W3J? No way!

Ok guys, I would like to tell a few words about this notebook.
But first. I have Fujitsu s7010 last two years and I am thinking about replacing it with something new. It is 14” glossy screen with bright and vivid colors. But .. very narrow viewing angles, vertical and horizontal. Battery shows 0% wear and lasts for 3 hours with wifi on and brightness all the way up. Weights 2 kg with battery 4800 mah and DVD drive installed. 30x24sm dimensions. Very stylish with magnesium lid, black in color. Power brick is 250 gramm.
I am not a gamer, overgrown this long time ago, but I need dedicated graphics for rendering something like 3d home design. Intel 950 isn’t good for this. So I am trying to find something new for me and going to give my present notebook to my daughter.
Unfortunately, I came to conclusion that it is impossible to find something good on the market these days. I took a look on W3J.
Ok, below is my opinion.

W3J
– too heavy, 2.5kg with battery and dvd! It is almost the weight of 15” MacBook Pro (2.6kg);
– screen has the same narrow viewing angles both vertical and horizontal;
– doesn’t have DVI;
– metal brushed lid is a magnet for your fingerprints;
– the same configuration 14 “ wide Taiwanese made notebook BENQ 73G has also DVI and remote, and digital TV tuner, and the same display, and almost the same weight (100gm more) and cost ~500 us dollars less, ASUS takes this money only for the name;
– I doubt that it lasts 3 hours on full brightness and wifi with standard 4800 mah battery, as my Fujitsu does.
So, why everyone is so exited about this notebook? It doesn’t even come with Zero Bright dot warranty any more! And has also only one year warranty in US.

ASUS W7J is much better notebook, then W3J.
W7J weights 2 kg and has better screen, viewing angles and colors almost like SONY SZ. But W7J has S-video out, and Sony sz doesn’t.
The same about MacBook Pro. Almost for the same price as ASUS W3J (Apple with student discount) you can have 15” Macbook with aluminum lid the same weight and almost the same size (2 sm longer) but with marvelous screen.
So, I didn’t get it about ASUS W3J.

 

I don't think the brushed aluminum lid is a fingerprint magnet at all, I haven't ever noticed a fingerprint on my lid until reading this post and looking pretty hard for one at various angles. I also agree that the vertical viewing angles leave much to be desired by I feel like the horizontal viewing angles are very good; however, if you have seen the screen yourself and feel like theres much better out there then so be it.

If you don't need an x1600 graphics card for your work then you might not want to get the w3j since the power graphics card reduces battery life and increases weight significantly. You can't really compare a laptop with integrated graphics with a laptop with mainstream dedicated graphics; they're not intended for the same use.

I'm guessing that you're talking about the Benq joybook s73 since the 73g is a LCD screen. The reason that its not really popular is because there is no way to buy it in North America, not even online, unless you get it shipped from Asia. Also, Benq laptops are even less known then Asus's so its no surprise that there's little talk about it here. The specs on the BenQ look pretty impressive and I guess if you can get it then you should, I haven't read any reviews or had any first hand experience with benQ so I have no idea how the quality of their laptops is.

As for the macbook... the graphics card in it is underclocked which may be alright if you dont plan on doing any gaming (which you cant really do with a mac anyway). Also, there are many notorious reports about the macbook overheating and being so hot that you can literally cook an egg on it. The w3j also has an aluminum lid btw.

And for the w7j, its a smaller laptop with a weaker graphics card so people who like to play games usually prefer the w3j. The lighter weight is of course attributed to its smaller size.

 

Fingerprint + brushed aluminum lid: Normally, it's not a problem. The only time it *was* a problem, was right after I had lotioned my hands. But I managed to wipe it off ok and learned not to touch it when I still have fresh lotion on my hands. But I think lotioned fingers would leave a mark on most everything other than cloth.

Too heavy: I guess it can be heavy, but I was willing to deal with it. The good thing is my optical drive is removable (very easily too). So I can leave it at home and shave off 0.4lbs off my laptop when I do so.

Battery life: I think mines about 2 and 1/2 hours realistically. Maybe wiser folks can get more juice out of it with power management and all that. I'm not quite smart enough in regards to that.

Everything else: I don't know because they don't concern me. What I know from experience (about 3-4 weeks worth) is mentioned above.

