Help with z63a barebone

Hello, I've pretty much decided to get a z63a from www.canadasys.com since I live fairly close to the North York location. But I do not want to spend the $1339 they are offering for the Centrino 1.7G, since I have no need of an optical drive since I already have a dual layer external and plan on just keeping the bay empty for weight reasons. And I figure I can buy the HD, RAM, etc. for cheaper.

In talking to them, I was told the barebone z63a with the 1.7 dothan processor installed was $1033. I can get a Hitachi 60GB 5400RPM 8MB HD for $99.00 and Kingmax 512MB PC4300 DDR2 533MHz for $76.00 both from Canada computers. So, totalling $1208 before taxes. So it saves me about $131, but adds some effort. So my questions are as follows:

1. Am I missing anything that I would need to add onto the barebone? I'm unsure about the wireless card, does that need to be added too?

2. Are the parts I'm choosing to add good, or should I switch the type of ram or hd etc? Is there a big difference from Kingmax to Corsair, or Seagate to Hitachi?

3. Are the prices good for the things I am buying, or are there any cheaper places in the GTA where I can get stuff? I've been told canada computers is the cheapest.

4. Is there a cheaper place to get a 1.7 dothan than canadasys ($251). I wouldn't mind going down to a 1.6 either, but they don't offer it I think.

5. How easy / hard is it to install all the components into a z63a barebone? I guess I can collect the parts first and ask canadasys to do it if its too hard for me.​

Sorry for all the questions, I am far from an expert on laptops, heck I didn't even know asus made laptops until a few days ago when I started researching. So if anyone can spare some time to help me out, it would mean a lot, as I don't want to jump into it without knowing what to do first

Also, I am curious as to the 3dmark 03 / 05 scores for the z63a and the actual weight of the system with the both battery and optical drive and, if possible, without optical drive. I believe its 4.8 pounds without either, so even if I could just even get the weight of the battery, I'm sure my addition skills will suffice to figure out the rest.

Thanks!

Edit: all prices are CAD, I'd be willing to order from the states if the total + tax + shipping fee is still less.

 

1) You'll need to add the wireless card if you want one.

2) I would get a Seagate HD. It has a 5 year warranty instead of a 3 (Hitachi). Both are quality, though.

3) You could always price one at ISTNC, ProPortable, Geared2Play, etc, and convert to Canadian $’s, those 3 seem to be equally cheap.

4) See #3

5) I haven’t installed anything. Sorry, can’t help you there.

You will love the notebook, though. I guarantee that.

 

The ram is very easy to install, and I am assuming the HD is too (haven't done it myself though) since it has its own compartment with only 1 screw needed for access.

 

Thanks for the replies guys. Soldat, your reivew was one of the reasons I got sold on this machine, whereas before I was leaning towards the Compaq V2335. It was too thick and felt very cheap (the plastic quality).

I'm wondering if either of you two could fill me in on the 3dmark 03 / 05 scores for the z63a, and quickly toss it on a scale to get the weight?

 

Glad to hear that my reivew helped!

I never bothered to run 3DMark since I don't plan on doing any real gaming...if I have time, I might run the test...as for the weight, the only scale in my house is not of the highest quality...I would say that ~5lbs is the best way to put it. It is not too heavy to carry around, and feels a lot lighter than my dad's ~7lb Inspiron. Sorry I can't be more precise.

 

Cool, I was thinking it would be more around 5 lbs, whereas the w3v was stated at 5.5, but I don't think thats 100% accurate. The compaq v2335 was 5.5 lbs and I still found it a bit heavy when I was checking it out at bestbuy, hopefully .5 lbs will make the difference as I plan to carry this around a lot.

I don't want to do any intensive gaming, at most I'll play Guildwars on the lowest res and lowest settings. I've read on the game forums, that Guildwars will work for an intel GMA 900 with its older drivers, but I've heard its worse when using a centrino vs. p4, so I just wanted to confirm, and I guess the best way is with 3dmark, but whenever you get a chance it would be awesome if you could run them

 

The z63a will come in close to 5 pounds if you weigh it with just the travelers drawer in it. It's more around 5.5 pounds if weighed with the optical drive in place..... trust me on this one.

 

Thanks for the reply, 5lbs should be perfect for the weight. I didn't want to get an ultra portable because of the small screens and costs, but I still wanted something light to carry around.

I'm also curious about the heat, I've read the hard drive causes heat problems in the bottom, but 90% of the time I'll be using it on a desk, so thats not a big deal to me. I'm wondering if there is any heat issues on the palm rests, touchpad or keyboard?

I've also read about the paint wearing issues on the palm rests, I tend to use moisturizers and such, so that would be an issue for me when typing alot to cause longterm problems with wear. Wondering if there is way around this, like some sort of metallic sticker to put over the palm rests that wouldn't look to bad? Thanks!

 

The heat on the palmrest is negligable in my opinion...it gets mildly warm..not uncomfortable at all, especially when the weather gets cold.

As for the moisturizer, not sure..

 

Basically.... I've found that petroleum based hand creams can do a number on the palmrests over a matter of months. I mean, for $50 or so you can get a whole new palmrest and touchpad assembly..... so either stop using creams or if it gets really bad over time, just replace it. The quickest and worst cases I've seen have been with people (not to be sexist, but WOMEN) who moisturize their hands like their life depends on it..... when it's completely rubbed into your hands, you *shouldn't* see the type of result I've seen...... if you're leaving grease prints on your current keyboard, palmrest... whatever... then my guess is you'll have more of a problem than say a normal person.