Ul30vt

Hello, has anyone ordered one already? Has anyone received it already? How is it?

 

Great news!

Canada Comptuters has the UL50Vt in stock. The great news part is that the price is only $899CAD. I'm guessing that the UL30Vt will likely be below that meaning it's after tax cost will be under $1K. Here's hoping that it's released soon!

http://canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=026551&cid=NBK.300.645

}:^)~

 

will amazon's $100 gift card apply to this guy? has anyone asked amazon?

i dunno whether to grab the ul80vt now or wait for this one. :-/

 

Assuming ASUS remains blind to the USD to CAD exchange rate, it'll be $929 CAD on amazon.
(going off the fact that the UL30A-A2 is $799 USD/$929 CAD, pre-order for UL30Vt is $799 USD)

 

damn, they should do black friday on the pre-order!

 

I've never heard of this notebook, but after looking it up, it apparently comes with an Nvidia G210M? Which, according to notebook check, scored just under (the difference being almost negligible) the 8600M GT! I can't remember the exact number, but I paid somewhere in the neighbourhood of $1300-$1400 CAD after tax for my F8... and the UL30vt is only 799 USD? I realize the processors are in different leagues, but come on! Not to mention the bigger HD, more RAM, and better battery life!

Sometimes, I hate technology.

 

Don't feel too bad. Six months from now, the UL30 A/VT will be ancient and we will be fawning over the next UL30 with a Core i7 620UM/640UM and 16 hours of battery life while driving around in our hovercrafts.

 

Haha, thanks, I think I needed that.

 

And good luck getting $300 for it then too, they depreciate pretty quickly. But alas, thats technology....

 

That sounds like a good estimate, considering the price for the UL50Vt that I mentioned was a promotional price. Still, at this pAssumingrice, the after tax price is a hair over $1K, which is not bad at all. Still, I'm expecting it for slightly less than the UL50Vt as the 50 is larger and has more hardware (the DVD).

Either way, the price is looking really good!

}:^)~

 

I just installed Win 7 on my inspiron. I'm not sure why people were so excited about Win 7, it's extremely similar to Vista. In fact, they're almost identical save for some welcome usability improvements; though not enough to denounce one in favour of the other. Just goes to show how culturally based 'personal opinions' are (makes me wonder about my own ).

Still, it is an improvement, so I look forward to running Win7 on my UL30Vt! Of course, dual-booting Ubuntu while maintaining great battery is my ultimate target. In the short term, though, I'll deal with Ubuntu as a virtual guest.

Oh, and to keep this post semi-relevant to the thread:
After looking over the UL80Vt review at anandtech, I'm guessing that the UL30Vt screen will be a step up from this inspiron that I'm using. The UL80Vt compares favourably to the Dell 14z (which uses a superior TrueBright screen compared to the the Inspiron 15 screen -- which I'm guessing is fluorescent backlit). If the UL30Vt is using the same screen tech as the UL80Vt, then the UL30Vt screen will be better than the 14z screen and thus the Inspiron 15 screen by default.

By 'better', I'm referring to contrast, white, and black level as measured by the anandtech review. Now, the margins are small, and likely negligible, but it's not a step south of mediocre, which is what I care about. You see, I was under the false impression that the UL30Vt was going to have a garbage screen, but it appears that the screen should be quite average with more than acceptable performance, which is ok by me.

Here's the review for convenience:
http://www.anandtech.com/mobile/showdoc.aspx?i=3665&p=6

}:^)~

 

After a working day with Win7, I'm still scratching my head to understand what the big deal is. The thought that comes to mind is: Malibu Stacey..... with a new hat!

The installation on my inspiron seems a little quirky, but that aside, it's vista's interface with some minor changes. Honestly, ubuntu sees more changes between updates. Of course, I have no idea what's going on under the hood, but on the surface, it's practically the same thing with a spot of polish. I suspect Vista suffered from bad market positioning than anything else.

Speaking of bad positioning, I recall an ad that Microsoft ran where they took users, put them in a room and told them that the Vista OS they were using was actually something improved and they unanimously liked it. It seems they turned that experiment into a marketing campaign with Win 7.

But it's still comfortable to use, so I'm happy. I also got AVG anti-virus (the free version) which is a plus. It's nice not to have to buy anti-virus for this insecure OS. It would be nicer not to need it at all, but c'est la vie.

Ok... Back on topic...