 

not all asus models are a bargin. but if you compare the w7j and w5f to it the w3j is a bargin. the viewing angles horizontaly are great verticaly are not so great. i have own several fujitsus. the battery life is good on them. but they are overprices. that that well built crappy keyboards. and their screens are bright but nothing special. lots of light leakage on certain models. as you cant really compare a mac to it different purpose laptop.

 

This is obviously coming from someone with no experince with the W3 because anyone with an hour with the machine would know that the black anodized brushed aluminum lid doesn't hold fingerprints........ at least no more so than laptop with a painted lid...

...... who cares what Acer makes... they make junk so why would you even compare the two? Acer is Benq and they're notebooks aren't lesser known than Asus, they're easily better known and that's always bad for Asus when other people think you mean Acer...... but even Acer knows how crappy their products are and that's where the name Benq came from.... everything but laptops that Acer sells in the US are known now under the Benq name and if it weren't for the Ferrari or 8000 model's, their notebooks wouldn't be under the Acer name anymore either..... Apaprently as you've said, someplaces they are sold under the Benq brand...

.... your Fujitsu is nothing compared to a W3j and of course you're not going to get the same battery life..... first you point out of the obvious of the increased graphics card. ok... but you don't point out the fact that on full brightness, the screen is probably 30-40% brighter than your old Fujitsu....


Come on, you're comparing apples with french fries....... I don't disagree that I personally like the W7j now over the W3j for my current particular use, but the W3j is close to as perfect as a machine can get for someone needing those specs........ it's clear cut and either you don't get that or your grasp of the english language isn't allowing you to properly convey your opinions.

 

Before you comment on somebody's English make sure yours is perfect. I'll leave it up to you to correct yourself. And it is not even a typo...Man, you really need some attitude adjustment.
That aside, you are right, these two can't be compared, and for someone who can truely take advantage of everything w3j has to offer it is a great machine.

 

Your review is very negative and unbalanced. I happen to think you are doing a disservice to anyone looking for a notebook with the power to make you go WOW holy smokes this thing is the best 14" gaming notebook i have ever seen. Your review sucks and somewhat incorrect in particular
1. the lid
2. the comparisons you made.
3. You were comparing a w3 to a acer?
4. Find a lighter 14" with the same specs. You will not.
5. You compared it to an acer?
6. an acer?
7. You managed to find something wrong with the lid? Extremely negative.
You are allowed to have your oppinion but when someone cant see positive in a vastly superior model they should not be allowed to review it.

 

I love the attitudes people take when reading my posts.... you know that you have no way of reading a tone of a typed verse.... I don't expect to use or read perfect english in an informal forum settings, but we need to understand someone before we can comment and if that seemed like it made sense to you, more power too you. The original posters sentences simply don't make sense and I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt that there may be a language barrier there because the comments are off the wall and borderline crazy....... So either this person has no personal experience with any Asus notebook, or they do and translated their comments on bablefish.

 

Figure it out Justin. When you have a link in your sig and you speak out and offer your oppinion people will think you are biased and are just trying to make sales happen. We are not suposed to have a preference. We are not suposed to speak for 99% of the people out there though we obviosuly do.

 

I have to kind of agree with the author. The W3J is indeed expensive... you can get a Macbook Pro with comparable specs for that price. The Macbook Pro has a higher resolution and a more elegant chassis.

I owned a Fujitsu laptop and their support is one of the best in the industry. The support representatives were friendly and speaks clearly with confidence. Even though their hardware is "overpriced", I think most of the costs are spent on their world-class support. ASUS' support, based on the stories I've heard, is relatively horrible.

 

Agreed - I thought your post was fine and your points were well stated. I will add a bit of the "bias filter" into your comments, but had no problem with the way you said them.

Just as a thread lurker . . .

 

haha, a macbook pro. Thats funny you're comparing this to the Asus. Try and configure the macbook pro to the same as the W3J then tell me what price you get. Yeah, somewhere around 2,400$ for a less reliable machine. Not only that, but try putting that oven on your lap. Worse heat conduction ever. The only thing it has on the W3J is a more resolution screen, and that is just because it is 15.4"

 

I've only heard that from the euros

Macs are nice. I wouldn't mind owning one, but even with student discounts, the 15.4" with 1 gb ram is still MUCH more than however much I paid for the W3J.

