Asus F8VA Montevina Mobile Platform review

yep, it does read SDHC cards

 

How good is the 1440x900 display on the F8Va?

 

Define "good." Colors reproduce nicely, backlight is even, glare isn't too bad. Brightness is good--I had to turn mine down for regular indoor use.

 

aww man i just bought this laptop from gentech like 2 days ago, and now it gets a $150 rebate, : /

 

Same thing, I ordered mine 9/17.

FROWNY FACE.

 

Thanks for the reply!

 

I don't totally agree

Backlighting is pretty uneven on mine...not horrible but nothing like the expensive desktop LCDs I'm used to. Brightness is OK and colour reproduction is quite good.

However, the viewing angles are very limited. It's almost as bad as my 2ms response time gaming panel...and this panel is far from 2ms (there's a fair amount of ghosting compared to my gaming panel, IMO)

 

does the F8va-C1 model have blu-ray? On Asus' website says it does, yet on newegg it does not list that it has blu-ray.

-----Text from Asus' Website----
Optical Drive 5.25" , 12.7mm
DVD Super Multi Double Layer:
Blu-Ray DVD Combo
-----END Text from Asus' Website----

-----Text from Newegg f8va-C1 description----
Optical Drive DVD Super Multi
-----END Text from Newegg f8va-C1 description----

 

The Asus website means it's AVAILABLE, however, retailers like newegg carry stock configurations, not all the available options, and none of them have blu-ray.

 

ahh thank you kb1gra, is there a site available so that I can buy the blu-ray compatible with the F8va? So after I get it, can I go to geek squad and let them install it or send it into asus so they can install it?

Thanks


EDIT: Also I am placing my order today for the F8va and also wondered if the keyboard was back lit or was there some sort of LED light that hits the keyboard? Sorry the last laptop I had was back in 2001 which was a IBM. I mashed it into pieces because my brother put a startup BIOS pass on and he couldn't remember it!

EDIT 2: I just did a lil research and found that the M50Sv and the F8va has the same size optical drives (5.25" , 12.7mm). So if I can find the M50Sv's drive? Only problem there that concerns me are the drivers.

EDIT 3: I Just found another option, let xoticpc install it. But its $379 upgrade. Guess you gotta pay to play blu-ray. I can always send it in later down the road for a hard drive and the blu-ray upgrade.

 

I agree. I was thinking of buying a new laptop that had Blu-ray, but really its a waist to me... and for the amount u pay to have it installed afterwords or purchase it, i'd just wait till notebooks start coming with Blu-ray burners hehe but if ur set on a specific notebook that comes with the feature, then ur in luck.

 

Hi:

It's my first post and my english isn't so good!

Please, how much hours exactly (or average) has of autonomy the battery of Asus F8Va-C1?

Thanks,
arcorelli.

 

Well for the B1 its Battery life: 2 hours and 12 minutes with 6 cell battery.



I would assume its somewhere around there or else it depends what ur going to be doing. Gaming always uses more, plus u can change the settings to be more battery saving.

 

Thanks a lot, lilskaterpunk.

But, and with 9 cell battery? Do you have?

Best regards,
arcorelli.

 

I believe only a 6-cell is available with this laptop.

 

Beh, I guess I gotta wait for the next Asus 14 incher.. beh. That also means I can wait in around my college campus for computers to be available.. Asus HURRY IT UP! I don't think we'll see something soon because the rebate on the F8va's end in October unless they announce something in October and release it by December (xMas).

Another reason would be that all blu-ray players on laptops are at like only 2x speeds. So I'd wait for faster industry speeds to readily become available.

 

so is the screen on this notebook noteworthy? or is it just ordinary..

 

I'm not sure I would call it award winning, but I'd call it decent. Not a world beater, but not a dealbreaker either. Maybe little better than ordinary.

 

I guess the next 14 incher would be the recently announced n80.

 

Downgraded my C1 to Windows XP x64 and it's working great. Did anybody figure out how to install the hotkeys? I'm guessing that I'm missing ATK0100 for xp x64.

 

Be careful, without the ATK drivers you may also be missing important power management features such as fan and CPU frequency control. Which can lead to overheating.

 

I skimmed all of the pages and i have a question.

I downgraded (or upgraded in a sense) to Windows XP. Everything is fine except there's a small issue i have. When you raise/lower the volume and other actions, a small graphical animation pops up. Sometimes i want to do these actions while playing a game and the animation tabs me out when i left click while in game. Anybody know how to turn this off?

 

It is not an issue, it is a feature (really)

You can prevent the ATKOSD process from starting using msconfig or jv16powertools or just by editing the HKEY/..../Run registry entries. That should remove the animation.

 

^Thanks, should have tried what you said before posting =X

Well, I successfully converted back to Windows XP following the guide on page 1. I'm going to run it for awhile and see if any problem occurs.

Only small issue i have is that sometimes when I'm listening to music, the sound will skip every now (not really frequent) or when i play games, the system locks up for a second or so. I'm guessing this is might be due to a faulty hard drive? This problem happened when i had Vista and XP installed. Might have to use my warranty =P.

 

Has anybody achieved surround sound gaming with the HDMI OUT? I've spent hours and hours trying several realtek hdmi drivers, catalyst drivers, XP x64 and Vista x64, but so far I've only been able to get stereo sound while playing games like Half Life 2. Thanks to ac3filter I've been able to play all my mkv movies with 5.1 sound. One thing I haven't tried is flash the bios to the latest version but that will be my last resort.

