Asus W7J 13.3 inch Portable Core Duo Notebook Review

Software and OS install

Software

The Asus W7J comes preloaded with the same suite of software that has appeared previously on the W5F and A7J. The big difference this time, however, is that the W7J comes with Windows XP Pro preinstalled rather than Windows XP Home. This makes integrating into a business environment easier thanks to Domain support and other features.

The Asus W7J software package can be divided into two camps: Asus specific software, and optional bundled software.

Asus software comes in the form of Splendid Video, Power4Gear, Power4Phone, and LifeFrame. Splendid Video is Asus’ video adjustment utility, which we will be examining later when we investigate the LCD display.

Power4Gear is a program that allows you to quickly switch between power consumption profiles (we will also investigate this more later).

Power4Phone is a small program designed to allow you to make outbound phone calls using the modem or through Skype.

LifeFrame gives a more usable interface for the integrated webcam. With LifeFrame you can record video or capture still images.

Oddly, Asus does not include a copy of NB Probe which helps laptop users monitor their system health and create alarms. Luckily you can download a copy from the W5F download page and install it on the A7J without a problem (direct download here).

The rest of the software bundle includes an Asus branded copy of PowerDVD, Nero Burning ROM, CyberLink Medi@Show and PowerDirector media authoring software.

OS and XP Install

The good thing about the W7J is that it already comes with Windows XP Pro, but if for some reason you will still like to install your own you can. We’ve had an easy time getting previous Asus laptops running our own copy of Windows XP Pro, and the W7J is no different.

Like the W5F and A7J we reviewed previously, the W7J comes with two partitions on the 100GB disk. The 40GB partition, which the OS resides, is ample for all your applications, leaving the 60GB partition for your user files.

All the drivers and Asus software is contained on the driver CD, so you can be up and running with your own installation in roughly 1 hour.