GOing to buy a W3V

okay after about a month and a half of searching i think i've finally narrowed it down to the Asus W3v. what store do u guys recommend? right now i'm looking at http://store.agearnotebooks.com/asusw3vprice.html
the one on the left ..can i find a better deal elsewhere? they ahve a $200 rebate for the next 48 hrs or so... :hardfind:

OMG i'm editing this too much...memory upgrade, easy?

plus one more nothing. Asus w3v or Sony S460?

p.s focus on the first part of the post.

 

Congrats!

Remember if you customize it the warranty will be from the dealer not ASUS, and you won't get the bonus 3 year warranty.

 

Is the only difference between the customized version (on the left) and the normal version on the right the amount of RAM? Unless I'm missing something, the Agear custom notebook starts at $120 more (for the same processor and hard drive), and the only difference is 512 more RAM. If you want to upgrade other things, then you have to pay for those upgrades in addition to the extra $120. That doesn't seem worth it to me, especially considering you'd be giving up the bonus 3rd year on the warranty. If all you want is the RAM upgrade, buy it online and install it yourself and save yourself some cash.

Edit: Also, I'm surprised that the rebate would be good on a customized version. I thought customizing the ensemble line notebooks was against Asus's policy?

 

so which one qualifies for the rebate. The w3v-s or the the w3v?

 

Well according to Agear's website, they both do. But I wouldn't think Asus would honor the rebate on a customized notebook (w3v-s), which is why I was questioning it. You'd be better off asking some of the other retailers around here, as they'd know Asus's policies better.

Even if the rebates are good for both, what makes you prefer the w3v-s over the w3v? As I said, aside from the RAM, I can't see any difference between the two, and that certainly doesn't justify the extra $120 in cost.

 

actually i prefer the w3v over the w3v-s. i'll stick in the RAM later. just wanted to make sure about the rebate

 

The rebate and extra year warranty is NOT good if you customize it.... infact the original 2 year warranty itself is voided if you configure it from these places at all. If it were on the up and up - these type of changes to the system on some of the easiest that we'd be doing on a daily basis and we would have encouraged it a long time ago. By us not configuring them, it stands to exactly what Asus is expecting. Asus can't control everyone (as all of us have seen), but for instance, one doesn't become a premium partner with Asus by doing anything other than what's in the best interest of the customer and the system..... voiding that warranty and losing awesome rebates and so on, wouldn't be in anyone's best interests. Although I will addmit, most people don't realize some of these things and buy a customized unit because they think these places are somehow better than others. The fact of the matter is, the reason the warranty gets voided is because NO ONE is an Asus authorized repair facility........ Asus doesn't have them. So any upgrades made anywhere other than at Asus' facility in Fremont, technically voids their warranty.

Hopefully in the near future they will realize the issues they have within their own company and work to fully authorize some of us and create better programs for the top 5% of their dealers. For now, we've all got to live with some of their inconsistant comments and the grey areas they some how get around defining.

 

is proportable.com okay? i'm on it right now but it's so slow for some reason.

 

That's what I figured. So Agear is incorrect in listing the $200 rebate for their customized version. I wonder if this has affected any customers...

I guess some people might not mind having a warranty with a local dealer instead of with Asus themselves, especially if they have a previous relationship with the vendor, etc. In this case, however, they'd also be giving up the free third year, so I can't see why anyone would choose the customizable version over the ensemble version.

 

is proportable.com slow for anyone else. i can't even add to cart...

 

I added one to my cart. Justin you've only got 4 left? Is ASUS clearing these guys out? Is that the reason for the rebate? If there's a new version coming soon, hmm...

 

... do know how crazy this rebate thing has been? I don't know how many we have left, but even if we run out, the whole idea is to have a purchase made by the end of the day tomorrow....... even if we ship in the middle or end of the week. Infact, Monday / Wednesday / Friday are usually when we get shipments from Asus and 10-15 have usually been coming in on each of those days since after the first shipment.

