Asus's Macbook Air killer U36

David: I see you've also owned a macbook. How does this laptop compare in terms of functionality? and is it truly the "killer" to the MBA as the title of this thread states?

 

In terms of hardware, the U36JC blows the MacBook Air out of the water. Functionality-wise, the Asus also has the upper hand since it has more ports than the MBA. However, keep in mind that the MBA is also thinner and lighter than the U36JC which mean the MBA's portability would be better.

 

How well does this handle modern games? I am not expecting amazing performance, but It would be nice to see a computer this small be able to run a modern game at a playable frame-rate.

starcraft 2, cod (modern warfare 2, or black ops), battlefield: BC2, total war, crysis?
Does anybody play EA's play for free battlefield games with this computer?

Edit: David, could you post a picture of the keyboard connector if you have one? I would be interested in trying to install a keyboard with a back-light.

 

The keyboard connector is just like any other Asus keyboard connector. With a back-lit keyboard, there is usually an extra ribbon cable that you have attach to the motherboard. Interestingly, on the U36JC-A1 motherboard, there is an empty FFC connector which I'm assuming is used for supplying power for the back-lit keyboard. Why Asus didn't go for the back-lit keyboard is beyond my knowledge but good luck trying to find one that will fit keyboard bezel.

 

love this laptop. just hate the 16:9 screens. 16:10 you will be missed.

 

david: so the size of the keyboard is different than the one found in the other U series 13 inchers? (u35, u30, etc)

 

The size is the same but the form is different.

Older 13" notebooks have keyboards that attach on top of the top case assembly like this:


The U36JC has a keyboard that is placed underneath the top case assembly through the keyboard bezel like this:


So although the sizes are the same, these keyboards are not interchangable.

 

There's a chance you could rip the bezel off of a chicklet style keyboard and make it fit, as long as the key caps fit through the top of the chassis. I've exchanged the bezel on G73 and G51 keyboards, so I know the backlit ones have removable bezels. I'm not recommending this, however...

As for the unused connector on the board, I think it was the N61Jq... here's the thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/455143-n61jq-a1-backlit-keyboard-2.html#post6312296

 

Yet I keep considering the MBA over anything in its class because of the screen. 1440x900 with very good screen quality. The i5 is nice, and definitely beats out the C2D but that 320m is nicer than the 310m.

I just read your review, and curious as to how the U36JC beats the MBA out in functionality/hardware. Battery life seems very similar, you mentioned wifi card can be upgraded, was curious what's stock? n at least? Functionality, I find the trackpad apart of the user experience and that definitely seems like MBA has the upper hand. Although you mentioned ports so yeah that's something the Asus has an advantage on. After I read your quote regarding hardware blowing out the MBA I wanted to look up the U36JC further and of course, IMO it doesn't seem that outstanding comparatively.

 

I found a couple that look like the same size
Worlds Greatest Site for Asus Spare Part
Worlds Greatest Site for Asus Spare Part
i guessed size based on this part - Worlds Greatest Site for Asus Spare Part

 

The stock wifi card is an Atheros AzureWave AR5B95 supporting b/g/n. The trackpad on all macbooks are definitely superior in every aspect.
When I say hardware, I primarily think of CPU, GPU and the different supporting ports. While the 320M is better than the 310M, the difference isn't huge as fas as i know. You can still easily play Starcraft 2 with the 310M and utilize hardware acceleration for stream HD videos (not that you'd need it with the U36JC, but on a MBA, you'll most likely need it).

 

Ive got a U36JC and the only game I play on it if Empire:Total War...which it flawlessly on high settings and slightly jerky on very high. Oh and a piece of advise if you intend to use this laptop for gaming, dont bother buying an external dvd drive and a physical copy of the game, rather download it off Steam so 1) you can take advantage of the U36's massive high speed 500gb hard drive 2) you save money as electronic downloads are usually cheaper and 3) you obviously avoid having the need for a clunky, unsightly and heavy (?) dvd drive!

Hope this helps

 

I own both a G73 and a Macbook Air.

If this new "air killer" from Asus has the same crappy mushy keyboard and crap trackpad than the flagship G73, it will not kill the macbook air. It will simply attract a new segment of customers looking for an ultra portable looking at specs and price.

Asus keyboards are terribles and trackpad on the G73 is a complete joke, whereas Macbook Air/Pro have one of the best touchpad ever and the keyboard is a delight for accomplished typists.

Edit: Forgot about the screen, MBA LCD is hard to beat. Top Notch Quality screen. Not a fanboy, I love my asus: Hooked to a Mouse and Keyboard. If someone owning this new Asus could comment on the quality of the keyboard and pad versus a macbook air, would be appreciated.

