Asus WJ3 - Merom Inquiry

Hi all, just a couple of questions to ask regarding this very nice laptop.

1) Is it hard to install/replace the CPU? I know that its currently very difficult to install/replace the CPU on my HP Pavilion DV500t notebook - Requires removal of motherboard and other components, which is big turn off!

2) Following from the first question, I would like to replace the Core Duo CPU with a Core 2 Duo CPU. Has anyone tried this yet, and does the notebook function?

3) Alot of articles state that a BIOS update is required for Core 2 Duo. Is this still the case for the W3J, and does the current BIOS version support the Core 2 Duos?



Thanks for the help!

 

Ok, first just to be clear, if you touch the processor in the W3J the warranty is immediately out of the window, no come-back, no reprise.

That said, the latest Beta Bios for the W3J which fixes the graininess problem, is also reported to add merom support to the W3. I've behaved so far and left my CPU alone, the 2 year warranty is important to me, but i have had the bonnet off my W3J recently to temporarily remove the hard disk of the notebook. the CPU looked like it can be accessed if the heatsink for the GPU and CPU is removed and the Socket itself isn't a soldered one so there shouldn't be much hassle involved with simply removing the old cpu and dropping in a merom but as i say i've not undertaken this myself and i doubt i will be until the warranty is up and i can have some fun

I've read on this forum that others have replaced their Yonah's with Meroms so hopefully one of them will correct anything i've stated here that is incorrect.

hope that was informative at least...

Also just to say, if you've yet to buy a W3J, hold out for a little while longer and you can buy a refreshed version with a merom, and have a nice warranty to go along with it!

 

The notebook should function, but all the discussion I have seen around says that the Merom support is buggy so far. You might want to wait a little longer, then prices *might* come down, and you know your computer will work.

 

Hi all, thanks for the promising response. Yes, I should wait abit longer, but by the time we Aussies get it with a T7200 processor, I would have humped a kangaroo already just because it took so long to get here, and most likely would cost an arm and leg. Currently, I can get a W3J with T2500 for around $2.8k AU, and there is another Aussie on this forum who has just got his W3J for around $3.5k with a T7200. Now thats a massive price difference just for an upgrade to a Core 2 Duo, considering that Intel have said prices would remain the same for the same speed. Also, there is another thread that was created yesterday that concerns the North American market, which details the fact that the W3J with Merom will get a T5500, and not the T7200 for the same price as the T2500. If this is really the case, and it looks like its going to be, then I guess the best way to go about this is to purchase the W3J T2500 now, and upgrade to Merom at a later date.

You gurus agree?

 

If you were to find some great deal at this point... yeah, I could agree..... but I don't think you will - even if you could still find one. If you could wait, then you wouldn't need to upgrade to merom later and if you think it's a concern, you could upgrade years down the road to just the fastest merom, but chances are by then, if you've even started to make use of 64bit programs, you may very well be in a position to buy a new computer anyway.....

... so, it's your choice of course, but if asked, I'd have to say there aren't a lot of benefits to getting a current W3 because there aren't rebates on them like other models. Other models like the F and A series and even some of the W series have rebates which certainly look good. Some of the A and F series are going to be getting more expensive as well as they're getting bigger upgrades... so when factored in with the rebates, it seperates them quite a bit...... but with the W3, I don't think we're dealing with the same choice.

Basically, I'd say it comes down to either you have a current yonah w3 or perhaps you could find one - new or used - and have it for a couple years and then sell it and buy a new one at that point. I don't think even those waiting for the merom cpus models will really have any use for 64bit till they're system is to the point they'll want to end up replacing it - except for the use of vista 64bit....... but the OS isn't going to do anything for you without software to run on it which will be what will show off the performance increase of 64bit........ so I think I'd say take upgrading off the table because it really doesn't make sense.... just consider the above.

 

If you need it now, get it now. 2 months ago, I was in the same boat as you. I wanted a new shiny merom in my soon to be purchased w3j. However, the processor wasnt even released at that time and, honestly, I was sick of waiting. I needed a new laptop then so I just ordered it with a 2.0ghz yonah. Looking back at it all, im so glad I didnt wait, especially with the recent talk of not being realisticly get a w3j b4 november.

In terms of performace, youre really not going to notice the difference. The 4mb cache for the high end models is nice. Just as justin said, the real gains of 64-bit cpu's wont really manifest themselves very soon. Its really up to you (and you could always upgrade if you really feel the need to). But really i think the mantra "if you need it now, get it now" is a good one to follow.

 

.... that's for sure... get it when you need it. That works for everything in your life. If you can wait, wait, but be ready to bounce as soon as you're in need.. Of course, being in "need" and "desperate" are two different things and a lot of people think that when we say "need", it means they're computer just blew up and they've got a report due in a few days.... no no... not exactly.

 

Thank you for your input lads. Haha, I purchased my current laptop (DV5000t) knowing that Core 2 Duo was on the horizon, its only a few months old, and im thinking of upgrading!!!

Ive taken your inputs and it looks like W3J with T2500 should be fine - Hopefully I should be able to run Vista (Aero) + Office 2007 without any sluggishness for the next 4-5 years before the next upgrade.

Can the W3J handle more than 2GB of ram?

 

The w3 should handle 4gb, but you need 2gb sticks and a bios update that probably won't come will 2gb sticks are really out on the market.