W7S, why so little discussion?

I agree

 

I went to go and have a look at both of these models the Sony SZ and the Asus W7S today and i have to say that i think the Asus is pretty beautiful.
The webcam compliments the looks of the laptop and it looks really nice. The only thing that i would say that let it down slightly is the air vent port on the side which is a little on the large side but it doesn't really matter.

The Sony is a pretty slick design but compared to the Asus just visually i think that Asus wins.
I picked up and held both of these laptops. The Sony is really light and the Asus feels a bit heavier but it is still
a light notebook and you are not really going to notice really any difference in the weight if you are carrying these about in a messenger bag or the like.

I can get the Asus for £680 in the States and it is £750 with the extra year of cover and they offer global warranty.
The Sony if i bought it in the States for a more recent model i am looking at £1,200 with international warranty.
In Micro Anvika the Asus retails for £1,349 and the Sony i saw is currently retailing for £1,549. You get a much better on the Asus in the States.

The Asus does not come with a fingerprint reader but i think i could live without that.

The screen on both of these laptops i didn't notice any difference. The Sony model that i looked was the Carbon fibre model. Both of them felt pretty cool to the touch to me as well.

I am so glad that i went to go and see both of these models for myself. The white Asus i think looks better in real life.
They didn't have the black one in store but they had the series just gone i didn't like the looks of that as much as compared to the white one but that could just maybe be a matter of preference.

 

Hi Rachuk, How about the heat for W7S there? What is the CPU speed on display? Actually I also went to IT Mall yesterday in the evening to compare Sony SZ and Asus W7S again. The W7S is still pretty hot even though they putting a cooling pad below it, but Sony SZ is just warm even with speed mode and both turned on about 8 hours for whole business day. Also, it surprisingly the SZ is slightly faster than W7S when I opened above a few winodws menus. But my main concern still the heat issue.

I am not sure which Sony model you looked at it but the one I mentioned is VGN-SZ433N/B which Price S$2,799 here with 2 GB ram and 3 yrs warranty now. I agree W7S white is much pretty but it is not pratical coz you need to take extra care to maintain it. My brother used to have a macbook and he advised me to get the black one, all white keyboard will not last long.

 

deepblueKM hi this is the model of the Asus that i looked at- http://www.microanvika.com/product.asp?PNO=ASU14427

I think that this was the model of the Sony that i looked at-
http://www.microanvika.com/product.asp?PNO=SON14945
They are both offering both models for slightly cheaper in their retail store.
They both felt pretty cool to the touch to me but mind you i went there at 11.30 am in the morning and they had only been open for about an hour and a half.

I have just sold of my iBook and that was white and i didn't have a problem in keeping it clean. The Asus does not really look like it will be hard
to keep clean really to me either.
I haven't looked at a MacBook in real life but just from looking at pictures of it looks quite different to the Asus as in terms of the parts that is used to make the top case.

 

Hi rachuk.

You should try to look at both laptops in the evening if you have chance. Then you will know why I said W7S is hot.

UK is so expensive..If you have chance then you shuold get it from Asia since Asus give 3 yr warranty (2 yrs global and 1 yr local) here.

http://sg.asus.com/products4.aspx?modelmenu=2&model=1667&l1=5&l2=75&l3=298&l4=0

Sony also giving 3 yrs warranty now but not the one you looked at.

http://www.sony.com.sg/vaio/app/vgn-sz433n/index.html

since you can maintain ibook no wonder you like W7S white.

 

Hi deepblueKM
I used to own a MacBook Pro and that really got quite hot but Apple brought a fix for it which helped to reduce the heat later on.
I mainly just keep a notebook on a desk/table anyway even if i do take it out.

Thanks for those two links. I live in the UK but i will be going to America on holiday on the 13th of July so i will order the laptop before i go and get
it sent onto me in America. I think that it may cost quite a bit to import from Asia and get my item sent to America.

Sony also do not offer global warranty for 3 years in Asia. You can buy a one year overseas global warranty but after that has expired you willl need to ship your laptop overseas to have it repaired.

I am going to change the keyboard to a UK keyboard and i will probably end up selling my US keyboard on Ebay.

Thanks

 

I purchased a W7S last week and traded in my W5Fm notebook. First of all, I really do miss the swivel web-cam and the long battery life of the W5Fm.