I was at the shop and noticed that the quality of LCDs was astounding! I'm now totally going to buy an LCD over a plasma, as the modern screens have incredible contrast, wonderful saturation and unbeatable brightness. They're really impressive! I still may get a large one, though 42" for my desk. I'm considering two smaller flanking screens and a home server.

The trick is to get the UL30Vt on the middle screen with only one keyboard and mouse controlling everything. Quite a challenge indeed. Some type of streaming solution might do the trick!



{:^)~

 

i have a friend who is going to the states in the 5th of December
and he will stay a month
will he be able to get this for me
when it is really coming out ?
if he couldn't get before he finish his visit will he b able to cancel his order safely?

 

Yes, it would be best to get and LCD over a plasma, especially if you are gonna use it as a computer monitor. Depending on how close you are sitting, I think a 32" 1080p LCD would be better. Having a monitor so big on a desk may disappoint you, as you will be able to see individual pixels really easily.

I have no idea what you mean by the last paragraph... I'm assuming you would need a KVM switch if I understand what you are trying to say.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KVM_switch

 

.... but she has a new hat!

For me, there are alot of interface improvements in 7 that make me want to use it over vista... Lots of little things like snapping windows to the side and the improved task bar. But to each their own

If I had the cash, I'd definitely pick this baby up though. Sounds perfect... Well, aside from the crummy screen and lower capacity battery. If those two things were rectified, it would be perfect imo.

Also, the 9300M GS is faster than the ION 9400M... I saw someone in this thread mention the opposite

 

When Vista launched, it was universally panned by users and critics. The Vista name just isn't marketable, regardless of how far it's come with all the service packs and updates. Yes, Windows 7 is a matured Vista but to the general public, it's a new OS. People who stuck with XP (and some degree, OSX) because of all the Vista hate are who MS is selling to.

We're a minority here. We know what we're doing with our computers. Average Joe will follow the marketing.

Back on topic, my idea of the perfect UL30VT was adding a 1600 x 900 LCD because I want it to replace my A8Js (with 1440 x 900) but it doesn't look like it's happening though I can always hope.

The next option is something smaller that will compliment my A8Js, which would be relegated to the desktop tethered to a power socket because of it's weight and poor battery life (all of 2 hours).

 

I see they have preorder on the silver version in Australia for about 1354.6155 USD.

Link : http://www.techbuy.com.au/p/131132/NOTEBOOKS_13.3/ASUS/UL30VT-QX028X.asp

Can anyone see why it should be more expensive ? like the model is costing 600 AUD - 450 USD more down here, and it even got less hd space.

blah

 

It's mostly due to the customs tax/duties of your country - something we can't avoid unless we physically buy a laptop from another country and bring it back with you.

 

Ohh, yeah I was thinking about that myself. But still 450 USD is pretty stiff. I thought there was something extra with the silver version, or that the model number UL30VT-QX028X was better than the X1.

In my point of view, you can get a lot better hardware for 1200 USD than 799 which this one costs.

I guess I have to snatch one from ebay, guessing the price is going to be around 899/950 USD.

Thanks for the reply though.

 

Guys, after looking at the amazon pics, it looks as if this model does not have an optical drive?

Can anyone confirm this?

I will still buy it if it does not but for a 13.3 incher I think an optical drive would be nice...

Cheers

 

Well no one can say for sure, i think none have shipped yet, but i think it doesnt, the weight also reflects a difference between the ul80vt (4.8 pounds) and the ul30vt (3.74 pounds), some should be smaller chassis and battery, but also the drive. I think the other UL30 didnt had dvd either so my guess is that the VT will not have it as well.

 

UL30VT doesn't have optical drive, the same with UL30A

 

What I mean is to have a keyboard and mouse used with both computers without using a KVM. For example, have a server that runs VNC into the UL30Vt when docked, then displays the contents in a window on the center screen. My only concern would be refresh performance. However, it already seems too complicated, so I'll probably just use a separate keyboard/mouse for the home server on the two flanking screens *or* get a USB display so that the UL30Vt can drive the two flanking screens. Since I'm not expecting huge refresh on those screens (terminal, etc) the performance should be adequate!

I have to do some planning before I settle on something that works. But I would like it to be very integrated and very easy to use.

Don't get me wrong, I think that Win7 is an improvement over Vista, and the changes are welcome. I especially like the new taskbar with the icons that can be pinned.

Of course, I suspect these upgrades technically could have been released in a service pack. Though, I understand the need for Microsoft to rebrand vista given the huge amounts of hate it had in the market!

