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

Hi all,

First time poster, but I've been following this thread for a little while now. I pre-ordered my U33Jc late so I have some more waiting to do. However, I'm excited for those who will be getting them this week, and eager to hear more about what they think.

I do have one question though that my friend and I were debating. He's telling me that WiDi won't work with the discrete GPU based on this recent video:

YouTube - CNET

However, I remember seeing these other links a while back, not directly related to the U33Jc:

NVIDIA says Optimus 'works perfectly' with Intel Wireless Display -- Engadget

The NVIDIA Blog - Intel - Don't Wall Off WiDi

Anybody have a verdict on this? Sorry if somebody already answered this a while back -- I didn't have time to leaf through the entire thread.

Thanks, and I hope you guys enjoy your new laptops!

 

The WIDI works as there's an intel HD integrated gpu in there too, the laptop has graphics switching, so when you use the widi it uses the intel gpu instead of the nvidia.

 

Just spent the last 3 hours looking all over the internet for another laptop, closest I found was the 13" HP envy, nice and same cpu, problem was that it has a 6 cell battery and it's a bit thicker and no usb 3.0, looks like I'm just going to have to wait another month.

 

Sorry, I should've clarified. Does WiDi work with the Nvidia GPU? Can the Nvidia GPU be switched on instead of using the integrated Intel GPU?

 

I just got my U33JC. First impression: beautiful and well built. Deinstalling bloatware at the moment. Mouse pad is not as bad as some people say. Mouse button is easy to press if you press at the end of the bar.

 

Eager to hear more from you!

 

I will be back here. Deinstalling everything according to the Asus Utility and bloatware guide...there is plenty of this useless programs....

Update: keyboard is easy to type on and I like it. The keyboard buttons make a clicky sound though; but nothing really bad.

Update 2: Everything is fine so far. I am a bit confused regarding the Nvidia drivers. I have the version 189.64 on the laptop. There is a newer one in the U33JC section on the Asus download site. Do I have to download the one from the Asus download section or does the one from the Nvidia site works as well?

Update 3: Had to recover the entire laptop because I like to have only one partition and the first time it didn't asked me. I love the notebook so far. No high pitch noise no, fan noise no hard drive noise. No flex. It gets quite warm but not uncomfortable.

 

Can't say for sure. I always try to go with the drivers straight from the Nvidia website. However i know atleast with the Sony VAIO VGM-AR71M i'm currently using for web-design whilst abroad, i had some issues with updating drivers because the pre-installed ones were through the Sony Updater. This is exactly why i will format the next laptop i get when i choose it soon.

 

I usually get the latest drivers straight from nvidia or ati.

 

Update: I got my shipping confirmation from Gentech! I will have my notebook in hand in CT by this weekend!

 

XoticPC just charged my credit card for the U33JC so hopefully I will get it soon too. I originally had the i5 upgrade (i know, unneccesary) that was not possible because the i3 is soldered so they had to remove the option from my order. i have a ssd and extra memory at home ready to upgrade as soon as it arrives!

 

Ditto, except mine is going to NYC.

 

I tried to install the latest Nvidia driver (258.96 WHQL) directly from Nvidia and it didn't work. Computer froze while loading windows. I used the updated driver from the U33JC section on support.asus.com and this one worked fine.

I installed Kaspersky Internet Security Suite 2011 and have no problems. So far no issues at all neither with software nor with hardware. Still no whining noise.

 

@mgymnop
Great news. Loving the feedback. It seems after bigdoof's experience with the U43, I was kind of expecting the worst. Glad things are mostly positive so far for you. I am a wee bit excited for myself as I will be expecting my new toy tomorrow. It is going to be hard to keep the grin off my face when I pull it out in class for the first time (the notebook that is ).

Strange that the drivers on the Nvidia website were a no go. Did you update your bios? I believe Quatro mentioned this being necessary on the U35Jc to get the newest Nvidia drivers to work.

Keep us informed. Thanks!

 

Hi Case1. There is no BIOS update out for the u33jc yet but I think the drivers on the Asus page are decent enough. I am indeed very glad that I don't have the issues that bigdoof has with his U43. Great that you get yours tomorrow. Feel a bit lonely here.lol

 

Ah, I hope driver support isn't going to be a problem on the U33. It is probably a low volume machine for them.

Dare to try the U35Jc drivers? The hardware is nearly identical.

