Discussion thread on ASUS "power" portables - Hopes, Disappointments, Ideas

So, I'm pretty anxious to see what the F9S and F9D can do. They look solid enough, but with that much power, they can't possibly last long unplugged, can they?

I agree that Asus should make a 13.3' LED backlit, portable, attractive notebook with a decent dedicated graphics card. Surely they have the engineering and manufacturing capabilities to pull of such a feat.

 

By looking at ASUS's battery life trend, it's safe to say, no matter the specs, it won't last long

They totally do, but I don't get why they can't get something as simple as battery life and specs to be anywhere near the 'competitors'. There is no reason, no excuse unless it's market pressure from the 'larger' names.

 

coriolis - have you heard anything else about the battery life for the S/Z37?

 

Besides the 'stellar' 117 minutes in the Swedish review, nothing yet.

 

What the hell. A 13" laptop should have INSANE battery life. *pulls hair out like a sick cat*

 

Yea, I expected it to be pretty low, nowhere near the 4.8 hours or whatever that P1 was quoting (thats gotta be a typo, probably from the older SX based on the Z35F chassis). However, a touch under two hours is about 30 minutes less than I was anticipating....Does anyone else find it depressing that the Z37 gets essentially the same battery life as the Sager NP5790 (Clevo M570RU) with the 8700GT or Go7950GTX? Pathetic, my friends, pathetic.

 

Assuming it's a touch under two hours when not on power-saving mode, that's actually pretty similar to my G1S.

It almost *has* to be a typo though. I mean what kind of mistakes do you have to make in laptop design to kill battery life by that dramatic amount. The power draw of any computer is simply based on the power draw of its individual components (with a small degree of variation due to tweaks on those components by the notebook maker), so the S37 should get almost identical life to an M1330 or S6.... but it's less than 50%. That is seriously unrealistic even with the most insane tweaking of those components imaginable.

I guess time will tell... we won't really know what the battery life is until someone gets one for a review and does some repeatable and quantifiable tests.

 

I understand that what many are stating.

From my own testing and research with my V1JP I have found out that the cool system is to be one of the biggest counter productive aspects to battery life. The more heat your laptop produces the more your fans will have to rev up and consume more power to cool it.

Here is quote from another post I made.

I have found that many if not all Asus laptops with dedicated graphics have an average discharge rate of 25 watts. While most Asus batteries are 6 cells with 50whr. This means you will only get 2 hours of battery life. If the discharge rate is 20 watts, you will get 2 hours and 30 minutes.

However, I can’t simply blame the cooling system alone, I also believe the high-end materials Asus uses also contributes to increase heat, and decreases battery life. Asus mainly uses carbon fiber alloy, magnesium alloy, brushed aluminum and plastic.

As for most other brands, they simply use plastic and magnesium alloy. Looking back at the LG S1, that what materials were used and it was a cooler system than my V1JP and is most likely cooler than any Asus model with a dedicated graphics.

But let’s look back at Apple, they seem to be the only ones who got it right. The current MBP with Santa Rosa and the 8600GT DDR2 will last 3+ hours in Windows, while no current Asus model will match that despite using a bigger battery.

The MBP uses a 60whr battery (I believe) while my V1JP uses a 77whr battery same as the V1S.

The MacBook pretty much has everything everyone here is looking for except for the fact it is a MAC, has the fewest ports possible, the keyboard and touchpad layout needs to be better.

Asus manufactures the MacBook, why not just come up with a product just like it, we already know PC (Windows) users bought the MacBook because it offered a thin chassis with excellent battery life, but the downside was it wasn’t the most user friendly for PC users because we need a right click, and dedicated page up, page down, home and end keys. Despite that people are both purchasing the Macbook and MBP in masses.

I agree, a MacBook like notebook with Asus name on it.

