F3Jm vs A8Jm

F3Jm starts to be available today, talked to an Asus rep, Asus is quite confident on F3Jm sales, even feels it will be sold more than A8Jm.

The major reasons:

F3Jm has XP Pro vs A8Jm has XP Home;

Also I feel F3Jm SHOULD run cooler than A8Jm because it is bigger.

I will give more update after I play with it.

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15.4" Performance Centrino: F3Jm-AP012P

Part Number: 90NI3A911453421L200Y

UPC CODE: 610839478774

Specification

CPU: Core Duo T2400

LCD Size & Resolution: 15.4" WXGA (1280 x 800) Glossy

MB Chipset: Intel 945PM

Optical Drive: 8x DVD-RW Dual Layer

Memory: DDR2 1024MB x 1

VGA Card: nVidia 7600 512MB

Hard Drive: 100GB 5400RPM

WLAN: 802.11 A/B/G

LAN/Fax Modem: 10/100/1000, Fax Modem

Battery/Run Time: Li-ion 6-cell/4 hrs

USB/1394/IrDA/S-Video: 4/1/0/1

Bluetooth: YES

Card Reader/PCMCIA: 4-in-1/ Express Card

Color/Weight/Height: Grey/6.5lbs/1.1 ~ 1.6"

Warranty: 1 Yr Global

Operating System: XP PRO

Other Special Features:

Color Shine

1.3 MegaPixel Camera

Audio DJ

Touch Pad Lock

Power 4 Gear+

Battery Re-Callibration

F3Jm vs A8Jm


















---------------------------------------------

My major work tonight is to test the battery life, I and using F3Jm now and will also give you guys some impression of it.

I am using an external optical mouse as usual, set brightness to about 55-60% to test the battery life, doing
internet browsing and word processing.

Vent and air:
I can feel the fan is running, but at very low speed,the air comes out of the vent at the rear right corner, but I feel it is cool air, not warm. No side vent, it deosn't like W3J and A8Jm have hot air blowing out from right side of the notebook, I think this is a good change.

Temperature:
Very cool, I have been using it for about 25 minutes by now, really cool, one of the coolest notebooks for sure, with my use, I dont feel any part of the keyboard get warm at all. right palm temperature changed a LITTLE bit, but if i don't try to look for the change, I can barely feel the temperture change.

One side note:
The fan is almost always on( during my more than 2 hour use ), but very low speed, low noise, cool air, won't bother me, maybe this is why it has very low teperature.


Keybord:
Quite and soft, keys has longer travel distance than many notebooks.

Now 34 minutes passed, battery shows 81% / 2:17 hours left.

After 1 hour of light use, battery shows 64% / 1:37 hours left.

After 2 hour of light use, battery shows 25% / 35 minutes left.

After 2:25 hours, battery shows 10% / 14 minutes left, got a warning, please connect power immediately.

---------------------------------------------------------
Compare: Here was the test I did before for W3J and A8Jm under the same use

A8Jm: 2 hours 45 min
W3J: 2 hours 50 min.
( both mid brightness, wireless on, external optical mouse, internet browsing and typing, the time I mentioned above is the time I got battery low warning, with 7% left )


Viewing angle: not bad, I can still read it at 30 degree from both top and side:





.

 

That F3Jm looks awsome. Does the video card have all 512MB of ram or is some of it shared?
Tim

 

Tim, I believe the video card is exactly the same as the one in A8jm, so it should be 512Mb dedicated ram

MilestonePC.com, if it starts to be available today, does that mean customizations will be finished tomorrow? I'll PM you about this one

Basically, I found that the A8Jm and the F3Jm to be 99% the same, except for the Bluetooth function and the size. Since they go for the same price at MilestonePC, I went with F3Jm. And now I can't wait to pick it up!

Yin

 

http://forum.purepc.pl/index.php?showtopic=209030 here's a bunch of pics, Asus F3ja (the one with X1600)

 

ooh! from mastha212's link, it appears that the keyboard layout is better, with the Ctrl on the lower-left instead of the second key over. also, the exhaust is at the rear instead of on the right.

i hope that's the same for the f3jm model as well

 

No 8-cell primary + No optical battery = No interest.

