TM 4502Wlmi or Aspire 1691 Wlmi or TM 4601Wlmi

Hi!

The more I read the more I get confused! [:0] I can't decide between these tree ones. Any help to make the final decision? [ ]

*** TM 4502Wlmi ***
price: 1176 euros
processor: Centrino/Pentium M 725 (1,6 GHz)
memory: 2x256MB
screen: 15.4" WXGA (1280*800)
h-drive: 60GB
dvd: DVD-Dual
OS: XP Pro Fin/Swe/UK
g-card: ATI Radeon 9700
battery life: 5 hours
weight: paino 3kg

*** TM 4601 Wlmi ***
price: 1250 euros
processor: Intel® Pentium® M735 (1,6 GHz)
memory: 2x256 Mt
h-drive: 60 Gt
dvd: DVD-RW (+/-)
screen: 15.4" WXGA näyttö (1280x800)
g-card: ATI Radeon X600 - 64Mt
weight: 2,9 kg
battery life: 4 hours
OS: Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional Edition (Fin, Swe, Eng)

*** Aspire 1691 Wlmi ***
price: 1186 euros
processor: PM 730 (1,6GHz)
screen: 15.4"WXGA Acer CrystalBrite (1280*800)
memory: 2x256MB
h-drive: 80GB
g-card: ati 64mb X700 (not sure, because some one says x600)
dvd: DVD-RW Dual
OS; Windows XP Home Fin/Swe/UK
battery life: 3,5 hours
weight: 3 kg

They all cost about the same. They all have a 15,4" WXGA screen (1280*800) and either 9700 or x600(/700) g-card. Aspire has a CrystalBrite screen (what is it anyway?).

I use a finnish keyboard layout, so I have these three extra keys: Å, Ä and Ö. Im not sure if it is the same in the US layout, but right Shift-key is shorter than it is normally. And when I try to write a capital letter I always press down the "<"-button because it's next to the Shift-button. The right Shift (size) is almost like the left Shift-button in a normal keyboard. So it's quite small. I was wondering if it is the same in US layout or if it is only because of these extra letters that we have.

I liked TM keyboard a lot but it was a bit annoying try to use the right Shift-button because of the size. Probably I will get used to it during some time... or not.

I need a laptop for my final lab work and for writing my "pro gradu" thesis. Some programs work only in the university network (they control ip adresses etc) that I need to use daily.

But, not only for writing, I play some games sometimes (MOO2 (/MOO3), Battle for Dune... Or if I travel somewhere by train for example, I would like to watch some movies or play some game. So I decided that g-card should be atleast radeon 9700 with 64mb memory.

About 1200 euros is still quite much for a student so I want to be sure, which laptop I buy. But the more I read the more confused I become. This is not easy at all to buy a laptop [ ]

I decided to choose Acer because of these all three has mobile processor and the battery life is quite good. I don't want "to burn" myself with a hot laptop. I was looking some Fujitsu-Siemens laptops too: amilo A1630 and M1425, but A1630 has amd processor -> not a good one for laptops (it's eating power like a horse) and M1425 is quite expensive - only difference is 128 mb radeon 9700 and still it costs 200 euros more than these three ones.

The computer should be silent (atleast in normal word processing) and it would be great if the dvd-drive is not like a circular shaw either. Dvd should burn dvd-rw format because I have dvd-player which burns -rw format. Dvd-drive should also read cd-rw format.

What about sound quality? Any difference between them or connection for external speakers?

Thanks for any advice at all! [ ]

 

CrystalBrite is Acer's version of the enhanaced screen. It is coating they put over the screen to make colors much more vibrant and sharper. It does however produce more glare. Some people like it, other do not. If there is somewhere you can compare them, I'd recommend it. Sound on most laptops is not that great. I would suggest investing in a good pair of headphones. If you like the CyrstalBrite, I would suggest the 1691. It looks like the 4601 is a newer version of the 4502. One thing to note, Windows XP Home cannot log into a Windows NT domain, if you need it for school. Good Luck.






I know things, things that could get me killed


Thinkpad T41:
* 1.6Ghz Pentium M * 768Mb Memory * 40Gb Hitachi 7200RPM * Panasonic UJ-845-B DVD+RW *

 

I asked about the g-card from Acer and they told, that x700 is right. They had 1691wlmi which has x600 g-card, but they have changed it to x700.

I really would like to try that 1691 before making my final choice. Hopefully I find it from somewehere.

What about sound-connections? Are they significantly different? Affecting sounds quality when using external speakers?

Any other opinions?
Keine Ahnung?
Ingen uppfattning? [ )]

Edit. Added the missing word "try"

 

anyone can tell me the comparison of the 3D performance of the 3 chips? Should it be:

X700 > R9700 >> X600?? [B)]

 

If you want games go for X700. X600 was a failure and 9700 is better than that.


And i have a question too.

Someone has a TM 4101WLi_X700? I cannot find any review about it and i think is the best price/quality i ever see.

Thanks

the rest is dust ....

 

Yes. X700 has roughly double the speed of the X600, which is pretty much the same as a 9700 Mobile. I wouldn't nessarily say that the X600 is slower than the M9700 though - the differences are negibile, and on DX9 games X600 has a small edge. However, Sonoma's do suck up batteries.

 

I have also thought to buy the Acer 1691 Wlmi, but I am not so sure can this computer play games such Doom 3 and Half-Life 2 smoothly with X700 @ 64MB. Can anyone inform me of this?

 

Be sure that you get the Acer with x700 - not x600. There are both version on the market.

I dont't know about the game but it is recommend that g-card should have atleast 128mb for newer games. 64mb is enough, if you don't use high details etc.

Here is something about the doom3 and g-card:
http://www20.graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20040809/doom3-02.html

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Just the same in finnish:
Jos ostat tuon Acer 1691:n, niin katso, että siinä on näytönohjaimena varmasti x700 eikä x600. Kyseessä olevasta koneesta on kahta eri versiota tällä hetkellä myynnissä. Se x600 edustaa sitä vanhempaa sukupolvea. Pelikäytössä näytönohjaimessa pitäisi olla muistia 128mb eikä 256 mb:kään ole liioiteltua, koska uusimmat pelit alkaa tökkimään muutoin. 64mb:llä pelaa kyllä, kunhan vain karsii pelin yksityiskohtia jonkun verran pois. Yllä olevasta linkistä voit katsoa, miten eri näytönohjaimet pärjäsivät doom3:n kanssa.
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Has anybody any opinion about the sound-quality?

- Audio system with two built-in speakers
- MS-Sound compatible
- Built-in microphone
- S/PDIF support

Is that s/pdif support ok for sound if you think about having external speakers or headphones?

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by YpoCaramel