Whirlpool

Hello

I'm in the market for a new 14.1" notebook. I figure 14.1" will be best for my needs, that is taking it to Uni and light use at home. 15.4" might just become too much of a hassle to carry around.

So, I need a 14.1". I also wanted a fairly decent CPU, and I'm pretty keen on the new Santa Rosa platform. The Asus A8SC looks nice and I trust the ASUS brand, but a few things put me off it - firstly, it's pretty expensive (they were around $1595 but jumped up to $1800) and secondly, they inbuilt video is pretty weak (8400GS).

The A8JS would be nice with the 7700 Go, but they are ridiculously dear, and I would like Santa Rosa.

Dell are overpriced, I considered the 13.3" XPS but it has a very basic configuration.

I then stumbled upon the BenQ S41. Specs are C2D 2.0GHz (T7300)/14.1"/1GB DDR2/160GB HDD/DVDDL/NVIDIA 8600GS/HDMI OUT/802.11 A/B/G 4XUSB/2.35KGS for just under $1800 ($1794).

I would like the GT, but hey, I just built an new desktop PC for gaming and I really don't game that much anyway. An 8600GS should satisfy me for whatever I need.

So to the point - is this a good deal? How are BenQ with their notebooks? It has a 2 year warranty, so that's a bit of assurance, but I would like to not use the warranty at all.

Can anyone recommend something similar about the same price or cheaper?

Physically it looks great too and there's a gallery over here - www.benq.com.au/products...073&page=gallery.

Look forward to your responses!

Daza

Bump!

from the looks of it, it looks decent but i dont know the quality of benq either

where did u find the deal

nvm i quickly looked up staticice

not bad, but i have heard many bad things about Benq. also samsung notebooks too.

its honestly only the dell 1420 which is you're cheapest choice for a good processor and 8400M gcard. good enough to play most games and when you're at uni can squeeze in some more games on spare times! :) while othertimes you can go hjome and game.

costs around $1400, very good price and much much better support.

also heard you can call up dell to make a better negotiation on price.

give it a try!
cheers

oh god not BenQ, owned by Acer, big put off for me.

Dell is your friend :P best support and value !

Thanks a lot for the replies.

bossyboots, couldn't quite find the Dell you mentioned going for $1400. I would probably pick up a Dell in an instant should it have a T7300 and a 8400GS for even $1500.

I would much rather buy ASUS/Acer/HP/Toshiba because we sell all these brands at work and I could obviously get a much better price! :) What prohibits me from doing so is that none of these companies have the configurations I'm after, and I'm therefore forced to turn to other suppliers..

But wow, the specs on this BenQ are pretty impressive. Still looking for an alternative though.

hey daza. sorry my mistake, i've seem to be tripping with all these new dells and notebooks with santa rosa and dx10 cards! lol. yeah it was actually inspiron 1420 14" with 1.5ghz core2duo and 8400M for around $1150. so cheap! so yeah its up to you.

that benQ is pretty impressive, but if you just got a good gaming pc, then you can have just a basic gaming notebook for some games when bored at uni.

but yea honestly heard only bad stuff about benq's. but maybe they're trying to change that now.
cheers

Decent value but personally i don't like BenQ laptops much as well, their LCDs are fine but go for a better brand name like HP, Dell, Asus etc for laptops since laptops are well...fragile.

I would much prefer Dell, it just seems so hard to find a decent 14.1" notebook with a good video card and CPU.. at least the CPU, anyone know of a cheap 14.1" with a T7300?

pretty hard to get a cheap 14" since they're in the smaller range and always cost heaps apart from dell. try acer for some

I think I might be going for the BenQ, price fell to $1682.

Awsome little notebook for the price, just want to know, some of the bad experience's people have had with BenQ notebooks.

In case anyone is wondering, I did a bit of calling around today to find out more about BenQ.

I called BenQ directly, and had my call answered without waiting in any queues. A knowledgeable bloke told me that the 2 year warranty is pick up and return, as the service centre is in Sydney.

This is good for me as I live in Wollongong. Also, he confirmed that the laptop has a zero dead pixel policy in the RMA period; fair. Toshiba don't warranty dead pixels at all, I know this for a fact.

A bit more poking around I found out the notebook (S41) may be based on the "Inventec w14" whitebook. Other companies that also use this whitebook are Zepto and Acer, apparently. Oh and, BenQ is not part of the Acer umbrella any more.

A review of an older BenQ notebook found that the keyboard is 'excellent' and 'outstanding'. This important of course for Uni work, I will be typing a lot. Lots of high-res pics on the BenQ website too, so I'm pretty sure I know what I'm getting.

