Hooray for the Z70V! Any problems out there?

I just wanted to say "hooray" for the Asus Z70V. I've noticed that there were little to no problems at all posted on these notebook forums. All I've seen were sprinkles of problems with the W3, Z71V and a few others. From over heating, bad screens, concerns, to some user errors. Not bad mouthing those systems- so don't get all crazy people.

So I wanted to see if any of the Z70v owners had any problems with theirs and if they were resolved or not. Thanks.
:asus:
To see very little posts on a product may be a good thing, but I'm sure there are people out there who are in the market for one would like to hear more about the Z70V, since there is hardly anything out there on it (besides "I just opened the box" reviews).

 

I've searched high and low, but I still haven't found any. I guess I was the only one: http://www.notebookforums.com/showthread.php?t=88961
I guess it's a good thing. But I'd still love to hear about anybody else.

 

Yea, like it's previous life, the m6Bne, this chasis has always been goodluck

It's a really well rounded laptop, it's sturdy, light, doesn't have heat issues, powerful, above average battery life, great matte screen, aethesictically pleasing and doesn't cost an arm and a leg

 

I owned and reviewed the Z70v. It's a fantastic machine and quite probably the best notebook for the money on the market. I managed to convince my boss to pay for another Z70v, so I'll be ordering a "refresh" at the end of the month.

 

Whenever Andrew gets around to it you should see (some form) of my review up on this site. I couldn't get any pictures though b/c my digi-cam isn't quite up to par. So far my only let down is the battery life, but I'm understanding that what I'm getting is fairly normal fare for a notebook in this category.

 

Well with normal computing (non-gaming) I get a minimum of 3.5 hours on it. Also are you using Power4Gear? I'm trying out the Centrino Hardware Control instead, and it seems to be working well. I'm getting more battery life with it.

 

Well all in all a great machine... only minor finicy things... im not too happy with the location of the control key... the fn is where the control usually is... also there is some slight heat generation that was annoying for a while... I've undervolted it now and its running much cooler and im getting about 4hrs of bat life... Centrino Hardware control is sweet!! though with the refresh keep in mind heat will probably go up and bat down cuz of the x700... but thats not certain... all in all a great comp... :asus: Congrats on ur new z70 jack!

 

Thanks, Scott!!

:asus: RULEZZZZZZZ!!!

 

Can someone point me to the Centrio Hardware Control? I am very happy with my z70v. The speaker is the biggest improvement I noticed straight out from my last laptop. The screen is beautiful the battery life is good and the only thing might be the keyboard feels a little cheap compared with my friends IBM and even my old VPR Matrix. I am very happy with it though, I would certainly buy it again.

 

Centrino Hardware Control-
http://www.pbus-167.com/chc.htm#anchor_download

I would uninstall the Power4Gear before you install.

 

thanks madmike, is it just me or is that temperature reading kinda weird? when i turn on the laptop it is already reading close to 50 degrees... which cant be correct... well thanks for the info, i think it is giving me about 20-30 minutes more time than power gear (im getting close to 4 hours now with just browsing internet and word).

 

Well from what I hear from Geared2play.com, the centrino is capable of up to 100C. Well the normal temperatures are in the 60's, 80's when you're gaming. 120 is DANGER!

 

Hey Could Any one tell me how portable the z70v is ? Cause I was planning on getting one but portability is one of my main issues ... besides that Every other feature (Vid Card, Centrino, Not So much Screen size ... 12" - 15" WSXGA would be okay) ... is what I want to purchase in a laptop :centrino:

 

For most people, 6 pounds for a 15.4" notebook is pretty darn portable. For me, I've had 10" Asus laptops in here under 2 pounds...... I use the W3 which has basically all the same power and that'll come in a half pound lighter with the same drives and so forth in it... It depends on what you think you'll like. I don't like carrying around a Z70v anymore, but if I didn't use the smaller ones, I wouldn't know the difference. At the same time, if oyu need the larger screen it's something you're going to have to live with.

But bottom line, it's still lightweight for a 15.4" notebook....

 

I could deal with a smaller screen(But still WSXGA) ... but what I want to know is if any1 has knowledge of a laptop with the same features as the z70v (at a lower weight ... 4 - 5 lbs ) for less than $1500.

Gracias .... :decision:

 

crap... am i the only one getting this not so great battery life? maybe it's my hard drive... it's a Samsung.... ..... i guess any time you customize a notebook you'll get different results... hmm... undervolting... here i come.

 

i carry it pretty much every day w/ the traveller's drawer, to work and back... the majority of the time it sits on a desk. i carry a few papers, one folder and some miscellaneous stuff w/ my lunch. If i had to walk for more than half an hour, it would get cumbersome. So it's not heavy, but it's definitely not an ultraportable. If you're honestly looking for portability as your number one decision making factor, you're probably looking at the wrong class of notebooks. Something like the W5A, or the Built on Asus equivalents are better choices.

 

For those concerned with size, this isn't a portable sized laptop. The weight isn't too bad, but it's not really light, either. It is very nice, however.

