Asus UL30A

dr_shoe · 20 Jun 2010 at 17:22

will this laptop be able to comfortably power a 20-24" monitor connected to it?

markwombat · 22 Jun 2010 at 08:23

I've been looking for a new laptop for my girlfriend, who'll be doing the usual low-end stuff (web browsing, office apps, watching videos, itunes, and Skype video calls). She has a budget of £400 max, and I've managed to find a 15.6" HP that has the new i3-330m CPU in with 2GB of RAM. My question,

For the activities listed above would I be better going for the i3 with only 2GB of RAM or this Asus UL30? She's not a big traveller so has said size/weight isn't a major selling point. I just want to get something that will be future proof and last a few years without noticeably ageing.

Many thanks

Breeny · 22 Jun 2010 at 12:21

Should have the UL30 delivered today.

£332 with cash back, not too shabby at all

olivier renault · 25 Jun 2010 at 21:24

markwombat said:
I've been looking for a new laptop for my girlfriend, who'll be doing the usual low-end stuff (web browsing, office apps, watching videos, itunes, and Skype video calls). She has a budget of £400 max, and I've managed to find a 15.6" HP that has the new i3-330m CPU in with 2GB of RAM. My question,

For the activities listed above would I be better going for the i3 with only 2GB of RAM or this Asus UL30? She's not a big traveller so has said size/weight isn't a major selling point. I just want to get something that will be future proof and last a few years without noticeably ageing.

Many thanks

I wouldn't trust HP at that price point. Secondly, the SU2300 is pretty weak, the main attraction of the UL30A is mobility and battery life, two things that are not on top of your list. I would look at something else given her requirements, but it's a tall order for a £400 budget.

I'd look at a i3, 15'' and a dvd drive. Something like a Toshiba L500-1XD with i3 (just an example).

shadow_boxer · 26 Jun 2010 at 13:45

Just pick one of these up a couple of days ago from C4oneW. For £349 am hugely impressed! Really impressed by this little notebook, which is my first. Battery life gives me 10+ hours when browsing the net etc. Keyboard is nice to type, good feedback, nicely spaced keys, lovely chicklet sytle too, although keep tapping the trackpad when going for the space bar. Trackpad isnt that bad I found, this is my first notebook so I cant really comment. Screen is nice, sharp and evenly lit. Doesnt get hot at all, had it on my lap whilst wearing shorts and its fine. 720p is fine, haven't tried 1080 yet tho!

Spent ages removing some of the Asus bloatware software!

quick questions however...

1) Did anyone keep any of the bloatware software? In particular what about power4gear, splendid video, asus live update, (these are the one I have not uninstalled yet)?

2) Has anyone tried reinstalling windows7 home premium 64bit using the CD product key provided with a WIN7 Home premium dvd OEM version?

3) Best way to remove all those crappy stickers without leaving residue?

PS...I think OcUK may have missed a trick by not getting this little notebook!

MarcLister · 26 Jun 2010 at 13:50

So what is the difference between the £350 model and the £580 odd one? 1GB of RAM and a slower CPU in the £350 model?

olivier renault · 26 Jun 2010 at 17:36

1) Did anyone keep any of the bloatware software? In particular what about power4gear, splendid video, asus live update, (these are the one I have not uninstalled yet)?

power4gear is what allows you to switch from performance tp batery saving mode. So useful. I've installed from fresh on a SSD, and downloaded the drivers and software from the asus support website. So far so good.

2) Has anyone tried reinstalling windows7 home premium 64bit using the CD product key provided with a WIN7 Home premium dvd OEM version?

Yup, worked for me.

3) Best way to remove all those crappy stickers without leaving residue?

They come off easily. The trackpad felt a bit sticky (why put a sticker on the trackpad?), I cleaned it with a bit of soapy water. Took a few days to get a good feel. Even then, it's not a great trackpad.

PS...I think OcUK may have missed a trick by not getting this little notebook!

Yeah, but no great potential for overclocking!

So what is the difference between the £350 model and the £580 odd one? 1GB of RAM and a slower CPU in the £350 model?

Not sure. afaik, bigger hard drive, better CPU, extra ram, black finish. imo, really not worth it.

MarcLister · 26 Jun 2010 at 18:26

olivier renault said:
Not sure. afaik, bigger hard drive, better CPU, extra ram, black finish. imo, really not worth it.

Both "versions" of the Asus UL30A say 320GB HDD and the 1GB RAM shortfall could easily be made up with another stick. The £230 price difference doesn't seem to justify the more expensive one at all.

Azza · 26 Jun 2010 at 18:38

I'm really thinking about getting one of these.

How would you go about installing your own W7, without it having a DVD drive?

MarcLister · 26 Jun 2010 at 18:48

Azza said:
How would you go about installing your own W7, without it having a DVD drive?

http://store.microsoft.com/Help/ISO-Tool

Azza · 27 Jun 2010 at 15:15

MarcLister said:
http://store.microsoft.com/Help/ISO-Tool

Ah, just remembered my W7 is an ISO download any way.

MarcLister · 27 Jun 2010 at 16:02

Azza said:
Ah, just remembered my W7 is an ISO download any way.

Sorted. It should be fairly easy to make an ISO of a DVD copy of W7 anyway. Which is what I'll be doing soon-ish.

gurusan · 27 Jun 2010 at 21:35

Just bought a Samsung M7E 640gb 2 platter drive for this lappy. Now I think I can live with this laptop for several years

Breeny · 4 Jul 2010 at 16:35

MarcLister said:
So what is the difference between the £350 model and the £580 odd one? 1GB of RAM and a slower CPU in the £350 model?

The £350 version has 3GB of RAM, but I presume the more epensive version has a faster CPU.

MarcLister · 4 Jul 2010 at 17:47

Breeny said:
The £350 version has 3GB of RAM, but I presume the more epensive version has a faster CPU.

Yeah I can't see the justification for the price difference; I can always up the 3GB to 4GB if I want.

Clown · 8 Jul 2010 at 15:17

How does the graphics card on this compare with the nVidia ION? Or doesn't it?

olivier renault · 9 Jul 2010 at 19:42

no comparaison, it's a GMA chip, so no good for gaming and such. You'll want the 'vt' version of the UL30.

syke · 9 Jul 2010 at 19:47

How's this for a bit of light photoshopping etc?

Clown · 9 Jul 2010 at 21:43

How would the UL30VT compare then? I like the ION because I can rinse it out on XBMC

olivier renault · 9 Jul 2010 at 23:42

Clown said:
How would the UL30VT compare then? I like the ION because I can rinse it out on XBMC

the 310M about 2x the ion 2. And the 310M isn't exactly top of the line. The 335M is about 2x the performance of the 310M. Look at notebookcheck.com for performance reviews.