I bought a new laptop today, and this is the first time I've connected to the Internet with it. Here's a quick rundown of my new machine.
ASUS F3Jp
General
- Operating System Windows Vista Home Premium
- CPU Type Intel Core 2 Duo T5600 1.83Ghz
- Screen 15.4" WXGA
- Memory Size 1GB + 1GB DDR2
- Hard Disk 120GB
- Optical Drive DVD Super Multi
- Graphics Card ATI Mobility Radeon X1700
- Video Memory 256MB VRAM, up to 512MB Hyper Memory
- Communication Modem, Gigabit LAN and WLAN
- Card slot 1 x Express Card
- Battery Life 4 hours
- Dimensions 14.4" x 10.7" x 1.1-1.6"
- Weight 6.5 lbs.
- Other Features Splendid Video Enhancement
- Color Shine
- Audio DJ
- Touch Pad Lock
- Power 4 Gear+
- Battery Re-Callibration
- 30days Zero Bright Dot LCD
- Carry bag/mouse
CPU
- CPU Type Intel Core 2 Duo
- CPU Speed T5600(1.83GHz)
- CPU FSB 667MHz
- CPU L2 Cache 4MB
Chipset
- Chipset Intel 945PM
Display
- Screen Size 15.4"
- Wide Screen Support Yes
- Display Type Wide XGA
- Resolution 1280 x 800
Operating Systems
- Operating System Windows Vista Home Premium
Graphics
- GPU/VPU ATI Mobility Radeon X1700
- Video Memory 256MB VRAM, up to 512MB Hyper Memory
- Graphic Type Dedicated Card
Hard Drive
- HD Capacity 120GB
- HD RPM 5400rpm
- HD Interface SATA
Memory
- Memory Slots 2 x DIMM
- Memory Speed DDR2 667
- Memory Size 1GB (added another 1GB for 2GB total)
- Max Memory Supported 2GB
- Memory Spec 1GB x 1
Optical Drive
- Optical Drive Type DVD Super Multi
- Optical Drive Interface Integrated
- Optical Drive Spec 8x Super-Multi DVDRW Dual layer
Communications
- Modem 56K
- LAN 10/100/1000Mbps
- WLAN 802.11a/b/g Wireless LAN
- Bluetooth Yes
Ports
- Card Slot 1 x Express Card
- USB 4
- IEEE 1394 1
- Video Port 1 x VGA, 1 x DVI, 1 x S-Video TV-out
- Audio Ports 1 x Headphone-out jack
- 1 x Microphone-in jack
- 1 x Line-in Jack
Audio
- Audio Integrated Sound card
- Speaker Internal Speakers
Input Device
- Touchpad Yes
- Keyboard 19 mm full size 88key with MS-Windows function keys
- 2.5mm travel
Supplemental Drive
- Card Reader 4-in-1
- Webcam 1.3M Megabyte Pixels Webcam
Power
- AC Adapter Output: 19 V DC, 65W
- Input: 100— 240V AC, 50/60Hz universal
- Battery 6-cell lithium ion
- Battery Life 4 hours
Physical spec
- Dimensions 14.4" x 10.7" x 1.1-1.6"
- Weight 6.5 lbs.
Manufacturer Warranty
- Parts 2 years limited
- Labor 2 years limited
Overall, the specs are pretty solid. Asus has been making pretty big ground in the notebook industry lately, along with Acer. After looking through reviews, comparing specs and prices, this notebook seemed to fall in the right place. The price was a nice NT$39,900 (after adding another 1GB DDR2), and I'll get my tax back at the airport when I head back to North America (saving another 5% = NT$1,900). So, $38K even.So far, in its limited use, I haven't found much to complain about. One thing I immediately don't like is the trackpad buttons - there are two buttons that look like one button (with left and right clickable areas). But there is a 1+ cm space between these two buttons that's not clickable; which I think it a huge gap. But I guess I'll have to get used to it. Oh, the other thing I'm not all too happy about is the pre-partitioned 120GB HD. It's factory partitioned, and it seems I can't re-partition it the way I want. But I'll have to look into that more.
The other daunting task I have is figuring out Windows Vista. There are some pretty significant changes from XP, especially with the Control Panel. Along with sophistication comes complication and frustration. So, I'm going to need to spend more time on that. One last initial annoyance is all the Bloatware that comes with this package. Means I need to uninstall a whole bunch of crap... but I need to know what's worth keeping (say, a new Vista feature), and what's not.
All in all, I'm happy to be moving away from this 3-year nightmare provided by my eMachines laptop. It might take me a while to port all my data and install all the applications I need, but in the end, it'll be plenty rewarding... at a cost of NT$38,000.
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