For those of you torn between the HEL80 and Z96J

I have seen allot of discussion with people torn between the HEL80 and the (delayed )Z96J. Here are some pictures side by side of the two machines. The HEL80 is equipped with the "matte" WSXGA and the Z96J is equipped with the "Glare Type" Glossy WSXGA.

 

Justin,

Great post! This should help a lot of people make up their minds in choosing between the two. I especially like how you captured the difference in the amount of reflections on the two screens.

Although I agree that glossy screens are brighter and sharper-looking, I would like to note that the Compal's matte screen does not appear as dim and dull as they may appear in the photos. Meaning that you won't be straining to see "anything" on your matte screen, should you choose to go that route.

 

Thanks chrisyano

I agree, the matte is not as bad as the pictures look, but the Glossy does look very nice

 

thanks for the picture comparison..
that should put to rest concerns over the HEL80's thickness as its just about the same as the S96J

However the glossy does look nice.

 

are glossy's in general brighter than matte screens or is the compal screen just simply not as bright?

 

From seeing the machines in person i would say the glossy is not only brighter but has more crisp & vivid colors (even when viewing at angles) than the matte.

 

Looks to me compal one is at its lowest brightness setting, which can be increased with Fn+f5/6.

 

EQualizer,

Glossy screens are in general brighter and "sharper" looking. I say "sharper" because you are looking at an image through a clear surface, rather than a textured surface.

If you were to use a matte screen, however, you would not feel like it was a dim screen. It's just that the glossy technology give a brighter appearance.

I have owned both. I think I prefer matte for it's anti-glare properties but it's all personal preference.

 

edit/addition:

hurts to see the glossy put my matte to shame... sigh.i shouldnt complain though, i havent actually seen the matte yet, so maybe it wont hurt so bad when i actually see it. both were at full brightness for those pics, im assuming.

either way, in terms of appearance side by side with Z96J, i think the HEL looks pretty sexy even though alot of asus people have been bashing it pretty hard.

 

They were set at full brightness on both... Not to take away from the HEL80, which does have a few more features than the Z96J. But screen wise the Z96J definately has the edge....


azriyeti I am sure you will be happy with your new HEL80

 

wow big diff

 

Haha, thanks for the consolation Justin. It's very cool of you to put pictures like this up. But with asus's combination of superior graphics card and screen at around the same price, i have a hard time seeing how anyone could take the HEL80 over the Z96J.. even with the few extra features. either way, im still going to love my HEL80, im excited to get it hopefully by thursday...

 

I really appreciate the photographs, thank you! I've been waiting to see what the matte screen looks like...and the HEL80 next to the Asus, many thanks!

I do think the photographs are a little misleading - bright daylight is pouring through the open window; naturally the glossy screen would be very reflective and visible, I dare say more then usual, and the matte would not be so reflective and would appear dimmer, but would be just as easy if not easier to work on. That and...the matte screen had to be the one closest to the window, huh...

I think it's a matter of preference; I find matte screens so much easier on the eyes as well as easier to work with anywhere - sure, the glossy is nice and vibrant, but what good is that if it feels like looking in a mirror everywhere you go? Not to say that matte screens don't reflect, they do, just a whole lot less, mostly noticable on blacks and dark colours.

If it's not too much to ask, could we get a side by side with both on, say, in a room with standard overhead lighting and subdued daylight? Pllleeeaase :decision:

 

hahaah the "So many choices" smiley is right...

it sucks esp. with school approaching and such, strict deadlines where i have to make decisions by

ITS SO DIFFICUUULTT

 

I would be glad to take some pictures in more of a strict flourescent lighting enviroment. I can see what you are saying about being misleading with the dayligh pouring in. I will post them in the morning.

Thank you all for your comments

 

excellent job justin.
i am sure you can buy those matte protective film if you are really annoyed with the glare property in Z96J.
now, i only need to find a way that i can paint the Z96J body in matte black. only if i find a way.........

ahdont

 

Ask around in the cosmetic forums. Im sure there is away or something. They do some pretty crazy stuff. Well later.

 

Its funny you say that, We are looking to add custom painting to our laptop line. We have a demo unit at a painter (since last Tuesday ) and is supposed to be delivered this friday. I was planning on posting some pics in the NB Mod forum when it arrives.

 

Excellent comparison!!! I'm a convert to glossy screens but have never seen a side-by-side of matte vs. glossy. Your pics really demonstrate the differences between the two. Great job and thanks for the effort!!!

 

Justin,

Also if it's not too much trouble...could you add a shot in the dark? That might give everyone the least biased comparison as to actual difference in brightness.

