# ::Review-> Zenith Director Plus Ultra Laptop



## Nishant (Mar 17, 2009)

*(UPDATED)Review-> Zenith Director Plus Ultra Laptop*

hello everyone..
i am really sorry for not updating this thread in time. You wont believe but my company gave me a 3 day notice to fly to Taiwan to replace my buddy there at customer company. 
so as u can understand that i had to complete a hell lot of work before and after coming to Taiwan. So could not come online and could not test the lappy.

First i thought that how unlucky i am... if i knew before that i would be going to taiwan i would have bought my laptop from taiwan itself...(i see every 2nd electronic thing in india have "Made in Taiwan" stamp).  So one day i went shopping here... i was surprised to see that laptops are more expensive here than india!! i got some relief. Then thought of buying mobile phones... they are *exactly* the same price as in india!! It remindes me of mangos in india... i mean india produces so much mango but all get exported and we get then at high price. May be the same case here with laptops..

anyways i will not bore u more... but i have some bad news for all of u waiting for the review... I do not get even a single minute here to play games on my laptop...... and i put a hell lot of programming/heavy applications.. MySql server, java ides, Qt creator, visual studio, bitdefender 2009 internet security, on the lappy.

the lappy runs fast even these applications running in background. I have not shutdown this laptop for the last 3-4 days coz did not got time in the day and in the night there is regular download going on for movies/games (although i do not watch them, saving for future ). 

It heats up only a little when not playing games... but i remember when palying games it heats like anything(only the fan side which blows really hot air that i can use it for hair dryer). but know i am confident that nothing will happen to it. Once it slipped from my bed... nothing seem to be broken... it was mishandeled in the flight as well... lucky me...!! 

The booting time of this lappy is very long. After the winxp logo comes up the bar animates about 10 times and then there  is a 30 sec black screen before coming to login screen.. this happed after i installed many applications and antivirus. 

the palmrest attracts dust and fingure prints too easily.. i hv stopped cleaning it. 

The shortcut buttons on the keyboard requires a software utility which is very slow in response... the bluetooth button does not work so i hv to on/off it through the utility. 

as soon as i will get a chance to play games.. i will try to update. currently i do not hav any games here but i started downloading them.

ps:-
somebody asked where i bought this lappy... i bought it from "Bits n Bytes" jayanti market Jaipur.



original post:-
===========================
hi friends...
so finally after two long delays i got my laptop last sunday. i am writing this on this laptop only...

guys i am not  a good writer, i have never written any review before. i am busy these days so first i will write a quick intro and elaborate this post later. I just wanted to post this becoz so many ppl are confused about this laptop and like me they have not seen anybody using zenith laptops.

I was buying the laptop with C2DP8400 2.2Ghz processor but that was 44k, in 40k i got T5800 @2Ghz. (will update about the FSB of this later). Why?? becoz i read somewhere that 4k is too much for 200Mhz increase and i am always near to power socket so i dont need much battery life. 

here is the config.

C2D T5800 @2Ghz (800mhz FSB(not sure about this, may be 1066mhz))
4Gb ram
320Gb hdd sata 5400rpm
15.4 1280x800 screen
and rest everything u expect

although it has 4Gb ram but 32bit windows only shows 3gb ram, i google it and found out that this is the case with 32bit, the total addresable is 4gb but windows assigns some parts of its address lines to address other things..(google it for more info). the customer care says that if u install 64bit OS than only u get 4gb ram

Looks:
I like the looks, not as good as dell or hp, but definitely better than lenovos i hv seen. I have the pure black color with small white circles here and there. 


Build quality:
the keyboard is ok. the keys responds well and have nice feedback.
screen is good and gives just about the right brightness 
the laptop is heavy but the body do not look tough.
the dvd writer tray plastic is very very poor quality. 

Bad points:

one really annoying thing is that they hv put mouse tracker not in the center but slightly towards left. every now and then my thumb or palm touches it while typing and the cursor goes here and there. i need to always keep my left hand a little up on the palm rest.


the speaker have very low sound output. but the sound quality is ok.

there are no shortcut buttons on the panel, i dont know why? there is lot of empty space on top. all the shortcuts are merged in function keys, so u hv to use "Fn" + function keys to use simple thing like mute.

the carry bag can only carry this laptop, no extra pockets.. ok they do hv some but really of no use. forget about the looks. but build quality is very good.

