Help convincing someone about Asus's quality

I have a friend who's sorely tempted to by the Asus N80VN-A1 from xoticpc.com as a moderate gamer and watching movies. He's not doing anything like graphic design or anything like that.

The only thing holding him back is how to know for sure about Asus's quality. After all, no one he knows has one to know their opinion and I can't find info or reviews on that particular notebook. The only notebook he's had is an old Dell Inspirion that's about to have finally given it all it's got and he was disappointed with the quality.

Is there any sites or links to show Asus's reliability in their durability?

Also, if anyone thinks there's a better model of 14.1" for gaming or a better site to buy it from than xoticpc.com, please let me know. I'm still learning myself about Asus.

 

Have a look at their warranty, I have had an asus before and its still going strong and I just ordered another one from Xotic PC.
Offering 1 year free accidental warranty is risky for any laptop producer but asus is willing. Trust it in, if it does break even if its completely your fault they will fix it!

Warranty
2-year Asus Global hardware warranty on standard system w/ 1 Year Extension to 3 Year Optional. 24/7 Tech Support and Overnight Paid Shipping Both Ways for repairs
1-Year Parts & Labor Warranty through Xotic PC on models where the CPU is customized. Any other customizations don't affect the notebook warranty
1 Year Accidental Damage Protection. (Must be registered in 60 days of order)
Lifetime 24/7 Toll Free Technical support provided on customized models from Xotic PC
One, Two & Three Year (ADP) Accidental Damage Protection Full Coverage Plans (Optional)

 

I used to be convinced about Asus quality till I bought one. Just have a look at this board in regards to various problems, especially with notebooks like the G1S.

I don't know about that particular model, it may be good but just make sure you know what you are getting into.

Asus seems to be rushing new tech out onto the market these days imho.

Their software, especially, is absolutely horribly written. Their battery life is relatively bad and their notebooks relatively large. I know these are pretty general statements but perhaps if possible see the notebook first hand before your friend decides (if possible).

 

Considering that you are 100x more likely to hear from people to are unhappy their laptop than those who are happy with them. It is unrealistic to expect that they can check that every single laptop they produce but if you order from a good dealer they can check them before they ship. Just my opinion...

 

It is not about the occasional laptop being a lemon, it is about a lot of laptops they produce having design flaws.

Along with that, most of their laptops are large and have bad battery life compared to other brands. Also their software is badly written.

That is my general complaint. I agree you are more likely to hear from people who are unhappy, but the OP was posting about Asus quality and I wanted to point out the lack of quality (imho).

 

Negz is correct - Asus has been having quality issues with several of its models over the past couple of years (G1s gpu problems, F3 case cracks, battery ACPI issues on V1), but has had other successes (U3, U6, M-series, G50). While Potentv's point is valid it would hold more weight if occasional problems were more isolated and not replicated across multiple users which raises the specter of systemic manufacturing issues.

OK, that all being said - and now that we've scared off ShinKai completely...... Asus' quality depends on which model line you're looking at. The N- and L-series are brand new and not really based on previous platforms, and so we have no timeline nor track record to base any opinion about their "quality" or longevity. The 2-year standard warranty with prepaid shipping is one of the best in the industry, but if you traipse through the forum you'll find that warranty service quality vastly depends on where you are (US good, north Europe bad).

Asus is competitive with offerings from HP certainly and also somewhat better than Dell (although they have new XPS models slated for release over the next 2 months), and offers good "bang for buck" products, which is where they've shifted their focus over the past 3 years (from being more niche like Apple with ultra-high products like the V6, W3, W2).

Overall, there is nothing obvious in the current environment to dissuade ShinKai from going with Asus beyond the usual cautions of "be careful" that apply to any retailer.

 

asus stands out in 2 ways
1. obviosly they are the leader in aesthetically pleasing notebooks. From leather to anodized aluminum they have invented the luxury brand and the rest follow
2. they offer a business class warranty for free. i dont think that helps them but certainly it helps us the consumer
other then that they are a dime a dozen with the rest of the brands

 

I havent noticed any problem with the software, it just works I have no idea about how badly they are written but it works...
Even if it isnt good quality, the warranty will still out weigh it by a mile especially now with the accidental warranty... just my opinion again...
I also believe there is a clause somewhere that says if a machine needs 3 repairs within the warranty period that isnt due to the customers recklessness then they have to reimburse you... Im pretty sure thats true though

 

My personal experience: Ordered a L50Vn, the touchpad was loose thus made crackling noise ever when I tipped to click, and was producing high-frequent noises. Sent it back, will get a Vaio.

 

Some one stated the problem with the G1S GPU heating problem. That (G1S) laptop came with 8600 card and they had the heating problem industry wide including APPLE. Also the particular model your looking at has good battery power considering it comes with the new SHE technology.

This laptop has a 3 hr battery life while doing various tasks and I think that can be increased with improved drivers and removing a lot of the background proggy's.

Link to Review/Proof: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=320156

 

There have been some models (specific models, not general line) that have questionable build qualities in Asus. The best way to convince him is to really show one to him. The N80 would be my recommendation as well.

 

Well, my reference to the G1 was not heat issues, but about the graphics stuttering problems that I don't know were every fully troubleshot around here as being connected to the (now known) gpu manufacturing problem.

Lots of folks around here have tried everything on Asus' systems for battery improvment including streamlined processes, undervolting, drivers, etc and as far as I can recall pretty much nobody has been able to greatly break the 3 hour mark, esp in the dedicated gpu models-- mostly they run in the 2.5-3 hr range. L/N series data is still coming in, as they're still new, so we'll see how they go.

That's why I appreciate the 4.5-5 hour runtime on my 13" Macbook .

 

ooh forgot to mention
the other way they stand out is the poor battery life. To date I have found none other who has lower battery life then asus. it is not their batteries and not their hardware. I think if they just switched to a different cell manufacturer it would do the trickl

 

I currently have an Asus F3SA laptop from a while back while Im waiting for the G71G-A2 to come out. For the last year I have had this laptop plugged in literally 99% of the time but I read a post about a constantly charging battery is bad so I unplugged it to so what battery life it would provide and it lasted for a little more than 3 hours on high performance. So it cant be all that bad...

 

Well there are some models that are exceptions although the f3 should not be getting more then 2.5 hours max. avg would be 2 hours or less. the poor battery life mostly affects all their newer models. their smaller notebooks 11" or under are not that much affected by this. point being i have seen better battery life then what asus has to offer.

 

Thats very possible...