I found the W7S to be a little bigger and thicker, when comparing to W5Fm. In addition, users have pointed out that the machine does get quite warm when operating in full-speed. I upgraded the RAM to 1.5GB but am thinking about snapping on a 2GB to make it 2.5GB....Anyone tried a 2GB RAM yet?

Before I bought the W7S, I was thinking about the Acer Travelmate 6292 since it has a 12" screen as well as using the new Santa Rosa CPU....I hope there will be a W5S soon....

.Eric

 

Hi aside from Excaliber Pc i was wondering if anybody could recommend any other sites where to order from? I really was looking to upgrade the battery for the white W7S but i have not seen any places where i can get a white battery they are only offering a black one.
Even if i could order the battery separately i will not mind that either.
How much performance gain in battery life will i expect to see from upgrading the standard battery?

I am also going to upgrade the ram to 2.5GB as soon as i get it as well.
Thanks

 

we ship to uk with confirmed paypal account. white w7 battery not available atm. w7s-b1b stock is scarce.

 

Anyone know about the Web Cam specs besides it being 1.3 MP.

Is it a CCD or CMOS sensor?

Thanks

 

Ok...so I posted this message in two other threads today, but since there are no reviews of the W7S up yet, I figured I'd post it in a few places for people looking for information. I'm thinking about doing a full review...but time isn't on my side at the moment...
------------------------------------
My new ASUS W7S-A1B arrived on Friday and so I've had the weekend with it. I'm very, very happy with my purchase. I needed a new laptop immediately, as my old one's motherboard was about to go. I know a lot of people on here are waiting for the M1330 to come out, but I needed something immediately...I'm also not a big fan of Dell (though I know XPS generally have better build quality). But still, when adding in additional options on the Dell, the price quickly approaches $2000. I paid $1375 for my W7S, which, when considering the excellent build quality and features, is really a steal.

Pros:

1. Amazing build quality...absolutely no flex or ability to cause ripples on the screen; the whole laptop feels incredibly solid yet lightweight
2. Beautiful yet understated design (pics don't do it justice)
3. Excellent keyboard (one of the best I've typed on)
4. Gorgeous bright screen
5. All the latest tech bundled into one affordable package (santa rosa, 8 in 1 card reader, bluetooth, n-draft wireless, dvd-rw, camera, nvidia 8400, etc.)
6. While this shouldn't be a deal breaker for anyone, the included accessories are great (bluetooth mouse, sleeve that fits the laptop perfectly, and a nice nylon laptop bag)
7. Quiet operation, despite the heat (see below)

Cons:

1. Battery life could be better (I haven't tested it yet, but I'm guessing 3 hours would be maximum on the 6 cell while watching a DVD...but can always upgrade to 9 cell)
2. Wish it came with 2gb standard (it comes with 512mb in one slot, and another 512mb soldered onto the motherboard; I plan on buying a 2gb card and putting it into the one available slot, bringing the total ram to 2.5gb)
3. Runs warm when running lots of programs (the warmest spot, as reported elsewhere, is the right palm...the bottom generally stays cool. For me it is tolerable though...I don't think it's too bad, but everyone has a personal preference to how much heat they can stand. The fan vent sure pumps out a lot of heat though...but at least it does so quietly )

All in all, I think the pros far outweigh the cons. Again, the build quality on this laptop is amazing, and it just seems that ASUS includes high quality components in every aspect of the design. I would definitely buy again...

 

Good review!

I have started to steer clear of the W7. The soldered in RAM irks me.

 

Same. Its really a pity, because otherwise its essentially my ideal laptop in terms of performance, price and size.

 

^ I dunno why the soldered ram is considered such a deal breaker. I mean, you can get a 2gb ram card on newegg for about $100, which isn't so much more than a 1gb card. Installing that brings the total ram on the W7S to 2.5gb, which on Vista is plenty.

By the time 4gb is needed (probably around 2009 or so), I am guessing it will be nearing time for a laptop upgrade.

 

I think more than the actual amount, it bothers us that as soon as we get it, we are going to max out the ram. At a time when 2.5GB is considered just over whats necessary for Vista (2GB is becoming standard), it may not be all that prudent.

