Asus U80 Hands-on!

I think people are overreacting to a single review.

The review doesn't mention anything about the notebook actual being cheap, other than the fact that it's plastic(I only read that it "feels cheap"). LOTS of notebooks use plastic(Dells, HPs, Toshibas etc.) so it's not really a bad thing. Only few notebooks use either Carbon Fibre or Metal. Boh of these are considered high end materials(they only use to appear on business class laptops) and they would jack the price of the U80 to astronomical proportions if they were used so I don't see the big deal about plastic >.>

Secondly, the review spends half its time on the looks of the U80, which is a completely subjective thing. Judging from photos, lots of people found the U80 as a good looking laptop so that's a moot point.

The only real thing this review puts against the U80 is the display. However, I'm pretty sure we were expecting mediocre(i.e. medium) quality at best if we were expecting a ~1000$ notebook, not a nice LED RBG display >.>

 

Thats true the review mainly focused on the neg of the cheap plastic. However there was a small paragraph saying how he couldn't say anything bad about performance because it had the t9400 processor which is pretty good and 4 gigs of ram. I dont really know much about the graphics card though. The back lit keyboard however he didn't seem to surprised about that?

I hate how the u20 and u50 are coming out end of this month. W/e happened to the u80? Just my luck lol

 

we're all in this together.. oh well. so long as it looks good and performs well. i treat my electronics with extreme care (except for my cell. that thing's taken so many falls onto pavements haha)

 

well lets just say that the 4570 won't be playing crysis or any graphically intensive games with chance of a higher resolution or high graphics.

 

Well the HD4570 performs well at lower resolution. If you check the Dell Studio 1555 thread, it scores around 4k in 3d mark06 and can play games almost as well as a 9600M GT DDR2(at lower resolutions of course) so it's a good midrange card. However, the HD4570 in the Studio 1555 is GDDR3 while this one is DDR2 so idk how the performance will be affected :/

 

it should be quite a bit worse, the 4570 in the F6VE gets about 3200 3Dmark so i can only imagine what this one will look like.

 

yes, but they can release a better version (give it a new name) of it with an aluminum casing and matte screen I just would like a slim nice version laptop and the U serie doesn't look good enough for me yet. I don't care if it would be more expensive. I just don't want to buy a mac (don't want to run os x and mac keyboard layout in windows) or sony vaio (put so many crap on your laptop that you already need to reinstall) I think i also prefer to wait till windows 7 is out.

 

But to be honest the review itself was not very thorough or well done at all. Some of the weaknesses of the Asus U80V were lumped with things that are being done with all notebooks now, or even more laughable not a fault with the notebook.

"Its 4GB of DDR2 memory is ample - despite losing a gigabyte to the 32-bit OS and its memory addressing requirements" - this is Asus' fault?

"Measuring 14in across and with a modest resolution of 1,366 x 768 pixels, it doesn't provide the most spacious of Windows desktops, nor the last word in image quality." - Everyone and their granny is making sub 15" notebooks with the same 16:9 ratio 1366x786 resolution.

The ending paragraph was a laughable summary of the review:

All things considered, though, the U80V puts in a pretty lacklustre performance. It's particularly well appointed with novelties, but the essentials have been all but forgotten. A mediocre display, average keyboard, uninteresting looks - it's a damning assessment for a notebook that's meant to be "exquisitely crafted". No matter how fast the processor, or how shiny the lights, Asus will have to price the U80V ruthlessly to make it a real competitor.

For a 14" notebook the U80V gives 5hrs battery, weighs 5lbs, and is gaming capable. I really would like to see another reviewer who is accustomed to 1366x786 resolution sub 15" notebooks comment on the display quality. Out of curiousity, who are these competitors that Asus will have to undercut in price in order to sell units?

 

well we can only wait for the other review that is due today

 

ooo.. so exciting ;D

 

Hi all.... Here's the long-awaited review from me.... I've tried my best to write my first review ever.... Hope it helps.. Nothing too technical.. Pictures are taken with my 5mp omnia.. so pls bear with it if its not clear... also, ignore my red stool..

1. Your model and specs:

Asus U80V
Intel Core2 Duo Processor Penryn T6500 (2.1GHz, 800MHz, 2MB L2)
Intel Next-Gen Wireless-N 5100ABGN network connection 802.11a/b/g/n
Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
ATI Mobility Radeon HD4570 with 512MB dedicated VRAM and up to 2047MB HyperMemory
14.0” HD (1366 x 768) Colourshine & Crystalshine LCD with LED Backlit, 16:9 aspect ratio
4GB DDR2 RAM & 320GB SATA HDD
DVD Super-Multi Double Layer Drive & Integrated Bluetooth 2.0
Built-in 1.3 Mega pixels web-camera & 8-in-1 Card Reader

2. Pics:


























3. Your impressions of the build quality, keyboard, screen, heat, etc:

Build quality: As mentioned in PCPRO’s review... The plastic construction near at the hinges do feel a little cheap to touch... But it is exactly that kind of material that made the notebook (a bit, maybe) lighter... Other parts feel quite sturdy.... Another point to take note is the glossy surfaces.. Though it makes it classy-looking , i rather have it matt (but, no choice).... It will & has attracted finger-prints, palm-prints or even wrist-prints... == Like i said previously... I can play tic-tac-toe on the surfaces.

