Core 2 Duo W3j; V1j

Guys and Gals I need your help.

The shop from which I am probably gonna buy my V1J or W3J does finally offer Core 2 Duo processors on their website. This does not mean they are already available, though they have an agreement with ASUS, which allows them to customize processors.

The first Core 2 Duo's will be available in about ten days.

I know I'll to make the decission myself, but I appreciate your opinions, which one would you take? Personally, the weight and screen size of the W3J are also pretty attractive.


Option 1 - W3J

• T7200
• 1x 1024MB DDR 667MHZ
• 100GB 5400RPM

€ 1.731,00

Options:
Hitachi Travelstar 100GB 7200 RPM: €125
1 x 1GB Kingston memory: €125

Total, including options: €1981,-

Option 2 - V1J

• T7200
• 1x 1024MB DDR 667MHZ
• 100GB 5400RPM

€ 1.631,00

Options:
Hitachi Travelstar 100GB 7200 RPM: €125
1 x 1GB Kingston memory: €125

€1881,-

Would you be able to replace your processor yourself? If so, then I could also do the following:

Option 3 - W3J

• T2300
• 1x 512MB DDR 667MHZ
• 80GB 5400RPM

€ 1.233,00

Options:
Hitachi Travelstar 100GB 7200 RPM: €125
2 x 1GB Kingston memory: €245
T7200: €280,-
_________________
€650,-

€1883,-

 

Is the store that's offering this located in Holland?

I'm also deciding between those 2, I think the V1J will just edge it for me though.
As for you, between those 2, I think it comes down to what you think about the size.
If you can, go to the store and compare, and see what you prefer.
What GPU is on the V1J btw?

 

There are very few stores in Holland offering ASUS notebooks, yet there are many e-businesses offering them. Comparing them in real would be pretty hard.

But since the V1J is cheaper and a little more advanced I think I'll go as well with the V1J, even though it's a bit heavier and bigger.

Yes, it is located in NL... and the V1J has a T7200 [or T2400].

 

i wish thats how the prices were over here in the US, its the other way around..V1J about 3-400 more expensive...easy pick..the V1J

 

Could you post a link (or links?) to stores that offer or will offer the V1J? wonder how much sending from NL to Italy would be...

Is the V1J officially released with a t7200 over there? or is that a special store configuration?

 

This is a great thread comparing the W3J and the V1J with Merom, unfortunately not available in the North America Yet.

ASUS W3J
13.1" x 9.8" x 1.2"/1.3"
4.8lbs (2.2kg) 5.5lbs will all components
14" WXGA (1280x768) Glossy

ASUS V1J
14.4" x 10.4"x 1.1"/1.4"
6.2lbs w/all components?
15.4" WSXGA+ (1680x1050) Glossy

The V1J has much more features than the W3J. However many will pick the W3J over the V1J because it is a little more mobile than the V1J.

As for batterylife, we still don't know what's that like and the over performance and quality of the V1J and the screen and etc.

So far we know the W3J can get roughly 4.5-5.5 hours with the Main and modular bay battery combined, which would be nice for students and business people that travel.

However the features of the V1J for the business people, would appreciate the fingerprint reader and the ability to video conference.

As for your options, stick with Option 1 or 2, because the processor, Merom 2.0ghz gives you 4mb of cache and you don't have to worry about warranty issues.

 

BTW, I remember some early reports about V1Js that were released in Europe (with Core Duo, not 2) that weren't in a very good quality, had some issues, can't remember exactly what, and I think one of the resellers on here said they are "test" units or something along those lines, you might want to make sure that's not it.

 

I would like to have some links too plz

In anycase I think for me it would be best to play around with both or atleast have someone review the V1J before purchasing it, because I still have no clue on how it is.

I like the portability of the W3J and the batterylife, as i always say, i have no use for a DVD rom, and i love the Modular Bay Battery feature.

But if I were to buy a W3J, i would have to buy an External LCD that has both VGA and DVI ports, because I would like to hook up the LCD to my Desktop as a 2nd monitor and sometimes use the W3J with the LCD and game on it.

THe W3J is tried, tested and prooved itself many times over, as a great laptop, with awsome batterylife, and great looks.

Since the V1J is not available yet...we have to scour the internet just to find timbit sized information regarding it.

Sure we have plenty of pictures of the V1J, but i still want to know how good is the screen? Viewing angles? Scaling ability? Brightness? Batterylife on the Main, batterylife on the modular bay battery? And over quality of construction.