 

OK, ONCE AGAIN! this is an issue of comparison and needs for the user, NOT hardware or actual product!

The W3J has a ATI mobility X1600 Graphics card, this is a imediate sign of "oh, this machine must have this powerful mobile graphics card for gaming, yes it can render too, but its a gaming brand GPU". That said, to compare it to other machines that are meant for ENTIRELY different rolls is just a waste of time.

The W3J is meant for portable gaming, it is even advertised this way on ASUS's website. So, the fact that it has 3 hour battery life NOT gaming is impressive anyways. Think of the W3J in the context that it must be lightweight, AND play games well. The machine is engineered around these two features and as a result of COURSE its not going to be perfect for everyone so to make comparisons to a machine like the W7J (which dosnt play games as well from what i have read/heard) is just like comparing a a wheelebarrel to a umbrella, both are useful, but for different things.

Lets all take a moment to understand the comparisons we are making and our expectations of a machine BEFORE posting pros/cons etc. Critique a machine based on your expectations of its ability to fulfill the function it was actually designed for, NOT your expectations regardless of its design.

 

You must be a poet or a experienced writer. If i could say it better i would. The only downside is that forums can be a very inacurate place of information especially when the info comes from people who cannot make accurate comparisons. I for one cant becuase i ve never owned nothing but asus in the last 5 years. Call me biased

 

Really? I can show you thousands of reseller ratings feedback that says opposite about their dealers. Infact their dealers are normally the elite and asus own support for home users surpasses any other in terms of turn around availability shipping and wait times. Surely not everyone will have a great experience but you know most people that have a great experience will never write about it. The above comment is not a fact it is a statement which i for one do not belive for a minute

 

The majority of the reseller ratings reflect only after the notebooks have recently been purchased and it's not a true reflection of the after-sales support. You can say whatever you want about the dealers but the fact is you have to contact ASUS directly if you have problems with their ensemble models.

 

Please back up your claim. I've seen more problems in the W3J that makes it even more unusable: overheating GPU resulting in system shutdown, relatively poor LCD viewing angles, palm rest discolouration?

How about the fact that the chassis on the Macbook Pro is aluminum all around vs. W3J's brushed aluminum lid?

Both have their downsides but I think the Macbook Pro have a slight advantage.

 

GPU does not overheat, lcd is above average for a 14"widescreen, and there IS no palm rest discoloration..apparently you have just proven to everyone what happens in forums..one person posts it and it becomes fact for anyone that doesn't even own the machine..i use mine heavily so i do know what im talking about..the macbook may have looks advantage..but i like that the w3j both looks good and has a gpu that is normally clocked compared to the severely underclocked macbook pro..which overheats without even playing games...

 

Whoa...may you please back up your own claims first...

First of all, reading the post of 1 user and his isolated problems does not mean that ALL laptops have similar problems. If this were true then you would have to assume that ALL macbooks will light your carpet on fire if you leave it unwatched since this actually happened and was reported in the news. Second, if you want to talk about heat the macbook pro is unparalleled in its heat problems. I'll say it again, people have reported that they are able to cook eggs on their macbooks, literally... Keep in mind this is with a GPU that is underclocked around 30% and not even being used to play games.

Obviously you don't own a W3j so you really can't speak for its viewing angles or palm rest discoloration. I actually don't know where you came up with the palm rest discoloration claim since there hasn't been a single report of palm rest discoloration on any W3j's. Also, your claim of w3j's overheating comes from 1 isolated incident where the owner obviously has a defective unit and is sending it in for repair. Again, just because someone posts about 1 isolated incident does not mean the problem is widespread.

In terms of cosmetics that is totally a matter of opinion. You can't clearly say which is better looking because some ppl might like an entirely metal laptop while others may think that its too tacky. Also, the aluminum case on the macbook happens to be an excelent conductor which means that all the excess heat that's being generated in the macbook gets transfered straight to your hands and legs (if you are unfortunately using it on your lap).

You really can't go digging up isolated incident with the w3j and claiming them as major downsides. One can easily do the same for MBP's and come up with MANY more problems. Even though mac users tend to overlook little problems and play up the pro's of their machines there are still a multitude of problems with MBP's that cannot be simply ignored.

