N81V: Review & Owners' Lounge

I have a habit of taking the battery out of my notebook when the A/C is plugged in, I noticed that the N81V's design(and lots of others) cause it to lose balance when the battery is removed.
Anyone having problems with that?
I read the battery guide but it seems that it's better to take out the battery when it's on A/C to slow down the ageing process.
Any advise?
I am considering the N80 series for my next notebook(if I can save enough that is).

Cheers~

 

Speaking of the touchpad, does anyone know how to disable it in Windows 7? I usually have the mouse plugged in, and don't need it.

It is extremely sensitive, which normally is a good thing, but I'm always accidentally brushing across it when I'm typing. It's annoying to have to keep my thumbs raised up in the air when I'm typing

 

If you installed the driver for you touchpad, there should be an extra tab under mouse properties where you can disable it.
I am not very sure of it though.

 

Ah, of course. I hadn't installed anything else because the touchpad was working fine w/ the generic windows driver.

I installed the synaptics drivers for Vista, and now have the option of automatically turning the touchpad off when the mouse is plugged in. Sweet!

 

well, seeing how all the new Core I7s are coming out, I want to sell it...

 

Just a note, if you keep the battery out for weeks at a time then I believe it can be worth it. But if you sometimes need to use it on battery, then taking it out while on AC quickly loses its advantages. So, let's say, if you find yourself needing the battery once a few days, then it's better to just keep it in. I'm not sure whether removing it for short periods of time has a measurable impact on its life.

Additionally, as you see, the notebook wasn't really designed to be run without a battery inside, as it loses its balance.

 

anything new on this laptop?

 

Basically...It kicks butt...What more is needed then that? If you want it...You won't regret it! Overstock has the laptop on sale right now for $1100 IF YOU USE BING CASHBACK AND OVERSTOCK'S CLUB O MEMBERSHIP.

You can combine the two. I did it. If you are worried that cashback will not be accepted if combined...You can call overstock and ask them yourself.

I actually got the laptop for $900 when Bing Cashback was 20% and they had a mail in rebate!

 

I'm really thinking of getting this laptop, the new D2 with T9600, Ati 4650 and Windows 7 64bit.

from the reviews and people's posts, i can say there's a few minor downsides that's keeping me from putting my foot down:

1. keyboard Fn-Ctrl thing..(what were they thinking?? anyone know if the D2 is back to the standard Ctrl-Fn?)

2. the report of the clicking keys being quite loud and stiff(guess it's something i'll have to bare with. or use tapping instead)

3. battery life.. i know i can't complain because of the high specs of this notebook. is there a way to down throttle(or wutever it's called) the cpu and gpu while on battery? like maybe set it to cpu 2.0gb, gpu 256mb? or 512mb? cuz i want to use this notebook at school, for lecture note taking. about 2hrs seem stretchy, especially when i have consecutive lectures(2hrs each) and i would just be using maybe internet browsing and Word. so wouldn't require 1gb of graphics.(the 1gb looks good for when i play some games or do photo editings, with AC plugged in.)

4. size of the notebook, some say it's like a 15" in size and weight? can anyone suggest any 15" with 1gb graphics memory? i might consider a 15" or 15.4, 15.6? instead of this one. possibly with longer battery life? and about same price range?

thank u very much guys~~

 

1. [keyboard Fn-Ctrl]
can be resolved by buying comparable Ctrl-Fn keyboard off ebay.
I whined about this for a few months and then finally got the Ctrl-Fn.

2. [the clicking keys being quite loud and stiff]
if you mean the keyboard itself - not too bad.
if you meant the touchpad's left/right "mouse" keys - yes! darn annoying, and hard to click. low price = cheap parts...

3. [battery life..]
don't think it'll last you to 2 hours. spare bat?

4. size of the notebook, some say it's like a 15" in size and weight? can anyone suggest any 15" with 1gb graphics memory? i might consider a 15" or 15.4, 15.6? instead of this one. possibly with longer battery life? and about same price range?

I don't know if you can have the best of both worlds;
one solution would be to retro-fit P9700 or SP9600...

 

Thanks a lot for your reply, yes, i meant the touchpad buttons.

I guess I'll just have to work with a spare battery, as it's probably the only resolution. Do u recomment buying a extra battery at point of purchase?(I'm thinking of buying from Gentechpc, but it cost $124 for an extra battery) or should i get it off ebay for around $70?

