Asus UL30JT, U30JC, UL30VT?! Confused

Hi,

i'm really interested in an Asus Notebook, people told me that the UL-Models are pretty good.

Now I've looked up some of them and I'm not sure which one to buy.

Theres an ASUS UL30JT which seems to be identical with the U30JC. Furthermore there's a model called UL30VT, but obviously this one is less powerfull than the others as it has only an ULV CPU.

Besides Asus offers the same in 14" ... UL80VT and UL80JT.

Which one would you recommend to me?
I'm using it for college, multimedia and some really light gaming (WoW, CSS, Wc3).

 

Hi,

I think like Acer, Asus has different variations according to the market they are intended for. I was interested in the Asus UL30-VT for its chiclet styled keyboard, 13.3" screen, dual switchable graphics card and 12 hours of battery life (with a 9-cell battery pack). But it was a bit steep for my budget, so I settled on an Acer Aspire 1825PTZ (notebook/tablet PC combo).

I live in Malaysia and the seller said that the one on display was their last one and that the UL30-VT was going to be discontinued. (I have emailed Asus to seek confirmation whether this is true). The store had a 14-day exchange program - in the event I was dissatisfied with my purchase I could return it for a notebook of a higher value. Sadly when I returned to the store, their last UL30-VT had just been purchased by a tourist.

My Aspire 1825PTZ is my first ultra low voltage processor notebook. I still have my Asus A8He, a 14" laptop with a Pentium Dual Core T1230 1.86 GHz (1MB L2 cache) and am considering upgrading my old faithful to a more power efficient Asus.

From published benchmark tests, the Intel SU4100 (1.3 GHz, 2MB L2 cache) outperforms the T2130 and my previous desktop, an Intel Pentium D-805 (2.66 GHz, 2MB L2 cache) although it falls far behind the latest generation Core i3 mobile processors.


Now here's the odd part:

Asus still uses the slow SU-series ULV processors for its UL series notebooks to maximize battery life. I thought this was the way to go (sacrificing performance for battery life) until I heard about Acer's TimelineX models.

Acer has the more powerful Core i3, i5 and i7 powered 13.3" and 14" thin laptops with a 12 hour battery life in its TimelineX series such as the Aspire TimelineX 4820T.

Currently Asus has no similar offerings like Acer's TimelineX notebooks. Asus does have Core i3/i5/i7 laptops but they are not the long battery life models. I really like the Asus brand but am disappointed that they're behind Acer on this issue.

Assuming the prices of both the Acer TimelineX Core i3 to be almost similar to that of the UL80-VT, shouldn't the Acer be the better purchase? Or you can wait until Asus to introduce Core i3/i5 processors for its UL range.

Just my $0.02.

 

Here's a quick rundown of what each model has, in ascending order of performance:

UL30VT: CULV C2D, Nvidia 210m, 8-9 hours of battery life, $700
UL30JT: CULV i3, Nvidia 310m, ~6-7 hours of battery life (unknown at the moment) $820
U30JC: i3 330m, Nvidia 310m, 6-7 hours of battery life, ~$840-$860 (the thickest, but it has an optical drive)
U35JC: i3 370m, Nvidia 310m, ~6-7 hours of battery life (unknown at the moment) ~$820

The new 14" ones will be around $870 at launch, so if you're looking for something with an optical drive, the U30JC might be your best bet. It's not technically a thin and light, but at less than 5 pounds, it definitely won't break your back.

A CULV processor in tandem with a 210m should be fine for Source engine and Blizzard games. You should be able to run CSS with everything cranked up and still get 60+ fps most of the time.

While the Acer TimelineX models are damn spiffy and impressive in their own right, the xxxxTG haven't been released in the US yet. It might behoove you to wait until those come out before you make any judgments, since they reportedly get a little toasty. And at around $800, they will be the same price as the Asus U/UL laptops, but will pack either 4570s (equivalent of the 210m/310m) to 5650s (which will blow the 210m/310m away).

