W3J Advance Order Thread

Justin,

Are those shipping days by order # tentative? Because if it is my system will be the last to ship on Day 1. I had no idea that that many people placed an advanced order before me.

 

I think I might be bpoole's doppelganger across the Atlantic. First post, lurker, and another recipient of great service from PROPortable. Despite having to go out of his way to accomodate wire transfers and changing delivery addresses, Justin's been the embodiment of patience and efficiency. You just can't beat the kind of service that you get from an email that says "I'll make it work".

I wonder if the cancellations aren't just "buyer's remorse" in disguise. There's no way I'm cancelling, after waiting so long to take the plunge in the first place!

 

^ Obscure reference to doppelgangers - absoltely hilarious clip from SNL (my type of comedy anyway):
http://www.nbc.com/Video/videos/snl_1440_doppleganger.shtml

I'm sure some of those cancelling had stretched their budgets to begin with...if they were thinking of going to 2GB, that's another $300 bucks or so...

 

... he's got a top hat on.. he looks nothing like me... haha.. Ditto... my kind of comedy.

When you think about it, instead of 2gb costing you an extra $120 (for another 1gb stick)..... you'll replace both of them so it's really only another $120 to go to 2gb now....... but you'll still get 1.5gb.. I almost wonder why I'm even justifying it all.... additional ram is an aftermarket customer upgrade and the system still comes with the same amount of ram in what is technically a better performance configuration than 1 stick.... the only and I mean only issue this causes is with upgrading (which is personally the side I'm on anyway), but as for as the product asus is providing, they are giving a system that's in a dual channel setup out of the box.....

.... but you're right, to get to the same place they thought they'd get, it's going to cost them another $120..... to end up with 2gb instead of 1.5gb. We all know the true difference between the two and the people who really need it, know it's probably not worth even going to 2gb anyway.... and those who think they need it are the real ones judging the cost difference to them. 2gb is nice, but 1.5gb isn't going to change much in terms of what you can do since there isn't a lot that can really make use of the difference.... I know a handful of people who emailed me and said they'd rather stick with just the 1gb because they're looking forward to upgraded to 4gb when the 2gb sticks come up later this year (they're all nutty - but that's another perspective).

I guess the moral of my story is... Asus changed this on Fremont... Fremont is really "your asus"... Taiwan isn't. So their not at fault and since I'm further down the line... nor am I. Since this only affects things a customer does after the purchase, cutting me some slack is certainly cool..... I understand the change and how it may affect some people, but really that's not what we're selling.. we're selling a notebook and that system could come with 4 x 256mb and it's still coming with a 1gb. Asus doesn't normally even post the number of sticks.... we did because we had confirmation and knew the more information we could provide would be appreciated... in retrospect, just saying 1gb is enough to sell the product. However, we did that last year with the V6v's which came with 512mb of ddr2 400.... It turned out that Asus wanted them running in dual channel mode and they came with 2 x 256mb. You couldn't imagine the people who flipped when that happened... even though all we said was it came with 512mb in dual channel mode... which must meant 2 x 256mb anyway....... Anyway.... no matter how it's presented it'll piss off someone.... that's the nature of our country and our thinking I guess.

 

If people go with 1.5Gb with a 1G stick and a 512Meg stick they should know that they are giveing up the dual channel mode for the memory.

 

Personally I cant see whay anyone would cancel.

I mean those where not going to upgrade RAM actually get a better setup,

Speaking for myself, I was always going to max out the RAM on whatever system I got, at the start I was expecting to have to buy 2 x 1GB sticks I saw the W3J as a bonus, have you ever seen a laptop come with 1 GB stick! most only come with 512 anyway, so personally I do not mind paying for the extra RAM, yeah it would have been a nice bonus, but to canel just because of that....I think you would be making a mistake, its a great system.

I would have been more devistated it did not come with Bluetooth V2.0, Intel Azalia auido and a 4200rpm drive..... at least you can upgrede the RAM!!!

 

5400rpm drive right? right?

 

Everyone is really quiet about the HD.... dreading 4200? Justin?

 

I don't know what you guys missed but I posted the latest spec sheet that I was given a few pages ago....... 5400rpm.

 

For all of you who think dual channel on a yonah processor is good.... think again. Go look at anadtechs review ( i think it was of the macbook pro) where he tested dual channel and single channel. Absolutely no help or speed difference at all. DDR2's bandwith is so incredibly high that the processor can't even take full advantage of it in single mode, let alone dual channel mode.

Edit - Here http://www.anandtech.com/mac/showdoc.aspx?i=2740&p=4

Granted this is on a mac, but it uses the exact same processor and the processor is what is able to take advantage of the bandwith, not the operating system.

