ASUS V6VA should be quiet by SPCR standards

ez2remember · Post by **ez2remember** » Tue Mar 28, 2006 11:19 am

Hello all, I haven't posted here for ages mainly because I use a notebook and there isn't much you can do to quiet a notebook... Its best to find a quiet one to start with.

I no longer have a desktop machine because of the resulting "SPCR sydrome" where it was never quiet enough, and tweaking for that one extra decibel comsumed all of my time...

j/k

Anyway since I have a new notebook I thought I'll give some input about the Asus V6VA. The pentium M notebooks I have owned include IBM T41 1.6Ghz, Sony Vaio s2xp 1.8Ghz, Toshiba Tecra M3 1.86Ghz and now the Asus V6VA. I always go for the thin & light notebooks... The V6VA is by far the quietest notebook I have used. Under ~50c cpu, the fan stays off. Above this threshold the fan goes into low mode where the fan is very quiet. Even when the fan kicks in at low mode it produces a pleasent low broadband whirl. I would have it a guess this low mode is not above 25dBA... but I haven't been here for a long time so I may be wrong but it is certainly quiet. There is a high mode but doesn't seem to kick in unless you are doing something intensive such as 3D gaming which is expected. This mode isn't quiet but compared to the Tecra M3, Sony s2xp and even the IBM t41 in similar modes it is much quieter. Please note I use Notebook Hardware Control to dynamically reduce cpu voltages, applied AS5 and even removed the restrictive filters on the cpu/gpu/memory compartment to achieve better tempertures. Asus seems to have sacrificed higher temps for quieter operation. Both my previous IBM & Toshiba had much better temps but I'm not concerned at all about the higher temps because Pentium M are rock solid yeilds thats why they undervolt/overclock so well.

My room temp is usually about 25/26c and the cpu temp stays around 51-53c during normal usuage. Intenet, email, office etc. This jumps to about 65-70c during gaming.

Some nice photos here.
http://www.overclockzone.com/infoissue/ ... ndex4.html

You can find a review of the notebook here
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=2720
I disagree with some of his comments about the metal stripe causing uncomfort. The palm rest is so big the stripe doesn't really effect you at all in my POV. The right palm rest does get warm but its not that bad at all. Its brushed aluminiun so it conducts heat...

And find out more info about the screen IPS, mainly the sole reasons why people go for the V6VA here.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/search. ... hid=106643

I will update more info later.

IdontexistM8 · Post by **IdontexistM8** » Sat Apr 01, 2006 12:29 pm

Asus seem to make very nice laptops.

I'm not keen on glossy screens however which leaves choice extremely limited.

Were you able to try out the machine before you bought it or was it mail order?

ez2remember · Post by **ez2remember** » Sat Apr 01, 2006 1:37 pm

I didn't try it out before I bought it... I know, I know I should of done especially where noise is concerned but then again when you check it in shops its almost impossible to tell if its quiet because the ambient noise is quite loud so it wouldn't of been much use.

I mainly bought it because of the good comments and the review I read about from notebook forums. I was looking for a powerful thin and light notebook with a fairly decent 3d graphics card.

I think the best thing about this notebook has to be the screen then followed closely by the design. Pictures don't do it much justice... Its really sleek...

ez2remember · Post by **ez2remember** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 11:58 am

Just an update about the noise.

I done further noise testing and the fan is extremely quiet in low mode. You don't even notice its on... I usually stick my fingers near the vents to know its actually on (can feel the heat). Maybe the idle noise of the Hitachi drive is drowning out the sound of the fan, so you can tell when I say this fan is quiet...

How the fan is quiet I don't know since its small, 60mm perhaps? I need to measure this to be more precise.

UPDATE: Just thinking it may be because the HSF is located on the underside and is enclosed pretty well that hardly any of the fan noise "leaks" out.

davidstone28 · Post by **davidstone28** » Fri Jul 28, 2006 4:53 pm

Serious quesiton, though unrelated to heat or noise.

Can you set the trackpad to "double tap" whereby 2 taps on the trackpad itself (not the buttons) replicates a double mouse click?

Is the touchpad Synaptics?