Asus Z71V w/nVidia 6600 Go

I guess Justin (ProPortable) seems to know alot around Asus, so suppose this question is for him....

Any news or more in-dept info on the new Asus Z71V w/ the nVidia 6600 Go? When is it coming out and will it be offering a model with better display

By the way, here is the spec for all the other people to see. I got a hold of this yesterday

http://www.smilepak.com/Z71V_Project.doc

 

By the way, it is also known as:

Voodoo Envy M:515

Some magazine and places have post this laptop already.

 

Available in March..... Voodoo doesn't have it yet either...... that review and picture someone posted over at notebookforums was a z71a and whoever was talking about it was saying what it'll have... It's the same chassis, but with the dedicated 128mb nvidia card in it.

J

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Pre-sell started:

http://istnc.com/store/products.php?cat=90

 

Because cpu and ram prices are going to fall before that comes out.. i'd hold off (one reason we won't do a pre-order on them) .

But the main thing is... I won't even have demo units till the 2nd week of march... production units the week after probably.... that is when Asus actually releases them. Just so you know, this is much better than the integrated graphics model, but within a month of it's release there will be 3-4 new complete asus models and 3-4 new barebone models... So just consider your options before you jump on the first thing down the pike.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Asus is technically calling the Z7 series... especailly the z71v the M6 replacement..

However, the V6 is what I consider the M6 replacement... It's got everything the M6 had, but better.... and a pound or more lighter..... Any one wanting off the record info on the V6 as it'll appear in the US, drop me a line. I can't get into specifics, but the V6V's have been ordered, there is a set configuration and there is a set price. As I said, I can't reveal that yet but I help answer some questions on that.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Yeah I am still waiting out for it to actually release before I buy.

I heard the M6000 series replacement will be shortly after, but not sure of the spec yet.

But the spec on the Z71V is very nice. Especially it is pretty thin too!

 

Ok, 3 things to absolutely confirm for you guys.

1. 3rd week of March the Z71v will be released from Asus' office in California.

2. The Z71v will cost the same as an M6

3. The difference between the Z71a and Z71v is this: 128mb nvidia 6600 graphics and a WSXGA+ screen (the z71a has only WXGA).

With this information we probably will start a pre-order for them because initial stock will be limited. Anyone interested in this unit can drop me an email if they want

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Yeah, heard somewhere after the initial shipment there iwll be a shortage on them because of the LCD shortage?

 

There has always been a shortage on the WSXGA+ screens Asus has been using on the W1 and Z8.... that is likely.. The problem is more like, there are a bunch of other new systems coming over at the same time. Usually Asus has one new system at a time come over.... I would guess space is limited. I know that the W5, V6 and Z71v are all part of this shipment at the very least. This means that 1/3 of the normal shipment of notebooks are probably coming. On top of that, although the z71 series is supposed to be middle of the line sonoma.... the V model with that graphics card and better screen put it at M6 pricing with better video and lcd.... I suspect it's going to be a very popular model.... so they are going to move very fast. Just to give you an idea, just since my last post about it, 20 some people just from this forum contacted me about a pre-order... usually stuff like that trickles out over days and weeks and comes back over our sales line or sales email... these came right back to me. With all the new models coming out, you'd figure the z71v wouldn't be so popular.... but it'll be another month after this is released before more new barebone units are available....... probably why more people are looking at this over complete systems.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Actually, for the time being, the Z71v is the replacement for the M6. In April the M6 will be replaced as a Sonoma model in basically the current shell of the M6. As far as features, weight, performance goes, yes the Z71v sits at the level of the M6. Until it's turn over in two months, the M6 really only has it's looks to sell it self.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Actually, the Z71V is not the replacement for the M6 series of notebooks( if I understood the info correctly I acquired while on a conference call with ASUS last Friday ). ASUS will be introducing the M6 replacement in late March/early April, it will be the Z70 series of notebooks.
The Z70A will have shared video, and the Z70V will have discrete 64mb X600 graphics.DDR2 support will be standard on both units, but they will be different in appearance ( lighter grey/silverish color instead of the current charcoal color of the M6 series )
The Z70A is due to be released around end March, and the Z70V roughly a month later.
According to ASUS, there will be a restraint of Z71V's after the initial shipment is received because of a shortage of WSXGA LCD's



Rick Roberts CEO
Integrated System Technologies Inc
http://www.istnc.com

 

Here is an email that I received from Jimmy J at ASUS last night. I emailed him to verify the info I was given on Friday.

Hello, Rick:

The M6N replacement will be called Z70.

