I'm looking for a 'desktop replacement' type notebook that would be my only computer. I type, surf the net, mix and edit music (rookie level), edit pics (rookie level), play games and maybe sometimes watch DVDs. I wouldn't take the notebook with me when I travel (except to take it to from my home to my dorm room) and it would probably spend 95% of the time resting on my desk.
I thought for sure I was going to buy Acer TravelMate 8104 because it has good specs (I prefer Ati) and it apparently runs Half-Life 2 (the game I will be playing the most) pretty good. However, now I have heard that Fujitsu-Siemens, a manufacturer that I have never really thought of as high quality, will be releasing notebooks with DTR-abilities. I'm especially interested in this M4438 model. So let's take a look:
Acer TravelMate 8100
F-S Amilo M4438 #1
F-S Amilo M4438 #2
Specs:
Well both of these notebooks have 2GHz Pentium-M CPUs (M4438 might be 2,13GHz) and both of them have 1GB of DDR2 RAM. I think M4438 has got a bigger hard-drive though. M4438 has a bigger screen (17" 1920x1200 resolution) compared to Acer (15,4" 1680x1050). The big thing however is the GPUs: Acer has got a good Ati Mobility Radeon X700 128MB GPU while F-S has got a blazing nVIDIA 6800GO 256MB. By the way, I've heard that both of these GPUs use a slower DDR1 memory although the original GPUs do support DDR3 (at least Ati).
Style, design and keyboard:
I like the design of both since silver/grey is the trend in all entertainment devices. However, Acer looks a bit sharper than F-S. Both have little flaws like placement of different slots (when will they learn not to put USB slots where the mouse will be). I think both are made of plastic so there's no higher-end aluminum cases. The keyboards on both look avarage altough I must congratulate F-S for putting that mouse scroll switch just above the mouse scroll. I actually use MS Natural keyboard with my ancient desktop, so I have no problems with Acer's curvy design. Some people say that Acer always makes their keyboards tight and F-S uses the space probably so their keyboards are good for people with big hands. Unfortunately, both of these notebooks' keyboards are not the same level as IBM or HP.
Performance and longetivity:
As I'm not going to buy another computer until 2010, I need a notebook with longetivity. Now I know I can't play the newest games in 2008 with everything turned to max even with a 5000-dollar notebook, but still I need some sort of 'futureproof' notebook. Certainly M4438 offers more of that because, let's face it, nVIDIA offers more longetivity in mobile GPUs than Ati, although I think Ati has better image quality and has more features.
Size and price:
I actually would prefer a 15,4" notebook because 17-inchers do take a lot of space. Still, M4438 does not look like a monster and I do appreciate the larger screen. Both of these notebooks have a pretty low price, and in fact I think that they will have the same price tag. Some people say that M4438 will cost over 2500 dollars but I seriously doubt it because the lower model, M3438 costs under 2000 dollars.
Warranty and program package:
M4438 has a 2-year warranty and Acer has only 1-year. Acer does not offer any programs (well some) but it does offer that great IBM-type notebook manager from where you can tune your notebook. M4438 does not feature this that I know of, but it does feature some great programs such as Adobe Photoshop Elements 3.0 which I will find really useful.
Quality and concerns:
Both of these manufacturers have kinda bad reps when it comes to quality. Especially Acer is notorious with its quality that varies drastically. You might say that every fourth or fifth Acer seems to have problems, and some people say that it is highly likely that you have to take your Acer to the repairs the very day you buy it. Still, many people do appreciate Acer-quality and it seems that all the problems will come (if they come) in the first year of using an Acer. F-S on the other hans is a mixed manufacturer. I have always thought that it sold kinda cheap notebooks that look good on paper but are less than avarage in real life. Apparently some people are now telling me that F-S sells really high quality so I'm not sure what to believe. One of my concerns fot both of these notebooks is dead pixels. I don't want a single dead pixel on my screen but apparently I can't get a new notebook if I have fewer than 6 or 7 dead pixels. Some people, however, seem to get a new notebook because they had only one dead pixel. Weid!
Bottom line:
While I do think that Acer has more quality and while I do prefer Ati over nVIDIA, F-S M4438 does have my attention. It offer better longetivity and bigger screen (although the added size is a slight drawback). Both are in the same price range, so the choice will be a matter of taste and performance.
I recently contacted F-S and they said that the lower models such as M3438 is in stores already. They did not know much about M4438. Some have said that it will released in Q3 which means within a couple of months. I do have one concern. Somebody told me that the only difference between M3438 and M4438 is the resolution of the screen. Yet the model sold in my country, M3438, has only CPU choices of 1,73GHz or 1,86GHz. I really need the 2GHz so hopefully M4438 has that option.