Finally, THE MACBOOK PRO AND W3J ARE MEANT FOR ENTIRELY DIFFERENT USES so comparing the two is not really fair for either sides. If you are a gamer there is absolutely no way that you can use a MBP since it will simply be unable to suit your needs.

 

Ray5000 said exactly what i would've. You can't throw dirt on the W3J saying it overheats all the time, when in reality, i've only seen like 2 posts on this forum saying their W3J overheats. While mulitple threads in apple forums say their MBP are extremely hot. My palm rests arn't discolored and also many others don't have this problem either. So i don't know where this is happening so often. As for viewing angles, not much worse than any other laptop i've seen. Plus, typically I look straight ahead at my laptop.

Now you want me to back up my claims. First
apple.com - price

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=48347&highlight=heat+macbook+pro - I found a thread that wasn't just bashing the Macbook pro, it was in the apple forum. They say it runs very warm

As for quality, I guess I can't prove that, but I would find it hard to believe that anyone tell me that Apple quality is better than Asus quality.

 

"While his MacBook was operating within the manufacturer's specifications (read: likely folding for Engadget or some other such process-intensive task), the underbelly of this beast got toasty enough to literally fry an egg."

http://www.engadget.com/2006/07/17/cooking-an-egg-on-a-macbook/



"Do not leave the bottom of the computer in contact with your lap or any surface of your body for extended periods. Prolonged contact with your body could cause discomfort and potentially a burn."

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=30612

Even the official Apple website admits that the macbook is hot enough to BURN you...



Apple macbook users are reporting significant discoloration in their palm rests and Apple has acknowledged the issue:

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Apple-Acknowledges-MacBook-Stains-As-Manufacturing-Defect-28129.shtml



And finally.. Apple is recalling faulty batteries

http://laptops.engadget.com/2006/07/31/apple-initiates-macbook-pro-battery-recall-program/


It seems the MacbookPro has plenty of its own problems to worry about...

 

To sum it up, there is no such thing as a perfect notebook(Awww darn!), but everything will have it's faults, and we have to understand why(power in a small casing = hot hot heat). And as of cosmetic faults, they aren't faults, but the plain and simple effects of usual wear and tear.

The W3 has its share of cons, as does the MBP, every laptop will have cons, but it's usually the pro's that outshine, so lets just end it at that?

I mean, complaining isn't a bad thing, but there are times where it does nothing but frustrate everyone.

 

What's the point about gaming on 14" wide notebook (almost equivalent to 12" square one) placed on the table and connected to a wall socket?

Notebook means - "mobile", if you got gaming notebook you did it for playing on the move - at the airport, at Starbucks, in your car, finally - on your laps, and on battery power.

It is ridiculous to buy notebook for gaming only (on the table at home), especially today, when you can find 32" TV together with x-box 360 for the price of your ASUS.

By the way, ASUS is nothing different today then Acer, Benq, Toshiba, NEC, Fujitsu-Siemens, or DELL.

Regarding the W3J as a masterpiece - common, it isn't true. It has 533 Ram instead of 667, non SATA hard drive, speakers - no use at all, no DVI, weights like 15" notebook, poor battery life, average, to say at least, display, a huge amount of software you don't need (but you will need third party DVD player as I heard). Would you like me to continue this list?

MacBook costs the same $1900 US from the Internet Apple store with student's discount for the same configuration as W3J (some minor difference here an there). Sony SZ with 1.66 CPU - the same $1900.

As per my ENGLISH, Ha-Ha, it isn't my fault, that I know several languages and do not speak English most of the time. My kids know it far better then I, but frankly speaking, I do not see them benefit too much from their knowledge.

 

If you're "gaming" on your lap then its not really gaming since you cant play counterstrike and expect to kill anyone with a touchpad... A 14'' "gaming" notebook is such because its a mix of power and portability and its not used just for gaming but for gaming in addition to basic office related computer use.

It's small enough that you can bring it around with you when you want to browse the internet at Starbucks or do homework in the library, but at the end of the day you can also load up the newest game and enjoy some free time at home in your room. People searching for a laptop for college often understand this since they want a laptop that will suit their basic needs and be convinient to bring both from home to college and from dorm room to class; bigger laptops are often too much trouble to carry around and smaller laptops lack the power to play games.