 

Great post. When I first saw the HEL80, I thought it was much more bulky and just bigger overall than the Z96J. Now seeing the side by side, it's very obvious that the sizes ae quite comparable. The Z96J has smoother edges, making it look sleeker. The HEL80 has a boxier build design, thus giving the impression that it is bulkier.

I agree with you 100% on the screen comparison between the two. Having seen both units up close, i feel that the Z96J has a sharper and more vibrant display.

 

I feel much better about the size of the HEL80 when compared to the Z96J. That was one of the things that had me on the ropes when deciding between the two. Thanks

Yeah, and a shot in the dark would be great.

 

I will definately post some pics up later this morninig on the two in the dark, and maybe another shot in some light flourescent lighting.....

 

As suspected in previous posts, the Glare Type display looks better in a daylight enviroment comapred to the matte (and possibly a little because the matte was closer to the window) I now have some pictures, hot off the press , showing the two screens in a completely dark enviroment and some light flourescent lighting. This shows that the HEL80 WSXGA Matte is not as bad as it looks in the daylight enviroment on the previous post. You can see the Glossy still shows its vibrant colors and better angle views.

Enjoy!

 

The matte screen on the HEL80 really is quite good in my opinion. It shows in those pictures, especially the last. I am also very impressed with the viewing angles.

 

Both have really good angles in this lighting. Hard for me to say which is better but I have to give it to the EL80 with the lights off and under fluorescents; It's screen looks more vibrant.

But in the daylight...Z96J wins. More vibrant and better angles

 

Hey, all the pictures everyone asked for! Thanks again, it's very appreciated. I think these do justice to both quite well. They're both very nice, albiet different.

Although you couldn't at all see it in sunlight, I think in 'normal' lighting, we can see that the HEL80's matte screen is quite a bit more saturated/colour rich then then Z96J's screen, which looks to be very good all-around but is still very reflective...but so is everything else these days, hey.

I need the matte screen for photo-editing and text, which is something reflective/glossy screens are not very good at. I'd get the ASUS W2J in a heartbeat if it had a matte screen offered as an option, that would be a killer laptop...but it's an ensemble Asus blah blah etc, this is why I'm most likely going to get the HEL80 with the matte screen. Nice to see it with the Z96J - although the Asus is thinner, I like the darker color and since the HEL80 is a little thicker, it looks a bit more sturdy to me. That said this is coming from the guy who still uses his IBM 600X...nice and thick

 

From all the pictures I've seen so far, I prefer the Z96J. Thanks for posting those. It really made it clear what my choice would be if I was going to choose between the two.

 

Thanks for the new pictures Justin! I think the second batch gives a better idea of what the matte screen is capable of. The first batch really showed off the glossy screen's brightness though. Now if only they could get the brightness of glossy minus the crazy glare/reflection...

Oh yes, and as Chaz says, the WSXGA+ matte on the HEL80 is a great screen. So those of you considering it can rest assured expect a great screen.

 

Thanks again all of you for your comments. I 100% agree that the HEL80 has a great screen. It all depends on what your personal preferences are between "matte" and "glossy". My personal opinion is that i like the glossy much better but i also understand how others would prefer the matte.

Hope this helps all of you debating between these two fine laptops

 

Justin,

Will you folks be carrying the Z96J soon or does a customer just go to your S96J page to order one?

 

Our site is being updated with the Z96J. I will PM further info.

 

You will have to look at our post here, on a laptop that just came back from the painter. It turned out really good....

 

Thanks for the comparison, Justin! I just took delivery of my HEL80 with the matte screen. The screen is simply beautiful. It beats the (excellent) MacBook Pro screen that I replaced by a wide margin. I need the matte display because I use the laptop in varying environments on the road. Having used it for a week, I have been extremely pleased in all lighting conditions. The high resolution allows me to view my entire pilot's logbook spreadsheet at one glance without scrolling. I promise you won't be disappointed with the HEL80's matte screen.

 

I have a Z96J, and I was trying to take pictures of it next to a matte lcd(the Uniwill in my Sig) and it all depends on which screen is closer to the camera. As you all should know, angles depend on locations of obects. The screen farther from the camera is at a more extreme viewing angle than the closer screen. And light is more intense when you are closer to its source, thus making the close screen look not only brighter, but it is at a lower viewing angle giving it the advantage all around.

Read my Z96J review, toward the bottom there are pictures from BOTH sides comparing my Z96J screen to my Uniwill one. And I was very happy with the Uniwill screen; it is very bright, but colors are somewhat washed out, and everything looks much sharper and nicer on the Z96. And I really prefer WSXGA over WXGA.

 

Can we have a link to your review of the Z96J?

