~ Asus U6 Owners' Lounge ~

Yeah that's what sucks, I have the latest drivers and direct 10 (even tho that has nothing to do with movies). It really has to be the lcd's refresh rate or something because on the screen you can usually see two frames at one time, the top and the bottom. It's really noticeable in fast action movies. So freakin annoying.

 

Call up Asus then, and poke around to find some answers...that shouldn't be happening.

 

I slipstreamed my windows XP and stripped all unnecessary windows installation. No hard drive indexing at all and I even modify windows startup programs as well. I am even using the Service Pack 3 Candidate Release 2.

 

creature0077: even if you are using the latest drivers, they might still be the problem. I suggest trying to downgrade, or using stock drivers from the drivers CD. See if the problem goes away.

ghettocowboy: I would still try to investigate software issues before ruling this as a HDD or other hardware fault. You can start task manager and add columns for Read Bytes and Write Bytes for every application. Then you can look whether some of them are writing and reading a lot; those might be the culprit.

How much RAM do you have btw? Maybe the computer is doing a lot of swapping because you are using many apps in little RAM.

 

I have 2 gb of ram as standard for this laptop, just went to frys and bought 4 gig patriot ram, signature line older revision since the newer revision is not as good. I haven't popped it in yet since I have a test next week. I am gonna install Vista Ultimate 64bit version along with Vista SP1 next week and I will update next week. I need my laptop so I can study. If any1 wants the older Revision of the patriot signature line so-dimm, Frys in Fountain Valley California still has 1 kit of 4gb of the older revision left for $90. The newer Revision is not micron chip.

 

2GB should be fine most of the times even with Vista...

 

I might put in the Hitachi 200gb 7200RPM 16mg cache HDD to this laptop. Will see if time allows. And hoping I get my hand on Vista SP1 by next week.

 

How about keeping a close eye on the apps to see which read/writes to the HDD a lot? Like I suggested.

 

The older driver that came with the laptop had the same issue so I'm assuming your right that there is something wrong with the hardware. Guess I'll call asus and listen to some idiots tell me how to "fix" it.

Oh btw, you can download SP1 RC (release candidate) right now. It's the same thing that MS sent to all the manufactures. I have it on mine and I have to say, it doesn't make much of a difference. Hardly anything has improved an the administration level and there isn't any noticeable speed gain from either standard tasks or moving files around. *sigh* guess SP2 will actually have some good stuff in it.

Boo, I miss xp. lmao.

 

What's the use for the S-Video to RCA cable included with the Asus U6S? There's no S-Video port on the machine

 

Why downloading Candidate release of SP1 when MS already released the SP1 for multi-volume users and to RTM

The hard drive sleeps or hardware sleeps. Sometimes I have to wait for over a minute for the computer to react or response. During that lag period, I cannot do anything. All my settings have no hard drive sleep, everything is always on even the screen. I doubt it is the hard drive alone, must be some hardware and thus I was looking forward to the newer bios update and hoping to resolve the issue. Or it could be driver incompatability since I am on XP. I am gonna revert back to Vista Ultimate 64bit once I installed 4gb of ram. Currently I need my laptop since I have a major exam this Friday so I wont touch anything till then.

 

Ok, I just installed 4gb of Patriot Signature Line PC2-5300 RAM First Revision (Micron IC Chip). So much faster and seems like the lagging is gone. The stock ram are cheap: Eldipa IC. The Patriot Signature Line Revision one are Micron IC chip, the newer revision is not as good so if you want, look for first revision. It is much faster not because it is more ram, because it is faster and better ram. Since I am on XP Pro SP3 candidate release, I only see 3 gig total. I will run Vista Ultimate 64bit at the end of the week when I am able to get my hand on SP1.

 

WhoooooHoooo Finally new updates for this laptop:


Chicony_CKF7010 Camera Driver for Vista 32-Bit http://dlsvr03.asus.com/pub/ASUS/nb/U6Ep/CMOS_Camera_Chicony_CKF7010_VT_080130.zip

MVI-SV1103-AD Camera Driver For Vista 32-Bit http://dlsvr03.asus.com/pub/ASUS/nb/U6Ep/CMOS_Camera_MVI-SV1103-AD_VT_080130.zip

RTS5158 Realtek USB Card Reader driver for Vista 32-Bit http://dlsvr03.asus.com/pub/ASUS/nb/U6Ep/USB_Card_Reader_RTS5158_VT_080130.zip

Touchpad Driver for Vista 32-Bit http://dlsvr03.asus.com/pub/ASUS/nb/F9Sg/Touchpad_VT_080115.zip

 

Anyone looking for a flush look to their laptop with a 3 cell battery, PM me, I know a few people were talking about it a bit ago, I might be able to sell my 3 cell since I got a 9 cell battery.

