Just got my U80V in Singapore!

Hi guys,

Just got my U80V some 5 hours ago, but only had time to open it up as I'm busy with other things for the wife.

Since this machine is highly anticipated worldwide, I thought I'd do a hands-on report. However, time does not permit now so all I can do is to include some photos that I've quickly taken with some observations, to help "quench your thirst" for those of you who have been eagerly awaiting it. Hopefully I'll have more time the coming days to do my hands-on report. Perhaps you guys can let me know what are the things that you are interested to know, so that I can at least focus on your requirements (if it doesn't take me too much extra time!)

The Box - Ordinary looking



Specifications on the box - here in Singapore, we cannot customize our machines.



Nice packaging - I don't really bother about such things, but I guess some people do.



Windows 7 Upgrade Program and LCD Cleaning Cloth - For me, the free Windows 7 was the deal-breaker. Was also considering Dell Studio XPS 13 previously, but when I knew Windows 7 would come free, it became a no-brainer.



Installation discs - Can anyone tell me if Cyberlink Power2Go is better than Nero 7 or not???



Battery, Power Cord, Mouse and Cable Tie - nice accessories.



Finally, I saw my bride for the first time.



Trying to prevent reflection from my ceiling light, I shot this at 60mm focal length (longest of my Lumix LX3). I think the keyboard looks darn cool!



The keyboard closer up.



Sticker showing the specs. Only regret for me is I can't put in a 7200 RPM HDD since I deal with large photos and videos! You can see how reflective this thing is!



That is all I have for now! Gotta catch up with my work for my wife!

Until the next installment, have fun with the photos!

(The photos were taken with my LX3 (GET THIS CAMERA!) with an external bounce flash, the Metz 20 C-2, and hence the nice colors compared with those taken with on-board direct flash or mobile phone cameras that most people use. Could have used my 5D Mk2 if only my lens wasn't sent for repair, but I think 21.1 megapixels would be an overkill. )

 

wow!!!that's one of the most 13inchers i have seen till date. sexy laptop but beware of the heat!!!!congrats for the purchase.

 

Hi,

It's a 14.0 incher.

Anyway, for the sake of the rest, I paid SGD 1648 for it, about USD 1142 based on current exchange rate.

 

god that just gave me a hard-on!

Why isn't it here in north America yet. This is driving me freaking nutz.

 

I have more used Cyberlink to play DVD and HD content, but here is a link of all the features:

http://www.cyberlink.com/products/power2go/features_en_US.html - Cyberlink
http://www.nero.com/enu/nero9-features.html - Nero

The latest Nero is 9. I use 7.9. Nero is big is my only complaint. Unnecessarily big. I do not know why they think we need Nero to handle Videos, Pictures, Music, etc. It also took some time to learn how to use it to do different things.

Very nice pictures and congrats on your purchase.

 

I can't wait to hear more from you. This laptop is solid!

 

nice purchase kargtan

One of my cousins got this during the IT show..

 

carry bag included or no?

 

There's a watered down version for sale at Bestbuy so you can see this computer in person at least. One thing to note this model is bigger/less thin than in appears in pictures. Its no MBP in terms of slim design though the curves (especially in pictures) make it seem thinner than it is.

 

thanks thanks!
dangg, looks goood.
post more pics/impressions pleasse =D

 

the mouse is wireless?

 

.. holy crap you're right. the mouse DOES look wireless. unless they snuck the cord underneath.

 

congrats on your new purchase kargtan

All the U series have always come with a wireless mouse (at least for the U1, U3 and U6 series)

 

.. sweet deal.

 

If anyone's interested: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9366562&type=product&id=1218092151327

It's actually a renamed U81A.. Be sure to take note of some of the "key features" that have been removed in this watered down version (i.e. no backlit keyboard, no mouse trail, etc.)

I'm also curious when this will appear in NA. How did you get this from Singapore? Link plz?

 

The model is available in singapore (released at our recent PC show)

 

Can we order it from Singapore and have it shipped to USA? Or did you personally get this at a convention/store?

 

+Rep

Do 3d Mark when you get the chance Bro

Also, what are your impressions of the speaker?

We appreciate the pics though.

PS Install the Power 2 Go! Completely worth it

 

Awesome pics of a sweet laptop! Do run some benchies on that one.

Are there any models with a better processor available there?

 

Looks sweet

Would you be able to put it on the scale, I want to know what the true weight of the laptop is?

Thanks

 

is that a single button click? the one for the touchpad..

 

Yes, it's a single button, but there's a pivot/divider in the middle which makes it essentially two buttons.

I saw the U81 sibling at Best Buy today, and one thing that i found really disturbing was the extremely flexy (almost bouncing) keyboard. Kargtan, do you experience the same issue on your U80?

 

Sorry just to clarify, it's one button but you can't press the middle you press either the left or right side making it two buttons? It's just aesthetics?

 

bluntly put yes it's just aesthetics. looks good though don't it? =P

 

when in the world will this come outt... i don't even know where ppl are getting this from singapore and stuff. links plzzzz

 

Yup, that's correct

Actually, the U80/81 series looks a bit thicker than I have anticipated (both the chassis and the screen). Other than that, it looks good.

Reseller versions will be out mid-July along with other models. You can find the watered down U81 at your local Best Buy store for now.

 

david, mid july as in a week or two from now?

 

In Singapore ordering online isn't as popular as going to a shop and buying it.

It can be bought at shops around Singapore.
If you want evidence that it is released in Singapore look here:
http://www.bootstrike.com/itfairsg/pcshow2009/Asus-UX50-U50Vg-U80V-Notebooks-flyer-brochure-leaflet/

 

Yup

 

Anyone know how much they will cost? If the watered down version is $650 (that's without a discrete gpu), can we still expect a good one (at least a P-series CPU and the discrete gpu) to be under $800? I'd be willing to give up the light-up pad.. maybe the backlit keyboard.