 

Ummmm... it just got closed a few hours ago because of some idiot bashing me because he found out I am 15 years old. Here's a link:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=70451

Please Note: Weight of the Z96J is under question. I have found it to be between 5 and 6 lbs, more around 5.25-5.5lbs. However, I do not have a digital scale, and the official weight is 6.3lbs. I cannot make changes to the review because it is closed.

 

The weight of the Z96J is not at all under question...why would you say that?

We have weighed it with our calibrated digital scale and it weighs 6.8 pounds.

 

I know. That is the problem. I may not have a digital scale, but I weighed it as accurately as possible and it come out to be somewhere roughly between 5.25 and 5.5 lbs.

According to other resellers, the weight is 6.3lbs. Does your 6.8 include the power adapter? I did not weigh the power adapter.

Here is what I weighed:

Z96J barebones from G2P with standard 6 cell battery in notebook.
G2P QSI optical drive,
1 module 1GB Corsair 667 RAM
60GB 7200 RPM SATA Hitachi HDD

Everything is standard. I have a T2400 processor but that should not matter for weight at all. Just letting you know I weighed it with processor installed.

Like I have said, I don't have valid proof for the weight being 5.25-5.5lbs. I need to get a hold of a digital scale. Then I'll try and take pictures.

One thing worth mentioning: I have an 8lb Uniwill(see sig) and my Z96J feels like it weighs about half as much as the Uniwill. Part of it is how the weight is distributed, but I think there is definately a much greater difference between the two than 1.2 lbs. The Uniwill with power adapter, by the way, is 11lbs. I just weighed my Z96J with power adapter and got 6.5lbs.

EDIT: Just reweighed the Z96J a few more times and I get almost 6 lbs exactly for the fully configured unit without power adapter.

 

Weight distribution is a figment of your imagination. I don't know what you are using to weigh it, but it is not accurate.

Eddie at Geared2Play weighed it on his digital scale at 6.7 pounds and ours weighed 6.8 pounds rounded to the tenth. There you have it.

 

Is that WITH OR WITHOUT the power adapter? Why does Eddie's site say the official weight is 6.3 lbs?

No it's not. Depending on how the weight is distributed can make the laptop "feel" lighter or heavier than another laptop of identical weight. What I was saying is that because of how the weight is distributed in the Z96J, if feels lighter than it actually is. Of course, this doesn't affect it's true weight. The scale doesn't lie. Except for mine.

Think of weather- the difference between the actual temperature, and what it "feels like". There are other factors that go into how warm it feels besides the air temperature. Humitidy, wind-chill factor, the list goes on. These things don't change the air temperature, but can make it feel warmer or colder than it actually is.

Almost the same thing applies to a laptop's weight.

 

That is without the AC Adapter.

The manufacturers always quote a weight which is for the barebones only and it is almost always about one half pound lighter than the fully configured laptop.

This is why we invested in a digital scale and calibrate it regularly. Resellers were always quoting the manufacturer's barebones published weight, and it was never accurate...our weights are now accurate for the fully configured systems, without the AC Adapter.

 

Wait...you are 15 years old? No wonder you have so much time

 

Yes, I am. No, I do not have that much free time. I'm just out of school at the moment. I also spent every waking moment on a computer, or working with a computer. I do a lot of coding and such, and I leave my E-mail client open to refresh every 60 seconds. So I get pretty much instant notification as soon as anyone replies to anything. If I had more time I would instantly reply to people's stuff. But I don't.

 

right...



Just pulling your leg

 

Oops. I meant I get instant notification as soon as anyone replies to anything in any thread I've ever posted in.

I really don't care if you don't believe me when I tell you I am 15 years old. I don't care if you don't believe me when I tell you I don't have much free time. I know it is the truth and you can't change that.

So what do people think of their HEL80's and Z96J's? I am perfectly happy with my Z96J and never considered that I should have gotten something else. The Z96J has been by far my best laptop decision yet. Sure, I only have three(Haha- only) but that is three more than most people my age. I service desktops and laptops for cash- that's how I pay for my computers, and how I get to "test drive" a wide variety of computers.

 

Hi guys, since you are doing such a nice comparison on screens would you mind comparing the sound between the two and let me know which is better?

 

The HEL80 has much better sound than the Z96J its louder and full. The Z96J is tinty and has low volume. Anyone else want to chime in on this ....

 

I know it is not exactly fair to compare but what does the WXGA glossy screen of Compal look like compared to the Z96J?

 

I would suggest you give one of the resellers (that sells both models) a call and see what they have to say about this. Otherwise you're just asking for speculation from users that have only one of the systems. You could also ask them about the difference in fan noise then.