ASUS F9F Notebook - Portable But Functional

ASUS is one of the most active veterans in the market positioning itself as one of the leading brands. The company has abandoned the budget segment, focusing on Mid- and High-End notebooks.

Our model under review is a light notebook equipped with a widescreen 12" display. Such machines are designed for use "on the go" and mostly have two requirements: small dimensions and low weight for ease of carrying it with you all the time.

Since these notebooks are not meant to replace desktops and thus offer wide functionality and excellent ergonomics. Usually for tasks requiring features absent in these notebooks one just uses a desktop.

But recently manufacturers have started improving functionality and ergonomics of ultra-portable machines, so they could be used for nearly all tasks. For example, our ASUS F9F has a built-in optical drive, which significantly expands its feature list.

ASUS F9F

The key advantage of the F9F specified in the list of models is its ability to swivel 240° for "total image capturing". The overview page lists the key advantages of the model:

ASUS F9F Specifications

Processor	Intel Core2 Duo Processor T7200/T7400/T7600 Intel Core Duo Processor T2050/T2250/T2300E Intel Celeron M 410~440 Processor with 1MB L2
Chipset	Intel 945 GM + ICH7M
RAM	2 x SODIMM for up to 2GB of DDR2-533/667
Display	WXGA, 12.1" (16:10) 1280x800, Regular/Glare
Graphics	Intel GMA950 (Intel 945GM)
Hard Drive	2.5" IDE UDMA100 HDD SATA 80/100/120/160 GB; 5400 RPM
Optical storage	5.25" combo drive 5.25" Super-Multi drive HD-DVD (TBC) Blu-Ray (TBC)
Audio	Azalia codec, stereo speakers, microphone
Interfaces	MDC Azalia Fax/Voice Modem 10/100 Fast Ethernet Intel Golan & 3rd party WLAN Mini Card, 2nd Mini Card reserved), MIMO (antenna reserved)
I/O	1 x VGA (DVI-I reserved for further upgrade) 3 x USB 2.0 ports 1 x SPDIF 1 x Mic-in 1 x RJ45 1 RJ11 1 x TV-out
Power	Li-Ion 3-cell, 2400mAh Li-Ion 6-cell, 4800mAh Li-Ion 9-cell, 7800mAh Output: 19V DC, 3.42A, 65W Input: 100~240V AC, 50/60Hz 3-/2-pin compact power supply system
Extras	1.3-megapixel webcam Fingerprint sensor (optional) TPM v1.2
Dimensions and weight	310 x 223.5 x 27~34 mm Up to 1.9 kg with 12.1" display, 2.5" HDD, ODD, 3-cell battery

You can read the full specifications here.

Bundle

As we tested a sample, its bundle included only a PSU with adapters.

Test results

We tested the notebook in reading mode (reading a book in a text reader) and in video playback mode (playing a DivX movie). Vista turned the notebook off at 4% charge. We ran the tests with both batteries - of half (23000 mWh ) and full (51183 mWh) capacity.

The results are quite predictable.