~F3sv Owner's Lounge~

look on the recharger if in the INPUT its:100-240v 50-60Hz
so u can use it with 220v plug

i bought my laptop from US and back at home I have 220v plugs
just check what whriting on the rechager

 

yeah, it says

Code:

input: 100-240v~1.5A(1,5A) 50-60Hz

if thats what your looking for

 

so u can use it in 220vplug
I cutted my 110vplug i got and put the 220v head its coneccting only 3 wires

 

All notebook adapters can be used worldwide (110 / 220 V, 50/60 Hz), provided you have the physical plug.

 

Hey, I've been eyeing the F3SV-B1 for a while now and am just about ready to get it. But I was wondering, from the perspective of owners already, is it worth my time to just wait for more penryn and GeForce 9 or is that still very far away. I wanted a decent system for school, media and gaming. How far away are they (i know penryn is here, but GF 9?). Is there a comparable laptop
with a penryn processor from asus? I want this system to last for a couple of years, but am willing to wait if it's justified. Thanks

 

just a word of caution. The f3 series are great..especially the b1. Im very happy with my b1, except for the video card. After reading this thread im sure you know that asus has crippled our the 8600m gs. In addition the battery life on this laptop averages around 1hr 45 mins. Great laptop, but maybe you should consider other options. Maybe a dell xps m1530??

 

I was actually planning on getting the m1530 but realized that I could get a much better deal on the asus after searching newegg. How long before they relaease penryn laptops? I was just reading about the new u3. I really want an asus specifically or vaio because they are a pretty good value too.

 

the screen problem occured again. I think its better to send it to ASUS.

what is the procedure? Just carry the laptop to the local service center? or I have to call / email them?

 

Call/email, they should send an RMA form/number and arrange for the shipping.

 

Has anyone tried to mod this ugly beast yet? I'm looking into modding the case a bit with some bondo and a spray can. I guess my real question is, has anyone taken the lid apart on one of these? If so any pictures? Any ideas or suggestions would be great.

-themess

 

ugly beast (i think it looks nice )

but, what are you meaning by "mod"? like drilling holes for better cooling and stuff?

and, to answer your question, ive taken the bottom part off to add RAM, and thats about it..

 

I just hate the top of the lid and the edges of the computer. I was thinking it would be cool to fill in the logo and build up the edges to make the top flat to the edge then do a nice radius all around to give it a smoother profile. Then maybe hit it with some ultra-flat olive drab paint.
I've just never tried anything like this on a laptop and I'm concerned about how to take the top of the lid off. I'm sure this will void the warranty so I'll wait until it expires, by then someone else will have opened it up and documented it.

 

Hey guys, my brother got an F3SV laptop a couple of days ago, and he's having the exact same problem I had when I bought an F3JP last year.

Basically, the problem with both computers (it took me about 1 month to figure out what was wrong with mine) was that the CPU was being bottlenecked by the power management program. When I first tried out Supreme Commander on my F3JP last year it was the same problem on his F3SV, it's really choppy & sloow, and no matter what the CPUs didn't go >20% in speed according to Task Manager. The way I fixed my problem was to fiddle around in ATI Catalyst (the f3jp had a Radeon Mobility x1600) and disable its power management system, which meant that the CPUs actually got used and could run games properly.

Has nobody here had the same problem?? Surely you guys have tried out games on this thing!

Anyway, since the problem appeared to be the same I figured we'd go into the nvidia equivalent of ATI Catalyst (since the f3sv has an 8600m gs) to disable power management. Didn't find anything. Upon searching the internet I had the displeasure of finding out that the Powermizer settings (I'm 99.5% sure this is the culprit) in the nvidia control panel aren't accessible by windows vista!!!

So basically I'm not sure what to do. We've tried changing the drivers to ones on laptoppower2go.com, but that has (unsurprisingly) made no difference (since it didn't do squat for my f3jp).

Any advice from you guys would be VERRRRRY appreciated. He's going overseas for 4 months tomorrow... cheers.

 

You probably mean GPU instead of CPU. If it were the CPU, I'd suggest removing power 4 gear and using something that gives you more precise control like RMClock.

About powermizer, at least if the settings are not available and the card is locked, it should at least be locked at high performance, that's what I would find logical.

