w3j, w7j, a8js and zepto 6214w; help me chose.

Hi guys,

I really need your help.

I am in the seach for a new laptop and have narrowed it down to 4 models.

The asus w3j, w7j, a8js or the Zepto 6214w

I cant decide. I want the w3j with C2D, but it is not available in Denmark (where I live) before sometime in first quarter of 2007! ridiculous!

However the rest of the models are now available..

I care very much for the design, so i am sad to let the w3j go. Then there's the w7j, but i am concerned by the soldered memory and the relatively slow gfx.

I have gotten the impression after using so many hours browsing this forum that the a8js is crappy quality? Bad design, bad assembly, bad screen, bad hinges, but top notch specs?

And the 6214w from Zepto should have a bit og the same prob as the a8js..

So please help me decide. I am so confused! And I want to make the right choice, because when i buy this laptop, it wont be changed for the next 3-4 years! so it has to be good, light, capable of occasional gaming, multitasking, silent (in auditoriums) and have a nice design.

Thank you guys.

Regards,
Tissie

Btw, if any of you know about the w3j with c2d in denmark, please let me know!

 

If you compare the W7J and W3J to the a8js in terms of build quality, yes the A8js isn't as good as them, but i don't think any owner of the A8jm or A8js would say that the quality is crappy.

There's a reason why the W3J and A8jm are basicaly the 2 top sellers, and they are neck and neck. Also the A8js is very popular because of the great specs.

It is your personal judgement on whether you like the style and profile of the A8js, I personaly like the Silver chasis, but i also like the W3J gun metal grey look aswell.

If your situtation, since you will be using it for 3 years, the A8js will meet your needs, also the higher resolution screen makes this more favourable than any other 14" laptop.

 

Thanks for your input milestonepc.com.

Personally i like the design of the w3j the most. I absolutely love the LG Xnote T1 piano black design, but it only featues integrated graphics and a yonah CPU, which is not enough for me. However I can live with the, in my oppinion "less attractive" design of the a8js, especially since it offers the best specs.

I am worried because of all the threads concerning bad hinges and lightleakage from the LCD of the a8js, so do you think it'll be durable enought to carry back and forth to the university a couple of times of the week?
Not that i'll throw it around, though

 

Yes it will be strong, however, I will not deny there can be issues, like what many are stating, for example the hinges on most laptops get loose over time.

The A8js light leakage is more of a problem that most notebooks in general have, and you will just have to live with it.

Those with A8jm, love it and take them to school and work without problems, so you can expect the same from the A8js.

 

Okay, thanks.

Any chance you could ship a w3j with T7200 to Denmark?

But as far as i can conclude the a8js is as good as any notebook in that pricerange (build quality wise) from for example dell, HP, fujitsu, Toshiba, LG and others, just with slightly higher specs, correct?

and the battery time isn't so impressive, can one expect much additional time by going from 6-cell til 8/9?-cell

 

The A8Js is a great laptop. You are comparing a great laptop (A8Js) to an excellent laptop (W3J). I'd be surprised if you were disappointed in either model. The A8Js is popular because many people see the greater value as too good to pass up, while giving up a prettier more eyecatching design. The A8Js is a bit plain, and if you can live with that you will be getting a lot of laptop for your money.

 

Well I like the zepto 6214 as well. really it depends on how much they all cost...

 

Hmm, i dont know the price of the w3j since it is unavailable here.

The a8js costs 12600 danish crowns (DKK)
W7J 14500 DKK
and the zepto configured much as the a8js costs just above 14000 DKK

Note that 100 USD is approx. 600 DKK.

 

oh wow unquestionably get the a8js.

Here in the us the a8js is $200 usd more than the merom w7j

 

Omg.. hehe.. and the w7j is the most expensive here.. that's so weird...

 

Ok, I've now decided (almost ) to go with the a8js. One final question though:

I've read some very negative things about the screen; is it of good enough quality to do some serious 3d graphics design with programs like 3d studio max, rhinoceros and also photoshop?

 

Avoid Asus W3J for reasons of overheating and short-life.

I purchased five months ago, I was taking care of it and one day it started refusing working on battery and rebooting and rebooting and rebooting tens of times over and over again.

Another thing you might need to know is that Asus after-sales service is far from what they promise (they claimed they could not fix it because they did have spare parts of W3J only in Taiwan, since it is rare model that overall few people actually buy!

(You can read the whole story in some other posts if you are interested).

 

Not actually the response I was hoping for.. but thanks anyway.....

