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Asus F3SV -- images courtesy Notebookitalia.it

Asus A7S
Asus rolls out the A7S, F3SV, F3SC, A8SC and W7S

Asus is the latest to join the mix with five new Santa Rosa notebooks (English). The notebooks range from the 13.3" W7S on the lighter side to the 17" A7S on the heavyweight side. All feature NVIDIA GeForce Go 8000 Series mobile GPUs and Intel's new Wireless Wi-Fi Link 4965AGN Draft-N network adapter.

The W7S sports Core 2 Duo T7100 or T7500 processors and 2GB of DDR 2 memory. The 13.3" display features a WXGA screen resolution and is powered by a GeForce Go 8400M GPU with 128MB of dedicated memory. Storage duties are handled by a 160GB 5400RPM hard drive and a DL DVD burner. The W7S runs Windows Vista Business.

Next up is the 14.1" (WXGA) A8SC features a Core 2 Duo T7100 processor and 1GB of DD2 memory. Like the W7S, the A8SC features a GeForce Go 8400M GPU with TurboCache and a DL DVD burner. A 120GB SATA hard drive is included in the mix as is Windows Vista Home Premium.

The F3SV and F3SC both feature the same 15.4" (WXGA) chassis design along with the choice of Core 2 Duo processors ranging from the T7100 to the T7700. Both include 2GB of DDR memory, 160GB hard drive and hard drive options ranging from 60GB to 160GB. The two notebooks part ways, however, in the choice of GPUs. The F3SC uses the GeForce 8400M with TurboCache while the F3SV uses a GeForce Go 8600M with 512MB of dedicated video memory.

Bringing up the rear is 17" A7S-7S006C. This model sports a WXGA+ screen resolution, GeForce Go 8400G with TurboCache, 200GB SATA hard drive, DL DVD burner and an HDMI port with HDCP support.

All models come with a 2-year warranty and should be hitting distributors within the next few weeks.

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Odd GPU for 17" model...
By therealnickdanger on 5/3/2007 4:17:38 PM , Rating: 2
No 8600 or better for the 17" model? Seems like a waste of such a gorgeous screen.




RE: Odd GPU for 17" model...
By TomZ on 5/3/2007 4:39:37 PM , Rating: 2
1440x900 for a 17" screen sucks, in my opinion. Why not 1920x1200?


RE: Odd GPU for 17" model...
By Dactyl on 5/3/2007 8:37:37 PM , Rating: 2
I have better than that on my 12" (1400x1050)

Of course, my notebook is not a "value" machine. I could have gotten one with almost the same specs for half the price if I didn't get the high-res screen and tablet functionality.


RE: Odd GPU for 17" model...
By retrospooty on 5/3/2007 8:46:03 PM , Rating: 5
1920 might be overkill for a 17, but at least 1680x1050 would be good.


RE: Odd GPU for 17" model...
By DarthPierce on 5/3/2007 11:17:07 PM , Rating: 2
No kidding.... I have a 1920x1200 on my 15.4 inch laptop, and I love it.

I can't imagine carrying around a bigger, heavier laptop with a larger screen with lower resolution...


RE: Odd GPU for 17" model...
By darkavatar on 5/3/2007 11:45:53 PM , Rating: 2
yeah, I hope its just a typo, 1400x900 is waaay too low for a 17", WSXGA+ of 1680x1050 is more resonable.

Most people think bigger diagonal means bigger workspace, but in reality it just means bigger pixels, bigger words. Higher resolution is the only way to get more workspace.

I find it sad that there is no 1920x1200 for 20" widescreen displays... if it can be done on a laptop, why isn't there any stand alone products? Even 20" WSXGA+ are disappearing, I just don't want to see gigantic pixels....


RE: Odd GPU for 17" model...
By Wolfpup on 5/4/2007 12:24:49 AM , Rating: 2
Way too low according to who? Until we get resolution independence, 1280x1024 on a 19" is kind of the upper limit for resolution for most people.


RE: Odd GPU for 17" model...
By subhajit on 5/4/2007 1:55:43 AM , Rating: 2
And 1440 X 900 is the standard for 19" wide screen desktop monitors.


RE: Odd GPU for 17" model...
By JeffDM on 5/4/2007 2:23:53 PM , Rating: 2
Desktop and notebook resolutions aren't that comparable, I don't think. For notebooks, people keep the screen very close to them, desktops, the distance is maybe 33% farther. But still, WUXGA on a 15" is a niche resolution, it's possible to get it, but generally it has to be special ordered that I've seen. Until I get good rez independence, I really don't want it, most text shows up as the equivalent of maybe 4pt size, and that's unacceptable to me. Besides, it probably violates every readability standard there exists. Simply setting the text size larger breaks a lot of dialogue boxes on many programs that I've used.


RE: Odd GPU for 17" model...
By TomZ on 5/4/2007 9:06:51 PM , Rating: 1
1280x1024 on 19"?!? No way! Anyone who needs dots that large needs to get new glasses. The point is not to see every darn pixel!


