Asus U80 Hands-on!

Oh yes most certainly. What I meant is that comfort-wise, aluminum just doesn't feel right when it gets cold lol Mind you, it'd get warmer faster too but >.>

Not to worry, I've been dealing with extreme temperature and technology dating as far back as floppy discs so I know the risks of them

 

i'll have it in my hands first before i start worrying how to deal with canadian winters lol

 

That would be dating yourself Then again, if I admit to booting from 5 1/4 floppy discs to load my OS I'd be guilty of the same thing.

On topic, I wonder we get better overclocks and better product longevity in cooler climates.

 

I posted a link to the ASUS PC SHOW flyer in Singapore earlier. They have updated with a flyer that has info on the U80v. Thought you all might find this informative.

Edit: Note it does list a price (which is pretty steep) but I believe that to be in Singapore dollars which are valued below the dollar.

 

A direct conversion would put the U80v at around 1180 USD. That's including the Singapore GST though. I wonder how much of a difference the price will be here.

 

The choice of processor is quite disappointing. Assuming that this model is priced around $1100 then a model with a P8xx processor and bigger hard drive may very well end up costing north of $1300. That would be quite a steep price...

 

i don't think it will be that much. the person at the stand said it'd be less then 1000 and engadet said it'd be like 900. If it is a t series processor I think it'd cost more then.

 

I assume there will be other configurations when they hit US resellers. I wonder if any of the Asus guys like GenTech will be able to tell us when they are going to arrive?

 

Here is some interesting news (maybe even rep worthy )

Asus posted a FAQ and File download for the U80 on 06/11/09.

Best Buy U80A
VGA Driver is Intel so that is the 4500 HD GFX card.

Non Best Buy U80A
VGA Driver is Intel

U80V
ATI Radeon HD 4570 Graphics Driver

I would think then that these notebooks should be around the corner, end of this month or early next month.

The manual also mentions an Asus U81A but I cannot find anything on this on the net other than the driver download. VGA is Intel.

The manual also says the mousepad is multitouch. I do not know if this was mentioned by anyone.

Source:
http://support.asus.com/search/search.aspx?keyword=u80&SLanguage=en-us - Asus forum search
http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?modelname=U81A&SLanguage=en-us - Asus forum

 

how do you know which version best buy is getting?

 

the dealer inform me that there is a late production from asus. it will arrive and sold in Ind late this month. aaaaarrrggh. same old Asus. always late.
I think the price in Indonesia is about US$ 1100 - 1200. for the P8600 Processor.

 

It says that in the link I added at the bottom. Best Buy U80A.

I was going to get the Lenovo Y450 but I am utterly sold on this Asus U80V.

 

Here is some info on the U20

Price - ~$999.00
Due - 07/01/2009

Specs:
U20A-A1 Notebook computer with Windows Vista Home Premium;
Intel Pentium M Processor SU2700 (1.3 GHz) with Mobile Intel GS45 Express Chipset;
4GB DDR2 800 MHz SDRAM (2 x SODIMM sockets);
12.1" WXGA Resolution 1280x800, LED backlight, Color-Shine (Glare-type), Asus Splendid Video Intelligent Technology, AI Light Sensor embedded; Embedded Intel GMA X4500MHD Graphics;
320GB 5400 RPM 2.5" SATA Hard Drive & 5.25" DVD Super Multi Double-Layer Optical Drive;
8-in-1 card reader (SD, MMC, MS, MS-Pro, xD, mini SD with adapter, MS-Duo, MS-Pro Duo via adapter);
1.3 Mega Pixel web camera;
Integrated 802.11a/b/g/n, Built-in Bluetooth V2.1+EDR, Intel Wireless WiFi Link 5100 ABGN, 10/100/1000 Base T;
Built-in speaker and microphone, SRS Audio;
6-cell Battery & 19V DC, 2.1 A, 40W AC Adapter;
Optical mouse & Carrying bag included.
I/O Ports include Express card slot, Microphone-in jack, Headphone-out jack, VGA port/Mini D-sub 15-pin for external monitor, (3) USB 2.0, RJ45 LAN Jack for LAN insert, HDMI. Software includes Trend Micro Internet Security 2009, Adobe Acrobat Reader 8.0, Power2Go, Asus Utilities.

 

So the online resellers are the ones getting the U80V?

Oh well I was planning on buying online anyways >.>

 

hopefully it will come out july1st along with the other u series

 

Well I'm in no rush, but if it's out in July, we should have a few reviews and stuff for when it comes time for me to purchase so the sooner the better lol

 

hehe yeah
if the u20 is priced at 999, should the u80 be cheaper because it's not an ultraportable?

