whats with the W3 having all these problems?

For someone considering the W3J, its a hefty price to pay compared to a similarly specd A8. Ok so your paying for build quality and sturdiness and "cool factor" fine. But it seems the W3 has been plagued with problems - graininess, random restarts, etc.

Can someone make a list of the problems so a potential W3J buyer (incl me) can see what they are in for?

 

If you buy a w3j and install all the stock drivers, bios etc then you won't have any problems at all. I have the first generation of w3j and the only problem i've had was the graininess issue which was to do with the video card apparently. I have had no problems with restarts, powerplay, or anything else. Most of the problems have come from people installing new a new bios or video drivers. Stick with the tried tested and true stuff and everything should be fine. That being said - I'm sure there are posts about what bios and video drivers work without any problems.
Dan

 

The graininess has been fixed by the lastest bios versions.Most of the random restarts has been fixed by the Catalyst 6.12 - I personally had no problems with the Catalyst 6.8 - This version fixes problems not just with the W3J but with the E1505 and I'm sure much more models)
However the remaining problem is the problem with the LCD being turned off - I had to disable it at the power options (at least for me), other than that no problems.

 

I'm not familiar with the LCD being turned off issue, could you explain what that is for me? Thanks

 

IMO, there are still a few unresolved issues with the optical battery.

Cheers.

 

Which were the first models to be shipped with the latest BIOS/drivers? I ask because I bought a W3J-H026P (2nd gen W3J), and I haven't noticed any kind of problems (e.g. the graininess issue).

 

Graininess is fixed via BIOS update. That was a multi-manufacturer problem...

Random restarts are caused by using non-stock video drivers... That problem exists between keyboard and chair. Several of us have suggested a sticky about that but the one guy who managed to run the OMG Omega drivers *without* any issues always chimes in and kills the idea.

 

I've had no problems with it, other than when I have the second battery in the bay, once it switches back to the main battery, the LCD backlight turns off (the monitor is still on, just no backlight).

 

When starting a thread named as you have, expect some feedback.... "all these problems" are first and foremost, not a lot of issues and they can plague anyone with any notebook, from any maker. The W3 has also been a model line for 2 years, whereas the A8 has only been out for about 6 months.

Drivers, software, and the user have a lot to do with issues that arise...... One issue people with W3's have as mentioned above in Rich's comment are due to incompatible parts - the optical bay battery for the W3v causes issues with the newer W3j chipset...... physically they are the same, and physically they both work.. but something about the newer one is different... but they are commonly sold as the same thing. The newer W3j battery will work fine in the older W3v... So basically there are issues from buying older stock that the people selling it don't know what's going on.

The W3 has also been the most popular notebook over the last two years... so there are a lot of them out there. The A8 has been popular this year for it's cheaper cost, but there are still 3-4 times more W3's out there just in North America.

Most W3 owners are a bit more professional, so they typically don't come back to the forums after their purchase unless they run into a problem, they just use the forum for research...... whereas it seem A8 buyers who may be a bit younger or from another generation tend to stick around as it's more of a community for them.

 

Im not debating if the W3 is popular or worth the money, like I said I am considering buying it as it is very functional - the same reason why so many other people have bought it. But what I am surprised at is that like you said, they have been out 2 years now, why problems are still occurring. I have been away from the forum awhile and i remember the graininess issue being quite big. Im glad its been sorted but now its been replaced with GPU driver issues causing random restarts. It just seems that it has more problems than any other series, a quick glance at the older threads will show this but i agree because its been out longer there will be more posts about it.

 

If you use the driver that comes with the notebook, you won't have any problems.

Every single instance of someone having restart issues due to drivers has been when using a driver other then the driver provided by Asus.

 

The only problem I faced with the W3j is the graininess issue. BIOS flash (takes less than 2 minutes) fixed it and everything have been running perfectly since.

Raditz, did you actually see a W3j and A8j side-by-side? I've seen the A8j and I'm less than impressed with its build quality.

 

I'm not claiming it's a popularity contest or saying it's quality - but in a jaguar vs honda type of way, where one may be better built, with finer materials... but ones always in the shop while the other will run for ever.