While you can get a 32'' tv and an xbox360 game until you cant see straight, you cant use it to check email or prepare a presentation.

And no one is trying to display the w3j as a masterpiece, if they are then they are wrong. I'm simply defending the w3j from false accusations and trying to explain its niche in the laptop world as a portable gaming machine.

 

If you don't like Asus, then why are you posting here. You really arn't doing anything but bashing W3J, and I don't know if anybody knows why. No one said its perfect, people have said its a great machine. If you don't like it, then don't post about it.

I'm not even going to bother retorting against your statements since they are plainly ignorant.

 

I'm officially ignoring anything else this man says!! Clearly insane!! Why is he in the Asus forum all chapped with the W3 if he could get a Dell for the same price thats built just as well... I'm not even going to comment on the other banter he's brought up... Clearly insane!! Watch your children around this guy!!

 

Ukrconsul the W3J does support DDR2 667 RAM =) again, please check your facts first. thanks.

 

Nice one Mikeoo17!

Also to clarify ukrconsul, the W3J does have 667mhz RAM (well at least in the UK and US)

And to the other comments..........

Battery life is fine for a system with a GPU, like the X1600, 3 hrs is fine for me, there is no way you can compare a laptop with a dedicated gpu to one running an integrated gpu, that’s just nuts, it like trying to compare fuel efficiency between a Hummer and a Mini.

Brushed aluminum is a great finish for not showing fingerprints and it is very strong and with stands pressure well, I wish the palm rest was brushed aluminum.

Palm rest…. I haven’t heard of any fading?? Maybe a few stickers not removed properly????, I have heard of fading on the W3V palm rest but not the W3J.

MBPs...... I like the look of MBP it is a sweet design, it must be 1/3 thinner than the W3J and the screen is nice, my friend at work has one, but my god........ Forget eggs, you could fry a freaken steak on that bad boy..... and I know because I have felt how warm it is after a days light use, and he said you should see how hot it gets when you start pushing it, you will find plenty of people who own them complaining about the heat.

The screen is fine, I thought it could have been better when I first got it, but everyone that sees this notebook at work, comments about how nice the screen looks?? go figure.... they either...... don’t know what they are talking about, or are blind, or the screen is actually quite nice.

I could go on..... but most of us here know that some of these claims/accusations are just simply ridiculous and not true (especially those of us that own W3Js) maybe some people like stirring it up a little.

I will be honest the W3J is not perfect but no laptop out there is, some people just like ranting and raving, or they muck around with their system and then cry when it doesn’t work.

That’s one important thing that I was taught at Uni was “just because something is published or written, doesn’t mean its true”, you have to look at many sources and look at the reputation of the author, personally I researched laptops and independent laptop reviews for 2 years and I looked at all of the major brands before I made my decision that Asus were the most consistent in terms of performance and design.

 

apparently the w3j's in asia come with 533 and the 4200 hd..perhaps he's referring to these?

the point of a 14" gaming laptop is that you can take it with you anywhere..say business trips..and then to unwind you can still play games on it..for most laptops..this would be limited to the 15.4 and the 17" behemoths which would never make it with you on travel..thats the point of it..lastly ukr have you even seen the w3j..or even played with it..i personally find the keyboard superior to the macbooks..looks are subjective but i much prefer the brushed aluminum and dark exterior to the silver macs

 

True, at least now he will know it supports 667mhz RAM. and it dosent have a SATA drive, but for you non believers take a look at this review of the older W3V it came to the UK with a 4200rpm drive and slower processor, at the time of the review it was the FASTEST laptop they had tested.

In this same issue there was a review category of performance on budget, it had laptops with 7200rpm drives and faster processors that barely managed to scrape a mobile mark anywhere near 200 (some as low as 170) because of crap motheboards and poor system design, a good laptop is more than having fast components, if you do your research you will know this.

Enough said....

 

These were older models, new w3j's in Taiwan come with 5400 rpm HD's, Im not sure about the ram, but there is almost no performance difference between 533mhz and 667mhz ram.

