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

That would have actually been really awesome, come to think of it. But as my pic shows, it's just a regular (boring) power adapter, but it's actually quite small for the class and performance level of the notebook. Definitely wasn't expecting something that petite when I opened the box.

 

It looks exactly like the AC adapter for my U30Jc, except, looking at your photo, mine may be a tad longer. Mine weighs 1 lb 1 oz

 

Been following this thread for awhile now -

PC guys need to make something nice like the Mag Safe. I also hate how the brick is always in the middle of the cord. Why hasn't someone figured that out?

I'm thinking I'll buy this and put in my X25-V ssd and install Starcraft 2. That's the perfect use for me - Starcraft and web browsing. I'll def OC the vid card too.

Only thing I'm deterred by is availability concerns. I'm loyal amazon - 1day prime shipping $3.99

 

Look at this quote from latopmag.com

"Thanks to its twin Altec Lansing speakers, the U33Jc is one of the better-sounding 13-inch notebooks we've tested. When we streamed Alice in Chains' "Man in the Box" on Pandora, the audio emanating from the front lip of the system was loud and rich. Even the jangle of guitars during Weezer's "Say It Ain't So" had a nice texture to it."

What in the world? Is the speakers on the front lip or above the keyboard? Is there two different options?

 

That's why I asked Redline to check it carefully once he's home. Play music & tell us for sure where the sound comes from.

 

Bad News Bears! Dan Ackerman has noticed some slow down on the u33jc while doing simple windows tasks on it! is it a sign to beware the u33jc??

 

hey guys ive read the anandtech and cnet reviews..anandtech was pretty good, cnet didnt seem to like it a whole lot. did you guys gather a general consensus from the other reviews?

 

No, it's not a sign.

He gave it 8/10 in most all of the catagories. 9/10 on design and only in battery life did he give it 7/10 (though he also concluded "-a very good (battery) result for a mainstream 13-inch laptop"). So how is it you think he didn't seem to like it a whole lot? All of the reviews were very favorable.

 

just his attitude on the vid. He was alot more excited talking about the protege from what i remember. He just didnt seem to believe it was as lightweight and thin as it could be as a portable laptop with no ODD.

 

So I've been reading the reviews, and although I love the look of the bamboo, it doesn't seem like there is that much of a reason to go with the U33JC over the U35JC.

Sounds like the U35JC may actually run a bit better under certain circumstances, it has an ODD, and it's cheaper. I'm torn...

 

thats what ive been claiming all along. I think you might be very happy with the u35JC. I just feel like you are paying 150 bucks to have a brown laptop..but thats cuz the usb 3.0, bluetooth, mp cam, doesnt justify the prince increase in my eyes

 

I would happily pay an extra $150 for the USB3.0, mp cam, and the bamboo, but I'm not sure I want to pay that extra given that the performance might not be as good and there is no ODD

 

The U33JC is an ultraportable and not a gaming machine and I am fine with a bit loss of performance for longer battery life. I have an 2 year old F6V and that is a pretty fast ultraportable but the battery life sucks...

 

I was thinking about buying the u43. But due to the constant delays of its release, and the info about its USB 3.0 not being fully operational, I am seriously considering buying the u30jc.
All the u33 reviews I read stated that it had worse performance and shorter battery life when compared to the u30. As the specs on the u43 are very close to the ones on the u33, I assume the comparison would be very much alike.
The wood finish look really nice though.

 

Hrm, I don't know how to feel about this USB 3.0/graphics card information. I would be happy to pay more for the extra components, but if they are gimped, then maybe I should just go with a U30JC and skip all the waiting.

 

A lot of you guys are thinking so practical; it appears I am getting it mostly for the sexy bamboo (and the fact that it has everyting else I need too).

 

why arent u considering the u35jc?

 

Hehe, the Bamboo series IS still the most feature rich ultra-portables Asus makes at the moment. I still believe that if any other Asus had all the features of the U33JC for less money, I'd buy that instead. Well, maybe I'd shell out an extra 50 or so for the bamboo trim as the reviews seem to state that it is a very sturdy and solid material (and it is damn good looking).

Honestly though, I still have no problem shelling out the extra cash. If I'm going to buy a notebook that is going to last several years, I want it to be the best I can afford, and the U33JC is right at that sweet spot of what I am willing to spend. I certainly don't feel like I am getting ripped off, which in the end is all that matters.

