So my friend who works for Asus says...

Please don't shoot the messenger I just happened to have a conversation this morning with one of my college buddies who works for Asus in Taiwan. For the record, I've bought 5 Asus notebooks in the last several years and have used Asus mobos quite extensively.

That Asian Guy says:
does Asus make ANY 4 GB notebooks?
Fabio says:
not sure
Fabio says:
why you wanna buy Asus
Fabio says:
ppl in Asus don't even want to buy it
That Asian Guy says:
lol
That Asian Guy says:
seriously?
That Asian Guy says:
dude
That Asian Guy says:
are you serious?
That Asian Guy says:
I always thought Asus notebooks were a good brand.
That Asian Guy says:
more high end then Lenovo or Dell.
Fabio says:
i guess the more you know about it
That Asian Guy says:
Wait, so what department do you work in?
Fabio says:
you'd know whats wrong with it
Fabio says:
oem electronic dept
That Asian Guy says:
Manager?
Fabio says:
procurement

...
Fabio says:
no one is good forever
Fabio says:
so...just keep shopping around

 

Wow, what a vague conversation, that is about as useful as me saying, "hey, don't but that, its a piece of crap!"

First, the quality of the product speaks for itself. I have been using this notebook for a year with no problems (battery aside). And, the number of poepl that use them is a further testament to that. Good work.

 

That pasted convo was pretty funny 'cause all I understand is that Some asian guy is talking to Fabio....

But I'm with Caleb; my W3J is almost a year old now, and it's still rockin' and I'm extremely happy. I've also built 6 desktops, all w/ ASUS parts wherever possible, and they've all been outstanding.

 

Well all I have to say is I won't buy an Asus again, since the only one worth buying IMO was the A series, which seems cheap out on many crucial areas.

The high end series are probably made much better, but you get what you pay for I suppose. If I ever went that high end (near $2k) I would probably stick with company that offered next business day at home service though.

I'm also appalled at the speed of Asus' servers, they are about 5 years behind everyone else. I tried one email to tech support, and no response at all for 1 week. I don't even want to think about dealing with RMA.. but thank god I have Newegg for that. (Or rather, curse Newegg for not allowing returns on laptops).

 

Buying the A series, which is supposed to be Asus cheap series is far from an indication of their quality. You could put a V6 next to an A6 without the logos, and may people wouldn't think the same company made them. Seems to be a biased view.

Also, maybe Fabio (seriously, he does butter commercials) isn't the best representative of Asus??? Just a thought...

 

Maybe he had a bad day at work, who knows. Useless information passed here.

 

Well, take everything on this forum with a grain of salt... for all we know, everything is fabricated.

That being said... Asus does make some good quality stuff; they have in the past and I'm sure they will in the future. The W1, V6, and W3 series are prime examples of top notch quality. In the future? Maybe the V2 or something from the ASMobile series...
That conversation does have a good point though... other manufacturers also make good products, and it's worth the effort to check them out too. No one can stay the best forever...

 

many ppl who work for a particular company begin to hate it so much they never buy from them again

a friend of mine worked for kfc back in 97, 10 years on and he still doesnt wanna eat there!

 

Every brand will have a "low end/economy" line and a more "upscale" line; you wouldn't buy a Chevy Cobalt, feel that it's "cheap" and then say that you'll never buy a Cadillac XTS 'cause it's still a GMC, would you? Just an example...

And LOL in regards to your KFC comment!

 

Actually, A-lit, I would very much do that. I point blank refuse to buy a GM car, or a Ford car for that matter. Its the same thing with notebooks. The primary reason I didn't buy a Dell XPS M1210 was because it was a Dell...

The W and V series laptops are very good quality. And they are not that expensive either....The W7 and W5 are both $1500, and the old W3 is selling at $1600 now.

 

I would agree with the Dell example, but the cars is a bit of a stretch. Though, given the choice I would be driving $80,000+ cars, aka not ford or GM.

 

Doesn't Asus produces Mac and Vaio models? Aren't they quality laptops? can't understand why all the fuss. I've owned several laptops in the last and now have a a8Js and a Hp dv1267ea. The build quality is the same between both, with the HP marginaly better. When I was looking for the A8Js everyone I knew, even engineers told me to buy Asus as it a had a good price/performance relation. Anyone says whatever they want. The A8js hasn't hte best build quality I've ever seen, but for the price is quite good. Furthermore, all I want are the specs: if it works as fast and reliably as any other eyecandy/"strong build" laptop (ie, mac, vaio) I would go for the cheapest. To have the same specs as the A8Js I would have had to pay €2000/€2500 (I'm european, thus the € . I only paid €1600. If it works without a problem (and until now I have no reasons to doubt it, as I didn't have any kind of problem up to now) for the next 2/3 years, that's ok by me. By then I would buy another one anyway.