 

Well depends. The U20 also has lesser specs than the U80V IIRC. So where one gains price for portability, the other gains for specs.

 

I imagine the U80V-XX will be $1199 with the 320GB HDD, 4GB Memory, ATi GFX.

Edit: 320GB HDD not 500

 

well it won't be too ridculous i guess if they include a good processor. not the t6400 offered in the magazine. t6400 is just abysmal

 

The T6400 isn't bad lol Unless you're a RTS person or you like GTA4, for still a large portion of games, a 2.0GHz Core 2 Duo will be considered adequate. My friend has a 2.0GHx Core 2 Duo from 2 generations ago(the T5750) and he plays FEAR, FEAR 2, Prince of Persia, Bioshock and other pretty decent titles.

I would however like a P8600 for the potential of longer battery life

 

its funny how we still don't realisticly know how much extra battery life a laptop will offer for intel TXXXX and PXXXX offerings.

 

Depends on what you'll be doing. The lower TDP wattage won't matter as much if the CPU isn't really used. Idle I'd say the difference isn't significant, but at somewhat load, it could vary from 10 to 30 minutes(30 being at high load).

One thing is for sure is that the lower TPD makes the CPU more efficient and draws less power and has less heat output. Less heat out put=good on a skimmer notebook like the U80V

 

damn but that line draws thin when we take in bigger giants like the sager 8662.. like the tXXXX to the pXXXX i'm still torn in between because people say gaming on battery's is impossible. I want performance but i want battery life. If i can't game on battery, then i feel there's no point to get the higher TDP processor thats faster.

 

Well I don't want to game on battery >.>

However, having a good battery life for regular use on a laptop of such performance is hard unless the manufacturer implements switchable graphics or some other form of energy saving method(like the Alienware smart bay thingy I think).

 

Price in Indonesia from asus brochure.


UX50V-UX50V14DPM
US$ 1119

su3500, geforce 105m 512 MB,15.6" LED backlight 16:9 panel, 4 GB DDR2 RAM, 320 GB HDD SATA, 4 cell batt, 2.6 kg.



U80V-U80V24DPM
US$ 1099

P8600, ATI HD 4570 dedicated 512MB,14.0" HD led backlight panel 16:9, 3 GB DDR2 RAM, 320 GB HDD sata, 6 cell batt, 2.15 kg

 

oo so the U80v is alot cheaper than the ux50v... wait... why would a smaller laptop housing a 4570 and a p8600 be cheaper than a ux50v?

So.. lost the ux50v is 15.6 an the u80v is a 14". You'd think that the u80v would be more expensive because of the extra 1.6" size difference... but no.

 

it's form factor. The UX models are a bit thinner and have a bigger screen, and both of those factors combine to make a higher price tag (even though personally, I'd much prefer the U80V)

 

i'm hoping that asus stays true to what they told engadget..

 

I don't really mind the price a few hundred +/- then what endgadet said unless it is like 1500 with crappy specs. I am hoping for a p8600+ or the t95xx and a 500gig drive and that will make my life

 

In terms of pricing I can confirm the USA version U20-A1 will be around $950 to $1000 (not more than $1100).

I do not know yet about the U80V and its configurations, so as a guess based on the U20 I would put it at $1199 to $1299 for a decent configuration.

Are there any alternatives to the U80V? I will probably get one as soon as it launches but I am wondering about my options.

I love the styling of the U80V and it has a decent enough GFX card. It does seem to rip some styling elements from what I consider the nicer notebook designs on the market

Barrel Hinge - Sony Vaio
Chiclet keys - Sony Vaio / MB
Aluminium Body - MB
Backlit Keys - Alienware

 

i like the u80 cuz of the backliet keyboard.

 

Sweet. That thing just changed my mind over an impending XPS 13 purchase. Asus wasn't on my mind back then but the U80 is a real deal. I'm new here to the forums. Hope you guys could help me out.

1) How good is the ATI Radeon 4570 for DX10 gaming and how does it fare against Nvidia's 9400M? I won't be playing Crysis on this but probably COD or Oblivion.

2)Is the backlit keyboard really useful for low light typing? I've read that the keyboard's not fully backlit-it just highlights the keys and not the characters.

 

Would like to agree with nicksti. I've been searching for an ultraportable with a decent GFX card and the U80V is one result. Are there other laptops that is equivalent with it?

