Are all ASUS V1JP's created equal??

Hello all, I am in the market for my very 1st notebook. This is my 1st post so please be a little pacient with me if I don't use the proper "lingo" as I have been out of the computing "loop" for a couple of years (I used to be quite addicted to them....heh....I have recovered) I will apologize in advance for the lengthy post, and I will greatly appreciate any input. I have been on the search for "the" notebook for quite some time--too long actually. I am getting sick and tired of the hunt and I have really started taking a liking to the ASUS V1JP. So, I think I might just go w/ it. I don't want to spend any more then $2,000 b/c that just seems crazy to me. The last computer I had was a desktop (for college, mainly gaming though) and I built it myself, and at the time it was a beast and it costed me $3,300--although I did not get 33 hundred dollars worth of value out of it, that's for sure. I splurged and bought the best of the best and in retrospect, it wasn't a good way to spend my HS graduation money (this was like 6 1/2 yrs ago BTW.) Anyways, when I go to multiple websites selling the Asus V1JP I keep seeing differing suffixes following the model name V1JP. Such as V1JP-AK006P, or V1Jp-AK023E (that may be it really.) What do those differing suffixes mean?? Anything important?? I would imagine so, but I really do not know!

Also, I have seen that some people are having problems with their screens as well as the battery depreciation. This is somewhat discouraging for me b/c, this notebook has everything I want: fast cpu, good video card (good enough!), an adequate HD for my needs, fingerprint sensor, built in mic & camera, pleasent to the eyes (not quite a necessity), and quality components all across the board. What I need though is for this baby to last me a few years--so I need it to be reliable, and I surely need it to arrive @ my door as any consumer that is spending a lot of money would expect--working as it ought to be--flawless.

So, I guess the reason for this post is to acquire information about the differing suffixes following the model on some websites, also--for those people who own the V1JP--what is your opinion on the product, what problems have you had? (if any), is there an accidental damage protection plan available? (I have had trouble confirming this.) What is the deal with the different display screens (LPL1179 or CMO1523?? w/ the inconsistencies on some people's notebooks, particularly darkness in the bottom right and left corners--is it just luck of the draw as far as getting a good screen?) I live in the USA so what would I be looking recieving? Prolly depends on who I buy it from I guess. What outlets are recommended for purshasing this product. I want to get one that has Windows Vista Premium pre-loaded--and if it comes preloaded, did the company simply upgrade to Vista from XP or was the notebook loaded with Vista from the get-go?

I realize that I didn't structure this post in a very good way and it is kind of one long ramble but I think that most who take the time to read this will understand what I am wondering about here. If you have made it this far, thanks for taking the time to read all this and I'd appreciate anything that you have to say about this product. Actually, if there are any other comperable notebooks out there that are similar to the Asus V1JP could you post them? (I know that this is an ASUS section but please, don't hold back.)

Once again, thanks to anybody willing to offer me any advice. I am going to these lengths in an attempt to aviod buyers remorse.

-Ed

 

I'm familiar with the battery problem that the V1j seems to be suffering from, although not in the V1j, but in the V6j. MysticGolem might be able to help you with precise information about the V1j. I will give you what I know below.

At this point, it's not really clear whether all the V1j-s are affected by the problem, and if not, which of them are affected -- so take it with a grain of salt; but don't ignore it.

The problem is as follows: due to probably a bug in the BIOS (other explanations have been proposed as well) the battery max charge/wear level is reported wrongly to the OS. Therefore the OS shuts down the notebook early, thinking the battery is depleted, while actually it still holds charge. Typically affected batteries lose some 2-3 percent of charge at each full discharge like this.

This is not really a radical problem, the notebook will work while having this problem; you can also disable autoshutdown and get all the juice from the battery like that. You can hope for a fix from ASUS (although us V6j owners have been hoping for a year now... to no avail).

Again, I want to stress it's not really clear how many notebooks are affected by this; but it seems to be recurring at least in some instances with the V6j, V1j, R1f, and other notebooks as well.

About the terminations: I don't know for sure, but I suspect it's different hardware configurations: e.g. sometimes CPU speeds of the same type of laptop differ between US, Europe, ASIA; or harddisk sizes; or screen types. So, I guess there's nothing in that suffix that you can't read from the actual configuration of the notebook: CPU, GPU, RAM, HDD size & RPM, battery size (#of cells), screen type.

