Wondering if 6625WD is for me!

The main reason why I am interested in this laptop is due to it's design. It's so nice looking. The best that I have personally ever seen.


I just don't know if it's for me. My computer broke a while back so the computer im buying is going to be my new "main". I have never owned a laptop before but im considering the full specced 6625WD, with 4GB Ram, 2,6 Processor, 8600GS graphics card and 200 GB Hard disk with Vista Home.


Im going to use it for these primary tasks:

-Games(in particularly: WoW, Crysis, Orange Box, World in Conflict, BF2, Witcher)
-Video and photo editing(Final Cut Pro and Photoshop)
-Downloading and web browsing
-Typing in word.
-Watching movies and listening to music

As a main rule I am going to use it at home. I got wireless internet so its nice to have it be mobile. I might also be going to college or move soon, it might be handy to have a laptop. But in general im only going to use it at home.


My biggest concerns about this laptop is this:

-Im afraid that a 15 inch screen will not be satisfactory for gaming and watching movies. I got a 40' Samsung HDTV with 1080i support. Im wondering if it would be logicial/easy/good/smart to hook the laptop up to a big screen TV. Would it work, would it look good... or would it be a waste of time and not easy or durable.

-From the reviews I could gather from the internet, many seem to complain about the keyboard. I have never owned a laptop before, and does I have tried(acer ferrari, apple mackbook pro) where hard to use. Im sure I will be able to learn to use a laptop keyboard, but is the one in 6625WD hard to use? have they updated it since sites first reviewd it half a year ago?
I like keyboards and keys that are hard, fast responding. Im pretty good at blind typing on a normal stationary keyboard, so its a big factor for me to have a good keyboard.

 

Hey mate. I'm in the same position as you. See my thread below urs in the listings. Good luck

 

cheers! Same to you!


I was going to get an Mac, but the lack of support for games made me not want to switch to the Mac platform. Too bad for Apple. :/

Then I saw this. It really looks slick.

 

I understand your concern... and you should be.

The design of zeptos laptops in general is quite good so its understandable that you consider this choise. About the keyboard, beware... despite what some say that its of good quality, its really not compared to many other laptop manufactors. Its not so bad that its useless, but it feels very plasticlike, it makes alot of noises and doesnt feel solid at all :/ sad enough since its the part you use the most on a computer.

The screen is properly the best hardware part of zeptos laptops and always has been, dont worry there! However I see you are a habbit gamer... Performance might be disapointing for you if you expect to run crysis at native while its good looking, then the 8600m wont do the trick for you, remember its a laptop! not a gaming machine (though they sell it as... silly).

Ive had 3 different Zepto laptops by now, and the hardware has mostly been great, the keyboard is worst on the newest (6324) and ive most problems with this computer aswell :/ due to the 8600m gpu. So personally I wouldnt buy a zepto again, its simply not worth the risk of getting disapointed once again (and i really hate this keyboard).

However! people have different needs and wants all im saying is just, be aware of what you get and what to expect ! Since its your first laptop... be careful you dont expect too much of its performance in games specially, because its nowhere near a desktop computer.

If you like me however needs the mobility and possibility to play (just not at max settings and not always at native) decent games, this laptop is proberly right for you.

 

I dont think the keyboard is that bad, once you learn to use it. It might not be so good compared to a old ThinkPad A31 keyboard, but its good.

About the screen, 15" is enough. If you hook it up to a 40" it will most likely look grainy because you cant run the games (at least not Crysis) on native (1680x1050).

I play WoW and listen to music on my with settings pretty high and FPS at a limited 60 and BF2 PR (much higher demand on graphics) with settings at medium, res 12xx x 1050 (+ widescreen fixer) with a fps round 45 (limited) when alone, 40 when in combat with tanks n stuff (explosions and other fun stuff )

And as said, the 6625 screen is really good.

 

As thomaskc said. The graphics card isn't really up to running those sort of games at high resolution/ settings. I play World in Conflict nearly everyday on my 6324W. I have to have it set to dx9 if I want to run on 1440*900, with some of the settings turned down as well. This gives me good performance with only slowing down for the odd nuke!!!!
As far as the keyboard goes, it seems to be that tere is a lot of people with differing opinions over the quality of this, mine seems fine. It is awkward to get used to the positioning of the fn key and the ctrl key, but once you remember which one you're pressing you should be fine. I've had two dell's and a samsung in the past. This is by far the best I have had, don't get me wrong it's not perfect, but neither were the other laptops I've had. Laptops shouldn't be compared to desktops as they are a totally different entity. If you plan to play a lot of games and do not move around, ALWAYs go for a desktop.

 

Thank you for the replys mate. I really think the 6625WD is the machine, for me but I have some questions that I hope you would be able to help me with!

The laptop I mean is this:

4 GB (2x2GB) DDR2 PC5300 SODIMM
320GB 5400rpm SATA Harddisk
Zepto Zpro2 N-Standard (NBG)
Keyboard Znote 6x15W Grey UK
SAMSUNG DVD-RW DL
15,4" WSXGA+ 1680x1050 - 6625WD
12 months pick up & return
NVIDIA® Geforce 8600M GT
Online discount UK 6
2.60 GHz Intel C2 DUO T9500 800MHz 6MB (Only works with Vista)
6 + 12 Cell battery
Microsoft® Windows® Vista Home Premium - UK 32Bit
Zmore TV-Tuner incl. adapter




1)Is now the right time to buy this laptop? I mean, will there come a big update in the line that will make it worth to wait? The 6625 have been out for a long time now? Have they updated the specifications and/or adjusted the price accordingly, or do they keep it secret like Apple and just announces upgraded machines or price drops out of the thin air?


