ASUS V1J with X1700 512MB/1024 Hypermemory!

Last week I almost decided to go for the W3J. MilestonePC asked me why I'd go with the W3J as I had been waiting for quite a long time for the V1J to arrive...

Well.... the prime reason is its size/weight... I am a student and within several months moving abroad to do my internship. The less weight the better. Besides, I like its design over that of the V1J and a 14'' screen.

However, it's not available here with Core 2 Duo Processor, and won't be for quite some time.

So the other day I e-mailed my local supplier and he told me something great. There will be a revised V1J model available based on the following specs:

T7200 Core 2 Duo
2GB 667MHz
160GB 5400RPM
X1700 512/1GB Hypermemory

He didn't know when exactly this model will be available, but I assume it will be available within months.. at least I expect/hope it to arrive this year!

Anyway, it's worth waiting for me... Just wanted to share... hopefully someone else could shed some light on the expected ETA.

Edit: this powerhouse is already available W2J:

Intel Core 2 Duo T7400 (2.16Ghz; 4Mb L2 Cache; 667Mhz FSB)
160GB S-ATA harddisk 5400RPM
2048Mb DDR2 667 (2 x 1024)
Slot-in DVD+/-RW Dual Layer
ATI Mobility Radeon X1700 512MB (1024MB with Hypermemory)
17" WSXGA+ TFT (1680 x 1050) Color Shine + Anti Reflection

Also found this (in German) if you want something to be translated let me know.

 

Great thanks for the info.

Just to share some general information, ASUS has listed the V1J in the ntoebook section under, Special Purpose, but it has the old specs of the Core Duo and X1600.

It would be interesting to see what the specs ofthe V1Jp has for North America.

I believe you meant V1J and 15.4" screen?

Enjoy your W3J

 

As you know Empulse i have been waiting extremely long for a laptop, and the V1J and C2D MBP are on top of the list right now.

Your email mentioned a 2.0GHz but the specs on the site mention 1.8ghz, i'm kinda dissapointed because you don't have 4mb of cache. The rest of the specs look good.

1999 EUR = $2500 USD, i'm pretty sure the US will have a lower price, but i'm not sure if it will get bump in specs.

I hope this notebook is released before christmas, i believe the UK will be getting this laptop sometime in November, meaning hopefully NA will get it in December, that is if ASUS wants to bring it to NA.

Ohwell going to wait some more. LOL

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

No, no, no. I probably confused you a bit . Since the W3j is not available any time soon here, I'll be going to purchase the V1J instead. Apart from that, I prefer the looks of the W3J, screen size, and weight. On the other hand, the V1J offers quite some advantages as well.

I am on the same boat

The model we'll be receiving in NL will differ from the German version... T7200 here compared to T5600 over there.

It will most definitely be less expensive. Bear in mind that we European must pay ridiculous amounts of tax -- (19% VAT).

 

ah ic ic, kool,

When will you purchase the V1J? Also when will it arrive? (i think you mentioned it above, but just to clarify, i'm asking again, lol)

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

Well I didn't mention it

I am doubting between waiting for another number of months and purchasing the following model:

Waiting and purchasing the following specs:

T7200
X1600 512/1GB Hyper memory
160 GB 5400 RPM
2GB 667MHZ

Probably pretty expensive... probably around 1950/2050 EUR

or purchasing a customized T2400

-T7200
-X1600 256/512 Hypermemory
-80GB 7200RPM
-1GB 667MHz

€1640
Extra memory 1GB - €110,-
Optionally, an external hard disk rather than a 160GB 5400rpm

My question, how significant would the difference between the hypermemory be? I don't game too often, but there's one high-end game I am definitely going to play.

 

Incredible!!! And I was about to buy the W3j as well!!! What is nice is that the V1j has all the features of the W3j (like swappable optical drive), but it has the more powerfull video card. It has also a slightly larger screen, so that is a bonus (though this does increase weight, which is a slight negative).

I've read somewhere that it does not come w/ a glossy screen... Is this true? (a big negative for me if it is matte)

Does anybody know if it will have a SATA hard drive?

Also, what is the build quality in comparison to the W3j? The build quality is what made me decide the W3j over the A8js.

It was stated that it should be released in the next couple of months.... Do you think it will be ready by mid/late January?

EDIT: I dislike the mac because of the OS, lack of modem, and no 54 mm express slot (it has a 34mm). Yes, the price is a bonus, but I have already bought parts for my to be notebook like 2 gb of 667mhz pc5400 ddr2 memory, mouse, and webcam.

