ASUS U Series Bamboo Collection Owners Thread (U33JC/U43JC/U53JC)

Looks like the U43jc is delayed further, it changed from mid-late July to mid-late August on xoticpc.com today...

 

hey has anyone noticed the Assu U35JC is still expected to be in middle to late july???

 

It used to be... now we got this a few pages back in the thread.

 

Hi Guys! Maybe You will be the ones to help... (sorry for any language mistakes)

In polish test I've read that U35's screen is better than the one in the U33. Is that possible? They say there is a quite big difference between those two.

I was ready to pay extra for U33 but if the screen thing is true, than there is probably no point in buying the more expensive U33...

 

Hmm looking at the large gap in their numbers between the u33 and u35 screens, I wouldn't be surprised if they ran those tests on the U33 while optimus was using integrated graphics. The nvidia card should put out a better quality image. It doesn't make sense that ASUS would use a screen on the u33 thats half the quality of the u35

 

yea but on their website the u33jc is updated to late august but the u35jc is still late july..

 

I thought the same. Maybe model delivered for testing differs from the final models. I don't know. But if it is true then it is quite strange...

 

I just love the usb3.0 that will be part of the u33.
I'm just a bit disappointed that ASUS has seen fit to include the older usb2.0 ports as well. I sure would pay a bit more to have ALL usb ports upgraded to version 3.
Obviously, the ASUS marketeers must disagree.

Oh well.

 

auestion about PayPal. If I create a new account and want to put money in the account, does paypal take a certain percentage of that money?

 

No, not if it is from your bank. They always take a cut from credit cards.

 

The Polish review tests on the U35Jc and the U33Jc look unclearly or poorly defined. What do the numbers actually mean? And the translation is barely adequate, so I'm not sure what they may have actually been saying.

I'm not sure I'd depend on these reviews.

So far, by tests from ones like AnandTech on color gamut, brightness, cd/m2 white levels, cd/m2 black levels & contrast ratio in the UL30/80/50 & U30, the screens seem to be fairly similar in quality, which was mediocre but not worse than is usually offered by the other laptop makers .... though brighter than most.

For me, it feels like quality LCD tests are hard to find on laptop reviews.

But the numbers (if they translate to similar tests as Anandtech HERE for the U30Jc) are odd to make the U35 seem better.

 

I've pretty much decided on the U33JC for my next computer purchase...I just can't decide whether to splurge on an SSD for the machine.
I figure 80 gb would be good enough for the basics, and the USB 3.0 could be put to good use with an external HD...

 

Yes, the USB 3.0 would be pretty fast for external disk access.

But beyond the cost, for me, 80GB for my programs feels very limited.

I'd more use an external for backups, install-file archives, movie rips, photos & music. But I'm not sure I can live within 80GB for everything else.

But 125GB and up gets really expensive.

 

Amazon has a really sweet price for the OCZ Vertex 2 120gb. It's supposed to be top-notch.

 

$299 (after a $10 rebate) is a sweet deal? ( HERE)

For me, $300 is still a lot of money to upgrade a HDD for a $969 laptop.

 

So i just transfer money directly from my account to paypal and leave visa cards out of the game and I should be good?

 

If you take a girl out to a matinee, should you also pay less for dinner? This price is sweet relative to the going rate, and if you're committed to buying an SSD, that's all that matters.

 

My experience with PayPal is that you give them your bank account info, and when you make the transaction, they deduct the money directly from your bank account. By "bank account info", I think this can take the form of your debit card details. That's my memory of it -- hope this helps.

 

Yup. Just link you bank account to paypal and when you pay, paypal will take it directly from your bank account, no cut for from you. If you were to pay with a credit card, they take somewhere around 3%.

 

From pclab.pl about U33jc:
"Niestety, w testowanym przez nas modelu matryca była już wyraźnie słabsza od U35J." which means: " Unfortunately in model we had for our tests the screen was clearly worse than the one in U35J".

And about U35J:
"Za to należy pochwalić dobrą jakość ekranu – odwzorowanie kolorów to ścisła czołówka wśród laptopów z tego testu." which means: " Therefore we must commend the quality of the screen - its color reproduction leads among notebooks that we tested".

So it looks like screens in U33JC and U35 are quite different. I would like to buy U33JC but paying extra for worse screen... I just don't know.

AND... also they mentioned HDDs in both notebooks saying that HDD used in U33JC is slower than the one in U35J.