Yep, the UL30Vt is IMO the best laptop money can buy right now. Aside from potentially the screen resolution, there are not too many compromises that it makes for its features. Usually laptops are fast, but missing battery life, or have great battery life, but are slow, etc. The UL30Vt is fast, good looking, inexpensive, has great performance, and is thin-and-light. One of the only few laptops to do all of this is the Macbook White, and this easily outguns it at a lower price.

You're right about the 9300M GS, it's a hair faster than the 9400m from what I recall. Version numbers can be deceiving!

Yeah, we certainly are the minority!

It would be great if the UL30Vt had a 1600x900 screen. However there *may* be the option of adding one down the line, though this can be unnattractive for a number of reasons. I'm personally going to get a large LCD panel as an external monitor for the UL30Vt to drive when I'm docked at home. The UL30Vts res should be more than ok when I'm on the road (usually doing less demanding tasks anyway). Would this option work for you as well?

}:^)~

 

Well, I had a wonderful time wrestling with Win 7 to get my wireless card in my inspiron acting right. It has an Atheros 1515 half-mini pci, and dell has drivers on their site, but, the drivers don't work! Sadly, dell has known about the issue since the end of the summer *and* it's all over their public forums but still they continue to offer drivers that don't work properly.

Never buy a dell, unless they seriously get their act together.

With Vista, the wireless worked fine. However, as soon as I upgraded to Win 7, the wireless performance was VERY slow (dailup slow) often requiring multiple clicks to get to a page in a site.

The users on the dell forum had a solution: using an unsigned modification of XP drivers. However, installing in Win7 proved difficult as the obvious option to 'update driver' and select from disk didn't work! Rather you had to 'update driver' and 'select from list' then choose 'have disk' at which point you could choose the appropriate driver. It's not terribly obvious, but hopefully my toil helps some other poor soul in here forced to upgrade drivers.

Needless to say, my wireless is now functioning normally.

I'm really glad to see that ASUS has taken the problems it experienced with the UL30A wireless seriously. I also hope they address the build issues with the UL80Vt. It's frustrating when you're sitting on $800 of computer and simple things that should work, do not work.

This is an advantage that apple has in the mindset of the user. I can't help but think that if ASUS distirbuted 10 future laptops to trusted employees to use for 1 weeks and report back on, they could release the machine with perfect functioning. They would know if the computer was overheating, or the WiFi wasn't working, etc. It seems as if they already take large quality control steps, though, which is good.

Dell, on the other hand.....

}:^)~

 

Capt'n they the freeware program called Synergy. It hasn't been updated for a long time but seems to still work in win 7

 

Rep for you, my friend! This is an awesome find, and PRECISELY what I'm looking for. This will allow me to use my UL30Vt as a host driving a large display, and still hand the mouse/keyboard to a desktop machine acting largely as a server/terminal, as easily as dragging it off of the screen. Wow!

Thanks so much for the information!

Here's video of an insane (and I mean crazy in the truest sense) setup using synergy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Id3GHAruhAk

}:^)~

 

* Espresso Black
* Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
* Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-720QM Processor (1.6GHz, 6MB L2 Cache, 1333MHz FSB)
* FREE Upgrade to 4GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm) from 2GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
* FREE Upgrade to 320GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive with HP ProtectSmart Hard Drive Protection
* 1GB Nvidia GeForce GT 230M
* 15.6" diagonal High Definition LED HP Brightview Widescreen Display (1366x768)
* FREE Upgrade to Blu-Ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer
* Webcam Only
* Wireless-G Card
* No TV Tuner w/remote control
* HP Color Matching Keyboard
* 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
* No Modem
* Microsoft(R) Works 9.0
* HP Home & Home Office Store in-box envelope
for 750 $
i must resist the temptation
i love the ul30vt but they r making it hard 4 me 2 choose
please help me decide

 

Hi there ayman555

i highly suggest you the What Notebook Should I Buy? Forum and fill the WNSIB Form here

 

A note on the 9300M GS Versus 9400M. The 9400M GPU *IS* more powerful than the 9300M GS. The only reason the 9300M GS performs better is because it has more memory bandwidth at its disposal. If the 9400M had dedicated memory, it would be a good deal faster than the 9300M, right around 50% faster when adjusting for the clock speed differences. If memory bandwidth isn't an issue in a certain game/application, then the 9400M will outperform the 9300M GS.