 

Exactly...I don't like the idea of being stuck with that 512mb stick.

 

I am sorry guys if i jump into a middle of a conversation here, but i am soon going to be a W7S owner, and there are a few things i am want to make sure before i pay the rest of my payment.

on my reciept it only state that i am gettin a W7S (black), with the spec of T7500, 2GB ram, 160GB HDD SATA 5200rpm, 8400 128 TC to 512, and B.T, 1.3 webcam, ONE 6 cell battery ...etc..

looking at these spec i should be getting a B1B right? if so, i should get a 6 cell battery and a 9 cell battery right? is it right for the sales to argue that i am only getting a A1B but upgrade to T7500, leaving him an excuess to not give me that 9 cell battery? if that's the case am i right if i rebut that only B1B comes with T7500, therefore i should get that extra 9 cell battery?

what's the chnace of me getting my battery in this case? i am half a noob in laptop, so i would like to make sure that i am totally right before i go argue..and plus i am purchasing it in hongkong somewhere i am not very familiar with.

thanks guys for any help.

 

Thats wrong right there. You cannot get a W7s to have 2GB of memory. There are only 5 memory configs with it: 512, 768, 1024, 1536 and 2560 (all in MBs).

Both the CPU and hard drive are upgrades from the A1B and match the B1B, but the 2GB memory is completely wrong, and the B1B is supposed to come with the extra 9 cell battery.

 

Well, it's probably the 2.5GB configuration but I want to know what is the speed of the on-board memory module, is it still DDR2-533 or did ASUS finally decide to give that an upgrade too ?

 

That got bumped to 667MHz. I think it happened in the switch to Merom actually, but regardless, the onboard memory now does run at the standard 667 speed.

 

originally it was 1.5GB, but then i upgrade it to one stick of 2GB DDR 667 ram. so can i argue that my spec is a B1B and "fight" for my extra battery?

 

I opted for the Dell in the end. The Asus looks like a very good computer though.
The Asus would have cost me £750 in the US (with the extended warrany cover) but i would have got the keyboard changed so that would have probably been another £50 so i would have been up to about £800 in the end. I would have also probably bought Vista Home Premium in the future as well.

The Dell i bought in the UK and i could have got that for £1,000 in the US but then i would have changed the KB on that to so i would be looking at £1,050. I bought the Dell for £1,188 (i got them to come down by £200). The difference was not that great compared to the US model plus well the UK model will sell better in the UK than a US model will do.

I also think because Dell is a more well known brand than Asus that i will get about the same return for my computer in the long run when it comes to sell it. Selling a used US brand of Asus on Ebay in the UK i cannot really see that yielding a decent return in the future.

I went with the Dell because it supports up to 4GB of memory, the at home warranty cover, the improved screen and some of the little extras such as the finger print reader. It also comes with Vista Home Premium so that i can use Windows Media Centre.

I have not really been a Dell fan in the past but i hope that i like this XPS laptop that i have ordered.
I have started to think about did i do the right thing today by ordering the Dell when the Asus was about £350 cheaper and it would have met my needs. I think though that i may have done the right thing for me.

 

I bought my second W7S this week, black this time after trying the Acer Travelmate 6292.

So here's what happened. I bought the 6292 along with 2 1GB RAM and I was very excited. I unpacked it and took out the notebook. When I held the Acer in my hand, I could already feel the difference in quality when comparing with the W7S. In addition, I don't like the keyboard on the Acer; it doesn't feel good. I popped open the DVD drive and put in the Ultimate DVD. Then I tried to close the drive but it wouldn't close for some strange reason....I tried to push it in different ways but the tray still pops open....I was really frustrated and went back to the store to get another one...

The store gave me another new 6292 and guess what, when I took out the notebook, the DVD drive faceplate already was felt out. That's not a good sign...I snapped it back on and powered on the machine. Then to my surprise, the drive wouldn't close either!!!! I have had enough and refunded my money and got myself another W7S...

.Eric

 

Thanks

P.S. : Ironically, this thread turned to a large discussion for W7S.

