Please help: W7S or W3J?

I'm having a tough time here, so thought I'd ask you guys. I keep flip-flopping and finding new stuff but I think after re-assessing my needs, I've decided to go with one of these two notebooks (the new W7S with SR or the older but reliable W3J).

I'll just kind of run down my two areas of comparison I'm having trouble with...

Processor:
W7S: 2 GHz (7300 SR), 2 MB L2 Cache, 800 FSB
W3J: 1.66 GHz (5500), 4 MB L2 Cache, 667 FSB

-This is my main concern if I were to go with the older W3J model, as clearly the W7S has the better processor. But I will be using Windows XP hopefully (definitely with the W3), so I'm not sure if the difference will be huge? Is this a real big thing...? I mean, I see ppl in their sigs saing they're still using Pentium Ms and Core Duos... so who knows.


RAM:
W7S: 1.5 GB (512 standard + 1GB)
W3J: 2 GB (1GB standard + 1GB)

-Both 667 MHz DDR2, so the advantage is with the W3J. One of my main concerns early on was the RAM, as I multi-task alot. But I'm not sure if there'd be a huge different between 1.5 and 2 GBs...?


The W7 has a webcam, the W3 has a keyboard with full-sized Enter and Backspace buttons; the W7 is a little lighter and more portable, the W3 is better built and a bit bigger screen.

Both have fairly poor battery life, but almost any laptop I was considering to begin with was sitting in that 2-3 hour range, so this doesn't look like it'll be a deal maker or breaker for me.

They're both almost the exact same price, ~$1500... so that isn't really an issue.

But please help me out, which one would you guys recommend?

 

Actually, the W3j has the 667mhz FSB, the W7s has 800mhz.

Of the two, it's really hard. The W3 should give more battery life, plus the modular bay battery option.

 

Yep I mixed that up, fixed now.

The W3J also comes with a mouse/carrying case. This is tough.

Does anybody have any conclusions regarding the processor difference?

 

The W7S has the 4MB cache and the W3J has 2MB. You can of course upgrade the processor to a T7200 if you want to spend the extra cash.

You could also find the old Yonah core one for cheaper and put in a T7200.

The W7S supports up to 2.5gb of RAM, not 1.5. Asus updated their spec page to reflect this recently. Just put a 2GB chip in there.

http://www.asus.com/products4.aspx?modelmenu=2&model=1667&l1=5&l2=75&l3=298&l4=0

Anyway, I'm in the same boat as you + Vaio TZ. They're all in the same price range (Vaio being custom made cheap without SSD).

Haven't made a decision yet. What kind of graphics power are you looking for? The W3J has an ATI x1600 which will perform a lot better than the W7S' nvidia 8400M G.

 

I believe they both come with a carrying case and mouse.

 

your decision should be based on the video card and or newer platform the w7 has.

 

If I stick a 7200 in the W3, then they have basically the same processor and the X1600 is quite a bit better than the 8400 I think? Plus all the other benefits of the W3 to begin with... but that's $300...

 

well do u need the better video card? If not go with the w7

 

Poor battery life on these, go for something else. I have a W3J, and did consider at one moment in time to downsizing to the W7S, but poor battery life of the W7J has led me to look for other options, like the SZ, TZ.

 

Why don't you wait for the Z37S? It should be coming out soon and it will have better batery life, plus eSata and DVI.

 

Would it also be lighter than the W3J or W7J?

 

It has the same weight as W7J (1.9 Kg) an of course lighter than W3J.
You can check the specifications here:
http://laptopsinc.com/Merchant2/mer...Code=SXS37&Category_Code=P1SX&Product_Count=1
I thought that is has DVI bu I was wrong.