No ASUS for me again

It's been about two years that I bought my first (and last ASUS). Since I didn't feel Apple to be the right product for me back then, I decided to look for a higher end Windows based notebook.

The designs and the feedback of ASUS notebooks made me decide to buy the high-end ASUS V1J.

Unlike others, I can say that after two years of having it used intensively I am quite a bit disappointed. Various problems have occurred so far, some annoying, others very much problematic.

According to reviews and factory specs, the battery would last 3-4 hours. My first battery did so, but it lost that capability after a couple of months. At a certain point I could only work one hour wireless on it.

I then asked for a replacement, and ASUS arranged pick up for me and within one week I received it. I must say, they do have good customer service.
However, soon after the second battery started to show similar symptoms, and as a matter of fact I do not trust a third would change the problem. The warranty of the battery is just one year, no additional warranty on replacements, so I am not going to take the risk buying a third one.

Then a second problem: the screen. From the beginning on something was wrong with the hinges of the screen. When moving the screen, they made some weird noise.

The real pain in the *** is the screen itself though. Since a few months it stopped working... one quarter of the screen that is. I assume it is related to cables as it disappears after pressing on the screen at various places for about five minutes (you've gotta find the right spot to press). I cannot move the screen since it would definitely start the same problem again.

A somewhat minor problem is related to the touch pad. The left button doesn't work properly anymore.

Last, the heat. The fan does make noise constantly, but I can live with that. The heat is another problem. Since the fan is located at the right side of the notebook, the hot air is blowing onto your hand permanently (while operating the mouse).

When you pay 1700 EUR or approximately 2300 USD, you expect a top notch product, not some product that breaks down and malfunctions like it does. Particularly, from a company that has such a reputation. ASUS really disappointed me and I will not ever buy their products again.

Just my two cents. I understand some ASUS fan boys won't like this post, but I feel that both that in addition to the pros of a brand, also the cons should be known.

 

Yep. Definitely not something you'd expect from a business, high-end flagship laptop of any brand. V1 wasn't one of their best models...

(it is possible -- but still not 100% confirmed -- that the battery issues were fixed in later batches, but that was too late for most V1J users)

 

Sadly, my outcome as well. Asus currently has nothing in the 13-14" smaller chassis size that measures up with decent battery life, and I didn't gravitate toward the U6. I so wanted an updated Montevina U3 and was willing to deal with the cons of that system, but after that was discontinued, well......

Went out last night and came home with my brand new (first day of release, woohoo!) 13" MacBook Aluminum; 4+ hours battery, and nVidia's new 9400 gpu to boot. Still going to hang around here, though -- it's such a fun group of people.

 

Too much...too little
TOO LATE... (2 years past due)

 

the battery problem was just unbearable, and should've been taken care of early instead of ignoring it. for that alone it would be understandable to hate asus.

back in the day the V1J was quite good on paper. hdmi and the 1680x1050 screen were the main things that the competition lacked. a shame the quality wasn't quite as high as expected. (it's worked well for over 2 years for me now, though... it's just not a road warrior's tool, unfortunately.)

 

I almost walked out with one of those Alum MB's yesterday...still might.

 

Im gonna purchase a 2.0 Mac as well + iPod 8GB for 16 EUR and a Canon printer for Eur10,- + 8% discount on the notebook. Quite a good deal

 

Seems like Empulse has an issue with its Asus laptop as of its battery draining problem. So my question in response to Empulse, is the Asus battery life fixed or not for the latest Asus Montevina models? Just want to know before I head out to purchase one.

 

Congratulations! Macbooks are nice. I wouldn't buy one right now, but they are nice.

Yep. I went through that too (the V6Js are also affected). But I got over it after 3 or 4 RMAs. Now I don't care.

I have not seen that problem mentioned on any Montevina model. Although people have not been really buying the updated V1V, so we don't know. As long as you stay away from the V1V, you should be fine. It's not even available in all countries.

Still, maybe people just aren't watching their battery wear that much these days. They are doing other things -- overclocking, modding...

 

^

What is V1?

 

There has always been good and bad in all laptop lines. What makes a computer company worth while is its ability to correct the problems. It seems as though most notebooks are only making a year to two years now. I think it's pretty sad that quality is on a steady down fall as time goes by. I've found that nearly all hp laptops have heat issues, and it has yet to be corrected. Most gateway laptops have premature motherboard component failure (odd things like ports and charging). Ibm laptops have a flex issue (bend it just right and the screen flickers). Alienware laptops........you have to just laugh (two many problems to sum it up). The only decent brands that I have found are Apple, Dell, and Asus. And of course I'm more partial to Dell since I'm on the team 90% of the time.

Gabe

 

The V1 is a series of laptops from ASUS. Currently the only (denominated) business notebook that they have. V1J, V1S, V1V is the sequence. See asus.com for further details.

GabeZ, yeah, I have also noticed the steady decrease in the reliability of electronics -- not only laptops. Despite the fact that the technology should be getting more mature. See my Survey on ASUS problems for some (rather philosophical) remarks on this issue. Link in Info Booth.

 

You might have had a lemon.

It is not statistically meaningful to say that "ASUS is bad since my laptop had these problems...". You cannot expect 100% satisfaction rate with the electronics. I would say a company is good if the failure rate is very little and in the case of failure they should fix it promptly.

I have had 2 ASUS laptops up to now. I have used a Z70V for 3 years and have been using a F8Va-C1 for around 2-3 months and neither of them nad any problems... This is also statistically meaningless to say "ASUS laptops are perfect!"