Hope this helps.

 

I agree with all of the above. E.B.E. should have answered most of your questions, however about similar notebooks, you might consider the Thinkpad T60 w/ FireGL v5250 (at least as good quality with slightly better graphics card, based on the x1700), the Dell Precision M65 (also good quality, comes with Nvidia Quadro FX 350M which is based on the go7400), the HP nc8430 (comes with x1600), the HP nw8440 (FireGL v5200, based on the x1600).

Those are all the business class notebooks that I can remeber off of the top of my head that can compete with the V1JP, of course if you allow consumer class, you open up several other possibilities. (F3JP, Compal HEL-80,G1) Hope that was of some help.

Edit: Unless you've definitely decided on the V1JP, you might consider filling out a FAQ and posting it in the What Notebook Should I Buy forum, you'll get alot of great suggestions that way.

 

Are all Asus V1Jp created equal? No, because you can customize it. For lcd screens, depends what region you live in, read this thread:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=105204&page=2#post1809872

There is another thread similar about buying Asus V1Jp:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=105614&page=2#post1814736

 

The V1JP in North America is one that you've most likely seen here, i'm sure you've read MysticGolem's review and lenardg's review using Vista on the V1JP.

Other countries have different model numbers and slightly different specs.

In North America you will get a CMO screen, which everyone is happy to have.

The V1JP with Vista will be coming real soon, so just hold out for that. However currently XP vsersus Vista, well XP wins in performance, and Vista win in eye candy and fun to use. That's just a quick summary.

If you read through MysticGolem's posts regarding the V1JP battery, you will see that the wear % is only software based, coming from badly coded Bios or ACPI or combination of both. So all programs including, everest, windows battery miser and NHC will give incorrect values for battery life and charge.
You will now have to depent on discharge rate.

Meaning you will still get 3 hours of battery life but you will have no way of telling when your laptop is out of charge.

MysticGolem's suggestion is when you start seeing abnormal software wear %, turn off the critical alarm and continue to use the notebook normally.

 

I have the G1, not the V1, but I can give my quick 2 cents. Since you want notebook suggestions, I'd suggest you take a look at the G1 which I really like even though I don't game. Same screen in both models in the US. It's sturdy plastic instead of carbon fiber, which makes it cheaper. It doesn't have the fingerprint reader and it has PCMCIA instead of Express Card. It stays cool under normal usage and has the vent in the back instead of on the right near your mouse hand like the V1. I looked at both and it came down to looks, vent placement, cooling capacity (use it on my lap a lot), and features for the price (price was not an issue, but value was). I liked the G1 better on all those counts.

As far as the V1, I think there have only been two American models so far - XP and Vista (and I don't know if the Vista model is out yet). If you are buying in America, you should get the CMO screen as far as anyone has mentioned, which is excellent. Don't think Asus offers any accidental protection coverage. Good luck!

 

Thanks to everyone who took the time to read, and to respond to this thread. The information is appreciated. Yes, I have read MysticGolem's and lenardg's reviews and they have been helpful. I suppose I will hold off until the V1's with Vista Premium are in shipment (few weeks perhaps?)--unless I find another notebook that can pursuade me to go in that direction (which is unlikely.) I'll assume that the websites selling V1's that are loaded with Vista will have the upgraded OS--from XP and weren't initially loaded with Vista from the get go. That is, unless someone corrects me on this. Thanks all for the advice, as mentioned earlier, I appreciate it!

 

Well the V1JP will come with Factory installed Vista when they arrive, soon.

 

When I placed my order from ProPortable, they'd told me that I had gotten their very last factory installed XP version (which is what I would have preferred). Sean over there had told me that they would be immediately shipping out Vista installed V1s after mine went out the door. I know they had issues w/ the snow storms that had been hitting the NE part of the states, so they maybe still a bit out of commission, but I'd certainly give them a shout as well to check for availability if you're under a specific timetable to buy.

 

From what I see on the spec sheet, the main difference between V1JP-AK006P and V1Jp-AK023E is the preload of Windows. The AK006P has XP Pro whereas AK023E has Vista Business. I'm not sure what's up with the 150$ difference, but the supplier that I got this from seems to have both of these in stock.

Now if they could hurry up and get the rest of the add-on modules I ordered...