Starting to second guess the w3j / help me choose

We'll, now that people are having mixed feelings about the w3j's screen, im starting to think that maybe I should venture towards the v6j.

I got really turned off by the wxga screen because this was going to be my primary college machine. Meaning that I would always be using the lcd screen, plus I dont want to buy an external. I was thinking that maybe id buy it, see the screen and then decide if I need an external, but I really dont wanna go nuts with price.

Now, the v6j has a better screen, and is taller to fit more information.

You guys know the specs of the v6j and the w3j so I wont bother listing them, but here are my needs.

Use: Class / dorm life. Taking notes / browsing / music / movies / gaming? (not too sure). Hopefully ill be really social and not get pulled away too much by games.

The biggest problem with this is im not sure how gaming intense i'm going to be, meaning im not sure the 7400 will be powerful enough or the x1600 is too much.

Travel: I would probably take to class as much as possible.

Sure 14.1" is more portable, but arent the weights nearly the same?


There are definatly other factors, but I wont bore you guys.

Give me some feedback in defense of w3j or in favor of the v6j.


Thanks.

 

Hmm...the W3j will fit better on the desks...plus I kind of like that the screen isn't as tall.

You'll also get widescreen movies which are KEY IMO!

Pound for pound, all the V6j has going for it over the W3j is the screen...and maybe a slight nod in the looks category.

I've haven't seen the W3j screen yet but I'm thinking/hoping/expecting it will be better than "just fine".

Choice is yours though - is screen real estate the MOST important thing for you? Otherwise the W3j is the best for you I think.

 

If you dont game then the V6J its just as portable much better built better speakers and nicer screen. It can game but not as well. NOw honestly with the rebates going on i would pick a V6Va the last gen v6 series that came just before the v6j. It has the best screen on the market period. And IPS screen unmatched in quality and viewing angles. it also has a X700 video card which is alittle faster than the 7400 in the v6j. the only downside is its a 1.8 pentium M which is slower than the core duo, But it is still a powerful machine and will last years. just my two cents. As one of the few people to see the IPS screen i think that alone still makes it worth it.

Also for the movies thing said above. A 15in screen is as wide as a 14in widescreen so the aspect ratio is still there. and you willbe able to work on documents better because its alittle taller.

 

^ Without black bars though?

It's a win either way Androo...If only the V6j came with the IPS, then it would be NO CONTEST.

 

^ Even widescreen laptops have black bars though, because they're 16:10 resolution while movies are 16:9. This means 10% of the width (80 pixels) will still be left black.

 

NoOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooo -

 

What's the big deal about the black bars? Does it really impact the movie watching if there's black bars above and below the movie on your screen?

 

WXGA on 14.1" is really a good fit. everything is sized quite practically. i use it for much the same things you plan to. no actual gaming though, so i went with the cheaper z63a instead of w3v/j. viewing angles are sometimes tricky if you're picky though. i was upgrading from an XGA laptop, so if you're coming from your desktop 19+ incher, then you might want to ease your eyes into it. portability-wise the w3 form factor is not much smaller than the v6 and they weigh about the same.

both the w3 and v6 are great options in any case, but for your needs i vote v6.

 

I think you just converted me th V6Va over W3J, not much bigger footprint, weighs less, better screen and sound and I don't game. How could I go wrong??

 

theres a rebate as well for the v6va/ you are from north america right? because only those had the IPS screen. Look up the v6va review on notebookreview.

 

http://usa.asus.com/event/rebate/333.html

 

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2720 review

 

I know you guys dont have any experience with the w3j, but ive only used 14.1" screens a few times.

I was wondering if it gets too small for prolonged use / gaming etc.

 

Thanks SRD, I am from NA, actually CT also. Does the IPS screen look better outside also or only help in the viewing angles?

 

I was in your position about 4 months ago, and heavily weighed up the merrits of both, Either way they are great laptops, here is a summary of my decision, the chioce I made is buy a W3J now and if I dont like it, i will upgrade to a V6 (if they improve the audio)

Chassis
In my opinion the look and finish of the V6 is superior. but the W3 also looks good.

Size and weight
I have seen these side by side in the shop, I was surprised that they are a similar dimension, length with the V6 just being a tad deeper and thinner, so in my opinion they are equal.

Screen
My biggest deciding factor is the screen the W3J is a smaller screen and lower res than the V6, which is a more square format, but the W3 is wide format (i am hoping that will compensate for lower res). To be honest I dont know how I will go working with it, but the only way to know is just buy and try it! Both have their merets, although the V6 fills the panel more than the W3, thus giving a larger screen.

Audio
The V6 uses AC 97 audio chip, somewhat outdated dont know why they use that chip???
The W3J have newer Intel HD audio (Azalia) which is much improved audio signal (if you are unsure look it up on the intel web site, gives a full description of both). in this respect the W3J is better.

Functionality
of course the W3 has a better GFX card, but what tipped the scales for me was that the W3J uses a multi optical bay that can house a second HDD or second battery, I have used this set up with a second battery and it is fantastic! also the fact that I will have 2X100GB HDD's runing in a 14'' laptop, sold it for me, I can use the second for a scratch disk when using photoshop, and keep my 70GB of music without filling up and bogging down the main drive.

