W3j Owners Lounge

By and large, nearly everyone gets a pefect screen. I'm not familiar with Milestone's return policy regarding dead pixels but that is where you would need to check. It shouldn't be a problem though.

 

Read the image in my signature, we have Zero Bright Dot Guarantee when you buy, after that, follow Asus policy.

 

Bought my W3J from Milestone; it was perfectly fine.

 

Hi breakspirit, I bought my W3J from Microware, Singapore; no dead pixels.

 

hey everyone !! i just received my w3j from btotech.com and this is a thing of beauty !!! i just updated my catalyst drivers and installed aim and firefox. i uninstalled the norton av program and i was wondering what else do i have to do to my new system for optimal performance? like specific bios updates or other drivers i would have to update.

 

I believe most of the drivers are up to date because you just recieved the notebook from a new shipment. Check out the ASUS website to make sure. If you want better performance get rid of AIM . Try Trillian or (is it?) classic AIM. The new one is full of crap.

 

I got mine in the first wave and the screen is flawless (knock on wood)...

I wonder if dead pixels are more common on higher res screens? Just wondering out loud.

 

no..but larger size screens in general have more becuase greater number of pixels increases the chance of a dead pixel..lol now that i think about it undertow is right as well though it tends to happen more in high res big screens like 24"

 

Is the SoundMax audio chip supposed to have any type of software to control it apart from the default Windows audio properties?

Right now it seems pretty powerless and crappy, especially compared to some other integrated chips like the Realtek one.

 

you mean like the BIOS setting to adjust the volume?

 

I mean like the Creative Surround Mixer that you get with Soundblaster cards, or something along those lines. Basically an application that lets you control your sound card settings, including but not limited to: the volume, bass, treble, other eq settings, effects (i.e. to make the music sound like it's being played in an auditorium, or a church, or a garage, etc.) and so forth.

 

Ok, I'm one of those lucky ones to actually get to choose a new laptop once every few years because of my work

Currently I'm looking for a replacement for my Acer TM 8004LMI laptop and I have narrowed it down to 2 choices.

1. The Asus W3j laptop
2. A HP Laptop with a ATI X1600.

There's a catch however:

If I choose the Asus I HAVE to keep it for a full 3 years, if I choose the HP I'm able to get a new one within lets say...a year... Thats because our Company uses HP laptops and I'll be able to pass the HP to another user.

Can someone tell me if the quality of the (glossy) screen is really that much better compared to the HP laptops? Is the glossy screen the same as the Apple MacBooks? I've seen the MacBook in reality and was simply put BLOWN AWAY by the screen quality. If it is the same I think I'll still go for the Asus. Do you think HP will start using these glossy screens in the near future?

 

How the heck do I use windows wireless manager instead of intels? I tried uninstalling all the intel proset stuff with exception to the drivers, but it stills pops up.

 

I didn't uninstall proset, but here is what I did:

Within Proset, there is an option that says something like "Let Windows Manage my wireless connection"

After checking that box or pressing that button, I disabled all Proset programs from running at startup and restarted the machine. Windows then took control of the wireless and it has been fine ever since.

 

Well I did some testing what you should be saying is that the speakers are rubbish, but the audio output quality is actually very good.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=71320

I did some recording the other day and there is a very low noise floor, but in terms of output, the quality is excellent

but as you mentioned there is not much software to adjust the sound output like you get with dedicated sound cards in desktops, but normally whatever you use to play with will have Equalisers and DSP effects.

 

Oh I know that the audio output is much much better. I have had the W3J hooked up to my 2.1 system and it sure as hell sounds a lot better than the built-in speakers. Of course, that's to be expected.

But by powerless and crappy I wasn't talking about the audio output. I was thinking more along the lines of the control software and how there really isn't anything. But meh, not that big of a deal. I was just wondering if I might have omitted anything on setup (i.e. certain audio utilities), because I've seen some other integrated sound chips that have 'em.

 

I am having a problem with my bluetooth.

