U30JC discussion thread

This screen is standard-fare for cheaper notebooks (though it isn't cheap.)

I find my screen very bright!

But photo editing? I think, on my unit, the screen is the poorest part of the U30Jc. Blacks are dark gray in areas due to LED backlighting, and the nearly non-existent vertical viewing angles are impossible to get perfect.

But if you were using it on an external monitor, then go for it. Other than the screen, I love using my U30Jc. A great notebook, though probably NOT for photo-editing on its 13" screen, IMO.

 

woah thanks heaps! btw how many hours of battery life would you get from a 2800mAh 8 cell battery?

 

For a comparison, the 5600mAh battery is rated for 10 hr on the UL30Jt (i5-520Um) & 9.5 hrs on the U30Jc (i3-350M). It's rated for 12 hrs on the UL30Vt (SU7300 ULV).

On the PL30Jt or the U33Jc, 2800 mAh looks like half the size of the 5600 mAh ... so half the battery life? 5 hrs max?

An electrical engineer here could tell you.

 

thats ridiculous! the battery life of the thing was one of the major selling points of these models and now without it, they are just ordinary laptops. im also surpised how they sold the u33jc before the u30jc

 

2800mAH is a very strange spec indeed for an 8-cell. If it was, say, a 4-cell, things would make sense.

 

Yeah. I hear you. But every one of them listed it as 2800mAh, and most all as 8-cell. None as 4-cell.

Even more rediculous, if true, since these are more expensive notebooks.

I'm confused. :confused2:

 

same. if its an 8 cell why not just make it 5600mAH. If so, i'll probably end up buying from Amazon or something or end up buying a macbook.

 

Electrical Engineer reporting

Yes you are correct, it would be about half the battery life. Voltage * Current yields the Power required. The U30Jc battery is rated at the usual 11.1V? That would make up 11.1 * 2.800 = 31Wh of energy, the 5600mAh version would have up to aprox 62Wh. What it will mean (for the 31Wh version) is that the laptop could run for one hour when consuming 31W, or 2 hours when consuming 15.5W.

Please keep in mind that the ammount of cells doesn't say anything at all as well. A cell can store an ammount of energy, which depends on the size of the cell itself. Compare it to cars, mine has one tank to store the fuel. But that is useless information as you don't know what volume it has. The same applies to cells in a battery. The configuration of them gives a voltage (probably by putting each 2 cells in series and connect those in parallel).

One option is that these notebooks can't hold large batteries. I really can imagine this with the bamboo serie. I guess the cells in these notebooks might be thinner than those in the U30Jc battery so it fits in a nice bamboo housing. The bamboo series are design products, the U30Jc is aimed to be functional.

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Meh, when is this rig coming to Holland... Germany, Spain and France have it already. But those have AZERTY and QWERTZ keyboards, while we are using the standard US International layout... MEH...

 

what.....this is weird..it does appear that the PL30JT and U33JC and U53JC is available in australian stores...
http://www.onlinevip.com.au/index.php?cPath=31_160&sort=2a&page=3
look on the list
And it actually says it is in stock. WOAH

I would prefer the PL30JT over the U30JC
im going to call them in tomorow to see if they actually have them in stock.

btw can anyone get onto this link, its not working for me. Its the asus australian site
http://www.asusnotebook.com.au/

 

Great! But after the above discussion, please find out what SIZE battery they have; not the cells (says 8) but the mAh.

These AU sellers:
http://www.techbuy.com.au/product.asp?at=51&prodid=140663
http://www.computerwholesale.com.au/?263175
say the PL30JT has the very small 2800mAh battery.

If true, that would give you HALF the battery life of the U30Jc.

Unless the larger stock 5600 mAh battery that fits the UL30Jt & U30Jc also fits the PL30Jt and you wanted to buy the larger battery later.

 

Thanks for the reply. Would you mind testing your U30JC monitor for black point ( http://www.scarse.org/adjust/black.html) and white point ( http://www.scarse.org/adjust/white.html) and reporting the results.

 

I'm not sure how to report the results.

On default settings, I couldn't see Intensity 3 (I3) on the black test and I couldn't see the 1st two for the white test until I move thescreen back a bit.

To see I3 on the white test, I had to scale down the contrast to its lowest setting. Then to see I3 on the black test, I then needed to raise the Gamma level. Eventually, I could see the I3 checkerboard in both tests , ... barely.

