W7J vs F8SV-A1

Hello all,

I have been looking into buying a laptop for the past month and I have been researching alot. My mind seems to be set on buying an Asus for I have heard they are built great and offer excellent warranty. If it wasn't for Asus, I would probably buy a Dell XPS 1330 but it was a bit out of my price range.

Anyways, I have narrowed it down to two laptops. Either the W7S and F8SV-A1.

I am currently a student living on campus with a desktop computer. I plan on doing some traveling (nothing extensive, just going to one destination and staying there for 3 weeks [HK/China]). I need portability but I also enjoy gaming. My desktop can handle the games that are out now, but it is 2 years old so it probably wont be running the future games, especially SC2 (I can't wait). My desktop is also a bit slow so when I get my laptop, it will be my main source of gaming and everything else.

With the F8SV-A1, this was the one I was mainly looking at. It has a 14" screen which isn't too heavy (around 6lbs) and it also has an 8600GT graphics card. The RAM can expand up to 4gb (I will put in 3gb) and it also has fingerprint reader and a swivel web camera. The con's of this laptop is that the FN key is to the left of the CTRL which will annoy me because I know I will push the wrong key. I have used another Asus before where the key was like this and I got so frustrated.

With the W7S it is a 13" so a bit lighter which will prove to be better when carrying around in my bag and traveling. I like the flat black colour of the F8SV shinny black and also most important, the CTRL key is to the left of the FN key, something that i am used too. The cons would be that the 13" screen might be too small when I am gaming. Also the one that I will buy only has 120gb compared to the 160gb on the F8SV. 40gb is quite a bit. And the W7S can only expand to 2.5gb which is just optimal when running Vista. The W7S also does not have the fingerprint read and a swivel camera.

With all these pros and cons I am very undecided on which laptop to get. From what I have typed, if you can see any biasness to either the W7S or the F8SV-A1 please tell me. I am having a very hard time.

Also one thing that bothers me with both laptops is that I hear the battery life is very short. I will probably plug in most of the time but still a bit annoying.

Thank-you again for reading my post. I am new to this forum but so far I have read almost 10 hours worth just to research as much as I can. Great reviews and great discussions. Great website ^_^

 

Hi, there are doubts surfacing about the quality of ASUS laptops recently. See he neighboring thread "ASUS quality: below expectations?" for details But I've not heard complaints about either the F8 or the W7 so you should be OK with them.

First of all, is the W7J still available? It was replaced by W7S and even that one will be replaced (soon I hope) by the Penryn/NVIDIA 9300 W7Sg.

The main difference between the F8 and W7 is that F8 is a consumer laptop, and the W7 is a business laptop. Therefore, you can expect better build quality on the W7. However, the F8 quality seems to be better than the other ASUS budgets, so maybe the difference is not so severe.

If you really want to make this your main gaming machine, the F8 has the better GPU.

Like you said, the soldered memory is a disadv of the W7.

Battery life is under 3 hours for both, most likely under 2:30. Yeah, batt life is a problem with all recent ASUS models.

If you want to get more options than just ASUS, you should fill in the FAQ and post it in What Should I Buy.

 

TBH i skipped most of the post after I read "i like gaming". The GPu in the F8 is a lot better than any W7. Also 14" is very portable so I can highly recommend the F8.

 

Oops ment for the W7S and not W7J. Thank-you for your responses. I just wish Asus had the option of putting the FN key to the RIGHT of the CTRL or to the left. It should be consumer preference and custom made!

 

Like I said on another thread, don't base your decision on that minor thing. Your brain will adjust to it in 2 days, you won't even notice it afterwards.

 

Second this, for sure. If you want to play Starcraft 2, I would even doubt the 8400 will run it (assuming it doesn't come out for a while).

I just ordered my F8SV-A1 and after 2 months of research, I am confident I've made the best choice.

 

I can say that my W7J is probably the best laptop I have ever owned. Its fast, runs cool and is super durable.

 

Even though I can't speak exactly for those models, I do have an F8sa which I have had for about a week now. I love it and I think if you are into gaming then it sounds like the F8 is definately the choice to make. About the only option you get out of the W7 is a little more portability, but I think you would suffer in some areas that seem like they would be prime components for your needs. I think the F8 is a little heavier then some originally thought, but it is still an extremely portable machine and the weight at least for me makes it feel sturdier then maybe some of the other consumer level Asus computers.

I do have to say one thing though and that is that the outer casing is a fingerprint magnet!

 

The F8SV is better in a graphical sense because the 8600GT is far superior than the 8400G, so if you want to play games at a high detail and resolution the F8SV would suit you more.

I haven't seen the F8SV up close in real life but the W7S is well respected for its high quality build, so if you're going to use this laptop continuously the W7S should last longer and be more reliable - on top of the added portability as well. However buying any Asus laptop these days means you're getting quality anyway.

Personally I chose the W7S because I travel quite a bit and needed the extra portability of being able to slip my laptop inside my bag.

 

Posting from F8SV-B1 / Ubuntu 8.

This lcd screen is amazing. I have to say I expected the laptop to be a bit smaller for a 14" but I guess you lose perspective as you keep working with it. Battery goes about 2h:30min + on battery saving mode (Vista)... Ubuntu 8 is about the same.

