14.0" N43SL & N43SN, coming with Sandy Bridge + HM65

It is not
Now it's almost sure that it'll have only 550m but there is slight chance for 555.

Even with 550 it is nice machine - lighter than asus - if it's as cool and as silent as old n43, and assuming it comes before N43SN - it's gonna be on top of my list. (Yeah I've resigned from N53sn - not need keyboard with more flex and + 0.3kg w/o any performance boost, and from dv7 - I just underestimated its weight and size hehe)

y470 > n43 > dv6

EDIT: Now after seeing difference in performance in new software (nano cad software, new games especially crysis) between 2 cores and 4 cores I start to wonder wheter should I pay 125E more for i7 or not and then H-HDD/SSD and more ram ...
I've been informed that N43SN (in opposite to JF version) may not have access to hdd from bottom, only from inside - under keyboard :/

 

Yeah have done some looking around, all y470's I have seen for sale have the GT550, its only rumours that say it will have a GT555.

I also looked into the m14x by the sounds of things its going to be as large as 15" which is useless, I choose 14" because its physically small not because it has a 14" screen.

I have seen the N53, a few reviews say it's quick but it's quite large, thats why I like the N43SN same spec and GT550, so should be quick and is much smaller.

Although the y470 looks good and is a serious contender, its also not available yet, going by the performance and reliability of my existing Asus W3J which I have been able to easily upgrade the HDD and 2.33ghz CPU over the years and its still quick, the only reason I need a new one is that the GPU is no longer supported by new software.

I am sure the N43SN will be able to access the HDD from underneath, see attached image, its from an Asus N43JF, so the chassis should be quite similar, if not, I've popped the keyboard on a few Asus's and its quite easy.

The Lenovo looks good, if it did have a GT555, I would get that, but considering its the same spec, i'm keen to stick with Asus.

Look at this, says the N43SN is in stock and will ship to any country!!

Asus N43SN i7-2630QM 2.0GHz 14" (VX059X)

 

It's N43jf's photo. I've heard that new one may only have ram module bay but we'll see.

I guess you'll be first person here to have one ^_^

EDIT: WTH account is this? I didn't know that I have another one here. Anyway it's me mari .... I mean tj

 

i don't know about that site.

1st - every single asus laptop costs $1100
2nd - the about us page is a 404
3rd - in stock ??????

personally i wouldn't risk it

 

Yeah after I posted that link, I thought the same as you, very suspicious that every laptop is the same price, was interesting it had an Australian phone number but american address links, you know what they say, if it seems to good to be true.... @tj69, yeah all going well I might be one of the first to get it, mind you, after my trip to Poland for work next week, I fly out to New Zealand for a wedding Friday evening and don't return till 30th April, with the Asus shipping 28th, hopefully I should get it soon after I return.

I was in Poland about 3 times last year, so if this project goes ahead past the first phase I may be out there again in 2 months, might be worth while buying a second one and reselling it here in the UK?

 

Can I ask, what your job is ?

 

For me the main reason to pick the N53 over the N43, is that the N53 comes with fullHD panel here, while N43 only has standard 1366 x 768.

Still waiting to see if other manufacturers brings out decent FullHD 15" laptops before ordering.

 

I actually had the opportunity to see the N53 in person yesterday. To be honest, it's not that bad as far as size goes. It's bigger than the average 15.6" because of the frame around the screen, but it's definitely smaller than a 17.3". I found it to be around the size of a 16.4" VAIO I saw there, so it's not too bad. If portability is extremely important, I would pass the N53, but if you can live with the size you'll be getting a full hd screen and a great speaker (for a laptop, at least).

 

Sure, I'm actually a landscape architect, but I work for a reasonably large architectural firm doing master planning, from anything from 7ha to over 1000ha, so quite lucky as we get to travel for site visits as were normally the first people to see sights and generate ideas. Designing Destinations | WATG so my job can be good for buying in different countries, i work in our California office for 8 months, was great surfing after work and also electronics are cheap over there, we have people coming over all the time for projects, so I have got them to bring stuff over for me, that's where I brought my current laptop and wifes from, with the Global warantee, you can buy in any country.

 

@nz - if you did buy another you would have no trouble selling it. even for £50+ increase in the price you pay.

personally i would have been willing to pay £100 over the polish prices to get a n43 - if only they shipped to the uk.

alas - i opted for the 3820, other wise i'd be pestering you

 

Asus has taken too long to release their SB laptops in the US and has lost me as a customer; I ordered a new Sony C-series (which has been available for weeks now).

 

Asus had the N43SN listed on their website then took it down. Looks like im buying a Sony Vaio SB or SA when its out instead.

