Asus G1 Review

According to newegg the laptop weights 6.84 lbs. That is a bit heavy for a 15 inch laptop. Like hkarthik mentioned the A8JS would be a better choice since you do a lot of traveling and need something portable to carry around with you.

 

Thx for the asnwers, it looks indeed quite heavy and big... now I have
got a confirmation. Why there isnt some 14" screen with a higher screen resolution. Anyway, I will opt for the a8js and bother the other owner lounge ;-) Cant wait for a g0.5 with a 14" screen.

 

Anything beyond 1280x800 on a 14 inch screen would probably result in the text being too small to read for the vast majority of users out there.

 

This question is totally subjective. I think the best way to answer this is actually compare the weight of his old laptop with histhe ASUS G1.

 

I, myself, find the G1 perfect for portability and I may be biased because for LAN's I'm used to lugging around my "small" Shuttle desktop and monitor around to and fro. This thing is just sweet overall. I am a girl and don't find this heavy at all. My mom has a 17" and although I don't think that is too heavy either, it is really too large to carry around comfortably. I find this 15.4" to be a great size for portability and even having as a desktop replacement (as I plan to sell my desktop soon once I'm fully converted!)

Just my two cents.

-rye

 

I am searching all over the forums on a new laptop and am well impressed with the G1
I was wondering the exact dimensions of the laptop, and the screen as well < from a person who owns one, not from a website.
I like the G1 because this thing looks like a beast, I like smaller laptops like a 13.3" but with the Core2duo 7xxx series and a 7700 or 1700 series.
I like the 14" A8J but it is a 6 cell battery.
Also what is your battery life?
The first reviews say 2.5 H and others 2.9ish Hours. I want to know if this can get 3 hours on the screen on 75percent, just websurfing?
Any info is appreciated . thanks

 

Erhan28, the G1 is really an awesome machine! It is a little bit heavy for a 15 inch laptop (around 6.8 pounds if i remember correctly) but it is not that big of a deal. As far as the dimensions go, the screen itself is a little bit larger than the standard 15 inch laptop but once again you get used to it fast. In regard to battery life, right now I am running Vista and if I use basic applications (firefox, outlook, word....etc.) I get around 3 hours battery. However that quickly drops once you start using more demanding applications (playing games...using photoshop and so on). Since Xp is less demanding on laptop resources I believe that you will be able to get 3 hours on 75% brightness while web-surfing. If you need any other info just ask, I will be more than glad to help you out. I hope this helps

 

Has anyone really used the built in mic and camera? I'm just wondering how good picture quality is? How well will it work as a steaming web cam used to talk to other people? Any info on the sound quality of the mic?

 

In my experience the camera offers medium quality and it will work good enough for standard video conference calls, provided that there is enough light in the background. I have only had limited experience with the mic and it seems to be mediocre...you have to be pretty close to it in order for it to pick up any speech.

 

Sounds like it will be alright...My roommates will probably hate it lol...if your just sitting on a couch or at a desk can they hear you over the mic? That's all I really need it to do. As long as it's good enough for me to chat with my girlfriend at UCLA while she is on her MBP I'll be happy!

 

Hey, I was about to say the same thing 24/7 roadracer. You beat me to it. The ironic thing is I go UCLA instead. 2nd Year? Ok sorry, back on topic.

Does anyone have a G1 and can take a picture at full resolution and post it online?

 

After doing some more testing I found out that in the Realtek HD Audio Manager console there is an microphone boost option which helps a lot. You should be able to sit on your desk and talk with no problem but I don't think that it will work that well from the couch.

 

There are full resolution photos of the laptop on the first page of the thread. However if you want a specific picture, pm me and I will send some more to you

 

Do you happen to know what is the software that lights the green/red lights? (green in g1 and red in g2 - mine). I reformatted it and did not install all that bloatware back... so I don't know which is which.. If you happen to know, it'll be great.

 

DirectConsole Utility. It also controls the OLED display.

 

I took the measurements to bestbuy where I work and compared it to other Hp, Gateway 15" Laptops and the width was smaller and the length about .5" longer. It seems that the laptop is more of a square really.
I hope this is true because it is smaller but thicker and heavier.

Any way that One could get a spare battery or a 10cell? I searched the depths of the internet and cant even find anything.
I hope they will show up on ebay.

 

Does anyone know any place of a group buy? I want to buy from Newegg because there a big company and its $1800. Does anyone know where I could get a group buy for less?

 

Eddie over at geared2play says he has 6 left for $50 off. Check out the last post in this thread http://geared2play.com/phpbb/nfphpbb/viewtopic.php?t=1352&start=120

 

i have the G1 and it comes in fat32 is there any advantage to change it to ntfs. sorry i dont knwo much about computers

 

Changing to NTFS allows you to have file sizes in excess of ~4+ GB. FAT32 does not permit this.

 

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/expert/russel_october01.mspx

 

Why is a laptop partitioned in fat32?
Does that mean You can save files over 4 gigs.
NTFS is more common on windows XP

 

if i convert it to NTFS do i have to backup anything or format my hd?

 

Not in my experience...when I did it Windows asked to be restarted and then it did the conversion. I saw to loss of data whatsoever.

 

I'm in!!!

Just ordered an ASUS G1 from XOTIC PC!

woot. can't wait to get it.