 

I suggest this thread by Charles P. Jefferies about GPUs and where they stand by performance. Notebookcheck has some good guides too for more info go to www.notebookcheck.com

 

Not sure why you care if it stays on topic, because it is obvious that you have not read the thread as evidence by your previous post. The post where you had asked if anyone received theirs yet... Seems like a silly question if one was reading the thread. Asside from that, I don't see any contributions from you other than posting and telling people to stay on topic.

 

The posts relate to an unavailable notebook computer and it's video chipset. People are trying to get an idea of what to expect from it relating to systems that are actually out there. To me this makes it totally on topic.....

I could see your point if the system were available with accessable information on it but that is not the case here. You really need to be interested in the sequence of the entire thread before taking up the stance a post is off topic.............

 

My apologies in that case. Let me delete that post then. Thanks for being so polite on your reply.

 

@Serg,

No worries. I think we're all just really excited about the laptop and finding discussion any way that we can in anticipation of more information. Most of it is speculative, but will likely be more relevant as the units are released and/or are reviewed.

}:^)~

 

This should have it's own thread as the machines are two different classes. The UL30vt and what you list are just widely different animals. to me a 15.6, even if iit were 2 lbs, is too bulky to be an ultra portable. Not to mention the difference in battery life of the CLUV's and switchable graphics.

As mentioned you need to see what your needs for a system are and then decide on a machine. As you can see notebooks are not just notebooks anymore.........

 

There will be UL30vt model in COMPUTEX next week in Taipei. Perhaps more information about ul30vt will fly in later.

 

Hi guys,

I`ve been doing some googeling,and I see that the models offered in the nordics and here in Australia all are named ul30vt-QX(smt). It seems that the QX costs about 200-450 USD more.
The QX come with a black AND a Silver finish, but except that I don`t really see a difference in specs.

I read somewhere that Asus were going to offer the silver model to a different segment, even though it did not have better specifications.

So would it be safe to assume that the one on Amazon has a plastic-feeling to it and is considered to be marketed as netbook, where as they try to market the silver one as an ultra-portable?

Going to send an e-mail to Asus on Monday and get them to specify the difference.

 

Check the OS. Sometimes the premium paid is for Win7 Professional rather than Win7 Home Premium.

Just a guess.

}:^)~

 

Ahh, yes! that might be it. Win 7 is expensive indeed. I want an open source variant!

Have the option to pre order one, for the price of 1300 USD (QX version), but think im wait until amazon ships it internationally.
Does anyone know what the policy for Amazon is when it comes the new items and shipping internationally?

 

You and me both! I'm looking forward to running ubuntu natively on the UL30Vt. Unfortunately, at the time being, it runs with the discrete graphics on with no way to turn it off, so the battery life is bound to be far worse than in windows (one of the major reasons to purchase this unit).

In the meantime, I'm going to run Ubuntu in VirtualBox as I'm doing on my Inspiron. Since I tend not to need performance in Ubuntu, this is an adequate solution. Of course, it would be nice to dual-boot as Windows is terribly insecure.

To answer your question re: amazon, no idea, mate.

}:^)~

 

Capt'n Corrupt, do you know what the is the highest CPU you can put in this laptop? Is it SU7300 only?

 

According to the official site, it appears as if the SU7300 is the highest cpu you can get stock with the UL30Vt. The page lists lower SU2300/743 C2D @1.2GHz, but I've never seen a product listing with this CPU spec. I suspect it's limited to specific markets. Also consider that the official site lists bluetooth as an option, but I've not seen a north-american retailer to offer bluetooth stock. Again, it's likely for specific markets.

You can inspect the page here:
http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=57XDSj2LxRg41F0d

If you're looking into installing a new processor, then I can't answer this question. You're better of asking someone in this forum that has experience modding laptops!


Interestingly, the official site lists the UL30a as having an SU9400 C2D option @ 1.4GHz, but again, I suspect it's limited to certain markets.
http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=8CwAK6XZ0pekc7aI

Consider the performance of the SU7300 vs SU9400 (hardly scientific, but interesting):
http://www.anandtech.com/mobile/showdoc.aspx?i=3665&p=4
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Acer-TravelMate-8571-Notebook.20052.0.html

Interestingly, the SU7300 in the UL80Vt scores higher on the PCMark Vantage than the SU9400 in the Acer TravelMate 857, both when stock and overclocked.

