HP NC8430 vs. F3Jv/a

Hi Asus folks,

I am looking at these two notebooks and am struggling to decide which is better value. I dont want a laptop with less than X1600/ 7600 powering it. Ideally I want something well built, and as light as possible, and a good screen, so with that in mind, these are my choices:

The HP I am looking at is the very cheap end of that model - Core Duo (not C2D) 1.66GHz, 1GB RAM, 100GB HDD, Radeon X1600 256MB, *2.7kg*, WXGA 15.4" screen (matte), sadly only WinXP home (so no free copy of Vista on release) -currently retailing for £700 with a 1 year warranty. Upgraded to 3 years is an extra £95. Together £795.

The F3Jv is slightly more expensive but can be had with a C2D & hence 64bit. It also comes with a webcam (not a deal breaker either way), has DVI out, and an express card slot. 1.66GHz, 1GB RAM, 120GB HDD, Geforce Go 7600 256MB, *2.95kg*, WXGA 15.4" screen (glossy), WinXP Pro (so free copy of Vista Pro) -currently retailing £825 with 2 year global warranty.

So there's not much between them £ wise. I'm leaning toward the HP for build quality and weight reasons. The F3Jv is getting heavy at the 3kg mark.

Both potentially can be upgraded in future to C2D 2.33GHz processors when they become more affordable.

Any comments from F3J owners to swing me that way (esp. with regards to screen and build quality vs. HP)?

Cheers.

PS: Games I currently own include Half-Life2/ CS:S, WarcraftIII, Doom3. Would be keen to run Quake 4 & Call of Duty 2, Age of Empires III, Farcry.

 

I would pick the HP Compaq NC8430, but the F3J is really close. But all things considered, I like the NC8430 better.

I think that by the time the Core 2 Duo processors become affordable, they'll be obsolete .

 

I would chose the hp.

All things considered the f3j is entirely plastic and the hp has magnesium covering parts that can scratch.

Im not certain of the screens used in each model.

But if the hp has a wsxga matte screen option, get that one.

Thats the lg prism screen. Sort of semi half ips type of screen that is the highest quality screen available in this size and price range.

asus doesnt use that screen until the next price range, in its w1j and the g1p.


also I really like the eraser trackpoint over a touchpad touchpads are terrible.

 

Stamar - did you find out the G1P also uses an LG prism screen from the PCPOP review?

 

Yes well there are no owners to verify but that is the only screen for sale with those statistics.

It is matte as well maybe not what people are expecting.

That is the screen used on the asus w1j in europe and proportable said it was likely the same screen.

Where the confusion is that my babelfish translator said it had a 6 ms response time.


also used on the lg s1 compal hel 80 hp 8430

it also has a 180 nits rating which means its quite dim compared to the other notebooks.

 

Stamar, assuming you are indeed correct that the G1 uses the LG matte screen, what are your opinions, if any, on that screen regarding issues such as response time, sharpness, contrast, color, and viewing angles?

EDIT: Additionally, I've had a very hard time trying to find a 15.4" LCD screen with WSXGA+ resolution in real life to see if text and graphics are sufficiently sized for my eyes - what are your thoughts on WSXGA+ on a 15.4" personally? Thanks in advance.

 

I changed from 15.4" WXGA to WSXGA+ and couldn't be happier. I was also bit worried about text being too small for my eyes. Now that I have seen it, the resolution seems just right for 15.4" screen. Now I'm happy owner of F3Ja.

 

Thanks a lot for the info, Lock!