WEBMASTER GROUP

Asus’ latest thin-and-light notebook packs graphics power and good looks, but we wish it lasted longer on a charge.
The Asus F8SV-A1 stands out from the rest of the thin-and-light crowd by featuring a speedy Intel Next Generation Core 2 Duo processor, powerful graphics muscle, excellent wireless performance, and a sexy body highlighted by Asus’ subtle yet eye-catching Infusion pinstripe-like design. Priced at $1,399, the system is good for your all-around computing needs, but we wish it had better battery life.

Asus F8SV-A1 Design
Measuring 13.6 x 9.8 x 1.5 inches and weighing in at 5.8 pounds, the F8SV-A1 is on the heavy side for a thin-and-light but is still plenty portable. Its comfortable, quiet keyboard was pleasurable to type on, although touch typists may find pegging the truncated Shift key takes some getting used to. A large touchpad makes navigating the 14.1-inch widescreen display a breeze, but we’re not fans of the noisy mouse buttons that offer little responsiveness.

Above the keyboard are buttons for launching Windows Media Center, adjusting the system’s display, tweaking power usage, and activating the wireless radios. We would like to have seen the inclusion of dedicated multimedia keys, and at first we didn’t know how to turn this machine on; the power button is located on the F8SV-A1’s right hinge.

Sharp Screen; Narrow Viewing Angles
The 1280 x 800-pixel resolution screen looked great when we checked out photos, surfed the Web, or watched our Xanadu DVD–at least when we sat directly in front of it, as the glossy screen kicked back plenty of reflections if we were even a little left or right of center. The built-in stereo speakers produced weak audio that’s only good enough for personal use. Asus loads the system with all the hardware you’d expect, such as an 8-in-1 memory card reader, S-Video, DVI, Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR, an ExpressCard/54 slot, five USB 2.0 ports, and a mediocre 1.3-megapixel webcam.

Performance and the Asus F8SV-A1
Powered by a 2.2-GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T7500 processor and 1GB of RAM, the F8SV-A1 notched a very good 4,076 on PCMark05, which makes it more than suitable for handling productivity tasks. We had no problems multitasking with e-mail, surfing the Web, crafting documents, and listening to tunes in Windows Media Player 11.

The F8SV-A1’s MobileMark07 score of 84 was alarmingly low, given its 3DMark and PCMark scores and when compared with other thin-and-light notebooks, which have an average score of 168. Asus agreed that this score is low but had no explanation for it, nor does the company run this test. We ran it several times with the same result.

Strong Graphics Punch
The Nvidia GeForce 8600M GT graphics processor helped the machine achieve a score or 4,858 on 3DMark03-a strong showing for a thin-and-light notebook and more than double the average. Although it’s not a gaming rig by any stretch, the system managed a smooth 35 frames per second on F.E.A.R.’s autodetect settings (at 1024 x 768-pixel resolution). When we bumped the settings up to their highest levels, the frame rate plummeted to 17 fps.

Asus F8SV-A1 Battery Life and Wireless Performance
The 6-cell battery held a charge for 2 hours and 9 minutes, which proved to be lowest-in-class. This short endurance is understandable given the discrete graphics, and those looking for extra endurance can purchase an additional 6-cell battery for $110.

In stark contrast to the F8SV-A1’s humble battery and MobileMark performance, the 802.11a/g/n Wi-Fi radio moved data along at a blistering 20.1 Mbps at 15 feet from our access point–the best Wi-Fi performance we’ve seen in the thin-and-light segment. Throughput dropped to a solid 15.4 Mbps when we placed the notebook 50 feet from our access point.

Software and Support
Windows Vista Home Premium comes preinstalled on the F8SV-A1, as does LightScribe (which lets you burn images onto special optical discs), and Asus’ own homegrown utilities, including NB Probe, which gives you easy-to-read system information (CPU temperature, CPU fan, hard drive information, etc.) in one central location. Asus backs the machine with a two-year global warranty, toll-free 24/7 tech support, plus a unique one-year accidental damage warranty that covers drop and spill damage.

Asus F8SV-A1 Verdict
Only a handful of thin-and-lights offer this kind of 3D performance and cost less than $1,500. We wish the battery lasted longer and the viewing angles were better, but if graphics performance, price, and design are your top priorities, you’ll be pleased with the Asus F8SV-A1.

(laptopmag.com)

Price: $1,399