 

A8Js viewing angle is terrible. One more thing about the screen, it's a 14" widescreen format suited for watching 16:9 format movies. Software like Max tend to build and spread a lot in vertical space so you might find a 4by3 format screen more suited for your needs. The resolution is nice for a 14" though.
Build quality has a really plastic feel to it but I guess you get what you pay for (i'm used to macbooks and it's nowhere near). And battery life is poor.
If you want cheap and fast, go for it. But if you're after quality I think you'll be disappointed.

 

But is the build quality really that bad? I cant imagine asus launching a product with so high specs if it is just going to fall apart anyway....

Abbout the viewing angle: i guess it isnt a problem, when you're working one person in front of the machine?

 

I just got my A8Js. Its not that bad but its a plasticky finish, I was disappointed. Don't know if I would call it cheap, its above most Acer's but very comparable to what I know in HP's, also comparable to Dell (in my honest and humble opinion, acknowledging I know little about laptops!). It doesnt have the 'oh how cool' finish of the W series, or the Macs. Not only the cool factor, but how you feel the things are well built.

Its not THAT bad, but its not what many of us had been expecting from Asus. Its an acceptable finish. Good, for plastic

Also repeat was is said above, viewing angles and leakage are below average. Is it that bad? Depends on each one. It bothers me, horizontal is ok but vertical I have to adjust to get the ideal angle every time I seat down. Bothers me. And it happens not to be the same as the webcam, for example.

Also the touchpad has a very smooth, uncomfortable feeling (for me). The buttons are hard to find and press, and I am using my USB mouse more than in any other laptop I've owned.

For 300 or 400 dollars more you will be getting a machine with much better finish and battery time, but not as good specs or resolution for its size. So its one thing for the other. But being honest, dont know how much difference you will notice between this machine with its 7700 and another with similar RAM and CPU but a X1600. Probably little except the most demanding games, and then since on those machines they are running at lower resolution, probably gonna be the same....

If you want the fastest machine and dont care much for viewing angles, and are ok with an Ok finish, get it. Battery life important? Modular bay? High grade finishes?

Part of me is convinced I made the right choice, but another part would very much like an exquisitely well built machine sacrificing a little of specs. But keep in mind these are the negative points of what is a good computer - amazing performance.

Good luck deciding, any of these is a good selection!

 

Thx for your very informative response.
It is so hard for me to decide... The w3j is not available in denmark, so the only good 14 inch pc left is the a8js i guess.. I have also been checking other brands, like dell etc, but they dont come near the specs of the a8js, so if the build quality is the same, then i guess it is ok. What concerns me is the screen as i will be looking at it constantly.. hehe.. but then again, if it is to much of a pain it does have a DVI which makes it possible to connect it to an external monitor (which i also have to buy).. sooo arghh.. headache

 

Well,

the a8js has a all plastic chassis and so does the zepto 6214.

It is like an acer except I think it 'looks' nicer. It will scratch easily. Now, the macbook is all plastic too and its made by asus. Its the same plastic but it has the hardened finish.

Even the dell e1505 which is 99% plastic is slightly more durable.

Although the viewing angle up and down is bad, worse than anything else...

the screen looks amazing. High resolution clear and bright.
As time goes by and i realize 99% of the time its just me using the screen right in front of it I appreciate it more.

99% of the time it looks better than oh... sony or basically any laptop in this range.

Its hard to explain that . The screen has something really bad about it and it looks great. except when you stand up and you cant see it at all....
The screen in the w3j has been described as looking very similar but have a better viewing angle. Although it is a lower resolution I would rather have it.....

oh and venturellos point is very well taken. The viewing angle on the screen greatly lowers the usefullness of the webcam. you cannot move it up and down to show a different angle for the other person because if you go to high or low you cant see them in return. This is true I have experienced this too.


I think the performance difference between the 7600 go and 7700 go is very large. If you are a gamer of the PREY category of game, oblivian and etc you will notice a large difference in your experience.

I run prey with most settings high at 60 fps ( no aa no anis) and a 7600 would be (random estimate) 45-50 or so. Its a real difference not at all the same thing. You will absolutely notice it in games, 8 pipeline card vs 12 pipeline card. That is where you will notice it MOST.
The gpu is STILL the bottleneck on these machines my cpu can run oblivian and download 300k a sec and still twiddle its thumbs...

 

What Stamar and Ventuello stated is very true about what you will experience with the A8js.

When I did the review on the ASUS R1F I had the opportunity to do some quick playing out with the A8js, and found that the screen to be wonderful, crisps, great colour and I had Tokyo Drift playing on both laptops.

