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Any regrets after buying the Z71V?

post #1 of 22
8/13/05 at 11:19pm
Thread Starter 
Im so close to getting it... anybody have any regrets after buying it?
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post #2 of 22
8/13/05 at 11:27pm
No regrets here, I love mine!
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post #3 of 22
8/13/05 at 11:38pm
except for my battery not charging past 98% none here
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post #4 of 22
8/14/05 at 12:15am
You know, I really like my Z71V, but there are a couple things i could be happier with. First, the keyboard. Seems the quality could be better, there is flex up by the F1 thru F3 down to QWE and over around F12 too. The screen, excellent. Love the clarity and viewing angles, but in America's Army, with a lot of fog, the sparkles really seem to affect the visual acuity in-game. I try to compensate with AA/AF, but that slows things down too much and doesn't help much. The biggest letdown for me, so far, is the heat issue. During BF1942 and BF2, when the CPU fan kicks in at highspeed at around 60C, things lag like the CPU is being robbed of power or something. I haven't really done anything about it yet, but I'm planning to ask my reseller what he thinks.

All and all though, I have to remember the price I paid for it (actually the insurance company) and that it really is a "budget DTR". I am very impressed with the bang for the buck factor. With underclocking and dim screen, my battery meter shows 4:47 to go. Luckily, I seem to have gotten a battery out of a good batch and haven't had any issues recharging to 100%.

-PJ
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post #5 of 22
8/14/05 at 2:57am
Well,
My only issue is the bottle neck when trying to access the cd drive I hear this has to do with both hdd and cd drive on the same ide channel. But I have a question, has it been proven that a sata hard drive can solve this problem, currently I have and nonsata and would switch if this can correct it.
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post #6 of 22
8/14/05 at 3:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Puddlejumper
but in America's Army, with a lot of fog, the sparkles really seem to affect the visual acuity in-game. I try to compensate with AA/AF, but that slows things down too much and doesn't help much. The biggest letdown for me, so far, is the heat issue. PJ
What video driver version are you using?
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post #7 of 22
8/14/05 at 9:25am
Except for my battery not charging past 25%, its a nice machine. Oh, that and the fact there hasn't been a response from anyone (Asus or resellers) to indicate what the problems is.
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post #8 of 22
8/14/05 at 1:48pm
No regrete at all !!!
Got mine on friday and been using it since and OH MY , it's WORKING like a CHARM

As for screen , i don't see the sparkle .. mine is bright crisp !!

Well il'l write a reviews in a couple of minute
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post #9 of 22
8/14/05 at 4:42pm
Except for me not being able to use my 400FSB at 533, its a great machine, I even like the way it looks most of the time.
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post #10 of 22
8/14/05 at 4:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by smilepak
What video driver version are you using?
I'm using the 80.40 drivers, after having used driver cleaner.

-PJ
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post #11 of 22
8/14/05 at 6:20pm
Uninstall the 80.40. Use the 77.76 or 77.77.

From what I've gathered, they are more stable than 80.40. Give that a shot. Between the two, the 77.76 is a bit faster. 77.76 is the official WHQL release, while 77.77 is beta.

THe 80 series need some growing up to do.
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post #12 of 22
8/14/05 at 8:00pm
really .. well im done with testing the 80.40 and got all the result i want , il'l post all my benchmark in my reviews when im done with the new driver .. the one Smile suggested

Peace !
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post #13 of 22
8/15/05 at 1:21pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by smilepak
Uninstall the 80.40. Use the 77.76 or 77.77.

From what I've gathered, they are more stable than 80.40. Give that a shot. Between the two, the 77.76 is a bit faster. 77.76 is the official WHQL release, while 77.77 is beta.

THe 80 series need some growing up to do.
Thanks for the advice! That seemed to do the trick. At least with BF1942, I haven't really messed with BF2 yet. No more in-game lag or noisy fan excursions while playing with the 77.77 drivers.

-PJ
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post #14 of 22
8/15/05 at 5:01pm
Thread Starter 
Okay I've officially bought the z71v, it should come in a few days (I hope). I have a few questions:
1. What are the stock video driver versions? Should I update to the latest drivers or the ones that smilepak mentioned here (77.76 or 77.77).
2. What other hardware drivers need updating?
3. What programs can I use to test all hardware to make sure its working properly. i.e. for RAM, cpu, videocard, temperatures etc..
4. Does messing around with the voltages in CHC void the warranty? Im thinking about undervolting.
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post #15 of 22
8/15/05 at 5:50pm
As far as getting all of your Built on ASUS drivers up to date, I'd have to plug Whiteheat's Z71V forum: Link. Read the stickies and check out the driver thread. Really good stuff there, along with SPK's unoffical support thread here at NBF.
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post #16 of 22
8/15/05 at 5:57pm
1. If you'll look at smilepak's official review, he went through and several versions. The newest 80.40 yields the best performance (as last I heard), but you'll need to follow his instructions on how to install them... its not as simple as simply downloading them from the official site.

2. When you receive you'll laptop, you'll have access to Asus' personal support page... it'll show all current hardware drivers. However, there's one thing they didn't do a good job with, and that's your touchpad. Just go to www.synaptics.com and download the drivers from there; they work fine, and they'll fix a lot of problems (such as no scrolling in Firefox).

3. For your RAM, you'll want to get Memtest86 and run it for as long as you can. For your CPU, you'll want to take a look at Prime95. For your videocard, you'll want to purchase (or download the trial version) of 3DMark05. As for temperatures, I personally recommend Centrino Hardware Control, but to be honest, there are plenty of alternatives.

4. Undervolting does not void the warranty, nor is it a danger to your system. Plus, if you decide to go with CHC as I recommended above, you can set the undervolts using the program itself. ;D
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post #17 of 22
8/16/05 at 3:14am
Any regrets? Sure:

1. the battery failed after about a month of use

2. sometimes, the screen has been blank when powered on. For no apparent reason. If left alone for an hour or so, it boots up correctly.


Perhaps I should have bought the Acer... slot dvd drive... bluetooth...
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post #18 of 22
8/16/05 at 11:24am
great laptop get it now!
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post #19 of 22
8/16/05 at 11:44pm
Absolutely no regrets here. Just got mine last week as a replacement for a failing Dell 8200. I'm a programmer and graphics designer by trade and needed something beefy to work with day in and day out. The Z71 certainly fits the bill with no problems. This thing doesn't even break a sweat and I absolutely abuse my machines with the amount of software I need running all at once.
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post #20 of 22
8/17/05 at 12:51am
PicOne, who is your reseller?
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