Z70Va and Campus Use

Hey, I was wondering how friendly the Z70Va (or any 15.4' widescreen laptop) is for use on a university campus.

Idealy, I would like to carry it around most of the time so I can get work done in between classes and use it for notes and other things.

Would it be worth considering the W3V because of its smaller size? If I like to play games (BF2, Doom3, ect), is there a significant difference between the two?

Thanks for your input!


- Night

EDIT: Just to add some specs to make it easier to answer the last question...

Z70Va:
Centrino - 2.00GHz
1GB DDR2 Dual Channel
60G 5400r 8M Hard Drive
128MB ATI X700 PCI Express
Wireless-G & Gigabit Lan
15.4” WSXGA+ ( 1680x1050 )

W3V:
Centrino 1.8GHz
512M DDR
60G Hard Drive
14” WXGA "Color Shine" widescreen
Radeon X600 128M (64 Dedicated)

I realize that preformance would take a hit if opted for the W3V, but if the difference in portability is quite significant, that would be my choice.

Thanks!

 

I can tell you from experience that a Z70va may ver well be fine for you, but if you stepped down to the W3v, you'd never go back. Every 1/2 pound really adds up as you're lugging it around even a small campus.. just consider the weight of your books and how an extra sprial notebook just adds to the weight.

For what you want to do, your performance really isn't going to be taking a hit..... if you need more ram, just add it to the W3, but graphics wise, you're going to be able to play the games you listed above just fine on the W3 (I do)... the biggest thing you have to consider is the change in size.. mainly of the screen. I personally think that 14" widescreen is just the best form factor ever and think it will be THE standard size in the year to come..... but you have to make that decision.

 

well, a good backpack will do wonders...but of course they can only do so much. i've got a friend who has a z70va and has no problem carrying it around with a couple notebooks for other classes. it all comes down to how many books and stuff u carry around with the notebook. personally, i dont think it'd be too bad as with a laptop u probably wont need to carry around so many notebooks just maybe one for math or something and maybe one textbook. the performance difference graphics wise is a pretty big difference. if u have a friend who has a dell 6000 u can try carrying that around or ask them how it feels to them cuz the z70va weighs less or about the same.

 

Personally, I don't think that weight is as much of an issue as physical size...I've got both a big (15.4") and heavy (7.6lbs) notebook, but it's got the power to prove it...

From a performance perspective, I'd take the Z70VA in a heartbeat. If you plan on playing Doom 3 or BF2, you're going to want a 128MB card and an X700. X600 doesn't cut it these days - it's good for older games, such as Unreal Tournament 2004, but for the newer DX9 games (Far Cry, etc), the R4xx core of the X700 is worlds better at emulating DX9 code...

The Z70VA is actually very light for a 15.4" notebook, mainly due to it's carbon-fiber construction. If you're going to game, get that.

Chaz

 

Hey nite, here are some things u prolly wanna check out. These are the dimensions and weight and the screen size of some models.

To me, from what I have personaly seen, 14" Widescreen looks like a nice portable size to carry around, and in terms of gaming and videos, not sure haven't seen a pic or some guy playing a game on it =\.

As for a 15.4" i have seen games and movies and seen several laptops with it... It's amazingly big in real estate, also looks really really nice. But doesn't seem to be soo portable, however the dimensions are only 1" difference all around and about 1.5lbs less. W3V to Z70va.

Proportable, I do understand where your coming from. I personaly think the 14" Widescreen gots nice width but i think the height seems a little short in my opinion. Also I hope 14" W becomes a new standard... because i personaly think 15.4 is too big =\. But its a nice overal size lol.