Also, there's no way you're gonna get 4 hours out of that primary 6-cell with those specs, a larger screen, and bluetooth. The A8Jm barely manages 3 hours with WiFi as it is.

 

Asus should make it a BIOS option to swap the Ctrl and Fn functions so everyone's happy.

I agree with sabrewulf, sucks that it seems none of the mainstream Asus models are gonna have the modular optical bay anymore. It's pretty hefty too especially with just the 6-cell stock.

 

Two questions.

How is the keyboard layed out? I am trying to figure out what is up with the ENTER key in the pictured F3Jm versus the previously pictured F3Ja

The other question is with regards to the "external" graphics as listed on the Asus website, what is the difference compared to the A8Jm which does not list their graphics as "external"?

F3Jm vs A8Jm Comparison

Thanx.
Sammy

 

is the screen the same as the s96j?

 

If you are wondering about the graininess issue, I believe since the F3JM has a 7600 you will not have this problem.

 

When will WSXGA be available?

 

The only current models that Asus has put the higher res screen on are the BoA Z96j, and the V6j (plus the revision on the W2, whenever it gets here in the Fall, but that might just be the US market version rather than a worldwide model change). I wouldn't hold my breath..... I doubt the screen res will ever be changed, but certainly not before the F3 undergoes a major revision (if ever).

 

Hm, still can't decide between the two. I decided againsta the Z96J since it does not have a global warrenty so I have gone back to the ensamble series.

 

Just added some comparision photo to the first post of this thread, what to compare, you can also check the photo here.

 

On my forum the guy with F3ja confirmed that his laptop got 9-cell battery as a standard. About 4 hours battery life.

 

How much do these laptops cost? Please dont say over $1500 including tax.

 

Should I have gotten a F3j than a Z96j??

 

Thanks for the pics! I am still kinda leaning toward the A8JM even though it does not have BT. However, I will only use BT for my Axim which also supports irda which I know most laptops have. Even though you're looking at roughly an inch less the 14" just looks like something I'd be more willing to pull out at any time and any place of the day. The 15.4 just looks a bit too big, and I might think twice about setting the monster on my lap. Oh, and I forgot to mention that I'll be in Beijing for a year, which is very very crowded with people. Every little inch counts!

 

no I am wondering about the quality of the lcd screen and whether it is any different than the one of the same resolution used in the s96j

 

Some more update added in the first post: about battery and impressions.

 

my first impression: (even before i've turned it on for the first time)

I LOVE IT! as i've said to a friend, it's the sweetest plastic-metal-silicon-liquid-crystal thing in the world!

the exhaust air vents are at the rear, the keyboard layout is more to my liking, and the chassis is very beautiful. according to MilestonePC, i'm the first owner in North America of the F3Jm! i feel proud.

i'll get back to you guys after some fiddling with it.

yin

p.s. price on original config is $1699 CAD before tax.

 

How is the screen compared to the a8jm? are the viewing angles better or worse? is there a sparkle effect?

 

I received mine yesterday, standard available config in Sweden, 1680*1050 and120gb sata is probably the main differences from the first post. All I can say so far is what an amazing piece of hardware, I was afraid quality was going to suffer badly at this price level (considering how much they've put into this beauty) but so far nothing to complain about.

Edit:
It was a 1gb module only, not 2*512 as it said in the specs (good change, now a upgrade to 2gb feels a little bit closer)

 

well,

the a8jm uses a brighter backlight than the s96j. IF the this machine uses the same lcd as the s96j, it will be dimmer.

BUT it will be a 16 ms response time lcd vs the a8jm 25 ms display. they are both made by auo optronics you can look up the displays of both those machines on the auo home site.

I dont know what lcd this machine uses Im quite interested.

 

I think it will be extremely similar.

