Asus b43j vs u36

[rakattack]

Hello, i'm a travelling musician so the ultra-light really appeals to me. however, i like the specs of the b43j and would ideally like to be able to play some older games occasionally (hl2, company of heroes)

i mainly use my computer for business (i use a an old school t60 now) but like to watch movies as well as the occasional game.

will the u36 be able to perform, or should i lug around a heavier b43j?

thanks

 

[Maziar]

Hello and welcome to the forums
B43J has 2 models,one has HD 5470M,the other one has Intel GMA HD card.Both are
low-end cards but 5470M is notably faster and can handle games like HL2,COH fine.(Though you may have to run COH on medium/low settings)
U36 has GT 310M which will give you roughly the same performance as 5470M.

 

[rakattack]

ye, sorry, i was planning on getting the b43j b-1b (w/ the radeon). i'm wondering if the speed difference, and lack of optical drive in the u36 would be worth the extra portability (and it's cheaper too, i believe)

if the ati mobile graphics are about the same as the nvidia (gt 310m has 1gb of ram, while the ati hd 5470m only has 512mb) then i imagine going w/ the u36 would be the best bet?


thanks again for help/opinions

also, if there are comparable business notebooks anyone would recommend i'd appreciate it. I really like the ruggedness of my thinkpad t60, and was told asus makes really reliable notebooks as well

 

[Maziar]

Both are fine really.
As for other options,if you need recommendations,then please fill the FAQ first
http/www.tomshardware.com/forum/50797-35-read-buying-laptop

 

[rakattack]

1. What is your budget?
i'd prefer not to spend more than $1300 (price of asus b43j b-1b)


2. What is the size of the notebook that you are considering?
14" at most. i want something portable

3. What screen resolution do you want?
not too important 1366x766 is fine

4. Do you need a portable or desktop replacement laptop?
i need portability, but would still like reasonable power and ability to play slightly older games

5. How much battery life do you need?

the more the better, but as long as i can get a couple hours that's fine.

6. Do you want to play games with your laptop? If so then please list the games that you want to with the settings that you want for these games. (Low,Medium or High)?

i like to be able to play games like company of heroes, hl2 (for mods too), maybe world in conflict (do people that anymore?)

7. What other tasks do you want to do with your laptop? (Photo / Video editing,watching movies, Etc.)

mainly boring work stuff, excel, word, emailing etc. would like ot do basic photo editing and movie watching of course. dvd burning is also important, and plugging in external monitors. also i have an expresscard tv card, but it's not a dealbreaker not to be able to use that.

8. How much storage (Hard Drive capacity) do you need?

not too important anything above 200gb is great.

9. If you are considering specific sites to buy from, please post their links.
http/www.abesofmaine.com/item.do?item=ASB43J-B1B&id=ASB43J-B1B&l=FROOGLE

10. How long do you want to keep your laptop?

several years at least.

11. What kind of Optical drive do you need? DVD ROM/Writer,Bluray ROM/Writer,Etc ?

blueray would be nice, but totally unnecessary. dvd burning is important (if i went w/ u36, i'd have to buy an external)

12. Please tell us about the brands that you prefer to buy from them and the brands that you don't like and explain the reasons.

i love my t60, but i've read mixed reviews of newer thinkpads. i like the look of asus business computers and i hear they're very reliable and sturdy.

13. What country do you live in?

i currently live in germany, but would plan on buying a us computer, as i'm only in germany for 6 months or so.

14. Please tell us any additional information if needed.

thank you

 

[Maziar]

HP Envy 14 is one of the best 14" laptops you can buy and offers a decent gaming performance as well.

 

[rakattack]

so do you think it would be better to have the ati mobility radeon 5650 w/ 1gb of ram and a slightly slower processor i5 580m (2.66GHZ) or the less powerfull ati mobility radeon hd 5470 w/ 512mb ram and a more powerful processor i7 640M 2.8ghz?

also the hp is a bit more expensive, but if it will last longer i guess it would be worth it? I had an hp pavillion dv9000 before and it was sent back for repairs many, many times (i was glad to have bought the extended warranty after the 2nd send back)

I know the asus comes w/ 3 year service, standard.

 

[rakattack]

also, it looks like the hp has no expresscard slot? or maybe i missed it in the specs?

 

[Maziar]

I would definitely go with 5650/580M over 5470/640M because the first combo will give you much better gaming performance.
Unfortunately though,it doesn't have an express card slot.

 

[rakattack]

ok thanks for your help.

I just wish the u36 came w/ that radeon 5650 instead of the nvidia 310m. i was starting to lean towards the lightweight. also, i just realized my tv tuner is expresscard54 and b43j has expresscard34.

i wish there was a way to get the business computer look w/ the hp envy14 hardware. -silly request, i realize.

thanks again

 

[Maziar]

Unfortunately the only 14" laptop with 5650M is Envy 14.
However,ASUS has few 14" laptops with GT 335M which is slightly slower than 5650M.

 

[rakattack]

ok. the gt335m might be appealing. i've heard the bu7ild quality of asus notebooks is really good. do you know if hp is as durable/reliable a computer? my old pavillion was from 2005-6 so maybe the build quality has improved?

Also, if I were to go w/ the hp envy14, would you recommend getting an i7 for the quad core? that would probably help it last longer than a dual core i5?

 

[Maziar]

Envy 14 has a good build qualiy.Check the owners lounge for more info
http/forum.notebookreview.com/hp-envy-hdx/493715-official-hp-envy-14-owners-lounge.html
I'd recommend i5 for Envy 14 because it offers less heat.

 

[rakattack]

i understand an i7 will create more heat and drain the battery faster, but would the lowest i7 make the computer more worthwhile longterm than the fastest i5 they offer?

 

[Maziar]

For your tasks no.Because a quad core CPU will help in image/video editing along with some games which benefit from 4 cores,aside from these,you'll be fine with a dual core CPU.

 

[rakattack]

Best answer selected by rakattack.

 

[Maziar]

This topic has been closed by Maziar