Asus N61Ja Info/updates

Hi friends

Lets start a dedicated thread for Asus N61Ja, which is expected to hit the store in the last week of Jan or early Feb. The specs includes ...

1. Intel i5/i3 processors
2. 16" 16:9 HD (720p) 1366 x 768 LCD
3. Upto 8GB DDR3 1066MHz RAM
4. DVD super-multi/Blueray-Combo
5. Up to 500 GB 7200 rpm HDD
6. ATI Mobility Radeon® HD 5730 with 1GB DDR3 VRAM
7. 2MP webcam
8. Upto Windows 7 ultimate
9. Perhaps NO Backlit keyboard
10. Multi touch track pad
11. 1x3.0 and 2x2.0 USB
12. Expected price approx $1000 USD

Link from Asus

Lets share your thoughts and feedback (Good and Bad) of this model.
Perhaps the competitors of this model may include ...
1. Dell Studio XPS 1647
2. HP dv6t
3. HP Envy 15
4. New Toshiba A505 (i5/i3 version)
5. Sony F series, etc ...

 

I really like this N series, but don't really see much difference with the K series, eventhough the K series has a nice black backside while the N offers some kind of ugly purple finish in the back.
If there won't be any issues with the heat I might get one of these as soon as they refresh the looks of the panel on the back.

 

Do you mean at the bottom of the panel ?
I doubt the bottom is purple color. Even though, it hardly matters as it will be at the bottom/in-visible. And as per the press release pics, it may have white/black colors body.

Another thread in NBR, says its a newer hardware version of earlier N61V models, and the screen is not upto the expectation and it do not have backlit keyboard. Lets see what is coming when it is available for pre-order.

 

The screen resolution is really off-putting.

 

I don't mean the bottom, I mean the purple colour finish on the backside of your screen.

 

You'd be looking at the front though. But still, it's not a color i'd like to show off in public.

 

Is there anything comparable to this with a higher res screen?

 

this is the only thing that kills this laptop.

ugh

 

please, double up on that request! I'd love to know one with a larger screen size.

 

The Sony F series is the first that comes to mind. But I'm looking to do some gaming with it and the GPU in the F is a little lacking for my needs.

 

Oh ! Yeh dude.
I had set my monitors contrast/brightness to low to reduce stress on my eyes hence the back panel was looking black to my eyes in internet pics, as I have not seen it physically.

Thank you for this update.

 

One thing I lke about Sony F series, the simple/professional design of the laptop outside. But again usual, its costly as compared to others in this category with lower hardware.

 

Yeah I like that too. It's hard for me to justify spending the same amount of money on the Sony as a better equipped Asus just because it has a better design though.

 

But many of this category laptops from HP, Toshiba, Dell have same LCD resolution (1366 x 768) as this model.

 

To be honest, I don't see the necessity of a higher resolution at all. It is a 16" Monitor and when you got high-rez on that screen, you will soon get squinting eyes syndrome just at trying to read the micro icons. Also, you won't be able to natively game on high-rez with that Mobility Radeon HD 5730 anyways. I rather stick with a low-rez screen and get native gaming.

Aside from the point, I am interested in this laptop very much right now and I only see from XoticPC the JQ version with the i7-720QM Quad Versions @ $1065.00 US. As much as I want a i7 Quad under the hood, I find it that I might be fine with a Core i5 Dual. So any word on the Core i5 Version coming out soon (I assume it has to be cheaper than the i7 Quad Version so sub-$1000?)

 

Why does everyone forget about the N71???

More expensive, but better specs. 17'' screen, res of 1600 by 900. Dual hard drive, , etc.

It's pre-order of the JQ right now, but there is supposed to be a JA version as well that will come out soon (as far as I know).

Also, the color is not purple.................... it's either going to be brown or black, just like they have advertised in the past.

 

17" are way TOO big for me. Sorry. I need a laptop that is mobile enough for me to carry on a daily basis. I find personally the N61 to be way too big, but for the loads of cool stuff inside, it is worth it I guess. I know that many 17" laptops comes loaded with good stuff but it is really the size that makes me go away from them.

 

Not a problem. You just have to realize that if you are going with something under 17-ish, not many of them are going to have an awesome res and backlit keyboard, unless you are buying a specifically gaming lappy, like a G51, or you want to pay out the butt for it, like with Sony. I feel the N series are extremely affordable and well worth the money, even if the screen res isn't high end. But hey, to each his own!

 

I am fine with mid-end gaming on laptops. I am personally not a fan of high rez on laptop screens myself and the N61 still has a decent HD Mobility 5730 inside. I know that going with the bigger screen options can yield options for pure gaming and the G51 is expensive, appears to be unreliable and too flamboyant to be used in a daily basis outside with the public. However as you said, it is all up to you!

PS: Is the Sony N Series getting the Core i5/i7 Refresh? Cause the Sony's aren't bad either (they are just overpriced like the PS3 ).

 

More than likely they will refresh, probably around March is what I'm thinking. I would look in their forum for info on that, but they are just so overpriced that I never even considered them in the running for my new laptop You are right, just like the PS3... sheesh

 

I just wonder, the price of Asus laptops on XoticPC/PNB are the final price or we have to again pay the tax on the top of that ?

And for me N61Ja has 2 things lacking, ie, backlit keyboard and full HD LCD, else its a real powerhouse. Certainly we have to see the heat it will produce.

 

I just pre-ordered an N71JQ through Xotic... no tax, and free shipping I just put up a new thread.

And yeah, backlit keyboard would be nice, and full HD, but for what I'm getting, I think the price is good and I hope I like it!

