Again the G1S but wait! there's more!

I as many users am looking at the sleek and sexy G1S and consider it to be the best bang for the buck. I have a few questions before I even consider purchases however. I am going to university in the fall and was wondering if I should wait longer for some better DX10 card perhaps or some fixes of the G1S or should I wait for a whole new model altogether? I hear the Compal is pretty good or the new IF90 or w/e I dont even know who makes that. short memory lol. I also have a totally off topic question. What kind of router would be good for home use. I have no clue how these things work so any info would be good. Also is it worth it to upgrade to 3 gigs of ram? I know thats the highest amount recognized. And one more. Should I run Vista and hope that my audio drivers for my keyboard and recording studio are updated or should I buy XP and run that for a little while longer? Thanks in advance.
Chris

 

With technology, there is always something new around the corner, so buy it when necessary. You can't escape the tornado that is technology!

As for the IFL90, it's an amazing model for the price, it succeeds the ever popular HEL80 quite well. It lacks DVI/HDMI and only has VGA but it has the Intel Robson memory feature, if that matters at all.

For RAM, Vista 32 only recognizes 3.2gb, so 3gb is a good number for now, 4gb is considered overkill at the moment.

As for router, its hard to say since most are the same, and with so many models with different revisions, it's a whole new ballpark to go to.

 

I don't think you should wait for more dx10 cards, because the g1s is a brand new refresh. And it's pretty much got the highest card out there right now, I don't know if the 8800M has even been released yet. I don't know what you mean by fixes to the G1S because the review here made it look pretty good with the exception of the speakers and I don't think they'll be recalling it or anything jsut for the speakers.

And I think the Compal you are talking about is the IFL90, Compal being the company and IFL90 being the model.

 

D-Link makes a good router and now has a 11yr warranty on wireless N products.

Yes, i said 'eleven years' of warranty!

 

I would buy when you plan to use it. I bought now because I leave in less than a week and need it now. If you're going to use it this summer, buy now. If not, buy at the end of summer.

Stick with 2GB of ram or 4GB of ram. It's dual channel memory so those configs will perform the best.

Check with the manufacturer of your keyboard for Vista drivers. Doubt they have them, but you never know till you check.

 

So what happens if you got 3gigs like I did?

Is it wasted?

There is probably still time for me to change that....because they said they will call me to confirm order.

 

^ speaking of wasted upgrades, how much faster is a 7200rpm hd vs a 5400 rpm hd? Is the speed a good enough sacrifice to give up 60 gigs of space?

 

Both hard drives are 160 GB

I went with the 7200 RPM over the 5400 RPM. The upgrade did not cost much. I just remember the slow 5400 RPM hard drive that was in my old desktop. Damn that thing was slow. I say yes, the 7200 RPM is much faster. But at the same time....I don't know jack about computers....lol

 

As a gaming notebook I think 7200 should be standard. For a normal computer user 5400 is great, less power, less heat, and usually more space. But a gamer can really use the 7200 to help deal with all the big loading jobs for games.

 

no that is a downgrade.

dont change the 160 gb one to a 100 gb one.

the part itself is roughly the same cost the performance is mostly the same

buy a 160 gb 7200 rpm hard drive yourself and put it in and put the 160gb one in an external case


The rpm speed is not faster than the platter density difference which is 1.6

thouroughput will be lower access time will be higher. Some people will like one some the other but more will like the 160 gb 5400 hd

 

Thats a good recomendation, then you have more storage and in the long run get more for your money.

 

i use a linksys wireless g, it was litterally a plug in and your done thing

 

Well thanks for all the replies and so quickly. I really love the G1S and dont feel like i would need the G2S. I think because I have time I might wait for the compal but we'll see. As for the router I think those are good suggestions. thanks. I was planning on going with 100gb 7200 plus a backup 160 5400 probably. I think i'll stay with XP but purchase Vista later. Is it possible to get 7200 rpm external hard drives? it must be. Where is the compal available online? is it on milestonepc? cause they ship to Canada where I live.

 

With 3GB none will be wasted, but it might not run as fast as a 2GB or a 4GB config.

Speaking of replacing the hard drive, is there a kit or something that makes an internal drive a decent external USB or eSata drive? Will it require external power or does USB have enough?

 

An external hard drive requires both an AC adapter for external power and USB power so that you can transfer files and whatnot (it hardly takes up any, though, because I used a USB hub dongle and it used low power). Check on NewEgg for offers. Sabrent is pretty good, and you can find one for around $10+. All you have to do is slide the drive inside and connect the pieces. Very, very easy to do.

For the difference between 5400rpm and 7200rpm: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=41219

You can get the Compal at MileStonePC.com when it comes out. They do carry the brand, so you shouldn't have to worry.

