Asus U36SD-A1 is now available for pre-ordering at GenTech, price is even cheaper than U36JC

I'm pretty sure the one from staples (-CBIL) has a bilingual keyboard.

 

Interesting point on the warranty differences. Could this indicate a difference in the quality of parts used? I.e. 1 year warranty units using "B-grade" parts compared to 2 year warranty using "A-grade"? (I used quotes, as I'm not sure how else to refer to them

 

Can confirm the Staples option is a Canadian bilingual keyboard.

Sh*t.

Gonna try it out for a bit but I think I'm gonna return this and wait for the A1 model instead. *sigh*

The keyboard is small enough as it is (but to Asus' credit, feels absolutely amazing) and losing the extra shift and return key space is pointless if I don't need the French layout.

$150 for an extra year of warranty and a proper keyboard? Fiiiiiiine take my money ya jerks.

 

anyone seen the screen quality of this yet?? Is it like the rest of the crappy asus/acer 13.1 screens?

 

With the possible GPU testing has the 520m been properly switching off/on ... I just want to verify its working properly before potentially buying this model

ive read via other site that its been a nightmare with current driver support.

 

Screen Wuality is on par with other asus 13.1 screens

viewing angles aren't that great either

just pikced up the staples version which is the same

 

It uses a cor17d8 display ID -

looks very washed out, and not very bright.

i think the 36jc used the same display. and a lot of individuals complained about the display not being great on that.

 

Here is my mini-review based on about 4 days ownership:
Purchased from GenTech. Stock configuration.

Following are my comments based on a few days usage:


PRO:

- Awesome form factor to performance ratio. This is why you buy this machine. Sexy.

- Low Weight

- Good Thermal Management (see below).

- Solid Feel; little flex in case.

- “Nano” coating.

- Long , very acceptable, Battery Life in nearly all usage scenarios.

- Solid Performance for Office / Web applications.

- Acceptable performance for games.





CON:

- My machine arrived with NO Operating System! Blank formatted 600MB Seagate HD only, single partition. (See below).

- Recovering the machine is a bear. ASUS ‘driver disc’ requires dozens (30+?) of reboots in order to restore all drivers from a freshly installed Win7 install.

- The LCD Panel is horrible. Poor viewing angles (partially offset due to high range of tilt on the hinges). Poor Color. I would have paid an extra $100-$200 for a better panel.

- The webcam is low resolution (not a surprise, in the spec), and I also believe is incorrectly positioned so that the user is a bit ‘low’ in the frame. (I’m a tall guy too)

- ASUS should have added backlit keyboard. They didn’t. Missed opportunity.

- ASUS should have used a smaller AC Brick, instead of the bigger-than-you’d-think-it-needs-to-be “Delta Electronics” low cost one. Missed opportunity to remove some bulk from my suitcase…

- Right Power-ON Key is a bit recessed making turning it on not as ‘smooth’ as should be.

- System BIOS has very few options. (bare bones stuff only – but that’s probably good for this machine)



Thermal:

“Normal” usage; little thermal concerns.

“Gaming” usage: Unit heats up on sides and bottom, but not so much on keyboard or palm rest area. Fans aren’t what I call loud; but you can hear them when gaming…



OS Scandal:

My machine arrived with a ‘blank’ partition, no OS installed at all. I chalk it up to poor ASUS QA. Credit and Kudos goes to Gentech/Ken for a solution that didn’t involve RMA-ing the unit (Good thing I have fast internet connection – involved about 4GB of D/L + moving .iso’s to USB sticks!). It took about 4-5 hours with literally 30-40 reboots between installing Windows and associated (but separate) ASUS drivers. I hope my experience on this is one-off.


Once I was up and running, I see no after affects.

(Other than, my ASUS “F9” Restore partition never existed and doesn’t exist now… but on the other hand, I have a single partition with limited crapware!).