To me personally, buying the V1J would be a blind shot in the dark, that could end up being a hit or a miss. You know what I mean? Sure this laptop is one of top end laptops of ASUS but we still want to know how really great this laptop is when compared to an amazing laptop such as the W3J.

Basicaly what i'm trying to say is go for the W3J because it's well known for its outstanding performance.

But wait if you can try to, some how play around with the V1J before purchasing, you never know how good or not so good the V1J is, and you may end up dissapointing yourself.

On the otherhand, time is of the essence, and i know you and I have been waiting for the V1J for a long time, and we aer itching to have one to play with, I am confident that the V1J will satisfy anyone but, i still want others who actually own one to give comments about it before, I purchase it.

I know this may not help you totaly, but I would agree with MilestonePC on the option 1 and 2 for warranty issues, however you stated that this particular company will allow for you to change the CPU, thus saving you 100 Euros for option 3...If you feel comfortable enough go for option 3.

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

Well, there's no point judging or basing anything on the V1J untill a real consumer get's their hands on one and does a review or provides some information on it.

I think many here read the Mobile01 review of the V1J, but it still did not provide enough information, just a lot of pictures and some rambling that was hard to understand.

Also ASUS would never release a product that expensive and have it perform that terrible like that, test models are not a real example of the final product.

We will just have to wait and see how it turns out...or Empulse wil be one of the first here on the forums with a first hand experience with the V1J, in the coming weeks.

 

The site is http://www.laptops4u.nl/categorie/asus-3.html
Yair, if you need any help on shipping procedures or general questions, send me a PM.

I have been able to find a very detailed review, though it is in Czech. There must be a translator to translate the review... I couldn't find one.... anyone who knows how to do the trick?

Anyway, this is the link to the review: http://notebook.cz/__/,clanky,recenze-notebook,2006,Asus-V1J,index.html

* 3DMark 03: 6 872 bodů
* 3DMark 05: 3 919 bodů
* 3DMark 06: 1 787 bodů

Almost forgot why I initially did not want to take the W3J, thanks for remembering me!


One remark, MilestonePC (don't know your name) you're doing a great job over here on the forum, helping people as ASUS retailer! Thumbs up.

 

Thanks Empluse, I believe i've seen this review, and it is extremely hard to find a Czech translator, lol.

I will do some more digging around for a Czech translator and post a link if I can find one.

 

Yah, the LCD is something that i can use too.

Since i am a student.

The W3J would be nice for portability, has the modular bay battery for longer batterylife, i don't have to carry the A/C adapter.

But when i bring the laptop home, i need and LCD, but that costs money, I want a nice 17" LCD with good performance. I will also have to buy a LCD arm mount to move the LCD around my desk.

THe good thing, is that the LCD will move around and i can hook it up to my Desktop, and do 2 things at once, with my new Conroe desktop, that's still sitting in a box LOL.

But the V1J has ALL of the features anyone could want, but it is less portable, and according to that link of the Czech review, the batterylife is 2.3 hours? We still don't know what settings he used to get that, and on top of that the V1J is not available yet here in North America.

I will then have to use the V1J's to game on, so the V1J's screen is something I will have to rely on for scaling and great performance.

hmm its a tough choice, i like the W3J option because of the flexibility i have, but i like the V1J because its has everything! plus i don't have to buy an external LCD lol.

We'll see how things turn out across the next 2 months or so.

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

Cheers Empulse, I'll have to decide if I'm waiting for the US version to be released or I'm hitting the trigger and sending to my brother in Italy from NL.
Thanks for the offer.

 

From what I've heard about the V1J so far it's not THAT much bigger than the w3j, it's supposed to be "super" thin isn't it?

 

Yair, im' not sure if you saw my previous post, but have a look at the rough dimensions and wieght

ASUS W3J
13.1" x 9.8" x 1.2"/1.3"
4.8lbs (2.2kg) 5.5lbs will all components
14" WXGA (1280x768) Glossy

ASUS V1J
14.4" x 10.4" x 1.1"/1.4"
6.2lbs w/all components?
15.4" WSXGA+ (1680x1050) Glossy

The increased size in screen should decrease the batterylife of the V1J when compared to the W3J.

Yes the V1J is only 1" longer, 0.5" wider, and very slightly thicker. But you have to remember your sleeve or backpack that accomodates the W3J will not fit the V1J because of the slightly bigger dimensions.

If you look at the MBP dimensions, which is the lightest, thinest, and has the best dimensions for a 15.4" laptop.

MacbookPro 15"
14.1" x 9.6" x 1"
5.6lbs (2.54 kg)
15.4" WXGA+ (1440x900) Matte

Even this will not fit into a W3J sized sleeve, unless you really stretch it. It is still 1" longer than the W3J.