 

Anyone know how crysis performs on this laptop??

 

This could be for many reasons. Including software; see if the CPU usage spikes up when the skipping occurs; it yes, then try watching the processes list, and see which is causing the trouble.

If you suspect HDD errors, then you could do a SMART test. See my Tips and Tricks.

 

playable, especially with custom config scripts

expect 10-30 fps depending on settings

 

but this laptop is kinda disappointing now that I've had it for a couple of months

I can't say I'm that impressed with ASUS, it's not the high end brand I was expecting. Next time I'm getting a Lenovo.

 

Well, the F8 is by no means a high-end business laptop. It doesn't aim to be.

 

I dunno, the whole build of it is terrible. It feels like a 500$ Acer laptop.

The gaming performance is pretty **** good for the money but the actual build quality and design is severely lacking.

Furthermore, the FireWire chip ASUS used in this laptop is utter trash and cannot be used for Pro Audio applications (which is why I got this laptop in the first place). Hopefully the ADS Pyro1394a expresscard I bought will remedy this.

 

I've handled the F8 in a store, and I think you are exaggerating (at least a bit) when you compare it to a cheap Acer laptop... It's not that bad.

 

The build quality is just fine. It's no extruded aluminum macbook pro but then again, it doesn't cost $2000 either. I've been very happy with mine.

The glossy surface is also very difficult to scratch, which is really nice.

The lenovos aren't built like they used to be, either. Especially not the ones in the price range of the F8.

 

I dunno, my dad's 600$ Lenovo looks about 3 times more expensive than my laptop

It's just sad. The ASUS looks good closed but the inside looks like an Acer.

 

So you don't like the looks, or you don't like the actual BUILD QUALITY? those are two different things entirely.

 

I don't know if this has ben resolved but I found a driver for WinXP that works for the infrared port. Here you go:

http://consumersupport.lenovo.com/lenovo/drivers/2412/1568.html

 

Where is the HDMI port build on, mainboard or graphic card ?
Thanks

 

I'm going to buy a F8VR but I can't find one in a store to evalutate.

Can someone point me to a good set of high resolution pictures of this model?

 

I guess by its name that it will be very similar with the F8V* model(s), including F8Va (although I am not sure). So you could maybe use those pictures to form an opinion.

 

Im looking into getting the F8VA-B1. I was wondering if someone could tell me how hot it gets. The laptop I have right now gets really hot on the palm rests while gaming and almost burns my wrists so I can't play for long. I just want something that stays fairly cool to the touch.

 

when i play games, it goes like this:

video card & cpu: 60C
hdd: 55C


And does anybody know about where hdmi port connected on F8Va ?

 

The temps look pretty good, does the laptop get very warm to the touch? I am more worried about it being physically hot than the component temps.

 

no .

 

I am a new owner of this laptop. I have a question though; I occasionally hear a dull ding coming from my laptop, does anyone know what it is? There is no real pattern when it occurs but it does get annoying after a while.

 

Can anybody tell me if they have opengl problems in Windows XP?

For example, Counter-Strike 1.6 opengl settings worked in Vista, but it's not working for me in Windows XP. I'm using the latest drivers and have tried to use a lower version.

 

can anyone please tell me if this asus f8:
F8VR - C2D P8400, (2.26GHz), 2GB, 320GB, VB, 14" TFT(WXGA, Colour-Shine), SMDL, Intel® WiFi Link 5100 (AGN), 802.11b/g, Bluetooth, 2 Year Warranty
www laptopsdirect co uk/F8VR-4P014C_F8VR-4P014C/

has good battery life? over 2.5hours? and is it good enough for games like need for speed? call of duty?
for using softwares like advanced design system?
i ordered the laptop from laptops direct...now i read reviews of the website...and its bad..wat shud i do?
go for it? or cancel the order?
im quite attracted to the asus coz its nowhere to be found elsewhere for that price and it has quite good specs.
i saw a dell studio 15..with near same specs and price...but its 15inch and this asus is 14inches..
which 1 is better??

 

Since you're located in London, I would recommend going with the Studio 15. If your Asus should need any servicing, it would be devastating to send it to Asus for repairs.

 

Are there any tricks to running 3DMark06?


After optimizing Vista a bit (following some of the advice in the Les Tokar guide...great guide )

BUT NOW I can play games fine, I play 3 online games and a few new offline games, as well as most older games, all on high settings, no problem.

I load up 3Dmark06, it says it will take a minute to analyze the system, and then that screen sits there forever. I let it sit for an hour one time, and a few times up to 20, or 10 minutes.

when I click on the little box in the middle of the screen, (the one that says it's analyzing) it just turns white and blank, and then it won't go away. I have to kill it with task manager

 

Maybe some tricks in Les' guide disabled certain services or components that 3DMark needs in order to run... I do know that Les' tips are sailing "pretty close to the wind", as they say...

 

Perhaps, but that makes it hard to measure the performance gains versus the out of the box Vista.

also, I didn't do everything in the guide, some of the stuff was a bit too extreme, when my system is really running fast enough. I mostly went with your (E.B.E.) guide to his guide.

Casey