S96 or W3J

I can't decide between the Asus W3J and the PowerPro 2:24 from powernotebooks.com both seem like excellent machines but i'm leaning towards the W3J due to its 14" form factor and what seems to be a very very solid build. The only trade off that worries me is that I cannot spec it to a 7200 RPM HD or 2 gig of RAM. I am told that 2 Gigs of RAM will be quite useful when vista rolls around. Does W3J come with one stick of 1GB or 2 512s and if it does, is there an open slot where I can add another stick? I've heard this would void my warranty? I'm considering just adding to 2GB after the year warranty expires, (when i'm going to install vista) Is this something that a non-geek can do on the W3J? I don't want to break the machine or take it entirely apart. Also, with the modular drive, would i be able to take out the original system drive 100GB 5400 RPm and put it in there, and use the main HD bay for a larger 7200RPM drive? is this something that I could do? any advice would be greatly appreciated. Also, (although this is very unlikely) I've heard that It might be possible to upgrade a core duo to a core 2 duo processor. Is there any place (geek squad maybe) that could do this for me once the machine was out of warranty. Of course, there is always the S96 but it just doesnt seem as cool or as sleek, or as solid. TY in advance ^_^
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You might be able to add the RAM to the W3J but there is a chance it won't work right. If you can live with 1GB of RAM the W3J is awsome.

 

changing the RAM or HD will not void the warranty as there's no seal on them to break (which would void the warranty). however it's highly suggested that when you upgrade the RAM and HD yourself, that you keep the original parts and put them back in when you need Asus to service them.
Also upgrading to a Core 2 Duo processor at the moment is highly speculative.

 

It's relatively easy to replace the RAM in the W3j...I would imagine the S96j also.

As has been said, replacing the RAM will not void your warranty. I won't speak to the HD...

The OE config is 2x512MB sticks.

Keep in mind that putting a 7200RPM drive in there will generate a fair amount of additional heat. Unless you're video editing, programming...etc, I'm not sure it's needed (sweet no doubt but maybe not worth the heat).

 

Be sure and see the recent thread about the W3J refresh. They will soon be switching from two 512MB sticks of RAM to one 1GB stick.

 

^ah to add to that, the refresh will also make the 2.0ghz processor standard

 

The W3J is definitely prettier, but once you've hugged it and kissed it and showed it off to all your friends and neighbors and some random strangers who happen to be passing by your house, you'll be spending 98% of your time with it staring at the underside of the top.

S96J is a bigger screen, more affordable, cooler?, and you can spec it out to your exact needs down to the specific brands or even model numbers of HD and memory you want. W3J is prettier, supposedly brighter, more mobile, probably marginally more sturdy.

 

"Ear muffs" - already a refresh on a one month old laptop? WTF.

 

hmm I wouldn't call it a "refresh" like how the Z70v was with the Z70va.. just rather, it's coming with different specs as standard.

 

How soon? I'm going to cringe if you say..."in a month or two"

 

i think late June but given what Justin's been saying thats been happening at Asus.. who knows!

 

-*cringe*-

 

The one thing that might make me suggest the W3J is weight considerations. The one thing that bothers me about my S96J is the weight, which kills mah back/shoulders. Otherwise, I'd say go for the S96J if you dont mind size/weight. More powerful, better value, and looks arent everything^^

 

TheUnderTow - At first glance I thought your avatar was Hitler 0__o

 

Thanks for the info guys. I think I'll stick with the W3J because I really do appreciate that sort of power in such a mobile package. I do plan on upgrading the RAM in the somewhat near future. If it is now being specd with 1 stick of 1 GB 667 RAM is that all I would need to buy? Or would it have to be some sort of specific brand of RAM (IE Corsair) in order to complement the original stick correctly. Secondly, what sort of parts must be removed to install the second chip?

 

What's up,
I've also thought about buying both of those laptops and to me it came down to the size and ease of portability since the S96J can be built with exact same specs (cpu, memory, HD) as the W3J. After checking out those sizes at my local bestbuy I felt I needed a smaller screen (WJ7), but those are both great laptops.
I believe that you can use any brand of RAM as long as it matches the pin number and PC number of the stick of RAM you already have, and that in most laptops (except the ultra-portable ones) have one RAM slot that is accesible through a panel on the bottom of the laptop (sometimes behind the battery). I can't say for sure how it is on the W3J since I don't own one, but I'm sure one of the other members who own one will chime in and help you out.
Jake

 

I went with the s96j because the added weight really isn't that big a deal if you get a decent backpack that distributes the weight well, and I really wanted a bigger screen. The 14" screen just wasn't big enough for me to use for gaming, and a 17" screen just cut down on the portability of the machine. the s96j's 15.4 " screen looks great, and is the perfect middle ground of performance to portability for me. I believe it's also cheaper than the w7j, but don't take my word for it.