Zepto unleashes potent Nexus A15 gaming laptop

Anyone remotely familiar with the Zepto brand understands that it doesn't mess around when it comes to PC gaming, and anyone (in the UK, at least) remotely interested in treating themselves to an all new machine should certainly give this one a glance. The 15.4-inch Nexus A15 arrives in a fairly respectable £599 ($1,181) / £699 ($1,378) base configuration, but things get entirely more exciting when adding in the 2.53GHz Intel P9500 CPU, 4GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive (or 32GB SSD, if that's your thing), a Blu-ray optical drive and a 6-cell battery sure to wither away in no time flat. All the regulars are on board too: WiFi, NVIDIA's GeForce 9600M GT, Windows Vista, audio in / out, a multicard reader, Ethernet and a few USB ports for good measure. Have fun making those previously mentioned price points look absurdly small.

[Via PCLaunches, thanks vinit]

[who? @ Aug 1st 2008 2:33PM]

Assuming the graphics card doesn't turn it into a pile of melted plastic, this could be a nice computer...

[r3loaded @ Aug 2nd 2008 4:41AM]

It's the 9600M, won't have any problems.

[who? @ Aug 2nd 2008 5:27AM]

Let us examine the chain of events-

NVIDIA unknowingly sells defective graphics cards, thought there weren't any problems with them.

We all find out there are problems with them.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NVIDIA two weeks ago:

"The newer graphics cards shouldn't be affected."

Engadget two days ago:

"Some of the newer NVIDIA graphics cards were affected."
----------------------------------------------------------------------

You can see where this is going... Straight to the newest and best NVIDIA graphics cards out there... Namely this computer's. You just wait.

[killermojo @ Aug 1st 2008 2:36PM]

Well a 1280x800 screen, 1gb of ram and NO default wifi option makes this price less appealing. If you're gonna go for 9-series card, a higher res screen should be an option.

But seriously, wifi not included. Come on! Go for an XPS1530, at that price you can get a 1440 LED screen and wireless N, not to mention 4gb ram.

[avester @ Aug 1st 2008 2:47PM]

Lower res = more FPS.

And about that WLAN, there is an option at the customization menu, where you can select WLAN.

I can click for you if you aren't able to do it.

[Pochi @ Aug 1st 2008 2:49PM]

Lower res also = less squinting.

Why is everybody in such a rush to go blind?

[killermojo @ Aug 1st 2008 3:40PM]

"NO default wifi option"

Direct quote from my post. It adds into the base cost, which is already more than a loaded xps build (the point you missed).

Hell, lets play games at 800x600 yeah? Less squinting, more fps! Why do we even need newer generations of gpus?

[avester @ Aug 1st 2008 4:01PM]

Besides, wlan is 20£, if you pay 800£ for a laptop that must be a big amount of money though.

[Pochi @ Aug 1st 2008 4:36PM]

"Hell, lets play games at 800x600 yeah? Less squinting, more fps!"

It comes down to what is and is not really noticeable. 800x600 is not applicable because it sits so low on the scale that it would make a serious visual impact on the game's visuals. 1280x800 is a nice sweet spot where things look good, text can remain large and visible, and framerate will be tight. If the screen was larger, maybe it would be a problem. But I am on an Inspiron 6000 with that resolution right now and it looks great.

[Richard @ Aug 1st 2008 2:36PM]

Looks kinda plain to me, but that would definitely be a plus to a lot of people.

Would be better to wait for a 9800m though, or get a laptop with an 8800.

[luketc @ Aug 1st 2008 4:46PM]

This is spec-ed very similarly to the new 17in HP entertainment notebook with a P-series processor, blu ray, and the 9600m GT. It doesn't benchmark very well though.. at least in 3dmark 06

[Josh @ Aug 2nd 2008 12:17PM]

and the 15.4inch one..

[John @ Aug 1st 2008 2:41PM]

It sounds great and all, but it'll only be worth it once we find out how heavy this monster is... I doubt its going to be anything close to "lap-friendly"....

