Asus U47VC Owners Lounge

Unlike the rest of the threads, where people actually have the notebook, I don't
If anyone has this laptop please give it a review, battery life is the most important, trackpad...etc.

 

I'll give it a shot, but this is my first post so don't shoot me!

I just got the U47VC-DS51 tonight and my first impressions are all good. It's fast and extremely responsive with every application I've thrown at it so far (granted this has only really been online streaming, MS Office, web browsing etc. - I'll try some light gaming on it tomorrow). It has great form factor in the sense that the aluminum build is really sturdy and the matte screen is excellent, while the backlit keyboard is a nice touch.

The keys feel great to type on, although the trackpad is a bit sticky and this has resulted in a few mishaps so far. The left and right clicks are really responsive but I'm having trouble moving my fingers across the trackpad without inadvertently activating them. This may be due to the newness of the laptop and my unfamiliarity with the trackpad however.

In terms of battery life I charged it up and then unplugged it for a while and used it for MS office, surfing, streaming and other light applications on high performance. The battery counter told me that under those conditions it would last around 4-5 hours, but I started charging it again with about 3 hours left on the clock. I had been using it for about two hours though, so its original estimate of 5 hours was pretty close as far as I could tell.

As I said I haven't had time yet to try any gaming or use the optical drive, so performance and rundown times will be interesting to see under those circumstances. I'll let you know tomorrow after trying D3 and a movie. Overall though I have to say I'm genuinely impressed so far - a good solid all-purpose laptop for me to use at work.

 

Could you talk about the matte screen more? I know it's your average 136x768 res but how do you find the colours, brightness, etc?

 

So roughly speaking under bright lights and in strong sunshine the screen holds up very well. I tried it outside at lunch and I could easily use the laptop with the sun directly shining on the screen. Obviously there is some washout, but it is still perfectly usable. In the office under strong lighting, the screen is great and there is virtually no glare.

There is no doubt though there is some loss of vividness and contrast in colours compared to regular glossy screens. I also have to say that the vertical viewing angles are not the best and you start to see fading fairly quickly from full on viewing. The horizontal angles are much better however.

I will try and post some pictures tonight or tomorrow and compare it with other laptops. I will also attempt to do some gaming on D3 and play a DVD as well and see battery rundown and lag under those conditions.

 

Thanks for the reply!! Been waiting for someone to get their hands on this thing haha, to be honest I was really disappointed when I knew about that it only has a 6 cell battery =(
I'll be a first year university student in September and I'm debating over the U46SM and U47VC.. The only reason I like the U47 so much is because of the backlit keyboard and the new designed look, real sexy. The U46 has a wooping 8 cell but no backlit keyboard... =(
btw, what's the color of the keyboard light?

 

Here's a video from Gentech showing it off:

Asus U47VC Product Showcase & Benchmarking - YouTube

Also, what's the stock wifi card? Is it an Atheros?

 

Sorry for the lack of pictures tonight, but I hope to post some tomorrow.

Quick answers: the backlight is white and basically exactly the same as my G74SX. It's a nice, bright backlight and it enhances the look of the laptop really nicely.

The other question was about the stock wifi card. It uses an Intel Centrino Wireless N-2230 and so far I've had no problems whatever with streaming netflix, youtube HD and so on - very strong signal connection to my home network and Bluetooth works a treat as well for my android phone.

Haven't had a chance to game on it yet, I'll try again tomorrow after I've installed D3. Just as a last note, the battery lasted around 4.5 hours today on high performance with light tasks such as surfing, PP, Word and email, which is pretty damn good seeing as downloading and installing 800 Megs of windows and office updates took it's toll on the battery life as well!! I've no doubt that if you put it into eco-mode and really watched your usage you could easily get 6 hours or more.

More tomorrow.

