Asus Z63A

just wondering if anyone has any experience with this notebook, i think it is also called the W3A... if someone could confirm that

I am in Canada so i have been reading some forums and was recomended CanadaSys as a good place to get Asus notebooks in Canada, if anyone has experience with them i would like to hear about that

i can get the following config
Centrino - 1.73G( 740 )
512M DDR2 ( 512M x1, Dual Channel Supported )
60G 5400r 8M Hard Drive
DVD & CDRW Combo Drive
VGA Shares up 128M
Wireless-G & Gigabit Lan
Logitech Wireless mouse / Carrying Case
14” Enhanced (Crystal View) wide screen
8-cell battery
weight ~ 5lbs

$1220 cdn

Pics:: http://vipforums.asus.com/4583/agenda_files/Z63A/index.html

I don't plan on using the notebook for gaming at all, i got a nice athlon64 system for that...
just want descent battery life 3.5 hours+, it will mostly be used for just word processing, internet, some web design type things... thats about it

Thanks for any comments

 

It is not the W3a. The W3a has the x600 card while the Z63a has an integrated card. I think the lid on the Z63a is plastic.

 

I have got the W3A. It has Intel integrated graphics and is, as far as I know, the same as the Z63A. The differences between the W3A and the W3V are: no separate GPU; no integrated bluetooth; and the carbon-fibre screen back. I was originally worried about the strength of the screen back have previously had several notebooks with metal screen backs, but in over 6 months and a fair amount of travelling, I have had no cause for concern about the W3A's strength and durability.

I find the W3 form factor to be an excellent balance between being large enough for all day use and small enough to not be a problem for travelling.

The battery life is among the best. It is the first notebook I have ever used that could get to the end of a 2 hour DVD (and with enough power for another half hour). Battery life under light usage such as word processing is more than 4 hours.

The graphics performance is fine for 2D work and playing DVDs.

I would recommend upgrading the RAM at the first opportunity since the GPU shares the available RAM. The dual channel mode seems to make very little difference in reality so add an extra 1GB if you can afford it. If possible, the supplied RAM should be DDR2-533.

Hope this helps,

John

 

There are a few reviews out
http://ynot2k.com/phpbb/nfphpbb/viewtopic.php?t=285
Thats one of em. There are more if you look around but overall i think its a highly popular and very successful unit. Would be my next choice once my 12" is done.

 

The W3a and Z63a are the same notebook..... the W3v has dedicated graphics.......

It doesn't matter what they call it, because actually on our Z63a's it has the w3 series logo on it.

 

I got my Z63A (or W3A; whatever you want to call it...) at Canadasys last month. I got almost the exact config, but got the 80GB HDD upgrade (+$20). I wanted to get the DVD+/-RW but I had heard the current shipments of drives were not great performers (slow).

I was a bit miffed about them not accepting credit cards, although I use TD, so doing the bank transfer was not that big of a deal. I would reccomend emailing them for the order rather than calling though - I had some trouble speaking with the salesperson via what we'll call a *language barrier*. Other than that, I was happy with the order and very happy with the laptop.

I get good battery life if I use CHC and keep the brightness down - I use it at school and don't like to take the power brick with me. One warning about carting it around - the bumpers on the screen do not protect the wrist platform that well, and having it in a bag, shaking when I walk, etc, the wrist platform now has a horizontal wear mark all the way across the front in between the edge and the touchpad.

However, I believe you shouldn't buy something if you worry about it getting damaged doing what its supposed to do!! I wanted to take it around with me, and that's not gonna stop me...

 

thanks for the replies, and it looks like CanadaSys is ok to deal with so that helps me out a lot

 

Don't forget to get a 80GB HD with 5400rpm 8MB Samsung for $20, if you would like to get 16MB Toshiba for $30, it is a best deal to upgrade.

 

I’ve had the Z63A since June (when they came out) and have been using it daily in grad school since August. It has been an excellent notebook. The integrated graphics are actually pretty good. I played the Windows High-Definition video samples on the highest rate (said they required a 128 mb video card to play). DVD’s run smoothly. It is light enough, has a great screen, it is overall the best notebook, in my opinion, for the non-gamer using it for school or office stuff (if you need to move it around a lot).

Hope that helps.

 

If they have a different card, card how can they be the same? If you are a gamer it seems to be significant to me.

 

They ARE the same notebook... the W3A and the Z63A, at least.
Same graphics card. Justin was simply pointing out that the W3V has dedicated graphics while the other two (or one, since they're the same), has integrated graphics.

 

I think you're confusing the W3A for the W3V. they just renamed the w3a to the z63 stateside it seems.

 

Where was my head? Cloud 9 I guess.

