W3V Review Posted

Please move this if needed.

Click to read

Peace!
Sygyzy

 

Great review.
I totally agree with your opinions. This laptop could (and should) be alot better in the areas you spoken (heat, vertical angles, sound...)
Maybe they get it right next time.
I'm a bit of those you defined: "2000$ mistake". Well, it is just a notebook. If it was now, I would buy an Apple, SONY, or a cheapo ACER 1694 like (not acer because RMA services sux here where I live), that has all alot more hardware power and is so much flawed as Asus, but... is alot cheaper.

W3 laptops are only recommended to someone who absolutelly wants a compact laptop, with dedicated graphics and does not get mad with weight and has not money to buy an SONY S3. To all the others, I think you should search for a less flawed and bigger notebook, or a lighter and smaller like the W5.

Oh, and don't buy this laptop if you are picky like me and sygyzy. You will get a lot of headaches, as this laptop has some (not so big) issues to make you regret the money you spend.

 

Easily the best and most thorough review I've seen yet on the W3V. This should prove very helpful to those currently considering this notebook. I would agree with every single point you made...overall satisfied, with a few gripes.

If I had to add a very minor one of my own, I'd mention the touchpad buttons. Though they look sleek due to their "one-piece" design, I actually find it awkward to use them because of the lack of tactile cues. Meaning, if I'm not looking and rely solely on touch, I end up right-clicking instead of left-clicking. And if you don't click in just the right spot, the response of the button is either too firm or too soft. Perhaps I'm just spoiled by the Thinkpad keyboard, which is the best I've ever used.

Again, great review.

 

I have never noticed my keyboard getting hot. The hotspot on my laptop is the right rear area. Warm air blows out from there. When sitting on my lap, I get a warm sensation on my right thigh.

Since you rated it on a scale of 10. I'll throw in my 2 cents and give my rating.

8.5/10. I agree it's an industry leader in terms of design and performance. I will also agree that it needs louder audio support for headphones (I will buy amplified headphones or a nice pair of noise cancelling Bose headphones). Although, I run it through my Onkyo receiver to my 6.1 surround system (each channel is powered 70 watts with a seperate 600 watt max power subwoofer) and it sounds superb. Another gripe I share with you is the heat. Although it doesn't bother me, I can see it bothering others. Lastly, the DVD playback could be improved, but it is fine for me (no choppiness, slightly grainy). Maybe I'm just less picky.

Here are my suggestions to ASUS for improvements:

1. Better ventilation for HDD or a HDD that produces less heat.
2. Try to drop the weight of the machine w/ battery to under 5 lbs. The magical number here for thin and light seems to be the 5 lb threshold.
3. LOUDER audio support for built in speakers (not than many laptops get loud), but more importantly louder support thru headphones.
4. Try to get this thing sold in stores. Get a contract with Bestbuy or Circuit City or even something smaller like a regional company like CompUSA. We all want to able to see and touch a $1900 purchase.

On W3V - sweet

 

good review

I agree with you about the audio problem. It's just not loud enough for me. The heat problem doesn't bother me as much, but I undervolted mine so that might alleviate the problem. The right palm rest do get pretty warm sometime, but I guess I am used to my old Dell 600m, which had the same problem. The screen seems pretty good to me; the glare doesn't bother me at all. The vertical viewing angle is indeed a little weak, but I noticed the same problem with my girlfriend's 1 year old NEC (I forgot which model). Overall, the screen is very good and I really like it.

I give 8/10 for this lappie overall; it would have been 9 if the audio isn't so weak.

 

Thanks for everyone's feedback. I'll do more revisions when I have time to incorporate new findings and results.

fishfood - I don't really have a concern with the rear right fan blowing hot air since I really never use the laptop on my lap. One reason is because I know it'll get too hot. The other is the balance issue (see review). Of course, if you pump the audio through your 600 watt home receiver, it'll look great. Can you carry your receiver around with you on the plane? There is no difference between headphone and speaker quality/volume. It's not like the machine knows the difference. Don't be fooled by the RealTek control panel which allows you to choose headphone or speaker output. I agree with your improvement suggestions.

shutterbug - I totally forgot about the touchpad. I will add that. I have similar thoughts.

Peace!
Sygyzy

 

D,

Good job.... that is what this forum is really meant for.... the real sharing of information.

I appreciate what you put into it.

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

 

Justin,

Thanks for the kind words. It means a lot to me.

Peace!
Sygyzy

 

I agree, great review, and its also really good to see this forum get back on track with users providing good solid real info and user experiance. I hope that your post is an inspiration to others.
Thanks again for taking the time to do the review....very much appreciated.
a


ASUS M6Ne 15.4" WSXGA 1.7 PM ATI9700 80Gb HDD 1Gb RAM

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by sygyzy

 

Very nice review.

I get the feeling, you would have been a happy bunny, if you had gone

for a Toshiba Tecra M3.[ ]

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by lapboy

 

[ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][ ]

......thought she was Britney Spears, but she turned out ,a local bimbo !!

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by lapboy