ASUS UL30 Owner's Lounge

Also as a further FYI note regarding external dvd burners and the UL30A - A2, the

HP dvd 556s external slim 8x multiformat dvd burner

also works with the model, and only uses ONE usb2 port. Very convenient imo. This particular drive is also available in large chain retail stores like Best Buy, so seems to be readily available....

 

Looks like a good fit. Where did you order yours?

 

Amazon,
Somebody recommended the Speck to me a few posts back, a link is in THIS POST.

 

How come the A2 model offers the 2 year warranty while the X5 only has a 1 year warranty?

 

It took 1 hour 10 minutes, I have 140GB of used space on my hard drive. Never once used more the 60% of my cpu. Running 64bit Windows 7. Again this looks to be more of hard drive limitation, and not very good test of the system performance.

 

Not sure....

To encourage folks to buy the silver model?

 

Thanks,guess its time for a solid state drive. I am curious how much an SSD would cut down on the time. What do you think mucker ?

 

Why do you need to cut down on the time for an antivirus scan? Unless you go to strange sites and download suspicious things, I see no need to do a full scan ever.

 

So, in case anyone is interested I have HD videos (H.264) playing smoothly on the UL30. For playback just use MPC-HD and Google "nunnally dxva" to get the details on how to set it up. I think the registry hack was what really helped me. (Warning: slightly NSFW anime images on the page.)

Playing a few test movies everything is smooth and CPU runs around 25-35%:

-1080p H264 12Mbps / 6-ch DTS 1.5Mbps
-720p H264 6Mbps / 6-ch DTS 1.5Mbps (3 different movies with similar encoding)

And for anyone who is wondering this thing multitasks really well. I've run Powerpoint, 2 Excel sheets, Firefox (~5 tabs), WrinAmp, 4 PuTTY terminals and Virtualbox (1G/1CPU/Ubuntu 9.10) at the same time and everything flips around quite nicely. Ubuntu 9.10 also runs really well natively (I have tried Virtualbox and dual-boot).

 

I have never owned an SSD, but from what I have read, I doubt you get any noticeable improvement.Not mention the cost and capacity of SSD's. I would opt for a 7200rpm or 10000rpm drive.

 

Hi, with Ubuntu 9.10 everything works out of the box? Problems with the Wi-Fi?

 

Are you sure? I would like to buy a 160GB Intel X25-M someday in 2010 for the Asus UL30 (I have to buy it too) for both performance and resistance reasons. I will not see speed differences in you opinion?

 

Like I said, I have never owned one. From what I have read is that real world performance is not that much better, I could be wrong. For my money I would go with a faster conventional drive. Have you seen the price of these things,over $500 for 160gb, you can get a 500gb 10000rpm drive for less.

So there is a balance between price and performance, and capacity. For me capacity is very important, for other speed is.

 

Real world performance would probably vastly improve, since access times are reduced by a lot. Also, there is no such thing as a 500GB 10000 rpm drive. Other benefits of an SSD are no moving parts, runs cooler, less power consumption etc...

Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vrvGFCyH_M

 

You are absolutely correct, thanks for pointing that out. I mean , why put a bored out and blown big block engine in your Honda Civic if you only use the car for transportation to work and back 5 days a week.

 

Yes, I didn't have to do anything special - everything installed easily and it runs really well. Sleep and hibernate also seem to be functioning nicely. The only problem I'm having is trying to run the Ubuntu partition via Virtualbox using W7 as the host OS, but that's a Grub2 issue I believe and not specific to this hardware.

Wireless worked with no problems other than those I see in Windows as well. I really think the issue is just poor reception - sitting near an access point I have no problems and no disconnects.

 

Anyone have close-up pictures of the Black model (UL30A-X5)? I am wondering if it also has the "inlaid pattern" around the keyboard and palmrest like the silver one has.

Also, anyone from the Seattle area know where to go to see it in person? Does Fry's or any other electronics shop nearby have it?

Thanks.

 

My bad 300GB.

 

Someone can please tell me for sure if the HD of the Asus UL30A is SATA? 2.5" right?

Thank you and sorry for all these silly questions .

 

Hello everyone. I don't know if it has been said already but while trying to find the best price for the UL30A , I came across a new reference ! It's a UL30A with a non-glare screen. Thought it might interest some poeple around here.

