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

Hi, since you kow the usual difference between the "X1" and "A1" version....What do you make from the "BBA7" version of the U43JC? What does the "BBA7" usually mean for the Asus?

 

BB= Best Buy
A7= just their take on the U43 (things the regular U43JC has that Best Buy's won't.)

Look here for the list of differences.

 

I looked at your link and one thing I am pretty confident about is that the Best Buy Version has 1 3.0 USB as well. The reason being, if you look up on Bestbuy.com the Asus U43JC and click on the picture alternate view 4....You will see the blue color USB port, which is the color of the 3.0 port.

 

Could be a wrong picture.

 

BB's photo DOES show a blue tab in the USB port, so that's a photo of a USB 3.0 port. Good catch. I hadn't seen that.

Either BB's description is wrong (won't be the first time. Even in their ad, they list it as coming w/ the i5-450M 2.26GHz. The i5-450M runs at 2.40~2.66GHz) or their photo is an ASUS stock photo and not the unit they've ordered.

We'll see!

 

It is such a "will see" it is amazing. I contacted Best Buy a few times about different inaccuracies in the discription of U43JC.....You know what they do? They actually do an online google search, all of them did this. They don't have clue of the specs and they dont have it listed anywhere.

I questioned the I5-450m with a 2.26GHz processor speed (as we know that speed is of the I5-430m).....I contacted them about the battery length and I got an answer of upto 8 hours and another person stated upto 7.5 hours.

Questioned the webcam megapixel....A few stated 0.3 and a few stated 2.0....I did receive more 2.0 answers than 0.3

I also questioned at first if the Nvidia G 310m came with the Optimus Technology as at first it didnt state that. So, I take credit for them adding that to their website lol... I needed to know if it came with the Optimus Technology, so I could utilize the WIDI technology.

Any idea if this does actually comes with the smaller 8 cell battery, if I could purhcase the more powerful 8 cell battery after the fact?

 

Best Buy always seems to have this tendency to release their own special downgraded versions of laptops for cheaper. Personally I am going to wait until they are actually re4leased and then order from somewhere like amazon that usually carries normal models (with the exception being the Envy 14)

 

Well, of course the BB sales reps didn't know. What did you expect? They have dozens of models on the floor and the U43Jc's a model that's not even in the store yet. They couldn't know. They see what you see online.

In the past, BB has put in smaller batteries as the average BB PC buyer isn't that knowledgeable so BB cuts corners 'cause the buyer is looking at the price, screen size & processor speed usually. Not the battery.

When they quote 5 hr 10 min, that's short for the 5600 mAh battery. I suspect it's the 4400 mAh.

All of the U & UL series have been able to share batteries thus far. I don't know about the bamboo U-series' battery size. I suspect it'll be the same.

Again ... we'll see.

I just want to see one hands-on, even if I can't buy one. I could seel my U30Jc, but I only just got it 4 mo ago and I can't afford to sell it at a loss and then spend more on the U33Jc.

If I could, I would. Man, those ext HDD transfer speeds on a USB 3.0; they're faster than an eSATA! (Saw a chart online comparing USB 2.0, 3.0 & eSATA).

 

What I meant by didnt know is that I called the 1-800 Best Buy number. I didnt go to my local store and asked one of the floor guys. I called the Best Buy 1-800 number and I would think they would have some sort of specs on their computers. But non did

Also, I am not even sure if the 5 hours 10 min is even accurate. No one knows until it arrives......

You did state this "All of the U & UL series have been able to share batteries thus far. I don't know about the bamboo U-series' battery size. I suspect it'll be the same."

So, my question then is, how much are the bigger 8 cell U & UL series batteries?

 

Amazon is your friend. Here for $115.

You'd probably find it on eBay as well, though I think Amazon is cheaper.

 

Ok cool, so it is easy to get if need be.


Also, I don't know if anyone noticed but when the U43JC first came out on the Best Buy Website (I believe 2 weeks ago this Sunday) the first 3 days on the website it was $899.99 and then all of a sudden it jumped to $999.99.

