V1J/P Owner's Lounge

To continue with the ASUS Forum cliché, I am going to the the V1J/P Owner's Lounge for all who own and want to know about the V1J and V1JP.

As many know, I have waited for over 1 year for the perfect laptop in my opinion, which is the V1JP because it offers the features I am looking for.

I have ordered my V1JP from MilestonePC.com, and it should be arriving here in Canada tomorrow afternoon. Many thanks to Danny for providing the laptop at such a fast speed to me, since I will be one of the first North American and Canadian to own a V1JP

I plan to do a review on the V1JP right away, should be completed by Friday night at the latest.

Also after Christmas the laptop will undergo an intensive 2-3 day LAN party, where I will be gaming and all my high school friends will get to see it and give their comments about the V1JP and see how well it performs in a LAN party situation.

I have a lot of high expectations for the V1JP, and I'm hoping it will be a great laptop to use, since it will be my first laptop ever!

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

Congrats dude, about darn time haha

 

I'd love to know who's idea it was to start those in the first place... They collect so many pages and are so random (although on topic model wise), that people still ask other questions because they're too lazy to look through.... but why not... every other model has one

 

Hehe thanks Coriolis, like I always said, I had the time to wait, so I did just that, I think I made the right choice too, since this has everything I want, plus the flexibility of the Docking Station and the modular bay battery, which I may be getting in the future.

I like the lounge idea our forums came up with, it's great that all owners can talk and compare and help each other out without creating extra threads regarding the same issue.

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

I think it was the W3j, I'm pretty sure!

Then it also spawned in the Compal section haha

 

I am still disappointed there was never one for the Z33..

 

I'm curious as to what games some of you may want me to test on the V1JP tomorrow and on Friday?

Man I'm nervous and and excited! The hourly countdown begins! hehe, this is my first laptop i've bought and all my information comes from Europeans and pictures of the V1J from abroad.

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

Hmm... Games, BF2, Oblivion, X3, the latest MS Flight Sim... From the previous set of 'review games' Quake 4 and Far Cry would be nice...

If you look at a few video card reviews there are a few standard games that people usually use for reviews.

 

Oh, I can't wait for you to get those reviews up!!! My V1Jp is on backorder from ProPortable. I'm not sure when it will be shipped. It is going to be my first laptop, though I've occasionaly used my brothers Hp zd8000 (piece of junk). I'm not going to keep my hopes too high for it's gaming capabilities... Should be roughly the same as my desktops which has a 7600 GT, but a less powerfull CPU. Either way, I'll post a mini review whenever it arrives and I have time to test it.

Justin: Do you have any estimate on the date I will be able to recieve the V1Jp?

 

If anyone has access to a monitor with 2560x1600 (MAC or Dell 30"...) resolution could you please test and see if the x1600 or x1700 is configured with dual link. On desktops it's a separate chip that handles the output so just because the GPU supports dual link the manufacturer doesn't always put it in. I don't know how mobile video cards are configured.

Thanks

 

Future V1jp owner here, I'll need lots of pictures from every angle imaginable to hold me over until I get mine!

 

Hello, guys - any particular reason(s) you guys picked the V1JP over other 15.4" laptops? I'd be very interested to know. Hope that you get that review in pronto, MysticGolem!

 

Well as many know I picked the V1JP long before it even came out, back 4-6 months ago, I heard about the V1J and searched all over the internet for pictures and reviews, of course finding very little info, but posted everything i found, into all the threads here.

After that, just recently ASUS released the G1, and i was amazed to see that ASUS did this, and was happy that they are providing alternative 15.4" performance machine.

The main reasons for chosing the V1JP the modular bay battery, mini dvi port for the future, i plan on using this notebook for a very long time, provided it doesn't break down, knock on wood. And I may need the docking station in the future.

I also did consider 14" notebooks like the A8js and W3JP but, I feel that the screen may be too small to use at home and for gaming, however 14" might have been more appropriate for school. I will also be taken the V1JP to school, i hope i don't find it too big or anything like that for school. I have 1 friend who takes his Z70va to school, and another who takes a S96J who stopped taking it to school after while... oh well.

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

My requirements were:
1. light and very high build quality (more important to me than raw speed)
2. 1680x1050 screen
3. DVI out through machine or dock
4. at least a x1600 mobility or 7600 go with >=256MB
5. modular bay for 2nd battery
6. must not stick out

It all depends on what your needs are based on what you'll be using it for. If you can figure out what's important to you then narrowing it down won't take long at all.

 

As yes, these were also a must, since I am a gamer, plus I wanted a high resolution screen to be able to put 2 documents side by side, fortunately my CRT can go up to 1600x1200 when I do some minor graphic designing.

