Finally received my ASUS v6800

Just a quick note, after much anticipation I received the v6800 as it is referred to here in Australia.

PM-770-2.13G/1024MB/80G/15SXGA+/ATI-M24/DVD-DUAL/802.11G/BT/XPP

I will update this thread with first impressions followed by comparisons to various new systems which my colleagues have just receieved. I may post pictures but i believe Justin has a gallery on his site few photographers can match let alone amateurs.

Back to the v6. Suffice to say: WOW. Truly svelte. Looking at it is enjoyable in itself.

Next update should be within the next 24 hours.

 

Thanks..... well let us know what you think when you start using it.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Well after playing around somewhat with my new toy I have some immediate impressions.

PACKAGE:
As stated before it's a very neat package. I have been playing around with the new sony vaio FS and the ACER aspire 1684 series lately, so comparisons are inevitable.

The ACER does not warrant a mention in this department as its functional and does not ooze style.

Sony on the other hand have a certain flair which holds you. I was very impressed by the design and slimness of the FS. Its well spaced out and clean. Much like the ASUS, however where the V6 shines is its material composition. The brushed aluminium is certainly more impressive in real life than images.

V6 feels and looks slimmer than the FS though in reality it is not much slimmer - this i assume is due to the somewhat blocky design of the FS compared to the V6 which has more angles that serve to hide some of the laptops body.

The touchpad on both machines are equally responsive and neat in design. Though here i vouch for the V6 with the added scrollbar functionality and i am not a fan of the heavily inset touch pads ala SONY. The colour scheme for both laptops is perfect for each respective model.

The top cover of the V6 is very minimalist much like the entire design of the laptop. This is one of the features i was sold on. The special keys and fantastic blue led indicators are unobtrusive and very graceful. This is the AUDI of laptops.

DISPLAY:
The SONY screen is just awesome - after you get over the reflexive glass coating. Barring that annoyance this is the perfect screen. Vivid, bright and oh so rich. This applies to a very wide viewing angle. Very impressive stuff.

Sadly after being exposed to such brilliance the v6 screen definitely looks pale in comparison. This was my first impression. However since there is no reflection on the V6 it's not as annoying but the viewing angle and lighting conditions greatly take away from the viewing pleasure.

I tried some full screen images and dvds as well as hdtv samples. The sony trumps the v6 on richness in all scenarios. I believe the higher resolution of the v6 for viewing motion video is the reason why the video looks stretched whereas the lower resolution of the SONY means the stretching is not as noticeable. I could be wrong.

SOUND:
I didn't test this exhaustively however initial impressions were positive in comparison to the sony and acer model. It was the loudest and clearest of the 3.

Well that's it for now. If you have any questions or want me to elaborate on any other points just let me know and i will see what i can do.

In the next few days i may test various games, video editing, etc.. . and report back.

 

audi of laptops.... believe it or not, i heard that the other day when i took a couple of our notebooks down to my audi dealer to test out which notebook would best fit in my new car.... and what you said is exactly what the salesman said.. but it's better to hear it from you.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Sytek, tell me more about the display. Are you saying the V6's viewing angles are poor? Or, are you making the comparison based on what you've seen from the Sony? Can you take some photos showing the difference in images between the Sony and the V6?

Also, is the system quiet? Does it give off a lot of heat?

How is the keyboard? Is the aluminum palm rest comfortable for typing?

Any details you can offer that we can't pick up in pictures or the spec sheet would be great.

Thanks.

 

If he's got both computers, I'd certainly want to hear what he has to say..

but while using the V6 now...... you don't get the benefit of the enhanced black unless you are looking at the display at the proper angle. Viewing angles are similiar to the M6 vertical wise...... horizontally they are about the same too. But trying to compare the V6's screen with a glaretype screen is really unfair. The V6's screen is sort of inbetween an M6's regular tft lcd display and the glaretype screen on the sony he is talking about.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Yeah, from everything I've read about the V6's screen, it's always been referenced against a glare-type screen, which sort of casts a bad perception of the V6. I'd like to hear about the V6 screen on its individual merits, or in least in comparison to other non glare-type screens.