2 flavors: Z70A (shared video) and Z70V (discrete 64MB X600). This will continue to be a built-on ASUS barebone with roughly the same price point (although shared video Z70A will be about $$$ less). DDR2 support is standard on both Z70 and color will be a lighter grey/silverish color instead of the current charcoal.

I've attached specs here for your reference. Release dates:
Z70A - after mid March
Z70V - roughly a month after Z70A releases

Thanks.

Jimmy


Not taking away from anything Justin has said, but in theory, the Z71 series was meant as a replacement for the Z91 series. Each series of ASUS BOA notebooks has its replacement on the way ( 915 chipset ). ASUS will be releasing a newer version of the M3N,M5N and of course the M6N. According to the ASUS 2005 Roadmap, the Z71 series is listed as the replacement for the existing Z91 series.

Justin, if you have newer info that contradicts what I have, I would certainly appreciate you sharing it with me.

Thanks !

Rick Roberts CEO
Integrated System Technologies Inc
http://www.istnc.com

 

Rick,

I'm not going to post my emails or phone calls with Jimmy, but what he told me is until the Z70v comes out in about April, the current M6 has nothing to really sell itself on but it's looks. The Z71a is a replacement for the Z91n if you want to look at features, but the Z71v, with it's video places it right in line at the current price of the M6, with better features. Now, as far as looks go, we can go all day about which looks better, and personally I think the M6 is a good looking system, but with that out, the M6 is not going to sell. The Z70a in the M6 shell is going to then place the M6 below the Z71v...... because it'll be cheaper and have less features. When the Z70v comes out towards the end of April, it'll have an x600 graphics card in it and again place that model up towards the higher end of the offerings.

But I'm talking about right now, in the next month. When the Z71v comes out, there is nothing that will sell a current M6 other than it's looks.

Do you understand what I'm trying to say? I have roadmaps and have been dealing with Jimmy for four years now... I know whats going on. But with everything, time is an issue. If the z70v came out now, we wouldn't be having this conversation. It's just in terms of features that I'm talking about.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

I've seen a silver looking M6 before, and man it was sweet!
I'd love to have a Z70...

ASUS M6800Ne, P-M 1.5 Dothan, 512MB Ram, Tohiba Combo drive, Samsung Spinpoint M 40G HDD with 8M cache, Mobility Radeon 9700

 

Also, as a side note, all barebone units will be in the "Z" family. All M5np's in the last four months have come as Z3's. This is will similiar to the way the V6 and W3 barebones will come later in the spring.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

This link only works directly, but there was enough call for the advanced order for the Z71v: http://www.proportable.com/detail.aspx?ID=101

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Sweet..that is kewl!

14.04" (L) x 10.85" (W) x 1.38" (H);

A bit thicker than they original spec it to be. But either case, it look like a nice laptop.

 

Actually, those numbers are basically off the same original spec sheet you posted. That was from a long time ago, but the size of the system didn't change. We just converted it from milimeters to inches... Do the math and you'll see the same thing... if there is a misprint, let me know.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Why can't this laptop be BLACK? It's gonna take me a while to love it for it's personality.[ ]

Huuuh.

 

I'm pretty sure the V model will be a slightly different color shade than the A model.... but I don't think it'll be black.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

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

 

You do realize voodoo would be almost $1,500 more than us or anyone else in the states... $150 US shipping and $200 for their signature tattos? I'm certainly not bashing voodoo, they have their market..... but I think I would bash anyone who bought one.

Just for an idea, using the best PPG paints and clears, hiring a professional auto painter to do a single set of parts for one computer at a time costs about $800, including obvious wet sanding between coats. Since voodoo really only sells painted systems, the cost of paint and labor to do 50 at a time is cut down a ton. When you get into their "tatoos", all it is is a sticker under the clear. A sticker that costs a couple bucks at most through places like our buddies over at the shattered web.

Again, I like what voodoo is doing and if someone will pay for their system you can't fault them at all. However, when someone wants to tell me that $350 is too much to pay for a whole new OEM white pearl M5 chassis.... something that is really limited to 10 on this side of the pond.... I hope none of those people paid for a white paint job through voodoo on the M5 system they sell.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Man! That super gloss black would be amazing! No way I'm paying THAT much more.[xx(] The pink(with lisp)would be swell too.[ ] [ ]

Huuuh.

 

Well, just imagine.... some will pay for it and certainly enough people that they stay in business.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

The Z71V is said to support the "Yonah" cpu.
Exactly what benefit will the Yonah cpu have in this laptop and won't the Yonah need a new chipset to take advantage of it's features?

Thanks

Huuuh.

