A8Js - Owner's Lounge

I bought mine from newegg.com A8Js-4S034P. and newegg no longer carry them I have no idea what screen i have. all i know is that it has dark patches no matter what angle i look at it. I'll call this a defect.

 

Ya, newegg is now carrying A8JS-4S024P. And from what I have read, I don't think I have heard of anyone getting an AUO screen matching this model number. Not yet at least.

 

This screen thing is a little new to me, but I gather from the posts that the AUO/CMO are the most desirable? Are the certain vendors (Milestone, BTO, etc.) that carry certain screen types?

 

To clarify:

AUO is the *LEAST* desirable. We are exploring options on how to get rid of it.
CMO is the *MOST* desirable factory used LCD.

Philips has been mentioned here as another good alternative however it requires third party purchasing and self installation.

To find out what you have install Everest (free edition) and go to the display->monitor tab. http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4181.html

 

I just bought an A8Js from Newegg last week and was completely disappointed by how the screen looked. I did a side-by-side comparison between it and my old Dell 700m and the 700m makes my new A8Js screen look like such a piece of junk. It looks like there is a bunch of grainy stuff in the screen which makes all of the colors look not as smooth as they are supposed to. Not to mention the horrible viewing angles that have already been mentioned. I had thought about taking a loss and selling the laptop on eBay because I hate the screen so much. If anybody has some updates on what to do about the screen I would appreciate it tremendously. I think we should be able to send it back to Asus and have a new one put on.

 

Sounds like you got the notorious AUO screen. That risk was one of the main reasons I went with an A8JP instead. I never heard of anybody getting an A8JP that didn't have the CMO screen. I was actually very surprised at how nice the screen on my A8JP was, kicked my old Acer Tm8204's screen's butt. I used to hate glossy screens, but this one is really growing on me.

 

Tlauer1, can you confirm that it is an AUO screen and what model number is it.

 

I feel exactly the same as you do. As compare to my Acer, the Asus screen is really a piece of junk. I think we should contact asus and have it replaced.

 

I am at work right now but I plan on checking which screen I have when I get home. I am expecting it to be an AUO screen, though.

 

I bought the A8JS-4S024P from proportable.com about 2.5 weeks ago and I have the CMO screen.

Monitor ID: CMO1416
Manufacturer: N141C1-L02

 

I just ran the EVEREST software and confirmed that my A8Js has the crappy AUO screen.

 

Notebook: A8Js-4S023P
Display: AUO1247 (from Everest)

 

A8Js-4S034P
Monitor ID AUO1247
Field Value
Manufacture Date Week 1 / 2005 2005???

 

ASUS A8JS review (after 2 months use)
2007-01-30 Written by Dog Surfer. Purchase date: 2006-11-17 from Milestone.
Asus A8Js // 2gb RAM // 100gb 5400rpm SATA HD // 512mb GeForce 7700 // 7200 Core2Duo 2ghz// no Bluetooth // Monitor 14.0" 1440x900 AUO1247; Manufacturer B141PW01 V2

Case: Latch solid, no issue. Case closes fine, no misalignment. Case durable plastic, slightly stronger than Dell, weaker than Asus W3J. Silver case top may be scratch prone (none yet); black case bottom won't show any scratches.

Battery: I keep the battery unplugged all the time, recharging and using only as needed, and insert during transport. I learned to do this due to my Dell $250 battery replacement (ouch!), which is now going on 2.5 years (compared to 6 months). The W3J battery strip in back is a better design for this practice, but looses on connectivity.

Weight: Fairly light. 5.5lbs.

Monitor: It will flex if you grasp and bend the LCD screen when it's open. Don't do that. I have the (bad?) AUO1247 monitor. The complaints I've read do not apply to my system. I have enabled Clear Type; Big difference! Viewing angles vertical noticeably best viewed straight on. Horizontal fully viewable from neighboring library or airline seat. Bottom LED light leakage unnoticeable, except when you set the screen to black and view in dark room. I have kept the shipping plastic taped to the screen for its protection, and it still is twice the quality of previous sxga+ non-color-shine LCD technology.

DVD noise: Kind of crunchy. It's noisier than my external USB/DVD. It's not a broken sound though, just not designed for quiet use. DVD button access slightly recessed, avoids accidental opening.

