A8js vs w3j vs v7j (vs MBP) - final decision

hey all i know this topic has been flogged a number of times, yet I have tried reading and finding out exactly what would suit my needs.. and I need your help to make a final decision

basically I am looking for a light and stylish laptop - power is important yet not a priority as I will only be using for coding, surfing, and playing WoW, which does not need a v good gfx card

from what i could find out over the past week :

A8js - Pro : best specs/value - Con : least stylish
w3j - Pro : very stylish // decent specs - Con : heat vent on right (annoys me) // most expensive (for me)
w7j - Pro : very portable // stylish (?) - Con : worst specs
MBP - Pro : most stylish (for me i think) // largest screen size - Con : not v good specs/value

ye i know its a bit shallow to look at style but if i m spending $1200+ i want it looking nice

now keep in mind i do not need the extreme power, and I need it to be portable as I m lazy and would just not take it around if its slightly heavy - defeating the point of getting myself a laptop - i have a 17" atm and i barely take it around as I find it a hassle to do so

could people please give me opinions regarding my dilemma? its down to these 4 for sure I think but I really cant decide

 

well the worst one is the mbp

Id choose the sony sz personally.

If I could live with a 7400 thats what i would have gotten. I cant though.

But it is what you are describing.

 

you really think the sony sz series is better than all those models? could you please tell me why you think so?

 

it is of similar size to the w7j its around 100 more

smaller and lighter with better battery life

nicer looking with some magnesium.

and fully configurable. comes with free engraving even...
Has a switchable gpu for more battery life.

so as you value portable and attractive the most, it beats all of these.

it has 128 mb gpu for vista premium as well.

If you do need a x1600 level card Id get the a8js as its obviously the best deal.

 

i've read a bit about it and it does seem a viable choice - yet it seems to come pre installed with a lot of trash + it only has 2 USB ports which for me seem to be a bit too little.. admittedly it does look very sleek and the switchable gpu is a nice feature

build quality of asus seems better from what i ve read tho - so i d rather stick with those 4 unless other people here agree the SZ would suit me more? i started with 4 laptops now its up to 5 - not v good progress eh

 

Style seems to be a big factor for you, so I think you can eliminate the A8Js off your list.

The newly revised C2D MBP is a pretty good buy, and most of the issues have apparently been fixed. You get style with the option to run 2 OSes.

The W7j looks very stylish (more so than the MBP to me), seems to be highly regarded here, and is lighter and more portable than your other choices.

I would buy the MBP before I would buy the W3j. It is just a better deal in my opinion with the way the W3j is currently available.

 

hmmm makes sense so I'll probably go with the w7j or MBP depends on the deal i find

what about the sony SZ series? any comments about it?

 

One thought... if you intend to use the laptop for any length of time you will likely want to make SURE that the laptop has a Core 2 Duo, and not a Core Duo, as the Core Duo is 32 bit only, and the Core 2 Duo is 64 bit.

With most every processor being sold today being 64 bit, you could see 64 bit software start to come out in a big way in about a year... and then you might not. Who knows what the future brings, but I would want to make sure I was compatible since it doesn't cost anything more.

Oh, and that Sony is Core Duo only... at least from what I saw (and I only glanced).

 

They're all C2D.

~ Brett

 

With the above mentioned tasks you want to do here's how I think these laptops will suit you.

1) A8js - High resolution, and best performance, good portability with roughly 2.5 hours of battery life. The styling is a very basic silver look, in which you don't think is very stylish.

The A8js will get the job done, with ease, if your coding the extra real estate compared to other models but, it offers great gaming potential in WOW.

This would be your best choice in my opinion.

2) Sony SZ - This notebook offers a variety of good things you are looking for, stylish, portable, decent performance, and that Dual GPU set up for even more battery life.

If you want more battery life go for it, but if you want to consider more battery life then you need to consider the W3J, since it has a Multi-bay.

3) W3J - this notebook also offers a variety of what your looking for, its very stylish, offers good performance, and has Multi-bay for an extra hard drive or battery.

