Should I spring for the W3J?

Everything I've read makes me want the W3J, with the exception of the DVI port (er... lack thereof).

The main alternative I'm thinking of is the A8Jm, or rather the MX from PortableOne since that seems to be the only version available in the US.

So does anyone have specific reviews of the MX?

And how important is a DVI port vs. VGA or VGA/DVI adapters if I'm going to connect it to an LCD?

I'm about to head off to college so this laptop is going to hopefully take me through (at least) the first two years. I plan on taking my desktop (though this laptop would have better specs than my desktop), and getting an LCD which i would use for the desktop and hook up to my laptop, depending on my needs.

I'm probably going to end up doing ComSci, so I'll be doing a lot of programming.
I'm also a gamer (games such as HL2, Oblivion, etc.)

My budget is tight so the price difference is definitely a factor, but i really dont mind the extra cash for better quality/features, and longer life IF its really worth it.

Is the bay thing unique to the W3J? or does the A8Jm/MX have that too? Because being able to have an internal second harddrive or battery IS attractive to me.

Thanks in advance for your input ^__^

 

I think you'd be happier with the W3J, but then again I'm a little biased.

From the looks of it, you dont really need DVI, and even if you connect to a larger monitor, it's not like you're going to be needing the utmost quality, since it's just programing and not hardcore image editing.

 

at this point, i'd say it's really a coin toss to be honest.

they're both great machines with very similar specs and they both should last you a good while. i'm maybe leaning towards the a8jm for you because of the DVI as well as the fact that it's not as flashy looking so it will hopefully be less likely to get stolen, which is something to consider when you're at college.

 

so far i have only heard of the hotswap bay for w3j, as for the DVI port i am not sure in pick you are about picture quality. for myself i am using DVI from my ati 9700 pro to my 19inch samsung 913T lcd. to tell you the truth, i cant tell a difference btwn DVI and using standard VGA. maybe its my eyes. but i dont think its a big enough deal for you not to get this lappy if you really like all the other components on it.

 

I thought I noticed a little bit of difference going from vga to dvi in the colors. But then i went back to vga and I don't notice any difference *shrugs* .

 

I haven't seen the W3J personally, and I have an A8Jm so maybe biased. So far, I have no complaints, looks quite nice, built well and suits me (yeah, I do programming and web stuff on it) fine.

If you're on a tight budget, might as well get the A8Jm and save a few hundred bucks to use towards something else.

 

Quite interesting; I had the exact same questions as the ones you've just asked.
I'll be having a LCD, too, and the DVI + more USB ports + webcam on the MX really wants me to get it. W3J overall seems more expensive, too. I've heard that the A8 uses 6 cell battery and the W3 9 cell, yet both have the same battery life, so i'm guessing if we can get a 9 cell for the A8 it'll last longer. Not to mention, isn't the A8 cooler than the W3?

Now for my other questions:
it seems like the MX doesn't use SATA; will it be much of a problem? What if I get the 7200 RPM HD w/o SATA?

Also, how easy is it to get a spare battery?

If BIOS upgrades and the sort are available for the a8jm, should/could we use it on the MX as well?

 

THe current W3J is IDE, in the future maybe switch to SATA

 

I just noticed that the screen on the MX is 14.1" with 1280x800 res while W3J is 14" with 1280x768. I'm sure this is nothing new, but which one is more... "standard"? Is there a noticeable difference?

and is what are the pros and cons of 14.1"/14" and 15.4"? How difference is the weight, viewing quality? Is stepping back to an S96J/Z96J (whats the difference?) a huge step backwards?

 

^ nice find; didn't notice that before.
As for the 96J series; they're definitely cheaper and you get the x1600 instead of the nvidia. If you don't mind the size and the lack of DVI you can definitely get a better spec-ed laptop cheaper by going w/ the 96

--from another thread about W3J vs Z96J
http://www.notebookforums.com/showthread.php?t=153964

 

Where you'll really notice the difference between VGA and DVI is anything with high contrast, especially text. VGA will leave text looking a little... fuzzy.

 

I use VGA with my 24" LCD and its so crisp no fuzzyness here at all. It all depends on the quality of the screen also.

 

Cant see a darn difference between vga or dvi. I ve tried many many times on my desktops and on my plasma. Cant see it but i guess it takes a trained eye to see something like that....

 

Ok years ago when LCDS first hit the market DVI made a huge difference. Now that lcds have gotten better electronics outside the have bad much better analog output through VGA. I personaly can notice the difference in a second. But i know what to look for. Now i personaly prefer DVI because one you can get an VGA adapter if you need to. and second you can connect to a plasma display or HDTV works better than with a VGA plug. There def is a difference in crispness and colors. Different displays show the difference more.