Asus F5R Review (Specs + Pics)

[reviewer@MilestonePC]

Introduction and Overview
The Asus F5R is new consumer end notebook, target to low budgets but also for those who want functionality. The Asus F5R has a simple silver and black design that is common amongst consumer style notebooks. The Asus F5R reviewed here is a sample unit with the following specifications, Core Duo T2250 clocked at 1.6GHz, ATI XPRESS 200m, 120GB @ 5400 rpm, 1GB DDR2, 8x Supermulti. This laptop is expected to come with Vista Home Global, 2 years Asus Global Warranty and 30 Day Zero Bright Dot Guarantee. The notebook offers the basics of what consumers are looking for in this price range.



Reasons for Purchasing
The Asus F5R is a 15.4” notebook that is target to the users looking for basic home uses. It offers the essential features needed for one to use, like a rotating webcam for video conferencing and voice chatting. The price of the Asus F5R is estimated at $900 USD and $1100 CAD, which is expect to compete with other notebooks in that price range.

Some of the other notebook users may want too look at in this target market are:

• HP dv6000 series
• Dell 1504/E6400
• Compaq v6000 series
• Toshiba Satellite A135
• Acer Aspire 500 series
• Sony Vaio FE Series

Specs of the Laptop

• Processor: Intel Core Duo T2250 1.6GHz
• Display: 15.4” WXGA (1280x800) Color Shine
• Memory: 1GB DDR2
• Hard Drive: 120GB @5400rpm
• Optical: 8x Supermulti
• Wireless: Integrated 802.11b/g
• Battery: 6 Cells, 4400mah, 11.1V and 49whr
• Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium
• Dimensions: 14.4” length x 10.3” width, 1.1”/1.4” height (front/back)
• Weight: ~5.8-6lbs with 6 cell battery
• Warranty: 2 years Asus Global Warranty and 30 ZBD Guarantee

What's in the Box?
You can expect the same amount of accessories that other Asus laptops come with and of course the laptop itself.

Packaging
The laptop I am reviewing is just a sample unit; it did not come in the packaging as you have all seen before. You can expect the same amount of packaging that goes into all other Asus notebooks.

Design
The laptop has very simple look to it, it doesn’t look too sophisticated in any way. The webcam draws you in because is can swivel. The lid is silver with a small indentation for some extra styling. The bezel around the screen is black, while the webcam sits above the screen is silver. The palm rests are silver and the chassis is black. It does feel like plastic but that’s what you can expect for a laptop targeted for this market.



When I first saw the laptop it did look appealing, I lifted it and moved it around, it definitely felt lighter than most other 15.4” notebooks I have tested.

Screen
The Asus F5R has a 15.4” screen, the resolution is 1280x800 (WXGA). The screen is pleasant to use, I am used to higher resolution like 1680x1050 but the lower resolution screen was fine.



The horizontal viewing angles are good; they are roughly 145 degrees on both sides. The vertical viewing angles are not as great, roughly 100 degrees, meaning you will need to keep yourself squared for vertical viewing.




The screen brightness it adequate for most users, but I would have liked a brighter screen. Overall I feel that the screen is satisfactory, for normal users.



Keyboard
The keyboard is black with white lettering which has a touch of grey. The keyboard keys feel little small but it is ergonomically placed. The keys do make a click sound which is noticeable. I would still feel comfortable using the laptop in a library and school setting, however people may notice it and look at you. The FN key is on the far left and it is a nuisance, many of Asus laptop keyboards are like this, it will just take some time getting used to.



There is a reasonable amount of flex on the entire notebook, it did not hinder from my ability to type and use the keyboard. There is a considerable amount of travel for the keys which is nice to see, and overall I am satisfied with the keyboard.

Touchpad
The touchpad looks a little outdated in the style, but my finger does glide across it nicely. I felt that the touchpad was responsive, and I would have liked a slightly larger one.



The touchpad button is a single piece that has two sensors under it; one for left click and one for right click. It was just slightly hard to press compare to other laptops.

Features
Webcam
The webcam is 1.3 mega pixels and it swivels. Asus provides a program called LifeFrame2 which is used with the webcam. The program offers many great new features compared to the previous program.



Wireless
The F5R has a toggle switch to turn on and off the WIFI; it is located on the left side of the notebook. The wireless connectivity was strong, I moved the laptop around the store and it was strong everywhere.

Bluetooth

Sound System
The speakers are located at the front of the laptop and are slightly facing downwards. The sound emanates towards the user. The quality of the treble is good and I found that the speakers were loud enough for personal use. As expected there is a lack of bass. I tested movies and music the sounds were just fine with the lack of bass.

The soundcard is High Definition Audio Device, however it is lacking many features found in Realtek or SoundMax sounds cards. When using headphones and ear buds the sound quality is excellent just as expected. The treble and bass sound good.

Input and Output Ports
Front Side Ports:

• Left Speaker
• MultiMedia Card Reader
• Latch
• Right Speaker

Right Side Ports:

• 8x DVDRW SuperMulti

Left Side Ports:

• LAN Port
• Modem Port
• 3x USB
• WIFI Toggle Switch
• ExpressCard Slot
• Mic In
• Headphone Jack (SPDIF)

Back side Ports:

• Kensington lock port
• Power Input
• Vent
• USB
• VGA output

LED Indicator and Buttons:

• Hard Drive Usage
• Numlock
• Capslock
• Scroll Lock

Build Quality
In terms of quality, the Asus F5R seems to be good. The lid shows some flex but does not ripple, even under excessive pressure. The hinges hold the screen well, little wobbling and there are three hinges to hold it in place. There is only a little amount of twisting on the screen at each end. It takes two hands to open the laptop with the latch design it has.