 

The "Yonah" will be taking the P-M up past 3ghz

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

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

 

I'm pretty sure Yonah is meant for another generation centrino, but the bottom line is the mother is supposed to support the cpu. I think Yonah is set for late Q4.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

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

 

Eventually..... the current a64 systems just came out in late November...... where as they haven't had a new centrino model since last July...... don't look for anything before this summer.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Does anyone know if ASUS will also be updating their Athlon 64 models, or just the Pentium M models?

 

Yass-

Looking at that quote of me in your last post I noticed I said.. " the point is that mother is supposed" .... that mother.. I dont know what I was thinking when I wrote that.

Yonah certainly won't be out before the end of the year. Right now the ETA does still say late Q4....... you know that means early Q2 of next year..... but still.

I'm not so sure about the pin configuration yet.... I don't think anyone really is. The specs for the chipset claim it'll be compatible... thats all I know. We're certainly not going to sell the system based on future compatibility, but Sonoma just came out and for the most part won't really be out in an numbers for atleast another month or so... I think talking about the Yonah is a little premature and takes away from the 533mhz Dothan..

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

I was actually considering the Z71V, but ended up with the equally impressive (and available) Acer 8104 instead.

However, your estimate for Yonah seems a little bit optimistic, considering Intel has already publicly announced that the Yonah will be expected to be sampled by end of 2005, and will roll out in 2006.

http://www.anandtech.com/printarticle.aspx?i=2252

There's also a nice picture of the core. [ ]

Sprin IDF as it happens day 2:
http://www.anandtech.com/tradeshows/showdoc.aspx?i=2365&p=2

Sonoma will take Intel to the end of 2005, by which the 3rd generation Centrino, "Napa" will take over starting 2006, featuring the dual-core Yonah. Yonah will *NOT* be compatible with Sonoma chipsets -- in fact it probably isn't even pin-compatible. They did mention that the Napa chipset will be much SMALLER than the Sonoma chipset.

The whole point of dual-core is that it will feature 2 cores, i.e. think of it as hyper-threading on STEROIDS. Whether the clock will be much faster is questionable, and probably will not be the case at least when Yonah first rolls out.

So yes, Yonah is meant for another generation of centrino -- in 2006. And it will most certainly not be compatible with the current generation of chipsets. Intel has already publicly said this.

cheers,

yass

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

 

Justin,
Did I read on your website at one time that some of your ASUS notebooks are on display at some college campuses? I've been doing a lot of research, so I could have confused this info with a different site.

Basically, I've been trying to find a place where I could look at and try out an ASUS laptop. I live near Princeton. I think agearnotebooks and geared2play are in New York, but I'd rather go to Philly or someplace even closer.

Thanks for any info.
-- Jerry

 

Jerry,

We did have a lot of sales people in college basically all up and down the east coast. Some of them have graduated, I'm sure, but some are around. No one though has anything on them newer than the W1.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Holy cow, over $3k for what amounts to barely $2k worth of components in an asus! (Pentium 730... in a $3k system????!!) [V] Bow down to VoodooPC's marketing engine, and the idiots who they prey on...

cheers,

yass

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

 

Hey, as much as I can see your point.... as a consumer I might I might think that.... but being in business and seeing that is another story. Obviously we're not losing business to Voodoo... if we were getting the same customers people would think we were giving away our systems.

But on the business side, I have to admit, if you throw a $1 bill up on ebay, some idiot will bid $5 for it.... Your mark up can only be what people will pay you for having your services rendered. If you have the cliental that will pay dearly for what you offer with a product, so be it... that in turn is what you're worth. If your cliental just want the cheapest thing possible, to provide that you have toe lower your mark up and in turn those people get less of a service..... You get what you pay for as the saying goes.

Voodoo has a great website and a great little niche market they appeal to. You hire marketing people to get you to that niche market and as long as we're not talking about false advertising (like that i-go laptop company)... then we're talking about people who are worth every penny. It's hard to sell someone something... even harder to sell them something for way more than it's worth. So, when we're talking about that, we're talking about some stupid people with money burning holes in their pockets.

I think the bottom line is, you can't fault voodoo. I've had wealthier clients say to me during business meetings, "if your prices were higher, you could become a status symbol" That is what voodoo must be in a way. I find it impossible that people could be that dumb to just not realize they aren't getting a lot for their money. Maybe it's just wishful thinking for me to beleive people want to pay that much because they want other people to know they paid that much.....

(talk amoungst yourselves)

Have a good evening..

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Yup I agree...VoodooPC, FalconNW, and Alienware all have been pretty solid and around for sometime. They practically offer a custom design or painted chassis of some of the popular ODM such as Compal-CL56 or Asus series, where the price is almost double of what you could pretty much buy it for yourself and build.

