M2N vs. M6NE

Hi all, first post here.
I'm a poor college student looking for a portable laptop to type notes and surf around on campus. I can get the M2N (1.5G, 512M RAM 40G HDD) for $2000 CAD and the M6NE (1.6G, 512M RAM, 60G HDD) for $2,300. I want a high resolution screen (too bad M2N doesn't offer one...and I read some negative comments on M3N)...now I'm stuck with these choices under the ASUS brand. What I want to know:

1) Battery life: What's the battery life of M2N and M6N? I heard the M2N can go more than 5 hours with regular use, and only around 3.5 for the M6N...being the poor guy that I am, I don't really want to spend extra money on a 2nd battery.

2) Screen: Thanks to Underpantman, I was able to get an idea of the difference btw the 2 machines. I want to know if M6NE users are satisfied with their SXGA+ on the 15inch screen.

3) Weight: I'd like to know the weight of both machines with batteries attached, in pounds, if possible.

I just hate the fact that the M2C model (the one with a better graphics card) is not available in my area - would the integrated chipset be able to handle applications like Photoshop CS, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, etc?
I will have to carry the laptop to campus everyday, so I guess the M2N fits my needs in this away (battery life also). But I worry about the graphics card a lot...
Does anyone know if there are other laptops under $2200 CAD that have similar specs (battery/ram, etc.) with a high resolution screen? Any feedback would help lots. Thanks!

 

Yeah, I think 3.5 hours is close. MobileMeter shows my power drain at around 15-17W on battery, and the main battery is a 63WH battery. Sorry I don't own a scale, so I can't tell you how much it weighs. It's about on par with my old Vaio which was billed as a desktop replacement. Not the lightest in the world, but no big deal.

My Vaio also has a 15" SXGA+ screen; I've been working with this screen size for 4 years now. I think it's great. I do notice the brightness gradient, but if you're actually working with the thing on your lap, you can adjust the screen angle to eliminate that effect. I dunno why it ever makes a difference to anyone, I would never give presentations straight from the LCD screen. That's what the VGA connector is for...


old: Sony PCG-GR300P 1.13GHz PIII-M, 512MB
new: Asus M6Ne 2.00GHz P-M, 2GB

 

The M2N has better battery life and can go 5h+ off a charge, if your really lucky you may get 4h max on a M6N. The intel GPU on the M2N will be fine for PS & dreamweaver, these are more dependent on RAM. You'll only need a better GPU for 3D, such as gaming etc. As for the screen, the high res on my M6N is way better than the M2N, which has a good average screen. Although I have the WSXGA and I'm not sure how this equates to the 15" version.
As for weight the M2N is definitely lighter by at least 0.5kg, sorry you'll have to convert it to pounds.
Out of the two I would say go the M2N and use any extra $$$ to upgrade to a faster cpu and get more ram 'n HDD space etc. I think the extra battery life and less weight will be better for ya.
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ps as for other models maybe have a look at fujitsu their supposed to have great screens.

 

Wow...didn't expect feedback so soon - this is awesome!
Yeah - Fujitsu's screens are quite crisp and bright - but I've also heard that the material they use inside is quite cheap. Anyway, it isn't for me since it is quite expensive compared to the Asus (I'd like sth similar to the Fujitsu series). Now, my other question is this:
For you M3N users out there with the SXGA+ screens, how much does your machine weigh and what is your battery life like under normal conditions (surfing, office apps)? Is it much worse than the M2N (5hr+)? Are there any issues you have with your machine that you would like to point out? I got a bit discouraged in buying the M3N after reading this (although I want the higher resolution really bad): http://www.whatisnew.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1447&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
Thanks for your reply!

 

From the link I posted above, these really bother me:

- "LCD has what seems like a bright glare all throghout...I find myself moving the lcd back and forth many times to find the best viewing angle"
-->is it really that bad? I hope M2N users aren't suffering from the same thing...

- "combo dvd/cdrw drive seemed pretty loud...It's just a nonstop cdrom buzzing when playing the music which is not something you can ignore, believe me when I say this."

These sound very disturbing to me...I have pretty much given up the M6N and looking towards M2N and M3N - Owners of these 2 machines please let me know if you have the same problems listed on the website, and if possible, please provide some details about the two problems shown above. Thanks~

 

m6ne is not a bad machine at all... i think u should try to go check
out a notebook store or wudeva that has both machines... and u should
play around with them... if it was up to me i'd have a W1N but thats
a 3000cdn system so i went with a M6Ne which saved me a bundle...

pros of m6ne
-9700 mobility
-swappable optical bay (media drive, non, hard disk, battery)
-nice transparent black keyboard
-amazingly nice screen but i have one dead pixel but its at the
lower left corner near the start button so its not that noticeable
-fast machine... compared to other notebooks its just one hell
of a monster when u compare performance per dollar

cons
-speakers are nothing compared to ne x.1 setup on a desktop...
-thats probably all i can think of... also battery life i guess
but i'm getting the optical bay 2nd battery by the end of the month
so that should push me to 6-7 hours or so...

 

Coming from someone who has been shopping notebooks for the last 2 months, It's very hard to find Centrino systems with high resolution screens around the $2000 mark.

If you value performance over mobility, the M6Ne is hard to beat.

BTW: Is that $2,300 for the M6Ne after tax, or before? If it's before tax, then it's $300 too much.

 

it's after =)

 

what's wrong with the M3N?? i got it and it's great i love it! photoshop, illustrator, dreamweaver all work fine on my M3N...

 

really? that's awesome...I'm thinking about the m3n too...Bruise Lee, does yours have SXGA+ resolution?
Here's my question about the M3N:
-Is the fan noisy?
-does the machine get really warm?
-Resolution?/glare on screen? - esp. in classroom setting?
-battery life?
-pros/cons of the machine in general

Thanks for the feedback!

 

My M3Np is only XGA not SXGA... but that's fine with me. I just got my M3Np less than a month ago, so i'm still quite excited about my new toy, and don't have many negative comments to say about it. Im sure as time goes on, i'll notice more negative attributes...[ ]

fan noise: not noisy at all... i hardly even notice it when it comes on.

Heat: I dont think the M3Np gets as hot as some other laptops. Ive used my friends laptops and theirs get a lot hotter than mine. It's still comfortable after a few hours of use.

Resolution/Glare on screen: yea... there's some glare, but ive gotten use to it after a few days. Havent been able to use it in a classeoom setting yet, so i cant comment on that.

Battery life: 4-5 hours when battery is fully charged. Very happy with this.

I hope that answers your immediate questions, i'll add more pros and cons later. [ ]