z70va now or z96j later

Hey all. I'm new the forums but I've been browsing them for a while.

Question,

I *really* want a z70va. It is a very stylish laptop with all of the features I want (15.4 wsxga+, nice GPU, thin and light, stylish and well built) I was ready to buy until I saw the new z96j specs, which is going to be core duo and x1600, glossy screen, etc.

Does anyone have an opinion as to which one I should go with? I literally had my card in hand and was about to key in my order when I stumbled across the z96j. It looks like it will be quite a bit faster than the z70va, but maybe not made of the same quality material. Any opinions would be appreciated.

Thanks!

z96j pics here: http://geared2play.com/store/products/laptops/asus/z96j/z96j.htm

 

That about summarizes it.......

Z70va has looks and style, but now older tech with the x700 and P-M processor.
Z96j has the new dual core, X1600 graphics but has the look that some feel is more "blah" but others feel is just different. Eddie thinks that this is one smokin' machine, though.

If you're not heavy into the latest games, the x700 may be adequate for your needs. But, dual core definitely helps with mega-multitasking or multithread apps like video encoding etc.

A lot of people won't see a substantial gain in performance for the tasks that they put their proc through, but your mileage may vary...... Think about what you will be using it for, and then decide which is more important - style vs substance

 

Wait for the Z96j - you'll be much happier in the long run and you'll have more flexibility going forward (ie..if Merom can be dropped in).

This is a case where a little patience will pay off big.

 

As beautiful as the z70va is the z96 is what you should get. Its a shame the screen isnt wsxga though.

 

The Z96j is by far NOT as good looking as the Z70va, no matter how challenged the person judging them may be.....

Keep this in mind...... the Z96j will have a higher res screen upon release...... one reason I haven't mentioned the Z62j and Z96j demos is because they came with lower res screens and quite frankly, besides running numbers on the graphics cards (which are typical anyway) and judging the rather blah design..... it's hard to get a good feel or do a good review of a system that isn't as it's going to sell....... The Z62f is blah.... the Z62j is the same with dedicated graphics...... and the Z96j is a 10% larger version of the Z62j.... simply put.

I do have a great feeling though that the Z96j will be an enormous sell throughout the start of the fall semester at the very least. It's a great system and has a lot of power and isn't going to break the bank. Does it have the looks of the Z70... no... however, everyone needs a change and this is a brand new chassis and is probably going to take a little while for me to get used to, but it may be "blah", but it's not "ugly"....

.... if you need a system before the end of the month... you can't get a Z96j. If you don't need all the power and like the Z70va's looks....... bingo, you have your answer.

 

Depends on what you need. If you really think the extra power from the Z96j is needed, then alright go for that, but the Z70Va is just spectacular. Not only in looks, but build quality (when you have one that was built the way it was meant to be), performance is stellar if you spec it out and the x700 is a really great card for light gaming on this machine.

I say light gaming because I'm the type of gamer that needs 100% smoothness in very high detail settings for any game to be called "playable".

The x700 DOES play many games very well, so unless you are going to be using this machine as your primary gaming computer, I say get the Z70Va.

Cheers,
Mike

 

I wopuld have to disagree. Though the color is not exactly the best i can think of the z96 is on par with the z70v. Its just as thin and very similar in dimmesions. You are missing the point. The z96 is better in every way then the z70 except the color. Its also way cheaper and way better designed. Read my review. It says it all. Blah is not an acurate description of it. Not the best pick of colors but everything else is very much improved over the z70. Yes it does not have a modular bay and it doesnt have an audio dj. Who cares? Its 200$ cheaper for the barebone. The z70 series proved one thing. Extremely unrealiable which is a shame. The audio board, the screen ghosting, the hinges, the creaking (which never bothered me and most people), the optical drives which were horrible and the most unreliable batch i have ever seen. Asus struck out with this laptop in terms of relaibility. The z71v with all dead batteries was 100x more reliable. I expected 100x better but got 100x worse.