IFL90 vs. G1s

There is a compromise with any laptop out there. With the C90 its battery life. With the IFL90 its HDMI or DVI. Different people have different needs and will choose their computers accordingly.

 

That c90 apparently gets extremely hot, they even put warnings in the manual aout it burning your legs if its on your lap for a while, its using pc parts that run up to twice as hot (35deg to 60-65deg) and has a huge fan at the back. Someone in one of the threads also pointed out that its not really that upgradeable as cpu's in the future will require new motherboards, new ram new this new that, and it will end up being cheaper just to buy a newer laptop in the future. Anyway back to topic, so there are 20 people in here that connect it up to their LCD, wow, 20 people, not really enough to proove its value. What are you doing on your laptop when it is connected to the LCD, gaming, office work, internet browsing? How is it set up, is the laptop on your lap or a desk, doesnt the actual screen of the laptop get in your way? Does the laptop screen turn off or have u got 2 screens on running at once?

 

For my uses (only with VGA though) it will be on my coffee table and I will be on my couch with a wireless keyboard and mouse. I will use it for gaming that way, but you can bet there are a lot of people that would like the option for HDMI.

Dell is offering a Blu-Ray drive on their Inspiron line for $600, yet no HDMI. So they expect everyone that wants to fork over that kind of cash for the drive to only watch movies on their notebook, or to have enough cash to buy a stand alone player for their entertainment center. HDMI would be very useful for them, and the lack of it will probably stifle their blu-ray sales.

HP offers the choice of an hdmi connection in place of a usb port, if you have discrete graphics. Seems like the obvious way to go about it. Dont give anyone a port they wont use, yet offer it for those that do want it.

I was on the fence for a while with the G1S or IFL90, and to be perfectly honest the hdmi was on my mind. I finally decided that it wasnt important enough and I am sticking with the Compal. But it certainly is a valuable addition on todays notebooks for a lot of people.

 

I have to agree with Gi1b0. For me there is no need for a HDMI port. But the real problem I have with the G1S is that the starting configuration price is around 1800. People say that if I configure the Compal IFL90 to the same specs as the G1S I'll get around the same price when I really don't need all those features.

For me, the advantage of the IFL90 is customization on a budget. I can get exactly what I need in the thing. With the G1S I'm paying for everything.

 

total lies, any laptop will get hot if you clog its vents on the bottom.

I have heard first hand testimonal from sombody that got to see one the other day and they said it was super cool running and now they want one as its the best notebook they have ever had to pleasure to see/use.

 

We'll find out when we get reviews. With those 4 fans moving that much air I think it'll probalby manage well.

The point about the processors is valid though. They changed the pin layout moving to Santa Rosa, probably to accomodate the new bus speed.

 

With desktops you really only have a 2 year window or so to upgrade your cpu, so it won't be much different with the C90. At some point they change the pin layout and your mboard is no longer upgradeable. I don't think too many C90 buyers are too concerned about their processors though, they are all interested in the ability to add the 9000 series gpu, and the C90 will be alive and well for that by all accounts.

 

Okay. I am really confused. I am pretty sure I am going to get the IFL90. However, there are three sites that offer that computer. On Xotic PC, the Compal IFL90 is offered and with everything I want it comes out to be $2130.

15.4" WSXGA+ (1680 x 1050) Display w/PCI-e nVIDIA GeForce Go 8600GT 512MB Video Card
- Standard Dead Pixel Policy
- Intel® Core™2 Duo T7500 2.2GHz w/4MB L2 On-die cache - 800MHz FSB
- - 3,072MB (2 SODIMMS) DDR2 667MHz Memory
- - Combo Dual Layer SuperMulti 8X DVDRW Drive w/ Software
- - 160GB Seagate Momentus 3GB/S SATA 300 7200RPM Hard Drive
- Internal 4-in-1 Card Reader (SD/MMC/MS/MS PRO)
- Built in 2.0 Megapixel Camera
- Sound Blaster Compatible 3D Audio - Included
- Integrated System Speakers - Included
- Built-in Intel® PRO/Wireless 4965 802.11 a/g/n
- Smart Li-ion Battery (9-Cell) - **Standard w/ WSXGA Screen Only**
- Integrated Fingerprint Reader
- -Windows Vista Home Premium 32-Bit w/ Drivers & Utilities CD's
- Microsoft Office 2007 SBE - (Word/Excel/Outlook/PowerPoint/Publisher)
- None Standard
- 3 Year Complete Care Full Parts / Labor Warranty - Next Business Day Shipping - Lifetime 24/7 DOMESTIC Tech Support


