Compal JHL90 vs MSI 1651 Build Quality

Well I think I am gonna choose between the Sager NP2096 (JHL90) or the MSI 1651. At this point the only appealing thing to me in the MSI 1651 is the 9600m GT DDR3 but I don't know if it's worth spending an extra $300 on it.

Does anyone have any insight as to the build quality of both these notebooks (cooling, solid build, good screen quality, etc)? I'd imagine Compal would be the better choice as far as build quality goes but I don't know too much about things like this. I'd go with the slower 9600m GT DDR2 if the build quality is better so that I run into very few problems in the future. Thanks for your help!

 

300$?! That is that my Radeon 4870 worth and it's five times faster than that.
Anyway I'd go for ddr2, since 300 certainly doesn't worth it, furthermore both VGA variants are not so good with modern games at all. In fact, they hadn't moo from the 8600M series a bit, just made clocks higher, and I can simple overclock even higher than that.

 

Well the 3 year warranty comes standard with the MSI so it's not like you're paying $300 only for the GDDR3. Either way though, it's still too much so I'm pretty sure I'm going with the 2096.

 

I think the warranty and the better graphics card plus the much better looks makes it worth it for me. the jhl90=straight out of the 80's

 

teh NP2096 got 9 cell battery also, that is what makes me buy it over the MSI 1651. I would love to have the hdmi and a bit better looking computer but it is not worht less battery and 300$

 

All laptops have 1-year warranty unless you purchase the extended warranty from Compal or MSI.

 

You know what'd be rad...a side by side comparison of these two boxes.

I suppose I could do it myself...BUUUUUUUUUUUUUT..

lazy.

=P

Also, none of these models are actually available ATM either, correct? I'm fairly sure these are both pre-orderes. Anyone have any finalized launch dates for these?

 

The MSI comes standard from powernotebooks or xoticpc with a 3 year warranty

 

I'm trying to make this decision too. Has anyone used the MSI one yet? It only comes up as 100 bucks more for me with identical configs (except you get the gddr3 on the GPU instead of gddr2, which should make a decent difference right) Also it looks sooooo much nicer than the sager

 

There is more to it than just the Standard 3 Year Parts and Labor Warranty w/Next Business Day Shipping paid both ways, plus Lifetime DOMESTIC 24/7 Toll Free Telephone Tech Support.

Differences between PowerPro P 15:3 (MSI 1651) and PowerPro P 12:15 - Sager NP2096 (Compal JHL90)

PowerPro P 15:3 has but PowerPro P 12:15 - Sager NP2096 doesn’t:
eSATA port
10 Key Numeric Keypad
IEEE 1394 Port (Firewire)
GDDR3 instead of GDDR2
Custom Colors and Graphics available
Built in Bluetooth V2.0+EDR Standard
Synaptics TouchPad with a lock-out HotKey
6 cell battery that fits flush – spare 9 cell available
4 Multi-Purpose Audio ports support 7.1 Surround Sound
Memory Card Reader supports xD memory (along with MS and SD)

PowerPro P 12:15 - Sager NP2096 has but PowerPro P 15:3 doesn’t:
Biometric Fingerprint Reader
9 Cell battery – spare 6 cell available

PowerPro P 12:5 is $100 less without Bluetooth, $60 less with Bluetooth

 

Thanks for the comparison.

The MSI looks sweet. Unless you really need the 9 cell battery or fingerprint reader, I would definitely spend the extra $60 to get the better memory, more ports and a way to easily toggle the touchpad.

 

Paladin,

Can someone opt to get the 2096 (Compal JHL90) with 6 Cell battery for the same price to begin with?

G!

 

No, you cannot upgrade or downgrade the standard battery in either model.

 

Cheers, Donald! Thanks so much for the extra comparison info. Now to choose battery life over performance...

=/

 

What does it mean to toggle the touchpad?

 

^--^
Some people have trouble with TouchPads because their thumbs or palms accidentally touch it and and the curser jumps around.

The TouchPad lock-out HotKey lets you punch it to turn the TouchPad off while you are typing, and then punch it again when you want to use it.

 

It's hard for me to believe that anyone would be so shallow as to choose a machine just because it can be ordered in a nice color!



However, that Nascar Red is pretty hard to ignore.

 

So who said there was anything wrong with being shallow?

 

That's exactly what the water pipe said

 

The build quality on the JHL90 and the MS-1651 are identical, when both of these barebone models are configured with the same specs there should be very little difference in the price. ($20-$30 difference) with the current pricing available. Definetly worth the difference to go to DDR3.

 

Hi Rob,

You mean both Comapl and MSI laptops Quality wise are the same!?!?

I guess it is confusing Question ... what determines Quality ... why is it some folks on this Forum say Clevo is better than this or Compal is better than this.

Thanks,
G!

 

I am sure everyone when asked would have a different opinion of every manufacture. When comparing these two manufactures we have seen alot of both, the build and quality are equal as far as we have seen.