Lastly, it uses magnetic latching like the Macbook and recent HP/Compaq variants. I love this, so much better than latches which can be difficult to use and prone to breakage. Seems to have a trackpad similar to that of the ASUS F3x units, as in it is one big button, not two smaller ones.

I have a feeling this notebook will become very popular soon. It's better value for money than the ASUS (don't get me wrong, I love ASUS, but I know value when I see it) and it's just the right size (2.35kgs w/ battery!).

Price fell $100 from yesterday to today. I imagine the prices will fall more in the future too.

Just posting whatever I know 'cos it seems like no one has a clue about BenQ notebooks. I think I might take a risk and get it.. how wrong can things go? :)

Id say go with one of the toshibas if your looking for all in one performance and a decent price, i got mine for 1200 and it had better features than any ofthe other laptops on display came with everything you need decent graphics ect... looked at some of the new models the other day and looked quite impressive, I used to be put off by toshiba coz they would get out of dat pretty quick buts ive had mine for 7 months and was working fine, just has issues with the screen which can happen but other than that nothing really. They are built solidly as well so good for moving from place to place and can be banged around abit. Also easy as to upgrade the harddisk and ram.

have you purchased the notebook yet daza?
i'm having serious thoughts on it too now

mmmntl writes...

have you purchased the notebook yet daza?
i'm having serious thoughts on it too now

I will, just waiting on an email from BetterIT and I will deposit my money. I'm getting an extra 1GB to install myself.

This laptop is incredible value for money. Can't be touched. I read through 48 pages on a Malaysian forum about it and the guys there absolutely loved it to bits.

It has a beautiful design, reminds me of HP notebooks actually. If it really is 2.35kgs then it's also one of the lightest 14.1" notebooks for under $1800.

Feel free to ask me any questions you want.. I should have it *hopefully* by Tuesday or Wednesday.

have you considered dontpayretail.com.au
they are $1 extra, but if you are signed up to moneybackco.com you get a 2% cashback

hi daza

was wondering how much you getting your s41 for and what are the specs?

ive been looking around in qld approx $1800@instantit
specs as follows:
S41V15 /C2D2.0/ 14.1/ 1GB/160/DDL
T7300 WXGA 1280X800 160GB SATA 1GB DDRII-667
NVIDIA GO8600 MAX S-VIDEO 802.11 A/B/G 4XUSB
14.1" WSCREEN, 2.35KGS, BLK COLOR

warranty details seem to be vague tho...but the price and performance is the best value laptop out there..

i would imagine heat might be an issue...i have the previous version s73, which uses the same chassis, whenever i played any game e.g. company of heroes the laptop would switch off..

please let us know how it all goes
cheers

that heat issue is concerning.

a quick look on static ice reveals:

1 $1682.60 BENQ S41V15 C2D2.0 14.1 1GB 160 DDL 9H.07701.V15
BetterIT Australia (NSW) | www.betterit.com.au | updated: 07-07-2007
2 $1693.10 BENQ S41V15 /C2D2.0/ 14.1/ 1GB/160/DDL (9H.07701.V15)
Dont Pay Retail (NSW) | www.dontpayretail.com.au | updated: 07-07-2007
3 $1696.00 TP-BEN7519 Benq - 9H.07701.V15 - S41V15 /C2D2.0/ 14.1/ 1GB/160/DDL
HB Outlet (NSW) | www.hboutlet.com.au | updated: 08-07-2007

A few people were worried about the heat issue from previous BenQ laptops, but I have been told there is no such issue with the S41. In the 48 pages from the Malaysian forum thread I read, people did say it got warm when playing games, but no where near unbearable and nothing like the older laptops.

Using the Santa Rosa platform it can dynamically increase or decrease the FSB allowing for better battery life and of course less heat.

Warranty wise, I called up BenQ Australia personally and spoke to a technician about the terms. He said there is a 2 year (24 month) pick up and return warranty on the notebook itself, and a 1 year warranty on the battery pack. There is a 7 day zero-dead-pixel policy which is also very good (Toshiba, Acer amongst others don't have any dead pixel policy).

Depositing my money today.. will have it mid week I hope.

@mmmntl

Thanks for letting me know about the 2% cashback with Dontpayretail. I think I will get it from BetterIT though, they have been very helpful and even reply to e-mails as late as 12:43 Sunday night/very early Monday morning! They are $14 dearer compared to Dontpayretail, but I'm happy to pay that much for customer service.

i took the plunge and ordered the s41.

thanks daza for all the help, and for showing me this deal!

mmmntl writes...

i took the plunge and ordered the s41.

thanks daza for all the help, and for showing me this deal!