Edit: I just looked at the ad Cherhuan included.. ~$2000 for the U80v??? And that's only with the T6500... I remember an Australian site selling them for that price too, but I thought this thing was going for $999? Ah! Does this mean the starting price is $999 and it will only go up from there? =/ Man, I don't want this out of my price range.. and I don't want to spend $650 for the watered down version when I can get a refurbished T400 at the Lenovo Outlet... =( Decisions, decisions! Speaking of T400, which is thicker: T400 or U80V? And by how much?

 

DTrinh09, the price is in SGD. So that would be the equivalent of around 1168 USD.

 

I have my doubts that we will see this notebook in a week or two. I am not seeing it even pop up on any of the us resellers websites yet

 

They also have the U80V stocked in Australia. Hope it gets to the US soon.

 

Yea same. I am wondering if it will be mid of july since there is no info about us release date online and resellers don't have specs on their sites.

 

Hi guys,

Sorry, have been too busy trying to prepare the data on my old laptop to migrate over, so hardly had the time to touch the U80V (DANG!).

Nevertheless, at least I had time to switched it on a short while last week, IN THE DARK! I believe many people are keen to see how the keyboard is lit in the dark. so here's a picture, taken in the dark.



Besides I only had time to look through the bloatware and think of what to do to them, e.g. MS Office Trial. I had a bad experience with the uninstall of Office 2007 on my friend's machine, so I am looking around for the best way to completely get rid of it. Any one has any tips???



Next, I have downloaded a few HD movie files to try the quality of the playback on the screen. I hope to be able to include a short video of the testing in my next report.

Also, will try to run the various benchmarking as suggested by some of the guys here.



cheers.

 

Keyboard looks kinda dark compared to the SXPS 13 but glad to see the light making it visible. Just the pic I wanted!

Screen looks kinda dim. What's the brightness setting on that one?

 

the keyboard brightness is adjustable no? but it looks damn good. i'm jealous. =) good luck with the benchmarking and everything!

 

Guys,

With regards to the brightness of the keyboard, in real life it's definitely brighter than the picture shows. Remember, this is just an "instantaneous snapshot" of the keyboard, shot at 1/30s shutter speed, but to the eyes, we are looking at it "continuously" so it definitely looks brighter than shown on the photograph. Also, I was running on battery, so definitely it shouldn't be on the "maximum brightness" setting.



cheers.

 

buay pai leh!

first thing that you need to do is to reformat the whole thing and install Win7!

*best in Singapore, JB... and some say even Batam...*

 

Yeah did you get around to checking the bechmarks or speakers(you definitely used the speakers by now ) Whats the impression?

 

@kargtan:
i'm planning to buy this notebook too. could you tell me what are the bloatwares?
sorry for my stupid english >.<

 

as much as i wanted to wait for this, there's absolutely no way i can get this relatively cheap (more or less in the $800) with the features (and bloat) advertised. So, as I bid you guys good luck with your wait for a laptop I had seriously been considering, I must depart and become a ThinkPad T400 user. *deep breath*

 

ew, i feel your pain Mr Think pad. Enjoy your 90's looking laptop lol

 

Haha maybe I'll look more sophisticated in college or people will think it was a hand-me-down from my dad XD. at least i can enjoy DDR3 ram... i'm so used to a touchpad that i don't even know if i'll use the trackpoint. anyway i'll stop getting off topic here.

good luck on the U80V guys--i'll be checking up here when you guys start posting benchmarks and screenshots of your new babies

 

The T400 is an awesome notebook, however, there's really no benefit from the DDR3 ram due to it's high latencies. You'll eventually start getting use to the trackpoint and will find it's MUCH more convenient to use compared to the touchpad

 

Trackpoint is awesome. I just feel that it takes a little bit of getting used to.

 

What do you mean DDR3's high latencies?

Also, on a side note (i feel so bad for going off U80V topic) but I'm planning to get the T400 with 2GB (1-DIMM) and adding this: Crucial 2GB 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500). Do I have to tweak anything in order for it to work? I think i'm going for 64-bit too..

 

CAS latency is the delay time which elapses between the moment a memory controller tells the memory module to access a particular column in a selected row, and the moment the data from the given array location is available on the module's output pins.

In other words, the lower the CAS latency, the faster and better your ram will run. DDR3 ram typically have CAS latencies of 7 while DDR2 can have as low as 3. If you plan to overclock, it's usually advisable to purchase low CAS latency ram modules. As of now, there really isn't much performance difference between DDR2 and DDR3.

You would not need to tweak anything when you upgrade your ram. Simply pop it in and you're all set.

 

Well, I can't turn my T400 into a DDR2 RAM machine. I read up on some DDR2 vs DDR3 articles/forums and it seems like the faster DDR3 speeds negate the high CAS latency. *shrugs* I guess it varies though--low CAS DDR2-1200 would probably be really fast, for e.g. Eh, negligible to me--DDR3-1066 is enough for me--better than my desktop's DDR2-800 i bet (2x2GB). i need to place my order already because I hear lenovo takes forever to ship!

 

Please Please Please.

I'm french and I'm going to going crazy. I'm really fond of the U80 but I can't only find a test about it on the internet. Before I buy this notebook, I would like to know every little thing I can't guess just by looking at it and especially as far as the game part is concerned.

I'm not stupid. I don't want to buy the Asus U80 to play hardcore games, so I forget about all First Person Shooter games. But I'm quiet sure it would be able to make some new arcade games work very well.

So if you can, I suppose so, install a game like Velvet Assassin, Wolverine, Ghostbusters, SF IV, Prototype... and tell us if it works and how it works, it would be great.

Thank you by advance.