 

I apologize for the crappy quality of the pictures, but my better half has borrowed the digital camera and now can't find it

I have had to use my cell phone, so not very good. I showed the U47 playing Diablo 3 at medium/high settings in good time, no problems i.e. medium shadow, lowest frame rate 8 seconds, highest 150 etc.. I also compared the size to my G74SX (not the best comparison I know). Oddly when D3 loaded it wanted to use my intel 4000 and not the dedicated 620m. I assume it kicked in when I played though!

I also tried running a DVD, absolutely no problems. I should state that the speakers while loud are pretty tinny; Obviously if you want to play a movie and enjoy it you'll need external speakers.

After another day of use I should also add that the keyboard is a joy to type on and again it lasted about 4-4.5 hours on high performance with light use. Very happy so far

 

Thanks for the pics! Good to hear that you're enjoying it. Any heat concerns so far? Also any noticeable flex anywhere? Thinking of ordering this soon.

 

No heat concerns at all. The lid has a tiny bit of flex in it, but it's barely noticeable. The 2 second on is a nice feature as well. I'm still finding the trackpad a little tricky, but I'm getting better at it.

Overall it depends what you want it for; for me I needed a work computer (after ditching the wretched MSI X370 I used to have) and this is a solid all-round laptop with a good keyboard, a nice matte screen, an optical drive and some good specs. You can also do some light gaming on it as I found out with D3 and the battery life is perfectly acceptable, but it's not going to blow you away like as a thin ultrabook with a high res screen might. For the money I paid though ($899) I'm happy.

I should add one final note; there is no VGA port, which could be a real pain for those of us who have old projectors at work with VGA inputs. I'm hoping I can get by using the HDMI/USB ports, but this was a real concern for me. I understand that not many on here would care about that though!

 

What a sexy laptop, I'm sold, I'm getting mine next week from NCIX haha, thanks for the posts!!

 

Hey Montségur, I am seriously considering this laptop. Just had a quick question regarding where you bought it from? As well, the price you mentioned $899 is before taxes - correct?

Thanks in Advance!

 

Yes, sorry it was $899 plus tax. I pre-ordered it from Canada Computers being a Canuck, but I've seen it now on PC Canada's website, Newegg, NCIX and Tiger Direct. I've just always dealt with Canada Computers myself because they're fast and local.

In the States Gentech and Xotic have it and I'm pretty sure I've seen it on Best Buy.com as well.

 

Thanks a lot. My current ordering price from Canada Computers comes to be CAD 1015. I am a Canadian resident as well and seeing that you are satisfied with CC's service, I believe it is trustworthy then. It would be my first time if I were to buy it from them.
Also, on your G74SX, do you have a 7200RPM HDD or a 5400RPM HDD? If you have the latter, then do you feel any difference when having a 5400RPM HDD on the U47VC? I am asking so that if I need to upgrade it to 7200RPM HDD, I should include that in my budget.

Once again, thanks for your prompt response!

 

My G74SX just has the standard 750GB 5400rpm hard drive. I keep meaning to upgrade it as it is extremely easy to do so, but I just never seem to get around to it. The U47VC has the excellent 2 second on cache feature, so honestly I hardly notice the 5400rpm's unless you shut it down completely. I would buy it with what it has and then if you find that you prefer to close it down/restart it often then upgrade it, but honestly I have been really impressed by the quick on feature.

The only time I've had a machine with 7200rpm's was the MSI X370 and you definitely could notice a difference in boot up speed. Problem was that was the best thing about the machine!

As for Canada Computers they are only 10 minutes away from me and I order quite a lot from them, so I just find I prefer them to online retailers for price and customer service. I have ordered from Newegg in the past though with no problems. It's just whatever's easiest and closest for you really.

 

Just adding some more pics:

For a more meaningful comparison I used my old N53JF 15.6".

 

How would I install a fresh copy of Windows, do I need to buy another the disk?