 

Do you know if the 5600mah battery adds any additional weight or bulk to the laptop over the 4400mah?

 

Nearly indistinguishable, or so I've read. The 4400 & the 5600 are said to be virtually the same weight w/ the 5600 being a tiny bit more.

 

Thank you for the answer on weight. If its that small a difference on weight, its worth the 5600. But, what about bulk? Is the 5600 any bigger than the 4400? Will it stick out? Not sit flush or anything of the sort?

 

Same size. 5600 is not bulkier than 4400.

 

Just preordered a U33JC with Intel® Core™ i5-540M, 2.53-3.06GHz, (3MB L3 cache) from xoticpc. Excited!

 

Ooo! Very nice. Congrats!

I'd love one, please ... though the extra $369 for the processor upgrade would break my budget.

But you've done well to make it ready for the future. Awesome!

 

Does GenTechPC really throw those in? I've tried adding it to the cart, and nada.

Oh, and I've been following this thread for a long time... and this is my first post. Thanks for supplying us with all this info/feedback Quatro.

 

Mmmm most likely will be preordering the U43JC fairly soon.
Reason over U33:
- Stock i5-450 over i3-350
- I'm more accustomed to 14" over 13"
- DVD drive built in (Not that big of a changing factor, but one less thing to carry around)
Was $80 difference in order, I feel the i5 and bigger screen is worth the $80, double the bus on the 450m vs 350m (2.5GT/s vs 4.8GT/s)

Now just the debate:
Get it shipped to UPS Depot in Buffalo and drive over the border to pick it up (free shipping, 100% pay taxes at border)
Or get it shipped USPS ($79) and pray taxes don't hit it?

I'll probably go with the latter, no time to drive down there anyways.

Anyone know if Xotic offers student discounts to Canadian residence? Haha

 

Beats me. It's in their list of what comes with it, meaning you wouldn't add it in to the order anyway.

I've seen several Taiwan reviews where the buyer had a mouse (cheap one) and pad that came in the box with the laptop from ASUS.

Sooo, that may mean that GenTech won't know themselves until it is really in & available and they can look in the box.

Could be a mistake. They don't list the U33Jc with that extra. I suspect they have that list from ASUS and that the models they'll get of the U43 will have an optical mouse in it. We'll see.

 

Just pre ordered the U53JC

 

I'll probably get the u33 over the u43 because...

-smaller form factor - it's called a mobile computer for a reason
-no DVD drive so it's around a pound lighter
-i-370m is essentially the i-450m without the turbo boost. and the +0.26 ghz from turboboost is not significant

 

- You mean 450m vs 370m. There is some debate about this, and I don't see that much of a benefit for the 450m to the 370m (pretty comparable). So, I was deciding between either the 520/540m vs the 370m and just grabbed the 540m on the U33JC for the heck of it.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...ost-worth-comparing-i3-370m-vs-i5-450m-2.html

- I try emailing Xotic about the student discount too, so hopefully I will get something. You know what much they usually give?

 

Do be aware that, from the specs, the U33Jc is thicker than the U35/UL30 models even though all three have no DVD drive (same weight though.)

I think it is 1.22" meaning it's as thick as the U30Jc, which does have a DVD drive. When I enlarged the side shots, the extra thickness seems to come from the lid (bamboo?) while the body is thinner than the U30Jc.

Just thought you should know.

Personally, I think the U30Jc's lid could do with being thicker. The lid warps & bends between my two hands easily. I'd take the U33Jc over it any day.

 

i don't mind the thickness of the u30jc. i will have to wait and see since there are conflicting specs everywhere, as well as wrong pics used (european images)

 

On XoticPc it shows a 350m, but GenTech has a 370m. Any idea on which it actually is?

520 and 540m both have a slower bandwidth. Personally, no point in getting a faster processor if your limited on your bus speed anyways.
I don't see the value in the extra $239 for the upgrade to the 520 or even more for the 540m, I won't notice that much of a difference realistically.

I think they cut the shipping price to what I've heard? But If its free shipping maybe they'll just give a discount, that would be nice

 

Well, at least the wait shouldn't be long.

