Asus U35JC/U45JC

Hey Guys,

First post here!

Does anyone have problems with the wireless network card on the U45JC? My card keeps dropping signals and sometimes even freezes my computer. I've already tried updating the drivers to no avail...

A more serious concern though, is that I have a big bright dot that flares up every 3 days or so on my screen. It's located near the lower-center-left of the monitor and it looks like a light bulb. Is this normal for a LED screen? The funny thing is, if I switch what I am viewing to a dark screen, then it completely disappears.

This computer is really everything they advertise it to be. Light and good battery life. However, the machine is EXTREMELY finger print prone and the speakers are....not good.

I bought this notebook with 4 gigs of RAM for 32500NTD @ The Taipei Main Station Computer Center.

Regards,

Gary

 

And to Odysseus, yes, you have no idea how hard it is to be a deity and yet have all of these rough spots to smooth out in my reputation.

It's really quite embarrassing. I was only recently promoted to the rank of godhood ... and yet they dare to tarnish my august image by claiming I am a jewel in the rough; -- in the rough! Can you imagine?

It's enough to make a person want to descend from his glory and go back to being a mere mortal. Sigh. The things I must endure.

Oh! ...

Oh! ...

.... Oh, they just promoted me!! Now I'm Rep Power 5 and "just really nice." Should I be flattered or crestfallen that they have now shoved me into the "merely nice guy" mold?

I'm unclear now which role I should fulfill: thunder-welding deity or friendly Mr Rogers?

 

Hi guys,

I'm working at Staples Business Depot and I found some update for the u35jc-a1

look at http://businessdepot.impipeline.com/SkuDetail.asp?SKU=63751M&Language=FR&ShowAllRelated=N&PageID=Main

ETA 08/04/2010

 

I'd like to think that I have a say in this, since I repped you.
And my recommendation for you, would definitely be to break the mold and erupt a new and thunder-weilding deity.

 

I just got my U30JC-B1 from GenTechPC yesterday. The price was a little higher, but they have them in stock and it was mailed out hours after they received my PayPal payment.

So far I'm enormously happy with the purchase. My only two real complaints to date is the lack of a two button mouse (which is something I just need to learn to use) and the sheer quantity of bloatware they put on this thing. I'm also not terribly happy with how they formatted the drive, but I'll deal with that after I take it on the trip I got it for.

I can try to answer any specific questions anybody might have about it.

 

Btw dont use the optimus drivers that Asus supply, they are absolute CRAP

The best ones I've found so far, after ALOT of trial and error, are the 257.15 beta drivers. The newest drivers make my notebook freeze, these dont, and they add alot of performance and bug fixes.

 

Hey everybody.

FYI, GenTech PM'ed me with a YouTube link to their video inspection/tour of the U45Jc:

The U45JC-A1 video on Youtube :

 

That is curious. The 257.15 drivers are listed as Beta drivers.

The 257.21 and 258.96 drivers are listed as stable WHQL drivers.

For me, the 258.96 WHQL drivers are working perfectly on my U30Jc.

BTW, for those needing a link, you can find updated nVidia 310M drivers HERE. Be sure to select "310M", not "310" and Win 7 64-bit.

To those just getting your new laptop, on the bloatware, drivers & partitioning:
1) If you reformat your drive & reinstall Windows, be sure to reinstall ALL drivers & ASUS apps (NOT the trialware, of course). Several have missed installing the " Intel Management Engine Interface (IMEI)" and have consequently had problems. Look at the ASUS apps. Use them, THEN remove what you find to be cute & not useful. Some really are useful. Some are essential to make hotkeys like Fn+C, Fn+V and Fn+Spacebar even work.

2) The bloatware isn't THAT hard to uninstall. Do it a bit at a time if you need to.

3) If you don't like your partition arrangement on your drive (MisterSlanky) when you get it, then BEFORE YOU PUT THINGS ON THE DRIVE, just reboot & press F9 (I think). This launches ASUS AI Restore. It will walk you through a full disk & OS restore and will, in the process, let you decide if you want one partition or two. It's quick enough. Do that and you can have one partition at the outset, if that's what you want.

