------------------------------ Asus W3V Review 5-8-05 ------------------------------
I've had My W3V (US Version) for almost a week now, and I've very satisfied with it.
It was purchased as pre-configured by Asus (So I can get a 3rd year warranty).
Some of the other notebooks I considered are the Asus V6V, Asus Z71V, Acer 8104, LG LM60, Sager 4880, and Toshiba Tecra M3.
Although I'm fairly knowledgable with computers in general, I am no type of authority or expert on laptops; this is my 2nd laptop. I've never regularly used any laptop other than these 2, so I will be comparing some things about the W3V to my old one.
My previous laptop is a 4 year old Dell Inspiron 8100 (PIII 1GHz, 512MB RAM, 32MB GeForce2Go, 15" UXGA) which is significantly larger and heavier.
Price $1899
W3V Specs
Pentium-M 750 (1.86Ghz; 533mhz)
14" WXGA (1280 x 768) Color Shine (glaretype) LCD Panel
ATI Mobility Radeon x600 PCI-Express Graphics w/ 64MB VRAM
512MB DDR2 533 (1 x 512)
Hitachi 60GB PATA; 5400RPM
Intel PRO/Wireless 2915 A/B/G
8x Dual Layer DVD Burner
Bluetooth
S-Video out
10/100/1000 Gigabit LAN
4 in 1 memory card reader (SD/MMC/MS/MS PRO)
Swappable Optical Bay
3xUSB, 1xFirewire, 1xPC-Card, S-Video out
VGA out, 56kmodem 10/100/1000 Gigabit LAN
Windows XP Pro
Also Includes:
Logitech RF Mouse w/ Dongle
Carrying case
Traveler's Drawer
Various Software CDs
WinXP Pro Recovery Disc
User Manuals
S-Video to RCA Component Video Adapter
Phone Cord
Power Brick
------------------------------ Overall Design ------------------------------
The design is very functional and stylish.
It is a very nice looking/feeling notebook. Everything about it is very good quality.
The LCD back is brushed aluminum with a shiny silver colored ASUS logo. There is a translucent black part that lets the LED lights on the palmrest shine though when the lid is closed.
The LCD hinge is very firm, and does not use a latch to close. When you flip open the LCD, it is necessary to use your other hand to hold the laptop down or you will lift the whole notebook up. In my opiniont his is much better than having a looser hinge or a heavier notebook.
The battery is is along the back of the notebook, between the LCD hinges. This helps to save space and makessmaller dimensions possible. The power button is on the right side of the hinge, and has a nice blue glow.
There are 5 easy access buttons on the left and right of the keyboard. On the left are CD controls (I guess you can play a CD with them without turning on the PC, but I have'nt tried). On the right are buttons for adjusting the power scheme, bluetooth on/off, web browser, wireless on/off and touchpad on/off.
The LED lights (the ones under the keyboard that show up thru the lid) are for power, battery charging, HD actvity, and wireless.
There are also 4 LEDs above the keyboard for CD activity, bluetooth, numlock and capslock.
The speakers are on the front of the laptop. Of course they have no bass, and are not very loud (not as loud as my Dell laptop speakers), but they are clear. No more tinny than you would expect.
Although I never use the touchpad under normal circumstances, it is fine; probably the same as any other touchpad. When I first got the notebook, I thought it was terrible; I had to press on it pretty firmly for it to work. Then I adjusted the sensitivity to maximum, and it works good. The touchpad is wider to match the wide aspect LCD, and it has a scrollbar area on the right side. The aluminum buttons are nice; not too firm and not too loud of a click.
Along the left side is the DVD burner, modem/LAN, monitor connection, and 2X USB ports.
Along the right is the power button, power connection, fan vent, 1X USB, S-Video, Firewire, PCMCIA, memory card reader, and mic/headphone plugs.
I believe the WiFi antenna goes all the way around the LCD border inside. It seems to work well, I was at a friend's apartment, and 8 different wireless networks showed up.
