To wait or not to wait

Based on considerable research I've decided to get a W3J. Problem is I need it now. I've considered waiting to get on the group buy thing but not sure if I can wait that long. Should I wait for the Core2 or just get the one that's on the market now? I will be running graphic intensive programs as well as Oracle, etc. Just looking for opinions on this one. Thanks.

 

Get it now, that's what I did. I need it for school, and school starts next week.
If you wait for the C2D merom on the W3J, you're probably looking at mid-october or later.

Also, is there a particular reason why you must have the merom cpu? If you need a powerful cpu for things like rendering 3d graphics, or stuff like that then yeah.. but there's no difference for typical applications like word processing, surfing the net, email, etc.

 

The group buy might not save you that much money. Buy now and upgrade to Core 2 Duo a year from now when the processors are MUCH cheaper.

 

I suggest you either buy it now, or take a long wait for the second wave of core 2 duos.

 

That's not a bad idea. Is it going to be a plug and play upgrade with bios update? I am leaning towards buying it now tho. School started last week and having to write down notes sucks.

 

I'm also part of this dilema... but since I already waited 2 months, might as well wait a bit more since they are practically the same price if not higher than before.

 

Out of these three:

Asus Notebook A8Jm / Core Duo T2400 1.86Ghz / 1 x 1024M DDR2 / 100G 5400rpm / DVD RW / nVidia 7600 512M PCI-E / Wireless abg / 14.1" WXGA / XP Home / 1 year global warranty Asus Notebook A8Jm / Core Duo T2400 1.86Ghz / 1 x 1024M DDR2 / 100G 5400rpm / DVD RW / nVidia 7600 512M PCI-E / Wireless abg / 14.1" WXGA / XP Home / 1 year global warranty

Upgrade 1024M to 2048M DDR2 667 ( Corsair / OCZ)

Upgrade 100G 5400 HD to 80G 7200 HD (Hitachi)

Total 1660



ASUS F3JM, Core Duo T2400 1.86Ghz, 1x1024M, 100GB 5400rpm, 15.4"WXGA, DVD+-RW, 802.11ABG, XP Pro, NVIDIA7600 512MB

Upgrade 1024M to 2048M DDR2 667 ( Corsair / OCZ)

Upgrade 100G 5400 SATA HD to 100G 7200 SATA HD (Seagate)

$1673.50

Asus Notebook W3J-H026 / Intel Core Dual T2500(2G) / 1x1024M DDR2 667 / 100G 5400r HD / DVD RW / ATI X1600 256M PCI-E / Wireless abg / Bluetooth / 14.1 WXGA / XP Pro / 1 year global warranty Asus Notebook W3J-H026 / Intel Core Dual T2500(2G) / 1x1024M DDR2 667 / 100G 5400r HD / DVD RW / ATI X1600 256M PCI-E / Wireless abg / Bluetooth / 14.1 WXGA / XP Pro / 1 year global warranty

Upgrade 100G 5400 HD to 100G 7200 HD (Hitachi)

Upgrade 1024M to 2048M DDR2 667 ( Corsair / OCZ)

$2000.50

What are ya's suggestions?

---Kevin

 

Well I'm biased, I love my W3J. If are planning to upgrade your hard drive buy the notebook without one and order the hard drive from a company like newegg or zipzoomfly (or where ever is cheapest). Remember that your 7200rpm hdd will consume more better faster than the 5400. What's your main reason for wanting to upgrade it anyways?

 

Will it be easy to upgrade to core2duo with the w3j? thats so awesome if it is!

 

Yup, but remember it voids your warranty, so wait until it's up. It's on the bottom side and all you have to do is take off plastic and then the heatsink.

 

Whatchu talkin bout Willis?

I think you are talking about battery life. I'm not too worried bout that I am picking up one or two extra. That said, I'm just wanting it to be quicker. I've got 10k and a 5.4k in my home/ home theatre pc and you can tell the difference in em.