Fan noise: I've noticed 3 speeds: Off, low, & moderate. Fan goes on at 49 Celsius, and stays on. I have experimented with ACPI settings to turn the fan on at 60, and off again when back down to 45. I find the on/off more distracting than the constant low hum, so I have returned to the factory default. However I use the on/off mode when on battery-only, to prolong the battery charge.

Heat: My previous Centrino 1.6Ghz fan would stay off unless during heavy usage. A8JS temperature always climbs, even when idle in 1.0Ghz mode. Fan air intake is at the bottom, and exhaust is out the side. Air intake is easily blocked if actually used on lap. Workaround: Put laptop on a CD case or similar.

Disk drive noise: Noticeable but not obtrusive. I use ACPI settings to put the drive in acoustic "quiet mode". Speed difference is not noticeable, noise is now undetectable. ACPI settings & temperature display set with Notebook Hardware Control 2.0 Pre-Release-04, and the Intel Core Duo and Intel Core 2 Duo patch, which in turn requires MS .NET. All are free.

Linux compatibility dual boots fine under SUSA 10.2.
Webcam works. It shows the same guy all the time though.
Bluetooth not enabled on my model.
Touchpad works fine. Too similar to surrounding plastic, so sometimes I tap on the wrong area.
Packaged software uninstalled Norton, Skype, & others. I did the NTSC conversion. Kept ATKOSD (volume control) & Hcontrol (extra buttons). With my virus checker, software firewall, proxy filter & NHC, I run with 22 processes, down from 44 at factory settings.

Left control key placement - what were they thinking?
Volume control placement - what were they thinking?
Uncustomizeable buttons & "Instant fun" button - What were... must be the same design team.

Bottom line: Satisfied, good value for knowledgeable users. Unnecessary power/cost for novices.

 

I remember reading about a patch/tweak to "activate" the second core (or perhaps it was to ensure Windows would optimally use the dual core) at some point around my laptop purchase. I can't recall whether or not I did this or not (applied the patch/tweak). Hopefully I am making some sense.
Is there a way of checking this (whether I applied the patch/tweak)?

 

The multi-core activation was well presented with this link: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=60416
Screen shots show registry & boot.ini settings to check whether tweak is applied. My before/after benchmarks showed no discernable difference on my A8JS.

 

Just to dive in on the screen discussion; my A8Js was bought here in Sweden and this is what I got out of Everest 3.5 on a Vista installation (which works great on this notebook BTW):


[ Allmän PnP-bildskärm [NoDB] ]

Bildskärmsegenskaper:
Bildskärmsnamn Allmän PnP-bildskärm [NoDB]
Bildskärms ID AUO1247
Tillverkare B141PW01 V2
Tillverkningsdatum Vecka 1 / 2005
Serienummer Ingen
Max. synlig visningsstorlek 30 cm x 19 cm (14.0")
Betraktningsförhållande 16:10
Gamma 2.20
DPMS formatstöd Ingen

Sorry for it being in Swedish, didn't have time to translate, but I think you can see the important bits. I think the screen could be better, but it's not all that bad as some users describe it IMO. Viewing angles are poor(ish), contrast/brightness could be better, but I can see things on it quite clearly - so I don't really think about it in everyday use.

Just my 2c.

//Patrik

 

And what are your opinions on the CMO screen, if I may ask?

//Patrik

 

Thanks for the link!
I don't have time to read it at the moment (though I certainly will do so), but judging by the title and your observation of no discernible difference, perhaps ASUS has already tweaked things beforehand?

 

The CMO screen is very nice. It's very bright. Actually on the brightest setting, the screen seems to bright for me and I have to turn it down a few notches.

It's very sharp, and no light leakage as far as i can tell. The viewing angle is not bad at all. I do not have to be squared up with the screen perfectly to see a good image.

Overall, I am very happy with the screen. Let me know if you need any specific details.

 

Leoric. Is there any chance that you can make a video of the screen, moving arround the camera just to view the angles?

 

Even the best screen would look crappy when seen over a webcam.

 

Just to summarize since I was looking at this thread tonight - this is just the people that provided model numbers.

