Gaming Laptop or Ultrabook? You Decide!

         Deciding on getting a powerhouse gaming laptop versus getting a small portable Ultrabook may be a hard decision. If you are like me, and are a gamer/student this post is for you!

         Ideally, you want to have a small and portable laptop for home, school, and just for the reason that you can bring wherever you want to. But as a gamer, I understand that this is not generally simple if you want to be able to play intensive games like BF3, Crysis 2, or Skyrim.

       On the other hand, people who only play things like Star Craft 2, World of Warcraft, League of Legends, Left for Dead, or Star Wars the Old Republic can deal with using a smaller less powerful laptop.

This brings us to the comparison of an Ultrabook and a gaming laptop. (I chose two laptops from asus that each cost roughly the same amount of money, $1,500)

Asus G55VW-DS71 -

This laptop packs a 1920x1080p in a 15 inch LCD
12GB of DDR3 1600mhz (expandable up to 32GB)
750GB 7,200 RPM Hard Drive
Standard DVD-CD player
2GB Nvidia GTX 660m
Intel Quad Core i7-3610QM @ 2.3Ghz-3.3Ghz (in Turbo Mode), with 6mb L3 cache



Asus Zenbook Prime UX21A-

This Ultrabook also has a very nice 1920x1080p resolution in a 13 inch LCD
4GB DDR3 1600Mhz
256GB Solid State Drive
No CD-DVD player
Integrated Intel HD 4000 graphics
Intel Dual Core i7-3517U @ 1.9Ghz-3.0Ghz (in Turbo Mode), with 4mb L3 cache


HDD- The Zenbook Prime has a Solid State Drive which is far more faster than the g55's 7,200 rpm hard drive. The Zenbook is much lighter, smaller, extremely thin, and incredibly portable, while the G55 is much bigger, thicker, heavier, and bulky.  But a trade off for speed leaves a much larger hard drive capacity for the G55. The decision is whether you want to have speed when opening files, programs, or having it turn on fast or having a three times larger capacity.

CPU- The G55 contains an i7 quad core from Intel that can reach 3.3 Ghz, while the Zenbook has a Dual core Intel i7 that can reach 3.0Ghz. Its clear who wins in this category, but not to say that the Zenbook's CPU is slow. It is actually very powerful considering the Zenbook only uses up to 35 watts. Both of the CPU's are Ivy Bridge 3rd Gen i-processors.

CD-DVD- The G55 comes with a standard disk reader, but you can always change it out and swap for a Blue Ray drive at any time. The Zenbook requires an external disk reader. In this case you are sacrificing not having a disk reader for having a smaller size, and weight.

Resolution/Screen- Both the G55 and Zenbook Prime have a 1920x1080p LCD screen. This resolution is often known as Full HD, and is very sizable. The Zenbook has a 13 inch screen, while the G55 has a 15 inch screen. The two inches does not really make or break either laptop, its just a preference of small or big.

RAM- The clear winner is the G55 with its 12GB of RAM. The g55 is also expandable to having 32GB, while the Zenbook can only have 4GB. The Zenbook's RAM is also built into the motherboard, so you cannot add or take away any RAM.

Graphics- The G55 contains Nvidia's new Kepler series 660m. This card is much more powerful than the Zenbook's integrated HD 4000 graphics. Both of these GPU's run Direct X 11, as opposed to intels previously Direct X 10 Integrated graphics. To see an in depth look at both the graphics performance, please check these links
HD 4000 - http://www.notebookcheck.net/Intel-HD-Graphics-4000.69168.0.html
660m - http://www.notebookcheck.net/NVIDIA-GeForce-GTX-660M.71859.0.html

Size- From the pictures above, it is obvious on which one is smaller and more portable. The Zenbook is also 2.5lbs while the g55 weighs about 9lbs. 