Also, do u think I would get this notebook at cheaper price around christmas time? i'm comtemplating whether to get it now or wait for about 2 months.

 

hiya fragments
1. if I know of a replacement I'd surely be changing the touchpad buttons!

2. extra battery - buying the spare battery - if you pick one off Ebay make sure it carries some kind of warranty (at least 6 months)

3. i don't know whether boxing day would mean cheaper prices - if I were to pick again, most likely i wouldn't go for this model;
and here are my thoughts
- i absolutely hate the lower res of only 768 pixels;
I have 800 native vertical pixels on the XPS M1210 and it's more viewable on even a 12". A 14" should have more - and 768 to cut cost on the LCD panel is just not acceptable as a work machine (though 1024 or 1080 might render the point size too small - so it's a preference thing and I'd strongly suggest you to spend at least 30 mins in front of each model).

-i don't have problems with the "plasticky" build; but cheaper parts like the keyboard tactile feel as well as the atrocious touchpad buttons make it a bad user experience. I don't think Asus should have skimped on this.
btw - the left USB port could be a 1.0 and not 2.0 as labelled. Didn't supply enough power to the external 2.5 drive and it started making click-click sounds.

-all the convenience buttons at the top row ==> waste of space + loading more thrash in the OS. How often you enable/disable wifi/bt?
*come to think of it - to conserve battery you could disable those*

I'm not sure I'm in the camp that spends 2 or 3K for a gaming rig; these get outdated very fast. But one of the things that I'd go for, is upgrades to a better screen and better touchpad buttons.

 

Has anyone else with an N81[Vp] run into issues installing Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic on their lappy?

I've had both 8.10 and 9.04 running with no worries, but 9.10 refuses to even install, let alone load the LiveCD implementation, as it freezes with what appears to be a kernel panic error (blinking Caps Lock light) after about four minutes into the loading cycle.

install disc is fine, integrity checks out OK and memtest doesn't pull up any issues either.

 

@decypher
I'm typing from karmic on a d1 right now - no problems installing.... try redownloading it - from another source perhaps? (i just installed it last night)
and I installed from a usb disk, in case you wanted to know

 

cheers for that - managed to trace the issue to a dodgy DVD writer in the end, but not after wasting seven perfectly good CD-Rs (odd how the integrity checker didn't throw up any errors)

Used a different burner and hey presto, it loaded. Karmic works like a charm, though I'm not too happy with the new login screen (Jaunty's was much better) and the restricted fglrx implementation has regressed once AGAIN... but those are minor quibbles, I'm just happy that pretty much everything else works out of the box.

I'm even tempted to say that my battery life is slightly better in Karmic as opposed to Win7 (enterprise 64-bit), but I should really give it a few more days before making any accurate predictions.

 

@decypher
great to hear that!
question - does your computer pause for ~3 seconds-ish right after selecting the kernel at grub2 menu? i get a 3s pause regardless of if i hit enter or wait for the timer to get to 0.

also my resume from hibernate is slooowwwwwww >1min, while it used to be much faster in jaunty... makes me tempted to just shut down instead of hibernate...

 

Hi I had just bought a N81Vp-D2. Got it on monday & today when i had turned it on i got the following message:

Checking file system on C:
The type of the file system is HTFS.
volume label is os.

One of your disks need to be checked for consistency. You
may cancel the disk check, but it is strongly recommended
that you continue.
To skip disk checking, press any key within 10 second (s).

After the 10 seconds countdown it shows me the windows logo & all is fine from there. When i do try to shutdown my session, problems arise again. It takes more than 2 mins to just log me off & and another 2 mins to say shutting down.

Any idea whats wrong?

 

how is windows 7 on this thing?

 

Quite good actually. Better than i had expected it to be.

 

Win7 runs flawlessly (i use enterprise 64-bit), and all of the Asus vista stuff/drivers/etc install on it without any hassle. The system specs are more than sufficient.

PARTAX: try scanning the drive with a 3rd party app if you can. I don't think it'll be a physical drive fault, more so Windows not flushing stuff properly on shutdown.

