Is this ASUS laptop a great deal?

I'm looking for a relatively cheap all rounder, this could be the one:

http://www.asuslaptop.co.uk/proddetail.php?prod=Asus_Laptop_A6R-B013H&cat=17

What do you guys think? I haven't seen any reviews...

 

It's processor is pretty slow.

 

It's expensive for what you're getting even if you don't need the extra power you can probably get the same for less.

 

Seriously? I thought it was pretty good.. The thing that drew me to it was the ATI graphics / DVD writer

ok, what do you recommend (for the same price) over this?

(btw I don't want Dell or Acer)

Looking at the same site there are some more Asus laptops I could do with your comment on..

http://www.asuslaptop.co.uk/proddetail.php?prod=Asus_Laptop_A6U-B028H&cat=31

http://www.asuslaptop.co.uk/proddetail.php?prod=Asus_Laptop_A3E-5002H&cat=31

I don't know about embedded graphics that much, what are these solutions (intel / via embedded) like compared to the ATI of the first model?

Those laptops above are the price limit I'm looking at - here are a couple of others I'm looking at, what do you think?

http://www.laptopshop.co.uk/fujitsu_siemens-amilo_pro_v2030_8b1gb-laptop-3-n2.htm

http://www.buytoshiba.co.uk/Toshiba_Satellite_Pro_L20_PSL2YE-00F007EN/version.asp

Cheers

 

you can try to compare with a barebone sytem, and customize the parts you want. might be cheapter or get a better deal.

 

The Celeron M has two key differences from the Pentium M: A smaller cache and inferior speedstep. Performance will be much the same as last year's Pentium M (Banias) which has quite a good turn of speed. Battery life will be slightly worse than a P-M (unless the CPU can be undervolted). If you are coming from a computer that is several years old, then the Celeron M will see quite fast.

The price of the A6R is quite competitive in UK terms. The link shows a free upgrade to 512MB RAM (if you ask for it). This computer appears to have the ATI integrated graphics which, I believe, is considered to be faster than the Intel 915GM (I'm sure there will be a comparison somewhere). This A6R is shown as having a 4 cell battery, so don't expect very good battery life.

Other notebooks in the same price range include: Lenova / IBM R50e, HP, Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo and Acer. I don't know whether any of these include the widescreen format.

John

 

Hi, thanks for the replies guys..

I'm not really into Acer / HP / Dell because of bad experiences that I have known colleagues to have..

I also worry about the IBM because of the hard drive fail rate issue that they had..

If you guys could post up some links to some laptops in a similar price range (less than £600) that would be great..

BTW what do you think to the other notebooks I linked to - still overpriced / underspecced..?

The things I don't want to shift on:

DVDRW
40+Gb
Half decent graphics
Wireless internet
Build quality

Iter: Where can I do a barebones build in the UK?

 

www.nexus13.com is the cheapest place for asus laptops, they come with free shipping too

 

from what I can tell, its not as cheap as www.asuslaptop.co.uk (for the models I'm looking at anyway)

hey guys, more comments please!

 

1. You might want to look at the range of notebooks at http://uk.insight.com/apps/nbs/index.php?C=102&S=1015 to give a good indication of what is available.

2. I hadn't read about any problems with the HDDs in recent IBM / Lenovo notebooks. The HDDs with the least favourable comments in this forum are the Toshibas. Are the Lenovo notebooks using these.

3. I think you will find that the A6R is among the best in the price range. How many of the possible alternatives come with a 2 year warranty? (Be forewarned that Asus in US is cutting the standard warranty back to 1 year - this could also happen in the UK). The other computers in the A6 series come with steadily increasing prices and specifications. Asus must be commended for giving such a choice. I suspect that you would have to got to the A6V to get a significant improvement in the graphics performance, but the Radeon Xpress 200M is fine if you dont want to run the latest 3D games (I've got one in my desktop computer).

John

 

Seeing the other links I guess the UK is expensive for laptops even compared to the Netherlands. Anway, the laptop is not bad but there are a few things to think about.

- It has a small battery so don't expect to be using it away from a plug for any length of time.
- It has a small HDD and, although it does not state it is will be slow as well, you will have problems installing more then a few programs and just forget about taking some movies along with you for entertainment.
- Yes, The X200M is better then 915 and not by a little either but, considder that you have only 256MB of RAM available and the graphics takes another 64MB at least. You don't say if you want to play the odd game on this or not but if you do you must know it will not handle them well if at all.
- Build quality is decent for the price but not stellar.

You have a pretty slim budget and for that budget this is probably as good as it is going to get (with UK prices) but if you expect more from a notebook then wordprocessing, email checking and websurfing this is not for you. Look closely at your budget and see if you cannot save up for a little longer to get something better like the A6Va.

 

do some research before ya think that cpu is slow.the new celeron m is 90 nanometer process dothan core,in fact only difference between these and a pentium m is the celeron's speedstep is disabled.if it were an older celeron id say stay away but the newest version "celeron m" is basically a pent m with no speedstep

 

How are you telling if its new or old?