 

I wonder what notebook "Fabio" owns, himself.

I'll wager money on it being a DELL.

 

lol, im so tempted to say...AVERATEC =D

as cosmetically unappealing my a8 is now (from my lack of caring too much), the laptop is still running awsome =)

 

My friend Dave (aka "Fabio") owned a Dell last time I saw him in the US about a year ago (at the time, he was a broke graduate student with limited funds so it was indeed a very low end Dell - just barely good enough to play Warcraft 3).

Not sure what he's running nowadays, but when I asked him which brands are hot in Taiwan, he mentioned IBM/Lenovo and Apple (which ironically, sources some laptops from Asus).

I'm sure he's not bitter towards Asus only because his career is doing just fine. I guess it's just a different perspective from being on the other side.

I started this thread only because I thought it was interesting how in the US, Asus is viewed as a high end brand and in Taiwan, Asus is not (much like how Buick is viewed as boring and blah in the US but viewed as a high end luxury brand in China).

Just a little follow-up.

 

here's the thing. EVERY COMPANY has its own problems. Usually ppl who work @ a certain company will say "OHH THIS COMPANY SUCKS..DONT BUY STUFF WE MAKE...WE JUST BS IT!" well, here's the thing. every company has its own share of BS. U never know the company's problems until u really work there.

btw, ASUS is pretty awesome actually. The motherboards are the best, that's for sure. For notebooks, you can't trashtalk them. they make notebooks for apple, some sonys, and a lot of the oem companies. The barebones used to be a hit, but now they're more focused in the ensemble series and it's getting better. there's a list of things i dont like though
- The A8Js problems: Worst build quality, How do u even see the screen, CTRL/FN flopped
- Discontinuation of W3J (SOMEONE should start a PETITION!)
- The V2J not including a X1600/X1700 instead of the crappy X1450
- VX2 including unnecessary things to drive cost up (T7200-->T7400; HomePremium-->Ultimate;lightscribe;wireless N)
- Crappy speakers on some models
- soldiered ram in W7J and thinner build please

 

i'm with maomanmaman... i can't think of one single 'perfect company' (besides enron), and once you work in one you'll start to see its flaws, where such flaws are most usually only 'observable' as an insider. once these flaws are observed, your mentality changes, hence you would be like 'dude, this company's actually not that good'. the fact that your friend didn't *immediately* say "hey dude don't get an asus, get a [insert brand] instead man trust me" tells me that he's only saying it because of 'seeing asus's flaws', not 'seeing something else as superior', if you know wot i mean.

so if the convo was something like:
That Hong Kong Guy: hey dude how's it working for CharlieDigital
Crabio: DUDE IT SUX! don't go for CD man, Lord Farkward's MUCH sexier, all the insiders know it! don't be a fooool!

THEN i'd be (more) convinced.

just my 0.02.

 

You know that is the equivalent of me saying "dont buy asus becuase some of the reps there are nice to me while others make me feel like i owe them somithing for their service". I like their product becuase they are unique and are really equivalnet to a lambo of laptops. no pun intended now that they came out with the lambo series. As for the above mentioned overnight service by melchiorz

Well your oppinion is very one sided. While it is true that dell offers next business day service and replacement for a modest fee. I can attest to their gold next business day service. i had to use it for batteries and drives. It is truly awesome. Dells standard home service is deplorable for lack of a better word. Asus on the other hand does not offer upgraded plans, their dealers do. asus offrs one service to all in the states. their turn around is usually 2 business days up to a maximum of a week and they always send the products back OVERNIGHT. That tells me that there is really not much room to upgrade to gold overnight service although they should offer it for the people that dont realize how fast and secure their standard service truly is. They also DO offer advanced replacement for those who ask. they do pick up round trip shipping overnight for those who ask or atleast those who purchased within 30 days. one really can not complain about asus standard service however there is always an exception.
As for fabio. whatever. he is just mad becuase asus charges him more then they charge their dealers for their product.

