V1Jp: Small regrets

I bought the V1Jp in December of last year. It was in fact one of the first units to arrive Stateside. I actually canceled my order for a IBM/Lenovo t60p (I guess, that would be the t61p now) in order to get the ASUS. I have regretted that decision ever since.

I made the decision to buy the ASUS over the IBM for really one reason only: I thought that the ASUS had a better video solution, and the V1Jp screen is nothing short of stunning!

But, that's about all I can say for the ASUS. In addition to a litany of problems with the laptop- a faulty DVD drive, a failed motherboard after a BIOS update, and persistent BSOD even now- the laptop just doesn't give me confidence.

I don't know how to put it, but whenever I pick up the laptop, it just feels like it's going to fall apart in my hands. LOL. The screen has too much flex. The hinges are so weak that simply tilting the front of the laptop up makes the screen wobble. I do a lot of traveling, often by road. It was my intention to use laptop on the road while someone else was driving the car, but the screen wobble makes it an impossible task.

Then, there is the heat issue. The laptop gets so warm sometimes- actually, most of the time- especially on the right side, that doing any typing with my palms resting on the laptop is out of the question. So I find myself with my hands in the air when typing. But, that is small comfort because even the keys are uncomfortably warm to touch. I am a writer, so this is a major drawback for me. Of course, if you're planning to use the laptop as a mobile workstation, keep in mind that the bottom and right side of the laptop get quite hot. Putting the laptop directly on your lap is not something you want to do.

A couple of other (smaller) issues: The built-in card reader is inaccessible if you happen to be using the Expresscard slot. I use a mobile service when I am on the road, so I have a wireless modem plugged into the Expresscard slot. It's not a particularly bulky device, but it's thick enough to completely obscure the MMC reader. This is another major problem since I am also a photographer. I'm shooting hundreds of pictures on the road, often in RAW mode where each file is ~20MB. Transferring those files to my laptop requires that I either remove my wireless modem, or use the USB data cable for my camera, which is both a time-consuming and battery-draining process. Bottom line here is that if you're planning to use an Expresscard, and it's any thicker than the slot itself, you won't be able to access the MMC reader.

Note that the headphone jack is right next to the Expresscard slot. I would never have imagined this, but when I'm plugged into the wireless network, the headphones pick up noise from the radio, a loud staticy noise that you simply can't ignore.

So, there you have it. My primary uses for the laptop were fourfold: writing, digital photography, listening to music, and using the laptop as my workstation-on-the-go. Sadly, I can't do any of those things comfortably.

Hope you don't think I'm griping. I'm not. The griping that I do have is with the ASUS Global Service, and that is a discussing I'll reserve for a different post. For now, I just wanted to share my experience with the people here in the hope that it might be helpful to some.

(Afterthought: I started writing this post as a quick acknowledgment to another user here named jamus28, who was bemoaning the fact that he bought a V1S in lieu of the IBM/Lenovo t61p. But, as I began writing...and as you can see, lol...it got away from me. So, I decided to post it as a new thread.)

 

I feel your pain. I was in a similar situation myself, once before.

 

I don't know what to say I bought the Asus V1s for a friend of mine, a girl who just loved the design and didn't want to listen to me when I told her "don't buy this"... anyway, she got it and after using it for a few days she said it was a "piece of junk" and I had to deal with this thing for a week or so before I got rid of it...

Honestly, that is one of the worst notebooks I have ever used and that is NOT business-class notebook since it has more flaws then some CHEAP budget notebooks....

I'm not going to write a long essay but in short:

- flexing lid (you can easily produce ripples on the screen)
- you can bend the chassis
- a lot flex on the wrist pads
- creaking sounds
- terrible battery life (8 cell battery = 2.5 hours while the standard for notebooks with similar or better specs is about 3.5-4 hour)
- The fan is on the right side and it sucks when you're using an external mouse... but at least now I have a proof that Asus engineers are left-handed.
- Terrible touchpad buttons. /garbage/
- Grainy Screen /I didn't believe that I would say that/
- Possible battery wear issues /that's not confirmed, check out the other thread/ or it's only paranoia..dunno.
...

I can continue but I don't see the point and I even though of writing a review about it but decided against since it would sound as if I was reviewing garbage that I found on the street.

Sorry but "business class" means reliability, durabulity, great battery life..etc. the V1s doesn't offer any of these. And I personally would not recommend this thing to anyone even if I hate them since I really had a feeling that I was using an Acer or other crap like that. See, if they had marketed it as a budget notebook and about 1200$, then I would not have cared that much...

And if you want a TRUE business-class notebook, then stick with HP, Dell, and Lenovo. Dell don't offer powerful video cards but HP and Lenovo have models with HD 2600 GDDR3 and Quadro FX 570M (8600M GT GDDR3, and yes play games just as well). All of these have STRONG magnesium alloy constructions (both in the case and lid) and great battery life, plus they are relativaly inexpensive these days.

Oh, and is there any other company that offer most of their mobile computers with poor battery life...what the hell are they thinking?...idiots.

/End of my rant.

PS: And I'm really sorry for you, I know it sucks.

 

Thank you! Misery loves company

 

My hinge is fcking creaking now, i push it down it makes the pop sound. And not to mention the poor bios ACPI then makes your batt drop to 0 after 50percent of batt life gone.

 

Dreamer, I agree with all you said. This is definitely not a business-class notebook, and that's really was what I wanted (and needed). My previous notebooks were Dells and IBMs that inspired confidence. i knew I could drag them anywhere with me and they'd be happy. But, that is certainly not the case with the V1Jp. And, you're absolutely right about the battery. I'm getting less than 2 hours with everything but the wireless modem turned off, simply browsing, or writing.

