Cheaper Alternative to G1S?

I'm digging what I'm hearing about the G1S, but as it stands it's somewhat out of my price range...is anyone aware of a cheaper alternative with an 8600 gt?

 

How much cheaper are you looking for?

 

The Compal IFL90 is cheaper than the Asus G1S.
Tim

 

The C90 ^^ Thats the biggest reason I opted for the c90 over the G12 was the price break.

 

G1P - can now be had for cheaper! It's got good ol 7700go however.

 

u get what u paid for. Asus G1S is obviously better built than IFL90. The differenc is only about $100-200. Another option u can consider is the new macbook pro, with student discount, the price is $1799 USD (about $100 cheaper but better built) and a free nano!

If u care less about battery life or putting the laptop on ur lap. Get the Asus C90s. It should beat the performance of the G1s while costing $400-500 less than G1s

 

I don't know about the 400-500 savings form a C90s, but it will definitely be cheaper and more powerful, although battery life will be crap.

 

How do you substantiate that claim?

It is well known that ASUS Ensemble models are just priced higher than other comparable models.

The PowerPro J 10:15 (Compal IFL90) also has the nVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT w/512MB on-die memory (no Turbocache to slow you down) and several other features that the G1S does not. For example:
1GB Intel® Turbo Memory (Robson)
Fingerprint Reader
3 Year Warranty w/Next Business Day Shipping paid both ways...standard.

Now, the G1S had an HDMI port while the PowerPro J 10:15 (Compal IFL90) only has VGA out, but they are really very comparable except for the warranty and the price.

 

One more advantage to the G1S is the eSATA port, but if you are on a budget, then probably the IFL90 is your best bet.

 

the guy obviously doesn't know what he's talking about, he's a tool. he doesn't know the company Compal or Clevo and he just thinks their laptops are garbage compared to other known brands like Asus. people who bash stuff that is not even out yet like the IFL90, stuff that you the reatilers don't even have, really pisses me off, in another post another guy is bashing not only the quality of the Compal but get this... the screen! IS NOT EVEN OUT YET!!! WHAT THE **** DO YOU KNOW!!!?

 

i think the C90 would be best suited. You can build it as you like to fit ur budget and always upgrade bigger and better later on.
The best part of the C90 over the IFL90 is as some have already mentioned, e-Sata and HDMI. It may be noteworthy to go out and look at both screens. I havent seen the C90 myself (well very few have) but if Asus tradition follows then it should be a better screen.
Other than that i think the C90 is a much more attractive looking laptop

 

Oh, and of course the PowerPro J 10:15 (Compal IFL90) has the distinct advantage of being totally configurable just the way you want it...it doesn't come pre-configured like the Asus.

 

While there are some major differences, it does not mean you can lash out. Please consider your language and attitude. Thanks.

 

Look, once you upgrade the IFL90 enough to compete with the G1S you are at the same price range or just about there. Therefore the price isn't one advantage of the IFL90 anymore.

 

True, price should not be the issue.

The are comparable models at comparable prices...except when you factor in the Standard 3 Year Warranty with Next Business Day Shipping paid both ways and the lifetime 24/7 support on the PowerPro J 10:15 (Compal IFL90).

Look, black777star asked for a better priced alternative. That is what we are suggesting here...we don't really need all the debate over which one is better when they are both comparable, each with a few feature differences. The fanboy behavior isn't really helpful to black777star.

 

I did NOT say that Compal is garbage. They are solid laptop. . What i mean was its better built for gamers. G1 is one of its kind in term of its design. Many people likes it because of the stylish and innovative design. Like the mac, what it lack in performance,it makes up in apparence. You can either love or hate it. From the picture, Compal looks too plain to me. Yes, it is not out yet. But its not like they are going to pimp it up the day before release.

btw, i dont even like the G1s. whats with the personal attack? jeez.. But i know that im not moved by compal. If i want performance, i'd get the C90s

 

I am not going to join in on that fight between wich model is better, because frankly its up to the user wich is better. But I do need to correct you abit.

The G1S does have a fingerprint reader so thats not somthing the IFL90 has that the G1S does not, also the Turbo Memory is becoming more and more known as a BAD thing not a good thing, often slowing some systems down, it also makes it impossible to use ready boost from what I hear.

3yr warrent and shiping sounds nice, not sure what the warrenty is on Asus im buying my first one soon when it comes out. The C90.

