Asus, particularly N20A

Hi all,

I've been feverishly looking around for a new laptop (which seems much harder nowadays than last time I did it, 4 years ago!) and am now seriously considering the Asus N20A. The problem is, I have no experience with Asus at all, and more specifically, I can't find any reviews on the N20A. Does anyone have any experience with this one? If not, is there anything one can say, in more general terms, about Asus and Linux support? That is, can I expect suspend/resume to work flawlessly with Asus laptops? I've also been looking at the Dell latitude e4300, but I'm leaning more towards the Asus now. I just wish I knew something more regarding its linux compatibility...

 

You cant find any reviews because the asus n20 had not been released yet. It is expected to be released mid december. I would highly reccomend going with an asus over a dell, I dont think you can even compare quality wise asus with dell. I myself am planning on purchasing an asus n20.

 

Thanks a lot for the reply. It seems like the n20 actually is released in Sweden (I'm ordering it from here: www[dot] komplett [dot] se/k/ki.aspx?sku=380483 [don't seem to be allowed to post links here]). Good to hear you're positive, though. Do you have any experience with the other laptops in the n-series?

 

There is a very long thread on the asus n80. I like mine. I may also get the asus n20 as a travel laptop IF the rumors of 12 hour battery is true

 

Asus often has different release dates for different global corporate regions.

As for Asus comparisons with Dell, it depends on which units you're comparing to each other. In general, Asus is better spec for price, but that doesn't always hold true. As for warranty, Asus is better -- although that comes with a big caveat that warranty service varies greatly dependin on where you happen to be (lots of discussion on that around here, I won't link to it).

 

Alrighty then! Pressing the confirmation button on the order, right about now...

 

I can tell you're eager but it may be best to hold off until there are reviews. What are you going to use it for? It is purely integrated graphics I believe. People seem to like the n10, n80 and n50 but that doesn't necessarily mean the n20 is going to be a hit as well.

 

Yeah, you're right, I'm pretty eager to get my hands on something, and it might have been a really stupid move on my part to order it this quickly.

I'm mostly gonna use this computer for writing and music recording (home studioish). The reason I need something rather quickly is because my current machine (a lifebook p7010) is too sluggish nowadays, definitely too sluggish for recording music. Also, it tends to wake up from sleep whenever I carry it around, using up a substantial amount of battery power before I even pick it out of my bag. The N20 is the only thing I've found that has the right size, right price tag, and enough power. Getting a new laptop is a pretty big deal for me. I have an extremely low income, and will be hanging out with this one for quite some time.

It feels kinda stupid now. I really hope I won't regret it...

Will definitely tell you all how it is like though, as soon as I've had a day or two with it!

 

For your reported needs, the N20 will serve you well. Take a deep breath, and prepare to enjoy your new purchase .

 

I am interested in this also. I haven't seen any info yet (USA), but I assume it's a 12" screen, and capabilities are between N10J and N80. Is it dual core with integrated graphics? I'll check around...

thx and eager to hear more...

Also, I'm interested in opinions regarding Asus, Dell, and maybe Lenovo. I am currently between an Asus N80Vn and a Dell E6400.

 

Thanks

12" screen, yes, with dual core. It's supposedly an ultraportable, not a netbook in any way. Komplett.se just confirmed that they've sent my order out. Stay tuned for more about the N20A...

 

I too am in the market for a light portable laptop. I've narrowed my choice to either the Asus N20A (available in the U.S. in a few weeks, maybe) or the HP Pavilion dv3510nr (of the HP dv3500t series, other models not available in the U.S.). cnet tested and declared the dv3510nr its "Editor's Choice" for November 2008.

These laptops are more similar than different in the things I care about.

Consider:

Asus N20A

Size and weight: 30.3 x 22.5 x 3.1 cm, 1.85 kg (without adapter)
Chipset: GM45
Video: Intel X4500HD (embedded in GM45)
Display: 12.1"
IO Ports: HDMI, eSATA, USB, ExpressCard​

HP dv3510nr

Size and weight: 32.0 x 22.9 x 3.5 cm, 1.9 kg (without adapter)
Chipset: PM45
Video: nVidia GeForce 9300M GS
Display: 13.3"
IO Ports: HDMI, eSATA, USB, ExpressCard​

Both laptops:

Accept the same family of Intel Core 2 Duo Penryn CPU's.
Employ DDR2 memory at 667-MHz (PC2-5300 for the Asus, PC2-6400 for the HP)
Use SATA for internal hard and optical drives.
Can effectifvely use Vista x64 OS.
Warranty period: Both 2 years in the U.S.
Offer about the same performance.
Differ by about 100 USD (the base model N20a vs. the only model dv3510nr).​

These are the things I care most about

Oh, yes. Differences: None that I care about except: dv3510nr is here, now.