If I'm not mistaken, HP would charge $25 just for a "special" paint job on some of their notebooks. They're of course still made from the same plastic, just different design. I'm merely bringing this up because that is a completely superficial upgrade while we are getting a complete bamboo and aluminum overhaul. Worth it. I know you don't agree, Mikey, but the extra cost is worth it. Worth it 'till the cows come home.
(It should go without saying that this is only my opinion and everyone will have their own idea of what they are willing to pay)

 

Looks like he wants a built-in optical drive.

 

Engadget says the u33jc has a 1 hour longer battery life than the U30jc ;-) I rather have one hour more and live with that slightly underclocked graphic card.
Just my opinion.

 

and who's to say once you have the laptop in hand, you won't tweak and optimize it for your environment to get even more performance out of it....yes I think most of us wish the price difference was a bit less but overall we're paying less anyways compared to the prices laptops use to be... in the end it's a matter of personal taste which is why some are still going for the bamboo, the u35jc, the u30jc or any of the other laptops in the ASUS aresnal

$150 is a bit "up there" but if it's a purchase (like most things in life) you'll be more than happy with, I say the money balances out itself with the satisfaction you have with it down the years

 

I'm confused now. What loss of performance are you talking about? Are you just referring to the cheaper, underclocked VRAM ASUS is putting in ALL of their U & UL models now? The U35 has the same GPU clocking. So what? That small difference can be clocked back up to normal.

I wouldn't pay much attention to mikeysela's reference to a throw-away line in the PCMag review. That could have been a processor momentary lag or the OS writing to the HDD or the AV activating and doing a quick scan.

The U35 & the U33 (in the US) have the same processor, the same RAM, the same GPU and the same battery.

Their performance should be identical.

 

What? I own a U30Jc and the reviews of the U33Jc had the U33's battery life as THE SAME OR BETTER than the U30Jc. And if you're talking about the U30Jc-B1, then the processors are the same as is the RAM, GPU and battery ... why would you think the U30Jc gets better performance? That doesn't even make sense.

Where are you getting this idea? Can you please cut & paste the quote.

 

mkeysela, can't you just let this go? These are two different notebooks appealing to two different markets. BOTH are great for what they offer and the price they offer it at.

But once again, I'll answer you.

Why would I pay $150 extra for the U33 over the U35? Easy.
1) Bluetooth
2) WiDi-ready
3) USB 3.0 at even 2.7x-3.5x faster is still faster and new technology
4) 2.0 MP webcam
5) All brushed-aluminum & bamboo on the upper body, around the keyboard & the lid. (Reports from GenTech make it seem the lid of the U35/45 is ALSO plastic and the entire keyboard & palm rest area are plastic).

** The report back from Redline of chromed plastic trim on the U33Jc is ... really too bad and deserves a frowny face.

 

"The eight-cell battery on the U33Jc lasted a very good 6 hours and 47 minutes in the LAPTOP Battery Test (continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi.) That runtime is not quite as long as the U30Jc-1A (7:07) (...)" at laptopmag ASUS U33Jc Review - Battery Life, Wi-Fi, Software, Verdict

"Battery life also didn't live up to its namesake. Even though they have identical batteries, the U33Jc-A1 (6 hours 34 minutes) trailed the U30Jc-A1 (8 hours) by a significant margin (...)" at PCMag Asus U33Jc-A1 - Full Review - Reviews by PC Magazine

The engadget review does state that the U33 lasts an hour longer than the u30 (5:10 vs 4:10)

About the performance, some tests on gaming had the u30 doing slightly better. But it is only by a little margin, so it wouldn't make a difference.

I am looking at the u43, I really need that optical drive. Anyone knows how much of the battery drain does the display represent? The difference on the battery life (u43 vs u33) wouldn't be all that much, right?

The constant delays are probably going the be a dealbreaker for me. I am about to go to the US to study for a year, and I don't have a notebook. So I would need it asap. Waiting for a couple o weeks is okay, but if the release date is delayed any further...

 

Battery life on the U33 and U30 should be basically identical, if it's not within 5-10% of each other, somebody messed up the testing. There's nothing on there to make battery life any shorter or different unless you're doing an optical drive specific test. Engadget's numbers make me pretty leery of their battery life testing procedure.

I'd probably guess the U43 has about an hour less battery life than the U33, but that's just an estimation/wild guess with no basis in actual numbers or testing.