The 9 cell adds a lot of bulk, but I need the juice, if someone really wants the light feeling with a 3 cell lemme know.

Take Care

 

Has anyone had any luck connecting anything with their bluetooth, I have XP, but I cannot sync anything with the bluetooth... sucks..

 

Pls don't double post. Also, I believe this is better suited for the buy-sell-trade forum.

 

I connected my 2 yrs old phone Sony Ericsson to it and use the phone as a remote control via bluetooth connection, it works great. I also connect my 1 yr old Targus bluetooth mouse and it works great. I sent a few files to my friend phones (blackberry and samsung sdg-600) via bluetooth connection and it worked great.

I am currently running XP Pro X86 with SP3 Candidate Release 2

 

^ That sucks, I am having some major problems with getting BT to work on my laptop, too bad really, but i guess that is life ... time to get my brother involved, all i want is my mouse to work with it.

 

What Version of BT stack do you have?? Make sure you turn on the blue-tooth device on your wireless console software or press Fn + F2 till you get both wifi and bt devices on. Then go to the blue-tooth stack software and try to connect the device from there.

 

Hi guys,

I am considering buying the U6 since I really like Asus notebooks and I am looking for something more powerful than my dynabook SRX1.

The question is: has someone tried to do some longevity tests with Aero and the sidebar disabled, and with a low brightness level (with the BT and the optical drive disabled)? I wonder if the 9 cells battery can last more than 3 hours

Also, do you think the optical drive can be removed easily???

Thanks!

 

You can find a little more info from the review we did on the Asus U6s here.

The 9-cell battery will last close to 4 hours under regular use and about 3 hours with DVD playback. If you don't need a dedicated graphics card and HDMI out, Asus U6e would be another notebook to have a look at. (slightly better in battery life, but only available in pearl white color)

6-Cell 4800 mAh Li-Ion Battery Pack
Battery time # 1: Approximately 2 hour and 2 min. (1 hour and 53 min. til warning)
- Full screen DVD Playback w/ all preloaded applications.
- Power4Gear : Battery Saving Mode. (Brightness @ 60% , Min. & Max. processor state = 5% & 60%)

Battery time # 2: Approximately 2 hour and 33 min. (2 hour and 25 min. til warning)
- Internet Video Streaming (YouTube & MSN Video), IM chatting and browsing.
- Power4Gear : Battery Saving Mode. (Brightness @ 60% , Min. & Max. processor state = 5% & 60%)


9-Cell 7800mAh Li-Ion Battery Pack (Optional)
Battery time # 1: Approximately 3 hour and 10 min. (3 hour and 2 min. til warning)
- Full screen DVD Playback w/ all preloaded applications.
- Power4Gear : Battery Saving Mode. (Brightness @ 60% , Min. & Max. processor state = 5% & 60%)

Battery time # 2: Approximately 3 hour and 55 min. (3 hour and 43 min. til warning)
- Internet Video Streaming (YouTube & MSN Video), IM chatting and browsing.
- Power4Gear : Battery Saving Mode. (Brightness @ 60% , Min. & Max. processor state = 5% & 60%)

 

I own the 9cell battery, and it really lasts nice and long, and it goes for about 4 hrs, I have been surfing the net for the past 4 hrs and have about 23 percent left on it.

Love the unit, the 9cell does ruin the weight, and kills the weight distribution (if you pick it up from the center it tips a bit over)

 

Thx for the answers! The review is very informative.

Two questions though:

1. Are the tests made with Aero and Sidebar enabled? I am asking this because I know they both consume a lot of battery.

2. As to the weight of the unit with the 9 cells: what is it? I have read that it is around 3,64 lbs. Is that the real weight of the unit? I ask this because Asus is notorious for minimizing the weight of its laptops.

In France, there is a new model coming soon, the U6SG, with a Penryn processor and 3G of RAM, it really looks interesting. I don't know whether it is already out in the US.

 

I'm pretty sure princealyy had Areo and Sidebar off in her tests. Generally speaking those don't pull a whole lot of power to run them but there is a noticeable difference around some 15-20 minutes when I got them off. My 9-cell goes well over 4 hrs. Can't live without it now.

Funny you asked about the weight, I went ahead and put it on my digital scale. With the 9-cell it weights 4 lbs and 3.8 oz (4.23 lbs). The weight you have must be either the 3-cell or 6-cell battery, I'm guessing it'll be the 6-cell.

Interesting they are bringing it out with a Penrym processor. How much euros would that be for you?

Oh, and I removed the optical drive a few months ago, no problem at all. Just a single screw like almost every other laptop. Interesting tho, I think the optical drive is one of the new types with even smaller connection. Dunno what it's called, never bothered to look at it. I'm curious tho, why in the world would you want to remove it?