 

From what i know, asus released the updated sandybridge N43SL in singapore a month ago and still on sale for 1690 SGD.

 

Not sure if it was down a couple days ago, but I still see this here.

 

Yeah I had a friend look a few months ago, in Singapore, but the SN only has the GT540 GPU, and the SN has a slightly better GT550.

 

I assume the GT550 only uses DDR3 ram instead of the faster but much pricier GDDR5, and maybe even lower clocks.

 

Anyone knows any asus email that as a good chance to be read by someone who knows something?
I'm tired of listening "we've no idea..."
Someone must know...

 

Just checked with x-kom, looks like delivery has been delayed by Asus once again and has moved from 28th April to 5th May...

 

N43SL available in Portugal. (28-04)

 

oh dear, not looking good, could be a world wide shortage of N34's, I just got this message from x-kom, I'm just deciding weather to go for the i5 model and upgrade the processor myself, or just cancel and get a refund... gutted!!


Greetings,

unfortunately some of base commponents are unavailable to consummate N43SN-VX068. These problems are associated with cataclysm in Japan. Producer have no idea when these parts can be delivered. We apologize for these problems. In current situation we can offer few similar products:

Asus N43SN-VX067X i5-2410M/4GB/640/DVD-RW/7Pro64X - Notebook / Laptop 14,1" - Sklep komputerowy - X-Kom.pl

Dell Vostro 3450 i7-2620M/4GB/750/DVD-RW/7Pro64 srebrny - Notebook / Laptop 14,1" - Sklep komputerowy - X-Kom.pl

Lenovo - IBM Edge E420s i3-2310M/4GB/320/DVD-RW/7Pro64 - Notebook / Laptop 14,1" - Sklep komputerowy - X-Kom.pl

Asus U41SV-WX036V-8 i5-2410M/8GB/640/DVD-RW/7HP64 - Notebook / Laptop 14,1" - Sklep komputerowy - X-Kom.pl

Naturally if U want to cancel your order let us know.

Please contact us via mail with your decission.

Kindest regards.

 

Was the N43SV-VX068 the i7-2630QM version?

 

That's correct the i7 versions have blueray drives and apparently its the blueray drives or lack thereof, that's causing the problem. so you can still get the i5 version with a standard DVD drive but not an i7 with Blueray.

 

Does that site ship to Canada?

 

Unfortunately they won't ship out of Poland, I have a few work trips out there this year, but I was going to get it posted to a friend in Poland who was going to bring it back in Easter, but then the delay meant that didn't work then I had a quote from couriers which was from £150 to £300 and with flights from the UK only being £90, it would have been cheaper for me to fly out and collect it one Saturday, how crazy is that!

Anyhow I had another friend going over this coming weekend for a wedding, whihc would have worked out perfectly, but once again Asus have jerked us around now the i7 model has been put on indefinite hold, so i'm screwed once again! I may have to get a refund and look elsewhere.

Actually looking at a thinkpad W520.

 

does it support sata III?

 

Hi,

Im trying to find the N43SN with i5 sb in the UK. Any tip in which website or shop i can order?

Thanks

 

not too sure if it supports SATA III, but what I do know, is that the chipset in the N43SN is the HM65 Intel HM65 Express Chipset - Overview which does support up to 6gbps SATA speed, so technically it should be able to.

@ djexplo my previous link is a company in Poland who sell the N43SN i5, unfortunately they don't post to the UK, but flights out there are under £90.

Unfortunately Asus are not releasing the N43 Model in the UK, so for now this is the closest place to buy the N43SN, I have heard of shops in Portugal posting to the UK, but haven't been able to find any that do.

 

At least you guys can get the N43SN for cheap. We can't even get anything here in the states.

 

I have an Asus for the past 2 years and had absolute no problem, but it's getting really dificult to buy one. Im between Lenovo y470 or N43SN, almost same spec. The problem is that Lenovo is only selling this in US right now.

Any place that it can order Lenovo in UK?

Thnaks

 

Any word on the availability of N43SN? I know it was supposed to be released back in January, before Intel announced the recall. I can't imagine why it would take so long for ASUS to desolder the faulty chipset and replace them with an updated one.

 

Its available, just depends in where in the world you are, so far I have found the i5 and i7 for sale in Poland (see link in previous post) however the i7 shipment has been cancelled due to lack of parts, which I think suxs because the i7 N43SN has been on sale in Singapore for a few months now, they are obviously prioritizing their home markets.

So yes its been available for a few months now, it just getting one is damn near impossible!!!

