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Asus F8VA
Introduction
This is a compatibility guide to running Linux with the Asus F8VA laptop.
This guide is intended to provide you details on how well this laptop works with Linux and which modules you need to configure. For details on how to actually install and configure the required modules have a look at our guides section for distribution specific instructions.
This page is just for discussing using Linux on the Asus F8Va. For a general discussion about this laptop you can visit the Asus F8Va page on LapWik.
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Specifications
For full specifications see the Asus F8Va specifications page.
| Name | Asus F8VA |
| Processor | Intel Core 2 Duo |
| Screen | 14.1” WXGA or WXGA+ Widescreen |
| RAM | 1GB to 4GB |
| HDD | 120GB to 320GB |
| Optical Drive | DVD+-RW or Blu-ray |
| Graphics | ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3650 |
| Network | Ethernet, Intel 5100 802.11abgn, Bluetooth |
Linux Compatibility
| Device | Compatibility | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | Yes | |
| Screen | Yes | |
| HDD | Yes | |
| Optical Drive | Yes | |
| Graphics | Partial | |
| Sound | Partial | |
| Ethernet | Yes | |
| Wireless | Partial | |
| Bluetooth | Yes | |
| 56K Modem | Not Tested | |
| USB | Yes | |
| Firewire | Not Tested | |
| Card Reader | Not Tested | |
| ExpressCard Slot | Not Tested | |
| Camera | Not Tested |
Notes
Graphics work instantly in most distributions, however it will not work out of the box with Ubuntu 8.10, Mandriva, Gentoo and their immediate derivatives (Kubuntu, Xubuntu, Mint, etc. Sabayon is a notable exception). The wireless will work with any distribution as long as the base kernel is 2.6.27 or later. The sound so far seems not to follow any rhyme or reason, but will work in openSUSE 11.1. In fact, all components of the system work perfectly in openSUSE 11.1.
Summary
Ubuntu 8.04 (and derivatives)
wireless-no
graphics-yes
sound-no
Ubuntu 8.10 (and derivatives)
graphics-no
wireless-yes
sound-no
Sabayon 4
graphics-yes
wireless-yes
sound-untested
Gentoo (and derivatives)
graphics-no (x crashes)
wireless-untested
sound-untested
Mandriva
graphics-no (x crashes)
wireless-untested
sound-untested
OpenSUSE
Graphics-yes
wireless-yes
sound-yes
The sound issue can be resolved using this very helpful thread;
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=874548&page=2
however this apparently leads to some system bugs.
The newest madwifi also supports the wireless card in this laptop (Atheros AR928x)
the graphics issue with ubuntu can be resolved using this thread;
http://ubuntu-virginia.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=934989&highlight=F8VA
Discussion
I've this laptop (bought mid-September) and tried TOO MANY distros. And here is a quick summary:
+ Mandriva 2009: worked from the first shot (graphics, sound, wifi: all ok) but getting problems when hibernating
+ Ubuntu 8.04: Graphics ok but crashes during partitioning process
+ Fedora 7, 8, 9: worked but no sound or wifi
+ Ubuntu 8.10, Fedora 10, Knoppix: no graphics
Correction to below comment, sound will work in opensuse if one follows the directions given by OldCPU in this thread. http://forums.opensuse.org/hardware/406578-no-sound-opensuse-11-1-any-linux-distro.html
Just added a correction to the above statements “sound in opensuse 11.1”. Sound does not infact work. Only the boot up and shut down sounds play. Between those two moments, however, no joy.
the white screen issue can be resolved using the recommendations in this thread;
http://ubuntu-virginia.ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=934989&highlight=F8VA
just tried to install ubuntu (latest one) but it just gave me a lovely white screen…. same with other versions of ubuntu
If you do the alternate install for Ubuntu, you can get it to go, I think. I did once, but the suspend/resume functionality didn't work, and trying to read from the CD-ROM caused the CD-ROM to stop working.