 

If you switched out the hard drives you mean? You could ask the store to do it for you when you buy it; I know Xotic will switch out the standard 750GB 5400rpm w/ 8MB cache for a 7200RPM w/ 16GB cache for an extra $75 and Gentech have a similar offer. Haven't found any Canadian retailers who'll do that though.

If I ever get around to putting an SSD/Hybrid in my G74SX I can get a copy of Windows 7 from a friend of mine that will work on any machine, no problem.

*cough cough*.

 

Yeah haha, I meant that Asus always pre install a bunch of bloatwares ( I think that's what its called.. ) and I just want to do a fresh install once I receive the laptop, am I going to need my own disk? or do they include a Windows 7 disk with the purchase :O

 

Sorry eesee, didn't understand your original question. There is no Windows 7 disc included I'm afraid, but actually the bloatware is not that bad on the U47. I just got rid of the McAfee trial and a few of the obvious fillers using the Asus bloatware list on this forum and it runs fine.

Asus seem to be cleaning their act up a bit in terms of bloat, at least as far as I've seen.

 

Quick question.

Can you comment on the quality on the webcam? I saw that it is only a 0.3 megapixel webcam. I don't think that's enough to handle high quality on skype. I use skype a lot so a very good webcam is important to me.

Thanks

 

Now that I have officially become a U47VC owner, I can answer your question. The 0.3M camera has a considerable amount of lag compared to my 1.3M camera on my other laptop. Also, the clarity is quite less on the 0.3M camera. So, to answer your question, if you are looking for a crisp quality on Skype (I tried it on Skype) then your best bet would be a 1.3M camera.

Hope that helped!

 

I can echo this after testing with Skype as well. It is definitely more grainy than a 1.3m or 2.0m camera so I couldn't recommend the webcam in a work setting, but it would be perfectly acceptable for personal use.

Congratulations N ne; hope you like the U47 as much as I have so far. Really the only real gripe I have is the trackpad and it's not a big issue.

 

Why thank you Montségur! I purchased it from my nearest Canada Computers retail store. I am still in the testing phases but so far, it has proved to satisfy my needs. As for the track pad, I realized it is so very much similar to that of a MacBook and since I have frequently used a MacBook now and then, I don't find it that much of a problem.
One thing that kind of put me off was the fitting of the Optical Drive which is kind of saggy and is not a perfect fit but again, with all the plus points, this is nothing.

 

Is the trackpad clickable like the mac pro? And are the keys loud when you click them?

 

Yes, the track pad is click-able like the MacBook but not loud at all I would say.

 

Just wanted to post an update:

The battery life is actually ±8 hours which is really impressive. However, there are few things you need to do in order to get the 8 hours of battery life:
1. Screen Brightness Level must be Zero (0)
2. Keyboard Back-light must be Zero (0)

And ofcourse, the applications running must not be too taxing. What I was running during the 8-hour period:
1. Mozilla Firefox/Google Chrome (Heavy Web Browsing)
2. Microsoft Office - Word 2010 (Word Processor)
3. Notepad for scripting
4. Eclipse compiler (Very seldom use during the 8-hour period)
5. Continuous use of BitTorrent - heavy downloads

And that's about it.

So, what Asus has published as the expected battery life is indeed true. Just not very realistic since you might game here and there

 

Wow! That's pretty impressive! Thanks for the update Getting mine in a few days

 

Yes, it indeed is! All the best to you!

I have a question - if you could answer it - what if I do a clean boot, will my warranty be void?

-- I am asking because out-of-the-box, this machine has over "120 Processes" and from experience, I know that a clean boot has approximately "70-75 Processes". I have managed to bring down the processes to about 100 by disabling a few things from "Start Up".

Also, one more advice - don't uninstall "Wireless Console 3 Utility". It is listed in the Asus Bloatware Guide that we can remove it but I guess I had to learn it the hard way - I had to restore the system to factory default in order for my WIFI to function again.

Again, all the best to you in buying the U47VC!

