Asus V6800V (V6V/V6000V Series)

To quickly recap, the Asus V6V is a laptop designed for the professional, mobile user. It is a light, thin notebook that sports a larger monitor than normal, yet still remains relatively light. In terms of design, there were a few flaws, with the only significant annoyance being the expansion ports that were all situated on one side. Other small problems included the LEDs that were difficult to see from low angles, the lack of an LCD hold-down clip, and the non-standard keyboard layout.

In terms of performance, the V6V did well. An added surprise was its performance in gaming, which makes this laptop a potentially good choice for college-age students as well. Just keep in mind that the V6V is not designed for gamers, so don't expect too much in this area. Overall though, the V6V proved to be a solid machine with good performance and a stylish look.

Our sample was priced around $2,199, with a 4-cell battery, 512MB RAM, and a 60GB hard drive. Keep in mind that the V6V is a "Built on Asus" product, which means it is sold exclusively through different vendors, with pre-configured options. In terms of customization, there is some flexibility in the hard drive and memory that comes with the laptop, and you can also choose to get a 8-cell battery which will provide you with 4+ hours of battery life. Just from going around to different vendors, most sell the V6V with only the 8-cell, but the price is still the same.

In terms of warranty options, most vendors provide some form of their own warranty on top of Asus's global warranty. While Asus's warranty does not cover any accidents on the user's parts, some vendors provide a comprehensive warranty that covers a bit more. On the flip side though, some vendor's provide no additional warranty or a limited warranty that does not provide any coverage besides hardware malfunctions. Although this is not a significant problem, be sure to understand what warranties cover what, and even better, just do not do anything that will put your laptop to risk.

In the end, Asus has designed a quality laptop that did exactly what it was designed to do, with only a couple of relatively minor design flaws. It is a very solid machine that performed better than expected in many instances. Its price is on par with similar notebooks in its class, although Asus may want to consider dropping that price in the future to remain competitive. Based on its overall performance, quality, and reliability, the V6V scores a solid 8.5 on the HotHardware Heat Meter.

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