ASUS W90 18.4″ Notebook – A True Desktop Replacement

[PAGETITLE=Introduction][Top Ad] For many people looking to purchase a new notebook, there are a few things that a model must have. Of these, great battery-life, a light weight design and great aesthetics tends to top most lists. Aside from maybe the aesthetics, the W90 from ASUS certainly doesn't cater to those looking for an easy-to-carry model at all, or even one that has a "decent" battery-life. Rather, the W90 is designed to be one of many things. First, it's a great desktop replacement, although this isn't the crowd ASUS is specifically targeting. Second, it's a great workstation notebook, offering exactly the kind of power that people expect from their home workstation machine. Third, it's a perfect HTPC. It offers up more than enough power for any possible media task, and thanks to its Blu-ray drive and HDMI output, it delivers on all fronts. The fourth audience is actually ASUS' primary target, gamers. The W90 is officially a "Republic of Gamers" notebook, and as we'll see, it's for very good reason. Honestly though, regardless of which scenario here caters to you most, the W90 is set out to more than deliver, and after having spent some time with it for this article, I still haven't decided whether I should shut the site down and run off with it. Maybe not such a good idea! Closer Look at ASUS' W90. What makes a notebook a proper DTR (desktop replacement) are a few things. First, it has to have a good CPU, because it has to be able to handle anything you'd want to do on a regular desktop, including intensive tasks like video encoding. Past that, it should have huge storage, and if you're a gamer, it should also have a capable graphics card - at least one that can handle most games at the display's native resolution. The W90 delivers on all accounts. Because I had a limited time with the notebook and was requested for a quick turn-around, this notebook review isn't going to be typical of how we usually handle things. Also, although this is a performance beast, we're not going to exhaust our benchmark suite in order to deliver results, although we will touch on some of them lightly. Rather, this article will take a look at the notebook from a features standpoint, and also a technical standpoint. You see, the W90 isn't a typical notebook. Sure, it's huge, but that's not what makes it special. Under the hood is an X38-based motherboard. Yes, you read right... a desktop motherboard, in a notebook. The goal? To make the W90 a true desktop replacement. Finding a desktop board in a notebook isn't common, but given that ASUS has the technical resources to create their own custom designs, they were able to pull it off, and still offer a stable platform. By now, you're probably wondering what makes this beast a desktop replacement, so allow me to tell you. For starters, we have Intel's latest "budget" mobile Quad-Core, the Q9000. Although it offers four cores, this particular model does turn out to be a small drawback for this notebook, as it's clocked at only 2.0GHz. The reasons behind this decision were obvious. For a notebook with ASUS' obvious goals, a Quad-Core was the only option. The Q9000 ships from Intel for just over $300, while the next step-up, a 2.33GHz model, sells for $850. Not a small difference. But while that's the case, ASUS helps make up for things by including an overclocking tool with the notebook, which effectively can push the CPU to 2.30GHz... not a bad deal. Of course, overclocking is never guaranteed, so 2.3GHz might not be possible for everyone, but I'm willing to bet that very few, if any, will be unable to hold that clock. Room temperatures will make a difference as well though. As long as you keep a well-ventilated area, you should be fine. Being a gaming notebook, the W90 should offer a fast GPU too, right? Well, it doesn't offer just a fast GPU, but technically two of them, in the form of the ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2. Yes... an ultra-fast CrossFireX solution in a notebook, it's true. This is a major feature of this notebook, and it's the reason behind the W90's target of gamers. Of course, the GPU is only one part of the equation. The other is the display, and the W90 again delivers, with a freaking humongous 18.4" glossy LCD, offering a resolution of 1920x1080 (1080p). On the storage front, we have 640GB total, split between two drives, and also a BD-ROM/DVD±RW. Usual connectivity is here as well, including HDMI, VGA, modem, LAN, eSATA, FireWire, four USB ports, multi-memory card reader and also an ExpressCard slot. Select models may also include a TV tuner. As I mentioned before, there's really nothing missing. [PAGEBREAK][PAGETITLE=ASUS W90 Tour] For those interested in specifics, the complete system specifications can be seen in the table below. I covered most of this on the first page, so there's little point in repeating myself to a great extent. As a quick reminder though, this notebook is one of the few out there to include a Quad-Core, especially this particular model (it's rather new). For gamers, the HD 4870 X2 is here, and