W3A or W3V?

Good to find this forum

I'm in the market for a new laptop and have been impressed by the style of ASUS W3 series and much good press they have already attracted. However there are a few issues I've been wondering over before taking the plung.

Which model to go for? Apart from gaming is there any real benefit going for the W3v? Does the more powerful GPU have much impact on battery life?

Whatever machine I have wondered about getting an extra 512MB memory. Would this make much difference in everday use?

Finally the widesceen. I don't really plan to spend too much time walching DVD's. How is it opening Office documents or browsing the web? Is the image stetched to fit?

Those of you with experience of other machines, how would you rate ASUS? I see some tempting deals on Ebay for IBM T41p/42p laptops and the like. Can the ASUS be a match, over and above better looks?

Thanks
Andrew

 

Are the W3A's available in your country? What is the price difference? I think if I got a machine without dedicated or a "gamer" GPU, I'd want a smaller footprint. I think you should get an extra 512MB. I think Windows (if you decide to stick with that OS), has a sweetspot at 512MB. Plus you'll need more memory to dedicate to the x600.

Widescreen is good not only for movies but for productivity too. You can open documents side by side. I think it's a good battle between ASUS and IBM. IBM obviously has alot more experience. Their notebooks are built like tanks. They are consistently, even currently, at the top of Editor's Lists. I have never ever seen anyone say anything negative about IBM. I think in the notebook world, there really are only a few key players. ASUS seems to be making their way up there. Main reason I didn't go for IBM because I couldn't find someone with a EPP login. I couldn't bring myself to pay 30% more than I could have.

Peace!
Sygyzy

 

wow, they have alot of options to put on the w3 and w5, nice...too bad its only in the UK.

 

Thanks for those helpful comments
Here are UK prices. As you can see there is quite some range in pricing between models

http://www.asuslaptop.co.uk/products.php?cat=39

 

If you don't need the dedicated video, stick with the W3A and save your money to buy upgrades.

ASUS M6800Ne, P-M 715 (Dothan 1.5), 512MB Ram, Toshiba Combo drive, Samsung Spinpoint M 40G HDD with 8M cache, Mobility Radeon 9700

 

dedicated graphics really bump up the price and cut down the life. If you can live without them, it shouldn't be an issue for you.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

What are you going to be using the machine for, primarily?

Peace!
Sygyzy