 

Well it seems all three of us are in roughly the same boat.

I do like the W3J because of the quality, modular bay, but i don't like the fact it doesn't have a DVI and I don't think a 14" screen is big enough to game on.

The V1J does seem to offer everything I want, so far, yet there are still 3 concerns I have aswell, build quality, heat & noise and battery life on the main battery.

pevelg, from what i've read and heard the V1Jp WSXGA+ looks matte, but then again, who knows, thing are subject to change at any time, so we will never know untill it comes to NA, that is if your in NA?

Empulse, i think you have typo? X1600 512mb/1GB Hyper, did you mean X1700 512mb/1GB Hyper?

From what I have read the X1700 is only 3% better than the X1600, in my opinion a 512mb is enough for the X1700 and it would not need 1GB since the GPU is just a mid level card.

However, you show specs of both the highend V1Jp and the lowend one, for you both of them will have 2GB of memory. From what i've read more memory allows for more graphics to be held in the memory and makes the game stutter less thus resulting in smoother play.

All in all more GPU vram, and more physical ram = less stuttering, better smoothness, but only IF the GPU can handle higher resolutions and max graphical settings.

In the case of the V1JP, you will be running games at 16x10 and max settings, then yes you will need the most amount of ram and gpu vram possible. However i do not thing the V1JP and the X1700 can run games that high.

The only laptop I know that requires a lot of ram and GPU memory is the Go 7700 in the A8js, because it performs very well compared to other GPU's in the range but draws more power too.

pevelg you mentioned you didn't like the MBP, I personaly think it is a viable option now, since it offers the best chasis/looks, a regular clocked X1600, awesome CPU, good wireless card.

The build quality of the MBP is good, performance so far is good, but one thing that bothers me is that it doesn't have a card reader lol.

From what i've read the MBP operates at roughly 50 degrees celcius, this is 10 degrees lower than previous models. While using the MAC OS people are getting 3.5-4 hours of batterylife on the main battery!
This shows how good Apple's engineering is, however those who love windows like me, people have reported lower batterylife due to the fact some power saving methods or techniques are not apparent.

Once again, we still have no clue when the V1J will come to NA, but we are willing to wait.

For me, the ultimate decision is now between the new MBP vs V1J.

MBP
- Smaller, Lighter
- Very clean looks
- Dual Boot
- Good Specs
- Good batterylife
- Nice wireless capabilities
~ I'm still concerned about heat
~ Limited array of ports!
~ Concerned about what it will be like to be a full time Windows user than using the MAC OS
~ The price points are very steep (but i think i'm willing to pay? Hopefully)

V1Jp
- This notebook has everything! Ports, performance, looks, decent dimensions and weight.
- Docking station, multi-bay, mini dvi, high resolution screen.
~ Concerned about the entire laptop too since NO ONE KNOWS anything about it, LOL.
~ No information regarding viewing angles, brightness, build quality, battery life
~ I've read pretty much everything about but i still don't know much about it.

PS: Does anyone have a link to a Good review of the V1J that shows some of the stuff i'm looking for above? ( I don't mind Core Duo or C2D) And yes i have read the Mobile01 review on it, but that is not enough. lol

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

Every place I've seen them listed the V1JP-AJ003P and V1JP-AJ004P are shown with the X1700 having 256MB of dedicated memory. If there is one with 512MB of dedicated memory it must be an even newer model.

 

Forgive my ignorance, but the W3 does have a VGA port, that's all you need for using your notebook in combination with an external monitor, right?

Slightly worse than the W3, but better than most notebooks.

The battery life is approximately 3 - 3.5 hours (normal use)

It might look matte, yet I wouldn't expect it to really be...

You are right X1700 512/1024 and X1600 256/512. Someone just told me the difference is minor... as the card probably won't even be able to fully use the 256MB... Would like additional comments on that though...

Concur, but too expensive here.

€2499,-
T7200
2GB DDR 667MHz
X1600 256MB/512MB
160GB 5400.

I've seen it in one online shop today. If I recall it correctly it was a US shop. (will have a look later in my cookies).

Also for me a major stumbling block.

Golem, thanks for the information about the GPU, really clarified a lot.

 

It is (according to the shop), it hasn't been released as of today, nor do they know when it will be.

 

Some nice pictures for those who haven't seen them yet.
Taken by another member:
http://fabiencrimi.free.fr/V1J/

 

Thanks Empulse.