------------------------------ The Screen ------------------------------
I was a little worried about getting a glossy screen as I have only seen them before at a store, and lighting there reflected pretty bad. After using this for a few days I must say that the reflectivity doesnt bother me as much as I expected. So far its only been a problem for me when I had a window to my back, and it was sunny.
The picture quality is very nice, much better than my old Dell. All of the colors look very vibrant and saturated. White actually looks white; on the Dell whites have a slightly yellowish/greyish tint. The brightness is very good; on par with any other LCD I've seen.
Viewing angle seems good to me. I've heard a couple complaints before about the vertical angle, but it seems as good as any other notebook LCD I've seen. The horizontal angle is definately better than the vertical angle, but I believe thats fairly typical. Viewing angles are better than on my Dell.
The 14" WXGA screen on the Asus is the same width as any 15" LCD, just 1.5 inches shorter. The only problem with the wide screen format is that a game or application which only supports regular resolutions is stretched. Another option is that you can configure the video driver software so it has black bars on the sides instead.
Aside from games/applications that dont support the resolution, I think the 1280x768 WXGA resolution is perfect. There is enough screen real-estate, yet everything is easy to see without straining your eyes. With my old Dell's resolution of 1600x1200 (even though it was nice for certain applications) I usually used the 1024x768 resolution. But since that is not the native resolution, everything looks a little blurry/grainy, even games. I dont think I was ever able to play any games in the native resolution, they ran too slow with that many pixels. With the Asus W3V I dont need to bother ever adjusting the resolution, and everything will look nice.
And luckily, I have no dead pixels. The W3V doesnt come with the dead pixel guarantee that the V6V has (and some other ones I think). I was told that dead pixels are pretty rare on these screens however.
------------------------------ The Keyboard ------------------------------
The keyboard has a nice feel to it, the buttons have the right amount of firmness and movement in my opinion. The keyboard on the W3V makes much less noise than on my Dell. There is no sound of plastic tapping on plastic, it is very damped. There is a spot on the palm rest that gets a little bit warm though, just to the right of the touchpad (from the HD). It is where my right palm rests, however it is not that much heat, and I dont find it at all bothersome.
The placement of some keys have been giving me problems, but I'm sure I'll get used to it.
The Fn key is in the corner where I expect a CTRL key; I keep accidentally pressing Fn instead of CTRL.
I'm used to the <insert delete home end pageup pagedown> keys being in 2 rows of three; on this keyboard they are lined up in one row vertically.
Also, the arrow keys are more narrow than normal letter keys, this can make it difficult to navigate depending on the application or game. I suppose if they changed these things (except for switching Fn and CTRL) the palmrest would be too small.
There is very little flex to the keyboard except a little on the corners, a bit more on the upper right than the others. There is no flex with normal use, even if you are a very forceful typer.
------------------------------ Size & Weight ------------------------------
Although it does weigh a little more than Asus originally said, it is very portable. Athough I've never weighed it myself, others have found that it is really about 5.4-5.6 lbs. with the 8-cell battery and DVD drive. If you use the traveler's drawer instead of the DVD drive, I believe it drops .5 lbs. Using the 4-cell battery (If its ever available here in the US) drops another fraction of a pound off. Even when it is in the bag with power brick and all my accessories and cables, it feel like half the weight of my Dell.
The Travelers drawer is simply a weight saving placeholder, it is not actually a drawer that you can store stuff in.
Also, the power brick is very small; its about the same thinkness as the Dell's but and inch shorter lengthwise and a half inch shorter width.
------------------------------ Battery life ------------------------------
I have only tested the battery once so far. I set the power scheme to office/email (with the included Power4Gear utility), which basically sets the screen brightness to 50%. I think the CPU may slow down also from speedstep.
From a full charge down to 3% (when it goes to standby mode), battery lasted within a minute of 3hr:45min.
During about half that time I was also downloading some stuff with WiFi which totaled about 150MB; not a fast download, but the hard drive was working and Wifi turned on. So I assume it is possible to get over 4 hours in some cases. I'll have to see how long it lasts when at full brightness and gaming. I imagine the battery life will be a lot less than; I'll probably test that soon.