So, I finally got a phone with bluetooth capability, and as I was trying to establish a connection with my newly purchased W3J I noted that I didn't have a "bluetooth devices" option already in my control panel, i.e. no support from windows. This was surprising since I think the w3j came with SP2 installed, but I didn't think too much of it and somehow managed to trick it into working using another utility that I can only assume came installed with the w3j. Well, it only succeeded once, and now that I'm trying it again, I just don't know what to do, and I would really just like to have the generic windows support for bluetooth devices back...but I don't know how to do it, short of a complete reinstall of SP2 (this will probably fix things right?). I know it probably won't be a problem, but I just don't want to have to do it if there's a way to just download the piece I need.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks!

 

Is the bluetooth LED on? Do you see the bluetooth manager icon in the system tray? Is the bluetooth manager icon... well.... blue? If there's a bluetooth manager icon in the system tray and it's blue, and the bluetooth LED is on (blue LED), just right click on the bluetooth manager icon and click 'Add New Connection' or something like that.

 

Take the Asus - if you're using it for business uses then the quality alone will last and serve you better for 3 years than HP is likely to... carbon fiber, anodized aluminum, etc. The tech in the W3 will run every office app released in '09 just as effectively as the (new) HP models then will, and I'll wager it will still look better and more professional by comparison.

HP is unlikely to use the same LCD screens as Asus puts in either the MacBooks or the W3j, since HP generally tries to hit a lower pricepoint, and since the LCD makes up a fair portion of a notebook's expense this is one place where they're likely to compromise.

 

I should have asked this question here first towards proud W3J owners.

Anyways, how are the viewing angles on the screen? Particularly I'm interested in viewing from below the laptop. Say if you put your laptop on a table above you, would the screen darken and lose contrast and color as you got closer to the floor.

 

Have you looked at the nc8430? It's a pretty solid machine. Saying that the W3J will be just as good as the new HP models in 09 is just stupid. The nc8430 has practically the same specs as the W3J, but with a larger screen. You think HP will still be using 2006 tech in 2009?

I got my W3J two days ago, and I think it's great. However, if I could get an HP and replace it in a year, I'd probably go that route, provided that the HP will have the similar specs to the Asus.

 

I'd also like to know where in the W3J there is carbon fiber? I'm typing on one now, and I see none.

 

Thx for the replies

I also play WoW (alot) and I have to say staring at a glossy screen makes a BIG difference when playing WoW. everything seems more "vibrant". This is also why I'm leaning towards the Asus.

This weekend I noticed HP is putting glossy screens in their consumer models. Now I'm wondering if this will happen with the business models anytime soon...

**** choices!

 

I bought a W3J and I have no regrets. The only HP's model that I am rather interested in is the dv2000 (the one with 14" widescreen LCD and imprints) but oh the vga card is weak...

 

Carbon fiber is embedded into the plastic shell of the chassis during the manufacturing process. It isn't visible externally.

 

2. I had my W3J debugged by the Vista guys. It is a BIOS problem, specifically when Vista queries the BIOS to see if the TCG interface is supported. Asus has been informed and hopefully we see a new BIOS soon.

More info on TCG:

https://www.trustedcomputinggroup.org/specs/PCClient/

 

Name calling aside, please take the time to actually read the post before you jump over someone about it. At no time did I say that HP makes an inferior product; HP makes some fine products and their business line is pretty solid - nor did I imply that HP would be "using 2006 tech in 2009." I simply was pointing out that, in comparison, Asus' Ensemble line like the W3j is better. Besides, I'd take anodized aluminum over plastic any day for higher wear resistance and travel ability alone. I will wager right now that this chassis, along with the rest of the outside of the W3, will stack up very favorably in terms of external design (not the tech inside) against the HP business line that is released in '09.

