Asus Lamborghini VX2

It’s been almost 10 months since we had the pleasure of reviewing Asus’s excellent lifestyle laptop, the VX1. Since then laptops have undergone a fair bit of upgrade in terms of both platforms and specs, and are rapidly approaching the power of desktops in both utility and multimedia features.

Keeping this in mind Asus recently gave a new lease of life to the Lamborghini VX1 by bringing out the VX2, with a new specification sheet, a vastly improved graphical chipset, and a new improved design.

How does all this stack up? Read on to find out…

Asus clearly considers the whole point of owning one of these laptops to be an opulent experience, and this is evident the moment one gets hold of the product. The VX2 comes in a beautifully designed carton that makes even the act of opening it up a pleasure.

More from Reviews

Best phones under Rs 75,000 (March 2025): Apple iPhone 16, OnePlus 13 to Google Pixel 9 Apple iPhone 16e First Impressions: The budget gateway into Apple Intelligence

__PAGEBREAK__

The original VX1 was in its time a very well-designed product. It sported an excellent finish, had a well-designed chassis and simply screamed its class in no uncertain manner.

The VX2 is more understated and yet stands out. The body has been subtly altered to give it a sharper, meaner look and retains its beautiful Striking Yellow finish. The same changes extend to the lid area, which now sports a mid-sized black ‘grill’ similar to one might expect to see on a Gallardo.

The Lamborghini logo is omnipresent and acts as a good reminder to the pedigree associated with this laptop.

While nothing much seems to have changed on the upper layer of the laptop, the area around the keyboard and LCD panel has seen a lot of changes. The smooth finish of the VX1 has given way to a leather finish for the wrist-area, two large silver ‘grills’ that incorporate the multimedia speakers and a surprisingly large touchpad.

The introduction of the leather finish around the keyboard area is a nice touch as it’s the same handcrafted leather used in the cars. Another thing I noticed is that like the VX1, the VX2 sports a hefty and altogether very sturdy construction frame and good reinforced hinges.

The only downside is that the laptop is amazingly heavy for its screen size and, with an extended battery, is a good deal heavier than the competition.

Asus continues the tradition of customized carry-bags. The VX2 comes with a well-crafted bag that sports the Lamborghini brand name. Also included are a sleeve and velvet bag for storing the laptop inside the carry-bag. This eliminates any possibility of scratches.

__PAGEBREAK__

Like the VX1, the VX2 continues to have an excellent keyboard. The keys are well-spaced, offer good tactile feedback, and are surprisingly soft. This of course helps over long hours of work, preventing you from getting the cramped feeling that you often get with laptops.

Another great feature that has carried over from the VX1 is the 15.4 inch LCD panel. It now sports a larger resolution of 1680x1050 and offers the same level of brightness, contrast, and great text readability. What’s gone for a toss, however, is the viewing angle. Even a slight angle of the laptop causes the on-screen text to become unreadable.

The software support for the panel continues to be top-notch and offers great profile settings for various multimedia activities.

Sadly, the touchpad of the VX2 is a complete regression. It is a bit too wide, offers very poor traction and often does not register a tap as a double-click. We don’t know if it was a problem with our particular laptop but after the relative comfort the VX1 offered, this was a gross disappointment.

Another letdown in the VX2 is sound output. Though it’s fairly loud, the bass is lacking and the quality is not very warm.

As far as peripheral connectivity goes, the ante seems to have been dropped a bit: the laptop comes with just three USB 2.0 slots. However, Asus has tried to make up for this by bundling 802.11n wireless connectivity.

The rest of the specifications are standard and can be viewed in the table at the end of the review.

__PAGEBREAK__

The VX2, in keeping with its pedigree, has been built around some of the most powerful specifications currently available. The processor is an Intel-based T7500 that runs at a clock speed of 2.2 GHz and it packs in 2 GB off DDR2 667 RAM.

Storage space is very adequate, thanks to the 200 GB HDD. More importantly it utilizes the 8600m GT chipset with 512 MB of video RAM (native DX10 support) for its graphical capabilities.

We tested the performance of the VX2 with the help of PCMark 2005, 3DMark 2006 and a very simple battery life test that we have devised in our labs. The results were as expected. Scores in 3Dmark 2006 and PCMark2005 were 5125 and 3200 respectively, which are very healthy for a laptop.

In the more practical tests we checked out the laptop’s performance with games like F.E.A.R, Bioshock and lastly our fixed obsession WoW. In each case, gameplay was fluid without any lag. The large resolution allowed for very good gameplay and in the case of Bioshock it simply looked mind-blowing.

For our battery life tests, we’ve devised a simple script that runs a series of applications back to back and simulates a heavy workload at full capacity and light workout utilizing simple office applications.

The results we got were mixed. At a setting of maximum performance the laptop was able to eke out around 2 hrs 20 minutes of battery life before giving in. At a more balanced performance level the results were a little better. The laptop achieved a battery life of 3 hrs 5 minutes which is very credible.

__PAGEBREAK__

**Specification Table
**

| | Memory | 2GB DDR2 (667 MHz)
| | Optical Drive
| DVD Super Multi Double Layer: RAM R/W 2X, CD/DVD Read 8X/24X, CD-R 24X, CD-RW 10X, DVD-R 4X, DVD-RW 2X, DVD+R 4X, DVD+ RW 2.4X | | Video Graphics
| NVidia GeForce Go8600 VX 512MB with TurboCache | | Monitor | 15" SXGA + Color Shine(optional) LCD Zero Bright Dot, Resolution ( 1680x1050) | | In-Built Speakers
| Built-in High Definition Audio compliant audio chip,
Built-in speaker and microphone | | Connectivity | 10/100/1000 Network Card, 56k Modem, 802.11 b/g Wireless LAN
| | Battery | 8 cell Lithium Ion | | Interface | 1 x Express Card
1 x VGA port/Mini D-sub 15-pin for external monitor
1 x Headphone-out jack (SPDIF)
1 x Microphone-in jack
1 x RJ11 Modem jack for phone line
1 x RJ45 LAN Jack for LAN insert
4 x USB 2.0 ports, 1x IEEE 1394 port
1 x Infrared Port (FIR supported) | | OS | Windows Vista Ultimate | | Additional Features | Carrying bag | | Dimensions | (W x D X H): 331x 272x 25.4- 30 mm | | Weight | 2.43 Kgs
| | Warranty | 1 year | | Price | Rs. 2,40,000 plus taxes (4-7% extra) |

At the end of the day, the VX2 left us with mixed feelings. On one side it’s a simply stunning looking laptop with great performance and good battery life. On the other side it’s OMGWTF-expensive at Rs. 2.43 lakh.

In comparison with the VX1, the VX2 exemplifies a bad case of diminishing returns, so if you’re the proud owner of a VX1 we suggest you hold on to it and give this one a miss.