F3JP, V1JP, or G1

order of preference:

1: F3JP
2: V1JP
3: G1

Hesitations:

F3JP:

Battery life reportedly sucks!! Asus lists a 9cell extended life battery for this model but I can't find it anywhere.

V1JP:

Reports show this thing as a cold blooded battery killer. Numerous threads indicate this thing can kill a battery dead (wear) in as little as a couple months.

G1:

Love the specs, hate the ports (see below):

Desire USB ports on sides instead of back
Desire an expresscard slot
Wish for headphone port to be closer to the front of the laptop

Now all that being said the G1 looks like my best bet, even though the battery life is mediochre, it seems the safest of the 3.

Now can someone:

A: point me to the 9cell extended battery for the F3JP
B: reassure me that the V1JP is not a battery killer.

Or even give me another option, or point out some flawed thinking.

Thanks

 

some of the things you may want to consider is build quality, screen, general use, portability.

Will you be mainly using it at home, or taking it to work or school. Will you be needing more battery life? If so, you can purchase an extra main battery for the G1 and F3JP plus you can get a modular bay battery for the V1JP.

Also depending how much you want to spend, the G1 is pretty much one of the best value, but if you wanna save more, then go for the f3.

So far yes many have expressed their issue of the V1JP battery wearing out on the threads.

 

thanks for the reply.

As far as usage goes, I live on my laptop, it goes with me everywhere. Weight is not really an issue though because @ currently have a 9lb acer.

For the screen, I belive all 3 models listed have the same screen specs (wsxga+) .

Basically I need as much horse power as I can get into a 15 incher with wsxga+ or better resolution.

Battery usually I can go about 2 hours between wall sockets. So 2 hours is my floor on battery life.

 

the G1 and V1jp are WSXGA+
the F3jp has both wxga and wsxga+ options

 

sorry about that, you are correct.

in my first reply I meant to say wsxga+.

So to clarify wsxga+ or better is my requirement.

 

The problem with an extra battery is that you need to shutdown, or hibernate in order to swap it out. As for the bay battery on the V1JP, if it's going to kill the battery in a few months, why purchase it.

 

I like how you put it... .but let me tell you the three options you have couldn't be further apart from each other. First and foremost, the V1 isn't a battery killer and I assure you that if everyone with any system started to run tests they'd come back with similiar numbers... it's only in the forefront because someone had to make a big deal about with without fully understanding the issue. If the V1 is a battery killer - so are the rest of Asus' notebooks and probably most others out there. Forget that as it's not normal and even if it were, Asus would replace the battery a million times under it's warranty if need be (you know what I mean).

The F3 as a series is a basic, mainsteam system..... if you're buying an Asus for it's quality, you're not going to look at an F3 or an A series for that matter. You get the quality of an Asus motherboard and graphics card in every Asus system... that's enough for some people... not for me, perhaps not for you. They're great units and a good value, but not a great system.

The G1 is honestly overblown in this forum and around the web. It's a great bang for your buck and honestly it really can't be beat... however, it's chassis is based on the old P4 A6 chassis....... Technically that means it should do just fine cooling the highend spec, but it means it's thicker, heavier, and not as structurally sound as the V and W series models. It's very flashy and I'll tell you right now, if you're over say 21, I'll give you a month before you're sick of it.... unless of course you're looking to not grow up as long and physically possible . It's a great notebook for the price... hands down it can't be beat for close to that price, but it's not a great overall computer.

The V1 is a great professional system and it's options like the docking station and the modular bay are things that really make this useful to a lot of people. If money wasn't an object, the upcoming Lamborghini Vx2 - based on the V1 motherboard (so same physical size and weight and functionality), it'll be crazy expensive, but it'll be both feature rich and have everything the V1 is good for..... it should be better than most all systems performance wise, and it'll be built as good if not better than the best systems Asus has ever made.

Now, no there was a bios issue with older optical bay batteries for the W3 where hot swap wouldn't work.... no other Asus has every had that problem, nor does the V1.

 

I cant speak for the others, but the G1's got horsepower (the best out of any 15 incher i no of) and it's dam sexy. Build quality is good, not great, some complain that it flexes but it depends on your preference....about the ports, the usb being in back is a pain, but once you know exactly where they are, you can easily plug anything in them without having to turn the whole thing around. The same is true for the headphone jacks, except i do wish they had some sort of bum or something so you could plug in jacks @ night

If you dont care how it looks and dont need the huge hd you dont need the G1...and btw i get about 3-3 1/2 hours battery life with all the settings low, and 2-2 1/2 hours playing a DVD on the 8 cell G1, if any1 knows where 2 get 9 cell batteries for the G1 i would wanna no too

 

ProPortable, Thanks for the great reply.

You speak of the VX2, I would love to go for the VX2 and money is no issue. Truth be told I would gladly pay any amount of money for the perfect laptop. The only problem is my laptop is my lifeline and the one I have now is circling the drain fast. So I will hold out as long as I can but I will need a replacement ASAP once it finally bites the big one.

That said, any idea on a release date for the VX2?

 

I bet the VX2 will come out after Santa Rose, estimated about March or April. That's my guess.

Anyways, the G1 is a very good choice and the bang for the buck. I actually consider the build quality great (i'd give it a 9.5/10), since it's rock solid. The only flex I can find on the notebook is on the bottom of the laptop on the area where the cd drive is (but the flex is minimal). Other than that, I've leaned my elbows against the palm rests w/ full body weight and it flexes not one bit. Though part of the G1 is plastic (palm rests, lid, etc), the extra coating and hardness of the material 1) prevents paint from chipping off, and 2) creates a flexless sturdy feel..

However, the speakers and keyboard are not so good, so you might watch out for that. I took apart my keyboard and added support to the back just to make the G1 have a sturdy keyboard.

 

I would get the g1

Its a lot of money to spend and get the gpu thats "nearly as good"

unless you are going all the way down to the 1300 model f3jp, thats a lot less money.