 

Man! Whaaaaaaaa........... Seriously..... Go rain on someone else's parade! We don't want to see that garbage here!!! Gheez, get a life.

j/k

 

That's been my understanding all along... intel wants to push it though and it doesn't hurt... technically... if it hurt performance it would be completely ridiculous.

 

That would be the fault of the memory controller rather than the processor. no matter how high of bandwidth the external memory has in a computer, it is always going to be the bottleneck (or one of them, the hdd is actually slower, paging and such) in a fast system. On-chip memory (ie cache) is right close by and ridiculously fast, although it consumes a lot of juice because it's active memory, six transistors. External RAM is further away and a heck of a lot slower because it's passive (a capacitor that is charged/discharged). If DDR2 has such high bandwidth that it isn't the cause of latency, then something in the chain isn't talking to it fast enough. And since we know that the processor is the fastest thing on the board (maybe save GPU), it must be the controller that's holding back the chain of communication. Assuming what you say is true.

 

Agreed. I would believe more that the cost of 2 x 512 is better for ASUS than 1x 1gb and in the end its all about profits. I agree it doesn't hurt performance, but I don't know what intels thinking is by pushing it . Don't worry much about the 2 x 512 though. Very few systems out there offer 1x 1gig without paying through the roof!

 

We all know that intels memory controller isn't the best, especially when comparing it to AMD's on die controller. So yes, I would imagine that the memory controller is part of the problem, but I am not exactly sure. I think anadtech discusses it in that article but I don't remember

 

Well yes, Asus did cite pressure to market dual channel as well as increased costs for 1gb sticks over 512mb sticks... and the margins on the w3 are a lot tighter than the W2's... which still have a 1 x 1gb setup.

 

Woooow slow down....... and read my post again, I meant the United Kingdom Version has the lower speed drive, the US one is 5400 rpm.

 

I dont know about in the US, but in the UK the W3J is a really good price for the spec.

There is no way I could have purchased a system in the UK of this spec and this price (although I am lucky to have had the advantage of being able to buy it in the US, which was great saving)

I mean I managed to get the W3J that has faster HDD, bluetooth V2.0 and Azalia Audio chip and I also upgraded 1gb extra ram, optical battery and hdd kit. With all the extras it was still cheaper than the base unit in the UK.

You guys in the US are lucky.

 

Over all the price and specs for the W3J are still amazing and the change from 1g stick to 2x512 is very a small issue. They could charge over 2k easy for the W3J and people would still line up to buy it. The price point is beyond fair I believe.

 

u sure about the bluetooth V2.0 and Azalia Audio chip?

 

well thats actually a good point and to be honest i dont know.

However what I do know is the W3V had Azalia, (one reason I am going for W3J) however the Asus brochure I rec from the high street in London, states the W3J-H002P uses AC97 audio chip?? that really confuses me? why would they do that?? it could be a misprint? and the spec for blutooth doesn't mention V2.0 with EDR, but in the same page the V6J states EDR bluetooth, so I asumed the W3J did not have it, but to be honest I could be wrong.

and dont forget I am talking about the UK version, I am sure Justin's spec list for the US release is more accurate.

Trying to get detailed specs is as hard as getting blood from a stone!

 

I hear you, and I'm hoping (praying?) that you're right.

If there's a price difference between the two market, that makes sense. If not, I'm still sweating until we can official official confirmation.

The Asus global site lists the Azalia so hopefully...

 

well for now im not buying it from the UK... ill wait and see what spec you guys get in the US and then decide whether i wanna buy it from the UK or US...so three weeks to go..yes?

 

Yeah I am so confused, I might go for a walk down to check tomorrow, I have purchsed from Proportable, so doesnt really matter, but If I can get the detail specs here in the UK, it may settle a few things, and I am really not trusting the Asus brouchre I have got, its quite depressing and I dont see why they would use the older AC97 audio chip and bluetooth 2.0?????

it just dosen't make sense

 

oops I mean without bluetooth V2.0 with EDR

 

btw, being a technologically challenged individual, whats the diff between normal bluetooth and bluetooth V2.0 with EDR? Later's Advantages?

 

From Bluetooth 1.1-1.2, improvements include frequency hopping, faster connections, enhanced synchronization - basically quicker and more stable.

From 1.2-v2.0 + EDR (Enhanced Data Rate), transfer speed is increased and it allows for more packet types (greater flexibility) to be sent via Bluetooth.

I don't know what version the old card was based off of so that's why I mention the first part.

 

I noticed that Buy.com is also selling the W3J, however there model # differs from the one Justin posted. According to Buy.com as well as other resellers the model they are getting is W3J-H014P and PROPortable's is W3J-H017P. Is the North American market getting two models of the W3J with slightly different specs? Which one is better? Is there a difference with the HDD speed or perhaps the audio chips are different. Well I guess we'll find out soon enough.

 

Also I am sure you can stream audio over the new bluetooth V2.0 which would be cool.

