My Asus U1F

Before purchasing, I asked many questions about the ultralight notebook U1F on notebookreview.com forums. Here's a list of my concerns:
- Is 11.1" too small for development.
- Can it handle my daily software development tools, Eclipse, MySQL, MS SQL Server, Apache Tomcat, Java, etc.
- Is it light enough? (I was totallly fed up with my 5.5 lbs Asus M6BNe 15" notebook)

After about a week and a half of hesitation I decided to purchase the Asus U1F.

I purchased my Asus U1F from NCIX.com on June 13, 2007 and it was delivered today June 21st, 2007. NCIX.com has excellent service, good online reputation, fast, and they can easily be reached by phone.

First impression:
From the many reviews, I knew exactly how big the notebook would be. It's as wide as a normal keyboard from the Capslock key to the Enter key. The U1F keyboard still feels smaller than a normal keyboard. The footing between the keys is tighter and the keys themselves are slightly smaller. I'm a skinny guy with skinny fingers so I don't really mind the tightness of the footing of the keyboard.

Even though I prepared myself as much as I could to not be too surprised about the dimensions of the notebook, I have to admit that the U1F still managed to catch me off guard when I first held it in my hands. It's tiny and it's sssooo light!

For a brief moment, a strange feeling crept over me and I wondered why I had paid so much for such an insignificant thing (dimension wise). Perhaps, it's because I'm used to getting big things when paying so much money.

The look and feel of the U1F is absolutely breath taking. It's gorgeous and prone to finger prints but I don't give a crap. It's beautiful.

It pissed me off a bit that my purchase didn't come with the external DVD burner like on all the reviews I've read. However, I quickly got over it since I already own an external dvd burner. When I bring my laptop to work, I don't need any dvd burner so yeah, U1F is perfect.

The first thing I did was to install Windows XP. I didn't even bother to try Windows Vista. In my opinion, wasting notebook resources on Vista is absolutely ridiculous. I don't intend to use Vista in the next 3 years anyways when 2 or 3 service pack will be out for it. Same thing happened when I transitioned from Windows 2000 to Windows XP. It took me 3 years.

To install a fresh copy of Windows XP, make sure you press F2 upon system boot. Pressing F2 will bring you to the BIOS. In the BIOS, re-arrange the drive booting priorities so that the Harddrive is the last device to boot from. Save and exit.

When you hook up your external DVD drive (USB) containing a copy of Windows XP, make sure that you use the first port that is closest to you, at the right of the notebook. That USB port is the one detected by the BIOS and on which you will be able to boot from the external DVD drive. There are a total of 4 USB ports (i so much love this). Nowadays, almost everything is USB (External DVD drive, external harddrive, mouse, full sized keyboard, USB key, and well you get the point).

From the Windows XP setup screen, I deleted the partition containing Windows Vista. The only important thing about Windows Vista is the Window Vista key which is printed on a sticker in the back of the notebook. If someday I need to switch to Windows Vista, I'll have a valid key for it.

On a side note, I kept sniffing my notebook. I love the smell of new (or perhaps the smell of leather).

On the keyboard, the right shift key is a pain. It's oddly placed. However, I'm confident I'll be able to adjust to it with time.

The screen is exactly as described on other reviews. It's so clear and bright! So bright that I had to dim down the notebook's brightness because all my other full scale monitors looked weak afterwards and my eyes couldn't adjust fast enough when switching from real monitor to the U1F screen.

-- Start edit:2007-06-22

Right after installing Windows XP, don't install the Asus U1F drivers yet. Finish applying all the windows xp patches first. It will save you a lot of trouble.

One funny thing about the U1F is that the AC Adapter is lot less heavy than the 6 cell battery. I guess that if you know that you're destination has an electric connector (like at work), you can carry less weight by taking the ac adapter instead.

I'm not too fond of the mouse pad buttons. As mentioned in other reviews, the mouse pad buttons are tiny and not very responsive. Nevertheless, I still like this notebook a lot!

-- End edit:2007-06-22

-- Start edit:2007-06-27

I've been having major issues with the notebook getting a little too warm. It doesn't come to the point of burning me but it's hot enough to make my palms sweat. I tried as much as I can to fiddle with Power4Gear but nothing works.

I then installed an alternative to power4gear, called Notebook Hardware Control (NHC). In NHC, I set the clock modulation to 50% for AC and DC. The "dynamic switching" feature is marvelous. It keeps your clock speed really low when you aren' t doing cpu intensive stuff and it dynamically changes your cpu speed to 100% when you need more juice.

