New ASUS S96S Santa Rosa Info & Benchmarks

I wanted to share some information on the new ASUS S96S. We just received this unit the other day and have some benchmarks on it.

For complete Specs, Images & Pricing

The big improvements of this model over its predecessor (S96J) is
- "N" Wireless
- Santa Rosa
- nVidia 8600GS 256MB Turbo Cache
- Can connect to Asus Docking Station
- up to 4GB of Ram

Our test system consisted of the following:

T7300 2.0GHz
80GB 5400RPM Hard Drive
1GB of Ram (will be testing with 4GB in the next couple days)

We tested the video on it for the last 24 hours and were able to achieve a pretty good stable overclock with it. (overclock at your own risk)

3D Mark 06 Out of the Box: 2330 500 Core 400 Memory

Overclocked:

566 Core 413 Memory: 2539
610 Core 421 Memory: 2614
636 Core 436 Memory: 2719

We ran the Vista Windows Experience Index and attached it below.

This model is shipping now Enjoy

 

Wow! Awesome! Thanks for the benchmarks! The 8600GS seems to overclock quite well also! Do you have any 3dmark05 scores?

 

No GT on this thing? Sadness...Although, I guess that would completely undermine the G1s sales. It overclocks pretty well, so its not a total loss.

But the S96 series is still way too bland looking for me. Do you know when the WSXGA Z version is coming?

 

All Asus Centrino platform barebones will now be under Intel VBI, Asus will only have desktop replacement barebone such as C90S, C91L, C91S..etc,.

 

Well Im a gamer

unfortunately the overclock of the 8600 does not reach the 7700 go scores. In fact your highest overclock reaches my stock 7700 score.

I do not even understand why because it has such a faster core. It defies physics actually maybe there is an explanation in a hardware blog.

8600 gt seems so much faster. Its weird that they even let them both out at the same time even to compete with each other. If I were buying today though Id have to get that 8600 gt thats where its at.

 

Have you considered the driver-related performance issues ?

 

Well Ken, that is not exactly true.

Our PowerPro A 9:6 (ASUS S96S) is definitely NOT VBI...It is a CBB version but it in no way will have anything to do with the VBI program or their non-warranty. It will carry the PowerPro 3 Year Warranty with Next Business Day shipping paid both ways, and Lifetime DOMESTIC 24/7 telephone tech support.

 

Whatever you name it but, S96S IS VBI.





It was suppose to be Z98S but Asus decided to sell under VBI so it become S96S, and Z37S also will now under VBI S37S, so there will be no more Centrino platform by Asus, it'll only be ASMobile on VBI.

 

Yes Ken, there is a VBI version of this model and Intel is still trying to salvage that program. But not all S96S barebones are sold through that program.

You may well decide to get them through the VBI aggregator. Of course you will then have to deal with the Intel warranty program that has more horror stories coming out of it than you can fit in a stadium.

What I said was that the PowerPro A 9:6 (ASUS S96S) is definitely NOT VBI and will never see a VBI aggregator or the VBI warranty program. Ours come directly from ASUS and has nothing to do with the Intel VBI program.

It is not part of that program because we will simply not subject our customers to it.

 

Anyone carrying the mitac 8222t?

 

Sorry I dont have any 3D Mark 05 results I will try to get a stock 05 Score once we get some more 2GB modules in. The 8600GS did do pretty good with the OC.

 

i am conisdering this laptop instead of the compal IFL90, any heat problems in this asus justin? it looks good to me.

 

and donald, what is VBI and CBB ?, srry i am a total noob

 

satdog, not much heat at all even at the high level of OC we put on it The were some heat exhausting out of the rear (as expected) but the wrist pad didn't get very warm at all.

 

thanks.. got few more questions (i am really excited )

1. is it all ready to ship when we order it?

2. 6.8 pounds sounds like it is a heavy laptop. Since u have seen the laptop and tested, does it feel really heavy when u lift it ? you personal opinions?

 

The machine will have to be custom built and tested prior to shipment. This usually takes 24-96 hours. I dont feel the machine is heavy. I own a Z96J, which is very similar to this model and dont have any gripes about it.

 

all set, fits my budget. Thanks for your help. I will contact the sales department(hopefully i get a discount for Arctic silver). But one last question, i recently bought a corsair 667mhzt 1GB value memory, and do u think i should add that $10 to get corsair stick or get with whatever brand that comes standard? would it make a diff?

 

While it is not necessary most of the time, it is always a good idea to match your memory. For only $10 it woulod be worth it.

 

Well

cbb are parts that laptops from different makes that are interchangeable. such as screen and battery and keyboard.

vbi means the laptop uses enough of the cbb to be called vbi, this is their sponsorship so they will warranty it.


cbb are a good thing obviously if you wanted to replace parts especially the battery.

Many laptops today use these cbb and arent vbi, such as the a8jm did and the compal hgl 30 etc.

But one drawback to this I think is the lcd. Although the vbi lcd is very cheap and would be easy to replace....