No worries mate. Mine comes tomorrow morning :)

Where did you get yours from? Are you upgrading your RAM too? I bought an extra 1GB stick just to bump it up to 2GB.

Hey guys don't forget to let us know what the S41 is like, I'm very tempted to get one after reading about it....I almost brought an asus but I think I'll hold out till I hear from those of you guys lucky enough to get the S41.

Will be more than happy to. I'll post my review here with some pics when I unbox it tomorrow.

decided dontpayretail.com.

yep i'm also planning on upgrading the ram, i know the manuals for the other notebooks show you clearly how to do it, so i assume it doesnt void the warranty

btw, the provided 1gb notebook ram is 667, but the santa rosa chip can do up to 800?

if i install a new stick of 800, i assume they both clock down to 667

shame we wont be utilising that extra speed

I think DDR2 800 is near useless in notebooks, not to mention a lot more expensive. I just went for 2x1GB 667.

Well, I go it!

This notebook is amazing. The aluminum touch is very nice indeed, and the general build feels great. Oh, recently the notebook won a Red Dot design award too.

It's definitely no slouch, and how could it be with such a beefy processor coupled with a powerful video card. Haven't had a chance to play any games yet but I already have an 8600GT in the desktop PC so I doubt it will be too different.

The keyboard is excellent, I've used a lot of laptop keyboards and this is one of the best. The keys are nice and big too, which is important because I'll be using it for Uni mostly.

Notebook is fairly light too, apparently 2.35KGs with battery.

Speakers are 'acceptable', just your average notebook speakers.

Doesn't seem to warm up too much, but I haven't been doing much with it yet, just browsing the web and listening to a bit of music.

Screen is great, very clear and colors are vibrant.

Here's the Windows Experience Index rating (stock with 1GB of RAM):

Processor: 4.9
Memory (RAM): 4.5
Graphics: 5.9
Gaming graphics: 5.4
Primary hard disk: 4.8

HDD is Hitachi HTS541616J9SA00 and DVDRW is Optiarc DVD RW AD-7530B.

EDIT: After adding the extra 1GB of RAM the Windows Experience Index went from 4.5 for RAM to 4.8. Nice!

daza| writes...

Doesn't seem to warm up too much, but I haven't been doing much with it yet, just browsing the web and listening to a bit of music.

there might be a Qpower program running in the tray to adjust the performance/battery mode settings - that might give u a better indication

Is there any dedicated video ram for the 8600GS or does it run off the system memory?

esso writes...

Is there any dedicated video ram for the 8600GS or does it run off the system memory?

256MB dedicated, but it can expand to 1GB by borrowing from the system RAM (so, 256MB dedicated + 758MB shared = 1GB total VRAM).

I have battery settings at 'best performance' and it's been on for a few hours, still not very warm. The new Santa Rosa platform may have better thermal control than before.

do u know what type of ram is supplied? (brand)

what type of ram did u install?

The RAM supplied is a 1x1GB module, I didn't take a really good look at it but it did say "SiS" on it, which from memory could stand for Silicon Integrated Systems, but I wasn't aware they made RAM modules (I know they do chipsets and all though).

The RAM I put in was 1x1GB "RAMBO". It has a lifetime warranty, and since I wasn't going to overclock (duh) or change timings and all, I figured getting cheap/generic RAM for a laptop is OK.

You can find the RAM from a variety of retailers here - staticice.com.au/cgi-bin...GB+RAMBO+SO+DIMM. I purchased mine from BetterIT with the laptop and paid $58 for it. I figured it was better to pay a few extra dollars and get it from them, but save by combining shipping.

GoSam writes...

Hey guys don't forget to let us know what the S41 is like, I'm very tempted to get one after reading about it

+1 from me also hopefully the new owners still have time to check WP.....

mine was shipped today, its suppose to be next day shipping, but tomorrow is saturday so i'll doubt it'll come in.

mmmntl writes...

mine was shipped today, its suppose to be next day shipping, but tomorrow is saturday so i'll doubt it'll come in.

Damn, I hate the 'weekend wait'. I always try and buy things at the start of the week so I don't wait the weekend for them lol.

what sort of the scores do you get with 3dmark06?

I have had a Benq Joybook 9000 for five years (I think) and it hasn't missed a beat.

Sounds like this is a pretty good laptop, I'd also be pretty interested in it's 3dmark06/05 scores too

this morning i heard the doorbell and i jumped from bed and quickly ran to open the door after a heavy night of drinking and clubbing last night, only to be greeted by flowers. its my sisters birthday. hahaha. was the biggest kick in the butt!