Then again regarding carrying and using a 14" vs a 15.4" in school and using it in tight areas, the W3J with the slightly smaller dimensions do make a difference, also the weight difference betweent he V1J and W3J should help too.

Many will argue that the increase Screen size and resolution is worth putting to Word Documents side by side and that even a 1lb difference in weight and the difference in physical size are worth getting the V1J, this is definately true.

Once again, it falls to personal preference, most students still use 14" and 15.4" laptops, you would have to take a friends laptop and put it to a test in your school environment, and see what fits you best.

The W3J and V1J will meet anyone's needs in many categories, the hard part is which one is MORE right/suitable for you.

 

Justin did say so... Though, it wasn't a test model. From what I've heard it was a production error and they all been taken back. According to a Dutch buyer the quality of the V1J was really awesome, comparable to the V6J. The problems occured with the resolution of the screen, which couldn't be set correctly.

 

Thanks for posting this again, I missed it the first time around...
As for the sleeve issue, I already have a 15.4 bag with a sleeve in it (got it as a present) so I can go for either the V1J with the bag and sleeve, or the w3j with a smaller sleeve but same bag...

I'm not really worried about weight, the difference in weight between a 14.1 and a 15.4 isn't that big, and I'm a strong guy

 

yes Yair, many feel the same way as you do.

Here's a translation of the review, its not easy to read through but its the best that a free translator can do.
http://www.tranexp.com:2000/InterTr...1J,index.html&type=text&text=&from=che&to=eng

For those who don't want to read it, the end conclusions was:

Pros:
Excellent Quality
Quality Screen
Webcam

Cons:
Excessive Heat
Poor battery life

Since the review is hard to read through, it is difficult to conlclude on what caused the heat to be excessive and what were his settings for the batterylife testing.

 

Thanks, we really do need to find a Czech translator in here...
Battery life doesn't worry me unless it's really REALLY poor (30 minutes ) as I'll probably have a power outlet wherever I go, and I don't have long drives/flights to worry while I'm still in Uni.
The heat issue is something we'll have to keep on checking I guess.

 

That review claims the V1J has an "Up Sign" sounds interesting

 

The review said the X1600's core is at 470MHz which I think is pretty much the maximum specced by ATI. It's wierd that with a bigger chassis, which implies better ventilation, the V1J's gaphics memory isn't clocked very aggressively at all. It's only at 370MHz. That means that the core's high clocks are crippled by lack of memory bandwidth, which means the GPU is spinning excess heat and power unnecessarily. I believe the W3J's X1600 is a more balanced 450/450.

 

Both excellent, but if I really have to choose I will definetely go for the V1J. More gadgets, and more practical. I have no exp on the V1J though, also read no reviews so far, but I will still buy the V1J! I sold my A6, now I'm saving up for the V1J...

 

I've just asked the questions regarding the battery life and excessive heat to someone on a Dutch forum who bought it two weeks ago. He said he´s very happy with it and not experiencing problems at all. Let´s see what he says though.

 

I want to see the next-gen W3J, hopefully with the NVidia go7700 and a DVI port and WSXGA+ resolution. Give me that with W3J's build quality and that would be it for me.

 

The V1J is 'it' for most, and hoping for more sounds like stretching your dreams (and probably wallet, at least the students') a bit too far.

That resolution also sounds nasty for a 14" screen, things would get really small there (no firsthand experience, a gut feeling). But for those who can cope with it, what you mentioned would be just about the holy grail of portable notebooks!

But maybe getting the V1J in the U.S. to you guys is all to hope for, for now. Let's just be happy that ASUS brought us these two great models, since so many have made a couple too many frustratingly wrong choices in their line of notebooks, be it materials/components, graphics card, pricing, build quality... or all of them and more.

 

Well, they did it in the A8Js(thought I wonder what heat problems that one will have), so to do that in the more expensive W3J isn't too much of a stretch I hope!

 

That's not what I heard. The next-gen (Core 2 Duo) W3j comes with a Mobility Radeon X1700.

 

Oh man, so close, yet so far. Don't get me wrong, it's not that its ATI or anything, it's just that I've heard the x1700 isn't a major improvement.

 

Though it's a pretty much confirmed, who knows? As long as it's not officially announced, there can always be changes.

 

i can still dream I guess

 

Any idea when those MR X1700 ones will be out? I thought the Merom W3J- refreshes still use the same MR X1600 just changing the processor. That's what the ASUS website says.

 

I have the magic answers

Batterylife 3 - 3.5 hours
Build quality: very great
Heat: pretty hot...