Technology will certainly advance between '07 and '09 but we're talking about business applications here, not gaming or high-end graphics work, which typically don't require all the horsepower available in today's mid-high range models (that's why business lines have celeron procs and integrated graphics available in them; most business users don't need the speed and dedicated graphics). What I was talking about was a notebook's ability to run standard office applications..... Let's see, I'll come up with an example since that seems to be necessary; Microsoft's last office suite was released in '03 (the 07 upgrade still finishing beta testing), so we're talking about the difference between a CDuo and Dothan P-M (more or less) running Word or PPoint. Aside from startup time of these apps, I think most people would agree that it would be difficult to detect a functional difference between the two processor platforms in running the software under normal conditions/use on a day-to-day basis. *That* is the point I was trying to get across .

 

I agree with ClearSkies on both of these points. Having owned 4 laptops previously (6 total in the household), I have to say that one must take into account the quality of the materials involved.

My 2nd Laptop was purchased from a canadian vendor that will remain unnamed for the moment (NOT anyone I've seen mentioned on this forum). After 2 years, the Lid/LCD literally BROKE OFF of the laptop. If he is looking for a laptop that must last him 3 years, then the build quality will be extremely important. I doubt there are many that could honestly say that HP build quality (my wife owns one) can stack up to Asus. Their cases are decent quality, yes, but Asus is just better.

Carbon-fiber reinforcement is a very good idea for a laptop. The plastic will be much stronger, and the fibers will spread the force of repeated opening and closing across the laptop more. As with the aformentioned Lid problem, I determined the problem on my laptop to be bad design, and poor quality materials. The force of repeated opening and closing was focused on a sharp angle in the plastic screen mounts. This, combined with cheap plastic, caused failure over time.

Looking at the design of the W3J, there is no sharp angles where force can be focused, and this spreads the stress across a larger area. Combined with Carbon reinforcement, I'd think it would be very difficult to break this laptop's case (unintentionally, of course). Anodized aluminum covering the lid will definitely help prevent accidental spills/breakage from damaging the screen, and prevent scratches. Maybe not a functional problem, but how professional does it look to have big scratches all over your laptop??

All in all, for me, it's going to be Asus all the way. Few seem to be sad with their choice.

 

Fair enough. The W3J is surely a fine machine. I have to wonder how much office apps will differ in 2009 though. With Vista and DX10 (both of which the current W3J is not eqipped to handle properly) we may see some new interfaces and improvements using technologies that the W3J currently does not have. Also, back in 2003 Windows XP was still Microsoft's flagship operating system, so we're not talking about a shift in OS and the technologies required to run it between 2003 and 2006 like there will be between 2006 and 2009.

You're right, there are carbon fibers in the W3J chassis, but it's not the carbon fiber that people usually think of. Carbon fiber is generally known as the woven plates of carbon fibers that have a distinctive checkered pattern. The W3J chassis is carbon composite, which is very rigid due to the presence of carbon fibers in the resin.

 

That's what I figured they used. Still a vast improvement over earlier laptops. Even cheaper brands are starting to sit up and take notice of bad design concepts, and going for more rigid case designs.

I just wish I'd visited this website years ago, when I bought my previous laptops. Would have saved me several horror stories, and a lot of expletive outbursts. Kudos for asking here. We live and learn, I suppose... (And then choose Asus? )

When it comes to office apps...well, Word is Word. Excel is Excel. Honestly I still use Office 97 on my machine, without any problems. Ok, I can't do some of that REALLY fancy stuff...but how many professionals out there really NEED all that? Every office environment I've ever been in, didn't use MS Office products to even half of their capability. When they need stuff that powerful, they usually go with enterprise solutions anyway.

If the W3J can handle FEAR and Oblivion...I'm pretty sure it can handle Office, even the new ones. Maybe it won't have the flashy new effects. I can't remember the last time I used Word or Excel for flashy DirectX10 3D "pwn4ge". I usually use it for numbers and letters.

