z33a memory

I'm in the market for a thin-and-light notebook that I can easily cart around between school and work, then hook up to larger screen at home. I'm leaning strongly towards buying a Z33a because of the high quality construction and apparent lack of heat and fan noise issues, but there are a few things that still push me towards the Vaio s360 or even the Dell 700m. Most important is the fact that the Z33a can only take 768MB of RAM. Since I use Photoshop regularly and ArcGIS occasionally, this is a real turn-off, especially since I hope to keep this as my primary computer for at least a couple of years.

I know this question has been asked before, but I'm still not certain of the answer. If they do start making 1GB microdimms, will the Z33a be able to support them? Does Asus make anything else in the under 5-pound category that can take more memory?

Thanks. The people on this forum are great.

 

Yes, once 1gb microdimms are made (hopefully before the end of this quarter)..... they will work.

You may be interested in the W5 if you're already looking at the Z33. Instead of microdimms the wider chassis allowed for the use of so-dimms and therefore a total of 1.25gb can be used. For the two things you're using your system for, I'd prefer going with a W3 (take out the optical drive and you'll be down to basically 5 pounds)...... 14" widescreen, dedicated graphics...... oh, and a $200 rebate and extra year warranty till the 31st.

If you want it as small as possible and want a lot of ram, take a look at the W5 though.

 

Thanks for the info. Kowing that significantly increases my chance of buying the Z33A. Another question- on the Asus website it says that the W5 is upgradable to 768MB of Ram, so I'm assuming it's got the same problem as the W5- only one memory slot, right?

As for the W3, does the 5lbs include a decent battery (something that will last under real-world conditions for more than 3 hours)?

 

That's correct, and ours did for a couple months as well. I've been running a 1gb stick in the open slot of my W5 since the day they came in. It's been tested and running flawlessly for 4-5 months now. Also, other customers are doing the same - even some sitting on this forum.

Asus never tested any stick larger than 512mb when testing the W5.

On the W3, here's how the weights break down:

~4.6 LBS w/ US optional 4 cell and travelers drawer
~5.0 LBS w/ US standard 8 cell and travelers drawer
~5.4 LBS w/ US standard 8 cell and optical drive

Now, people on the forum have taken their system to the post office and gotten numbers like these. The top number is something we can't get here in the US. The 4 cell and the 8 cell physically are the same size, but there is more open space inside the 4 cell. The problem is, Asus didn't want to bring in the standard 4 cell and made the 8 cell the standard package. We'll NEVER see the 4 cell in the US because the price on that battery is the same price as the 8 cell. Half the life for a little less weight wouldn't fly here.

So to answer the question, that's with the only main battery we have in the states... a nice 8 cell. As far as battery life goes, ask your fellow forum members..... I get a little more than 3 hours out of my W3 and when I use it I'm pretty heavy on it, so my number is low compared to someone who's not get that hard....