My W3J died...what to do?

Sorry for the double post, was in the wrong forum before.

So a few nights ago my W3J bit the dust after a little over 2 years of being problem free. It won't even turn on now, most likely a short on the motherboard from what I understand (since when the power cord is plugged in, the LED on the brick blinks on and off quickly). Anyway, I'm forced with the decision of possibly getting a new mohterboard installed for around the $400-600 price range or use that money on a new computer. I was happy with my W3J and I had maxed out everything on it when I bought it (2GB RAM, 2.0GHz Dual Core, x1600 GPU) so that I hopefully wouldn't have to buy a new one for a long time, but it looks like that didn't work out. I've been a little out of the notebook loop since I bought my W3J so I'm looking for suggestions on where to start looking at a replacement. Here's roughly what I'm looking for:

-14 inch screen; 15 inch max
-roughly same dimensions as the W3J (10x13x1.4)
-4GB RAM with Vista 64
-at least a 200GB 7200RPM HDD
-a solid dedicated graphics card (this is where I have no clue what is good now)
-decent battery life, swappable drive with spare battery would be a plus
-under $2K in price

I have no clue what is comparable from ASUS now. I've also looked into the Dell XPS 1530 but it doesn't have an option for Vista 64 and after seeing one in person, the screen looks bland. The Alienware m15X looks cool but is way expensive and have heard complaints about the chassis quality. HP also has a few decent looking 14 inch notebooks but I've never seriously considered HP as a contender. What are your thoughts?

 

No problem about the double post, I deleted the other thread.

I am truly sorry about your W3J, the W3 was among the best ASUS notebooks.

As to a replacement for it, I will give you an update of the ASUS options. Don't know much about other brands.

I think the closest thing that comes to mind is the F8 (current model F8Va), 14", decent graphics card. However, the build is not on par with the W3, since it's more of a budget "bang for the buck" machine - full plastic, no brushed aluminum like the W3. Also I think it is a bit bigger, does not use the screen area as efficiently as the W3. Still, it appears to be reasonably solid and quite reliable (it's been out for more than a year now with no reported recurring issues). Also, no hotswappable bay.

I don't know what other 14"-ers to suggest. There is the V2 but it hasn't been refreshed AFAIK and it has its share of issues, it's kind of lackluster as well.

Other possible options:
13.3: W7Sg (if you are in a country where you can get them) -- only 3GB RAM, midrange quality; F9 (I think that is the name) -- budget series, newcomer so we don't know much about it. I believe these would have a poorer GPU than you want.
15.4: M50 (M50V) -- bang for the buck series, still it has been quite reliable (model line around 1 year now, no serious recurring issues reported), although has its share of recurring issues (keylag). V1V, business series, but worse in build than the business ASUS computers from the W3 era, there have been recurring issues with batteries, and also some people complain about the build quality. The only one of all the options that has a hotswappable bay. G50V, gaming notebook, similar comments as for the M50; flashier looking and also newer, so reliability is unclear at this point.

All these 15" options have good GPUs.

Battery life has been going steady downhill for ASUS since the W3, but it's been improving slightly for the latest, Montevina models, because of more power-efficient CPUs and GPUs. I would guess it's still under the hours/cell that the computers from the W3 era got, and under the current competition.

 

Asus's F8 series would be the closest successor to the W3J now in regards to performance. On the other hand, it's no where close to the W3J in terms of battery life (2.5hr vs. 3.5hr), build quality (plastic vs. aluminum), and a little bit on the big side for a 14" notebook (9.6x13x1.5", 5.7lb). So in other words, the F8 is more or less an A8 equivalent back during the W3J times.

I'd say that the Lenovo T400 delivers on all the features you're looking for (size, weight, dimensions, battery life), plus a hybrid graphics system to boot. Its ATI HD3470 is on par with your x1600. Only thing that's lacking with the T400 is its looks, but even that is subjective.

 

If you maxed out everything in the notebook, it may be worthwhile to pay for the repair, don't you think?

 

Not necessarily. Maxed out 2 years ago < current stock configurations...

 

It was still working fine for me, but I'm still waiting to hear back if it can be repaired or not and if my renter's insurance will possibly cover either the repairs or give me money towards a new laptop. I'm surprised that ASUS doesn't currently have anything like the W3J because it is an awesome machine and I thought the success of it would show that they should carry that on to new models. So the F8 is really the closest one? Is there anything on the horizon that might be more comparable?

 

As long as you are sure it's the motherboard that is defective, you can buy a replacement one here: http://estore.asus.com/shop/category.asp?catid=466

 

Yeah, me too. But I guess the new machines sell better, otherwise I don't see why they dropped the likes of the W3.

 

Thanks, as soon as I hear back from the repair shop I took it to, I'll compare prices and make sure it is legit. I'm a little leary of some of the repair places down here in Oklahoma, they don't seem as experienced or reputable as places back home in Seattle...

 

Why dont you just buy a new laptop then rather having it replaced? Don't forget, there's always better laptop every year. Even if it cost $200 to replace a laptop, just go spend $200 on a new one so you don't have to replace it in the next 2-3 years.