If your looking into more battery life as i said, consider both W3J and Sony SZ, but the W3J performs better because of the X1600 GPU for WOW.

4) W7J - If your looking for something small and portable with some potential in general, but has decent performance, this is the all round small notebook people like.

If you really want to save as much weight and gain more portability consider this notebook, but this is on par with the Sony SZ for performance.

5) MBP - uhm, yes the most stylish, i think that's all it has for it, I personaly don't like the price and other things that come along with it. ( I would cross this off the list)

Above is just my opinion, however the specs and styling do suit yours needs, but i don't think you wanna deal with any problems the MBP may have. (if any)

Have look, think about what you really want, narrow it down some more, and lets see what pick!

 

haaa, MilestonePc. are you disregarding the fact that the W3j comes with a cheap C2D while the MBP comes with one of the most expensive available for a laptop, that alone could account for the slight price difference. Not only that but the W3j runs hot enough for people to suggest that it should not be used on your lap while the new C2D MBP, according to recent reviews, remains phenomenally cool. Another point for the MBP is that the GPU is no longer underclocked.
If you were to ask me which laptop I would prefer, between the MBP and W3j, two months ago I would have immediately said the W3j. but now the MBP seems to have the better features in a package that actually stays cool. I think Asus messed up when they put the cheap proc in the W3j, I understand that the proc is rarely the bottleneck in a system. but still psychologically, I mean what are your friends going to think when you tell them you spent $1800 on a laptop with a t5600 proc. And then what are they going to think when their MBP smashes the W3j in an encoding test (2mb 1.83GHz vs 4mb 2.16 GHz)and scores about the same in the graphics test. all for the same price(I am in college so I get the edu discount placing the MBP at $1800. By the way it is not heard to get the edu discount, for crying out loud Apple even recognizes Home Schoolers) The only advantage I can think of for the W3j is that it is slightly smaller, though thicker, and has 128 mbs larger GPU, which doesn't seem to make a huge difference.

 

I believe the W3J only has a 1.67GHz T5500 so the performance difference in encoding is even greater. Also the T5500 doesn't include VT support which is included in all other Meroms. Not sure if you need it, but it's important to know ahead of time.

I'm not sure why you're saying the MBP doesn't offer good specs since a 2.16GHz T7400, 1GB of RAM, a 120GB HDD, 128MB X1600 clocked at 419MHz/445MHz, and a Atheros draft-802.11n WiFi card are a very aggressive spec even at the base $1999USD price point. I'm actually making a similar decision as you between the 15.4" MBP and the W3J and I can actually get the MBP for $1999 CND so it definitely seems a good deal to me. It's not for everyone though since if you need Windows you'll have to get a copy of XP separately. I can get a legal copy of XP Pro for free which is why I'm considering it.

If you don't need exceptional CPU or GPU power I would recommend the W7J. It looks great, it's light, and it's priced very nicely compared to all the models you are considering. If you feel that your gaming needs are light then the Go 7400 should be more than enough. The CPU is the same as the W3J so relative to that you're not losing anything. The A8Js doesn't have Bluetooth and the W3J doesn't have a webcam, both of which the W7J have so it definitely has it's perks.

 

If you can ditch out the money for the macbook pro, get the macbook pro. If you're going to be gaming, on the other hand, you should get the a8js.

 

Ah, dude we are talking about stylish laptops in this thread. LOL, thats alright, though on a more serious note the Asus a8js is the best performing laptop in it's size range.

 

RefinedPower, as yes you are definately correct, I was still under the impression the MBP still had major problems, but since you say and other say it runs cool, that's awsome! It is one fine machine.

I would still place the A8js on top of the list because of what it offers, i would make the MBP #4 because of the price, and put the W7J in #5, but it all depends on the Original Poster, and what he wants and how much money he wants to spend.

 

Agreed. for what he wants to do (play WOW and portability) the w7j would probably be fine though.