The only people that have mentioned getting a CMO (the "good" screen) in America are two people (leoric and poncho) who both bought the 4S024P from proportable.

One person with the 4S023P (payback) got an AUO (the "bad" screen) from Milestone.

One person with the 4S034P (fearme) got an AUO from an uncertain location.

 

I think the auo screen is outstanding.

But its viewing angle up and down is worse than almost anything.

If you look at it other than straight on it might look bad. Mostly when the machine is brand new the people say what this is actually worse than my old screen etc.
When you use it from real laptop use its way better and brighter than anything in its range.

I dont have any stats on the cmo screen. I suspect its very similar but theres no light leakage from the bottom.

contrast is outstanding. But blacks are not dark black this is also true.

If for some reason you rate a laptop screen based on the viewing angle it is a bad screen I suppose.

 

have you gotten anything back from asus yet? i have yet to receive any reply from them.

 

Hi, guys...

Ok, currently I am running bios 207 - I have seen that a new version is available (v2.11), is it recommended to update the Bios?

If so, how do you do it? I have heard it is quite critical is something goes wrong when updating bios.

 

If you plan to use Vista, then you should upgrade the bios. There should be some compatibility fixes in bios number 210 and ofc in 211. But if you only use XP, then you can stick with the old 207

 

Ok, thanks.

At this point i will just use XP, however I'll ofcourse use the offering of a free vista buisness edition. I am a bit sad though that we cant get home premium because we got XP pro with our a8js'.

 

I have not been able to contact them yet. It took me several attempts over several days just to get to the page on the Asus site to register the laptop. Now that it's registered I'm trying to find the time to contact them. I'm pretty busy with work but I would like to resolve this before my Vista disc arrives.

 

I just got off the phone with Asus Supprt. I described the issues with the screen and the tech opened a ticket for me. He was very cautious and said that they might look at it and decide that it is within the normal range for the screen and it might not be replaced. He also said that they might not have a different model screen anyway.

I told him which screen I have, the AUO, and that while everyone is dissapointed with this screen, people with the CMO are very happy. He made a note of it but I will also include a detailed write up in the box when I ship it.

I'll report back on the results.

 

Sounds good paypack.

Let us know.

 

Is it safe to say that all 4S024P models have the CMO screen? Is there anybody with a 4S024P that got the AUO screen?

I think since the latest model, 4S024P, Asus has been using CMO screen. Everybody with an A8JP has gotten a CMO screen too.

 

payback, do you mean you are RMA'ing your a8js? I might be doing the same.

 

Yes, I'm sending it to Asus for warranty service. I just received the RMA number and I plan to ship it out Monday evening. I'm in AZ so it shouldn't take more than a couple of days and according to the phone representative, the turn around time is a few days. Hopefully I have it back in a week or so but they can keep it for a month as long as I get a new and properly functioning screen.

 

Thanks for the info and keep us posted.

 

Hello
I live in the US and my A8Js-4S024P has a CMO screen.
There is no light leakage and on AC power it is really bright, but it is kind of grainy.
I got my order from btotech.com as it was the best price I could find.

I have a question, when i am at the asus vista upgrade site i am given a choice between x64 and x32 vista business versions. I really want to use the x64 version but being a prior user of xp64 left a sour taste in my mouth. Does the vista x64 upgrade also include the x32 version? Can I use the licence for one of the two (of course not at the same time)? I want to choose x64 but that might make me not switch to vista for at least 6 months till they figure out the drivers.

 

To MahirAydin - unsure and I don't think anyone can tell you for sure because they have not shipped and received Vista yet. As a guess I would say you can *only* run whatever it is you order. (I ordered 64 bit and only expect to run 64 bit).

To Payback - who is paying for shipping to Asus on this RMA, and who pays for the return to you?

 

I don't agree. Thought the screen (AUO) was crap from day one and still think it is. I work with compositing and calibrated professional monitors in the 30000-70000 $ price range so I've seen a few both CRTs and LCDs. I don't understand how Asus can sell this screen it's crap. End of discussion.