 

What about the Fujitsu Seimens that I linked to?

http://www.laptopshop.co.uk/fujitsu_siemens-amilo_pro_v2030_8b1gb-laptop-3-n2.htm

It's pretty close to the ASUS in terms of spec, whats the general consensus on Fujitsu/Siemens anyway?

-and the other two ASUS that I linked to (Asus A6U-BO28H / Asus A3E-5002H) are they worth the extra cash?

Thanks again..

 

Oh yeah, I really can't stretch my budget out any further - the A6Va is out of my league I'm afraid.

I don't know how uk prices compare - are we getting ripped off?

Anyway, I'm not bothered about running games, I have a couple of image editing programs (flash / illustrator) but I'm not really using it for that purpose - it is mainly for accounts / websurfing.

I do want reliablity though - Although I'm sure that IBM have sorted out their 'Deathstar' hard drive problem, however, I don't really see any IBM's that come close to the same spec as the ASUS (for the price) unless you can point me in a certain direction

That's also why I'm steering clear of DELL - my dads on his third HD.. his HD was a 'Deathstar' aswell - I guess having an experience like that can put you off a brand for life (anyone ever had an LG mobile phone? )

Compaq had that stupid thing where the screen wouldn't stay up on the Laptop because the hinges broke.

I guess this says that no manufacturers are perfect..

By the way, what hard drive brand do ASUS use?

What I'm asking is, at the end of the day, if you had my budget, and the needs that I outlined (DVDRW etc..) would you go for the ASUS that I initially mentioned?

...or can you suggest a comparable (priced / specced) alternative

Cheers

 

one more thing before I go to bed,

The Niles looking at the initial laptop I pointed out, would it be worth me upgrading the HD (it gives you the option) to 80gb 5400RPM for an extra £149?

here's that link again - check it out:

http://www.asuslaptop.co.uk/proddetail.php?prod=Asus_Laptop_A6R-B013H&cat=17

I think it's quite good that you get the free 512 mem upgrade..

 

By the way the datasheet for that Fujitsu/Siemens is here:

http://vilpublic.fujitsu-siemens.com/vil/pc/vil/datenblaetter/mobile/en/ds_amilo_pro_v2030.pdf

what do you think?

I wish ASUS had a similar detailed spec sheet somewhere...

Now I AM going to bed

 

Various additional points:

1. The detailed specification of the A6R is available at http://uk.asus.com/products4.aspx?modelmenu=2&model=665&l1=5&l2=24&l3=0.

2. I have had some experience with Fujitsu Siemens Lifebooks which are generally quite well built. However, the most recent one developed loose hinges as less than 2 years old. I've only had my w3A for 7 months, but so far I am very comfortable with the Asus build quality.

3. I think the ATI chipset is among the best of the chipsets with integrated graphics. This is a point in favour of the Asus A6R.

4. The widescreen display of the A6R will give you a greater visible area compared with the standard XGA displays. Very useful for general use and much better if you watch DVDs.

5. Buy the computer "as-is" and upgrade the HDD yourself. The current price of 80GB 5400RPM HDD is less than £100 and if you buy an external USB carrier (~£12) you can use the old HDD for backup / extra storage.

6. Comparison of the ports shows that the A6R lacks a Firewire port so you can't connect a video camera (without buying a PCMCIA card adaptor), but it does have infra red and a parallel port.

7. The detailed specs of the A6R indicate that it has an 8 cell battery, although the weight is quoted with the 4 dell battery. Assume that the weight is nearer 3kg. Still portable, but not lightweight.

I would put the A6R on my shortlist for recommendations for anyone with a tight budget.

John

 

Thanks John that some really good info..

Do you think that the hinge problem would be inherent with all fujitsu (including the Amilo?)

I've been looking at some other Amilo's and am thinking about stretching my budget to the limit (approx £600 ex vat)

what do you think to this one, and what would be a comparable Asus?

http://www.laptopsdirect.co.uk/Fujitsu-Siemens_Amilo_Pro_V2045_VFY:APED2045-772GB/version-1.asp

thanks once again

 

1. I don't think hinge problems are that common in Fujitsu notebooks. It's more likely that my daughter has been giving it a hard time. Another more common problem with some Lifebooks has been broken power sockets which I definitely put down to a design fault. What I am trying to say is that while Fujitsu notebooks are generally good quality, they are by no means perfect.

2. You are starting to increase your budget which could bring other Asus models into play. As with the motor industry you get best value from the base model, but computers are easier to upgrade later.

3. What are you going to use the computer for and what, if anything do you have now? This will help you focus on what you require.

John

 

Well, I'm starting up my own business.

I'm buying two computers:

a highly specced desktop that will be used for image editing, storage/server stuff, website work, and other power hungry apps..

a laptop that I will be using for accounting, taking out on the road for presentation, web surfing, I may also do some minor image editing as well..