You can see it here : http://geizhals.at/eu/a477206.html (it was in some german shops..don't know anything about that kind of model in the us)

There used to be some price listed and it was around 700 euros with su7300/250gb/2gb ddr.
I guess my order will wait until that model appears for real

 

Yes. Mine (UL30A-A2) came with a Seagate:

http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=04d26c9cf9c2d110VgnVCM100000f5ee0a0aRCRD

There might be variation in the specific make/model between different batches (I think) but they'll all be the same size/interface. The Seagate is quick enough I guess, cool and essentially silent. I'll probably stick a SSD in there once their price/size is a bit more reasonable.

 

Non-glare ?! Is this possible? This model is from Asus or it's modified?

 

Just check the link in my last post . It's from asus.

"Core 2 Duo SU7300 2x 1.30GHz • 2048MB • 250GB • kein optisches Laufwerk • Intel GMA X4500HD (IGP) shared memory • 3x USB 2.0/Gb LAN/WLAN 802.11bgn • HDMI • 5in1 Card Reader • Webcam (0.3 Megapixel) • Multi-Touch Trackpad • 13.3" WXGA non-glare LED TFT (1366x768) • Windows 7 Professional • Li-Ionen-Akku • 1.70kg • 24 Monate Herstellergarantie"

ASUS UL30A-QO228X (90NWTA2741745XLC9511) => gray
ASUS UL30A-QO229V (90NWTA2741721VLC951) => black

 

Yes I've read but I was convinced it was available only with the glare one. Now I curious about difference between glare and matte displays indoor and outoor.

 

not sure if any1 said this. I personally tested and can confirm when connecting to big screen tv using hdmi cable. video AND AUDIO both works. GOOD

 

In case any UL30 owners missed the UL30a Wireless Issues Poll thread in the Asus forum, be sure to check out this post by danstah on adding a second antenna:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=5514491#post5514491

 

Good news!

 

Wow... I set the overclock to 5% in the Bios and got this out... Gotta say i am pretty happy about this. I also noticed that the stock voltage for this chip is 1.05 to 1.15 and this says its running at .85

 

Hi all I'm curious, how much does the AC Adapter weigh? and the dimensions? Can someone post a photo?

 

Hi xoen, about the AC adapter, check this out:

http://http://www.notebookreview.com/shared/picture.asp?f=46607


Comparing it with the size of the plug (note that our european plugs are even a little bigger than american ones), it is smaller than a normal laptop adaptor, and quite similar to those typical netbooks use.

About european models, I already purchased mine, and here in Spain it is called UL30A-QX048C, all specs matching up with the Italian model. Just trying everything now, and no wifi issues for the moment, I'll post if I find anything.

 

(The link is broken, there is an "http://" more than the necessary )

Good, it's look like my Asus Eee PC 1000H, little, thank you a lot!

The one I've ordered is called UL30A-QX048E, so the name is the same but the final char .

Do you know I love you ? I hope to be lucky as you . Which Wi-Fi card it has (Intel or Atheros)? Have you seen how many antennas are connected?

Thank you.

 

So With the new 1080p HD Youtube coming soon will the SU7300 be able to run it smoothly?

 

danstah - that's cool that you can overclock it. Any chance you can run Cinebench R10 and let us know the result? Maybe I won't wait for the UL30VT if the performance is good as I don't need switchable graphics.

 

With the current flash version, probably not. Flash 10.1 is set to release sometime at the beginning of next year which will feature GPU acceleration. That may give just enough boost to allow high def flash to play smoothly. We will just have to wait and see.

 

Like are you sure the intel 4500HD will get accelleration? i thought it was only a few nvidia chips (ion, tegra, etc)

 

Have a look at this YouTube blog. The video of the dog posted is apparently in 1080p already. I checked viewing the video with my UL30a and there was some slight choppiness.

 

Can somebody please recommend a good USB mouse to use with my UL30A-A2 , this is my first laptop and I just cannot get stuff done fast at all with the mouse on the UL30A . I think a good part of the problem is because I have big hands. Id appreciate it, thanks.

 

One of those new air mouses would be cool, where ya just use the air as your mousepad. Are there any on the market yet?

 

Hi People,

I'm an owner now too.

I really love my new machine, i read this forum for a lot, thanks everybody for that tons of information, that can be found here...

I have a little problem anyway. I have installed a genuine win7 ENU (32bit), cause i really didn't like the original Hungarian one. (I'm used to eng. versions of OS-s). Anyway after i have installed my new win7, OSD for caps lock and num lock has disappeared. I would like to have them back. I have tried to download and install the latest drivers and tools for ATK from ASUS site, but this issue still exists. Anyone has met with this too?