13.3” WXGA or WXGA+
Similar dimensions to the Macbook
With many of the features and ports offered in the V1S, multi-bay, swivel webcam, fingerprint reader, e-SATA, 8-1 card reader, s-video, HDMI, VGA Bluetooth and etc.
It should come in 3 different specs, low end specs in pearl white glossy paint, around $900 USD, another one with good specs at $1200 USD, and one in black for us guys (generally) with the same specs or higher specs around $1400 USD.

To me this is quite reasonable considering Asus basically all this in a 15.4” laptop, the F5R which wasn’t that good in my opinion compared to any HP, Dell or Toshiba, but they were able to bring the price to $900 USD. So I’m sure they can do it with a small laptop.

But we can’t deny that Asus makes excellent products, it just that they could be so much better if certain changes were made.

This is simply my 2 cents.

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

The only reason I haven't jumped all over the Macbook already is the price.

 

You want the black Macbook? Because you know, no Asus laptop compares to the white Macbook in terms of price and battery life and size.

But in the $1500 range, you can get an Asus laptop, but it will have a dedicated GPU, which will cause more heat and poor battery life, max 2 hours and 30 minutes in my opinion, and based on my calculations.

I find that Black MacBook to be too expensive for what you are getting, since Asus offers notebooks with dedicated GPU's in that price range. The white Macbooks are a bit better of a deal.

I am curious as to why Asus is pushing for so many notebooks with dedicated graphics. They know, their laptops are very warm with them, and there's a larger market wanting integrated cards which can yield excellent battery life.

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

Sorry, I meant the Macbook Pro. Dedicated graphics are a must for me.

Asus needs to cut the number of models in half. They have way too many. 2 of each size would be fine - one model for business, one for the consumer.

 

No, the biggest problem with the MB is the lack of Santa Rosa and GMA X3100. I would have jumped all over it by now if they had updated it over the summer.

 

I agree with that, you know every year we are concerned whether Apple will refresh their laptops with the newest technology. And every year in I think to myself, "Apple wouldn't be dumb enough to sell old technology, they would automatically lose market for not keeping up to date."

But guess what this year the MacBook was not updated, instead got a spec boost, which is useless, since people want the latest technology. At least the MBP got Santa Rosa.

And yes I agree this decision by Apple was really odd, since what company doesn't want to use the latest technology. Look at the difference in the price of the V1JP to the V1S, it is cheaper now to get a V1S, and the V1S comes with so much more than the V1JP did at a higher price.

If anything the MacBook would have been cheaper with Santa Rosa? Maybe, not sure, but many of Asus laptops offer more bang for the buck than compared to last year. And yes parts to computers are cheaper, like ram, hard drives and now the price drop of Intel processors.

meh_cd why not get the V1S? Just as expensive as the MBP, sure the MBP is thinner and lighter, but doesn't offer a variety of ports. Or is it that you want OSX and Windows together?

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

Actually I've used Windows my entire life. I'm open to buying a Macbook simply because it seems like a good alternative to all of the other newer notebooks right now. For instance, here's what I've been looking at over the past 2 months. In chronological order... sort of. I've considered some models more than once.

Inspiron 1520
Inspiron 1420
Sager 2090
Asus S96S
Asus V1S
Asus V2S
Asus F8S
XPS 1330
Sony SZ
Macbook/Macbook Pro
Asus G1S
Thinkpad T61/T61p
Asus F9S
Asus U3S
Asus S37/Z37
Vostro 1400

When I first heard about the V1S I was really interested, but when I heard about the battery drain problem with the V1J I dropped it. Then I almost preordered the V2S, but after all of the delays I decided to can that idea as well. In hindsight it's a good thing I didn't waste my time since now it appears as though it has a neutered graphics card. The F8S is almost perfect, except it has a fan on the right side and it is made out of plastic. Booooo.

Right now it's between the G1S and a Thinkpad. I'm going insane. Either way I'm going to end up spending $500 more than I expected. I really should have pulled the trigger on the Inspiron when it was $1300 fully loaded back in July. Oh well.

 

I can't wait for the z37! When will it come outt??