Build quality is definitely something I can't complain about. I wish the top surface was matte and not glossy... fingerprints are easily cleaned off but still.

Finally the machine is fast plenty. On top of that it runs cool and quiet. I know you were asking about A1... bu if you can get B1 then do that. I know that some shops offer $100 rebate now on B1 (btotech?).

 

Thanks for the input. What makes this 14'1" seem big? I do wish it was a matte surface and not glossy as well. That is why I like the W7S. Do you think I should wait a bit, say until April and hope the price will drop or something new will come out. Or just buy it not because there wont be much change.

 

I doubt prices will come down that much. I've heard that Asus isn't too keen on dropping prices. If you shop around, you'll notice that older and discontinued Asus laptops are still expensive, if not more expensive than before.

The F8Sn is slated to release by the end of February, and it has a 9500M and some (or all?) models will have a penryn processor. Note that for a "real" mainstream laptop (GPU: 9600M) from Asus, you'd probably waiting untill 2nd/3rd quarter.

 

It's probably just me, I was looking at some 13.3" and was thinking/hoping there wouldn't be a big difference... you know from 15.4" to 14.1" is a bigger jump than 13.3" and 14.1", and I really wanted the 1440x900 res.

I think that my next laptop will be 13.3" though, I do consider portability an important factor. This is not a replacement for my desktop. So, it's probably just my preference.

The game of waiting is a never-ending one. Buy the laptop when you need it... or you just have the money . For me it was kind of both. Got a nice contract so I got the money and also helps me with work. But I have to say I do enjoy this machine. Ubuntu too, quite impressive especially as a combo.

 

I am not exactly sure what makes it seem so big? That is just what some others have stated. From the 2 other 14.1" I have looked at (an HP and Sony) it doesn't seem any different at all to me then those. I just wanted to let you know of that, because some others had mentioned it. I think the main thing is alot of other 14" sit closer to the 5 lb weight while the F8 sits closer to the 6 lb. weight. But at least for me it's not a real noticable difference.

It's perfect for me as far as long usability/portability goes.

 

I personally think the steps from 15.4 to 14.1, and 14.1 to 13.3, are both not so large. Perhaps the second is larger, I've used an A8 for a while and it was bulkier than my 15" 4:3 V6J (then again the V6J is a very low-footprint for a 15" laptop). What I plan to do is to step from 15" directly to 13.3, that should make a sizable difference.

Glad to hear that (I'm considering the W7Sg). How is the palmrest surface with fingerprints? Also it seems the W7S runs a bit hotter but what can you do... more powerful components...

 

I jumped from the z70va to the f8sv-b1 and I can't really tell the difference between the two with regards to screen size (15.4 vs 14.1). I only have a day experience with the f8sv, but so far, its been great. My friend has the white w7s and he's enjoying it. For me though, it seems small, especially if you're considering gaming. Also, if you're used to your desktop screen, which i'm assuming is at least 17", you'll probably notice a difference. And yes, there is a $100 rebate being offered on the B1 and a a few other Asus notebooks that will end at the end of February i think.

 

Hello to the F8 owners, how are you guys liking your laptops? Any complaints so far? I am thinking of purchasing one, but I was really looking for a 13". The F8SV-A1 offers much more of performance so I am thinking a 14.1" will do. Do you guys find it to be a bit heavy? Is it easy to carry around say from class to class or even while traveling? What are your thoughts.

Also, I hear the fingerprint reader is sometimes wacky, is that true? I just want to gather all my info before making this big purchase!

And another question is, do you guys think the difference between the B1 and the A1 is worth the extra $200+ price difference? Is it justifiable? What are the major differences?

Thanks!

 

Pls don't double post. I'll leave it be since you don't seem to get any answers on the Owner's Lounge, but it would've been better to just ask again (perhaps quoting yourself) there.

 

I got a f8sv-b1 back in December and love it. It runs well, quiet and keeps cool. The fan puts out a decent amount of hot air under heavy loads and does a good job keeping the laptop itself cool, especially compared to my previous laptop(dell 600m).

It does seem a tad big for a 14" laptop, the framing around the screen is a little wider than I expected. I don't carry this laptop with me that often, but it's easy enough to bring along when I need to. I live abroad so a desktop wasn't an option, carrying this with me while traveling has been very easy. If you plan on being mobile the bigger concern would be the battery life, I'd guess I get 1:30-2:00 with wireless turned on. The fingerprint reader takes a little getting used to, but works fine once you get the hang of it. I wish the ctrl key was in the corner instead of the function key as well, but you get used to it pretty quickly. Speakers are pretty bad, but that's true with all laptops.

I don't think its ever crashed on my in the two months I've had it. Usually I don't shut it off but rather use suspend/hibernate and it handles it fine. The only issue I've had occur is every once in a while (3-4 weeks) the optical drive will stop working. It'll just stop reading discs altogether(but still burns them just fine). If I do a full reboot it works fine so who knows.

I don't remember all the differences between the A1 and B1. I do remember the B1 has a slightly faster processor(2.4 vs 2.2?), a bigger hard drive, and a higher resolution screen. I think it may also have more ram, but if you plan on upgrading to 3 gb it doesn't make a difference. I got the B1 primarily for the screen resolution but am very thankful for the larger hard drive now that I've been using it a few months.