Z33Ae - 1 Year Report

I thought I'd update everyone on how my Z33 has held up over the last year. Of course it's a discontinued model so you won't be able to run out and buy one based on my review, but most people only post when they first get their notebook or when they have problems, so I thought an update was in order.

Usage:
I use my laptop on campus for maybe 15-20 hours a week (conservative estimate). I end up cycling the battery every day or two; I prefer to cycle it rather then topping it off constantly. When I go home over breaks, it goes home with me and is on 24/7 while I'm home. I've flown to several conferences, used it in airports, on planes, and in the middle of a state park camping in Ohio. During my summer in California it was my primary computer, since my desktop was acting up. I carry it around campus in a memory foam sleeve in my backpack all day.


Wear and tear:
There are a few minor scratches on top of the lid. Not deep enough to go through the outer finish, so you have to hold it just right to see them. Around the USB ports and the VGA port, the charcoal finish is starting to wear through to silver. The silver surround around the edge of the palmrest is wearing through to black on the left hand front corner (I'm a lefty so that corner see a lot of hand movement). The finish on the silver touchpad surround is worn just a little. All of these things I consider 'normal', and overall the laptop still looks very good.

One thing I am really mad at myself about is that I somehow managed to put a little nick in the LCD. You have to look really hard to see it, but it shows up on white backgrounds. My fault; I don't really know how I did it. A glossy screen might have been tougher in that regard, but I really prefer matte...


Battery life:
Wear on the 9-cell stabilized at 8% after ~6 months. Battery life is consistently ~6:30 on medium brightness, undervolted, clocked to 800 MHz, wifi on. If I use 'performance on demand' mode while doing something requiring a lot of CPU, this drops accordingly.

The 3-cell has always been pretty useless to me. I try keep it charged to ~40% so it won't degrade in storage... When I'm home and plugged in for long periods of time, I put in the 3-cell so the 9-cell doesn't get stressed by constant charging or anything like that.


Performance:
I added 512MB of RAM to the system not long after I got it, for a total of 1GB. I run a tight ship windows wise, and it's a nice, snappy system, even at 800MHz. Almost as responsive as my dual core X2, really.

Clocked at 2.0GHz, it's great for MATLAB and other computationally intensive tasks. I've actually played a few games on the GMA900, including original Day of Defeat, the Orbiter Space Flight Simulator, etc.


Features:
Hmm.. It still has all the things it came with. There are a few things I wish I had - ExpressCard and/or a docking station. A DVD-RW would be nice, but they run $190 for 9.5mm drives. DVI out would be really nice too...

The thing I am most frustrated with is that Micro$oft and Intel got together and decided "no Aero on the GMA900" after it was already WORKING in Vista RC2. Not Asus's fault. The Beryl 3D accelerated window manage for Linux runs just fine. I'm sure the laptop manufacturers are happy at everyone running out to buy new machines just to use Aero, though.


Conclusion:
Honestly, I think the Z33 still gives a lot of current ultraportables a run for their money. It's a little bit heavy for the class since it has an optical drive, but in terms of performance and features it is still pretty close to the X60 and D420. Battery life is better then what is being reported by owners of the U1. The 7200RPM drive makes appplications fly compared to the 1.8" 4200RPM drives.

Am I still happy with my purchase? You bet. Any computer I can buy and look at the market a year and 3 months later and not really see anything that would be a significant upgrade gets an A+ in my book. IF only my desktop was the same way...

 

well put, Jumper. the people that bought an Asus notebook last year really struck gold. Pentium Ms/the Centrino platform on the whole were in their golden age, with prices dipping a bit because of the upcoming core duos. the Asus notebooks really peaked with solidly designed ensembles that had corresponding Z-series models (M6/Z70, W3/Z63, M5/Z33).

i went for the Z63 the exact moment i saw the Z62 and how unfortunately uggo it was.

 

Yeah, the Z63A and the other barebones in that generation were a really lucky pick. They seem to have skipped a generation when I wanted to get a dual core laptop since they all looked like and felt like one of those generic laptops...

Z63A works perfectly. Only thing that we had to change on it was the keyboard, and that was about 4-5 months after initial use. It's been more heavily used since then and it still works great. Also a fair bit less bulky than my V1J, but I use it more like a desktop replacement than anything else (ie: sits on the dock at home, otherwise plugged in whenever possible when out).

 

Yes i am loving my Z33 although it's the later Z33Ae variant. With 2ghz cpu and 1Gb of ram everything run smoothly as it should. This has been the best money spent on a portable laptop. Before this i own a 15" gateway laptop and that thing constantly crash as well as ruined 2 bags because of how big it is. This thing has came with me everywhere i go. Unfortunately a little accidents about half a year ago broke off one plastic leg in the 9cell battery. So it has to be held on by tapes and when the tape goes loose the laptop get shut off accidentally. Minor detail. But def this won't be my last Asus laptop. I think the next might be the R1F. Any one with review on it?

 

It's been 2 years and counting with my Z71V, and I'm still very happy with it. I'm sure it will last me fine at least until 2009, when I'll most likely be looking for a replacement with newer technology, etc. What's nice is that I can type through my 4-hour-long classes on battery power, and everyone else with a laptop has to have theirs plugged in