For the battery to charge up completely from 3% took almost 2hr:45min, while the computer was still on.
Note: I have not undervolted the CPU. Supposedly this can increase battery life and reduce heat, but might cause instability. I'm a little hesitant.
------------------------------ Noise and Heat ------------------------------
Although the fan is on most of the time, it is fairly quiet. I cannot hear it unless there is no backgound noise. The hard drive is pretty quiet too.
There are 2 noticable sources of heat on this laptop; the right palmrest gets warm, and the vent blows warm air out to the right. With heavy use, the air is somewhat hot, but not enough to burn you or anything. But if you set the mouse down right next to the vent for a couple minutes, it will be warm. These heat sources dont really bother me; I'd say the pamrest heat is more of an issue, as you feel it when you are typing.
Also, the power brick gets fairly hot.
------------------------------ Software ------------------------------
Other than Windows XP Pro being included, nothing special here.
Windows XP Pro is an Asus recovery CD though, not a regular XP Pro disc (I think all brands do this).
Drivers disc
Nero OEM Suite - has Nero Express, which seems to have limited functionality, It wouldnt burn a .bin image file.
AsusDVD - Need to install this or something similar for the DVD codec before you can watch a DVD.
Medi@Show SE 2.0 - Slideshow program I've never used.
PowerDirector Pro DE - Video editing stuff I've never used.
Games Power - A few game demos.
Gunmetal and Batlle Engine Aquila - I think they are full games, but I have not tried them yet.
Norton stuff also came preinstalled (I dont believe there is a disc for it though). I installed Zonealarm firewall and AVG antivirus instead.
------------------------------ Accessories ------------------------------
A Logitech wireless optical mouse is included. A decent mouse, but nothing great. You have to plug in a USB RF dongle, and the mouse takes 2 AA batteries (not included). I wish they would have included a Bluetooth mouse instead, since the system supports it with nothing to plug in. I'll probably get one soon.
The carrying case is nothing exceptional either, but it is much better than I expected. The material is OK, it is just the right size, and has 3 zippered pockets. The clips to open the main flap are metal. There are several Asus logos in various places. I actually use this case, and probably wont replace it unless I find something really nice.
------------------------------ Performace ------------------------------
The computer is very quick, I assume the same speed as any other notebook with same CPU, memory, and hard drive. The only benchmarks I have done are the 3 different 3DMark programs. I did this after I have updated the BIOS (which allows additional shared memory with the x600 video card - nOW I have 64MN on-board and another 128MB shared for a total of 192MB "Hypermemory"). I dont believe this extra memory will change the performance except in some rare cases, like maybe when games require 128MB of video RAM. Benchmarks run while notebook is plugged in, of course, and at full power (no battery saving stuff on).
Each 3DMark was run with all tests, in 1024x768 resolution, and all other settings default. Programs that are running in the background are ZoneAlarm, AVG Antivirus, Power4Gear utility, and the normal stuff for the touchpad, wireless, audio, video, and quick access buttons.
3D Mark 2001 - 11299
3D Mark 2003 - 3030
3D Mark 2005 - 926
Of course these scores are not as good as anything with a GeForce 6600 or an ATI x700. A lot of other larger notebooks (for example z71v, acer 8104, Sager 4880, etc) can about double the 3DMark 2005 score. I didnt want to sacrifice the size/weight/quality/battery/etc just for a better graphics card. I do actually game a bit, but I dont always play the most current games. I am considering starting up a World of Warcraft account; others play WOW on this computer with no problems. Considering that I have a 32MB Gefore2 in my dell, it is still a huge improvement.
Another thing to consider is that since the native resolution is fairly low by comparison to those other computers, this will take some load off of the GPU.