 

for SATA and eSATA stuff, www.satasite.com

More and more eSATA drives are appearing, e.g., Seagate has them up to 750GB. The G1S has an eSATA port. You can also buy Express Card to eSATA adapters, and brackets for your desktop that turn an internal SATA port into an eSATA port (different connectors).

 

I have Seagate's 750 esata drive and a G1S, just need the cable... disappointing neither of them include one.

 

Dual channel only adds about 5% performance boost, so don't sweat it.

http://www.newegg.com/Store/Category.aspx?Category=9&name=Computer-Cases-External-Enclosures

A 2.5" external HDD will require 2 USB ports to power it.

 

Can anyone recommend a good deal on a 160 Gig 7200 Drive for the G1P? Available in Canada? I think I'd like to buy my own 160 Gig 7200 Drive and replace it myself. Anyone have any instructions on how to replace the Hard Drive?

 

Thanks, this looks like the only one that has SATA, is for 2.5, and is powered by USB:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817145392

The question is, does it support Vista.

 

Does newegg ship to Canada and if so do they have a base in Canada or do they have to ship from US? Do they have customization options or is it just stock parts you put in yourself? I also forgot to ask about the 667 or 800 mhz bus. What is it actually? what is supported? some people say it is only 667 but others say it does support 800. anyone know?

 

# Does Newegg.com ship internationally?
Newegg.com does not currently ship internationally; we only deliver to locations within the United States and to Puerto Rico.

It looks like that is a big No to shipping to Canada.

 

Nope. Check NCIX.com or ShopRBC.com, they're like a Canadian NewEgg

 

I'm also curious as to where I would be able to buy a 160GB (or higher) 7200RPM hard drive to replace the 5400RPM one in the G1S, I don't want to downgrade to a 100GB either.

 

sapples it looks like we're in the same boat. Im going to wait and see what Milestonepc sells the C90 at. anyone have a clue when thats going to be at milestone? thanks

 

Doesn't MPC have it up for preorder for $1049 or so?

 

I googled seagate 7200.2 160Gb HDD and got this
They dont have the best price, but its a start, and they appear to be reputable.
Provantage $165.00

Just for the record, I want one to, but I want it in the G2s-a1

 

Ah that looks right about what I'm looking for, it is pricey but I think I will get it eventually. Would swapping out the default hard drive with this one be easy? (never done it on a laptop, but do it ALL the time on desktop PC's), is it about the same way or is there more to it for laptops?

 

If it were me I would swap it and run the recovery disk, I don't think it would know there's a different hard drive in there.

My only reason for not buying is that all the reputable retailers selling that drive don't have it in stock.

Question, anyone know of a way to boot to a disc that will let me image an internal Sata drive to an external USB drive? If that is possible, I can order this new drive and not worry about reloading everything. Just ghost it. Of course the disc needs to be free.

 

Hmm a little off-topic, sorry for that but...

The G1S just showed up as a pre-order at www.webhallen.se and the pricing is insane in my opinion.

2gb of ram but still the 5400 rpm HD, 2 year standard warranty. 2700 USD.

and the release date is set to 25th of june.

God i grow tired of this.

edit: Talked to them now.. the pricing is because of the toll and the VAT added.. it still sucks though... especially the time line.

 

The place I was looking at has it all stock for like 1900-2000$ USD belive it was gentech computers. But I have no idea what places they deliver too, never done business with them.

 

how do you get 3gb in it? 1 2gb in slot one and a 1gb in slot 2 i guess...will it run in dual channel mode still? they are an un matched pair so i guess no?

 

I highly doubt it, but loss of dual channel is not as big of a deal as most think it is.

 

No, it will not run Dual Channel but as Vicious mentioned it is not that big of a loss. Personally, Id rather have that extra, physical GB of RAM instead of the Dual Channel configuration. I was running Dual Channel in my desktop rig with 2X256mb and added a 512 stick and the difference was amazing and yet technically it should be somewhat the same.

 

Vivek, I meant the Compal IFL90 and not the C90. my mistake. Does anyone know when the IFL90 will be out on MilestonePC? it looks good and cheaper. I dont mind less looks if its cheaper and yet same quality hardware.

 

There is a discussion in the Compal forum about the exact GPU in the IFL90. There's no definitive answer if it'll be a 8600GT or a GS. If need to GT, you might have to wait a week or so before you decide between the IFL90 and the G1S

 

thanks Donsell. Some of you were talking about external hard drives and finding good size and speed. Well I just went to my local best buy shop and picked up a Kaser Storage Vault with 160GB 7200 RPM for 89.99 CAD. GOOD deal! So I'm excited to get it going.