Sony SZ160 or Asus W3j?

What is about the screen b/w w3 and sz ? I know I already have asked this question before, but now a lot of people have seen sz screen in personal and I hope can say which one they think is better. Which screen is better for white color?

Thank you !

 

They are both bright screens. and sony and the w3j screens should display a bright white color. darker colors if what you should worry about because of viewing angles.

 

Thank you! ok. I did not know that.
SRD - As you explained me before the viewing angels should be better for sz because of the screen size. But then, which one should be better for dark colors ?
As I understand the viewing angles depends on the dark colors. So sz has better angles = better dark colors, right? If so, is it big difference or slight one with w3?

Thank you again !

 

13.3 in screens have much better viewing angles than the 14.1 to test it out. bring a dvd like star wars with a dark begining. to Like best buy of circuitcity comp usa whatever. Put it first in a sony S series with the 13.1 in and then a HP dv1000 which is very similar to the viewing angles in a a w3v the w3v has alittle worse actually. and see if its something that will bother you.

 

Thank you !

 

the sz is just so confusing...if you look at the specs for the 160 (in a pdf they link at sonystyle) it says all 160s come with a 7400 supporting 256mb, whereas the sony info page says all come with 7400's supporting 128. that is a big difference. i dont understand, they advertise the 256, but dont really offer it, and/or confuse the hell out of us. im always too scared to order it, cause if i ended up w/ the 7400 supporting 128mb, id go mad. w3j it is for me.

 

The Go 7400 card has 128mb and the on board GPU has 128mb. When you run the machine in "Speed" mode it utilises both.

 

Is SZ or W3 better for mobile graphic design work (Adobe CS2 etc.)?

 

I don't care that much about the viewing "angle", My biggest concern is I need to view the screen in bright daylight. Which one, SZ160 or W3J would be better.

 

Was it you I spoke with about this?

 

Yes, it was and you have throughly answered, thanks

 

I really hope the W3J is sub 5lbs. I'm a reformed gamer so portability matters. When I first heard that the W3J was going to be around 5.5lbs from Justin in the W3J thread it really got me discouraged. But in this thread Justin is claiming prolly around 4.5lbs. Only time will tell. Also the SZ has a DVI output, a big plus in my book b/c I have an LCD screen.

 

That was about battery life, the weight is still 5.5lbs. The original W3v was 5.5lbs, no reason why it will be lighter. If you put in the travelers drawer, it might bump it down to 4.9lb or so.

 

Apes if you need a screen for outdoors any laptop is gonna suck. You need one of the trasmissive or reflective screens dont remember that is is. Portable one offers them on their notebooks.

 

Sony SZ or Asus W3J?? i have the same exact question to myself. i'm just quite worried about the 1.66 duo core in the W3J. but i really love the x1600 in a 14 inch laptop!!!

 

I'm really torn on this exact question as well. Portability is *much* more important to me, but I'd like to at least have the ability to start up a game from the last two years. I was originally looking at the W5, but the integrated graphics are so weak, that it would make gaming completely impossible (even the games I was playing on my previous 4 year old desktop).

I like everything about the design and specs of the Sony SZ. Good size and portability, hybrid graphics for performance when you need it and battery life when you don't, and customizability with the SZ140 so I can fit it to my needs.

But the last 3-4 years with Sony have really turned me off. Beyond all the political DRM crap (which is a pretty good reason to hate them in the first place), their quality in most things has gone downhill. I can remember 5 years ago I used to buy all Sony equipment, because even though I paid more for it, I knew I could trust it. And I haven't felt that way about Sony products since about 2001.

And I've heard terrible things about SonyStyle and the buying experience, with big delays, no responses, incorrect orders.

Which is a shame, because the SZ140 is close to exactly what I'm looking for.

I like Asus as a company from my experience with their motherboards when I was a home computer builder. And honestly that's the best reason to go with the W3. Asus's marketing and distribution is pretty messed up. Even now, after the the models have been *shipping* there are still no specs up on the N. America website for the W5j. Or for the W3j on the global site. The resellers do a fantastic job, but it seems a little ridiculous that I have to find a forum like this to find anything out about a company's products, because their own website has less information. Its true the W3 is only a little bigger than the SZ, but that just becomes Zeno's paradox after a while, because then a 15" is only a "little" bigger than a 14 and a 17" is only a "little" bigger than a 15", so screw it, I'll get a 39" notebook and carry around a dolly to roll it on.