 

Justin, is the drive bay on the V6V a multi-function bay, or a standard drive bay. I'm assuming it's standard, because I haven't seen any references to it being multi-function.

 

Most people liked the viewing angles of the widescreen M6 over teh regular ratio model.... but at the same time, people who wanted the higher res and preferred the regular ratio screen.. liked it..... The V6 has better blacks, higher brightness than an M6 screen, but without the glossy covering..... That glossy cover makes it hard to see if you have lights or anything bright behind you. But, vertical viewing angles aren't the best in the world.... but thats one of the reasons there is a hinge... you open it up to where you see the screen the best... so, I don't know. On a whole, it's a solid system. What's been said about the design, build, dimensions, audio are all certainly the selling points of the system and are obviously some of the first things people are going to mention.. Of course everyone says they look better in person, but on a whole... I think everyone would like to hear more about heat, noise, performance, and things of that nature that looking at a feature list or pictures couldn't show.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

right -- standard...... it's got a super slim drive, so it limits the options that it could have if it were a larger bay... The multifunction bay has always been limited to the M series.... M2/M3/M6 (m5 being the exception.)

So, no 2nd battery or 2nd hard drive, or travelers drawer in the V6..

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

I'll comment on some of the issues raised above in the next day. I will also try to do some more extensive tests with the acer screen which appears to be of similar type and take some photos.

Just a word about the battery life, after completely charging the battery the icon in the taskbar indicated that i have only 3:30 not sure if thats expected. will investigate and report my findings here.

One thing i did notice was the suite of software that is included on the system is very poor in comparison to SONY and even acer had more goodies. I have seen the bundled cdroms haven't tried them yet.

Finally a minor nuisance is the 3 partitions - all in FAT32.. what gives? Well after some extensive testing i will do a clean format.

Until next time

 

Just a few more observations:

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The viewing angles are poor. Before i get flamed for, allow me to explain the context i have made that statement in. I do a lot of graphic/web design, video editing and watch hdtv shows on my computer and laptop. The judgement i have made applies to all non-glare lcds that i have come across. ACER, IBM, TOSHIBA and ASUS. The resolution is perfect for my design requirements, however when viewing the results of colors and in particular websites the colors look washed out some of the text unreadable. So this makes it difficult for me to test for colour coordination etc on a display which requires to be viewed at a very specific angle. Same applies to movies. Whilst in general it's an enjoyable experience and sound is great, i find myself being annoyed that the visual splendour is not correctly translated on non-glare lcd types. I tried similar tests with the sony, and the result is very similar to a crt monitor. Having said all that, in comparison with other lcds of the same type the asus is definitely a little more vivid and brighter. I understand these failings are universal for this lcd type though it would have perfect if the v6 came with a glare type display like sony or even the new fujitsu type.

So if you are into visual design - print, web, motion or otherwise - i'd be prepared for some disappointment. I was actually looking forward to doing alot of my work on this but i guess i will have to settle with the design concepts and proof the colors etc on a monitor. I would have actually paid a whole lot more to get a better displa. Alas we can not have it all, so i am grateful. Oh and if you are thinking of watching movies, tv on this type of lcd it workd ok - though if you want a rich experience sorry to say you are not going to get it.

Finally on this point i believe the comparisons with sony are acceptable, in the same vein that the material composition of the laptops are acceptable despite consisting of different materials.


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The palmrest is comfortable and cool to the touch, though as with any surface prolonged use will generate heat in your palms which leaves a slight sticky sensationg on the alumnium. Also if you are an un-ergonomic computer user you may feel the sharp edges of the V6. That's not a critique of the hardware more of the improper usage.


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The keyboard operation is smooth and comfortable and silent.


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The system runs very silently and generally cool except for a section on the underneath which generates some warmth. I have used it on my ,lap for 2 hours and have not experience discomfiture.


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Over the weekend i will look into playing some games, like HL2, far cry and a few others...

 

That was one of the reasons I didn't keep my M6Ne for very long, aside from it being a little large for my needs. The palm rest and front edge were very uncomfortable.