Just saw this review on CNET. Haven't even read it yet but I figured you'd want to see it :-)

www.cnet.com.au/laptops/...339279919,00.htm

hey just read the review,

3dmark06 score was 2,743

but thats with the t7100 processor, the one selling has a t7300

I'll download 3DMark06 during off-peak tonight and post up a review tomorrow.

There are a few different version of the S41, as mentioned above overseas it comes with a T7100 (half the cache and only 1.8GHz).

Umart QLD have the laptop going for $1669... I paid $1682 for mine :)

daza| writes...

Umart QLD have the laptop going for $1669...

thats interesting...staticice shows $1669 but the actual link still shows as $1769
maybe a typo

hey guys do you know any shops (as in actual shops, not online shops) who sell this computer? In Sydney perhaps? I went to my local computer store and they said they couldn't order it in :(

another quick question daza, where does the power connector plug into this notebook? I've had a look on the images on the benq site, but not really sure where it is.. the only place that kind've looks like it is next to the dvd drive, is that where it plugs in? thanks.

Yes, it you are correct, it plugs in to the top right hand side of the notebook just above the DVD player. It is a very firm connector, takes a bit of effort to remove it. Not neccesarily a good or a bad thing though.

Got 3DMark06 last night, will post up reviews soon.

Cool thanks for confirming that. Also, did it come with vista home premium or vista business? BenQ website is saying vista home premium, but the BetterIT website is saying vista business...?

Mine definitely has VHP (Home Premium). I prefer this over Business Edition as VHP has Windows Media Center.

is media centre THAT good though? What is it used for? Personally I have Windows XP MCE and it's not all that different.

also, does it come with restore or does it come with actual vista install cd?

I found it here www.dontpayretail.com.au...v15-p-43235.html
only $1693.10 + 10 postage. I'm pretty sure i'll be getting it. Post up your 3d mark score!!!

I have vista ultimate on my home pc.. media centre is pretty good, but of course useless if you dont use your pc as a media centre at any point in time.

gibbocool writes...

I found it here www.dontpayretail.com.au...v15-p-43235.html
only $1693.10 + 10 postage. I'm pretty sure i'll be getting it. Post up your 3d mark score!!!

I got 2763 in 3DMark06. This was with the installed drivers and pretty much every
setting at standard.

In 3DM06, does the resolution effect the final score or is it scaled accordingly? I ran the test at 1280x800, I assume my score will be more or less the same if I ran it at say 1024x768.

I will install newer drivers and see how things go. The 8600 driver support is pretty basic at the moment, I know this because I have an 8600GT in my PC. Great cards, I just feel the support on Vista is lacking a bit at the moment. I'm sure over time performance will improve, but obviously they won't double performance or anything like that.

BTW: At BetterIT the notebook is going for $1680 + $15 express courier postage. Save a few bucks if you want :)

Is it just me or has better it upped the price of this thing?
Says - $1,702.60

damn :(

I saw that too. And it also seems that it comes with Vista Business =(

if only there was an option of "no operating system", probably would be cheaper. I have a legit win xp pro key which I haven't used :(

oh @ daza: how are the speakers on it? Is the sound quality good? Loud, soft etc?

Damn, what the hell is going on?

Prices up, now with Vista Business.

I noticed the ASUS notebooks we sell at work have also changed to Vista Business from HP, I wonder if it is cheaper to buy [from a retailers perspective] Vista Business as compared to VHP.

Still, at least it's only $10~ or so. The ASUS A8SC went from $1595 to $1800 in a matter of days.

I know that a certain distributor has a buy price of $1610 on these notebooks ex-GST. So, to get it around $1700 is a very good buy imo.

Any other questions? :)

EDIT: Just saw your edit. Sound is good, I've listened to music and watched a movie with the notebook, not too bad. It has SRS features which do make a big difference. There are a few settings to tweak the audio and that also helps. Definitely loud, just not enough bass. But there's no real way to extract bass from 2x1.5w speakers without a subwoofer.

They're "loud" when I test them in my bedroom which I admit is a quiet environment. Haven't had a chance to test it elsewhere, so not sure how they perform in a busy environment or anything like that. Seems like they would cope well though.

I haven't tested HDMI yet, but it definitely does video and audio out (I can tell through the Realtek configuration screen). Might seem obvious but I thought I'd just clarify that.

sound?
playing songs are really important to me - my dad's acer's speakers are way too soft and I don't want to fall into the same trap.

Yeah my dad's Acer is bollocks for sound aswell. Mayber it's an Acer thing.

Anyways i've got a few other questions before i buy one (so close right now!).

How is the bloat-ware on this thing? How much crap is on it when you buy it? I'd rather not have to format and such. Oh and does it come with the Vista DVD and not just a recovery DVD?

And screenwise, is it a glossy screen or a matte screen?

