G1 Refresh

Any official news on the santa rosa / dx10 update for the g1's? I want to wait but I also need a laptop soon. hopefully they release in the next month.

 

In this thread:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=42307

PROPortable says the G1 is likely to be updated in mid-June. I had also read elsewhere though that MilestonePC was saying the G1 refresh would be out in May. So somewhere around then.

-Zadillo

 

What does this really add? besides a new CPU, it adds caching ability and 802.11n centrino?

 

Santa Rosa includes a faster front-side bus, which will give better performance (the current Napa-based laptops have been hampered by this and not been able to take as much advantage of the Core 2 Duo processors as possible).

Aside from that, the other big advance with the Santa Rosa-based G1 isn't so much with Santa Rosa itself, but the upgraded GPU. It's supposed to have a GeForce Go 8600, which I've heard is on par performance-wise with the 7900GS, and of course is a DX10 card, so it would be a pretty nice performance boost over the GeForce 7700 in the current G1.

-Zadillo

 

I'll be amazed if they stick that into the 15in notebook. Then again, I'm amazed the stuck the 7700 into the 15in notebook.
I'm gonna be a party pooper and pray they don't. I just ordered (and having major issues with the order) for the G1.

 

It seems reasonable to me. We've seen these advances with each generation....... the GeForce 7600/7700 was more powerful than the previous gen GPU's that were only in big 17" notebooks.

Either way, I'm pretty sure people have already confirmed the GeForce 8600 is the part that will be in the updated G1. Honestly, anything less would be disappointing (i.e. if it only had the mobile GeForce 8400, it would be a disappointment).

It would be perfectly logical that the continued improvements would allow the new mid-range mobile GPU (the one suitable for 14 and 15" notebooks) to perform on par with something like the 7900GS from the previous generation.

And of course, the new generation will bring about things like the mobile X2900 and GeForce Go 8800 that will only exist in 17" notebooks.

-Zadillo

 

In the G1 maybe. Its gear for gaming. In other 14-15in. I doubt it. Consider how many HP/Toshiba/etc all use Intel 950 video cards. When for for as little as $20 they could stick in a nvidia low end card and perform better. But they dont to save cost. Heck, even HP 17in gaming machines dont have that great of video cards in it. Takes too much power. Which I think the 8000 series may run into. The power to battery time may bring it down so only big notebooks with large batteries will last longer than 1-1.5 hours.

 

Yes, I wasn't saying all 15.4" notebooks will have the GeForce 8600; just the higher end units.

 

True,true.

 

actually ive read numerous articles saying expected performance for the 8600 was less than 7600s. If i was ASUS i'd stick a 7950-around-performance gpu, forget dx10.

 

theres just too many unknowns with all new hardware and software compabilitie issues to jump on any new tech right now IMO.

Currently, vid cards having all kinds of issues with specific softwear and vista and its dx10.
So, the new cards will be dx10 enabled.... so the new issues to be posted will be that peeps will now be complaining they cant play all the current new games because they are dx9. At least youre vista OS will run smoothly lol

My opinion is to get a lap now that still has XP pre-loaded and a fairly fast GPU and wait til next yr or so and upgrade then when all the hardware and software are in sync with each other.

 

Which articles are those? Are you sure you're not thinking about articles about the desktop version of the GeForce 8600?

It makes absolutely no sense that the mobile GeForce 8600 would perform less than the GeForce 7600.

-Zadillo

 

would the refresh be higher in price than the current G1?

and also, would I be able to get my hands on a G1 refresh by about June 25th, cuz I'm going to need it all July.

 

We wouldn't really know until they come out, but I would suspect the refreshed G1 should be in a similar price range, if not exactly the same price.

PROportable said the updated G1 was due in mid-June, so seemingly you should be able to get one by about JUne 25th.

 

No way...I know that the desktop GF8600 has dissapointing performance (the high end version is slightly faster than the X1950 Pro and slightly slower than the GF7900GS) but its still significantly faster than the GF7600GT that it is replacing. I would expect the same with the mobile version, except hopefully it is faster than the Go7900GS. There is no way that it will be slower than the Go7600, or even the Go7700.

The refresh should be the same price, or maybe $100 more expensive.

 

The mid-May refresh will not be Santa Rosa. The refreshed G1 will have a T7400 (instead of T7200) and Vista Ultimate (instead of Vista Home Premium).
These upgrades will come at a $270 MSRP increase, not worth it in my opinion.

Those of you looking to get a G1, hurry up and buy the current model!

 

I don't know, honestly, considering that right now the only way to get the 7900GS is in a 17" laptop, I would be more than happy with 7900GS-level performance in a 15" notebook.

 

But PROportable said that the upcoming refresh of the G1 is due in mid-June (not mid-May), and will be Santa Rosa + GeForce 8600.