 

Hi Rob,

THANKS for the reply ... this answer actually helps me narrow my decision on my near future lappy.

G!

 

answer by paladin on my question "so reliability wise its ok to get the MSI 1651?"

btw:
its between the 2096 and force 3551

 

Yes, the Sager NP2096 is built on the Compal JHL90 and the Force 3551 is built on the MSI 1651...their build quality would be hard to distinguish, but their features are not...the MSI 1651 is much more feature rich.

 

FORCE 3551 (Built on MSI-1651) PRE ORDER=$1629
- 15.4" WSXGA+ "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1680x1050) `
- Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- -Intel® P8600 45nm "Montevina" Core™2 Duo 2.40GHz w/3MB L2 On-die cache - 1066MHz FSB 25 watt
- 512MB PCI-Express nVidia GeForce 9600M GT DDR3 DX10
- - 4,096MB (Corsair, Kingston, Major Brand) DDR2 800 (2 SODIMMs) Dual Channel Memory
- Standard Matte Bllack with Silver Trim
- - Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti 8X DVDRW Drive w/ Software
- - 320GB 3GB/S SATA II 5400RPM Hard Drive
- Internal 4-in-1 Card Reader (SD/MMC/MS/MS PRO)
- Internal Bluetooth 2.0+ EDR
- Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 5300 802.11 a/g/n Wi-Fi Link
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Carying Case Optional (Select if desired)
- Smart Li-ion Battery (6-Cell)
- -Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's
- 3 Year Complete Care Full Parts / Labor Warranty - Next Business Day Shipping - Lifetime 24/7 DOMESTIC Tech Support

+$69 if fingerprint reader is to be added

Sager NP2096 Custom Laptop (Built on the Compal JHL90) PRE ORDER=$1493
- 15.4" WSXGA+ "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1680x1050) `
- Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- ~Intel® P8600 45nm "Montevina" Core™2 Duo 2.40GHz w/3MB L2 On-die cache - 1066MHz FSB 25 watt
- 512MB PCI-Express nVidia GeForce 9600M GT DDR2 DX10
- ~ 4,096MB DDR2 800 (2 SODIMMS) Dual Channel Memory (Requires Vista 64-Bit to recognize Full 4GB)
- Standard Finish
- ~Combo 8x8x6x4x Dual Layer DVD +/-R/RW 5x DVD-RAM 24x CD-R/RW Drive w/Softwares
- ~ 320GB 5400RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 8MB Cache)
- Internal 3-in-1 Card Reader (SD/MMC/MS)
- Internal Bluetooth 2.0+ EDR
- Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 5300 802.11 a/g/n Wi-Fi Link
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Carying Case Optional (Select if desired)
- Smart Li-ion Battery (9-Cell)
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- ~Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit Installed (64&32-Bit CD Included) w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's
- Sager 3 Year Parts & Labor Warranty, Lifetime Sager Toll Free Support[/QUOTE]

 

Hi addbot,

Thanks for the posting of the 2 config ... Can you make it a no-brainer and tell me what is your deduction of the two ... to YOU which one is better laptop and or value!?!?

G!

 

i have already decided that ill be ordering the NP2096 before i came across Force3551 ... ill wait for the reviews on this 2 notebooks before ordering
but if i would have to order now then ill order Force 3551

reasons for choosing Force3551 over NP2096:
- The build quality on the JHL90 and the MS-1651 are identical, their build quality would be hard to distinguish, but their features are not...the MSI 1651 is much more feature rich.... according to paladin on post #10, #25
- imo, it looks a little better than the NP2096
- im not too concerned about the batteries... and fingerprint scanners aswell
- and the most important factor is that my budget right now would still allow me to get the Force 3551 for the additional performance ...

but seriously, i think the $136 price difference is worth it(pending the reviews).

 

@ addbot ... Thanks for your reply.

@ Paladin or Justin ... I think I saw somewhere ... that the Finger Print Reader can be added to the MSI-1651 ... is this TRUE!?!?

Thanks,
G!

 

Sure, with an ExpressCard or USB fingerprint reader

 

Thanks Paladin ... OK that's what it was.

G!

 

so its still the np2096 for you?

 

with my budget for now YES!

But, I might just change my mind last minute and cough up the $ ...

G!

 

np2096 is more than sufficient for the apps and games im running on a laptop ... so yeah, might still change my mind as wellÜ

NP2096+ducati fives from oakley would also be fine for me ...

 

That Battery sticking out has always been a soar spot with these compals for me.

