Getting to know Asus

Hello

I am considering a new notebook. I have been working as a support tech for IBM and Fujitsu Siemens (Lifebook series), and even though I like those two brands a lot.....well, why not try something new? What Asus models are considered "top of the line" ? The w2p, vx2 and s6f seem pretty awsome, but are they just fancy "design"-models with average performance?

I can read the specs and get ideas about performance, but I am more interested in build quality and the level of noise. Do they run hot ?

thanks
Lars

 

I can tell you that every single santa rosa runs hot. They all do run hot. Find a notebook that doesnt. If it doesnt then it will have a variety of other problems that are actually problems. before you get to know asus get to know who and for who they actually provide manufacturing.

 

I understand that some heat is unavoidable. What I want to know is: Does the amount of heating cause shut downs or frequent HDD failures? Are the fans so loud that using them in an office environment will be a nightmare. I know that they are not business notebooks, but I still want to know.

 

I don't have an answer to your questions, but if the amount of heat would cause frequent shutdowns I don't see how that (type of) notebook passed QC. I would personally be very upset if I had paid money for such a notebook. It might happen... but in my opinion it'd be a black day for the notebook industry.

As to HDD failures, I think the SR notebook generation is too new to allow meaningful statistical data to be collected. Therefore your question most likely doesn't have an answer currently.

Fan noise: wait for actual SR users to give their opinion (I'm not one of them).

Please note that the upcoming V1S and V2S are the business SR versions of ASUS. VX is just a maxed out V1.

 

Thanks, is it your opinion that Asus business models (e.g A6) are more reliable than the consumer or design models (e.g w2p, vx) ...regardless of SR or not.

 

A6 is a consumer model,not a business model.

It is my personal feeling that business models are more reliable and more enduring than budget/consumer notebooks. But it's only a feeling gathered by reading these forums and other sources -- I do not have direct experience with consumer models.

It is certain that the build quality and aspect is better on ASUS business notebooks than on the budget notebooks, although the latter still fare very well in comparison to most of the competition (Acer, HP, Dell). Namely:

- build quality is usually at least as good on ASUS consumer models, as competition's business models
- looks are usually (much) better on ASUS consumer models, than on competition's business models

This does not apply to the higher-end brands like Sony, IBM, or Macbook.

I hope I was accurate enough

 

well, I have worked for both Sony VAIO and IBM, and the latter mentioned is better IMO. Interesting that you put the A6 in the consumer model category. On Asus' official website in my country it's defined as a business notebook.

 

Well, the marketing department at ASUS can say whatever they want, A6 is a low-end, budget notebook. Which doesn't make it bad -- but that's what it is.

In increasing order of quality, ASUS ensemble notebook series are:

F < ? A < G < S < ? W =? R < ? M < ? V

where < ? means the relationship is uncertain, or for some particular models it might be inverted; and =? means there is no clear superiority of any of those series.

 

F is at the wayyyy bottom? makes me sad because I want the F8 =[

 

I've not received my F3sv as of yet , but with the research I have done in this forum and elsewhere , you will get considerable argument that the F series is at the bottom of the ASUS line.

Laxpacman

 

Like I said, being at the bottom of the ASUS lineup is still a very reasonable place to be. So don't worry too much about it, if you think it's the notebook for you, get it.

Also the F8 is not out yet -- so there's no way of really knowing its quality.

 

the a and f series are known to be the lowest quality asus model. you might say that the f is possibly better than the a, but there is no way the f series compares to the w or v series. anyway, the f series is still a decent....but they are cheaper for a reason. with the f8, i hear it is supposed to be more on par with the g series.

 

overheating is unavoidable if the nb is not "cleaned" after 2000 hours of use. every notebook should have its radiator cleaned after 2000 hours of use at the minimum. 1500 is recomended. i do it every 2000 hours

 

this is how I'd put it

Low End: A & F series - between 4-5 (out of 10) for build quality
Mid Range: G, M, & R series - 6-8 build quality
High End: S (ensemble only), U, V, & W series - 8-10 build quality
______
Total Asus quality range: 4-10

compare to (in my opinion):
Acer: 1-6 quality range
Apple: 5-10
Dell: 2-8
Gateway: 2-7
HP: 3-7
Lenovo: 5-10
Sony: 1-7
Toshiba: 1-6

 

Does your rating include current W series notebooks or all?
I was looking at the W2P and was wondering what it was like. I haven't been able to find too much info about it. Is it not very popular?

Also, is the W2 supposed to be refreshed anytime soon?
Thanks.

 

Wait... there are S Ensembles? Which ones?

EDIT: The W series is excellent, they are Asus' media center PCs. They don't get much recognition because they are really expensive and people are more likely to buy rounded-out models in the mid range as well as barebones. Same reason you don't really hear much about the VX series. You only hear more about that because of the lambo insignia.

 

The S6 model.

The W2 is Asus' premier 17" Ensemble model, their only 17" before the G2 came out. Now it includes the option of the WUXGA screen and HD-DVD burner ($500 more for these). Those who either own or have seen the W2 by and large will sing high praises, on par or better than its appropriate competitors. Pricing does put them into the premium Qosmio, etc tier and most of the current members around here don't seem to be either interested or capable of spending $2400+ on a notebook, so it has languished in the popularity and has virtually no discussion anymore.

I would expect the W2 may be refreshed to SR, but probably not until mid-Fall at the earliest since it was one of the later ones to get the Merom upgrade as I recall - Asus tends to refresh the oldest models first.

 

Man, I was really getting excited about it too. It had pretty much everything I was looking for until I saw the X1700 in there. I could live with it if I could get WUXGA without paying for the HD-DVD drive.

 

so if i was a college student
should i get the V2 or the F8? What's an estimated cost of the V2?

 

That is very interesting, especially considering that everyone is praising the S6F where I live, but you rate it in the middle?

What do you guys mean with "Ensemble" ?

 

Depends on your budget and desire for durability/style. V2 is $1800.

Pre-built Ensemble = A8, F3, W7, etc.
Whitebox/Built-on Asus/VBI models = C90, S96, S37, etc.

 

It's really hard to determine each and every notebook due to the inconsistancy for various models.

EBE's chart is somewhat accurate but there are a few flaws.

ENSEMBLE = ASUS notebooks that they sell themselves and warrantied by them.
Powered by ASUS/Verified by Intel/ASMobile = barebones warrantied by dealer

For the chart, I'd say:

A/F < G(The G series is basically a prettied up A-series, with some additions for quality) < M/R < S < V/W/U

 

Is the m-series discontinued ? I browsed the available m-models and couldn't find any with core2 duo. The v6 series seems very nice by the way.

 

I filled out a FAQ earlier and people suggested either the ASUS F8 or the ASUS V2s. Basically I'm looking for a 14 inch notebook that has decent gaming performance (I already have a desktop with 7900GT, so the 8600m GT would still be slower than that card). It's just for when I travel, so I don't have to lug my desktop around.
Main points would be durability and looks.
Any ideas? My budget is $2000

 

The V6 is probably one of the best lines of notebooks ever made. At least in my opinion.

 

Yeap, the M series, also known as the M7/Z71, M6/Z70, M5, M3, were all discontinued last year. It was their first line of notebooks, M1 was their first notebook, also known as Model 1

 

Yeah, I don't pretend to be accurate with my classification I just wanted to give a rough idea of things.

Seems I was a bit biased by owning a M6 to rate the M higher than it should've been. :roll:

 

actually, the L series were their first notebook series. L=laptop, M=modular, since they all had a modular bay.