Anyone with A6J?

Hey,

I'm thinking of buying the A6Jc (T2300/1024M/DVDRW/nVidia 7400/Camera/15.4" WXGA) for $1499 CDN, and I was wondering if anyone here has one and what they think of it?

I'm mostly interested in what you think of the weight (is it bulky/too heavy to carry in a normal backpack with some notes?), looks, build quality, speed, and any other info that would be of interest!

Could you give us all a mini-review

Thanks!

 

we have some threads about the A6J here in the forum, just search.

I have bought it ( the A6J >> a <<) for 1374 Euro and i do not regret it. The notebook gets really hot and it is not a light weight. it weights 2,9 kg. If you buy a model with a X1600 you have the much more powerful video card. It is a real working mashine, booting up is not so fast though cause of the drivers, but, you have **** much features like bluetooth.

Build quality:
Some on the forums say that Asus makes solid build and quality build notebooks. Most of the nb is plastic and you can press the dvd-ram drive a bit, under the notebook. The 2 buttons of the touchpad are too hard to press and also makes an annoying click noise. But i only use the right touchpad button because i enabled the features of the touchpad fingerarea.

You can scroll horizontally and vertically and use the 4 edges of the touchbad as buttons. I, for example, defined Top-left as "Alt+F4", Top-right as "maximize/restore", Bottom-left as "Return" and Bottom-right as "minimize". I feel very confortable with it.

The overall build quality is good. The design is not the best but looks alot better then dell inspirons and cheap compaqs.

speed, like i said, its a working mashine, i can play oblivion in mid-high details, css/hl2 full details. Its a dream =)

Battery power is up to 2,5 hours. I did a bios flash which took me 1 minute and then i got 20 minutes more battery power.

I am going to shoot some pics for you now with my ****py cellphone camera. ( cra ppy, erm, is that such a bad word? =) )

And then ill use bluetooth to transfer them to the nb I could also use the 4in1 Card reader if you didnt know.

Maybe you are interested what i else do NOT like: You'll see on the pictures. Left and Right and Abovethe keyboard is TOO MUCH space. and it looks ****py above the keyboard with that half plastic sticker. but i can live withthat.

I dont know whats up with the mic of the webcam, its a way too quite.

weight: well, for the components which works in it, its weigh is ok! sure you can carry it around, but it will be no fun.


edit: before i forget to say it: the display sucks, if you move horizontally it is ok but moving only quite abit up and down changes the colors drastically. Still ok if you do not move your head up and down all the time. I do not have any nb display for comparisom, but it looses horrible versus my external Eizo TFT.

more: http://img387.imageshack.us/img387/3739/dsc000176gs.jpg
http://img387.imageshack.us/img387/3559/dsc000161cj.jpg
http://img387.imageshack.us/img387/900/dsc000144ry.jpg


edit: also what i forgot to say (and that is also the reason why i did): The notebook is really really quite,when you just surfing and browsing and such office stuff. Even if you play latest games, it is still quite,i love that, sometimes the fan keeps rotating at a certain level when you play for a longer time though. But in office it's nearly unhearable, perferct for submarine boats

 

Great mini review. Create a separate post so that more people can read it!

 

Isn't the Asus A6Ja available in the US?
Here in Germany it's one of the most successful notebooks on the market.
It has great facts, a good look and manufacture and is relative cheap!
Only the batterie life is with only 2.5 hours too short.

It costs just about 1200 Euro (1450 US Dollar).

 

Thanks for review, relachs!
Can you be more specific about where does it get hot. HDD, Graphic card, CPU area? Does it get hot all the time or just when you play games?
In US they sell Asus A6Jc-Q004H with
Nvidia GeForce GO 7300 PCI-E Graphics w/ 128MB VRAM (256MB w/ Turbo Cache)
15.4" WXGA Color Shine (glaretype) & Crystal Shine (high brightness) - (1280 x 768)

I think I gonna order one next week. I was waiting for Z96j but recently I've found out that it will not have a DVI... :-( So it left me with A6J, A8J and MacBook Pro to choose from.
I don't play games. I just would like to have calibrated external monitor hooked up via DVI for some photoshop.

 

I have an A6J and I think its great. I have no complaints at all. I 100% recommend it to anyone.

Honestly I think some people here are to hard to please. I mean, complaining that the mouse buttons are too hard and make a clicking sound?? Come on.

This notebook is perfect for me. I don’t pick at and critique every single minute detail, for the price this machine is hard to beat. The build quality is perfect.

I agree it can get a little hot under the HD but it doesn’t bother me. I have T2400 with X1600 and 100gb HD. I think the screen is fine. If im using my notebook i dont jump up and down testing every single possible angle. I use it front on and thats all that matter to me.

Overall I think this is excellent value for money and would recommend to everyone.

If anyone has any other questions let me know. Ill be more than happy to help.

 

Thanks for your input, b-dos!
So it is a HD that gets hot? I've got couple months old 100GB Hitachi Travelstar 7200. I was hoping to swap the hard drive. But if it gets hot with 5400 rpm HD I'm not sure that I should do it. What do you think?
Thanks!

 

No worries mate.

