13.3" Monster from ASUS -- F6Ve-B1

The GPU is good on the F6Ve-B1 but not in the same class as a 9800M GT.

 

I don't quite understand?

 

What IKAS means is that the HD4570 in the F6Ve is one of the best GPUs that could fit a 13" notebook, but it's no where near as powerful as the 9800M GT in the 15" M860tu.

 

-a bit offtopic

There is a budget version in Taiwan (F6ve-white), which I think is a budget version of F6ve-B1. The price is only around 900$ but with lesser CPU (T4200) and 2 GB RAM. The GPU is still the same though (HD 4570). What do you guys think?

Here is the link (in Chinese, but the spec mostly is in English)

http://shopping.pchome.com.tw/?mod=item&func=exhibit&IT_NO=DHAA4M-A39356200&SR_NO=DHAA1B&ROWNO=3

 

I think that's great.

Tell you the truth, with a GPU of that category, I'm sure it would bottleneck before the CPU.

I'd definitely consider that if it was in the US.

 

It looks worse in white

 

really? I still think black one looks pretty generic.

@kevhuynh
yes I also think the GPU will be the limiting aspect.

I don't know the exact difference between them though (core duo vs core 2 duo). I will expect the difference is unnoticeable neither in gaming (with GPU such as HD 4570) nor in regular works (office etc.).

 

I wouldn't call it the best.. best implies #1, or tied with #1. The LG P310's 3D Mark score is more than 2x better from what I've read. Good was the right word imo.

 

The LG P310???? with 9600M GT!
I don't think it has double 3D MARK scores.
The LG P 310 with a P9500 CPU scores 5863 in 3DMARK06 the F6ve is about 3600 to 3700
I also don't know any place in the US to offer this laptop

 

The Gentech video had 3D Mark for the F6Ve-b1 at 2814. LG P310 users were reporting something around 5800.

I think it's a 9600 GT, not 9600M GT also.

 

I'm aware of the LG P310. Please note my last post where I said "one of the best". In fact, the F6Ve is the second best 13" gaming notebook in the market today.

 

Well compared to the LG P310, it can't be considered the best. But make no mistake, it is still good.

For example, something that is 50th best does not mean it is one of the best.

I should add (since customers should have the right to know) that it is also not second best, there is the Benq's 8600 GT has something like 4300 score, Dell XPS 13 is better too. I'm probably forgetting some others.

 

I don't follow your logic at all, but I'll say it again: the F6Ve-B1 is the second best 13" gaming notebook in today's market, and that's all to it. I don't know any competition or comparison where people can't compare at least the top 3 products, athletes, movies etc. with each other.

 

It's really just semantics, but I dislike when 'best' is misused, usually in marketing. It trivializes what is actually the best and it extends the definition to include anything and everything -- so all laptops are the best misleading most people who don't research. I said in the previous page, but I'll say again that I think the best (or one of) implies #1 or tied with #1 (unless you want to be specific like 50th best so people aren't mislead). I think this is really a prime example of that.

Either way, as I said in my last post, it's not second best.

 

You neglected to mention that the BenQ JoyBook X31 uses a C2D low voltage CPU which will be the main bottleneck for gaming and for any other task for that matter.
As for the Dell XPS 13, you're right.. the new 9500M GS with a 128bit bandwidth gives it an edge over the HD4570.

 

If you mean the SXPS 1340 then remember that it doesn't use a 9500M GS but rather a 9500M GE (Hybrid SLI between a 9200M GS and a 9400M G w/ 256MB GDDR3 on board memory). The performance is a bit below that of the 9500M GS.

 

I don't think it will be, it's more than adequate imo. Most games are more GPU intensive. It's besides the point anyway.

 

hi - i'm a newbe - i've been following this link for a while now and i am so anxiously awaiting to hear from E.B.E and donuteatinsob what they think of the F6Ve-B1. does anyone think they'll respond soon?

 

EBE's on vacation and I'm not sure when he'll be back. Not sure about the whereabouts on donuteatinsob.

 

wow the specs on this are beastly. what's the verdict on the battery life and temperature? and average fps on newer games like COD4?

 

Battery life is just shy of 3 hours on Vista's "balanced" profile.

Take a look at gentech's website. They show videos on temperature and in-game videos showing fps

http://1toppc.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=N81Vp-C1

 

GenTechPC has videos of Crysis and CoD4 posted on their product info page. IIRC they said the battery life is 2.5 hours.

 

Well I have had mine on the road for 3 weeks in a row and I am very pleased at this point. Played more than a few games of Left 4 Dead, C&C3, Crysis Warhead, and TF2 and so far no issues. Its light enough so that its not a backbreaker when toting around it and work laptop.

The framerate is good and I do not notice much in the way of slowdown if I tweak the settings a little below the best. It has no issues with any of the HD content I play on it and lasts for around 2.5-3 hours if I manage the battery on a flight watching a movie. The fit and finish seems very good and no creaks or squeaks from the screen or keyboard either. The only downside is the lid is a fingerprint magnet of case with it being shiny. I am waiting to load 64-bit Vista on it and see if I pick up some performance with that. I am very happy with the F6Ve at this point especially for the price point compared to other machines.

 

donuteatinsob - thanks for getting back with us. does the laptop stay cool enough to sit on your lap? do you need one of those fan coolers or?

 

donuteatinsob - another question: did you recommend upgrading the HD to the 7200 rpm or is the 5400 good enough?

 

gentech's demo videos are all at highest settings right? is that why the frame rate shown is around like 15 lol

 

Well, if you are playing games then I would suggest a cooler but for standard usage it works pretty well. It is warm for sure on the bottom but its not blisteringly hot. I had a Powerbook that bubbled up the laminate on a table one time.