For those who were asking yesterday - the chrome is just plastic.

 

Thank you. Very fair quotes, though I'd expect the faster processor of the U33 (over the U30Jc-A1's 2.26 GHz, which is the one referred to in the paragraph rather than the U30Jc-B1's 2.4 GHz) to use a bit more battery. I'm not sure if SHE helps any to lower the processor speed even further. I've no idea how the one reviewer gained an extra hour over the U30Jc. On the LaptopMag review, I would have valued more details on their battery testing since different reviewers review these notebooks, though all are under LaptopMag. They merely say "continuos web-surfing over wifi." What was the brightness each time for each notebook? Did they surf over any sites that activated flash & the nVidia GPU? Did they use the same browser? Was that browser set up to run only under the IGP? (I have mine set up that way when I'm on battery, otherwise a flash site turns the discrete GPU on and shortens battery life.)

You get my point.

For me, I really like my U30Jc with its ODD. Very well made. The B1 is available for $889 at GenTech. The U43Jc is $1,095 but does give you the small bit of extra screen space, which you may find welcome.

The U43 also has the much improved 2.0MP webcam & (3x faster USB 3.0 port).

 

Quatro (or anyone else who gets the specs),

could you help me figure out the comparison to the "slower" faster USB 3.0 vs. current external sata ports? i got lost somewhere in the techtalk about the USB 3.0.

i use the technology, but cannot "work" the tech side. this is to be a work pc and i really need the info.

thanks.

 

I don't have numbers, but apparently, eSATA has been around for a while and works as stated (very fast). USB 3.0 WILL work faster than the eSATA, eventually, once they get the chipset bottleneck resolved. At present, one test listed the actual improved speed of the present USB3 (& HM55 chipset) as around 3x faster than USB 2.

One online transfer test showed the USB 3 as transferring faster than the eSATA. But I can't remember where. It was an online tech show.

On eSATA vs USB 2.0, THIS review showed, in a straight copy of large files, the eSATA was about 2x faster than the USB 2.0 transfer.

So according to that, the USB 3.0, while not presently 10x faster, is still very respectable at 2.7-3x faster.

I wouldn't worry about it. Either are a clear improvement over the USB 2.0 in straight file transfers. Disk reads are not as big a difference.

 

Thanks. i knew that it should work faster, and the only "info" i have is the program i need to access which crashes/doesn't load from USB 2.0 at an appropriate speed (data transfer).

how much faster "objectively" is eSATA than USB 2.0, currently? if 3.0 matches it despite the chipset bottleneck (which i did understand--you did well explaining it), then it would still work for my needs.

i also read it had a faster transferring rate, but... reality is different than "laboratory" tests.

why do i always feel less intelligent when i buy a new notebook? sigh. LOL

 

Sorry, I meant the U30, not U35....

Maybe I am expecting too much. Currently I have the U6V which packs in a bunch of power and an ODD in quite a small package.

 

Help--I'm relatively unsophisticated in the ways of this market. Among other things, I've been on a mac for four years. However, the U33jc has attracted my attention because the latest Macbook upgrade left the 13. 3" at Core2Duo (thanks, Steve). Anyway, I want an i5, and if I'm following the thread here, the US spec U33jc has an i3. Is that right? Does Asus have build-to-order or anything like that? Would I have to order from UK or somewhere like that? Thanks for any information.

 

i'm in almost the same shoes as you. i've looked at benchmarks and the i3-370m is not that much of an improvement over the c2d 2.4 ghz. of course, my needs are probably completely different than yours. for example, i simply require a machine that emails, word processing, pdf reading, web browsing, watching vids, etc. which can all be accomplished using c2d and will function at the same performance if i had an i3/i5. however, if u plan on doing any CAD work or video encoding or anything else processor intensive, you are right: it's best to go with the i series processors. again, macbook pro is in its own class when talking about its amazing design and touchpad (it's probably in its own class for being the most expensive c2d notebook haha)

as of now, the u33jc is not available in the US. you can preorder it but it won't be shipping until 3 more weeks.

 

XOTICPC lets you customize virtually any component - including cpu. Gentechpc, on the other hand, apparently allows you to customize many components - but NOT cpu.

 

That's because we found out the i3-370M on U45JC is soldered on the mainboard, we think U33JC will be the same so we removed the CPU upgrade options. If U33JC shipment is here we will check to see if the CPU will be upgradable:

 

How come U33JC reviews are popping up but nothing about the U43JC?