 

I've been reading this forum on the Asus bamboo series for a while now and I must say there have been some amusing little fracas between a few of you on here! Particularly those involving @mikeysela. Mikey, it looks like you've managed to upset one of the most fruitful posters on here (Kingswood). I'm not sure if anyone else here has noticed but he seems to have dropped off completely. It looks like he has even removed his avatar image. Shame. If you're still reading this forum @kingswood, I'd just like to personally thank you for finding the first reviews of the (U33 and U35) on those polish websites. But, as others have already said bad language and personal attacks are unacceptable.

@mikeysela, I gather from your posts that the U35 is your bag and the U33's features and price really don't fit your specific requirements? Are you aware that there is a forum specifically set up to discuss the U35 and U45 models here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/490903-asus-u35jc-u45jc.html

This news that the release date of the U33JC has been pushed back yet again, has got me really bummed! So I went hunting on the net to see if I couldn't find some new pictures or maybe even a review. And guess what!?! I actually found something. Admittedly it's Taiwanese, so the translation ain't great, but it's a real life review with some juicy new pictures. So to help you all feed your desire just that little but more and tide you over until they finally hit our stores, feast you eyes on this: Google Translate

 

@sprinkler:
Great find! Your first post was certainly a welcome one. Those pics of the notebook in a more natural setting with natural lighting almost made me feel like I was seeing it for the first time. You know, a week ago I thought I would be taking my own pictures of a U33JC. How bitter sweet it is seeing these pics.

I look through about a dozen translated pages about every day or so and I have yet to find any reviews or pictures. Glad yous are doing a better job than me at finding this stuff.

 

Alright guys, I would just like to apologize for my behaviour in this forum regarding personal attacks. I guess I got a bit too passsionate about the U35JC and could not see why everyone is hung up on the U33JC, but that's just a matter of personal preference. I hope you manage to embrace me back into the forum. I think i just didn't didnt appreciate how kingswood had a problem about us talking about the WiDi if that is what we wanted to talk about. But, i will send him a personal message and apologize and hope he returns to this informative discussion. Thanks guys

 

ok kingswood cant receive messages but this is what i tried to send him..kingswood i hope you are reading this

Hi Kingswood, I hope you read this.
I am very sorry for my attack on you. I didn't like how you wanted to change a subject from something that was pretty important for me to discuss, and it made me say what i said to you. Please forgive me and come back to the forums and talk to us. No more WiDi chat i promise

thanks man

 

Such tests will be meaningless to the US versions as in BOTH notebooks, the supplied HDD size (& perhaps maker) will be different.

And if they're going to test HDD's, they really should use recognized HDD benchmark tools like HDTune Pro or CrystalDiskMark instead of copying of an unspecified -sized ISO file to & from the HDD.

As well, their test U33 model had the i5-430M (2.26 GHz) while the U35 had the i3-370M (2.4 GHz). The different processor speeds could affect times as well. The US version of the U33 will come with the i3-370M, not the i5-430M.

And Encefalogram, these HDD transfer rates on this reviewer's U33Jc look pretty good!

 

On the Taiwanese U33Jc review, did any one noticed that he seems to confirm that the side trim is indeed metal. Sweet. Looks to be very quality construction.

Well, Case1, it looks like I'm going to be jealous once yours finally arrives!

 

Quatro are you planning on getting a u33jc?

 

Thanks for posting the newest review of the U33JC as we all appreciate it. But, why are we ONLY getting reviews on the U33JC from different countries? Maybe i am doing something wrong, but I can not find anywhere through google reviews for the U43JC.....Can someone please help me?

Also, I noticed in that review that the speakers of the U33jc looks to be more under the laptop then in the front of the laptop like the U43jc. So, I went to GenTech PC Store to see pics on the U43jc and pics of the U33jc and correct me if I am wrong, but it does in fact look to me that the u33 speakers are more under the laptop and pointed downwards compared to the u43 which is more on the front of the laptop pointed forward?

 

Ha! I wish (honestly), but I spent my $900 when I bought my U30Jc this last mid-April ( only 3 months ago.) So I need to be content for the next long while.

The way to tell (based on the angle of the bottom front lip of the laptop) is to look at the two notebooks' side views and note the varying angles. I'll add in the side view of my clunkier U30Jc for comparison. So, for your viewing pleasure:

The U43JC



The U33JC



The U30JC



And keep in mind that NONE of these three win any awards for the speakers' sizes or quality anyway. They're pretty small. If I want better quality, I plug in external speakers or quality headphones.

 

is it me or is the u43jc thinner than the u33jc? how can this be?

