My experience with ZeptoUSA

Having previously been an owner of various 17" desktop replacements, after my last laptop got stolen I decided to give a smaller laptop a try. 15.4" didn't seem like a big enough difference to me so I decided to go with a 14.1". Of the choices based on specs and prices, Zepto had the best deal, but after reading some various reviews and forum posts I was a bit worried about trying out the company.

After some long thought on the subject, I decided to give Zepto a try. I purchased the $1500 A14 package that was on sale around a month and half - two months ago. It didn't take very long for the laptop to arrive, a few days or so, wasn't keeping precise track.

Anyway, I pulled the laptop out of the box. My initial reaction was that it was quite a looker, with a very sleek design and appearance. I put the battery in and attached the charger and turned it on. The screen was perfect as far as condition goes, no scratches or damage to it, or any other part of the laptop.

I began by installing a copy of vista that I had, since the laptop does not come with windows. Next I stuck in the drivers disk, most of the drivers on there installed properly, except for the 9650 drivers. A minor inconvenience at most since I was planning to update to the newest drivers anyway off the Nvidia site.

Many of the reviews I have read claimed that the laptop is overly "flimsy" or feels like it is of cheap quality. I'm going to assume they were referring to an older model of the laptop, because this one seems pretty solid. I haven't noticed and bending of any of the parts at any point, but I also take pretty good care of my systems.

The laptop runs fast, I can try to throw up some benchmarks here later if anyone cares. Games I have installed on it so far run smoothly. No problems at all yet. As of the time of writing this, I am finishing up my finals for the semester at college. I have not installed any of my more graphics intensive games yet (so I study more), but I once I am done with finals I will add how games like C&C RA3, Sacred 2, Source (CSS/DoD:S/TF2) and crysis/warhead run.

So with that said, I haven't run into any real issues with the laptop, everything has been running fine. But I will go ahead and list a few negatives that come to mind. First off, although the black rubbery finish that the laptop has gives it a great look, it is a fingerprint/grease magnet. You can rub any marks off it without much problem, but I figured I shouldn't leave anything out.

Not surprisingly, the thing can put out a bit of heat. I haven't had any problems with the heat when at a desk/table or even when its on my lap. It only gets annoying when I have the laptop on my bed trying to watch a movie at night. Turning on my fan pretty much negates this problem. I haven't tried any other 14.1" laptops yet, but I would imagine that any with this hardware would put out some heat.

Despite the heat, it does run very quiet and, so far, has not experienced any overheating problems. I have no problems taking it to class or using it at the library.

If I can think of anything else to add later I will. I was worried about trusting ZeptoUSA, but I'm glad I gave them a chance. I just hope that by writing this I haven't jinxed myself. Anyway, bottom line is that anyone thinking about getting a 14.1" laptop should not listen to all of the negativity that Zepto has gotten in the past. From the forums anyway, it seems as though most of the problems are from their European branch.

Probably a bunch of grammatical errors in here, its early still. I'll try to fix this up later when I get some reviews of how those previously mentioned games run.

 

Nnice review !!! I was planning on purchasing one of the NOX A14 too during the sale, but some other expenses showed up. Hopefully next time.

1. Placing a laptop on top of the bed especially with a blanket, etc. is a no-no as the surface needs to be really flat and not block any of the intake ports at the bottom for the fan.

2. Can you download the free version of 3DMark2006 and run it and post the score you get with it ???


I am sure many of us would like to see another score for the 9650M GT. God Bless

 

Hey man thanks for your post. I've been looking at Zepto quite a bit and the A14 looks pretty sweet.

Any way you can post up some pictures? The site doesn't have many haha, also as a fellow college student I was wondering if you've carried it around with you to any classes or on campus at all? Just wanna see if its manageable without any hassle or anything.

Thanks man.

 

You can find them everywhere on the internet...
From Zepto's and from other laptopbrands... Or use notebookcheck!

 

Use the drivers at www.laptopvideo2go.com , We are still testing to see which ones give the best performance numbers

Thanks for the review but Murphy's law requires me to issue you an RMA number now. I went ahead and set it up in the system because well it's mandatory for you to have a problem. Use RMA # 10001024 when you send it in for repair.. sigh.

Do not be afraid of using cleaners to clean the Nox, just dont use anything with bleach or ammonia.

 

Over 50% of our customers are college students who want something they can use for school and gaming between drunken frat parties. We are quite surprised at how many students are buying from us...

The one thing you do not want to do is use a laptop bag that is too tight for the Nox/Mythos as it can wear the external finish (think of it as a clear coat). I usually see this on the edges of the unit from putting it in and taking it out of a bag that fits too snug.

 

:laugh:

John

 

Thanks for the impressions, good to see someone finally posted some. I was looking to buy back around Easter but didn't feel comfortable going forward without reading any feedback at all on the laptop. Hopefully it won't be long before a new batch of Nox A14's make it to the States. I know that the Asus N81VP-C1 has taken over the power to size crown but the resolution offered is just too low and the A14 is a nicer looking laptop all around.