---Kevin

 

vtecv I'll wait. Probably dumb but I'll be using a lot of graphics programs.
I dont want to void my asus warranty if I change the processor, so I preffer to wait 1 month, hope less.
As you can see Alienware, dell, sager, etc are already selling notebooks w/ merom.
I hope asus launch one w/ merom sooner, maybe v1j .
cya

 

I was in the exact same boat as you. I waited for 2 months and then just couldnt wait anymore. The fact is, it looks like its going to be very hard to get a w3j w/merom before the end of october at the earliest. Ive talked to the different resellers and they all told me that that they dont expect the first batch (which will be in very limited quantities) before the beginning of october at the earliest. This is becuase North America is usually one of the last regions to get Asus notebooks shipments. Coupled with the high demand for the new w3js, I estimated that by the time id get one, it would already be early november, and I really couldnt wait that long.

Also, graphic intensive processes rely mostly on the GPU, not the CPU and the GPU for the merom w3js is NOT going to change. Plus, according to benchmarks, the performance gains dont really warrant an upgrade.

Its all going to depend on how soon you need the laptop. I personally decided to install the new processors myself sometime next year when prices drop (and they WILL drop when Intel introduces the sonoma platform in Q1-Q2). Also Vista should be out by then and thats the only reason that Id really want a 64-bit CPU anyways. Hope this helps.

 

Yes I ment battery, not the word better.

 

Good to know. I will be calling around Monday to see who has the W3J in stock. Do any sites offer a discount to NBR members?

 

It might not be as cheap as you think. The first wave of merom will be compatible with Yonah sockets. When Santa Rosa comes out, intel will be manufacturing mostly chips of a different variety. Much like old school Rambus or RDRAM, the lack of current production could maintain a higher consumer cost.

If you need the laptop now... why are you even asking us. Buy it! If you can wait... then do so patiently and get the fully warrantied W3J-

 

anyone know which site has the w3j in stock ? newegg has some a week ago, but it appears that theyve pulled the w3j from their asus notebook list

 

We have W3J in stock in both Canada and USA.

 

And the good thing about MilestonePC is that they will customize the w3j to your needs. Btotech.com (NY-based) also customizes asus ensembles. Proportable.com (PA-based) doesnt customize laptops (at least that option is not available on their website) but the service is great. You really have a lot of choices, its up to you.

 

Danny, sent you an email.

 

I admit, I am in this EXACT same dilema.

I dont necessarily NEED a laptop now....but my old Desktop (AMD 3000, 1GB, 2x 10k RPM Raptors/raid 0, ATI 9800 PRO 128MB) is just so loud and obnoxious, its actually starting to affect real life. Cant play or such at cirtain times, due to disrupting the wife while sleeping (its THAT loud, yes), and things like that.

Not to mention, my newer games and such are showing my system's age. Some cause it to get choppy on loading, etc, and I know its a CPU bottleneck (sound cuts out while loading, etc...normal since operation, no spyware problem).


I have a few main questions, mostly to put my mind at ease.
I am considering buying from Milestone PC or BTOTech. The deciding factor for me, is going to be my peace of mind (though they are both highly recommended.)
I will be customizing my W3J with 2GB RAM, and a 7200 RPM HDD, as well as getting a couple extra batteries. Therefore, i'll be getting dealer warranty, for 2 years at least, depending on overall price/service.

Warranty and price is probably the biggest thing that influences my decision. I have owned 4 laptops, 2 of which turned out to be utter pieces of crap (the LCD fell off of one. LITERALLY. It FELL OFF! GRR!!). I will never settle for anything less than top build quality from now on, and I find that when it comes to hassle-free service, I expect nothing but the best, with no run-around. None. Peace of mind for me is key, and having been burned twice before in the past by reseller/vendors, I prefer to learn all I can up front, from now on.

Since I like laying everything out on the table, and doing direct comparisons (which others would love to hear, im sure), i'll put my questions here.

