My W3J update

Sorry about the quality of the pics; I don't have a "dedicated" digital camera, I'm using my mobile phone.

Here's my original thread with first impressions (it somehow turned into a catfight lol) : http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=54850

I've spent about 36 hours with this notebook now so feel free to ask any questions or request specific pics.

More cons (sorry) :

No volume button/scroll wheel: This just sucks period. Why should i have to press Fn + F11/F12 to increase/decrease the volume??? How much will it cost to put a wheel or slider somewhere on the notebook? Unacceptable.

The screen (again): I've gotten used to the resolution (1280 x 768) and the poor viewing angles but the colour is just nasty, it looks very washed-out compared to other screens; I'm comparing it to my friends Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo(sp?) A1650 and his screen is so much richer and the colours are deeper. Is there any way I can correct the colour(with software)?

What's the point in having dedicated media buttons if you can only play CD's (not DVD's) when the notebook is switched off?

Small nitpick: "Exclusive battery position" WTF? lol Like I really need that printed on my battery.

Okay enough with the negativity, let me just give my general impressions:

Keyboard: Great. Very little flex(you have to press it hard enough) and the keys have good response.

Touchpad: See my initial impressions above. Still crappy. The touchpad on the Amilo A1650 is waaaaaay better. I guess there's a good reason Asus included the free Bluetooth mouse.

Heat/fan/noise: The right side of the touch pad gets a little warm (emphasis on "little"), it's not unpleasant or anything and would definitely not stop you from typing but you do notice it. The right vent produces warm air constanttly. I think the palm rest/ vent arwa would get quite hot under heavy gaming (will update later) The notebook is quite silent; I usually don't know if the fan is off or on

Battery life: Between 2:50 and 3:40 hrs depending on how you use it. I doubt if you'll be able to get more than that; I turned to screen to the third lowest setting and I still couldn't get more than that although BT and WiFi were turned on throughout. I tried light browsing, playing a CD with the brightnes on the third highest setting + Bluetooth and WiFi the notebook shut down in roughly 3:10 hrs. I'll try to play a DVD on it constantly and see how long it would last but my estimates would be between 2:30 and 2:45 hour depending on the screen brightness.

I haven't performed any benchmarks or anything. Tell me benchmarks I should carry out and where to download them and I'll post results as soon as possible.

I really love this notebook but I wouldn't have bought it if I had took my time to compare its screen with other notebooks. The screen is really poor IMO; it's a shame a ~ £1300 laptop has a screen worse than a £600 Fujitsu-Siemens notebook. The build quality is superb; apart from the wobbly battery its feels well built and the quality of the materials are amzing. I believe the palmrest plastic(?) can be improved as well as the quality of the keys (small nitpick). The bamboo hinge is very solid; the screen stays exactly where you want it to. The screen is well protected, there are no ripples when I twist it and it feels very sturdy. I will still consider upgrading to a V1J when it comes out if Asus fixes most of the stuff wrong with this one.

I post more impressions later.


Some questions:

What are Omega drivers? Where can I download them? Are they released by ATi/ Are they safe to use?

I bought Half-Life 2 and after installing it it told me I still have purchase it for $29.95??? What am I doing wrong? I was only able to download a demo

 

Quick question! how thick is the W3J with the lid up? been trying to get a feel for how thick it is!

 

@Kal : you're saying that you have spent over 36 hours using this laptop and you can answer questions about it but even don't know how to corect color to your preferences?! So what we are talking about here?! Spend another 72 or maybe 144 to be sure with this laptop and then come back. There is a Splendid technology which is exactly what you are looking for.
About dedicated media buttons I have no idea what are talkin about. You would like not to have them at all??
Crappy touchpad?! Maybe you should wash your hands at first and after that test the touchpad? It's fantastic IMO, and I know what I'm talking about : this is my 5th laptop in 2,5 year.
Half-life2 : did you activate Steam account?!