Now, I actually have a problem, and it's because I bought my Z70V bare from a very friendly guy who might even see this post. The problem I'm having is from trying to install my own optical drive, an NEC ND6500A. Something's not right about the Asus BIOS detecting this drive and my hard disk and assigning them to different channels or device numbers. I actually don't know whether the Z70V has one or two IDE channels, but now having gotten WinXP loaded with an older CDRW and my hard disk running as device one (slave), it appears there are two channels, each with a master and slave, which seems typical. Can anyone out there verify for me how the device listing appears with stock DVD or CD writers? I theoretically can flash my writer to be a slave, which may solve this problem. TIA.

 

I've gotten my Z70V entirely working now, and it's very nice. One thing, though. Using what I believe to be a very accurate scale, mine weighs in a 6lbs 15oz, not the advertised 6lbs. While not exactly a desktop replacement weight, it's ever so slightly heavier (and larger) than my previous Compaq 2800T, a "light" desktop-replacement-type for its time. It's really a bit misleading to call this thing light, and I can't swear it, but I think the weight specs are flat out wrong.

 

Well getting down to the kilograms may be impossible. But these whitebooks come with many different components that one dealer may put in and someone else may put a totally different set of components. Wieght will vary. As for you, you put in your own CD rom, it doesnt fit the bezel for it, that should tell you that that component wasn't for the Z70v. But dont get me wrong, I do like the ND6500A, I've got that on my desktop and my DV1000.

 

Did you weight it with the travel draw in?
This will drop the weight down to 6lb, and is the travel weight that ASUS is refering to...its been talked about quite alot, and most companies do this...ie give you the lowest weight they can config the machine to be. Are you going to by a 15" laptop that is listed at 10lb+...even though they say inc. powersupply, case and dvd drive etc? Probably not, you'll go for the one that says 6lb*...... *=with travel draw.
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Err...

http://proportable.com/detail.aspx?ID=10

"~5.6 LBS w/ US standard 8 cell and travelers drawer
~6.0 LBS w/ US standard 8 cell and optical drive"

http://www.ynot2k.com/products/laptops/z70v/z70v.htm

"5.60 lbs (with traveler's drawer) "

I haven't weighed mine though it does feel a bit heavier than expected, yet nice and solid for the most part. It's significantly lighter than my last 15" laptop so I'm happy enough, but it certainly is an entity that likes to make its presence known.

 

I am new to ASUS...looking to purchase a laptop. What the heck is a Travelers Drawer?

 

You can pop out the CD/DVD drive and then slide in a space holder that doesn't weigh much to cover the hole. Some people won't need their optical and wont' have to burn on the road, so to conserve battery and lessen the weight, you have that.

 

There is another use for that drawer. Its mostly covered my metal on the inside of the notebook. Certain detection equipment will not find items like druggs, knives, weapons, or travelerdrawer bombs. I ll bet you even if you get searched and they tear through your luggage the last thing they will do is try to take out your optical drive or what appears to be one. Hope there are no terrorists here planning their ingenious plotts. I may have just given osama his next encoded message to his henchman.

 

WARNING: Please do NOT try this at home.... or the airport... or anywhere else..... and please don't close this thread.

 

Yes and please dont forward this to osama. Asus may be under investigation if the fbi notice a strong increase in sales if the locals of the mountain regions of afghanistan suddenly start buying hd kits and asus notebooks

 

I guess this thread has really ended, thanks to al Qaeda's devious use of the traveller's drawer. One more point, though...

My DVD writer weighs a few ounces, and its faceplate can only weigh less than the stock one from Asus. That's totally irrelevant. I don't know what other components could account for a pound of weight difference. And I basically thought the heaviest parts - the case, MB, screen, and battery, were all the same in anyone's version. In fact, they all advertise the same weight. Anyway, I'm just trying to point out that you're probably going to be a little disappointed if you think this laptop will be light.

 

I agree, its not a light lappie, but then no 15.4" is. This one is still one if not the lightest in its class. I remember Justin saying that another reason for less weight is that ASUS often weigh it with a low capacity battery, and at least in the states the battery that you end up getting is higher capapcity and thus heavier...maybe this is another place where the extra weight ends up.
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I went to check it out yesterday, and whooo, heavier then i expected


But it's not that bad once you get used to it

 

Heck, just about anything is lighter than my friends 2 year old Dell, damn that things a brick and ugly too.

 

You mentioned checking the ASUS out in the storew. Which store. I have yet to see on. Would like to examine the keypad and mouse pad before leaping.

 

Well, I don't know where you live, but CanadaSys which is about 10~ mins from where I live lets you use the laptops, and even let you roam around with it around the store.

I was there for like 2 hours, playing and holding each ASUS laptop they had. I even asked them to cover the blinds+windows and tuned off all the lights just to look at the screens.

Also, I noticed that the z70v keyboard has transparent buttons!

 

Northern Indiana

 

You can just call Asus and ask them for a dealer in your area. 888-678-3688

 

Not a good sign in my book... There appears to be only one person at that number for notebook sales and I only get his voice mail. Called several times.

Very disapointing.

 

I dont know their Hours of operation, but I think they're Pacific time. I guess their sales lines aren't as good as their support lines.