What do you think? Which one should I choose?
I thought for sure I was going to buy Acer TravelMate 8104 because it has good specs (I prefer Ati) and it apparently runs Half-Life 2 (the game I will be playing the most) pretty good. However, now I have heard that Fujitsu-Siemens, a manufacturer that I have never really thought of as high quality, will be releasing notebooks with DTR-abilities. I'm especially interested in this M4438 model. So let's take a look:
Acer TravelMate 8100
F-S Amilo M4438 #1
F-S Amilo M4438 #2
Specs:
Well both of these notebooks have 2GHz Pentium-M CPUs (M4438 might be 2,13GHz) and both of them have 1GB of DDR2 RAM. I think M4438 has got a bigger hard-drive though. M4438 has a bigger screen (17" 1920x1200 resolution) compared to Acer (15,4" 1680x1050). The big thing however is the GPUs: Acer has got a good Ati Mobility Radeon X700 128MB GPU while F-S has got a blazing nVIDIA 6800GO 256MB. By the way, I've heard that both of these GPUs use a slower DDR1 memory although the original GPUs do support DDR3 (at least Ati).
Style, design and keyboard:
I like the design of both since silver/grey is the trend in all entertainment devices. However, Acer looks a bit sharper than F-S. Both have little flaws like placement of different slots (when will they learn not to put USB slots where the mouse will be). I think both are made of plastic so there's no higher-end aluminum cases. The keyboards on both look avarage altough I must congratulate F-S for putting that mouse scroll switch just above the mouse scroll. I actually use MS Natural keyboard with my ancient desktop, so I have no problems with Acer's curvy design. Some people say that Acer always makes their keyboards tight and F-S uses the space probably so their keyboards are good for people with big hands. Unfortunately, both of these notebooks' keyboards are not the same level as IBM or HP.
Performance and longetivity:
As I'm not going to buy another computer until 2010, I need a notebook with longetivity. Now I know I can't play the newest games in 2008 with everything turned to max even with a 5000-dollar notebook, but still I need some sort of 'futureproof' notebook. Certainly M4438 offers more of that because, let's face it, nVIDIA offers more longetivity in mobile GPUs than Ati, although I think Ati has better image quality and has more features.
Size and price:
I actually would prefer a 15,4" notebook because 17-inchers do take a lot of space. Still, M4438 does not look like a monster and I do appreciate the larger screen. Both of these notebooks have a pretty low price, and in fact I think that they will have the same price tag. Some people say that M4438 will cost over 2500 dollars but I seriously doubt it because the lower model, M3438 costs under 2000 dollars.
Warranty and program package:
M4438 has a 2-year warranty and Acer has only 1-year. Acer does not offer any programs (well some) but it does offer that great IBM-type notebook manager from where you can tune your notebook. M4438 does not feature this that I know of, but it does feature some great programs such as Adobe Photoshop Elements 3.0 which I will find really useful.
Quality and concerns:
Both of these manufacturers have kinda bad reps when it comes to quality. Especially Acer is notorious with its quality that varies drastically. You might say that every fourth or fifth Acer seems to have problems, and some people say that it is highly likely that you have to take your Acer to the repairs the very day you buy it. Still, many people do appreciate Acer-quality and it seems that all the problems will come (if they come) in the first year of using an Acer. F-S on the other hans is a mixed manufacturer. I have always thought that it sold kinda cheap notebooks that look good on paper but are less than avarage in real life. Apparently some people are now telling me that F-S sells really high quality so I'm not sure what to believe. One of my concerns fot both of these notebooks is dead pixels. I don't want a single dead pixel on my screen but apparently I can't get a new notebook if I have fewer than 6 or 7 dead pixels. Some people, however, seem to get a new notebook because they had only one dead pixel. Weid!
Bottom line:
While I do think that Acer has more quality and while I do prefer Ati over nVIDIA, F-S M4438 does have my attention. It offer better longetivity and bigger screen (although the added size is a slight drawback). Both are in the same price range, so the choice will be a matter of taste and performance.
I recently contacted F-S and they said that the lower models such as M3438 is in stores already. They did not know much about M4438. Some have said that it will released in Q3 which means within a couple of months. I do have one concern. Somebody told me that the only difference between M3438 and M4438 is the resolution of the screen. Yet the model sold in my country, M3438, has only CPU choices of 1,73GHz or 1,86GHz. I really need the 2GHz so hopefully M4438 has that option.
What do you think? Which one should I choose?
