Computex 2007: Hit the Road Jack!
by Gary Key and Jarred Walton on June 6, 2007 6:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Trade Shows
ASUS
ASUS offers a complete line of laptops, all of which are based off of Intel platforms. They also had a couple of new features for their notebooks, besides updates to existing models.
The ASUS A7S is billed as a "digital multimedia station" and like most of the laptops being showcased today it supports the latest 800FSB Core 2 Duo processors (T7100, T7300, T7500, and T7700). The 17.1" LCD features a native 1440x900 resolution and appears to be similar (if not identical) to the display that we liked so much on the ASUS G2P. Graphics are powered by NVIDIA's 8400M G with 128MB of graphics memory. Multimedia features are enhanced by an integrated TV tuner (analog + DVB-T) and Dolby Digital Live support, and an HDMI port is also present. Somewhat odd is that the A7S doesn't officially list HD-DVD or Blu-ray support, however.
The W2W adds HD-DVD or Blu-ray support and drops down to Intel integrated graphics. It comes with a 17.0" SXGA+/WUXGA LCD, TV tuner, and a built-in subwoofer. The LCD also appeared to be one of the improved brightness models.
The G1S is more of a gamer notebook, with GeForce 8600M GT 256MB graphics and a 15.4" WSXGA+ (1680x1050) LCD. While the laptop is slightly smaller, the G1S is something of an update to the G2P and includes similar features such as the "gaming keyboard". We do appreciate the improved resolution of the LCD, but the brightness and overall quality appeared to be less than that of the G2P; however, unlike the Radeon Mobility X1700 graphics used in the G2P the 8600M GT is far better suited for gaming purposes. Optical drive options range from DVD Super-Multi/LightScribe to Blu-ray and HD-DVD models, although we would assume the latter two increase the price significantly.
The G2S has nearly identical features to the G1S, only as the same 17.1" LCD as the G2P (with up to 2X the brightness of other laptop LCD panels), available in either WXGA+ or WUXGA format. Along with HD-DVD or Blu-ray support, it also adds a TV tuner and Dolby audio support, so users looking for a laptop with "the works" might find this combination of features to be better than the above to ASUS offerings.
One of the new features from ASUS can be found in their top-performing P3S/C90S notebook. The front side bus can be overclocked up to 20%, and unlike most notebooks the C90S accepts standard socket 775 processors. At the booth they were demonstrating an E6600 running at 2.76 GHz.
Another first from ASUS is an LED backlit laptop, the U1F. The LED backlighting looked great when we saw it, although the primary reason appears to be improved battery life and not necessarily better colors/brightness. To that end, the U1F includes a Core Duo U2400 CPU, a 12.1" display, and an ultraportable weight of 1 kg.
ASUS offers a complete line of laptops, all of which are based off of Intel platforms. They also had a couple of new features for their notebooks, besides updates to existing models.
The ASUS A7S is billed as a "digital multimedia station" and like most of the laptops being showcased today it supports the latest 800FSB Core 2 Duo processors (T7100, T7300, T7500, and T7700). The 17.1" LCD features a native 1440x900 resolution and appears to be similar (if not identical) to the display that we liked so much on the ASUS G2P. Graphics are powered by NVIDIA's 8400M G with 128MB of graphics memory. Multimedia features are enhanced by an integrated TV tuner (analog + DVB-T) and Dolby Digital Live support, and an HDMI port is also present. Somewhat odd is that the A7S doesn't officially list HD-DVD or Blu-ray support, however.
The W2W adds HD-DVD or Blu-ray support and drops down to Intel integrated graphics. It comes with a 17.0" SXGA+/WUXGA LCD, TV tuner, and a built-in subwoofer. The LCD also appeared to be one of the improved brightness models.