I got the low down on the whole thing....... 1.. This was supposed to be a limit rebate with mobile magazine to prove to Asus how well their ads were working... it was a limited thing and they didn't expect to sell many based on this rebate. 2.. Then Taiwan sent Fremont an unexpected shipment that was very large. They're next shipment wasn't supposed to be till the end of August with supposedly 2.0ghz cpus in them - because of the price drop..... There was a miscommunication and Asus ended up with a lot more than they expected and I think it freaked them out. Basically - this is an awesome deal and Asus is pretty pissed about having to do it in the first place.

 

Whoah, what I really would like is a 2.0ghz cpu with asus warranty, can you confirm that rumor for us?

 

There's no rumor. What I type in this forum is fact. It's also not a secret. After price drops, about a month later, the current ensemble line will start shipping with the next level cpu for the same price... instead of dropping the price. So at the end of August, you'll just see a 2.0 w3 for $1900.... not a big deal and probably not the best idea either. The fast the cpu in these smaller systems, the more heat you have to deal with and less battery life. But that's usually what's expected.

I don't expect another shipment till the end of next month with such a configuration though.

 

Actually, I emailed www.agearnotebooks.com and they replied (within 12 hours btw) and said that they have confirmed with Asus sales that the $200 rebate does in fact apply to customized w3v's. I ordered my w3v from agear and they have exceptional service. I live within minutes of their office so they actually dropped my laptop off at my house personally and didnt charge shipping. They also answered all my emails within 24 hours, even after I already got my laptop.

Btw, an upgrade to a 2.0 ghz cpu would cost $160 right now on agear plus you can use the $200 rebate so it ends up being $40 cheaper than simply waiting for the intel price drops and getting the same 2.0 ghz cpu. Also, customizing allows you to get a bigger hard drive or 1 gig of ram if you need it, and you'll still be covered by warranty from agearnotebooks.com with an upgraded w3v, you can't get this if you upgrade an ensemble yourself.

 

Not quite. It costs 160 to upgrade to the 2.0 ghz CPU, but that's in addition to the extra $120 they're charging for the base price ($2019 instead of $1899). So you get a 2.0 Ghz CPU and 1 gig of ram, and the total price is $2179.00. Even with the rebate that comes out to be $1979, which is still more expensive than the un-customized version.

If you want to customize the notebook and keep a warranty, then I guess you really don't have much of a choice. But price-wise, it doesn't seem to be worth it to me -- you're basically paying an extra $280 just for more 512 megabytes of RAM and a slightly faster CPU.

 

I got my customized W3V from www.agearnotebooks.com I paid over $3,000 for maximum configuration + extra battery (of course those were not my money, but just from grant). I don't have any problems with my laptop. It is fast, and very nice. www.agearnotebooks.com service was also very good. They even called in a week to check if everything is fine. But still I hope that my $200 rebate will work out.

 

I love spending grant money My last one paid for a $3,000 PP projector and part of my notebook.

 

SIgh....i just ordered my w3v...with 2 day shipping. can't wait to get my hands on it.

 

If an upgraded w3v-s right now with 1 gig ram and 2.0 ghz cpu costs 1979 after rebate, and an un-customized w3v with 2.0 ghz cpu and 512 mb ram in a couple weeks comes out to 1899, assuming no rebate there, I think the extra $80 for a 512 stick of ram and the warranty that it comes with it justifiable. Now this is assuming that there will be no $200 rebate when the next shipment of w3v's with the 2.0 ghz cpu comes out. Being as that the current rebate is already an extension of the rebate that was suppose to end on July 15th, and that there really is no icentive for asus to continue the rebate after price drops, I highly doubt that the rebate will continue on new shipments and I think most resellers would agree with me here. You are right though, it is more expensive in the end, however, it is in no way a rip off. Personally I thought that receiving and using my laptop in a week was worth the money, but that is also because I am leaving for college soon and am on time constraints. Just realize, that with this amazing $200 rebate being offered on w3v's it is not necesarily worth it to wait for the price drop.

That being said, I hope your new w3v is beautiful with no dead pixels and no problems =). I recommend undervolting it right away because it makes the laptop run a lot cooler and at little cost.