 

Yea every compnay is not perfect so I dont expect Asus to be any better. But I used their desktop motherboards as well and I think they do a pretty decent job. The one thing about Asus is that they stretch the market too much with many models. Eventually support will lack and they end up neglecting the problems with previous models. This is a big problem with their desktop motherboards. I certainly hope that's not the case with their mobile lineup but I feel that it is kinda going towards the same trend. But one thing about their labtop is that it's stylish compared to any of the other companies. If you had to look at Dell for example, nothing comes close to stylish unless you want to dish out for the top of the line M2010. I guess to some the bling factor might not be important, but personally I like to have something good to look at than a plain old box. If more companies would actually make their labtops with functionality/style and pay attention to details, then there would be more options to pick from. But at the moment Asus seems to be the only ones who is pushing in this direction (with a few exception like the new Clevo series)

 

What's wrong with GM and Ford? Buy from them, and you're supporting the North American economy, with the benefit of not being a ricer. I'd much rather drive a Ford Mustang than a Honda S2000. The Ford is only about 60% of the price, has a significantly more powerful drive train, and takes regular fuel, rather than premium only.

 

erm, wot's wrong with 'being a ricer'. i smell ignorant patriotism with a hint of racism

u can like ur car for all u want, i understand why the mustang can bring so much love and pride, but crapping on others while reinforcing your own view is 3rd-grader-low. especially comparing a mustang to an s2000? u joking right? that really shows how much u know about cars... and if u MUST, on pure specs, s2000 produces 237 hp with a 2.2L engine while the mustang produces 210 hp with a 4.0 V6??? throw in the weight factor and let's see which one has a faster 0-60 and more fuel efficient...

don't embarrass urself, hon

 

I am less than satisfied with my A8Js.
The build quality is worse than a nightmare.

 

My Asus built S96J has been running great for over six months now.

 

Whatever, my Asus is 10 times better in performance and reliability than my last non-Asus notebook, and I bought it for less.

 

I don't think you understand. He works "in the mothership" in Taiwain FOR Asus. He procures parts FOR Asus. He is an employee of Asus Taiwan. He talks to the Asus tech guys (which is actually how this convo started since I was trying to get to the bottom of whether any of the Asus notebooks support 4GB).

Dunno, it's just his opinion in the end, but it's an interesting view from the inside that I thought I'd share. Again, no Asus bashing on my end here since I purchased a new W5 and W7 from G2P/BTO myself last year

Just thought it would be an interesting read/perspective for those on this forum.

 

I believe almost all the recent models support 4GB. I've asked Asus support directly and was told that in my case, my A8JS supports 4gb ram eventhough in the laptop description it only states it supports a maximum of 2GB (given that it uses the 945PM chipset, there is no reason not to). I even saw an online store in the US (I'm Portuguese) that sold this model with the possibility of an upgrade from 2GB to 4GB.

 

From everyone that I know in Taiwan they all say Asus is the #1 brand in Taiwan, also Asus is the #1 notebook seller in Taiwan for many years, it used to be IBM the #1 seller but not anymore.

http://www.emsnow.com/newsarchives/archivedetails.cfm?ID=13659

http://www.itfacts.biz/index.php?id=P1545

 

Most people that want performance will get the v-8

 

Relax. So worked up about a forum post...

The V6 Mustang is a cheap college car. It's only 44% of the price of the V4 s2000. It starts at 22 grand as opposed to 50 grand for the s2000. People who actually care about performance will get the V8 Mustang for about 30 grand.

You start realizing how tiny the s2000 engine is when you consider that the Toyota Camry family sedan has a 2.4L engine. Realize that the reason the s2000 gets over 200hp is because it has one of the highest compression ratios of any production car (thus requiring premium fuel), and because the thing is highly tuned in typical Honda fashion.

The Mustang GT, on the other hand, has a 4.6L V8, has a standard compression ratio, and has an extremely conservative engine management system. It has a much greater modding/tuning potential. You can save up $4000, pick your favorite brand of supercharger, Vortec, Whipple, whatever, and add another 150 to your stock 300hp.

Try getting 450hp from your s2000, and your engine block isn't the only thing that's going to fail.

And guess what? the Ford is still 16 grand cheaper, even after the supercharger. I think it's a joke that the Honda can be so much more expensive, and still suck so hard.

Did I mention that the ford has back seats for stashing your junk, carrying extra passengers, or to quote a Ford spokesperson in the 60's, "for entertainment purposes".

This is why being a ricer is bad, by the way:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Ricer

 

Buying a car is like buying a laptop! Everyone has their preferences of what they want and what looks stylish to them.

