9. ASUS UL80Vt
Here are 12 gift ideas for the most generous gifters: people giving computers. From cheapest ($300) to priciest ($1500), these are our picks.
ASUS UL80Vt
If you like the idea of the Toshiba T135 but want to step up your holiday generosity, this is the way to do it. ASUS advertises the UL80Vt as having a 12-hour battery life, which seems almost magically akin to Santa delivering presents all over the planet precisely at midnight. In the real world, with the screen dimmed and everything possible dialed down, you might get eight hours. In regular use, six sounds plausible. So, is six hours of runtime on a sub-5 lb. machine with a 14" LCD and Core 2 Duo processor worth getting your stockings in a bunch? You bet your shiny glass balls they are!
At 4.8 pounds, we’re well out of netbook territory and veering away from even thin-and-lights, despite that the UL80Vt measures only 1.1" thick. Blame the larger display, 8-cell battery, and DVD Super Multi drive. In my mind, though, these are more than worth the extra pound or so.
With the UL80Vt, ASUS again gives us its GraphiX Boost switching capability, with which the user can go from saving power with Intel’s integrated G45-class graphics to having more 3D firepower with the discrete GeForce G210M from NVIDIA backed by 512MB of graphics RAM. Changing the GPU is merely a matter of flicking a switch on the notebook’s side. Similarly, ASUS implements its Turbo33 technology, allegedly a hardware/software combination for basic (if not earth-shattering) overclocking. We’ve seen reports of the UL80Vt easily reaching 1.4 GHz, so we tried to persuade Sarah to see if she could ramp the notebook’s SU7300 processor from the default 1.3 GHz to 1.5 or 1.6 GHz, but she insisted on posing for more pictures instead. What’s up with that?
But speaking of good looks, the UL80Vt features a brushed aluminum cover, comfortable chiclet keyboard, and glossy, black plastic bodyparts to help keep weight down. The Altec Lansing speakers are a welcome upgrade from the all-but-inaudible (and invisible) speakers in the lower-end Toshiba 135. The touchpad features a dimpled texture and supports multi-touch gestures.
The UL80Vt’s screen is LED backlit, and the computer contains a 320GB (5,400 RPM) hard drive, and 4GB of DDR3 memory—a good fit for the 64-bit version of Windows 7 Home Premium included. (Note that the notebook will take up to 8GB of memory.) If you’re still undecided on whether all this is worth $850, consider ASUS’s 2-Year Global Warranty. That’s 30 days of flawless pixel assurance, 24x7 tech support, free two-way standard shipping, and one year of accidental damage protection against drops, fire, spills, and surges. Having recently destroyed a notebook by way of triple mocha espresso with an added shot of keyboard, we can’t emphasize the value of this point strongly enough. --William Van Winkle
Glad to see the Alienware M15x made the list. I've never been particularly fond of Dell or Alienware in the past, but it's really one of the best valued gaming laptops available on the market right now. If I recall correctly, you can configure it with a Core i7, 4GB (or maybe 6GB) od DDR3 RAM, 1920x1080 RGBLED screen, and GTX 260M for just bit more than $1700.
I don't even care about the products... I just like the chick.
She's BEAUTIFUL!
I think she'd look a lot hotter with her hair down.
Is it just me, or am I seeing any article with Sarah have 90% of the comments focused on her?
The Durabook is my kind of laptop! Make it 1920x1200, give it a 4830m, a 80GB intel x18-m (I would think they'd be more durable than standard disk drives), and make both the magnesium and rubber twice as thick.
Then shoot it with a 12 gauge full of bird shot and continue playing crysis on it after buffing the scratches out. =D
Really though, I like the Durabook, as I could leave it around my brothers or nephew without worrying about having to buy a new one.
Does it include accidental damage warranty? What about heat resistance? Does the magnesium have a protective coating on it, or if I just scratch a little paint off and leave a lighter by it, or have a peice of molten steel fly on it while welding, will the thing turn into a firebomb (the heat from magnesium combusting blowin the battery). More importantly, how bullet proof is it?
Happy holidays everyone. =D
I'd go for the ASUS RoG G71Gx. I spec'ed out the M15x vs it (and others) and it ended up being $900 cheaper with virtually the same specs. And not only this but you get the RoG-branded backpack and a customized for Asus/RoG Razor Copperhead gaming mouse as throw-ins. And the model would look even hotter holding up the Asus with it's geeky flashing case-lid LEDs, IMO. :-)
Is it just me, or am I seeing any article with Sarah have 90% of the comments focused on her?
Yeah, she's pretty hot. Didn't even read the article. Ended up wondering if I was the only one and sure enough, I wasn't.
New to Toms...
girl is Hot...Who she??...
and Artical wise , i like that Alienware is included.
But I think For me the best deal is the All in one HP touch monitor , which i am thinkin of givin my mom...She loves to cook different dishes and try all sorts of things..and I think this will make a big difference in keepin all her recieps and search for new ones online as it happens....
Thanks for a Great Artical..
HP Envy 13/15 didn't make the list??? Too bad. I know they're priced high, but they do look sexy, and the Envy 15 has some pretty impressive hardware built in.
damn ugly girl what a turn off
Why does tom's always criticize low end cards like 9400GT/GSs and HD4300 series and HD4500 series. These cards would MOST CERTAINLY get playable frame rates at medium/low settings for COD4-6 @ 1024x768 and low settings for crysis at 800x600... My old ATI X1050 played COD4 at medium settings (low shadows, textures on high) at 1024x768 @ about 28-33 fps. That same rig played crysis at an awful 24fps at 800x600. An HD4300 series card is faster than my old X1050- i know that for a fact.... unless your GFX tiers suck (from the best gpus for the money articles).
A 9400GT/GS? HD4300/4500? Really? Come on man! I've got a machine with a 9600GT that is awesome. A 9400 is for someone who just wants to add on a cheap card so they've got one.
Hell, I've got an older rig running two 7600GT's and they can run Crysis. Not great, but it works. As for straight-up low-end cards, you can do a lot better than a 9400.
Some good suggestions there. I'd rather have a MacBook Pro/Air though, although now's not the time to buy since they're towards the end of product cycles.
Wow, 12 computers and not a single one of them made by Apple! I mean, really, not a single Macbook or MacBook Pro? If you just look at sales figures alone, Tom's Guide is seriously out of touch with what many people percieve as a great computer.
Wow, 12 computers and not a single one of them made by Apple! I mean, really, not a single Macbook or MacBook Pro? If you just look at sales figures alone, Tom's Guide is seriously out of touch with what many people percieve as a great computer.
They probably don't want their Christmas gift guides to turn into Apple bashing threads like many fanatics on this site insist on.
FWIW, the model prefers Apple.
"Do you come with the laptop?"
"ohhh you hehe"
hmmm...i definitely have the $1400us to buy someone a present
but the ultimate question is .... can they play crysis?