More bad points:
..coming soon, (only used this lappy for two days, plz tell me what more u want tested)


Good points:
ok so lets see why i like this lappy..

Games:
for now i only played GTA4,, call of duty 5, nfs carbon... no problems at all... at 1200x800 res all was blown away... gosh... i luv my laptop..

the system is very fast... windows xp runs like win98. will test Fedora 10 and vista soon.

all my prgramming softwares like visual studio 2008, eclipse, ran like anything.

More Good points..
..see "more bad points"..

guys i am very sorry i could not give a good review.. i will edit this post this weekend. plz tell me what to write.

final verdict;-
i strongly recommed this laptop. 
just a word of caution.. be prepared to be the victim of remarks from your surroundings like these: 
"what ?? tune zenith kyo liya?'
"abe hcl le leta"?
"zenith is chepo.. no quality".

but remember, those ppl really dont know that u have 9600GS inside. and they never will want to know.


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## azaad_shri75 (Mar 17, 2009)

any ways congratulations again.


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## abhisheksohal (Mar 17, 2009)

A big thanks for the review man...and congrats on your purchase! I would have got the laptop last week too..but I was gettin the one with T6400(2 ghz,800 mhz fsb, 2mb cache) processor..but I didnt' want that...that one i was getting for 38k all inclusive!! But I have booked the one with P8400 processor now..and hope to get it in 3-4 days..but can't say..it can get delayed more.. 
And also try to post some pics of the laptop from every angle and also please use cpu-z and gpu-z to find out temps. at which it runs idle and during gaming etc. 
Also can you feel the heat while playing?!? Is it too much to bare?!? And post the exact settings for the games you have played..like low,med etc. and resolution...also post the vista experience scores..
I think I still can change my choice of processor but only till tomorrow...what do u people say...should i change it to T6400 coz i can get it right away??...and I cant w8 now coz i've already waited for weeks now! 
-----------------------------------------
Posted again:
-----------------------------------------
And try all the latest or heavy games that u can...like farcry2, crysis,Prince of Persia, Fallout 3 etc. etc. and post your settings for smooth play


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## tarey_g (Mar 17, 2009)

Detailed games benchmark will be good , like fps and stuff at different resolution and settings (high/med/low).


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## desiibond (Mar 17, 2009)

1) xp startup and shutdown times
2) Battery times (switch off AC power, play a movie and see how much time battery lasts)
3) 3DMark score
4) install Fraps and find our fps for games that you play
5) Some video and audio encoding tests (jetaudio can be helpful here)
6) sisoft sandra benchmarks on HDD and memory


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## abhisheksohal (Mar 17, 2009)

Arre yaar tell me should i go for T6400 or P8400 processor?? How big is the difference in performance?!?! Coz i can get T6400 tomorrow itself...but for P8400 i dunno how long i may have to wait...i've got just tomorrow to inform the guy im buying from..so please help me out ASAP! thanks...


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## desiibond (Mar 18, 2009)

T6400 is faster but P8400 is energy effecient

I would go for P8400


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## abhisheksohal (Mar 18, 2009)

@desiibond
T6400 aint faster man!! Its 2 ghz,2mb cache,800 mhz fsb ...while P8400 is 2.26 ghz,3mb cache,1066 Mhz fsb!! Anyways...i'll keep with P8400...but lets see how soon i get the laptop...will post my review too once i get it..


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## MetalheadGautham (Mar 18, 2009)

Congratulations.

BTW, In Bangalore, Acer Aspire 4530 with nVidia 9100GS GPU, AMD Turion X2 1.9GHz got a price drop to 25K plus 4% vat. 

But am still waiting for COMED-K exam on May 17th to be done with so that I can peacefully buy a laptop. Before that I need to deal with AISSCE-Mathematics, AISSCE-English(Core), IIT-JEE, AIEEE, VITEEE, ENAT, Amrita Entrance and Karnataka-CET examinations to pass. 
-----------------------------------------
Posted again:
-----------------------------------------
Congratulations.