 

It isn't too bulky, or thick. It's perfect lol

 

Thanks much =D

 

Ouch! You sound pissed. Yes I know about the Splendid Video Intelligence technology; IMO the colours look richest in the normal mode. I tried Gamma, Vivid, Theatre and Soft and Normal looks best to me but not good enough. I was only asking if there was a different way of calibrating the colour because they look "whitish" (can't find the right word lol) or not deep/rich enough compared to other notebook screens. About the media buttons, I may not have expressed myself well; I thought I would be able to use the notebook as DVD/CD player without putting it on/loading Windows but apparently it can only play CD's
The trackpad may be perfect for you(afterall we all have different hands ) but to me if feels crappy compared to trackpads on other notebooks (Amilo 1650/ Toshiba Satellite 5200-801)

Half-Life 2: I've installed it, installed Steam and created a new account; Everytime I double-click on he Half-Life 2 icon on the desktop it launches Steam which tells me to purchase(I guess this is where I'll enter my serial number?) the game. When I click on "purchase" it tells me the page cannot be found.

 

Ok, I agree that DVD playback without booting would be nice feature but only-CD is still cool. And about a Steam : don't worry this program sucks a lot!! I have had problems with it also so I guess you just have to overcome this crap

 

I've just activated it! Yeah the program sucks lol Thanks!

*goes to play Half-Life 2*

 

Kal thanks for sharing your experiance with the W3J.

For your screen use this link, it should help.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=25959
And yes the W3J does not have high viewing angles like other laptops, this has been stated by many Europe users already.

As for the touchpad, i say try finding the latest synaptic drivers, or just increase the acceleration and speed, and hopefully that would fix it. Most people so far think the Touchpad is fine.

The touchpad buttons, so far we have heard they are stiff and have a sweet spot... ohwell, with time i guess you'll get used to it. (i hope)

Yup the European W3J comes with a 4200rpm, , nonetheless as you said the notebook is still fast. You could upgrade it to a 5400 or a 7200 yourself, but just keep the 4200 just incase you havta service/warranty the W3J.

LOL can't say much about the speakers, i've seen those laptops with the Harmon/K and yes they sound nice. To me the ASUS Z70va sound is nice, but then again, i've not heared many notebooks.

Thanks for the batterylife test , are you satisfied with it? I know most people would be, because a notebook of this calibre getting 3+ hours is nice!

As for the media buttons and that volumn control you want between the touchpad buttons, you gotta understand all laptops are different, they all have pros and cons. Depends on which ones you want =\.

Thanks again for your input (i hope to see a review)

MysticGolem

 

Actually, MysticGolem, the European version of the W3J comes with a 5400RPM harddrive. It's the US version that comes with the slower 4200RPM harddrive.

Edit: Apparently the UK is left out as well. In Scandinavia the Asus W3J comes with a 5400RPM drive atleast.

 

You are wrong, the lucky guys in US will have 5400 hdd. I bought mine in UK and have 4200 slow as hell drive :] , gettin Momentus 5400.3 and upgrade it.

 

Guess UK is unlucky as well then, atleast in Scandinavia the Asus W3J comes with a 5400RPM harddrive.

 

5400 has higher temps so in Scandinavia I guess it is nice to have warm laptop

 

I'm considering getting the W3j, but you guys make it sound really bad! I played around with it at the computer store. I loved it! The speakers make very clear sound, but they are way to quiet. The only other complaint I have is the 4200RPM HD. I'm very surprised Asus but such a slow HD in such a new and up to date laptop. Were not back in the 20th Century Asus! I'm thinking about the Asus A8Jm because of its built in webcam, 5 USB ports, DVI port, lower price and 5400 RPM HD. I just really like the feel and design of the W3j. The quality seems better. The A8Jm is suppose to come out in less than a month. (In Taiwan) Right now they just have the A8j with the 7300.

 

both ASUS W3J and A8jm are nice, depends on what you want.
Yes both of these laptops are not perfect, there will be flaws but all laptops have flaws. Its a take and give kinda thing.

I suggest wait till you see both W3J and a8jm side by side and then pick one.
From what i've read the Screen on the W3J and a8jm look the same..it may be...but who knows.

Both notebooks are awsome, everyone here can testify to that.

