Asus UL30JT

Sorry, wrong quote,

clock speed for the IGP on standart-voltage mobile CPUs is 500 - 766MHz;
for ULVs it is 166 to 500MHz. Running the benchmark on i3 and i5-520UM should give you different scores...?

 

Optimus is not very intelligent. As has been posted in this thread before, it only activates based on processes running. When hl2.exe (Half-Life 2) is running, it activates for example. SO when new games and applications come out, it takes an update to the Optimus utility/driver to make sure the GPU is activated when playing that game or running that app.

 

Uhm.......

 

Has anyone noticed this on the UL30JT Taiwan photos?

The photo of the bottom show lots of air vents for air flow & cooling (like the UL30VT).

The U30JC has no such vent grills on the bottom since it pulls air in through the keyboard.

I thought the VT & JT models pulled air in through the keyboard as well. Am I wrong about that?

 

Seriously. If we wanted the U30JC, we'd buy it! I really hope this is a ploy by Asus to get us to go for their currently available models. They pulled this with the UL30VT. On Amazon, people asked if a silver model would be available. Asus replied something along the lines of, "don't count on it." A couple weeks later, the silver UL30VT-a1 pops up...

Mind games I tell you. June 20 (summer) is a long ways away. Still hoping for mid may.

 

what so bad about switchable graphics that optimus is so necessary anyways? I mean if i know im going to going to be on the road and not needing the dedicated GPU, i can just make sure that my laptop stays in integrated mode and then when i come back home and hook up the a/c ill switch to dedicated mode. The current UL30VT doesn't even require shutdown to accomplish, its as simple as switching the wifi on and off.... i mean does this really require that much brain cells to accomplish that we need the computer to do it for us. Frankly i dont see optimus as that much of a bonus. especially since test results on the U30JC have shown greater battery life with the GPU on...

 

The problems with the previous generation of switchable graphics are covered in a good level of detail here and here. To give a quick summary, the problems were the switching delay time, with flickering or a black screen, the issue with blocking programs, and the inability to install standard Nvidia/Intel drivers.

 

lack of driver support would be annoying but i dont think the other issues pose that much of a problem. For me anyways, since i only see myself maybe switching between gpus twice a day, switching to intel when i go to school and switching to nvidia when back home. A few seconds of screen flicker while i change gpus isnt going to cause me to rip out my hair.

Not saying optimus is bad or anything, i think its a great innovation, but if it wasn't included in the my next laptop i dont think id lose any sleep as long there is some switchable graphics in there.

 

In other words, it sounds overhyped. I somewhat agree. It sounds like Toyota suddenly released an improved version of their automatic transmission. Great. So people can enjoy automatic gear changes. Everyone else who can drive stick shift isn't as likely to be wowed.

 

Personally, I think you should go for Option B. More for your money.

 

So the UM processor in the JT delivers almost-identical performance as the full-fledged M CPUs? Hmm..

 

WEI is a decent benchmark, but I'd want more detail. However, with Intel's Turbo Boost and Turbo33, if the UL30JT reaches 2.133GHz on two Nehalem cores it should indeed offer solid performance.

 

Hmmm...the GPU performance on first glance is rather disappointing if compared in relative terms. But then again...was it the IGP or DGPU that was running?

 

I agree but I will hold off until the first reviews of the UL30JT come out because what i really want to know is if the i-series processor is worth the extra cash and it may just be. Also, I believe that the longer i wait, the cheaper it gets if i wanted to do option B instead. i hope SSD prices drop significantly by summer.

[edit]
I see theres that taiwan review but the WEI numbers look fishy, hopefully more reviews from asia will pop up with more benchmarks.

 

is the screen on the u30jc or ul30jt a bit better than the one on the ul30vt-a1? that concerns me

 

Yea, I don't buy the 2.9 graphics score on an i5 and 310M. Something's not right. A REAL review will be nice (3DMark06, etc)

 

I can't compare as I only have the U30JC in my hands.

At first, from reviews, the screen on the U30JC sounded a bit better. Now owning one, I'm not so sure. The vertical viewing angle is *really* limited (just like in the VT series) and the backlit screen just has limitations of uneven lighting.