 

Please elaborate. Just the standard or with modular bay battery? Screen brightness? Bluetooth/no? Etc...

Btw. Europeans, you might know: Since the modular bay substitutes (battery/others) are probably not ending up here in Finland any time soon (and obviously not coming with the laptop), I'll have to order from abroad. Where'd you get yours and at what price?

 

3.5 at lowest settings I would assume.

 

The batterylife statement can actually be correct.

Since the V1J's main battery is 77watts, and the W3J roughly uses 20-23watts per hour with 50% screen brightness, light tasks, battery saving mode, no dvd, with wifi on.

you can expect 77watts divided by 25 watts = 3 hours, maybe more if you can bring the discharge rate even lower, by turning off wifi or lowering the screen brightness.

Empulse, if you can ask your friend to tell us his discharge rate, with the best battery saving techniques that would be great to tell how the batterylife is.

As for the excessive heat, it would be interesting to know if he was gaming to achieve this heat or was he actualy using it on battery? lol, in anycase we would need more information regarding that.

 

As cor assumed, lowest settings (no bluetooth, WiFi, mod. bay) low screen brightness et. (3-3.5 hrs)

Edit still waiting for answer on the heating issue.

 

The heating issue has also been answered.

It does get hot... but only when gaming. When doing Office applications it should be pretty silence; without getting too hot.

 

add in dual gpu..with an integrated one for when you're on battery..plus add a decent 9cell for 6+ hours with an improved modular bay for a potential 9 hours..then it'd be holy grail material

 

Empulse wrote on Sept. 20: > The first Core 2 Duo's will be available in about ten days.

This has shown to be correct. Yesterday (Sept. 30) I ordered the V1J with a Merom T7200, from the (Dutch) online shop Empulse had put a link for in his second posting of that day.

If you follow that link, then enter 'V1J' in the box that says 'ZOEKEN' (SEARCH), you will be taken to the V1J-AJ004P. Click that one and on the page that follows you can choose how you'd like your V1J to be: You can, for instance, choose between a Merom T7200, a T7400 and a T7600. With the T7200 it says: 30/09 VERWACHT. 'Verwacht' means: expected.

As said, the V1J I ordered is with a T7200. Further: 2048 MB DDR2 and a 100 GB 7200 rpm hard drive. Price total: € 1956, tax (16%) included ($ 2482, £ 1326).

It has taken a daily search for weeks (through which I discovered this forum) before I finally found a 'Merom V1J' available in Holland. Until now (i.e. according to extensive googling) a factory-made V1J with Merom (T7200) in Western Europe is only available in Scandinavia, Finland, Poland, Switzerland and Spain. Not in the Netherlands nor in Germany.

Although this thread started with a help question as to the choice between a W3J and a V1J, I can't comment on the W3J as I never looked in to that model. The reason is that I wanted a screen diagonal of at least 15 inches. My decision for an ASUS notebook has been about a choice between a W1J and a V1J. I decided for the V1J because the W1J felt to be just too much for my needs. It's a very 'multimedia-ed' 17 inch 'notebook', for instance with an analog and terrestrial digital TV tuner in it: Very nice with the W1J is the HDMI interface and the HD DVD burner (although one cannot tell yet if the latter will become the standard or Blue Ray will. Who knows, maybe in time it will be combined just as happened with the +R and -R, if technically and 'politically' possible).

As I use my notebook in the living room 99% of the time, where all of the multimedia equipment is available anyway, I decided for the V1J. My original plan was to wait for the 2nd wave Merom on the Santa Rosa platform (expected End of Q1 2007). Intel will come out with Robson Technology NAND flash, meaning (part of) the OS and apps to be in cache. According to ars technica, Intel says this bisects boot time and prolongs battery life as less action from the hard disk is required. Link below.
As however my four year old Toshiba Satellite died a couple of weeks ago, I decided not to wait for Santa Rosa and went for the V1J, but waited till Yonah had been replaced by Merom, as I wanted to have 64 bit and the bigger L2 cache.
I have very few gripes with the V1J in terms of specifications/features. One of those few is that it has no Cardbus slot. The Express Card slot is not compatible with Cardbus meaning I will have to give up my 108 Mbit/s 802.11a/g Cardbus wlan client. Another one is that it has 3x USB 2.0, where I'd personally had preferred four (using a usb-based Wi-Fi adapter for a wireless keyboard taking up 'usb-space'). But you can't have it all. Fortunately a docking station can be connected to the V1J, This is the ASUS Powerstation F/ V1J (90-N8BPS1001) giving you even 5x USB 2.0

Article about Robson cache technology:

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20051018-5446.html

 

Neenah, is that V1j an official Asus C2D release or it it just the Core Duo version that has been customized?

