Sigh, just came back from Low Yat and still no signs of the Gemstone. Ask alot of them and they very blur blur wan.....

Besides the Gemstone and the BenQ S41, is there anything similar to those specs for about 5k also? Will need one by 2nd week of June.

In reply to themagnificentman,
Errrmmmm... where does it state that it has 2gb of RAM?

The S41 comes with 1gig standard with the maximum of 2.

Is there any HP that has an 8600GT graphics card somewhere around the RM5000 price line?

I saw the dv2500 at the roadshow in 1Utama and not really impressed by the specs. Even the dv6500 only comes with a GS....

Oh yeah.... hopefully around 15" too..... the 17" dv9500 is out of my budget and it's waaaaaaaaaay too big.

This post has been edited by blacktrix: Jun 12 2007, 07:05 PM

Can you get any info on the NEC Versa E6310/E6300? Like, availability and most important, pricing?

I'm not just asking John_jay here...... in order to keep it within the sales thread guidelines.....

Just asking if anyone in Low Yat has any idea on this laptop.......

This post has been edited by blacktrix: Jun 16 2007, 06:13 PM

Don't forget the Acer Gemstone!
Same specs with the BenQs41 but with an nVidia 8600GT graphics card and a 15.4" Screen.........

Windows(R) Vista(tm) Home Premium
Intel(R) Centrino(R) Duo Mobile Technology
Intel(R) Core(tm)2 Duo processor T7300 (2.0GHz, 4MB Cache, 800MHz FSB) supporting Intel(R) Extended Memory 64 Technology (Intel(R) EM64T)
Mobile Intel(R) PM965 Express Chipset
Intel(R) Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN Network Connection
15.4" WXGA high-brightness (220-nit) Acer CrystalBrite TFT LCD, supporting 1280 x 800 pixel resolution with 8ms response time
NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) Go 8600 GT with up to 1024MB of TurboCache technology (256MB of dedicated GDDR2 VRAM, up to 768MB of shared system memory), supporting NVIDIA(R) PureVideo(tm) technology (WMV HD, High-Definition MPEG-2 Hardware Acceleration), Microsoft(R) DirectX(R) 9.0 and DirectX(R) 10, Shader Model 3.0, OpenEXR High Dynamic Range (HDR) technology, NVIDIA(R) PowerMizer(R) 6.0, PCI Express(R)
160GB SATA HDD
1G DDR2 RAM (upgradeable to 2GB)
Integrated 56Kbps modem & 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN
Integrated Slot-Load 8X DVD-Super Multi Double-Layer Drive
Integrated Bluetooth(R) 2.0+EDR
Dolby(R) certified surround sound system with 2 built-in stereo speakers and 1 subwoofer supporting low frequency effects
Integrated Acer Crystal Eye webcam, supporting enhanced Acer PrimaLite Technology
5-in-1 Card Reader supporting MultiMedia Card, Secure Digital, xD-Picture, Memory Stick & Memory Stick Pro
8-cell Li-Ion Battery Pack (3.5-hour battery life) with Acer QuicCharge(tm) technology
(Actual battery life may vary, depending on usage and configuration).
4xUSB, VGA port, ExpressCard/54 Slot, HDMI port with HDCP support, IEEE 1394 port, Consumer infrared (CIR) port, S-video/TV out port
364(W) × 270.2 (D) × 30.8/43.7 (H) mm
Weight 3kg
Acer Empowering Technology (Acer eNet, ePower, eAudio, ePresentation, eDataSecurity, eRecovery, eSettings Management)
1-Year International Traveller Warranty
Free:- Acer Designed Carrying Bag


Effective Date: 6/13/2007

Price??? RM4499

I guess if you're buying an Acer, it's because you want performance for cheap. The old adage of "What you pay for is what you get" remains true I guess.

The Asus G1 is of course the much better choice in terms of build quality and even a little performance boost....... but if if you see the price difference..... from about RM6899 to RM4499 is ALOT of difference...... Alot of us here can't fork out RM7000 just for a laptop..... Me included.....