It might also be adjusted "in the background" on the basis of some Vista power settings. Make sure that the Vista power profile is not limiting it.

Another thing to try is a BIOS update, maybe the GPU clocks are changed (see my signature for a guide).

(probably other F3 owners will give you more insightful comments)

 

My advice would be to lose Vista and put XP on. That was the first thing I did when I got mine and I haven't looked back. But now that I have a 250gig hd in here I think I might dual boot after they work out some more bugs with SP1. I'd rather dual boot Leopard but that doesn't seem to be an option at this point.

 

(just to be sure) you have tried pressing the button with the running man on it right? (its up by the power button) to change the laptop to high performance mode?

other than that, i have no suggestions (never heard of a problem like this before )

 

First: The same problem on Windows Vista. It seems to be an incompatibility between Atheros Gigabit LAN and 100 Mb Switches. You should try with a Gigabit Switch. It works perfect. I've made an experiment: I used the latest Atheros LAN driver, a Gigabit Switch (Asus - 8 port) and an 100 Mb switch. First I try to boot with the laptop connected at the 100 Mb switch, the laptop freezes, then I disconect the cable and connect the laptop at the Gigabit switch. A miracle happens: the boot process is resumed and I hear the Vista music. I tryed to lower the speed of the NIC, I've used 100 Mb full and half duplex, with the same result. I am trying to find a solution for this anoying incompatibility.

Second: Intel Turbo Memory is supported only by Vista. You can use Windows XP without install this strange device. I've heard of the same problem with some Lenovo laptops. There is a patch for Lenovo witch removes this device from Device Manager.

 

I called them about my screen. A lady with a sweet voice took wrote down the problem and took the sr. no.

3 days later, I got a call from the service guys asking me to bring my notebook. I took it there. that was 11 AM

2 PM. I got a call saying I can take it back I am soo happy. and luckily nothing was wrong with the screen. just some loose connection.

 

wow, thats some quick servicing! and you were worried about it being gone for a month

 

Thought I'd start something with a few things I've found out by doing a whole lot of searching.

1. SPDIF (digital audio) out. The manual says my F3 has it, but I can't figure out how to get it out of the notebook:
The F3SV can output a digital stream to your receiver thru the headphone jack. What the manual doesn't tell you is that it is an OPTICAL output that uses a minioptical plug that fits the headphone jack. You need an optical mini jack adapter to a standard TOSLINK cable, or a mini optical to toslink cable, and hook it in to an optical input on your receiver. I bought mine from monoprice.com. Works great. Of course the default sound output needs to be set to digital, and you may need to do some messing around with your audio or video players to get digital out of them. I've played back movies in AC3, DTS, and PCM out all thru the SPDIF output.

2. The power cable on the power supply is too short. Can I get a longer one?:
For whatever reason, ASUS only provides a 3 ft. (1m) power cord on the power supply. Most laptop makers supply a 6 ft. cord. For US power cords, do a Google on "mickey mouse power cord"! The connector at the power supply looks like Mickey Mouse. I got a 6 ft. power cord thru a vendor on Amazon in about 3 days.

3. The battery doesn't last long enough. Can I get a bigger one?:
The stock battery is a 6 cell, 4800 mah pack. ASUS sells a 7200mah 9 cell pack for the F3. Newegg.com carries them. I bought a 9 cell pack for mine off a seller out of China off ebay, for about $50 less than the Newegg price. Works great. The 9 cell pack over hangs the rear of the notebook, but it is designed specifically for the F3, and lasts a heck of a lot longer.

4. Vista Home Premium doesn't come with a fax application.: True. There is a FREE fax application that works with the Motorola modem in the F3 from Black Ice, called "Impact Color Fax Lite". Full featured and FREE. Here:
http://www.blackice.com/impColorFaxLite.htm

5.My F3 came with Lightscribe software for my DVD writer. Does my DVD drive support Lightscribe.? If not, how do I remove the software? I don't see an uninstaller in the Control Panel.:
No, the DVD drive doesn't support Lightscribe. Why they install the software on a notebook that doesn't support it is beyond me. I had to do a lot of searching before I found these instructions on the Lightscribe website on how to uninstall the app.

"If you have LSS version 1.4.87.1 or newer, you may also manually uninstall the LSS with the following sequence.

