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

There are a few users who have ordered it and will be doing a review. As for when that is, well, sit tight and wait

 

If Asus can fulfill those specs on the Z37S, it would have a blockbuster on it's hands. Funny how it was originally reported as a 13.3" with a 7700. Now it's a Santa Rosa/8400G lappy.

 

The 7700 was definitely a misprint. They said it was gonna have 800MHz FSB, Socket P versions of Merom (that would be...Santa Rosa, no?) and NB8M or whatever at CES07, so not much has changed since. Release date is continually postponed, but thats not unexpected from Asus.

 

Here's some random things I've found.

F9dc, U3s, S6s, "x80h"

 

Never mind, after seeing it from some angles, the X80h definitely looks like a refinished A8. I wonder what its all about...

 

if ASUS aren't going to release their new upcoming laptop, probably I'll wait for the Penryn notebooks to come out then...

 

I'll add my dream machine to this.

Great build quality
13.3 or 14.1 with a high quality screen
3.5+ hours of battery life for normal usage
~4 pounds
2 gigs of ram (the soldered in stuff makes me unhappy) with upgrade potential
8400gs or equivalent
Regular C2D (no ULV)
hdmi or dvi

I'm currently thinking either the sony sz with dock or the Asus U3. I almost think I can live without the internal DVD player, and if it didn't have 512mb I would be more interested.

 

Anyobdy else see the U3 hands-on at TrustedReviews.com?

In the preview it mentions that the screen uses LED backlighting.

 

The hands-ons all say the notebook has an LED backlight, but they are all based on prototype units and engineering samples. It appears that the U3 has lost LED backlighting on the road to production, probably to save costs.

 

Well, that's a disappointment. Maybe Asus tries too hard to please everynoe. If they made fewer notebooks, then they could devote more development and money to them. Perhaps they just make notebooks close to other manufacturers, so they can take advantage of the manufacturing processes to cut costs.

 

In the future all I would want is a W3J replacement. I have found it to be a perfect balance betweem portable and powerful ina good strong chassis.

Multi bay is a must (having 2 Hdds in a 14'', has been fantastic) I use this for work, I briefcase entire project folders to my HDD, then when it is in the W3, I renamed the drive to the same as my network, so all the link remain!!

Just imagine a W3 with all the current features plus...

High quality, more brushed Alu, much more hard wearing than paint!
SATA HDD
DVI
Switchable GPU (integrated vs dedicated)
Higher res SWXGA (1400x)
Backlight Keyboard

Thats about it...quite simple really, I dont think Im being unreasonable... am I?

 

I'd switch out DVI for HDMI because of space constraints, cause we all know the limited amount that there is.

But yea, a multi bay would be fantastic.

So like:

W3s
14.1" WXGA+ (1440x900)
Multi Bay (HD/6-cell/DVDRW/Travelers)
8600GS + x3100
HDMI
eSATA
3 USB ports
$2100+
Same chassis(I can deal with the vent)
4.8lbs~ Down to 4.3 w/o OD


I'd pay for that...

 

So I've decided I want the Asus F9dc but I cannot find it anywhere. Is it even out yet? I see Newegg has it but living in Canada all I find are stores saying Out of Stock but was it ever in stock?? Need a new laptop within the week. Oh well.

 

From what I hear only a very small shipment ever came into N.A. and it was gone almost right away.

Check Portable One: http://laptopsinc.com/Merchant2/mer...=F9DC-A1&Category_Code=ASUSF9&Product_Count=0

 

Agree, dont forget the switchable graphics I would upgrade! but what do you think the chances of that are? and in a good W or V series chassis, I havent really seen any top models since the W3 come with a multibay...

Fingers crossed something comes out in a year or so... maybe we should start lobying now! I mean when I decided on Asus it took a year for me to find a model with everything I wanted (X1600 and Multibay made it a must buy)

 

I'd like to add a qualifier to the W3s graphics: an uncrippled 8600GS. If they pull a V2S, then it would suck, though it would still be an awesome notebook.

Other than that, its pretty awesome cori. I wish they would make that.

 

I don't really care if they cripple the video card or not, cause the main selling point won't be the video card, or at least I hope not. Switchable graphics would be nice, considering the large difference between a 8600 and a x3100.