Nope, no pause for me after selecting ubuntu at grub. Does yours pause if you select Windows instead (assuming you dual-boot)? I've replaced the original 320GB HDD with a 160GB one so I could play around with various operating systems without needing to disturb my original WinXP installation.

suspend/sleep works fine for me but I don't use hibernate at all. I did read somewhere that 9.10 has issues with resuming which had something to do with the kernel's new method of dealing with Intel/ATI hardware - your guess is as good as mine :/

 

I was able to solve the problem, it was a Win 7 update that i hadnt installed. Darn update took 3.5 hrs to download, 20MB+ Seems to be working just fine now

 

no pause with winXP professional...
i even reinstalled grub and nothing changed - didn't see anything odd in the config files either...
oh well i can live with 3s pause - going to upgrade to 10.04 within half a yr anyway.

 

I have a nagging problem on win7 or even Vista;
the system will sometimes randomly reboot after resuming from a sleep.

Has anyone met with the same issue?

 

If you want to disable the touchpad, make sure you have ATKHotkeys AND the Synaptics driver (both from the ASUS support website) installed and press (Fn+F9). If you also have ATKOSD installed, you should see a cool animation and with a touchpad symbol showing that it is now disabled! Press (Fn+F9) to re-enable.

This should have been labeled on the F9 button IMO.

 

I have actually had this happen a few times.
Hasn't happened of late.

 

anyone tried any of the new bios' on this thing?

 

I have updated to the latest BIOS 211 with no problems. I used WinFlash from Asus website to do the update, just make sure to plug in your power cord before doing the BIOS update.

Windows 7 RC 64-bit is running fine on my laptop with no issues. I have update all the drivers to the latest version ( first page has the instructions). I will someday update it to Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit. Awesome laptop.

 

That second quote came from the N80Vn Disassemble thread:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=344547&page=3

The BT183 on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ASUS-2-0-Bluetooth-Module-BT-183-4-A8-F8-Z99-U5-M9_W0QQitemZ320456403518QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item4a9cb0aa3e#ht_1538wt_939

It would be a thirty dollar gamble... but I am almost willing to try it anyway on the N81Vg-X1.

It is a long shot, but N81VPs have it and my Bluetooth LED lights up when I have a dongle plugged in. The bluetooth multimedia key doesn't work with a dongle though. Even when using AsusNBkeys application...

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=150016

...the bluetooth multimedia button does not map, though I only tried it in Win7Pro-x64bit and that application only seems to work correctly in a 32bit OS. The only multimedia key to be detected (for me) was the Power4Gears button. So it is unclear whether the N81Vg-X1 has a wired BT multimedia button.

I don't want to use a dongle! [ =( ] I'll settle for a miniBT-dongle if I have to, or I might just be better off with a PCMIA card... still if I could get BT internally, I would so do it! Any thoughts?

 

I have an N81VP and it came with bluetooth.....

has anyone upgraded the wireless module in this thing....I dont think it is very good....???

 

N81VP's have bluetooth. N81Vg's do not.

Upgrading the wireless card is easy. In the picture above you will see the wireless card below the pink circle. It is very easy to take out. There are two antennas: white and black cords. The best card IMO to upgrade to is the Intel 5100 because you won't have to add an antenna and you will still get full Wireless N capabilities (e.g. 5.0Hz Freq).

Would you be willing to show a picture of this area of your N81Vp?

 

Mine has bluetooth and everything. The only thing I got annoyed was the Fn-Ctrl key. It's in the wrong place.

 

Again, N81V p <== has bluetooth, N81V g <== some do not have bluetooth. Specifically N81Vg-X1 does not.

If anyone could please take an internal screenshot of the mini-PCI-e slot area of their N81V p, it would be greatly appreciated!

 

kk i might crack mine open....would the intel card be the best card to put in here??
this atheros card is slow and connection to networks is sporatic...agreed???

 

I'm considering tu buy a N81vp to replace my actual F8Va. Ports location and bottom seems identical on both models, I suspect even the motherboard is the same. The only difference is the videocard, as the F8Va has a HD3650 1GB DDR2, and of coruse CPU (P8400 2.26GHz 25W).

The one thing that stops me from getting this model is the screen, as 1366x768 is netbook territory IMHO. My current F8Va has a 1440x900 resolution.

 

so has anyone put a new backlit keyboard on this thing. How about the wireless card? anyone know what to do for that upgrade?

 

I'm not sure what was happening but I experiencing a very laggy system whenerever (but not always) for example, extracting a more than 4GB of compressed using WinRA.When I open another windows (explorer), I have to wait for few seconds before it open.... anyone?

