Asus UL30JT

I don't know that much about all the notebooks out there but I've looking into possibly getting a new laptop in the 11-13" range with good cpu and gpu and good battery life. kvnchg wanted to know if there was something else out there that was equal to or similar to the ul30jt and he had a price range upto 3000. So I thought the Sony Z. If I had that kind of budget, I'd definately get the Z but alas I don't so I'll just have to weigh my other options.

The only thing is, I think the updated Z isn't coming out for another couple of months which could be a problem for kvnchg since his lappy died and he needs to replace it asap. Maybe someone else has some other thoughts.

 

N61 series now available on Microbytes. I really think the UL and U line release is imminent.

 

I wonder if everyone is waiting for the beginning of February. The Alienware m11x is suppose to come out Feb 2nd (I think). Maybe the ul30jt will come out around then too!

 

Well I think the 620UM/640UM CPUs are going lag behind the other i7 core cpus in terms of hitting the market no? March seems a reasonable time to expect the UL30JT to become available for pre-order

 

I keep on hoping that it'll be earlier but you're probably right...

 

Why UM CPUs would hit the market after the standard voltage CPUs ?

 

This is going to be the next generation of Sony Z. It will have Geforce 330, good battery life (probably on the order of 8 hours with extended battery), high resolution screen, SSD drives, etc... for over $2K. With UL30JT you get 1/2 performance (actually much better then 1/2, but hey ) for 1/2 the price.

Edit: I should really read follow-up posts.

 

Because Intels SU4100/SU7300/SU9400/SU9600, aka the Core 2 Duo ulv's, are still selling well, and Intel probably wants to milk them some more before they debult ulv Core i5 and i7.

 

Yeah, right. After reading numerous reviews of various notebooks, Sony notebooks (only the expensive though...) have the best screens among with Macbooks.
Brilliant contrast and brilliant brightness.

 

That Sony Z is my dream machine, I just don't need or use a laptop enough to spend so much money on one though I almost wish I did just so i'd have an excuse to buy one.

 

Also the market for the ULVs and CULVs is smaller compared to all the laptops woith standard CPUs. First get the biggest part of the cake, then the cherry.

 

So has any1 heard if there resreshing hte ul30a's with the i7 culv's minus the graphic card

 

Thank you all for recommending the upcoming Sony Vaio Z. The release date may be a problem though, since my laptop just died... My only complaint would be that it is a bit heavier and thicker than the UL30Jt, and I really don't need an optical drive in a laptop. I guess I will just get which ever one that comes out first. Hopefully it will be the Sony Vaio Z.

Thanks again guys!

 

Me too. One can dream I suppose. I have a price limit unfortunately. So for me it has to be biggest bang for the buck.

 

For the love of god somebody put a 335m in this thing already. I don't know why they didn't put one in in the first place, if it can fit into an 11" laptop I'm sure there's a way to fit it into a 13" laptop. This laptop is the perfect size, and looks quite nice with the metal exterior, it is just so close to being the perfect performer. It doesn't matter how long the battery will last on discrete graphics anyway, if you do play video games you're probably near an outlet anyway. They could push the price up to $1000 and it would still be worth it. I for one, would be willing to spend all the money I don't have to obtain such a thing.

 

If we could just take the m11x and the ul30jt and take the best parts and put it together, I think we'd have the perfect computer for the best price. Why can't somebody do this yet!?

 

The 335m requires quite a bit more cooling than a 310m and the mx11 is 1.5 inches thick which is considerably thicker than the Asus. There are several websites out there that have already done first looks on the mx11 because they recieved their actual untis for full review. All first looks have stated the mx11 is quite "chunky" for its size and is my no means "thin". So I dont really think the Asus thin model designs work for a 335m.

 

While that may be true, the 330M GT fits in the Sony Z so it would clearly fit in the JT. So, for the love of god, at least put a 330 in the JT. If I had the choice of the I7/330M GT UL30JT (guesstimate $1,000)or the I7/330M GT Sony Z (over $2,000), I would probably choose the JT.

Bronsky

 

Yes that is my dream build right there!!!! Cmon Asus you can do it!!!!

 

Z is marginally thicker, but the Z is one of the lightest 13" on the market; the Z weighs about 3.1lbs with a battery...the JT will be ~3.7lbs

That said, the Z is a luxury item. Specs wise, the only point I see the JT having an upper hand is the battery life.

I would also advise against buying the 1st gen vaio z. The last gen had several issues that have yet to be proven that they have been resolved.
With this point in mind, Im also waiting for the Z, but I need a 'stepping stone' laptop to fill the gap while i wait for 2nd and 3rd gen releases. So the Asus ul30vt/jt will be my laptop of choice.

