ASUS A8Js Build Quality VS Sony FE

Man. I'm creating a bunch of comparison threads.
Anyways, I heard the A8Js build quality is quite sturdy, but not as sturdy...it's not really clear. so, how would you guys compare the A8Js to. Is it better than dell's E1505 build? how about Sony Vaio FE?

I know that the W3J is better in terms of build.


thx

 

Its very solid plastic, very sturdy, but not perfect. Material on lid gets scratched easily - I got mine on Saturday and now has 3 inch long noticeable scratches (not huge but small, but anyway)... I´ve taken care of its as its my 'new baby'. Its the kind of material I know will be full of scratches in a few months time... when my old Sony laptop looks still 'perfect' (its not a smooth plastic but one rough, that does not scratch or show scratches easily). Same material is used on the inside, around mousepad - so no idea how it will age. A shame, on such an excellent performing machine!

 

The A8js is a well built laptop, when compared to other brands like Dell and Sony, you will find that it is on par or slightly above par in terms of quality.

The lid will scratch, if you are not using a sleeve to carry it in, also i've seen toshiba's, acers, dells, they all have scratches on the lid, because people don't use sleeves to protect them. However, you can put things like sticker with designs and or use that plastic cover that comes for the screen, and put it on the lid, so that will give the lid a glossy finish and protect it.

The materials used in the a8js, e1505 and the Sony FE should be similar to eachother, since neither of boast about using carbon fibre, aluminum, or any high grade material.

 

all three are very similar.

The sony fe is a little more sturdy and thinner.

asus a8js is a lot like the base model you can find at best buy like an acer or toshiba. Its better than those but very similar.

I think the base hp models are better with their black lid.


the base chassis is very sturdy with no flex

the lcd lid is fragile with flex

 

How fragile is it? Fragile enough for someone to think twice about slipping it in a paded laptop backpack with books?

 

oh not really any different in terms of pressure on it from a book although I dont recomend it for that purpose....
I dont recomend putting your laptop in a backpack with books, any of these models. even the w3j would be very easy to break the lcd, no different really. no matter what the laptop is made of a sharp strike can crack the lcd.

for that purpose flex in the chassis is actually good....

you should put your $1600 laptop in a seperate case by itself.

Where its fragile is because the lid will flex you have to be careful to raise and lower it evenly.
If it were reinforced with something more rigid you would be at less of a risk. the flex is going to come into play over opening and closing it 1000s of times.

So all Im thinking of is you have to be more careful with it.

Like I said if you go to any electronics store and look at all the notebooks there it looks a lot like those but nicer. examine the lcd lid of the sony fe or whichever. Its like that.

The base $800 acer is similar but thinner plastic in the base of the chassis it seems more fragile

 

yeap it's mostly plastic, but its very tough, i think all sony's are very well built.

 

Oh come on, how can this poll be anywhere-near-representative of the actual build qualities of the two laptops? Even opinions need to be based on some kind of user experience, by which I mean more than reading a spec sheet or looking at some pictures. I mean, you would need to own both laptops to make a qualified judgment to begin with. Going to trade-shows and briefly tapping on the lid/keyboard of a display model doesn't count. And if you just spent two grand on your new baby you're not going to vote for the other brand unless your unit is falling apart.

 

Sorry to see the Sony losing?

Seriously though, gatordude has a point. Unless you've owned both models long term, it's impossible to determine which has the better build quality and/or durability.

I like to think that they're very much on par (Asus has built Sony notebooks at one stage, IIRC), but Asus gives you more bang for your buck. I never realised that those four little letters, S-O-N-Y, cost so much.

 

Actually, tonight I had a remarkable experience. I played with my niece's Macbook and I was blown away with the solidity, speed and screen quality. In fact, I think that the Macbook display is equal to that of my Sony SZ360!

I wish I had brought it with me up here in the Sierra hills, it would have been a great comparison, considering the Macbook costs nearly $1,000 less!

I'm going to return my SZ360 and seriously consider getting a Macbook. I'm so lucky that the Apple Store is closed tonight for Black Friday prep.

 

i somewhat doubt the voters so far have ever seen the two side by side. Sorry to say but the build quality of the A8 is pretty average! Not that the sony is much better but its certainly is better than the A8 for sure in terms of build.

I don't own either, but have used both, and the only thing i didnt like about the sony was that the keys on the keyboard were similar to those on apple notebooks. Kind of hard to explain.

My vote is for the sony.

Insane

 

Too bad there is a "not sure" option to weed out those who haven't used both...like me for example!

Bob

 

I voted Sony VAIO FE, because I've tried this model, and it has really nice build quality. The Asus A8Js, while not the least bit bad quality, just doesn't match it.

 

Ive seen them side by side

the sony is better. I especially like its keyboard.

What is build quality really? Just the plastic case and forget the computer?

The sony has a better plastic case.

The a8js is much cooler running. It has higher res screen its more portable and has a much higher gpu. So it has better build quality of the computer lol much better.
The sony has a nice screen. I think most people would say the a8js screen is a lot nicer

basically everything except the plastic chassis is better in the a8js

 

how are the horizontal viewing angles on the Sony?

 

Yeah, I agree w/ Stamar. The A8Js probably beats the FE in every way except for the plastic lid on the back, maybe. The FE's palm rests are plastic, so really, the only sturdy areas are the lid and the bottom.

Oh well. If I want the specs of an A8Js, along with top-notch build, I'll just wait two more weeks for an ASUS G1. I thought about Lenovo's Thinkpad, but the fireGl is not meant for gaming (actually a variation of X1600)

 

The lennovo t60p is an excellent value as well if they still have the 300 off sale.

The real stats of that machine are like a hgl 30 or a8jm or w3j in terms of playing games.
But it is going to be a lot more durable. If I were buying my machine today I would have to look at that one.

it is standard aspect 14 inch screen but it does the 1400 x 1050 resolution. You can also put an atheros wireless card in it.

Basically a steal when you compare it to full retail of a8js. I think if the w3j were 300 off it would be a good deal too....

 

If you saw the FE in person at a store, then it's most likely that the screen was an ECO and not Hi-Color which I really doubt the A8JS could match.

 

I dont know what the sony bs screen words are.

Im almost certain the a8js has sony x brite and hicolor.

asus a8js has the extra bright backlight called crystal bright.

Ok now that doesnt mean anything from any of the manufacturers. A crystal bright screen can be a dual lamp screen like in the asus g2 or w2j and its also significantly brighter than the a8js screen.

Ok what you need to do is find what screens are used on the sony fe and you can compare.

The one I saw is the same one thats used in the asus s96j. So it has sony xbrite but not what asus calls crystal bright so the asus a8js screen is brighter.

 

I love to own a FE but my cousin bought one instead. I vote for FE