 Gaming- The G55 crushes the Zenbook with it superior RAM, CPU, and GPU. The G55 can play any game out on the market to date. But this doesnt mean that the Zenbook can't play any games. The Zenbook is fully capable of playing games as well. The only things it cant play (cant play well* i should say, because it technically can play anything at a lower resolution) are brand new games that utilize the latest graphical technology. Older games such as World of Warcraft, Left for Dead, or Star Craft 2 are able to be played better than you may think on the Zenbook.

School- Because the Zenbook uses a much lower wattage than the G55, the Zenbook will have a much higher battery life. The Zenbook is also very small and can easily fit into any backpack, while the G55 will either not fit, or barely fit. Both also have back-lit keys for lectures using power points in the dark. Carrying a 9lb laptop combined with the weight of books or other things may be cumbersome for some people. The Zenbook is very light and small, so it wont be very cumbersome at all.

You Decide!- At the end of the day, it is all up to you if you want to have a gaming laptop or Ultrabook. As for me personally, i chose to get a G53 (the older brother of the G55). I chose it because it was a desktop replacement. Looking back at my decision i somewhat wish i bought an Ultrabook simply because my G53 is very heavy and big. I find it cumbersome at school because it just barely fits into my back pack, and carrying a backpack, a big binder, and a 17-inch case (because of its size) is tiring. But i love my laptop none the less. If you are willing to bear the weight and size of the G55, it is well worth it. But if you travel a lot, the Zenbook is definitely for you.

Acer and Asus potential market shakers

     Acer and Asus are great on the lines of innovation and low price quality tablets, ultrabooks, and netbooks. At this years Computex Acer and Asus have featured some potentially ground breaking devices. Acer has a history of cheap netbooks and great top line Android tablets with their new Olympic Iconia 500. Acer has made a good name in the mobile market most notably for their netbooks and tablets. Asus had a similar fate except they featured the Eee PC line of convertible netbooks which are some of the only of their kind up unto this point. Asus has the most top of the line Android tablet which outweighs the Motorola Xoom and Xyboard and Samsung Galaxy tab series by a mile. The Transformer Prime TF3001 is the latest model to date until the Transformer Pad Infinity comes out in a bit which really proves Android's superior hardware capabilities. These companies are both offering new Windows 8/ RT capable devices with 1366 x 768 minimum screen resolutions (some are higher) and both offer beautiful and in some ways revolutionary designs that really are going to shake up the current market. First the Acer lineup courtesy of Engadget who has the best comprehensive coverage on the ground floor. 

The Acer Aspire series is what I call the worlds "biggest tablet and thinnest all in one" device which truly blows away the I Mac competition. At 27 inches and can be held in your hands it is to me a new concept barring Steve Ballmer's 80 inch in his office.   

It has a capacitive 64 finger touch screen that can swivel any way you wish. so far Acer has been very mum on the details and will come in a 27 inch and 23 inch flavors.  

The Acer W510 and W710 are similar to the Asus Transformer prime with a docking station that can boost battery especially on the W510 (18 hours worth) and up to 8 hours on the W710 which is better than the new Ipad. The W510 is an ARM based tablet  Medfield based x86 tablet at 10.1 inches and a 1366 x 768 Super IPS screen, docking keyboard, SIM card slot, hdmi port, USB port all that kind of stuff with a proposed price tag of $599 - $799 and Windows 8 thankfully since Acer has stated that they want a chip that provides more speed than the current ARM chips like the Snapdragon or Tegra 3. I think this is an excellent deal and would really consider buying this over a traditional laptop. The Acer W710 is the "desktop replacement" and features a dock (no keyboard) that has 3 USB ports and no battery but is great if you want to plug in a keyboard use a wireless mouse, a larger 11.6 inch screen with a 1920 x 1080 capacitive 10 finger full HD screen, aluminum body chassis is a nice touch even if it might affect wifi a bit, a rear 5mp auto focus camera is a great touch and is about equal to the "isight" camera on the Ipad, and Dolby Digital Home Theater is real nice especially since Windows has a Virtual Surround Sound option if you dig deep enough in your sound card settings. The W710 is my favorite by far and is probably the better buy unless you are looking for 3G coverage via SIM slot and need a docking keyboard. Check out the videos done by the Verge 