 

@Brawndo: I haven't tried the G73 keyboard bu the only thing i can say is that so far as I've tested the U36 keyboard is superb. There's simply no flex at all. I currently do0'nt own a U36 myself but my co-worker do and I was quite sold on it when he showed it to me. I had no problems with the trackpad either it's definitely light years better than the Asus UL30.

 

I dont understand the title of this thread at all.. if at all it competes more against the MBP 13in minus an optical drive and backlit keyboard --- imo. Both are portable, the Asus has the CPU performance vs the graphics of the macbook!

 

I'm planning on pulling the trigger too on this one.
Since I do want to try and speed it up some more - XoticPC offer of upgrading the HDD to Seagate Momentus XT sounds nice.
what do you think about that option? can someone share his experience with that store?

 

Maybe this will help http://forum.notebookreview.com/notebook-dummy-guide-articles/554181-xoticpc.html

 

I actually prefer the touchpad on the UL30. The texture and sensitivity IMO is better. But I guess each person has their own preferences.

XoticPC is a good store, but also check out GenTechPC too as they provide the same hard drive upgrade options. If you do decide to go with XoticPC, I highly suggest you to skip the 1333MHz ram upgrades as the CPU on the U36JC can only support up to 1066MHz memory type. I don't know why they even offer those upgrade options as it would simply be a waste of money since 1333MHz ram modules will only be run at 1066MHz anyways.

 

That's hilarious, because macbook trackpads are love it or hate it affairs. Yes, they track movement well, but they're still garbage if you don't like push to click, or the huge size, or the weird feel. As much as I hate my g73 trackpad, I still like it more than the MBP pads... and asus *can* make laptops with good trackpads. The ul20/30/80 series had great trackpads, as did the EEE 10xx models.

 

I think you mean that Asus can "put" good trackpads if they choose to since Asus doesn't make any

Personally, I love the Macbook trackpads and think they are probably the best. Great tracking, large surface area, gesture movements are very refined. Using different gestures on the U36JC is quite horrible. And although I agree the UL20/30/80 are good, it still doesn't compare to the Macbook's. Of course, no trackpad/touchpads can ever replace the trackpoint used in Lenovo and Dell laptops. That's still by far the most favorable means of navigating.

All my opinion of course

 

lol no right click on macbook trackpads haha

 

Yes there is. Control + click or 2-finger tap.

 

I've read someone on russian forum claimed that fan is on all the time on his U36, can you confirm it?

 

The fan is on all the time only when p4g is set to High Performance mode. On Battery Saving and Quiet Office, it stays pretty silent.

 

You mean it runs silent or it's off?

What about battery saving and internet surfing (forums, news, few youtube vids) does it stay silent?
Also, do you think it's durable and reliable enough? I'm planning to buy it for probably at least 2 years...

 

The fan will still be on, but it's so quiet that you can only hear it if you put your ear to the vent.
Internet surfing is fine, but the fans will kick in faster when you're watching videos on youtube since flash requires more CPU usage.
The U36 should last 2 years without much issues. The chassis is much more sturdier than other Asus laptops I've seen.

 

Thanks David.

 

Engadget's review is now out:

ASUS U36Jc review -- Engadget

 

Thorough technical review from Notebookcheck.net:

Asus U36JC Review - Notebookcheck

 

Hello guys,
I just received my ASUS U36JC! It's everything I expected it to be. However, I wish to replace the HDD with an SSD i used in another notebook recently. I understand that it is possible, although pretty hard... Is anyone able to offer any solid advice regarding this matter? Thanks in advance!

 

There's a large discrepancy in the reported battery life of this thing. Notebookcheck makes the battery life in normal use sound great while, others report normal usage stats of about 50% of that.

 

Hi all,

I have installed an SSD drive in the U36 and thus installed a fresh copy of Windows 7.

However I have been having major blue screen issues. Blue screens happen when coming out of sleep mode only as far as I'm aware. But I also have had some strange driver issues related to the microphone & installing a Vodafone mobile USB key.

I had no issues at all when running off the installation that came with the computer, including using the microphone and the Vodafone mobile USB key.

Are there any guides for a fresh install? I have tried many combinations, such as installing just the minimum drivers from ASUS's website to install everything that is there for this laptop.

Any help would be great.

Thanks.

 

@Tuanx what kind of SSD do you have?

 

Are you using a Win 7 DVD or installing with a USB flash drive?

 

Hello again, everybody!
So Tuanx, how did you manage to get the chassis apart in order to install the SSD into the U36? Respect! I'd love to hear how you did this... Sorry to hear about your blue screen issues. If/ when I manage to install the Crucial C300 SSD I have at hand into my own U36, I'll be glad to report any solutions I might find for this problem. I have a Win7 Ultimate license installed on the C300, and this disk has been used in an MSI notebook I sold prior to getting the U36. Stay hellthy out there, everybody

 

Hello does anyone know what the difference is between U36JC-B1 and U36JC-NYC?
I know the NYC is silver, but why is it ~$100 cheaper?

