Zepto Mythos A15

Hello, I am seriously considering the Zepto Mythos A15 as my future notebook right now because the Zepto Outlet offers quite a nice deal:

P 8600
Geforce 9600 GT DDR3
4 gigs of RAM
9-cell battery
320 GB harddrive
WSXGA+ display
2 years of warranty
No OS
---------------------
1.099 €

However, I am uncertain about the noise level and the battery life.

Also, the notebook offers neither a firewire port nor an express card slot. Is that upgradeable in any way? Are there external express card slots you can plug in via USB or something? I don't need firewire or an express card yet, but who knows what kind of devices I will buy in the future. If I don't have firewire then, I might run into problems.

I have also heard that the built-in Zepto W-LAN card is really bad and has severe connection problems. Due to the fact that this is an outlet offer, I can't change the card and buy the Intel device instead. -> Is that card replaceable (like RAM or Intel Turbo Memory per se)? Or am I stuck with this one?

 

The Mythos does have a Express card slot, but only an Express card/34 slot (the small one).
The Wireless card is either a:
Ralink 2860 (Zpro 2 - partno: 260030)
Atheros based (Zpro 2 Half Height - partno: 260033)

Both should be okay cards but can have issues as most router manufacturers use Intel as base unit to program the compatibility for.

 

Whoops, I thought that was a card reader. But that's ok then. I didn't know those sneaky things get this small

It says 260030 in the outlet so it is the Ralink 2860 model. What a shame that both of them have these problems. Can I replace them easily?

 

Yeah it's pretty easy to replace it by removing the big cover on the right side on the underside of the PC.
Just be careful with the screws they are pretty easy to break when you unscrew them and screw them back in.

 

All right, sounds good.
What about the noise level? Many owners of the Nox or the Mythos complain about the noise. Well, my desktop PC sounds like a freakin' chainsaw when turned on, so I am glad about anything that is not as loud as that one Can someone compare the loudest noise of the notebook to something?

 

I recently got a Mythos and the WLAN works just fine. I have the Zpro2 model.

Noise.. Well the fan spins reguraly depending where you set the starting point for it.. I keep it at 55 degrees so that it blows more often but not so loud.

I don't think the dB levels are too bad. And today i'm going to test if a Zalman NC2000 will stop the fan spinning at all while just surfing.

 

Do the speakers (I know they suck) drown the fan noises out when you play an mp3 or something? Or when the TV is on? I need a comparison, I've read that the it gets as loud as 45 dB, but... how loud is that?
Thanks for the posts so far

 

Wait, you can adjust that?

 

Yes you have that option in the BIOS

 

Cool, I didn't know that, I've never owned a laptop before. Excuse me if that was a stupid question.

So does that help with the noise "issue" a lot? I've also heard that a BIOS update helps. Is that for real?

 

It helps in it's own way. You can adjust the fan to start blowing up until 75 degrees from 55. The fan will be silent for a longer time but it will cool (blow) longer to cool the laptop down.

But now, with my new Zalman NC2000 cooler and the tripping point in 55 my fan won't start at all.

 

Ok, I don't think I'm going to buy a laptop cooler, but I will rely on the BIOS options and my bad ears.

Last point: Battery life. How long is it while gaming and while surfing the web?

I will buy this laptop if the battery life isn't too disappointing, therefore I thank you guys already for helping me with the decision. I have been looking for the right notebook for several months now and this could be it.

 

With power saving settings, i get ~ 1h 30 minutes of time. It's not much, but i prefer power over battery life.

Just fixed my keyboard, no more rattling from the left side. (some users have reported this).

 

That is the 6-cell battery, right? Because if not, I might rethink the whole thing.

 

It's the 6 cell, don't worry.

 

I would like to know, you guys who own a mythos, did you manage to clean your chassi from the colouring where your hands rest?
How did you fix your keyboard thorne?

 

I haven't tried cleaning Mythos yet, but i've had good results with my GF's older white Zepto and a substance called PRF Booster.

They keyboard wasn't properly mounted to the case causing the left side of the keyboard to rattle while typing. I fixed it with putting a couple pieces of two-sided tape beneath the keyboard to balance it.

 

Hey NegatiVe,

I'm not sure where you live, but if it's Zepto Europe (or the UK, where I am), I'd seriously consider waiting to see if they improve their customer service, or consider another company.

I'm currently having an appaling time of it - missed deadlines, shipping updates not happening, emails not answered...

I imagine my laptop will arrive (unless I buy somewhere else), but they also aren't taking credit card orders at the moment, so that protection goes out the window.

The worry is if this is the sales support, what's the technical support going to be, as that's usually a lot worse (a generalisation I realise, but that does not mean it's invalid).

I'm checking with a lawyer friend to see what my rights are under the UK Sales of Goods act (I stated the delivery time was very important to me when I ordered the laptop).

I know there's some good service going on from Dave (aka ZeptoUSA), but that is quite possibly a whole different company. If you're in the USA I can't offer a useful opinion, so won't try!

Regards

Rob

 

I asked a Zepto rep from Zepto Germany and he stated that they are "trying to figure out a way to clean the Mythos", but also said that the Mythos "doesn't get dirty that quickly" (which I don't believe).
On the bright side, he replied in the middle of the night (01:00 AM!) which is something you wouldn't expect from any company. Would you?

 

Water works well for me.

 

Then you gonna buy another laptop...
Zepto isn't lying awake from your cancellation.
And other Zepto users are more exclusive. Cheers

 

Update: They've apologised (which seems unusual enough in these days of no-customer support), so that's a good thing.