4) ASUS also has set up a HIDDEN partition of about 17 GB on your HDD. You can't get rid of that unless you use disk management, and then you'll need to have an install DVD for Windows 7 for later restoring the OS (or let ASUS AI walk you through a 4x DVD creation for OS backup that will take an amazing 2 1/2 hrs! It will prompt you to do that when you first boot into Windows.)

5) For those reinstalling Windows, your key on the bottom of the unit WILL work for any OEM Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit or 64-bit install (if your notebook came with Windows 7 Home Premium pre-installed.) Your key will not work for other versions (ie if you have Home Premium, the key will not work for Pro or Ultimate, etc.) The ISO image to burn a separate DVD copy of Windows 7 is available legally on this forum. Just search for it. Having it as a separate DVD will mean that you can delete that hidden partition if you wish to.

 

i can't see what it says, need to be logged in... any one else have news on this? or is it still 8/25

 

I just saw that video and they say it is 4.4lbs? I thought it was 4.6-4.8? I might be somewhat interested if it truly is 4.4lbs. Not THAT much more than the 3.7 I would get with the UL30VT/U35JC

Are there any battery life estimates on the U45JC? I know you have mentioned your U30JC battery times, but I am wondering if this gets slightly worse battery having a slightly stronger processor.

 

Call them & ask. I bet they have a digital scale there.

 

It's too bad the U45JC is $50 more than the U35JC (even more considering I bought from J&R, who sadly do not carry the U45JC).

So what's the dealio with this Staples business depot? Does that mean that Staples will be carrying these laptops soon? That's mighty interesting, but not as interesting as that early August ETA

 

Thanks for the advice. Worked like a charm. Interestingly, it's the 17 GB in the hidden partition that makes the F9 trick possible. So for anybody looking to create a factory reset DVD, it might be easier just to copy that partition to an external hard drive for future use

 

BTW, everyone. The official word is now in for those who wanted to know what the palm rest & trackpad is made of on the U45 (and presumably the U35 as well).

GenTechPC just reported back:

"The palm rest and around the KB is plastic not aluminum."

Good you clarified that. Hence why I said that if you removed it, you would need to have a Windows install DVD to install later (since the restore partition would no longer be available.

Not sure if you can just copy the info to an external drive for later use as I believe that hidden restore partition is bootable so the F9 would be looking for a bootable restore partition, not just the info .... at least that is what I THINK, but I'm not positive.

At the end of the day, it was just easier for me to have the bootable Windows install DVD and remove that partition. I prefer the external DVD, since the restore partition restores exactly what was from the factory (incl. the bloat & trialware). And with an external DVD, I can refresh the OS install if I need to w/o destroying my data on the drive. But using the restore partition blows away everything that was on the drive. Not my prefered scenario.

 

i will upload a printscreen when i will get back home to night.....

 

An update for my Canadian friends out there:

NCIX doesn't have any of the new models listed yet
Best Direct has nothing listed yet

Memory Express has the U30JC-B1 for $960 but they say it's OOS
Mem Ex also shows the U33JC and U43JC ($1080,$1190) as "special order" rather than "pre-order" though I'm assuming that they mixed the terms up
No U45JC @ Mem Ex yet

Infonec has the U45JC at $977.47 (or $949 cash) - supposedly available and ready to ship if you purchase online (but OOS in stores lol)

Amazon has nothing at all yet...and them jerks raised the price for the U30JC-B1 from $870 to $950 within the last couple of days.

Also, xoticpc ships to Canada for $57 for normal UPS or $129 for UPS including brokerage.

I don't know if GenTech ships to Canada.

ExcaliburPC ships to Canada using DHL (unknown how much it costs).

Hopefully that saves people some time...if anyone sees another Canadian retailer that carries the new models please send me a friendly PM

 

For those with worries about Optimus, there is a new UI included in the most recent drivers that shows you when the Nvidia GPU is being used, and by what program. In addition, you can now manually override whatever settings have been chosen by Optimus or previously set by the user, by simply right clicking the shortcut/.exe and selecting the desired GPU. Pretty sweet, huh?

Read about it here

 

I am concerned about when I am going to use it in class and it automatically switches to the Nvidia card and it will suck more battery life in the process. Is there ANY WAY POSSIBLE to strictly use the Integrated card 100% of the time WHEN YOU WANT? I hear there is a way to set specific programs to a certain GPU, but 99% of the time it does not work which is unfortunate. I feel like Optimus is going to hamper the battery life more than switchable graphics will. This is one reason why I am still considering the UL30VT.