 

CONGRATS!!!!!!!! You will LOVE IT!

 

thx, razp!

Hey, how's the build quality, guys? Anyone play any games yet?

I'm so excited right now...when I get the G1, I swear I'll pee my pants!

 

The build quality on the G1 is pretty solid. Only qualm I have about it is I'm paranoid about scratches and fingerprints.


As a side question:

How do I work the 5 buttons near the front of the laptop? When the computer is on pressing the PWR button launches WMP - pressing the PLAY button launches ASUS' DVD player.

I tried pressing PWR when the computer was off but just got a black screen.

 

It is very solid, but i did have one dead pixel, no big deal. Also you will love playing games on it, cs,bf2142 run great bf2142 in all high sets if u play it, yeah i was wondering the samething

 

Hello!

I'm new in this forum. Found it while looking for information about G1 over the internet.

My A6Va's display broke down and now I'm off to buy a new laptop. I use it for music making and gaming so it has to have good processor and enough memory but also a good GPU for gaming and this seems like my next computer.

I need a pcmcia-slot for my soundcard so I don't have much of a choice in T7200 processor laptops at least Asus ones and I've been so satisfied with my A6Va that I'm going to buy another Asus if possible.

Now, you guys who already have this machine: Could you check out the pcmcia-controller it has, because my soundcard is known to have problems with some of those. I can't find the information in any specifications of this machine

Thanks in advance!

 

the g1 is based on the a6 chassis. It will be very familiar to you.

 

I was going to ask about that.

One thing asus seems to have real problems with is the audio dj function.

My computer has buttons that do the same thing, just boot xp and doodle. Not like oh a dell inspiron 1405 or a hp dv 6000 or sager.

It doesnt really have this function they really have a problem with it.

I think it works in the w series like the w2j the buttons run dvds when its turned off.
Very disapointing shortcoming in asus they released all their machines and had to disable audio dj even though the buttons are there. I dont know why.

 

Yeah, so I've read But my biggest question mark is that PCMCIA-controller. Is it same that was in A6 or different?

 

I am not sure what is in the A6 but with my G1 under Windows MCE 2005 it is detected as:

Ricoh R/RL/5C476(II) or Compatible CardBus Controller
Device Instance ID:
PCI\VEN_1180&DEV_0476&SUBSYS_14371043&REV_B3\4&3029DB9D&0&08F0

I hope that helps!

 

Thanks! That was exactly what I was looking for

edit: seems to be the same on that's in my A6Va, so I guess I'll go for G1 then!

Thanks alot

 

Anyone got any ideas about programming the OLED screen? The inbuilt controls for it seem very basic and the standard options and unimaginative logo's they provide are poor, seems a waste to leave the clock function there.. (even though I like it).

 

I got a newby question here, I just recieved my asus g1 today (said it was comming tuesday =) ) and I was wondering if there is anything I have to do in order to activate the waranty that comes with it. If no, where is my proof of the waranty?

Thanks again,

X

 

I'm posting from my new G1!!! Great computer! I love it!

 

Anybody know how to take out the partition for the DATA drive? is there a way i can do it without having to reformat everything?

 

Congratulations!!

 

What do you mean by "take out" ? I assume that you want to re-size it or add it to the other partition? I don't think that Windows XP has a build in feature to do that (Vista can do re-sizing of the partition). You can use third-party software, such as partition magic or paragon partition manager. I think you can also boot up from a windows xp cd, enter the installation wizard, and then resize the partitions from there and then quit without installing windows. Hope this helps! Happy New Year!

 

Was curious what the dimensions were on the Asus G1? Based on the specs I've read they're: 324mm * 284mm * 37.4 mm(W x D x H). A width of 324mm (12.7") seems awfully small for a 15.4 laptop.

Thanks....

 

Anyone install Ubuntu along with Beryl on the G1?

 

I haven't installed it on the G1 but you should have no problems considering it uses an Nvidia card. I installed Beryl on my desktop machine which uses a 7600GS with no problem. Just use the Beryl wiki and I imagine that it should be relatively easy.

 

I second that

 

Yeah dbexternal it seem a bit odd to me too that it is stated at 324mm length! I think it's a mistake. Any G1 owners can measure the dimensions?

 

Regarding warranty, most items need not be 'activated' or registered in order for the warranty to take place. In fact, most items (including computer/electronics) have warranty automatically activated via a serial number when scanned/checked out from the store and the warranty is automatically effective on the day of the purchase.

The only thing you need is proof of purchase, if they ask, but usually it's set once you purchase the item. In the same manner, computer/hardware manufacturers can also detect whether the items you have are stolen as well - harddrives for example, require no warranty activation or anything of the sort. If it's broke, you just send it back in and they'll know how long your warranty has been going on via its serial number.

 

Yes there is a mistake in the width of the laptop. Instead of being around 12.76inches it is just a little bit shy of being 14 inches. I hope this helps

 

I meant that i wanted there to be NO partition, i think its a waste to have a partition, id much rather have the space on one drive, i have a 300g external HD to back stuff up on so i realy dont need a "Data" drive on it

i'd like to completly get rid of the partition, any way to do that?

 

I still think that this task falls within one of the options of Partition Magic.
http://www.powerquest.com/home_homeoffice/products/features.jsp?pcid=sp&pvid=pm80

Give it a try !