 

ASUS G50V-A1 - PRE ORDER
- !! FREE !! UPS GROUND SHIPPING (Use Coupon Code FREESHIP in Checkout)
- 15.4" WSXGA+ "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1680x1050)
- ASUS Zero Bright Dot (ZBD) Pixel Guarantee
- -Intel® T9400 45nm "Montevina" Core™2 Duo 2.53GHz w/6MB L2 On-die cache - 1066MHz FSB 35 watt - ASUS Default Processor
- 512MB PCI-Express nVidia GeForce 9700M GT DDR3 DX10
- - 4,096MB (Corsair, Kingston, Major Brand) DDR2 800 (2 SODIMMs) Dual Channel Memory
- Standard Finish
- - Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti 8X DVDRW Drive w/ Software
- - 250GB SATA 150 5400RPM Hard Drive - Default
- - 250GB SATA 150 5400RPM Hard Drive - Default
- Internal 8-in-1 Card Reader: MMC/SD/Mini-SD/XD/Memory Stick/MS Pro/MS Duo/MS Pro Duo
- Internal Bluetooth 2.0+ EDR
- Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 4965 802.11 a/g/n
- Built in 1.3Megapixel Camera
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Asus G Series Matching Backpack made by Targus
- Smart Li-ion Battery (6-Cell)
- Asus G Series Matching Logitech Mouse
- ~Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's - ENS
- 2 Year ASUS GLOBAL Warranty, 24/7 Tech Support, 1 Year Accidental Damage Coverage & 2-Way Pre-Paid Overnight Shipping for Repairs
= $1639.00

any comment on this one?

 

Get a 6 cell as a spare, it will be flush with the back of the notebook.

 

Yes. It is extremely expensive to customize, but it outclasses the others by a substantial margin for a negligible increase in price. When I bought my laptop, I knew that in half a year or so there would be something an order of magnitude better for the same price and it looks like this is it.

 

how bout reliability, cooling and customer support issues?

 

Go over to the ASUS section to see what they say...

 

ofcourse, silly me ... already did ... uhmm, its good.

 

Too little customizability on that one. the 9700gt is a huge plus, but it is weighted down by all the bolted down components, like the 2x hd.

 

So I would like to get this straight, performance wise whats the difference between the 9600M GT DDR3 and the 9600M GT DDR2? Is it actually substantial?

 

Hi LHogue ...

I can't remember where I got this clipping ... but since I was curious about this Q myself, I had searched before and found this and saved it in my clippings ...

DDR3 has a bigger bandwidth than DDR2.

BUT, I also found this post by "Willy S" that makes a lot of sense ... so, if you are a Gamer look at your overall set up and not just the components by themselves ..

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=268606&page=2

I know Willy's logic makes sense because I found out the hard way that having a T9300 fast CPU does not mean I can back upmy home DVD in 8 minutes time like my desktop ... and you say why ... because Laptop DVD Burners Top Speed is only 8X vs my desktop that is 16X ... so, there is something to be said abotu "Bottlenecks" ....

Hope this helps out.

G!

 

the feature set will all be the same, so you'll be able to play the same range of games. advantage, not great but existing, to the gddr3 fps wise. the gddr3 also generates less heat.

 

Yes, it is. Check out this site: http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-9600M-GT.9449.0.html

 

I am having difficulty with the warranty of the NP2096 and the MSI 1651. The Sager Website seems to make sense, but Xotic seems to be a bit much.

With the Sager site I can get:

3 year warranty Parts labor and tech support
30 no dead pixels

all for $239

For both computers on Xotic:

no dead pixels is $200.
The MSI comes with a 3 year warranty but accidental damage is $349 extra.

Does the no dead pixel guarantee come with the accidental damage policy?

These are the two laptops I am looking at. I don't want to spend more than $1600 and I would like to game on a 15.4" screen.

 

Hi MLOHRENZ ...

I think may be you are reading "Xotic PC" warranty incorrectly ...

1) You are buying the same warranty weather you buy it from Sager or Xotic PC ...

2) If you are buying a $1200-$1400 laptop ... in my mind all you need the $139 deal ... 3 Year Parts & Labor ... anything else waste of your money.

3) I am not so sure about "Dead Pixel" business and coughing up extra $200 separately just to ensure No Dead Pixels. I wouldn't pay that.
Now, if you are determined you NEED/WANT that ... then the $239 deal makes more sense ... for another $100 above teh $139 ... you have "30 Days" of warranty that there are no Dead Pixels.

See both warranties below from each Sellers web page.

If it was my choice I go with XoticPC ... especially if you are located in California.

I didn't address MSI 1651 ... since I am out of time and I have to run ...

Hope this helps you ...

G!

 

Accidental Damage and No Dead Pixels warranties are two different things, and one does not cover the same things as the other.

With the Sager NP2096 you can buy the Dead Pixel warranty by itself for $200, or if you buy the 3 year warranty you can upgrade to bundle the Dead Pixel with it for only $100 more.

The best place to get accidental damage insurance that will also cover theft (which the accidental damage policy from any laptop seller does not cover) is www.safeware.com. It is underwritten by an A.M. Best "A" rated insurance company.

 

@ MLOHRENZ ... since you had only mentioned "Xotic PC" as a source for your buy ... I forgot to mention "Power Notebooks" out of Nevada another EXCELLENT source for Sager laptops. Great Customer Service and very knowledgable folks ... as you can see by Paladin44 post above ... Paladin is one of their Rep and happen to post on this Forum regularly.

G!