Anyways... why are we talking about a cars!!!

The Taiwan notebook shipments table GenTechPC posted is dated 2004, a lot can change in 3 years.

 

1. Mustang is a muscle car, S2000 is a roadster, poor comparison
2. S2000 on the US Honda site is listed starting at $34250 not $50k
3. By the definition you linked to (the top one) it's not a ricer until it's been modified to look fast only, so stock cars can't be ricers
4. This is waaaay off topic

 

Other link of 2006 says Asus laptop shipment hits record high on 2006.

 

1. It is a bad comparison
2. Yep I got the price confused, though my point is still valid, if to a lesser degree
3. He was just asking what's wrong with being a ricer.

So yeah basically you're right. Back to topic.

I think a lot of employees are bitter against the company they work for, so it's more important to judge a company's products objectively, rather than listening to the opinions of one potentially prejudiced person.

He mentions that one of the most popular brands in Taiwan is Lenovo Thinkpads, but then you look at the price/performance ratio of those laptops, and Asus just gives us a much better band for the buck. If the quality of the actual laptop isn't as good, then so be it, in my opinion.

 

Maybe we should shoot the messenger. What you're doing is the equivalent of saying "fire" in a crowded theatre...

FYI, one of my good friends also works at ASUS and he peddles it wheneever possible. It works both ways.

Fact of the matter is, ASUS doesn't offer the same warranty structure as other companies. Some other bigger companies with corporate accounts might be more willing, simply because they know they might lose contracts if they don't. That's about the only thing I can think of that ASUS doesn't offer that other companies offer.

Otherwise, my friends from Taiwan also all like ASUS (one of the reasons why I even thought about getting ASUS).

I suppose it might be cynacism from how long it takes to get things done in a corporate structure, but what would a purchasing guy know about building laptops? He just buys whichever appears the least expensive or best bang for buck or whatever they need. Also, ASUS Ensemble are not part of their OEM line. OEM line would be more the "crap" they sell to other companies (so don't buy a Dell or a Macbook because he said it's crap? Ridiculous).

Also, my pal in ASUS can get really crazy discounts on stuff. I don't see why someone who works for a company wouldn't want to buy it at a price like that rather than pay full retail price for a competitor's product...

Then there's whether it's even trustworthy or not. Someone isn't getting their story straight somewhere...

 

I had an Asus W7J and to be honest, I wouldn't buy another Asus. The only superior thing I think the W7J has is the screen. Their keyboard wears out so quick (within a month/month and half of usage) and IMO, its touchpad sucks. The build quality cannot compare to the new HP V series. I would much rather get an IBM over an Asus any day. IMO, Asus is just overrated.

 

They are over rated. How you wear out w7j kb in a month is beyond me. I just got one back after 7 months of use from a programmer who writes scripts for a living on this thing. we had to replace the keyboard becuase he spilled koke on it. was not worn out at all. Stop eating on your keyboard and wash your hands before you use it. Hp is nice but the quality does not meet asus dollar for dollar. for a 1400$ notebook hp or asus is a coinflip really however asus seems to offer better graphics. also you state the screen on your w7j is great. i found quite the contrary. it can definitely have some improvement. I disagree with your strange onservance on the w7j. if by worn out you mean the keys become shiny then that is not worn out that is worn which is a sign of good use. I ve not seen a notebook that has dark semi-see through keys that does not get worn after a good ammount of use.

 

I am still not one hundred percent sure which laptop I want. I have looked at more than 10 different companies that included: Apple, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Gateway, Widow PC, Sager, Toshiba, Acer, Alienware, Panasonic, Fujitsu, and Sony. Each company offers different advantages. All of these laptops have Intel processors, similar hard drives, ram, and optical drives. The only major differences are in the screen and case. I trust build quality of all major laptop manufactures. Consumers speak of HP and Dell's build quality as if staples and glue hold them together. I chose my laptops based on small differences between options. As long as my laptop does not fall apart I do not care about build quality.

 

ASUS is obviously not for everyone, and it's true. There are tons of other options out there, and sometimes, if not usually, they are better. However, 'better' is vague to say, as one can only balance 'budget' 'build' and 'specifications' only so well - items are price at certain points for a reason.