 

Warranty won't be voided by doing a clean install. I did a clean install on my current Asus laptop and didn't bother to install Wireless Console 3 and wireless works fine!

How's the touchpad in regards to two-finger scrolling/pinch-to-zoom? (I assume it has it?)

 

Right! So I can do a clean install now. (You are 100% sure about this right?)
Also, to point out that I don't have dedicated keys for Bluetooth and Wifi. There is only one key which connects me to Wireless Console 3 Utility and that is the only way I can turn-on/off my Wifi or Bluetooth.

As to your question, it is very nice and responsive. There is a three-finger swipe as well with which you can browse through your current open windows much like the MacBook.

 

Yes, I'm certain! Even then, you could backup some recovery disks in case you want to go back to factory settings. Doesn't FN + F2 toggle wireless/BT? If not there's no harm in reinstalling Wireless Console 3 I guess!

Thanks for the answer to my touchpad question! Curious about the optical drive not being a good fit...could you take a quick pic? If you can't tell from looking at it, no need. I did notice in that video I posted of the U47 that the cd/dvd drive seemed off

Edit: Regarding the clean install -- unless you really want to, you could try to just uninstall all the bloatware the came with it and see if the number of running processes goes down

 

Yea, I will give the bloatware method one more try

Optical drive, is not so bad. I guess, I was being too picky when I posted my reply. Also, the video which shows it on the "Notebook Italia" forum, is bit to exaggerated. You don't need to press it so hard.

Anyway, I have attached a few photos (not the best of the quality). The first image shows the fitting. It's just stuck out a tiny bit from the top view. Otherwise, it is perfect.

Hope it helps!

 

Got my U47vc today, impressed with everything except the fact that the moment it turned on, the fan kept on going... it turned on when I inserted to AC power since there was no power in battery...Any one help?
** fixed it by turning off the computer**

Another thing, it says it have a 750gb HD but all I'm seeing is 279 gb on C drive and 393 on D drive, which adds up to 672GB, just curious.. Are yours like that too?

 

There should also be a 25GB recovery partition as well --- you can view it under 'disk management'. That should be close to 700GB total which is perfectly normal.

 

Another issue is that when i put in my external harddrive ( usb 3.0 ) it kept on detecting and opejining it up even if it is opened. What's up with that? I'm thinking of doing a fresh install later today or perhaps tomorrow

 

Yes, mine did that as well when I plugged it into the "charger plus" port. But after removing it and re-inserting the external HDD, the problem was somehow fixed.

A clean install is quite a must I guess. I have not done it myself since I have been very busy lately but I am considering a clean install after someone here confirmed that the warranty won't be void.

Also just another update. I was able to get out 10 hours of battery life from my machine with the WIFI turned off, the screen brightness zero and keyboard back-light zero. The only application used for the ten hour duration was MS Word.

EDIT: Congratulations on your U47VC! Mind telling us how much you got it for?
Also, once you do a clean install, please do let us know how it went!

 

Thanks I got mine for 899 at NCIX, the clean install was absolutely terrible, I forgot to create the back up disks and the F9 recovery is certainly not working.... The wifi and pretty much everything on the keyboard doesn't work ( turning on the backlit keyboard, or lower the brightness with the fn key ) Can't even connect to the internet from the laptop =/
Do you think you can create a set of backup disks and perhaps upload them to the internet? or tel lme which driver works for the internet? :O so screwed here haha

 

That is very sad to hear, eesee. The only thing I hope is that you have not deleted the Asus Recovery Partition. If that is the case, you might have to take it to the nearest Asus service center (I hope that is not the case). In terms of Back-Up discs, I will see what I can do to help. I was at my lunch-break when I read this. So, just don't expect the Back-Up discs up and ready very soon (it will take me about 2-3 hours to get back home).

Will update as soon as I upload.

All the best!

