Z71V Questions

I’ve been researching highend (build-it-yourself) notebooks for quite some time now, and the Asus Z71V seems to have everything I’m looking for. I’ve read numerous reviews, and so far everything has sounded great. But, I still have a few questions before I shell out over two grand for the Z71V plus all the components I’ll need to build it myself. Some of these questions may have been answered in a review somewhere, so forgive me if I’m repeating them. This post is also fairly long, but I will be extremely appreciative of those that can provide answers.

1. This question probably applies to all notebooks. I’m planning on going for 1GB of memory, but I’m not sure if 2x512MB modules is or isn’t better than 1x1GB module. From my tower PC experience, 2 sticks would result in higher performance due to dual channelling. Does this still hold true for notebook platforms? What are the pros and cons of each option?

2. I noticed this notebook offers both PATA and SATA hard drive support. How does it offer both when there is only one HDD compartment? Are there special connectors used? Also, from my experience, SATA would be better as it would relieve some stress from the PATA controller which may already be used for optical drives. Can anybody confirm this?

3. I’ve read in one review that there were some compatibility issues between the Intel 2200 wireless card and the Z71V chipset. Can anybody confirm what these problems might be? I’m planning on just getting the 2915 card anyways, but I’m still curious about this reported issue.

4. Heat issues: I’ve heard some reports about palm rest heat issues. Can anybody confirm this? Also, after reading the notebooks PDF manual; it stated that the bottom can get very hot, and should not be used on your lap. Can anybody confirm just how hot the bottom gets? Also, I may go against the manuals recommendations, and use the notebook on bedding… Can anybody tell me just how much this might affect over heating?

5. Volume control: After reviewing the notebooks manual, I am curious about internal speaker volume control. The manual said to adjust volume, you press Fn + [2 different F keys]. Is this the only way to adjust volume besides just controlling it from within Windows? Do the AudioDJ keys have any control while in Windows?

6. DVD Burner: I can’t find much information regarding the Z71V DVD burner. Does anybody know where I might find details about it? Can it accept “hacked” firmware? What media will it support? What are its speeds?

7. WiFi antenna: I read somewhere that this notebook has a built in antenna for optional Mini-PCI wireless cards. Does anybody have any details regarding this feature?

8. I heard that the graphics in this notebook had the option of upgradeability. Can anybody confirm this?

9. Shock resistance: I may use this notebook for marine navigation. Now, sometimes there can be a bit of turbulence while on the water, so I’m curious just how much a notebook such as this can withstand. Also, in regards to shock resistance; is it fine to pack the notebook around while ON?... Providing you don’t excessively knock it around.

10. Does this notebook have any Bluetooth functionality?

11. And finally; where to buy it. I’m a Canadian resident, and many American Asus resellers won’t ship here. In Canada, there are also limited resellers. Can anybody provide details on reliable places where I could purchase the parts from, which will ship to Canada?

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If all of my questions can be answered I will extremely appreciate it.
And if there are any other similar notebooks to the Z71V, please don’t hesitate to recommend them.

Thank you in advance everybody.

 

I'll try to answer as much as I humanly can [8D]

1) Right now, dual-channel doesn't really effect, by only minimal amounts if I recall correctly. So go for the 1gb stick and upgrade if necessary

2) Not sure, but the z71v is compatiable for both but there was a problem with the connections. Or something like that. I think I'm quite wrong here though.

3) No idea [B)]

4) From what I've read, the z71v is a very cool notebook, and I believe smilepak?, said he used it in bed on his lap,in his boxers and it was fine [ ] Read his review though. Boxers not included[8D]

5) I thikn thats the only way, unless you recode the hotkeys or something similiar.

6) pass

7) pass[B)]

8) You can take it out, sure. Just that you need something to put back in. You can't put a nVidia 6800Ultra Go in there, for example, that was built for another notebook. It has to fit the motherboard, and has to run well, without risk of frying the notebook. Unless ASUS creates another one to upgrade, you're stuck with this.

9) It's pretty solid from what I've heard...I can only assume the turbulence, but I;'ll say it'll be fine.

10) Pass!

11) If its parts, I'm not really sure(I've been looking into it myself for the z70v, epsiecally the PM, the RAM+HD is easier) but if you want one by the dealer, try www.canadasys.com, www.pacificnotebooks.com, www.pcccom.ca, or head over to www.asus.com and look for the Canadian retailers.

best of luck

 

No offense, but I do have great faith in this forum and of your 11 questions, at least 8-9 of them have been answered many times and can be found by a simple search through the forum.

But let me give you a scoop on some of them.

1. If you ever think you want to go to 2gb... get 1 1gb stick..... a 1gb stick is going to be cheaper than going with 2 x 512 right now anyway..... but in theory dual channel will give you better performance, but that is marginal.

2. sata is going to be better, but in my opinion, not until seagate and hitachi get their 7200rpm drives out next month.......

3. No, not at all... just people using the wrong drivers. The drivers that come on the Z71v drivers disk are for the 2915 and most people are trying to use those I believe.

