Asus z70v Review
Okay I got this laptop last Saturday (7/16) from ISTNC. I tried to be as thorough as I could… looking back maybe I was a bit too thorough. Oh well.. I tried to be informative and I broke up the text with a lot of pictures!
What computer to buy?
I spent a long time (almost a month) figuring out what computer to buy. I liked IBM but they were too expensive for me. I got rid of Toshiba because of complaints I read about. I got rid of HP/Compaq because they just seemed too mainstream. (This means that they were lacking in areas the average user would probably never notice- resolution was always 1024x748 and they always had integrated video.)
When I started shopping, I wanted to get a nice portable computer. I was looking at extremely small computers and weight, but eventually I realized I was paying extra for a slower computer (paying for the smallness). At that point I changed my mind and decided to get the most bang for my buck. This meant that I would be willing to get a slightly larger computer, as long as it was possible to take to class.
From the beginning I had my eye on the Dell 700m. I really liked how small the Dell 700m was and in the end I heard good things about it. However, I also heard a few serious complaints about it, so I found the nearest Dell kiosk and tried it out. Well the keyboard had some flex, and was also pretty small (not TOO small but still full sized is better), but I just didn’t get a great overall impression of dell. I also didn’t like how I had to wait for a coupon to come along, and didn’t like how the 8cell battery stuck out the back.
I heard GREAT things about ASUS (specifically the 70v) and noticed how there were almost no complaints about this computer. After a lot of research and comparison I decided on getting the z70v.
Specs & Buying
I know this is common information but here are the general specs of the laptop:
•Dimensions: 13.9" x 10.9" x 1.34"
•Weight: about six pounds
•4x USB 2.0 Ports (two on the left two on the back)
•Display 15.4” widescreen (16:10) WSXGA TFT Display 1680 x 1050
•PCI Express ATI X600 64MB
•Multicard reader
•Pause/Play, Next, Stop buttons on the case which can control a CD / DVD when the computer is off
My specific system specs:
•Unit Price: 799.00
•Processor : Intel® Pentium® M processor 740 2MB Cache 1.73GHz 533FSB (+259.00)
•Thermal Solution (Intel/Artic Silver 5) : Arctic Silver 5 (+5.00)
•Hard Drive - PATA : Seagate 60GB/8MB Cache 5400RPM (+115.00)
•Memory : 512MB DDR2-4200 (64x8, 1x512mb) (+100.00)
•Video Adapter : PCI Express ATI x600 64MB
•Optical Drive : Combo 8x DVD/24x10x24 CDRW w/software (24X/24X/8X/24X DVD+CD-RW) (+79.00)
•Wireless Network Card : Intel WM3B2915ABGNAX 802.11 a/b/g wireless card (+40.00)
•Battery : Smart Li-ion Battery 4.5 - 5.5 hours (included)
•Gigabit LAN : Built In 10/100/1000 BaseT Ethernet LAN
•IEEE 1394/Modem : Built In IEEE-1394 (Firewire) and 56K V.90 Fax/Modem
•Carrying Case : Deluxe Carrying Case (included)
•Operating System : None
•Warranty : 2 Year Warranty (1 yr mfr & 1 yr Extended) (+80.00)
•Final math: Order Total : 1477.00 + Shipping : 22.50 (from NC to Cleveland, OH) -Discounts : 50.00 (student discount) = Grand Total : 1449.50
I talked to Gwen and Rick a few times both through AIM and the “Live Chat” feature on their website. I was extremely happy with the information I received- it is convenient to simply IM them. Also I had a bit of a credit card snafoo- as I learned later (the credit card company called me the next day to make sure it wasn’t fraudulent) I reversed the expiration date (instead of 08/03 I put 03/08 or something). When I submitted the order I was confused because it gave me a order number but then said order failed. Anyways I tried calling them but didn’t get through (it was after business hours) but they were very helpful on AIM.
I ordered very late Friday night, and my order shipped that next Thursday. There was a slight delay because apparently they detected a few dead pixels in the laptop they were about to ship so they replaced it. I was extremely happy because the package arrived on Saturday via FedEx.
