Asus X83Vb-X1.....First thoughts

So I went to Best Buy to pick up a stack of printing paper, and as I was quickly browsing through the laptop department, I was so surprised to see a brand new Asus notebook that I haven't even heard of! In all honesty, what really caught my attention at first was the awful gold/copper colored palm rest. It's quite hideous IMO.

The specs are decent for the light gamer and for office applications; T5800 CPU, 9300M GS GPU, 4gb ddr2 ram, 250gb 5400rpm HDD. The selection of ports were quite disappointing. Despite having 5 USB ports and firewire, there was no HDMI/DVI and no estata port (BB website says it has HDMI, but I couldn't see it....might need to double check on that). This suggests that the X83Vb isn't really geared towards multimedia users, and probably better suited as an office notebook or basic home notebook.
HOWEVER, to my amazement the battery life is astonishing! On battery saving mode, windows calculated almost 4 hours of battery life on the standard 6 cell battery! This is unheard of and big news for Asus.

After dwelling almost 45 minutes on the X83Vb and shooing away 3 BB salesmen, I found that the gold colored palm rest has somewhat grown on me and it didn't really bother me as much as before. The material is pretty much the same as the M50 and F8 with the 'infusion' technology to make it less prone to scratching. However, the excessively glossy keyboard (very much like the new Toshiba Satellite P305) is something I probably can't get used to. Some may say the glossy keyboard compliments well with the 'infusion' technology surface, but I'm not sure how comfortable it'll be after a couple hours of gaming/word processing where your hands are starting to sweat, making the keys feel sticky.

Overall, the chassis is firm and doesn't seem to flex all that much. The screen is well built and held very well in place. No distortions or ripples can be observed when applying pressure from the back.

For USD $850, it's a decent deal for someone looking for a 14" budget notebook for basic use and light gaming.

EDIT: Apparently the HDMI and eSATA ports is on the back of the notebook (that's a first I've heard). Best Buy's security laptop lock was in the way, hence I couldn't really see it.

Here's a few pictures I took with my iphone... sorry for the poor quality



Windows calculated battery life: 3hr 56min w/ 98% full battery

 

good god!

must be one of the ugliest laptops I've ever seen. I do have weird taste though, I like business line laptops, thinkpads, latitudes, vostros and the kind.
4hrs of battery life on an asus is pretty impresive, although that's not something to boast now days.

 

Yeah, the design is quite bold. I think the first impression for anyone would be you either love it or hate it. Kinda like the flashy orange colored Asus G50.
As for battery life, you're right, 4 hours is about the standard for 14-15" notebook with a 6 call battery, but still impressive that Asus can pull that off now.

 

i just bought this laptop and at first i didnt like the color but it started to grow on me and now i like it, i work at geek squad in bestbuy and have been looking for a laptop for a while, and i decided on this one since its an asus and it actually does have e-sata port and hdmi port there located on the back of the laptop. it also has a port to where you can insert a SIM card so you can access 3G networks without having an adapter as well as has wireless N, i got almost $100 off with discount which in unusual for laptops but overall im pretty happy with it. it can play most games i put it up to and doesnt get to hot. is hard to find any reviews on this laptop since it just came out.

 

Really? eSATA as well? That's great news! I was a bit thrown off when I didn't see an eSata and HDMI, since those are pretty standard in all newer Asus notebooks. Normally they would have these ports on the side, but being on the back of the notebook would seem more desk friendly by limiting cluttering wires jutting out the side.
Have you tried using the 3G network on the X83? My U6V has one as well, but I haven't tested it yet.

 

Hey I just bought this laptop as well. It is freaking sweet so far. Scores 1850 3DMark06 for those that are wondering. I am able to run Spore on Medium settings at native resolution. I am wondering if this laptop has the expressgate technology. It has the button to boot up into it, but I already reformatted to XP so would the OP mind checking please?

 

I actually don't own the Asus X83 so I'm not sure if it'll work. You can try install express gate on yours to see if it works. The software should be on your driver disk. If it's not there you can download it from the Asus website. The type of OS shouldn't matter if expressgate can run or not (I have XP on my Asus U6V and expressgate works just fine).

 

Oh, where is it on their site?

