Fujitsu LifeBook E8020 Review (pics, specs) Discussion

The LifeBook E8020D is Fujitsu's latest 15" screen Sonoma notebook. It offers the same graphics card as the Asus W3V, while at the same time, is lighter than the Fujitsu N3510. Furthermore, I found the base line E8020D was cheaper than both the W3V and the N3510. The E8020D was highly configurable (something that can not be said of the W3V unless you void the manufacturer's warranty) and offered a Serial ATA (SATA) hard drive that neither the W3V or N3510 uses. As a result, the E8020D was the perfect compromise between the two, although I must note, that it is not a widescreen notebook.

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For whatever reason the E series is not nearly as high profile as Fujitsu's other models. Thanks for the review and bringing it to the front.

Brian

www.BargainPDA.com | www.DigitalCameraReview.com | www.NotebookReview.com | www.SpotStop.com | www.TabletPCReviewSpot.com

 

yay it's up, but i think it should have my user name instead of real name for the author

 

The pictures and review is excellent. I'm interested in the 17" New N6000 series but this gave me my first real good impression of what to expect. It was excellent. I can't say enough about the review and how much it helped me. I appreciated the pictures alot.

Thank You!

Heart [ ]


Karma, It'll Get You!

 

nice review Goren, very thorough!

DigitalCameraReview.com | BargainPDA.com | TabletPCReviewSpot.com

 

This seems like a very solid all around desktop replacement.

Dell Inspiron 700m
Pentium M, 1.8 Ghz
1024 mb ram
80 gb HD
Dell Axim x50v
iPod 3G 20 GB

 

Wow, this notebook sounds amazing. I had been waiting for another sonoma based notebook from fujitsu other than the N3500 series (too heavy), and thought the S7020 was the next one due up. I didn't even know this notebook existed. I now have to give serious consideration to this one.

Two questions. First, is there a reason you choose the D vs non-D notebook. Basically, the only difference is Atheros vs Intel WIFI, right? Is the Atheros better, because I always thought Centrino was best with Intel's own built in WIFI. Is the Atheros a card, or built in to the lid like the intel? Second, does P1 offer (or do they even exist), 7200 RPM SATA HD? Thanks.

SuperG

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by SuperG

 

No S-ATA 7200RPM drives exist yet from any manufacturer, so the fastest for now is 5400RPM.

Atheros has better features (super G = 106 Mbs). Some of the intel cards are having some problems with some routers.
Both are a card (not built-in, there is no built-ins!) that is installed in the mini-pci slot at the back of the notebook, and they use the same antenna that is located somewhere in the notebook.
So an atheros is the better in my opinion.

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N6010: P4M 3.2G, 1GB Dual 400MHz, 60GB 7200RPM, ATI 9700M, 17" WXGA+
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Those sata drives were released/announced very recently. not sure about availability. You might want to contact Ivan at P1 and ask when they expect to get them, or if they ever will. My guess is they will once they are available. P1 are very prompt with answering emails!

As for the wireless. Nothing sticks out. That's how it is on all laptops. It's called built in, but it is actually a card that can be removed after you open a window in the bottom of the notebook.

Here is how the atheros on mine looks like: (note the 2 wires hooked to it, those are the antennas)


and here is how the intel card looks like. Exactly identical to the atheros, and fit in exactly the same fashion:


[EDIT]: I said it is not built in, as in it is not a part of the main board in the laptop, but it sure is part of the laptop as a whole. So any laptop that says built in wireless has the same thing, and the card can be exchanged if needed.

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N6010: P4M 3.2G, 1GB Dual 400MHz, 60GB 7200RPM, ATI 9700M, 17" WXGA+
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<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by qwester

 

Qwester,
Now I understand. You meant they are removable not like (molded/stuck?) to the notebook. I thought it sounded odd. All the pictures I saw ,there was no way anything was sticking out anywhere. I guess he wanted to know if the card could be switched/removed.

Thanks,
Heart [ ][ ][ ]

Karma, It'll Get You!

 

the answer is, yes it can be moved.. the card is located to the right of the RAM. and easily accessible, as is the optical drive, ram and the HD. The E series' design is really upgrade friendly with everything easy to access.

Super G: One might as well opt for the D version since it is the same price. Like people said, those higher RPM S-ATA's aren't out yet, and at the time of writing.. only Fujitsu seems to have S-ATA drives available (the HD in my E series is a Fujitsu).

 

Unfortunately, I cannot confirm Goren's observation of the Lifebook E8020D being quiet. It actually is quiet as long as the fan is off but when the fan goes on it isn’t anymore. I am absolutely fine with an occasionally running fan. But the problem is that the fan won’t turn off anymore after using the laptop for a while (usually at least an hour). And for that you don’t have to play any games or stress the laptop in any other way. Just using it for a while (for example, just writing in Word) is enough for the fan to go on eventually. Maybe they get this fixed with a BIOS update. I really hope so.