 

Does the N43SN from Singapore have USB 3.0 and Optimus? I've think I've read somewhere that those features aren't offered there.

 

according to this yes it does, i have a friend in Singapore, he is going to have a look for me and see what he can find.

ASUS Notebooks N53SV N43JF N43SN IT SHOW 2011 Price List Brochure

 

I'm getting my N43SN today. N43SN has been available here(in Finland) from last week. N43SL-model is not available here yet.

 

Here, something from Asus Singapore's Facebook:

Is there any update... | Facebook

I dunno about Optimus though. Too bad. I hope not all models from Singapore don't have USB 3.0. I'm looking for one and am actually going there next next week.

 

Which model, i5 or i7 you can get the i5 in Poland but not the i7.

 

Only i5 available here. I will upgrade to i7 cpu when i5 is not enough. For now i5 is enough for me.

I did get my N43SN yesterday. Have to say this notebook is bigger than I was expecting. On desktop use it keeps low humming sound, haven't located if it is fan or the HDD. I haven't tested any games yet, so don't know how loud fan gets.

I must do memory upgrade(4GB->8GB) and change HDD->SSD. HDD in this model is Seagate Momentus 5400.6. This model has Optimus. Also some sites(in finland) list that this model has two USB2.0 and one USB3.0, but it has one USB3.0 and three USB2.0. USB 3.0 Controller is made by Fresco Logic.

I will test some games and benchmarks(today) when I have more time.

3DMark results:

3D mark 11
P990 3DMarks
http://3dmark.com/3dm11/1192575

Vantage
P3460 3DMarks
http://3dmark.com/3dmv/3160717

3D Mark 06
4824 3DMarks
http://3dmark.com/3dm06/15711880

 

Yeah, i agree with my current Asus the CPU upgrade after a year was one of the biggest improvements in speed, however i use a lot of intense apps, so I would like to start with an i7, and also upgrade to a faster i7 CPU in a year or 2.

Buying the base model and upgrading yourself is very cost effective as most companies charge you the cost of the new component for upgrading, but if you do it yourself, you have the original part you can sell or keep as spare.

I did look at a 15" macbook pro, but to the spec I wanted it was over £4,000 gbp..... that's just ridiculous.

I'm planning on doing the same, buy minimum base model with good GPU then upgrade RAM and SSD, I would go for the OCZ Vertex 3, if you're considering a SSD I highly recommend reading this review AnandTech - OCZ Vertex 3 (240GB) Review and even this earlier review explains some potential issues with the type of memory companies place in their SSD's, very interesting.. AnandTech - The OCZ Vertex 3 Review (120GB)

the Vertex 3 Pro would be great but costs more than the laptop ha ha!
AnandTech - OCZ Vertex 3 Pro Preview: The First SF-2500 SSD

Would be great if you could post some pics of the under chassis, does it have a separate door to access HDD, RAM?

Yeah I heard from my friend in Singapore, he said

"Went to funan digicentre yesterday (one of leading IT malls) and asked about your laptop.


Good and bad news, they have it and apparently has Optimus, but unfortunately no USB 3.0. According to these guys no N43SN in Singapore has USB 3.0, only the 15" model has it.


Here's the specs:


N43SN
i7-2630QM 2.0~2.9Ghz
Win 7 home premium
6Gb DDR3 and 500Gb SATA
Nvidia GT 550 1Gb ddctd DDR3 VRam
2yr Intnl Warranty
$1398.00SGD

 

I was thinking that I would buy Vertex 3 120Gb Max iops for this notebook. Price of the drive here is 250€. I would also buy 4GB memory stick same time, its costs 38€ here. Only thing which is stopping me from ordering is money. Using 850€ for notebook, buying SSD and memory now would be little too much. Perhaps I have to leave this upgrade to next month.

Bottom of the notebook looks this. There is more screws under the rubberfeet and under the doors. Memory door was hard to open, there is a screw which locks the door. Screw is on the side wall where battery is located.

When upgrading cpu whole notebook have to take apart. Cpu is located near hdd but is partly under plastic casing. Probaply those who have done upgrading on these kind of notebooks(which dont have door access to cpu) can upgrade components inside the notebook. I will try upgrading when i5 is not fast enough. I have upgraded cpu almost every laptop which I ever had. Hardest one was the HP which also didnt have door to cpu.

 

Halonhakkaaja thanks for the picture, at least it is the same as the older models with doors for CPU and HDD, some thought the N43SN would not have any doors requiring a dismantle just to get to the HDD + RAM.

thinking of the update, if I was in your position, I would go for the SSD HDD first, because then you can set everything up, software, apps etc, then later upgrade the RAM, at least with a RAM upgrade, its fast and you don't need to do anything. Unless you have something like Partition Manager which can clone your drive, but I use a HDD upgrade as an excuse to do a clean install of windows.