 

4820TG available in the USA

Micro Center - Acer Aspire Timeline AS4820TG-5637 - Carbon Black LX.PSE02.227

i3 350m, ATI 5650m, 8hr battery life, $800

 

HEY-O, looks like I have to eat my words!

 

Hey, thanks for your reply.
Since I'm from Germany, there's no problem getting the Acer, but I don't like Acer at all

Actually I don't need a drive, and since I intend to play css I guess the UL30JT is the best fit for me. Right?

 

If you want to save $120, the UL30VT should suit you just fine. The CULV i3 won't offer too much more than the SU7300 in the gaming department, although it might be better for multitasking and multimedia applications. In the Windows Experience Index, a CULV i5 garners a 6.2 while the SU7300 only gets a 4.9 when overclocked, so you be the judge!

Although I'm not sure what the prices are for these various laptops in Germany, I think the UL30JT would still be a good bet, no matter the price. The only thing that I might suggest is that if you would be willing to sacrifice an hour or two of battery life, the U35JC is the same price as the UL30JT, but it has a full fledged i3 instead of a CULV one. So it is a U30JC minus the optical drive, which helps it slim down to UL30VT/JT a level.

 

Unfortunatly the U35JC is not available in germany yet, and the U30JC is a little too heavy, so I guess it has to be the UL30JT.

I've heard of the Back to school campaign offered by Apple, giving you an extra ipod touch if you buy an macbook (pro).
Now considering that the Ipod Touch is about 200$ (don't know the price in the US) and you sell it, this would make the MacBook Pro 13" just about the same price as the Asus UL30JT.

Would you consider getting the MacBook Pro instead of the Asus?

 

I sure would. Either Apple products or cheaper, or everything else is more expensive over there!

As far as the Macbook Pro 13" is concerned, here's how it stacks up against the UL30JT

Pros
-CPU is better
-GPU is comparable, if not better (it's integrated, so it borrows from your system memory, but is better than the 310m)
-it has a slot loading optical drive
-the build quality knocks the socks off anything Asus will sell you.

Cons
-the hard drive is smaller by a few hundred GB
-one less USB port
-you need an adapter for HDMI

So as much as it pains me to say this, I think the Macbook Pro might be your best bet unless any of the aforementioned details worry you (my roommate was very angry at not having HDMI out built in, so he will not be buying another Macbook Pro when his current one dies!).

Edited to look better

 

ok thanks for your advice.
Actually the missing HDMI out is hurting a lot, since I want to watch movies on my TV...

Harddrive is no problem as I'm going to replace the HDD with a SSD.

Thanks for your reply, I really appreciate your advice.

 

Wow, that's great news and information, Chanda Bear! I had no idea the prefixes like "VT" and "JT" actually determine the processor model. Thank you for the description of the models available.

Unfortunately Asus Malaysia only brings in certain models like the SU7300 equipped UL30-VT (approx USD875) - you can see the huge price difference in my country (USD875 vs USD700). I have the local Asus brochure for 2010 and there are no Core i3 versions available in the UL series.

I really like the island style keyboard that Asus uses as I'm a touch typist (being a former mainframe programmer and research writer), I have problems adjusting to Acer's full sized keys with no spacing between one another.

Right now I'm looking for a 13.3" thin notebook (don't mind sacrificing an internal optical drive as I rarely use it anyway) with a great keyboard, at least a Core i3 Mobile, with a minimum 8hr battery life. Acer Malaysia only sells the TimelineX 14" version and Asus offers nothing with those specs.

I never use my laptops to play any kind of games - it's strictly for surfing, video streaming, email, blogging and batch image processing. I use a software called DXO Optics Pro, which is really CPU intensive that it even bogs down my present desktop PC (Core 2 Quad Q8400 @2.75 GHz OC).

A Core i3 or i5 mobile processor would be just right for my mobile computing needs.