As previously mentioned the keyboard flexes all over, but it does not hinder my ability to type. The keyboard feels a little cheap and a little noisy but it is still satisfactory.

The wrist pads have a little bit of flex under normal usage but it still does a good job. I feel that the laptop can be held in many different positions.



Overall the quality of the laptop is good. It does feel plasticky in some areas, but that’s what you can expect from a laptop of this caliber and target market.

Size and Weight
The dimensions of the laptop are 14.4” length x 10.3” width, 1.1”/1.4” height (front/back) and the weight ~5.8-6lbs with the 6 cell battery. When I first picked up the laptop, it felt very light in my hands. It felt much lighter than the V1JP and G1. Also it was thinner than other notebooks I have tested. I was pleased by the dimensions and weight of the notebook, I wouldn’t find it too much of a problem to carry this notebook to school or work with other supplies or books.



Heat and Noise
The laptop is quite cool even after several hours of use. Only the touchpad gets warm, the rest of the laptop just gets slightly warm. During intensive CPU tasks, like benchmarks and installing, the laptop is still only relatively warm. There is no noise coming from the laptop, only if you put your ear to the vent you will hear a slight amount of fan noise.

Processor and Performance
I found that the Core Duo processor to be a little outdated in terms of the current technology and in speed. For the target market it can be acceptable. While using Vista the notebook felt snappy, so I was happy with that. Unfortunately there is no real gaming potential. I had AeroGlass on the entire time. I would have like to see a Core 2 Duo T5500 over the Core Duo, but it was used to reduce the cost.

Battery Life
Using the 6 cell battery, the screen brightness will be 1/16, in Vista the power mode is battery saving. The battery life is 1 hour and 30 minutes . When I changed the brightness to 100% (16/16) the battery life was 1 hour and 15 minutes.

The 6 cell battery has 4400mah, 11.1V, which is a 49whr battery which is a decent size, but small when considered to other notebooks. The overall battery life is quite poor in my opinion.



Overall the battery life was not up to my expectations; I would have like closer to 3 hours of battery life. Vista could have had an effect on the battery life, another method in which you can increase battery life is to turn off AeroGlass and disable the webcam in the device manager. Making these changes could yield another 30 minutes or so of battery life.

Comparison
Here are some pictures comparing the F5R and the V1JP side by side. As you can see the dimensions are very similar. The weight difference is noticeable, the F5R weighing in at 6lbs and the V1JP weighing in at 6.5lbs. Overall you can see both notebooks are quite appealing to consumers.







Benchmarks
SuperPi


3DMark05


3DMark06


PCMark05


Windows Experience Index


HDTune


Accessories and Miscellaneous
The accessories and software CDs are going to be just like many other Asus notebooks. They will provide the driver, recovery, media discs, and other accessories that are typical for Asus notebooks.


Pros

• Build Quality <- Asus build quality lives up to its name
• Heat and Noise <- The notebook is very quiet and cool
• Weight and Dimensions <- Regular size, but low weight
• Webcam <- Swivel Webcam
• Screen <- It is quite nice

Cons

• Performance <- compared to today and current competitors it lacks in performance
• Battery Life <- Low amount of battery life
• Keyboard Flex <- The keyboard has a considerable amount of flex

Recommend the laptop
In conclusion the Asus F5R is a basic notebook. However it is unfortunately offering a Core Duo processor instead of the current Core 2 Duo technology. For the price $900 USD, this notebook does offer a great swivel webcam and a nice chassis design.

Thanks,

This review is complete by Akhil Parujanwala, a notebook reviewer at www.MilestonePC.com

[jetstar]

Nice review! It certainly is competitively priced. Atrocious battery life though.

[stamar]

You can see the v1j screen is much brighter.

And it is about average itself.

Likely this is the same screen as the f3j uses

[lappyhappy]

Nice review! Wanted to point out that what you have listed as the 3dMark05 score is really a 3dMark06 score. Also, that Superpi score of 2m 55s for 2 million units seems kind of high even for just a regular Core Duo. I would think it would be more along the lines of 1m 40s or some such. Anyway, thanks for the review!

[jsis]

2m 55s???? That is pathetic for a dual core. My Alviso Pentium-M single core can do better than that!!

[Andrew Baxter]

I don't know what's up with that Super Pi score, something must be amiss though. I've never seen any Core Duo go above 2 mins, it must be because it was run with Vista in Power Saving mode.

That battery life is horrible as well, ack. But, it's not a bad machine for $900.

[Homer_Jay_Thompson]

I frequently see this contradiction in notebook reviews. The laptop has a premium build quality, but it also has considerable keyboard flex. This is true for all reviews regardless of make and model. How can a laptop have good build quality if it has considerable key board flex? A well built laptop should have no more than a minor keyboard flex.

[votoms888]

2m 55s???? That is pathetic for a dual core. My Alviso Pentium-M single core can do better than that!!

That's what I was going to say. I wonder why the benchmark was so low. Does anyone have an explanation for this? Also the Experience Index is pretty low too. My U200 shows 3.1 with the GMA 950, but that could be due to the installed ram.

[stamar]

a8js with a 6 cell
t7200 and 7700 go gets 2 hours 30 minutes.
the only minus could be its lcd which probably uses more juice as well because it would be brighter.

[CeeNote]

Nice review but is it possible that for some reason, superpi is only using one core?