Asus F8Sn-C1 Performance review and Video

F8Sn-C1


F8Sn-C1 Video:



F8Sn-C1 and M50Sv Video:



-14.1" WXGA+ 1400x900 Glossy
-Intel Penryn T9300 2.5GHz 6MB 800FSB
-nVidia Geforce 9500M GS 512MB DDR2
-3GB DDR2 667
-320GB 5400rpm SATA
-Windows Vista Home Premium 32
-DVDRW Super Multi
-Bluetoth/WiFi-N
-Built-in 1.3M pixel Swivel Camera
-On board 10/100/1000 Mbps Fast Ethernet Controller
-Full and Half duplex mode support for 10/100/1K Mbps
-1 x VGA port/Mini D-sub 15-pin for external monitor
-1 x Headphone-out jack (SPDIF)
-1 x Microphone-in jack
-1 x RJ11 Modem jack for phone line
-1 x RJ45 LAN Jack for LAN insert
-5 x USB 2.0 ports
-1 x IEEE 1394 port
-1 x TV Out (S-Video composite)
-1 x Express Card
-1 x Infrared Port(CIR)
-1 x DVI Port


3DMark06
1024x768


1280x800


1440x900



Overclocked:

1024x768 overclocked @550/1263/491


1280x800 overclocked @550/1263/491


1440x900 overclocked @550/1263/491



Game Video

T9300 2.5GHz 6MB 800FSB
T9500M GS 512MB DDR2 Driver: 174.74 overclocked @ 515/1275/475
3GB DDR2 667
320GB 5400rpm SATA
Windows Vista Home Premium 32

Need For Speed Pro Street Demo:


Crysis Demo


BioShock Demo


Call of Duty 4 Demo

 

That's pretty awesome for a 14" laptop!

 

Yes it's not bad for a 14'1", it looks exactly like F8Sv but same performance with M50Sv-A1, check out the game video, all games plays very smooth just like G1S.

 

Now if only ASUS could have packed a 8800M GTX in a 15" or 14" laptop, I'd get it over the Sager!

 

probably not 8800M GTX it runs too hot and drain too much battery, maybe a die shrink version of 9XXX series in the future.

 

Hey thanks heaps for these videos! wow, it plays nice.

 

Ken has been a reviewing machine! Nice specs and performance from that baby.

 

The performance is just as good as M50 except it's a 14".

Thanks The Forerunner, still, the CPU processing performance is not as good as your C90S.

 

how heavy is it?

 

The F8SN is 2.6kg (5.7 pounds).

 

a 14'' at almost 6 pounds? That sounds like a lot

 

Well it does have the power of a 15" machine so can't complain.

Nice review! These Asus reviews are really interesting

 

F8Sn-C1 and M50Sv side by side video:



Both notebook has similar specs and performance except the screen size, touchpad and numeric keypad.

 

Ken,
How is the exterior of the F8CN? In the sense, is it sturdy or is it cheap? Does the exterior creak? The review by notebookcheck.com says that the exterior creaks when pressure is applied to palm-rest and above the keyboards...

 

The exterior is the same as M50SV using in mold roller decoration.
the palm rest and keyboard does creaks a little bit when apply pressure on it.

 

hi, i saw the videos for the Asus F8Sn-C1 and they look amazing. i am debating getting this laptop, i was curious how the Asus M50Sa-AK023C with the ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650 video card compares to it. from what i have seen the nvidia 9500 seems to be better. any comments on what card the ati or nvidia will be better for gaming?

 

I just got my ASUS F8Sn-C1 a couple days ago and overall, I'm really happy with it. I had a couple surprises though but it was pretty consistant with what I've read on its reviews and the research I've done before I pulled the trigger and made the purchase.

The laptop does look and feel a lot bigger than I would imagine for a 14.1" laptop. The pictures in this thread are pretty accurate. It's not that much smaller than a 15". And yes, it is a bit on the heavy side. But I can't say I'm disappointed with it at all. It appears to be very solid build with little flex. I'm not bold enough to really test the "flex" that ppl seem to judge the build quality of a laptop. It seems solid enough for me.

It's not an ultra portable and it's not gaming laptop. I do think it's a pretty good balance between the two and it meets my needs. Just know that anytime you invest in a laptop, it will always be a gamble. Not only will they never be on par with a similar desktop setup, they depreciate faster.

As far as ATI and Nvidia, this is a old debate. ATI (in my opinion) has better image quality but very poor driver support and definitely drivers are not as frequently released as Nvidia cards. Nvidia will give you better performance and stability with the plethora of certified/ beta drivers and utilities to get the most out of their cards.

 

is the build quality and physical features the same with all F8SN models? ie. F8SN B1?

 

The only difference between the various models is the components - they are all built within the same chassis.

 

what kinda screen does the F8SN-C1 come with?

CMO or AUO?
thanks

 

Potentially either one, depending on the particular production run - Asus installs whatever they have on hand from their contract suppliers at the time. You aren't going to be able to specify which you want or be sure of what's coming to you, unless a reseller is willing to pull a bunch out of the box to check (and then have to sell them as open box items, so I doubt it ).

Same thing with which manufacturer's HDD gets installed.

 

damnit, i don't want to get stuck with a crappier screen.

 

nothing wrong with the screen.

 

so no complaints about the screen for the f8sn c1?

 

None. Solid.

 

okay I finally decided to order the F8SN-C1, I will be getting it tomorrow.

Can anyone recommend a good cooler for it?

