Close to buying an Asus: Need Assistance

I've been lurking here for a while, and would appreciate any feedback on my purchasing decision.

After 5 glorious years of owning and using my Toshiba Portege 4000, I have officially maxed out the machine's capabilities and require a new "very"-portable. I am ready to retire the Portege to a nice end table for light web browsing and email.

After a nearly obsessive search, I am coming very close to a purchase, and am *very* impressed with Asus. I nearly purchased a Tecra M6, but (at the checkout form) backed down after stumbling across the W7J "(p)review". 2 weeks later, I want an Asus, but I need help.

I have been looking very closely at the W5F and W7J, but officially need guru
advice as I have trouble with the model numbers. Any help is greatly appreciated, as I'd like to act very soon (even if it means a pre-order). Here are my requirements:

Preface: I need the ability to go to 2GB RAM in the future / integrated optical.

1) What is your budget?
$2000 max

2) What size notebook would you prefer?
a. Ultraportable; 12" - 13" (no less)

3) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?
Medium to heavy business tasks, including:
-Some coding / development / database
-Diagramming and process flows (Visio, etc)
-Typical web/email/word proc stuff

4) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk?
Taking it with me will be its primary use. I have a desktop for when I work in the office, but frequently (3-4 times a week) need to be out and about at client sites managing other technical team members and their code.


5) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
Probably not. But it would be nice to have a non-integrated video card. Definitely *not* a deal breaker though.

6) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?
I like Asus and Toshiba. And Toshiba does not have anything (aside from the M6) that I am interested in.

7) How many hours of battery life do you need?
3hrs+ (more the better, but I will have access to AC power)

8) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?
No

9) What country are you buying this in?
USA


Screen Specifics

10) Would you prefer standard or widescreen?
Widescreen, but flexible.

11) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?
d. WXGA or WXGA+ - 1280x768/800 or 1440x900; Wider viewing version of XGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.

12) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?
No preference.


Build Quality and Design

13) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?
Sure, but not primarily.

14) How long do you want this laptop to last?
3+ years.


Notebook Components

15) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 120GB?
80GB minimum / preferably 7200RPM

16) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a DVD-ROM, DVD-CD/RW or DVD-RW drive?
Yes, DVD-RW (preferably) must be integrated.

So in a nutshell:
12 to 13" widescreen
Core Duo - 2ghz+
2GB RAM (capable - 1GB is ok to start)
80GB HDD
4.5lbs or lighter
Integrated optical
Integrated video good / standalone card great
$2000 max


Thanks!

 

ok you do have options.

I firstly wouldn't consider the W5F, no dedicated GPU, so I would cross it off the list, plus its too expensive lol.

W7J is nice, but, right now the total ram you can get is 1.5gb, in the future once the 2gb sticks come at a lower price then you can get 2.5gb max.

In case your wondering why the W7J is like that, it has 512mb integrated into the system and one slot for the user to use.

The W7J is 1500$ USD, it's a good price, plus a 1gb stick ($100) makes ur total $1600 USD (no taxes).
THe W7J is definately portable, looks like a real winner right now, but no DVI port, which should be really close to standard now a days. but w/e basicaly all ASUS notebooks don't have DVI .

Your need option is the W3J, this thing looks amazing, i've not seen it in real life, but wow, look at those pics and reviews!. The Price is $1800-1900.
The W3J is getting a slight increase in specs, and will be here by the end of June or early July.
14" 1280x768 Glossy
upgrade from a 1.8 to a 2.0ghz
100gb @5400 rpm
upgrade from 2x512 @ 667mhz to a 1gb stick @667mhz

THe price is expected to stay the same because of the recent Intel price drops.

The W3J would be nice for 2gb ram since you only have pay 100$ for another stick and put it in and your good, no loss of ram stick.

The W3J also has a modular bay battery in which you can take out and put in an extra HD ($40 for casing) + (cost of HD) or a 6 cell battery for more batterylife.

The W3J should get 3 hours, the modular bay battery would get you another hour, so your total is 4 hours. <-looks perfect but the lack of DVI and gets a little pricey, but its worth it.