Final Thoughts:

- I give this machine 3.5, maybe 4 stars. I’m disappointed with the LCD Panel, but generally happy with the rest of the machine.

- For me the ‘perfect’ U36SD machine would have been ASUS’s (not apples!) U36SD’s Industrial Design, Apple’s LCD Panel, with Backlight, and smaller AC Adapter… I’d be happy. 5 stars.

 

thx for the review. Disappointing just like all the other asus machines. Unless you get a FHD 1920x1080 screen, you're gonna get crap.

 

Obviously, you aren't a fan of the little Asus's. On the other hand, I have three my self and I have bought another four for grand daughters. We are all happy with our decisions and understand the trade off that must occur to keep the machines competitive. Like everything in life there are trade off's. It is difficult to find the perfect girl friend, car or house. Do your research and spend your money and I hope you find something that makes you happy but I disagree with your assumption.

I'll be returning to my home state next week and will place my order so that it arrives a few days later.

 

Well he isn't really lying.

I have a few asus notebooks and the n50vn cs2 has had the best display from the u30 the u31 and now the u36 that i have. quality was good on the n50 now i feel they have cheapend the display to make the rest fairly good.

But in reality the display should of been great.. whats the point of almost paying 1000$ CDN and getting a crap display, even the envy 14 non rediance is better

 

Gentech, and others, are there any alternative screens that we can use? Usually Asus's "business" laptops have better screens, and the P31SD is a very similar design.
ASUSTeK Computer Inc. - Commercial Notebooks- ASUS P31SD

Thoughts? I do recall the screen on the U36JC and it was... disappointing compared to my old MBP.

 

The U31 13.3" screen is better than the U36?

 

Just a quick google got me this for the U36:
ASUS U36 SERIES replacement Laptop LCD Screen from $64.99 Brand-new screens (never used).

Im skeptical

The company has gotten decent feedback from another user: http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...895-anyone-ever-ordered-laptopscreen-com.html

 

Update:Was able to improve the color situation, a bit, by turning up the "Saturation" using the Intel Graphics and Media Control utility. Moving it up to +9 helped the colors a bit..

 

no

they are on the same level of "crap"

I also had the acer 3820tg which had a auo screen and it wasn't very good at all. but the u36 seems very dull, not very bright, and the colours aren't crisp.

I tried vivid mode and it made it look even worse

I might be returning it

Positives:

Solid casing
awesome feeling
keyboard
hinge feels good

personally i like the track pad, much better than my hp envy trackpad!

 

I totally second this motion. If there's a better quality screen that's proven to slip into the U3x series, I'd gladly go that route. Not necessarily asking for IPS, just something better than a 140:1 contrast ratio without cutting battery life in half. One would think that with so many aftermarket computer parts available these days, good quality screens from non-sketchy sellers would be relatively simple to come by.


EDIT: Also, from this post 109 of this thread, how does the U36 screen compare to the U31. You seem to actually speak favorably of the U31 screen. Then again, who doesn't like things that are bright and warm?

 

Hmm - I think I would just plug it into an external monitor while at home but the screen really bothered me what's to stop me from replacing it with a macbook air (1440 x 900) screen?
I see it is not recommended by the sellers of replacement screens due to a possibility of the gpu not being able to handle the upgrade but the increased resolution isn't that huge. On the other hand a different connector may pose a challenge.

Any way my old Dell m1330 seems to have come back to life so I might hold off a bit longer on a replacement.

 

Just got mine. Its pumping out warm air quite frequently under moderate use (more so than my previous laptop). Is it possible that this could reduce the laptops overall life (increase failure rate)?

It was a bit pricey ~$1100. Might return it for something less expensive.

 

windowshopper

I was doing nothing on the laptop just on facebook and the temp was idling at 54C-59 and that was pretty IDLE doing nothing.

Abmient was 24C. It does run very warm- warmish


Kind of Dumb that Asus put the Vents towards the Front of the Laptop and not the back near the power plug.