that again isn't seen on many notebooks. It's a real treat to see it here. It also offers 6GB of RAM, which is sure to be appreciated by enthusiasts. Component Model Model ASUS W90 Processor Intel Core 2 Quad Q9000 - 2.00GHz, 6MB L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB Chipset Intel Beachwood X38 Graphics ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4870 X2 1GB Display Samsung 184HT01-A01 18.4" - Max Resolution: 1920x1080 at 60Hz Memory Hynix 3x2GB DDR2-667 (5-5-5-15) Hard Drive Seagate ST9320421AS x 2 320 GB, 7200 RPM, 8MB Cache, S-ATA 3.0GB/s ODD Optiarc BD-ROM BC-5500S (Drive Info) Audio ATI Radeon HDMI (ATI RV770) Realtek ALC888/1200 (Intel 82801JB ICH10) Network Atheros AR928X Wireless (802.11 a/b/g/n) Realtek RTL8168C Gigabit Ethernet Agere 56K Modem Et cetera Weight: 11.46 lbs (5.20 kg) Dimensions: 17.4 " (H) x 12.91 " (W) x 2.48 " (D) Battery: 12-Cell Lithium Ion 2.0 Megapixel Webcam 4x USB, 1x VGA, 1x HDMI, 1x Kensington Lock 1x ExpressCard Type 54, 1x Memory Card (SD/MMC/MS/Pro/xD) 1x FireWire Bluetooth 1 Year Parts and Labor Warranty OS Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit I said earlier that there was little lacking here, and even after taking a look at the grouped components above, I still can't find a real fault. There are four USB ports available, which should be more than enough for most people, in addition to a FireWire for those who require it, in addition to VGA and HDMI for the video. Of course, the commonplace memory card reader and ExpressCard slot can also be found here. To say that the W90 is a large notebook is an understatement, and honestly, these pictures don't do it justice. When ASUS said they were sending the notebook, they warned that it was large, but when the time came to hire a crane to take it out of the packaging, I realized they weren't kidding. The notebook is 11 pounds, which is quite heavy... something you really don't want to lug around all day. If you are looking to purchase one, keep in mind that it will actually take some effort to transport. Taking a look at the chassis below, you can see just how thick it is, and it's pretty much just as thick all-around. Because of this, this is easily the most sturdy notebook I've ever touched. Dropping it would no doubt shift some components, but other than that, it's built like a rock, and I'm not saying that lightly. Like most current ASUS notebooks, the touchpad area features a thumbprint reader for those who'd like a little bit of added security. The buttons aren't the best I used, and I found them to require a little more effort to push than I'd like, but on a notebook like this it's rare when you'll not be using a desktop mouse. Even if you do find yourself without one, this will suffice, but it's not ideal (especially given the high resolution... your hand will get tired quick). On such a huge notebook, you wouldn't expect to not see a numpad, and the W90 doesn't disappoint here. An interesting design move is that rather than have a double-sized 0 numpad key, they spread the right arrow to integrate into it, which does make sense in the end. On the opposite end of the keyboard, a few media-related keys can be found. This is all touch-sensitive, so you can raise or decrease the volume with ease, fast-forward, pause, et cetera. The button on the top-left loads the ASUS TouchMedia's music section, while the right brings up the video. Overall, the keyboard area is well-designed and easy to use. On a notebook this large, the keyboard keys are almost on par with a desktop keyboard, but of course flatter. It's large enough that you won't suffer from many typos though, like is common on much smaller notebooks (especially netbooks!). Running along the top are more media keys, including the mute. Also here are touch buttons for the touchpad enable/disable, Splendid color modes, a zoom feature, webcam access and also the performance mode changer. Also, on the left and right side, are two power buttons. The one on the left boots up in Splashtop mode (an odd choice to include on this notebook, in my opinion), while the right one boots normally. The left side of the notebook is rather barren, with a single USB port alongside the Kensington security lock (something I'd actually consider with a notebook this expensive). On the back is where the some important connectivity options can be found, such as the VGA, HDMI, network connectors and also the power connector. Finally, the right-side pretty much explains itself. Three USB ports, FireWire, eSATA, WiFi enable/disable, memory card reader, ExpressCard slot and also the Blu-ray ROM drive. I didn't grab a shot of the monitor, but it's rather unimportant as the quality is hard to capture in a photograph. While not the best display I've used, it is one of the better ones I've used on a notebook. Text is crisp, colors are smooth and the screen is bright... all great features. The brightness does shift a little as you move back and forth, but it's not too noticeable...

ASUS W90 18.4″ Notebook – A True Desktop Replacement

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Rob Williams