Packaging and First Impressions
The packaging was great- the laptop was in a small box, which was in a bigger box with the case, which was surrounded by foam bits and in an even larger box. Here is a series of pictures of it being opened.
This notebook really looks good. One of my MAC friends stated that it was probably the best looking PC he has ever seen. I really don’t like the extra flashy looks of some computers (like the XPS2). I have a LED fan in my desktop computer’s case, and while it was nice for the first few minutes, the extra light quickly became an annoyance. I want my computer to be stylish and sleek not gaudy. (no offence meant to anyone)
Installing Windows
Since I didn’t order Windows, the first thing I did was to install Windows XP Pro with SP2. I ran into no errors and the actual installation went quickly. Directly after installing I had a number of missing devices and I just went through the whole ASUS CD and installed all of the programs. You could just install the drivers you NEED but then you might miss out on power management tools or something else that is subtle but beneficial. The software included was for the most part good except for an outdated Adobe Reader 6, and annoying power management software. It seemed to work perfectly fine, but looked outdated and Centrino Hardware Control is much better. The down side of using CHC is that you cannot really have power profiles. With the included software you can just hit the button at the top of the laptop and switch between power profiles.
The Screen
This screen seemed huge. I never expected my laptop screen to be this big. It is wider than my 17” CRT monitor, and only about 2” (maybe a little more, I’m not sure) shorter. I always keep my computers at the highest resolutions they can handle. My computer at home is on 1280x1024 and my work computer has 2 monitors next to each other with those settings. I wanted to have a monitor with a decent resolution. This screen definitely fits the bill. With 1680x1250 resolution I have more than enough space for everything. The text is small but not too small and is all very clear. I bumped up my icon size to 48px and now everything looks amazing. My screen has 0 dead pixels and doesn’t seem to have any sparkles or light leakage.
The Outside
The outer part of the computer is great. It seems very sturdy and it looks good too. The monitor doesn’t creak when I open it and it all feels very solid. The touchpad looks great- I love how the buttons are all on the same piece of metal and it was a nice touch to make the touchpad 16:9 like the screen. The battery is in the front of the computer which is great. I know Dell put the battery in the back, and even had it sticking out of the back in some cases. The keyboard is great- no flex whatsoever. I love typing on this thing- so much better than my desktop keyboard. I also love the memorycard reader. I installed the one driver and suddenly could use all of the ports. My camera is a Sony DSC-W1 and I just slipped the card in and it was recognized instantly. The first time I put it in, the spring mechanism seemed to not work, so I kind of had to pry it out. This worried me, but then I put it in again and it worked flawlessly. Maybe I just had to break it in once first.
Heat
Unlike many other computers I have seen, this computer’s palm rest never got hot. The top of this computer stays cool, but the bottom back gets extremely hot. If I use the computer at 800mhz with the screen very dim, then it is cool enough to comfortably hold in my lap, but much more than that and it really gets hot.
Noise and Sound
This is a pretty quiet computer. The fans only turn on when necessary and when you run at 800mhz they usually don’t turn on (or they at least don’t turn on for a while). There are actually 4 speakers- two right below the monitor and two at the bottom of the laptop. This is a nice touch because it makes the sound a bit better. The actual sound seems decent- my desktop has much better sound but then this is just a laptop so how much do you expect? The sound does seem a bit quiet- I seem to have the volume at the max most of the time. The built in microphone is amazing… other people can clearly hear me when I am on the other side of the room.
Gaming
From what I’ve read people seem to think that the x600 is a crappy video card. This is totally wrong. I have been running guild wars at the highest settings and it runs FLAWLESSLY. I have the viewing distance turned up to the max and have the resolution set on 1680x1050. I also installed HL2. I haven’t gotten very far in it yet on this computer (I’ve been playing Guild Wars) but I have it set on 1680x1050 resolution with the details all set on medium and the game runs pretty good. Not as great as my desktop but the resolution is much much bigger. I bet turning off the trilinear filtering would fix the performance issues I have.
Added 7/29: I ran 3DMark03 and 3DMark05. I got 3208 when running 3DMark03 and 1121 when running 3DMark05. I have no idea if this is good or not... i think i did everything right with them.