Most people rest their hands near the front edge and thus i can feel the air more.


Cons -

Fan Placement
at IDLE high temps.

 

How can I install express gate on this?\

 

Anyone with a list of bloatwares on the u36sd? I ordered a u36sd with a clean install and the only programs from asus that I think I may install from the drivers page is power4gear hybrid and asus wireless utility (for bluetooth and wifi). Anyone recommend anything else that may be useful?

 

I would like to know this too. I thought the laptop came with it installed?

I've been pressing the left power button in all sorts of different combinations thinking my damn laptop was broken... The only thing it seems to do is change the performance of the laptop when it's already on.

I thought it was supposed to boot the laptop into ExpressGate when the laptop is off??

 

I am reading that Asus U36SD heats quickly and generates noise. How bad is this? I use the laptop on my lap often. I am really interested in this laptop but this heat/noise issue is my biggest concern. In Europe, they sell U36SD-RX series.

I am planning to use Windows 7 running VMWARE and multiple virtual machines running simultaneously(not more than 3)

The ones who own this laptop, how annoying is the heating/noise?
Thank you.

 

I am still waiting for this laptop even though it was purchased in June(!)

Anyways, there seems to be complaints about this lappy here and was wondering if it was just worth going to BB & get this deal that was mentioned on this forum for an Asus K53TA. Apart from the price (being half!), can someone tell me if it's a better deal? I don't think I can wait any longer ...

Here's the thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/601808-k53ta-best-deal-ever-could.html

(I plan on using 3d graphics as well as Adobe Suite for this laptop.)

 

I love my U36SD!

 

Instead of non stop chit chatting yadda yadda, why not make an official U36 owner's lounge.

 

Any complains with the heat or noise? I want to buy U36SD but I am concerned with this. Thanks.

 

Idle temps are really not that great

expect idle temps above 45C

 

Gentech, did we find out if changing the thermal compound helped at all?

 

Update:


Was running 1080p video avatar on my asus notebook.

Intel video graphics

temp Core 0 59C
Core 1 60C
Package 60C


Heat: Seems around the USB3.0 area by the home, enter button .

Under the laptop same position, it seems mostly concentrated around the right area.

Fan is fairly quiet.

Most of the upper case is cool to the touch, and very lil warmth right side of mouse like very little warmth.



Test 2:

Decoding video.. using xilisoft to mp4 HD.
I opened up adobe illustrator at the same time as the decoding using high performance power mode.

Heat jumped to #0 - 74 --- #1 76
Package - 76
Notebook felt warm in the same locatiosn as above, but fan was raelly cool still.

As a Comparison: Using my Hp Envy 15 doing the same test temps were 64-65

One big difference? The HP underneath was actually HOT HOT to the touch.

 

ONE thing:


Speakers blow goats big time.

 

Is there any ultracompact computer that not has any problems with that? Its tiny so...
If i dont want a fan noise I go for tablet... Hehe

 

Can we say Asus U36SD is cooler and more silent compared to other ultracompact thin/light laptops?

 

Cisco

Yes.

Even at the High tempuratures the fan noise was really really quiet.

 

What about the harddisk? I hear some people complain that the HDD is noisy. Do you recommend replacing it with SSD? Actually in september Asus UX21 will come out. Waiting for it is a better option? My problem with SSD is, I need plenty of disk-space and with SATA, I get may get more space then SSD.
Thanks.

 

to be honestly the 640gb 5400 rmp is not noisy.. maybe if it wazs a 7200rmp drive it would make noise. you do hear some seeking noise but that is normal with most drives.

I personally woudn't switch to SSD for another two years. Every user review i have read or people update they seem more prone to failure. I'd rather trust platter drives with my device data than SSD.

i am picky very picky and so far besides the higher than normal temps that i was used to and the display not being the best out there it's not a bad machine.

