w3j from gentech

i order today refresh w3j from gentech and i also spoke with them on the phone they have it in stock and it should arrive to me in 3 days. the total with 2 gb ram extra is 1810 and this is the best price there is for this configuration (with their 5% off coupon). to be continue...

 

After reading the post here and looking at the sexy design, I was interested to w3j as well.

Do you know whether increasing the RAM to 2gb result in more heat or less
heat as someone said that the w3j was on the warm side?

Also does it affect the warranty?

 

More RAM will not generate any more heat. changing the cpu or HD definitely will. The W3 series is warm, but that's what you get for cramming all that power in cpu and gpu into a tiny package with little room for air circulation. It's a wonder of engineering, and generally runs like a dream according to those that have posted.

Do a search for w3j memory and warranty; read these threads for a exhaustive debate regarding this issue in the w3j ensemble model.

 

in my order confirmation there is the regular 1 year global warranty after the ram upgrade with no change.

 

Lets be honest here, the W3J is a bit of a hot rod, so when you push it had expect some heat to come from the exhaust!

That said, the hot air comming from the vent does an excellent job of keping the chassis cool, which is a great thing.

I have used other laptops that have less power than the W3J and they run much hotter! I had a work Dell Lattitude that had a integrated graphics, the chassis was so warm it made my palms sweat! and my friend at work has a new mac book pro with the same processor and ATI X1600 GPU it runs REALLY HOT!! the you could cook an egg on the palmrest, mind you it is much thinner than the ASUS, but it is still much hotter and there is no way you would want to overclock the MBP it would fry for sure.

 

so then do you recommend adding the warranty to any new notebook or is that unnecessary?

 

I consider warantees to be like insurance, which I see is like gambling, you could pay and never use it, or you could not pay and wish you would.

Asus are quite sound, but any electronic device are susceptable to failure, it is really up to you.

Although one consideration to bear in mind is that a laptop (whichever brand) has a lot of different complex electrical components which increases the risk of something going wrong, saying that my last laptop lasted for 6 years and only had one failure (after 5 years a memory module failed) which I replaced the whole mothertboard from ebay for 15usd!

So I didn't buy an extended warantee when I got my W3J.

But morale of the storey...... if you want to be safe buy an extended warantee, if you want to gamble dont.

 

Whats the reseller rating for gentech aka 1toppc.com? I couldn't find a link that other resellers provide telling about their ratings/awards/customer satisfaction.

 

http://www.resellerratings.com/seller594.html

They have a strong presence over at NBF and many many people over there have bought from them the past month or so. I got mine from them and got nothing but stellar service.

 

Actually, memory modules do get hot. Will the heat from the extra memory be noticable compared to 1 stick? Probably not. But the memory module will produce heat.

 

I have to agree with hyper, I ordered mine, havent gotten my S96J yet, but the service has been excellent!

 

so in terms of yes and no how many of you people went with the extended warranty?

 

It comes with 2 years standard for the barebones. All the components have their own warranties.

 

I got one from Gentech also. I did go for the exteded warranty. Laptops do have a good enough failure rate still.

I will order more from other sellers and will opt for the extended for each one.

 

I got one from gentech with extended warranty too.

 

How are you going to get that in 3 days?? I was told they do not ship for 2-3 days. I ordered next day so HOPEFULLY this week.

 

the W3J is a dream machine! very powerful for such a small package! i'd have gotten it, if i didnt already have a powerful desktop.

My laptops main use will be for taking lecture notes to class with me, and using powerpoint in class (seeing teachers notes) for like 3 hours a day, maybe 4.

So im getting something in the 13.3" category instead. (4.1lbs) the SOny SZ or the W7J.

But the W3J is perfect for someone who doesnt mind carrying a bit of extra weight (5.0~ 5.5 lbs) to have a desktop practically, with them on the go.

And let me just say 5% off is a sweet deal!!

(i'd get the warranty.... laptops still have a 20% or so failure rate in atleast 1 component!!! so... it's not a bad idea to be on the safe side if you are that 1 out of 5 that got screwed, lol)

 

2-3 days is just a safety net.. In case any delays should come up. Most businesses do this. Newegg is a good example.. I've always received my order from them ahead of the estimated delivery date.

 

Is it possible to extend the battery life to 4 hours?

I am in the sofware support industry. If I use w3j to go into customer
system with VPN software and work to fix their software problem, will the battery last for 4 hours?

Should I get a spare and have anyone tested how long the spare battery will
last?

I will be joining the w3j club soon but would like to know this info before committing.

Your input is appreciated. Thank you.

 

Is it possible to extend the battery life to 4 hours?

I am in the sofware support industry. If I use w3j to go into customer
system with VPN software and work to fix their software problem, will the battery last for 4 hours?

Should I get a spare and have anyone tested how long the spare battery will
last?

I will be joining the w3j club soon but would like to know this info before committing.

Your input is appreciated. Thank you.

 

You could get the optical bay battery it will extend the battery time by 1hr 45mins.

I ran a quick test today for another thread, I was running main and optical battery, and playing music off an external 5400rpm HDD with Wifi on and got 4.5 hrs, I might try it again tomorrow without the HDD hooked up to see if I get more.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=1448425&posted=1#post1448425

 

Thank you all for your replies. I finally bite the bullet and ordered one today.
It was the last one from gentech.

I upgraded the ram to 2gb.

Think I will check my usage first before buying an extra battery or hard drive.

I did not get the extra warranty. Hope nothing wrong.

 

Yes you got the last one for today, but I do see a small shipment coming tomorrow.

 

Mine should be here tomorrow (Friday). I ordered the optical battery from Proportable and that should be here Monday. I am hoping it will add at least 2 hours when just surfing through WiFi

 

Yes you got the last one for today, but I do see a small shipment coming tomorrow.

Also by adding/replace RAM or HD does not void the Asus warranty.

 

By Adding most likely not. By replacing it very well may, Notice the modules asus uses have their own stickers and skus on them. I would caution you not to tell this to customers. On a monday it may not void it on a tuesday it may. I deal with asus enough to know that what your sales rep or tech tells you is not the last word that the manager tells you. If you add ram to your custokmers machine be prepared to offer tech support for life. If your customer sends back the machine and the problem is memory asus most probably will charge the customer for service and you have every obligation to repay the customer for that expense.

 

Received my w3j early last week. The laptop looks gorgeous as seen on photos.

I have some of the 'con' as described in this forum, like:
- warm air but not hot as I can put it on my lap. great during winter.
- battery time around 3hours max
- battery not flush perfectly to the body as one side was a little loose.
If you press the back of battery there was a little movement at one side.
- speaker sound is soft. Could be improve if the speaker was not facing
downward.
- viewing angle of screen not that good but picture is sharp if you look
directly at it.
- Asus dvd not as good as powerdvd
- it is easy to accidently press the hotkey at the side when you unplug the
power cable.
- location of the power cable close to the air outlet

The battery came with 43% charged and initially I had one problem where I cannot get it out of hibernation with any key. Then I realize that I have to press the power button and then onwards found no problem.
But there was once where it went to hibernation while I was typing something, strange??


The 'pro' I found were:
- gorgeous design
- speed is as expected ( i have 2gb ram)
- mouse movement was sensitive but at the level where it was
within your control. I found Sony mouse pad was too sensitive.
- no dead pixel found

I used omega driver and ATI Tray Tools. Had problem with ATI Tools.