So basically for me I went for the W3J but you needs may differ, my main reason for the W3 was the multibay and Intel Audio chip,
I am a big photoshop CAD and 3D Vis user so I might find the sreen too small, (I have a 13.1 at the moment) the W3J will be wider but shorter, I have debated this for ages, but since the W3J came out with the ATI 1600 I just had to do it, but I may want to upgrade to the V6 in a year or two, we will see.

Hope that helps

 

Where in CT are you from? Its a bright clear very good screen with great viewing angles. I think glossy are better outside period some people argue saying that glossy reflects the sun so its not better and matte is. But i find with matte the sun washes the colors out and the screen. with glossy it has a reflection but it is usable outside. I have tested this many times. But neither is really great outside. IPS is the same tech they use in LCD tvs thats why they have such better viewing angles. Movies look amazing on the screen.

 

From Westport. U? I agree Matte is terrible outside, on the other hand I've seen some glossy's that are not usable outside either, in particular Dell and Gateway. It seems if the notebook is bright enough it will be ok to use outside. Another poster put some pics up of the W3j indoors with sunlight shining directly on it and it looked pretty good, so I'm not sure which notebook to go with being I've never seen pics of the V6Va outside. My other choice I guess is to with MX at P1. Why he is the only one to carry A8Jm in N.A. is a bit of a mystery.

 

I second SRD. Go for the V6va! it's considerably cheaper with the rebates now

 

It seems the V6va is only $200 cheaper after rebate then the W3J.

 

what kind of battery life do you get with the regular battery and with the optical bay battery added on?

 

its $300 less. $100 instant rebate, $200 rebate. In the end, at the cost of going down from a Core Duo to a Sonoma.. you get a better video card and the IPS screen.

 

Not to be a pain, but where do you see that? The cheapest I see is at C9, 1795 less 200 rebate for the V6va.
And are they IPS screens, I'm reading old post from proportable that Asus was going to stop making that screen on the this notebook?

 

The setup I used this on was a Dell Latitude, the batery life went from 3 hrs to nearly 8hrs! and it lasts longer when you add both of them at the same time rather than letting the main battery run down then inserting the second battery.

I havent seen any posts about using the second battery, on an asus with this setup, but I am getting the second battery, with my W3J so should be able to provide some numbers.

 

http://rjtech.com/
although others should have it too. You can see it on the right column, $200 mail in rebate, and $100 instant.
and yes, the V6va is currently the last notebook using an IPS screen.

 

Thanks, It works out about the same. It's $100 instant rebate off $1899 and $200 mir, total 1599. c9 is 1795 less 200 mir. Wonder why they stopped making Ips screens.

Thanks again, have a goodnight.

 

They couldn't guarentee a steady supply from the manufacturer, they are superior screens it is just that Asus could not get enough to put them in more laptops.

 

Asus could get plenty of them. IBM uses them their flex view are IPS. Pretty much all LCD tvs are IPS asus probably didnt want to pay the premium for them and charge the same for the notebook. Yes its just as usable outdoors as the W3J. And about batter life expect 3.5 hours from a v6va. also a w3j with optival will get about 4.5 hours im guessing.

 

For some reason it lists the V6Va as having 512 ram but it came with 1 gig.

 

Yeah I just heard Justin mention something along these lines, but Asus have cut corners to price their laptops competitively, so I would agree with you on that.

I would believe that using the standard + optical bay batter would give you way more than 1 hour additional battery life (if that is what you ment by w3j with optical), when I used this setup I got at least 2x the battery power, but that was a Dell, so will see what the Asus can do when it arrives.

 

How can I make sure I'm getting the IPS screen if I order the V6Va???

 

That model IS the one with the IPS... There is no guarantee because you will for sure get an IPS.

 

Hi, I just chose the v6va over the w3j... no regrets whatsoever. Bought from c9tech. the sticker on the machine indicates the 15.0" SXGA+ IPS TFT LCD. I think all the v6va's for north america were IPS, haven't heard of anybody getting one here that wasn't. Love it, love it, love it...

If you're worried about black bars when watching DVDs, the black is soo deep and beautiful on this screen that its almost a pleasure having them there!

 

What is the speed of the HD?

 

Slower. Its a Fujitsu MHV2100AT, so 4200 RPM I think.

 

It really depends on your usage1.5 hours more seem to be about right. Its hard to tell because with both batterys in the battery guages act funny and misread it alot.

 

i still wonder the HD shold be 5400rpm becasue almost the lasest model already come with a 5400rpm HD.

 

I'm kinda interested in the V6va also, but where is it still for sale?

 

There is a couple places in this post people linked.

 

Everywhere... actually try c9Tech, Sasha there is SUPER helpful and a great person overall. Amazing service, try them first. Plus their pricing is very competitive, you won't be able to find it cheaper than them. (c9tech.com)

Also try Amazon and Buy.com but... they aren't as personal and the service is lacking so try c9tech first.

 

Oh yeah I forgot to mention, that I was on a flight from Dubai to NZ and was using Adobe Indesign, placing images into a design report, so the useage was very light, but with both batteries running at the same time I got close to 8 hrs, (there were 2 naughtly loud kids that screamed and played up every half hour for the 14hr leg from Dubai to Melbourne, so there was no way I could sleep)!

I am sure if you are gaming solidly you could take at least a third off that?? I am also guessing, but supose we willl just have to test it when it comes.

 

Will there be a big difference between the 4200 and 5400 HD? I know there is one reseller that will customize but that will get the price right back up to the W3J.