I was thinking about the zalman zm-nc1000 based on all the good reviews.

thanks

 

You might want to wait and see how warm it gets with your usage pattern, and then decide whether a cooler is needed . You've been stressing about this purchase for a while, now -- take some time to enjoy it and see how it works....

 

Doesn't get too hot unless you always use it on your lap.

 

How do you overclock it and what are the cons to overclocking it,?

 

I guess the consensus is that f8sn-c1 is sized similar to a 15.4" laptop, although it's still just under 6 lbs which is somewhat of a factor for me.

But because of the f8's size, would I be better off getting the m50sv-a1 and deal with the 6.66 lbs?

 

1/2 inch bigger on both sides will give a noticeably larger footprint, but perception on whether it's not too much bigger depends on you. You will notice it, but does it matter?

Extra 1 lb depends on how much and how far you're going to carry this every day -- if you're a student looking for a notebook, most folks in the past around here would likely say that it's going to add up and you will feel the difference, esp when you throw all the other daily things you need for classes.

 

does anyone's touch pad get extremely warm even on idle?

my cpu temp is 45 degrees and gpu is 55 degrees on idle but my touch pad gets really warm quickly.

same for anyone else?
i got 2 days to exchange my laptop

 

I have the B1, which is the T8100. I think the heat management is excellent on this laptop. Touchpad seems to have no issue. The wireless card is located there, according to this review...

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=234512

I only find my HDD (to left of touchpad) gets slightly warm on occassion, but hardly alarming to touch. Plus Asus put that big rubber pad on the bottom there, great idea!

 

What's the aspect ratio of the display? It looks like 4:3.

 

Aspect ratio is 16:10 (widescreen) WXGA+ 1440x900

 

Cool, I am a few clicks away from purchasing one

 

what's the battery life?

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=3195595#post3195595

 

Hello there, cheers. New owner of this machine reporting in. All is well, except for one glaring thing that may just be the product of a notebook-noobie. My battery isnt charging! What the heck did I do wrong? I installed the battery (very difficult: lock and snap into place), and plugged in all the cords. More than a few hours (as specified it would take to fill up the battery) of "plugged in and charging status", my battery is still at zero.

Also, does downgrading to XP null my warranty? I want to do a clean install of a (IMO) better operating system without all the bloatware. Speaking of which, which of the asus additions are safe to remove, and which are useful?

 

Another user has reported the same problem with their Asus M50Sv. His solution was a simple system restore. Maybe you can give that a try and see if that'll work for you.

No, downgrading to XP doesn't void your warranty. The only way to void your warranty is removing your CPU and/or GPU. You can basically leave any software out as long as you install the drivers, everything will work alright. I kept power4gear simply because it's a convenient tool for power adjustments.

 

This may be difficult as this seems to have been the case out of the box. I tried a restore to my very first system restore point, but it did not solve the issue--actually im not sure if it even restored properly, said there was some error in the process.

Thanks.

EDIT: It actually says "Plugged in, not charging". A search shows this question is often asked, but mostly to do with older laptops and other brands. This is brand new.

 

Yes, apparently this is a wide spread problem with many new notebooks w/ Vista or on notebooks that recently upgraded from XP to Vista. This isn't isolated to Asus notebooks only.
If you want to keep Vista, try update to SP1 if you haven't already. If you're planning to downgrade to XP, I wouldn't worry about the issue since XP doesn't seem to have this problem.

 

On battery:
Firstly, try to remove the battery and install it in place again.
Secondly, charging LED no ON all the time you plug it in. When battery is full, charging LED is OFF.

On warranty:
Check by yourself what ASUS website says about.

 

The warranty information above (not void unless heatsinks removed) is correct.

I second Oldman in asking: are you sure your battery isn't actually full?

If it reads as empty:
What happens when you remove the AC power? What does the battery read then?

You can also try a calibration from the BIOS, or just go back to XP and see what the battery does there, as suggested above.

 

factorial in his post complained that is was difficult to put battery on place, so my assumption was he did not make it right because the battery fits into the case with real ease. Documentation that comes with NB is very explicit ans comprehensive and contains a sketch. I hope factorial managed to make it right and has no longer the problem with battery

 

I'm seeing both the F8SN-C1 and M50Sv-A1 for about the same price Canadian, both around 1,3xx. Heh, I guess I should just got for the bigger screen. Its for College, but I really think I can deal with the heavier model. Plus I like the keyboard layout a bit more on the M50.

Can I overclock either of these easily? Not used to overclocking on laptops and such.

 

I am positive its not actually full. When I remove AC power computer turns off instantly.

I have updated it seems to SP1 but the issue remains. Atleast I think I did. I was going to download the update, but the microsoft site told me i would prefer to do it through windows update. I installed all updates there, assuming it would include the SP.

My apologies, I was actually being sarcastic in my post. Battery installation was a breeze.

 

Sorry for my redneckness. I think that battery charging is something that begins BEFORE windows run. It might be a BIOS glitch or lemon battery.
Can you begin with BIOS power management?

 

Yeah, battery charge should be independent from the OS, at least to a large extend.

factorial: Do you get a charging light before windows boots, in the BIOS for instance, or even when the notebook is off? If not, and if you indeed seated the battery correctly, it's either a bad battery or bad charging circuitry... either requiring hardware replacements.

 

Knifedged; I was in your same boat, and just decided to get the m50. It has so much more features, and is only 3/4 of a lb heavier. They both will overclock fairly easy. I have my m50 oc to cpu @ 2.7 and gpu @ 530/1100/475, and none of my windows index's scores are below a 5.4.