a8js and g1 differences topic

I was thinking of buying the a8js although I'm highly tempted by the g1 due to the extras you get for the small price difference. I would probably get the g1 too if it wasnt too big but its both 15.4 and it also has extra space over the screen, which makes it big and makes it harder to carry, especially when you are also lugging photography gear with it. I wanted to clear out the differences, the ones I figured:

-15.4" vs 14" ; now is there a quality difference between screens, IBM offers IPS displays, wish it was the same for asus.
-0.3mp webcam vs 1.3mp webcam
-non vs oled info screen
-plain vs gaming lights and etc
-Intel audio vs Intel Azalia audio ?? or are they both azalia based


considering default setups, 200$ gets you

+60gb of hd space
+another gigabyte of ram
+bluetooth
+better battery
+mouse
+backpack
-media center XP (means you get vista home instead of business which is bad)
+better speakers?
+microsoft works
~gaming lights and etc
+better chassis material

I think its not that bad a deal, wish they included win xp pro instead of mce

 

I gave consideration to a G1 rather than an A8Js, but at $80 more for the G1 even after adding my own second GB of RAM and having P1 add bluetooth, the A8Js wins my vote. The "better battery" will be negated entirely by the flashy lights, larger, higher-resolution screen, etc. Also, the lack of ExpressCard and the drop from XP Pro to MCE were deal-breakers to me.

Both laptops have similar speakers and both have Intel Azalea audio. And, to my knowledge, they are both made of "carbon fiber" (read: plastic, as anyone with any simple organic chemistry knowledge knows). The A8Js includes a mouse and carrying case as well.

Edit: It's also only +40GB of HD space now/soon.

 

the sound chip in the a8js is called sound max

it is the same function as the azalia

I have no idea which one is better. They are both excellent. I actually have listened to both of them because the azalia is in the dell e1705. They are both great high fidelity.

I do greatly appreciate the size of my system. I move it every day and my whole computing set up fits in a small bag.


I think one of the bigger advantages the g1 has is a higher res screen with 16 ms response time and wider viewing angles.
I would appreciate that as an owner definitely.

The a8js screen is brighter with a higher contrast. All things considered though I think the g1 screen is just better.

I already bought a 2nd gb of ram and I think you will also so you can add $100 to the a8js price.

 

Just to add like stamar mentioned, the G1P comes with 2GB of RAM, a high resolution screen, with wider viewing angles. So the screen itself is better.

The battery life that people have reported, the G1P has more, roughly 20 minutes to 40 minutes more. Depending on which review or comments you follow.

But essentially both notebooks are geared to slightly different markets, the G1P is more to the LAN/DTR/semi portable gaming unit.

While the A8js just like the W3J is a portable performance unit that can be used anywhere, and is a good size for travelling.

Also to note the keyboard on the G1P is layed out nicely with difference highlights, plus the CTRL and FN are in the Correct Spots (IMO)

Also the G1P comes with freebies, backpack

 

.... A8 comes with mouse and carrying case... basically the same value as the G1 freebies... maybe worth a hair more.

 

What was the difference between the G1 ms response time and the A8J?

16 vs --

 

25 ms ..........

 

I dont mind the response time all that lot as specs are mostly crapped out anyway, but I'm a photographer and would like to do inital previewing and pre-adjustment on the screen. wish they could have the screen from t60

 

g1 is in stock at newegg right now

as well as the new a8jp, 1299

id snatch those up if i were buying a computer.

 

I still have a month and I'll probably hunt for prebought, oh and tha a8jp is nerfed down to mce and x1700

 

I have to say that Realtek Azalia (in G1) is WAY BETTER than the crap soundmax in A8Js...

The difference is the drivers. Realtek drivers are from a different planet compared to soundmax drivers. Simple things like 5.1 audio from spdif wont work with the drivers asus offers to soundmax :/ On the other hand Realtek supplies new drivers like once a month and everything worked like a charm on my old Fujitsu-Siemens M3438G laptop (that of course had realtek azalia)..

 

hard to tell which sound card is better so far. The G1's speakers are less than stellar so my wife's Toshiba with Soundmax actually sounds better (due to her better speakers).

Probably you'd need headphones or external speakers to really notice the difference between the two.

 

is this just intagrated sondcard in asus g1? can yoou listen to 5.1 with it or only stereo>?Is it good enough to connect to small home theatre system?

 

The difference that im really concerned about is the lacking of express card slot in g1.. would it be indispensable in the future?

 

Im interested in figuring out if there is any difference.

Id describe both of them as sounding better than discreet sound cards from yamaha and soundblaster ive listened to in the past. I also actually listened to the same mp3s on both and they both sounded the same to me but that doesnt mean there is some difference just not much.

I havent had any sort of problems with drivers though

both the chips are part of the centrino set so they have to be very similar.

 

I'm not quite sure, but all of the incoming notebook shipments are coming with MCE instead of XP Pro...... It's almost like Asus ran out of XP Pro licenses and had extra MCE's..... either way, there's a free upgrade to your choice of Vista, but even the new W5 shipment got MCE - which was at least an improvement over Home edition.

 

For audiophiles, the realtek is better than soundmax, I can't remember where I read it or the figures I've seen, but the realtek has better body (high,mid,low) compared to the soundmax. But, if you aren't much of an audiophile, you may or may not be able to tell the difference. Of course that also depends on the speakers of the unit and the angle which he speakers are placed (minor). Btw, I use my im176 and koss pro-portables on my A8Js, and they sounds pretty decent compared to the speakers.

PCMCIA probably won't be obsolete for probably another year or so. I think the reason was there are lot of business men/women out there that uses PCMCIA cards, and there is no expresscard alternative yet.

 

I wouldn't make people jump through hoops now because of a perceived good deal. We know that computer prices will continue to erode, if this lappy's pricing is any indication.

I fully expect that the huge pent-up demand that will be unleashed with the shipping of Microsoft Vista, finally, will float everyone's boat so much that prices will probably drop another steep 20% between February and May.

In this rare instance, it might be a better deal to wait six weeks.

 

in this market the best prices are january.

I think after the release it gets to be the opposite for a while.

I mean when this model, the a8jp, no longer has the buss speed of a dell or acer in its range because of the santa rosa chipset, it will fall in price more.

But if you wait until your hardware is obsolete to buy it you lost a lot of what youre purchasing a computer for, technology time.

thats a machine thats current right now, 1440 x 900 x1700 gpu 120 gb hd, for 1300. Its not going to get better than that really