And when the settings worked on both tests, I couldn't see the I3 checkered box from the same vertical viewing point from both. If I saw the black one, then I couldn't see the white one. I had to push the screen back to see the white, and then when I went to black, I needed to pull the screen forward.

But this has no affect on large black areas (ie during bootup or watching HULU HD full-screen) that look like washed-out grays. That's the back-lighting, I'm pretty sure. In a completely black screen, I can see lighter portions on top and bottom edges while seeing pure black in the middle band. Or often, it feels like the bottom edge is lighter then the rest of the screen while the top is on the verge of going negative. This is the same problem I have on my Dell 15" Vostro screen, and a $1,100-1,200 Sony 13" VAIO at BestBuy, so I'm not picking on ASUS. Oddly enough, I don't have this problem on my $300 ASUS 10" netbook ... perhaps because the screen is so much shorter.

Brightness has 15 steps and is more than bright enough for me, usually too much on full.

Is that the info you were looking for?

 

Hey all,

I've been looking at 13.3" and 14.1" models to serve as a replacement for my aging HP dv6000, which always was a POS (and to think that it was my main computer for 2 years ). Would any of you folks say that the U30JC would be overkill for moving around a college campus, travelling home for breaks, and generally being a loving companion for my desktop when I'm away from it? Or should I look at the UL30vt instead?

I'm loathe to sacrifice a disk drive, but seeing as how the battery life is better on the UL30vt, and that I don't exactly need a powerful laptop (although that would be a plus), I would still consider getting that older model. A nice balance of portability and performance is important for me, and both the UL30 and U30 seem to be winners in that respect.

 

U30Jc:
Internal Optical Disk Drive
3/16" thicker
1 lb heavier
faster i3 2.26GHz processor
Optimus auto-graphics switching
Classy-looking w/ Aluminum lid & palm-rest/trackpad
10 hrs battery life

UL30Vt
No ODD, but external slim drives cost <$50
under an inch thick
1 lb lighter
SU7300 Turboclockable to 1.76GHz
Manual graphics-switching (not a big deal for some users)
12 hrs battery. (2+ hrs more battery life in best power-saving scenario. 1+ hr more in normal use)
Aluminum lid only, glossy palm-rest and case (finger-print magnet so some bought the silver model and that helped.)
At least $100 cheaper

Both are solid builds. The U30Jc is considered more classy looking.

So the rest is up to what you think you need.

 

Yes, thanks. The "see black, but no white or see white, but no black" issue you report is normal. When calibrating your monitor on that specific test, you shouldn't in the end be seeing "intensity 3 black," but only "intensity 3 white." See what it says when testing for black point: "Increase the brightness control of your monitor until you can see all three checker patterns below. Then decrease brightness until you can't make out pattern 'Intensity 3' anymore."


Thanks for your help. I think I'm tempted to buy it. I realize that most screens on laptops of this size and price will have limitations for photo editing. I was just concerned that its brightness might be less than adequate.

 

Decisions, decisions.

I think I'll see how prices change over the next few months. I think I'm leaning towards the U30JC because of the beefier specs and the inclusion of an optical drive (I don't have a problem with making disc images/using an external, but I'd rather have an internal drive).

 

And thank you for teaching me on white/black and that link test. Very helpful!

I think it's a great unit. It's fast on Win 7 64-bit even on the stock HDD. The discrete 310M is very powerful for what I need and the battery life is very good. Keyboard is really nice as is the brushed aluminum. Its WiFi card reception is AMAZING and logs on very quickly for me.

The screen's viewing angles & back-lighting are adequate. But it does have a sense of a sharp focus & seems quite bright (MUCH better than my wife's white 13" Macbook which feels dim & washed out/soft/mushy next to my screen). Nice vivid colors. An external monitor would fix up the viewing & blacks issue.

It's more than adequate for what I need; it moves into the "I enjoy working on this machine" category for me.

 

I've only had an external DVD drive the last 2 yrs, and frankly, I missed it. I'm now glad my unit has an internal DVD drive. A bit more weight, but worth it to me.

 

I'll post up some comparisons of the U30JC and UL80VT tonight. If anyone wants specific shots from a specific angle, just ask

 

that would be great!

 

can someone explain how u30jc can achieve much higher battery life in comparison to its competitors with similar specs. i understand that its nvidia optimus allows you to use the onboard intel graphics card when doing routine tasks, but that still doesn't explain how other comparable systems that have only integrated graphics last much shorter. is it that u30jc has a much more capacious battery?