Thanks matey.

Comes with Glossy screen, regarding Vista, I haven't opened the package yet so I have no idea if it's a recovery DVD or a install DVD. It does say 'for distribution with a BenQ PC only' or something to the likes of that, still not sure if it's a recovery DVD or a true install DVD.

Bloat-ware wise, I was very impressed to see none. The only installed apps are things I will actually use, and they are PowerDVD and Nero. There is software for the webcam but they are full versions and not crippled or time limited ones.

Oh, MS Office 2007 60 day trial is installed, but that's all. I uninstalled it and whacked on my legit copy, no dramas.

Still very happy with the machine. Haven't found much use for it but Uni starts next week and I'm sure it will get plenty of use then.

Sweet as. I think i'm gonna drop the ball and buy it now. The guy said same-day delivery if i'm in the right area. If not then it's the next day!

Ravine writes...

Sweet as. I think i'm gonna drop the ball and buy it now. The guy said same-day delivery if i'm in the right area. If not then it's the next day!

+ 1, just waiting for my dad to come home (about 10 mins) :)

Good on ya guys. Let me know how you find yours.

One downside I should have probably mentioned is that there is a Fn key where the Ctrl key normally is. Small, but bugging issue. I know for a fact the more I type with it the more comfortable I will become with it, but it is annoying for those for first days.

Being a small laptop you have to get used to the positioning of the trackpad and make sure you don't rest your palms on it. Not too much of a hassle, but a little bugging until you get used to it (it only took me a day or two, now I'm fine).

daza| writes...

Umart QLD have the laptop going for $1669... I paid $1682 for mine :)

hey man wow i was just about to bye the asus f3jp when i came across this s41.
im so bying this asap! it kicks ass over the asus!
anyway i live in qld and am looking at umart and it says the s41 is $1799?
www.umart.com.au/newindex2.phtml?bid=5
just wondering where you got $1699 from?
im so looking foward to getting this ripper of a notebook

cheers

Mike878 writes...

just wondering where you got $1699 from?

Unfortunately it looks like there was a typo -- as Umart changed the price from $1699 to $1799 near instantly, but Staticice caught it. I don't think you can buy it for $1699 from Umart, but you can probably get it from BetterIT (www.betterit.com.au/scri...?idproduct=91217) for $1702.60 + $15 shipping. I got mine from them and I am very impressed with their service and quick dispatch.

Alternatively, I think DontPayRetail (www.dontpayretail.com.au...v15-p-43235.html) have it for $1693 + $10 shipping.

o ok thanks man. yeah i think ill go with BetterIT then. I can's wait!
so how long did it take for it to arrive after you ordered it?

cheer man
ps. have you played any games yet? cause i was wondering if it plays the latest games as good as the reviews say.

Next day delivery for me, but since you are in QLD it may be 1-2 days.

Good decision to deal with BetterIT, very helpful people there even if it is $2 more to go with them, it's worth it for the service/assurance.

Gaming wise, the notebook can handle its own. The 8600 GS is a decent card, and can run things like FEAR with eye candy turned on reasonably well. Colin McRae: DiRT runs well and although I'm yet to test STALKER, it works perfectly fine on my 8600GT in the Desktop.

At the end of the day though, you can only squeeze so much out of it. It is a 14.1" notebook, and because of this I don't think you could fit a better video card in, as the heat generated would be far too much in such a small area.

wow i cant believe DiRT works on it, thats an amazing looking game. im hoping games like assasins creed and bioshock might run on it...
sounds as good as the reviews say it is, i geuss it is a pretty big graphics card for a small notebook. thanks for the heads up, ill order one asap!

Hi,

Firstly, thanks for the info about this laptop (especially daza|) as I was leaning towards the Dell 1410/1330 before seeing this post.

I have a quick question about the graphics cards output and sorry if this is a noob question. Does this laptop have 2 outputs which allow me to connect my 2 monitors (lcd and crt) together to dual screen? I am thinking of selling off my desktop and use a laptop for the upgrade instead but really enjoy the dual screen feature the desktop card provides (honestly can't live without it these days). My lcd is an old Benq so it doesnt have the new hdmi input.

In the event that it doesn't, which means I will need to get a new monitor with hdmi input, can I then connect the 2 monitors together (hdmi and vga) and utilize dual screen function on the gfx card?

Thanks in advance.

You can get DVI to HDMI converters.

Rick_Hunter writes...

oes this laptop have 2 outputs which allow me to connect my 2 monitors (lcd and crt) together to dual screen?

it has the VGA and HDMI, but don't forget that the laptop itself has a screen ;) You'l have triple screen if you set it up like that.

daza| writes...