BTW, In Bangalore, Acer Aspire 4530 with nVidia 9100GS GPU, AMD Turion X2 1.9GHz got a price drop to 25K plus 4% vat. 

But am still waiting for COMED-K exam on May 17th to be done with so that I can peacefully buy a laptop. Before that I need to deal with AISSCE-Mathematics, AISSCE-English(Core), IIT-JEE, AIEEE, VITEEE, ENAT, Amrita Entrance and Karnataka-CET examinations to pass.


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## threeonethree (Mar 19, 2009)

I would really appreciate if you could run a linux distro live cd on it like ubuntu , mint , fedora , sabayon and tell us if everything works out of the box.


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## izzikio_rage (Mar 19, 2009)

congratulations dude......waiting eagerly for some benchmarks et all..(3d mark, and fps for some of the newer games like crysis and fear 2) ......
-----------------------------------------
Posted again:
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hey dude .....am also from jaipur .....how is the zenith service there? I went to the whiteline computers shop that is the service center of zenith ....didn't come out too impressed.......the laptop is amazing and the only question is the after sales support....


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## izzikio_rage (Mar 19, 2009)

hey dude .....am also from jaipur .....how is the zenith service there? I went to the whiteline computers shop that is the service center of zenith ....didn't come out too impressed.......the laptop is amazing and the only question is the after sales support....


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## threeonethree (Mar 25, 2009)

Eagerly waiting for more information.


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## abhisheksohal (Mar 27, 2009)

@Nishant
Man! its been so many days now! We all are waiting for your reply!! So please post your reply asap!!


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## praviinhans (Mar 28, 2009)

DEAR NISHANT,

Nice review brother !!
 But in ur review u have not mentioned anything about Graphing card ! I guess this lappy has got 512 MB Nvedia Graphic Card....Right???
Anyways plz do let me know from where did u purchase this laptop from Jaipur....if possible plz give me the dealer's contact no. As im from Ajmer and planning to buy Zenith Lappy from jaipur itself.


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## izzikio_rage (Mar 28, 2009)

it has a Nvidia 9600 gfx card .......one of the best available in india......waiting for the review ....someone ping nishant


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## Silicon Chip (Mar 28, 2009)

Bullshit 9600M GS is nt the best available in India, it is equal to 9500GT Desktop which is a ton slower than my HD 4870.

The laptop has:
¤Poor Build Quality
¤Excessive heat
¤No Safety Features for HDD like shock absorbers
¤Low Res

I am dead sure he is playing GTA IV or Crysis at ultra low settings.
-----------------------------------------
Posted again:
-----------------------------------------
Bullshit 9600M GS is nt the best available in India, it is equal to 9500GT Desktop which is a ton slower than my HD 4870.

The laptop has:
¤Poor Build Quality
¤Excessive heat
¤No Safety Features for HDD like shock absorbers
¤Low Res

I am dead sure he is playing GTA IV or Crysis at ultra low settings.

Better go for MSI GT627 for 55k.
It has 9800M GS 1GB DDR3


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## abhisheksohal (Mar 28, 2009)

Silicon Chip said:


> Bullshit 9600M GS is nt the best available in India, it is equal to 9500GT Desktop which is a ton slower than my HD 4870.
> 
> The laptop has:
> ¤Poor Build Quality
> ...



HAHAHA!!  In 40k you expect a company to provide you features like HDD shock absorbers! High resolution screen!! Woah!!  And people don't have big budgets like u have!! OK!?!? And that MSI GT627 laptop ain't available *in India* for 55k!! U're just converting the price from some international site into INR!  Its for around 93k in india!!  We're taking about a budget gaming laptop here so better not barge in with suggestions about higher expensive laptops from other companies..every1 knows bout em.. 
And how the heck are u asserting that crysis and gta 4 can be played only at *ultra low* on this laptop!  I know other people online too who have this laptop and its certainly not ultra low that they are playing gta 4 and crysis on... and i advice u to check this link...just see here that this asus laptop has the exact same config. as this laptop( just 1gb of vram compared to 512 mb on zenith, but that doesnt make a *big* diff.) Just check the customer reviews(80 of them!) *www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220340
and many have said that crysis is running easily and smoothly on med-high settings! 8)


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## comp@ddict (Mar 28, 2009)

> It has 9800M GS 1GB DDR3


GS is like a 9600GT, overclocked only.


