Some concerns of future F3SV owner

ASUS wasn't my first choice. In fact, I hadn't heard about ASUS notebooks before joining this forum.

My first choice was the Dell 1505. The price was excellent with the coupon and had everything I wanted. Then I was warned about its build quality. That changed my plans as it was a big investment for me and I wanted it to be sturdy.

I noticed in the forum that ASUS was quite popular. Someone even suggested an A8JS for my requirements. I liked the specs. Then the Santa Rosa notebooks came and F3SV sounded too good to be true. And thats what I am getting.

But a couple of days ago I noticed a thread with complaints about the A8 model. And someone said both A8 and F3 are low end models of ASUS and dont have good build quality. The number of complaints in the A8 thread scared me. Did I make a big mistake by dropping the Dell plan for its build quality?

I don't want (not expecting for the price) a tank like built. Just don't want things dropping off by itself. I am going to take good care of it. Will it last 2-3 years?

Another thing is I've never seen an ASUS here in India and so a bit worried whether the Int. warranty will be honored here. Are there any Indian ASUS users here? Will be comforting to see even one.

Lastly, the ASUS website. Tastes differ but I find their web site's look a bit depressing. Even their product pages aren't attractively laid out. And its not half as friendly as other notebook websites. I know I am buying their notebook and not the site but still.. Its my first notebook and I want it to be perfect (ofcourse for what I am paying. Not expecting a MBP )

Thanks a lot for your patience

 

a8jm had inherent baf hinges. a8js did not. a8jc is new. f3f had inherent poor audio card. Long story short. no brand or manufacturer is excluded from faulty components. there have been many models from asus which were awesome quality and Extremely reliable (ie w3j). f3sv is very new. not a single person on this forum can tell you if it is reliable or not. odds are yes. Asus had many months to improve upon this model. I find the asus website quite easy to navigate on the contrary. their inherent problem there is there is no disticntion between products available overseas and the states

 

People here confuse good build quality with plain looks. Like i saif above there is not a single person on this entire forum that can speak for the build quality of the f3sc. f3 inherently other then the faulty audio dj (revised half year ago or so) has prooven to be very reliable

 

You could always look into the new W7S if you want a more durable notebook. It's smaller though. Then there's the V, which is probably more $$ than what you want to spend though.

 

in my opinion, the F3 is pretty sturdy and well put together...and should not fall apart with normal use for a long period of time. from personal experience, the A8 series just has a design flaw in it's own due to the way the hinges are fastened inside of the lcd top cover. that is just the A8 version on its own. I would not worry about the build quality of the F3, as it is solid.

and note: with new motherboard revisions, asus is doing their best to phase out the older motherboard versions with the audio error. people who send in their F3s to fix the audio error, either get their mobo reworked, or replaced...

i am not sure about indian asus owners, but i do know you should not worry about the F series being one of the low end models. the series maybe on the low end, but if you do research of what is the high end in asus, you will see that you are getting quality. the form factor, the build and the design of the F3, from the numerous times i have dealt with the model, do not disappoint

 

the a8 hinge problem was only present on the a8jm which sold for a few months. All revisions after a8jm (a8js) did not suffer from any inherent defects. a8 has been on the market just over a year now.

 

I dunno about the Asus F3SV but iv seen the Asus F3JP with my friend and though its completely made of plastic, the build quality is pretty good for a value for money notebook.. Since the F3SV is also of the Asus F series i would say the F3SV would be of near same quality..

Iv compared both the Dell 1505 and Asus F3JP and of the both, the Asus looks much better and sleeker. Moreover its lighter and thinner too..

Btw, lemme say something. The Dell 1505 is not a bad build laptop. For its price, i would say it is pretty decent and even a one year old Dell 1505 with my roomie looks like new. Its pretty sturdy too though a little plain and heavy.