 

for some reason, I'm a little surprised you put the w7 in 5 and the sony sz at 2, i figured you put them a lil closer together

 

well I rank them the way milestone pc did before he moved the macbook up one

youve got to be kidding.


Its a 15 inch x1600 with 128 mb for $2000

it comes without xp making you buy bootcamp and xp

It doesnt look classy. It looks good its thin. looks good with your ipod....
not a class comment type of thing like the w3j or even the sony sz. it does look good like the w7j but not expensive. Im trying to make this distinction.


in tech specs, it is most closely competing with a machine like the acer 5672

It is vaguelly competing with something like the upcoming vx1 perhaps but inferior...

 

well it obviously seems that people have their own ideas regarding what is best

let me try and recapitulate (i am in no immediate hurry to buy but would like to do so this week - that's if my offloading of the current laptop happens).. What I am looking for is decent power - I get very annoyed if programs take long to load, or if I try to change windows and it isn't fast etc, however I will not be using it for some major power hogging application - just surfing, coding , and playing WoW

my budget is about $1500-1800 yet I can possible allow up to $2000

since power is not a priority (WoW will be the only game i play for the nxt 3 yrs prolly (unforutnately!!!)) style and portability are very important.. I understand that all these laptops are portable enough with the w7j and sony sz being hte most portable - the a8js is a very good deal but from all comparison posts I have read it is not built as well, nor does it look as good, as the other models - that is why its not high on my wish list

so lets narrow it down to w7j, w3j, SZ, and MBP

one question I still have - does the w7j look as good as the w3j? Is its build quality good? I might be taking it around quite a bit

the Sony SZ is not my favourite look as it seems a bit plasticy to me - i m in love with the MBP looks and style + it is in the same price range of the w7j for me over here - as I will need to import the others while the MBP is available locally for the same price as in the US

sooo.. errr... hehe not much progress, again - atm I tend to favour w7j, w3j and MBP - so it s between them, unles any further developments

any differences or pro/cons u can give me will be greatly appreciated

these forums are amazing, cheers all

 

oh been looking at ome reviews and it seems the w7j has 512mb soldered on the motherboard and that it comes with an extra 512mb - so basically 1.5gb is the highest I can go, and it wont be dual channeled.. this puts me off a bit as I think in the next year or 2 with Vista especially 2gb will be very important (even for resale value) - anyone else agree?

edit : ok got the answer from other threads

 

Don't forget this: MBP = X1600 = graininess issue.
Has Apple addressed this issue? If not, can you all live with this issue in your MBP?
Just my opinion..... W3J all the way!

 

For reasons why you should get a MBP and forget this W3J nonsense, read this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=86371&page=1

robohgedhang is probably the biggest liar on this forum, going as far to make up compalints against the MBP in the same thread (the link I just posted).

 

Being an asus forum, most people are going to favor the asus models. However, based upon your needs it would seem that the sony sz would be the best bet. Its specs are almost identical to those of the w7j, but it comes in a smaller, lighter package with much much better battery life. (I believe the w7j is estimated to be b/w 2.5-3 hrs and the sz is around 5 hrs).

Check out this w7j review by laptop logic that compares the w7j to the sony sz.

http://laptoplogic.com/reviews/detail.php?id=140&part=glance

Note: The review uses the older core duo processors, but both models are now available with core 2 duo. In addition, the sony sz can be equipped w/ the higher end core 2 duos, while you will be stuck w/ the lower end with the w7j unless you get your reseller to upgrade it for you which will void the original manufacturer's warranty.

That's my 2cents...I'm generally an asus fan, but when comparing these two particular models, it's difficult for me to justify the w7j over the sz, considering you can get them for a similar price point. The only argument left IMHO would be comparing the style and build quality of the two.

The macbook pro is nice (my gf has one), but it is nowhere near as portable as the w7j or the sz. It's portable for a 15.4" widescreen...but it is a 15.4 widescreen after all.

 

Go for the Asus.

MBP's are overpriced and underclocked stock.

Plus they heat up, and you'll need a copy of Windows XP to use bootcamp.