------------------------------ Where to Buy ------------------------------
www.proportable.com - This is where I got mine from. They are very quick to answer questions and with delivery. I have had no problems whatsoever with them.
www.istnc.com - Another popular reseller I've read very good things about. They also sell on Ebay, and have a 100% perfect feedback.
www.starpcs.net - Offers to customize the W3V, but you get their own 2yr warranty instead of an Asus 3yr warranty.
www.agearnotebooks.com - Also offers to customize the W3V, but you get their own 2yr warranty instead of an Asus 3yr warranty.
There are probably a few more I'm missing. The Asus website has a list of authorized resellers.
------------------------------ Comments/Conclusion ------------------------------
I am planning to upgrading the RAM to 1 GB and getting a large 7200RPM SATA hard drive eventually. Technically, this upgrading "may" void the warranty if it is sent back to Asus withough the original parts. If I upgrade soon, I'll follow up here. I understand using a SATA hard drive might help a lot with burning CD/DVDs because the HD and DVD burner will not be on the same IDE channel anymore. But Asus does not yet make the SATA connector that is necessary for this upgrade.
Overall, I'm very happy with this notebook, and would definately buy it again if given the choice again. Every single negative thing I've commented on is a very minor thing, there are really no major issues. No laptop is perfect, but this one comes very close. In my opinion the worst thing (Other than not having the best video card) is the size of the arrow keys, and the placement of Fn key. I think a lot of people would say the heat is the worst problem, but it really doesnt bother me at all.
I can't imagine anyone would NOT be happy after buying this computer. I strongly recommend it. If you get it and don't like it, you could probably sell it on Ebay for less loss than a restocking fee anyway.
Well, I think that covers everything that I can think of. I'm sure there's something I forgot to comment about; if I remember, I'll add it.
If you have any questions, dont hesitate to ask me. You can email me (robotmule -at- yahoo.com) or better yet just post here in case others have the same questions. If you already have a W3V please comment on what you agree with or disagree with, or what could be added. If you visit any other similar forums, feel free to post this review anywhere or use the pictures as you wish (I posted here and at notebookreview).
If my pictures dont load, it may be because I ran out of bandwidth.
I've had My W3V (US Version) for almost a week now, and I've very satisfied with it.
It was purchased as pre-configured by Asus (So I can get a 3rd year warranty).
Some of the other notebooks I considered are the Asus V6V, Asus Z71V, Acer 8104, LG LM60, Sager 4880, and Toshiba Tecra M3.
Although I'm fairly knowledgable with computers in general, I am no type of authority or expert on laptops; this is my 2nd laptop. I've never regularly used any laptop other than these 2, so I will be comparing some things about the W3V to my old one.
My previous laptop is a 4 year old Dell Inspiron 8100 (PIII 1GHz, 512MB RAM, 32MB GeForce2Go, 15" UXGA) which is significantly larger and heavier.
Price $1899
W3V Specs
Pentium-M 750 (1.86Ghz; 533mhz)
14" WXGA (1280 x 768) Color Shine (glaretype) LCD Panel
ATI Mobility Radeon x600 PCI-Express Graphics w/ 64MB VRAM
512MB DDR2 533 (1 x 512)
Hitachi 60GB PATA; 5400RPM
Intel PRO/Wireless 2915 A/B/G
8x Dual Layer DVD Burner
Bluetooth
S-Video out
10/100/1000 Gigabit LAN
4 in 1 memory card reader (SD/MMC/MS/MS PRO)
Swappable Optical Bay
3xUSB, 1xFirewire, 1xPC-Card, S-Video out
VGA out, 56kmodem 10/100/1000 Gigabit LAN
Windows XP Pro
Also Includes:
Logitech RF Mouse w/ Dongle
Carrying case
Traveler's Drawer
Various Software CDs
WinXP Pro Recovery Disc
User Manuals
S-Video to RCA Component Video Adapter
Phone Cord
Power Brick
------------------------------ Overall Design ------------------------------
The design is very functional and stylish.
It is a very nice looking/feeling notebook. Everything about it is very good quality.