The G1S is more of a gamer notebook, with GeForce 8600M GT 256MB graphics and a 15.4" WSXGA+ (1680x1050) LCD. While the laptop is slightly smaller, the G1S is something of an update to the G2P and includes similar features such as the "gaming keyboard". We do appreciate the improved resolution of the LCD, but the brightness and overall quality appeared to be less than that of the G2P; however, unlike the Radeon Mobility X1700 graphics used in the G2P the 8600M GT is far better suited for gaming purposes. Optical drive options range from DVD Super-Multi/LightScribe to Blu-ray and HD-DVD models, although we would assume the latter two increase the price significantly.
The G2S has nearly identical features to the G1S, only as the same 17.1" LCD as the G2P (with up to 2X the brightness of other laptop LCD panels), available in either WXGA+ or WUXGA format. Along with HD-DVD or Blu-ray support, it also adds a TV tuner and Dolby audio support, so users looking for a laptop with "the works" might find this combination of features to be better than the above to ASUS offerings.
One of the new features from ASUS can be found in their top-performing P3S/C90S notebook. The front side bus can be overclocked up to 20%, and unlike most notebooks the C90S accepts standard socket 775 processors. At the booth they were demonstrating an E6600 running at 2.76 GHz.
Another first from ASUS is an LED backlit laptop, the U1F. The LED backlighting looked great when we saw it, although the primary reason appears to be improved battery life and not necessarily better colors/brightness. To that end, the U1F includes a Core Duo U2400 CPU, a 12.1" display, and an ultraportable weight of 1 kg.
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abakshi - Sunday, June 10, 2007 - link
Their secret is ineffective cooling. Most PC laptops won't burn you if you touch them, whereas MacBook Pros tend to get very hot, even if left idle. And not just on the bottom, but also in the keyboard / wrist area.There just isn't enough airflow inside the MBP's to properly channel the heat, and vents are apparently against Apple's design philosophy, so basically it's a form vs. function issue.
kleinwl - Wednesday, June 6, 2007 - link
That is almost maxing out a 15A circuit (120V). @ 80% efficency, that draws 1500 watts from the wall... or 12.5A. Considering that other stuff, such as printers/monitors/lights, are on the same circuit isn't that a little much? Sure, if you have dedicated circuits, or 20A wiring.. no prob... but I don't know about having to rewire my house (or at least add a circuit) just to run the latest computer.So when are we going to see these PSUs accepting a 240V connection?
yyrkoon - Thursday, June 7, 2007 - link
Just because a PSU is CAPABLE of delievering 1200W does not mean your system is USING 1200W. This is a common misconception . . .PS: all our circuts are 30A here, but then again we do not JUST use a computer on our circuts, we use COMPUTERS.
JarredWalton - Thursday, June 7, 2007 - link
Most of my circuits are 20A and a few (like the one for the TV area and two bedrooms) is 30A. That said, I've got five systems on one 20A circuit... and when I swapped out a lesser model for a quad core overclocked QX6800 SLI PC, I tripped the circuit breaker a few times. Had to shut down one of the other PCs to keep it from happening.Also as an aside, my vacuum cleaner sucks down around 1250W when running. I have to shut off most of the PCs on that circuit to keep it from tripping while vacuuming. Fun stuff!
Calin - Thursday, June 7, 2007 - link
The ones made for Europe works on 220/230V. As such, taking juice from a 240V line is a perfectly normal working conditionsdsdv10 - Wednesday, June 6, 2007 - link
Where there any Santa Rosa Tablet PCs featured?JackPack - Wednesday, June 6, 2007 - link
I wonder if the MSI notebook with "Turbo" technology also supports Intel Dynamic Acceleration like other new Merom-based notebooks. IDA temporarily overclocks one core by 200 MHz when it encounters single-threaded code.If so, that would be one heck of a notebook.
xsilver - Wednesday, June 6, 2007 - link
hey what computer was being powered by that gigabyte power supply in that last pic?it says peak of 113w --
Brunnis - Thursday, June 7, 2007 - link
Well, that's about what my E6600 @ 3GHz, 4GB RAM and 7900GS pulls when idle. Nothing strange with that. Also, my Athlon64 3500+ with 2GB RAM and a 6500TC pulled about 75W from the PSU.