You're looking at it the wrong way though.... If you could actually see the numbers as compared to say what dell sells...... even the W3 in it's 4 model refreshes is a niche product... The A8 is a great seller, but Asus makes more notebooks in a day at their factory than their have been A8's sold in North American in the last 6 months (they can make 4-5,000 notebooks a day). That number is really rather small. You can even compare that to all the G1's in North America over the last 5 weeks... there were a total of less than 200 even imported. Everything that comes off of Asus production is a quality piece of equiptment. The grainy issue some experiences on the W3j was due to the x1600 gpu, and all models with x1600's had the "problem".... Most who used omega drivers or the like never even saw this anyway. But regardless, the problems you're talking about are software related and certainly not affecting everyone....... Out 2 years or not, every chipset and refresh has new and updated drivers to worry about, so basically every model after the mid October update to the Core 2 Duos had something to deal with when the bios was updated. However, I see more problems with people trying to use modified drivers - that just don't know how to use them or don't know how to get rid of them when they don't work..... The drivers that come withe the system are tweaked by Asus and not simply stock ati or nvidia drivers for many, many reasons. The people who get into the most trouble are those that are the "computer guys/gals" of their family or friends... so they hear they should use some modified driver to get the best performance out of their system.... They install it... then they run into problems and don't k now where to go. Those are honestly the scariest users because they're not afraid to screw around and think they know everything....... then they find out they don't and they blame the computer more than anything because they don't think they could do anything wrong. We all know these people... either we are them or the image of a friend or family member already crossed your imagination..

But in terms of the forum itself and what shows up here... you have to take a look at the popular models for that quarter, against the type of group we have around here for that period of time... things change because the core group of members have different needs... Probably 99%+ of people never come back to the forum much at least, after their buy their system...... People who are content with a working system may not have a need. However, probably 99%+ of people who run into problems are back here to try to find a solution........ so multiple those who say they've never had any problems by such and such, and you'll get a better idea of what's really a problem.. You can bring up everything ever said about any model in here and the problem hasn't really been "widespread"... 3-4 people with a problem out of tens of thousands is hardly a problem with the system, but it's not to say people don't randomly run into issues - as I said - it's like with anything.

If we for instance say that we see 1 problem for every 1,000 systems sold..... over the same period of time, say 4,000 A8's were sold and 3,000 W3's... ok, you'd see 4 people with problems with their A8's and 3 with the W3's. Honestly when we see just one or two people with problems all of a sudden we get calls about "all the problems with such and such".... but that's another story. Over an entire model line's life, say two years, let's say there were 30,000 W3's sold.... then we're looking at 30 people with problems which seems like a lot more than the 4 with the A8's.

All I'm saying is that physically there is nothing wrong with either model.... nor with the right software...... but it doesn't stop people having problems.. whether it's physically, or something with software, drivers, etc.... we just see a lot more of them trying to find help on the forums before they go to Asus to find a solution on their own. For you, coming from an A6jc, even the improved quality of the A8 would impress you, but I'm sure that some of the features of models like the M6 may have intrigued you.... and such things as the modular bay and better build and design has made you want to look and a model like the W3.

 

Fact: W3j has no inherent hardware issue.
Fact: Has a few soft issues which are easily fixed
NOT a fact: W3J is plagued by issues. This is simply not true. In their whole line up the w3j has been the most reliable and best quality. All the issues you described are simply software related

 

There you go... that's what I said, just about 1000 times more efficient.

 

Haha
Dont worry dog i got your back. They dont call me fast eddie for no reason.

 

They call you fast eddie? I know you're an import (and we can joke about that as friends), but when you're girlfriend talks about you as fast eddie, it means something entirely different .... You totally set yourself up for that one bud.

 

Fast Eddie, remind me of a 24/7 fast food restaurent I always dine-in during night time

 

that was a cheap shot. Ok Just in Time Justin. I will get you back.

 

just a note, the computer restart is not just with the w3j. i had the same problem with omega drivers on my desktop, so it is certainly a software issue...not hardware.

 

That's one thing you can always say... I'm never late... but if I don't get someplace early, I get that lot.... Anytime I want to do something just to make sure - it's always just in case... I get it. I'm just saying... that's on my birth certificate... I don't think "Fast" is on yours

 

hehehe...i know this has gone off topic a little now but thanks for clearing up the situation with the W3J guys.

 

You're welcome.