I'm a little surprised that you are the only one to pop up with one. You won't be lonely for long. I'm going to play with mine a bit with all of the Asus utilities installed and then I'll do a clean install in the evening and go from there.

So you don't partition the drive? I'm trying to figure out whether to do a small OS partition or no partition. If anyone else has a preference, chime in.

 

Hi there,

I've been following this thread for a little while now as I've been bitten by the "u33jc fancyness" and pre-ordered it on SimplyAsus at the end of August (I won't talk about the delays, it happens...). So just wanted to thanks all for all the great post and wanted to share this nice video review of the u33jc by XoticPC I've found last night if it hasn't been spotted yet: YouTube - ASUS U33JC-A1 Bamboo Laptop Part 1 of 2 Review by Xotic PC

My need for a new laptop is for work. I needed something mobile, fast and reliable with a great build quality. I was initially thinking going for a macbook pro but the the price was an issue and while I have nothing against OSX I still need Windows for work and using two OS would have added a layer a complexity I don't need. So, with the best hopes, I started my quest for a PC notebook that would compete, looking at HP, Dell, Acer, Sony and Asus. At first I wasn't a fan of the u33jc bamboo design but I kind of get used to it and started to enjoy the organic feel of having a mix of wood and metal (I really like the Jaguar comparison ; personally it reminds me of my acoustic guitar (I know, but it's personal) and then following the reviews and good feedback of friends about Asus laptops I made my choice.

Voila, it was just my 5 cents input. Hope you will all have good times with your purchase!

 

nVidia just released 260.63 beta drivers on their website if you guys want to try.

 

If you start the computer the first time the Asus setup creates an OS partition of 100GB for windows on C and the rest as a data partition on D. You can't change that. You have to go through the entire recovery process again if you want only one partition (press F9)

Another point: the on/off switch doesn't react on my press sometimes. I have from time to time to press the key 1-3 times before it turns on. Not sure if I am overcareful. Would be nice if you could report back what your impression is.

I think there are more people with an U33JC. But normally you find in forums only people with issues or questions. The satisfied majority never goes to forums.

 

Thank you Ken will try them later today.

 

For those who wants a u43jc, amazon is throwing in a $150 gift card. Not bad. If only it supports 8GB mem max.

 

For everyone with trouble installing video drivers off to nVidia's site, this is typically the case with most, if not all, nVidia notebook video cards. You will need a modified .inf file, found at a site such as laptopvideo2go.com in order to have the installer recognize most vendor-specific set ups. The OEM drivers found on nVidia are typically functionally identical to Asus, Dell, whatever supplied drivers, sans branding and possible clock tweaks depending on the vendor's priorities.

 

Those with the new U35/45Jc were having the same issue & freeze. They solved it by uninstalling 258.96 under safe mode, updating to the latest BIOS and then reinstalling 258.96.

ASUS shows 208 as the latest BIOS for the U33Jc. Is that what you are using now?

*And NEVER install a BIOS from another model in your machine. For example, both the U35Jc & the U33Jc show their latest BIOS as 208 ... but those files are not the same size (U33 has USB 3.0, etc). So do be careful. No need for a U33 wood-covered brick at home. :wink:

Sorry, I'm not sure I can agree, BigDoof. He was posting those modified INF drivers due to wanting to use recent drivers with his UL30Vt which had manual switching instead of Optimus. So the UL30Vt could NOT use standard nVidia drivers.

On request, I tried one set of his modified drivers and it messed up my system rather royally. Uninstalling didn't fix it and I ended up restoring from an earlier day.

Optimus, on my U30Jc, has easily installed every general NVIDIA driver update, with NO INF changes. On the U35 & 45, a BIOS update fixed the new install drivers for them.

Only time will tell if this works with the U33/43Jc or if the latest general drivers are even a problem..

 

There is no new Bios for the U33JC the 208 is the first release. I updated to the latest Nvidia drivers available on the Asus site the 8.17 drivers. They work pretty well.

 

Does the guy on amazon's promo page creep anyone else out?

 

hello, I just purchased a u43jc-x1. If I do a fresh install of windows 7 professional, does anyone know what I will need to reinstall? what drivers/software are essential to the laptop?

 

The Windows performance score increased from 4.4 to 4.5 with the newer Nvidia drivers on support.asus.com. Tonight I will install a game and I will test the game graphic capabilities.

