New ASUS W3N 14" + 9700 Released

Right..... this 15% I talk about isn't common... But at the same time Asus isn't checking everyone of the screens they get before they accept them. More common is a dead pixel or two and the best thing they can do is buy the best screens from the best makers and hope for the best. Yes, Samsung may produce screens that have a longer life than some generic company...... but the point stands as what their warranty is.

I'm not saying that Asus would use a screen thats that bad to make a notebook with... nor am I saying that Samsung is going to try to pawn off a notebook with 14% dead pixels on a company like Asus. What I am saying is the screen makers gives the ODM a year warranty on the screen. When you send a bad screen back to Asus or some other company, they have their own pixel policy, but on their end it has to obide by the screen makers warranty if the ODM is to get their money back for the bad screen. So this is more of a long term life problem then initial manufacturing. Not something we should worry about, but something the LCD makers have been getting away with for a long time. If you want them to give the ODM's a better warranty, it's just going to get passed down to you and in the end 99% of consumers wouldn't be willing to pay for it.... it's all about the bottom line in big business and they don't care if your product breaks down the day its out of warranty... infact they'd probabaly rather that because it means more business.

J

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Have you been reading though? It's not the ODM's fault for having dead pixels.. they don't produce the LCD. It would cost them so much money if they had to replace EVERY screen that had a defect on it... plus there's so much hassle involved.
Dead pixels aren't even really "defects" ... they're just a limit in the current LCD producing technology.

In the near future, dead pixels may be gone forever... but right now, we'll have to live with them.

ASUS M6800Ne, P-M 1.5 Dothan, 512MB Ram, Tohiba Combo drive, Samsung Spinpoint M 40G HDD with 8M cache, Mobility Radeon 9700

 

1 in 100 request a dead pixel policy (aproximation). Its very very rare for me too see anyone request it. Personally i dont want to charge people for this. The reason Its offered under our warranty page and not in the spcifications page where you select your components is becuase i dont endorse this even though 75$ for a few minutes of scanning is good money. I am not planning to offer any other dead pixel policy other then the one that is offered now. I was only pressured by my partner to offer it becuase people ask questions all the time but nobody really takes us up on it. It is as follow
********************
Dead Pixel Policy:
Geared2Play.com will offer the manufacturers dead pixel policy. If within 30 days you find that you meet the replacement criteria the notebook will be covered under our d.o.a. policy Please read the manufacturers dead pixel policy. We do not offer a dealer "dead pixel policy". It is unfair to charge for such service. Most people will not pay for it. Dead pixels on a new laptop are rare, if they do occur it is usually one. It would be unfair to take a machine with a dead pixel and send it to a customer that did not pay for a "pixel policy". This practice is often frowned upon and usually does not work anyways. It can take weeks to repair an lcd with a dead pixel. Most people who do pay for such a policy will not take advantage of it knowing they will not have a machine to work with for a while. If you request a pixel scan you will be charged 75$ for this service. A pixel scan simply guarantees the laptop will arrive with no dead or sub pixels. A claim of a dead pixel must be made within 48 hours of receipt. After 48 hours we will not cover the replacement. Dead pixels are commonly accepted in this industry. Dead pixels on hi resolution screens are almost impossible to notice unless you are looking for them. We do not sponsor nor do we promote this service that is why it is not offered under the configuration page. In the case that a pixel policy was purchased and the first laptop has a dead pixel we will not resell this laptop to another customer. We will sell it in our refurbished products page on eBay. If our refurbished products page on eBay is empty that is only because dead pixels are rare and dead pixel policy orders are even more so. If you cant live with a dead pixel do not buy lcd's or laptops because it does happen regardless of brand size or cost.

*****************************8

 

... and I am sure the W3N won't have dead pixles neither... [8D]

(Just to get back to where we started... )

Jorlin

 

Well, I'm not sure how Asus' pixel policy will translate to the US market... but I can tell you this.

