Asus notebook - which model?

Asus gurus,

I figure this is as best a place as any to ask the question. I've narrowed down my notebook search to either Asus or Dell. Basically the specs I'm after are roughly as follows:

15.4”, Sonoma chipset, 5400+rpm HD, 512MB+ RAM (prefer a gig) 533mhz, 2 or 3 year warranty. I'd contemplate either a 15" or a 14.1" widescreen with perferably a higher res than average.

Asus seem to have so many different models and with variations on each one it's difficult to narrow down. Looking at the Aussie Asus web site, I don't think it's 100% up to date. What model(s) have these sort of specification?

Of course there is the timing issue with the Turion just around the corner for when things go 64bit but I'm not sure how long I can wait.

Any help would be most appreciated!

Cheers,
Paul

 

At the moment your best bet would be the v6 series, these are being sold at most place now with various cpu speeds, pending budget. The other options are the M6A which is based on the alviso chipset ie sonoma, but this only has intel graphics so if your keen on gaming then this aint the beast for you. With all the new models coming out there are great bargins on older models which still pack plenty of punch, the M6Ne, and W1 series are definitely worth a look, esp since performance wise these are as good as the new sonoma platform.
The only other choice is the W3N which is also a great machine and is a 'new' model from ASUS but is the older dothan chipset.

So to cap:
best fit V6(15.1" sonoma)
then M6Ne, W1 (15.4" dothan)
M6A same as M6N but with new sonoma chipset
W3 (14.1" dothan)

Hope this helps abit, also I've heard some horror stories about Dells Aust customer service from friends, and the cheap plastic feel of the dells just doesn't compare, esp since there are basically the same if not more expensive than the asus's. So far I've had really good service from ASUS here in brisvegas, fixed and returned the notebook within 2 days, pretty happy with that.
good luck
a


ASUS V6V specs:
15.1" SXGA (1400 x 1050)
Pentium M 740 (1.73 Ghz )
Dothan (2Mb L2 Cache 533 Mhz FSB)
1x 512Mb DDR2 400Mhz (2Gb Max) 1 Free Slot
Intel 915PM
ATI Mobility Radeon x600, 64MB (PCI Express)
60Gb 5400 RPM
DVD Dual Burner +/- ( DVD-R/RW: 4X/2X, DVD+R/RW: 4X/2.4X, CD-R/RW: 16X/10x, DVD: 8X, CD:24X )
19 mm full size 88 key with MS-Windows function keys
Glide Pad with left and right mouse buttons
Built-in Azalia compliant audio chip, with 3D effect & full duplex
10/100/1000 LAN
Intel Pro 2200 Wireless 802.11BG (54 Mb)
56K Modem
Bluetooth
IEEE 1394 port
Output: 19 V DC, 3.42 A, 65W
Input: 100240V AC, 50/60Hz universal

Windows XP Professional
Nero Burning Software 6.0
ASUSDVD XP
Power Director V2.5 ME
Media@Show V2.0 SE
Symantec Norton AntiVirus 2005
Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.1

1 x Card-Reader Slot ( SD,MMC MS & MSPRO )
1 x PCMCIA slot
1 x Infrared port support IrDA V1.1
1 x Headphone-out combo jack
1 x Microphone-in jack
1 x VGA port/Mini D-sub 15-pin for external DDC monitor
1 x RJ11 Modem jack for phone line
1 x RJ45 LAN Jack for LAN insert
4 x USB 2.0 ports
1 x IEEE 1394 port

331 x 272 x 25-30 mm(WxDxH)
2.36 KG
2 Years Limited National Courier Pick Up Delivery Service

ASUS M6Ne 15.4" WSXGA 1.7 PM ATI9700 80Gb HDD 1Gb RAM

 

ps the asus aust site is abit old I expect that with all the new models etc that they are releasing at the moment, and the fact that different parts of the world are getting different models and at different times, us poor aussies are left with an outdated website
Best idea is to see what your local Asus dealer has in stock, we normally get things pretty quick here in aust, and we have the W3N to keep us happy while the yanks still hold on to the glimer of the W3V.
Oh and I think that you will be outta luck on the DDR2533 memory for alittle while, as far as I know this is v.short supply and most if not all sonoma's are shipping with DDr2400 memory. Although in real world performance this ain't much of a problem, and doesn't affect performance a great deal.

a


ASUS M6Ne 15.4" WSXGA 1.7 PM ATI9700 80Gb HDD 1Gb RAM

 

Hey Underpantman,

Do you have any idea if or when the W3V will hit stores in Australia?

 

I second that question.

It seems like weve been waiting an eternity

 

Well acording to proportable, the US is getting them first, the rest of the world should be a few weeks after that. So I hope that Aust should be seeing them by the endof april, but realistically it maybe may before you see them in high numbers here. I also suspect the new AMD turion lappies will be here around the same time.
a


ASUS M6Ne 15.4" WSXGA 1.7 PM ATI9700 80Gb HDD 1Gb RAM

 

Thanks UPman,

Any idea what price point for a machine in the 740-750 processor range?

Also, from your experience which ASUS resellers in Australia are the best to deal with? (ie. get the new models in first, best prices/customer service, etc.)

Thanks UPman.

 

No idea of price but I asssume it will be close to the US price converted into aussie $$$.
As for 64 bit, well Microsoft has just gone gold on the 64bitXP so that looks good for release in a few weeks, right about the same time turion should make a big appearance....funny timing that isn't it.
I've only really dealt with computer alliance in brisvegas, these guys are pretty good, they have been reasonably helpful, and don't seem to wanna screw u over to bad, and they have pretty good prices on their notebooks. They get stock pretty quick as well, the other one in brissy is surpass computers, and Umart who are both ok. Otherwise there are plenty of places in sydney and melbourne that sell, just not sure what they are like.
a


ASUS M6Ne 15.4" WSXGA 1.7 PM ATI9700 80Gb HDD 1Gb RAM

 

Darn technology! You've got to jump in at some point but I think I'll wait until the Turion comes out. It's overall 32bit performance might not be as good as Sonoma however I'll be pretty keen to move to 64bit when Microsoft get their act together. Thanks for all the replys and I'll be keeping a close eye on the Asus web site (as well as this forum) over the coming weeks.