Purchasing questions......

I am trying to decide on which laptop to buy.

So far, I have looked into the Asus W3j, the Asus s96j, the Asus A8jm, the Sony SZ, and the new Sony FE (with a NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600).

I plan to use the laptop for computer animation (3-dimensional) purposes, and image/video editing and management.

I am not in an area where I can easily get to see the screens of each of the laptops, but colour trueness is something that is very important in my decision.

Right now, I am using an old Sony VAIO desktop with a 866 (or 833?) MHz Pentium 3 processor, 128 MB of RAM, and an integrated video card. So, I think that whichever notebook I buy will be an enormous improvement.

How does the ATIx1600 compare with the Go7600? Do I really need 256 MB instead of 128? Can anyone offer insight into the screens of any of the above laptops from a visual artist's perspective?

I am looking at models probably at or below $2000 (DEFINITELY not higher than $2200).

 

Ok, tough one here.

Firstly, the X1600 is equivalent to a Go 7600, so don't worry about that too much.

I believe all these laptops have 256mb or more video cards so don't worry about that either.

Screens is the tough part. I know for a fact that the W3J and i think the a8jm has ASUS Splendid Visions, which allows the user to control many screen settings to get a truer picture.

Many love the Sony SZ because its a small and portable laptop, with decent graphics.

But then when you look at the W3J and a8jm, they simply blow it away.

I don't think the FE is really competition because i've heared many complaints about it. You can check that out in the Sony forums section. I don't recommend it.

So the next thing to look at is do you want high res or low res, or it doesn't matter?

All of these laptops u mention have a WXGA resolution, (i dunno about the FE)

Dealing with graphic designs, i know i would want 2gbs of ram and a high resolution screen. Of course you can still do graphic designing on a lower res screen.

With both W3J and A8jm, you need to replace the ram and buy brand new 2x 1gb of 533 or 667mhz ram. (150$)

Once you figure that out, your options get better, do you want more portability or more batterylife?

The reason is the W3J with a modular battery will give u nice portability and more batterylife.

On the other side the a8jm has more feature, like DVI, but no bluetooth. (NA only)

But if you don't need portability go with a S96j.

If you need more real estate you need to wait for a Z96j.

Hope this helps.

If you got further questions plz ask.

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

Image and video editing where you do it over longer timeframes tend to be easier on a larger screen so that would push me toward the s96; if you like the benefit of more real estate for editing, look at the higher res screen on the z96j. Any of the Asus units you mention will be more than capable of handling the task - I'm just talking about the comfort factor, and more screen real estate makes editing in photoshop etc easier (I tend to do most of my editing on my desktop with the 19" screen, rather than the 14" ws on my z63). The s96 and z96 should both come under $2K with the majority of possible configs, w3 and a8 are non-customizable Ensemble models.

Edit: Dang it, scooped by Mystic while I was typing!

 

Ill tell you right now the w3j screen displays far from true colors. They may be pleasing to the eye but forget about print work or anything that requires true colors. the viewing angle on that screen is to narrow to display a true image color because if you move your head slightly it will be different or if you tilt the screen back alittle to much. You may want to look up laptops with IPS screens. like the asus v6va past model or thinkpad and depending where you are LG. But if you need trully acurate color you arent going to get it from 14.1 in widescreens do to a narrower viewing angle than say a 15.4 in with a good screen.

I do custom home theatres and have some friends that do some serious print work. so im picky when it comes to displays and i have seen how hard of a time my friend had finding a laptop with an screen good enough to use. honestly the only models out right now that are good enough havent seen all the displays though. are V6Va and the W2v/j

 

SRD:
The W2v (and W2j?) have 17" screens. Those are too large for me. Do you mean just the V6va, or would the V6j do well, too?

MysticGolem:
About resolution: I don't want hi-res. My vision corrects to about 20/60, and I cannot comfortably see things on the hi-res screens I have seen. Why would I need to change out the RAM of the A8jm or the W3j?

 

The V6Va came with and IPS screen. In plain switching. wich has a much much higher viewing angles in all differections. The colors stay more accurate no matter how your facing the screen. the V6J does not have this screen. but graphics professionals like this screen you can even buy desktop version from lacie and NEC i think. IPS screen only come in high rez pretty much. many people that appreciate them do graphics and need the higher rez. how important is color to you? is it for work or personal preference. because ill tell you right now no way the w3j will have good enough color for a professional who needs it for true accuracy.

 

ok, i understand you don't need high res, so your choices are now portability or a bigger and cheaper laptop.

W3J/A8jm vs S96j

As SRD said he doesn't find the screen of the W3J or A8jm to give you the quality you need or may need.

SRD maybe you can suggest a model that's 15.4" or 14" that can be a possible option. I know ur mentioned the V6va with IPS and V6J.

The reason why u needa change the ram in the W3J and a8jm, is because they are shipped with 2x512mb 533mhz, most programmers and graphic designers need more, so getting 2 gbs, you will need to swap out the ram.

Hope this helps.

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

The want of a good screen is not for work, though it may be useful for school. Late last year, when I was still preparing a portfolio for Sheridan college (for animation) and another for Ringling School of Art and Design, I fell off of a loading dock and broke two metacarpals in my drawing hand. As a result, I am going to a community college if I go to any school this coming year and taking some core courses. I am going to apply for Ringling and Sheridan for fall of 2007 and, if I go to school at either place, the laptop would be used for school as well as for hobbies.

I am still searching the forums for the test results of the V6Va. Can anyone help me find some performance information about it?

 

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2720

 

THe only downside to this laptop is its a pentium M not a core duo. But it has a better graphics card and better monitor than the v6j

 

Just for information purposes the MX (A8jm) offered by portable one has a screen upgrade option. Not entirely sure what the upgrade is (Transflective UVA) but maybe that would help?