 

It also depends on test methods. Probably, the Acer was tested with a more bright screen, consuming more power:

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Asus-K72JK-TY001V-Notebook.29016.0.html
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Acer-Aspire-5741G-334G50Mn-Notebook.28688.0.html
Both laptops have about the same specs and the same battery. I also see differences in reviews where the U30Jc gets only 4 hours, while other tests rate it at 7 hours.... It really depends on the methods used to test the notebook.

 

What competitors? I haven't seen any other 13" laptops with Optimus and i3-350M... or even i3-330M. Most of the other laptops you are reffering to have larger displays and do not include Optimus.
The real competition is with CULV laptops with or without Optimus.
I managed to get 6 hours with wi-fi on, browsing and office apps; that is decent for these specs and more than enough for me.

LE: Also another factor in battery life is the fact that not too many models come with a 8 cell 5600mA battery like the U30Jc.

 

yeah, ~7.5 hours is the best I've gotten so far with wifi/browsing and office apps. I think an SSD will increase this by maybe 45 minutes if I've calculated correctly but I need exact watts that the SSD's use. Movies is close to 5 hours and gaming I believe was around 3 hours but I was in and out of a few games and quite a bit of loading.

I think it's great for what it is and what it cost so far.

 

You have both?

 

Yes, that's about what I'm getting as well.

I'm curious to try and keep wifi off, brightness 50% and just do a day of Office apps only and see what I can get. I should think about 8.5-9 hrs. But trying to exceed 8 hrs straight on a notebook is torture. Too long for me & too many other things to do. So I may never know.

If I'm desperate, there are usually outlet plugs available somewhere near me at some point during the day.

But it is more than enough for me.

... I really like this notebook.

 

BTW, Th@n@tos, any more results on your battery tests?

I am wondering, like the NBR Review said:

if the battery life on Office and web work (not movies) is better or worse when the NVIDIA Control Panel has the discrete graphics set as the general default or the integrated?

I would have thought to keep it set as "integrated" as the default, but the NBR quote seems to imply the opposite.

I can say in limited testing (1 hr with each set as the default) that I don't seem to get worse battery life with the NVIDIA GPU set as the default.

With the discrete graphics on default, I notice under GPU-Z that the discrete card isn't really showing use or load under basic desk work.

Do you have a take on this, or any one else with a U30Jc or an Optimus-driven PC?

 

it has to be the 8 cell battery primarily then, right? toshiba e205, lenovo edge 14, dell inspiron 14, hp dv4i all have intel's intergrated graphics, i3 or i5 for processor, and a slightly larger 14 inch screen, but much shorter battery life.

optimus per se doesn't save you battery life - it simply allows you to have discrete graphics when needed. that is, it allows you to have greater battery life only in comparison to other systems with regular non-optimus discrete graphics, but not in comparison to systems with intergrated graphics.

 

I'll play around and test it next. I'm going to try and get the most amount of tests done to get solid numbers before I go out and buy a SSD.

 

did the stock of this notebooks return? are they available?

thnx.

 

Call GenTechpPC http://www.gentechpc.com/contact/contact.html or Xotic PC http://www.xoticpc.com/contact_us.php and ask. It's not at Amazon.

 

How is the U30JC's performance for Photoshop, HD video and multitasking?

I'm looking to dump my custom desktop w/ Core i5-650 2.66 quad core & Radeon 3850 and replace it with a more portable notebook like a Macbook or U30JC.

Will the performance downgrade be that noticeable? Right now I'm on overkill with this big bulky desktop system because I barely use any software besides Photoshop, Picasa and FlipShare. Everything else I do is in the browser...

I was thinking of getting a notebook like a U30JC and swapping in a SSD. What do you guys think?

 

Er...you're thinking of replacing that desktop? Didn't i5's come out less than a year ago?

That being said, unless you think you're going to pick up video editing or gaming anytime soon, the desktop might be overkill. But it's probably nice to have, just in case.

 

Are there any Canadian resellers/retailers currently selling this? Yes, I am aware xotic/gentec who can all ship up here, but that means tax + customs

 

Yea, you're right. I did a Newegg cpu/mobo/RAM combo upgrade to my desktop last year under $350. I don't game or do much video editing. I would prefer to replace it with a good notebook. Quad core is overkill for me. I didn't notice a huge difference at all when I upgraded from Core 2 Duo to the Core i5.