4. You're looking into other notebooks, the Z71v probably runs cooler than any of the other notebooks.

5. That's how you adjust volume on most notebooks... audio dj just controls cd function.. it works in windows, but it doesn't have volume up and down buttons.

6. Toshiba/Samsung TS-L532A --- that's all you need to look that up. It's an 8x Dual Layer DVD burner.

7. All of our systems have a set of antenna that attach to the minipci card and then go up the back of the screen to make your screen act as a giant antenna when open.

8. No... that's the simple answer. Whether it's possible in theory or not is yet to be known and there are so many things that have to fall into place to make that possible. Yes it's removable, but will you ever be able to upgrade it, don't count on it. If it is, you're not going to be able to do it yourself.

9. I used these notebooks in a car and on airplanes... never really in a boat, but the seagate and hitachi hard drives can take a bit of hard knocks, but then again, that's a hard drive issue and nothing to do with the notebook itself really. But if you're using this in a humid environment like that, I don't even have to really think about this but you'll be voiding your warranty no matter who you buy from whether you're in freshwater or worse, saltwater..... I've seen what bring around both will do to all parts of a notebook.

10. No ... if you want that, go with the W5/W3/V6 for now.

11. I know we ship a good 25% of our business to Canada, so we're available if needed.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
800-474-2296
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

z71v --

runs very cool.

sata compatible with the supplied adapter.

salt water and humidity is an enemy of any electronics

shock resistent

no bluetooth

GPU replaceable, not upgradable

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1.86 Pentium-M===2gbDDR2 PC-4200===NVidia 6600go 128mb===60gb/7200 Hitachi HDD
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I know things that could bore people to death !!
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Good call

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
800-474-2296
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by lapboy

 

regarding Parallel ATA hard drives and the optical drive on the Z71v, there have been a couple threads on Notebook Forums about them being on the same IDE chanel and thus slowing down CD/DVD burning times due to it, but my DVD burner works fine and burns CDs in reasonable time (about 6 minutes for a 60 minute CD), and I've got a parallel ATA hard drive, so I don't know what all the fuss is about.

drum while you work

 

Now since I'm not exactly sure what I should search for in case this already exists... What are the detailed performance differences between running 2x512MB modules and 1x1GB module? Perhaps somebody could direct me to some benchmarks relating to a notebook platform... Or if possible, the Z71.

And thank you again for answering my questions everybody.

 

Look into the performance benefits of dual channel ram..... there are some, but for most people you'll never seem them.... so the best way to look at it is if you think you're going to need 2gn at some point..... get 1 stick..... if not, get 2 x 512

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
800-474-2296
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

With the price of the 1x1gb vs 2x512MB are very close to each other, I would go with the 1x1gb. This will give you the extra slot for upgrade later on.

The performance differences between single channel and dual channel DDR2 is at most 5% performance peak. So you won't notice the differences.

Yes the laptop support both PATA and SATA. There is an adapter included in the laptop for you to attach with either

I am using the 2915 wifi card now and having no problem. THe benefit of it is you are able to pick up 802.11A signal.

Heat is not an issue with the Z71V. This is one thing most people praise about on this laptop. Due to the design, the hard drive is not directly below the palm rest. It is under the keyboard a bit. The battery is directly below the palm rest. Also, if you look at the HD, there is a metal shield between the HD and the keyboard area in size the laptop. This helps. Other laptop have heat due to the HD is directly below the palm rest area

As for bluetooth, really how many devices use bluetooth. For me all I have is the mouse, which comes with the adapter already. You could always add a USB bluetooh module to it. Don't forget this laptop has 5 USB2.0 connectors.

DVD Burner, most palces will have the Toshiba/Samsung TS-L532A model. This one is an 8X DVD+-RW. It burns well. I've done at least a few dozens DVD editing and burning inthe past month. I could say it burn a 3.4GB DVD in less than 12 minutes. I think it was closer to 9 minutes if I recall correctly.



Laptop: Asus Z71V
* Intel® Pentium® M 750 - 1.86GHz
* 2GB DDR2-533 Corsair
* Hitachi Travelstar 60GB 7200 RPM w/ 8MB Buffer
FAQ Most asked about laptops: http://notebookforums.com/showthread.php?t=61505
Asus Z71V Unofficial Support Thread: http://notebookforums.com/showthread.php?t=72349

 

Good call smikepak

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
800-474-2296
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

I am not sure about freshwater but i am pretty sure havin your lappy around salt water for prolonged periods will increase oxidation. In the z71v the drive sits on a sata controller not on a pata controller. The pata adaptor functions like a converter. It does look like the optical drive sits on the same channel but there has been no evidence aside from analyzing windows device manager to back that claim up. This is something that needs no proof or argument. The latop works great and so do its components. There are no heat issues. If you had hear dof heat issues the claims are completely bogus or are comming from bum units. Lets call it a modular vga card. It would be nice for asus to release upgrades but its unlikely. Most drives come wth fluid ball bearings. THey can take a bit of shock. Just make sure you have it sitting on veltcro. If you hit a wave and the notebook goes flying it will probably break. This one does not have built in bluetooth. We do offer mini usb plugs as well as pcmcia adaptors for bluetooth which are a bit more expensive. I dont see why you would need more then 1gb ram. Thats alot of ram. Most people dont need more. Its practical to get a single stick but keep in mind that this does support dual channel. If you pair up with another module later there is a small probablity they may not work well together. Its good practice to pair identical modules for dual channel, but if you dont odds are you are still ok.

