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Asus F8SN-C1 14.1″ Laptop computer

Asus F8SN-C1 Penryn T9300 2.5Ghz, nVidia 9500M GS, 3Gb, 320 Gig HD, $1400 I wanted to see which laptop had the smallest size BUT with the best graphics card. There are some nice choices for gaming laptops in the 15″ form factor but what about 14.1 or smaller ? Enter the Asus F8 series. The F8SN-C1 packs quite a bit of punch for a prety good price. We are talking the latest Penryn T9300 2.5Ghz processor. 320 gig HD, and the new die shrunk 9500 series nVidia graphics. While not a huge boost in the graphics department over the nVidia 8600the new 9500 is basically a die shrunk 8600M GT. Anyway, it all works great.The laptop also sports 1400 x 900 in this 14″ screen size which is nice. The screen has a slightly grainy look to it which I don’t like too much but it still looks fine. I’ve read that Asus ships this computer with 2 possible screens from different manufacturers. The same screen specs, but one is the grainy screen and the other looks a tad more sharp. Whatever they have on hand at the time of your order is what you get so it’s the luck of the draw. Either way, the screen looks nice. There is a great selection of USB ports and other ports for this size notebook.  No less than 5 USB ports are available which is nice in this small a form factor. DVD, SD / MMC, Firewire, Expresscard, and audio jacks. Out the back you have your DVI, S-Video, VGA, LAN, modem and power jack. There are more ports around the sides and air vent on the right. The power button for the machine is also located in the hinge of the laptop.   The hard drive is easily accessible for future expansion. The computer comes with a nice glossy finish and a web cam that swivels around so you can sit and take a picture of another person in front of you. In fact it’s hard to knock any of the features of this machine, it really is pretty much loaded: -14.1″ WXGA+ 1400×900 Glossy -Intel Penryn T9300 2.5GHz 6MB 800FSB -nVidia Geforce 9500M GS 512MB DDR2 -3GB DDR2 667 -320GB 5400rpm SATA -Windows Vista Home Premium 32 -DVDRW Super Multi -Bluetoth/WiFi-N -Built-in 1.3M pixel Swivel Camera -On board 10/100/1000 Mbps Fast Ethernet Controller -Full and Half duplex mode support for 10/100/1K Mbps -1 x VGA port/Mini D-sub 15-pin for external monitor -1 x Headphone-out jack (SPDIF) -1 x Microphone-in jack -1 x RJ11 Modem jack for phone line -1 x RJ45 LAN Jack for LAN insert -5 x USB 2.0 ports -1 x IEEE 1394 port -1 x TV Out (S-Video composite) -1 x Express Card -1 x Infrared Port(CIR) -1 x DVI Port Asus F8 series 14″ larger than the 15″ Apple Macbook pro. The only real negative is the actual size of the machine. Despite it being a 14″ laptop, it’s actually a little bit larger than a 15″ macbook pro ! 🙂 and its not the lighest machine. What Asus has managed to do however is put together a nice fully featured 14″ form factor machine at a great price. Price is the great factor here. $1400  buys you a lot of machine. It’s built very solid and comes with an incredible warranty including 1 year of accidental damage coverage which no one includes with their machines. All things considered Its a great machine for the price.
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