2. Notebook Kick-Off With ASUS L8400B, Continued

tested Version L8400B ID1

L8400B ID2

Some little changes to the message LEDs, the switches and plastic parts, and voila there is a new notebook. Under the hood the parts are the same.

There is also the need to position one product across different price segments. To meet those critical price points of the market, the vendor can modify the specification. 5 different strings can be pulled to optimize the price: Display (type and size), CPU, HDD, Memory and CD/DVD ROM. Display size and resolution add to the price.

Entry-level notebooks use a 12" DSTN display that marks the bottom of the display prices, while top of the line products use 15" TFT displays with up to 1600x1200 pixels. The best price/performance is provided by 13.3" or 14" TFT displays. CPU prices vary from $75 Celeron to $730 Pentium III. 2.5" HDDs as used in notebooks are available in different heights of 9.5mm, 12.5mm or 17.5mm. The reason for the different heights of the drives is the number of disks inside. Most notebook drives used today are HDDs of 9.5mm height. The price is about double the price of a 3.5" storage solution, while the performance of a notebook hard drive is of course significantly lower. Memory has its price in every computer. The tested L8400B Notebooks comes equipped with 64 MB onboard memory and one SODIMM144 module with 128 MB. The mixture of onboard and socket memory is a compromise of space required by the memory as well as cost and flexibility for upgrades. For top of the line notebooks the DVD drive is part of the default specification. In cheaper devices you will find a CD-ROM inside.