To be honest i really dont know how a 7200 will go as compared to the 5400. Like i said, it does get a little hot when its been on for a while and working pretty hard but it doesnt bother me too much. I very rarely put the thing on my lap so i dont notice it. I have only ever heard the fan running at full speed one time so i dont think its been getting too hot to handle at all.

 

If you dont play games it it just gets warm, not hot. (i think the cpu and gpu) And honestly, if you dont play games (which this nb is perfect for ) and instead want to work with photoshop, ... i do not work with photoshop but i have to say again that i do not like the display.

The other specs are great tho, so if you see a good nb with quality build and the same specs + better display + lessweight i would not recomment the A6Ja, i took it because of the really great specs and i like dvi

-weight
-display

Like i said there are some other threads around here.

Well, if i would use them more it would disturb me, but i can use "tip" on the touchpadfinerarea so its no problem for left click. I just wanted to mention it. Because for some it might be important and i have read many answers from owners to buyers on a forum who said something like "Oh yea, you asked about the touchbad, well its not something special its just normal!" and then the thread stopped and i was like oh **** why couldn't he decribe it more...

And well the quality is not perfect for me, yesterday i accidently pulled out the DVD drive when i was carrying it to the sofa. That is the only thing tho.

I do not do any photoshop but if i would not take this nb unless you dont use an external tft.

I just have read he said "I just would like to have calibrated external monitor hooked up via DVI for some photoshop." So, if you do not use the nb lcd for PS and dont carry it with you all the time i can 99% recomment it to you, Niemitz.

 

Hey relachs, first of all, thanks for the mini-review!

The reason I'm so concerned about how the weight feels is that, I'm thinking of getting a 14" A8J instead but not sure if that 1 pound difference is worth it.

When you say the display sucks, is it just because of the vertical viewing angles being bad? Front on, does it look good though? I wonder how much different this screen is from say, a V6J screen...
I won't be using an external monitor ever.

You mean it's too quiet, as in, it doesn't record your voice well?

Hey b-dos, so what do you think of the weight and looks of your lappy??

Thanks all

 

How far and what are you travelling with? I use it as a desktop replacement and to surf all in the apartement.

Some say it reflects too much, for me its ok, and the colors are good and shiny, i like matte more, i think.
I dont really notice the reflections anymore, only if i have looked on a matte screen before.
Ok ok, on dark areas you can see yourself, but only if you force to do that! In the last days when i was working on the mashine i never complained about any reflection...

Yes. I might have set the settings wrong tho..

 

Well, for the 1st 8 months it'll be a desktop replacement,

then 4 months it'll be going to university with me most days (by bus maybe),

then 8 more months desktop replacement,

then 4 months university,

then 4 months desktop replacement,

then 8 months university,

then I'm done school!!! (and hopefully a brand new laptop as graduation present!!!)

^ Sorry I had to write that all out, it was confusing for me too ^

So... I'm leaning more towards a 14 incher just in case...

I don't think this'll bother me

 

Get the notebook. :asus: + :centrino: + :centrino: + :ati: (get the ati, its better than the nvidia)

 

I think avid Linux users would disagree...
But both GPU makers are great

 

I don't own one myself, but the only thing I could knock about it from just looking at the specs is the fact that the LCD is only 1280x768 resolution. My z63a is the 14.1" widescreen and it has the same WXGA resolution. It looks good on here, but I don't know if it would be crisp enough for a 15" screen.

The glare-type screen can be a little annoying if you have a class with big windows behind you like a seminar I had this semester, but if you're just in lecture halls or the windows aren't right behind you, reflections aren't an issue. Also, things like running black backgrounds can make it worse.

Since you plan to use the laptop for a desktop replacement and game with it I assume, you're probably gonna have to compromise the weight to stay at a relatively low price point with good enough specs.

Oh yeah, since you plan to commute with this thing, get a good backpack or sleeve and do yourself a favour. Get a messenger-style bag if you want, but they're no good for your spine.

 

Does anyone here own a ASUS A6 with the Ati x200M?? Whats the gaming performance like??

 

X200 sucks


BigV: It is 1280*800, 15,4. I used (and use to have) 1280*1024 on my 19" or 17" tft and i 1280*800 is good for this nb.

 

Are we talking about the ATI Radeon Xpress 200M

I have seen it in this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=39568

Integrated.

 

Its kinda heavy i suppose but i dont lug it around with me at all. Its usually always at home so i cant really give good advice here. I mean as long as your not totally weak you could carry it. It wouldnt bother mer to carry the thing.

I think it looks great. Again, i dont place all the emphasis on how it looks, i dont really care as long as it performs well and i can tell you this machine peforms very well. Saying that though i think it looks nice. Especially looks better in person compared to pics.

The screen is great. I never notice the reflection. I was a little worried about the resolution before i got it but i think its fine now.

Overall i say just get it! You wont be disapointed.

 

Hmm well... has you seen both a Z62F and A6J?? Does an A6J look the same as it?? The 14" screen and 5.5lbs is really tempting me...

 

erm....am I the only one concerned about that? How did that happen? Is it easy to yank out? Was it difficult to re-insert?

Sorry for the questions but ive never heard of this happening before.

 

Lol I have the A6J but it doesn't seem easy to yank out at all. Generally it's very well built, but maybe relachs can explain what happened