 

I also have a 4S034P with an AUO screen. I bought mine from newegg. Being a newbie to the laptop scene (this is my first) I am fairly happy with my display. The up/down viewing angles are my biggest complaint, but color wise I don't find it to be bad. I think I notice what everyone calls "light leakage" at the bottom when it is all black while booting, but I don't experience the washout of the start button someone else described. I've played Company of Heroes on it which is normally displaying dark colors (grays, browns) and it looks good in my opinion once I get the vertical angle right.

 

Couldnt agree more. I've sent them 10 emails and gotten no reply.. nothing.. if that's the way Asus deal with the business, i dont think they are going anywhere. this is my first asus laptop and also the last. i never thought the screen would be this bad.. seriously.. a very very expensive lesson for me.

 

I ship it there, they ship it back. They only want the notebook though and nothing else. No power brick or anything.

Who are you emailing? I didn't see an email address on the Asus support site. The instructions say to call. I would try that if I were you.

 

Is it acceptable to remove the harddrive prior to sending or must this be included?

 

I think you'll have to leave the hard drive in the laptop... but MAKE SURE to BACK IT UP before you send it in.

 

Yeah, you should probably leave it. I'm sure they will want to boot it up and get a good look at the screen under normal use.

 

well Im glad thats the end of your discussion. Does that mean you have nothing else to add then? Good. I like people who end their discussions. I dont really want to discuss too much with you actually.

The screen is much brighter and clearer than notebook screens on models like hp 6000, topshiba a105.... sony sz , pretty much anything you can get on the market. It is so much better its not even in the same league.

You work on 3000$ monitors and you want to compare it to notebook screens? I dont know what to say, you work with 3000$ monitors and that makes your opinion what? Worth listening too because.... because..... what? They make your notebook screen look bad.... no doubt.

If your lcd was flawed it might be different than mine. If not, go to the electronics store and compare it. I give my opinion based on the screens for sale right now, I happen to have seen a lot from macbooks to dells to whatever, and I prefer my screen by a lot. Thats my opinion, we have a difference of opinion I guess.

I think it looks much better than the 2000$ macbook pro screen. Although that screen has better viewing angle and maybe less light leakage. I can see each pixel much clearer on the auo screen, each picture stands out. Smaller resolution is much easier to see.

 

You obviously took my reply as some critique of your opinion and that was not my intention and therefore I choose to continue the "end of discussion". So I apologize if I sounded somewhat rude I just wanted to show that there are different views of this matter and mostly my grudge lies with Asus that try to sell us this joke of a screen and me that was stupid enough to by this laptop without seeing it first. And I would have if it was possible but it is only sold through internet here. I was blinded by specs I guess, a classic mistake.
And off course I don not compare professional monitors to laptop screens I'm not stupid. I just wanted to say that I've seen a few monitors in my days and I know when I see a good one and the AUO does not belong to my favorites to say the least. I don't think it is flawed, it's probably just what it looks like. You say you like the color, brightness and how sharp it is, that might be true, but because of the bad viewing angle it doesn't matter how good the colors are... you won't see it. To appreciate that you have to be perfectly centered to the area of your attention. So lets say that you position yourself to render colors nicely on the top of the screen then you will find that - because of the viewing angle - things will look bad on the lower part of the screen. This means that in a real life situation you find yourself constantly adjusting your head or the screen just to see things accurately. And to show something for a friend next to you... well just forget it. It might be acceptable for things like internet browsing but for image processing and color correction it's just not ok, and yes I know it's maybe not a good idea to do this on a laptop in the first place but if you "get to know" your screen you can learn how things will look on a much better professional monitor and compensate for that. And the extra portability is probably mostly worth the flaws a laptop screen might have. But in this case - with the AUO because of the viewing angle - it's useless for me in my profession. I'm disappointed that Asus tries to sell us this to be honest piece of **** screen in a laptop that in almost all other aspects is a great little machine. I'm happy that the screen works for you. It certainly does not for me.

 

i really wonder how other A8Js screens looks like. here's mine. The more i look at it, the more i wanna let it go.

 

Looks like notepad to me.

 

you sure you didn't use a flash?

 

Thanks... I figured it out and deleted the original question. It was only up for a minute (or less) but you replied to it in the meantime. Now your response looks out of place.

Sorry.... the original question asked what program was used to create the white screen.