BTW. Does anybody know what the Intel My Wifi technology is for? Is this a redundant program to setup a wireless network? It is by default disabled. Not sure if I should keep or remove it.

 

I'm not referring to the UL30Vt, I have absolutely no idea what the issues are with that machine. I am speaking about the U33/U43, the models referenced in this thread.

I had issues directly installing the drivers direct from nVidia (as is the case with every single nVidia GPU-equipped notebook I've ever had) and had to use modified .inf. Speaking generally, nVidia drivers do not work with most vendors' notebooks unless a modified .inf is used and in virtually every case, they work perfectly once modified. They are unified drivers and notebook vendors very very rarely make any sort of hardware based modification that would affect driver compatibility. The modified .infs just add specific OEMs and Hardware IDs to the compatibility list.

I am currently running the latest WQHL from nVidia and it works fine without any updating the BIOS from stock. Not to mention there are no BIOS updates for the U43 yet...

 

My WiFi allows for ad-hoc wifi connections without having to disconnect from an existing connection, i.e. connecting to another device ad-hoc while remaining connected to a wireless AP. Out of the box, it's used for WiDi (virtually useless, by the way).

 

Got you. So more or less useless. Yes WIDI was never for me a buying decision for the U33JC. But thank you for clarification

 

@ bigdoof

I have a question regarding the on/off button. To turn the laptop on do you have to press longer or shorter? I asked because I still have to find out if my on/off button is ok or not. If I press the button only shortly it doesn't register sometimes, means it doesn't boot up. If I press longer it normally doesn't happen. Not sure if I have to press just harder. Will have a close eye on this issue. anything else you described I couldn't reproduce. The flex is probably because of the ODD bay and the whine I haven't heard so far.

 

Well, got my u33 yesterday from Ken at Gentech...However, there's a problem with the LED panel. The colors were horrible compared to my wife's u35. The white looked red/yellowish, very warm...The panel just wasn't as bright as the u35. Ken has a DOAR setup for me. Hopefully this was just a one-off problem. The build was okay compared to the u35, the screen did not sit completely flat against the keyboard when closed, just a little bit of gap. There were also a couple of tiny white marks on the bamboo, kind of like when a speck of bleach getting on the clothes. Not a big deal, but expected more from Asus considering how this laptop was marketed...I'll post my findings when my replacement comes...

 

You can also get a free WiDi adapter with it as well. Just add that and the $150 gift card and they will get deducted at checkout. And it does support 8gb max. Asus just doesn't certify all of their notebooks to work with 8gb, but there are no hardware restrictions preventing it from working. Sites like GenTech and XoticPC even offer this upgrade.

 

It activates with an auditory and tactile click, I don't have to hold it down for a noticeably longer amount of time than what I consider "normal." I think you may have a defective button.

I'm glad your computer does have any other issues I've previously described. Maybe they're U43 specific, or due to shoddy QA. The initial feedback flowing in might be pointing to the latter.

 

Thanks. I will test it out probably for one day longer before I will contact Gentech Computers.

 

For your WiDi-enabled wireless card perhaps.

 

Sorry. I know you're not referring to the UL30Vt. I was saying that when that site had modified nVidia drivers, the guy doing it originally did it to get updated nVidia drivers to work on his UL30Vt.

My experience is the opposite of yours, I guess. I have put many nVidia drivers on this U30Jc notebook over the last 5 mo, and I've never needed to tweak the INF file even once, nor have I heard of others generally needing to either.

As for BIOS updates, when I heard of someone having freezing issues on installing the 258.96 drivers, I thought of what had worked over on the U35Jc thread. I hadn't checked the ASUS site on BIOS versions on the U33Jc. Yep, no new BIOS yet for either U33/43. ANd anyway, theirs was a freezing AFTER they'd installed. It froze on bootup. That doesn't sound like the problem one or two have had here.

 

The U33JC I ordered from Gentech that shipped standard ground on Friday is supposed to arrive tomorrow, Wednesday. If it does I will post about it tomorrow night keeping in mind some of the complaints that have come up such as the whine, build, power button, and LCD.

I will also be installing Arch Linux on it and perhaps Ubuntu (yeah I know, the Optimus setup will prevent the nvidia gpu from working on Linux...) and report on how well that works later on.

As far as the complaints so far, I find it rather worrying that out of a shipment of 50 U33s two people on this thread have already run into issues, not to mention the complaints about the U43. That does indeed sound like shoddy QA. If that trend keeps up it will be pretty sad considering how few laptops appear to have made it to the US so far.

