Asus F6v or F8va??

Hi guys,

I'm going on exchange overseas and I need a laptop as a desktop replacement / study tool. I've been looking at laptops for a while now and i think i've narrowed it down to these two.

I want to be able to play games at home but at the same time as a uni student i need portability / battery life.

The F8va has some better features like the HD3650 and blu-ray but it's also 600 grams heavier, a bigger footprint and the battery life is questionable. Also if i understand correctly there is no extra cell battery available for it?

The F6v is smaller, weaker processor, doesn't have blu-ray and only has the HD 3470. But it only weighs 2kg and I know you can get bigger batteries for it, which would bring up the weight to an acceptable 2.5kgs, however, still in a smaller footprint.

I've never owned a laptop before so i may be a bit paranoid in thinking anything over 14inches and 2.5kgs would be terrible! Still, I am not sure how I would take to the idea of carrying around an extra 2.5kg's with me everywhere.

On a typical 5 - 6hr day at uni i assume i might be actively using the laptop on word / the net / playing music for 1 - 2.5 hours. I do not want to have to take the charger with me.

Some other questions i have..

For anyone who owns either of these, how long do you get out of the battery in general real-life usage?

A spare battery for the F8va, would this weigh about 400 grams? This would mean i would be carrying around 3kgs with me. Can anyone give me a general idea of what this is like in your backup everyday + a text book and other necessities?

I know the HD3650 is a very capable card, but the HD3470, do you think this would this be able to run Starcraft 2 when it comes out in the future?

The F6v screen is only 13.3 inches big, is this too small to use at home on a desk?

In reality how useful is the processor advantage of the F8v over the F6v? I think the F8va has more cache too?

Many thanks!

 

Bumppp!

Anyone?

 

Since your questions are specifically about Asus and you are not considering alternative brands, I'm moving this over to the Asus forum.

John

 

The F8 has horrible batterylife, is a bit too thick and too heavy. If you're lucky, you'll reach 2.5h.

Starcraft 2 should run quite acceptably on a HD3470.

What exact CPU's are you talking about? You will most likely be satisfied with it, as CPU's today is more than enough for basic usage and even moderate gaming.

 

So you really think the F6 is alot better then? The F8 has to be smaller than most 15.4 laptops out there though right?

I can't find hardly any information on the F6, but if you say that it'll run Starcraft 2 that should be ok then. Any idea what the battery life would be like?

 

The F6 is a brand new Montevina release in the last 3 weeks in the US (previously available overseas), replacing the U3; isn't even available in the US with dedicated gpu at all. Budget model, too.

Battery life will likely be no better than Asus' historic recent abilities with the 6 cell batteries - the U3 was running around 2 hours on light use with dedicated gpu on.

 

Yeah i've found some shops in Aus who have just got the F6 in stock.

You don't sound too positive about the F6?

It weighs 1.95 kg's with the 3 cell battery, with that battery would i get at least 2 hours from just web / word processing? (you can get 6 and even 9 cell for F6.) I wouldn't be playing games on the go.

If i have to bang a bigger battery in it, making it heavier, to reach what the F8 can last by default, i might aswell get the F8?

 

No way you're going to get 2 hours on a 3 cell, unfortunately - the general rule is 15-30 minutes per cell, depending on system configuration... that holds across manufacturers. In Asus' engineers hands the past 18 months, they're tending toward the shallow end of that (the most recent M50 version being the sole exception, but still middle).

Yes, the F6 was a big disappointment for me - Asus dumped their 13 inch quality lines with U3/W7 and moved that market segment into a sub-$1000 model. It's probably going to be good for the market it is intended for, and expanding Asus branding into more competition with their counterparts globally in that price range (historically Asus ignored anything under $1200, now they have entries in several F and M series model configs). US sales of the older 13" models were sluggish, but perhaps the pricing of the F6 will have Americans opening their wallets more and sales will improve - the WalMart effect, price beats all.

Keep in mind that the F6 is going to be more portable than the F8, but the latter is still portable at 14". It's kind of down to a personal decision.

 

Mmmm, thanks, the way i'm currently thinking is that i'll only be needing the gaming capacity while i'm overseas, which is only 6 months. (And the F6 can satisfy this.) Once i'm home i'll be back to using my desktop for games.

So in the long run, the main major use for this laptop will be as a portable machine for uni. Which kind of points to me getting the F6 then.

I'll most likely bang the 9 cell into it. If it weighs 1.95kg (4.3lb) with the 3 cell, should i be expecting around 2.4kg (5.3lb) with the 9cell?

Also, clearskies, if you say that the F6 is a budget/mainstream model now, what better 13' laptops are out there with similar specs?

EDIT: I need to know what kind of battery life i'd get out of the F6 with a 9 cell battery!?

 

I'm definatly looking into the F6V-A1. I havn't been able to find any sites that sell a 9 cell battery for it. I can't find any site that will allow you to order it with anything but a 6 cel. Some sites will sell you two 6s but no 9. Any1 have a site I could goto to check out the 9?

 

I'm definitely looking into the F6V-A1. I haven't been able to find any sites that sell a 9 cell battery for it. I can't find any site that will allow you to order it with anything but a 6 cell. Some sites will sell you two 6s but no 9. Any1 have a site I could go to to check out the 9?

 

topmicrousa.com has a 9 cell battery for the Asus F9. They told me, and from what I have read elsewhere, this battery will also work in the F6. I have never heard of this company before and do not know the quality of their batteries, but they include a 1 year replacement warranty and have a 15 day return policy for a full refund. Once I get my F6 I may buy this battery.