 

lol, thats a lot of notebooks, meh_cd. Sadly, my list reads very similarly....Take out the G1 and V1, plus the Sony, and replace the Inspirons with Vostros, and you've got it. I pulled the trigger on a Vostro 1500, as noted by my sig, but its temporary for the time being, since there is a 30 day money back guarantee. I may end up keeping it if I really like it, but its mainly there to buy me some time while I wait for Asus to get their act together with shipping and Lenovo to get another 20% off deal on the T61p.

In the Asus line of power portables, the F9S and F9Dc seem to be the best, since they don't suffer from the soldered RAM thing like the W7S and U3S, plus they are smaller than the S/Z37S. Essentially, it seems like the true successor to the Dell M1210: its a chunky 12" with a rotating webcam and dedicated graphics, except updated. And its cheaper! That may be what I end up with at the conclusion of all this. Don't know whether I want the S or the Dc though, is it really worth $300 for an Intel processor and 40GB larger hard drive? I mean, the S has a reasonable price, but the Dc is dead cheap at $1000.

 

Ah yes, I went through the same thing when I bought my laptop.

I personally would cross out all Dell's from your list, due to major delay, noise in headphones, and CPU whine. Cross out the V2S and F8S because they are taking forever to come. Same for the S37 and F9.

In my opinion you will be left with the MBP, T61p, G1S, V1S and XPS 1330.

You stated that the V1S has battery problems, well according to the latest news, everyone was VERY worried that the V1S would have suffered from the V1JP's battery wear issue. Fortunately, it has been several weeks since the release of the V1S and so far people are not reporting battery wear problems.

So you should reconsider it, but also remember the V1S is going to get a CPU boost, but this new V1S is estimated to take 2 weeks to ship to North America.

I recently saw the Dell Vostro and Inspiron laptops. The Inspiron Lid looks great, provided you don't get chips in the paint, but opening the notebook it didn't look good, almost to say it looked ugly, like a Toshiba. The Vostro looks decent, but once again I wouldn't want to deal with the above problems with Dell.

I also recently saw the MacBook and MBP, loved both of them, however the MBP is too expensive for what it is, when compared to the V1S. The V1S can match the MBP in battery life when coupled with a Multi-bay battery. Plus the V1S a vast amount of ports that the MBP just doesn't have. Of course the MBP wins in terms of size, weight and overall appeal.

I personaly chose the V1JP over the MBP due to the fact I felt that the V1JP would be more future proofed than the MBP, and in my opinion I was right.

On the other side the G1S, you pretty much can't go wrong with that.

The T61p, I personaly don't dig this as much as I liked the T60, oh well.

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

I think that being mainstream causes products to lose appeal for the more invested consumers... and in that case the MB and MBP both lose a lot. At university, half of the notebooks are dells, and a third are macbooks. The remaining little bit are split between toshiba, gateway, compaq, HP, sony, and lenovo. I've never seen another Asus on campus.

The more small form factor laptops that get launched with problems, the more I start leaning towards actually keeping my G1S. At this point I think I'll just hold onto it for a year until penryn comes out... and see what the makers have to offer.

I *really* hate not being able to use it in class though. The thing is just too large to fit realistically on a desk.

 

I love the Macbook, and the only things I would change (besides updated CPUs and integrated graphics) is the weight and screen quality (the vertical viewing angles are horrible).

When I used a 12" Powerbook for an extended period of time, I realized that under 4.5 lbs is the perfect weight for laptop. I definitely wouldn't call anything that weighs more than 5 lbs portable.

 

Yeah, I've crossed the Dells off of my list for good now. They aren't THAT cheap compared to the competition and I'm not willing to deal with a month+ wait. In one of my lecture classes yesterday most people had the Inspiron 1520. I thought to myself "I should check out the Vostro 1400 when I get home." Turns out it isn't very cheap after all.

Why not? Like I said, many people in my lecture classes have the 1520 and they use it fine. Can't you put it on your lap?