 

The drivers for the X83 isn't available on the Asus website yet. But you can still get expressgate if you select other notebooks.

Go to Asus.com -> Downloads -> click 'Download product BIOS, Drivers , User Manuals and Utilities here.' under Downloads -> Select the U6V notebook -> select vista 32bit -> under utilities, select expressgate utilities.

 

Thanks man, I'll let you know if it works as soon as the download from China finishes in a million years.

 

It does not work at all. Does it install do a specific folder, I can not see it...

 

If you go to your add/remove programs in your control panel, it should be there if installed correctly. But most likely, it's the notebook that doesn't support expressgate, so even if you install the software, it probably won't work.

 

Hrm odd, yea it is in my add/remove programs section. And this laptop has an express gate button (as per the manual). It just will not freaking work.

When I power it on with the ExpressGate button a different bios splash displays, but it still boots into windows.

Any ideas?

 

Does your expressgate button look like this?

 

Yes sir, the same Circle(With lightening bolt) version.

 

Did you try installing it in safe mode? Uninstall the one you have now, and see if it will work after installing it safe mode.
I doubt changing the OS to Vista would be any different, but you could try that if you really want expressgate to work.

 

It does not allow me to install from safe mode, windows installer is not active in safe mode. I guess I have to give up. =/ Thanks anyways though for all the ideas.

 

I am considering this laptop. The BestBuy specs say 5400 rpm HD, while the review here stated 7200 rpm. Also, the site indicates just 10/100? I can't imagine no gigabit on a new model. Can anyone who owns this model confirm. Thanks.

 

It is only a 5400rpm HDD, but it does have 10/100/1000.

 

Sorry about the confusion... I must have misread the description at BB

 

Heh no worries. I myself am about to return this laptop. The touchpad's outer edges do not work. So trying to scroll through pages on the internet is hit or miss whether you get on a working part of the touch pad.

I am 99% that this is the way they are suppose to be. Just a ploy of Asus's to make the trackpad look bigger. I am quite mad about it.

Unless anyone has an idea on if it is fixable, or an opinion from another owner? Does your laptop exhibit this?

 

Have you looked through the options in the touchpad driver settings? The outer regions are many times used for various special functionality, like scrolling and edge motion. Try to disable all those features and/or shrink the regions they are activated in, maybe some of them are malfunctioning and causing the respective touchpad regions to be nonresponsive.

 

I turn all those functions off and even tried to modified Acer Chrial Touchpad Drivers. The outer edge is still not working.

I'll try to just uninstall the drivers and see what that does though.

 

Yeah, the touchpad's basic functionality should work with the default Windows drivers. If edges are unavailable there as well, then you're probably right and they are not really there.

 

Do you guys know if this laptop is LCD or LED?

 

http://my.ocworkbench.com/bbs/showthread.php?t=73146

and according to this tech report (yes I read chinese) but you guys probably know already, this 9300GS is a rebranded 8400GS, said Nvidia OEM order was not as numerous as expected, so they are rebranding them to 9 series. Wonder if this would cause this to have the same overheat, death problem the 8400 were experiencing.

 

Well, some of the 9400M GS were renamed 9300M GS as well....
http://it.enorth.com.cn/system/2008/03/19/003001783.shtml

 

I had an xps m1330 long time ago with 128mb 8400GS video card, it played call of duty 4 at 1024 x 768 with acceptable frame rates. Do you think this 9300GS 512mb will handle call of duty 5 well since cod5 and 4 use the same engine and direx9?

 

wrong post, this isn't the same model as the other.

 

i just purchased the X83V m-X1 yesterday its a lot better looking and better specs then the X83V b-X1. i love it so far!

 

sorry if I missed it, but what the native resolution of that screen? thanks

 

Both the X83Vb-x1 and X83Vm-x1 has a 1280 x 800 resolution.

 

hello guys,

i just bought this model, x83vb-x1

does anyone know where i can find drivers for xp ?

 

Got mine on Monday. Sucks that I can't use it until Christmas though (present)

 

Try use the drivers that are on the driver disk. There's a good chance that most of the drivers will work, and if not, you'll have to scavenge them from the part manufacture website.

So what is it doing out of the box?