The z has a higher resolution lcd. The f3 has a 512 mb 7600 which I would consider superior.

They look extremely similar

 

Sure looks like a nice 15.4" gaming option. Congratulations to the new owners!

 

ok this is a link to what im talking about

http://www.auo.com/auoDEV/products.php?sec=notebook&func=items&items_id=2

http://www.auo.com/auoDEV/products.php?sec=notebook&func=info&product_id=14&items_id=2
http://www.auo.com/auoDEV/products.php?sec=notebook&func=info&product_id=89&items_id=2

 

You sure the Go7600 is superior to the X1600? It's a tough call from what I can see. There is a lot of discrepancy between benchmark results and comparisons.

 

It's nice to see an Asus 15.4" laptop that runs cool and gets decent battery life(considering it's only a 6cell 4800mAh). Where is the headphone output on the laptop? I see it listed under the specs at milestonepc but not in the pics. I'm hoping it's not on the front like the SPDIF and Line ins. I don't need the dedicated graphics so I'm not sure the extra $300 or so over the Sager 6630 is worth it but it's nice to have an Asus option also.

 

the headphones and mic jacks are in the front, right next to the latch button.

yin

 

F*ck, just found out that my F3Ja suffers from the dithering problem, screen is totally useless for me. Doing photography and webbdesign/development isn't possible with this problem.

 

Dithering problem? What would that be?
You've also got a high-res screen that North American F3JMs don't have.
I was thinking of using the F3JM for photo/video work, but with an external
matte screen monitor. Apparently, you can't properly calibrate a glare-type screen for good pre-press results.

 

The x1600 laptops have a dithering problem making the screens totally useless for anything remotely important for design and photography. I'm well aware of the limitations of a laptop, but this goes way below acceptable levels. The F3Jm uses a nvidia card so there shouldn't be any problems with it, it's a totally awesome laptop in every other way. Also, the problem doesn't affect external outputs.

 

Hi,
Is the A8Jm available in glossy AND matte screen configurations?

- ASUS webpage says:

" 14" WXGA(1280x768) LCD
Color Shine(glare-type) LCD
Crystal Shine(high brightness) LCD"

Also, will the F3Jm be available at some point in matte screen?!
Thanks

 

IN na, both of these two are glossy.

 

I am looking at the Asus F3Jm specifically for photo and digital art work. Would this notebook be inappropriate for this purpose? The quality of the notebook's monitor is one of the most important determining factors.

Thanx.
Sammy

 

thx for the info.
Too bad... the F3Jm and the A8Jm seemed to be really great, unfortunately glossy is not for me...
I guess I'll have to look more closely at the Compal HEL80 and the Sager 5750 then ...
So, is there actually such a thing as an ASUS with Duo Core, Nvidia card with a matte screen? (I'm favoring Nvidia over ATI because of the ATI grain issue found on different models)
Thx in advance.

PS: btw MilestonePC, I'm sorry to ask but what does "IN na" mean? Is it a typo or an abbreviation? I don't understand... thx

 

I meant: In North America.

 

Asus Duo Core notebooks with nVidia VC: A8Jm, F3Jm, W7J, Lamborghini, did I missed any model? I am afraid all glossy, matte will be hard to find because research reports say: For majority of the notebook users, the trend is glossy, and to make the notebooks more affordable, XGA will make the majority happen already. To please the minority, the cost will be too high.

If you really care matte, the Z71V and Z70Va is still available, but not duo core.

 

Oooh, so are you saying there's still hope I can find the F3Jm and AJ8m with matte screens then? In Europe?

 

Anybody try applying one of the 3M "touch-screen protectors" or "privacy filters" to a glossy screen? They supposedly have some antiglare properties.
Could be a solution to those of us who really like matte screens AND high performance.

 

I feel 512 mb ram video card is more future proof than 256 mb video card.

Not considering scores, I dont think they matter. 3dmark 2007 2008, those will actually show a 512 mb 7600 as faster than a 256 7900 gtx.
This statement is based on previous video card scores and gaming compatibility. Not 100% certain.

by jan, all video cards will be 512 mb. games in development from a certain point on will be developed for 512 mb card.