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## Silicon Chip (Mar 28, 2009)

MSI GT627 is available via order in Advance in India and is very much under 60k.

And in 93k you can buy 
MSI GT725
HD 4850
P8400
Full HD LCD
is for 85k and this is indian price and no conversion.
You got to keep yourself updated.

If 9800M GS is 9600GT OC then for your knowlege the GTX 280M the fastest laptop card is just a 9800 GTX+.


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## abhisheksohal (Mar 28, 2009)

Silicon Chip said:


> MSI GT627 is available via order in Advance in India and is very much under 60k.
> 
> And in 93k you can buy
> MSI GT725
> ...


 
   Dude!!! Please get your facts right first!! I had personally sent an email to the MSI guys in india and they gave me the price a GX630 laptop with 9600 GT and an amd processor as 63k w/o tax..and if that one is above 60k then how do u xpect the much higher ranked GT627 to be below 60k!!  I advise you to check this thread...and read the post by pickster ..and then talk.. 
*www.thinkdigit.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1056879#post1056879
The GT627 is definitely for 93k+tax! 
No company in India would be giving out a laptop with 9800M gs at 55k like u said!  Unless its zenith ...   8)
And I personally dont want any of these laptops..so for the benefit of other members please post where from you are getting a 9800M GS equipped MSI laptop at 55k!!


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## comp@ddict (Mar 29, 2009)

> If 9800M GS is 9600GT OC then for your knowlege the GTX 280M the fastest laptop card is just a 9800 GTX+.


True, that's y in mobile, HD4800 series PAWNS all nVidia Mobile CARDS


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## threeonethree (Mar 30, 2009)

Guys cut the crap..

@Threadstarter ... Its been like a week man .. I understand you are busy , Please post a complete review whenever you have time . Attach some pics , post benchmarks , comment on the quality of the screen and run a linux distro on it to see if all the hardware is supported.


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## azaad_shri75 (Mar 30, 2009)

Silicon Chip said:


> MSI GT627 is available via order in Advance in India and is very much under 60k.
> 
> And in 93k you can buy
> MSI GT725
> ...




msigx620-*pcquest.ciol.com/content/hardware/2009/109030405.asp

here it is shown as 65k.


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## abhisheksohal (Mar 30, 2009)

Its been ages since this guy last posted!!  
Anyways..im surely getting the laptop with P8400 processor this week...finally! and this time *is for sure!* coz im buying straight from the shop..at around 42k..will post everything in the review after I get it..


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## Silicon Chip (Mar 31, 2009)

Jus a piece of advice.
The body is total plastic and simple cheap plastic, nt re-enfored or carbon fiber.
I little hard touch and this fragile baby dies.

Another thing is there are no heels on side so that there is no space for ventilation as the bottom is flat.

The DVD slot load is extremly cheap.

The res is ok bt damn dull, be ready to cranck up brightness in games.

*The Final: the gfx card uses DDR2 memory the worst.*
Dont confuse with GDDR2, that is superior.

Better is still to get sum MSI or Asus.


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## Plasma_Snake (Mar 31, 2009)

Check the review here before blabbering out, any of you!  
While reading the review and posting back here, remember that they reviewed the model with a weaker processor and lower RAM, whilst the one with P8400 and 4gigs of RAM is easily available for just a lil' over 40K.  As for RAM too, the chipset is Cantiga GM45, same one used by Dell on their Studio(except 14, it still is on 965GM) and Inspiron series of laptops, so one can easily upgrade its RAM to 8GB and that too 800MHz! 
As for heating issue, the Cooler Master Notepal V1 is easily available for 1K from SMC International in Nehru Place and Notepal X1 for just 1.5K. Those worried about battery better up it up 8) coz if gaming is the purpose then well how many of u troll around with ur laptop while trying to frag?


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## Silicon Chip (Mar 31, 2009)

If I use Core-i7 with 9500 GT so will I be able to play Crysis even at 25FPS?

So using a P8400 and 4GB of RAM wont help.

And I dont speak on reviews I speak abt Barebones.

The mobo is factory locked you cant stuff 800mhz RAM. 

