F3sv X1 vs A1 vs B1

I'm buying a laptop that I'll use at university and for music, watching dvd's, and for playing some games a bit. I've pretty much set my choice on a Asus F3sv laptop but I just want to be sure it's really what I'm looking for.

Btw, I know I asked some of those questions in my thread on the "what notebook should I buy" forum but since those are Asus specific , I'll probably get more answers here.

1) I can't see any difference between the X1 and A1 model except for the presence of a finger print scanner on the A1 and the addition of "N" in the Wlan. I'm sure I don't need the scanner but is the "N" thing worth the upgrade? What does it do?

2) Is the wsxga+ screen upgrade on the B1 also really worth it. I don't think I'd really need the cpu upgrade from T7300 to T7500.

I used http://www.pcvonline.com to compare the models spec.

3)I've read mixed reviews about the F3 series build quality. Since I'll carry this notebook around at university, from class to class, coffee shops, etc., is it still a good choice? I want to be able to keep it for a couple years (at least 3).

4) Is it good to work on (note taking, writing papers, etc.)? Are the keyboard and mousepad good quality?

5) What are some good, reliable online canadian website where I can order this notebook from? I've seen some list of online retailers but I don't know which are the good and bad ones.

 

NCIX is a good canadian site, and many online resellers here that support NBR will ship to Canada (or are based there).

The F3sv series is rather heavy for portability, just fyi. Asus build quality is considered to be high.

The A1 has 1440x990 while the X1 has 1360xsomething resolution, I think.

 

Not too heavy- i carried a F3Jp to college,along with a couple of notebooks. Didn't feel anything bad. And I am 5'10", 64 Kg. Get a backpack, though.

 

Yeah, I'm sess' weight (about) and height (exactly) and I can speak as a user who currently has a 6.7 lb Acer tablet - it's not really that bad at all, and consider that the F3sv will be 0.2 lbs lighter not to mention being bigger in screen size and better in specs!

 

But do get the backpack. The only guy I know who doesn't feel the weight on his shoulder in a messenger back, is 6'4", and 108 Kg.

 

1. Wireless N is the new "frequency" (for lack of a better word) of signals... it's much faster than 802.11g. However, they haven't agreed on the final details, so that's why it's called "draft" right now. I don't see it being implemented for a while yet, so you could just buy an adapter for it later. The fingerprint reader is a gimmick IMO... how often is your laptop going to be in someone else's hands? And if it does get stolen, I doubt the reader's going to deter the thief.

2. wsxga+ gives a higher resolution screen. If you like smaller text and icons, go for it.

3. The build quality is pretty solid when compared to laptops in the same category. When compared to the W/V series, you get what you pay for: lower quality, lower price. You do get a 2-year warranty from Asus.

4. Hard to tell what's "good" in terms of note-taking qualities. If this is your first laptop, expect some smaller-sized keys. The touchpad will always take some getting used to if you've never used one before... there's a "sweet spot" where a tap on the pad registers as a click... I think you can configure that.

5. As others have said, NCIX is a good retailer. Haven't really dealt with the others.

 

If you are in BC or Alberta, don't get it from NCIX.
If you are in Ontario, don't get it from pcvonline.com.

That way you'll get charged with 6% GST, and you can report the PST yourself

pcvonline.com offers the cheapest price around for most Asus notebooks.

 

Yeah, but what about shipping?

 

NCIX charges $10-$20 for shipping
pcvonline charges $30 for shipping

You save from the PST about $90. I think you can do the math.

 

i wish they would have another model with 8600 GT, be it like f3sv-G1

 

The 8600 Gt is the worse of the two card according to Nvidia. Check it out, its under clocked, for both RAM and GPU, yet it offers everything else the same.

 

???? Didn't get your point...

 

LOL, are you nuts? The 8600 GT creams the GS because of its 32 stream processors. RAM and GPU clock do not stand for how powerful a video card is. The architecture is what matter the most.

 

Yea, with a backpack, any laptop under 7lbs should be just fine. I was carrying a 14" Toshiba (6.4lbs + ac adapter) for a year, and I had no problems whatsoever (I was 5'1" and ~40kg - much bigger now though ). I still prefer smaller and lighter notebooks, but its not really that much of a necessity if you use a solid backpack.

Err.....Except it has double the stream processors, and GDDR3 memory that has a higher memory bandwidth than the DDR2 in the 8600GS. The 8600GT also gets nearly double the 3DMark06 scores than the GS, so its pretty much an established fact that its a much faster graphics card.

 

right now NCIX has a summer sale on, you can get the F3SV-X1 for $1445.99 (im planning on buying that one, so i havent checked the other prices on the other ones)

pcvonline.com offers the same notebook for ~$50 more

 

No, NCIX misled you. You get $50 instant rebate and $50 MiR. Pcvillage has $50 MiR and $50 instant rebate too, but they just did not list the MiR. ( http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=132205).

If you live in BC then there is no reason getting from NCIX because you will get charge like $90 PST. Getting from pcvonline will save the $90. Of course it is the same if you live in Ontario. You will save the $90 PST.

 

Sorry I did not read the entire specs of the card. Yes it does have double the stream line processors, but for todays gamers that only means about a 10%increase in performance, at the same resolutions between the two cards. Really it makes no difference because they are both limited by the 128-bit memory bus. The GDDR3 memory will only increase performance in the 256 or 384 bit cards. My brother has the AtI x1600 with Gddr3 memory and I currently own a laptop feautring a Ati x1600 with ddr2. Since the memory bus is 128-bit, the performance gap is minimal at best.

Bench mark scores are really misleading too, becuase they measure like differences in like the 5% range. Any way the 8600 GT for now is essentially useless. BY next year Nvidia will have released their much better and newer Geforce 9 series, which will double the memory interface, so if you are going to look for what is more future friendly between the two cards its pointless. For today's gaing needs the 8600 GS performs very adequtley and considering the 50-100 dollar prices difference, I would probably just go for a card higher up in the line, the are releasing the 8700M and 8800M by the end of the year. These cards will offer an improved memory interface which is where the difference will be noticed.