On discountpcsales the MTECHIFL90 with basically the exact same configuration (except only 2GB of RAM) comes out to be $2140.

Now the confusing part: On powernotebooks.com, I set everything up the same for the Sager NP2090. However, when selecting 3GB of RAM it says 64bit Vista required. It also only comes out to be $1924.
I think thats b/c there is no dead pixel policy on that config. and no case. So anyways, for the other two options it doesnt say anything about 64bit Vista only for anything so whats exactly is the deal with 32 vs 64bit and which setup should I go with. Also, is a pixel policy important in your guys' opinion.

 

Sorry about the confusion...the Vista 64bit required on the 3GB was an error and it has been corrected...thanks for pointing that out.

If you would like to talk about the value of the no dead pixel warranty give me a call tomorrow and I can help clarify it for you.

 

Every company has a dead pixel policy of some kind, from what you listed above I don't think there was any charge for it.

Im not sure why the ram would prompt you for Vista 64, 4gig works on 32 bit, it just doesnt use all of it, so why 3 would be a problem is beyond me.

Regarding the MS Office, have you ever tried openoffice? Its free at openoffice.org, you can always buy MS Office later, and openoffice is free. Did I mention openoffice is free?

 

thanx paladin. i might do that.

 

Has the price of the ifl-90 drastically risen in the last several weeks? In any case, with identical specs (aside from the 9 cell battery in the compal) the ifl-90 now costs more than the G1s. This particular compal now costs 1846.88$ (power notebooks) vs. the 1820$ G1s (lagoom). I admit that being configurable the compal can be considerably cheaper. However, if a buyer is looking for similar specs it comes down to power against battery life. The asus will outperform the compal to its ddr3 memory. I believe this was shown through tests done with the ddr2 zepto. Asus’s warranty for a g1s covers 2 years, plus a 30 day no dead or bright pixel policy. I consider this superior to a standard 3 year because of my experiences with that issue. I included vista and a backpack, while musts for me individual needs will vary. Of course, I’m biased, but you might benefit from some opposite views considering you posted this in the compal forum. I’m sure regardless of your choice both lap tops will perform admirably.

 

well u get 1 yr more of parts and labor, next day shipping, and lifetime 24/7 tech support. and power and xotic do have a money back no questions asked 15 day thing, so if u really have dead pixels, i suppose u could return it within that time.

if your looking for cheaper options, you can always get the sager 2090, less the warranty but cheaper than the g1s

 

The IFL90 has 512 DDR3 at least in the USA. It appears to be slightly underclocked compared to the G1S. The difference in synthetic benchmarks isn't great and the IFL is running cooler with much longer battery life.

The biggest benefit of the IFL 90 is that you pay only for what you want. If you don't want a wsxga+ screen then you can get it. Already have a bag and mouse? why pay for another. Want a 7200rpm hard drive? At least some of the G1S dealers will keep the 160gig you already paid for and charge you almost full retail the the faster drive. You want 3 gigs of Ram? Its easier and cheaper to do on the Compal.

Plus I wouldn't undervalue the warranty from PowerNotebooks or XoticPC. Prepaid shipping both ways, 24 hour technical support for life.

In my opinion the Compal is still the better value even if the costs are the same.

 

Donsell, what's the clock difference between the two sets of video memory (IFL90 and G1S) at stock?

