium power, small size/weight, good screen, small screen
$1499
Fujitsu S6210
www.portableone.com

13.3" 1024x768 Crystal View (highly recommended, glossy) screen
512 RAM
1.7ghz Banias
40gig 5400 hd
DVD/CD-RW
Wireless G
4lbs



-----Medium power, good video card, large screen, large size/weight
$1509
Mitac 8050
www.rjtech.com

15.4" Widescreen 1280x800
ATI Radeon 9700 !!
512 RAM
1.6ghz Banias
40gig 5400 hd
DVD/CD-RW
Wireless G
7lbs
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post #8 of 8
6/28/04 at 3:48pm
i hear the fujistu crystal view is really nice, it's akin to the super glossy screens you'll see on the 17'' sagers. if the weight is your biggest concern go with that, imo.

the difference between 1.7 ghz+64mb shared VRAM to 1.6 ghz+128/m11 is pretty monumental, however. the extra 100 mhz is useless compared to the difference in video cards. for example, when you say "high power" vs. "med power" in comparing a 1.7 dothan to a 1.6 banias, i hope you know how much of a performance differential you are actually getting. if you ever plan to use your notebook for 3d apps like rendering or even gaming occasionally, a system like the mitac8050 will blow the other notebooks away.

i would take it from the perspective of this: is -2 lbs worth that much of a performance dropoff. being a college student myself, for a system still under 6.5 lbs, it would really only make a difference were i a 90 lb kid with health issues.

anyway, just wanted to let you know of another perspective. i'm sure the fujistu/m5n would be fine systems for websurfing and office applications.
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