Keyboard: Nice chocolate –style keyboard. Very comfy to use. Disadvantage: Might trap dust in the “canals” of the keyboard in the future... Right shift is shorter than normal... But it’s alright for someone like me who has small hands... LED backlit is cool.. but i find it a bit too glaring that i choose to switch it off..

Screen: 14”.... just the right size for a student like me.. haha.. Screen can be very bright with its LED-backlit display... But there’s the light sensor thingy beside webcam which adjusts the brightness according to your surroundings, which it is quite useful (i think so). However, sometimes, the sensor gets a little too sensitive & i observe the screen brightening and dimming back and forth very quickly... which is very irritating..

Heat: Not at all heaty on the keyboard and the part where we rest our wrists.. (fyi: my previous notebook was an Acer..lol..).. Warm air can be felt from the air vents on the left side...

Weight: slightly more than 2kg, but surely less than 2.25kg (my weighing scale reads to a precision of 0.25kg only)

Battery life: Have only charged the battery twice.... and it gives me ~3.5hrs in power4gear entertainment mode. . No time to try out battery saving mode yet..

4. 3Dmarks, WPrime scores, WEI:



3Dmarks : 3153



Wprime: 32M – 36.361 sec (2100.2MHz Penryn)
1024M – 1160.499 sec (2100.2 MHz Penryn)



WEI: 4.1



Please analyse yourselves as i totally do not know what these figures mean... Can someone explain to me??... haha

5. Conclusion:

Overall , as a moderate user, I’m quite satisfied with what it offers me.. (& that’s the reason why i buy it.. ).. But i cannot guarantee that for moderate high ->high level gaming...

Some improvements which i may suggest it to have:
-matt surfaces (personal preference)
-the notebook to have the screen-cover-closing–mechanism.. what’s that called? Some notebooks will give a click sound when u close the cover.. wad's that?
-1 more usb port.. (ideally on the right side, personal preference again)


Thanks for reading my review (or rather my thoughts)...
Please feel free to give feedback on my review so i can know what i can improve on next time...




By the way, i’m quite fascinated by the dragon which appeared in 3dmarks...

-jolynke

 

Thanks a lot! still beats my current desktop with an index of 3.2

quick question: Do you have 32 bit or 64 bit os? Also, is the ram at 400 Mhz?

 

1st part: 32 bit os...
2nd part: i dunno...

 

because i have 2 gigs right now at 800 i believe and i get a index rating of 5.9 and with the three 3gigs he got one of 4.9

 

wow i did not realize there was that big gap in the center between the body and the screen there.
thanks thanks for the review though!
im still having uneasy feelings if this laptop should be my definitive purchase now but eh better informed now at least i guess

 

i think he took the middle piece off because in the other pics it is in. look at the 10th pic

 

Finally some more pics! And pretty nice ones too. It made me think more about purchasing it. To jolynke: Could you post a pic of the backlit keyboard in dark conditions? I'm really curious how it look. Thanks!

 

great job jolynke! i'm like absolutely sure you made a LOT Of us happy (myself included hehe). i'm a bit disappointed by the 3dmark06 score but hey can't have everything right? and it's not like it's terrible either so it's all good. 3.5 hours of power4gear entertainment mode? damn. eat your heart out n81 lol

 

hey jolynke.. one request.
can u find out the temperatures you get running this machine?
run hwmoniter
http://www.cpuid.com/hwmonitor.php
if you have time/can =)

 

While the review may have been a bit harsh in some areas, the operating system version is Asus' fault. The reason it's their fault is that they had the option of shipping the system with a 64-bit OS or making a free upgrade to a 64-bit OS available, but they chose not to do either and instead included a version of the operating system that does not allow it to fully make use of the hardware. If they can include a 64-bit version of Vista with the G series, then they can definitely include a 64-bit version for any of their notebooks.

 

pic of the backlit keyboard under not too dark environment...



cpuid



everest






by the way... i'm a she..

 

When's this being released?

 

Why using so small font for this?

 

Thanks for those backlit keyboard pics. Not as cool as the fully backlit keyboards of the MBP but it does the job of lighting the keyboard well. Say, is there something like a switch on the ambient light sensor wherein you can turn it off and adjust the brightness of the screen yourself?

 

^ yes. there is...

so sometimes i just switched the function off.

 

Great review, great laptop.
Where did you get it from? and how much?

 

Fn+A usually does that.

Thanks for the review! Added to the Info Booth and the Reviews & Owners' Lounges Index.
E.B.E.

 

what's with the single mouse button?