On a glare-type screen, with high resolution... it's almost impossible to see a dead pixel. Since all the W3 will have screen like that it might be covered for no dead pixels, but only because you're less likely to see them and therefore less people would be calling them on that warranty.

J

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Fortunately, manufacturers are getting better and better at making LCD without dead pixels. I've had LCD screens since '91 and especially when TFT's first came out, it was quite common to have dead pixelS (my laptop I bought in '99 with a 15" TFT screen had 3 dead pixels, and my digital camcorder had 2 on it's flip-out TFT) but since then I've owned two more 15" screen (one with 1024x768, and the other on my laptop with 1600x1200), three 17" screens, three 19" screens, a TFT on my digital camera, and now my 14" screen on my M3np and none of them have had dead pixels! Hopefully my next LCD won't either!!

Asus M3NP 1.5GHz Centrino (Dothan /w 2mb L2)
1GB PC2700 DDR
40gb 5400rpm 8mb Cache Seagate Hard Drive /w 5 Year Warranty
Intel 2200BG 802.11g Wireless

 

so is this unit coming to canada.. soon?

thx
-nathan

 

Since when does Canada get anything first? Figre, after we have it for a while you'll get it up there.. Unless somehow you pay for some crazy shipping method........ whoever you're getting it from in Canada is probably having it shipped ground from California. Thats usually how they do it.

Justin

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

We ship to cananada and overseas

 

OK! [8D]

I will get this little baby tomorrow. the 2Ghz version with 855-chipset, 80GB HD, 8x-Dual-DVD-Writer (2xDoublelayer), and ATI 9700m GPU.

I will post some pics and impressions tomorrow evening (GTM+1)

Jorlin

 

*drools*

Kai

 

Here you are:

http://www.encke.net/encke/modules.php?op=modload&name=phpBB_14&file=index&action=viewtopic&topic=2110&8

Sorry for redirecting you to another (german) forum. But this forum here uses plain html code to insert images. I just do not want to write all the stuff again.

Ask questions if you like

Jorlin

 

WOW!!!! WOWOWOW!! BEAUTIFULL.
Youre a lucky bastard, Jorlin =) I'm looking forward to get mine.
How about the noise of the laptop? Is it quiet? How good is the sound of the built in speakers?
Can you make a text review, in english? Or at least comment the noise and the display? Can you take a picture of the bag that comes with it?
Thanks

btw:
http://webtranslation.paralink.com
what a great german translator. way better then babelfish =)

 

Wow, that is a really great looking notebook. I can only imagine what the price will be in the US.

Can you tell us how much it weighs with the DVD drive installed?

 

Display:
The display is great so far. It is not as mirroring as the Sony Xblack. If you use it in a well lit room with a bright desktop background (or word or something like that) you will not notice it. If you play doom and the sun shines through the window to your left you can hardly see anything. But this is the same as usual displays.
So the mirror-effect is only counting if you handle dark backgrounds or a dark interface.
Unfortunately I have one pixel that only shows up in magenta. This is not so severe because it darkens at least like all the other pixels so it is only a red dot when it is supposed to be bright (white).
The angle from which you can see well is nice if you go from left to right. It is a bit worse if you look from above or from below.

Since I come from a 1600*1200 screen it is a bit of a step backward. But I will surely adapt to it.
Overall: I like the screen. I doubt that the mirror-effect is much of a problem since it is less than with sony's x-black displays. If you are carrying your notebook around it is unlikely that you play DOOM...

(If you go back to the thread I have posted you will find photos from the screen running.)

Noise/Fan:
I have the 2Ghz version. With Asus' power management tool on super performance and with about 30% CPU work, the fan was running very quite. If you use automatic stepping (like with RightMarkClock Utility) with lower default voltage, the fan is running only seldom. Glad, the fan has not a high pitch sound. Also the HD is running quite quiet ... Certainly you hear the "crackling" if it is working. When idle, it has a constant low pitch sound which you will hardly notice on a usual sound level and which is not disturbing when it is totally quite.