I think DDR2 800 is near useless in notebooks, not to mention a lot more expensive. I just went for 2x1GB 667.

hey can you please send me the link to the ram you bought with the S41
and is it hard to install it yourself?

Rick_Hunter writes...

In the event that it doesn't, which means I will need to get a new monitor with hdmi input, can I then connect the 2 monitors together (hdmi and vga) and utilize dual screen function on the gfx card?

While the laptop can definitely do dual screens (Laptop + External display) I am not sure about 3 screens (Laptop screen + VGA + HDMI/DVI). I have not got a DVI/HDMI converter at hand so I am unable to test this, but I 100% sure it can do dual display (Laptop + VGA or HDMI/DVI).

I will do some further research to see if it can do the three outputs.

Mike878 writes...

hey can you please send me the link to the ram you bought with the S41
and is it hard to install it yourself?

Hi mate, this is the RAM I bought - www.betterit.com.au/Scri...?idproduct=79585 . Very easy to install, it took me less than 2 minutes. Unscrew 3 screws, slot it in (I moved the original RAM to the secondary slot to make the install a bit easier) and you're done. I think the manual may also have instructions but I didn't bother to use them. $56.44 for 1GB of DDR2 RAM is great, I got mine for just over $58.

I bought Kingston RAM instead. Higher quality for only 5 bucks more than generic.
www.betterit.com.au/scri...?idproduct=77205

Edit: I'm so amped! I finally got the payment through! Now i gotta wait patiently...i hope i don't have to bear the weekend wait...

Will post pictures!

i just got mine today daza, didnt end up coming on monday, tuesday wasnt home, but the wait is over!

Upgraded the ram with generic (well hynix) ram i bought from msy $52

just installing all the usual apps

Hi,

We've had some enquiries re the specs on s41v15 and have just confirmed that the unit we ship (9H.07701.V15) www.betterit.com.au/Scri...?idproduct=91217 does in fact have:

1. Windows Vista Home Premium
2. Blue tooth
3. 1 Free RAM Slot

We have updated the product record.

As for RAM, we recommend the compatible Kingston brand here www.ec.kingston.com/ecom...0&submit1=Search
Our product Here: www.betterit.com.au/scri...?idproduct=77205

If your worried about installing it yourself. There is a general video here.
www.betterit.com.au/scri...?idCategory=4702

If I can help with any more questions, please feel free to email us or WHIM me.

Regards, Matt
BetterIT Australia

Cheers Matt for the ram info:)
i'll defiently be buying it from betterIT. i will also get the ram with it aswell
just wondering why the price has gone up and will it go up any further?
im intending to have the money in less than 2 weeks and im hoping the price wont go up any higher. also, how long do you recon the stock will last? considering theres only 27 left?
thanks mate

I just bought one so make that 26 =b.

Actually it seems as the stock goes down, the price goes up 5 bucks...

i bought mine from dontpayretail, everything seems the same as betterIT

mmmntl writes...

i bought mine from dontpayretail, everything seems the same as betterIT

so man is it as good as it looks?

so far so good, although its my first time running vista and its yet to grow on me.

I have spent the day trying to confirm the OS, every online retailer including BetterIT and dontpayretail kept telling me that the OS was Vista Business and BenQ Australia kept telling me that it was Vista Home Premium. BetterIT contacted me about 1 hour ago and corrected their OS info as per the note above, so I have also ordered one with the extra gig or RAM, so now there is only 25 left.........Thanks Dazza for starting this thread, I was lost on what to buy..........

came with vista premium oem cd,
the manual also shows u how to install extra ram
the screen is glossy not matte
mine came already partitioned 40/120

Do you guys know what RPM the hard drive is?

BetterIT says 5400 rpm on their website

On the rpm hard-drive issue, how much overall performance would it differ by say a 7200rpm hdd? In terms of daily use, movies and games.

i really dont think there is much noticable difference between the two speeds if your only a casual user. if it where a bigger hdd then 7200rpm would be useful. plus the 7200rpm would use more power and heat the machine up more

HDD is a Hitachi 160GBer, 5,400 RPM too.

Regarding the RAM issue, Kingston are probably a better brand than "Rambo" but often big companies still use the same ICs that no name generic companies use.

I would have probably spent the extra $5 but I think prices were a little higher when I went to get mine.

hey has anyone taken any photos that they can put up?

Bought the laptop from betterIT today :) $2 more than dontpayretail but all of you say they are good, and hey they took the time to reply to this thread. I await my laptop anxiously, hopefully il get it on friday, but i doubt it, i'll probably see it on monday.

I didnt get the extra RAM.. i'll get that another time if i need.. i recently got another gb for my PC running vista and it made only a tiny difference..