Its also.... very cheap and might get old to look at.
VBI concept and the asmobile concept arent going away at all. They are what laptops will become in the near future. All the shelf space that holds desktop components in stores now will be filled with laptop components eventually.
It is just the struggle with the laptop sellers who like juicing their customers for unique parts for a few cycles. I mean for instance dell would use a cbb keyboard, a cbb hd but they would not use a cbb battery because it contradicts their business model.

( edit oh dells not the right example for battery, sony is with their 350$ 3 cell batteries)

 

Common Building Blocks (CBB) is an initiative to make common laptop components...well...common...that is interchangeable. Memory and hard drives have been this way for almost forever, however keyboards, LCDs, Optical Drives, AC Adapters and batteries were rarely interchangeable. There is a strong drive on to make more and more laptop parts interchangeable (CBB) so that the components are the same so they can fit in different model laptops.

VBI is a totally different program, although it uses CBB models exclusively...or at least that was the desire. That desire has yet to completely materialize. VBI is a program that has stepped in the middle of the CBB initiative and therefore confused a lot of people. A CBB model can be used in the VBI program, but that does not make all CBB models VBI. There are many CBB models that are simply not in the VBI program. Intel selects the models they want in their VBI program and one of the criteria is that they must be CBB.

Now, what makes the VBI program different is their support and warranty program. I have posted on this at length previously detailing the difficulties for both the dealer and the customer with they way they administer that program. PowerNotebooks.com will have nothing to do with it until they correct the serious flaws in that program.

Therefore truly the ASUS S96S is a CBB model that Intel selected for their VBI program...but that does not mean that ALL S96S barebones are part of the VBI program. It will depend on who the dealer buys them from, and whether they buy them as VBI versions with the VBI warranty, or they buy them directly from the Channel without going through the Intel VBI aggregator.

I hope this helps. If I find some extra time I will do a search and find my earlier posts from last summer detailing the poorly designed (and even more poorly implemented) VBI support and warranty program.

 

Is that why the S96S looks identical to the EL81?

 

aaaaah i understand the diff now.Thanks Donald and STamar. very well explained.

 

:twitcy: Don't let the picture fool you...:twitcy:

We will have our typical Picture Gallery up shortly. In the mean time, please accept our apology for not having them up sooner. For now we just have placeholder pictures up.

 

Is there going to be a "Z96J"s on the santa rosa chipset! I would really like the better resolution!

Josh

 

Not in the ASMobile line...but you might want to look at the Compal IFL90 (the PowerPro J 10:15) if you are looking for a 15.4" Santa Rosa 1680x1050 with a DirectX® 10! nVIDIA GeForce 8600M w/256MB (WXGA)

 

Oh, ok, I didn't realize that. I thought Asus and Compal were making identical notebooks for a second there.

And there isn't going to be a high res version? Thats disappointing....

 

Well they share certain components

I think they are the same color but they dont look exactly alike.

 

Hi, I post you a link to a nice 3D model of S96S. http://www.vbi.cz/3d/3d.asp?partno=SET.AS96S965PM2.01 ... Its in czech but it doesnt make you any trouble. Enjoy!

 

When will they realize we demand DVI/HDMI and not crappy S-video?? =(. I am severely limited in my choice for a new performance 15.4" because so many just seem to come with VGA.

 

Thanks for the heads up. The Comapl IFL90 looks great but for the money I can get a G1s.

Josh

 

I just ordered a S96S from powernotebooks, and I should have it Wednesday. I'll post a review as soon as I can.

 

I love how despite the fact that Intel has ripped Asus into three notebook pieces and implemented their broken VBI system, Asus remains the fastest growing notebook seller.

 

I don't know why there are barely any threads on this notebook. It's cheaper alternative to the compal ifl90.

Anyways, how does the sound on this compare to the sound on the previous version of this model. On the previous model review, the sound is supposedly very quiet and I was planning on hooking up logitech X-230 speakers to whatever notebook I purchase.

 

It is a cheaper alternative mostly because it has a slightly weaker video card, does not support Bluetooth or Robson, and does not have the fingerprint reader. This is why it is cheaper.

What it DOES have is up to 1GB of video memory using Turbocache (requires 2GB system memory for this). This is not nearly as fast as memory on the card itself...but it isn't chopped liver either It also has the new PortBar IV w/Video, e-SATA, 4 USB 2.0 Ports, Parallel, 10/100 LAN, and Power ports.

So it is indeed a great alternative

 

I hate the fact that they still did not integrate a hdmi or a dvi port. not even an option for a mini pcie tuner. for the price of the barebone i dont think its that cheap. they could have done alot better.

 

so u need a dvi port to hook up the notebook to a dvi monitor such as this one?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824254001

 

I ordered mine from xoticpc, very excited (first laptop) should be here next week or so

 

If you want to use the DVI link, yes.

But, if you look at the pix and specs of the product , it has both vga and dvi link, so it will work with either input.

 

On that monitor it will be almost impossible to see any difference between hooking it up with either cable.

 

how does anyone who has touched one of these laptops rate their frame strength and is the screen rigid? thanks

 

Does anyone have benchmarks on this specific model with 2GB's of RAM? If this doesn't run somewhat better when turbocaching 1GB (as it is supposed to when it has system 2gb's). I might have to wait it out for the Sager NP2090 with the GT for about 100$ extra.