So, which one?

Harry

 

Nightfrost, could you let us know your initial impressions?

 

I've now had two days with the Asus N20A, and must say I'm pretty pleased with it, although there are some things I'd like to have differently. As a background to my impressions here, I should mention that my old laptop was a Fujitsu-Siemens Lifebook P7010. I've also become rather familiar with the Dell XPS M1330 that I helped my wife pick out a while back. Also, I'm a Linux user, so I won't know what to say about the Windows experience on this laptop (I've kept the Vista partition though, so if anyone has any vista-centric questions, I can always boot back into Windows and see what I can do).

The build of the laptop seems pretty solid. It's plastic but feels very strong. It's dark and glossy, and whether it looks good or not, is probably a question of the beholder's eye
I think it looks pretty alright, though I'd prefer a white, or at least lightly colored, glossy laptop. It's supposedly built with eco-friendly material, which is a big plus in my opinion.

The screen is rather thicker than my wife's XPS M1330 (which also has a LED-display), but I guess this is how they fit the 1.3 megapixel camera in there. The M1330 configured with the LED display came with a VGA camera as a comparison. The screen is obviously much brighter than my old Lifebook's CCFL screen, but it's not quite as bright as the my wife's Dell. However, the image looks somewhat clearer on the Asus for some reason, perhaps because it's one inch smaller but has the same resolution as the Dell.

I got the 6-cell battery which gives pretty good life, about 4,5 hours, I'd say, during normal usage (but I've only emptied it once so far). I'm sure some people will dislike the fact that the battery sticks out in the back, not as much as we've seen on the youtube video (that would probably be the 9-cell battery), but about a centimeter, maybe a wee bit more. It doesn't bother me. What bothers me, on the other hand, is that each individual keyboard button is labeled with a sticker. It gives a kind of cheap impression. Actually using the keyboard is pretty alright, it's light on the fingers and I seem to be able to write rather swiftly on it. I don't have much to compare too, it's probably not fantastic, but it's at least as good as, if not a bit better, than my old Lifebook and my wife's Dell. The mousepad is alright as well, but the two buttons are a bit too clicky. They make the same annoying sound IBM PS/2 keyboards made back in the 90s...

Also, this laptop is a really good linux laptop, and will probably become a _great_ linux laptop, come the next waves of distro releases. I've tried Ubuntu 8.10 and Fedora 10 on it. These are basically the things that either do not work, or are at least a little bit bothersome.

EDIT: For those interested, I've created a page for this laptop over at linlap . com. Just search for Asus N20A. I've everything working now, except the fingerprint scanner.

Does not work at all
--------------------------
• Fingerprint scanner (it's aTouchstrip with the following id: 147e:1000)
∘ basically, there's no driver for it yet. Here's hoping for Bastien Nocera and libfprint team!

Does not work properly
------------------------------
• Audio device (ALC663 by aplay -l)
∘ adding "options snd-hda-intel model=3stack-dig" to the appropriate config file depending on distro, gives sound. However, sound will consistently come from the internal speakers, no matter whether headphones are connected or not.

• Audio volume keys
∘ Fn+F10-F12 controls volume. These keys do not work under Fedora 10 for some reason.

• Backlight control keys
∘ Under Ubuntu 8.10 the backlight controls have no effect. They work fine under Fedora. This issue actually makes Ubuntu a no-go for me, which is a major reason for me staying with Fedora.

• Bluetooth device (NEW: Solved with the latest bluez stack from koji.)
∘ Bluetooth works fine, except under Fedora there's the minor issue that it seems to "forget" paired devices after each reboot, and sometimes after suspend/resume cycles. All one has to do is to remove the paired device and then re-pair it. This problem does not exist in Ubuntu, and I'm pretty sure it has to do with the bluetooth applet, rather than the drivers.

• Graphics
∘ Works perfectly well under both Fedora and Ubuntu, with compiz and all. However, there's a serious issue that sometimes occur when compiz has been enabled for a while, namely this bug #472935 in redhat's bugzill (can't post urls yet...). The problem seems to be there on every laptop with this gfx chip (and possibly some ATIs), not only the asus n20a.


