W7J in the UK or make do with A8F?

Hi, everyone. This is my first post and hope you can offer me some good advice.

I had been looking at a Samsung X35 but I am worried the screen and overall form factor is too small.

I then looked at a Sony SZ2HPB, 13.3 Perfect except the slightly lower battery life, and had just about got over the cost when I read that they have problems and a long travel keypad.

I liked the idea of the Bluetooth and Webcam and 13.3 but there was only the MacBook with a similar size and I NEED to run in windows.

The closest I could get her in the UK is the Asus A8F but I am concerned about the battery life and the build quality as it’s a more home type machine (come with XP Home in the uk and I need domain access!).

Then I saw the W7J, good build quality, 13.3, Bluetooth and webcam. This appeared to be perfect except it’s not for sale in the UK! Anyone have any ideas how long I will need to wait, what the cost will be and what kind of battery life I should expect with the larger battery?

I do not want to have to buy a make do although I am tempted by the A8F if the wait is too long.

Advise please???

Thx in advance.

Al

 

You can run Windows on the Mac using Boot Camp and Parallels.

Personally, I'm considering purchasing the W7J because I believe the build quality to be better. The Mac is an enticing option, but I don't want to deal with discolouration and excessive heat. Plus, ASUS has a good reputation for quality.

 

I called Asus about the W7J in the UK. They said that its on their spec sheet, but no ETA on when it would be released. I think its out in other parts of Europe, so maybe you could buy it from Germany or somewhere else.

In the UK there is also the A8JC (but no A8JM). The A8JC has a NVIDIA GeForce FX Go7300 64 MB dedicated graphics graphics card, but the HDD is 4,200 RPM, but comes with 1GB RAM.

The A8F comes in a few flavours in terms of HDD. Some are with a 60GB 4200 RPM and some with 80GB 5400 RPM. However you only get 512MB of RAM (Crucial sell a 512MB stick for about £35 - 40 though). Also remember the A8F comes with an integrated graphics card.

One other thing to remember when buying Asus in the UK, you get a two year global warranty (apart from Laptopsdirect which are only offering a 1 year warranty on the A8F but a two year one on the A8JC).

 

Pin,

Thanks for your help, I appreciate it.

Is it worth waiting for the W7J? I dont mind the integrated graphics as battery life is the most important. W7J has the option of a extended battery which the A8F does not.

Appart from graphics card and size is the W7J that much better built than the A8F. I travel all the time and I need a robust laptop. (I usually trash a lappy within 18 months, but cannot afford a Pana Toughbook! ;-) )

 

Well I opted for the A8F, couldn't be bothered to wait around for the W7J.

A few other options to consider in the UK: Rock Pegasus 330 (its 13.3 inch and comes with 3 years warranty), the Zepto Znote 6214, Dell 640M, Dell 620 (this comes with 3 years next business day warranty as standard), Evesham Voyager C525 Plus, Acer Aspire 5562.

 

Pin,

Thanks again for the reply.

What kind of battery life do you get out the A8F, you appear to be one of the few people on here with one of these models. How do you find the buil;d quality etc? I live on the road so it has to be good?

I love the idea of the built in web cam as I can never be bothered with the hassle of plugging mine in etc.

What version of bluetooth does the A8F have? I need it to work with my bluetooth headset for Skype etc.

I will look at the other models, Thx

 

I have not actually got it yet (should be arriving on Tuesday!)

The model as far as I can make out is the same as all the other A8J's but with the Intel 950 integrated graphics card.

In terms of battery people are getting c. 3 - 3.5 hours with the A8JM, so I suspect I would get a bit more as its an integrated graphics card being used in the A8F.

I decided NOT to get the A8Jc because of the HDD speed and the fact I never game, so dedicated graphics to me was not really an issue. As a result probably saved about £60 - £70 as a result (as I'm going to have to pay to get an extra 512MB RAM).

 

Pin,

Thx for the update.