 

[qoute]You are right X1700 512/1024 and X1600 256/512. Someone just told me the difference is minor... as the card probably won't even be able to fully use the 256MB... Would like additional comments on that though...[/qoute]

Lets assume that the X1700 only comes in 256mb/512 hyper, ( I personaly have not seen a 512mb/1GB Hyper Ever), the X1700 would generally not have enough graphical power to utilize all that memory anyways.

Here's how graphic cards work for the most part: Each time you increase the resolution or turn on more features or turn up certain options, if the graphic card can handle it will do it, but it needs a place to store it. So it stores it in the GPU memory and or the physical memory.

To further explain, i have an X1900GT 256mb, this card is extremely powerful, BUT with only 256mb the card will stutter and won't be as smooth as a 512mb card. However, the amount of physical ram used while rendering all these graphics is maxed out too since I only have 1GB of ram. If i had 2 GB of ram, there would be little to stuttering, because all of the graphics are stored in memory and wouldn't have to be cycled in and out.

I would just like to point out Hypermemory seems more of a gimmick to me, why? Because Video cards already occupy physical ram if there's not enought vram, like in my case with the 256mb GPU and 1GB of ram.

The only thing i can think of why hypermemory is needed is that hypermemory accesses and gathers the physical ram faster? Even that i'm not 100% sure on.

You must also be wondering who's memory is faster, for the most part GPU memory is faster and that's why having more it is better, physical memory is slower but it serves the same purpose if you have enough of it.

I would like to point out another example:
FEAR and BF2 are two very intensive games, everyone would suggest if you have a good GPU get 2 GB of ram, why? beacuse if you go back to windows while gaming, you will see that ALL of your ram is occupied while gaming, because of the graphics.

With 2GB of you should experience pretty much no stuttering, just smooth graphics, hence people who game, need 2GB of RAM and atleast a 512MB for the GPU aslong as your aiming for High quality gaming.

Notebooks that are 15.4" and lower are more geared to mid range gaming, and you can still turn up the graphics but a lower resolutions, thus you really only need a total of 1.5GB to game(GPU and Phsyical), but really only need 1GB total <- GPU + Physical RAM.

If you didn't know graphic companies like Nvidia realized that gaming demand is growing in terms of graphics, hence the 8800GTX will feature a whopping 756mb of memory! If you run that in SLI you have 1.5GB dedicated for gaming, talk about NO stuttering NO matter what you do LOL.

I hope this doesn't confuse anyone lol.

Empulse how do you know the V1J will get 3-3.5 hours of batterylife on main?
Most PC based notebooks can only achieve 2.5 hours with similar specs to the V1J, unless the X1700 wasn't designed for a huge performance increase like the 7700 but rather for improved batterylife?

Yes the W3J have a VGA port, in which you can hook up CRTs and many LCDs, the reason why people want DVI is because there are bigger and better LCDs that only have DVI connections, plus some people have really nice Plasma or LCD TVs in which they want to hook up their laptop to it.

PS: you can get a 300$ converter to change a VGA (analog signal) into a DVI (digital signal) but i have no clue what the quality is like. Plus that's alot of money for conversions lol.

PS: Thanks for the pictures, i think i saw them already, but this is a good reminder to how good this thing look! Drool! LOL

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

Sounds like the V1J is a pretty good system, hopefully it won't be that expensive, I think as Justin (Proportable) said, hopefully it would be in the range between the w3j and the w2j price range ~2000.00 USD for one of the configuration. If so, I wonder if there is room in my life and room for another asus...

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=86152

Guess you like that news

 

For everyone who has never seen this review before (made by senior member of german's asus forum).

http://www.tekkno-online.de/html/asus_v1j.html

I saw and tested V1J yesterday. The build quality is very good!!!!The screen is matte, the font small but also very very fine,great!!!The only cons it could be a little bit more brighter,but for normal use it's enought, for sure! The fan is working very quiet, doesn't disturb!!!The battery life is about 3 hours!
Taken everything together it's superb NB. I will wait about 1-2 week till V1JP will be available on the german's market and buy it!!!

By the way, I found a short test of V1J made by connect magazine. These are the results:

http://www.connect.de/sixcms/media.php/90/1006_Tab_Asus_V1J-AJ009P.pdf

 

Empulse,

I'm wondering 2 things:

1. Where did you saw that V1Jp comes with X1700 512MB/1GB HM ? On the german picture you attached it says "X1700 512MB VRAM". That could be just a marketing trick (and it wouldn't be for the first time) to sum dedicated and shared memory together.