Looks like the 240gb is faster than the 120gb SSD, but you will find most SSD's will be faster than a traditional HDD.

Would be interested to know what your impressions are after a few days weeks, battery life speed etc.

I'm also planning to slot another HDD in the DVD bay, I do this with my W3J and its great having a 14" with twin HDDs (one reason i'm not going for the Alienware M14x)

2nd HDD / SSD Caddy, ASUS N43, N53, N61, N71, N81, N82 [OBHD-SATA12-SATA-BU] - $44.75 : NewmodeUS, Hard Drive Caddys for Notebooks

Im also seriously considering upgrading the screen to one with Higher res, but would have to dismantle to find out what sort of connector it has.

 

I'm hoping to grab one of the NewmodeUS caddys too.

Does the N43SN have SATA 3Gbit or SATA 6Gbit? I'd assume that it'd have 6 GBit since the chipset it uses should, but I'd love confirmation.

 

PC Wizard from CpuId tells that this notebook has 6Gbit sata. I also tried Aida64 and Hwinfo32, but from those programs I did not find any info about sata3. I dont know if it really has sata3, but Cougar point has support for it. Also you never know if Asus has limited support to sata2. Havent decided anything for my SSD. I know that 240GB models would be faster but those cost too much.

I was also thinking lcd panel upgrade. It maybe hard thing to do. On the bottom of the screen there is only two plastic parts which are propably protecting two screws. Dont know if screen is glued or if it have plastic brackets(perhaps not right word for this).

While I was writing this on my desktop computer, I did run 3Dmark11, Vantage and 06 again. Before running those I changed settings from Asus Power4gear to High Performance(was before Quiet Office). Now 3Dmark11 scores where P1070, Vantage P4741 and 9337 on 06. So 11 gets almost 100 points more, Vantage gets almost 1300 points more and 06 gets 4500 more. Now those scores looks right.

I havent tested battery life yet. I can say that I like looks of this notebook. It has nice top cover. Inside it is colored dark grey and grey. Screen has glossy black edges, maybe little too thick and glossy. Bottom of the notebook is black. Only which I dont like is that this will collect fingerprints, especially if you have greasy fingers. I also like keyboard, it is just perfect for my hands. Havent used this outside yet, screen is glossy so it can be hard to see anything sometimes(sun light).

 

You could try Speccy to check on the Sata6.

Where do you guys get upgraded LCDs?

 

Speccy also won't tell me about sata6 support. I ordered OCZ Agility 3 120GB. It is not the fastest but it is enough for me. Propably SSD will be here tomorrow or later this week.

I buy my lcd-panels from ebay(UK). Panel in my Asus is CMI BT140GW01V9. Finding panel which has same connector can be hard.

 

yeah the screen mod is not as difficult as you would expect, check this out http://forum.notebookreview.com/asu...c-g51-display-mod-w-pics-not-faint-heart.html

In terms of where you can buy screens, that's the difficult part most companies will ask for your model number and if you will ask for a higher res screen for that model they say its not supported, but as you can see from this mod it is possible to change the screen to one with higher res, you just have to make sure the connectors are the same, you may have to be prepared to dismantle your laptop to check your connector / model / part number.

Most likely a 40 pin socket

http://www.screencountry.com/index.php?section=products&model=N43 SERIES&brand=ASUS&size=

This could be a possibility, even thought its for a Lenovo, its the same physical size and pin connector.

http://www.monstermarketplace.com/b...-40-pin-laptop-lcd-screen-14-1-wxga-matte-led

 