I am almost dead set on pre-ordering the U35JC except for that one point. The only thing holding me back with the U35JC is battery life due to Optimus.

Is there anyone on these boards who actually owns a U35JC from another country? I would love to be able to talk to someone who owns one to get a real good insight to its battery life.

 

Sorry, Relentless. it's the exact opposite. 99% of the time, Optimus now DOES let you set when the nVidia GPU is engaged. It works, and it doesn't waste battery life. You'll be fine!

Right now, with the new drivers, all of my programs run according to what I request from Optimus, and once set, it obeys that standard (eg Firefox/HULU in IGP or GPU) until I tell it something else. So don't worry bout it.

And it will never just turn on the discrete GPU unless you are trying to access flash material online. It's never an accident. And even now, I have been able to override that so that, if I wish, ALL of my browsers on any page with flash will use the IGP.

I only realized this in the last day or so. It's the new 257/258 drivers. They are much improved!

You'll note on that one review referenced last page, they played videos until the battery died ... which was 4 1/2 hrs. So you'll be fine in school.

BTW, smart move on getting by with your sister's notebook!

 

Awesome news! Oh man I am so relieved! So I can actually set the GPU per website like Netflix/Hulu? As well as setting EVERYTHING to the integrated card? You were the one I talked to about Optimus originally and you mentioned how even though you set the GPU to be the integrated card for Netflix/Hulu that it would not work and it would still use the discrete card. So that is all fixed now and I can use the Intel Integrated card 100% of the time when I am trying to save battery at school? If so this is fantastic news and I am sold.

You gave me battery estimates on your U30JC. How much worse would the battery on the U35JC be since it has a very slightly stronger processor?

And Yes! I am very glad my sister is going to let me borrow her notebook for a few days. It took too much persuasion until I told her I would give her $20 and she was sold

I will definitely go with the U35JC!

 

Battery is probably about the same. That review test was 4.5 hrs on video watching (I assume in integrated graphic). That's about what I'd get: 3.5-4 hrs).

You can only tell Optimus which program (browser) uses which graphics card, not which web site. Just the way it is.

 

I wonder how long the UL30VT-A1 would last on constant video watching.

 

Longer ....

BTW, if your parents are getting it for college (using graduation as an excuse) ... we parents are a soft touch for college essentials. When it comes to the $1,000's for college, set up is part of that.

Tell them to get set up, you need:

• The U35Jc notebook
• an external USB slim DVD drive ($40)
• an extra 8-cell battery for the U35 for those long commutes & 8-hr class days

I'm not sure what battery presently fits it, but order it from GenTechPC, and they'll help you with that happily. And they'll be there for any basic tech support you need or if there is a problem w/ the laptop or the external DVD drive. I agree with David in that 100%.

Now stop worrying and order your laptop (after you hit up Mom & Dad for those two extras as part of the setup package) ... and then go and enjoy it when it gets here!

 

I am so excited to get my hands on the U35JC. It will be more than just a new PC for me. I have had my current desktop and still using Windows XP. I have used Windows 7 very little on my sisters notebook and love it! Can't wait to have my own machine with Windows 7 to truly explore it. The one month wait will be torture!

I will be sure to see if my parents are willing to help out with that. My parents helping me by purchasing this laptop is more than enough and they know how much I appreciate it. Should I get the Asus external drive or is there something better for cheap? I like the Asus one of course because it is very slim.

Another question. What do you recommend for sleeves to put the U35JC in? Any one in particular.

Lastly, thank you SO much to everyone for helping me get through the process of buying my first laptop. Especially you Quatro. You put up with a LOT of my questions and gave me a LOT of insight. I am so glad that there are forums like this to aid people. You guys were immensely helpful. I truly appreciate it.

 

Oh, I remember my graduation present...it was an overheating, extremely loud HP dv6000!

