I'm in need of a new laptop... Still really considering the UL30VT.
I suppose I should wait to see if they release something like the U30JC but with a CULV chip.
Anyways, thanks for all the pictures! This will help in making my decision.
I'm in need of a new laptop... Still really considering the UL30VT.
I suppose I should wait to see if they release something like the U30JC but with a CULV chip.
Anyways, thanks for all the pictures! This will help in making my decision.
hmmmm the only difference i can see between the U30JC and the UL30vt that i have, is that its notably heavier (~2.20kg vs 1.78kg), features a core i7/i5/i3 clarkdale/arrandale cpu and an optical drive...Originally Posted by ExodusC
the asus branding is REALLY confusing... but once you understood it its actually very useful and helps to understand which model has what special features and if its interesting for you or not..
this is what i understood so far... or i think at least
U=ultra portable
UL=ultra light portable (no optical drive)
20=12"
30=13"
50=15"
80=14" (lol, yeah i know... wtf?)
-A=standard
-V=video=discrete gpu
-T=turbo33
-S=turbo33
-J=32nm core i7/i5/i3 (clarkdale/arrandale)
-C=cd=optical?
-G=?
some series have a feature by default, in that case asus doesnt seem to use any letters to highlight them. they only highlight features that are special on one model compared to the rest of the series i think...
UL30VT - the one i got
UL30A - same as the VT minus nvidias GT218/ION2 switchable graphics, and no turbo33 afaik
UL30JT - same as the VT but with an i5 UM (higher perf, higher price and rumored to have worse batter life than the vt)
U30JC - same as the UL30VT but slightly heavier, clarkalde/arrandale, and an optical drive
so if you want a 13.3" with culv and optical drive... then the closes one to that would be the UL80VT, same as mine, the UL30VT, but slightly bigger at 14", slightly heavier, and it has an optical drive...
U30JC was originally named UL30JC, but i guess since the weight is above 2kg they thought U30 was more appropriate.
U30JC vs UL80VT:
13.3" - 14"
i7/i5/i3 - CULV
G310M - G210M (same exact thing, nvidia just renamed it at some point lol)
~2.0kg with 6cell - ~2.0kg with 8cell
so they seem to have identical specs besides the culv vs core i7/i5/i3 and the UL80 being slightly bigger at 14"
no idea about pricing, but im guessing the UL80 is quite a bit cheaper since its older and CULV...
but tbh, id recommend you to make sure you are fine with the weight...
how much does your current laptop weigh? the perceived difference between ~2.2kg and ~1.7kg for a laptop this size is HUGE... at least for me...
i really recommend you to think twice if you need an optical drive ON THE GO... cause if you dont, then just get an external usb optical drive and use that at home...
and if you sometimes do need it on the go, just carry it with you... i think it doesnt make sense to use an integrated optical drive AT ALL...
why lock a feature to your laptop that adds weight and you wont need at least half of the time?
i wasnt sure if id run into situations where id miss having an optical drive...
but i really havent so far, and i dont think i will... as soon as i actually need an optical drive for something ill just get an external one...
they are like 50$ here, super slim and light...
Last edited by saaya; 05-01-2010 at 09:21 AM.
I just pulled the trigger and bought one considering the lackluster new line of asus laptops coming out with the thirsty i3/i5/i7 CPUs. I was very interested in the PL30JT but the premium was just too much for a matte screen, so I grabbed a UL30VT-A1 silver chassis, 84whr, 4gb, 500gb.
How is your UL30VT holding up now?
Laptop
still fine!
a good friend of mine went with the newer i5 version, and i gotta say, i DO wish i could upgrade my laptops chassis to his...
the top of the main body has some carbon fibre mesh and doesnt show fingerprints at all... but besides that its really the same thing...
his laptop is definitely faster, but he paid 150$+ extra for it, and his battery life is 1h+ worse than mine, depending on what he does even 2h+...
so i really dont regret going for the CULV...
i got a plastic film glued to the back of the lid covering the aluminum sheet...
1. the alu looked ugly imo
2. it was slippery when holding the laptop when it was closed
3. it didnt show fingerprints but got smears on it after a few days and wasnt easy to clean
that plastic/rubber film has a leathery surface, it makes it look as if my laptop was covered in leather, really nice n classy
and it gives my laptop a great grip... only cost me 30$ at a local computer market, dont know if you can find this in the us or anywhere else... if you can, i def recommend to go for it.
a lot of people complimented me for the leather film, and most people like the laptop overall, especially once i tell them how much it costs
i mean it costs half the price of a mac book air and wipes the floor with it in every field except for built quality and viewing angles...
i also got an AR (anti reflective) film for my display... that was a pita cause it kept having small bubbles at the edges, i had it replaced twice and then just gave up...
i dont even notice those 2 small bubbles anymore so its fine... and while i was dissapointed that it only turned my ULTRA glossy display from 90% reflective to 60% reflective... that actually did the trick... i dont notice the reflection anymore unless the screen is very dark or the sun is in my back or there is some other strong light source...
so id recommend that as well, cost me another 30$...