Thanks,

Petrov.

 

everybody keeps going back to this like it makes a huge ground breaking difference.

shipping??? once you have it you have it for good. If it takes a few extra days whats the big deal?

24hr tech support? everybody has that... its call the forums
if you really want to speak with some uneducated person over the phone and waist your time, everybody has that during regular day time hours.

1yr warrenty is nice, if things broke that fast. I have never had a computer part fail on me plus I always have a new machine every 2 years.

In the case of my new notebook im building a C90S from Asus, since I bought the parts seperatly they come with individual warrenties, ranting from 4-5 years... so that would be the way to go if you want a long warrenty.

 

f those 2 things you said, the first just means you are lucky. Almost everyone that has owned a pc or two has had something go wrong, through the years with my desktops I have lost hard drives, cd roms and memory, and the current power supply I have has burned out twice, thankfully the manufacturer gives a 3 year warranty on it. Im not even a big warranty guy, but that first year comes in pretty handy.

Secondly, you must realize you are in the minority if you are buying a new computer every 2 years, so thats why to you the warranty isnt a big deal. For most theyre making a big purchase and they want the machine to last, and if it doesnt they want the piece of mind that a longer warranty brings.


If we all had the same needs and budgets, there would only be one notebook brand with one model.


Edit - The shipping they were talking about was for repair shipments, not initial delivery.

 

hdds are definitly the main thing to go bad, id recomend you get one aftermarket. its cheaper and has a longer warrenty.

 

Well think of this. $30 for an MX518 if you know where to look. $50-$70 for a good bag. The rest is ports, the solid feel, the slightly better stock components)

Which brings us to: they're the same value. The decision will have to be all on personal preference and not any dealbreaking statistics.

 

To tell you the truth, I don't know whether the poster you quoted was talking about the initial shipping or shipping that may be needed for repairs because his post was so brief. Anyway, discussion should center around the latter because that's where it counts. It is almost true that "once you have it, you have it for good". There's one exception: what if your laptop breaks so badly that it requires a tech to look at it. If you are in that situation, then it matters a lot what kind of shipping the warranty covers. There's a difference between "it'll get there when it gets there", 3-day shipping and next-day shipping. That can make the difference between not having a laptop for an entire week (3-days to get there, 1 day for repair, 3 days to get back) vs not having a laptop for 3 days (1 day to get there, 1 day for repair, 1 day to get back). (In both cases that's a best-case estimate. In the 3-day shipping case, it 7 day turnaround is very unlikely because it's very likely that the entire time span will have non-business days adding delays to shipping.)

If you need a repair that does not require the entire laptop to be shipped, then yes, in a literal sense you are in possession of your laptop but it may not be functional. Again, the delays I pointed out above apply because that's how replacement parts are going to be shipped.

For those who do not care about warranties, the comparison of the G1S (or any other computer) should be made with the Sager NP2090 which is just a Compal IFL90 branded by Sager but can be obtained with a minimal 1-year warranty (and 3-day shipping IIRC). Or the comparison should be made with a barebones Compal IFL90.

I myself went with the Sager because my computer will spend the most part of its second year of warranty in India, China or both. (No, it won't travel there alone. I'll be there too. ) Since all the warranties on the Compal (branded as whatever) that I've seen are domestic, I saw little point with paying for a longer warranty given that I would not be able to use half of the extension.

Hmm... I trust the people at PowerNotebooks (where I bought) to know what they are talking about much much more than the people on the forums. I've seen a fair amount of misinformation and ill-considered advice in posts in the forums.

A longer warranty with the right company can add to the resale value. Dell, for instance, makes clear that its warranties are fully transferable. I've had parts fail on all the laptops I've owned.

That would work for someone who wants to service their computer themselves. In this case, if a comparison should be made with a Compal IFL90, it should be with the barebones version of the Compal.