I recently won a scholarship at work, which nets me $1500 a year ($750 per semester), and I have one more year of college and then a year of grad school. So the first check they send me will go towards the U35JC, which will be replacing my graduation gift from 3 years ago

 

Windows Benchmark


U30JC I5 430M


Processor Calculations per second

6.7

Memory (RAM)Memory operations per second

5.9

Graphics Desktop performance for Windows Aero

4.7

Gaming graphics 3D business and gaming graphics

5.2

Primary hard disk Disk data transfer rate

5.8

U45JC-A1 I3 370M


Processor Calculations per second

6.7

Memory (RAM)Memory operations per second

5.9

Graphics Desktop performance for Windows Aero

4.5

Gaming graphics 3D business and gaming graphics

5.2

Primary hard disk Disk data transfer rate

5.9


Its seems like the new version of Asus U laptop is a good deal between the last generation.... I think down clock of the 310M appear in this test.

For Canadien customer you can buy U35JC after 4 August 2010

 

Cool benchmarks, thanks. That and the video walk-through convinced me to make a move on the U45JC.

I wish I had the room to go for a Sandforce SSD, but I opted for the Seagate Hybrid instead.

Any idea when this guy will be shipping. 8/4 would be a great birthday present.

Thanks for the benchmarks and videos.

 

I was about to answer you on the thread itself. My wife has the "Case Logic Neoprene Shuttle 13" case" and it fits my U30Jc perfectly, but it's just a neoprene sleeve, no handles. Costs $15-20 at Amazon HERE.
Her's is the first-gen two-pocket. This one only has one pocket. Her's is exactly THIS one in black. (Ignore the weird 3rd party seller asking $56!! They are $15-20 everywhere.) They come in lots of colors.

But any neoprene sleeve that works well for the 13" Macbook should fit your 13" ASUS very well.

 

And for comparison, the WEI scores on my U30JC-A1 (i3-350M 2.26 GHz):

CPU: 6.3
RAM: 5.9
2D:4.6
3D: 6.0
HDD (320): 5.8

You can see in his lower 2D & 3D scores the effect of his underclocked 310M. It can be "over"-clocked to my stock speed of:
Core: 625
Memory: 790
Shaders: 1530

Mine can be VERY overclocked (truly) to:
Core:764
Memory: 921
Shaders: 1721

His 3dMark06 score is probably 3400. Mine is usually 3750. O'Ced, I reach 4330 stably.

 

So do you do any gaming on it Quatro?Fans loud when stressed?
If so what games do you run?What FPS are you getting?and lastly what are the temps when gaming/OCing?

 

Nice! I'm sure you will enjoy the U35JC as much as I will.

Its going to be torture waiting 1 month for it!

 

Nah, sorry to disappoint, but I'm a real wuss when it comes to gaming. My time and patience are too limited.

I'm surprised you're even asking as the 310M is perhaps the bottom rung for game playing GPU's. Adequate but nothing fancy. The 310M pulling in 3750 in 3DMark06 (or 4330 o'ced) is hardly mind-blowing and certainly low-level compared to the HD5650.

It's more than adequate for me. I play HL2:E2 (I'm looking forward to part 3) and Halo 2, both of which scarcely push the GPU at all! (Oh, and Monkey Island SE ... which the IGP can run w/o even trying. )

HL2:E2 can push it a tiny bit. Fans on the U30Jc hardly even work hard on my unit. Very quiet. Fan air can get hot. But after playing HL2:E2 for an hour, GPU-Z reports the o'ced GPU temp to only be 65C. HWM reports internal temps reaching 70-73C. But that is on my U30Jc, which seems to run amazingly cool. Odysseus on his new U45Jc, found his 310M GPU idle temp to be 58C (mine is 45C) and his GPU temp hit 80C after a stint of L4D2.

Of course, I don't do anything to even be bothered with FPS.

But Anandtech HERE and Brandon at Expert Laptop Review HERE did test the GPU's FPS in several popular games. Brandon also o'ced his 210M (basically the same as the 310M) and gave his results HERE.

But I'm worthless to ask about such things!

Aww, you never know. It may be out in the next two weeks. Who knows?

 

That's cool
Since you seem to be the resident U series expert and actually ran 3DMARK06 I thought you might do some gaming on it.
I know the 310M is not great for gaming and was just wondering what games it can handle.
Thanks for the link

 

U-series expert? ... Actually, I cheat. I just read a lot as a hobby. :wink:

 

I've noticed two versions of the 310M
512MB and 1GB, and I'm guessing the 1GB version will perform slightly better but I can't find any performance/gaming info on it, any idea how they compare?
And thanks again for those links, it seems like the U30JC can game relatively well when you play with the settings.