 

I bought a Z63A from CanadaSys last week (North York location). I was very impressed with the service. A laptop was built for me, and I was allowed to spend as much time testing it as I wished before choosing to buy it. I liked the laptop, but it had a dead pixel. So, a second laptop was built for me; it too had a dead pixel. At that point, Kurt said that he was willing to build a third system with the last barebone Z63A in stock, but that I would have to promise to buy one of the three. That seemed more than fair, so I agreed. Unfortunately, the third system had at least two dead pixels. I re-tested the first laptop, and realized that the dead pixel for the second machine was less noticeable. So, Kurt re-built the second laptop (it had been disassembled because components had been swapped). In summary, the poor techs at CanadaSys had to swap components several times, and they never complained. While it's unfortunate that I couldn't find a perfect screen, the dead (actually, stuck) pixel is nearly always invisible in practice.

The cash-only policy is a bit of a nuisance. I don't have a TD account, and getting a certified cheque from my internet bank would have taken days, so I purchased two money orders from Canada Post (it had to be two, because a money order can't exceed $1000).

 

Try this to get rid of the stuck pixel.
http://www.psp-vault.com/Article168.psp

 

Watch the model #s...they may be slightly different based on your country.

Having just done a bunch of research and bought a W3V here in the US last week, I can say (in the US) the W3V "Ensemble" has the x600, and the "Built On" Z63a does not. I don't remember seeing a W3A in my research.

 

Z63A is a barebone and can be customized by users, W3V is a complete machine built by Asus, Z63A is a low-end model but come with a color shine screen, W3v is a little bit high end model and come with a ATI x600 128MB video. The both also have the same screen. W3V looks like more deluxe than z63A because of the casing.

 

Sometimes it's not always good for newbies to try to explain things..... no offense - but you shouldn't have to take the time to explain this stuff either.... so good work anyway.

W3v / W3a (z63a) - differences

W3v - 64mb dedicated ATI x600 (not 128mb)
W3a (z63a) - integrated intel i915 graphics --- still very good for such a small system

W3v - built in bluetooth
W3a (z63a) - no bluetooth

W3v - black anodized, brushed aluminum lid
W3a (z63a) - regular carbon fiber lid

W3v - 2 year global warranty through Asus
W3a (z63a) - (in the US anyway) - warranty straight through your dealer.


The W3a (Z63a) are still a step above any other 14" widescreen you're going to find on the market today....... it would be considered say upper/middle class....... the W3v on the other hand (again, for it's size) would be considered high class or however you want to put it... there's nothing else in it's range that has what it has.

 

Unless it has already been mentioned, the suffix of most ASUS laptops that end with a 'v' has a dedicated videocard, 'a' would mean the opposite, intergrated...

As for the 'u' in the A6u, or the 'e' in the M6bne/A6ne....umm....beats me?

 

new asus port replicator??

http://laptopsinc.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=MXPR&Category_Code=DSMX

this says Portable One MX but the pics for the portable one MX looks like the Asus W3A/W3V/Z63A

http://www.laptopsinc.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=P1MX

 

The Asus W3v and the Portable One MX are the same machine.

 

so the port replicator should fit??!! aaaawesome! i think the W3V it is for me then!! it does say coming soon....anybody know when?

 

No, that port replicator will NOT work... if you see the bottom, it says
"Not compatible with MXW3V"
Which means it's not compatible with the Portable One MX/W3v...

 

no.... there's never going to be a port replicator for the W3 as it doesn't have anything proprietary on it.... like the M3 (z61) and M6 (z70) has....... so if there were one, it would be a usb option... and then it would work with anything.

 

oh. so does any Asus 12"/14" notebook support a port replicator?? what does the port-bar(power-bar??) do?

 

Yes, the Z61a (M3a) ....... 14" regular ratio / matte type display.

The port bar allows you to plug in your AC power / VGA to an external montior / 4 usb 2.0 ports / printer port / ethernet port ...... and then you just plug one cable into your computer and it's hot swappable....... So if you dock your system, it's certainly a very nice way to keep the system clear of all of these cables and obviously - keep you from plugging in a dozen cables everytime you come home or go to work.

 

no widescreen ASUS laptops are compatiable? uh oh..back to square one!

 

Well, the Z70 series... those are all widescreens at this point....... all 15.4" in the US anyway. And the only smaller widescreens Asus offer would be in the W3 and W5 series and neither have that type of connection.......

The main reason is due to the design shift that pulls the ports from the back of the unit and places the battery there. The systems seem to be a lot more balanced with these designs and the ports more easily reachable......... this of course only will tick off those who want to hook up and forget and wish everything was in the rear. But basically, but making the move they did, it lessens the room they have for such a port. Also, by making the units thinner, the ports aren't really stackable and will take up more room vertically........ giving you even less room. So the thinner these systems get, the harder it's going to be for locating ports.

It's a battle I'm sure they're aware of, but something has to give to better design and thinner, lighter systems...... eventually when they perfect wireless docking solutions, we won't have an argument....