For all you Napa buffs..... read my news thread for todays updates!

Hey Justin, just out of random curiosity - does ASUS make the W1 series available for custom ordering to the US? Not sure on the economic feasibility of that, but it seems they should at least offer it for those that do prefer the W1 to the W2.

 

No. I mean I can get them, but it's not feasible.....add $400-500....

 

Justin,
just a few questions about the W5f since I see most people are really excited about the W3j
1)does it still have the webcam?
2)will it come with the dvd-burner as standard?
3)will you still offer the discounts even on the new napa models?
thank you for your time

 

1. yes
2. yes
3. the member discounts are for everything

 

on the subject of DVD buners, is Asus planning to release Blue-ray / HD DVD drives on their notebooks?
which standard does Asus support anyway?

 

I don't see blue-ray or HD DVD drives in the roadmap at all... They're not even putting them in desktops yet and notebook drives have always been a little behind desktops (even though that will start changing this year more than ever)..... the fact is the desktop drives are larger and they have to figure out a way to shrink the hardware first....... so I think those are still a year away....... but right now they don't "back" any one format, but my guess would be that they'll be using whatever drives toshibia or panasonic bring out....... so that might be HD DVD........ Sony back's Blue-ray obviously...... and Asus build's notebooks for Sony...... but Plextor makes Sony's desktop drives..... and panasonic makes some of the super slim drives that are in their notebooks...... so it may end up being blue-ray....

Personally, just like with the DVD formats...... a lot of companies may hold off offering a drive until there becomes a SET standard in the hopes not to get outdated.

 

thanks Justin for the quick reply, with so much new tech coming out in the near future, I really don't know what to wait for. for example there was a news story last October about laptop makers are going to have flash memories build into laptops to speed up load times,( or have hybrid drives).
Yes I know what everyone here will say, if I wait until end of next year or the year after that, there still will be new stuff coming out. But I guess this is just my personality.

JC

 

You buy a computer when you need it... waiting is a waste of time if you can't be productive in the meantime....... computers evolve se quickly that it's impossible not to know something new is 6 months to a year down the road when you buy........ because it just is. It's a matter of what time you have and what money you're willing to spend....... but things like drives can always be upgraded to down the road...... by time you go and buy a computer lookig at it the way you are - it'll simply be implanted in your brain..

 

Maybe I missed this already, is the Z62j a customizable version of the W3j, or will there be one? I was originally looking at the Z92ja, but then realized that the W3j is more along the lines of what I want. I do have several general questions about it, too:

1. Will the bays from the W3V work as well, or will there be an update due to newer technologies?
2. How will the screen compare to that on my 15.4" laptop (I'm asking about pixel size, not screen quality, I have a 1280x800 now)?
3. Is there a port replicator for it, or will there be one?

Thanks.

 

no, the Z62j is a totally different 14" model. It has a weaker GPU, willl probably be cheaper, and does not look anywhere as sexy as the W3 (according to most).

 

Because the x1600 will eat far more battery than what the Dual Core will save. And the Vaio SZ, if it does meet its spec, will have at least 5-6 hours of battery life, without needing to add a modular battery or underclock. ASUS is really lagging behind. Who cares how fast Half Life 2: Lost Coast runs on a laptop? I have a desktop for that!

 

I wouldnt consider Asus lagging behind. In the release date they are but they build higher quality products than sony does. As for battery life, the w3J will get about 4 hours of battery life even with the X1600. Sony will not get at Least 5-6 hours of battery life, it will get at MOST 5-6 hours of battery life. I would much rather have a W3J that has slightly less battery life and have a better gaming experience. I can easily buy an extra battery which costs a third the amount of sony batteries and get much better battery life than the SZ. The only thing going for the SZ series is that it is available now and the W3J isnt.

 

Isnt the x1600 supposed to be more power efficient? if you dont want a GPU dont get the w3j get the whitebook model the z62 or whatever its called. That sony will probably max out around 4 hours just the same who actually believes the manufactures specs when it comes to battery life? a dedicated GPU probably gets half hour less battery life if even that. the z63a and w3v get about the same battery life. Just underclock the GPU no worries. Not to mention if you want to run vista with all the eye candy turned on you are going to need a dedicated card.

 

I would wait for some battery life benchmarks before putting any concrete numbers down for the W3J. But if the Acer 8204 is any indication, I have to agree with werckmeister. Acer had to increase the battery capacity to a 87WHr 9-cell from the 69WHr 8-cell in the 8104 to maintain the same battery life 3-3.5 hours. That's not a good sign. Such a large capacity battery would add nearly an hour battery life to an X700 machine like the 8104 or Z70Va. The smaller screen on the W3J will help a bit with battery life but it shouldn't make that much of a difference.