 

post cancelled

 

http://attach1.mobile01.com/attach/201007/mobile01-b3c33f1775c4ab98c3cf9525da715a1c.jpg

Interesting to see the 310m is ever so slightly underclocked

 

And it looks like all the added bulk is in the lid, which seems totally unnecessary. Perhaps this side view is of a prototype? Not that it's that big a deal (the thickness is amplified by the fact that we're viewing it from the side rather than, say, the front). But one can always hope.

 

I am not looking for the u43jc to win any speakers awards. All I am looking for is the speakers to be loud and clear. Not looking for audiophile quality, just looking for similiar quality that I got from that Dell blue Label I had to replace and not the horrible quality that the Toshiba Blue Label laptop had. If the speakers are horrible that would be a deal breaker for me and I would have to exchange the laptop for the Toshiba M645.

According to Best Buy (take that for what its worth) the U43JC is coming with Altec Lancing 2watts each speaker for a total of 4 watts. I think and hope that should be plenty for a laptop.

 

hey can someone lend some advice about the u43 GPU and hdmi output..So im impatiently waiting for the release im worrying that it will not be powerfull enough to output 1080p 12+gb .mkv files via hdmi to big lcd without stuttering . also in regards to video quality any experienced owners with the same GPU

 

GenTech's (GT), Xotic's (XT) & ASUS (AS) specs (which could be wrong) list the thickness as:
(GT) U33: 0.58~1.22 inches
(XT) U33: 0.80~1.20 inches
(AS) U33: 0.50~1.22 inches

(GT) U43: 1.30~1.25 inches
(XT) U43: 1.40~1.50 inches
(AS) U43: 0.87~1.25 inches

So much for listed dimensions being helpful!

I noticed that. Their U33's 310M is clocked at 606 / 667 / 1468.
My U30JC's 310M is clocked at 625 / 790 / 1530.

Which means they'll get about 3400 in 3DMark06 while I get 3700.

I'm also wondering if they are putting a cheaper cooling solution on the GPU. GPU-Z reports my 310M at stock+idle at about 45C. Theirs (plus another user) listed theirs as running idle at 55C. If so, it may be another reason why they are underclocking the GPU.

Can't say about the U33 or U43. My U30JC was usually rated as having pretty weak & quiet speakers. Tweaking made them bearable, but they are much weaker than my 15" Dell Vostro. Do the reviews say anything about the sound volume? Those Polish reviews?

The translated Polish review only describes the U33 speakers as "good".

 

I saw also 7/10 from one of the reviews and 3.5/5 from another. I don't know how harsh or easy they are on their reviews. I just am hoping for pretty loud and clear speakers. I am very concerned of the location of the speakers (as those are similiar locations of the speakers the Best Buy Blue Label Toshiba speakers were located). If they are as bad in volume as the Toshiba Best Buy Blue Label speakers then I will just have to return the laptop and get the Toshiba M645.

Who will get the laptop first, myself that pre-ordered it or Best Buy the store? I hope the store then I can test it out first.

 

Asus sub-notebooks always have the same design flaw with the speakers: They sound fine when the machine is sitting on a flat surface, but if you put it in your lap or next to your pillow, the sound becomes almost inaudible. It would be so much better if they flipped the speakers and faced them up along the palm rests. I know that the appearance would be regrettable, but when it comes to sound, I think looks should be sacrificed for clarity. As it is, they treat them like some obligatory vent that needs to be hidden from view, and that's just wrong. If the machine it weren't so damn pretty, I'd make this my first mod.

 

damn it i have been waiting since the ul30vt was out of stock to get back in stock. then the ul30jt came along and waited for that... got tired of waiting and then the u33jc comes out. now it's more waiting. what the hell is wrong with asus?? i bet from now till the end of august (HOPEFULLY the u33jc doesnt get pushed back yet again) a new model will come out and it will be even more waiting...... *sigh*

 

"They sound fine when the machine is sitting on a flat surface" do you mean its pretty loud volume wise?

 

I have a ul30vt-a1, and my general feeling is that it's loud enough to make light conversation really difficult. The bass is a bit thin -- I'm listening to Mos Def & Kweli at full volume right now and the kicks, although not distorting, are like thick, deep taps. The highs are really prominent. The best listening angle (and the reason I propose an up-facing design) is when you close the lid and tilt the front of the laptop up. When the sound is deflecting off the desk, it washes the mids into the highs and it sounds really tinny. But the volume is good and there is no distortion to speak of.