 

Faster hard drives are always nice but the big question is how much will the drive affect the thermal profile of the notebook. Even some of the SSD drives create a lot of heat so even going that route and swapping out the HD can cause the heat to rise a good bit. If you need speed and don't have to be fully mobile get you an external ESATA drive and hook it up and run your stuff off of it. For now, I am happy with the speed of the HD and the 320GB worth of storage. I think this weekend I will wipe the machine and install Vista 64-bit.

 

Thanks donuteatinsob!!!! i'm going to purchase one now!

 

Nice stuff, keep us posted, looking forward to a full review.

I wonder if this will lower the battery life, because 2.5-3 hours playing a movie is pretty good.

 

To be fair, SSDs generate much less heat.

 

Except Jmicron drives (like the Solidata reviewed by NBR)... but yeah good SSDs should run cool to touch (most you can't even feel it's on!)

 

There are some hideous ones that are cheap that can generate more head than a regular HDD drive so as usual you get what you pay for. Normally they should so I would not worry about unless you go buy an SSD for about the same price as a spinning drive.

 

for those interested -- there is a $100 dollar mail in rebate (called the mother's day rebate ) just grab the link from neweggs listing for this laptop

 

I'm considering this laptop--I'm looking for a portable/ultra-portable unit w/BD player. I'm comparing this to a HP dv4TSE (lower end graphic card, slightly larger, but ~$200 cheaper)--any other thoughts or ideas?

 

Very nice looking little machine. I still have an Asus W3J, awesome quality machine, pity Asus don't make them like that anymore.

Its proving difficult to find the F6Ve out here in Australia, any Aussies know of a bricks & mortar store selling this laptop so I could go have a play before parting with the cash?

Does seem to satisfy what I need in a laptop.

 

I was thinking about picking this up at xoticpc.com mostly because they offer the system with Windows XP Pro and a drivers/utilities CD for $150 extra. I already have XP Pro so I don't feel like paying for something that I already have. Anyone have a list of all the necessary drivers that I need to get this system fully working under XP? On a related note, anyone care to share their experiences with this system under XP? Any problems?

Thanks

 

The US Asus site lists this with a LED back lit screen. There is no mention of it in the review posted ( http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4923) nor is it mentioned in the specs on that model or the X1 model on Newegg:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220495
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220512

The one I see on Amazon does list LED back lighting:
http://www.amazon.com/F6Ve-B1-13-3-Inch-Laptop-Processor-Premium/dp/B001R55YAI

How can I be sure which ones have it and which ones don't?

Would the P8600 have better battery life than the T9550? (Does the LED back lighting come on the P8600 model?)

This laptop seems to have everything I want minus good battery life. Is there something else that's similar that has better battery life (and possibly compromises with lower graphics power)? I don't game anymore, but I'd like it to power my 1920x1200 monitor (HD movies, etc.) Thanks!

 

@ quasi13
The Asus F6VE-B1 does not have an LED backlit screen. It's just a 13.3" WXGA (1280x800) Glossy screen. A P8600 CPU does use less power than the T9550, but very minimal. Maybe 10-15 minutes more battery life with a 25 watt "P" series CPU.

 

Thanks. As I said the Asus website has it listed in the specs:
http://usa.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=5&l2=131&l3=769&l4=0&model=2820&modelmenu=2

Obviously this could be an error and Amazon could just be echoing it. I was going to try and post in Asus' forums, but the registration doesn't work.

How does the screen on the F6VE compare to the XPS 1340 with LED back lighting? Thanks

 

Welcome to the forum!

The F-series is mainstream/budget -- Asus isn't going to drop an LED into that, it's reserved for the higher end like the U-series. Asus' website often has typos and misprints... happens when non-native language staff write and cross-post the page data/info.

Unless someone also has the 1340 for direct comparison, you're left with generic discussion about LED vs CCFL although even LED quality etc can vary between screen model or size (well known in current MB v MBAir or MBPro screens)..... better black levels, more even lighting, colors are true immediately at startup rather than taking 10-15 minutes, there are probably others too.

 

Thanks for the info. The F6ve is overkill in graphics for me and I'd like a nicer screen.

Do you have any recommendations for me? I'm looking for something small with a nice screen that's reasonably powerful and has nice battery life (even if it takes a 9-cell). The video card only has to be powerful enough to output HD video to my 1920x1200 monitor. I am interested 13.3" if the resolution is 1280x800 or 1366x768, or I'd take a 14" if the resolution is higher.

This is probably the wrong place to ask this... I can't seem to find the sweet spot.

 

The HP dv3t is a nice 13.3" LED backlit laptop that can come with either a 6-cell or a 9-cell battery. It has the option of using the nvidia 105m graphics but even the integrated 4500MHD should be able to decode blu-ray, I think.

There's also the Inspiron 13, but I like the HP much better.

 

if you don't mind a bit bigger screen, the u80v coming out "sometime this summer" boasts some pretty good specs too, most noticably the 6 hours of battery life. it uses the same gpu as the f6ve, so it should be able to output that hd video just fine. what's being reported is a 899.99 msrp (USD), so if you don't mind that bigger screen and a little longer wait..

 

It doesn't look like the u80v will be > 1366x768. Otherwise it would be a very good choice - thanks for the suggestion. I'm surprised there aren't more choices with with higher resolutions out there. Hopefully Asus will offer something denser with the K series, but it doesn't seem likely.

 

Higher resolution in smaller screens isn't in high enough demand hence why almost no companies have them.

 

Finally I had the time to develop the review for my F6Ve. Here it is:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=382222