 

      This is the Asus AIO (all in one) which is 18.4 inches and features a nice touchscreen and at first thought was being able to dual boot into Android and Windows but actually Asus called on Bluestacks and has a rooted form of ICS 4.0.3 with a toggle to go back and forth from Windows and "Android." Not much else except you can detach the screen much similar to the Acer model and use it as a 18 inch tablet which is only slightly more practical. Imagine going to work with that under your arm!!  

     Next up is the Asus 600 and 810 "transformer books'' which are really nice looking Windows 8 running Transformer tablets. Some of the main differences are of course one running Windows RT and one running Windows 8, the RT version is based on the Nvidia Tegra 3 quad core chip which is an excellent choice especially the embedded graphics but has 2 GB of RAM instead of 1 GB so it can run Windows 8, also the screen on the ARM model 600 is of a lower Super IPS ++ 1366 x 768 instead of the 1920 x 768 and the Transformer Pad Infinity is supposed to be of an even higher resolution in the ongoing pixel war between the new Ipad and her competitiors. Mainly the specs are the same both sporting 8mp rear auto focusing cameras and a 2mp up front for HD video chatting. The Intel device runs on the Medfield chip and has an active digitizer layer which allows you to use a pen which is a whole lot more accurate than a regular stylus.

Skypad Protos Out Update: Gemini Up for sale

Amazon.com: SKYTEX Technology Inc. Skypad SX-SP970A 9.7-Inch Tablet (Black): Electronics


Okay so I was a bit excited in my haste to post this that I only included a link and now am featuring the specs added by Skytex and the Gemini is available to be bought for $169 which is very shocking (not to be confused with the Skypad Alpha 2 on the official Skytex website for $169. The Skypad Protos is not available for sale or pre-order currently and is featuring the same specs as said on the website except this time around (per my suggestion) they have included a 5mp rear camera that should make this all the more IpadHD competitor. Some people have scoffed saying that this can not possible be the real thing but according to the model numbers on the Gemini and Protos we have enough information to believe this is the real deal and are waiting on a statement from Skytex. Also the specs on the Gemini deviated from what we were lead to believe: first instead of Bluetooth 4.0 it is listed as 2.0, second it says it has a full USB 2.0 port on the tablet which is hard to believe for a budget Android tab, third which really are just questions I have are that is says it has a mini HDMI 1.4 and optimized Wi- Fi which means usually it is going to be a hard plastic backing or it will feature an aluminum backing with two wi-fi radios instead of one.
Update: We have word from a company spokesperson that the Gemini and Protos will be up for order next week!

We do have the Protos and Gemini as pre-orders on our site but shipments are not expected to go out until the 2nd week of July

 Gemini will be available for puchase next week.

These are two of the statements made to us. Sadly no word about the Protos.

Windows 8 Upgrade Offer??

Well we have been hearing some specualtion about a Windows 8 upgrade and now it has come out on microsoft's website for $15.00 you get Windows 8 pro on your Windows 7 PC.  http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/upgrade-offer Now this is plain dirt cheap for a Pro version of Windows. https://windowsupgradeoffer.com/en-US/ will let you sign up before next February and you get Windows 8 pro for $15.00!!  

Download Windows 8 Release Preview!!