 

Asus updated their site with N61Ja series details
http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=sa9BVWJvBRcnd8jn

 

Here are the specs of the N61JA-A1 for those interested. Starting price is expected to be around $1065. ETA is approximately early February.

16"/HD (1366 x768)/i5-430M (2.26GHz)/4G DDR3 1066MHz/ATI 5730 1G DDR3 VRAM/500G 7200RPM/BD Combo/Windows 7 Home Premium 64/802.11 bgn/BT/2.0M Camera/

 

Why would Asus make Blu-Ray standard with a 1366 x 768 screen? That just doesn't make any sense to me. It would be a really attractive laptop if they made a model with a higher resolution screen, even if it did push the price up $150 or so.

 

Adding to Brochiller's reply ...

We were expecting the price of N61Ja will be few $ less than N61Jq, as it has i5 and N61Jq has i7 and i5 is cheaper than i7 (see i7/i5 wiki pages for pricing). Blue-ray MUST be optional as the screen id is a 720p NOT 1080p But again I think the business tricks are in effect here. Good job BD guys @ Asus

==============================================
N61Jq| $1065 | i7-720QM | 16" 720p | Radeon HD 5730 1GB | 3 USB 2.0
-----------------------------------------------------------
N61Ja| $1065 | i5-430M | 16" 720p | Radeon HD 5730 1GB | 1 USB 3.0 and 2 USB 2.0

@Justin
What are the color options with N61Ja ?
The internet pics shows the front-side has some dark violet color
Does it has backlit keyboard ? Or at least can we configure it to backlit/chicklet keyboard ?

 

We are still waiting on images of it. All we have received this far was the initial specs. I agree with you guys, it should have a higher resolution screen. Once we get a image I will provide it here.

 

What about the N71? This has a larger screen, with a 1600X900 resolution. Any news on that one?

 

The N71JQ is still expected in later this month that last we heard.

EDIT: The N61JA-A1 is expected to look like the N61JQ-A1.

 

Yes .. See the front color of the laptop, its dark violet, and looks un-professional

 

Uh, unless I'm color blind or my computer has TERRIBLE colors... that cover is supposed to be brown............

 

Yeah I'm seeing brown too.

 

I think I have color blindness Thanks to my monitor settings.
yeh.. you were right its dark brown

 

N61Jq and N61Ja looks exactly same as N61Vg except the LCD bazel and screen:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aj6INalxnWw

N61Jq/Ja has glass cover on the screen and N61Vg does not.

 

Hahaha! I hate being right But that's def better than purple...

 

I definitly see purple...

 

Sometimes I'm experiencing server error from Asus USA site. Are you all also getting this ?

 

I see that happen every so often as well... I don't think they update that much, and when they do, they don't update everything.

 

Why Sager 8690 is sooooooooo costly as compared to Asus N61JQ ?
Whats in that laptop justifying such huge cost, even though it has low powered hardware than Asus ???
Lets compare the both as below ...

Sager 8690 :: $1799
------------------------------------------------
1. Intel® Core™ i7-720QM Processor (1.60GHz)
2. 2GB DDR3 RAM
3. 15.6" 1600x900 screen
4. nVidia GTX 280M with 1GB GDDR3 Video Memory
5. 250GB 5400rpm SATA 300 Hard Drive
6. 8X DVD±R/RW/4X
7. Sager 1 Year Limited Parts and Labor Warranty


Asus N61JQ-A :: $1065
------------------------------------------------
1. Intel® Core™ i7-720QM Processor (1.60GHz)
2. 4GB DDR3 RAM
3. 16" 1366x768 screen
4. ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 5730w/1GB GDDR3
5. 500GB SATA II 3GB/s 7,200RPM Hard Drive
6. 8X DVD±R/RW/4X
7. Global Two Year Warranty + 1 Year ADP + 24/7 ASUS Support

 

Good question. Screen res is better on a smaller screen. I don't know enough about Sager. I've heard they are easy to customize. May very well come with other software, etc. not listed.

 

Sagers generally have better build quality, especially in regards to cooling. Also, the GTX 280m is a much more powerful card than the ATI card found in the N61, which drives the price up substantially.

 

This
4. nVidia GTX 280M with 1GB GDDR3 Video Memory
vs
4. ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 5730w/1GB GDDR3

The 280 smokes the 5730. Also, the screen res plays another part.

 

XoticPC started taking pre-orders for N6JA-A1 (i5-430M) starting from $1065 USD (same with N6JQ-A1 i7-720QM version !!!), means no price difference between i7-720QM and i5-430M !!!

http://www.xoticpc.com/asus-n61jaa1-p-2759.html

Also, in the features page of N61JA/Q, its saying ...

But where is that row of touch sensitive buttons in the pic ???
Image 2

 

is there one with a smaller screen, like 14''?
i just pre ordered the k42jr, i can cancel and get the n series if theres a 14incher.

 

No, only 16 and 17

 

anyone have any idea when N61JQ-A1 is expected to be available for direct ordering?

Thanks

 

The N61JQ is expected to be in next week and is expected to be readily available.

 

It appears there is a subtle price difference:

The N61JQ-A1 (i7 model) comes with a DVDRW standard and is a $115 upgrade to the 2X Blu-Ray reader.

The N61JA-A1 (i5--i7-620M model) appears to come standard with the 2X Blu-Ray reader with a $89 dollar downgrade option if you want to go to the DVDRW.

 

^nice find, but is i5 and i7 difference only worth about a 100 USD?

 

does that go for the n71jq as well?