2)The T9500... Is that the Penryn chip? Does it work good for laptops? I heard someone say that the gains where mediocre in benchmarks on desktops, but that the heat would be much less on laptops!?


3)If I get my Zepto machine with Vista pre-installed, do I get the full box? What If I have to format the machine? Do I get vista box, manuals, CD-Key and stuff?
I heard that if I buy Vista in stores, I can get a pack where I get the 32bit and 64bit OS in one package. Will I get the option with zepto, or will I have to stick with one or the other(32 or 64bit)?

4)the 6+12 battery, confuses me. Does that mean that I get the normal battery that always comes with the machine, with an ADDITIONAL super 12 thingy battery that sticks out of the laptop? or do I just get one giant battery? I really didnt understood that.


5)A thing that confuses me, is that I can't seem to see how many, and which ports there are on the machine!?

From what I can gather it looks like there is no HDMI port on it!? But there is a VGA port. I have a VGA port on my 40' Samsung screen! Does that mean that I can get a signal from my Laptop to my Samsung screen, with a VGA <-> VGA cable? And if so, will sound also be transfered?
My samsung supports 1080i.
When im watching movies or playing certain games on my laptop it would mean alot to me if I could see and hear them on my tv screen. that way I wouldnt have to buy a pc monitor, when I dont even have a desktop computer:/

This is my main questions. I already have some headphones I am gonna order, but I dont have any kind of speakers, surround sound or something. Is there something I can get that both works with my laptop and my samsung screen, so I wont have to purchase both pc speakers and HDTV speakers?


6)The TV-Tuner. will it decrease performance or have any negative effects? its kind of an afterthought for me, but I just thought what the heck! If I get an external hard drive, would I be able to make it record to that drive? Does my TV need to be compatible with a tv-tuner for it to work?


7)On the zepto.com site, in the video on the frontpage, they say that you can get to get a custom picture on the top of the laptop... very cool. how exactly and how can someone do that?



sorry for all the questions. I hope someone can help me. Im almost convinced about getting one, I would just like to hear a few more opinions

 

There is never a good time to order a new laptop, technology changes week in week out,

Yes that is a Penryn, I don't know what sort of difference there is between the performance of that versus the Meron processor, should be better though as it has more transistors and more L2 cache stuffed in to the IC.

You will get an OEM edition of either 32bit or 64bit Vista preinstalled, with the necessary DVD's to reinstall should you need to. Microsoft licensing requires only one edition to be available(32bit OR 64bit, not both, for the same product key)

 

Some more answers/comments:

1. The T9500 is Penryn. However only buy it if you have an excess of money. An extra £120 for a 4% faster CPU will give you bragging rights but an imperceptible improvement in performance. Personally, I would settle for the T8300. Gaming performance is depend on the CPU and 2.4GHz is as fast as the fastest pre-Penryn CPU. The cache size will make a small improvement in real life performance (but a big improvement to anything which can run from inside the cache).

2. The 6+12 cell battery means 2 batteries - the standard one + the extra large one (which does stick out at the back).

3. You would need to use the VGA connector to connect to your 40" display. HDMI would be better but is not offered on the current Zepto notebooks. What resolutions does the display support? Such big displays are useful if you are trying to show something to a group but the internal display is fine for just one person.

4. I would suggest that you get the Intel wireless card. The wireless n standard is not yet final but Intel's size means that whatever it produces is more likely to be compatible.

5. I see that Zepto currently has no stock of 2GB modules. If you are getting 32-bit Windows (which can use only 3GB) then you could get 1GB from Zepto and add 2GB from another source.

If you haven't seen them, in addition to the NBR review of the 6625WD there is one at Trusted Reviews.

John

 

The ports are (i own a 6625):
miniToSlink (optical out) / 3,5mm audio out
3,5mm Mic input
4x USB 2.0
mini FireWire (IEEE 1394)
Modem
Gigabit ethernet
Card reader
PCI card reader of some type
S-Video
VGA
Power input
Coaxial in (for antenna) NOTE: A smaller model than the one that goes into the TV/Digital reciever

 

Guys, thank you for all the replys.


John Ratsy - Well mate, money is not the real issue for me. I went down to the Zepto store in copenhagen, in fisketorvet, and tried a few of their notebooks(some in the 60s and 63s series) and they seemed great. Then I went over and tried many others from acer, asus, hp, apple. From what I could gather, the zeptos seemed really good. the keyboard was not horrible on any of the machines I tried, and they where relatively light.


The thing is, that I also have a thread in the, "which notebook to buy?" forum, where I wrote that I had 5000 Dollars to spend on a new computer.

From what I can gather now, is that I really want a powerhouse, but I want it to be a 15'. 17 seemed to big.

I was suggested stuff like Alienware, which has a crazy 8800 GTX or something, but I heard that the customer support was horrid. I won't buy from the internet if the support is crappy. then it will just be the same as getting scammed.

Other people suggested, Sager and Clevo products, which I have never seen or heard of. Im not even sure that they are in Denmark, or in scandinavia.

Someone also suggested rock, but their 15' power machine on rockdirect.com is also around the same specs as the Zepto 6625WD!


I really don't know. I think I might just have to go with this Zepto. I just want it to be able to hold on for as long as possible. Im not sure if it will be up for the task. but the 8600 GT is a pretty good card right? I mean, it seems like that 50% of all laptops got it. Im wondering if the 8600 in Zeptos machine have GDR2 og GDR3 onboard ram. Does that make a difference?

 

You should buy a notebook with 8800 series of graphic cards if you have that kind of budget.

 

Perhaps, but I ordered one anyway. Now I will just have to wait and see, how my experience with it, will turn out.