They have a set audience in which they target it for. Mainly the group of people who are in between really tech savy and total complete idoit. It is more of a show off item than anything else.

 

I'm not faulting Voodoo for anything other than being shrewd businessmen. Heck, If I can mark-up what's basically a commodity item -- put a few coat of paint on it and sell it for twice as much -- I'm down for that! [ ]

What's amazing are the ppl who buys it -- "Ohh look it's FIRE-ENGINE RED, that means it's *FAST* and worth a lot more!" Lets face it -- VoodooPC's design only appeals those that are computer-iliterate and are under 18. -- Either that or the same crowd that tricks out their Honda Civics with pancake sized exhusts and 18" rims. Frankly I'm just surprised that there are that many idiots out there willing to fork out so much money for something that can be had for way less to support a company like that -- in fact, MORE than one company(VoodooPC, Alienware, Falcon).

I have no question that these makers have their audience -- I'm just laughing at them, that's all. [ ]

cheers,

yass

 

Exactly... you're right.

In fact, if I can reach out to those of you in the forum who don't think they are paying enough for their computer and want to feel extra special....

[ ]

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Pretty good pricing...

ACIZ71V
PROPortable Z71V Centrino Notebook (New Sonoma Platform) - Advanced Order
1. Intel® Pentium® M w/ 2MB Cache; 533MHz FSB : 750 - 1.86GHz; 533MHz FSB; w/ 2MB Cache -Standard
2. DDR2 533 so-Dimm : 1024 ddr2 533 (1024mb x 1) - Corsair
3. Hard Drives 2.5" ATA100 : Hitachi Travelstar 60GB 7200 RPM w/ 8MB Buffer
4. Optical Drive : 8x DVD Dual Layer / Dual Format Burner (+/- R/RW)
5. Internal Wireless Card (Required for Centrino) : Intel PRO/2200 Wireless 802.11b/g MiniPCI
6. Operating Systems : No Operating System (Barebone)
7. Warranties : 2 years parts & labor w/ 1 way paid shipping

$1,806.68

 

Yeah, the Z71v should be a pretty good seller. The M6 has been the most popular model of the last year and when you figure there is more to this notebook, at a lower cost... this really hits the spot for a lot of people.

The only downside is some people can't understand, say.. the V6's cost.. which is about $400 more for about the same configurable options. However, with something like that... the screen, the size and weight, and ahhhh.. the aluminum are just were the differece is. Most people understand that.. but if they feel it's too much, they can pick up a Z71v instead of whinning about how the V6 is so much more.... Personally I think the Z71v is just a really good value and is probably worth a couple hundred more.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Hey Justin,

Just email you on this:

ACIZ71V
PROPortable Z71V Centrino Notebook (New Sonoma Platform) - Advanced Order
1. Intel® Pentium® M w/ 2MB Cache; 533MHz FSB : 750 - 1.86GHz; 533MHz FSB; w/ 2MB Cache -Standard
2. DDR2 533 so-Dimm : 1024 ddr2 533 (512mb x 2) - Corsair
3. Hard Drives 2.5" ATA100 : Hitachi Travelstar 60GB 7200 RPM w/ 8MB Buffer
4. Optical Drive : 8x DVD Dual Layer / Dual Format Burner (+/- R/RW)
5. Internal Wireless Card (Required for Centrino) : Intel PRO/2200 Wireless 802.11b/g MiniPCI
6. Operating Systems : No Operating System (Barebone)
7. Warranties : 2 years parts & labor w/ 1 way paid shipping


Got any in stock? I notice you've lower the price on it a bit. Nice!

 

Got the email and responded.....

Price didn't go anywhere... I know that for sure.. prices didn't go anywhere in the last week or so....

We're not close to what our stock will be... so yes, there are plenty left.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

I wonder why they didn't put CF card reader which is much more widespread than MMC, SD, Memory Stick...

 

Justin - noticed in your site that the ETA for the Z71v is early April. Is this a revised timeline coming from Asus? Thank you.

 

Yes, new timeline.. Some systems might be in before then, but Asus wanted us to show the the later time frame.



Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

I guess they really going to shot for April release of this. LoL!

 

I don't know, it's all a matter of when they get on the boat. I'm sure we should see some of them a little earlier, but Asus didn't want more people to expect pre-orders than units that are coming in. Pushing the ETA back gives a chance for a 2nd shipment to arrive.. If you're following my logic, they'd rather not have 100 people with orders in and half of them find out they're going to have to wait a couple more weeks...... than having the same amount of orders in and having half of them get their's early. But with that said, they still haven't hit shore yet, and there is a lot of new stuff coming out in the next few weeks, so supply of everything will be short at first, but more shipments will follow rather quickly.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]