 

I believe it's the Corsair Force 120GB CSSD-F120GB2-BRKT (I'll have to confirm tomorrow though). New one.

USB as there is no dvd drive with this notebook.

ÜbermassaAlex, I'll try to post something tomorrow about this. It is a pain but not very complicated. Just feels like the case is going to rip apart sometimes trying to take the keyboard part off.

This is a computer for work, and I think tomorrow we are going to just put the old hard drive back and see if there are any issues. Too bad it's such a pain in the to replace the hard drive, but it's just been too nuts. No idea why there are so many problems with fresh installs on this notebooks.

 

its the same drive that I have, and found the same problems with a 4 series chipset, the answer was to update the ACHI drivers on the chipset, which didnt nothing. I was inclined to think it was a problem with the chipset and not the drive itself, its working great no other problems aside this one

btw there is no solution to this problem, if:

you dont have the option for changing the power saving mode from S3 to S1, it should be in the bios

or if they dont update the firmware

 

Hi thanks for the response, I didn't even think how it would be related to the SSD. I'll check tomorrow if I can change some power saving modes in the bios and try to find some more info.

 

there is a mid term solution, program the pc to hibernate instead of sleep, it worked just fine for me.

BTW when there are a lot of read and writes the drive will usually hang and the system will be locked. This happens to me when I play a lot of flash videos.

 

I posted a while back:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/7076912-post74.html

 

.

I am looking for an external DVD Drive or Blu-ray Drive to pair with the ASUS U36--preferably with the same AL-MG Alloy case as the U36.

Just had my U36 for a week... LOVING IT!


.

 

i'd like to know the answer to this question as well.

 

Hi everybody.
Could anyone answer, is that possible to replace the original screen with the one on the photo? How to unfasten the original screen?
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/pFkGloXg69KTHHcM9UlakA?feat=directlink
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ofqRfoWZz8HFjfJG0d_teQ?feat=directlink
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/MtZloAPOUoReQOvkFFb9zQ?feat=directlink

 

You don't have any pics of the connector of either panel, besides having the right type of backlight (LED), the correct aspect ratio/size, and the correct thickness (slim-type), that's the major factor. You need to know what kind of connector it uses and where it is positioned, to know whether A) if it will fit and B) if the LVDS cable will reach.

 

Hi, I'm going to buy a new U36SD when it comes out (not very long I think) and I would like to upgrade it with a SSD, RAM and wifi card: SSD is not a problem at all as there are many guides but what about the wifi mini pci-e card? Could you tell me where it's located and how to change it? and if I wanted an Intel WiFi Ultimate N 6300, should I had an extra antenna? I hope it's not too difficult!
I also considered buying the laptop from gentechpc but I live in Europe and it would not be very convenient to me. Thank you very much

 

I believe the NYC model only comes with a 1 year global warranty instead of the 2 year standard global warranty.

 

@grievous2004

David added a 3rd antenna to his U36, I thought he mentioned it somewhere. Here is his review thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus-reviews-owners-lounges/554271-asus-u36jc-a1-review.html

You can ask him how hard it was.

 

deos anyone have a pic of the other side of the mainboard?

http://forum.notebookreview.com/att...9429-asuss-macbook-air-killer-u36-u36jc-2.jpg

I just got mine...or what they are marketing it as Pro36JC

Basically .... i5 M480M, 4gb RAM, Win7 Pro 64bit, 500gb (7200rpm) Seagate momentus with 3 years international warranty...US$1140

not complaining..

 

I hope the new U36sd becomes available soon and really thinking about pre-ordering one. It's the perfect size I want, great battery life and "almost" perfect hardware specs.

My biggest wish for this laptop would be at least to have a 525M instead of the 520M. It's only a bump up from 17W tdp to 25W tdp. I know that might be a lot for a ultra thin, especially since heat is a possible concern with the U36, but to offset that increase Asus could "upgrade" the processor to the i7 2649M.

Ok, barely an upgrade to the 2410M in there now as they both have about the same stock clock speed and the i5 has higher video clocks, but would that really matter with a 525M. Also the 2469 has 4mb L3 cache instead of 3mb and 25W tdp instead of 35W. Overall, the i7 2649 + 525M would be 2W tdp less than i5 2410 + 520M combo. How much more would we have to pay for this is the real question. Just my $0.02

Anyone else share similar thoughts?

Oh yeah, forgot to mention that using the 2649M would disqualify their selling point of thinnest laptop with a standard voltage CPU.... So probably one reason we would never see it in there.