Speakers:
They are great! I am using 2.1 speakers from Logitech *LOL*
Well, what are you expecting? There is definitely no space for a subwoofer or anything else. I would say that they are average.

Weight:
I will test this later.

(Hope my English was OK. I am not sure about some of the expressions so I was just trying the best that came to my mind ...)

Jorlin

 

@weight:

The weight is a bit more than 2.2kg. I have measured this with an old kitchen scales. So it is not very precise.
In general ASUS is right when saying that the W3N weighs 2.2kg with the optical drive inside.



Jorlin

 

That is one BEAUTIFUL laptop...

ASUS M6800Ne, P-M 1.5 Dothan, 512MB Ram, Tohiba Combo drive, Samsung Spinpoint M 40G HDD with 8M cache, Mobility Radeon 9700

 

You are DAMN right... [ ]...[8D]...[ ]

Jorlin

 

The DVD/CD writer is a 'Mat****a UJ-831D'

The Audio system is 'Realtek AC'97 Audio'


Some new facts:
I am running RightMark Clock Utility with the W3n (2Ghz) which dynamically clocks the CPU. In addition you can lower the default CPU voltage in order to lower the heat of the CPU.
While playing one hour doom3 on my w3n running on 2ghz with lower Vcore, the temperature of the CPU never rose above 61°C.
The fan never ran on full speed.
On idle mode, temperature is never rising over 53°C. At this temperature the fan starts with 2500 R/min which is not noisy at all. It lowers the heat to 46°C again within 15-25 secs. After that you only hear you HD.

Even though it is a 2Ghz PentiumM system, it is unexpectedly quiet.


Jorlin

 

So, no DL here Not a big turn down, I will never burn a DL anyway
W3N is the perfect laptop! I hope the Portuguese distributors move their asses quickly!

 

Jorlin, I'm sorry, can you please tell me what is the Audio Codec that is used? And the HDD/DVD model?
Thanks in advance

 

yeah, that is the drive we were offering in the M6... thats only a 4x dvd +/- RW .. We were the only ones with those drives as they were a special order, but that drive is atleast 9 months old now.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

I can't stop looking at pics of Jorlin's W3N...[:I]

ASUS M6800Ne, P-M 1.5 Dothan, 512MB Ram, Tohiba Combo drive, Samsung Spinpoint M 40G HDD with 8M cache, Mobility Radeon 9700

 

very nice pictures.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Jorlin

 

I'm pretty sure it will be priced similar to the W1N...but man, it's worth it. You'd probably pay the same for a Sony notebook...

Jorlin, I'm green with envy[ ]

ASUS M6800Ne, P-M 1.5 Dothan, 512MB Ram, Tohiba Combo drive, Samsung Spinpoint M 40G HDD with 8M cache, Mobility Radeon 9700

 

Anyone else in the US very concerned about the price after seeing these photos?

 

This is one extremely good looking laptop, i noticed the lid is brushed aluminium, is the worktop of the notebook also brushed aluminium?

 

Okay, I just have to mention here that I'm kinda jealous, like everyone else, of this laptop....[ ] Man that thing looks awesome. Of course I'm also content with spending about $1k less than what I paid for my M5n which I have now...LOL.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by PROPortable

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Raging_Bull

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by rjtd

 

hummm... isn't the drive in the W3 a 9.3mm drive? Like that in the M5? Are you sure thats the model number? Maybe our 4x dual formats were 8... I don't know, but I've got that model number on those drives..

It's certainly not dual layer.... asus uses pioneer for their dual layer drives.......

J

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

WoW small and powerfull ... nice [ ]
First i was looking at sony "s" serie but skipped on that because of the go6200TC card. than the new LG notebooks also looks nice..
But this one is very nice not big but not small either..

Can you tell me about the build quality ?? i always had IBM notebooks they are well build, some how i never thought of asus before sure the mobo's are nice, but notebooks ?? So can some one tell me about the build quality for the w3n, cracks, or how is the lcd mounted with quality parts ??