I'm still waiting for my payment to be approved! I don't think i'll get it by friday at this rate! Not the weekend wait!! Anything but that!

hey they have drivers for the S41 on the benQ website
www.benq.com.my/products...ownloads&dtype=D

I'm guessing the drivers are for when you format or lose the CD it comes with.

thanks mike, ive actually been looking for these, they arent on the australian benq website! getting rid of some of benq's inbuilt software.

BetterIT sent me an email following up the fact that my payment hasn't gone through yet.

I don't know whether it class that as good customer service or wanting money.

This laptop looks awesome. I was originally set on the Asus A8Js, but this is such better value and way better looking. Glad I waited a bit before buying.

I'll probably grab it from BetterIT too, unless any retailers in my area wanna pricematch that shit. Heh.

Big cheers to Daza| and mmmntl.

Out of interest, what comes in the box with the laptop? Bag? Mouse? anything else?

Hey guys!

I got my Laptop! Big ups to Wayne from BetterIT for helping me get this baby before the weekend! Thanks again for the complimentary same day shipping (i had some trouble with Westpac)!

Anyways, as promised, here are the pictures! I only just got it at 3:50pm (it took half an hour to install the damn RAM! I was afraid i'd break the back piece) but here are the photos!

Pics as follows!

Just Arrived!
img301.imageshack.us/img...deliveredyn9.jpg

Kingston 1GB Value RAM (In the white package)
img301.imageshack.us/img...47/ram1gbof3.jpg

The box in the box
img227.imageshack.us/img...boxinaboxel1.jpg

Inside the box in the box
img301.imageshack.us/img...6/openboxpf1.jpg

Opening up the laptop for the first time
img301.imageshack.us/img...aptopopenij1.jpg

Inside the peripherals box
img227.imageshack.us/img...heralsboxgi1.jpg

The brushed chrome wrist rest finish
img529.imageshack.us/img...omefinishbo1.jpg

BenQ Sticker with some specs
img227.imageshack.us/img...nqstickerax6.jpg

Centrino, Win Vista and nVidia stickers
img301.imageshack.us/img...lstickersaw3.jpg

Front inputs
img301.imageshack.us/img...498/frontcu8.jpg

Left side inputs
img529.imageshack.us/img...4530/leftiv9.jpg

Right side inputs
img529.imageshack.us/img...320/rightit2.jpg

Back inputs
img301.imageshack.us/img...5827/backff9.jpg

RAM cover
img529.imageshack.us/img...8/ramslotoa9.jpg

Comparison of laptop size to a 12" vinyl record
img227.imageshack.us/img...omparisonwj2.jpg

Comparison of the laptop screen to a Chimei CMV956D 19" LCD
img529.imageshack.us/img...omparisoneu0.jpg

And finally the initial desktop look when you first boot up!
img227.imageshack.us/img...1/desktopwg8.jpg

Yep! I was pretty snap happy when i got this baby! That's pretty much all the pictures you need to know whether or not you want to get this baby! AGAIN big ups to BetterIT! Possibly the best customer service i've ever gotten from an online retailers! Highly recommended, fast delivery, quick responses and cheap! Definitely will buy from them again!

Anyways guys! I think i'm gonna give this lappy a run through an see what it can do! Enjoy the pictures!

Ravine

Good on you Ravine, thanks for the pics.

Anyone got ideas on how it would run BF2?

Thanks for the pics ravine.
Is the hard drive easily accessible?

I haven't tried accessing the hard drive yet but i'm willing to guess it shouldn't be too hard. In regard to BF2, i'm gonna install that, WoW and Steam games and give them a go soon. Still updating graphics drivers

EDIT 1: I can't seem to find the graphics drivers for the 8600M GS card anywhere. Not even on the nVidia site.

EDIT 2: The DVD drive in this vibrates ALOT. I can feel the vibrations in the wrist rest as i'm installing WoW. It's almost like a wrist massager.

Ravine writes...

EDIT 2: The DVD drive in this vibrates ALOT. I can feel the vibrations in the wrist rest as i'm installing WoW. It's almost like a wrist massager.

Come to think of it, I haven't even used the DVD drive yet. Shame it vibrates so much, but thankfully I wont be using it much, if at all. Streaming stuff over the network seems to be the way to go.

I've been meaning to update the nVIDIA drivers, if I find the right ones I'll post a link to it.

Hahaha we're making an army of S41 owners.

I have very few complaints about this laptop.

The one thing that's really bugging me is that the contrast of the screen is pretty crappy but it's what you'd expect from a notebook. I was hoping it'd be better since they were advertising how good the response time is etc.

