S/Z96J vs A8JM Final Decision

I am having a lot of trouble deciding which one i should get. I am a avid gamer but i also email watch movies, program, and other things. I was wondering which one of these are over all the better machine to get. I am also looking at this price wise since i dont wanna spend more than 1500 or 1600.

 

Both those systems will run games well... But if you're going to be sending emails, you're going to want something a little more heavy duty!

 

Well, you can drop the Z96J from the equation... last time I checked, they're STILL not available.

As for choosing between the S96J and the A8Jm, I guess it comes down to portability. Will you be travelling with your notebook a lot? If so then the A8Jm will make life a little easier for you. Otherwise, I'd probably go with the S96J, larger screen (for movies) for less money.

 

well from what i heard the S96J isnt out at the moment either, and i am really starting to wonder if waiting for the Z and S is worth the effort. I am a gamer and I am not sure if the 14.1 inch screen is big enough to play games like BF2 and WoW. I am also looking at this money wise. I would rather not spend more than i have to.

 

Well, at some of the retailers, the S96j is being shipped in, but I believe there is a backlog of orders for them,

 

do u know which ones are selling it cause i havent seen anyone that has it. WHich one do u think is better for gaming and multimedia

 

Have you tried ProPortable, Geared2Play and PowerNotebooks?

Also, I think the A8Jm is pretty good for gaming, and it's got DVI and VGA ports for you to hook up to external monitor at home anyway if you need it

 

The A8Jm does not have an option for a 7200rpm HDD, and that is a big minus for me. Please correct me if im wrong.

EDIT: Nvm, it does have the option but at significant extra cost. Basically what im trying to say is that it will cost more if i try to configure it the way i have my laptop now, but it has DVI and the 512mb dedicated GPU.

 

ASUS A8jm
13.3" x 9.7" x 1.38"/1.48"
5.37lbs (2.44kg)
14" WXGA (1280x800) Glossy
Go 7600 512mb


ASUS Z96j
14.2" x 10.5" x 1.1"/1.5"
5.5lbs w/ 6-cell battery <- may not be correct
15.4" WSXGA+ (1680x1050) Glossy
X1600 256mb

As you can see both laptops have power graphic cards, so both will provide equal performance and gaming experience.

The next thing you need to consider is whether you want a bigger or smaller screen.

Are you going to take it to school? Travel a lot? Or is is going to stay at home on a flat surface most of the time?

Price wise you can configure the Z96j to be $1500+ and you'll get very nice specs.

As for configuring the A8jm, as you may know when doing changes it does add costs to it, but you will certainly be happy with it.

Since the Z96j is now out yet, you will have to wait roughly 2 weeks.

The closest laptop to the Z96j is the S96j:
ASUS S96J
14.2" x 10.5" x 1.1"/1.5"
6.3 lbs (2.86kg)
15.4" WXGA (1280x800) Glossy
X1600 256mb

Many like this model because of price for performance value.

There are many reviews about this model.
This review is the latest by USApatriot <- Thank You!
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=64104

I suggest waiting for the release of the Z96j and then make your decision.

 

I agree with the others that one of your most important considerations is how portable you need it to be. I've seen and held 15.4'' lappies and while transporting them would be very manageable, a 14'' is just so much less intimidating somehow. It just seems to fit in bags with less fuss. If I took my laptop to class every day I wouldn't want a 15.4''. Physics/chem textbooks are heavy

I've also toyed with a friend's W3J. The 14'' screen is surprisingly large and clear considering I'm coming from a 17'' desktop LCD. Personally I can't wait to play Oblivion on my A8Jm, once the d*mned thing arrives (stupid Purolator). My friend plays Battlefield 2 on his W3J and he's very happy. Again, as others said, you have the DVI here if you really want a bigger screen. The A8Jm's all about options.

 

I'm also trying to make the same decision between the Z96J and the A8Jm. If I got the A8Jm I'd upgrade the ram to 2 gigs.

How much of a performace difference would I get from the extra video card ram?

I'm also presuming I won't notice much of a difference between the 1.83Ghz cpu and the 2Ghz cpu.

 

Arg. After reading this thread, I am now considering getting the Z96J. I have been leaning towards the P1 MX (about the same as A8JM) mainly because I will be carying my laptop in my backpack. Is the difference in weight really that significant? I guess I could through 6 lbs of books in my backpack and decide that way. 14" is nice cause of the weight but 15" will give you more screen. Any thoughts??

 

1. Not much difference, probably.
2. Correct for 98% of uses, except maybe benchmarks.

Take a trip to BB, CC etc and compare/play around with the 14" and 15.4" units, then decide how much screen you need. This question has been asked by others many times before , and it really comes down to personal preference, not what others opinions are of what *you* need. The native lcd resolution on the z96 will be higher, but you'll probably be gaming on less than its max resolution. Weight depends on how far you're going to carry it everyday, and in what kind of bag - I tend to like my 14" for my business trips and 5.5lb is plenty heavy with everything else I put in my briefcase. I would have gotten the W7 if it had been out 6 months ago for the weight factor alone, as 12" is too small for me.

 

How much of a difference is there in battery life between the two?

 

i think it comes down to screen size...of what you want.