 

It is SATA (Serial ATA)

 

Thx creature0077!

wow, 4.23 lbs, I think it's around 1.91 kgs, it's a lot! I think it's too much for me!

As to my question about the optical drive, well, since I don't really need it, I was considering removing it when I don't need it to reduce the weight.

Anyway, even though I was willing to trade additionnal weight for more power (I currently own a dynabook RX1), I don't want to trade that much weight!

As to the Penryn version, it is only available in one store for the moment, at around 1800 euros, but this store is known to be expensive. My guess is that it will be found at around 1600 euros.

 

The hard drive is sata, I'll have to take a picture of the ultra slim dvd drive connection. It's some mini type of connection, smaller than the usual 50-pin slim connections. The drive is really really light, it hardly weights anything and won't really feel lighter.

Honestly I don't think 4.23 lbs is heavy but then again, I was toting around a 7 lb Dell Inspiron before so I won't complain. If you want something powerful that lasts more than 4 hrs. You'll have a hard time finding anything under 2 kgs.

Good god man, that's almost $2,700 for the laptop, I think most of us got our u6s around $1,700 or so. Lol, you frenchies must be rich!

Can't believe you already have an RX1, those are sooooo freakin light. I admit I'm jealous but there is no way I'm giving up my u6s! I wouldn't dare sacrifice speed for just 2 lbs lighter. Lol, I can be a big boy.

I might get the Asus EEE for some fun, dunno if I want to do that since I don't have a whole lot of need for a second laptop.

 

Well, coming from the R500, 4.23 lbs is heavy! Before that I had an Asus U1F, so I am used to lightweight laptops!
However, I grew a bit fed up with ULv processors. Still, 4.3 lbs is a lot in a bag, considering that I always have a few books as well.

As to the price in $; no it is not that much! A euro is only something like 1.46 dollars, not 2!
You know, in France the taxes are humongous: it is around 20% of the price!
Moreover, when you look at Apple products for instance, a Macbook air can be found at 1800 $ in the US, whereas it is fount at 1700€ in France! You can see that we are totally screwed on this one...

Well, I guess I will get the Macbook air instead...

 

Macboor air has severe compromises made for weight and size... be sure to check the reviews before you invest in it.

 

Well, the only thing that bothers me with the MBA is the hard drive.
Apart from that, I don't really care about any of its "drawbacks" since I don't need any ports except from 1 USB, and I seldom if ever use an optical drive.

And then, there is MacOs...

 

lol 1.46*1800=2628 screw me for rounding it up. Lmao. That'll be a ***** if there is 20% tax. However I know the UK already has to include tax in their prices, is it the same for france? I can't remember.

Ditto about the air, I was drolling over it. I'm afraid I might break it though.

Funny, I was reading an article about some Japanese company taking apart the air and evaluating the workmanship, they said it sucked ass, basically. Overly complicated and could have been made cheaper and more simple for the same size and speed. Hee hee, it's still pretty tho.

http://techon.nikkeibp.co.jp/english/NEWS_EN/20080220/147736/

 

Well, the MBA is really solid! At least, it looks like it. It is more solid than my R500 at least.

As to the U6SG in France, there is a 200 euros discount for some Fnac members, so it can be found at 1599 euros instead of 1799. In the package, there is both the 3 and the 6 cells batteries, but no 9 cells.

Still, even though I like Asus, I really think a 12"1 weighing more than 4 lbs shouldn't exist. Above all since we are getting lighter and lighter 13"3 laptops. For approximately the same size, I would almost prefer buying the Dell XPS 1330.

As to the calculations, sorry, you are right, I didn't think it would translate into so many dollars! Another proof that we are screwed in France!
I hope that in my future job I will have to travel a lot to the US

 

It's tax differences. For that reason, we usually pay in Europe roughly the same number of Euros that people pay in dollars, in the US.

 

Does anyone feel like posting some more photos of their U6'ers? I'm looking to buy the new one with 9300M and would love to see more "real life" photos of it.

 

sure, here's a few....













Didn't remember they came with the 9300M now, which version of the U6 are you looking at getting?

Oh, and btw, if anyone from another country is thinking about buying a U6S or any other laptop or electronic device from the states, be aware that warranties are usually not valid out of the country where purchased.
Basically if you live in Canada and come to the states to buy an external hard drive and go back to Canada and it breaks down, they won't replace it since the warranty doesn't apply to Canada. You'll most likely have to lie and mail it to them and have them send it to a friend in the states and have your friend mail it to you. Same is usually true for laptops unless you make sure the warranty will cover wherever you live (hence not traveling, but living). But then again, there is always good ol b.s. that gets things done. Just a word of caution!

 

For most people that's looking funny...
Why many years ago f**g Cyrill didn't collect little money and didn't buy regular TrueType font by Microsoft or Adobe or e.t.c. and create own font - nobody now... But hundreds years russians must got torture...