My notebook is a lot more cool now and extremely enjoyable! Also, my battery life is a lot better than the other user reviews on this forum. I easily manage to do between 4-6 hours of work on the 6 cell battery. Remember, I'm a software developer. Most of my time is spent typing lines of code and writing documentation. Typing is not a cpu intensive task. NHC takes care of ajusting the cpu speed accordingly.

With NHC's dynamic switching feature, I don't really notice any big difference in performance. Especially for the type of work I do.

I'm seriously considering purchasing the full version of NHC.

I like to work in dimmed room and because of that, I don't really need that much brightness from the notebook. I set my brightness to 3 bars.

I noticed that in average, I use about 30% of the battery for every 2 hours. Again, like I said that's about 4-6 hours of battery (6 cell) which is amazingly good.

NHC is totally rocking my world and making my notebook tremendously enjoyable.

Thank you NHC!

-- End edit:2007-06-27


-- Start edit:2007-06-28

Funny/Annoying thing happens when I use the battery (DC) instead of the power adapter (AC). In some areas of the screen, the brightness is slightly dimmed compared to other areas. Specifically, there's a vertical area (from top to bottom) about 1 inch wide, in the middle of the screen that is slightly dimmed compared to the other areas. It's not a significant difference to the point of not being able to work. It's simply just noticeable. It doesn't happen when I use the AC adapter. It's probably only my build and not something common about all U1F.

-- End edit:2007-06-28

-- Start edit:2007-06-29

I'm starting to think that the sleeve bag that Asus provided with the notebook had something to do with my screen issue (the vertical area that is slightly dimmed). The sleeve bag has a magnetic clip. I'm pretty sure that the sleeve bag isn't an idea of the asus engineers. It's probably from one of those useless marketing people. Anyhow, i cut the magnet out of the freaking bag. I mean come on, magnets and electronic devices? How clueless can you be? I had suspicions about the sleeve bag with its magnetic clip when I first saw it. I realize now I should have trusted my gutts.

-- End edit:2007-06-29

-- Start edit:2007-07-02

I've been having less screen issues ever since I took off the sleeve bag magnets. It's almost unnoticeable now. It's still there but you really need to be looking for it to see it.

-- End edit:2007-07-02

-- Start edit:2007-07-19

I've had the notebook from quite some time now and it's incredibly enjoyable to be able to carry it around so freely. Working on a small screen like this takes some adjustments. It's not easy but it's not hard either (to work on). It's well worth the sacrifice for portability though. Well worth indeed.

So far, I love the notebook. The battery life is great, I have no complaints about it.

-- End edit:2007-07-19




-- Start edit:2008-02-13

It's been several months now and I still love this laptop. I will definitely not buy a laptop bigger or heavier than this one. The leather has not worn off. Although if you have sweaty palms you might leave a permanent stain on it. My hands are pretty dry so no worries for me.

I'm working for a new IT company now and they provided me with their company Dell laptop and I'm constantly swearing at it. It's huge and it weighs a ton. I'll probably have back problems soon. It times like these that I love my U1F even more!!

-- End edit:2008-02-13


-- Start edit:2008-03-16

Pictures!!! (See attachments)

For those that keep miss guiding notebookreview users that Asus doesn't have XP drivers for the U1F, take a look at my "browser screenshots" in the attachments that will prove you wrong.

-- End edit:2008-03-16

 

Congrats, now how about some pictures

 

Plenty pictures from other users. It doesn't look any different.

 

Fine fine, but as a common courtesy, new owners post pictures to share their joy, but I guess it's alright

 

Yeah I know, but I'm a lazy a$$ and I need to prepare the laptop for work. Perhaps in the next coming days.

 

Look at this auction for a U1F with a Buy It Now of $1350.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...MEWA:IT&viewitem=&item=250132858122&rd=1&rd=1

 

I wonder what is wrong with it...it says NIB (New In Box), I bet that means it's stolen.

Edit: In addition, you don't have anything to worry about it being too heavy =P.

 

WOW! Amazing price...!

 

Changed his/her ebay name recently. Something suspicious. Even it is stolen, they don't need to sell it that cheap. Asus would still honor the warranty.

 

i would be weary...this guy used to sell mainly "slot cars". if i were you, i would message the seller and see if they actually respond to you....

 

Alright never mind, sorry for having posted it. Stupid scammers.

 

I never buy expensive stuff from ebay. I always go for recognized and recommended stores even if it means paying a little more

 

I did ask him/her a question and I got an answer,that means is for real?

 

Seriously, why bother ?
For something as expensive as the U1F go with a real store. There's just too much money at stake to trust those kind of people. It might look cheap but you also might lose all that money and then forget about getting a notebook.