DEFINATELY compare different films... the one i ended up getting was better AR wise, BUT a pita to clean... i dont know why but it smears like crazy when i try to clean it, while the previous one i had was really fast n easy to clean...
if you want i can share my display/driver settings with you, really made a big difference...
allowed me to lower the screen brightness = better battery life, and it improved colors and contrast at the same time...
which also improved viewing angles... btw, in case it annoys you, you will get used to it... at least i did...
sure if i had a choice id still get a better display but... i dont :P
only thing that annoys me is the crappy intel igp driver... everytime i go to S3/S4 and resume, it resets to default
i already complained to intel but... pff... they dont even make their own display drivers so...
i got used to the trackpad and i barely use the crappy mousepad buttons, so thats not all that bad...
i recommend configuring the trackpad this way: 1=left click 2=right click 3=back to desktop/last app and crank up the sensitivity all the way to max
the only problem i have with the laptop itself is...
1. the glossy screen still sucks when going outside or in some situations
2. the glossy surfaces are regularly smeared and full of finger prints, they are starting to have tiny scratches as well after some months now...
3. the hard drive making some disturbing clicking sounds at times and a lot of scratching sounds when working... and sometimes it doesnt stop clicking and the laptop freezes and i have to force it to power off to fix it... sounds like a bad choice on the hdd if you ask me... price and perf are great i guess, but reliability seems to be an issue with these drives...
so i plan to go SSD as i only use 50-80gb, and most of that i dont even need on my laptop...
thats it really... those are the only problems im having with this thing... and ive been using it every single day since i got it in... april?
and i treat it pretty rough hah
oh btw, i NEVER use the discrete graphics... really...
the next laptop im buying will be with igp only for sure... it really isnt worth it to pay extra for an igp you really dont need...
i TRIED to game on this laptop a few times and its just stupid... on the go its impossible to really game, especially without a mouse... and without a headset... and when im at home or a friends place, why the h3ll would i use my laptop to game instead of his or my gaming rig?
besides, the graphics are nice for this class, but not REALLY nice...
and even if they were, and even if i had a mouse and headset with me, and even if i wouldnt care about my battery life dropping to half or less... gaming on a 13" display is just ridiculous when you have ANYTHING larger than that at home... even when your used to a 17" display only this will seem small and stupid...
if i could go back in time, id buy the same laptop but the version without igp... would probably save a tiny bit of weight and save me what, 50-100$?
ts ts ts...
Last edited by saaya; 07-28-2010 at 01:25 AM.
I can't believe you can put up with that mouse rocker. Mine went back pronto. Love my Lenovo, though. I'm also waiting for Lenovo to release the new U360. Hopefully it has ~8+ hrs. of battery life. If so, and the design is similar to the U series of 2009, I'm sold.
For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.
.
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i dont really... i use the pad most of the time now
i tab on it for left and right clicks, works pretty good once you got used to it and tweaked the sensitivity...
if i need to click a lot i usually have my left index finger on the far outer edge of the left mouse button, where clicking it is pretty easy, and my right index finger on the trackpad...
i think the mouse button thing got softer as well after a month or two... makes almost no sound now and is much easier to press.
but yeah, that thing was REALLY annoying at first... and when i went back to my vaio last weekend i really thought, WOW... thise mousepad is so nice
the pad is so smooth on the vaio, like on apple laptops... and the buttons are so sensitive and feel great... sigh...
so yeah i regret that... and i do regret the vaios keyboard as well, this asus keyboard is very close but not as sensitive and has a stronger feedback than the sony one...
on the sony one you really felt like your fingers were flying over the keys and you needed no effort at all beyond moving the fingers... here i need to push down a little for every keystroke... and after a lot of typing it gets a bit annoying... but its fine... nothing big really...
but yeah... i wish i could replace the mousepad and keyboard with something softer, smoother and more sensitive...
the multi touch kinda made up for it for me...
all the two finger up and down and left and right scrolling, pinch zooming and quick back to desktop, back to the last app, and right clicking by tapping on it is a lot of fun and is so much easier and faster than using keys and buttons for it... so i kinda overlook the few downsides of the mouspad, the buttons and the keyboard...
but if i could have multi touch with the smoothness of an apple or vaio trackpad and buttons, good lord!
Last edited by saaya; 07-28-2010 at 01:47 AM.
I have to admit, saaya, the relatively poor trackpad and button rocker of the recent ASUS laptops really turned me off. I think that is among the biggest complaints of owners' of the ASUS U series laptops.
They're pretty amazing laptops as far as performance and battery goes, but why would they think the rocker button is nice? Maybe some people like the dimpled track pad (I hate it), I guess.
Still, they're awesome laptops. I was actually going to get a UL30Vt or UL80Vt (then later considered U30Jc), but that was before I ended up needing something that could replace my desktop.
You really can't beat the combination of battery life, performance, and form factor on these ASUS laptops. They just need to put them in a better chassis (at least they seem to be switching to a matte plastic with many models) with a better touchpad/button solution.
Which model exactly were you impressed with?still fine!
a good friend of mine went with the newer i5 version, and i gotta say, i DO wish i could upgrade my laptops chassis to his...
the top of the main body has some carbon fibre mesh and doesnt show fingerprints at all...
Laptop
Oh my goodness, how did I forget about the trackpad as well? It felt like the first layer of my finger skin had dragged off after using it for one day. It must be all good for you, though, because your finger must be so callused you don't feel it anymore!
For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.
Looks alot better without the stickers ha!, Whats full specs and price mate?
Another thing I find funny is AMD/Intel would snipe any of our Moms on a grocery run if it meant good quarterly results, and you are forever whining about what feser did?
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