I did like the resolution and colours on the A8js a little more than the R1F, but yes the A8js does suffer from narrow horizontal and vertical viewing angles. So you will pretty much have to sit directly in font of the screen, and if you want a second person, he/she would also have to be right beside you.

 

Then I'll gladly take the a8js an invite a couple of female friends over for some "movie-watching"

Hehe, jokes aside - I appreciate your responses. From what i can deduce, the a8js is one of the best 14-inchers out there despite of it faults. I guess that if you buy a say, acer/dell for the same price, you'll get the same build quality as with a8js but lower specs, right?

And as for the screen, it is more than good enough if you are one person working in front of the machine (playing games, graphic-designs and so forth) unless you wish to use the webcam, correct?

Tissie

 

I watched prison break yesterday on my a8js. That episode happened to have a lot of darks in it. I had to be absolutely centered in front of the screen to not get that "solarized/inverted" effect that makes it really hard to see any details in dark areas. So it can be problematic even for one single person working with this screen.

 

I think that the build of the A8js is really good. I use to have a z70va and i believe that they have the same grade of build quality. This is a very very solid machine... There might be a difference in to the materials used, but over all it is very solid. You wont listen to creaks or cracks when you carry it. I am more than pleased with the build quality.

The only one thing that is disappointing, is the screen. I don't care about the viewing angles.. i think the viewing angles are good. The only bad thing are are the black colors, and i think this is caused by light leakage that the back light produces.

I have a theory that maybe the samsung 14.1 WXGA+ LCD will not have this problem because its only 200nits of brightness (the A8Js has 220), meaning that the back light is not that bright therefor causing less light leakage and better blacks..

I want to see a 14 inch dell with that LCD so i can compare it to mine. If the blacks looks good i will certainly swap mine.

 

well i support you doing your project.

I promise this one looks way better lol I have seen that one.


Blacks might be blacker though. the grass is always greener I suppose.

 

hey stamar... what part No. is your A8Js LCD?

 

auo 1247 b141pw01 v2

 

the 14.1 WXGA (1280 x 800) on the A8Jm doesn't have bad blacks. It has very good blacks, and most people say it has very good viewing angles. The wxga+ and wxga show the same amount of viewing angles in the AOU website, the only difference is that the A8Js(WXGA+) has 220nits, and the A8Jm has 200.

I would totally accept a little less brightness and good uniform colors over a super bright screen with washed out colors.

 

Well I never thought about this project before.

But you can buy all the parts to turn your a8js into a an a8jm at the estore.

You can buy the 7600 go and the lcd and the t2400 cpu.

You know I think youre right about something. That a8jm screen has the same numbers describing it but I didnt notice the sharp viewing angle when I looked at it.

Theres an a8jm owner that goes to my school Ill have to hunt down.

I will say without a doubt though that this screen looks so much better than the a8jm screen

 

hahahaha! i don't want to turn this in to an A8Jm!

I am just trying to find a solution for the light leakage.

 

well the 7600 and t2400 and the lcd would improve battery life a little.

You can even get the motherboard switched and use the ide hard drive controller.... ;o)

 

...

 

Now I am kinda confused.........

 

Just get the A8Js

 

I'm in the same situation as you are Tissie.

If it were not for the "cheap" impression that I get when reading posts from A8js owners, this would be a no brainer.

Most likely the problems aren't as problematic as they are made out to be, but I haven't seen one in person to come up with a personal conclusion.

The W3j looks incredible, but it lacks the power of the A8js. Also it doesn't seem to include a web camera which is a nice feature that I would like to have but will probably be willing to give up.

The other choice on my list is the Macbook Pro, but the 128mb X1600 videocard concerns me since I'm not willing to shell out a 500 dollar premium for the 256mb version (along with other additions). Its looks very nice, is about the same weight as the Asus laptops, and doesn't seem to have any LCD issues.

I'm leaning more towards the W3j than the Macbook Pro though, but everytime I see a Macbook Pro, I have second thoughts T.T;;.

 

Hehe, I also love the looks of the MBP, however i will probably never go mac.

W3J is unfortunately not an option for me as it is not available in denmark as previously stated.

But you're right; after browsing these forums i've gotten a very cheap impression of the A8Js. I hope that the problems is just exaggerated by users.

 

Its not cheap at all... I totally love the build quality... The only thing that bugs me is the screen... It probably wont bother you guys... I'm just extremely picky.

