A8Js or a8jp or w7j

hello all, new to these forums.

I will be selling my s6240 fujitsu, soon.

so today I started to do some research on the new laptop I will get

I wanted to go for the Sony Vaio SZ series, because of the size/weight/style/feautures
but found it to be too expensive, they start off at 1799$,

So I happened to stumble upon the ASUS notebooks, and the amount of love they get

I will be using the laptop for school(college), I am a gamer(bf2, mideveil 2 TW,), webcam I dont care for much,
but I do want a FUTUREPROOF notebook, that will handle any future software for the next 2 years.

SO my question is, what will give me the best for my money??
- the a8jp is the most affordable but will it handle those games stated earlier( I will not play them all the time, maybe 1once a week, because I have my desktop for that matter)
but, it is 5.25lbs which makes a difference, i currently have a 4lbs machine and love it.
-a8js well it has an Nvidia 7700 with 512mb(im an Nvidia fan, its the only reason Im debating)
but is it worth 300$ more than the "P" model?
- and finally the w7j, love the color(black), descent graphics, and cpu not as powerfull, and at 1500$ its worth it being 13.3" and at 4.2lbs. which is why Iam putting it into account.

well any input from ASUS owners would be great, thanks.
and I will be getting this by next month. and also weres the best place to buy, newegg seems too have the best reputation, and the best prices.

 

Try to look at the W3Jp also as webcam u dont care much & as for game, u already got a desktop to handle that. So a 13'3 will fit nicely in you.

 

I would rule out the W7J because it only has a Geforce 7400 Go, and you seem to want to do some pretty heavy duty gaming.

I think you'll get your best 'bang for the buck' so to speak with one of the A8 models. Weather the 7700 is worth $300 more then the X1700, I can't say having not tracked down reviews of those two mobile cards.

Other major differences are:

Operating system:
A8Jp - XP Media Center Edition - Upgrade to Vista Home Premium
A8Js - XP Professional - Upgrade to Vista Business

Memory:
A8Jp - 1GB - 2x512MB (no open slots)
A8Js - 1GB - 1x1GB (1 open slot for upgrades)

Bluetooth:
A8Jp - Onboard Bluetooth stock
A8Js - No onboard Bluetooth by default, costs extra with select vendors

 

If you were looking at the SZ, I'd suggest you look at the W3jp or the W7jp..... obviously the W7 is a better model to compare directly to the SZ, but if you are willing to go up to a 14", I'd look at the W3 before the A8's if you want that higher quality overall system (I'm talking build quality and the materials).

The W7jp is my current long term system until the 14" V2 eventually comes out in 3-9 months... and newegg doesn't have the best reputation in anything by the way... especially not asus.

 

Price difference isn't $300, more like $170 between the A8Js and A8Jp. For 170 more you will get more life out of the A8Js in terms of gaming. It will also cost more to upgrade the ram on the A8Jp.

 

Yeah, but the a8jp has the bluetooth and a larger HDD. And since you have a desktop for most of your gaming, I dont see any reason to spend extra on the 7700.

 

Aw, you guys are talking me out of it!

 

Dont rule SZ out as they r nice notebook as well. I know they r more expensive

If u want to wait, V2 will me out with 3 megapixels camera? But I dont c what the point, it destroy the look in V2 by installing a camera on top of the screen But that only for my thought.

 

Oh ya get the a8jp

newegg.com has excellent reseller rating, basically the highest in the world of its type of business.

I do believe they are the largest asus seller in north america.

You wont really win too many credibility points talking bad about newegg.com I dont know what to say.

There are too many people that know otherwise, like the majority of computer users.

 

The SZ can be had for significantly cheaper, just check out SonyStyle.com for configuration options or Portable One. However the latter has better service.

between the three Asus models, I feel the W7j is simply better looking, but I'm biased against silver colored Notebooks. In addition I personally feel that heavy gaming should best be left for desktops.

 

Um ya....

well obviously if you dont like the color silver and you do your gaming on a desktop then the w7j is the one to go for of these three....


um.... ok...

 

it also reflects the poster's sentiments as well. Prefer's black, desktop will be primary gaming rig, prefers something lighter, prefers something cheaper. The W7j is it. black, a pound lighter, core 2 duo and a video card that can handle the mentioned games.

 

thanks for the great replies.

yes now I realize that teh w7j is what I need. but what I want is a better CPU(7200, 4mb l2 cache), and that sweet 7700 IN IT. GRRR

i guess its gonna come down to comprimising, what do I like better the more powerfull components, or the better looking, more portable notebook.


I thought it was gonna be easier.

 

For the W7J: The CPU is easy. MilestonePC will upgrade it for you for not a whole lot of money. The GPU, near impossible.
I would check the weight of a 14" notebook and if its comfortable, get the A8Jp. Not the A8Js, because its much more expensive for not a whole lot of gain. I would say that yes, the A8Js is a better laptop, but it is not worth $350 more than the A8Jp.

 

Possibly a stupid question, but is it still possible to take out the two 512MB cards and put in two 1GB cards or are they soldered in?

J

 

you can take them out they are not soldered.

 

Well considering the cost of 2x 1GB stick of ram, roughly 220$ USD, that almosts makes up for the cost of going to the A8js over the A8jp. And then drop another 110$ USD for 1x 1GB into the A8js and you'll now have a Go 7700 + 2GB of ram.

That's just and option, if you want. But if you like ATI over Nvidia, then doing what you said is a much better option for you, plus you save 100$ over what i suggest.

 

Thanks, yea I know Newegg is great, I ordered my Acer from them two years ago and the service was great.

But I would not recommend the SZ to the OP. Find my very extensive review of this unit in the Sony forum. You'll see both the pros and the very subtle cons that led me to return it.

 

Not to mention the a8jp would still have +20gb HD and the bluetooth installed.

 

Yes, that narrow difference, plus the fact that I have to pay sales tax ordering from Newegg means I can do better waiting until Vista comes bolted in!

 

I strongly suspect that from Jan. 30 on most computers will have 120GB standard, plus I don't really care that much about BT.