 

It's a customized Core Duo V1J

 

Neenah, I am interested in the V1J, I looked at laptops4u.nl Website and figured that its a good price. Now, I live in the netherlands myself so there will be no additional tax added right? Another question, will the price fall till after xmas? i can wait till then, is it worth to wait? is the notebook a stock C2D or do they just change the CPU in the store? is there a difference?

 

exxi, I too think that price is favorable. If you take a look (in my first posting) at the configuration I've ordered and compare this to the best priced V1J (€ 2100) I've found on German websites, and then take into account that the German version is with a Core Duo CPU (Yonah T2500), while mine is a Core 2 Duo (Merom T7200), I think it is a good deal. (The only better spec with the German version is a _120_ GB hard disk, but 5400 rpm).

There is no additional tax. The price I mentioned in my first posting includes the Dutch Value Added Tax of 19%, in Holland called BTW.

Below you see the pre-invoice I received per mail after my order:

1 x V1J-AJ004P (V1J-AJ004P) = € 1.956,00
Garantie 2 jaar pick up & return garantie (Alleen in Ned.)
Besturingssysteem MS Windows XP Prof NL/UK/FR
Processor Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 (2.0GHz; 667Mhz FSB; 4MB L2) 30/09 verwacht
Geheugen 2048MB DDR2 667MHz (2x1024)
Harde schijf 100GB S-ATA 7200RPM

1 x NEC USB Floppy Disk Drive (50025946) = € 39,00
------------------------------------------------------
Sub-Totaal: € 1.676,47
BTW: € 318,53
Verzendkosten: € 17,50 via Verzendkosten voor remboursement
Totaal: € 2.012,50


Whether the the price wil decrease after Christmas I cannot know. General experience says that it does, but I can't be held responsible if it doesn't. I am not a vendor. Maybe it is worth to wait should you figure you want to have a _stock_ C2D V1J.
The notebook as I ordered it, is, as I explained in both my previous postings not a stock C2D. As said I haven't seen a stock 'Merom V1J' available yet in Holland. Just in Scandinavia, Finland, Poland, Switzerland and Spain. As I did not want to wait any longer because my Toshiba Satellite died a couple of weeks ago, I figured ordering the Core Duo V1J, but having it modified by the vendor i.e. with a T7200 CPU, twice the memory and a 7200 rpm hard disk.

The fact that replacement of the Yonah by the Merom in the V1J is possible, I've seen in power consumption test from the German PC magazine PC Welt:
Im Praxis-Test mit dem Mobile Mark 2005 zeigte sich der Core 2 Duo stromhungriger als sein Vorgänger. Mit dem T7200 schaffte das Asus V1J 2:25 Stunden Laufzeit. Eine Viertelstunde länger hielt es mit dem Core Duo 2500 durch. Der Stromverbrauch für das gesamte Notebook stieg dabei um rund drei Watt – von 28,5 auf 31,4 Watt. Da wir bis auf den Prozessor keine Komponenten des Mobilrechners veränderten, ist der Core 2 Duo für diesen zusätzlichen Verbrauch verantwortlich.

http://www.pcwelt.de/tests/hardware-tests/notebooks/57878/index5.html

Translation:
In the real life test with Mobile Mark 2005 the Core 2 Duo showed to be more power-hungry than its predecessor. With the T7200 the ASUS V1J achieved 2:25 hours of operating time. With the Core Duo 2500 it achieved 15 minutes more. The power consumption of the complete notebook increased by aprox. 3 Watt - from 28.5 to 31.4 Watt. As we, except for the processor, did not change any components of the mobile computer, the Core 2 Duo is responsible for this additional power consumption.

 

Neenah, thanks for the professional advice. Great, I think i will wait until the device hits the stores as a stock model. hope ya will have fun with yours.

 

Thank you too exxi (also for your wish for me to have fun with the V1J).
Monday, Oct. 2nd I got notice from the vendor that the delivery time is 6-10 working days. I guess this somewhat long period has to do with the Meroms now coming in (and because of this, maybe also an increase in the amount of orders for vendor-modified notebooks. It's just a guess from my side).

I can understand you would want to wait for a stock model. I too would have preferred one (for me it has a stronger feeling of confidence, but the vendor might proove me wrong once the modified V1J arrives at my place). But I just didn't want to be 'notebookless' for too long a period (and I was sure I wanted the V1J).