 

I replaced my Atheros with a Intel WiFiLink 5100. Slips right in, snap on the antennas (white and black cords with gold tips), and you're done!

Much better performance with this wifi card. You can find them on ebay for really cheap.

When you replace it, take a pic for me plz!

 

wow, i don't understand why nobody has pulled the harddrive cover off of their n81vp-xxxx to snap a picture of their mini-PCI-E, bluetooth module area.

It's a single screw, lazy-asses

 

lol okay, have fun with upgrade mania.

 

anyone else upgade their wireless card? should I go with the 5100 or 5300? what is the difference? is it half height or normal?

 

Mine is also like that but I do have a working bluetooth. I'm not sure what's the use of that port but I'm sure that's not for bluetooth module.

 

I think it's kinda pathetic that my picture that I took in like august is the only picture that people are using in this thread. n81vp users, STEP UP YOUR GAME

 

anyone else upgade their wireless card? should I go with the 5100 or 5300? what is the difference? is it half height or normal?

 

so i just got a N81Vp-D2 and i noticed that the fan seems to be constantly on. it's not on max speed the entire time but i can hear a humming sound and it never shuts off even when just idling. can anyone help me with this? i haven't done much CPU intensive activities so i don't think this is normal.

 

They are pretty much identical, only the 5300 has another antenna that you would have to add, which might increase range. Not sure if adding an antenna means soldering...

Otherwise, they are the same size, pretty much same card. I've read that users seem to get better performance from the 5300, but I don't have any problems with my 5100.

Thanks! As Ken from GenTechPC said originally in this thread (I kinda missed it), that slot really IS for Intel Turbo Memory... sigh.

BUT, after watching this video on YouTube, I think the BT module can be added...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ucLoVbqTZ4

Okay, so that video is of an A8js you say? Well the bottom of that looks pretty damn similar to a N81. And I haven't had the guts yet to fully disassemble my laptop, but it just might be that the module goes above the CD-ROM drivE?!

Looks like I might be making a disassembly guide this xmas break!

 

How much is your 5100 better then the stock card?

 

Dood, if you are unsure about upgrading your wifi-card, it is only $13-$20 and many people, even on this forum (and for other laptops), report good performance from this card. People also naysay about it, but honestly I have had only good things to say after upgrading...

So here's the thing:
I never have any connection problems after switching to the Intel 5100, except for specific rooms at my school where multiple students say they have the same issue and are using completely different laptops/wifi cards. I would blame that on the interference in those rooms.

With the old Azureware card, I sometimes could not even see networks that all three of my room mates' laptops could see (and they all had different laptops/wifi cards).

To be honest, many people are happy with the stock card and have no problems. Anyone with an N81Vg should upgrade the wifi card if they are experiencing poor performance, or want to be able to connect to true Draft-N networks. Even though the stock Azureware wifi card is branded as [a/b/g/n], it does NOT connect to 5.0 GHz Draft-N networks (at least with the networks I've tired). If this is completely true (which I am pretty sure is), then the stock wifi card doesn't even benefit from Draft-N and might as well be branded as [a/b/g].

I don't regret spending $14 on the Intel 5100. Completely worth every penny. Look on eBay, tons of deals, really cheap with free shipping.

Hope that helps!

 

does anyone experience when you restart this laptop....the fan goes on full blast?? how do I stop this?

 

the 3rd antenna is for more throughput..with capable router

from intel
5100 -- 300mbps 1Tx 2RX
Up to 2X greater range enabled by 1x2 Draft-N implementations with 1 transmit spatial stream and 2 receive spatial streams. Up to 5X Bandwidth increase based on the theoretical maximum receive bandwidth enabled by 1x2
Draft-N implementations with 1 transmit spatial stream and 2 receive spatial streams.

5300 -- 450mbps 3Tx 3Rx
Up to 2X greater range enabled by 3x3 Draft-N implementations with 3 spatial streams. Up to 450 Mbps of Bandwidth based on the theoretical maximum bandwidth enabled by 3x3 Draft-N implementations with 3 spatial streams in combination with a 3 spatial stream Access Point.

 

Could this battery work for the n81vp (d2?)?

http://www.softarcade.net/New-Laptop-Battery-for-Asus-X80Le-A32-A8-5200mah-8-Cell_p_67374.html