 

Just got my W3J, . I can't express my joy for this computer. I got to get used to the keyboard, but I think it will be sooner than later. Overall, its an amazing machine, perfect almost in every way except the speakers. I've installed BitDefender, and set up my internet connection. I not sure how to calibrate my battery, I tried going to BIOS but it would be calibrating for about 5 mins, I thought it froze so I CTRL+Alt+Del it. Took me back to Windows. Already converted my hard drive into NTFS, using the icon on the screen. I currently got 53, processes running, wonder if its too much. Already deleted Norton, anything else I should delete to make it even faster. Again, this computer is worth every penny, have it running is quiet office mode, although I also like Battery Save mode. Mouse pad is great, although I use an optical external mouse, just cause its even more comfortable. Heat Wise, I notice nothing at all. I am just using Word, havent installed any games yet. Any things I should download to enjoy my W3J even more. Thank you.

-LatinoHEat

 

I know this may be late in the game and now irrelevant, but on the base install, I was playing Elder Scrolls: Oblivion on 1360x768, 37" LCD with no problems.

And btw, it's OH SO SWEET

 

hey everyone i was just wondering what was the best way to realign my NTSF "C" drive from a 512 byte per cluster to a 4096 byte per cluster. I have already reformatted my "D" drive to 4kb. is it even worth it? thanks.

 

What's the purpose of converting the notebook to NTFS? Faster processor or something?

 

I reformated my w3j right when I received it and now I'm reinstalling all the drivers and such. Well, I installed everything on the asus website, but the bottom button the the right doesnt do anything. its the button right below the one that turns wifi on and off. anyone know what that does and why its not working? thanks.

 

I am away from my machine at the moment, so without checking I can't be 100% sure, but off the top of my head, I think it's the touch pad enable/disable button. From memory it's Power4Gear, WIFI On/Off, Bluetooth On/Off, Screen ON/Off, Touch pad Enable/Disable.

 

IF I get this laptop I'm planning to do the exact same thing. Re-Create partitions to my likings and Format + install a clean WinXP + latest/tweaked drivers.

I know from experience this will make a HUGE difference in system/game speed/performance.

Am curious if breakspirit will get everything to work. If you do, please post your findings.

 

i'm infront of my W3 just now, the order of the right hand buttons from top to bottom is:
Power4gear
Bluetooth
Splendid screen discolourator
WiFi
Touchpad *

* if it isn't working, try re-installing the AK010101 driver.
(not it's exact name but you'll find it on Asus' website)

Hope that helps.

 

OK I'm desperate now.

I'm trying to get dial up networking to function with my w3j/treo 650. I try to setup the connection, but keep getting "connect failed" after I choose dial up networking as the service I want to use.

Please tell me someone here has set this up successfully?

 

If you are setting up a dialup on Windows XP, follow this procedure.

Start-> Control Panel->
(Switch to classic view)
Network Connections->

Click the link on the left-hand side that says "Create new Connection".
This will bring up a wizard in front of you.
Click next->
Choose: Connect to the Internet
Click next->
Choose: Set up my connection Manually
Click next->
Choose: Connect using a Dial-Up Modem
Click next->
It will ask for ISP Name: Enter a name for the dialup icon you want
Click next->
It will ask for Phone Number: Enter your ISP's dialup phone number for your area. Enter it on this line exactly like you would dial it on a telephone.
Click next->
It will ask for Username: enter your Dialup Username
It will ask for Password: enter your Password
It will ask to Confirm Password: enter your Password again

There should be 2 Checkboxes at the bottom of this screen. They should both be checked.
Click next->
It will have a checkbox that says: "Add a shortcut to this connection on my desktop." Checkmark it.
Click Finish->

That's it! The dialup screen should show up in front of you, and an Icon for your dialup connection should be on your desktop.
You can also access the dialup connection by going to Start->Connect To->(Connection icon name you entered).

Hope this helps. If you need more help, feel free to ask me! It's what I do

 

Yeah, everything works just fine and the system is really quick. Definitely quicker than when I got it. I didn't even touch the CDs that came with it, I just downloaded everything off the asus site and installed them. However, I did not install a couple of things, like the motorola modem drivers and the TPM crap, because they both put nonsense in my taskbar and weren't doing anything useful.