If you got guts so just remove the gfx card cover frm below and use a cooling pad and OC the 9600M(430/1075) GS to 9700M(625/1550) GT.


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## Plasma_Snake (Mar 31, 2009)

Silicon Chip said:


> If I use Core-i7 with 9500 GT so will I be able to play Crysis even at 25FPS?
> 
> So using a P8400 and 4GB of RAM wont help.
> 
> ...


I'll definitely OC it!  As far as gaming goes, I know that its no Alienware so even in my drunk state I won't even dare to try run Crysis on it coz I ain't plannin' on subjectin' it to needless and meaningless torture.


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## abhisheksohal (Mar 31, 2009)

I plant to run Crysis and every other game out there on it..  
And I know this lappy will run them smooth enuff at some good settings(not very high though)..but lemme get this baby in 1 or 2 days and i'll tell u where it stands..
and @Silicon Chip ...Dude u've criticized this Zenith laptop enuff for now..knock it off..and please let others buy whatever suits them and their budget...


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## Silicon Chip (Apr 1, 2009)

Sure
Lets see where does it die?

I mean Benchmarks.


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## Plasma_Snake (Apr 1, 2009)

Silicon Chip said:


> Sure
> Lets see where does it die?
> 
> I mean Benchmarks.


LOL, looks like babu, u r dead against this laptop or maybe even against Zenith.  No problem I can take criticism constructively. Well u see Silly Con dude, I'm tight on budget and thus had to fall back on this product in this price range otherwise earlier my plans too were to go for a Dell XPS oor even M1730  but since I can't, I have to make the most of what I've got. Moreover I won't be even using this laptop for long.  
I have already made 'jugaad' to get an Alienware


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## izzikio_rage (Apr 1, 2009)

waiting for some reviews guys......
-----------------------------------------
Posted again:
-----------------------------------------
hope you all have seen the first thread of this post again ....nishant edited it ....

@ nishant : bits and bytes ...thanks will check there...


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## Silicon Chip (Apr 1, 2009)

Dell, Alienware, Velocity Micro, Falcon Northwest and HP are all abt brand name, no value for money.

Alienware notebook worth $4000 can be almost equal to MSI or Gateway notebooks worth $1200.


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## Plasma_Snake (Apr 1, 2009)

In Alienware, we trust!  
BTW Is there any laptop u r not against Silly Cone dude?


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## Nishant (Apr 1, 2009)

today my friend got the new dell studio 15(without gfx card) T6400 3gb ram... now i am happy that i did not go for dell... his camera sucks..... yuppee..


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## abhisheksohal (Apr 1, 2009)

Luks like Mr. Silly cone has been paid heavily by MSI people to advertise for them in Forums.. ...
and @Nishant
Man please try some more games and let everyone know how they fare!


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## Silicon Chip (Apr 2, 2009)

I knw what I speak, 

Unlike you abhishek who goes to every dam n forum he can find to ask their advice on this Zenith lappy.
He was at techenclave and even at foreign notebook forum.

And I knw what reply you got, they said that the **** will suck.
After all 9600M GS first of all is a crappy 9500GT(desktop) and that too with DDR2.

No doubt that this lappy is VFM for Indians bt * ASUS, Gateway(Acer) * hv 15" lappy with 9800M for $1049(Rs.52K) that too with good body, efficient cooling and a res of 1680X1050.
So why cant we hv them here, why cant Zenith make those laptops?

Plus those lappy dont cut cost on chassis and body, they hv anodized aluminium finish and carbon fiber body and they too weigh 2.5~2.8Kgs,
While Zenith has cut cost on body and cooling which nobody can deny unless you are faggot.

BTW i like ASUS W90 18.4" $2199(Rs.112k) Not very expensive?
Review :*www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4917&review=asus+w90+w90vp
*www.notebookreview.com/assets/41736.jpg
[IMG]*www.notebookreview.com/assets/41733.jpg[/img]


And jus to beat the fact that I hate Zenith, I will nw buy this lappy, although no use for me bt 40k just doesn't make a difference.
I will buy that damn thing and do extreme benchmarking(including OC) and post a review.

I am an Indian and want to promote Indian companies but they fail to deliver.
I dont like giving my money to Taiwanese companies (MSI, Acer, Gateway, ASUS all are Taiwan based).

