Asus W3J...

... T2300.... nothing Asus is putting out at this time is going to run the low voltage cpu.... there's really not a need either since the systems have already been designed with a thermal envelope to handle it.

 

Do you know if revisions of the W3J may use a higher frequency processor? It is kind of weird that the newer laptop has a lower speed processor than the older W3V. But I guess in a way this is reasonable since the newer CPU is dual core.

 

no, it's actually not "weird" at all....... since the performance is highly increased....and the cost of the dual core cpu is 50% more...... going with a step down in "speed" allows for only a $20 increase in cost...... so since Asus is trying to hit a price point... it's better than keeping a 1.8 and having performance WAY more, but also costs up another $150-200.......

Intel actually planned to release these with MUCH lower speeds....... it was no less than 6 months ago that the top speed of the dual core cpus were going to be limited to 1.4 and start down at 800mhz.... Because really want Intel is trying to do is increase the battery life of the centrino's .... not the performance. The performance is already there..... the battery life increases of 40-55% that we've seen tested --- while keeping the same performance numbers........and that performance can be done at a lower speed...... since basically a dual core cpu acts in about the way of 1 1/2 cpus... it's not the full out performance of two cpus... but increasing the power by 50% is quite interesting.

 

That sounds cool. Can hardly wait.

 

thats some snazzy sig you got there justin

 

I second that.

I spent a few minutes making sure I didn't miss any action there

 

That's what you get when you catch that second wind about 1am and can't get to sleep........ honestly it's just a practice in how slides you can make a gif... I think that's up over 100.... It's still pretty small.. I hope it doesn't cause loading problems for people....

 

At first I thought it was transparent, then I realized it's color-matched to the forum's background, LOL...

Back on topic, I realized I had another question about the W3J, which relates to the W3V actually. I think the W3V has the IPS screen? Does the W3J inherit the same screen? If so, I've heard that with IBM's IPS panels, although they can display beautiful stills, they have trouble with motion pictures and games, since they have long response times. Does the same apply to Asus' IPS panels?

 

No, the w3v doesn't have an IPS screen......... the V6va is the only current model with the IPS screen and it's as good at still images as it is with video...

 

If only the merom processors would be released before the next start of school, it would make this laptop perfect... (minus the weaker battery life)

 

Merom is supposed to be pin-compatible with the Napa platform, so if it's 64 bits you want you could just upgrade later. (Of course the Merom that runs on Napa would have 667MHz FSB rather than the 800MHz that Merom will run on its native platform. Same deal with the earlier Dothan.)

 

OK, I am currently debating whether I want to get the W3J or the W5F for what I want to do. I work with a lot of CAD and graphics heavy engineering software and my main concern is how much heat the processors will put out when running those programs. Although i do have dedicated desktops running those programs, occasionally i would like to do those work on desktops. I know the W3 has a bigger screen and a dedicated graphics card but i am really liking the W5 for its size and weight as it doees not kill my shoulder when i go on conferences.

Any opinions?

 

Doesn't the W5 have integrated graphics? If so, won't that hurt the performance of your CAD/graphic engineering programs?

 

how long do you guys think w3j's battery life would be?

 

there's been alot of speculation around here on the w3j's battery life. i think most people are saying approximately 4 hours.

 

Right. 3.5-4.5 hours is a good estimate...based on usage, of course.

 

Yep, which is why I am really torn between the trade-off of better graphics or lighter notebook. Since they are not out yet, i doubt anyone has benchmarks on how much i will lose out on graphics by buying the W5...

 

You asking how much you will lose on graphics. Are you kidding its not even a comparison. One has the intergrated intel 950 chip wich is not suitable for anything other than internet dvd playing and office apps. Then one is a 256meg ati X1600 wich i believe is equal to a nvidia 6800. Totally different ballpark. If you are going to be using any software that needs a GPU the intergrated will not be able to in any way cut it.

 

i would second the 3.5-4.5 hr opinion for the w3j...if the graphics card isnt in use, the power saving features of the dual core should be in effect thus giving us at least 4.5 hrs...

 

Ah i see...

Hrm...Thanks for the feedback guys. I think I have made my decision.:asus:

 

How about another speculation...is the W3j going to have the ability for the Audio DJ function to play DVD's? Playing CD's really doesn't appeal to me, but saving battery life while playing DVD's would be a huge plus.

Brian

 

I doubt it, because they don't have a contract with any of those companies(like Instant-On) for that. But it's really a good investment.

