CN15-A1 Impressions

So I've had this baby for a couple days now and figured some would like to know some impressions. I really don't have time for a full review or even answering questions really but I figured the details on this unit are pretty scarce.

-Graphic Memory is DDR3 "FUUUUUU-"
-The unit takesdown really easily with six screws (already swapped the screws for more robust ones)
-RAM for the 4gb model is a single stick with an open slot for expansion
-Keyboard is SHALLOW (To the point where I will use an external keyboard when typing papers and articles)
-There is some of missing drivers on the Vizio Support page, including
integrated graphics and Atheros AR9462 wireless
-I already formatted a SSD to run windows off of. Since it doesn't come with a recovery CD, I just used an .iso of home premium which will authenticate fine.
-FN + Arrow keys replace page up/down home/end
-I don't think the touch pad is bad, but it takes getting used to. The bottom right corner is the right click
-I'm not a fan of the wasted space on the surface of the laptop. They could have added a keypad or programmables with all this space.
-Gaming with the 705MHz overclock raises GPU temps from about 40C idle (at 135 MHz) to about 55C average (60C max); tested while playing DX:HR on high settings and 1080
Overall, I'm not terribly picky with computers, but the deficiency of the keyboard and the speakers are pretty noticeable. I am coming from the M14x and the M11x which are pretty robustly built in those categories.

On the other hand, for relatively cheap, it is a pretty decently spec'd machine. The metal chassis, fantastic screen, and ~.9 depth design are all icing to the cake.



It is Kepler But it's DDR3 T_T

 

Thanks for the review, very useful information.
You have a CN15-A1? Or is this a typo. "CT15-A1"
As far as I know none of the notebooks have been release yet.
If it is a CN15-A1 where did you purchase it?

 

Battery Life?
That is the last detail I am looking for

 

It is indeed a CN15-A1. I was really surprised that I was able to order one straight from Vizio so they are on the market, albeit in low numbers. I was really hesitant to buy one of these due to the lack of info on them, but on paper, they were just too alluring. I do not, in anyway, regret this purchase. Not only that but Vizio Support has just been purely helpful.

I don't think I can do a realistic battery test but windows says it's about 4h45m on a full charge if that's helpful.

I'm about to put up a picture of the internals when I was swapping out the hard drive.

 

Thank you so much for this! I wonder if the i7 has significantly less battery life though?

Also is the processor soldered on to the motherboard or is it removable? And can you add a msata ssd into the model you have cuz the i7 has one i believe.

 

My concern for the battery prompted me to opt for the i5, which has always been enough power for me. I don't think it would be a stretch to assume that the i7 has a measurable inferiority in battery life.

If you look at the picture of the internals (blurry, sorry) you can see what looks like a PCI-e slot to the right of the RAM. I'm assuming this is were the mSATA goes on the i7 version. I would hope there is a PCI-e slot with mSATA capabilities on this one because it makes no sense to make different motherboards if the CN15 series varies so little.

As far as the processor, I'm pretty sure socket'd, as you can see to the very left of the RAM is the loosening screw on the socket.

 

Awesome, great pics. You have a gem as of now. I have been quoted so many dates by Walmart on my delivery of the CN15-A2, I am now two months into my pre-order.
Hopefully the I7 doesn't draw much more power, I shall see eventually.

Post some FPS benchmarks for a couple games if you happen to play some, I would definitely appreciate it if you had the time.

 

Thanks. Is that at what screen brightness?

 

I believe my brightness was max. I really have no problem with the battery life as long as I'm smart about it. Also note that I don't have a mechanical drive.

 

How's the display? Since it's a 15" 1080p I've been wondering if it suffers from the same orange reds as the Vaio S15 and the HP Envy.

 

Well 1 I heard the Envy has the red issue fixed and 2 the Vizio's screen doesn't have the orangegate.

Aside from that, screw my warranty, I'm getting a 3720qm and 16gb ram if I get this.

 

Impossible, unless they have the laptops sent in for a new display. It simply can't reproduce red, no amount of software patches can fix that.

 

New envy 15's are shipping with an updated panel that fixes the red issues.

 

does anyone know if its possible to replace the battery after about two years or so.

or do i need to send it in to vizio or something to get it replaced.

i expect battery wear after 2 years to make the laptop's battery to only last me ~two hours.
was the battery removable?

 

Do you think you can check the latency on this thing? I'm really interested in this laptop, but I need it to be suitable to real-time audio editing. You can use soft like 'latencymon' or 'dpc latency' to find out

 

Are the CN15s all IPS panels? Seems like the HDD can easily be replaced by a standard sized 7mm 2.5" SSD.

Is the RAM upgradable to 2 x 8GB?