System Benchmarks
Upon request here are some SiSoft Sandra benchmarks. I thought a few were pointless like the CD speed and the LAN speed etc but here are a few. The numbers kinda mean nothing to me, because i didnt bother comparing it to other people. I shut off all other programs (like AIM) but left wireless internet on and left firewall/gmail notifier/chc running (same conditions for my 3dmark scores.
Battery Life
I don’t really know how anyone could get the advertised 5 hours of life out of this battery but you can definitely get 4 hours. I haven’t run through the battery fully yet, but I plan to soon. I did use the computer for about 2 hours straight and it used up about 50% of my battery. When I am using the battery I just have it set on 800mhz with the brightness at the something around the 2nd brightness notch.
The Case
Upon request i took some pictures of the case. It is a really nice case. See the pictures below. It feels very sturdy and seems of high quality. I dont know if this is an ASUS case or if it is from ISTNC.
Complaints
Well I really haven’t found much to complain about, and I feel like I have been very thorough with this. I like how I can toggle the Wireless Internet off and on with the touch of a button, but I have found that it automatically turns off when the laptop goes to sleep. It is kind of annoying to be working on my laptop, walk away, come back and have to turn on the wireless card again. I wish it would remember if I had it on before it went to sleep.
Also, when I have the laptop at my desk I plug in a mouse and keyboard to it. If the computer is asleep and I unplug the mouse/keyboard nothing will work until I perform a hard restart or plug the stuff back in. (A few times I unplugged the stuff to take the computer away and didn’t realize it was sleeping.) I don’t think it is possible to fix this but it is slightly annoying.
Conclusion and Rarely Discussed About Aspects
Overall I am very happy with my purchase. I learned a few things that I haven’t seen mentioned before. First off I read that battery life is directly impacted by heat, and I am happy to report that the battery in this laptop is near the front which never gets very warm. I know that dell laptops have the battery in the back which would be the worst place for heat. I’m not exactly sure about other computers.
Also, the laptop is a bit heavier than you might expect, and is a bit bigger than you might expect. Its not too big, its just big. Although you don’t need it, a external keyboard/mouse is nice for when you are at home.
One thing that I noticed when I got it is that the laptop is greyer than it may seem in pictures. In many pictures it almost seems black. It is definitely a grey color. The outside is much lighter than the inside. The whole laptop looks very sleek and professional.
The case, which is never mentioned in any review I have seen, is also very nice. It has a ton of compartments and has a large padded compartment for the actual laptop. I can give more pictures of the case I got or more information about it upon request.
The LED lights are very nice- they all seem to be different colors. The charging light is amber and I forget what the other light is, but it all looks very nice.
I suppose I could run a few benchmarks if people want me to. Also I tried to be pretty extensive with this and have been working on it for a few days. I probably have some typos/mistakes. Please tell me if you have any questions/comments/suggestions/corrections! Thanks for reading it all
Last Updated 7/29 with case information (and pictures) and benchmark results
Okay I got this laptop last Saturday (7/16) from ISTNC. I tried to be as thorough as I could… looking back maybe I was a bit too thorough. Oh well.. I tried to be informative and I broke up the text with a lot of pictures!
What computer to buy?
I spent a long time (almost a month) figuring out what computer to buy. I liked IBM but they were too expensive for me. I got rid of Toshiba because of complaints I read about. I got rid of HP/Compaq because they just seemed too mainstream. (This means that they were lacking in areas the average user would probably never notice- resolution was always 1024x748 and they always had integrated video.)
When I started shopping, I wanted to get a nice portable computer. I was looking at extremely small computers and weight, but eventually I realized I was paying extra for a slower computer (paying for the smallness). At that point I changed my mind and decided to get the most bang for my buck. This meant that I would be willing to get a slightly larger computer, as long as it was possible to take to class.
From the beginning I had my eye on the Dell 700m. I really liked how small the Dell 700m was and in the end I heard good things about it. However, I also heard a few serious complaints about it, so I found the nearest Dell kiosk and tried it out. Well the keyboard had some flex, and was also pretty small (not TOO small but still full sized is better), but I just didn’t get a great overall impression of dell. I also didn’t like how I had to wait for a coupon to come along, and didn’t like how the 8cell battery stuck out the back.