The LCD back is brushed aluminum with a shiny silver colored ASUS logo. There is a translucent black part that lets the LED lights on the palmrest shine though when the lid is closed.
The LCD hinge is very firm, and does not use a latch to close. When you flip open the LCD, it is necessary to use your other hand to hold the laptop down or you will lift the whole notebook up. In my opiniont his is much better than having a looser hinge or a heavier notebook.
The battery is is along the back of the notebook, between the LCD hinges. This helps to save space and makessmaller dimensions possible. The power button is on the right side of the hinge, and has a nice blue glow.
There are 5 easy access buttons on the left and right of the keyboard. On the left are CD controls (I guess you can play a CD with them without turning on the PC, but I have'nt tried). On the right are buttons for adjusting the power scheme, bluetooth on/off, web browser, wireless on/off and touchpad on/off.
The LED lights (the ones under the keyboard that show up thru the lid) are for power, battery charging, HD actvity, and wireless.
There are also 4 LEDs above the keyboard for CD activity, bluetooth, numlock and capslock.
The speakers are on the front of the laptop. Of course they have no bass, and are not very loud (not as loud as my Dell laptop speakers), but they are clear. No more tinny than you would expect.
Although I never use the touchpad under normal circumstances, it is fine; probably the same as any other touchpad. When I first got the notebook, I thought it was terrible; I had to press on it pretty firmly for it to work. Then I adjusted the sensitivity to maximum, and it works good. The touchpad is wider to match the wide aspect LCD, and it has a scrollbar area on the right side. The aluminum buttons are nice; not too firm and not too loud of a click.
Along the left side is the DVD burner, modem/LAN, monitor connection, and 2X USB ports.
Along the right is the power button, power connection, fan vent, 1X USB, S-Video, Firewire, PCMCIA, memory card reader, and mic/headphone plugs.
I believe the WiFi antenna goes all the way around the LCD border inside. It seems to work well, I was at a friend's apartment, and 8 different wireless networks showed up.
------------------------------ The Screen ------------------------------
I was a little worried about getting a glossy screen as I have only seen them before at a store, and lighting there reflected pretty bad. After using this for a few days I must say that the reflectivity doesnt bother me as much as I expected. So far its only been a problem for me when I had a window to my back, and it was sunny.
The picture quality is very nice, much better than my old Dell. All of the colors look very vibrant and saturated. White actually looks white; on the Dell whites have a slightly yellowish/greyish tint. The brightness is very good; on par with any other LCD I've seen.
Viewing angle seems good to me. I've heard a couple complaints before about the vertical angle, but it seems as good as any other notebook LCD I've seen. The horizontal angle is definately better than the vertical angle, but I believe thats fairly typical. Viewing angles are better than on my Dell.
The 14" WXGA screen on the Asus is the same width as any 15" LCD, just 1.5 inches shorter. The only problem with the wide screen format is that a game or application which only supports regular resolutions is stretched. Another option is that you can configure the video driver software so it has black bars on the sides instead.
Aside from games/applications that dont support the resolution, I think the 1280x768 WXGA resolution is perfect. There is enough screen real-estate, yet everything is easy to see without straining your eyes. With my old Dell's resolution of 1600x1200 (even though it was nice for certain applications) I usually used the 1024x768 resolution. But since that is not the native resolution, everything looks a little blurry/grainy, even games. I dont think I was ever able to play any games in the native resolution, they ran too slow with that many pixels. With the Asus W3V I dont need to bother ever adjusting the resolution, and everything will look nice.
And luckily, I have no dead pixels. The W3V doesnt come with the dead pixel guarantee that the V6V has (and some other ones I think). I was told that dead pixels are pretty rare on these screens however.
------------------------------ The Keyboard ------------------------------
The keyboard has a nice feel to it, the buttons have the right amount of firmness and movement in my opinion. The keyboard on the W3V makes much less noise than on my Dell. There is no sound of plastic tapping on plastic, it is very damped. There is a spot on the palm rest that gets a little bit warm though, just to the right of the touchpad (from the HD). It is where my right palm rests, however it is not that much heat, and I dont find it at all bothersome.