 

I suspect it's a "seesaw" button that tilts left or right when pushed on that respective side, thereby creating a left or right click.

 

For one second I thought it was a mac-like single button lol. Anyway, does anyone know when this is coming out? Also, is there an option to get a better processor?

 

Yeah, I know. Oh, theee hoRRORR RRR!

 

is a U81 being released?

 

arg does anyone know when these are coming out? If it's after july I dont think i can wait that long. Also, does anyone know about availability of a better processor?

 

I just emailed one of my local computer stores, who's really good at getting the most up to date items. On the website there are options for preorders for the U50 model. So i emailed asken about the u80 series.

I'll let you know if i get anything back

 

Pardon my question, but will there be another model in the U series..a U81 perhaps like the N81 in the N series? Just mere speculation here..

 

it's too early to tell. i mean the u80 hasn't even been released yet, and doesn't even have an official release date in place. i think we're looking way far ahead when we talk about the u81

 

retailers get a list of upcoming asus stuff on the 10th of every month.

 

I posted about the U81 in this same thread. There is indeed one. So far I am not sure if this is an upgraded model to the U80 but the initial specs state an Intel GFX card.

 

Intel? They'd choose those IGPs to do the graphics on the U81? Better stick with the U80 then. Unless, it's the still in development Larrabee.

 

How do people think the GFX performance on this thing compares iwth the dell studio xps 13 (with its Nvidia 9500M)?

 

Hi guys,

I've been looking at this lappy for a bit now ... I'm especially waiting on the battery life. So far it is available in order in France :
http://www.maptrotter.fr
http://www.microrama.fr/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=1277
http://www.price-impact.com/
http://www.rueducommerce.fr/

But reviews are just so rare yet ... how come ??

 

Remember the 9500M in an SXPS 13 is a 9500M GE (9400M G + 9200M GS running in Hybrid SLI), not a 9500M GS. The 9500M GS is stronger (and as a result more power consuming when on power saving modes).

 

i cant read that language. Do those sites list the laptop as available?

 

3 of them are in order they announce 10 to 15 days and price-impact is saying in stock ... LoL french isn't that difficult ;-P

 

So is the GFX card on the u80 better than the 9500M?

 

Hi, I didn't want to start a new thread, so I hope you guys don't mind my posting here! So I've been following this thread and I can't make a decision between the Asus U80V and the Dell Studio 14z (it only weighs 4.3 lbs!!).

I'm a student, so I'll be carrying it around quite a lot. Apart from work, I'd definitely be watching movies, playing music, perhaps a little video editing. I'd like to also be able to do some gaming, something like Sims 3 and Starcraft2. It should last me a full day of classes/labs, so battery power is important as well.

Both the Asus U80V and Dell Studio 14z look great, but I can't decide which one would fit my needs better. I also have some questions about these two if you guys don't mind answering them =]. Hopefully, you guys can give me some insight on which to choose!

1. Is the resolution for the Asus U80V a standard resolution? Sub-par resolution? (I don't know what the resolution for a 14" screen should be) The review seemed to really dislike that screen.

2. Is the Dell 14z screen a true HD? It says "900p" Bright LED Display w/ True Life. What does this mean? What is its resolution? Is it higher/lower than the Asus U80V? (Is the screen on the Dell be better than the Asus?)

3. The Dell uses DDR3 ram. What is it clocked at? and how will the performance of the NVIDIA GeForce 9400M compare to the ATI 4570 on the Asus U80V? (Although the 9400 is integrated, it uses DDR3 ram. How will this affect it?) Which would be better at gaming?

4. Does the Asus U80V promise about 6 hours of battery life with the T9400 at 35 Watts as well as the other processors that use only 25 watts? Or when it claims it can run 6 hours, does it mean using the lowest CPU in terms of power consumption? The Dell also does this, but like the Asus, I don't know if they promise x hours of battery life with the configuration with the lowest power consumption?

5. Is the Asus U80V capable of upgrading to DDR3 ram?

6. Is there a model of this where I can take a look in person either in Toronto or Ottawa? (I heard there was one at Pacific Mall, but can anyone confirm? I'll be visiting Toronto at the end of the week)

Thanks for your time and patience =]!

 

No U80v is not capable of upgrading to DDR3 if im not mistaken. Running sims 3 will be possible on the U80v... I expect performance of the 4570 to be better than the 9400m gs. Running starcraft 2 on either laptop is a really big stretch though. With a 3k benchmark laptop, running low resolutions would possibly be the only method to run SC2. Pacific mall doesn't have the u80v yet bro. I live in markham so i get frequent updates of whats available and whats not.

The resolution is not so bad at 1366x768, if you don't need alot of desktop space, you should be fine.

 

any idea of what the U80v will be priced at Canadian dollars?

 

aw i want starcraft 2. lol

 

i hate how the u20 and u50 are coming out end of this month but no word from asus u80. Because of this I am strongly considering a macbook pro.
I'll give it 1 more month to hit stores before I actually get the macbook pro.