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

I have seen them side by side Well the A8JC (The same thing but it has the 7300 Go) It just seems the A8JC has more features but isn't built quite as will. Still quite a beautiful notebook.

 

Strange on the Asus site it says the A8JM comes with the 7800 Go?!

http://usa.asus.com/products4.aspx?l1=5&l2=61&l3=0&model=1095&modelmenu=1

I thought it had the 7600 Go.

 

Not to jump on you Kal but it does seem like you just need to "get to know" the laptop better - I'm sure there are things you can do to tweak the screen...Mastha said it was beautiful so I'm sure it's just a matter of getting there.

You can nitpick like crazy if you let yourself - IMO only real problems can be considered cons (hot spots, flaky keyboard, poor screen, that type of thing). Whether there is a volume control or not is kind of a silly thing to get pissed off about (I'm used to doing it from the toolbar, so that's where I'm coming from).

Sounds like maybe you should've got the same computer that your friend has?

 

its a typo, the a8jm comes with a 7600

Well you've basically seen both then, pick one! lol based on your own needs and features and w/e you want, pick one both are great notebooks.

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

I bought my W3j in Sweden and got a 5400 RPM disk. One question; how do I configure the media buttons to the left? I want it to open Winamp instead of WMP.

 

Ummm, Pressure, I think you are wrong on this one. The US model comes with the 5400rpm HD. NOT 4200rpm.

NOt that newegg is the reference standard, but check out the specs:
W3j

 

As the above posters mentioned, its 5400rpm

Kal: Thanks for the down to earth, it-is-what-it-is comments, much appreciated

 

Ah ok, must have been parts of Europe that got the 4200RPM drive then.

I guess all the delays and different versions must have gotten the best of me

 

Asus has the best touchpads i have seen. I use toshibas dells and hp's a;; day long. People bring them in for repair. For the most part they are all the same except a few dells where the touchpad is just not sensetive enough. I never touched the fuji you love but to say the touchpad on the w3 is any less then exactly what a touchpad should be is just misinformation. A volume knob? Wouldnt you complain that the volume knob always has to be readjusted after it comes out of the bag. I guess its alot of extra work to reach for the fn + f12 key over spinning the volume knob? Anyways you seem to cencentrate on the negs. Whats up with that? Kind of an unbalanced review to say the least. If i was a new reader i would steer to belive everything about it right down to the screen sucks. I think your review of the screen is innacurate too. I happen to disagree with what you said tho to your credit i have seen a few people here and there complain about the same. You dont like then fix the color and gamma your self. I like the screen.

 

Personally, I think it's good that he writes about the negative aspects as then, people who've yet to see it won't get their expectations set too high. I'm pretty sure anyone who's been around for a while would know how good the W3J is. Heck, even I was all riled up about it. But because I read the negative-points about it and found out about bad viewing angle, and not-so-bright screen, which seems to fit screen problems that I've seen on the A8Ja (sold here in Singapore), I've long since decided that this might not be the laptop for me. Other things which bothered me are the heat issues and the exhaust vent on the right.

Now, if all he had mentioned the good points (which have already been covered almost ad-nauseum here on these forums), potential buyers would never hear of the negative aspects and thus might get sorely disappointed when they actually buy it and find out for themselves that it was not quite what they expected.

His opinions about the media buttons, volume knobs, key combos are quite valid as while they may not seem to be a problem to you, others might be more troubled by them.

Anyway, that's what these forums are for anyway right, for users to share their experience with their new toys so that other people can make an informed decision, more so when quite a number might not even see the laptop until they unpack it.

cheers!

 

But remember about one thing : if someone expects to get 17"-media center-screen in 14" form factor that this is huge misunderstanding, it just won't happen. On my forum there was a guy who was saying how awful the A6j screen is just becasue he thought the display will be as bright as his previous 17" behemoth - HP ZD8000. He was cursing about viewing angles but than someone told him that he can't compare 14 and 17 screen quality and now he's ok with that. So I just say not to expect the impossible.