2. Where did you saw that V1Jp comes with T7200 ? Again, on the german picture you attached it says T5600. Also, dealer from whom I'll be getting my A8Js on saturday told me that V1Jp comes only with T5600.

I guess there isn't any official news from Asus, is there ?

Thanks in advance for explaining m8 !

 

It's what my ASUS reseller told me. I know the specs stated in my initial post differ from what the T7200 version, but the specs stated in my initial post (the screen shot) are from the V1J in Germany, not from that is expected to be offered for sale in the Netherlands.

This one is already available in the Netherlands:

W2PC

 

Didn't know that...

Watch this screenshot, doesn't seem to be matte, yet the specs don't state it's glossy.

I read it on a Dutch forum... can't confirm the credibility might be less, but it's not of crucial importance to me, is it to you?

 

The version for german market is matte!

http://www.tekkno-online.de/CIMG0482.JPG

 

Could you please place a link, this is uhm... pretty big!

 

adampub, thanks for that review! wow, i'm impressed, however there are 2 things that now concern me about the V1J

I think the reviewer mentioned poor viewing angles and the PDF shows that the battery life is 2 hours and 50 minutes, which is still not as high as i would like it to be, but i'm not sure what settings he used. (but i'm assuming he tried to get the max out of it)

So i think it is safe to say the V1J on main battery will get 2.5 hours, then if you add the modular bay battery then you will get another 1.5 hours, giving you a total of 4 hours which is not bad, i would have like 5-6 hours, but we'll see how things go for NA.

Empulse yah the screen is Matte, your Avatar has indoor lighting reflecting onto the screen, when the image was taken, if the screen was glossy you would have seen much more reflections.

So far I do like matte screens, but i'm concerned about the viewing angles.

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

Just when I nearly convinced myself to get a MBP over the W3J, another juicy option pops up. Sigh. I guess it'll have to depend on whether the V1Jp will be available before Christmas, given that's prime selling time you'd think it would be, and it'll also depend on the price. I can get a MBP configured as follows:

15.4" MBP
2.16GHz T7400
2GB DDR2 667
160GB 5400rpm HDD
128MB X1600 419MHz/446MHz (officially 423MHz/450MHz)
Atheros Draft 802.11n
Windows XP

~ $2257 CND before taxes

The major disadvantage against the V1Jp is probably the 128MB GDDR3 against 512MB, since the X1600 vs. X1700 isn't as big an issue. It's too bad the 256MB MBP has such a premium. Hopefully they'll be more V1Jp news soon or else I'm going to end up waiting forever to make a final decision.

 

Itcommander_data i'm also a Canadian and I also feel that the 128mb X1600 is just a dissapointment for the lowend MBP, most brands out there just throw in a X1600 with 256mb, but it seems Apple purposely decided to go with a 128mb to make us a little dissapointed.

I too also wish the V1Jp to come just before X-mas, to me that would be pretty much the perfect timing. There are benefits for both MBP and V1J and right now i'm still hopeing on the V1JP to see what it offers if it gets released soon.

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

It's kind of wierd, because Apple doesn't skimp on the quality of the RAM. They use Samsung GDDR3 memory rated for 700MHz x2 operation. In fact, the chips on the base MBP are actually the exact same one use in most new X1950Pro only that the MBP only has 4 for 128MB while the X1950Pro uses 8 for 256MB. The 256MB MBP also uses Samsung GDDR3 certified for 700MHz only higher density to fit 256MB into the same 4 chip footprint.

You'd think Apple could cut back the quality of the RAM say use GDDR3 meant for 600MHz or even 500MHz operation and bump up the quantity instead. I guess they use high-grade memory and downclock it to save power and heat compared to say 500MHz memory which at the 446MHz speed the MBP runs at would be close to it's limits.

 

More likely for tolerance to avoid artifacts and RMA costs.

OS X is heavily based on that GPU working properly. If it were to fail and you got artifacts and other glitches, you're 10x more screwed than WinXP since it isn't as heavily using the 3D graphics engine compared to OS X. If you have a glitchy 3D card under WinXP, it's less likely to be obvious in 2D mode unless it's severe enough to cause freezing. That will probably change when Vista is more mainstream.

Also, if the GPU is giving artifacts because of the RAM, it's either SMD soldering or replace the whole board (more likely the latter). I wonder how many people actually buy AppleCare...