Unfortunately, the laptop will be delivered when I'm away, and taken out of the UK before I get back.

CLB-NL: I have to say, I'm confused by the point and content of your post. I posted my experience to this thread as that may be useful and important for someone making a purchasing decision. Customer support is a significant factor for a lot of people, as is a delivery date.

As a side comment, I didn't actually say I was going to cancel, and any cancellation should concern a company for the simple reason they don't really want any unhappy customers, although I imagine insomnia isn't likely, as you suggest.

As I'm an IT Consultant and make recommendations to clients they could loose more than a single cancellation, (if cancellation is the path I go down). Further to that with the Internet it's easy for a few people with bad experiences to dissuade another from buying from a particular manufacturer, so again, no single bad experience should be ignored.

 

Thanks for the info ConfusedOne2, I probably will order from zepto anyways.

 

Yeah, this would be nice too know, does it work to have it in a lecture hall, soundwise with noise from the fan, keyboard etc?

And can you clock down the GPU, to preserve power and produce less heat?

 

I have the laptop now and I can answer your question: The fan noise is very audible when you are in your room with your door closed and without any other sounds around you. However, in a lecture hall for instance, it should not be audible at all as it gets drowned by the sounds around you very easily. You know, I am working in an advertising agency at the moment and what I hear around me are some footsteps on the floor and occasional chit-chat of people next door. Under these circumstances, I barely hear the fan. I however believe that many people are unhappy with the fan noise when they are in their room without any other sounds audible, because then the fan is far away from silent.

I have not found a function to clock the GPU down. Yet.

I also have a question: Is it normal for a laptop to clock the hardware down once the AC plug has been pulled out even if the power profile "High Performance" is selected? How can I change that? I just wanted to play a quick game of Red Alert 3 without the AC plug and it was virtually unplayable, although I picked the "High Performance" profile. When I put the AC plug back in, it worked perfectly.

 

Yes it's normal

 

Well, can I change it?

 

Not that I know

 

Yes, you can change it: I think you can change it in the powersettings of windows or use RM-clock to override the OS-powersettings.

With RM-clock you can also adjust the voltage for the cpu so it doesnt get so hot..
check out this thread:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=235824

 

For any of you US or Canada customers..

We have a limited amount of Mythos A15's left in stock and I would like to offer you guys the chance to take $175.00 off a Mythos A15 order. This will last until we run out and I have to order more. $175.00 off the least expensive configuration puts you at $1250.00 from $1425.00.

Get your Mythos today starting at $1250.00. I dont expect these to last long guys.

 

I'm getting irritated with my GPU's temperatures.. I have the thermal tripping point set to 65 degrees, and the fan kicks on all the time for a 10-30 seconds every couple minutes.. That is without using my Zalman coolpad.

I'm thinking of replacing the the thermal pad with something better if it would be of any help.

What do you guys think?



edit:

Oh and here's a log of my recent conversation with Zepto's support.

The lad said that they'll sell mxm gpu modules in the future.

Check it out:

http://koti.mbnet.fi/anakha/zepto 2.txt

 

Thorne

I personally use the default (55 celcius) on my Nexus (Nexus is the same as Mythos except the color isnt it?) and its much better.. I mean it runs often but its so less noise, and its easy to live with.

Oh i saw in your previous post that you have already done that.. okay..

 

Nox and Mythos are the same but different colour, while nexus is the "budget" version of the previous two.

 

Zepto has introduced a new Zepto Mythos A15 casing..

The 'old' one was a white matte casing and the new one is a pearlwhite glossy one!

Why have the changed it? Because of some problems with casings that are getting started yellow in stead of keeping white..

So Zepto has designed a new casing, totally insane in my humble opinion!

But it's horny as hell and the glossy finish includes the battery, expresscard slot and optical drive!































BUT I don't know if it's for all Zepto Mythos consumers, or only for the Netherlands!

Here you can also change the matte casing to the glossy one =)


NICE JOB ZEPTO!

 

Well, my casing for shure is starting to lose it's colour..

Mostly the bottom edge (just below the touchpad + left & right from there) and the left palm area..

 

hi all

my Mythos has problems to read the CPU temperature.
The Temerature is only updated once when starting OS
I tried with several Programs and 5 different OS.
GPU Temp is updated.
Does anyone know this problem ?
CPU is a P8400

 

I have the same problem with P9600.

 

I think it is because of a missing / faulty heat-sensor

 

They denied that at Zepto and refused to do anything for it to fix that problem from my machine.

 

I have the exact same problem with a P8600.

I also have a new problem, with just occured over night.
Yesterday morning, I used my Mythos and everything was fine. I listened to some songs, checked my mail, and shut it down again as I had to go to work.
Then, today, I booted it up again. It lay on my table all day, nobody ever touched the damn thing. And you know what happened?
THE SOUNDCHIP ON MY MOTHERBOARD BROKE OUT OF NO APPARENT REASON.

I first thought it might just be yet another Windows-only issue and that I could just reinstall the drivers, but the audio device just seems to be completely gone. No entry in the device manager, and when I manually try to install the drivers, it says there is no such device.
I also dual-boot Ubuntu Linux on my Mythos and it doesn't have any sound output either.
I am so seriously pissed-off right now, I don't want to give my laptop in for a repair yet again, because it was there just a month or so ago because my CPU fan ran on full throttle all the time (fixed by now).
I really really like my laptop, it's the perfect machine for me, but I don't want to give it in for another repair just to find out that something else might break in the next few months.