 

Added to Info Booth & to the Reviews and Owners' Lounges Index. Thanks!

 

I got this laptop a few weeks ago and didn't find out until recently what that right part of the track pad was for. It's a cool scrolling feature that I have found to be quite useful when I am not using a mouse.

So far I have not been disappointed with this unit, as a matter of fact it has exceeded my expectations. The only thing I wish is for expressgate to work with it.

 

Why not use another lightweight Linux distro on a bootable USB key? Slax, for instance.

 

Well, I've been searching for a 14" laptop for travel that could satisfy some basic gaming needs. So despite the gold I picked one up at Best Buy for $699.

Overall I'm impressed. The one major downside of the laptop is the really, really hard to use mouse pad keys. (Not a problem since I always use an external wireless mouse). Heck, it can even play fallout 3 on low settings.

Quick question. I always get a second battery, but I can't find a spare battery for the best buy model. Any ideas where I can find one? Is it because it is a Best Buy model? (I can't even find it on BB's website).

Thanks in advance!

Sincerely,
MXD

 

Have you looked on the ASUS eStore? Also you should look on the battery, see if it's common among several models (so, e.g., it may say it fits models X, Y, Z). Then look on the eStore and see if there are any batteries for X, Y, or Z.

 

Hi,

Thanks for the information. I popped out the battery and it looks like my current one is a Li-Ion 4800 mAH battery that fits the F8XX, A8XX, Z99XX models. After checking around there are some F8XX batteries that should work in y X83VB-X1 model.

Sincerely,
MXD

 

Glad I could help.

 

Hi,

I just finished a few benchmarks on my new X83VB-X1 laptop from Best buy and I thought I would share the info.

Wprime 32M - 40.795 seconds
PCMark05 - 4714 PCMarks
3DMark06 - 1841 3DMarks

If anyone has any specific questions about the system I'll be happy to try to help. I know, its not quite as "sexy" as the higher end version available at Best Buy, but it meets my needs. (Cheap and able to handle some gaming.. like Fallout 3!).

Sincerely,
MXD

 

Thanks for the benchmarks maxdemon~!

Do you think you can run HDTune (for hard drive performance) and EVEREST (for monitoring temps)?

 

Sure, I've never used those programs so why not? I love a good learning experience.


Everest:
I only was able to get a copy of the discontinued home version of Everest. Under sensor I got: (couldn't figure out how to get it read it over time)
CPU 38C
HDD Seagate 36C

HW Monitor: Started it before a 20 minute Fallout 3 session and got the following heat temps at the end:
Core #0: min 42C max 61C
Core #1: min 43C max 62C
Geforce: min 43C max 60C
HDD: min 26C max 33C

Also just for fun I ran FRAPS while playing Fallout 3. Extremely non-scientific, but I got these values just playing around:

Fallout 1024x640 Low (High 30s - Low 40s outside)
Mid 20s outside vs 4 opponents)
1024x640 Medium (mid 20s outside)
1024x640 Ultra High (6-9FPS outside)

So the game is playable at the lowest possible setting for this laptop. For dropping into the mid 20's in combat it really does seem a lot smoother than the rates would imply.

Next up, HDTune. I've got the graph result, I just need to find a place to host the image. For now, here are the general results:

Transfer rates:
Minimum: 32.4 MB/sec
Maximum: 63.9 MB/sec
Average: 50 MB/sec
Access Time: 15.8 ms
Burst Rate: 77.3 MB/sec
CPU Usage 3.5%


Sincerely,
MXD

 

Wow nice! thanks for the benchmark and if it can handle fallout3, it can probably handle COD WAW! this baby will be 649 this sunday (Dec 7, 2008) I might have to pick one up!

 

Can anybody tell me how good the built-in webcam is for this laptop. My friend has an Asus laptop, forget which model but it's a dual webcam where you can swivel it around to take video/pictures from front or back view.

 

it's 650$ on sale now at best buy

 

Im thinking about getting it but i was wondering what the bottom looks like .... and when i get it is there any good way to overclock 64bit? it will be a new experiance having vista .... i have xp/vist look a like on my comp now

 

Anyone know how long that deal will last? I'd like to pick on up later this week at this price.