The fact that the V1JP has a web cam, spill proof keyboard, and fingerprint reader are bonuses for me since I don't own a web cam, and I would definitely like to play around with the fingerprint reader

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

I absolutely love the V1J. May very likely be my future notebook, but I'm still debating over the V1J or G1 but the V1J is winning. I dunno, I guess I think the G1 is so "eye-catching" that I'll have ten people looking over my shoulder at any time...and I wouldn't like that.

I'm really excited about the review, MysticGolem! Hope you take some nice pictures!

 

Yes the V1J is lighter than the G1.

The G1 weighs roughly 6.8lbs

The V1J weighs 6lbs without the optical drive, and when you put in the optical drive it should weigh roughly 6.2-6.4lbs.

 

... Not many 15.4" notebooks will be heavier than the G1....... Based on the A6, which was originally designed around a P4 desktop cpu.... it's got a HUGE thermal envelope.. and that translates into a bigger and heavier chassis all around..... plus it's all plastic, which weighs more and takes up more room than carbon fiber pieces.

 

Sorry deleted that post. Thought was a stupid question to ask but thanks for the answer Just want to know that all.

G1 PCMCIA
V1J Express Card

What is the use of both slots?

 

They are basically external expansion slots. PC cards use mini-PCI, while Express cards use mini-PCIe. There isn't that much expansion needed anymore since most laptops already have memory card readers, firewire ports, etc. I suppose eSATA is probably the most useful expansion you can get in card form. There's also a SoundBlaster that fits in a PC Card, but they haven't released a Express Card version yet.

 

loopty's requirements pretty much matched mine. I was going with the V1 originally, until I heard about the G1. Which caught my eye for a while, but getting more info on the docking bay, and seeing info about the V2, among other things, pushed me back towards the V1jp.
Hopefully the V1 will be great enough that down the road, if I ever need a 14", I'd go for a V2 and have a dock that works for both.

 

Well, if u opt for V2, u have to wait for proberly another 3-5 mths

 

Loopty & Mystic Golem - thanks for the reply. Those are very valid and every day the V1J sounds better and better.

I am very curious about the modular bay, though - as it is modular, I wonder as to whether this will introduce 'rattling' effects as anything that can possible be modular can only introduce sources of rattles and/or loose parts.

Additionally, onlye *one* of the modular bay can be swapped with another hot-swappable device, correct? As the other must be reserved for the laptop's default HDD? With that in mind I am not even sure if the modular bay would even be useful unless I think one day I should swap out the optical drive for a 2nd battery for a long trip lacking an outlet.

The fingerprint reader is a big plus on the V1. Not a lot of people appreciate it but I think in time it's the future for laptops.

The build quality is a pressing issue as well - unfortunately it may be hard for someone to compare the V1J to other competitors unless they've had broad laptop exposure/usage - hope someone in the future can enlighten us comparatively!

 

I've felt the W3J which has a modular bay with optical drive installed and it seemed very secure so I doubt there is any rattling issues.

The modular bay can be used for either the default optical drive, a travelers drawer to save weight, a 2nd battery or a 2nd hard drive. Also, the only modular bay on these laptops are the optical drive. The default hard drive is in a separate compartment on the bottom and is not swappable for a battery, etc.

 

The V1J spec is almost same as Sony FE-38GP. Only different is color, Sony is in white

 

If you read the specs more carefully there are several differences.

 

After a very hard decision, I just went a purchased the V1 hrs. ago. Even though the G1 I had on pre-order, and would have cost me 500.00 less(I'm factoring the fact I also purchased 1G of RAM to add to the V1). Decision went to build quality and smaller footprint. I so wanted the nvidia graphics, but I just got over it. I didn't think this laptop would be available so fast! I'd love to review this when I get it, if no one else does.

 

loopty,
I did say "almost" & I notice the defferent as well. For one, ATI & GeForce etc....

 

That would be one of what I would consider a 'minor' difference.

Bigger ones:
1) G1 has 2GB RAM (667 MHz, not 566 on the FE)
2) G1 has WSXGA+, not WXGA on the FE
3) G1 has other little gadgets, unlike the FE
4) FE has expresscard, G1 does not
5) G1 has stronger GPU and neither has an ATI graphics card

 

Look left & right b4 u cross the road. Look at my post & the topic, who say anything about G1 here. I'm talking about V1J & FE.
Bigger ones:
1GB RAM FE Vs 512MBx2 RAM V1J etc etc etc......I know I shouldn't have put that message in. Sorry about that.

 

Most of those differences apply to your original comparison, few of which are minor to people around here. If you haven't noticed we are a very picky bunch.

 

The V1JP weighs exactly 6.5 pounds fully loaded with ODD and battery installed.

Also, among the many nice features it has both the VGA and DVI ports on both the laptop (VAG + u-DVI) and the Power Station (VGA + DVD-D).

