Where to buy the A8JM from?

Well, after long negotiations and agreeing to cover the difference from a generic word-processor to a compact game-eating monstrosity, I've finally convinced my parents to let me get an A8Jm. I'll be ordering from NCIX tomorrow.

With NCIX rewards for free shipping, my being out of province (I'm in ON) and the GST drop, it comes to ~$1780 after tax. That's pretty sweet, you have to admit! I would have preferred to get one from MilestonePC but I just can't justify the extra ~$200.

Any last objections/comments before I take the leap? Also, anyone know if it comes with anything (case/mouse)?

Thanks! I'll probably post impressions once I've gotten it, in 2 wks or so.

 

No case nor mouse, you'll have to buy it yourself

Congrats on the machine, I also picked up something with 250 points and 7% GST

 

Very nice price indeed... mine was about CAD $2100 altogether when I got it a few months ago...

 

6% actually =P. It's going to make taxes that much harder to calculate though. 15% was easy, 14 is kind of annoying

 

Yea, indeed.

My bad, 6%

8% for Ontarioians

 

Here in BC, we've always had 14%
Now we have to calculate 13%...

 

What the? I got mine just last month for $1900 After tax. I live in BC so Tax was 14%. My before tax price was $1679. STUPID 7% PST!!!

 

Now to settle in...and wait.

 

I was looking around websites to see where I should buy the Asus A8JM from and found P1 and another. P1 is selling it for $100 more...

Here are the 2:

http://www.milestonepc.com/states/product_info.php?cPath=87_82&products_id=728

&

http://laptopsinc.com/Merchant2/mer...ode=MXA8JM&Category_Code=P1MX&Product_Count=0

Why is P1 $100 more? It seems to have the same parts and all, what am I missing?

 

They probably just sell it for more thats all. Everything else seems to be the same. Even the warranty.

I was considering the A8Jm from milestonepc myself

 

The P1 MX comes with BlueTooth, the stock A8jm does not. In addition, P1 does a full Artic Silver job to improve the CPU and GPU cooling.

 

newegg and ewiz both have them also. ewiz is about 100.00 cheaper than anyone else but newegg has xp pro installed vs home.

 

The A8jm is a Canada-only model in North America - it was pulled from the US market by Asus. MilestonePC recently opened a US sales office, and is offering the unit through that location to US customers.

PortableOne has to import their units in from Canada to sell as the MX (customs fees, etc), plus they add in the BT module. These are the explanations for the price differential.

 

Thanks for clearing that up clearskies...so should I just buy it from milestone / ewiz (cheapest) rather than P1 and pay the $100 more?

 

I think this is a misprint, if you look at the images on that page, it clearly shows XP home instead of XP Pro. I also originally thought it came with Pro on that site.

As for where to buy, depends on whether you want the BT installed. As far as I know, Milestone does not offer installation of BT (I've asked Danny numerous times before buying mine from Canadian MilestonePC, and he said it's quite a pain and not really worth installing it), whereas P1 gives you BT.

 

Excuse my ignorance, but what is the bluetooth good for? What exactly does it do and what is it used for?

Also, P1 offers free shipping, about how much is shipping from MilestonePC? It might just come about to around the same.

 

I think Milestone offers free shipping as well, just email them and ask.

Bluetooth is to connect peripherals wirelessly, such as cell phones using wireless bluetooth headsets, similarly, connect BT peripherals to your notebook to transfer data etc. You could have BT mouse, BT headphone, and such...

 

Yeah I just checked their website and noticed they do have free shipping. I'm not 100% positive I want to get this laptop. Darrick, I noticed you have it and did a review on it. Is there anything you can say to convince me to get it? My dad thinks its a little expensive for a laptop, but is willing to buy it for me. I'm also not sure which website to buy it from. P1 also has free shipping and gives a free case and has the BT, which I'm not sure if I'll be needing.

Any help? Thx

 

jlazz: What are you gonna be using the laptop for? If you want to save some money, maybe consider the Built On Asus 14" models Z62J/S62J? I think it's already out at some resellers already. And if you want a 15.4", then the S96J will also save you some cash for comparable performance to the A8Jm.

I guess what I'm saying is, I can't convince you to buy the A8Jm if you really really want to save money. It's not the cheapest of machines, but it's a fairly high quality one (although prob not the level of the W or V series), which should last you for quite some time. + Do you really need the graphics power of Go7600? If you don't do much gaming or 3d apps, maybe the W7J or as I mentioned above the Built On models will suit you for a couple hundred dollars less?

I prob could better help you out if you filled in the questionnaire from the 'Which Notebook Should I buy' forum.

 

Pretty much I'll be using this laptop for college. I won't be playing too many games, maybe counter-strike here and there, but that isn't my main priority. I'd like a computer where I can multitask without any lag and watch movies perhaps. Also, something that will last me the 4 yrs in college and maybe even grad school.

Here's the questionaire:

General Questions

1) What is your budget?