Oh for the record HDMI is a much more benificial thing than VGA to have because HDCP can only be carried via DVI or HDMI. VGA will now allow playback of HD content when they start enforcing the protection protocols.

Also more monitors and hdtv's have better quality and less issues with DVI/HDMI infact all hdtvs will have hdmi, but I cant think of any off hand that have VGA... (with the exception of the one I have, but its a monitor more than a TV)

 

Okay, the Compal is a good cheap alternative to the G1S, you are sacrificing the following with the price:
--Build quality (not much, but having handled the G1 and similar Compals, Asus was simply more solid)
--Graphics power (512 DDR2 is not as powerful as GDDR3)
--Processing power (Apparently there are sites where this is upgradable, but of the two I have looked at, the T7100 was the processor)
--Style (Unless you like notebooks from the early 90's)
--Screen (yes, the screen, Asus has an exclusive deal with the screen maker who has consistently won "Best of" awards from many trusted critics, with the G2P garnering #1 honors from many reviewers against many different machines, the G1S screen is a generation above the G2P screen and is the little brother of its next Gen counterpart in the G2S. Compal has not ever been known for good screens, but their screens are not bad, they are very decent. Unless Compal pulls a non-advertised rabbit out of its hat at the last minute then the screen will not be as good)

Otherwise very comparable you get a 3 year warranty and at about 400 bucks cheaper.

The C90 sacrifices the following:
--Heat efficiency (Even with that jet engine on the back it will get toasty, believe that)
--Battery Life (maxes out at 81 in pre-release stress tests, and gets as low as 14(!!) when all the gears are turning.)
--If it doesn't have the same screen, then probably the screen as well
--Weight (This will be a heavy mofo)
--It is an untested new platform, so you are sort of taking a gamble if you preorder.
--Warranty (You will pay through the nose for a reseller warranty for a computer that if you upgrade it (as per its main marketing draw) will be void.)

You will get a good boost in performance though and upgradability (though I don't know how well that will pan out)

With both of these you are sacrificing the fairly nice mouse and backpack extras, butif you already have that stuff then it doesn't matter, so I didn't add it.

Regardless you aren't getting a BAD notebook anywhere you look. The crappy compals go to dell and crappy Asus (I believe) go to Toshiba. And those are on the cheap (<1000 dollar range), in your price range and with the companies mentioned, you won't go wrong.)

Also the F3SV:
-Performance loss (about 2/3 roughly quantified)
-Worse screen (not too much worse though)
-lesser build quality

You will get the warranty, it will be lighter, slightly smaller, classier looks (if that matters), better battery life and is specifically touted as "a cheaper alternative to the G1S" You will save between 200-600 dollars depending on which model (X1-A1-B1) and options (HDD RAM etc.) you choose.

 

just out of curiosity, where did you see this? from all of the pictures of the G1s, and the official specs on the asus website, it does not seem like it has a fingerprint reader.

 

The G1S does not have a fingerprint reader. Not on any pictures or any speccs.

 

Thats not a reader between the two buttons??? hmm my mistake they made the C90 like that so figured they did the same with the G series just made it look fancy.

I dont agree with alot of this.

> With the fans on the back this thing may run cooler than your average notebook because it will have better ventilation, and it has a nice heatpipe setup. It may produce more heat but it will also get rid of it. Also its not one fan runing at turbo speeds it a array of fans so they can run at low speeds to achieve a high total cfm and thus have low noise.

Where does everybody get the idea that a desktop C2D is a super hot chip in the first place?? Its not a moble version so yes it has more power use and heat, but its no pentium 4 eather. The heat will be just fine on these things.

> Battery life most definitly will be a sacrifice. I think the 80 min on low power is the absolute max, it may not even go that far. But when you can get a given task done faster it makes up for it in my book. This isnt marketed to be a laptop to go around and do word processing on, its a killer moble desktop pretty much wich you can game on, and no notebooks really have good game times away from the AC socket. Its more than worth it for that trade off.

> Screen? I dunno about the screen companies tend to use the same panels for alot of things so its probably the same. The G2S-A1 has the best screen IMO

> Weight? Its not that heavy! Its all notebook parts, just add a few kg fans and a desktop processor. If your complaning about the weight you need to hit the gym! Its not like a desktop machine was smashed into a notebook size with a car compactor or somthing and it has some insane density like a piece of lead. Seriously unless your carring it around all day with a strap tied around your 3rd leg, stop complaining about the weight.