I heard GREAT things about ASUS (specifically the 70v) and noticed how there were almost no complaints about this computer. After a lot of research and comparison I decided on getting the z70v.
Specs & Buying
I know this is common information but here are the general specs of the laptop:
•Dimensions: 13.9" x 10.9" x 1.34"
•Weight: about six pounds
•4x USB 2.0 Ports (two on the left two on the back)
•Display 15.4” widescreen (16:10) WSXGA TFT Display 1680 x 1050
•PCI Express ATI X600 64MB
•Multicard reader
•Pause/Play, Next, Stop buttons on the case which can control a CD / DVD when the computer is off
My specific system specs:
•Unit Price: 799.00
•Processor : Intel® Pentium® M processor 740 2MB Cache 1.73GHz 533FSB (+259.00)
•Thermal Solution (Intel/Artic Silver 5) : Arctic Silver 5 (+5.00)
•Hard Drive - PATA : Seagate 60GB/8MB Cache 5400RPM (+115.00)
•Memory : 512MB DDR2-4200 (64x8, 1x512mb) (+100.00)
•Video Adapter : PCI Express ATI x600 64MB
•Optical Drive : Combo 8x DVD/24x10x24 CDRW w/software (24X/24X/8X/24X DVD+CD-RW) (+79.00)
•Wireless Network Card : Intel WM3B2915ABGNAX 802.11 a/b/g wireless card (+40.00)
•Battery : Smart Li-ion Battery 4.5 - 5.5 hours (included)
•Gigabit LAN : Built In 10/100/1000 BaseT Ethernet LAN
•IEEE 1394/Modem : Built In IEEE-1394 (Firewire) and 56K V.90 Fax/Modem
•Carrying Case : Deluxe Carrying Case (included)
•Operating System : None
•Warranty : 2 Year Warranty (1 yr mfr & 1 yr Extended) (+80.00)
•Final math: Order Total : 1477.00 + Shipping : 22.50 (from NC to Cleveland, OH) -Discounts : 50.00 (student discount) = Grand Total : 1449.50
I talked to Gwen and Rick a few times both through AIM and the “Live Chat” feature on their website. I was extremely happy with the information I received- it is convenient to simply IM them. Also I had a bit of a credit card snafoo- as I learned later (the credit card company called me the next day to make sure it wasn’t fraudulent) I reversed the expiration date (instead of 08/03 I put 03/08 or something). When I submitted the order I was confused because it gave me a order number but then said order failed. Anyways I tried calling them but didn’t get through (it was after business hours) but they were very helpful on AIM.
I ordered very late Friday night, and my order shipped that next Thursday. There was a slight delay because apparently they detected a few dead pixels in the laptop they were about to ship so they replaced it. I was extremely happy because the package arrived on Saturday via FedEx.
Packaging and First Impressions
The packaging was great- the laptop was in a small box, which was in a bigger box with the case, which was surrounded by foam bits and in an even larger box. Here is a series of pictures of it being opened.
The Outer Shell
The Packing peanuts with the Inside Box
Whats In the Inside Box
The Notebook Box and Carrying Case
The Actual Notebook and Accessories
The Ultra Secure Notebook
The Accessories
Closed Laptop On Case
Closeup
The Screen With the Packing Tape and Keyboard Guard
Closeup Inside
The Packing peanuts with the Inside Box
Whats In the Inside Box
The Notebook Box and Carrying Case
The Actual Notebook and Accessories
The Ultra Secure Notebook
The Accessories
Closed Laptop On Case
Closeup
The Screen With the Packing Tape and Keyboard Guard
Closeup Inside
This notebook really looks good. One of my MAC friends stated that it was probably the best looking PC he has ever seen. I really don’t like the extra flashy looks of some computers (like the XPS2). I have a LED fan in my desktop computer’s case, and while it was nice for the first few minutes, the extra light quickly became an annoyance. I want my computer to be stylish and sleek not gaudy. (no offence meant to anyone)
Installing Windows
Since I didn’t order Windows, the first thing I did was to install Windows XP Pro with SP2. I ran into no errors and the actual installation went quickly. Directly after installing I had a number of missing devices and I just went through the whole ASUS CD and installed all of the programs. You could just install the drivers you NEED but then you might miss out on power management tools or something else that is subtle but beneficial. The software included was for the most part good except for an outdated Adobe Reader 6, and annoying power management software. It seemed to work perfectly fine, but looked outdated and Centrino Hardware Control is much better. The down side of using CHC is that you cannot really have power profiles. With the included software you can just hit the button at the top of the laptop and switch between power profiles.