Parents are buying me it because I need it. I'd say ~$1500 - something around there.

2) What size notebook would you prefer?

b. Thin and Light; 13" - 14" screen

3) What tasks will you be performing with the notebook?

Schoolwork, listening to music, watching videos, maybe play some games.

4) Will you be taking the notebook with you to different places or leaving it on your desk?

Taking it to class, library, etc.

5) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?

Maybe counter-strike

6) Are there any brands that you prefer or any you really don't like?

I like the style of sonys, but it really doesn't matter. I don't like the way Thinkapds look.

7) How many hours of battery life do you need?

3?

8) Do you mind buying online without seeing the notebook in person?

Nope, but I'd rather see it in person to get a feel for it.

9) What country are you buying this in?

USA

Screen Specifics

10) Would you prefer standard or widescreen?

Doesn't matter.

11) From the choices below, what screen resolutions would you prefer?

Standard

a. XGA -1024x768 - Large and easy to read text + graphics icons, but you fit less stuff on the screen.

Widescreen

d. WXGA or WXGA+ - 1280x768/800 or 1440x900; Wider viewing version of XGA, good for movie viewing or spreadsheets.

12) Do you want a glossy/reflective screen or a matte/non-glossy screen?

Doesn't matter...whichever is better.

Build Quality and Design

13) Are the notebook's looks and stylishness important to you?

Yeah somewhat, it has to look sleak and modern unlike the IBM thinkpads.

14) How long do you want this laptop to last?

Throughout college (4 years)

Notebook Components

15) How much hard drive space do you want; 40GB to 120GB?

60-100 is good

16) Do you need an optical drive? If yes, a DVD-ROM, DVD-CD/RW or DVD-RW drive?

Not sure

 

I'd strongly suggest looking at the 13.3" W7J, since it would fit your budget, and is a W series, so should be very good materials (even better than A8Jm) & looks very cool. The only compromise is you'd have a bit of a weaker graphics card (which you prob don't need since you don't play too much games or do 3d stuff..) and 1.5GB max memory (ditto... don't think u need too much mem to do college stuff, 1.5 is more than enough for any regular activity you can throw at it).

There's a small review here, look at it and see what you think. Also try talking to a couple of resellers here (ProPortable, Geared2Play, PowerNotebooks, MilestonePC...) to get a better idea of how the machine performs.

 

The w7j and a8jm are the same price on milestonepc - is w7j supposed to be better? From reading around the forums, I thought the a8jm was the better 1? Whats the dif. between the 2 besides the size (13.3 vs 14.1) and video card? It seems like the a8jm is just bigger w/ a better video card while w7j is smaller w/ a not as good video card. Is there anything else?

 

Ah.. interesting.. haven't seen the prices lately, sorry

Well, you have to understand that the W series of ASUS Ensembles is the higher end models, with better materials for construction such as carbon fibre, metallic finish lid etc.... so that figures also into the price.

Not sure about what other differences there are besides the obvious ones you already mentioned, probably A8Jm is the only ASUS machine right now that has DVI (I might be wrong) output.

The A8Jm is nice looking, but I understand not as nice as W3J or W7J, so if looks are also important to you, maybe that could be taken into consideration in W7J's favour.

Bottom line: Whichever you choose, you're getting a great high quality machine from a reputable company. I think that's what really matters.

 

"Where to buy the A8JM from?"

Your English teacher just rolled over in her grave.

 

A8Jm has GB lan, DVI out, and the difference in video power is like 2X. So it is a much more powerful machine although slighty less portable.

 

I have decided to buy the A8JM/P1 MX. Before I buy, I had a couple questions. Are there any resellers to look at first? What is the warranty like? Is ASUS/P1 Support good? And how is the heat and noise on this? I'm going to be playing BF2, Sims 2, and RCT 3 on this, FYI. I have more games, but these are the most graphic intensive. Thanks in Advance.

-Nick

 

Well, there are tons of threads in here regarding the A8Jm, they should help answer your questions. But here you go:

- Resellers: P1, MilestonePC, Gentech, Newegg
- Support: Read my review, it's so so in my experience, but I've only had to use it once... try asking the resellers
- Heat: Very good cooling for such a powerful machine, warm air out of the right vent, notebook is silent most of the time, even when fan blows it's hardly audible, if you hear anything, prob the HD or optical drive spinning.

 

OK. Thanks!

 

I've decided to finally order it and went w/ PortableOne which costed $1549 without the BT option. I can't wait to get it. Does anyone know what the case that comes w/ looks like?

 

Damnit I want to kick myself.
If I'd known Express Shipping was next day after you ORDER...
I saved $9 but it still hasn't shipped yet!

 

I got a A8Jm it can play all those games no problems, I play a lot of oblivion and CS:S with little trouble.

 

When u got ur A8JM did u include a 7200 rpm hd or a 5400 rpm hd atom or anyone else

 

Even with the cheap shipping at NCIX it would come out to around $1950 for the A8Jm. Has the price gone up at NCIX a bit?