> Yep if you preorder you dont know what to expect, its that way for anything. im personally waiting for a few reviews and performance test to show up

> Warrenty is better on products bought sepreatly last I checked. Like a stand alone seagate hdd comes with a 5 year warrenty. Then if somthing ever goes out on you, you have the power to upgrade or replace it unlike a normal notebook wich you may not. Warrenty is not an issue here at all.

 

I would wait to see the screen that is used on the fl 90

it could be the same cmo screen.

Asus does have like a contract with cmo to introduce their new screens but its been a long time since this one came out like last december.
The fl90 has a glossy wsxga screen we just have to wait to see what it is. CAnt really say whats better if you dont know. The fl 90 could have a newer screen than that one even it could be either way.

Also as far as I know the g1s takes robson memory its just a more expensive dealer option.

Theres nothing about the santa rosa chipset and robson its a mini pci e slot.

All I would say is the the fl 90 is a pre order and theres a few things unknown about it.

The 512 mb ddr 2 version of the 8600 gt seems to be just as good in the 3dmark scores as the ddr3 version. May be it doesnt overclock as much. Its just unknown atm but the g1s is known.

If you could get the same screen, same gpu performance but strip down a few things to get it for $1500 definitely consider it.

 

1. You say the build quality comparing the Asus and Compal and "models you've handled" the Asus wins. You need to be more specific on which models and how you judged this. Your terminology is very subjective. The HEL80 is built like a tank and are more durable than any Asus notebook I've handled. There are a lot of posts in the Asus forum talking about build issues and none that I could find on the Compal forum.

2. How are you defining "graphics power"? What benchmark are you using? Please back up this claim, especially with the 8600M GPUs. You beat up Robson pretty good because of a very subjective review, I'd like you to back up this with objective stats.

3. Both Powernotebooks and XoticPC offer your choice of processors up to the T7700. The standard on the G1S is the T7500. I'm not sure which 2 sites you looked at (again you're not specific) but the clear benefit of the IFL90 is that you have complete choice in your processor from the T7100 to the T7700.

4. Style is completely subjective. Many would prefer an early 90s styled computer compared to one that looks like it fit in a 1970 Buck Rogers episode. (Harsh I know, the G1S is a good looking machine but I could personally do without the flashing lights and the florescent green keys.)

5. People rave about the high resolution Matte screen that was available on the HEL80. Asus uses good screens, so does Compal. I've not read a side by side on the screens and until I do this is again a subjective claim.

I don't want to say that your post is invalid, its just completely subjective with nothing to back up your claims.

 

you know to pull things back to wherever the topic creator was curious about, I'm thinking he's looking for answers like...

consider the f3sv-b1, if you look at one of the topics on this board, you will notice that 3 gigs on a f3sv-b1 will be very benefitial to gaming, and cheaper than G1S.

consider a macbook, consider a Compal, but if you are on an asus board, i will venture an say santa rosa? f3sv-b1, non-santa rosa, probably g1p.

 

Consider the F8!

 

I based my graphics power statement on the fact that the architecture is the same and GDDR3 is (nowadays) a leap and a bound above DDR2. Here is an article showing the overclocking ability and minor performance gains using the technology in its infancy three generations ago. It has only gotten better as nVidia and ATi have learned to really optimise their cards for the use of GDDR3, and as you can also see, this memory type becomes the star of the show when used with newer, more memory intensive, effects. Here is a more technical overview of the two types of memory, showing how the latency penalty of GDDR3 can be optimised away by what essentially would look like phase-shifted double pumping. (It boils down to saying that the physical limitations of clock speeds for DDR2 are lifted substantially by GDDR3, because instead of "HIGH" or "LOW" it uses "HIGH" or "NOT HIGH" which cuts heat [by removing resistors] and lowering voltage inputs [by removing some logic gates, this also lowers temperatures].) So while stock there will be some performance gain over DDR2 (almost insubstantial in many cases) if you overclock the GDDR3 (which is so popular some computers ship with overclocking software solely for this purpose) it becomes head and shoulders above DDR2. I generally stay pretty subjective on the forums because I am talking to potential buyers, most of whom are not experts in the technology, if I were simply arguing with others about technical performance it is pretty easy to find websites that will substantiate many of my claims. My stance on Robson was not a knock on Intel so much as on the miscommunication between Intel and MS, as you can read in the numerous articles about Sony and Toshiba not supporting the technology. I believe once I called it "crossing their t's" I was refering to the fact that Intel does have a history of releasing advanced hardware before the software actually supports it, I mean look at the initial release of the Core Duo. It took another generation for that to be as great as it could be (I believe that was more a mobo issue though, but the point remains that Intel gets trigger-happy with its latest revolutions and doesn't seem to like to wait on the third parties that its technology will rely on to be ready for it).