 

not sure why but viewing angles are best on 15.4 in screen and 17in screen every other in between are so so. 14.1 in ones seem to be the worst. Personaly i think the W3 series is plenty bright i mean its brighter than my w2v. Out of the aspects i dont like about the screen brightness would not have been one of my complaints.

 

I don't know if that comment above refers to ASUS notebooks or all notebooks. The 14" screen I had on my old E7010 was fantastic; the 14" screen on my mom's 4yr old T30 beats the T42 and T60 (14") screen by miles. One can postulate that this absymmal screen quality is restricted to the 14" wide-type screens which are increasinly becomming the norm these days, but then the patheic screen on the 14" T60 changes that.

For me personally, screen quality is the deal breaker. If the screen don't cut it for any reason whatsoever, I'd never consider it again. It is this reason which has excluded almost every ASUS (or any other brand for that matter) notebook.

 

i said 14.1 in screens which is widescreen and are you talking about flexview ibm screen because those use IPS which is for enhanced viewing angles. For some reason 12.1 in widescreen and 14.1 in widescreen have very poor viewing angles although some 12.1 are decent. thats for the xga screen though not sure if the newer 14.1 xga+ screen are better.

Think pad flex view screens are awsome though. In plane switching.

 

Agree Volume knob would be a pain, and it is a mechanical control, which over time can also interfear with audio quality.

However, I have an old school Compaq Armada 3500 it has dedicated volume buttons on the side that electronically control the volume, I find this extremely usefull, on long trips I use my laptop in the car and also when I use it on the train to work (when I was in london), I used to keep it playing music in my bag when I went onto the underground, and with the volume buttons on the side of the laptop, I could (through the side of my bag) adjust the volume.

Personally after using a laptop with dedicated volume buttons, it is quick and easy (and you can adjust the volume with the lid closed), but I suppose it is just what you are used to, I just know every time I use a laptop with Fn+ volume control, I just wish it had a dedicated volume control.

 

I actually did an experiment yesterday. I went over to BestBuy and looked at every 14.1 inch laptop screen there. Every one had 1200 x 768-800 resoultion all were glossy. I looked at a $700 gateway, and several HP models. What I found was there was a difference in the quality of the viewing angle, color depth, black accuracy, and overall image quality. The gateway by far had the worst screen, colors were washed out and the viewing angle was poor. I even fiddled with the advanced setup for this machine, it was using the Intel extreme graphics so not much could be done. Several of the HPs were better and one model, I forgot to write it down in the chaos that is BestBuy, was what I would call terrific, decent viewing angle, well matched colors etc. I feel this is the spectrum and I know bad, ok, and good for 14.1 inch screen. As a side bar, my sony s360p has a 13.1 inch wide screen and I have always liked the colors viewing angle etc, just the backlight is going out on it. I do a lot of photoshop work and I am waiting for my W3j from Star tech. I can tell you that if the "sweetspot" has me fiddling with the screen every 5 minutes, then I have no choice but to return it. I feel I have made the most informed decision I can regarding what is out there now and I need to replace what I have. Folks can vote with their wallets and with their return of a product that does not meet their desired usage. I enjoy reading Kal's comments, no one here can fault an end user for why they like or dislike a product, although the end user should be realistic in their expectations too. That said, most laptops will have their problems revealed a month or two after and only after end users start loading them up with software, add on cards, and using them. No manufacturer or reseller can anticipate the problems and end user can create, that said however, I do have a problem with a faulty product right out of the box, look at the space bar on the Sony SZ lappys, folks are having to use a post it note wedged under the bar to "fix" a problem that Sony had to be aware of and has dragged its feet to address. ASUS should take heed of this type of practice, if they truly have a roadmap to be a mainstream notebook vendor, then I for one would place a high value on a company that stands by its product, and 2) offers geninue fixes to problems. Finally it seems likely that ASUS would have a wider profit margin if they stopped releasing country-restricted notebooks, and used these extra resources to make sure that the new models they are releasing are the best products out there. What would everyone like to see? I would like to be able to purchase the Asus model that best suits my needs, how frustrating is it to spend your time searcing for the best fit for what you do only to find it isn't sold or may not be sold in your country (W7j possibly being sold now in France, the A8j available in Canada but not US, etc.).