The standard ASUS OS load also partitions the HDD with about 65GB on C: and about 45GB on D:

The only sad news I have seen so far is that the 2nd hard drive kit does not come with it, and the mouse that comes with it is only a small USB mouse instead of being Bluetooth wireless.

 

The uses are essentially the same, but the Express Card is much faster since it is PCIe.

Another good use of them is for almost anywhere access to the Internet. The PCMCIA or Express Card cellular air cards are sweet. You can have access from anywhere your cellular company has service, and you can get broadband speed in most major markets.

 

Yes, only one device can be in the modular bay at a time, but all of the three devices "lock" in so you won't have to worry about rattles

 

I noticed that earlier, thanks for reminding me again

 

Here are a few V1Jp pictures, I will leave more to MysticGolem's review.

 

Haha, thanks Danny for breaking the news

YES, i am now the proud owner of the ASUS V1JP it is in my hands, i'm currently writing the review, already took several pictures, and will share a few tonight.

Also the screen is Glossy, and seems to be the once that the G1P uses, which has great viewing angles and is nice and bright!

There was a delay in shipment yesterday, so i didn't receive it, but Danny called me and told me that immediately. So the laptop arrived at MilestonePC at 12pm lunch time, and then i picked it up, and brought it home at 5:30pm, yes there was a lot of traffic plus rain on the roads.

Keep ya'll updated on everything

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

Anyone know if there is a specific type of RAM that will work in this laptop? Cause I just purchased 1GB PQI DDR2 667 5400 RAM to add...and I hope it's easy access too the memory slot...

S'pose I should have asked BEFORE buyin huh....

 

That memory should work, but the memory access is a little tricky. Not bad really, but you have to remove the screw for the memory cover, then take of the cover for the CPU and GPU, then gently pop off the memory cover.

Just remember when you are putting it back together you have to put the CPU and GPU cover on first, and then the memory cover screw goes through that and the memory cover under it, so the memory cover screw goes in last.

 

I wish I had a V1Jp, not V1J

 

Does anyone have specific details about the docking station? Cost? I have heard $299.00 which seems steep.

 

Its $299.00 US at PROPortable, sephon, yes you have the right price. I agree, its a bit expensive (they should've bundled it with the V1J ! But then the price would rise...).

 

I think the docking station is now $199. I believe PROPortable mentioned it here a few days ago.

EDIT: Found the post here http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=92674&page=4 :

 

Right, the dock is $199 in North America. Asus' final pricing came out with the delivery of the "power stations", the $299 price point was Asus' initial estimate based on the number they were originally going to import. They brought in only 20 pieces, of which we were lucky enough to get 15. and at that little rate the price would have been $299. However, they placed another order with Taiwan for $400 pieces and Taiwan gave them a reduced price not just for the next shipment but also for the shipment the small shipment that just arrived. $299 is expensive, but I think compared to what Sony offers for the models that work with their docks, $299 would have been a bargin based on the quality of the dock and the features. For $199, it's still expensive as it would still be the most expensive accessory Asus has ever offered for a notebook, but it's worth every penny. Since everyone doesn't have a use for a docking station, it's an optional accessory. Otherwise we'd be looking at a $2,200 system and saying..... "yeah, well it's got a docking station!"

 

Specific details are the Power Station has the following ports - 5 USB, DVI-D Video Out, VGA, S/PDIF out, Mic in, line in, Gigabit Lan, Parallel, Serial, PS/2, Power...and yes the price is $199 which if you look around is not expensive at all. Very few, if any, of the port replicators on the market today even have all of these ports so it really is a good value.

 

Asides from the convenience of not having to keep attaching/detaching cables to the laptop in addition to more ports, is there really any other added benefits of having the docking station? The laptop itself already has all those ports.

I'm also surprised the docking station is sold separately. This Sony flagship R505 I'm using right now was bundled with the docking station.

 

Nothing in the world is free, every single thing you get is paid by you, price was added to the selling price already.

 

Squawks, some people find benefit from the Power Station, some don't...so bundling it would force those that don't want it to pay $199 more. How does that make any sense? Just because Sony does it doesn't make it right.

 

Whoops - actually the scenario between the two are different. Sony's R505's docking station has the optical drive while the laptop itself lacks an optical drive. So bundling it together was mandatory. That would actually be a great feature - if all laptops today were made without the optical drive (to enhance portability) and the optical drive stays on the docking station. Who uses the optical drive on-the-run, anyways? Not many.

 

Trust us..... you're paying for the "bundled" dock with the Sony...... so it makes no difference if it's optional on this model if you're actually looking to buy it... however someone who doesn't need it won't be paying that extra cost for something they'll never use, but have to purchase because it's part of the package. It's just a matter of how you look at it, but the right way is exactly as we described.