Asus U41JF, U31JG

Im sure that it will still be worth it, depending on the usage youre looking for.

If you need a notebook thats going to handle minimal video-intensive applications, the Sandy Bridge cpu is the one to go for.

However, as soon as you add a dedicated graphics card the sandy bridge gpu shuts off, and even while its on its performance is nowhere near a dedicated gpu.

If there were a notebook released with an Nvidia gpu and optimus technology that ALSO had a sandy bridge cpu, that might be something to really consider.

 

I want this for college BUT i want it to play games Like Starcraft 2 and some MMos but with good battery life . I am waiting for core i5 SB (?) and USB 3.O in the next u 41 or w/e

 

I'm from Europe, so I have no idea.

I've been waiting to buy a new laptop for almost a year and when I saw Asus u41jf then I understood that it is the right time to buy. And the step from core duos to arrandale processors was much bigger that from arrandale to sb. The sb is much better if you need more graphic power from integrated card (no need because of 425m) or if you need more battery power (u41jf can last at least 6h with wireless on, for me it's enough). And finally, you can't be sure that they will release 14" slim and powerful sb notebook the next month. Maybe you'll have to wait a few months or even more.

 

Actually. the performance difference from arrandale to SB is in the ballpark of 15-50%.

Im still waiting for it, since I still use a core2duo and would definitely need something with more battery and more power than I currently have, the Igpu is a nice touch, but its a no feature, since the power is still in the low side, and I dont want to downgrade from the current 4670m that I have now.

 

yeah i want to wait. ASUS has the n 50 something SB but the battery life is to low i need 9 + hrs of life but with a good gpu to play star craft and mmos. The U41 can do this now but i want to wait untill it gets an i5 SB that will be nuts.

 

no wonder the battery is that low, its only a 48wh battery

 

this is the one i am talking about i wanted this really (switch i7 with the I5) bad but i cant get it do to the battery Review Asus N53SV Notebook - Notebookcheck.net Reviews its a same.

 

WWWuser, thanks for writing that review and linking it here. It seems like it's very difficult to find information on this laptop.

I was disappointed to hear that the keyboard flexes on the right side. I tried a few Asus notebooks at Best Buy not long ago and one K-series had a very flexible keyboard while the U43 was perfectly fine. I was hoping the U41 would use the U43 keyboard construction.

I would love to see a summary video of the laptop that includes a bit about the extent of the keyboard flex. I understand you're busy but it can't hurt to ask. I wonder if the flex is mild enough that a gentle typist wouldn't be bothered by it.

Also is the screen housing as delicate as it looks? It appears to be incredibly thin and made of plastic. Do you think a U41 buyer would be wise to use multiple layers of protection when traveling?

I suppose the U36 would be a decent alternative for me to look into, although the slightly smaller screen and meager 310M graphics represent a step down from the U41.

 

That's not my review, I just incidentally found it
U41 has some minor keyboard flex, but it definitely can't be described as "very flexible keyboard".
I've just measured the screen's thickness and it's 6mm, so yes, it's quite thin.

 

btw is the top part of the U41 made of plastic or is it like the U36 made of a metal alloy? I know its a dumb question, but better be safe then sorry

 

looks like brushed aluminum

 

I just came across ASUS U41JF here in Norway and apparently you can choose between a glossy or a matte screen.

I really hope the matte trend picks up as I dont understand this trend with glossy screens.

 

Its no trend simply that glossy gives you more color and brightness, the screen is the more expansive part of any pc. So there are corners to be cut.

 

placed an order on this.

hope i'll like it.

 

Are there any rumors about sandy bridge updates?

@nickem: do you have an online shop where to buy the matte? did you see it in person and how would you describe the quality if so?

thanks!

 

There arent any rumors, but everyone changes all their line to the new chips as soon as they are available, there will be some that will remain with the older chips, but those are the cheapest lines. And the U series is not intended to be cheap.

 

well considering the environment you use your laptop in (library, offices, unis, at home), the glossy screens are horrendous as they produce too much reflection.

Each to his own I guess, but if you need to be productive in bright environments, glossy is definately not the way to go if you dont want to endlessly adjust the screen and/or head position.

 

Any word on a U41 Sandy bridge Core i5?

 

according to the guys at xoticpc none, but they will come. they have to come

 

AH yeah guess i will just wait it out some more.

 

It seems a good number of retailers are now showing that these are in stock. Anyone received theirs yet, or at least got a shipping notice?

 

found another review
Îáçîð è òåñò íîóòáóêà ASUS U41JF. ×åðíàÿ ñòðåëà.

its in russian though so just translate it

Also forgot to post the link to the non-glossy model someone asked for earlier:

i3 processor: http://www.komplett.se/k/ki.aspx?sku=610144#extra
i5 processor: http://www.komplett.se/k/ki.aspx?sku=610145#extra

They only ship to Norway though, but they have online-shops in Sweden, Belgium, Ireland, Netherlands and Denmark (those countries might have other shipping policies).

 

thing that makes me worry is that the old core i5 just become available, could be a longer wait to see sb on u41.

 

the thing is that the 1st models from U series to come equipped with the 1st gen core series was the U30/40/50 then came the U33... the U35... now its the turn for the U36 and the U31

 

Just got mine today (u41jf-a1).

In the process of deleting the useless stuff.
First laptop in a while, didn't know they added so much software. Hard to decide which are useful to keep, which to delete.