Acer 2310
14.3" x 11" x 1.3"/1.5"
6.08 lbs (2.76 kg)
15" XGA (1024x768)

ASUS W3V
13" x 9.7" x 1.29"
4.8 lbs
14" WXGA (1280x800)

ASUS Z70va
13.9" x 10.7" x 0.87"/1.4"
6.3 lbs
15.4" WSXGA+ (1680x1050)

Asus V6V
13" x 10.7" x 1.18"
5.7 lbs
15" SXGA (1400x1050)

ASUS Z71v
14" x 10.8" 1.4"
6.5 lbs
15.4" WSXGA+ (1680x1050)

Samsung X20
13.2" x 11" x 1.1"/1.3"
5.3 lbs (2.4 kg)
15" SXGA+ (1400x1050)


Based on this data it may help you make ur decision . Good luck, BTW wouldn't the Z70va be cheaper overall compared to the W3V?

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

Well with a 14" widescreen you have the height of a 12" regular ratio and the width of a 15" regular ratio........ yeah, I guess the height could be maybe 1/2" higher...... but really a 12" regular ratio is the perfect height for an airplane seat, so 14" widescreen is really perfect for being "portable" and obviously with the W3v's awesome graphics...... you've got a powerhouse of options in a rather small, portable system.

W3v / Z70va ... If they were configured identically...... you'd be looking at the Z70va costing $100-150 more and you still don't have the global warranty... a Z71v would cost about the same.

 

OH ok kool thanks Proportable for the specifics .

But what me and you think about what's gonna be the new standard may not be what the the companies think =\.

Maybe and hopefully they will think both 14" Wide and 15.4" will be the two best standards overall.

14" W for portability and the 15.4" for the DTR and common users... something like that lol.

Im sure your aware of the Sony BX series and they have a 14 non widescreen, 15.4" Wide, and a 17" wide, all equipped with an X700.

Unfortunately the 14" is not widescreen... took me about 4 months to acutaly decide on a screen that i want.
Its a 14" Wide LOL! Yah the W3V is basicaly the best choice right now, since im a gamer, but 2 things to consider, im not paying over 2k for a laptop and I want to have atleast an X700 or a equivalent Nvidia Go 7xxx Series.

Anyways I personaly have time to buy... lots of time ^.^

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

I think it depends on how much you want to game and how much you want to be taking it with you for notes, etc.

If you place more importance on gaming I would definitely go for the z70va for the performance. It will be better for future games. If you really want something mobile to carry with you to class I would go with the w3v.

I'm a college student, and I went with the z70va for performance. The weight isn't a big deal for carrying around imho. The problem is that you can't just whip it out in class as easily as , say, a 12-13" powerbook because it is a little bigger and sometimes the fan noise can sometimes draw attention to you in a quiet classroom. The z70va is also a a little taller than other 15.4" notebooks, as it has speakers under the screen. This may be a problem for people sitting behind you, depending on how the classrooms at your school are set up.

But there's nothing like being able to go to the library and squeeze in a few games of BF2 or Doom 3 before your next class!

 

No.... I know Asus does and they build a lot for themselves and others..... The W3v was the best selling Asus notebook in five years and sold three times better as a pre-order than anything has in their first couple weeks (both here and with Asus on a whole) ...... it's still popular because nothing is really competing with it and even if you scrap the dedicated graphics, it's still an awesome system (the z63a) and it's the perfect size to lug around, but still big enough to do any kind of what you want to....


... Trust me, our opinions on the 14" widescreen don't just sit with us..... but I think sometihng like a 14.5" widescreen may end up taking over... can you imagine a 14.5" widescreen colorshine panel on something like the update to the V6 -- the V6va w/ 18mb ati x700......... it would be awesome.

 

Night...I have the Z70Va and got it recently...it does feel a bit heavier than I expected, but it might be because of all the other stuff I have in my bag.

I'm perfectly fine with the weight of this unit, but as Justin said every little bit counts so if you do go for the 14inch W3V you might not want to go back.

Of course it all depends on the person how much weight is comfortable, but I'd say if you're an average sized guy you'll do fine with the Z70Va...girls as well, as my friend got an Asus "something" as I haven't seen it yet and she said it's the same size as mine but not quite mine...so I'm guessing one of the A6 something series or something, and she's fine with it. So don't worry and take the plunge.

Cheers,
Mike