The Gemstone has roughly similar specs, and most importantly the same graphics card, has definitely more bang for your buck. The S41 isn't bad (as it's just an 8600GS compared with the GT), but if you're planning to upgrade to Vista, it'll come up to roughly the same price also....... but then again you might prefer a lighter and smaller screen.....

For gamers "on a budget", the Gemstone still looks like the most attractive.

And of Acer quality, I guess it's a matter of luck. I'm using this Acer TravelMate 2410 for nearly 2 years and (touch wood), still runs just fine, and I lug it to university and now my intern job quite alot. Once used for some semi-pro audio recording and it worked quite well actually.

I don't understand the quote about Acer being "Not Branded"....
I always thought Acer was an international company?

But anyway, the Gemstone's graphics card is running on a nVidia 8600GT while the DV6508 uses an nVidia 8400 GS.....

If it was using the same 8600GT as the Acer, I'd buy that already..........


I'm not biased towards Acer..... if you read that in my posts, forgive me.

I just find that the Acer Gemstone still beats everyone else in terms of price/performance thus a better value.

If HP came up with the same model at even a RM1000 premium, I wouldn't mind getting HP because I KNOW HP has good after-sales service compared to Acer......

This post has been edited by blacktrix: Jun 20 2007, 06:02 PM

At the moment, these laptops arn't even available on the market, so in terms of performance, there's few who have tested and benchmarked them..... but I still think they should at least add in a 8600GS for that price.......

From the looks of it at the Roadshow in 1Utama the other day, it looks quite nice and feels about right...... but the "model" there showing off the new laptop says it's "only a test model, so it hangs quite alot"....

I kinda like the outside design pattern, but a little "ah beng" for my taste.....

Hehehehe....... providing I have some downtime from my internship job, I'll bench test the hell out of my Gemstone............

It'll be on for most of the days in the office....... which is like, from 10am to 9pm.......

Once Internship is over..... hopefully can field test it at a starbucks for a little WoW gaming...... Luckily I already bought a Razer Diamondback mouse for that!

Dude, there's a gemstone READY FOR SALE THERE????

Dude, if it's on sale, I'm heading on Saturday to pick me up one.

Is it the 1.83ghz version or the 2.0ghz version?

themagnificentman,

to me, I would actually go for option 1.

The computer that you might be able to purchase, is quite low end these days and will only have a life span of about, 2 years MAXIMUM.......

The motherboard and graphics card already a dying breed (Believe me, I own 2 Socket 939 Systems and it's impossible to find a new processor..... have to hit up LYN trade zone for that one)......

However, the laptops in option one provides quite alot of robust power and with the left over cash, you can add in more RAM or HDD space.....

That's just my 2 cents.....

Most likely when I get my Gemstone, will probably make a custom skin for it...... Probably along the lines of a Rebel Flag (the dixie one, not the star wars one).... that's why the white doesn't bother me.....

On the other hand, the white DOES suit my iPod well....

Hmmmmmmmmmm......

AH crap..... will go over your place tomorrow anyway to see how it looks like and then buy it.....

If it comes with a Gig of RAM, I'll have to bump up to 2 gigs though....

ooooooh. If that's the case, might bump up to 3 gigs.... heheheh.... See how much budget is like......

Will also need to get an external HDD drive..... so alot of things have to fit into as well.

This post has been edited by blacktrix: Jun 22 2007, 06:27 PM

Weeeeeeeeee! Got my Gemstone from John_jay2 today! My baby is still charging, so will only let you know how it performs 6 hours from now!

Overall, John_jay was helpful, and would definitely buy back from him again...... cheers mate!

Any particular benchmark you want me to run?

I'm downloading 3D Mark 06 now.......

BenQ S41 lah....

14.1" Widescreen, 2.35kg (with battery), 1 gig RAM, T7100 Processor (2.0ghz), RM3999 (Linux)


Details here:
http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/458821

Build quality and heat management will have to field test in my office this week.

I don't have a BenQ to compare to..... sorry.

But I'll just post up the results and once the BenQ starts coming in, can compare to other people's tests