 

Yes, your spec is most definitely a B1B, so you should get an extra 9 cell battery along with it. Which actually makes the B1 upgrade (from A1) pretty worth it. The battery alone costs like $190 or so. Tack on the additional hard drive and CPU speed, and its a really good deal. If I bought, I would still get the A1W though, because the A1 serves my purposes well enough (except the RAM) and its cheaper. Plus, the white looks sexier than the black

The M1330 is sooooooo infuriatingly close to perfect, but its just too expensive. Add some options and your quickly approaching 2 large. I was about to get it with the university discount purchase, but Dell canceled that. so the search continues.

 

Why not much discussion?

1. There are now more options in this class of notebook: M1330, SZ, MacBook, M1210.
2. Soldered 512 memory--I though Asus was the "teckie" notebook--this is lame market segmentation.
3. Not priced aggressively.
4. Asus has tried to leverage its brand, but I think it has too many models, so rather than making the best thirteen inch they make decisions based on their other offers, e.g. lack of LED display, no 8400 gt.

 

thanks V! i am going to try luck argue with those cheap basterd for my battery

 

1. The SZ is very pricey if you want to add dedicated graphics. The MB has integrated graphics. The M1330 is closest to the W7s in terms of specs.

2. I agree this is one of its drawbacks. 2.5GB is enough for Vista, though.

3. I configued a M1330 with 8400/T7100/2GB/120/3year, and it came out to about $1600 CDN: more than the W7s, which is about $1450 CDN after rebate.

4. I think it's a matter of demand. Most associate Asus with gaming notebooks, hence the popularity of the A8js and the G1/G1s. 13.3" is an interesting market regardless: located between 12.1" ultraportables and 14"/15.4" mainstream laptops.

 

Hi all the W7S owners here...

I would like to check with you guys that which Bios version of your W7S have. My W7S Bios version is 202(info from CPU-Z), but is it necessary to update the Bios version to the latest one? Though I do not encounter any problem with this Bios version. As there's a warning message on the Asus W7S Support stating that "Updating the BIOS only if you have problems and you are sure that the new BIOS revision will solve your problems. Careless updating may result to more problems with the motherboard!"

Any suggestions? Thanks...

 

My BIOS version is also 202 and is there a newer version?

>Eric

 

Nobody is interested in the thing because it has 512MB soldered to the board. Aside from that, it has the typical range of Pros and Cons.

 

New review by Laptop Mag....
http://laptopmag.com/Review/Asus-W7S-B1B.htm

Sounds great...but like others I too am leery of the memory limit.

 

Good review there, seemed to cover all the bases and it closely matches my experience with the W7S. The "con" at the end is incorrect though...the W7S maxes out at 2.5GB, not 1.5GB. I don't know about you guys but by the time 2.5GB isn't enough for me, the laptop will be obsolete anyway.

 

Well, for Windows Vista to run smoothly, you want at least 1.5GB, 2GB+ preferred. It wasn't such a problem with the W7J, since the low memory overhead of XP meant that even the standard 1GB was fine, but it really is much better for Vista to have 2GB memory. Essentially, the minimum one wants is already maxing out the notebook. I mean, it may not end up being a big deal now or even in the next year, but the memory limit will decrease the longevity of the notebook and make it obsolete quicker than it would otherwise have been.

It does seem like everything else is excellent though, and with a sub-1400 price tag (gentech pc and geared2play) and that beautiful white finish, it seems like an awesome notebook. Again though, the memory thing is rather concerning and the only thing holding me back.

 

I also have a W7S. Yea, the memory thing is a bit of a pain, but for all the laptops I have purchased in the past, their lifespan seems to be 2-3 years (with 3 years being max). I imagine 2.5gb will hold this laptop well through that period, and in 2 or 3 years, I will definitely be ready for an upgrade...not just based on the ram, but also on whatever new technologies have been introduced during the period. So all in all...the ram limit doesn't really bother me at all.

 

Another review lying around by tech.co.uk;
http://www.tech.co.uk/computing/mobile-computing/notebooks-and-tablet-pcs/review/asus-w7s

All I can say is that for the specs, the price level, and the build quality this asus notebook is a real eye opener... Its a shame they decided to solder a 512 mb piece of ram as this has deterred many from buying this otherwise attractive notebook...

 

Asus W7S User Review on notebookreview.com
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3885

A complete review, with details and lots of pictures.

 

Is there an owner's lounge for the W7S???

 

Not that I can tell. The Asus forums seem to be filled with G1S owners, and that's about it.