 

I've ran a "few" games on my UL80VT (210M) and U30JC (310M). Mass Effect 2, Dragon Age, Demigod, Resident Evil 5, Sins of a Solar Empire, Titan Quest, Torchlight, Trine, Plants vs. Zombies and The Witcher are all playable, but some will require you to lower the in game graphics settings.

One game I did find unplayable was Sacred 2.

 

Thank you, eugenes. Your "few games" should certainly qualify as actual playing.

ME2 & DA? Wow. I had read much on these games and wondered how they would do on the 310M.

Were you able to see frame rates and what settings on them? Low on all? Medium on some?

Of course, HL2:E2 is childishly easy for the 310M, even with all settings maxed out.

I only have the 512MB version, and I don't push that, but I've read in tests that the bottleneck of the 310M is it's pipelines/bandwidth, -- the core itself, not the VRAM, so increasing the graphic memory doesn't really help that much.

 

Thanks for the 210M OC link! I knew people were doing it but its nice to see some actual comparisons. It reaffirms the view that the 210 -> 310 gap is much smaller than originally thought.

For those of us who only game occasionally, its a pretty solid compromise.

 

Oh, well, while we're on the o'cing topic, HERE's my attempt for the cause (o'cing the 310M).

 

CNet just reviewed the U33JC - Check it out Asus U33Jc-A1 (bamboo) Laptop reviews - CNET Reviews

Mr. Ackerman always is interesting to watch, he reminds me of a car salesman

EDIT: Now Anandtech and Engadget - http://www.anandtech.com/show/3832/asus-u33jc-bamboo-for-the-masses http://www.engadget.com/2010/07/29/..._campaign=Feed:+weblogsinc/engadget+(Engadget)

 

ME2 and DA are actually very well optimised. I only have to turn off AA.

I can try running some benchmarks between my UL80 and U30, but I think the difference in CPU will probably favor the U30 a bit.

 

It's just too bad that WiDi doesn't support HDCP and can't really stream 1080p content

 

I haven't really looked into WiDi, and it isn't particularly a feature I'm exclusively looking for. But yeah I can see how it would be a bummer.

 

Ok... Those reviews just convinced me to buy a U35 rather than a U33.

Any reviews of the U35 yet, on normal american sites, that run proper benchmarks?

 

Since the CPU, RAM, GPU, HDD & battery are IDENTICAL on the two units (U33Jc & U35Jc), benchmarks should be identical as well. What more do you want? Anandtech, typical of them, did an extremely thorough job. Just read that (minus the bamboo & solid-aluminum upper housing around the keyboard, thickness, USB 3.0, 2.0 MP webcam, BT and WiDi. ... oh, and the speakers projecting up from above the keyboard, where they should be.)

Come to think of it, when I consider the all-plastic housing of the U35Jc, tinny speakers facing down from the front, plus the loss of the items above, $150 extra seems like a great price for those extra features ... but that's just me.

 

From my experience with the XPS m1530 (had an all aluminum palmrest), I really did not like typing on it. It could have been the keyboard, yes, but having a piece of metal as your palmrest doesn't sound very comfortable...

 

I'm trying to decide between the U35JC and the U45JC, I know the main difference is the screen size and optical drive. My question is how much heavier and thicker is the u45jc from the u35jc I can't seem to get consistent product weight and size from different websites.

Because at this point I'm leaning towards the u45 but I'm also going back to school and don't want to lug a mother around either. So if it's to big then I'm for sure going with the U35.

Also is their any power differences I should know about as well?

 

The difference between a U45 and U35 should be about the same as the difference between UL80 and UL30. Basically the same notebooks with slightly different motherboards.

 

Different strokes, I suppose.

For me, my hands & palms FINALLY never sweat & stick on my brushed aluminum palm rest. They often did on my plastic palm rest models.

Yes, the aluminum palm rest is always slightly cool to the touch, but I like that. Feels refreshing!

 

Engadget review


ASUS U33Jc (Core i3-370M, NVIDIA 310M)

PCMarkVantage 5574

3DMark06 1860/3403

Battery Life 5:10

ASUS U30Jc (Core i3-350M, NVIDIA 310M)

PCMarkVantage 4841

3DMark06 1739/3686

Battery Life 4:10