My $0.02.
Scott

 

I fully agree with this, that pisses me off too, after deciding to buy an asus 12 months ago, I have been in 4 countries if I had found a high spec W3 I would have brought one months ago!

I understand price point, and most people just buy cheapest laptops, but people who look toward Asus look for performance speed and quality!
I want a fast high performance laptop, if they do anything they should offer one at a price point, with slower components, and one more expensive with faster components, at least let us choose.

I mean the mac book pro, has SATA, DVI, Optical audio line in, the only reason I did not get a MAC is that I have never used OSX.....

Personally I would pay for an Asus with top components!

 

There is sour spot without a doubt. I do web design, i do photo edititng when i have to. I use an m5n for almost everything except that. In the office i have been using a z63a which is the same screen as the w3. There is a sour spot but thats the only negative thing. I am pleased by most screens. Little details that most every regular joe doesnt notice or doesnt care about dont bother me. The screen looks teriffic. I ve never had to play with it. Most people would rate the w3j a fantastic screen. That is the feedback i got from hundreds of satisfied z63 and w3v users. Its the one in one hundred that will complain about weird things that i just find ridiculous. I dont argue and i dont try to persuade the person to give it another try. We take the unit back. By vast majority the w3j screen would be rated fantastic. Its a fact even though it may not sound true to a vast minority. The same person that does not like this screen will find half the screens out there are not up to par. That means picky to me becuase i can say with fair certainty that i would be very pleased by most of the screens out there. I would say most of the people in this forum are like my self. When someone calls in and asks me about my personal like or dislike of a screen i never know who i am talking to so my reply is usually "its good". There is always a chance the person on the other end can be extremely picky and hate a screen that is favored by most.

 

If someone is interested this is screen comparison, W3 vs Samsung M51 (M61-series won EISA 2005 for best LCD, M51 is the highest series I could get for 26"). According to webpage it's brightness is 500 cd/m2.

 

i absolutely agree. it's ridiculous and insulting that ie. a lower-spec'ed a8jc would have bluetooth while the more expensive a8jm does not. why did they take it out for the na market? and they still keep the bluetooth botton and indicator light on! tacky, tacky, tacky.

as for the screen - i also do a lot of photo-editing. i had a vaio previous to my asus. i hooked it up to an external monitor and i am hooking it up to my a8jc. it does NOT matter how gorgeous a laptop screen may be, none is good enough for serious photo-editing (especially at 14.1" real estate). also consider that this is glossy screen. imho matte is much easier on the eyes, the glossy reflections are distracting. external monitor is a must.

in fact this is the only reason i chose a8jc over w3j - a8jc has dvi, w3j (once again more expensive and better spec'ed) does not. i'll spend that hundreds of dollar difference toward a kick ass 24" lcd monitor and still end up with better output than w3j, or sz, or...

 

Theres nothing wrong with this screen should be the conclusions that comes out of anyone that reads this thread unless you are extremely picky. It never had an inherent dead pixel rate that was anything above low, it has view angles that most people would agree with, it has been proved to last without major defects and it looks good. Everything else is being picky. For pro photo reproduction get a desktop lcd and pay through your nose for quality you want or use the w3j and deal with what you have. it is a 14" screen. Relying on it to be 100% perfect is just expecting too much

 

Thanks MysticGolem! I'll post a review next week(need to get a good digital camera and spend time with the notebook) Thanks for the link; I try and mess around with the screen and see if can get better results. I was satisfied with the battery life, its quite impressive (IMO) for the the kind of performance it has. The touchpad are buttons are stiff but I don't use then any more since I have the free Bluetooth mouse As for the voulme controls everyone has to understand that I haven't used many notebooks before and the few that I have used always had volume buttons so I assumed this was the norm( I actually spent time looking for it lol)

Forgive me for not falling down on my knees and worshipping the almighty Asus. I'm sorry if I sound so negative but I'm just saying things as I see them. If I didn't like the notebook I would have sold it off instantly. I haven't owned an Asus product before now and I don't have any personal agenda. 90% of the info I know about Asus notebooks was from this forum/site. Besides this isn't even a review, just my impressions after spending less than three days with it. I'll post an in-depth review next week. If you read my posts you'll see that I did post positive stuff like the build quality, keyboard, materials, performance and I didn't complain about the battery life. I like the W3J. A LOT.