 

The complete "asus" system is going to be brushed aluminum, just like the pictures you saw.....

The barebone model will be carbon fiber........ Thats going to make it lighter, cheaper and make it a little different from the aluminum model..... So, I hope you don't think the complete Asus model is going to be a lower grade coming to the states....

J

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

The build quality looks excellent from the pictures Jorlin posted. My concern is that if they make this available in the US in a carbon fiber shell that the build quality won't be as great. It will be an entirely different notebook in a carbon fiber body.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by PROPortable

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by PROPortable

 

That is one niiiice notebook. I'm glad I waited, it may have to be mine! Any comments on battery life yet?

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by one918

 

M -

I'm not suggesting anything [ ] ....

But, the lid and the palmrest can probably be ordered as replacement parts... As I know if a W1 gets damaged, we have parts to replace them. Since the barebone model will be the SAME unit, just different materials... it MAY be possible to get those other parts for you. I doubt it'd be available right off the bat.. as it takes time for the replacement parts to come in after a new notebook is released... but eventually I can't see a problem in it.

J

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

@Jorlin
What's your opinoin about the build quality ??

@PROPortable
What could be the problem with the aluminium ???
You get me worried now , is it not that well build ??

thx

 

Thx Jorlin, good quality is important to me, don't mind to pay for it but it must be good[ ]

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Tiberian

 

I'm so jealous [ !]

ASUS M6800Ne, P-M 1.5 Dothan, 512MB Ram, Tohiba Combo drive, Samsung Spinpoint M 40G HDD with 8M cache, Mobility Radeon 9700

 

Wow... I didn't say there would be a problem. Someone was concerned about the difference between the "Asus" branded complete system, which is aluminum and the barebone, built to order model which will most likely be made of carbon fiber. It will be lighter, but just as strong.... as anyone who owns an M6 can tell you.

Anyway....... I commented about how he didn't think he wanted the carbon fiber, but he wanted to build the system himself. Well, it makes no sense to buy the complete unit, and start swapping parts out and void the warranty. So, my comment was that eventually since the two computers will be virutally the same..... the aluminum lid and palmrest on the Asus model, should fit the barebone carbon fiber model. So, the point is... there should be hope for those who want to build it to their specs, but may rather the look of the aluminum down the road. Till we have both units and parts for both units, I can't give anyone a 100%, but it certainly is something we've done before on models they did the same thing to... such as the M2....

J

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Tiberian

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by PROPortable

 

right....

The only thing I can say is that I've seen a W1 with a SWEET carbon fiber lid and palmrest and they feel just as solid as the aluminum does. It made the unit lighter and it wasn't cold to the touch like the aluminum...... Either way, the bottom part of the chassis on all of asus' laptops is always going to be carbon fiber... the W3N that have been shown on here is made the same way. If it were all aluminum it would be much heavier. Asus uses aluminum for the look but also in places where wear is a problem... you rarely see the bottom of the laptop... however you could buff the paint off of a palmrest in the mattery of 6 months to a year... that won't happen with the aluminum. Also, same goes for the lid... even going in and out of a bag will put fine scratches on a painted lid..

So, since the bottom part of the chassis is where the motherboard is attached and where the majority of components are stored... The aluminum on the lid and palmrest really don't make it any more structurally sound..

J

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Jorlin,

Can you confirm that the headphone out supports SPDIF output? (Is there a red light emitted from the headphone jack when an audio signal is present?)

I've noticed that there are different keyboard configurations from different pictures of the W3 that I have seen.

Conventional keyboard layout
http://www.mobile-review.com/nb/review/image/asus/w3/pic2.jpg

Awkward keyboard layout
http://www.firstloox.org/images/overview.JPG

Notice the left Shift key, and the Enter key. I hope that the W3 in North America will have the conventional layout. It seems as though both layouts have the Fn key located where the left Ctrl key should be; I believe this is an Asus convention though.