 

i'm from singapore.. i just bought u80v at the recent pcshow09...

specs are duo T6500 (2.1ghz?) , 14'hd screen , 320gb hd, 4gb ram, ati mobility radeon HD4570: vram 512mb...vista premium... (and i have a blue brochure in the package which mentions windows 7 upgrade program ^^)

bought it for sgd1728... (which is around usd1191.23 using xe.com)
includes u80v, carrier bag, mouse, microsoft office (home & student)
*my was a special deal...

 

Are there any reviews about any of the U series yet? The U50vg looks really nice but I can only find the announcements and some pictures not the real experience ppl had. The only thing i dislike is the glossy look... wish they would change that. They should bring out an aluminum version like apple does. Also the screens it self all got glossy. I have a matte screen now on my asus and like it. I see the screen itself mirror a lot in the pictures. Isn't this annoying while using the laptop?

 

@howitzer: To answer your questions...

1) the HD4570 has proven itself to be a surprisingly fast GPU despite its low on paper specs. It can handle games quite well as long as the resolution isn't high otherwise its 64bit bus becomes a bottleneck.

2) For most people backlight keyboards are a gimmick as I've noticed that in the dark the light from the screen is usually enough to show me the keys. The backlit keyboard does add some extra help though and it looks nice ^_^


@joly: Hey joly, mind posting a quick review if you get the time?

Oh and fi you do, mind doing me a favor? Could you run Everest on the machine and screenshot the GPU page for me please? I would juts like to see something thanks ^_^

 

If you need a 14" that is more on the gaming side the Asus N81 is a better option. The U80 is the nicer looking one but it takes a gaming hit.

On notebookcheck.net here is where the GFX cards rank

NV 9400M G - #100
ATi 4570 - #65 (U80)
ATi 4650 - #30 (N81Vp)

The design of the N81 is such a deal breaker to me I am willing to take the gaming hit. I am not a heavy gamer anyway but I do enjoy games. I would have loved to get a 4650 in the U80 but the U80 is gorgeous.

Source:
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Graphics-Cards-Benchmark-List.844.0.html

 

jolynke, does it actually get 6 hours of battery life? Damn I hope when it comes to the states it has the p8600+ or the t9xxx =/

 

to forever_melody: is the attached the scrnshots you wanted? I don't know anything about everest... too geeky for me.... just tried to get wad you want....

as for battery life wise... i haven't really managed to get the battery charged a few times for it to get to the stable stage...

but for the 1st time i charged (8hrs)... the batt lasted me about 3hrs+++ in power4gear entertainment mode... haven't really tried out other modes & other adjustments yet..

i bought this notebook like only 2 days ago?? haha.. still got plenty of stuff to learn & discover...

pros: cool backlight keyboard (chocolate style), illuminated touchpad, automatic light adjustment..
cons: glossy-ness, attracts fingerprints/palm prints easily ( i think i can play tictactoe on the surfaces ) ...

hardware wise: its quite hard for me to understand the terms...
no idea how to review it...

 

Found a very brief review in Hungary.
http://ipon.hu/elemzesek/asus_u80v_mindenbol_egy_kicsi/457/

There are some results at the 2nd page. I am not familiar with the numbers. Any comments, guys?

 

It should be quite a bit better than the 9400M G. Remember that the 9400M G is an integrated GPU and also lacks dedicated memory as a result.

 

any translation?

 

If you really want to make a quick review:

You can just give your impressions of the machine, I think that is an important part of the review. If everything works as expected or encounter problems etc., if the screen is good, if the build is solid or it's creaking etc.

For the performance/numbers, you can have a look at the reviews in the main directory. I'm sure CPU performance (e.g., WPrime) and GPU performance (3DMark06) is what most people are interested about in this area.

 

I used google translate. Not 100% correctly translation, but it will help to get a rough idea.

 

so.. no bluetooth? weird.

 

jolynke: I would copy and paste the format that reviewers use here and fill in your own information. Start off with your model and specs. Take some pics of your notebook at the usual angles (closed, open, front, left and right side, back, underneath). Check hinges for creaks and keyboard for flexing. And finally run benchmarks on it.

1. Your model and specs.
2. Pics
3. Your impressions of the build quality, keyboard, screen, heat, etc.
4. 3Dmarks, WPrime scores
5. Conclusion

 

congrats to jolynke for new lappy. Now we must await his review ;d

 

Very helpful indeed. Now I know what lappie to buy once my loaned out money comes back to me.

 

The product page for the U80 at the ASUS website says it has bluetooth (V 2.1+EDR). I could be wrong, but maybe different retail models will have different configurations.