Ok, this is (hopefully) the last thread I'll ever need for laptops,

which one of these would be a better choice? (or can you suggest better models for about the same price range)

ASUS F3SA-A1 Core 2 Duo T7500 1GB 160G 15IN WXGA Radeon HD 2600 512M Vista Premium BT WLAN Notebook
http://www.ncix.com/products/index [...] cture=ASUS
*Note* on this one I would add in 2 Gigs of ram

ASUS F8SN-B1 Core 2 Duo T8100 14IN WXGA 3GB 250GB GeForce 9500M GS 512M Vista Premium BT Notebook
http://www.ncix.com/products/index [...] omoid=1008


Thank you very much to all of those who've helped me on this thread and my other laptop threads.

If gaming is the primary concern, the F8 is the better laptop. It has a more powerful video card and the newer Penryn CPUs are clock for clock faster than the T7 CPUs, so the end result is you only have a slightly slower CPU. If multimedia is a bigger concern, either one would be good, so going with the cheapest would actually be sound advice.

Gaming would definitly be the biggest thing it'd be doing.

I'll be gone on a 9 month long trip (with the laptop) and when I get back it will replace my desktop for about a year or so (while I wait for nehalem prices to cool down)

Actually the GF9500 GS is just a GF8600GT refresh with only a tiny boost.

Considering that they're both GDDR2 I'd say they're equal since an HD2600 of similar memory is usually only a tiny bit better than the GF8600 equivalent. This might give the GF9500GS a slight advantage or make it equal. IMO essentially a tie regardless of whom has the slightest advantage.

IMO they're very similar but I would give the nod to the T8100, even though it's a little mhz slower it does usually perform a little better and a little more efficiently, but they'r both very close laptops. IMO screen size is the biggest diff.

I guess it depends on 1)what site you get your info from and 2) which HD2600 you look at.

I used notebookcheck.com for my info and the have the 9500m GS ahead of the 8600 by a few hundred points and ahead of the Vanilla HD2600 by a fair margin. Now in both cases the HD2600XT beats both the 9500 and the 8600.

I have HEARD that notebookcheck isnt always right and has some problems in the GPU comparison.But 9500MGS, 8600MGT and HD 2600PRO perform very close to each other and the difference between these 3 GPUs isnt noticeable

so:

The CPUs will give almost the same performance (within 5%)

GPUs willl also do about the same (within 3-5%)

is a 14 inch screen size big enough?

Also, since I will probly not be able to get the 15 inch one before the sale ends (and I would also need to put in an extra 2 Gigs) is it worth it?

I'm also open to other laptop suggestions if there are any, I guess the highest I would pay would be 1200-1300 (I just haven't found any with a big enough advantage over those two yet)

GATEWAY P6860 FX is the best notebook for than range
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspag [...] 4332501169

Definitely worth the money

It definitly is a good laptop but as I am canadian (sorry if I forgot to mention this), the exchange rate putting my budget at 1,262.87$ and also the fact that the american border likes to **** people buying american laptops, I'll stick to Canadian suppliers.

Also I'd prefer a 15 inch, as I find the 17 a bit too big for portability and 14 is iffy. Though thanks alot for the suggestion.

On another note I found the F8SN-B1 for cheaper and with free shipping:
http://www.tddirect.ca/products/15 [...] ABCQL350Y/

That ASUS model is a very good choice too

Thank you very much for all your help, I think I will go with the Asus 14 inch.

But I have one or two additional questions, would it be a good idea to buy a second battery for the laptop? or is there some other laptop necessity that I might find myself needing during my trip (not that I'll be far from civilisation, I'll just be very busy)

I know, but I don't give notebookcheck much cred since their tests seem to rely very heavily on 3Dmark and little else.
I value non-AA performance in this segment as 1440x900 without AA IMO is more valuable to laptop user than 1280x1024 with AA.

My experiences have shown that basically all three are very close to equal ad that the memory is the major deciding factor. It's close all over though so it's not like there's a guarantee of one always being the best.

I say get a lithium polymer thin battery back if you can, usually cheaper and far more adaptable and if it last long enough can be used in your laptop after this one. Of course if you prefer the exrtra battery it's handy. But the utility of an extra battery is really something only you can tell for your needs / usage habits.

ummm... I'll sound like an idiot for asking this but... wouldn't buying a battery pack be the same thing as getting another battery?
(I might have misunderstood your post or something) or do you mean that if I get another battery I should make sure to get a polymer one?

Speaking of which do you know where I can find Asus battery packs, I've only found some on one site and it's the exact same as the one that comes with the laptop, I'm looking for maybe something that'll last longer, recharge faster, or generaly superior to the base model.

Good points. I have also noticed that notebook check relies on 3dmark scores so it should be taken with a grain of salt. I like using it as a quick reference sometimes. Thank you for tossing your weight in here

No because most are usually easier to handle, less volatile, and also are not specific to any one laptop so can survive an upgrade like I mentioned. Similar but far from the same thing. I think you realy have to see and use one to be able to appreciate the benefits.

They usually also fit better in laptop bags fitting in the folio pocket very nicely.