 

Would you mind taking some pictures of it?
More specifically comment / picture the front of it (Near the touchpad)
From the pictures I can find of it online it's where it differs mostly from the other U's (30,35) It looks like it has some sort of bendy, glittery look in the front and looks rather.. uninteresting on that part. Such as seen in the picture below;

http://techinstyle.tv/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/u41jf-1.jpg

 

Oh just a fresh install of windows, then you can put the battery life saving program and... yeah thats all. aside the drivers off course

 

No word yet on when the i5 version of the U41 will be available in the US?

 

Asus' super hybrid engine technology is brilliant! I've been playing with its options and found some interesting things. By changing the multiplier SHE technology adjusts the frequency from ~900Mhz (battery saving) to 3.2Ghz (high performance). It seems that SHE overclocks the processor, as its base frequency is 2.53Ghz and 2.8Ghz with Turbo Boost on. The best thing is that the relationship between core speed and laptop's noise is clearly seen, so I can simply reduce the frequency, it warms less and the laptop is more quiet! (I'm talking about heavy usage here as it's absolutely quiet under normal usage. For example now, as I am writing it the only thing I can hear is the hard drive. It seems that my next purchase will be an ssd disc)

 

Is it easy to replace the hard drive with SSD on the U31JG?

 

I have got mine U31JG and replaced the harddrive with a 120 GB SSD, it was easy.

 

Wow, that's a pretty high speed increase for an OEM program like SHE. I don't recall reading about this ability with the U35. Does SHE monitor clockspeeds or are your readings from Task Manager?

 

Does anyone know if the Sandy Bridge cpus are going to make a big performance difference on notebooks like this?

Aka is it worth waiting for?

 

For monitoring clockspeeds, multipliers I'm using CPU-Z program, for temperatures - HW Monitor. In SHE you can only see (and control as well) maximum and minimum processor state in percentage.

 

Does the battery get better? I have used the U31JG for two days. It runs about 2-3 hours in saving mode on the battery just surfing the web.

 

There is something terribly wrong, just format the pc install windows and add the nvidia verde drivers, the problem might be that the gt 415m is always due to a bogus driver

No one knows the performance of the SB dual cores (the ones that are going to be fitted in the U series are those).

the problem is what are your tasks with the pc? The tasks that are sure as hell going to make a difference are these:

Video encoding and decoding
Photoshop
3d professional software, like lightroom
games
math software, like matlab
statistical software, like eviews
hardcore excel, macro and compiling.

Since I do that kind of stuff, except the video part and the 3d pro programs, Im in the waiting line, otherwise, get one

 

For anything video intensive the dedicated gpu will switch on, right? Wont that take over the gpu on the SB and make the SB run like any other cpu?

 

With light web browsing I can get 6-7h. Of course my battery is 8 cell, 5600 mAh, but still, something's not right. You should really check your configurations.

 

probably if nvidia dont screw up with the next optimus drivers, which is something very likely.

and there is a program for desktop that I dont remember the name makes the use of the igp for the decoding, encoding... tasks impossible if you have the horrible optimus

 

Are there any laptops that are equalent to the U41JF?

 

there is the SB equipped thinkpad edge e420s

it starts at 750 and comes with:

- i3/i5/i7

- AMD 6630 (so much more gpu power than the current U41)

- and the possibility to add a SSD, the model is the intel mSATA SDD310, its fairly small and - with this you can have the speed of the SSD and the storage of the 2.5´ HD

- magnesium alloy chassis

- 4.1 pounds and 1.2 inches thick

Im leaning towards this one, it comes out in march or april.

There is also the Sony Vaio SA

which is a 13.3´´ and comes with:

- i3/i5/i7

- AMD 6630 (so much more gpu power than the current U41)

- 3+ pounds

 

Does anyone know if there is a black U31JG in the USA? It's on Asus's website, but I don't see any sites offering the black model for preorder.

Is it possible that the U31JG-A1 is silver only, and black is a different model/spec entirely?

 

no there is the model, but I dont see any retailers with one.

but you can go for the U36, its thinner and lighter, with worse gpu

 

I wish I can wait for those laptops.
Do you think the Asus U41JF would be better then the Acer Aspire TimelineX 4820TG?

 

Damn dude i am thinking about getting this Acer Aspire TimelineX 4820TG why did you do that Lol i'll wait some more tho cause it dosent have BT USB 3.0 Or SB if a new version of that comes out i will deff buy it if asus is taking along time with the U.

 

Hmm maybe I'll wait a bit more.

I'd rather have the better GPU (should be a much much better gpu according to rumors) and save money with the u31jg. U36 is just a $200 more expensive U35 in my eyes, don't need a metal chassis or super-thin/light.

 

The 4820tg does have a slightly more powerful gpu, still the 3820tg is the better buy, no doubt about it. The U41 comes very close to the 4820tg.

I would get the 4820tg just because of the AMD gpu, it has better drivers, and there is none of that hassle that is optimus and its buggy features.

 

Interesting Models, lets keep that list going!

 

If you know how to use it, optimus becomes your friend, not your enemy
P.S. that means I didn't have any problem with optimus, it's working as it should

 

I agree with WWWuser. Back then ATI drivers and software were known to have troubles. Maybe they got better in the recent years.

Asus U41JF - i3 + Geforce 425 vs
Acer 4820TG - i5 + ATI 5650

Is there any other difference I should add?