Update: While I make the discs, how about you try this out:
Asus U47VC Driver Download

The WIFI driver is Intel WiFi Wireless LAN Driver under the "Wireless" section.
Version V15.0.1.1

Once you install that, you will need this since the U47VC does not have dedicated Bluetooth + WIFI buttons. This is the Wireless Console 3 Utility:
Version V3.0.25 - you can find it under "Utilities" section.

That should do for now. You can try other drivers as well.

Let me know how it goes!

 

Thank you so much for taking your time and helping over your lunch break! I really appreciate it, I installed the drivers you listed and I have internet now and the Fn + wifi hotkey works now
I would like to have it back to factory setting now as i really regret doing a clean install... If you could upoad the backup disks that would be really awesome,
I'm assuming if I install everything single driver listed on the Asus website, it will be back with all the functions to my keyboard along with everything else?
The reason I did a clean install was because it was pretty slow, and youtube was not working( could only see weird colors where the video player is )
Thanks again for taking your time to help me.

*edit* is there a driver that automatically allows me to install every single driver needed?

 

So here's an update guys, I downloaded the AI restore utility from the Asus site, and I created the backup disks now and I'm currently restoring my computer.

*an hour later*
done recovering with the disks, Asus preload wizard came up, I select a option and an big fat red error came up. great now what? =/

 

Ok. I have not yet been able to make the discs. However, will be done in a short while and you could give them a try.

From what you have stated, it seems as though your "Recovery Partition" is absent. Could you please check by going to Control Panel>Administrative Tools>Create and format hard disk partitions.

Once that opens, check if you have a partition that is 25GB named "Healthy (Recovery Partition)".

Will update once the discs are done on my side!

I hope the problem is not a major one.

 

unfortunately I couldn't even access control panel or anything as it would loop back to the Asus preload wizard, so I decided to do another fresh install ( I know right? ) and this time i'll just install the necessary drivers needed for the keyboard. I found a page where someone listed the names of the drivers and the description for them, you should check them out too
http://forum.notebookreview.com/asu...h-doing-clean-windows-7-install.html#recovery

 

That is great to hear that you up and running again. I know what you mean by the loop-back since I already restored my machine to factory defaults once. I will upload the discs anyway (it may help) but I doubt you'd be doing an OS install again

82% is done - Recovery ISO creation I mean.

Thanks for the thread about OS walk-through. By the way, I was thinking that I will dual boot Home Premium with Ultimate. If I do it, I will update here.

All the best, eesee!

 

Thanks a lot N ne! I'd more than glad to download that recover disk, I think i'm getting mroe used to the Asus system now ( This was my very first laptop )
One more thing, when the boot options come up, there's an option for booting Windows 7 but there's also an option that says "Ramdisk" and that goes right back to the Asus preload wizard =/ Any idea how I can get rid of it so I can just automatically go to windows 7?

 

No Problem! The problem you are mentioning is because Asus recovery is trying to figure out the problem still. If you want to completely turn off that feature, this thread does a good job: RamDisk

I hope that helps!

 

Thank you for that link It now is fixed, everything is back to normal now; except for one thing... Every FN hotkey works on my keyboard except for the screen brightness up and down. What's the problem with that? I installed the keyboard driver, atk driver already.

 

No worries! Glad I could help. I believe it is your BIOS. It needs to be updated. You should download the WinFlash utility to update your BIOS.

Here is a link that might be helpful! Asus Brightness Issue

Let me know how it goes. The ISO files for the recovery come up to be 13 GB. I am going to have you torrent them if that is okay for you?

 

I am trying to decide between the Asus 47VC and the Lenovo T430. Spec wise it comes out as a wash for me, with the Lenovo having a better battery (9 cell) and the option of a 1600x900 screen. But the Lenovo is slightly larger and heavier. The price difference does not matter to me. I am wondering if any of you considered the T430 and could tell me why you went with the 47VC instead.

 

Yeah that'll be great, thank you so much
+rep for you definitely!!