By Brainonska511 on 5/3/2007 6:58:14 PM , Rating: 3
Because the A series is the value line. They have to cut corners some where if they want to keep it as a "value" notebook. They'll probably offer a refresh of the W2 or create another higher end 17" notebook. Possibly even a refresh of the G1, which is already 17". To create an A series notebooks with specs equal to or better than a G or W series notebook would diminish the value of the higher end notebooks and draw sales away from them.


By Beenthere on 5/3/2007 4:16:16 PM , Rating: 3
My experience with Asus has been completely unacceptable and I can't in good conscience recommend their products to anyone. Their warranty proved to be worthless so I won't be buying any more Asus products ever.




By EarthsDM on 5/3/2007 4:45:35 PM , Rating: 3
I agree, and I don't see why you were modded down. One of the reasons ASUS is the first to release new products is because they are the first to stop supporting their old product. In my experience they've never offered better than beta drivers. The level of support they've offered for my motherboard is basically zero, and it was their highest-end enthusiast board,
the ASUS P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe. It was the first (and when I bought it, only) motherboard to support Conroe and SLI. I haven't seen a new BIOS ever, and it becomes unstable if you raise the FSB 1 MHz


By aos007 on 5/3/2007 6:22:26 PM , Rating: 2
Same here. They never released an update to bios for A8R32-MVP Deluxe and yet the board suffers from massive problems (hint: I can't use USB hubs as they add 1+ minute to boot time! There were also problems with linux locking up on boot during controller recognition). You'd think that $200+ motherboards would buy you at least 6 months of support in terms of bug fixing... Apparently not. Companies that don't support their products and instead focus on releasing new ones before the paint on old ones is still wet, don't deserve consumer support. I always say that there IS such thing as too fast progress.


By vanka on 5/4/2007 3:47:54 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
In my experience they've never offered better than beta drivers.

That has been my experience as well; I have learned to never use Asus drivers (after thinking that my motherboard was about to go because it would not do a soft shut down). Once I figured that out and started downloading drivers from the chipset manufacturers, I've been fine.

quote:
I haven't seen a new BIOS ever, and it becomes unstable if you raise the FSB 1 MHz

I haven't used that board but I have never had any instability from a buggy BIOS.


By jonmcc33 on 5/3/2007 8:23:56 PM , Rating: 2
They replaced my A8R-MVP motherboard without a problem. Their BIOS department over-nighted several BIOS chips without a penny from my wallet. No complaints here.


pricing?
By jbs181818 on 5/3/2007 3:45:38 PM , Rating: 2
Any word on pricing?




RE: pricing?
By ricera10 on 5/3/2007 4:08:05 PM , Rating: 2
Generally, ASUS keeps refreshes of its notebook lines at the same price points of its previous incarnation. So, look at prices current retailers charge for current versions of the notebooks for a good idea.


Good to see...
By B166ER on 5/6/2007 4:45:00 AM , Rating: 2
For me finding a decent thin n light has been a bit of a saddle sore because you cant find many with all around features; most are aimed towards bitnezz type folks that dont need a decent video card and are happy with GMA offerings (not that i need a major video cards but I do play some games, but not the serious features needed for F.E.A.R. or Half-Life2). I need a psuedo desktop replacement. Should be simple, but I need to carry it around with me as I'm on the move alot. 15.4 inches is too heavy for me for that kind of usage. To be honest the only lappies with that kind of convienience has been Sony 'S' series and Asus 'W7' series. Sonys are quite pricey for the S series but gave me all what I needed. Asus really had me with their 'W7' series but I couldnt understand the soldered 512 MB memory. Why the limitation?? So now the new 'W7s' drops and it seems to have cleared up the 1.5 G limit, but now I can only have Vista B on it?? Hopefully there will be barebone versions of the damn thing I can get on. But now i see a lot of people harping on Asus for quality. Hmmm...




RE: Good to see...
By B166ER on 5/6/2007 4:45:39 AM , Rating: 2
And will there be FINALLY an E-SATA port on a laptop???


Wireless Wi-Fi?
By Goty on 5/3/2007 7:32:25 PM , Rating: 2
Isn't that a bit redundant? Or am I missing something?




By crystal clear on 5/5/2007 3:10:49 AM , Rating: 2
Asustek to boost ODM and OBM proportion in 2Q

Asustek's EMS (electronic manufacturing services) and OEM accounted for 75% of the company's production value in the first quarter of 2007, while OBM (own brand manufacturing) and ODM accounted for the remaining 25%, according to sources at Asustek. However, Asustek is confident that the proportion for OBM and ODM will increase to 30-35% in the second quarter, and will remain at that level for the rest of the year, noted the sources.

For 2007, Asustek plans for notebooks to account for 25-30% of its production, while game consoles will account for 25-30%, desktop PCs (including motherboards) 20-25% and related products for broadband and handsets products will account for 10%, noted the sources.

http://www.digitimes.com/mobos/a20070504VL201.html




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