With that in mind, a usb-powered mini subwoofer would really round out the sound, but that would be really annoying to have to carry around (and I don't see any that are recommended for Windows).

 

BLACKSTAR ? NICE CHOICE

 

That is good news! But I'll still only believe it when I see it.

By the way people, this isn't directed at anyone in particular, but if someone spends their time to answer a question of yours, pushing a little button and giving them some rep is really appreciated. Some of the time spent answering these questions with various sources, links, and pictures take a fair amount of time, considation, and effort.

Obviously rep isn't the only reason people help out, but it is certainly nice to receive and often well deserved. I must admit, I didn't even know what rep was about a month ago, but a few people have been kind enough to give me a couple and it is really nice. I do feel bad for Quatro and a couple others who spend a good amount of time helping but their rep remains the same.

Just push the button once in a while folks, it is there for a reason.

Now back to impatiently waiting for my notebook.

 

Has anyone produced any decent pictures of the interior of an Asus 13.3"? I'm really curious how hard it would be to do this mod. I'm picturing cutting out two rectangles on either side of the trackpad, ventilating them (station-wagon style), attaching the speakers (or even upgrading them), and sticking them back in. Could be pretty straightforward, and maybe even doable without cutting away the panel.

 

You will have absolutely NO issue playing 1080p .mkv's or any other HD file. I promise. The build in Intel GPU should actually be able to handle that kind of stuff just fine. The current notebook I use has a Core 2 Duo with integrated Intel graphics and I can't recall ever having a problem playing those kind of files on my 61" through HDMI.

If you really want proof, you could search for reviews of the UL30VT, UL80VT, or U30JC. All of these are less powerful than the U43JC and none of them have any problems playing HD video.

 

Hmmm ... I think you'd all do well to read the reviews again on the UL30/80's and the U30Jc concerning the speakers.

Yes, on a table, they sound clearer, and yes, if you put it in your lap with the front covered by your belly or waist, the sound is more muffled. But some notes (and I'll bet the U33/43 & U35/45 will have the same sort & size of speakers):
1) those speakers in the front are very small. Don't expect much from them, or get a different laptop.
2) because they're small, even on a table, they're tinny. Very poor bass. What would you expect from small speakers? Mine aren't the kind I listen to music with while I work ... unless I use headphones/earbuds ... or I use external speakers. The sound chip is great so plugged into external speakers, they sound great.
3) They are small, so they're not high-volume, but certainly hearable.
4) They point a bit downward so if the laptop's on a table, the sound can reflect back up. If the laptop in on cloth (lap), the sound doesn't bounce up as much. But I recently watched a HULU episode with the laptop on my lap at full-volume ... and it was adequate; not as good as headphones, but I heard everything clearly.

Don't expect better then they found in the UL30Vt or the U30Jc or you will be disappointed.

To mjnoles1, if the sound of the speakers is that important to you (it's not to me), I'd recommend you wait on your order for a few reviews or until you can hear the sound on an actual U43J at your local Best Buy.

 

@mjnoles1
Just curious, but why do the speakers matter so much to you? I have a nice pair of Shures for all of my notebook listening pleasure that will wipe the floor with any notebooks speakers. When I am in public I don't really use the notebook speakers.

Here is what I am considering for home use. I am going to buy the Push2TV adapter, set my TV as an extended desktop, and play all of my media through my TV and stereo. I originally didn't think I'd do the WiDi thing but this just sounds awesome to me.

I guess nice speakers would be nice for the back yard, or beach (how nice would the U33 look at the beach) or something, but I would probably bring some external speakers if I really wanted to bump some tunes.

 

the translation is very loose. my chinese friend says that emphasis is placed on modern or "trendy". she says the author is just trying to say that it's very stylish but it doesn't specify that it's real metal

 

Sprinkler: Thank you so much for this link. I could look at these pictures all day. Unfortunately, they make a pretty unfortunate revelation, which is that a keyboard mod is almost certainly out of the question. Unlike most other Asus 13.3" models, the keyboard panel seems to extend all the way to the hinges, so even though the layout is identical to previous models, the keyboard doesn't look like it can be switched out very easily. That's too bad, because the backlit mod for the UL30 looked pretty easy. Oh well, I want the warranty anyway.

 

Oh bearer of sad news, do not tell me this thing. We are hoping that the ASUS gods shall send upon us laptops with shiny metal. Nay, not the cheap imitation chromed plastic, but metal pure & true.

We await patiently the delivery of the promise from beyond our realm.