 

You can get a Vostro 1400 fully equipped (C2D, 2GB, 120GB, 8400GS) for like $650, whats not cheap about that?

Well, its not good anymore, but it was up till Tuesday: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=162042

 

There isn't anything cheap about it once I get it configured the way I want it. Chuck in warranty + accidental damage protection and it's even worse.

 

Well for Dell USA, many of their laptops are technically cheap because of coupons, here in Canada, we pretty much pay full price.

I have also configured dell laptops to the specs of the V1S, and it came to about $1500, but without those warranty options you want. I personally wouldn't want all that warranty anyways, but people are different and would want it.

And yes there's absolutely nothing wrong with going with dell or any other laptop. A laptop is a laptop, they will all function the same in the end. There's no difference between a 15.4" Asus laptop used for taking notes in class than any other brand.

As for heat, well my V1JP my not be one of the warmest Asus laptops, but I still use it on my lap or on the small desks provided no problem. Of course I am always wearing jean or pants, no shorts.

Regardless, I have been extremely happy with my V1JP, I just wish I could have a V1S now, because it would be kool to have a swivel webcam and 2GB of ram.

I am planning on upgrading my laptop with another gig of ram and adding 2GB to my desktop in the near future and hopefully that would speed up things for normal use and gaming.

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

Hmm, ok. That $650 model is configured exactly how I would want it, except for the lack of Bluetooth ($20 additional). My Vostro 1500 was $850, $925 with tax and free shipping. So I guess its all priorities.

And the Vostro lines don't have coupons, and I'm not seeing any for the Inspiron notebooks either right now. They are just really cheap notebooks.

 

Hah. You should have seen the prices two months ago. Those were cheap.

But like I've said I have ruled Dell out. I don't want to be saddled with the headphone jack noise/cpu whine or a grainy screen. I know other manufacturers are having trouble with the screens, but it seems to be more widespread with the Dells. Plus they are ugly imho. I think this generation of laptops just sucks across the board. There's nothing that stands out like the W3J did. Great looks + good quality + good components.

Oh, and so we don't go totally off track here - I'm still considering the F9 as well. It might have a huge bezel around the screen but you can't go wrong with that price.

 

I'm taking a chance with Dell. Its mainly just a trial, to see if they have stepped it up since the i6000/9200 days. If not, it goes straight back to their doorstep and I go buy an F9. Or an F8. Depends on what I feel like when I place the order.

And I completely agree that there aren't any notebooks that stand out from the rest like there was last year.

Which version of the F9 are you looking at?

 

The G1S *feels* a lot larger than it is. The extra half inch of bezel space especially.

In a couple classes with large tables and lots of room it is allright, but in tighter quarters it definitely gets too cramped to pull out the laptop.

Dramatically different than the 14inchers you see out there!

 

The G1s is MASSIVE. You really can't tell without seeing it in person, it just looks a lot bulkier. And I want to know why the top of the LCD bezel needs to be a full 1.75 inches thick. Not my style, personally speaking.

 

I may be wrong, but the G1's chassis came from an older Asus model.. we're talking about something that once housed a P4 chip. In addition, this chassis was meant to house either a 15.4" screen or a 15" standard ratio screen. hence the thickness and the extra bezel that was meant for something else originally. What Asus simply did was throw in some modern components and ports and slapped on some brushed aluminum to give an old chassis a new look. not too dissimilar to what Clevo keeps doing to the D900 series

 

The G1 is based off the A6, the G2 is based off the A7 chassis IIRC.

 

That makes sense, I guess. However, the Clevo doesn't look nearly as awkward as the G1 (since it wasn't designed to accomodate the standard ratio screen). Its still a fantastic notebook, just a bit weird looking.

 

That explains it. I thought the bezel looked goofy.

But that raises another question. If the A and F are Asus' budget models with so-so build quality, does that mean that the G is the same way?

Bring back the W3! Whaaaaaa!