The Screen
A Picture of my desktop.
Another Pic with a Ruler at the Bottom
Another Pic with a Ruler at the Bottom
This screen seemed huge. I never expected my laptop screen to be this big. It is wider than my 17” CRT monitor, and only about 2” (maybe a little more, I’m not sure) shorter. I always keep my computers at the highest resolutions they can handle. My computer at home is on 1280x1024 and my work computer has 2 monitors next to each other with those settings. I wanted to have a monitor with a decent resolution. This screen definitely fits the bill. With 1680x1250 resolution I have more than enough space for everything. The text is small but not too small and is all very clear. I bumped up my icon size to 48px and now everything looks amazing. My screen has 0 dead pixels and doesn’t seem to have any sparkles or light leakage.
The Outside
Nice Outside Pic of the Notebook playing HL2
Closeup Corner Shot
The Keyboard / Touchpad / Buttons
A Picture of Me Typing from the Side
A picture of me typing with one hand (and holding the camera with the other)
Closeup Corner Shot
The Keyboard / Touchpad / Buttons
A Picture of Me Typing from the Side
A picture of me typing with one hand (and holding the camera with the other)
The outer part of the computer is great. It seems very sturdy and it looks good too. The monitor doesn’t creak when I open it and it all feels very solid. The touchpad looks great- I love how the buttons are all on the same piece of metal and it was a nice touch to make the touchpad 16:9 like the screen. The battery is in the front of the computer which is great. I know Dell put the battery in the back, and even had it sticking out of the back in some cases. The keyboard is great- no flex whatsoever. I love typing on this thing- so much better than my desktop keyboard. I also love the memorycard reader. I installed the one driver and suddenly could use all of the ports. My camera is a Sony DSC-W1 and I just slipped the card in and it was recognized instantly. The first time I put it in, the spring mechanism seemed to not work, so I kind of had to pry it out. This worried me, but then I put it in again and it worked flawlessly. Maybe I just had to break it in once first.
Heat
The Underbelly
Unlike many other computers I have seen, this computer’s palm rest never got hot. The top of this computer stays cool, but the bottom back gets extremely hot. If I use the computer at 800mhz with the screen very dim, then it is cool enough to comfortably hold in my lap, but much more than that and it really gets hot.
Noise and Sound
The Microphone
This is a pretty quiet computer. The fans only turn on when necessary and when you run at 800mhz they usually don’t turn on (or they at least don’t turn on for a while). There are actually 4 speakers- two right below the monitor and two at the bottom of the laptop. This is a nice touch because it makes the sound a bit better. The actual sound seems decent- my desktop has much better sound but then this is just a laptop so how much do you expect? The sound does seem a bit quiet- I seem to have the volume at the max most of the time. The built in microphone is amazing… other people can clearly hear me when I am on the other side of the room.
Gaming
Nice pic of the screen of HL2
From what I’ve read people seem to think that the x600 is a crappy video card. This is totally wrong. I have been running guild wars at the highest settings and it runs FLAWLESSLY. I have the viewing distance turned up to the max and have the resolution set on 1680x1050. I also installed HL2. I haven’t gotten very far in it yet on this computer (I’ve been playing Guild Wars) but I have it set on 1680x1050 resolution with the details all set on medium and the game runs pretty good. Not as great as my desktop but the resolution is much much bigger. I bet turning off the trilinear filtering would fix the performance issues I have.
Added 7/29: I ran 3DMark03 and 3DMark05. I got 3208 when running 3DMark03 and 1121 when running 3DMark05. I have no idea if this is good or not... i think i did everything right with them.