The placement of some keys have been giving me problems, but I'm sure I'll get used to it.
The Fn key is in the corner where I expect a CTRL key; I keep accidentally pressing Fn instead of CTRL.
I'm used to the <insert delete home end pageup pagedown> keys being in 2 rows of three; on this keyboard they are lined up in one row vertically.
Also, the arrow keys are more narrow than normal letter keys, this can make it difficult to navigate depending on the application or game. I suppose if they changed these things (except for switching Fn and CTRL) the palmrest would be too small.
There is very little flex to the keyboard except a little on the corners, a bit more on the upper right than the others. There is no flex with normal use, even if you are a very forceful typer.
------------------------------ Size & Weight ------------------------------
Although it does weigh a little more than Asus originally said, it is very portable. Athough I've never weighed it myself, others have found that it is really about 5.4-5.6 lbs. with the 8-cell battery and DVD drive. If you use the traveler's drawer instead of the DVD drive, I believe it drops .5 lbs. Using the 4-cell battery (If its ever available here in the US) drops another fraction of a pound off. Even when it is in the bag with power brick and all my accessories and cables, it feel like half the weight of my Dell.
The Travelers drawer is simply a weight saving placeholder, it is not actually a drawer that you can store stuff in.
Also, the power brick is very small; its about the same thinkness as the Dell's but and inch shorter lengthwise and a half inch shorter width.
------------------------------ Battery life ------------------------------
I have only tested the battery once so far. I set the power scheme to office/email (with the included Power4Gear utility), which basically sets the screen brightness to 50%. I think the CPU may slow down also from speedstep.
From a full charge down to 3% (when it goes to standby mode), battery lasted within a minute of 3hr:45min.
During about half that time I was also downloading some stuff with WiFi which totaled about 150MB; not a fast download, but the hard drive was working and Wifi turned on. So I assume it is possible to get over 4 hours in some cases. I'll have to see how long it lasts when at full brightness and gaming. I imagine the battery life will be a lot less than; I'll probably test that soon.
For the battery to charge up completely from 3% took almost 2hr:45min, while the computer was still on.
Note: I have not undervolted the CPU. Supposedly this can increase battery life and reduce heat, but might cause instability. I'm a little hesitant.
------------------------------ Noise and Heat ------------------------------
Although the fan is on most of the time, it is fairly quiet. I cannot hear it unless there is no backgound noise. The hard drive is pretty quiet too.
There are 2 noticable sources of heat on this laptop; the right palmrest gets warm, and the vent blows warm air out to the right. With heavy use, the air is somewhat hot, but not enough to burn you or anything. But if you set the mouse down right next to the vent for a couple minutes, it will be warm. These heat sources dont really bother me; I'd say the pamrest heat is more of an issue, as you feel it when you are typing.
Also, the power brick gets fairly hot.
------------------------------ Software ------------------------------
Other than Windows XP Pro being included, nothing special here.
Windows XP Pro is an Asus recovery CD though, not a regular XP Pro disc (I think all brands do this).
Drivers disc
Nero OEM Suite - has Nero Express, which seems to have limited functionality, It wouldnt burn a .bin image file.
AsusDVD - Need to install this or something similar for the DVD codec before you can watch a DVD.
Medi@Show SE 2.0 - Slideshow program I've never used.
PowerDirector Pro DE - Video editing stuff I've never used.
Games Power - A few game demos.
Gunmetal and Batlle Engine Aquila - I think they are full games, but I have not tried them yet.
Norton stuff also came preinstalled (I dont believe there is a disc for it though). I installed Zonealarm firewall and AVG antivirus instead.
------------------------------ Accessories ------------------------------
A Logitech wireless optical mouse is included. A decent mouse, but nothing great. You have to plug in a USB RF dongle, and the mouse takes 2 AA batteries (not included). I wish they would have included a Bluetooth mouse instead, since the system supports it with nothing to plug in. I'll probably get one soon.