 

The G is based on the A series, but its got better quality since they use brushed aluminum and better quality plastics. Still nowhere near as good as the W and V series though.

And yes, please bring back the W3. I'll buy it, instantly. We should make a petition about this, seriously.

 

Yes, the G1S is barely over the F and A series in terms of build quality. The brushed aluminum spruces it up a bit but comparing the G1S with the F3J I convinced my mother to get last year shows the two to feel nearly identical in terms of build.

After getting the G1S, I came to the conclusion that I wish i had've been in the market 6 months earlier, because I would have just laid down for a W3J, and imo I think I'd be a lot happier.

If they brought back another W3, I'd put down cash instantly... well at least once it was released. This release date pushback trend is kind of disturbing for pre-orders.

I did hear that the W3J had some heat problems though... hopefully Asus turns their engineers onto the heat scene for the next round of systems.

 

Maybe I'll just wait another six months and see what else pops up. I don't want to buy the G1S and then have Asus release the next incarnation of the W3.

 

I really don't think the V6/W3 will come back, unless consumers make a really really big push/petition towards one, and even then, it seems unlikely. Though if anyone wants to try, I'd gladly help out.

 

Yep, the W3 is an EoL, so they aren't really making a next revision. The W3 replacement is/was the V2, but it really doesn't work as well....The W3 was just brilliant, which cannot be said for the V2.

I will again say it: why don't we make a petition for the revival of the W3 and/or V6?

And the thing with the W3 heat is that anything thats 14" with such a high-end GPU will get hot. Its not just the W3, everything else has the same problem.

 

I'll gladly help with a W3 petition. The V2 is a very, very, VERY lackluster replacement.

 

I'll also take a W3J anyday over the V2. In fact, if the W3J were still on the market even with the outdated specs, I still think it would be the best option for my next notebook.

In fact I almost bought one when it dropped below 1000EUR because it was close to EOL... I didn't need it but I still almost bought it...

Maybe I should've...

 

They should take the W2 case and shrink it down to a 14" or 15" form factor. I guess the W3 was kind of like that, but I want to see metal on the inside too.

 

Portable One ftw: http://laptopsinc.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=ASUSW3

Although, as much as I love the W3, I'm not sure if I'm ready to drop $1400 on an outdated computer. I'm just adding it to my list of notebooks I want to buy used for $600 (it currently includes the VAIO S, Acer Ferrari 4000, and V6v)

 

yeah count my signature in if you start a petition

 

Battery life on the standard 6cell for the W7J is pittiful!

 

Thats insane,their W&V series are in my opinion their best! the V6 chassis is great and I think the W3J was a perfect balance of mobility and performance, I mean what other laptops can you have two HDDS and a dedicated GPU in a nice looking chassis.??

Remember the hype over the W3J release last year, I cant believe there is no demand for a replacement..... go on lets start a petition!! I mean how massive is the W3J owners lounge!

Every release so far just has someting missing.......

 

Yep. So who wants to make the petition? I'm up for signing it!

 

After dropping out of my V2s preorder, I was considering this today. Not a horrible price, but if it was 200 to 500 less I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

I decided not to buy a W3J last year when I heard about Santa Rosa, hoping that it would get updated with the rest of ASUS products. That seems to have been a bad choice on my part. So I would gladly join the bring back the W3 petition.

 

Since I don't really care about the looks of my laptop, there's not really any reason to buy a W3J (as much as I wanted one when it was new). For me, it offers nothing over the current 14" T61p, which is obviously newer and similarly priced.

 

Aye, I don't know who or what to believe anymore...

 

The problem I have with the U3 is that it weighs slightly more with a 3-cell then my Z33 does, only without an optical drive, and with worse battery life.

I run a lean, tuned XP install on the Z33, so I'm not really hurting for RAM or CPU speed at this point.

I think I'm going to hold out for the 45nm CPUs. I have a year and a half of warranty still.

 

has anyone here had the u3s?? I think it's really powerfull and also portable. The fact that I don't like is the external optical drive....