These are some first impressions. If there are any questions, I'll do my best to answer them. I will probably start an asus n20a linux thread as well to see if the above issues can be resolved.

 

Hi, thank you very much for this mini-review. Do you know it is the first of the entire World? You earned one of my points!

Since this will be (80%) my future laptop, I have some questions...

- Is the AC adapter small as the laptop is?

- How much did you pay for it? I tried with a currency converter... 1600 euros?! (I hope to be wrong)

- More on build quality, it is just in the middle of a netbook and the XPS, or more like one or the another?
(but I shouldn't be really concerned with the stickers on the keyboard - my 45 euros Logitech Wave does have them, too)

- Battery size, so the pictures from the Asus site are wrong? You have a 6-cell 4200mAh one?
www asus.it/products.aspx?l1=5&l2=75&l3=809&l4=0&model=2565&modelmenu=1

 

It does indeed seem like this is the first review, haha! I should've made it more thorough.

- The AC is rather small, 4x9x2.4 cm.
- The price was, thankfully nothing like 1600€, more like 1000-1100€
- I don't have any experience with netbooks, so I can't really compare. This one feels more like regular laptop. It's not as thin as the XPS M1330, but it feels "sturdier" than it. I'll try to post some images later on with pictures of the three laptops we have here now, for comparison.
- It seems like they have two types of 6-cell batteries. The information I have is this: Li-Ion 6 cells: 5600mAH, 3S2P, 53.2 W, so the picture on Asus might be accurate with a 4200mAH battery. The battery I have sticks out a tiny bit, like 2 cm.

 

Hands-on with the Asus N20 The announcer spends half the time talking about the N10. No close-ups, little detail. Be that as it may it's the N20

Hands on with the Asus N20 - an N10 netbook teaser

Edit 12/23/08 to create live link.

 

What does it score in the vista performance rating? Does it feel heavy for a smaller laptop?

 

The N20A-A1 arrived in the U.S. N20A-A1 at lagoom

From ASUS USA distributor according to lagoom. $969 USD, free shipping.

I placed an order today.

Harry

P.S. Edit 12/23/08 to create live link.

 

So is there a 9 cell battery option? This is looking better than the n80 for anybody who is not a gamer. Not sure a 12 inch screen will suffice but 4.5 hours with a 6 cell or 6 hours plus with a 9 cell would be great.

 

The Asus N20 Lounge is open in the ASUS Reviews and Owner's Lounges sub-Forum.

It's there to have one location for all things related to the N20 series.

Here is the link for the Asus N20 Lounge

Edited 12/23/08 to create live link

 

Added these first impressions to the Info Booth and to the Reviews and Owners' Lounges Index. Thanks!

 

I'm looking for ASUS N20A-B1, so wonder if it has LED backlit, can someone make review for it?

 

Yes, the N20 has a LED screen.

 

N20A-B1 is essentially the same as N20A-A1 (discontinued) with minor CPU upgrade from T5800 to T6400. Definitely check out the N20 Lounge for inputs from other users.

 

Have just made an order with excaliberpc two day ago. So, now i'm waiting for my N20A, hope it will satisfy my desire..

 

nightfrost if you're still watching, I'd love to hear any more comparisons between your wife's M1330 and your N20A after another month or two of ownership. I've mostly narrowed it down to these two models as they are pretty close in price and features for the configuration I want.

I'm mostly interested in keyboard quality, heat, noise and battery life, but any other subjective impressions would also be great from you or anyone else who has used both. Thanks!

 

i just brought a n20a, but there are a few things that are bothering me.

1, when the hard drive stands idle, it makes this really annoying statics sound (i have to open media playing to play a song to make it go away!), is that normal?

2, does anyone know how to install window xp? i hate vista so much, its eating 1.3gb of ram when xp only uses around 500mb.

thanks ^^

 

1. Try disable drive indexing: Right click on your C:\ drive -> Properties -> uncheck "Index this drive for faster searching"

2. Yes, you can install XP on the N20. You'll need a copy of an XP installation disk and slipstream XP with the SATA drivers using the software "nlite". Most of the Vista drivers on your drivers disk should work with XP, but if not, you can find them from the hardware manufacture's website.

 

what is the driver for the sata controller? what is it called?