[phanbouy @ Aug 1st 2008 2:46PM]

seems like a potent turd popsicle to me

[Pochi @ Aug 1st 2008 2:49PM]

...

ZEPTO?

Who?!

[phanbouy @ Aug 1st 2008 2:56PM]

i think they make cigarette lighters ;p

[Jason @ Aug 1st 2008 3:41PM]

Pink tummeh medicine.

[SINNN @ Aug 1st 2008 2:54PM]

damn!... i must be getting slow. 10th....

[Jason @ Aug 1st 2008 3:27PM]

Wouldja look at that! Damn thing's already blown up!

[phanbouy @ Aug 1st 2008 3:37PM]

i lol'd

[Jason @ Aug 1st 2008 4:07PM]

Woh oh oh, Ahm on fahr.

[TareX @ Aug 1st 2008 3:30PM]

9600.... isn't that the small vesion of the 8600?

So in other words, no DX10 on that? Someone correct me please....

[David @ Aug 1st 2008 3:32PM]

UK prices include 17.5% VAT, there is no point doing a direct comparison to US prices
also Zepto only really sells in Europe, so it is not suprising you yanks have not heard of it.

9600gt is a good balance of performance and power in a 15", last time i looked it got 4500 - 5000 in 3dmark06

[retro77 @ Aug 1st 2008 4:18PM]

Need to see some heat tests before I buy.

[Jason @ Aug 1st 2008 4:31PM]

Here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k13458AkBc4

Buy with confidence.

[Boyprodigy1 @ Aug 1st 2008 4:18PM]

Wasn't NVIDIA's GeForce 9600M GT one of those faulty GPU's that we have been hearing so much about lately?

[Boyprodigy1 @ Aug 1st 2008 4:21PM]

Never mind. I have mistaken the 8000 series. Mah bad.

[luketc @ Aug 1st 2008 5:00PM]

I just customized one of these ... and came up with a question -

Do people in Europe just straight up not pay for their operating systems?

[Jason @ Aug 1st 2008 5:18PM]

Why? Should they?

[Wuffer @ Aug 1st 2008 5:33PM]

Want better screen (1680x1050), up to 8gb ram, fingerprint scanner, bluetooth, go for the Mythos (white) or Nox (Black)

The danish site.

Mythos
http://www.zepto.dk/Shop/Notebook.aspx?notebookid=1081

Nox
http://www.zepto.dk/Shop/Notebook.aspx?notebookid=1079

[jd @ Aug 1st 2008 5:34PM]

so they dont use ID designer to design their products. right?

[raging_hamsterx @ Aug 2nd 2008 1:19AM]

IN WINDOWS MOJAVE, VISTA BLOWS UP YOUUUUU

[Josh @ Aug 2nd 2008 12:11PM]

Damn, the HP Pavillion dv5t is looking sexy compared to this, with simliar specs anyways: http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/computer_can_series.do?storeName=computer_store&category=notebooks&a1=Category&v1=Versatile+performance&series_name=dv5t_series

[Synergy6 @ Aug 4th 2008 4:44PM]

C2D P8400, 4GB RAM, 9600M GT, 7200rpm hard risk, 9 cell battery and Intel ABGN wireless for £734 including VAT doesn't sound too bad. This time last year a C2D T7300, 2GB RAM, 8600M GT, 5400rpm hard risk, 6 cell battery and same wireless was over £850.

[Will H. @ Aug 6th 2008 10:51PM]

Nom

[Martin @ Aug 19th 2008 8:11AM]

I bought a Zepto six months ago and just got it back from the second repair in Denmark. This time they kept it for six weeks (!) and still sent it back without proper repair or testing. (It still hangs every time it enters sleep mode).
A friend of mine who is a professional support technician and runs a digital production agency has reinstalled it for me with the same corporate license OS and software that he uses on his eight computers
Zepto refuses to give me my money back or any compensation for twice returning the computer without repair.
I do not recommend you buy from this company
Best,
Martin