 

ViciousXUSMC - you don't need to work so hard to justify your purchase of the C90. I'm sure it was a good choice for you - power with the compromise of battery life, warranty and support.

For many of us battery life, warranty and support are more important than desktop like performance and the IFL 90 is a better choice.

We'd all take the $1000, 1" thick, 4 pounder with a great screen, 12 hours of battery, lifetime parts & labor, desktop like performance laptop if it existed, but it doesn't. Until then we'll all compromise something based on our needs.

 

I was just about to pre-order my IFL90 a few weeks ago when it dawned on me. I don't really know how to explain it, but it seemed to me that if you fully upgraded the Compal to match the G1S, it would feel like a fully loaded Kia next to a Lexus. Sure, the cars are both equal in terms of interior and engine/horse power, but at the end of the day its still a Kia. The Compal starts out cheap for a reason and it just didnt feel right putting all that good hardware into that box. Also, I believe the LCD is a bit better for gaming. As others have mentioned the IFL90 isnt supposed to be just for gaming, the toned down bland looks for example. Thus, the screen may not be up to par. I have heard of ghosting on previous models and I just didnt want to take a chance.

 

I've never seen a plastic Lexus with lime green accents and flashing hubcaps, but if that is what you want to spend your money on and you're happy I say go for it.

 

i dont' think the kia lexus comparison is completely accurate. Because that would assume that compal is some no name second rate manufacturer. And the build qualities are comparable. There are also certain aspects of the compal that are better than the G1S.

 

Maybe you should google metaphor. Thats just my opinion. Also, a few threads on some Compal predecessor's led me to believe that the displays aren't comparable at all. And I know a fully upgraded IFL90 would be more powerful, Robson, GPU with more memmory, etc. It would also cost more so that you cant use that as a plus of the IFL90. Also, thought that it was running only DDR2 in the GPU, has that changed?

 

I think it was RivaTuner that showed it as ddr3, might be some other things as well. I'm not sure.

If you got a sager and didn't get the 3 year warranty you can max it out for cheaper.

 

But you can use customizabilty of the Compal. When I price the machine I want with 1 2gb stick of ram and a 120gb 7200 rpm drive the G1S is alot more than the IFL90. And I don't need the OS, backpack or the mouse and I'd rather not pay for it.

When I go GentechPC to set up the machine like you've configured yours with the 100gb 7200rpm HD and 3GB of ram its $2019. My IFL90 is configured with 1 -2gb stick or ram and a 120 GB 7200 rpm HD was $1704. And that includes a better warranty and a 512 DDR3 gpu, turbo memory and better battery life.

Just a couple of other things - I've never read anything bad about the matte screen shipping with the IFL90. Can you post the links to that? I have read of issues with the G1S screen. Here is the thread:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=131044&page=7&highlight=grainy

I'm really not here to knock the G1S - It is a great machine. But I don't think saying its build quality and screen is better than the IFL90 can be backed up.

 

The thread you linked references the program called Splendid. This program changes screen res and other settings in order to create better appearance in games, movie watching, etc. However, removing that program fixes the grainy issue. I did a clean install and never ran into any problem with the display. That aside, I quickly browsed the Compal forums and didnt pick up any threads mentioning ghosting on the HEL80 or other models. I thought I saw a few threads about it a while back, but maybe not. Most of my information came from a few friends who have owned Asus and Compal laptops. I just prefered what I heard and saw of Asus. So I guess I cant "link" most of my info since it was more first hand. I too have had some experience with other Asus products such as motherboards and video cards and liked their quality and reliability.

 

I think if you read the whole thread removing Splendid does not fix the issue.

I hadn't read anything about ghosting, or any problems for that matter, with the HEL80 screens. Thats why I asked about your source.

No argument that Asus makes a quality product. Compal does too. In my opinion, the build quality is comparable, I'd even say the Compal is slightly better. Your opinion can be different. Just enjoy what you bought.