Why would they do another refresh in mid-may with just a slight CPU bump and OS change?

What is your source for this anyway? I would think PROportable would know for sure.

 

i read somewhere else that MilestonePC reported that the refresh is due mid-May ...i guess we wont know for sure until it is announced.

 

Yeah, I had read that too..... but in PROportable's update (where he breaks down the exact Asus models being updated and when), he lists the G1 in the list of models being updated in June.

-Zadillo

 

By jacking up the price in mid May, they can release Santa Rosa in the 'same price range' in June.IMHO anyways.

Also, about the 8600... It would be a good upgrade even if it has the same performance as 7700 but with DX10. If it actually becomes as good as its rumoured to be (7900 GS), that's a bonus. Can't wait till the refreshed G1's and Crysis come out!!

 

Damn it!!!! I was about to buy my G1 this weekend and then I came across this "stupid" thread Thanx guys, now I'll have to wait another two months before I actually see/touch my own precious dream-G1
Hope the price stays the same (about $1800). I wonder though if the new G1 will be easily available (or is it going to be the same story as with the last one that you had to wait in line for weeks).

 

The desktop 8600GTS beats the 7900GS in benchmarks like 3DMark, but lags behind the 7900GS or X1950 Pro in actual FPS tests.

However, the Go 8600 will definitely be faster than the Go 7600, that's for sure. Even if it's the same power, or even slightly less, the DX10 compatibility is the big selling point - people will buy laptops with a Go 8600 even if it's more expensive.

 

ASUS has a habit of frequently refreshing their models. I do not have any info on the June refresh yet, but if there is one, it will definitely be Santa Rosa.

As for why ASUS would do a mid-May non-Santa Rosa refresh, who knows. I wonder the same thing about their recent refresh of the A8Js, with a larger hard drive and change of OS to Vista Business, which we should see very soon.

If you still doubt the mid-May refresh info that I have given, wait a few weeks and just see for yourself.

So for those of you wanting to buy an A8Js or G1 within the next month, go with the current configurations before the more expensive refreshed models completely replace them.

 

The best I can say about this is I read hands on asian reviews of my a8js a full 2 months before it was for sale in the US on a PRE ORDER to get the first ones.
And the price was $200 more as well

And if I can recall correctly the g1 was at least a month and a half or so from a really detailed review until you could sign up for a christmas time preorder.

Seeing as you want something that isnt even at that point yet Id want you to be prepared.

Asus leaks new model info WAY before anyone else does. Youre going to see actual asian market owners of your 8600 g1 a looong time before you can buy one.

Just to try to put a quantity on the unknown.

Not that that isnt the smartest purchase. I think it is the smartest purchase obviously I did the same thing.

 

Ya there is a refresh of the a8js with a larger swivel webcam 160 gb hd and 2gb ram I think it is imminent

 

though this thread is pertaining to the asus G1 i would like to say that it would be well worth the wait but im eagerly waiting for the asus A8Ss which is the refreshed version of the now A8js i surely hoep it wouldnt dissapoint
id rather wait till a few of the forum members have it though
as i would love to know what the drawbacks and pros are before i buy it as opposed to after i buy it

 

So if i decide to wait for the refresh when should i expect to actually have one in my possession? (assuming sr releases on may 9th like everyone is saying)

 

May 9th is the official launch date for the Santa Rosa platform; it simply means this is when companies are supposed to officially announce the details of their Santa Rosa laptops. I don't know that any laptops will actually be available (i.e. that you could have in your possession) right on May 9th though.

But in terms of when they are actually shipping, it varies. Asus has a few models shipping in mid-May, but according to PROportable, the G1 Santa Rosa system is due in mid-June. So you would probably be looking at somewhere between the middle and end of June to actually have one in your possession, depending on how available they are (if supplies are constrained it could still be a while between when you actually order one and when you actually have it).

-Zadillo

 

People are going to be scrambling to get one of the new DX10/Santa Rosa G1's. Expect high prices and low available supply.

 

so realistically sometime in July or August... Thats quite the wait

 

It depends on what you consider a long wait. As was mentioned earlier, Asus refreshes their notebooks quite often, and since I've been keeping track, their new platform releases tend to skew slightly behind the front-runners (usually Acer & Dell), but tend to have better specs, quality, and/or value when they are released than the earlier adopters.

 

Game developers understand that it will be several years before the DX10 installation base surpasses the DX9 installation base. All games, including Vista exclusives Halo 3 and Shadowrun, will be DX9 and DX10 compatible for several years. So right now theres no real "need" to have a DX10 card, its better to wait till it's the norm and get it for cheaper. I myself am getting a
G1

 

Even outside of the DX10 capabilities though, I'd much rather than an 8600M than a GeForce 7700, just to have even better performance in the same package.