The carrying case is nothing exceptional either, but it is much better than I expected. The material is OK, it is just the right size, and has 3 zippered pockets. The clips to open the main flap are metal. There are several Asus logos in various places. I actually use this case, and probably wont replace it unless I find something really nice.
------------------------------ Performace ------------------------------
The computer is very quick, I assume the same speed as any other notebook with same CPU, memory, and hard drive. The only benchmarks I have done are the 3 different 3DMark programs. I did this after I have updated the BIOS (which allows additional shared memory with the x600 video card - nOW I have 64MN on-board and another 128MB shared for a total of 192MB "Hypermemory"). I dont believe this extra memory will change the performance except in some rare cases, like maybe when games require 128MB of video RAM. Benchmarks run while notebook is plugged in, of course, and at full power (no battery saving stuff on).
Each 3DMark was run with all tests, in 1024x768 resolution, and all other settings default. Programs that are running in the background are ZoneAlarm, AVG Antivirus, Power4Gear utility, and the normal stuff for the touchpad, wireless, audio, video, and quick access buttons.
3D Mark 2001 - 11299
3D Mark 2003 - 3030
3D Mark 2005 - 926
Of course these scores are not as good as anything with a GeForce 6600 or an ATI x700. A lot of other larger notebooks (for example z71v, acer 8104, Sager 4880, etc) can about double the 3DMark 2005 score. I didnt want to sacrifice the size/weight/quality/battery/etc just for a better graphics card. I do actually game a bit, but I dont always play the most current games. I am considering starting up a World of Warcraft account; others play WOW on this computer with no problems. Considering that I have a 32MB Gefore2 in my dell, it is still a huge improvement.
Another thing to consider is that since the native resolution is fairly low by comparison to those other computers, this will take some load off of the GPU.
------------------------------ Where to Buy ------------------------------
www.proportable.com - This is where I got mine from. They are very quick to answer questions and with delivery. I have had no problems whatsoever with them.
www.istnc.com - Another popular reseller I've read very good things about. They also sell on Ebay, and have a 100% perfect feedback.
www.starpcs.net - Offers to customize the W3V, but you get their own 2yr warranty instead of an Asus 3yr warranty.
www.agearnotebooks.com - Also offers to customize the W3V, but you get their own 2yr warranty instead of an Asus 3yr warranty.
There are probably a few more I'm missing. The Asus website has a list of authorized resellers.
------------------------------ Comments/Conclusion ------------------------------
I am planning to upgrading the RAM to 1 GB and getting a large 7200RPM SATA hard drive eventually. Technically, this upgrading "may" void the warranty if it is sent back to Asus withough the original parts. If I upgrade soon, I'll follow up here. I understand using a SATA hard drive might help a lot with burning CD/DVDs because the HD and DVD burner will not be on the same IDE channel anymore. But Asus does not yet make the SATA connector that is necessary for this upgrade.
Overall, I'm very happy with this notebook, and would definately buy it again if given the choice again. Every single negative thing I've commented on is a very minor thing, there are really no major issues. No laptop is perfect, but this one comes very close. In my opinion the worst thing (Other than not having the best video card) is the size of the arrow keys, and the placement of Fn key. I think a lot of people would say the heat is the worst problem, but it really doesnt bother me at all.
I can't imagine anyone would NOT be happy after buying this computer. I strongly recommend it. If you get it and don't like it, you could probably sell it on Ebay for less loss than a restocking fee anyway.
Well, I think that covers everything that I can think of. I'm sure there's something I forgot to comment about; if I remember, I'll add it.
If you have any questions, dont hesitate to ask me. You can email me (robotmule -at- yahoo.com) or better yet just post here in case others have the same questions. If you already have a W3V please comment on what you agree with or disagree with, or what could be added. If you visit any other similar forums, feel free to post this review anywhere or use the pictures as you wish (I posted here and at notebookreview).
If my pictures dont load, it may be because I ran out of bandwidth.