Hoping to see some 60K range Gaming rigs from Zenith.
-----------------------------------------
Posted again:
-----------------------------------------
I knw what I speak, 

Unlike you abhishek who goes to every dam n forum he can find to ask their advice on this Zenith lappy.
He was at techenclave and even at foreign notebook forum.

And I knw what reply you got, they said that the **** will suck.
After all 9600M GS first of all is a crappy 9500GT(desktop) and that too with DDR2.

No doubt that this lappy is VFM for Indians bt * ASUS, Gateway(Acer) * hv 15" lappy with 9800M for $1049(Rs.52K) that too with good body, efficient cooling and a res of 1680X1050.
So why cant we hv them here, why cant Zenith make those laptops?

Plus those lappy dont cut cost on chassis and body, they hv anodized aluminium finish and carbon fiber body and they too weigh 2.5~2.8Kgs,
While Zenith has cut cost on body and cooling which nobody can deny unless you are faggot.

BTW i like ASUS W90 18.4" $2199(Rs.112k) Not very expensive?
Review :*www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4917&review=asus+w90+w90vp
*www.notebookreview.com/assets/41736.jpg
*www.notebookreview.com/assets/41733.jpg


And jus to beat the fact that I hate Zenith, I will nw buy this lappy, although no use for me bt 40k just doesn't make a difference.
I will buy that damn thing and do extreme benchmarking(including OC) and post a review.

I am an Indian and want to promote Indian companies but they fail to deliver.
I dont like giving my money to Taiwanese companies (MSI, Acer, Gateway, ASUS all are Taiwan based).

Hoping to see some 60K range Gaming rigs from Zenith.


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## MetalheadGautham (Apr 2, 2009)

somebody here sounds like zenith raped him


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## izzikio_rage (Apr 2, 2009)

hoping that he posts a review......seems like he will really put the lap to its limit


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## abhisheksohal (Apr 3, 2009)

I've finally bought the laptop!! The one with P8400 processor  
Got it at around 42k.. 
Have installed Windows 7 64 bit build 7000...currently installing all the games i have...
but wont be able to post a complete review until next week thursday..coz i have my xams from Mon-Wed..but will let you know how the games fare on it..
Heres a picture btw..
*img111.imageshack.us/img111/1247/directorplusultra.jpg


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## azaad_shri75 (Apr 4, 2009)

congratulations, long wait is over at last.


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## izzikio_rage (Apr 4, 2009)

congratulations dude....hoping for a super exaustive review after your exams....(hey review windows 7 too ...) 

best of luck for your exams ...


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## Silicon Chip (Apr 4, 2009)

The f'king Zenith dont hv the damn laptop with P8400 available in Mumbai.
T6400 is ready bt I want to OC bt with T6400 I'll blow the TDP!


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## kaustubh4evr (Apr 4, 2009)

Silicon Chip said:


> MSI GT627 is available via order in Advance in India and is very much under 60k.
> 
> And in 93k you can buy
> MSI GT725
> ...



Check this Out to know Bout MSi laptop i hav compared it even with Dell M1730.

*www.thinkdigit.com/forum/showthread.php?t=112019


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## prakash.gourav (Apr 23, 2009)

wtf .. who says the camera sucks in studio 15...???

@abhisheksohal 
congrats dude....

Can you please tell while calculating the 3dmark06 score of the laptop , did you add the cpu score also... or was it for the whole system?


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## nitishsp (Apr 23, 2009)

Has anyone got any problem with Zenith Director Plus Ultra??


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## izzikio_rage (Jun 11, 2009)

hey whats the long term review of the laptop??? hows it going?


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## abhisheksohal (Jun 15, 2009)

I've had it for around 2 n a half months now...its duin pretty well!  No problems as yet..have installed a few more games like xmenrigins of wolverine-running at high nd well playable..and sims 3,mirror's edge etc. all working flawlessly at high settings..


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## azaad_shri75 (Jun 15, 2009)

abhisheksohal said:


> I've had it for around 2 n a half months now...its duin pretty well!  No problems as yet..have installed a few more games like xmenrigins of wolverine-running at high nd well playable..and sims 3,mirror's edge etc. all working flawlessly at high settings..



good then, and its with 512 mb gfx.


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