 

One more last question before I place my order, I know this has been mentioned even in this form but there are different reviews. Which part of the laptop gets warm? I often use it on my lap if I am at home. Is this a concern? Do the keyboard or the lower section of keyboard where you put your hands/palms while typing gets warms as well?
I am also picky and I hate to make wrong decisions especially if it is a laptop that I will use often. For me, the display is not critical.

You said it is not a bad machine but can you say it is a good machine?

Thanks.

 

After a while i have noticed that the bottom gets warm - not blazing hot, but warm.

but mostly on the right side i have noticed thus far. around the usb 3.0 section .

On high performance it gets a bit hotter . not to the point of burning your lap though.

Compared to my HP 15 envy gen 2, its cooler the bottom part. my hp envy will get very hot as if the heat isnt' dispensing well or something.

is it a good machine? Yep it is 3.5/4 stars out of 5

Is it worth 900.00 bucks?, for 900 bucks i would of expected a brighter lcd with better colours at least . not top of the line, but at least middle of the pack.

but that smy opinion.

 

Great feedback, I know I said last question for my previous question but the heat is still a concern for me. Did you make a research before buying this laptop and between which models you hesitated and purchased this? Do you feel pitty that you bought it? Do you see any better alternative?

Thanks

 

Just bought this computer yesterday, haven't had a chance to play with it and fully tinker with it, but sofar I am in love with it, I've played with the one in the Microsoft store for a bit , I got a free Xbox 360 with it >_> Kinda felt like an impulse buy lol. Other Owners is there anything I should know about the computer? like anything I should be aware about or reasons not to keep it?

 

I have purchased this online yesterday. I have chosen the silver colour. Any comments on that? People who have it in black; would you rather get it in silver instead of black? In Europe, both colours are easy to find.

Thanks.

 

Anyone know where i can find a good deal on an extra 4 or 6 cell battery for the u36sd?

 

Asus will release the U36S ultra-thin laptop in Europe next month. This ultra-thin laptop has a fingerprint-free Magnesium-Aluminum alloy cover, just 19 mm thick and weight 1.9kg.

The Asus U36S laptop is powered by a 2.7 GHz Core i7-2620m processor, 4GB of DDR3 memory, 160GB solid state drive, and a GeForce GT 520M 1GB graphics card.

This Asus U36s laptop packs a 13.3-inch LED-backlit display with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels, a 0.3-megapixel webcam, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0, USB 3.0, Gigabit Ethernet LAN, a HDMI output, and a 8-cell battery.

The Asus U36S laptop runs Windows 7 Professional 64 bit OS and price of €1,299.

 

pjc123@ Where did you get that info?
I live in Denmark and i've been waiting for the u36sd to come with a i7 for a long time.. i've been writing and calling every store and even ASUS but haven't gotten any good answers..
Seems pretty expensive though.. Do you if it will be available with a hybrid instead of the SSD?

 

That completely and totally sucks. I hope that's at least with VAT. From what country was the press release you read?


I may have missed this, but have any U36sd owners done combined cpu and gpu testing for throttling yet? It seems to be dealing really well with the i5 heat so far.

 

I just happened to notice the article today (Dated yesterday). I am not sure what the significance is, but note that it is listed as a u36s, not a u36sd:

Asus U36S ultra-thin laptop coming to Europe next month | Laptop and Netbook Specifications

 

Hey guys,

I've had two u36sd's now and have the same problem on both. Can someone else help confirm this and make sure yours works. When copying files to/from a usb 3.0 hard drive it resets after some time of copying, sometimes up to half an hour. This is a warning for you guys, I hope you guys have don't have this problem and if you do you should contact asus or whoever you bought it from to deal with it.

 

Have you used the 3.0 hard drive on another 3.0 machine so that you can completely eliminate the hard drive as the problem? Are you getting an error message and what do you mean "reset"?

 

The usb drive works fine on another computer. I mean reset as in the drive disconnects and reconnects in windows