It's not a bad screen to be fair. I use it a lot and it looks fine when I'm in normal work, but dim the room lights and turn on a movie, and that uneven backlighting in the corners becomes obvious to me.

An easy test is boot up and watch the screen in the dark when it's black (bootup and going into Windows with the Win symbol) ... I can see the uneven banding caused by the backlighting; light at the bottom, dark in the middle and going toward negative at the top. Moving it makes the entire screen seem like a washed-out black.

Guess I'm just picky. My 15" Dell Vostro 1000 had the same screen problems.

I went to BestBuy and looked at a $1,100 (on sale) Sony Vaio 13" ... viewing angle & even lighting were just as bad ...

So it's the cost of screen they & others are choosing.

My son just bought a Lenovo 15" ideaPad Y560 with the i7-720QM quad-core, turbo-clockable, SSD & HD standard (!), and an ATI HD5730 & Intel HD GPU. Lord, but that thing is loaded! His screen is the same 1366x768 resolution so I'll check it out when he gets here.

 

Too bad, i would agree to pay more for a better screen, that would be a perfect laptop, same goes for the ul30 vt as well

 

Depending on how much more you're willing to pay for a good screen, the 13" MacBook Pro could be an option. It's definitely overpriced, but it seems to have a more powerful CPU than the UL30JT with similar battery life, and the integrated 320M shouldn't be far off the discrete 310M.

 

Have benchmarks been released already?

 

Not yet, but I'd like to see some.
Here's one result: 4748 3DMarks in 3DMark06 (at 1280*800, I believe).

 

I'm interested in this, too.

 

Huh? That page you linked rates the MBP's P8600 CPU WEI at 6.0. Someone on the previous page posted the UL30JT's at 6.2



UL30VT: 4.9, 5.4, 4.9, 5.9, 5.8
U30JC: 6.3, 5.9, 4.6, 5.7, 5.8
UL30JT: 6.2, 5.5, 2.9, 5.4, 5.9

The WEI scores for the UL30VT, U30JC & UL30JT are:
VT JC JT
CPU: 4.9 6.3 6.2
RAM: 5.4 5.9 5.5
GPU: 4.9 4.6 2.9
Games: 5.9 5.7 5.4
HD: 5.8 5.8 5.9

 

It's entirely possible that the WEI test is friendly to the Nehalem architecture. Overall, a 2.4GHz Core 2 has a similar performance envelope to a 2.13GHz Core i5, though - I've heard it can be ~20% faster clock-for-clock, but it depends on the application.

 

But what's up with GPU Performance? For basically the same GPU roughly half the WEI score??

 

It was probably using the integrated graphics for that test.

 

@Quadro:

how´s battery performing in both integrated/dedicated video modes ?
how much time are you getting?

thnx

 

If I'm using wifi & keeping to Office apps, 70% brightness, and on "Quiet Office" then "Balanced" power mode, I get 7-8 hrs.

With wifi OFF, Battery Saving mode and lower brightness, I'm sure I could get more, but I don't need to.

One owner reported that he had watched 2 DVD movies (3+ hrs) via his optical drive (on low brightness) and still had 50% left on his battery.

On High Performance mode, wifi, HULU streaming movies, 70-80% brightness (screen is quite bright as it is), and some light gaming (Monkey Island Special Edition ), I get 3+ hrs.

Solid gaming like HL2 would probably get 2+ hrs.

 

I'm kind of confused why people want to get the maximum battery life out of their laptops without using wifi. I mean, what would you do with your laptop for 8-10 hours with no internet? Watch 2-3 movies? Play solitaire?

 

Until the UL30Jt is out for general release and multiple user tests are done, no one can be sure.

But 2.9 for the Aero Graphics score on an i5-520UM & a 310M GPU is much too low to be believed. Something was wrong with that part of the test. It had to be.

Anyway, a better test would have been 3DMark06 for the discrete graphics, not WEI.

Once it's really out, we'll see other scores and can compare.

NOTE: on my U30Jc and the new UL50Vf, both with Optimus, I think Optimus skews the WEI test in the graphics (but not 3DMark06). BOTH pc's scored LOWER on both WEI graphics tests then their older brothers with slower processors and the same or lesser GPU's!

 

Desk work (accounts). Reports (Word, Excel). Email via an offline email client like Outlook. Games (not in multiplayer mode.) Homework/school work. Note-taking at lectures or mtgs. Music listening. Movies on the HD or on DVD.

