w3a Heat/Fan Issues?

Hey Asus people.

I've been looking for 13.3 or 14" widescreen that's stylish but well built and ~$1400 or less (yes, I want it all), and the w3a seems to fit the bill (depending on how it's configured).

I've also been looking at the Sony S580, which is now discontinued so it's off the list (and the Sony SZ140 Core Solo is too expensive); the Apple iBook Core Solo, which is only rumored at this point; and the Thinkpad z60t, but Lenovo has some serious shipping delays; and the Asus w3a seems like a nice fit.

Can anyone with a w3a tell me what their experiences are regarding the harddrive heat level and the sound level of the fan (and how frequently it's on)? I assume this also depends on your harddrive brand and speed, so if you could tell me what you have, that would also be appreciated.

Any other pros or cons for this machine would be helpful too.

Thanks!

 

There's so much on this throughout the forum that there's no need to start enough thread......... STF - I hope that means "search the forum" ... because I see it used in many other forums followed by "you're lazy, no one's going to do the work for you"........

It's all there - I can just add there isn't an issue with the system, although there's plenty of threads regarding this whole thing throughout the forum.... search.

 

Actually the search function is a little difficult. A reader asked me the same questions before (I'm sure us resellers get them all the time). He also noted that the search feature on this forum won't work with only 3 letters. It's unfortunate because many Asus models are only 3 letters (W2V, W3V, A3H, A6V, W5A, V6V, etc...). I dont think people should bash them for not doing this or not knowing. Many are newbies and dont know if there was a prior topic or not.

 

Thanks, madmike. I tried using the search function using both "w3a" and "z63a" and all I got was someones review that noted the heat problem. No forum topics were returned.

Proportable, if you can suggest a search that will return forum threads, I'll be more than happy to use it.

 

... see you're making me do your work....... forget just using the search...... manually do it...... there's plenty of them. But now that you've made the thread, see what others say....... if no one responds, that's a good thing....... only the few who have ever thought there was a problem should be the only ones who go out of their way to comment........ so just keep that in mind.

 

It stays warm but no warmer than a sony s series. Most of todays small laptops are warm there is no helping it. If you push the Laptop to max speed and game for a while it will get hot but by no mean will it be hot enough to burn you or anything. if you put it on a desk it i will be fine but if you keep it on say a bed and block the vents it will get hot. but the part that gets hot is the bottum of the laptop the palm rest just gets warm.

 

... it also has a lot to do with what cpu speed you're running...... if you're using powergear and forcing max cpu...... when you don't need it...... it's a waste of power and therefore lowing battery life and increasing the heat output...... but most people learn that stuff pretty quickly.

 

the HDD will get pretty warm under the left palmrest, but I'm assuming there is heatpiping to keep it relatively cool, as the majority of the heat comes out the bottom.

I use it on my lap at school taking notes quite often, and it's actually laying on my chest 'cause I'm laying on a couch. Sure it's warm, but it's not like it's burning hot or anything like that.

I have a Samsung HDD, which I hear runs a bit cooler than others. I really recommend you just go back a few pages and look for threads on the subject, as there's a fair bit of info out there. Basically, it comes down to yes, it does get warm, but the HDD would get just as warm if it was elsewhere, you just wouldn't feel it as much.

As for the fan... I never notice it when running on battery, although it may come on very low. Plugged in it comes on medium (noticable, but not obnoxious) when I had the CPU running full speed all the time.

 

I have a z63a and no the heat is not a problem. It feel like puttig-your-finger-on-the-tip-of-your-tougne warm but that is only with some use. Note that I am using a samsung 80gb 5400rpm drive so i'm guessing most 540 will be similar. Also, I really doubt the harddrive will be used that much since most programs will be loaded into the ram.

 

TONNES AND TONNES of information about all this in the forums.

Do a little searching.

As long as you don't put a 7200rpm harddrive in it you'll be fine.

It gets warm but not as hot as some people say.

Cheers,
Mike