No TV out?

btw those who purchased from BetterIT: Did the invoice/receipt display the date of purchase (i.e. when you paid for the item via the online store) or the dispatch date?

Pretty sure it's the date of purchase. And there is TV Out if by TV out you mean a VGA out. There's also a HDMI out aswell. There's no TV in though.

That's another good point, no real TV out.

You can do VGA -> Component out, but it requires a particular cable. Shouldn't be too dear though.

You can also do HDMI > DVI out, if your TV/Display has DVI inputs.

Ravine writes...

Pretty sure it's the date of purchase. And there is TV Out if by TV out you mean a VGA out. There's also a HDMI out aswell. There's no TV in though.

Thanks...Yoda?

Seriously though I am thinking that this unit is almost perfect for except lack of a regular s-video output. I guess it may still suit though.

You can always get some kind of TV Tuner though.

mister e writes...

Seriously though I am thinking that this unit is almost perfect for except lack of a regular s-video output. I guess it may still suit though.

As I said, if you can get a VGA -> Component lead (assuming your device has component inputs) you'll be sweet as. Better picture quality too.

A bit off topic, but can someone mind explaining the differences between:

- S-video out
- Hdmi out

I know I use my VGA out for a regular crt or my lcd. I'm also looking to get a 30"+ HD lcd tv soon to compliment the laptop. Does it need a S-video out, or will the Hdmi be enough?

Also, I'm a bit concerned with various people (including Malaysian forum), reporting the lack of compatibility of the DVD drive/burner. How many people who owns this laptop have this issue thats bothering them a lot?

Thanks.
Rick.

I got my s41 yesterday, wow amazingly fast shipping by BetterIT! The first thing i installed was cs source, and its like a dream, i never see lower than 90fps, i usually see about 100 fps. :D

This laptop is such a good buy. The speakers sound great (for a laptop) the laptop just feels so gooood. The ONLY thing im not entirely happy about is the CD/DVD drive its a bit stiff to open and close. oh and as mentioned the contrast isnt exceptional, but only noticable if you're trained to look for that kind of thing.

This laptop kicks my AMD 64 4000+ desktop's ass.

So this notebook should be able to be hooked up to say a 50" plasma and be at 1080p resolution using hdmi? casue that sounds pretty impressive

Mike878 writes...

So this notebook should be able to be hooked up to say a 50" plasma and be at 1080p resolution using hdmi? casue that sounds pretty impressive

Correct.

Rick_Hunter writes...

A bit off topic, but can someone mind explaining the differences between:

- S-video out
- Hdmi out

I know I use my VGA out for a regular crt or my lcd. I'm also looking to get a 30"+ HD lcd tv soon to compliment the laptop. Does it need a S-video out, or will the Hdmi be enough?

Also, I'm a bit concerned with various people (including Malaysian forum), reporting the lack of compatibility of the DVD drive/burner. How many people who owns this laptop have this issue thats bothering them a lot?

Thanks.
Rick.

S-Video out: older interface, better than Composite, but worse than Component.

HDMI out: Newest technology, 100% digital interface which transfers video and audio on one thin plug. Newer TVs have HDMI inputs, newer DVD players have HDMI outputs. No loss in signal, can handle up to 1080p (1920x1080) progressively.

If you are purchasing a new 30" LCD, ensure it has HDMI inputs and you can take advantage of the notebooks HDMI output. Video + sound on one cable. Should you choose to get an external HD DVD drive (say the Xbox 360 addon), you can also watch HD DVD in full 1080p if your monitor can handle the resolution.

HDMI is pin for pin identical to DVI, but DVI does not support audio. You can get HDMI to DVI converters to use on your LCD/Projector/TV etc.

You can get VGA to Component converters to also use on your LCD/Projector/TV etc.

Cool. Thanks for the info, really leaning towards buying one now instead of the Zepto (no idea how long they gonna take with hdmi + delivery times seems super long)

Just 1 last thing before I finally decide. The DVD drive on the Benq S41, how many people have had problems with it? To what extent? I've read reports that it can't even play the cds/dvds you burn with the drive. If it is really bad, how much does it cost to change the drive yourself and is it hard? Furthermore, will this void the warranty on the laptop?

I know I said last thing, but just 1 more :P Does the software it comes with a Recovery disc or some type of Benq Windows Vista Prenium install disc for Benq computers only?

Thanks.
Rick.

I believe it comes with a Vista Home Premium OEM disc, not sure if anything is preloaded on it though. Drivers are available at the BenQ site already.

DVD wise, I believe it was the members of the Malaysian forum complaining a lot. Over there, piracy is rampant and I think they were saying things like "Jack" discs weren't working. I figured these are bootleg DVDs