What is the difference between the FL90 and the IFL90?

I have finally settled on getting an (I)FL90. I live in Canada so it's probably going to be tricky for me to get it, but some places list having the FL90. and others the IFL90.

Can someone tell me the difference between the two?

 

There is no difference. Some sites leave off the first letter of Compal whitebook models, e.g. EL90 instead of HEL80, or GL30 instead of HGL30. AFAIK there's no difference.

 

Thank you Odin, that's what I was hoping to hear.

 

Now I am trying to find out what comes with the chassis at NCIX.

 

That's exactly what I am trying to do Pongo. Looks like NCIX is the only place to get the FL90 in Canada right now. I am still sorta tempted to order one from the states, but I don't really want to have to deal with customs. Something tells me if would be a massive hassle.

 

I live in uk and here we have rizeon FL-90 (VBI), ive seen in US the compal IFL-90. Some differences, screen resolution 1680*1050 on IFL, 1440*900 on FL, matt screen option on IFL, only glossy on FL, TV Tuner option on IFL, not on FL, apparently new IFL-90 and sager np2090 use gddr3 mem on teh 512mb gfx card although this isnt confirmed. Also, the rizeon fl-90 in england let you design the lid of your laptop, rather than a company logo.

 

In Belgium there's a difference between them:
IFL = 1680*1050 screen + fingerprint + 512 mb gddr3
FL = 1280*800 + no fingerprint + 256 mb gddr3

i went for the latter since it fits exactly what i need

 

in Poland there is on diffrence
resellers called it ifl90 or fl90
but only one reseller - californa access sell this laptop with wsxga+ lcd

 

Dal,
If you can get it done through NCIX I highly recommend them, I have bought my last 5? pcs from them.

 

Almost all my PC parts come from NCIX, since I can pick them up locally and save on shipping. The only draw for me with the IFL90 was the matte screen, but since that doesn't seem to be available in Canada I am just going to have to pass on Compal this time.

Will probably go for one of the ASUS models, like the G1S-A1, NCIX has it on for $1,978.99 along with 90 dollar mail in rebate. So the total price $1,888.99 before taxes.

A little more than I wanted to spend, but at least I will be able to get it right away, as they have them in stock.

 

Most notebooks you get over here (.pl) are FL90 claimed to be IFL90. Afaik, the IFL90 is the non-vbi version whilst the FL90 is the VBI version of the notebook. There's two or so resellers I know of that sell the IFL90 (zepto.pl and karen.pl, selling under the aformentioned CA brand) but the prices are quite outrageous compared to the VBI notebooks.

I'm thinking of getting the VBI version myself, although I'd really like to have a TV-Tuner. I thought of sager 2090 and shipping it over, but the california resellers are way rude and can barely speak english over the phone, so I doubt I'd like to do any business with them.

I'd happily get it from PowerNotebooks.com but they say they don't do overseas shipping. Which is very unfortunate

Something to think about.

Cheers,

//m.

 

Imachine (or should I call you Colargol?), I remember Donald from PowerNotebooks expressing the opinion that VBI is a bad idea. I think there's some issue with how the warranty on a VBI system is managed.

 

imachine is fine If I can't get anything else than VBI over here, then I'll stick with VBI. I have VBI right now (EL80) and I can't really complain too much. The warranty is as any other, I get a year from the resellers who then ship broken machines away to compal or wherever, I don't really care, they sort it out for me. That's in case it breaks ofcourse ;-)

 

what is VBI?

 

VBI is the Verified By Intel version. Similar version of it are also the "CBB" ( Common Building Block) with different warranties.

 

are there any significant differences between the CBB version of the IFL90 and the non CBB verison apart from TV tuner and looks?

 

no tv-tuner = no robson, dunno if you're aware of that (as it seems that way afaik since there is only one spare minipci-e port).

 

Another difference is the warranty between the VBI and CBB. The CBB comes with a much better warranty through PowerNotebooks and Xotic PC. (3 Year Warranty with Next Day Air Shipping)

 

There...imachine has nailed it.

The IFL90 will always be more feature rich, and will not be burdened by the awful Intel VBI warranty program.

The IFL90 will be more expensive, but unless you are on a tight budget it will be worth spending the few dollars more.

 

Well not to intefere with your already good business, and I guess I'd be giving myself a bit of credit thinking I'd do so, but the guarantee is a nice nifty thing and all, not however if you plan on selling your notebook after a year anyway and let's face it it's a good lifecycle to do so - a year and byes, eventually selling it with still a wee bit of the warranty left over.

I think that's a good way not too loose too much money and still keep up to date. Depends on your needs ofcourse ;-)

 

I absolutely agree that is the best way to not lose too much on the sale while staying current with technology...the only issue is how much more value will it have, and probably more importantly is how much easier will it be to sell if you still have a considerable 2 years left on your warranty instead of a mere wee bit.

 

Oh aye true that. But then again you must also remember some things aren't as servicable as others (as in parts, I don't know how it looks anywhere else than locally as it depends mostly on the particular resellers, but over here a year or so is pretty standard for electronic equipment, and by parts I mean that even if you do get a longer guarantee for say the barebone system, it's still different and not regarding all the parts inside of it, i.e. the hd may have longer/shorter guarantee period of time, and so the cpu etc.) and that often people look at the specs/price ratio and then guarantee. Plus, the fact itself that it has not yet broken in that year is proof enough that it's reasonable quality overall - it is also often so that if something does not break right away, there's a good chance it will last a good while, at least with electronic equipment.

Ofcourse, there's always a game of chance And with that, the guarantee certainly comes in handy Murphy's out there

 

damn! I just found this site and now at last I know why this vbi barebook here isn't black with a heat sensitive power panel.
the chance to save money led me to order the fl90 pm2 (8600gt 512mb, fingerprint reader, 1440*900) and assemble it myself (which was loads of fun actually, got most parts from ebay powersellers and all in all stayed below 700 euro).

I'd hoped that it would look a bit different to the fl90 pm1 (8600gt 256mb, no fingerprint reader, 1280*800) but it didn't. still, ever since I received the package and first looked inside I've been a bit dissapointed by the glossy-sparkly-purplish-blue look and the round buttons.

so, I guess there is no way to get hold of the aesthetically more pleasing ifl90 as barebone then?
too bad, really.

 

well, you could dismantle some FL90 ? :d the real pity imho is that there aren't any matte screen options on the VBI that I know of.

gloss screens have their ups, but they do have their downs too - frankly tho, I think something like mid-gloss would be best.

cheers.