None of that requires me to be online.

I'm on internet when I need it. Off when I don't. Most of my friends are different. When their PC comes on, the internet also comes on. Or they have their desktop or notebook (bad for the notebook's cooling issues) always on.

 

Who said you have to use it up all at once? You could use it for say an hour a day for a week straight before needing to recharge.

 

Anyone know of a way to know which graphics chip Optimus is using at any given time?

That would be helpful. Thanks.

 

ASUS UL30JT -----> LAUNCHED & REVIEWED.....!!!!!


When will i get to read those magical words....?!?

 

Think someone in Taiwan reviewed it. Only problem is I can't read or speak their language.


It'll be a few weeks before our English-speaking European counterparts get their hands on one for a review.

 

No UL30Jt on that link..

 

NVIDIA had a program that was installed on its demos at CEBIT that showed Optimus/Integrated use. They said that the program will not be available to the public. I guess you have to hope for some NVIDIA employee to leak it to a DL site.

 

hey this might have been discussed before but i seriously do not want to go back 194 pages to find the answer but in terms of performance, U30jc vs ul30jt which one wins? and by how much. This is for like running software, games etc.

 

probably the U30JC since spec-wise everything is constant except for the CPU and a full-fledge i3 will beat a ULV i5.

 

Since the UL30JT isn't out yet and hasn't had a serious review or full blown benchmarks, it's hard to say!

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess that since the UL30JT is designed for battery life more so then the U30JC, processing power alone the U30JC is going to win. Graphics I'd say will be close. I would have waited for the UL30JT but I needed a laptop before the end of this month and I ended up with the U30JC after long deliberation.

 

mmm i see, thanks for your posts. i think ill go for the JC as i will probably never use more than 8hrs in one go as school doesnt go for that long and i dont fly much.

 

TechConnect magazine seems to add some validity to the handful of European websites listing the PL30JT for pre-order with an ETA of May.

According to the article Asus plans to launch the PL30JT in Europe next month.

http://www.tcmagazine.info/comments.php?shownews=33869

Hopefully this is all true, and with it, we get a release or at least information on the UL30JT.

 

Also, they list the PL30JT with a price of 999 euro. Not bad.

 

No, that's not bad at all!

 

Dustin of Sweden has listed the UL30JT and says it will arrive on the 01.05.2010. Good news for us europeans

http://www.dustinhome.se/pd_5010442247.aspx

 

That is precisely what I am hoping for ... or one of the reviewers.

 

I had the same deliberation.

What's your feeling on your U30Jc, Th@n@tos? Received it yet? What do you like & dislike?

 

The i3-350M at 2.26GHz dual-core is fast. The i5-520UM (default 1.07GHz) of the UL30Jt Intel Turboclocked 3%+ASUS TurboBoost33'ed to 1.8 or higher will be close.

A bigger factor IMO is whether you need/want an internal DVD drive or not, especially if you'll be packing it around to class. It adds 3/16" to the thickness and an extra pound to the weight (though actual reviews on an actual UL30Jt are needed to change or confirm that.)

The U30Jc looks really, really classy. An actual UL30Jt is needed to see if they give it an aluminum palm rest+trackpad as well, like the U30Jc, or not, like the UL30Vt. I suspect not. We'll see.

 

So about this heat thing, you said the JC takes heat through the keyboard?

How hot does it get? More importantly, how loud is the fan (and I'm talking quiet library conditions here)?

 

I received it about an hour and a half ago. In between loading my Lenny test server and messing with mySQL Error's because I fail at SQL syntax, I've been uninstalling stuff and playing around with options. So far, I'm not as happy with the weight of it but I knew that going in and I'm actually going to be using the optical drive so I'll have to deal with it. The screen isn't to bad, yet I haven't gamed or done any testing/movies on it since I'm still at work. The speed is dead on with what I thought it was going to be, I'll see what it's like doing "DVD" backup's and gaming later (I am a huge gamer but that's not the reason I bought it but it was defiantly a factor). The finish is nice, I haven't heard any weird poping or snapping sounds and everything looks like it's in place as of now. Just doing normal uninstalling, installing and such, it hasn't gotten hot at all.