Unfortunately, ASUS has been going towards a consumer trend, and unless they step up with 'premium' models instead of going into a heavily populated consumer notebook market, well...

Sell more, Sell cheap, Sell mediocre

Sell less, Sell expensive, Sell premium


Hmmm...

 

I was looking for a dealer in Canada. If I could find a store in the GTA who had it in stock I would drive there tomorrow and buy it. Seeing you live in the GTA any recommendations for where to look?

 

http://pricecanada.com/detail.php?product_id=499249

Unfortunately, it seems like they're all out of stock.

 

Really? To me the main selling point of the W3J was the graphics card. The other features were nice, but they weren't unique. The performance graphics card was what made that computer one of the best ever made.

 

Well, back then multibay's weren't common, and even now they aren't. The brushed aluminum? Same for that. The main reason the W3 was 'consumerized' by the A8, and potentially the F8, was because the video card and price point. The W3 was a hot unit, and though the W3n had the 9700, the W3v had the x600, W3j had the x1600, the heat was horrendous on those units. The W3 was not a gaming notebook, but the video card made it that way. It was a pseudo business notebook, with a twist in the video card.

 

That twist is what made it awesome. It took it from being a pretty solid, but pricey, business notebook to an all-around brilliant notebook worth every penny you spend on it.

A W3S like that would compete with the Santa Rosa MacBook Pro for being the best notebook ever made, and imo, beat it.

 

It would be like a 6910p with a real graphics card.

 

I'm really thinking of getting a W3J. Not Santa Rosa, but still damn powerful, and so perfect. The only thing that irks me slightly is the 15:9 ratio screen, but it shouldn't be difficult to live with.

 

Ehh, I don't know. I'd rather get a T61p for the power or a SZ6 for the looks and portability. I'd say either of those are better choices than the W3J at this point.

 

SZ6 is too expensive, and I'm not getting another Sony (bad experience with the last one...). The T61p...I was close. Very close. Its just not my style though, and I have a few too many reservations with it. Personally, I like the W3 better.

 

After seeing Lenovo's latest crop IMO they aren't worth it. They've cheapened the Stinkpads up too much... it's an absolute crime.

 

The new ThinkPads aren't as bad as everyone says....Still pretty friggin good, IMO.

 

still waiting on batterylife reports for the people who've received their U3S and V2Ss! cmon people!

 

Two forums members ordered the U3 from exceliberpc with the intention of reviewing them, but both users are waiting on customs. We should hear about them within the next week or two.

 

I really wouldn't be expecting much to be honest, I love ASUS and all, but the trend just doesn't follow! Which makes no sense at all too.

 

It is true, I'm not exactly holding my breath. But you can always hope for an unexpected result! You know, those movies where the loser suddenly and miraculously turns into this awesome braniac.

I put up my G1S on craigslist hoping to find some local who might want it and so far in a day and a half i've received four scam emails. I'm also hoping that situation shows unexpectedly positive results.

 

Yea, Asus is having major issues with battery life. The F8 won't cross 2 hours, the G1 barely makes it, the C90 is lucky that it hits 2 hours.

My Dell Vostro, which is nearly as powerful as those three (well, not the C90, but still its comparable to the F8 and G1), hits nearly 5.5 hours (I got ~5:20 out of it) on the extended battery, and I paid a hell of a lot less.

 

Ok, due to the new U6, the list has been updated:

 

Updated first post a bit.

Just noticed, F9dc = HDMI, F9s = SVideo/VGA.


Weird.

 

Thats pretty interesting. I like that the Dc has HDMI, but no VGA is kind of an odd decision. Even weirder is that they didn't make it the same for both...

For U6S specs and a pic, you could go here: http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=9087 No word on price, but no doubt its gonna be really damn expensive, with its specs and LED and lack of weight.

 

[QUOTEU3S
pros: switchable graphics, really thin and light, really sexy, GPS is cool but unnecessary.
cons: pricey, no optical drive, not great battery life even with GMA, built in 512MB AGAIN???:[/QUOTE]

Well the what laptop review posted 5hrs with extended battery, thats quite good. if it was 14" with a multibay, I would be all over it.

