Reviewing Asus W7J, CNET gives it 6.3 out of 10 rating (good) and writes, “With its 13.3-inch wide-screen display, Core 2 Duo processor, built-in Web cam, and matte-black finish, the Asus W7J is surprisingly reminiscent of Apple’s popular MacBook. Unlike the MacBook, the W7J features discrete graphics, which is a nice plus, but it’s hurt by poor battery life. At $1,499, the fixed-configuration Asus W7J isn’t any cheaper than the MacBook or the similarly configured yet slightly larger HP Compaq Presario V6000T. While its size, weight, and specs are appealing, the Asus W7J’s battery life will be a deal breaker for most.

Compared to other similarly configured systems, the Asus W7J did well on CNET Labs’ multitasking test, matching the performance of the HP Compaq Presario V6000T and beating out the Lenovo 3000 C200. The HP takes the CPU up one notch to a 1.8GHz T5600, while the Lenovo shares the W7J’s T5500. The Apple MacBook beat the W7J in both the Apple iTunes encoding and Photoshop CS2 tests–surprising, as the W7J technically has a better graphics subsystem. In addition to bumps in CPU power (2GHz vs. 1.6GHz) and memory speed (667MHz vs. 533MHz), the MacBook’s dominance in iTunes is in good part attributable to the home-court advantage Apple has always had with that program.

The Asus W7J’s biggest downfall was battery life. The system ran for 2 hours and 29 minutes on our MobileMark battery life test, using the included six-cell battery. The Lenovo 3000 C200 ran for 4 hours and 29 minutes, while the Apple MacBook (using our DVD battery-drain test) ran for 3 hours and 30 minutes. Anything under 3 hours is too short for a highly portable system like the Asus W7J. You can buy a nine-cell battery aftermarket, for about $200, which should improve battery life. Just be aware that larger batteries often stick out from the back of a laptop.

The bottom line: The 13.3-inch Asus W7J could have been the PC alternative to the MacBook if poor battery life didn’t kneecap this otherwise solid laptop.

Reviewed Asus W7J quick specs

Windows XP Professional SP2; 1.66 Intel Core 2 Duo T5500; 1,024MB DDR2 SDRAM 533MHz; 512MB Nvidia GeForce Go 7400; 100GB Fujitsu 5,400rpm SATA/150

Competitors from other manufacturers, according to CNET

HP Compaq Presario V6000T
Windows XP Professional SP2; 1.83GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5600; 2,048MB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz; 128MB Mobile Intel Express 945GM; 100GB Fuitsu 5,400rpm SATA/150

Apple MacBook
OS X 10.4.8; Intel Core 2 Duo 2GHz; 1GB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz; 64MB Intel GMA 950; 120GB Toshiba MK1234GSX 5,400rpm

Lenovo 3000 C200
Windows XP Professional SP2; 1.66 Intel Core 2 Duo T5500; 1,024MB DDR2 SDRAM 533MHz; 128MB Mobile Intel Express 945GM; 80GB Fujitsu 5,400rpm SATA/150

This entry was posted on January 11, 2007 and is filed under ASUSTeK Computer.