Asus V6800V (V6V/V6000V Series)

Construction: Field Tested So, How Does it Work in the Real World?

Charger– The charger for the V6V is a good size. It's a bit smaller than most chargers, in step with keeping the laptop portable. The power plug is angled since the port in on the right side of the laptop, which depending on the environment and room settings, may be annoying. Ideally, the power port would be on the back with a straight plug. To save space and an unsightly wire, the power port is simply kept on the right in hopes the user will always be to the left of an outlet. Either way, the cord has more an enough slack for a user to take advantage of, and is able to extend across a small room without much problem.

Display– Asus decided to use a 15.0" SXGA+ display that is capable of a native 1400 x 1050 resolution with 16 brightness settings. The highest setting looks natural and brilliant, while the dimmest settings are still bearable without being too much of a strain on the eyes. The difference between battery and AC Adaptor brightness is noticeable, but nothing of much concern. In direct sunlight outside, the brightest setting looked perfectly fine, while the dimmest settings was perfect for a completely dark room.

Fan - Using a standard variable speed fan, the V6V is extremely quiet even during heavy use. The heatsink itself is relatively small, but still manages to cool the unit effectively. The variable speed allows the fan to slow down during low CPU usage. Normally, this results in random bursts of the fan turning on in order to disperse heat. However, even during heavy processor usage, the fan is still not loud enough to be a nuisance.

Heat– Heat is always a large concern with laptops. Since the V6V uses Intel's Centrino mobile technology, the processor doesn't generate excessive amounts of heat. Likewise, Asus's notable cooling system also helps prevent a single hotspot from arising by spreading the heat around the entire base of the laptop. The only spot where heat becomes notable is at the bottom, where the CPU and WiFi cards are located. The rest of the laptop is kept pretty cool even after heavy use.