Legit Reviews

The N259EN contains the Hybrid Vga Switch.

http://www.unitedmicro.com/nt_zz.htm
http://www.uniwill.com/products/hybrid/ ... p?HL=1&H=1

Can anyone tell me about this? Does anyone have any experience with this option (ie. own it)?

I've read the info about it, but I am wondering how it works. Is it hardwired, quicklaunch button, or what? I notice that the chassis without the option has a wireless on/off switch instead.

I love the idea, but I would rather have the option without paying for the Geforce 6600. Do you think a person could make this mod on their own notebook? I am thinking about a Z71a or Z63a with the plan to add the Geforce 7800.

metalsmart wrote:I am thinking about a Z71a or Z63a with the plan to add the Geforce 7800.

You can't add a 7800 GTX GO to the ASUS Z71V. THe Z71a doesn't even have the MXM slot installed so you can't ever upgrade the graphics after looking at the last ASUS Z71A that I saw. Might want to double check me on this, but evenif it has the slot or not you can't put a 7800 in a 6600 slot as they are different sized cards.

I don't own a hybird PC, but I think they are a great idea and a good way to save on the battery power!

Ok, my rookie nature has been exposed. I'm a little confused. I can't believe notebooks are so unorganized. I had no Idea that there isn't a standardized slot like a desktop.

With that being said, with the 7800 just coming out, are all previous notebooks obsolete now? If I'm buying new, shouldn't I go for the 7800 if I'm looking to invest in a notebook that will maintain its standings for years to come?

So right now, isn't the N259EN way ahead of any other similar chassis notebooks?
Correct me on this one also; If I purchased an ASUS Z71A with the integrated graphics card, I can't add a GeForce 6600 to it in the future, or can I?

Well I have two AOpen 1558 Notebooks here... one with integrated graphics (the one i'm giving out this month on the forums) and one with discrete graphics. The AOpen 1558J with integrated graphics in the i915GM chipset does not have a MXM slot on the board at all. Think of a desktop board with no AGP or PCIe slot for graphics. I've heard rumors that the ASUS Z71a has been discontinued, but this has not been confirmed. I am certain that the ASUS Z71A DOES NOT have an MXM slot. See the pictures below.

In terms of MXM cards they have a total of four sizes... MXM I, MXM II, MXM III, and MXM HE. All use the same slot, but the sizes are different. if your notebook fits a MXM II card a MXM III card wont fit even though the same slot is there. If you bought a Notebook with a Geforce 6800 GO you could upgrade to a Geforce 7800 GTX GO with no issues as the cards are the same size. If you have a Geforce 6600 Go you won't be able to put a 7800 GTX Go in the slot because the card it too big for the notebook chassis on many notebooks.

Upgrading graphics cards on notebooks can be done, but far from easy right now.

The ASUS Z71V With An MXM Slot:


The ASUS Z71A with No MXM Slot


Note that although the ASUS Z71A and Z71V look the same on the outside the insides are 100% different as they have completely different motherboards.

Hope this helps you and saves you trouble down the road.

Ok. Just when I thought I saw that light, I'm a bit confused again.
Maybe I should be in the video card section right now?

I understand the imcompatibility issues. You mentioned that I can upgrade from the Geforce 6800 Go to the 7800, because they both utilitize the MXM slot. Now, when the Asus Z71V has a Nvidia 6600, this makes it non-upgradeable to the 7800? Correct? Meaning that the Nvidia 6600 video card that is installed to the labtop is fitted with the appropriate pin slot, which is not a MXM slot?

For future reference, how do I tell what kind of pin setup a video card has? I went onto the Nvidia website to track down this whole MXM issue, but no specifications eluded to this issue (as far as I can tell right now).

The ol' AGP slot has me on a one track mind, but I'm trying to break free. Are there more steps to hooking a video card up to the Intel 915-PM motherboard than just shoving it in the pin slot?

If I can upgrade to a 7800 from the 6800, then I could order a chassis without the video card altogether (but 6800/MXM slot compatiable), or are there more steps involved that I'm not aware of?

Thanks for your patience.

Remember how I told you that MXM cards came in four sizes?

* MXM Slots are standard
* MXM Card Sizes Vary

Let me make an example up for you...

Person X has a notebook with ATI 9200 graphics... Their GPU is on an MXM II card.

They can upgrade to an ATI 9600Pro since it too is on an MXM II card, but can't upgrade to an ATI X800 mobile card because it is MXM III.

For MXM slots the cards must be the same size for heat and space reasons.

Quick question. What slot type is the X700 II or III?

Would it be possible to upgrade a X700 to a GeForce 7800 (assuming one day these cards will be sold seperately). Like on the Z70Va for example.

I believe MOST X700 cards are MXM II and the 7800 are the larger III's and HE's