Z71V Planning for the future?

Hi,
This is my first post on this forum, but I have been browsing it for quite some time now... I think I have a pretty clear idea of what I want to get, but I stumbed across an overclocking article for Penitum-M processors today and need some advice.
Thus far I was thinking of getting:

Asus Z71V Barebone:
+ Pentium M-735 (1.7Ghz) / 400FSB
+ Seagate Momentus 80gb SATA, 5400rpm
+ OCZ PC4200 (DDR2) RAM, 2 x 512mb
+ Asus modular DVD+/-RW Drive
+ INTEL Pro/Wireless 2915 (MiniPCI) for Notebooks

I'm a student and need this laptop to last at least a few years. At the same time I don't have that much money, but I figure it's pointless to buy low-end systems because they will be obsolete in a matter of months?
My biggest question is about the processor - it's not the fastest, but I read that the 400FSB CPU + Sonoma 915 combination can be overclocked fairly easily and safely. So my plan would be to use the laptop until the warranty for the parts is over and then overclock the processor/gpu to extend the system's life. Is there any sense in doing that?
Also, I was thinking of getting a Toshiba M70-SR6 ( Costco.ca ) which costs CAD$100-150 more. It has a X700 gpu that I am not very keen on and the official battery life is a meager 2.5hours (although I don't know how to compare it with the Asus). Would this be a better choice? Costco has a great return policy... but I've heard good and bad about Toshiba builds lately.
OK, final question, hope someone is still awake... I'm not sure about the Wireless and RAM choice. This is my first laptop so I just chose what sounds familiar. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.
This came out to be a long, long post, but I hope someone will help me
Thanks,

e.

 

The Z71 is still a good choice and still powerful enough for today's tasks. I'd say it's still a better choice than any of those systems at Costco. The graphics card is similar to the x700, so you're not really digging the bottom of the barrel. It's an affordable performer.

 

some answers & comments in no particular order:

The Asus Z71v gets 3-4 hours battery life, depending on usage

CanadaSys has done some benchmarks that indicate that in the Z71v, SATA hard drives actually perform worse than regular (P)ATA, so if you want a really high performance hard drive, I'd suggest on of the newer hard drives with 7200 RPM. However, a 5400 RPM drive will still work fine.

The wireless card you chose is fine. You might want to change your RAM choice to 1 stick of 1 GB RAM for future upgradeability purposes, as dual channel memory only has a 5% performance increase over single channel on these notebooks.

Regarding your other option, I've heard more bad than good about Toshiba, so I would go with the :asus:

 

Thanks for the replies! I just glanced at the benchmark/performance chart at the top of the forum page and noticed that the Z70va-built notebooks have way more 3DMarks with very similar configurations. So maybe I should shell out a little more cash and build my notebook on Z70va?
As for the RAM, thanks for pointing that out: if it's not that much of a difference, I would rather keep my options (and RAM slot : ) open.

 

The only reason the Z70Va gets more 3D marks is because out of the box, the graphics chip/memory is clocked at a higher speed. When the Geforce Go 6600 and X700 are running at similar speeds, their 3D marks should be nearly identical, if not very comparable at the very least.

 

I believe Z71v supports yonah, so better go with Z71v.

 

Z71v has battery problem!

I still have doubts if the Alvista (?) 915 chipsets will support slow Yonahs (single core below 2 GHz?). For faster Yonahs (Dual CPUs?), new chipsets will be required. I would either go for Z70va or even Z71a.

 

i also concern the z71v's battery problem, the warranty will not cover 1 year later. In case, a main battery dead 1 year later, to buy another main battery, i think that the price difference can be fit to get a z70va.

 

Wrong. Yonah will require a new socket, since the ground pin is in a different position on the chip. None of the laptops today are Yonah ready.





@erufiku - I have the Z71V right now. It is an awesome lappy for the price. However I suggest that you buy a 1 gig stick of ram rather than 2x512. Trust me, you will need it. I have 1 gig in my system right now, and I am already starting to feel limited at times. I plan on buying another gig stick and popping it in later.

Oh, just wondering, how much is the OCZ ram per 1 gig stick? Right now, newegg has some Transcend ram on sale for about $71 per gig, so I suggest that if you can afford, go ahead and buy the 2 gigs of ram now.

About the 1.7 735 overclock, it is basically a pinmod, but I believe that the z71v has a built in dipswitch somewhere to change it from either 533 fsb or 400 fsb. It should be set by default on 533, so basically you will have a 17x multiplier x 133 bus, which means you will be getting a 2.26 ghz processor for cheap. However, be aware that a small percentage will fail, and this could mean your entire laptop down the drain. Someone more knowledgeable than I on this subject may be able to help you more.

 

Some specs mistakenly list Yonah , current Asus does not!
Core Duo (T2x00) is designed for the 945 not 915 chipset. thus, No Yonah on Z71V.

Has anybody tried a Yonah on Z71V & had it work OK ?

 

DDR2 SODIMM. If buy 1 GB, better get 2 now. Most mfr recommend buy both modules together. If'n wait to buy 2nd later, may not get the desired results. Work OK , but not as good as 2 from same manufacture batch!
Or maybe the just want the $$ & sales now
5%> in DC is still 5% better.
How is current Z71V BIOS for OC of the memory?? d8d