Help me decide between U80A v/s UL30A ?

I need to buy laptop for my friend. She is medical professional and she needs laptop for work purpose (and no gaming). I'm trying to decide between

UL30A sold at Amazon for $699
http://www.amazon.com/UL30A-X5-Ligh...ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=pc&qid=1259328348&sr=1-2

And U80A sold at Staples for $599
http://www.staples.com/Asus-U80A-RSTML05-Laptop/product_831633?cmArea=SEARCH

I think only difference I see is Core 2 duo 1.3GHz processor on UL30A compared to Core 2 duo T6600 processor on U80A.

What will be good choice from point of view of build quality and usage ?

 

The differences are as follows:

The U80A has:
- much weaker battery performance
- a built-in DVD drive
- a faster processor
- a thicker/heavier profile (4.7 pounds)
- a smaller harddrive

The UL30A has:
- Better battery performance
- no built-in DVD drive
- a slower processor
- a thinner/lighter profile (3.7 pounds)
- larger harddrive
* there have been wifi issues related to this product discussed in this forum. You should be aware of this.
* also note that the UL30A-X5 you listed has a smaller battery than the UL30A-A2, which will last 27% longer (10-12 hours on a charge of actual usage!)


Your best bet is read the testimony of actual owners.

It seems that people really love the UL30s, though I'm not sure of the U80's. I'm a fan of the UL30 series, because it's thin, light, powerful enough for day-to-day tasks, and has the best battery life in the industry. The added portability of the UL30A is a tough feature to beat, especially for a highly mobile individual. With this laptop you can leave the charger at home and enjoy two 5 hour days of light usage before a charge is needed. I would recommend the UL30A-A2 over the UL30A-X5 for this reason.

If I assume correctly that she'll be writing papers and researching info, the the UL30 will be more than powerful enough for her tasks while providing superior battery life for long work session. Be advised though, that the UL30 does not have a built in DVD drive, so if she want's to load say, an anatomy DVD on her lappie, or watch a DVD of a surgical procedure (I have no idea what med students study), then she'll need to get an external DVD drive ($50) to do this.

Again, read the testimony here, and decide:
U80A - http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=359763
UL30A - http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=415392

I hope this helped a bit.

}:^)~

 

Like mentioned above if you can live without a DVD/CD drive the UL30's are better. If you need the optical remember the UL30 needs a tethered drive severly hampering the portability and you loose the footprint advantage.

Also the more powerfull CPU will almost never be lacking for power. While the SU7300 is a good CPU in an optimized system as it gets older and bloatware or other things are added the T6600 will be a more capable CPU.

 

Thanks makes it easier to pick U80a at Staples.

 

My pleasure and hope you enjoy whatever decide to get. I have The U80a T6500 version from BB. As a laptop/notebook it is more than capable. Presonally though I want something a bit smaller for an ultraportable as I already have a P7805-u for the heavy stuff.............

 

I like my U80A, its a good all-in-one notebook for a student who wants a space conscious notebook for a good price. Plenty of power.

 

I haven't been able to find a solid answer about the battery life. So is it actually capable of reaching anywhere near 8 hrs of battery life? I'm finding it hard to believe with a T6600 and only 6 cell battery. I'd be impressed and sold if it could manage even 6 hrs with wifi on and 50% screen brightness.

 

u80. . . . .

 

UL30 is more attractive with the aluminum lid, but I say U80A is the better buy.
It's $100 cheaper (though the difference may be less since you'll likely have to pay sales tax on the U80A), doesn't compromise power yet still gets more than enough battery life for most. I find it hard to imagine that anyone REALLY needs 10 hrs of battery life. If the U80A can actually achieve 6-8 hrs of battery life, that should be more than enough time before having to find an outlet.

 

With batterysave 6 hours plus of wifi/office use is attainable. Video etc of course eats cpu and battery........