Eddie
www.Geared2Play.com
Tech Spot
4422 Ave. N
Brooklyn, NY, 11234

 

Right, on the Z71 you are using a converter basically from the native sata on the board, but when a pata drive is placed in there, something is happening... as we've all read in the forums... doesn't make much sense, but it's being attributed to having 1 ide channel... although if you're using the sata channel basically with a converter, why is it happening?

I've seen oxidation from freshwater.. basically humidity does the work.... the salt in the air around salt water is going to do more damage though and quicker... I've seen what a computer that was out to sea looks like... it's not pretty.. They age quickly in that environment.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
800-474-2296
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

My personal suggestion would be a pelican case...... We don't sell them, although we should... I have a half dozen of them for my camera equiptment, computers, etc.

Regardless of how much you're going to use it.... having it zipped in the nylon bag isn't much help..... A pelican case watertight great for traveling through humid and water conditions.... however you could still trap that air in the case I guess.... vaccum sealing the pelican case would be then ideal.....

I guess the bottom line really is... take care of it. If the system went in for repairs and the motherboard was all corroded... there isn't much getting around having to buy a new motherboard, because that's not something that could ever be covered...... but with you doing what you want to do, I'm sure you understand that. It's why in cases like these I say have a rider attached to your insurance some how.. or take out special electronics insurance that would cover stuff like this becasue it's going to get ruined eventually in that environment, that's just a fact of life.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
800-474-2296
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by Geared2play.com

 

Puggy,
I assume the notebook will be used within the confines of the cabin where the risk of direct salt spray is minimized. Since the environment is going to wreak havoc on the lappy anyway, you might try spraying some Corrosion X on the circuit boards and connectors. Basically, on any exposed metal parts including solder joints. I spray all connections on my boat with the stuff and it protects against moisture infiltration and corrosion like nobody's business. Hell, the ads claim that a TV dipped in Corrosion X can be submerged and still work upon withdrawal from water. It's available at most marine stores/chandleries for about $14 a can. Proceed at your own risk but it might be worth considering, FWIW. [ ]

A Man Without Vices Is Like A Ship Without Cargo

 

That is an idea.... one I like but couldn't suggest for obvious reasons....pulling out the motherboard isn't the best way to keep a warranty.... but when the option is:

a) destory the system with salt spary to which a warranty wouldn't cover.

b) void the warranty by taking apart the system and coating it with that stuff... potentially killing it right there....... or having it last a nice long life....

Both are risks.... but I can't honestly say which one is better.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
800-474-2296
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Ye this is probably not the best place to mention you plan on ripping appart the system. We charge 250-300$ to replace a mobo on an asus laptop that is not under warranty. You know i am not sure about the oxidation effects on fresh watter. I have an m5n the lill bitty thing. Every other weekend i go to my cottage in PA for fishing and relaxation. I ve used it on the dock plenty times while i am sipping a cold one and my house is about 100 feet from the lake itself. There is nol shortage in humidity. I ve had this one for about a year now. Most of the time i leave it sitting in a humin basement in Brooklyn. I dont think you need to take any excess measures for fresh water usage but do expect to shorten its life by a bit if you use it in any type of humid environement. Salt water? Do not use your notebook anywhere near salt water thats for sure.

Eddie
www.Geared2Play.com
Tech Spot
4422 Ave. N
Brooklyn, NY, 11234

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by AndyMon

Puggy,
I assume the notebook will be used within the confines of the cabin where the risk of direct salt spray is minimized.<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'></font id='quote'></blockquote id='quote'>
Of course. I'm not quite dumb enough to put it the way of salt spray [].

<blockquote id='quote'>quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by AndyMon

you might try spraying some Corrosion X on the circuit boards and connectors.<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'></font id='quote'></blockquote id='quote'>
Good suggestion. I'll look into that.

 

Eddie, yeah I was telling you I had my M5 up there on memorial day........ but I was out in the water. If I didn't have spare motherboards for that system I wouldn't be doing it because just the mist off the water could seriously screw it up.

I know you wouldn't be dumb enough to venture out of the city and up to lake on Memorial Day, but one of these weekend we'll have to meet up and I'll show you can fish out to the point where you can barely see the shore... and still connect through EDGE and post on these forums, lol. .... I know going fishing is supposed to take you away from the busy week, but sometimes I just like to do it because I can.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
800-474-2296
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Just came to the conclusion that posting in forums is addictive. Justin methodome will not help you. Its too late. I am sorry. It looks like i am on the same path.

Eddie
www.Geared2Play.com
Tech Spot
4422 Ave. N
Brooklyn, NY, 11234