I don't know, the whole thing has me annoyed right now. I *do* like Asus as a company better (but none of that impression comes from their seriously lacking website), but I don't know that liking them is a good enough reason to get a notebook I'm not as happy about (especially when shelling out $2G). And I don't know that liking the specs of a machine makes it worth going with a company I don't trust. Asus needs to build the SZ.

Screw it, I'm going to live in a tree and throw acorns at people. Its cheaper.

 

Nice read there

As for their website, it's quite known. ASUS is also known for 2 more things, the single webmaster for all their sites, and an E.T.A. as reliable as DHL

 

LOL

Actually, from what I'm hearing on the Sony forum, they've got the crappy ETA covered too, so that's a wash.

Its just so frustrating. You really don't want to make a mistake on a $2,000 purchase that has to last at least 2 years. Which is the reason buyer's remorse threads seems so rare in notebook forums: nobody wants to admit they made a $2G mistake.

Ah well, I'll go home and break something and then I can start over tomorrow with a better attitude.

 

ktismael

I share your sentiments regarding Sony's quality. Sadly enough, if the threads on notebookforums were any indication, it looks as if Sony rushed yet another product with the SZ (one guy returned two with very similar problems then decided against the SZ all together). As you said, I don't think the SZ will hold you back too much in the game department since you are looking at playing older games and not the next best thing necessarily. If portability was my main concern I might go with the SZ once I got a better feel for the quality. I wouldn't want to have to return it or have it repaired in the first 3 months like I have other Sony products. Personally I'm in the same boat as you concerning Sony, I want to avoid them at every opportunity but inevitably I am still going to buy their products. Fortunately, for me, I was looking for the best gaming notebook I could get in the smallest frame and the w3j is a no brainer for me.

 

Thanks for the response and info, kierkegaard.

Yeah, I may learn to love the W3j once I know more. I just wish I could put my hands on one before deciding. I may take another look at Lenovo and see if they have anything that even comes close. I played around Best Buy and Comp USA last week and the widescreen 14" weren't too bad, but since I know I'm going to be traveling almost all the time, every little bit definitely counts, and difference between the 13.3 and the 14.1 was enough that it was worth it to me.

 

Again i have to agree with you chaps above.

Sony has indeed gone downhill over the past few years. There are some very happy owners regarding the SZ and some not. The SZ is a good package on paper but some people have been questioning the build quality of the keyboard. It is a very light notebook so i can understand it being a little flexable. Sony seem to like putting all this bloatware on their range and it's not simple to reinstall and clean format the SZ. You need to make 9 recovery cd's ( so i've heard ). Then there's this issue with the battery......seems to drain faster than sony quoted. However 4hrs - 4:30hrs is good. Sony's support seems to be pretty poor these days, your best off coming here and speaking with owners or i.t techys!

On the Asus side.... they are pride themself on making very well made units. Their notebook range has superb build quality! However this does make it a little heavier than the Sony. Yes the Asus is a little bigger, but not by much.

If the W3J is around the 2.3kg mark (5lbs) and if the battery life is around 4hrs, then i'd go with them.

I'll need a notebook that is portable and can play the odd game like Football Manager 2006. ( Not really GPU demanding ) My main gaming machine will always be my desktop beast!!!

I just hope that Asus can make the W3J with it's X1600 run not too hot, good battery life and under 2.3kgs (5lbs).......if they can, then they have my money!

As Sony have their SZ on the market i am leaning towards that at the moment. I'm in I.T so i shouldn't have a problem with the reinstall. I'll wait until end of May, then i'll have to make my mind up.

PLEASE HURRY UP ASUS!

 

The W3j is 5.5lbs not 5 the sony is 4.5 a 1pound is a big difference in a notebook

 

Bugger.....might have to shave it down a bit myself!!!

 

If you take the optical drive out and put the travelers drawer it goes down to 4.9lbs i think.

 

Hey SRD,

That's the second time I've heard someone mention that and I don't have any clue what the traveler's drawer is. I've got a guess, but I'd prefer if someone could fill me in who actually knows. What is this traveler's drawer you speak of, and why does it matter to me?

 

a traveler's drawer just takes the place of the optical drive, its basically a piece of plastic thats purpose is to make the laptop lighter for travel, but you lose the use of your dvd-rom/cd-rom