Below I've put a link to a Scandinavian vendor (maybe you have seen the site already, I don't know) for you to have a look at the config (features) of the V1J they have there. Although the language is Norwegian, you knowing at least Dutch and English, will have no problem in understanding most (if not all) of the notebook's description.

Norwegian KR 19995 = €2397 = $3055 = £1618.

Click on the tab: 'Utvidet info' (means: Extended info)

As I see the same config from a different vendor in Poland and in Spain, I must assume that these models are C2D V1J stock models. Hope the C2D V1J will arrive soon for all people waiting for one in countries where it isn't yet.

http://www.komplett.no/k/ki.asp?sku=324291

http://www.sklepkomputerowy24.pl/product.php?id=2319&id_categories=0

http://www.lesslantienda.com/portatiles_producto.asp?id=1284

 

So there is Merom Core 2 Duo V1J?!

Option 2 - V1J

* T7200
* 1x 1024MB DDR 667MHZ
* 100GB 5400RPM

€ 1.631,00

how much would that be in US dollars?

some country has a stock c2d v1j? I was in Lugano Switzerland in June when visiting Italy. I guess i wasnt out then or I could have got.

Switzeland is Francs right? what is the exchange rate to usd for that? man, rememer when the usd was strong?

So for ppl in North America wanting to get a v1j with c2d, what is the merchants that ship to america with best price?!

in another thread ppl said importing from the UK would be to expensive because of the euro to usd conversion.

I'm about to order a V6j for $1727 which is an amazing price and then just get a T7200 later and try to install or have shop do it. Amazon has t7200 for good price available for pre order.

I guess these c2d cpu's are available in notebooks from vendors but not quite available for purchase alone yet?

Anyway is the V1j similiar to the v6j but better. i know its a 15.4" wide screen. is it still thin light and semi portable like v6j?

is the v1j a better laptop to buy as it is newer etc. that i will regret if i get a v6j?

please help cus i'm ready to just get the v6j at that great price and worry about upgrading to merom later.

 

Quatre: From the links in my previous posting, one must assume that stock V1J with c2d exist in various European countries. I haven't seen one in Holland or Germany yet. (I live in NL and close to the German border and buy PC gear on both sides).

On a UK-site I just saw this (a V1J c2d T7200, with ATI 1700, 2058 DDR2 and 160 GB hard disk):

http://www.morecomputers.co.uk/textra.asp?pn=V1JP-AJ003P&referer=PCpro

Your question, how much is € 1661 in US Dollars. It's $ 2055
(Please note that currency conversions my vary depending on which online currency converter you use...).

Since a day or two, the vendor I got my V1J from has a new offering. It concerns a V1J c2d (see 'V1J-AJ017H' from the link below). I don't know whether this is a stock notebook or a vendor-modified one. _Seems_ to me it is the latter [because when you click 'Technische Details' (Technical Details) you see the mentioning of Core Duo next to the notebook's photo]. In any case, the price for it is (already) over € 100 ($ 126) less than for my T7200 V1J when I ordered it 7 days ago.

http://www.laptops4u.nl/xtrazoekdetails?keywords=v1j

For a correct understanding: I have no commercial personal tie to the vendor other than that I purchased the modified V1J from him.

Yes Switzerland has Francs. Switzerland is not part of the EU, so it has no Euro. Google for an online currency converter and you can see the Swiss Franc - USA Dollar ratio for yourself.

Merchants in Europe who ship to USA I don't know. Should you find one, pay attention to the fact that the power sockets and jacks are different in the UK, and again different in Europe, and in any case different from the US. You will need a power adptor that is fitted for the US or a converter. Also the keyboard arrangement is different. In UK the keyboard is pratically the same as in USA and NL (a qwerty board), but in Germany it is a qwertz board (and also has the letters with Umlauts on it: ä, ö, ü). In France and in the french-speaking part of Belgium it is an azerty board.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QWERTZ

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AZERTY

Importing can be expensive. Not just because of the ratios beteen British Pound (UK has no Euro!) and Euro on the one side and the US Dollar on the other, but also because of the shipping cost. Add to this that the UK is not known for low priced PCs (compared to, for instance, Germany, Netherlands or the US).

> I guess these c2d cpu's are available in notebooks from vendors but not quite available for purchase alone yet.