So back on topic, why is Asus so mum on new information? The JT has been getting some response. But the other ones like the JC and new bamboo iterations have gotten no mention. The Asus rep on the amazon thread keeps talking about their competitors. Who exactly does Asus compete directly with?

 

Would you honestly pay a base price of $1900 for an Asus?

 

Better graphics card would certainly make this a sure winner for asus.

 

No. Not if I could buy the Sony at $2,000. I think that was my point. The cost to the mfgr between the 310m and the 330M Gt is not that great. It would probably raise the price of the JT by $100-200. At $200, the unit can still sell for under $1,000. At that point, its attractive enough and will be so popular that they won't be able to keep it in stock. It would significantly cut into sales of the new Z. Only the true techno-snobs would display their Z's at board meetings.

Bronksy

 

I just wish they (Asus) would just confirm when it'll be released or give us something to work with. It would be great if it came out with the 330m but I think all indications still point to the 310m at least at this point.

 

Hey guys,

I think there will be no Turbo33 in the new Ul30jt...

Coz the i7 overclocks itself..!!!

So i guess we'll have a Ul30a without discreete graphics & a Ul30jt with discreete graphics with everthing else remaining the same..!!

What do you guys say...?!?

 

I know this isn't the ul30jt but this says that the u30jc is ready for pre-order. What do you all make of this?

http://www.xoticpc.com/asus-u30jca1-order-p-2763.html

 

Oh wow, this is almost exactly what I'm looking for. It's about a pound heavier and includes a useless (for me) optical drive though. Also, the i3 processor does not include Turbo Boost and the processor is not a CULV processor, so it uses more power, which is probably the reason for the extra weight and lower battery life.

Also, at 800 seems like any future UL30JT might cost 900 to 1000 or more :/

 

The description is a little confusing because some of the stuff they put on there doesn't add up. I guess there will be some verification done on Monday about the u30jc on xoticpc. So don't get too excited. I think the battery life might be wrong.

 

Makes me think that the UL30JT will be showing up soon, because of that. If the UL30JT shows up for $850 or less in the middle of feb I will be all over it... although it prob won't happen because it's so much more appealing than the U30JC.. only reason for U30JC is the optical drive

 

what is the difference between the JC version and the JT version

 

JC heavier than JT
JC has optical drive

Everything looks to be the same.

If you can live without an optical drive, I don't see any reason going to the JC.

 

thanks for the clarification. I dont want the optical drive which is why the JT would be better for me.

If the JC is going for $869 on that one website listed earlier, wouldnt you think the JT would be going for less since it doesnt have the optical drive.

 

I heard from Gentechpc that the UL30JT won't be available until March. FYI.
No idea about price. So looks like we have 1 month of waiting....

 

Is it odd that the u30jc seem to be available for preorder now but the ul30jt won't be ready until March? Do you think it's because they'll be trying to release it with the core i7's? Any thoughts or info?

 

My guess is that both will be released at about the same time, in March. Just because you can pre-order it doesn't mean anything. Look at Amazon, a pre-order of the ul30vt = 1-2 months of wait.

 

And that's what actually worries me. If Amazon doesn't have it for pre-order or anything yet, then it may be even later than March. I dunno but it makes me sad.

 

Actually there are quite a few differences between the models. For one, if the UL30JT comes with an G 310M, it was to be one with 1GB of GDDR3. The JC has the 310M 512 version. Of course, there is the difference between the I3 in the JC and the I5/I7 that is slated for the JT.

Has anybody noticed the $300 option for a docking station that would allow the use of an ATI Radeon HD 4670 external graphics card?

http://www.xoticpc.com/asus-ul30jca1-p-2763.html?wconfigure=yes

This is truly interesting. In addition, the option says that the ATI card is upgradable. Does that mean you can swap out different and better GPU's? Can you put an ATI HD 5970 in there? Imagine that with an I7 or an I5. You could play Crysis at 100 fps and never lag at all.

I wonder if the JT will come equipped with a docking station port? If not, and it does come with the G 310M/1 GB video card, is the JC the better device?

Food for thought.

Bronsky

 

For a 13 inch laptop, the JC is extremely heavy. You have to keep in mind that the Jt is at least 1lb lighter than the JC.

 

That docking station is the ViDock2, which is not very stable and very slow because it connects to the ExpressCard slot, which gives only PCI-E x1 speeds.