I have no problem with WLAN at all by the way. My UL30 has arrived with the latest BIOS, maybe that's why.

 

I've been looking at UL30A2, and i really like the specs and price.
But its been 1-2 months since its been out.

For 800 USD max budget, is UL30 A2 still the best choice? (13-14" screen size), or is there anything new? with better specs for the price?
btw, battery life is very important for me. (UL30A2 claims 12hrs of battery life woah!)

Please let me know, if i have better choice than UL30 A2,
i have 800 max budget.

Thanks all!

-Dab

 

In the UL30A BIOS there is some overclock setting? Someone tested it? There is no way to get Turbo33 on the UL30A?

 

Hi guys,
I need a thin and light for school purposes (Studio 17 doesn't work so well in that role, and my Sony's screen bit the dust). I like everything I'm seeing about the UL30. I just have one question about it. I would like to get a hands-on look at it, but the closest thing I can find in my area is the UL50 at BestBuy. I assume the keyboards/touchpad have a very similar feel. Is that a safe bet? The keyboard on the UL50 was very shallow, and pretty "clicky."

The 'negatives' about this laptop I can live with, as long as it has enough horsepower to be a primary machine, because I'll have to unload the Studio. I'm kind've tired of maintaining multiple computers, right now the simplicity of a single thin and light appeals to me.

Thanks for all the input from everyone on this thread, I've read the whole thing, and it gives a pretty well-rounded view of this laptop!

 

tbweems,

I was at Best Buy yesterday and spent a few seconds with the UL50. The UL50's touchpad is smoother and, I think, has a nicer feel than the UL30, which is more glossy. The UL30 is more like the Eee 1005HA, except the Eee has convex bumps (like braille) while the UL30 has concave bumps. I prefer the convex bumps better. I have no problem with the UL30A touchpad, however.

I didn't test the keyboard, but I would guess it is the same feel. The LCD is about the same as well, i.e. typical low quality of most laptops. The palmrest on the UL50 (Best Buy version) is rubbery while the UL30A is glossy. The UL50 overall size looked much larger than I expected, probably because of the num pad.

The UL30A has enough power for what I use it for. I don't know what your primary usage is. It can handle mutitasking of business apps with ease. A faster computer is always nicer if you work with CAD, large video encoding, or lots of big code compiling. My opinion is 'netbooks' and CULV laptops should be a companion to desktop computers or fast, battery-hogging laptops, not as primary machines, but it really depends on what software you use.

 

Some good news for us UL30a owners with integrated Intel graphics. As quoted from the press release ( PDF):

Source from Engadget: 1, 2

First test by Anandtech here. Looks like there are still some bugs to be ironed out though.

 

Thanks, DCC, you are an awesome noob-helper. I COULD ask some more questions, but instead, I'm going to buy the thing and find out for myself! I didn't like the touchpad on the UL50, I like having a more pronounced border (and a non-glossy surface), so the UL30 sounds a lot better. It will have to be my main machine, NOT on a desk, so it has to be usable! I do some CAD work (but what I do can be handled on a P4...slowly of course), so I have little doubt this machine can handle what I need until I get to a more powerful machine.

I don't recall reading of anyone who has added a backlit keyboard to this computer. I wish I had the skill...

 

^ In case of misunderstanding, the UL30A's touchpad does have a glossy surface and does not have a pronounced border. It takes some getting used to and not everyone will like it. I disabled the tapping feature of the touchpad, but everything else works great for me.

 

I just got mine yesterday and love it. Did a full wipe and reinstall to get rid of all the gunk. Only threw on the video, audio, touchpad, and Fkey drivers.

I was reading that the ACPI let programs access the battery info from the BIOS, but it seems Windows has no problems recognizing the charge and giving me a time estimate that seems ballpark-correct (~8 hours. Still haven't done a full charge->drain cycle, I know that'll improve the guesstimate accuracy.) Everything seems to be working well, but I don't know what some of the crypticly named "Utilities" do and can't find descriptions, so I'm hesitant to just start installing things.

What other utilities are essential to a fresh Win7 install?

 

Launchy. You'll hardly use the Start menu again. (I'm finding the touchpad fussy for my hands, so I like staying on the keyboard). And Battery Bar is working well for me.

MPC-HC is great for playing 720p/1080p H264 videos with hardware acceleration.

 

For those who don't have an external CD/DVD-Rom, how do you go about installing software with discs?

 

You go buy an external dvd drive.