 

In Asia, the w3j comes with 512 mb ram running at 533 mhz, but I managed to got my w3j upgraded to 1gb running at 667 for free anyway...

 

I was actually surprised that when I was in Thailand in Feb this year they had W3V's with faster processors than in the UK and US running @ 2.0ghz pentium M.......

 

OK, My mistake, apparently W3J comes with 667 RAM in North America - but - it appears that in North America ONLY.
Still no SATA drive.

 

I was saying that it is not small enough for 14" notebook, weights 2.5 kg and to bring it around with you "when you want to browse the internet at Starbucks or do homework in the library" and carry it around all day (after day, after day...) wouldn't be a very good idea.

As for "false accusations" - I didn't make any of them. I did a mistake though saying remarks about 667 RAM in US, god, please forgive me and protect me from angry ASUS's fans.

 

I saw a post some were here about W3J booting up Windows 15 minutes, it was a quickest notebook I've ever heard about, that's for sure.

 

I've also seen a post saying they boot it up in 20 seconds, yeah i'd say that is pretty quick

 

Its not really about how fast or slow something is. It comes down to cosmetics. As for battery. It gets exactly the same battery life as any other 14" with x1600 and an 8 cell battery. Stay in the mac or acer section. You will never appreciate the kind of equipment that asus sells. There are asus lovers and haters. The haters are kind of like linux users. THey always hate on microsoft because linux is the underdog and linux is free and virus proof. and i realize i just probably offended half the forum audience. Asus haters hate asus becuase asus is the power to be and it is more expensive. See the relation? notebooks like the w3j, v6j are a work of art. Can you say the same about a dell or acer? You cant. Nothing else matters.

 

It might not be small enuff for u to carry since apparently u have a stiff back or shoulder or i guess just plain weak.

But like it has been said before, if thats all you plan on doing with a laptop then the w3j is not for you, so stop bashing it.

 

Strange, mine boots in less than 20 seconds... Are you a troll? it's blatantly obvious you're being ignorant and taking every single negative thing a person has posted and amplify it x 100.

You've made plenty of them.

Strike 1: "metal brushed lid is a magnet for your fingerprints;" - used mine and *SHOCK* no finger prints!
Strike 2: "too heavy, 2.5kg with battery and dvd" - you didnt seem to compare this to other laptops with equivalent dedicated GPU.
Strike 3: "MacBook costs the same $1900 US from the Internet Apple store with student's discount for the same configuration as W3J (some minor difference here an there). Sony SZ with 1.66 CPU - the same $1900. " - Mine cost me $1715. You do the math. The Asus comes with 2.0 GHZ.

too heavy? please.. :lol

 

if you have kids i don't see how 5lbs is too much for you..but i guess zydus covered the why it could be too much..either way don't come into an asus forum bashing a laptop then get all uppity about it when actual asus users and owners come in and defend it from your unfounded accusations

 

OK... ok... Everyone's had their turn to go back and forth and honestly as amusing as a thread like this can get, it's really bad for the forum, no matter how you look at it. I'd suggest we lock this thread as nothing good is going to come out of it.

On the side note though, I'm finally glad to see some W3j owners step it up and show their support for the notebook they love so much..... Typcially people see a thread like this and don't want to waste their time with it..... so although I think it should be closed down, I do think it has said a lot about the type of person a W3j owner is and how much they know about their notebook.......

 

whoever compares asus to an acer is a moron. I have owned pretty much every brand known to man. and worked on the rest. used everything north america has to offer. and you know what asus is my favorite by far. Acer is a a brand i trust less than dell any day. they are crap. sure there are some good ones but overall they are junk. you pay for quality so asus is alittle more. the w3 doesnt weigh as much as a 15in notebook. 5.4lbs vs 6.5lbs for the average 15in also you can add another battery so battery life isnt bad at all. the viewing angles on it are no less than any other 14.1in widescreen. and someone say asus has so much software installed. where did you getthat from it only has the OS and a couple apps. no bloatware at all. this whole post makes no sence.

 

I do not cary my junior (15kg) all day around.

As per "do not come to ASUS forum" - it is a bu..t. This forum is a place where innocent people are asking advice to buy or not to buy. They come here 5-10 times in their life asking for an advice and meet gurus who lives here for years selling asus laptops. What kind of advice they can find from them? Actually it has to be prohibited by moderators for the vendors to participate in such forum.
So watch carefully for the advice given. This applies not to asus only.