System Benchmarks
Upon request here are some SiSoft Sandra benchmarks. I thought a few were pointless like the CD speed and the LAN speed etc but here are a few. The numbers kinda mean nothing to me, because i didnt bother comparing it to other people. I shut off all other programs (like AIM) but left wireless internet on and left firewall/gmail notifier/chc running (same conditions for my 3dmark scores.
Battery Life
I don’t really know how anyone could get the advertised 5 hours of life out of this battery but you can definitely get 4 hours. I haven’t run through the battery fully yet, but I plan to soon. I did use the computer for about 2 hours straight and it used up about 50% of my battery. When I am using the battery I just have it set on 800mhz with the brightness at the something around the 2nd brightness notch.
The Case
Upon request i took some pictures of the case. It is a really nice case. See the pictures below. It feels very sturdy and seems of high quality. I dont know if this is an ASUS case or if it is from ISTNC.
Nice Overall View of the Case
A little side pocket for something like a cellphone.
A larger empty pocket on the back of the case
The large paperwork / filing pocket. This has a divider down the center and unzips all the way. As you can see i'm currently using it for a crossover cable and regular netwrok cable, but i will probably put papers in it when i go back to school.
The next zipper has the space to put the notebook. There is an extra padded pouch to put it and a velcro strap to keep it in place.
The front zipper has a number of little slots to put business cards, pens, whatever.
A little side pocket for something like a cellphone.
A larger empty pocket on the back of the case
The large paperwork / filing pocket. This has a divider down the center and unzips all the way. As you can see i'm currently using it for a crossover cable and regular netwrok cable, but i will probably put papers in it when i go back to school.
The next zipper has the space to put the notebook. There is an extra padded pouch to put it and a velcro strap to keep it in place.
The front zipper has a number of little slots to put business cards, pens, whatever.
Complaints
Well I really haven’t found much to complain about, and I feel like I have been very thorough with this. I like how I can toggle the Wireless Internet off and on with the touch of a button, but I have found that it automatically turns off when the laptop goes to sleep. It is kind of annoying to be working on my laptop, walk away, come back and have to turn on the wireless card again. I wish it would remember if I had it on before it went to sleep.
Also, when I have the laptop at my desk I plug in a mouse and keyboard to it. If the computer is asleep and I unplug the mouse/keyboard nothing will work until I perform a hard restart or plug the stuff back in. (A few times I unplugged the stuff to take the computer away and didn’t realize it was sleeping.) I don’t think it is possible to fix this but it is slightly annoying.
Conclusion and Rarely Discussed About Aspects
The LEDs
Side view (sorry about it being blurry but it was a hard picture to take)
Thickness… also the grating is from the front speaker
Side view (sorry about it being blurry but it was a hard picture to take)
Thickness… also the grating is from the front speaker
Overall I am very happy with my purchase. I learned a few things that I haven’t seen mentioned before. First off I read that battery life is directly impacted by heat, and I am happy to report that the battery in this laptop is near the front which never gets very warm. I know that dell laptops have the battery in the back which would be the worst place for heat. I’m not exactly sure about other computers.
Also, the laptop is a bit heavier than you might expect, and is a bit bigger than you might expect. Its not too big, its just big. Although you don’t need it, a external keyboard/mouse is nice for when you are at home.
One thing that I noticed when I got it is that the laptop is greyer than it may seem in pictures. In many pictures it almost seems black. It is definitely a grey color. The outside is much lighter than the inside. The whole laptop looks very sleek and professional.
The case, which is never mentioned in any review I have seen, is also very nice. It has a ton of compartments and has a large padded compartment for the actual laptop. I can give more pictures of the case I got or more information about it upon request.
The LED lights are very nice- they all seem to be different colors. The charging light is amber and I forget what the other light is, but it all looks very nice.
I suppose I could run a few benchmarks if people want me to. Also I tried to be pretty extensive with this and have been working on it for a few days. I probably have some typos/mistakes. Please tell me if you have any questions/comments/suggestions/corrections! Thanks for reading it all
Last Updated 7/29 with case information (and pictures) and benchmark results
Iv been waiting for some nice pics like yours 
