Replacement for a V6J

I am having my V6J swapped for a recurring abnormal battery wear issue. Some of you may be familiar with it: see the Battery Wear, V1J battery, Battery Information... threads.

What I would like to get from this thread is some advice on which notebook to choose for a swap; or additions to my list of pros and cons, items that didn't cross my mind.

Now, I have been offered as main replacement option the V1J. I cannot accept that since the V1-s also seem to be suffering from the same issue (see Mystic Golem's experience with it). Moreover, the V1 is too big for me, I have the M6Ne which is a 15.4 and I don't need another one. I thought a W3J would be possible and I would have gone for that, it's a very good small and light notebook. But it seems it's out of stock. I would perhaps also have gone for the V2 but it's not available in Europe.

So, basically, the options that I seem to have are:
- my old V6J with a new battery (which will wear out just like the others).
- a new V6J.
- a V6V.
- an A8Js.

As far as I see it:

1. Old V6J with replacement battery.
Pros: I know it, there are no bad pixels or stuff like that, some other bugs like bad firmware on the DVD writer are fixed.
Cons: The battery will wear out with 99.(9)% percent certainty.

2. New V6J
Pros: In the actual remote possibility that the defect is in the hardware (e.g. some kind of short due to a metal piece in the case), the problem would be fixed.
Cons: Susceptible to failures that I experienced in my other V6, bad firmware on the DVD.
Also, battery is at least 80% likely to wear out since there is almost a consensus on the forum that the issue is firmware-related.

3. V6V
Pros: Same build quality as the V6J.
Cons: The older GPU and CPU. Especially the latter is a significant step down, considering that at work I run CPU-intensive simulations many times.

4. A8Js
Pros: No battery issues known (doesn't mean there aren't any). Great GPU (not so important for me though). Better CPU (Core 2 Duo).
Cons: Worse builld quality than the V6 series. Probably low battery life (only 6 cell available, also aggravated by the powerful GPU).

In case it helps, my wishes would be: a gray or black business-class quality notebook with Core Duo or Core 2 Duo, 14 to 15 inches in screen size, lighter than 2.8 KG and with good battery life (idling 3:30 or more).

That about sums it up, I think. Thanks in advance for any additions to my lists and any suggestions.

 

Aside from your details you mentioned, Why not the V2? When it does get released? Stick with what you have now? the V6J, until you find the appropriate substitute.

In my opinion the V2 is basically what you will want to use, however we will have to wait for its release in North America. I know you are not in NA, but it will be some time before the V2 gets released.

 

I have to do the exchange now, I can't tell them to wait for a few months and keep my notebook in repairs for that period.

That's the reason. Besides, the V2 is so similar to V1 that I fear the battery issue (I know, I'm paranoid but anyone would be after 4 RMAs )

 

V6va!!! =)


But hmmm, the V2 is a potential good choice, though its a shame the V6j/V1j has the battery issues. W7j perhaps?

 

W7J is too small...
I have made my decision. I requested a replacement V6J. Hopefully the battery issue is not appearing in all of them (small chance I know).

If it does, I will keep my discharges above 30% as long as possible, and after a while I will disable the Windows alarm and estimate the battery life myself. And maybe in 3/4 of a year or so, I will buy a new battery, if I feel like it.

There really is no point in going from the best-built notebook ever to an A8... and the V1 is too big.

 

Sorry to hear this. Mystic and I have been talking to Asus, and they (once again) claim to be looking into this.

 

I think the a8j has a battery wear issue.

Its not like the v6 or the v1, is not that fast or dramatic. But its got the same problem of thinking there is wear when their isnt and continuing to go when its at 0.

 

If A8Js suffer as well, it seems more and more to be some error that creeps from BIOS to BIOS... or battery firmware to battery firmware And there might be a time when ASUS will accept it, but it's not soon. Like I said, much easier to ignore. And even if it does, I don't think old BIOSes of EOL products will be fixed.

But I gave it some thought, and decided that such a small error won't make me give up such a good notebook. Like I said, what I plan to do and what I recommend other people with this issue to do (and what I would have done if I had the knowledge I have now one year ago), is:

Procedure to maximize battery endurance under the battery wear issue

1. Try not to discharge battery past 30%.
2. If wear goes higher than 20-30%, disable Windows autoshutdown. In this way you can take advantage of the "hidden" charge level while ACPI reports 0% charge.

MysticGolem has noticed, and I can confirm, that when the battery is really over (i.e. the true charge approaches 0) the notebook will not just die but go into Hibernation. Which is very nice.
However, try to estimate how long you have on battery after it reads 0%, and shutdown/plug in earlier than that (preferably higher than 5%).
Even if you cannot estimate this point properly and the battery is shutting down by itself, I do not believe that the ensuing deep discharges really damage the battery, because the firmware on the battery should cut off power earlier than any damage is done.

3. Once 10-11 months or so have passed, send the battery in for a replacement. Then repeat the procedure above.

Like this, a battery should last for about a year. And after 20 or 22 months, when the replacement battery is dying as well, just buy another one. It's much cheaper in terms of time and stress than RMAing it back and forth, trust me: I've been through this.

As for my case, because a replacement notebook could not be found, I will also get a spare battery such that I can rotate two batteries and minimize wear. Like this I expect about a year and a half during which, acting with care on the battery, I will not have to buy a new one. During this time, most likely I will buy another notebook.