Hi, all,
I'm vacillating between two relatively different 14-inch notebook models; rather, I have to select either of the two without having any other viable choice. Over the past few years I've been a happy user of Dell's latitude line, but now the only Latitude machine I can find in my region -- given geographic limitations and political sanctions -- is Latitude E6410. I know it's a great machine with its Core I7 processor, 4GB of RAM, dedicated GPU, 500GB 722RPM hard drive, and so forth, but since it's not the latest Dell's Latitude offering (the latest is E6420) I'll lose certain amenities such as Sandy Bridge processors, USB3, HDMI port, and improved resolution. Unfortunately HP's EliteBook line isn't available here and Lenovo's Thinkpad T410 is way more expensive and, IMHO, not as appealing as the E6410 model -- it's as old as Dell's offering anyway.
Given my strange situation a couple of days ago I decided to alter my approach a bit and look at other powerful and modern 14-inch models here, and the only machine I can find is Asus's N43SL. I know that it's essentially an "entertainment" notebook as opposed to Latitude's "business" orientations. However, Asus's machine is about 180 bucks cheaper -- price isn't much of a concern though, comes with a Core I7 Sandy Bridge CPU, has a dedicated 1024MB GPU, has 1 or 2 USB3 ports as well as 2 or 3 USB2 ones plus an HDMI port and a 640GB 5400RPM hard drive, excellent speakers, and certainly an above-average design.
Now the $64,000 question is if I should go with the older Latitude model and sacrifice the latest Sandy Bridge processors and USB3/HDMI, or I should purchase Asus's machine with all of its goodies at the cost of Latitude's well-known durability. Do you think Asus N43SL can handle about 14 hours of daily use as my main machine for 3-4 years? I've never owned an Asus laptop so am a bit concerned about N43SL's overall durability. I'm not a gamer at all and since I'm visually impaired I don't pay extra attention to potential difference(s) between the two. I also want to move the machine around -- via a bag of course -- once in a while for classroom/conference presentations.
Your help and advice are quite appreciated as I'm in two minds about my next notebook purchase.

 

I did get my OCZ Agility 3 today. First it wont fit in with the HDD holder. I can put SSD to HDD holder but it won't fit inside the notebook. Reason for it is that my SSD is too wide. With original HDD it fits fine. I left HDD holder out and used plastic tape and some foam(it's from portable HDD-case) to keep ssd from moving.

Second problem I had: I used two hours for troubleshooting why wont Windows 7 install. Found out that you can't install W7 from USB3.0 port. I always use USB-stick to install windows 7(Installation is faster than DVD). I changed port to USB2.0 and now Windows7 is installed.

 

@amirs, welcome.

Personally i have seen on reviews that sandybridge comes with many improvements, the first iteration of i7 processors+ dedicated GPU, no matter what configuration you could find, would only give you 2-2.5hrs battery life, now with sandybridge, you can get the same config an get 4+ hrs, and there is approx 20% speed improvement with the new processors.

For me its a no brainer, (easy decision) why buy older, out of date technology, when you can buy the faster more efficient latest technology!

In terms of reliability, i purchased my Asus W3J in America, in mid 2006 and am still using it now, i upgraded the HDD several times and updated the CPU to the fastest you can get, and i still use it every day, I also travel a lot (after 6 years of being on the UK my NZ passport filled up in december last year) and this laptop has gone on nearly every trip, its always worked (when our Dell work laptops haven't) I could connect it up to any display or screen no problem, I also have windows 7 64bit installed and it still works fine, its just that the last year sonce the new 2011 and 2012 suites have rolled out, (autodesk CAD and CIVIL and Photoshop CS5 are just too resource hungry, so its time for an upgrade).

I also purchased an Asus F3J late 2006 for my wife, she is a teacher and also uses it every day, no problem!

you will never know because any component could fail and it might not be the notebook manufacturer's fault, but Asus are reliable.

Components can always fail, but this proves that out of all of the manufacturers, Asus is the most reliable.

Laptop reliability survey: ASUS and Toshiba win, HP fails -- Engadget

So in my opinion I would go for the newer technology Asus

 

That sucks. But I'm confused - does the SSD not fit in the original Hard Drive Bay or the Optical Bay (with Hard Drive caddy converter)?

Like NZwaverider, I'm still using a W3J I bought in 2006. I upgraded the RAM and swapped hard drives a couple years ago, but my screen is still the original and completely free from dead pixels. I've taken good care of the laptop (using one of those Zeroshock memory foam cases) and I'm looking to retire it for an N43 once the new onces come out in the US. I can't recommend the ASUS products enough.

That all said, I'm not sure if the N43 is really the ASUS you should be looking at. I'm not sure how long your presentations are or how long you need the battery life to last, but any of the ASUS U-Series might serve you better. They have less powerful GPUs but battery life that's 1.5-2x what the N43 can do. (Most of that is higher capacity batteries).

 

That's interesting because a Seagate Hybrid drive is actually bigger?

Momentus XT | 7200 RPM | Seagate

Oh well at least its in there and because its a SSD it doesn't matter if its not 100% secure, as long as it doesn't flop around and stress the connectors.

Never thought of using a USB to load windows, how to you copy to the USB stick? obviously cloning to .iso wouldn't work and just dragging and dropping using explorer runs the risk of not copying all the hidden files (or so iv'e been told by our IS guy a few years ago.

I also noticed with my laptop if you had 3gig RAM in it wouldn't load the Win 7 install but take out one module and it worked fine, but then again this laptop is getting old now .