 

how long is super long. Mines takes about 1-2 minutes to boot up completely including getting connected to the internet and for the splendid splash screen to come out. Also I noticed that ever since I converted to NTFS, when it boots up XP, it would say "Starting up". What is recommended to clean the screen with. I'm wondering about Windex, for my LCD, I use a moist towel. I dont want to ruin my W3J. And how do I clean the lid, it has a bit of fingerprints on top. They go away after awhile, but you could see the darkness, I tried a cloth, worked kind off good, anything better. Thanks.

In the Power4Gear, setting I changed the settings into never turn off hard disk, never turn off Video (I don't know what Video is, is it by any chance the graphics card), and left Standy on. Anything else I should do, to maximize battery life, and to prevent standy/hibernate unstability.

Thanks again.

 

I would suggest scanning with AdAware SE Personal Edition 1.06, and SpyBot Search & Destroy 1.4, as well as any Anti-Virus programs you have. This may not be related, but better to check ahead of time, than spend hours on doing other things. If you need more help, feel free to ask.

 

does the bluetooth default to on when you guys start your systems? I'd rather it default to off when I boot, but I can't find a way to do it. When I start, the light isn't on, but the adaptor is. When I hit the bluetooth button, then the OSD says it's turned off. Kinda lame.

 

At a curiosity, anyone upgrade their AsusDVD with the latest patch? I tried it and the patch installed correctly, but then when I hit the play button, which normally opens AsusDVD when WMP is closed opened up an upgrade window for Cyberlink. I could still open up AsusDVD (patched version) through its shortcut, but I was wondering if there was a way around that (legally of course).

 

Well, I know a lot of people have complained about the massive amount of bloatware on the W3J from the factory. Honestly, if you can't track the problem down with HiJack This! or in MSCONFIG, then you probably are headed toward backing up your hard drive, and wiping it clean.

On that note, I heard someone on the forum mention an app that lets you take the stock restore-partition from the factory, and actually create a clean Windows XP OS CD. Anyone know anything about this? Link? I am fairly sure it's legal to make one backup copy, but would love to have just a clean WinXP CD, rather than a restore CD that installs all the bloatware.

 

Mine definately defaults to on. I believe if you leave the wireless/BT console installed, then it defaults to whatever it's last state was. I disabled it cause it annoys me having an icon in the system tray that does nothing except control the little blue lights and whether they're on at startup


Also, if anyone was interested in my issue with my phone not working for DUN, I never was able to get it to work. When I want to connect to the 'net through my phone, I have to plugin a usb bluetooth dongle

 

brookssw,

What happened when you tried to connect? What did you click on, and did you get any error messages, or error numbers? If you did, post 'em to me, and I can help.

Also, I need to know what kind of phone/phone line you are connecting with. PoTS (plain old telephone system), Cell, etc...

 

Hey Chet,

Thanks for the help

Basically what I do is use Bluetooth to connect to my Treo 650 to use it as a modem. Using the internal bluetooth, I set the device as trusted, then I attempt to connect and detect the modem. Most of the time when I try to detect available services, I get a "connect failed" error. Sometimes it actually detects the DUN service, I then select this as the one I want to use and click next, and I get connect failed every time on this screen.

Basically that's where I'm at. Using my DBT-120 I was able to get it working pretty quickly. I've tried reinstalling the BT drivers multiple times with no success, all ending the same way: Connect Failed

I don't even get to the point where I might enter my phone number/username/password because it doesn't even get the bluetooth modem installed



Also if anyone is still doing the stats, I got the following:

SuperPi: 1:12 at 2M

3dm05: 4579
3dm06: 2174
both at 510/510

While I'm here, has anyone gotten the global hotkey to work in ATI Tool? I tried it but it doesn't accept any of the key combinations I've tried

 

You may want to check this PDF document, Here.

You may need to make sure bluetooth is enabled on your Phone, so that it is listening for the incomming bluetooth connection from your Computer. As I understand it, this will disable other bluetooth functions on the unit, but check the document to be sure.

Let me know if this helps.