Oh! Cyrillic letters position on the keyboard for DOS, Windows and Mac are different!
Windows version show on the shot.

 

Thx for the pictures creature!
Btw, I forgot to answer you: yes, the 20% tax is alrady included in the price, fortunately! That's one of the reason why this is so expensive...

I would like to come back to the optical drive: I guess it must weight at least 0.66 pounds (i.e. 300 grams) right?
If this is so and I can remove it, the weight of the unit is more to my liking.
Also, do you think the video card will be sufficient to run games such as Starcraft 2 or Spore?

Thanks!

 

ASUS notebooks are covered by a global 2 year pickup and return warranty.

I do not believe an optical drive will weigh 300 grams. Perhaps 50 to 100.

Nice laptop, but as always with these small computers it seems they could've fitted a much larger screen in that bezel... and gotten rid of those huge bands around it...

 

Will hopefully get my U6Sg tomorrow (hurry up UPS!)

Did anyone install Vista 64 bit on the U6S?

On the Asus website there are only drivers for the 32bit Vista...

Cheers

Mic

 

good estimate e.b.e. It's actually 75 grams, just weighted it. Oh and it has a regular port on the back, same as most dvds. I got confused since my dell had a funny adapter that had a big port. The regular slim dvds weight about 115 grams. You won't notice a difference in weight if you remove the optical drive.

Never tried 64 bit vista with this. There isn't any point on getting 64 bit anyways because it's still too early for companies to write 64 bit codes now. Only a few programs are truely 64 bit and you'll have a hell lot more problems with drivers in 64 bit. It'll still be a few more years, until you really start seeing programs released in 64 bit more often, probably by 2011 or so.

I agree about the screen size. I think the reason they have a large bezel is because of the way they designed the aluminum frame that goes around it to keep it from bending too much, plus the webcam to be fitted and kept it all roughly equal size around the whole thing. Also helped to make sure the keyboard didn't become small. Kinda retarded I know, but what can ya do?

Wish I knew if it'll run Starcraft 2. I don't think they'll release the game until Dec of this year or May of next year. Argh! I can't wait. Don't have Spore either but I can let u know if F.E.A.R. works on it.

 

Well if they need to make it as big to fit in the keyboard and everything, why not just put a larger screen in there? Yeah, I know this is a simplistic view.

 

Hello Lounge - i´m in the game.
Got my U6sg yesterday.
Clean Install of Vista Ultimate.
dozens of drivers later i´m quite happy with the speed..

1594 3DMarks 2006

And a good system speed...

Only downside: No 3G-Card included but can be bought aftermarket...

Did anyone open the back? Where is the slot for additional Wireless-Cards?

Is there a preparation for the 3G-antenna?

Greetz


Michael

 

If have just installen XP on my U6S and everything is working fine!
I have only 2 issues which I can not solve, with the drivers I found here (page 5 or asus.com).
1. Webcam is working, but presents the video up-side-down. Also the party on the other side sees me up-side-down.
2. Multicard reader is not working. Everything looks ok, but when I put in a memory card, he simply does not see it, as if I did not put a memory card in it.
On both cases have I tried almost everything, with no improvement.
Is there anyone with a good idea?

Greetings

Harold

 

Card reader: you can try the drivers here, assuming you have the same Ricoh controller that guy had on his Panasonic (there;s a good chance, I've seen it reported to work for 3 types of ASUS laptops).
http://www.antifart.com/2007/12/31/panasonic-sdhc-driver.html
Antifart.com » Blog Archive » Panasonic SDHC Driver

Webcam: isn't there some software toggle to flip the image back?

 

I just got mu U6S two days ago, and can't for the life of me get the audio working. It keeps telling me that "No Audio Output Device is Installed". Anyone have any suggestions?

 

Details? Which OS?



I wonder why so many have XP on their U6s´s - the only advantage I see over Vista is probably a better batterylife... but my config is definately fast enough for Vista (and I have no driver issues so far...)

Greetz

Mic

 

Running Vista, I don't really know what other details to give

 

Running vista here too. Personally I prefer XP because it seems more "user-friendly" than vista's annoying layout of controls and settings. However I don't really want to get caught in the backwash in technology since it's part of my field. Ugh, I just wish everyone would switch to Linux. Only in a perfect world. Heh.

XP also starts up faster and does run faster for some tasks, meh.

 

Well, this is probably not the thread to discuss XP vs. Vista. It's a personal decision for everyone to make. There are advantages of each over the other. Depends how those advantages affect every person. As to:

I can only imagine that the driver is either improperly installed, or a wrong driver is installed.

 

Thats what I thought as well, but I have updated all the drivers, and then completely reinstalled them and still no luck.