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This happened to my z71v a little over a year ago, but thanks to my 3 year warranty I bought, I was able to send it back into ASUS and get it fixed for free. This and the battery problem are the only issues I have had with the laptop, and it's gaming prowress is not something I care about anymore, since I don't even really play PC games much anymore. I am looking forward to starcraft 2 though

Well, my three-year warranty officially expires Wednesday. It's funny that when I got this notebook, I'd never have imagined that I'd ever actually use 5 USB ports at the same time (external hard drive (uses 2), TV tuner, printer, and iPod), the card reader (I've used SD cards with it), or SPDIF (digital output to my Logitech Z-5500 speakers), and the only games I played with any regularity were Starcraft and Myst 3: Exile (since then, I've played several hours of Battlefield 2, Command & Conquer Generals, Battle for Middle Earth, some Sega Genesis & Sony Playstation games via emulators, Civilization 3 Complete, Half-Life 2, and most recently Guild Wars). I burned my first dual-layer DVD over two and a half years after I bought the computer, and I've even found some convenient uses for the AudioDJ buttons on the front (they're great for ejecting discs without booting up an operating system). It just goes to show that you never quite know what you'll end up using your notebook computer for and it's better to be prepared.

I agree with you on not imagining ever using 5 usb ports. I ended using all 4 usb ports fulltime on my Sager and needing a 5th for interchangeable use but had to compromise on the 4th port on that Sager.

I try to buy laptop that I can grow into (buy with more features: speed, expansion, capacity, etc).

Due to budget constraint I ended up buying the Asus M50VM-B2, only has 4 usb ports so I may need to get a usb 2.0 PC card. (which I hate to use, since the ones I have tried sucks or have issues).

Well, you can't "boot" a CD without turning on the notebook, but you can play an Audio CD. It might also work with an mp3 CD, but I haven't tried before.

I know what you mean about the new games. I downloaded the Bioshock demo and it was pretty shaky, especially A/V sync. The games I play on a regular basis are all "older" though (released 2006 or earlier), so it hasn't bothered me.

great to hear your z71v is still going strong. Mine seems to be working but nothing coming out on the screen even when i plug it into a monitor. But I can hear it boot up and the windows sound comes on, perhaps the GPU has died??

Sounds like it. A new GPU should cost around $200 from Asus.

I've been through the ringer with this laptop. Purchased from ISTNC, I've replaced the battery twice (once under warranty), lost a hard drive, and am on my second charger. The problem I'm having is with my charger, after a while of only being able to get it to charge with a large amount of fiddling on my part, it eventually stopped charging at all. I took it to a local who told me that the a/c input jack on the system is literally charred. I knew it was getting hot, but had no idea.

Anyways, anyone have any suggestions? I was considering getting a machine with no ram/cpu/hdd and just installing all my stuff into it. I can't seem to find anyone still selling these notebooks.

Is your problem the charger itself or the jack on your computer? You can get a new charger from a few places, but if you need a new jack (and possibly a new motherboard), you'll need to get one from an Asus reseller or from Asus directly. My motherboard blew out about a month ago and Rick's replacing it for me.

I need a new jack, and possibly the motherboard. Is Rick the guy from ISTNC/Carolina Computing? I haven't been able to get them to answer the phone, email, or IMs....kinda dissapointing.
I sent it to ASUS for refurbishing. Haven't heard back from them, and I sent the package 2 day ground (to Jeffersonville IN, and I live in northern IN) on Tuesday. Haven't heard a thing from them yet.

Crossing my fingers. . . . . .

Yeah, Rick is the guy from ISTNC. I'm not sure why you're not getting through to them. He generally answers my e-mails within a few hours.

I hope Asus helps you out. Keep us posted.

My second battery is just now refusing to charge over 62%. Oh well, it's been over 2 years since I got it replaced for free so I guess I can't complain too much.

Overall, this laptop has been rock solid. Only problem I had besides the battery was the graphics card dying, but it was under warranty so I got it replaced for free.

I got my computer back yesterday- it's nice to have it again! It seems my motherboard flipped out and killed my video card, so both had to be replaced. My warranty expired in April, so I had to pay for a new motherboard and video card out of pocket to the tune of $357, but it was worth it to me, since I know how my computer works and that's considerably less than it would cost to get a new notebook- heck, even the "netbooks" are more expensive than that!

More props to Rick at ISTNC for replacing the parts at his cost and trading several e-mails with me throughout the process to keep me in the loop. With so many of the 2005-era resellers now out of business and defaulting on warranties (for instance MilestonePC, c9tech, etc.), I'm very happy that Rick's not only still in business but also still treating his customers well.

I'll update the review within the next few days.

Hey Djembe,
does Rick @ ISTNC have a website ?

also, congrats for having your laptop that long. Mine finally died after almost 6yrs (was a Sager) and ended up purchasing an Asus M50VM - B2 ...

www.istnc.com

Their business name used to be called Integrated Systems Technologies and it recently changed to Carolina Computing, but it's still the same site.

Great, I check their site out. If they provide the kind of service to you like that, then that's great CS there!