 

It seems that I should ask this question again
"W7S, why so little discussion?"

There are lots of issues to talk about, Installing a clean Vista, Installing XP and linux, Using NHC and P4G, Upgrading RAM and etc. I think there is really so little discussion about this great notebook.

 

Well, you can convince more people to buy it, and/or more owners to discuss their issues and findings.

But as the previous poster said, currently the G1S is the leader in number of owners, followed by a few other relatively popular models like C90, V1, and then "the rest of us".

 

I'm thinking of purchasing a W7S-B1B and later on installing a 2gb ram stick for a total of 2.5 gigs.

I was wondering if anyone has installed windows xp on this system? If so can you please direct me to the proper drivers and did you encounter any problems?

thanks.

 

I'm going to install both Windows XP and Ubuntu Feisty on my laptop, I'll post the results here, but AFAIK there is no special XP drivers for W7s, also Ubuntu Live needs a little trick to boot.

 

The problem with the W7s is its soldered 512MB DIMM, which limits the RAM to 2.5GB.

 

Hi,

I found an XP install guide on the Asus forums http://vip.asus.com/forum/view.aspx?id=20070804214814437&board_id=3&model=W7S&page=1&SLanguage=en-us.

My only problem now is that the Chicony driver for the Webcam produces very choppy results... does anyone have perhaps another driver (not the 32 bit Vista one, I have that already) which works smoothly under XP?

Thanks,
Peter

 

Just posting a direct link from what you have:

Windows XP installation guide

 

I've just installed Kubuntu Feisty on my W7S, and after some works everything is now ok.

Using Vista Storage Management I freed about 15GB for linux.
Solution for broken boot: http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=421588
Bluetooth Mouse: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BluetoothSetup
And a problem with LAN: http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=3209279&postcount=18

Sound and Fn keys work fine.
It seems that modem will work with SmartLink drivers but I haven't tested yet.
Also I haven't tried to setup Webcam yet.

 

Hello guyz! It's not an answer... actually, it's a request for help. I can't decide between the W7S and the W5Fm. I'd really like to have a light and portable pc - that's the problem with W7 that is slightly bigger and heavier than W5 and has battery life problems. And there's also the heat issues...
On the other hand, I'd like to run windows vista on my new laptop, and I also want it to last! In this case, W5Fm seems already not good enough, as it only handles 1,5G RAM. bESIDES, W7s processor is newer and faster...
What do you think? Do you know if W5Fm battery life is better indeed? Is 1,5G ram enough for vista?
Oh, that would be useful to say both computers are almost the same price (W7 is $100 more expensive than W5).
Thanx in advance!

 

Hmmm the W5Fm is an odd beast indeed. Obviously it's smaller and lighter with its 12.1" screen, but I find it really odd that it's only upgradeable to 1.5GB of RAM with the free slot available. After all the 945GM chipset supports 2GB SODIMMs just fine.

Note that the W5Fm uses integrated GMA950 graphics, which will be terrible for gaming (if you plan on doing any gaming). The 8400M G on the W7S ain't a barn-burner either, but it's a hell of a lot faster than the GMA950.

Asus claims 4 hours of battery life on the 6-cell battery. That's probably optimistic but I'm willing to bet it'll be at least 3 hours, making it a minimum of 30 minutes better than the W7S. (I get about 2:30-2:45 on the W7S with wireless enabled and the screen at 25%, doing light tasks.) As far as heat goes, it'll undoubtedly be better than the W7S since it doesn't have discrete Nvidia graphics to deal with.

 

Hello Erick, I think you're the best person to help me! I can't decide between the W7S and the W5Fm. I'd really like to have a light and portable pc - that's the problem with W7 that is slightly bigger and heavier than W5 and has battery life problems. And there's also the heat issues...

On the other hand, I'd like to run windows vista on my new laptop, and I also want it to last a few years at least! In this case, W5Fm seems already not good enough, as it only handles 1,5G RAM. bESIDES, W7s processor is newer and faster...
What do you think? Do you know if W5Fm battery life is better indeed? Is 1,5G ram enough for vista?
Oh, that would be useful to say both computers are almost the same price (W7 is $100 more expensive than W5). And I won't use it for gaming.
Thanx in advance!