Notebook and external monitor

Within two months I'll purchase a new notebook, most probably a W1J, V1J or W2J, as the price of ASUS is much better compared to Apple. I've no idea about Toshiba, but I think they mainly focus on the US market, in the Netherlands they haven't introduced any dual core notebooks (yet).

If I decide to buy a W2J an extern monitor won't be necessary, the screen is in my opinion big enough to properly play games on. However, I feel a 15.4'' screen is too small to play games on, as I am used to play them on a 17'' screen.

That's why I'd like to know whether the ASUS notebooks come with a specific port, which enables you to connect your external monitor on your notebook.
I've been trying to find one on my current (non ASUS) notebook, but apparently it doesn't have one.

What's exactly the name of this port? (sorry I'm kind of a newbie).

Furthermore, I've one other question. Weeks ago I heard several problems with the continuously running fans, caused by the 7200 RPM harddisks (if I am right). Does anyone know if this problem has been solved already?

Thanks!

 

The monitor port is called VGA, which is analog video, or DVI which is digital and commonly used for lcd displays. There are several versions of DVI; there is DVI-D (which is a purely digital version), DVI-A (which is only analog, basically VGA but with a different pin port), and DVI-I (which is both digital and analog). Most laptops come with a VGA port (commonly blue and looks like a serial port) but many newer ones have DVI (Not always DVI-I, many times simply DVI-D).
Also the size of the screen is not as important as the resolution of it. If it has a high resolution it can display the same item (such as a game) in the same proportion as a larger screen. It's just a matter of taste to whether that is acceptable. Personally, I have little problem going between my ASUS W3v (14" screen at 1280x768) and my desktop monitor (17" lcd at 1280x1024). Other than the fact one is widescreen and the other is not they both run at largely the same resolution.
Additionally, when gaming, I find that the limiting factor on laptops is not the screen but rather the interface: the touchpad is useless (wireless Blue Tooth mouse is a must) and that the position of the keyboard is not conducive to FPS.
On all the ASUS models you mentioned I am fairly certain fan issues have been resolved.

Note: I would not buy a notebook for media/gaming with less than 1gb of ram and a ATI X1600. Also get the Core Duo over the Pentium M, it really is the best laptop CPU out, however come summer there should be some interesting new stuff.

 

Thanks Cycus for your fast reply.

I've seen all the new model come with a VGA port