 

Actually, many of those folks in that thread, like me, report no graininess from their display. Maybe it s a luck of the draw thing or just the person's eyes. However, I can see why you wouldn't want to chance that sort of thing on such a large investment.

 

I think you chance lots of things with any notebook your purchase. Thats why who you get it from is as important as what you get.

 

Donsell, you were gonna get the IFL90 right? Now it says you are trying to decide again. Why did you decide not to?

 

I probably still will. I really needed it by July 13th for a business trip. There is still some hope I'll get it. I haven't cancelled, but I did check out alternatives last night. I can't find anything I like as well as the IFL90.

 

keep the IFL90 and "borrow" a laptop from costco

 

LOL, my luck it'd get stolen.

 

another reason why the g1s is not an option i see...

 

I agree with you. When you max out the specs for the IfL90, the G1s outshines it a bit, at near the same price. However, where the IFL90 shines is at the 1440x900 resolution, with the 2.0 processor, incase you don't want to go for the MAX resolution anyways. With those changes alone, you can get it down to about $1550, which just blows EVERYTHING else around that price point away.

In the end, I knew i would have wanted the maxxed specs, the highest resoulation, so after comparing the ifl90 at those specs with the G1s, I chose the G1s.

I AM however recommending to my friend the $1500 ifl90 with the 1440x900 resolution and 2.0 core 2 duo, cuz he isn't AS heavy a user of computers as I am, but he still likes a lil gaming power.

 

I also recommended the IFL90 to my friend who sounds just like yours and didnt want the max specifications. He just wanted it to play WoW and a few other games that dont require much in the way of hardware.

 

Sorry but the IFL90 with the gf8600m gt can play most of games on the market at max details and high-res

 

Wow, why was this thread revived?

I don't think it can play it at max, and definitly not max and at a high res. I think with most games, it plays it on either high or very high, just not 16xAA/AF. It can and will with some games, most is kinda misleading because it implys the entire gaming library. But for games released in the last few years, I think it'll be just high.

 

Sorry, but maybe you are misled. I was referring to the last time I checked the configuration of the IFl90 on sites such as powernotebooks, it starts out equiped with a 8600GS and a lower res screen. Also, I believe the CPU was specced lower and it came with only 1gb of RAM. Apparently this has changed, but for 1400$ that was what the config was. And at that inexpensive configuration you can play games, but you will not even be able to play "most" games at max details and a high res. Furthermore, if you read the post I was referring to you will plainly see I was agreeing with the guy that said that at a certain price, you cant get a better bang for your buck than the IFL90. However, if you equip each the G1S and IFL90 with similar specs the prices are roughly equal.

 

The IFL90 comes with the 8600GT not the GS.

 

..Come on...

 

I'm sorry but "apparently this has changed" is a vague statement. Since "this" indicates proximity and is singular, I interpreted it to refer to the RAM or at most to refer to the last statement with began with the word "Also" and ended with the word "RAM".

 

Not a lot of people are willing to shell out an additional $400 on top of a well configured IFL-90's price of $1400 just for a better 3DMark score. There are other factors why people choose the IFL-90 beyond such superficial synthetic benchmarks.

 

Yeah.. Like how it doesn't look like a glowstick.

 

i just feel like it will be really annoying if it would glow like that if i was in the middle of a class or something... but the G1s is a very good machine. its just that there is only one configuration and was out of my budget by 3-400 dollars.

 

Im not even going to bother. The IFl90 used to be configurable with a 8600GS, obviously it isnt anymore. Thats all I meant.

 

I know what you meant

They didnt really call out the 8600 as a gs or gt as they didnt know at first, and most people were assuming the worst until it was verified as the gt, so many people thought it was the GS. Of course after we got the great news that it was the GT, then people began with the gddr2 or gddr3 questions...... lol

 

Lol. Thanks for your response. I thought I remembered it correctly. I was going to get the IFL90 but patience isnt one of my virtues.

It only glows(you can disable it too), or is supposed to only glow when you are using DX9/10. So shame on you if yours is glowing in class.