I'm definitely going to buy a notebook, and I have a good feeling that this desktop will just sit around not getting used.

 

The U30Jc's performance on Photoshop depends on what you want to do with it. For basic photo-editing, it should be great.

HD video & mutitasking can be done w/o the OS breaking a sweat.

Its i3-350M 2.26GHz dual-core, 4 thread makes for a great processor in mobile terms (at least for me).

The 310M sounds good for present games (I don't play that many), though ones like Crysis need to be scaled down to low settings.

Your desktop sounds awesome, though I now don't miss the noise of my previous desktop. This notebook runs extremely cool and is pretty quiet.

The exhaust air can get hot when running games or HD video, but even then, the notebook stays very cool on the top & bottom. I often set it on my lap while wearing shorts and feel nothing on my bare legs though the vent air is very warm to hot.

 

some reviews that say 4 hours used a very strenuous battery test. reviews that got 7-8 hours used a test that better simulated typical usage (wifi on, web browsing, etc)

 

5 solid hours was what i was looking for. anything over is just being kind to me

 

What about here for comparison. It says TigerDirect.ca have it in stock, but for $1,188 CAD!:
http://www.shopbot.ca/pp-asus-u30jc-a1-asus-price-245855.html

And here's NCIX.com who have it in stock for $970 CAD (Canadian site):
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=52137

And here's DirectDial.com's Canada store:
http://www.shopbot.ca/pp-asus-u30jc-a1-asus-price-245855.html

They're out of stock, but it always comes back in.

 

Then this is a very "kind" notebook.

 

AAAH I'm dying.... Quatro, you in particular are encouraging my excitement to receive my new computer, but alas XoticPC still has "end of April" as ETA. I withheld from the TigerDirect sale as I wanted the upgraded HDD I'm buying with the XoticPC order, but if they don't get stock by May 1st... I may have to take desperate measures and even before then I may jump ship if there's a new great offer.

I need my notebook before May 8th so I can get it where I want it to be Software Wise for my May 15th departure to Japan!
Gah

 

Looking at XoticPC's upgrades on the hard disk, they seem expensive to me since you pay for the upgraded HD and then they keep the old HD that was in the notebook (worth $60). So in a way, you're paying $60 extra.

Of course, you're paying for them to install the HD plus reinstall the OS, but HDD's are very easy to install & setup.

 

Is there any possible way to get the UL30JC without an optical drive (Or perhaps even remove it DIY style) to help lower the weight?
The price for the JC is great, but the design of the JC seems to have moved away from the ultraportable form of the ul30VT's and apparently you have to double what you paid in order to get that back :/

 

Ah yes I know I know... I could do it myself but I figured since I have a deadline for getting the notebook it would be easier just to get it done.... I regret it now, but $44 seemed like so little at the time

Oh well, I'm keeping my eyes open elsewhere.

I actually did the Wireless upgrade on my 1000HE myself and that was a biooottch, so I know the HDD is not difficult, pah now I'm reeeeally thinking about reordering. :X

 

I received one for my cousin last week from GenTechPC. Xotic could not ship it to me at the first week of May so as soon as I found out that Gentech had stock I ordered it. I can't wait any longer than that since I had to fly too

I hear Quatro kept complaining about the screen on the ASUS U30JC but I opened it today just to test it form my cousin. I kinda think the screen look better than the one on my crappy G50VT-X5 lol.

 

AAAAAAH why didn't I order from GenTechPC, I almost pulled the trigger on them too!

 

indeed. let's just say that i have made some pretty bad laptop choices in the past. my first "gaming" laptop from 6 yrs ago only got 2 hours max.

then i got a netbook which had decent battery life (3.5-4 h) but slower than crap.

now, i only have my desktop to rely on until i get this asus!

 

Wondered if any current users could help me out.
I use the color enhancement on the intel control panel to change my settings.
My problem is that I lose these settings in two instances and the desktop reverts to default settings (even though my chosen settings are still shown in the control panel)

1) after disconnecting from hdmi
2) when the screen is turned off by power management

This doesn't occur on resuming from sleep or if i manually turn off the lcd (Fn+F7).

Any ideas how I can stop this from happening short of disabling power management and not using hdmi?

 

Perhaps if you use these settings all the time you could find a way to change your settings to be the default settings (edit default file?)

 

I did what I should have tried in the first place and updated the intel drivers and this fixed it.