I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one who has experienced this. I'm not sure if it's something manufacturers should pay more attention to, because this wasn't a problem with the Evo. Or, if it's something the user should pay more attention to.

I'm typing from my desktop PC and the keyboard palm rest is curved. On a laptop, I think it should be a similar concept. Actually, I think the way people use computers has a lot to do with why people get into this habit. When using the touchpad and looking for information or scrolling through web pages, I'm trying to navigate quickly, so my hands and fingers operate that way. But, it seems that some laptop manufacturers do not factor that in when it comes to touchpad/palm rest design.

Then again, it works both ways. I suppose I could take more care not to rest my palm in a way that would cause such discomfort. But, it's so much easier using the touchpad the way I'm accustomed to!

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by sytek23

 

I agree... I kind of have that problem too. This has inflamed my carpal tunnel syndrome even worse than usual.. so now I try to avoid resting my wrists along the edge.


ASUS M6800Ne, P-M 1.5 Dothan, 512MB Ram, Toshiba Combo drive, Samsung Spinpoint M 40G HDD with 8M cache, Mobility Radeon 9700

 

... the thicker the notebook, the higher off the table your hands are going to have to be. With the design of the M6, I think the way the front of the notebook is, I'd have to agree with you about the pressure against your wrists.... thats still the only thing that a desktop keyboard with a wrist pad, has over a laptop......

Integrated a gel type pad into a laptop would be truly awesome..... but with the size of the notebooks today, there is barely enough room to fit everything inside....... the only thing that keeps the hope alive is that the notebooks are getting shinnier and therefore your hands are going to be closer to table level.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

I have just spent a weekend watching various movies and playing games on the V6.

The sound is excellent. I have actually been asked to turn it down.

The logitech aluminium mouse supplied with the package is an adequate replacement for the full size mouse. I found it comfortable and very responsive. The scroll wheel and buttons are precise to the touch also.

The games i played were the splinter cell chaos theory demo and star wars republican commandos demo. 2 games utilisting the latest 3d technology. I tried both games on various settings. I didn't run a benchmark as such as numbers mean little to me. I have been playing games for nigh on 20 years so if it plays to my standars i don't need any numbers to ratify that.

Since i typically play at high resolutions i turn off anti-aliasing and antisoptic filtering. However just to test things i put them on X1 and X2 respectively. 1280 X 1024 high quality setting.

The load times are real quick, the textures and framerate are good without being excellent. Definitely playable. During intense battles in republican commandoes there was a slow down however when i lowered the resolution and some of the settings turned off still looked great and played very smoothly.

I intend on putting cs source and some other games. The 3d aspect of the V6 serves my purpose as a more than casual gamer but not fanatic one. So i am happy there.

Thus far my only caveat with the V6 is the display which becomes more annoying the more i analyse it. Viewing angles are woefully limited when watching movies/playing games with dark scenes. A pity really. Since it's the only laptop of this kind - slim, light, powerful and beautiful - to meet my requirements i am left with no choice.

A side note: did anyone get the v6 screen saver working? my installs but the installer and screensaver settings pages are blank and the screensaver is a white screen. Must be some sense of humour i don't get.

Also since i intend to do a clean install of everything i am willing to installing benchmark applications etc to give you guys some numbers.

Oh one question i have to those who have this laptop - does the battery top out at 3.5 hours? Is that normal for this kind of system?

 

sytek,

Thanks for the input. It's always good when someone says, heck with the numbers, I know if this is performing good enough for me.. It shows your experience in both that you know what you're looking for and that you know sometimes 3d mark numbers don't say everything.

Battery wise, I've been hitting this pretty hard, just like my W1 and I'm getting about the same hard 3 hours. I'm actually impressed because it's got a slightly faster cpu and everyone had complained about the battery life of sonoma being less than that of the 815 chipset.... I'd say it's right on par. Unfortunately, when I have "light" work, I use my tablet or M5, so I rarely get the maximum battery life out of the bigger machines.... I'd think 4 hours should be possible though for lighter users.. It's all in how you've got powergear set up.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]