My Warranty questions to both Eddie and Danny:

1. Can I upgrade the CPU and still remain under your warranty. Terms? Conditions? Can I send it in for an upgrade, to keep it under warranty? Can I perform the upgrade myself? Charges? I know that BTOTech will allow upgrades, with written permission, and cover it. Any Caveats I should know about? Danny, what about you?

2. Milestone: What is your warranty policy? Who provides warranty service, is it 3rd party or in-house? LCD and/or accidental damage protection options? Shipping covered, or customer expense? Other Caveats? I cannot find ANY warranty information (other than the little logo while selecting options) on your website...and this disturbs me. Please enlighten me. Without solid in-writing info, I will not be buying.

3. RMA requirements. What do I have to do to get an RMA if I need it? Do I have to go through endless idiotic tech support loop-d-loops, fill out paperwork, or any other dumb stuff? Where will my laptop go, and what kind of quality-control and process tracking can I expect to use, to track the status of my repair?

4. Minor question. I know a blank multi-bay insert is included with the unit. I also know a HDD can be placed in the multi-bay. Is this blank insert a caddy for a Hard Drive, or must such a HDD module be purchased separately? If so, where does one get it, I dont see one for sale anywhere?


5. What are the Memory Timings on your 667MHz Store-brand Memory? If I get 2GB, will the memory timings be matched and/or documented anywhere in case i need to know them? (its important to geeks like me!)

Thanks guys for your prompt responses here on the forum. I love seeing direct comparisons between vendors, and im sure others will want to see this too, to make the best choice.

 

Warranty questions for specific vendors are best addressed by sending a PM or direct email to BTOtech or MilestonePC's sales staff. The answers to most of your questions for BTOtech are published on their website.

 

Thanks ClearSkies, but if the answer was on the website, I'd have already found it and would not need to ask it here. I have learned from past experiences that websites rarely tell you everything you need to know (though kudos to BTO Tech, they lay most of it out right on the table!). I hate 'gotcha' situations.

Most of my questions are designed to get a public response from both vendors, in a side-by-side comparison, so that everyone can see the results, not just me. They are also designed to help those that want to decide between Yonah or Merom, so that they can make an informed decision and know exactly what they are getting into. This is a notebook review website, afterall. People come to this site to get answers to these very questions. I also like to see if vendors become squeamish about putting their policies out in the open, for everyone to see.

If they have nothing to hide, and are proud of their service, they'll have no problem posting responses here in a public forum. If their service is not up to par, it will show, plublicly... and that will let consumers speak their mind with their wallets. This is really what I am looking for. It's the hidden element of quality and pride that cannot be quantified on a website, that I am looking for.

 

I am sure no one has anything to hide, but your post does not belong in this thread. If you are interested in getting a public reply, then go ahead and create your own thread.


C.

 

The topic of the thread is whether or not to wait for Merom.

The choices people have are these:

1. Buy Yonah, and keep it forever (until they replace the notebook).

2. Buy Yonah, and upgrade to Merom (which will be -directly- affected by the answers I am seeking above)

3. Wait. Buy Merom whenever Asus releases it (currently looking at 2 months or more)

The deciding factor for many people's choice between Yonah and Merom, will be what kind of support from their vendor they will get if they want to upgrade. It cirtainly is for me. Third party warranty support, shipping, and other considerations must all be carefully considered, when judging the cost and hassle of future upgrades. If one does not know what those will be, how can one make an informed decision? This is directly on topic for this thread, hence why I posted it here.

 

I completely agree with ChetKabak's line of thinking. It is extremely import to understand the warranty, vendor support, shipping and a variety of other things.

Currently I am in the same boat and I'm looking to purchase the W3J as well. Cudoes to you ChetKabak in presenting some interesting questions.

-Shini

 

I would say that you should go for Yonah, and then after the warranty has gone out, then upgrade to Merom. The performance differences are not alot and if you want to upgrade to Vista(why?), then Merom might be considered.