 

Thanks for that very useful bit of info, Ken.

Please let us know if the cpu is also soldered on the mainboard of the u33 when you get your first shipment.

 

Oh, I see Ken of GenTech already answered above. Good one, Ken!

 

Get the U43Jc. It's still lighter than the MacBook/Pro at 4.63lbs and comes with a Core i5-430M.

Interesting about the soldered CPU on the U45. I'm not sure about the U33, I don't think Asus would want me to open it otherwise I'd disassemble and let you know. The lack of an easy access door to the CPU is a pretty bad sign though, I think.

 

Asus - Laptop / Intel® Core™ i5 Processor / 14" Display / 4GB Memory / 640GB Hard Drive - Dark Bamboo - U43JC-BBA7

seems like the status has been updated. you can "order to store" in 5-7 days. anyone have luck finding these in Best Buy lately?

 

Will U33JC be able to run Counter Strike Source on an extended monitor with ok or good quality? I heard that it runs very bad on UL30a.

 

Yes, CS: Source should not be a problem whatsoever. The UL30a only has integrated graphics which explains its poor performance.

If you want to get an idea of what the U33JC would be capable of, check out benchmarks for the U30JC or even GPU benchmarks for the Nvidia G310m or the older G210 in the UL30VT.

The U33JC isn't a great gaming notebook, but it can certainly handle older games and even newer games at lower settings.

 

I just cannot wait for u33jc any more. The date keeps being pushed back again and again. So I searched a lot of other laptops and found sony s series which meets my needs. I just need a portable laptop with CUDA capable nvidia graphic card. Yeah I know it does not have usb 3.0 nor optimus but other than this it seems a good deal, especially the uk sony style now offers a free i7-620m upgrade saving me hundreds of pounds.

 

Interesting, before the U43jc was ONLY offered to be ordered online and shipped to your house. Now, is the option to be shipped to your local Best Buy in 5-7 days. I hope thats true. Still doesnt show up as being widi enabled. Hopefully that is just a mistake on the listing. Worst comes to worst, I will just swap out the wifi card to the Intel 6200 or 6250. Seems Quatro thinks if I swap out the wifi card and download the necessary widi software, I should be good to go. And Quatro is a computer genius so I am very confident

Also, any update on where the speakers are actually located?

 

Amazing, computer genius, notebook deity Quatro only hopes we can get easy access to your wireless card on your U43Jc or we're in trouble ... or else that it comes with one of the WiDi-capable cards. ... or you end up paying Geek Squad to install it for you. $ $

 

reviews

Asus U33Jc-A1 (bamboo) Laptop reviews - CNET Reviews

Asus U33Jc-A1 Bamboo Review - ComputerShopper.com

amazon pre order

Amazon.com: ASUS U33JC-A1 13.3-Inch Bamboo Laptop: Computer & Accessories

 

I know in the U33jc reviews they stated it was very easy to get to the hard drive but didnt state where the wifi card is located. You think its going to be difficult to get to it? I sure hope not. The greatest thing would be if it came with the correct intel wifi card for the widi to work. But, if the Best Buy version doesnt then I hope its fairly easy to replace the wifi card to the correct one to enable the WIDI technology. I dont want to scratch up and mess up the machine to get to the wifi card. Hopefully its not in a difficult spot.

 

Question: Is the U33JC really 3.7 lbs like it's non-bambo brethren- or is it over 4.5 pounds as mentioned in the Engadget and Laptopmag reviews? Maybe they are including the power supply.

And do you think I am drawn to this model because my parents used to drive me around in this:

 

looks like a few reviewers got review models in the past couple of days

Asus U33Jc: Much Ado About Bamboo - AnandTech :: Your Source for Hardware Analysis and News
ASUS U33Jc-A1 Bamboo series review -- Engadget

 

Hey everyone, if you are looking for reviews and retailers, please check out the first post of this thread. Many of the links I see being posted have already been added to the first post. If you have something that hasn't been posted, please share it with us and I will add it.

We really don't know the weight for sure. There has been sooo much conflicting info for the weight that until I actually see a picture of one on a scale, I won't believe anything I read. I am expecting/hoping it comes in at under 4lbs. The GenTech listed weight of 3.97 lbs is what I would expect it to weight.

Hehe, I think the Bamboo notebooks more closely resemble this than any wood panel wagon.