 

Great please have a look at the power button.

BTW is any company still spending money on QA/QC? I had to sent my HTC phone three times back before I got a good one. My Asus F6V had a loose touch pad and the plastic starts to break at the hinges. My Sony B series laptop makes whining noise, overheats and has an awful keyboard.
Don't wanna start with my brand new Mazda 3 2010. LOL

 

Do you mean the pop-up display that shows when the nvidia card is being used is also in Driver 258.96?? How can I find it on so I can know when the graphics card is being used?

 

Well, I am writing my first post from my new U33Jc. It was almost surreal pulling it out of its fabric slip. All the waiting finally comes to an end.

First impression. This things is every bit as beautiful as I could have imagined. Build quality is SOLID. Almost surprisingly solid. I am briefly just testing things out before I do a clean install, but so far I am pleased.

With 89 programs on startup, a clean install should make a big difference. Now do I do a small OS partition or no partition... Hmmm.

To my surprise, there is no physical boarder to the trackpad. It looks nice and so far I am not having problems, but I really need more use to be able to judge it. Keyboard is a little klacky. It has a nice feel and is easy to type on, but I am noticing the spacebar is a little noisy.

That is about the only noise though. This things is whisper quiet.

mgymnop, I am also having the power button issue. After a bit of trial and error to see what gets it to turn on, it seems like a firm, deep press does the trick. It takes a bit more than you would expect, but I can't say it is that big of a deal for me. Although, I have only turned the computer on 3 times.

More impressions coming later.

YAY

 

When you open NVIDIA Control Panel, tick:
View > Display GPU Activity Icon in Notification Area

A green CPU-shaped icon will appear in your lower-right taskbar. If you click on it, the nvidia activity box appears in the upper left of the screen.

 

CONGRATS, Case1! At laaassst!!!

"My precious," he whispers through moist lips as he lovingly pets the top and sides. . .

 

Congrats Case1!!!!! Welcome to the U33JC club. I am glad that you say the same about the on/off button. Probably it is normal and I have to admit that I become used to it. I just haven't expected to press it that way. LOL

I was too lazy to go through a fresh install. I only did a recovery to change the partitions and then I deinstalled all the bloatware. Don't forget to install the new nvidia drivers from the asus site

Have fun with your new gadget!

 

Not sure if its important, but my graphics driver is 257.37. Under the view tab, it doesn't have the display notification icon option. Need to upgrade the drive??

 

Hehe, thanks guys. It has been a long time coming.

Anyway, having a bit of a problem doing my clean install.
I have a flash drive that I used to do a clean install on my woman's HP. I am trying to use the same flash drive on my computer and it is not working. I retried the flash drive in the HP and sure enough it works.

After I select the flash drive as my boot device, it just brings me to a black screen with a blinking cursor "_"
Any ideas? I thought maybe there was a problem with the flash drive, but it does still work in the HP so I am very perplexed. The flash drive does light up for a second or two like it is trying to boot from the drive, but it isn't finding whatever it is looking for. Quite frustrating. The machine is a little sluggish with all of the preinstalled junk running in the background. I would start uninstalling things but I don't want to waste the time if I can get the clean install to work. Sigh. Why don't things ever go as planned?

 

Wow, this post is still going strong after two months. I have a couple of questions that hopefully you guys can answer. Firstly, is the entire collection out yet? And secondly, can anyone confirm that these laptops don't have Bluetooth?

Thanks.

 

Are you going to download a legit image of win7 and use your activation key to make it work ??

 

I am sorry if the question has already been asked but I just read the last few pages and couldn't find an answer to my question.

On the U35 thread, people are complaining about a high pitched noise and bad battery life on their laptop. Is this issue also on the Bamboo version?

I also would like to know if anyone know about availability in the UK. On Amazon it says between 3 to 5 weeks to ship, that seems way too long! Is it just specific to Amazon or is it because the laptop hasn't been released here yet?

Thanks for your replies!

 

I have the U33JC and I don't have the hight pitch noise. I think that at least one guy (bigdoof) with the U43JC has reported the whining noise. Not sure if this is normal or if he had a faulty machine. Nobody on Amazon, which sells the U43JC, has reported about the high pitch noise so I think it is probably just a lemon computer that he got.

Battery life is amazing between 6 to 8 hours for me. Of course dependent on the usage and the brightness of your screen.