 

Stratman, perhaps you would like the Toshiba Portege, whose thread can be found here. It's a 13.3" thin-and-light (with optical drive, I might add) that has a Core i3, non CULV.

 

Hi Chanda Bear,


Thanks for the recommendation, I'll look into the Toshiba Portege. Actually notebooks are nothing new to me - my first laptop was a Philips TravelNote which I bought in 1995. It cost me approx USD1,560 at today's exchange rates. It was the cheapest laptop with a TFT color screen and I bought it instead of the Compaq Armada series which had DSTN LCD screens.
DSTN screens had slow refresh rates and image ghosting is a problem with them.

The Philips Travelnote had a slow Cyrix 5x86 100MHz processor (slower than the Pentium 100), proprietary 8MB RAM, a 540MB Conner Peripherals HDD, a 3.5" floppy drive, an unreliable trackball, no optical drive and a 9.5" TFT screen. I remember playing the old Doom II game on it, but since it had only 8MB EDO RAM, it was too slow to open up more than two Netscape browser sessions. And it came with the original Windows 95 (not Win 98 SE).

I used that laptop for three years before it was totally fried during a lightning strike, even damaging the AC power adapter brick and the Motorola Lifestyle 28.8 modem attached to it. Since then I swore off laptops, preferring to assemble my own desktop PCs from discrete components.

In 1998, I've used Toshiba Satellite laptops at work and I can't say I really liked them. I remember Win 98 SE often crashed due to corrupted proprietary Toshiba drivers and I frequently had to push the reset button to reboot them (these days there's no such thing as reset buttons on notebooks, lol).

My decision to choose Asus as my first laptop since 1995 was based on my experience with Asus motherboards and graphics cards in the past. Plus the 2 year international warranty. It's well worn, the keyboard is missing some characters and I the silver plastic case top and LCD covers' paint are wearing off.

Asus Malaysia quoted me USD46 for a replacement keyboard, USD78 for the case top assembly and USD46 for the LCD top cover. That's more than twice than what the Asus eStore in the U.S. charges!

I always test the keyboard's feel before buying as I'm a touch typist. That's why I really liked the Asus UL-30VT in the first place. I haven't test driven the Portege R700 and will do so next week.

My old Asus A8He is still in good condition, save for the exterior parts and the cheap keyboard. That said, I've noticed other people who own old Asus notebooks have also worn keyboards. My nephew has a 4 year old Acer Travelmate -he plays games on them and I was surprised that his keyboard still looks new! The same goes for my younger brother's IBM ThinkPad R60 - his keyboard doesn't seem to have aged much.

I wonder if any other Asus laptop owners face the issue of worn keyboards. At one time the number "9" key wasn't working properly until I sprayed some electronic contact cleaner between the keys.

Anyway, this is a great forum with many knowledgeable folks such as yourself selflessly sharing great information! Thanks so much!

Stratman.

 

im also looking at 13" laptops, gota say the UL30VT really interests me, it got as low as ~$650 at one point i believe... but then again, the Acer TimelineX 3820T also starts at $729.99 (tho guy in acer forum said he paid $1000+ USD total), and it starts with a full voltage i5 and has the ATI 5650 which blows 210m away... all for less than $100 more... and it also claims to have 8+ hr battery

the only problem is, where can i find this thing!?!? not out in US yet i presume...

 

USD650 for the Asus UL30-VT is very cheap in the U.S. compared to where I live. I was quoted USD890 for the same model & configuration. I don't understand why Acer doesn't want to bring in the 13.3" TimelineX 3820T into Malaysia - currently they have the 14" screen version.

Other brands like Lenovo, Toshiba, Compaq, HP et al have 13.3" models but they're either beyond my budget or have so-so battery life. Update: I just found out that the Toshiba Portege R700 isn't sold here.

For some reason 13.3" laptops are not much in demand here - consumers go either for Atom powered netbooks and 11.6" notebooks or standard 14" laptops. I go to my local Starbucks outlet almost every day (or night) and I see customers having either netbooks or 14" laptops.

