Tough Choice: Thinkpad v. ASUS

Hey there,

I'm having some trouble deciding between the Thinkpad T/Zs and various ASUS models.

The ASUS models I'm looking at:

Z71V/Z71A
Z70Va/Z70V
W3V
W5A

A summary of my needs in a laptop are here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=31153

Could anyone please give me input on

A) Which ASUS model(s) would suit my needs best.
B) What advantage said ASUS model(s) would have over a Thinkpad T43/Z60t.

I'm not asking for the holy grail of answers, just some input. So, even if you don't feel you can answer my questions, take a shot at it anyway. Maybe post your experiences with one of the ASUS models, and perhaps some general comments on the quality of the models I listed.

Thanks in advance!

:asus: :buyIBM: :decision:

 

i've heard linux has better support for nvidia cards and if this is true then the z71v would be a great option. you may want to get a look at one irl just to make sure you can deal with the screen because some people have issues with it tho. also, the z71v although certainly luggable, is probably the heaviest/biggest machine out of those listed and is most likely heavier than most ibms. the z70va is a great machine, the only problem being that you could get unlucky and recieve one with one of the dud screens, but most resellers will take care of that if you bring it up with them. the w3v, according to your desired specs is probably not the best choice since it has hypermemory and a glare type screen, even tho it is the most portable without sacrificing much power. all 3 of these have comparable battery life and all 3 can take in a modular battery which will extend battery life well beyond 4 hrs.

the main advantages of an asus over an ibm is probably the level of customization (is that even a word?) and probably level of service. and of course u dont have to get windows with an asus, except for the w3v. also the price to performance ratio that you get with asus is pretty much unbeatable. an ibm would probably be best if you wanted to strictly do work, but since you did express interest in graphics power i would suggest an asus.

unfortunately i do not know much about the w5a off the top of my head since i never really considered getting one :/. hope this helps tho.

 

W3V is the exact one for you, its got the screen you want, has more than 3 hours battery life, DVD rom, it's fairly light and stylish, so you can carry it around.

 

Thanks for the advice, guys! Linux does indeed have better drivers for nvidia. However, do Nvidia chips consume more power than ATIs? And, also, benchmarks for the Z71V vs. the Z70Va show the Z70Va with much better raw graphics power.

I've changed my list a bit:

Thinkpad T43 (Probably 14.1", for extra battery life)
Z71V (Is >Z70V)
Z70Va (Is >Z71V)
W3V

I would have included the Z63A in there, but it doesn't have a V version. Well, I guess the W3V is probably the same as a Z63V would be... But, nonetheless, if I'm going to get a ~14" with mediocre graphics, I'd much rather get a Thinkpad!

I also was looking at the Z33A, but the keyboard is simply awful for my usage. I have big, clumsy fingers - a tiny shift key won't cut it! (Thanks to CanadaSys for supplying photos). Likewise with the W5A, combined with a surprisingly poor battery life for a 12.1".

Well, one thing that concerns me about the W3V is the surprisingly mediocre graphics performance. Benchmarks aren't the holy grail or anything, but the x600 in the W3V only reaches 915 3DMarks, as opposed to 727 3DMarks on the Thinkpad with the x300! In pure specs, the current W3V is pretty much equal to the Thinkpad and the price is similar (or more, I can't check right now). Is there really an advantage? Plus, I'm not sure if I'd be able to buy a W3V before the model changes early next year, so I might be stuck with a massive bottleneck in the form of a 4200 RPM (?!) hard drive.

 

I have had Unbuntu running on my T42. It ran fine on the 9600 card.

 

Thinkpads are famous for their Linux support. That's one of the reasons I'm quite interested in them.

I think IBM has/has some kind of unofficial support for some distros on the T-series.

 

I have never had a problem with ATI drivers and Linux. The opinion that ATI drivers are no good for Linux is pure myth.

I like the W3V - it's what fits your specs.

 

If you want better graphics power than the W3v, youll want either the Z70va or Z71v. Flaxx did a good comparative review of them here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=30680

The Z70va & Z71v will both fit your specs, but if you want a slightly smaller/lighter notebook, then the W3v is definitely the way to go.

 

I would give the Asus models with a 3 year warrenty from a good reseller serious consideration against a Thinkpad.

I frequent another tech forum where the reply to any 'help me choose a laptop' thread is 'buy a ThinkPad', even when that might not really be the best choice for that person's requirements.

Also from what I can see, a given configuration of the Z70VA is cheaper then a T43 or a Z60m/t. Maybe $300 less from when I played around with the two configuration pages a couple weeks back. As far as build quality and support I'd expect the Asus to be as good if not better then the IBM.

 

Very, very tough to decide. On one hand, the T43 has such famous quality and keyboard feel. But, on the other hand, the Asus laptops with (hopefully) comparable keyboards & quality are much cheaper!

Working from a decently-priced Express model on the Lenovo website, and adding a DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive to it, the final price (after shipping, handling, and taxes) is $2,487.48.

The (old) W3V has the same specs as the T43, but also has a DVD-RW (not important for me, though) and the x600. And it actually has a year more warranty than the express model T43, but that will change soon. With taxes and shipping (from Canadasys), $2 295.93.

The Z70Va, speced roughly to match the T43/W3V, comes out to $1,879.70?!
The Z71V, speced roughly to match the Z70Va/T43/W3V, comes out to $1,754.51!

If I do add in a copy of XP Pro to be fair, the Z71V is $1,931.06 and the Z70Va is $2,056.25. Still $240 cheaper than the W3V.

Ouch. This is making it hard for me to justify to myself getting a 14.1" laptop! I'd rather get one for the better battery life and portability, but I'm also not exactly rolling in the dough. There are no 14.1/12.1" barebones models right now with decent video cards, so they can't really stack up to the Z-series 15.4" for value.

 

Although, if one has the Employee discount/or ant Lenovo discount, then the price would indeed be very close.

 

Possibly, but I have no way of finding out.

I should point out that, by the Z series, I mean the Z70Va and the Z71V built-on-asus laptops, not the Thinkpad Zs. The Thinkpad Z-series simply would not work for me.