Advice!

What would you advice me for price not more than 1650 with tax:
need 15.4''-17", 2gb ram, 80gb+harddrive with 7200speed, good video card and screen

 

Go get an A8JM and upgrade the ram. You should be good. If you want Core 2 Duo you'll need to up your budget by at least $50 bucks to get the 2 GB ram.

 

That's sorta difficult.. but maybe an A7j...

 

I love how everyone's answer to everything now a days is "A8" ... if they said 14", that would be one thing... but you couldn't believe how many people call us and think the A8 is a 15.4" because people are suggesting it no matter what size screen people are looking at... then they don't believe us when we tell them it's a 14"!

 

Your best options for customization is actually the S96J or Z96j, these are 15.4" laptops, the S96J is WXGA (low res) and the Z96J is WSXGA+ (high res).

Both of these laptops are configurable to the specs you want and will fit into your budget.

Have a look at them.

 

doh! missed the part where he said 15.4/17"

Actually I think the F3JM will fit right into your price range. Milestone has it for $1489. Add another 1GB of ram and you should be right within your $1650 limit.
Only downer is that its not Core 2 Duo, just Core Duo.

 

Is the F3Jv available in America?

Australian specs are:-

C2D T7200
1GB 667MHz RAM
120GB HDD
15.4" WSXGA+ display
256MB Geforce Go7600

Oh, another piece of advice for you, Set... try picking a more descriptive subject for your post.

 

For Asus, and that price, I have to agree with milestonepc, the z/s96j are your only choices for the config you want. However, beyond Asus there is also the compal HEL80.

 

Well, for $1,600 USD you could get the new F3jp..

Core2Duo T7200
1GB DDR 667
120GB / 5400rpm HDD
256mb ATI x1700

Yes, I know you want to add another 1gb right away ($100-140) and you want an 80gb /7200rpm... Frankly, consider adding more memory a couple months down the road and perhaps seeing how the stock drive does for a while and then when you get more money, use the 120gb for storage or even sell it..... It's brand new (so new we won't get them till the end of the week), but perhaps a better long term solution for you?

 

Hmm F3JP looks like a great option (except for the ATI video card)

Any chance we'll see the F3Jv part available in the US? I'd rather go Nvidia than ATI (better driver support).

 

Well, we've got the F3jv - $1500

Core2Duo T5500
1GB DDR 667
100GB / 5400rpm HDD
256mb Nvidia 7600

We only had a few of these, and since the F3jp is coming, we're just replacing the F3jv with that... for $100 more you get a lot more.

 

Planning on running linux, hkarthik? If so, let me reassure you that ATI has finally lifted their game and is properly supporting their GPUs under linux. Their performance isn't quite up to what we've become accustomed to with nVidia, but with montly driver releases they should be able to catch up eventually.

 

Id get the f3jp definitely.

 

maybe Linux, but definitely Vista...in my experience Nvidia is better at supporting new OSes than ATI.

However I'm still tempted...whats the build quality like on the F3Jv? Is it more similar to the A8Js or slightly better? I want a good screen with great viewing angles.

 

Somewhat true of *nix OS's, but Vista will be supporting all the current GPU's...

The A8 and F3 notebooks both have good build quality and use similar materials.
You're never going to get "great" viewing angles with any LCD, but both the A8 and F3 have pretty good viewing angles.
The F3 may be a little better in that department, but if you're using your notebook under normal conditions [sitting in front of it], both will be fine.

The only question left is what resolution do you want? A8Js has a 14" LCD with 1440x900 resolution, which is much denser than the F3's 15" with 1280x800...

 

Ideally I'd want a high res screen at 1680x1050. Realistically I'm probably stuck with 1440x900 or 1280x800. I definitely want 15.4" or better and x1700/7700 256MB+ video card.
I've been waiting for the G1 and I'm on your pre-order list for it, but if it gets delayed I want to entertain some other options. I'd like to buy it before the end of the year for tax purposes