Example, 128 9200 works with fear, 64 mb ti 4800 does not even though its much faster. When the game exceeds the ram, its slow. 3 yrs from now, the difference between 7600 and 7900 will be pitiful, but the difference between 256 and 512 mb will be huge.

Hopefully a lot of people read that I cant keep retyping it.

 

the 7600 is nowhere near fast enough to take advantage of the 512mb of ram. by the time it needs it it will be horribly outdated.

 

Pardon my ignorance but can the 512Mb video RAM be a cause of mild overheating-increased fan noise? Or is it primarily a GPU frequency clock related issue?

 

i disagree. at the midrange level of graphics cards i don't think the extra memory will make any difference at all. in future games the core would be the bottleneck, it wouldn't be able to render frames fast enough to make use of all that extra memory. extra memory comes in handy at high resolutions with high levels of aa, give it another generation of games and neither the x1600 or the 7600 cores will be able to run that anyways. the 512mb memory is a marketing tool.

 

You are drinking a certain amount of the gpu manufacturers cool aid. The marketing is always telling you that the speed isnt going to be able to use the ram.

The truth is, thus far covering like about 10 years of the current pattern the 7600 and 7900 will play games at around the same speed in a couple of years, only the 256 mb 7900 will actually be incompatible. Both of these cards will be slow compared to tommorows cards but the 256 mb will be incompatible meaning it ont boot up, or it simply ont ork

battlefield 3 needs 128 mb card. it doesnt care hether it is a 9200. It wont let you attempt to do it with a 9600 64 mb. because, it would be too slow to function.

You are thinking about today. when the cards are released today, the higher end one seems to run the games twice as fast and leads you to believe its going to be twice as fast in the future. all the data youre look ing at is in running todays games, right now the ram has no use for todays games.
This is how the gpu market works in planned obsolecence.

Anyhow, when I -theorize- that a 512 mb 7600 ill be more future proof than a 256 mb x1600, in an unupgradable part of a $1500 machine....

I think Ive described pretty clearly why I come to this theory. I dont think either of you have contradicted this theory in any coherent way. I think, you both have to face what you dont know about this subject and research and learn about it particularly before you buy a ne machine ( I once worked for blizzard software QA if youre wondering where Im coming from)

When the next elderscrolls is made, if the mean market is machines made from jan 07 on, then your 7600 512 will run it and your 256 mb 7900 will not. Anyhow Im repeating myself. If any of this matter gives you pause to think I suggest you research on your own until your questions are answered.

 

Stamar, don't forget that the X1600 may have 256 mb of dedicated ram but also another 256 mb from hypermemory. I'm not saying that hypermemory is a good thing or it's a bad thing but because of this, the system recognizes the X1600 as having 512 mb of ram so that even in future games, the X1600 will just be like the 7600 and will have the ability to play games. Also, in future games the graphics will be more and more demanding so neither of those cards will be able to play on a high resolution or eye candy turned on.

 

here's my take on this:

a laptop won't always be able to run the newest games at the highest settings. if you MUST have top-notch eye candy then your best bet would be buying a desktop so you can upgrade it later. but personally, i play the games about a year or two after release date, so i'll have the hardware to run it at a decent quality.

as for my take on the thread topic, i think both f3jm and a8jm are essentially the same machine but in a different shell. there will be some minor differences of course, like the built-in camera quality, chassis design, keyboard layout, etc. but the main internal specs are still the same: 100GB, 1Gb DDR2, nvidia7600 w/512MB dedicated, T2400. but since f3jm is a bit bigger, i'm thinking it'll run a bit cooler as well.

yin

 

oh the A8jm is the smalle one? i like the looks of that one better. Would it be a good alternative to a v6j? is the a8jm upgradeable to core 2 duo like the v6j?

 

Mind if you stop the necro-posting? Most of the questions are already answered...