About the websites I have tried, I was shopping around for the IFL90, because I am in the C90 v G1S v IFL90 v etc. fight with myself, and clicked on two or three links from google. I really just wanted to see the pictures, to see if I could live with the style, and personally I just can't. As an aside, I checked the processing power, and the sites I went to sold the T7100, I dunno why. I may have even checked XoticPC, as I usually do, but I might not have checked it if there were a lot of pictures. (That made me sound like a goober huh?)

As for build quality, I said I handled the G1 and similar (to the IFL90, meaning the performance models from earlier generations.) There are build quality issues for Asus, but aside from the flex issue for the keyboard the G1 has always been incredibly solid. The Compal HEL80 I have not seen in person, and I have heard great things about Compal's quality, however forgive me for thinking that Carbon Fiber and Anodized Aluminum will constitute a sturdier computer than a plastic unibody (not that it will be weak, they could even be equal in stress testing and the like, but materials used do count for something in the build quality arena.)

 

So it looks like so far there's nothing available with the exact same GPU as g1s (compal is stuck with DDR2, and the f3 has an 8600 gs)?
Is there anything with a 512 MB 8600 GT with GDDR3??

 

There is no real performance advantage to GDDR3. When someone says "DDR2 is not as powerful as GDDR3" they are simply wrong.

See http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=2046824&postcount=41 and then read the whole thread if you like.

 

You realise that heat production affects performance right? You also realise that they were comparing GDDR3 to GDDR2 right? We are comparing GDDR3 to DDR2. Memory can't be "powerful" ICs and chipsets are "powerful." Memory is fast. And GDDR3 attains higher clock speeds at lower temperatures. I will assume you know how the memory specifically works and how video games use it, so you will know what I mean when I say: Higher clocks at the same temperature produce the same performance as greater memory at a lower clock speed.

 

Yeah because DDR2 is system memory and GDDR3 is gpu memory totally diffrent things.

DDR2 vs DDR3 in systems is showing DDR2 still in the lead, just slightly but its also 1/5th the cost so DDR2 is the better pick.

GDDR2 vs GDDR3 GDDR3 is winning only because its not the same thing as DDR3 and it has better bandwidth wich a GPU really needs.

 

GDDR3 is also looking to be the next generation of system memory instead of DDR3 because it IS faster and becoming cheaper by the year.

 

lets just say there is discussion about wether GDDR3 is superior to GDDR2. From all i've read i strongly believe it definetly is "better" taken alltogether. And hey, i know 3DMark is not to be trusted fully, but the scores are simply amazing, even if it's just a taste of the real power.

About the general topic: Sure, there are lots of cheaper alternatives (Samsung R70, Acer Aspire 5920g e.g.), but all come with different concessions. To be honest i would suggest waiting another 1 or 2 months and then buy the g1s. The price will drop about another 50$-100$ at least probably, and the G1s will be yours.

 

I thought I would point out that you can put the Robson memory in the G1s ( http://www.btotech.com/store/products/laptops/ensemble/g1s/G1S-A1.htm).... at least, unless btotech is mistaken...

 

nope, every santa rosa based laptop with a mini PCI-e port is Robson compatible with a simple BIOS update.

 

Are you seriously going to pretend to be that ignorant? You and I both know that Donald was talking about GDDR2 vs. GDDR3, not trying to compare system memory with graphics memory .

The point is, overclocked GDDR2 vs. overclocked GDDR3 shows only about a 4% performance gain in 3D Mark scores (that is an overclocked 8600GT in a Zepto versus the G1S, as referenced by Donald). Your not going to notice that. Stock between the G1S (which comes with the GPU mem clocked higher correct?) and the Zepto with no overclock on the GDDR2 showed 20% better preformance. That will be noticeable to someone with a discerning eye I guarantee, btu it wont be a huge difference.

 

gddr3 is gddr2 that is tested for a higher frequency.

It is false advertising really. It is not ddr3, it is ddr2. Using the same technology as ddr2 system ram.

 

Actually, it's not. GDDR2 is DDR2 ramped to higher frequencies, GDDR3 is an entirely different architecture.