Until they have a PCI-E x16 passthrough, you will not see viable external graphics on laptops.

EDIT: So I don't see an ExpressCard slot on any of the pictures. Is xoticpc even sure they can package a ViDock or the X-FI with this laptop?

 

Has anyone other than Fujistu released any thing running the i7 620UM or 640UM yet???

 

If only this had a backlit keyboard then I would buy it in a heartbeat. I really want a backlit keyboard so guess I have to stick with the MBP or the new 11" Alienware.

 

The MBP refresh probably wont be out for awhile but the Alienware is preordering for March 1 delivery. The link is in the Owners Lounge thread for the M11x. I just priced one out. The one I want would cost $1,500 even though the base price is $799 (7300/8GB/7200RPM). Maybe Asus will open its preorder for the UL30JT and we can find out, once and for all, whether it will have a G310M. I'm starting to think I'm gonna wind up with the Sony Z. The 7300 CULV doesn't excite me in a $1.5k netbook. The UL30JT will probably cost near $1k without upgrades. I don't think I'll consider it if it doesn't have a 330M GT. With an I5/330M GT combo, it will post similar 3DMark06 scores. If not, Im likely to go for the I7/330M GT Vaio Z. Similar scores there too.

Bronsky

 

Your not supposed to price it out to 1500$ lol. the HDD and Ram are all upgradable by yourself down the line. And the processor isn't worth an extra 100$ since it is just a 5% performance upgrade. The Alienware is pretty nice mostly because the backlit keyboard in my opinion which not many other PC's have. Having a backlit keyboard is just such a huge convenience. Can't live without one once you have tried it.

 

Hey guys...

Check out this website...

http://www.anandtech.com/mobile/showdoc.aspx?i=3705&p=4

According to their testing of the new Arrandale chips this is what they found...

1. It performs 20 % better than Core 2 duo.

2. But the battery life remains same and infact gets WORSE in some situations coz you end up doing more work in less time and hence consume more battery.

3. It also states in the end that...

"Intel confirmed that there is a lot of optimization that has to happen with Arrandale. It looks like there are some silicon level tweaks that are on the roadmap to be implemented but we won't see them until the middle of 2010. That means while the first Arrandale notebooks won't offer any more battery life than their predecessors, the second wave of Arrandale should fix that."

4. This means that the new UL30JT could most probably have WORSE battery life than the UL30VT.

5. Which means that we will have to wait till the middle of 2010 to have a iCore 7 ???UM which gives 20% performance over the SU7300 and also is able to give better "Battery Life" which is the the most important "Selling point" of this laptop over other CULV laptops...!!!

What do you guys think...?!?

 

I wouldn't care if Asus would have had a backlit keyboard in the new one, a USB3.0 port and a better display......tt

 

you can either wait until they fix the problem before you get a laptop or, get the laptop now and when the new, fixed processors come out buy one and upgrade the processor yourself.

 

Time is money. I for one will buy the UL30Jt or any 13" ultra thin laptop with an i7 the second they come out.

12 hours is really more than I will ever need from a laptop. I sleep for around 7 hours, eat for around 4+ hours and I most definitely spend more than 2 hours driving everyday. With Wifi on, and screen at full brightness, the UL30Vt can get around 8+ hours already. My life would be pretty sad if I find myself having a problem with the battery life of the UL30Jt.

Having a longer battery life is always welcome, but I don't think I am going to wait until mid 2010 just for a longer battery life. In fact, I much rather sacrifice some battery life for a 330M!

 

While the extra batery life would be nice. The 20% performance increase would tempt me to buy one of these as soon as it is released if it has a 330M GT. If it doesn't have the 330M, I am probably going to pass on the initial release, bite the bullet, mortgage my house and get the Sony Z.

Bronsky

 

The Anantech article is comparing P8700 to a Core i5 540M.

P8700 TDP: 25W
i5-540M TDP: 35W

I don't think you should assume the UL30JT will have worse battery life based on that article. Both the Core i7 620UM and 640UM processors have lower TDP and clock speeds compared to SU7300.

 

Well...

Although the comparison there is between the P8700 and the i5-540, the statement which Intel issued is about the entire current "Arrandale" Series as a whole...!!

"Intel confirmed that there is a lot of optimization that has to happen with Arrandale. It looks like there are some silicon level tweaks that are on the roadmap to be implemented but we won't see them until the middle of 2010. That means while the first Arrandale notebooks won't offer any more battery life than their predecessors, the second wave of Arrandale should fix that."

http://www.anandtech.com/mobile/showdoc.aspx?i=3705&p=4