 

I totally understand.

People tend to post about the things they bug them so that they can see if other people are experiencing the same problem.

But it seems to me that a lot of people are complaining about the same issues regarding the A8js, mostly in relation to the screen.

To be honest, I would love to purchase an A8js. In fact it was my top choice until I considered the fact that I would be hauling it around in a backpack full of books. I don't want such an expensive investment such as a laptop to get damaged during transportation. Someone mentioned on the forums that the LCD casing seemed hollow and not firm as I would like it to be, this has led me away from the A8js but I find myself always coming back to its awesome specs.

I'm sorry that can't purchase a W3j in Denmark, but perhaps you can work something out with one of the vendors on this forum.

 

That will be to expensive considering that the vendors are from north america meaning that i would have to pay an addition 25 % of the retail price in the form of taxes etc.

I am just nervous that it is a major issue. But I find it so hard to believe that Asus would release a product where you cant watch the screen.. lol

Once again I find it hard to believe that they would make such a fragile product which you cant move around.

 

If you want an asus notebook cheap from europe, try buying from Germany http://geizhals.at/eu/?o=53

German keyboard layout is this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:KB_Germany.svg

 

How many times do we have to go over this. Viewing angles are crap. We're not saying this to get confirmation that others have the same problem. This is a fact. We just want to warn you before ordering something unseen. If this is a big issue for you (and it should be) have a look at it in real life before making your decision. Don't just look at specs. They might fool you.
And when talking about MBP I think it's a much more solid build. Somebody has really been paying attention to details when putting that machine together. And I wonder if any other person than a hardcore gamer will miss the extra ooompf that you can get out of the A8Js? It's expensive though and maybe not entirely optimized for running windows.

 

Is Sony Vaio SZ not an option?

 

I think they want the better graphics.

 

Avoid W3J by all means.

All the other models might be perfect (you can see the Asus after-sales service thread for more details)!

P.S. If you live in Europe, forget Asus service! (In the U.S. I have been reassured that it's fine).

 

I went to a local Fry's electronics to take a look at the MBP. The machine itself was awesome. Seemed very sturdy. But then I started tapping on the palm rests and the bottom of the unit and found out that it was constructed of plastic. So my infatuation with the MBP and its all metal case is lost.

Now its between the A8js and the W3j, both very nice laptops.

A sales person at Fry's told me that all the Fujitsu and Sony laptops they had on display were made by Asus. I had no problems with their plastic/metal construction so I'll just assume that the A8js is no worse than any of those units I saw ^^;;

Leaning more towards the A8js now T.T;;

Edit: On top of that... I have no clue as to how to use OSX and the thought of having the purchase additional software such as Word etc. that I already have for Windows is a major turnoff.

 

fujitsus are made by quanta and uniwill

the sony fe is made by asus.

The casing of the sony fe is also all plastic but i would say it is more durable than the a8js.

The mac book pro is terrible. consider it a windows computer that forces you to buy a 500 peice of software as well as another 100 peice of software.

 

Wow, thanks for cleaing that up for me.

I'm torn between better specs and better quality build.

Jeez, why can't they just put the two together =P

 

Kamzu yah it is pretty easy to swing either way, A8js or W3J, this is how i would break it down, the A8js is cheaper in cost, performs well, and looks decent while the quality is equal to most brands out there. Plus it has DVI which is nice if you want to hook it up to other things.

The W3J is also a great laptop with decent performance, but the multi-bay feature is what can win people over, since many are looking for a blend for school and gaming, they would need more battery life, hence using the multi-bay for a modular bay battery. The quality is top knotch, aswell as the looks, but you pay a little more for it.

 

Sony Vaio's are also unavailable in Denmark.. unfortunately.

Ok, i think I'll go with a8js. If it the same build quality as any other notebook from dell, acer, toshiba and so on, then it must be fine since thousands of users swear to these notebook brands. So getting the same quality with the higher specs can only be a good deal.

 

Hmm, i have another question:

The model available in denmark is A8JS-4S009P, but on about 50 % of the internetshops has written 1280 x 800 in screen resolution.

Isn't it supposed to be 1440 x 900`??

 

There is an asian market version with 1280 x 800

also it has t5500. MAKE SURE you dont get that one. Its possible they have that one I think it makes a huge difference...


when i type the model number you gave into google, its the european model which has 1440 x 900, 2gb ram 2ghz cpu and 120 gb hd.

 

Yes, it should be the one, except that sometimes it says 1280 x 800.
The european should also have Bluetooth, correct?