In terms of model No:s but you mentioned another US site offering the W3J-H014P against PROPortable's is W3J-H017P,

Well i am not to sure about Asus, so I am guseeing here, but most times with model No:s, higher is better and considering the UK model is W3J-H002P and it is lower specified, makes me fell comfortable that Proportables W3J is the best.

 

Just to be clear - Asus has changed the final numbers on that model 3 times already and told us it might be different when they arrive..... no one in the US or Canada is getting a different model than we are.... I stopped changing the number because at this point it doesn't matter because no one outside of Asus and their dealers even have a clue as to what those numbers are.....

 

^ it's an interesting parallel of numerical similarities between the model number changing 3 times and the model in question being the W 3j...this means something.

...and NOT that i have to slow down on the coffee...

alright - I do - you got me, and to the W3j - "I got you babe". Indeed.

 

Well everyone technically ordered the H009P from our site (that's the number Asus gave us on 3/30 when the ordering went live..... on Monday they gave us H017P.... and like I said, they said it'd probably change again....

 

Um... forgive me for being a dumb-ass, but what dates are you referring to? I tried scouring the thread but didn't find anything other than the ETA as listed on PROPortable's site...

[EDIT - OOOOOH DUH Yeah, I am a Dumb-@ss, sorry all. I found it posted in the stickied thread! ]


Also, just wanted to add another "Thank You" to Justin, he's helped me out incredibly as well. It's unfortunate that this process has possibly diminished the Advanced Order experience for future ASUS users, however I appreciate everything he's done so far - so Thanks Again.

 

Agreed. Thanks a bunch Justin, your input on the site really solidified my trust in Asus and ultimately influenced my decision to jump on the W3J bandwagon (which I officially pre-ordered today.. so I'm in the same boat as you guys)

 

No problem guys..... I've already got a vacation set for everyone at the end of May when this ordeal is over with..

 

What do you know - I have some vacation time coming up around then as well - little quality time with the W3j. Coincidence?

 

Im actually going to San Francisco from May 17 - 21; I was hoping I could take the "new addition" along with me, but she may have to wait for me to get back ::sniff, sniff::

 

Will the w3j be cheaper in Asia place? Like mainland China or Hong Kong? I am traveling back there in August before I move in for college as a freshman. And the w3j is on the top of my list =). Also will the price drop if I buy from Proportable near the end of August? Thanks!

 

I can't mention about China or HK, but I was in Thailand in feb this year, and the W3V was the same price as in the UK (although it did have a 2.0Ghz Processor in it). I actually have the Thai Asus brochure.

From what I have seen the US is the cheapest I have found (in relation to New Zealand, UK, Dubai, Thailand).

 

I don't know what's going to happen with the first shipment of W3's in a few weeks, let alone what's going on a frew months from now. Computers do down in price over time... that's not a secret. Usually Asus ups the configuration on them and leaves them at the same price just to keep everything in check.

 

I'm sorry, I know this has been asked over and over again and no one has commented on the w3j's leaving port since the last update you gave us Justin which said the updated eta was around May 9 or 10 (give or take). But if they're still making changes doesn't that mean they still haven't left? Or if they have left, why don't we know what specs they had when they were put on the boat? I mean, if they have shipped then we're getting the H017P right? But if its going to change again then that means it hasn't shipped right? Or is this all because we don't know the "final specs" until Fremont gets them? I'm just confused. Some clarification would be nice.

 

They haven't made changes...... Some issues Taiwan makes the US aware after the fact and then that information needs to make it to us.. The number on the unit changes for various reasons, but the specs are settled. You're not going to be 100% sure of what's coming until I get them and check one of them out.... but no clarification is really needed.

 

I'm still waiting for it to show up on the N. America Asus site...maybe then I can get some closure that it's coming w/ a 5400RPM drive.
EDIT: Now that I think of it, they don't list these specs on the site, do they?

 

Of course not shipped yet, Asus will ship it by air for a product like this, only when it becomes regular model and supply, will ship by boat to lower the cost. The shipment we are waiting for I believe not even in production, once Asus starts the production, they will land here on the third day, that is why no one can give you a firm answer on the detail.

 

Asus usually doesn't put new models on their US site until the second shipment (usually).

Danny, I know your shipment should be coming from the same shipment we're getting and production date on them was 3/30.

 

OK thanks for clearing that up. I just got the impression that when you said "changes" you meant the unit is actually changing as we speak (as in they're still buidling it and changing the specs). But actually the unit could still have some "changes" that we aren't yet aware of once you actually get a unit yourself and inspect it. Gotcha.

 

so i guess they are still in Taiwan.

 

I just sent an email to most of the advanced order customers.... so anyone who reads this who has an order in with us... make sure to read and respond...

 

All set - thanks Justin

 

Got the email... I'm sure and I can't wait...