 

I love these threads they comfort me in knowing there are others with problems to!!.

 

ROTFL...same here. The screen actually snaps at a point halfway up. I'm worried that it's going to completely break off one of these days.

 

I don't see how a notebook of the same design series as the V6Va (probably one of the best built notebooks ever) can be so bad...

 

I'm a bit worried now... all this time I've heard pretty much nothing but good about the V1S except for the battery issues and mine is due to arrive today. Guess I'll see whether or not I have a lemon in a few hours...

 

I also bought my V1Jp back in December. One thing I would like to add is that the docking station isn't all that great. The connection not very solid and if you don't have the battery in the notebook it wobbles when you press down on it. The USB ports on the docking station aren't nearly as stable as the ones on the machine itself; although this could be caused by my KVM. The Dell dock works much better and supports the whole bottom of the notebook instead of just the back portion.

Heat hasn't been a problem since I under-volted the processor. I can run all the way up to 1.8GHz at 0.950V which keeps the thing nice and cool. You might want to try RMClock (what I use) or NHC if you're willing to test stability at each multiplier setting.

 

I just keep getting BSODs while gaming i think. I think its because i turn up the volume too high then my hdd gets worked up, my hdd light just lights up and poof the game hangs and BSOD. Same with playing very loud high pitched music. Any ideas why? Ram fault?

 

Well volume + HDD + RAM fault? That's a crazy connection

At least the last one.

It might be possible that EM interference from loud sounds BSODs via HDD read errors. But I find it doubtful, HDDs should have better shielding than that.

 

Well initial impressions of this V1S-B1 are good... Just gotta get used to Vista.

 

I couldn't agree more. I have the same problem with my TrendNet USB KVM, actually. It seems to sometimes even crash the damned thing sometimes -_-.

My beef is with the idle temperature. Seems a bit high at 50C. Admittedly, 4MB cache means lots of transistors, so it makes sense, I guess.

 

Volume is not a logical reason. -_-

Extended gaming might be, though. It's a single heatsink design. Make sure you are running on the Super Performance profile so that the fan kicks in sooner.

 

My main gripe is that I don't see a fix for the main battery problem. I can avoid it more easily by using the modular battery, but then I lose my optical drive.

Also the right side where the ExpressCard is gets really hot after a while. My eSATA card is roasting when I pull it out.

Then there's the docking station isn't as sturdy as the Dell ones we have at work.

Other than that, I can't complain much. It does what I need it to do as a desktop replacement, and it stays docked most of the time. I do feel annoyed that I can't drain the main battery down to the bottom like my other laptops without causing problems, however.

 

I'm running high performance though.

 

I feel like I've been scammed. I only read good things about ASUS and the the supposed "top of the line" V series. Everyone in this forum gushes over the ASUS quality.

Thanks Dreamer, I felt like the only one saying the v1s sucks.

 

the v1 is definitely not as sturdy as a business class notebook should be. the surface feels a bit soft and picking it up with one hand makes you feel like you're 'hurting' it, since the surface material does bend some.

overall it's comfortable to use even on lap, at least for a 15.4" notebook. it's not cooking my lap on regular use, though it would probably get uncomfortable with heavy processing tasks and temps exceeding 60c.

so i'm still a fan of asus, but lately i've decided to switch to something slightly smaller (like u3s), since this thing is a bit too large and clumsy for someone constantly on the move.

 

Many posts like these do not bode so well for my future laptop purchase decision. Some of the more established brands behind laptops (e.g. Sony) do not suffer from posts like these (not even a fraction). Of course Sony doesn't make their own laptop but it really doesn't matter - it's a design fault. Sony knows how to design. Quanta makes them. Issues like hinge problems are a joke - they should be long long resolved after the first reports of hinge problems are brought up.

The same goes with IBM/Lenovo - they've been designing laptops for quite some time now and their durability reflects that.

ASUS is, sadly, in for the quick buck. Profits over quality. Why are Sony laptops much more expensive than ASUS laptops? Geez, now I know why. You get less headaches and RMAs to deal with.

EDIT: A great analogy of this fiasco is the Mattel toy company with lead paint fiasco. You can't blame the shoddy Chinese factories - it is, after all, up to Mattel for the final design plans and most importantly, quality assurance and control.

 

I can confirm this now. I just clocked my battery (idling, with everything turned off, and brightness down to 70%). And this is what I got (first column shows actual time on battery; the second column shows battery status):

0 (start).............1:30 Hours (100%)
10 min................1:24 hours (----)
20 min................1:14 hours (81%)
30 min................1:05 hours (71%)
40 min................53 min (60%)
45 min................5 min (5%) <-------Battery critical

Somewhere between 40 and 45 minutes, the battery went from 60 to 5 percent.

 

The battery wear issue is confirmed for the Asus V1 Jp:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=106773

However, I was talking about the V1 s, which is the successor of the V1 Jp
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=160824

This is the "famous" V1s....
http://www.excaliberpc.com/ASUS_V1S.../90NGIA5311114EQL150T/partinfo-id-580877.html

 

I just sent in my laptop for servicing and i told the guy of my problem. He said he will look into it. So its an ACPI fault u guys say?

 

Please read:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=106773

This guy won't solve that problem.

 

So its ASUS who will or who may? Lets send lots of mails to them complaining to them? Since its a popular business notebook.

 

You realize that you aren't the first one suggesting that? Think about how many notebooks they sold with that issue.

Asus don't care and deny the problem even exist.... as far as I know.