Would appreciate V6Va comments please

Still deciding whether I want to get this model (if the IPS screens are still available). Would appreciate any and all comments, pros and cons. Primarily concerned about heat, fan, and keyboard; and does the screen warrant all the superlatives.

It will be used primariliy for software development, some surfing, and no gaming.

Thanks so much,
Ragtopgeek.

 

With all due respect - search the forum. Most people don't like posts like these because it's all be said before and if you just look through the last few days of posts you'll find plenty of dedicated posts on the subject...... waiting for people to respond and answer your post will just waste a lot of your time.

In terms of IPS screens - I checked today and we had about 18 left. In terms of Asus, they have about 75 left. Those should be gone before the new year which is what... about 10 days? After that all V6va's that are imported will just have regular color shine screens (which are still very good), but unless the cost on them goes down, we'll probably stop selling them because the IPS screen costs more than $100 more than the normal color shine screen.

The screen is simply the best 15" SXGA+ regular ratio screen you'll find - I always found this screen better than my sony professional graphics crt monitor back when this screen was on the L5ga... that's saying a lot. I'd swap out the hard drive if you want to do some serious work on it, but the screen, the graphics and the new dvd burner absolutely MAKE this system..... then add the thinness and weight of the system and nothing can touch it.

... It's completely professional - but it's also a complete powerhouse at the same time - and honestly doesn't lack in the dvd burning, graphics, keyboard, screen (vertical viewing angles or brightness)... or build quality. It's hard to call it a perfect laptop, but with a seagate 100gb/7200rpm (which is what I put in my personal unit)...... it basically is perfect. It's everything you'd expect in a lightweight professional system, but it's also got basically everything you'd want in a full blown workstation as well. You don't need the graphics because the only people who will be able to truly appreciate what's in this system would be heavy gamers, but graphics professionals would certainly enjoy them enough as well.

With the scaling of the cpu and the graphics - you can make the system work around you and how you want it to function in terms of heat, fan, noise --- those are all functions of performance.... so you've got to juggle those to make the perfect compromise, but that's really up to you.

 

Actually I did engage in extensive searching and reading here as well as other forums, but didn't think a few extra opinions, admittedly subjective, wouldn't hurt. Especially concerning the keyboard.

Thanks for the info. Looking from the outside, it does look "perfect", at least with a higher speed hard disk.

 

The keyboard is as good as any of the other asus keyboards - and typically most say they are 2nd best to ibm.... which is actually saying a lot. If you read ABaxtor's V6v review on this site you'll better understand the system..... there have been upgrades to the v6va, like the screen, dvd drive, graphics........ but the feel and design of the system are the same.... so you can use that to help with the type of questions you're having.

 

I love my V6Va except for the keyboard. I hate the keyboard! Now it could just be my keyboard so I"m going to have it replaced later in January. I had a Thinkpad T43 before this and the V6Va keyboard is no where near as good as the T43. In fact this is the worst keyboard I've ever used. The travel is really short and I can't type really hard or really fast because the letters don't register sometimes. I've used Dell's, Toshiba's, Sony's, IBM's, etc. and never had any problems.
It sounds like it could just be my bad keyboard but maybe you should check out an ASUS keyboard before you buy. No one else has complained except me so it could just be mine.

 

yeah, something must be up with yours, becasue the travel and key size and sturdiness is basically identical on all their laptops.

 

Exander, thanks for the keyboard feedback. Hopefully, you can get a new one, if it is indeed defective--and not just the fact you came from the renowned IBM keyboards.

One last thing, Exander, do you experience major glare with typical office (or similar) lighting? I presume you have the IPS.

 

maybe its just my sensitive skin, but after using this machine for some time my skin becomes itchy around my eyes and wrists...
its very discomforting

I am thinking about selling my unit due to this problem. If you dont have sensitive skin like me it probably wont upset you.

My unit has IPS, completey maxed out specs and cost me around $2900...

if you dont want such a high end system, I can take out the RAM and the HD which you can buy put in yourself...and perhaps I can take out the processor as well

Wait for my review, I'm almost finished writing it...

if I do decide to sell it, I will make a thread in the next week or so...

 

I have the IPS screen. It is wonderful. I don't notice any glare. Sure if I have a completely black screen and aim the screen towards the lights I will see a mirror finish. If there is any glare during normal use I just change the angle of the screen. HOwever, you will not notice it. Maybe at first but then it goes away completely. I will never use a matte finish screen again, if I have any choice.

 

Hey Exander, how hot does your CPU get on regular use unplugged?
You can check with the Asus Probe or Notebook Hardware Control...

And yea, the screen doesn't have glare. As I said in my V6Va first impressions thread, this display is the best of glare type without many of the downsides....

 

I don't usually run mine unplugged but right now plugged it is 66c or 150f.