As per bushing ACER laptops above it would be a good idea to post a link to this thread at ACER users forum.
Relax. Just joking.

 

I can comment on the gaming.

Though, I'm but a small niche:
I will be studying abroad and working part-time as a consultant remotely for the next 7 months so I purchased the W3J to be a desktop replacement for work, and also so that I can play games with my friends from overseas (namely WoW).

W3J is my first laptop and my bf and I did a lot of research. He suggested the MacBook, but I'd have to get all my software for the Mac and I doubt I could. I hear Windows does not run well on the new Mac still. But I did hear the Macbook had the power to take care of my gaming. However, I've heard a lot, mostly from Digg, that Macbooks have issues and that Apple doesn't like to admit to them. So that made me a bit worried.

My Asian W3J laptop specs are below the U.S. one, but so far I get about 30fps on full settings in busy WoW towns. I get 60fps if I stare at a wall haha. That's better than what my desktop could do and I'm satisfied. I might feel a bit of a strain if I tried to play Oblivion, I hear that is really juice intensive.

The machines I considered back then were S96J, W3J and the IBM (I'd have to give up some gaming if I went IBM).

After having a W3J, the only thing that I think compares, build-quality wise, would still be an IBM (if you give up some gaming). Just too bad the IBM is so serious, it doesn't have an SD card slot, I dont think it has built in microphone. The W3J microphone works really well, I was talking with one of my girlfriends from Taiwan, a girlfriend from China last night on Skype. They had no problem hearing me, and the speakers were loud enough I could hear them fine too.

Also, I went to student stores and to Frys when I was shopping for laptops, and saw some Macbooks. The keyboards have a bit of flex, the screen (especially the larger ones) have flex when you open/close them. When you press against the backing, there are screen ripples. The W3J doesn't have any keyboard flex, there is no screen flex when opening/closing. You'll have to press harder on the back of the LCD to see ripples, on the W3J.

I think each person has their own set of priorities though. Mine were:

1. Build Quality/Warranty
1.5 Gaming
2. Weight/Portability
3. Bluetooth
4. Price
5. Looks

 

ukrconsul has a good point, while I was looking for laptops you would be amazed at the BS I was told by resellers on the high street its freaken scary what they tell people, I only trust independant reviews, everything I hear from someone who has a vested interest in selling laptops is like water off a ducks back.

Although one thing is evident from hanging around here is and dealing with resellers like Proportable that have been working intimately with Asus products for years have such an indepth knowledge of the product that you will not find anywhere else, of course you have to realise they make a living from selling Asus laptops, so their comments may be slightly biased, but their knowledge of Asus is the best I have seen hand down, for that reason I welcome their comment.

most resellers I came accross dont even know what a chipset is! and try telling you that a laptop with an integreted graphins has a dedicated GPU??

At the end of the day you have to take everyones coments, weigh up thier experience/interest/bias and make up your own mind.

thats the one reason I didnt get a mac, try and find a review of a mac buy someone that is independant.... good luck, its like a religion they are all posessed ha ha

 

Agreed. When I was shopping for the W3J, I wasn't turned off by the critiques of the W3J's in this forum, but by some posts by a dealer, so I ended up buying mine overseas.

 

For the most part when I was deciding on a laptop, I looked at independent reviews as well. I didn't even bother looking at the dealer's. However, I looked at more thorough reviews that had justified claims from first hand experience unlike the OPs.

All of those reviews i have read on notebookforums and notebookreview agree with each other for the most part. They all agree that battery life was OK, graphics was superb, screen was beautiful, etc. They threw in some subjective opinion but they were all backed up by their actual experience with the laptop.

The OP was bashing it since the beginning. Sure it was his opinion, but half the things he said didn't even apply to NA users AND they were based on assumptions off other reviews that he himself exaggerated.

 

look at your thread title...you came in here with a negative attitude and wanted to fight from the beginning hence my response..if it was titled say...what is so good about the w3j..then yes thats a bit better..on trusting resellers..who would you rather trust..that dunce at compusa/bestbuy/office depot..or ppl who truly understand their product because they actually use them