 

I regularly edit my original post to add new information. Re-read my original post for new info. I will include pictures soon.

 

how is the touch pad??? from the pictures, it's not wide enough..

 

Yes the touchpad area is small but you get used to it easily. I don't think that's really an issue. Don't underestimate your capacity to adapt to new situations.

However, the touchpad buttons does really feel weak. It feels like one of those cheap remote control that you buy for 1$. If you're the type of person that uses the touchpad more than the mouse then I can't really say if it's gonna last long or not (the touchpad buttons).

If you have strong hands and heavy arms and that you tend to put a lot of weight when pressing buttons then you will break it for sure, without a doubt.

 

Is it true that the BIOS of U1F does not support the battery calibration?

 

I see you mentioned that you use NHC and were having issues with heat. I've undervolted my notebook(s) [in sig] and so my max voltage is only just just above that of the minimum voltage. For me its stable and when the CPU is running at full speed it doesnt create much heat at all! look into that, you'll love NHC even more. And then you can do away with that 50% speed drop thingy.


insane

 

I was having issues with heat with Power4gear. I'm having less heat issues with NHC.

One thing about NHC. It only gives me two voltage options, 0.9375 and 0.9500. Also, I'm not sure what the multiplier is used for, it offers me 6,7,8 multiplier options.

Anyways, I've set my voltage to 0.9375 and multiplier to 6 and my notebook is pretty cool now and battery life much better.

Can you provide additional explanation for the multiplier thing?

thanks.

 

Updated my original post...

 

Awesome, sounds great.

How are the leather wristrests so far? I'm contemplating in getting the ASUS U3, which also has leather wristrest but there has been alot of nay-sayers about such a 'feature' and how its useless and will only make the wear more noticeable.

 

How did you get the xp drivers for you u1f?

 

You go to the Asus website and download it.

 

Updated my original post.

 

Sounds great - U1F is smexy indeed

 

how bout some pictures of before and after if you have any? Would be nice to see the condition after months of usage...

 

alright... as soon as I get the camera from my gf.

It still looks like new but I'm known to take great care of my stuff.

 

Bumping an old topic, has anyone installed Windows XP on the U1F? Possible for me to install Windows XP and download all the drivers online seeing as I don't have the CDs with all the drivers on them

 

Read my entire original post. There are step by step instructions on how to install windows xp. Download all the winXP drivers on a usb key so that you can transfer it to your U1F if you can't connect to the internet because of missing drivers. But that shouldn't be necessary if you are connecting using a LAN (rj45 wire).

I installed windows XP on the U1F with no problems.

I downloaded the Asus U1F drivers for XP from Asus website.

 

Updated my original post (see first post) with pictures... finally.

Enjoy...!

 

If I do a full format with Windows XP installed do I lose that recovery partition (When you reboot and hold F9 to restore the notebook back to it's original state)?

 

If you format the recovery partition, of course.

If you reinstall Windows using the recovery partition or CDs, all the recovery functionality is kept.

If you reinstall Windows on a partition after the recovery partition, then I'm not sure what will happen. Maybe it's a good idea to make a backup of the MBR.

 

What's the MBR?

 

It´s the Master Boot Record, that contains the primary partition entries in its partition table.

 

Another quick question on the Asus U1F, when I'm controlling the brightness/sound etc. settings there's a big graphical display that pops up in the middle of the screen and it seems to be very slow.

On my old M9V notebook there is just a small display on the top left of the screen when changing any settings (Fn + F1-> F12)

Is there a way to make it a non graphical display? just a small image display on the top left?

 

Well that's the updated version of ATK OSD. I know of no way to revert to the original graphics, but what you can do is just prevent ATK OSD from starting (using msconfig / Startup tab), and then there won't be any graphics at all.

This will eliminate the slowdowns assuming that they are indeed caused by the graphics. (which is quite likely)

 

Oh wow, I closed ATKOSD2 in my processes (task manager) and it reverted back to the old non graphical version I'm normally used to. I looked in msconfig/startup tab but I don't seem to see it there at all but it seems to still autorun, is there any other methods to stop it running? It's in C:\Program Files\ATKOSD2\ can I just delete it?

 

No, don't delete. Check the HKEY/..../run registry key. Remove it if it's there.

 

Doesn't seem like it's there, I just moved the whole folder to a seperate partition. It doesn't boot up anymore and it just runs the old ATKOSD now which is good

Any other tips to improve performance/battery life on the U1F?

 

The popup on my U1F is always top left when adjusting brightness/sound. Are you sure you updated all drivers?

 

I have them all updated, but I thought the non graphic version of the ATKOSD was the older one?