You can compare the spec sheet of the SU7300 and the SU9400 using the following links:
su7300 - http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=8CwAK6XZ0pekc7aI
su9400 - http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=36697

}:^)~

 

@Serg,

After a little research, here's a list of processors that share the same socket as the SU7300, and *may* be drop-in-place replacements:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_Ultra-Low_Voltage

As far as I can tell, the SU9600 (the highest processor of this class) is simply an overclocked SU7300. Interestingly the SU7300 with Turbo33 is overclocked higher than the stock SU9600; it has a higher multiplier (8.64x vs 8x). But I have no experience in these matters, so it's best if someone else provides their experience.

}:^)~

 

Interesting, thanks. Did you notice the faster and "better spec'd" SU9600 is the same price as the SU7300?

I know my way around CPUs, but I wonder about this, since a better CPU would make this laptop perfect as my portable companion (just need to feed the savings piggy).

Oh, just noticed, one is the Vt and the other is the A. Different versions, perhaps that is why different CPUs are listed...

I wonder if the SU9400 version will be cheaper, at least wikipedia lists it as cheaper than the SU7300 and the SU9600.

I ask because I dont like moding laptops too much...voiding warranties aint that fun if your laptop ever fails you.

Well, thanks a lot for the help!

 

Let me preface this as below is 110% speculation...........

With VT's they overclock the fsb. The DDR3 1066 alows them to do this handily but they most likely are CPU limited. As stated the SU 9400's and SU9600's are just clocked higher SU7300's. This may limit the overclocking ability of the VT versions as the CLUV's may then over extend thier limits.

1.3 Ghz x 133% = 1.73 GHz
1.4 GHz x 133% = 1.86 GHz
1.6 GHz x 133% = 2.12 GHz

Now 1.73 GHz over 1.60 GHz is only an 8% overclock and with a good SU7300 that could have been a SU9600 this is fairly reasonable within stock voltage ratings. Personally I think 2.12 GHz at the 10w TPD is probably not reachable without a voltage increase thereby artificially raising the TPD.

On that note SU9400's may have been the original CPU designed for these systems but there may have been a reliabilty issue (higher failure rate) with VT versions attempting to hit that 1.86 GHz. So yet again I'd way prefer the SU7300 runing 1.73 GHz at 1066 FSB over the SU9600 running 1.6 GHz at 800 FSB...........

Edit; You also have to consider if 1.86GHz or even 2.12GHz is attainable the battery/PSU strain and/or extra cooling required in order to maintain such performance............

 

Yes, I noticed, but that may just be the offering price (MSRP), the actual bulk market price remains to be seen. I'm sure a lot of factors go into final price including OEM purchasing and number of units ordered.

I'm fairly sure the Turbo33 SU7300 will outgun the SU9400 given that they seem identical other than the factory-set multiplier. So installing an SU9400 would cost more for less performance, not including the time spent installing it. I could be wrong though, so more research would be needed.

Personally, I don't much see the point of trying to squeeze a few more cycles out of CPU by replacing it. These days, performance is based on so much more than just CPU. Considering the Vt has a great GPU it already performs better than laptops in its class for the actual applications that *require* higher performance: games/video/graphic-editing (open CL, Direct X, Cuda).


}:^)~

 

TANWare, that sounds logical...so the Vt version does include Turbo33, cause the review at NBR (IIRC) stated that the A version did not have this feature...

 

VT's are Video and Turbo, on that note too though I think all of the UL's include in bios the up to 5% overclock feature...........

 

I was hoping that these would ship out before my next trip... But it looks like that will not be the case. I leave for Texas on December 7th. :-( Oh well... I guess it means I have more time to wait and see how the UL30VT fairs before I make the purchase as I won't be traveling next until January.

I am not that concerned about the battery life with the initial unit, because I think I would purchase an extra battery (5600mAh) with it as well.

 

Hey everybody! I've been lurking on here for a few days now. Nice thread you've got going. I was looking at a HP mini 311, then an Acer 1810T, then a Dell DM3. Now, I think I've settled on the asus ul30vt on preorder from Amazon. My playstation portable is gloss black and looks sleek, but it really picks up fingerprints. I imagine the ul30vt-x1 will be about the same, but I actually like that gloss black. Aside from the extended battery (which I assume would weigh more...right) are there any other differences in the upcoming(?) silver aluminium model? The black model top is still brushed aluminum just black in color, right? Should I wait to order ul30vt until actually in stock? (ie. dec 5th think there will be gift card or different deal?)My other question is, I have an OCZ vertex 30gb SSD coming, is there a way to clean install windows 7 ultimate (from bootable usb drive) and retain the turbo33, switchable graphics and expressgate features? Thanks!