They are. Below an example in NL and another in Germany:

http://www.komplett.nl/k/search.asp?q=core 2 duo t7200

http://www.preistrend.de/Preisvergl..._MB_Box__x73077E0304757A07764D027D740F71.html

About my vendor-modified V1J: I have it on the desk for two days now, almost finished installing, and up to now I can say that this V1J is in perfect order.
I have only one 'contra' and that is that _for me_ the native resolution of 1680 x 1050 makes desktop icons, and especially text, just too small. Smaller than I previously was aware of anyway. I must mention however that I sit at approx. 2 m. (6.6 ft.) from my notebook while watching tv, operating the notebook via a wireless keyboard. If this 'small-icon-and-text issue' would be an item for you as well, than I guess you would be better off with the V6J as it does not have a wide screen and has 1400 x 1050. (If I use the V1J with 1400 x 1050 in order to enlarge, icons are 'pressed flat' somewhat, text becoming somewhat fuzzy and looking as if it's boldface).

For the rest there are no _grand_ differences between the V6J and the V1J models, as I see it. If I were you, I'd just have a look at those differences (for instance 4800mAh versus 5200mAh, nVidia 7400 versus ATI 1600) and decide what I'd like best. I cannot comment on the nVidia 7400 as I never had one in a notebook.

Quatre, $1727 seems like a really good price, although in different countries there a different versions (hard disk capacity, amount of memory, CPU version), so one must be a bit cautious with comparisons.

> is it still thin light and semi portable like v6j?

Yes it is.


My reason to go for the V1J was the 15.4 inch screen, the docking station possibility and the looks.
Nice with the V6J, in my opinion, is that it has 4x USB whereas the V1J has 3x USB. Please notice that both the V6J and the V1J have an ExpressCard slot (and no CardBus slot). ExpressCard is _not_ compatible with PCMCIA / PC Card / CardBus).
Please also notice that with the V1J (and as far I can see, also with the V6J), you will have a hard time finding the PCI bus drivers for the sound card. Many have been searching for them until the point of exhaustion. It all comes down to the HDA (High Definition Audio) package that must be installed with the V1J, before you can install the sound card drivers. This is not an issue with ASUS only; owners of other-brand modern notebooks have been confronted with this theme as well. After I found the HDA package and installed it (WDM_R147.exe), it was possible to install the sound card drivers from the ASUS driver CD that came with the V1J. After that the V1J had its sound.

http://downloadfinder.intel.com/scr...dmirror.intel.com/df-support/11036/eng/kb8881 11.exe&agr=&ProductID=954&DwnldId=11036&strOSs=&OSFullName=&lang=eng

 

As the last link from my previous posting was incomplete, here a new try:

http://downloadfinder.intel.com/scr...54&DwnldId=11036&strOSs=&OSFullName=&lang=eng

 

neenah,

thank you for such a great and informative post including so much like where someone from NA might import the v1j and warnings that go along with that.

the mini v1j review and even comparison to the v6j was great not just for someone decidning between one or the other but also to compare it to a model we are more familiar with in NA.

I'm typing from a pda phone(with qwerty thmb keyboard) so its harder to see all of your post again to ask further specific questions but you really clarified so well that it didn't leave me with so many more questions.

I did realize there would be an incompatibility with the power cors but figured it was the same connection on the laptop with just a different plug at end which one could use a converter or just possibly find or order a US compatible power cord from another laptop even. I wast clear if you sad power cord connection on the laptop was the same on every laptop or not cus on one hand you made it seem it was but then something else you said made it seem not but I'm thinking/assuming it is the same connection for power cord on laptop just with diff plug end depending on the country.

but this minor thing and other concerns are enough to make it seeem less and less worth it to import.

thanks for the clarification on the keyboard and it sounds like someone in NA would only want to import from the uk and netherlands then for the same qwerty he US uses or mostly the same as you said.

being that and that uk laptop prices aren't usually so good (though that first uk price quote you listed didn't seem too bad) seems the netherlands would be best place to import from and specifically laptops4u I guess as you said that was where you got yours and the price even went down some.

alas there is still some concerns with importing and I think it would take a merchant who was setup to accommodate NA customers wth NA power cord, whatever other parts software etc might otherwise not be compatible and then reasonable shipping rate to NA (US & Canada)

this would actually be and profitable idea for an overseas merchant to do as europe seems to get more and more models sooner or that we don't get at all that ppl are interested in. the v1j being one of them. they wouldn't have much competition either at least not at first till other euro merchants saw the money that could be made selling to NA.

even better if they had an affiliate over in the US especially for customized machines that the dealer takes over the warranty for. and to reduce shipping cost by having overseas dealer ship to their NA partner and then US custome just pays normal shipping rate for within own country.

anyway, I guess I will just stick to the v6j with the t2500 (2ghz yonah core duo) and since the v1j seems almost too similar, maybe will just consider one that is being released here with c2d. either smaller then v6j but better vid card 14'' w3j due out this month or the larger then v6j 17'' w2P. especially the later if it has hddvd drive.

was also interested in the w1j that we never got here but now with the thinking that I have the 15'' area covered with the v6j could consider the W2j or go even smaller then 14'' w3j with something like w5f.

will have to see but were talking a second laptop already and giving v6j to wife instead of sharing.

