Opinions on W3J vs A8JM vs S96J

I really can't decide between them, can I get some help please? I like all of the W3J features except, the A8JM has 5 usb's and a geforce go7600 512, while the W3J has the x1600 256, and 3 usb's.
-Thanks

 

W3J is definitely more powerful with the X1600 vs the A8JM. It is a really nice notebook I have seen it in person and am going to purchase it soon. My only complain was the speakers aren’t very loud. Much worse then my previous notebook. The XPS m140. I think the W3j is a great all around notebook and is very powerful for a 14"! As for USB ports you can always buy a USB hub for under $10. The S96J is a nice option and is a couple hundred cheaper. But is a lot hevier, doesn't look as nice, and gets less battery life.

 

Sorry, What makes the W3J more powerful? The GFX card?
Is there somewhere i can get the S96J in Canada?

 

W3 is Lamborgini and A8 is Audi S4 : both are extremly fast but with Lambo you're also buying style, luxury, built quality etc. You feel the diffrence?

 

Audi bought out Lambo a while ago, just so you know

 

lol i do like audi's.... lemme go look at the builds

 

So they are in "the same" company just like W3 and A8 . And I'm not talking about car preferences but car TYPES !!

 

Mastha what games can you run on your W3? Does yours run hot?

 

hahaha. I really do like the look of the W3... is there a difference in the graphics cards?

 

Diffrence in performance? I don't think so, nn some games X1600 will be better, in others 7600 wins. But they are very similar in terms of performance. And about games - at the moment I don't have much time to play but I put results from FEAR somewhere on this forum, I think it was in W3J benchmark topic so go there and check.

 

I am looking forward to buy a W3j, is it avalable yet at any US store?

 

http://www.proportable.com/detail.aspx?ID=174

Thanks a lot mastha ill check that out. Does your w3j run hot?

 

Hmm the laptop case is not gettin hot, but there's a hot air coming from right side. It can by annoying but if you put your hand a little below it or to the left it shouldn't be a problem.

 

The only thing is... ill be getting my laptop in july-august...
should i still go for the w3j (probably will be cheaper) or something new?

 

whats with the perpendicular drives?

 

Today I ordered Seagate Momentus 5400.3 which is a perpendicular drive to change from 4200 HDD I have now

 

that will fit in your laptop?

 

I hope so

 

lol nice... should i just put in a 7200? or is it a decent price?

 

your buying decision between w3j and a8j should be based on looks and price. performance will NOT be an issue

 

But keep in mind that although the W3J may look nicer, it doesn't have a built in webcam nor DVI port. For those reasons, i went for the A8Jm.

Also, since you won't be getting a laptop until July-Aug, you may want to consider Dual Core 2. It is faster and is a 64 bit chip.

 

when is dual core 2 coming out? what laptops will it be featured on? I like the look of the w3j... whats the dvi port for? I dont really need a webcam.

 

The Core 2 Duo won't be shipping in laptops until the end of the year or so. They may be "released" on paper, but you won't see them integrated and actually shipping for several months after that. Once they begin being integrated into laptops, that's all that you will see on Intel based Centrino laptops

DVI is digital video output instead of VGA which is analog.

 

After doing some research the core 2 duo is gonna debut at toom much cash. I'm thinking of picking up the W3J in july... wont the price be down by then?

one more question. Can the processor be changed?

 

Oh i see... and dvi is if you wanna hook a monitor through it?

 

The Intel Core Duo processor price drop is May 28th, so you will see prices dropping shortly after that.

You can use either DVI or VGA for an external monitor. Virtually all laptops now have dual head video cards that will allow you to use an extenal monitor. Using an external monitor will improve your productivity far more than a faster processor, more memory and a faster HDD. It really makes your work go faster being able to have different applications open on each screen, and having the curser move between them as if they were one. We all have 3 monitors here.

Oh, and yes, the processor can be changed.

 

I dont plan on having more than one monitor immediately so vga will not affect me, (but perhaps on my next purchase). I thought w3j processor cant be changed... well thats good. So i get the prime time to buy the asus w3j is mid- late june?

 

is momentus worth it, or is it better to get a 7200 rpm for cheaper?

 

Well, I would wait until your warranty is over before you change the processor on a W3J.

Also, since the W3J has the 1.83GHz processor you won't see much of a price drop if any. The price drop will be dramatic on the 2.0 and 2.13GHz, but will be quite minimal on the 1.66 and 1.83GHz...so minimal that you prabably won't see ASUS dropping the price on the W3J at all for several months.

 

The biggest advantage of the Momentus is its 5 year warranty (the others are 3 years).

But, what model are you looking at now? The W3J comes with a 100GB 5,400 RPM drive.

 

oops my mistake...it is 5400.... so a 100gb 7200 for 115$ isnt really gonna show much of a performance increase?

 

hmm that makes the laptop $2279.00 Canadian 2gb 667 ram. T2500... and everything else stock

 

tv tuner basically allows me to hook tv into the laptop?

 

For most applications no...but if you are doing things that move huge amounts of data, like multi-track video editing, engineering 3D modeling, intense gaming and the like, then the 7,200 RPM helps.

 

That seems rather intuitive.

Yes, a TV tuner allows you to connect your coaxial cable TV to your laptop.

 

lol yeah, im going to university next year, and i dont wanna lug a tv, so i think ill need one of those... I would like to be able to play games. ill have to look up pricing on the momentus

 

eh im gonna stick with the standard hd

 

What other sorts of add-ons will i have to look at other than the ram and proc upgrade?

 

What model are you looking at?

You can't upgrade the ASUS Ensemble models without voiding your warranty. If you are looking at one of those, like the W3J, I would wait until after the warranty is over before doing any upgrades.

 

i was gonna upgrade it to the T2500

 

I'm looking at the w3j on: http://www.milestonepc.com/canada/product_info.php?cPath=187_87_82&products_id=729

Notice
We can customize this laptop upon your request, this will void Asus global warranty, but we can still handle your warranty service in North America.

 

Then you should be calling or emailing them with your questions.

 

Hmmm... i was going to but i got distracted lol... ill try to call them now... do you ship to canada?

 

No, we don't ship to Canada.

 

errr i called, but i couldnt understand him/he didnt know what i meant

 

Well, then I would think pretty hard about relying on them to mod your laptop, which voids your ASUS warranty, and then have to rely on them for your warranty.

The warranty is only as good as the company standing behind it. If it were me, I would want ASUS behind it.

 

hmmm, do you know the benchmarks of the standard w3j? Can i order modded stuff from ASUS itself?

 

No you can't ordered modded stuff from Asus.

Most feel that going from 2400 to 2500 isn't noticeable enough to justify the expense. Do you want it that bad?

From what I can tell, Danny and Milestone pc are great sources to purchase from. I wouldn't be hesitant to deal with him in the least (if I lived in Canada that is).

 

Which milestone PC outlet?
I was a little bit set on it. But I can do without.
I'm still confused on the warrenty... if i upgrade to 2 gb ram, my warrenty on the laptop stays, and i have a warrenty with them for the part?

Two questions

will w3j be able to support vista?

Can w3j handle duo core 2? (for future upgrades)

 

Zealots:

yes, it will support Vista, the graphics card is MORE than enough to enable the better 3d aspects of Vista, and also if you so choose Vista will also be on a 32-bit platform

and yes, the Merom (Core 2 Duo) is fully compatible with the Core Duo (Yonah/Napa) Chipsets and a simple switch is all that is involved.