Perhaps you can do a review when you have got to grips with it?

I guess if I can get 4 hours I will be pleased.

Thx again.

 

Im quite impressed by all the recommendations pin, well done!

I have the A6Jc and on the standard battery and medium screen brightness I got around 3 hrs. Im not sure exactly the time but it felt like that. With a smaller screen I imagine you will get more

Asus have very good build quality and so will last you if you travel a lot.

I wouldn't disregard the A8Jc so quickly. Remember Vista is coming out soon and to get the full aero interface you need a dedicated GPU. The go 7300 is aero compatible and is such a slow card I would be surprised if it affected battry life that much. Remember you can underclock it using Nvidias Powermizer. The GMA 950 might be vista comaptible aswell but im not sure. Also, the A8Jc comes with a gig of ram so you wouldnt need to upgrade.

edit: If you prefer portability, the W5 is out in the UK, see here

 

I've been looking into a Dual Core 13 / 14 inch laptop for a few months now and have done a fair bit of research, hence the list of recommendations!!

The main thing that turned me off the A8Jc was the HDD speed (i.e. 4,200 RPM). While you can upgrade the HDD, as I understand it, this would invalidate your warranty with Asus.

As for Vista, it probably won't be released until at least Feb next year, and will probably take another 6 odd months to iron out all the bugs. I reckon a lappie should last about 2 years before you look for an upgrade.

As for RAM sticks, a 512MB stick with Crucial is about £35 with Crucial (and probably less if you use the various discount codes floating around).

 

I thought you could upgrade HDD and RAM without invalidating the warranty! Where did you find this out?

Where do you buy your RAM from, the cheapest I have found a 1GB stick for is around £70-80! Also, which discount codes are you using and where do you get them from?

 

RAM is normally OK, however its quite common that if you change your HDD warranty may be invalidated.

Re Ram: www.crucial.com/uk. For price I was talking about 512MB RAM. Cheapest 1GB they have is £64 (thats 512x2). You also have to remember that I live in the Channel Islands, so I don't pay any VAT.

 

Just an update, have now got my grubby paws on the A8F. However as I'm at work, I won't be able to have a play with it yet, have to wait until I get home this evening!

 

Look forward to the update PIN. Cannot find a UK suppier for a W7J or W7F. I wish I could as this would be just what the doctor ordered! :-(..

 

Tell me about it. We only get the W3J as a 14" Asus option. Nothing wrong with that, but I could afford the W3J in the US as we're charged $500 more for it here. There's VAT, shipping then there's plain profiteering

 

I was waiting and waiting for the W7J, but Asus keep on delaying it in the UK. Only way would be to order it from Germany.

If you want a 13 inch lappie have a look at Rock Pegasus 330, its a nice little piece of kit (and comes with 3 year warranty as standard).

I popped home with new lappie at lunch (one of the benefits of living in the Channel Islands). First impressions, it looks very nice (esp the touchpad). It is lighter than my existing lappie (Dell Inspiron 6000) but that is no surprise. Size wise though it is not that much smaller. The border of the screen is actually quite thick (maybe to do with the webcam). Keyboard has less flex than my Inspiron (however got quite a bit of flex on the space bar and the keys to the right). Touchpad was not that great (and not anywhere near as good as my Inspiron, which I thought the touchpad was fantastic).

Oh, and Instant On doesn't work, just boots up to Windows.

Just initial impressions though, will try and do a fuller review over the weekend.

 

hmm darrick mention instant on was working for A8F users...

 

Yes, that is what has been suggested. However not working for me. But saying that I only had a c.15 minute play with the machine.

 

Yeah, I've heard from some post in the ASUS forum that models with integrated graphics should have InstantON working, and I've been dying to get an A8F user to try it out to confirm.... apparently it's not the case... ... sorry bout that.. my bad...

 

Does nobody have any information on when or if the W7J or W7F is going to be available in the UK.

I am willing to wait depending on the price and due date...