 

Yes, I mean wear out as in the keys become shiny. My friend has an HP for more than a year and my cousin has a Dell D610 (even though is business notebook but IMO, the build quality is ****ty compare to the T40 that I had) and the keys on both were not shiny as my W7J (and I only used it for about a month and half), matter of fact, HP or Dell weren't even shiny. I think the W7J has good screen because I compared it with two HPs, Dells and IMO the Asus is superior in screen(people that I compared it with also agreed with me that Asus has better LCD). Of course it can be improved, especially on the bezel because the graphics tear when I barely pressed it. Now tell me why do you think the W7J is inferior

Edit: I said my sister's HP v2000 were a better build because when I pressed the palm rest on both, Asus tend to be softer as oppose to HP. I know HP older series are made out of cheap plastic but now, it's hard as a rock.

 

ASUS is currently in the works with Best Buy to pull off a blockbuster deal which should land numerous ASUS laptops in local B&M stores near you. This is old news, as Best Buy already sampled ASUS G1 laptops (which, not surprisingly, sold out within a couple days).

So when they finally hit B&M stores, only then will we be able to see if ASUS really is all hype and no-go, or vice versa. I tend to side with the folks on the forum with the mentality that people are really honest...however, the ego is a natural intinct in animals and it is expected that there will be a bulk of ASUS buyers who praise ASUS for the simple sake of justifying one's one purchase.

In all honesty, I actually trust the negative reviews of ASUS products over positive ones. In fact, if one is to go out and make a huge purchase, he/she wouldn't focus on positive reviews but on the other hand will give much heavier weight to the negative reviews. Afterall, one who points out the negatives must obviously be a critical observer while the other who champions his product is an ASUS votary.

 

There has been something negative said about every asus notebook. the same as every dell hp and ibm. if you focus on the negative you will never find the positive. end users can NOT make an objective rational review. As a dealer i see all the line up and many other brands as well. I can make an objective review. I stopped doing verbal reviews because some people acused me of lying about screens keyboards and whatever. now i just do video reviews. Asus is just like the rest. the field they excel in is home support in the sates and AESTHETICS. Asus has very unique aesthetically pleasing product. they also have lines which look and feel like crap. For the most part their w and v series are the kings of laptops. there is no other manufacturer that excels in the same.

 

The best advice comes from honest customer reviews and impartial computer technicians. After 3 months of research, I heard good and bad comments about all brands. Every brand offers different features at different prices. I chose the brand that offered features I wanted for the best price.

 

Geared2play - now, when a post is made from someone who sells ASUS notebooks themselves, their posts are already pre-biased to begin with. This is not to say your post is invalid as I do agree with you and I do believe (along with the consensus) that what you say is correct, especially that the W/V series from ASUS is regarded as their best laptops.

What I meant to imply in my earlier post is that when nobody complains about the build, that must mean the build is at least decent and/or good. But, however, if a couple of people complain about the screen being poor quality, then their comments trump those that praise the screen.

I'd rather buy a laptop and expect its flaws than purchase one and be dismayed by its overhyped quality(ies).

 

reviews are like first dates. you can fall in love or you can hate your first date. short term reviews are unreliable at best. the only thing a short term review can be used for is judging aesthetics. you can judge the screen on its brightness and such. i see people make reviews talking about sound quality, screen quality, speed, durability, build quality......all nonsense. an end user should not be allowed to make such assestments for the most part. How can one judge the build and quality of a brand new laptop? i can name atleast half a dozen inherent defects on various asus laptops which got stellar reviews over the last year. A review from and end user should come with a warning.."do not take any of this seriously other then the aesthetic aspect".

 

though screen and build quality does matters, but don't forget on motherboards.
asus motherboards for desktops are one of the best out there, and without a good motherboard, even how fast or quality your notebook is, its gonna mess up.

Maybe that's why they call it "mother" board

 

When you invest more than $1000 USD on a laptop, you should check out both the positive and negative reviews and ignore neither.

 

If you buy a bottle of "Samuel Adams" beer, the Miller name or logo does not appear on the bottle. However, Miller makes "Samuel Adams" beer. ASUS is a large manufacturer of motherboards and I wonder how many HP, Dell, Fujitsu, Lenovo, Apple, and Sony laptops have ASUS motherboards. In some ways ASUS is its own competition.

 

I agree with you, Homer - not only do the laptops use motherboards built by ASUS but ASUS themselves make most of the laptops for other vendors including Dell. They're doing such a good job they're now placing more emphasis on their own-brand laptops, scaring away Sony to Quanta (another great notebook OEM).

I like the Sam Adams analogy, too.