 

I wonder if all these notebooks would have dramatically longer battery lives once the Microsoft ACPI driver problem is addressed...

 

I have a question, which the answer will probably be based on the W3v, but thats ok. Can someone talk about the S/PDIF more. I have a Dolby 5.1 reciever and when I am in a dorm next year might plug into it, so will the computer send in Dolby 5.1 or will it just send stereo? Also, does it mute the system speakers, or are they still active? Thanks.

 

Caleb... you might want to check out this link. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S/PDIF There are alot of backround information on S/PDIF as well as some common applications, Hope it helps."

BankBen

 

He's asking about the W3J's SPDIF capabilities, not about SPDIF in general. We can reasonably speculate on this, since Asus' specs on the W3V are quite clear. Asus says the W3V has an Intel HD Audio (Azalia) compliant chip with SPDIF output. That means the W3V can output 5.1 sound if the source material is encoded with AC3 (Dolby Digital) or DTS. If the source material is anything else the SPDIF output will provide stereo PCM. Azalia compliance means the W3V will be able to enable both system speakers and SPDIF output at the same time. The SPDIF output will share the same output port as the headphone/analogue audio output port. However I cannot find whether the W3V uses coaxial digital output or mini-Toslink output for SPDIF. Does anyone know which is the case?

 

Chirality is on the right path. I just want to know if it is worth hooking up to the reciever, or if I would be getting glorified stereo instead of real surround sound. Also, does any one know how the specific hook-up is laid out on the w3v?

 

if you were playing a dvd/game or any 5.1/6.1/7.1 material that info would be outputed via the spdif to your av receiver for true surround sound - it will not work in a 2 channel system! The receiver does the decoding.

 

Then I suppose that it is a good thing that my system does Dolby 5.1! Thats the info I wanted, now, the final question is what is the hook-up situation. My reciever, and everything I have seen use an RCA (most people say to use, and I have, an insulated) cord, is this the same for the W3V (and likely the W3j)?

Thanks.

 

There are two things that you should be careful of. Unfortunately I can't find the details that would give you an definite answer. But perhaps someone with a W3V can help:

The W3V (and likely the W3J) will most likely only output 5.1 sound for DVDs and other sources encoded with AC3 and DTS for audio. For dynamic sources such as games, only digital stereo sound (PCM) will be transferred over SPDIF. This is because SPDIF is designed only to transmit the compressed AC3 and DTS formats used with DVDs. Dynamic content such as games cannot use AC3 and DTS natively. The only way for a system to output surround sound over SPDIF for games is for it to support on-the-fly encoding to AC3. This is a feature of the highest tier of the Intel HD Audio spec called Dolby Digital Live, but it is unlikely that any notebook systems would support this standard.

The W3V specs claim to support SPDIF output via the headphone jack, but it doesn't say which type of connection is supported. More likely than not, that output will be via mini-Toslink. Mini-Toslink basically embeds an optical transmitter at the end of an otherwise normal 1/8 inch analogue audio jack. If this is indeed the connection, then a standard coaxial (RCA) cable cannot be used. A mini-Toslink to regular Toslink optical cable would be needed, and the decoder needs to have an optical input as well.

 

Yep its a mini toslink on the headphone socket. However, if you really want decent audio (and video) get a proper dvd player or a custom htpc.

Anyway, the w3j looks like an awesome machine, however, im concerned with that x1600. Yes its a beastly graphics card but at the same time it will consume a load of power. What they could/should have done is also put the intel integrated gma graphics in there as well - a la sony sz. That way you could choose which graphics card to use depending if you were on battery or not. Also, a web cam and fingerprint reader would be cool!

 

sounds like you want a sony sz....if the sz can handle hl2 fairly well and the w3j gets shoddy battery life...id probably get an sz

 

Hm, ok you're confusing the newbie now.

I thought it was just while gaming that the GPU pulls more juice. Do GPU's always pull more juice vs. integrated, even if the machine is basically idle?

 

ATI's graphics cards usually do a very good job of throttling down and shutting down unused VRAM, and there are battery modes you can select in ATI's utility, so if you wished you could tone the X1600 all the way down to close to the performance/power consumption of integrated graphics, assuming the X1600 does this as well as current gen. graphics.

 

Is Asus gonna be able to knock any weight off the W3 model or will it still be hovering around 5 lbs? I think I just found my next laptop. 64 bit dual core needs to hurry up and get here!