Locate the directory where the LightScribe system files are stored. This is assuming your system drive is C:\\ otherwise, replace with your system drive letter). c:\\program files\common files\lightscribe.
Find and right click the file named LS_HSI.msi, then choose "Uninstall".
Reboot. The LSS should be uninstalled from your computer. This will enable you to install an existing or older version of the LSS if you choose to do so. "

6. How can I speed up Vista on my computer?:
There is an optimizing thread on this website, here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=166532.

Also, http://tweakhound.com/vista/tweakguide/index.htm
has an excellent step by step guide to speed up Vista. I was planning to go to XP, but after following the Tweakhound guide, I kept Vista. Really made a difference.

7. Will the SD card reader support the new HC SD cards (High Capacity)?:
Yes. Be careful though. A lot of products that use SD cards cannot use the HC SD cards. They look the same, but the interface is different. But the reader on the F3 can read and write both types.

What has anyone else got?

Jon

 

did you notice any difference in sound quality? that might be something for me to look into. I play counterstrike and if the adapter is cheap enough it might help with sound detection and stuff. What is the difference between digital sound and the normal sound that i would get without the adapter? Would that help me with detecting which direction the sound is coming from?

 

u play cs? which version? cs value, or source? i got it both let play

steam name is the same as my name in here "kvehh" add me

lately im playing source more, zombies server

 

You can get up to 5.1 or 7.1 channels bitstream out which is decoded by your receiver, assuming your source (DVD, game, etc) provides it. The connector for normal analog audio out is only stereo.

Jon

 

question, do u really need that? i mean you ar using a laptop
if u really want something like 5.1, 7.1 why not just use a desktop

just my opinion

 

I don't want or need another computer. This takes the place of a desktop and a laptop. I have the best of both worlds with this computer. It works pretty nicely with Windows Media Center when I want to use it that way, and I can grab it and go on the road.

Jon

 

lol, im kinda new to the whole steam thing so i dont know how to do that, but im Fittersman on steam too i think (its either that or FittersGuy )

hmm, guess ill have to look into that and see if source has support for that stuff

its nice to have everything in one package (as Jon said), then you dont need to worry about forgetting that a certain file was actually on your desktop computer and not on your laptop (or vice versa)

 

ic, it doesnt really matter to me. I use headset with mic to play cs. also, the optical mini jack adapter is cheap but i dont really know how to use it. i mean can i use it on my normal headset plug ( i dont think so ) and is there any speaker that allow input? im not talking about those u use it with TV or those big one u see in bestbuy

 

wont this digital sound help with the headset sound detection as well? or is a headset as good as it gets?

also... just another tip for you when you play css, try typing "snd_digitalsurround 1" into console (use it with the latest drivers from realtek and it will improve your sound detection a considerable amount

hmm... i just realized, since i have been using that command (snd_digitalsurround 1) sound detection has gotten a lot better for me, maybe my headset has this adapter built in and im already using digital sound? is that possible?

 

Not at all a possibility if your headset connects to your computer via a 3.5mm headphone jack + mic jack. It could be if you connect via usb though.

 

Guys, the SPDIF optical output is exactly like hooking up a DVD player using the digital output into your home theater receiver instead of using the analog outputs of the player. Same thing. Almost every DVD player made has either an optical output (Toslink) and/or a coax output. The connector on the F3 is just a different form for the optical output.

There are some highend computer speakers that accept an SPDIF/Toslink input, but this is primarily for hooking your computer into your home theater system for watching DVD movies, Divx movies, or games. I don't know of any headphones that can make use of the digital input.

Jon

 

alright, i was just wondering (seeing as how i know very little about soundcards and anything that has to do with sound)

 

latest bios from asus for the f3sv, bios 208, dated 3/3/2008. installed it successfully just for the heck of installing the latest stuff.

but unlike the latest bioses of other asus notebooks, it does not say if it will add support for penryn cpus.

 

HELLO f3sv notebook owner's!

I've one F3SV Notebook, since 1st december of 2007.... and i've now ONE PIXEL DEAD, and i just want to know if Asus have ZERO DOT BRIGHT WARRANTY, because i'm a webdesigner/designer, and that DEAD PIXEL, kills me!

i'm from Portugal... anyone can gives me the right answer, please ?