Any word on development of hybrid VGA systems for Asus laptops like on the Sony SZ or the Uniwill 259EN3? How much more battery life does the current Z63a get compared to the W3V?

 

http://weblogs.jupiterresearch.com/analysts/gartenberg/archives/013528.html

"Batter life is excellent, Sony claims up to seven hours with the standard battery and there's higher capacity unit available to boost that to10.5 hours. My early unit is getting well over five hours of use, so I have no problem believing the figures for the production models."

And like I said, underclocking to get higher battery life is stone-age technology.

 

the x1600 comes with a stock setting 3dmark05 of 3856 ! impressive !! Im excited, im starting to save now for the 15.4'' x1600 asus and of course the the w3j, i wont go beyond 15.4 for i feel that is way to big for a "laptop"

 

impressive. battery life. i still think the asus model will have decent battery life as well.

And i wouldnt concider underclocking stoneage. Why i would still do it if i need alittle extra juice when on the road.

 

Just as an update.... I found out some interesting information from a Pioneer rep today.......... their blue-ray desktop drives will start to be available in June at a price of $1,900......... ok... so figure this time next year before we see anything like that available in a notebook size...... and just hope the price comes down by then...

 

I don't think Plextor makes sony's desktop drives (at least the retail ones). The current Sony 810A DVD Burner is just a rebadged Benq 1640DW, and in the recent past, Sony has just rebadged Lite-on drives. Plextor's 740A is also a rebadged Benq 1640DW I believe, although they usually make their own drives. The only rebadged plextors I know of are the old 8x and 12x CD-RW drives that TDK had a while back.

 

Pardon me - I meant lite-on when I said plextor.......

 

Justin,

When will the new computers be listed on your website? Will you do pre-sales?

 

For the ensembles - once we're within a month of what should be the final ETA (which should be a couple weeks) .... I think we may get something up... but we need confirmation in writing on everything before we do that - and right now that means color combinations.... it would be very much unlike Asus to keep the same colors from last year...... but I think that's exactly what they're doing because there really isn't a better way to go and with the new mac pro laptop being on the darker side.... I think Asus may have been ahead of their time last year when they choose the color scheme.

 

Hey Justin, just wondering if you will be offering student and nbr discounts on the w3j when it arrives?

My sister is going to be needing a new laptop for college, and that is what I am going to reccommend to her, since wants something more mobile than a 15.4 inch widescreen, but powerful enough to run CAD programs. The v6j is also an option, but I will have to wait and see how each of them turn out

 

No offense..... but one of the dumber questions. because there's no basis to it... member discounts and student discounts have never been only offered and one time or another..... it's for everything and there's no reason it won't continue... since I control them, I'd know about it first.

.... I'm guessing, giving you the benefit of the doubt... you mean if we do a pre-order can you use them and in which case, yes.

 

Well, I know that some ASUS retailers do not give student discounts on newly released products, only after they have been out for at least a few months, so I was asking you to clarify your policy of discounts on new products.

 

... well, we're not "some asus retailer", we are who we are and there's no fine print on our programs and we've had plenty of "new" models that have come in after our program started, including the W2v, V6va and the new W5ae - all of which members were intitled to the same benefits.

... our program is forum based and it doesn't matter if we sold paper notepads or office furniture.... the discount is based on your status in the forum.... The student discount is basd on someone's status at a college or university..... That program may change because of late a lot of people have wasted the time to "fake" a college id which is ridiculous..... and some of them would have actually been able to use their member discount which would have amounted to a lot more... but instead they took the time to forge an id...... but the premise is the same......... the discounts are not based on the products - sales and rebates are product based.... a member program is not.

Understand?

 

I actually find it funny that people tried and fake College IDS. not for you justin just to the fact they actually tried that people are amazing trying to trick even smaller companys. were they good fakes how did you know they werent real?

 

I am selling College ID's real cheap...our basic community college package starts around $125 to our premium double major state university!

 

Let's just say that my college career was diverse... while taking in everything I did, this company started out of the need of fellow students looking for high end desktops and laptops..... I could do that with ease because I knew what I needed to use the programs I was using.... Well one of the things I became very good at was photoshop and 3ds max...... lets just say that it takes one to know one and I have the tools and know-how to spot crappy jobs........ I think people are just stupid.... I look at this stuff, especially after a couple were faked and they're "ok" but just seriously amatuer......

... let's put it this way... they past up $100-150 worth of member discounts that they qualified for with just mentioning their name, in order to get a $50 student discount that they had to scan and send in and that takes time.. even more time to fake...... obviously the marbles weren't all there to begin with. To be fair though, a lot of people who don't take the time to post, just want to get a quick discount and get their system...... so this only goes out to the few we've denied and I doubt they still waste their time coming to the forum after that.....