Steve

 

Probably still 5....

I'm guessing that means they have about the same weight too.

 

Justin, do you know whether the W3J will come with 533MHz DDR2 ram or 667MHz DDR2 ram?

 

Every napa model at this time is coming with 533 - as per Asus' order...... 677 isn't available them yet.

 

Should the 1.6 ghz processor be a cause for concern if I plan on gaming a lot with the w3j? I understand there is a 50% performance increase going dual core but a game like Doom 3 and HL 2 still recommend having a 2.4 ghz processor to play and it seems that 2 years from now I would be S.O.L not because of my graphics card but my processor.

 

I'm not sure what the multiplier will be on the core duos to "compare" them with a P4... but all software titles still base their requirements on a P4... the current dothans have a multiplier of 1.8 to give you an idea of how it'll perform against a P4...... a 1.8x - a 1.6ghz dothan would be like a 2.8ghz P4.... now, a dual core cpu acts like 1.5 cpus...... so however that'll add to the performance, I'm not sure... but it'll make it "better" than a 2.8ghz P4, that's for sure..... so I'd tell you right now that you shouldn't have anywhere near an issue.

 

People play doom 3 fine on a v6va thats witha 1.8m and x700 so the dual core and x1600 will be very powerful.

 

how long til the 667mhz ram is available? would the performance difference be worth the wait?

 

Thanks Justin, I didn't know the Dothans offered 1.8x the performance of P4, I assumed they were the same . The Yonah isn't essentially a dual core dothan is it? But it is more powerful than 1.5x a P4 correct? My decision just got more difficult (get an z92j or wait longer for the w3j?).

 

No, yonah is a whole new cpu.. and actually comes in single and dual core...... most of the focus in the coming months - especially with Asus and PROPortable will be on the dual core varients... but it's a whole new cpu.....

All I can say is that benchmarking sites have agreed over the last year that the dothans performance is will match a P4 that is 1.8x faster...... that's one comment......

two - the dual core nature of the cpu is often thought of as being the same as having dual cpus.. which isn't not... it's close, but essentially it's like having 1.5x cpus..... and I think a lot of people will never see a difference there, but there are many who will and will die for it....... but, by saying that, i'm not saying that you take the 1.8x and then multiply that by another 1.5x... I think to get a possible performance read, take the 1.6 dothan which will be similiar in performance to a 2.8ghz P4...... then compare the single core 2.8ghz P4 to a 2.8ghz dual core P4...... that's not even close to an exact science, but it's the best I can offer at this point...

 

Was that a voluntary decision on Asus' part? Or is the [chipset/ram/cpu/whichever] literally not available yet to do a 667 bus, was it a price thing? Seems like such a crime to run a 667 chip at 533

 

667 mhz ram just isnt out yet. noone makes it. asus has no control over it.

 

If I am understanding this all right, it isn't the bus at all. The RAM that is there is just running at 533MHz, so the system will slow down to that. When the RAM is available, though, it will run the 667 just fine. It will be like getting a new W3j again, what more could we ask for?

 

Actually i really doubt anyone would notice a difference. its kinda like going from 400mhz to the 533mhz i sure couldnt tell. just make sure you have a gig or more of ram thats what matters.

 

difference will be slight if noticable at all.... and I think that's more from the hardcore users that may see it....... but, it's just not out.. the fsb on the units are 667 and it'll take 667mhz ddr2, but it'll also still take 533.......

1. it's an availability thing
2. it would be a price thing....

last year when the v6v came in, it came in with ddr2 400 because when it came out 533 wasn't out yet, when the w3v was ordered I got a call asking if we thought the 533mhz should be ordered in it and if so, would customers pay the extra $50 for the speed increase......

so...... sometime in Q3 I'm sure they will start to ship with 667, but that's a minimal expense and a minimal performance upgrade...... If you think about it like this: it's not worth waiting for, but if it was out it may be worth the premium it would cost..... there are a few things like that and although weird... I think it's understandable, right?

 

I see where the confusion is. The front side bus of the Napa platform is 166MHz quad-pumped, effectively forming 667MHz. The DDR2 memory is running at either 266MHz double data rate, effectively 533MHz, or 333MHz double data rate, effectively 667MHz. Using the lower speed memory has no effect on the front side bus, since the platform has a bus speed divider that enables the FSB and memory to run asynchronously.