I am dead serious I have the link and this is no gimmick!! I am downloading it right now and the link can be found below!! http://www.windows8update.com/2012/05/31/download-the-windows-8-release-preview-here/

Samsung keeps on Innovating

Samsung has a long list of innovations such as the Smart tv, smart appliances (you can listen to music with your refrigerator) biggest smart phone aka phablet, dual screen camera, smart camera, and now the do it all Samsung Galaxy One with a built in projector. This is the first tablet to feature a built in projector but not the first Windows prototype device to feature one. The LG EXPO was a Windows Mobile 6.5 (not Windows Phone 7 same platform different UI and market) and was to be featured on AT&T. It did come out and was not a very big hit even though I only remember it because of the funny commercial they made for it. The Galaxy brand is very classic of Samsung to brand their devices flagship or second generation design (Samsung Nexus became Samsung Galaxy Nexus). The importance of Samsung entering the tablet market for Windows 8 (also featuring the flagship Samsung Series 7) is that even though Microsoft has a lot of money they can not only take the burden of advertising alone. Samsung to date is the largest cell phone maker followed by Nokia and Apple with LG and HTC gaining traction. Samsung has already dabbled in the Android tablet market and has had some moderate success especially with the Verizon 4G market. Also we already know they have an excellent legal team so when Apple goes for round 100 Samsung will back up their devices and win. This prototype device is actually a really beautiful designed tablet. As shown is the many functions that can be made with this device. It looks to have two cameras and has a dual featured pop out stand to use for the projector, for watching a movie, preforming normal Office functions, and what ever rocks your boat. The screen looks like it is 11.6 or 12.1 inches and with the projector included it is pretty thin. 

The stand concept is not new to the mobile market and HTC the Taiwanese smartphone giant has quite a few smartphones with kickstands which were not really good at their jobs. This stand looks firm and solid and should be able to stand up to pressing your finger against it in any spot and what ever other torture you do to your tablet. 

This shot to me is very controversial since it depicts Windows 8 with a Start button which the recent Consumer Preview does not have. The start button was what Metro was built on and has been a very big argument since most power users have essentially cried about not having a button that when they swipe from one side of the screen or move their mouse into the bottom right or left corners brings up the charms bar. 

One of the biggest things we use our tablets for is reading. Now what I see is all newspaper no interference which is very uniform for Metro. The good part that Microsoft learned Apple hasn't is a uniform design that is hardly seen. Also the amount of Apps is not as good as quality apps. Apple may have over 500,000 apps the most hardcore Apple fanboy will tell you there is a lot of junk apps. I believe Microsoft will be able to get all of the good quality apps into the Windows 8 Marketplace without the more junkier apps. 

Now the lucky couple who hopefully gets to keep their Samsung Galaxy One is watching a 1080p movie with their tablet no tv screen required. Of course a clean white wall would be the best to fully enjoy your movie. Also the tablet can efficiently project images up to 8 feet which is great for sitting your device down on a coffe table like this couple did. Also the projector  is more than a novel concept, but a valuable money saver in the working/student environment. 

Like I was saying perfect for meeting were you do not have an overhead and are trying to deliver a cutting edge power point. The coolest point about this picture is the tablet is projecting itself showing off the goods of a Metro interface. The current Samsung Windows tablet the Windows 8 flagship device did not have a stylus holder and this looks like it has that hole covered no pun intended. 

Here we have two Galaxy Ones using the Remote Desktop app. Of course an Ipad could never pull this off by itself unless helped by a great immortal device with Splashtop Streamer and a projector like the Galaxy One. What this just did is have the one Galaxy One turn the other into a desktop, keyboard, and multi gesture touch pad. I wish I could do that!!

Another innovation is that the projector can rotate which can be very helpful depending on your environment.

Now this is what I call multi-tasking. Instead of having a large monitor showing you your Skype conversation just use the projector  while you chat with whom ever you choose. 

Angry Birds Space is a very popular game and can be a large factor if an OS has any success. Since Angry Birds Space is not yet available for Windows 8 Marketplace it must have been used using Bluestacks the Android emulator that can run any Android app on your home computer. 

I know some friends who love to draw and the pen would be a great advance over buying an additional stylus with an Ipad and not being able to accurately draw since it does not have an active digitizer layer. 

The presence of the Galaxy One if it ever gets out of the drawing room (and the hands of a select few testers) will be a great help to Windows 8 and my words to Samsung is keep on innovating and I want one of these really bad!!