W5A for college student?

Hey. I'm looking for a laptop that my parents would get me for graduation. After much research I think that I have decided to get an Asus. I would like a very portable yet still powerful laptop, so the W5A has caught my eye. If I got this laptop, I would upgrade the following:

1.86GHz to 2.26GHz
512 Mb of ram to 1Gb
100gb 42,000rpm hd to a 80gb 72,000rpm hd
an additional 9-cell main battery (5 hrs. compared to 4)

Agearnotebooks.com says that the W5A weighs 4 lbs. How much weight would the upgrades add? and how much shorter would the battery last?
Thanks

 

The only way to find out the exact battery life is by testing out that configuration.
Reducing your screen brightness, turning off your Bluetooth and WiFi also affect your total battery life.

You will probably get about a 1/2 hour reduction because of the hard drive [7200rpm].
Your W5A will weigh around 4.5lbs.

 

The 7200 RPM hard drive definitely kills battery life, and it has 20% less capacity - often at twice the price. The processor increase is certainly not the best value. The sweet spot for processors is currently 1.86-2.0 GHz. I would suggest buying your own RAM and putting it in yourself, which is much cheaper. None of those, however, will add any weight. They will lighten your wallet, though, by costing a good bit.

The battery will add some weight, but that really shouldn't be a problem unless one has back or knee problems. I'm also going to take the liberty of suggesting a larger computer. Cheaper, more usable, better components = better.

Howie

 

From my personal experience of using a 7200rpm hard drive in Asus 12" systems over the last two plus years....... go with a 5400! If you can tell me that you need or can even make good use of the added performance on a system that small with integrated graphics.... you probably won't be telling me the truth. You'll deal with a lot more heat and a lot less battery life. You'll want to have it plugged in or have at least a 9 cell battery with you for most of the time. A system like that is meant for internet, email, maybe movies on the go..... 7200rpm isn't going to help you there. It's cool to say you have it, but it's not cool unless you can use that added power like 70% of the time.

 

Thanks for the advice. I'm not going to get the laptop until about May, so I am sure that my decision will change many times, and it already has since I made this most. I just found out about the ASUS W6 (any chance it won't be out in the US by May), and it sounds awsome!!! Does anyone know how much it is suppose to weigh?

 

The specification for the W6A at http://www.asus.com/products4.aspx?modelmenu=2&model=617&l1=5&l2=75&l3=209 claims a weight of 1.86kg with the 6 cell battery. This is possible: The Sony S series is genuinely less than 2kg.

John

 

On the specifications, it said "MiniPCI 802.11b/g, a/b/g (Optional)." Does that mean that it is not built in? Built in wireless support is a must. I have a wireless network at my house, and there will be one at college.

 

Then I suggest you start looking around maybe a month (or two) before that because there will surely be a different line by that time. Not only Asus, but other manufacturers too.