My 47 year old eyes can barely adjust to this 11.6" Aspire 1825 PTZ I'm using right now and anything smaller is simply intolerable for eyesight.

14" laptops are ideal but at 2.2kg on the average, I got tired of lugging extra pounds. I don't mind a 13.3" screen and sacrificing an internal optical drive, which I very rarely use anyway.

 

Yeah, the US has yet to see a 3820TG. Toshiba makes some decent 13.3" laptops, but I'm afraid that they are rather bulky. The UL30VT might be your best bet if you're in the market for a 13" thin and light with good battery life.

 

Yea, but you forgot the fact that MBPs run at about 90 degrees. As for build quality, in my experience apple hardware is *all* high end hardware, and most people compare it to low-end competition. Compare a MBP to a high end Asus, and build quality is about the same. Not to mention that Asus was the OEM for apple for several years...

Asus, just like HP and Acer, uses a suffix to designate features, and the prefix to designate the model line. UL = ultra light (as opposed to n=e ntertainment w= workstation, k=education/client/don't-remember, etc) 20/30/50/80 (12/13/15/14 inch) screen size, and V (video) T (turbo), J (core I3/5/7 model), X (hardware refresh), etc. Sometimes t for intel, z for AMD, but that may be HP (i don't recall). They've also got separate naming for the EEE line - 9 / 10 / 12 screen size, 00 / 01 / 08 / whatever = revision, N (ion), R (resolution) P (pinetrail), E (extras), A (accessories) ... which is odd. So a 1201N is a 12 inch ION system, and a 1015PR is a 10-inch Pinetrail/High Resolution netbook.

 

sounds interesting...

I've checked all ASUS Models and their specifications again and I wonder why the UL30JT and U30JC have the same price.

If we compare the CPU the Lcomes with an Core i5-520UM 2x 1.06GHz which is undoubtedly slower than the U30JC's Core i5-450M 2x 2.40GHz.

Theres not that much of difference in battery life, so why should I take the UL30JT?

How much is the performance difference between those two notebooks?

 

Simple: portability - the UL30JT is about a pound lighter than the U30JC; doesn't sound like a lot, but when talking about laptops in the 3-4 pound range it's a big difference. Also, since the UL lacks an optical drive, it's a lot thinner, at about one inch, where the U is about 1.3 inches (might be wrong on that, someone correct me); again, doesn't sound like a lot, but its quite noticeable, at least for me. So, if you want to take your laptop everywhere and can go without an optical drive, barring external ones, get the UL; if you want to be able to take your laptop some places and want all the features of a larger-screen laptop, get the U

As for performance, the standard voltage processors in the U will run circles around the UL's ultra low voltage procs. That said, I really do think that ULV's are more than enough for most people; i mean, look at my laptop (in sig), it can run Command and Conquer 3 and Starcraft 2 you will notice the performance hit in certain situations though: yahoo mail lags sometimes when opening emails, on my desktop with an E6600 it doesn't lag at all, and youtube is choppy sometimes at 1080p (maybe also 720p)

hope this helps!

 

If you're talking about whether you should give up the full voltage CPU in the U30JC for the UL30JT's low voltage, why not try the U35JC and you won't need to make the compromise.

I've basically settled on either U35JC or U33JC, whichever arrives in NZ first. The U30JC arrived recently but it's literally exactly the same price as the MBP 13" and I'd want something a few hundred grams lighter.

 

So basically, nothing can touch the UL30VT in terms of battery life?

But no switching between discrete/embedded graphics, correct?

 

Actually, the UL30JT should get the same battery life. They both have CULV processors.

Right. 10 char.

 

If only they had a better screen...

There's a thread on another site where people say that the PL30JT is basically the UL30JT but with a matte screen.

If it does manage to pull the same battery life as the VT, it would be perfect.
Edit: The PL30JT thread here says battery life is closer to 5h. Damn.