I'm sure v6j has mostly what I need and though regularly I would just game on desktop pc, until I upgrade that again it would be nice to have laptop with good vid card pref the ati x1600 or 1700.

so best laptop for gaming might be part of the foucus for my personal laptop where as wife doesn't need/want to game so v6j will be perfect for her and she wanted 15' screen.

maybe 17'' for me (again W2p looks exciting). and then getting way ahead of myself a smaller then 15'' for travel portablilty but the v6j should be good for that.

 

Quatre, thank you for your compliments.

> I did realize there would be an incompatibility with the power cors but figured it was the same connection on the laptop with just a different plug at end (snip).

Yes I figured that as well. That's why I did not refer to it specifically. I must mention however that one can never take things for granted. Before buying anything, it needs scrutiny.
The power adapter that came with my V1J is an ADP-90SB BB, mating with IEC C6 (the 3-pin connection where the wall socket power cable meets the actual adapter) from Delta Electronics, on the laptop-side having the 'typical' 90 degree bent connector (1.5/4.7 inner/outer diameter) to the laptop, used with many ASUS laptop models.

Using a converter works fine. My company laptop, an ASUS M2400N, is a German version (I work in Germany). Germany (and various other European countries) is on 220-240V / 50 Hz. When I visit the company's Head Quarter in Taiwan [110V / 60 Hz (as in the US, and with the same type wall socket as in the US)], I use a converter with my 'German' laptop, and all is fine.

But as I got your drift (i.e. you will not be importing), the power adapter theme is of little importance.


> and it sounds like someone in NA would only want to import from the uk and netherlands

Speaking about the keyboard on a laptop: yes.


> (though that first uk price quote you listed didn't seem too bad)

Looking at UK sites there seems to be a tendency since a while towards more consumer-friendly prices
A research (shown on Belgian TV about 1½ year ago) concerning prices for PC gear in the EU said that the country with the most consumer-friendly prices is Germany (with an exception regarding printers and scanners: this, according to the research, is France and Luxemburg).


> laptops4u I guess as you said that was where you got yours and the price even went down some.

Both correct


> anyway, I guess I will just stick to the v6j with the t2500 (2ghz yonah core duo)

The price you mentioned at which you can get this one is just fine


> and since the v1j seems almost too similar

With the proviso that configurations may differ per country:

Match:
CPU, chipset, DDR2 possibilities, DVD-format possibillities, Gigabit LAN, Bluetooth, V92 fax/modem, 802.11 a/b/g, ExpressCard

Non-match:
No DVI interface with V6J, non-wide 15" screen with V6J (wide screen 15.4" with V1J), 1400 x 1050 with V6J (1680 x 1050 with V1J) ,nVidia 7400 on V6J (ATI 1600 on V1J), Ultra DMA hard disk on V6J (SATA on V1J), 4x USB on V6J (3x on V1J), no docking port on V6J, no swappability on V6J.


> maybe will just consider one that is being released here with c2d.

If you want 64 bit and 4 MB cache you will need to go for a c2d of one of the following models: T7200 or T7400 or T7600.
The German ASUS site is mentioning it now (V6J with c2d). See the first row on the right under 'Specification'.
I hope the US will follow shortly.

If you have difficulty seeing it on your PDA-phone, it says:
Intel® Core™ Duo Processor T2000 Sequence: 1.60GHz-2.16GHz, 2MB On-Die L2 Cache, 667 MHz
Intel® Core™2 Duo Processors T7600/T7400/ T7200/T5600/T5500: 2.33GHZ-1.66GHz, 667MHz, 4MB/2MB L2 cache


http://de.asus.com/products4.aspx?modelmenu=2&model=1010&l1=5&l2=26&l3=156


> especially the later if it has hddvd drive
> was also interested in the w1j

I too was interested in the w1j (which has HD DVD).
But as said in a previous posting, it is just too much a multimedia notebook _for me_ who uses the notebook in the living room where all multimedia gear and digital TV is available anyway.
And about the HD DVD, it's not clear what the standard will be: HD DVD or Blue Ray.

I understand your deliberations and concerns. In fact you are 'torn between three lovers', your wife's notebook need, your need for portability and the herewith 'conflicting' need for quality gaming on a notebook
Who knows, in time you might end up with all three, being the one to envy.