 

ZBD is only for selected models, and more importantly only for 30 days.

Otherwise, they won't replace the screen unless it has a cluster of dead pixels that satisfies certain rules (check your warranty flier for the rules).

 

So, has anyone found a way to OVERCLOCK on driver level with XP SP2 yet?

It works excellent in Vista, performance jumped from 2200 3dmarks to approx 2900 3dmarks, huge difference in games, too! My model only has a T7100, which is quite slow, so I want it to run XP, but at the same time I want the GPU power that Vista has, with it's overclock-friendly drivers. Anyone?

 

ive overclocked with XP using the 169.38 driver from laptopvideo2go.com and rivatuner.

 

hey guys.
I'm thinking to join the club by buying this model:
http://www.mikronis.hr/shop/item.asp?itemid=6725&catid=184

What do you think about that ? Smart choice ?
I'm going to use it mainly for web developing, and little bit for gaming.
The main concern for me is the battery life (1.5 hours). Is there any better battery that can be used instead of this ? To give at least 3h.

Why should I buy it, and why shouldn't I buy it ? As much as I read in reviews, only flaw is the battery.

 

There is a 9 cell battery available from ASUS that lasts a lot longer; 7200 mah vs 4800mah. Newegg had them, but they are no longer listed, I bought a compatible 9 cell battery off of ebay out of China for about $50 less than the ASUS branded item. Got it in about a week. Either overhangs the back of the notebook a bit, but it is a factory type item.

I like my F3SV a lot. Good combo of price and performance. I added 2gig of memory to mine only came with 1 gig), and did the Vista tweaks elsewhere on this site, and I'm happy. Lose the bloatware Norton install and use AVG or another free antivirus instead.

Jon

 

for what you need i would say it is good enough (depending on how much of a gamer you are though, if when you game do you need maxed out settings? if so, go for a different notebook. If not, it should be fine)

i doubt you could get 3hours out of this notebook though, even if you did have a 9cell battery...

maybe make a post in the What notebook should I buy? section. There may be a better suited laptop for you (ideally one with better battery life)

 

How long does the battery last ?
How satisfied are you ALL all with your F3SV ?
I really like the design, and I think it's the best price/performance/quality deal.

 

battery only lasts 1h 45m for me in power saver mode.

i am satisfied with everything except the batt.

 

Very satisfied. Haven't run the big battery to depletion yet, but simple math says 1/3 longer at same consumption rate.

Jon

 

Got the dreaded crack
But overall I'm pleased with this laptop.
It needed some ram, but it runs great and isn't too loud.

But yeah, other than the crack the battery could be better, but I think its the gpu eating all my energy rofl.

 

HAH...what? the gpu on this sad machine. its eating our battery plus its underpowered. talk about killing 2 birds with one stone eh.

 

Lol, yeah. But the GPU being underpowered doesn't bother me too much, as I do most of my hardcore gaming on my desktop, but the GPU sure is hungry. I looked at my friends Sony CR and his 6 cell lasts 3 hours on middle settings. At that point I was like.. D:

The best I get on middle is the same as everyone else, around 1hr 45mins.
Talk about hungry GPU's. (btw his was a T7250, 2gb ram).

 

integrated graphics?

next time i buy a laptop it will be for battery life, not gaming. Ill just buy a desktop at the same time instead of trying to get both in one package.

 

Whats is the "dreaded crack"? Mine has cracked at the bottom right of my keyboard to the outside (about 2 inches long)...

Also my battery has bit the dust, getting 20 minutes now.

Getting a shock from my notebook, through headphones, or even touching it, when i moving it.

Plan on sending it back when my semester ends at school.
I don't recommend this computer.

 

That's the crack i'm talking about rofl. And I'm sending mine for warranty repairs after my semester as well. I remember reading another member who got static from his headphone jack, if your under warranty they'll need to replace to mobo i think. My battery is doing alright, might ask for a new one before warranty ends .

 

wow talk about a bad experience

 

Can I close the LCD of F3Sv even when in use? I'm afraid it may trap some heat (I can feel warm heat dissipation on the right hand keyboard part) and cause damage to the lcd.. What do you guys think?

this is my setup, as you can see, the huge monitor is taking up space.. I rarely use the laptops lcd display anyway.