 

ExcaliberPC posted 108/162 (8400M/GMA) for battery life. I guess that was with a 3 cell, or something, cause there is no other way it can hit 5 hours.

Plus, owners are saying that the battery life is around 3 hours under normal usage, which is better than the other notebooks, but still comes down as not great by any stretch of the word.

 

3 hours is abysmal for an ultraportable with integrated graphics, there's just no way around it. It's even slightly below average for modern thin 'n lights with integrated graphics.

 

It definitely is. The Sony SZ6 series has been getting around 4 or 5 hours on integrated graphics. Maybe it's all those ports? The SZ and the Macbook Pro both get excellent battery life, and they don't have that many ports.

 

I doubt that it is because of the ports. I'm really not sure where all of the power goes, though I think that 3 hours figure was on the 8400M rather than GMA, since I remember the poster (I think it was kennyy or eugenics) saying that if he wanted to, he could have done 5 hours by turning off the radios (wifi, bt, gps), putting screen to lowest brightness and switching to GMA. So its better than the other Asus ultraportables, but not by much.

 

yup, it's still rather unsatisfactory. i think he said something along the lines of sub-3 hours under normal use, and that's stupidly low. it's not unbearable, but it's nothing near the 3-4 you should expect. oh well!

 

Personally, I think the reasons lie in poor power management coding in the BIOS and drivers. We all see that ASUS BIOSes are poorly coded and rushed into release (just see all the bugs with the batteries, and the bugs in the C90, and G1S, and V1S).

I think they spend a minimal amount of time coding the management of the power features of the notebooks. Santa Rosa offers many power saving features; I don't know how many of them are implemented. Similarly for the video card, and so on.

 

If anything I would say the LED screen of the UK model must have a bigger impact on battery life

 

I think Mystic is right, that it's the extreme heat of the Asus notebook's that sucks the battery life away. I don't think poor coding alone makes up the ~10w difference between Asus notebooks and their competitors.

 

I would guess the LCD and cooling system. The U3 seems to do a good job suspending everything else when they're not in use and the notebook does run cooler than anything I've used.

From what I can tell, just powering the LCD at lowest brightness drains about 2000 mW...that'll add up to 10w in 5 hours. So if someone could get approximate numbers for the LED from a SZ6, we can get a better idea.

 

Agreed, realistically it's more likely the effect is due to several causes. The choice of components can certainly affect the power drain, directly as well as through a larger heat output.

Still, I believe poor power management has a significant effect. You see it not only with ASUS, but other brands as well, e.g., Samsung and Zepto.

 

Well, like identical hardware competitors. Like the Sony SZ6 and XPS M1330 do much better with battery life than ANY of the competing Asus models (theres what, 5 now?) with nearly identical hardware. Same with the previous gen models, the SZ2 and M1210 got way better battery run-time than the W7J and F9J. Its not the component choices, methinks.

It maybe the heat, I guess. That means that the cooling systems are inefficient as well. Its likely a combination of the heat and poor power management.

 

I also think it may be bad power management, Although I am happy with my W3J, it does seem that when you insert both batteries, Mobilmeter reports a higher powerdrain. and with just the optical bay battery shows the lowest powerdrain??

If you use each battery independantly you get more power than combined? to me thats bad engeneering.

but different batteries have different qualities, maybe Asus just use cheap batteries?

Would be interesting to know the powerdrain on a Sony was?

 

You know, I think they should axe the whole model line and start from scratch. The U6 could be kept, though it should get the switchable graphics from the U3s, and a price of around $2200. The Z37 is fine as well, at a price of around a grand, fully equipped. The rest of the models (F9s/dc, W7s, and U3s) should be consolidated into one model: Start with the W7s platform. Add the switchable graphics system from the U3s, stop soldering 512MB of memory into the motherboard, a modular bay so that you can add a second battery or second hard drive, and price it at $1500.

Also, change the R1F: delete the optical drive/modular bay altogether to make it slimmer and lighter, and give it an LED screen for the same reason (and extend battery life). Make the lid/body metal. Price it at $1800.

That would make the Asus line so much more organized....Oh yea, and bring back the W3. That would help too.