I know I sound a bit anal. Didn't mean to come across that way lol. Most of the issues I have with the notebook are only minor nitpicks but I felt I should mention them. The major disappointment was the screen;like I said in my previous post I wasn't expecting a perfect screen(like some found on VAIOs) but the viewing angles were worse than expected and the colour looked off. Something like what shown in this post: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=1098547&postcount=61

My pleasure.

Thanks!

 

As coriolis said, I also appreciate your say-it-as-it-is comments. Based on everything I've read, I still believe this is the best 14" with dedicated GPU out there (at least as long as Samsung is kept out of the North American market!). However, that doesn't mean it's perfect. I'm still on the sidelines, waiting to see more reviews before I make up my mind. Something like the lack of a volume knob is a flaw. It's not a dealbreaker, but I know that is something that would irritate me. You'd think Asus could have taken the effort to include such a simple part.

Your comments about the feel of the touchpad and the quality of the screen are your opinions, and nobody has the right to tell you off for expressing your opinions. I'm glad you put that out there and hopefully made people take a more critical look rather than going with the hype and maybe getting disappointed.

 

Thank you.

I just ran 3DMark05, got a score of 3922. Is this good or bad? I couldn't get a PCMark05 score because I don't have Windows Media Player 10 (I have the 11 beta) Super PI to 2 million took 1 minute and 21 seconds.

One thing I realy love is the Asus recovery partiton; reinstalling to factory took less than 10 mintues, I don't think I'll ever delete that partition

 

Today I bought optical cable to connect W3 with Creative DDTS100 sound decoder, I wanted to check the SPDIF output. And I'm impressed!! The sound is crystal and deep. If you have opportunity I strongly recommend to connect W3 to some audio receiver, you won't regret, the diffrence between optical and analog cable is maybe not huge but noticeable.

 

Mastha, that's a 1/8" spdif cable right? I always wondered, does the "optical" cable you talk about actually have light going through it, such as the optical audio out on a playstation 2?

Because I have a 5.1 system with an spdif in, and it seems to just look like an ordinary 1/8" jack. Also, can the spdif out on the W3J output 5.1 surround sound?

 

3DMark05 of 3922 is very good. And in fact, others have been able to OC the GPU to get scores as high as 4700+, which is flat out awesome. For a notebook of this size, this is some of the best performance available period. And not by a small amount either.

 

I'm a bit late to the party but I thought I would chime in with this:

This is a highly biased post, possibly because you don't want to find any faults in your W3J? Makes perfect sense.

Perhaps Mastha needs to get to know the notebook better himself, and will with time see the shortcomings? It is very skewed to view one direction as "correct"

Afterall, beauty is a highly subjective term.


*Disclaimer - I too am going to get a W3J (or maybe A8) in the next shipment so don't shoot me!

 

@ Arvin : yes 5.1 dolby is available, I checked this with LOTR movie. When I start it, my decoder automaticly recognize the signal as Dolby Digital. And about the "light" - yes light is actually a signal carrier. Here you have couple of pictures of this cable, just to be sure :







@Tay : I have this laptop for a month so I think I know it quite well.

 

Mastha delivers once again!

Amazing pictures man, much appreciated!

 

I just like take pictures, it's much easier to show it than describe it well

 

Today I took some pictures of W3 and A6V. I wanted to compare size and screen. Here are the results :






And the screen :

 

These are great photos Mastha. They just go to validate my lack of concern towards screen viewing angles. I mean, what more should you expect?

 

Like I said before : I'm happy with this screen, as you see it isn't that bad as you thought. I'm happy - you will be too

 

Thanks mastha212 for those screen angles pics. Have you watched movies and played games on your W3J yet? If so, could you please let us know your experience? Also, how's the battery on yours? Is it wobbly like how the other W3J owners have claimed? Thanks