A great option is the A8jm,
Has DVI, 5 USB ports! , looks are different from the W3J also build quality is good, but not as great as the W3J.
you get a 1.8ghz and 2x512 sticks of ram, and no bluetooth, also there's no word about the ugpraded version of it.
Price is around 1300-1500$, batterylife 3+ hours, no modular bay battery.
14" 1280x800 Glossy

You last option which may be the best, is the Z62f, which is a BOA model, which you can customize to your likings, and comes with a Go 7300GPU, with a 14" 1440x900 res glossy, this is something people wanted, and asus did deliver . THe price would be around 1400 or less.

Hope this helps.

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

Thanks for the reply, MG!

A couple of follow-up questions:
*I've seen conflicting weights on the W3J, is it < 5lbs? 5lbs or more is a deal breaker for me.

*Coming from a 4:3 12", am I going to notice much of a size difference going to a 14" widescreen? I'd be willing to if it wasn't a huge jump in size.

*The Z62f (edit) looks great! Dealbreaker question: will it simply *not support* 2GB RAM sticks in the single slot? Or is it listed as 1.5GB RAM max because 2GB sticks aren't widely available yet?

Thanks so much-

 

According to ProPortable's site for W3j:
~5.0 LBS w/ US standard 8 cell and travelers drawer
~5.4 LBS w/ US standard 8 cell and optical drive

Z62f current listed memory is up to 2GB on Geared2Play's site. 2GB sticks might be an option, but aren't widely available and are hideously expensive right now. What could you possibly need more than 2GB on a notebook for, especially one with integrated graphics??

 

Gotcha.. thats too heavy for me (just over my max). thx

 

Sorry to interrupt, but did you mean Z62J Mystic? I thought the Z62F had integrated graphics? The z62J is the one that will have WXGA+ (1440 x 900) right?

 

ah yes, i thot i mixed that up too, and then i got confused, but Darrick is right, i wanted to say Z62j, that has a Go 7300 and 14" 1440x 900 res, glossy.

Unfortunately all ASUS 14" laptops are roughly 5.5lbs each, and since you want less than 5 lbs, your outta luck, unless you wouldn't mind carrying an extra ~1.0lbs on you? Especially since you getting a better system, bigger screen, and better components? (up to you tho)

Here's a link to help you with 4:3 and 16:9 screen, (normal vs wide)
http://www.proportable.com/images/screensizeratio.jpg

Keyboard configuration for 12" laptops
http://www.proportable.com/images/keyboardcompare.jpg

Picture comparison of several laptops sizes
http://www.proportable.com/ensemblecomparison.htm

Big thanks to Justin at ProPortable for these images.

Aside Info:

Dell 600m
12.4" x 10.1" x 1.2"
5.3 lbs
14.1" SXGA (1024x768) Matte

ASUS W3J
13.1" x 9.8" x 1.2"/1.3"
4.8lbs (2.2kg) (real weight ~5.5lbs)
14" WXGA (1280x768) Glossy

ASUS A8jm
13.3" x 9.7" x 1.38"/1.48"
5.37lbs (2.44kg)
14" WXGA (1280x800) Glossy

ASUS W7J
12.5" x 9" x 1.15"/1.46"
4.29lbs (1.95kg)
13.3" WXGA (1280x800) Glossy

 

That W7J is looking very good to me right now. **** that 1.5GB RAM cap! But still- it might be the trade off I'm looking for.

Thanks for the normal vs. ws link- that's actually where my question arose from! I just need to go into a store and compare the screen / notebook sizes myself (with non-Asus brands). I just need an idea of how the ws affects the size...

Great info!

 

It sounds like what you really want is a lower-end Sony VAIO SZ I just bought an Asus A8j because I was willing to trade weight for bigger pixels and a better graphics card, but the Sony is only 4.2lb, has integrated Go7400 graphics, and you can customize a VGN-SZ240 with a 1.83ghz core duo and integrated dvd burner for $1570, plus ram.

 

Thanks- I'm not big on Sony as their machines typically under-perform and have a slew of bloatware installed.