Need guidance choosing ASUS notebook

Hi to all,
I was going to post this under the "What Notebook Should I Buy?" forum, but as this is ASUS specific I chose to post it here (admins feel free to move the post if you so consider...).
Anyway, I was pretty set on a dv6500 or E1505 when I finally discovered the ASUS world (lucky me!) and now I'm pretty much set on this brand.
But... there are so many models' names that is kind of easy to get confused..
I read the sticky FAQ, but no all models are available and there quite some new ones too... could somebody please help me out deciding...?

1) What is your budget?
1,500

2) What size notebook would you prefer?
c. Mainstream; 15" - 16" screen
The notebook will travel quite a bit, but as I'm probably going to spend so much time with it, I prefer 15 over 14...

3) Please select your country's flag as a post icon and tell us what country are you buying this in.
USA

4) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
ASUS all the way!!!

5) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?
I'll use it during my Computer Science Master, so it will most probably see quite a lot of heavy multitasking (softeware design enviroment, application server, database server, and so on...)

6) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk?
Will travel quite a bit

7) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
Decent gaming desired, but nothing crazy (no 8600 GT needed)

8) How many hours of battery life do you need?
2-3

9) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?
nup

10) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP or Vista), Mac OS, Linux, etc.
Eh, WinXP Pro. 64bits applications are kind of hard to come by still...

Screen Specifics

11) Would you prefer standard or widescreen?
Widescreen

12) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?

Widescreen
d. WXGA or WXGA+ - 1280x768/800 or 1440x900; Wider viewing version of XGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.
e. WSXGA+ - 1680x1050; Wider viewing version of SXGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.
f. WUXGA - 1920x1200; Wider viewing version of UXGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.


13) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?
Heard better things about matte

Build Quality and Design

14) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
Asus(es) as just fine!

15) When are you buying this laptop and how long do you want this laptop to last?
Will buy it the next month and expect no less than 3 yrs from it

Notebook Components

16) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 200GB?
100Gb 7,200 rpm

17) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a DVD-ROM, DVD-CD/RW or DVD-RW drive?
DVD-RW

Also, I would like a 7x00 Code 2 Duo Santa Rosa and 2 Gb RAM

I also require WiFi N and Bluetooth.
So, basically the G1 is pretty much out of the question, as is the C90 (no battery life). I have taken a look at the S96, but (if I understand correctly) it has no Bluetooth.
What is left? F3? Heard some complaints about build quality, are they true?

Choices, choices......

Regards

EDIT: a barebones whould be nice, but can't ask too much, or can I?...

 

Yea F3 series is pretty much what you have left.

 

you could also look at the asus s96s (once they get in the wsxga+ model...). there is also the asus c90, but the battery life is probably going to be poor.

 

or the G1P, A8JP and other last gen systems.

 

The F3Sv seems like a good choice, but if you can wait a while, the F8 would be even better. For a system that you need to use through college, I'd suggest staying away from anything that's already outdated.

 

Thx for the replies guys.
Couple of questions:

When will the F8 be available?
Does Asus have a Santa Rosa barebone notebook with itegrated bluetooth?

ejl: as I understand the S96 has no bluetooh (can't understand why... )

AlexOnFyre: G1 is outside my budget, and A8 is 14".. right?

 

not the new G1, but the old G1 will still be good for about 2-3 years of light gaming.

 

The estimated(rumored?) date for the F8 is late july-early August... The A8 series is indeed 14". And the G1p is about 1700$ from GentechPC. I wouldn't recommend it due to its outdated chipset/graphics combo.

 

the f8 is 14" as well. supposedly available in august.

as for the s96s, originally, the s96j didn't come with bluetooth either. then, btotech found a mod for it....then eventually asus released a version with bluetooth (at least i think....). it's kinda stupid for them to stop again with this model. =/