 

Yea hopefully not too long til they get them out.
Now I'm debating between the U33 if it has a 370m, and possibly a U35.... Much cheaper but no USB3.0, no nice bamboo, any other downfalls?

 

What U33 has that U35 doesn't for $150 difference:
1) Bamboo & aluminum finish over the entire keyboard area
2) WiDi
3) 1x USB 3.0 port & 2x USB 2.0
4) Bluetooth
5) 2.0 MP webcam (instead of the wimpy 0.3 MP)

I think those are the main differences, plus the body/chassis designs are very different.

 

2 "fixable" grievances I have with the U33, which I've been following since its announcement.

1. Why are there no Core i7 options listed? I would like to see it able to be configured with a Core i7-620M or 640M. I spoke to a gentleman at XoticPC about this and was told that after they get the notebooks in, they can see how well they would perform with the i7 series. I imagine they'd work fine BIOS wise, as the original spec sheet listed Core i7-620 and if the i5 series work as well as the i3s, then there's no reason that the Dual Core i7s shouldn't work. If worst comes to worst, I'll buy one of the Core i7s I see on Ebay and install it myself.

2. Backlit keyboard! This is the largest omission from a premium notebook. I can't believe that a backlit keyboard on something they took the time to outfit with a bamboo chassis. "Premium/Style" notebooks these days need a backlit keyboard. I guess we won't know until launch, but there was recently a U30 keyboard mod to install a backlit model - I wonder if this will be possible for the U33 as well?

Aside from that I would have liked to see something more powerful than the anemic GeForce 310, at least a 330/335 like the Sony Z or even better an ATI offering with a manual switch instead of optimus, but the 310 has been part of the design since the start, unfortunately. The two items above should in theory be able to be remedied without much trouble.

 

I cant wait to get mine from Best Buy. I am either going to be highly happy or highly disappointed. It depends what specs actually come with it as no one really knows. If it actually comes with the I5-450m instead of the I5-430m and if it comes with a 2.0mp instead of the 0.3mp webcam and has a 3.0usb port. Then I think I will keep it, even if it comes with the smaller 4400mah 8cell battery. If it does come with the smaller 8cell battery, I'll just purchase the bigger one after the fact.

But, if it comes with the I5-430m, 0.3mp camera, and/or no 3.0usb port. I will just return it and purchase the Toshiba M645 with the 12 cell battery (since it comes with the Nvidia Optimus) and purchase the 6 cell battery after the fact.

I am pretty sure the Asus will show the specs on the outside of the box, so I wouldnt have to actually open it to see the specs, correct?

 

For those of you who want to upgrade to a Crucial C300 256GB SSD, you can grab one at Tigerdirect for $573 ($659.99 + 13.2% bing cashback, and no tax and shipping in CA). I need to put my credit card away.

 

i just... can't afford an upgrade like that

 

Yea its U35 > U33 $150, > U43 $100.
On my configuration anyways.

So now just debating on what I want to do. I'll look up some benchmarking for i3-370m vs i5-450m, thats the only main difference beside screen size on the 33 and 43.

 

The backlit keyboard was in the 2010 CES U33Jc demo model in January, so they definitely considered it. They can do anything (upgraded GPU easily) ... but it all adds $$'s. People want these extras, but would then complain if the unit cost $100's more.

The backlit modder never found a way to turn the backlighting off. Not very practical for battery life. The Sony's have an on/off switch.

Certain i7's may require more cooling so they need to see if the cooling present is sufficient to upgrade to an i7. A friend of mine has a Lenovo Y560 w/ the i7 quad-core and ATI HD5650. Nice but HOOOOOTTTTT! (Also horrid battery life due to not having switchable graphics!)

 

The U33JC is getting more and more tempting now, but then a store near me has the Sony Z series 20% off for a few days and that's even more tempting! Must resist spending over budget...

 

I figure that the Bamboo models are "Premium" and therefore for those that don't mind spending a little more for the best, so I found it unfortunate that a backlit keyboard wasn't available. Though for "normal" typing it isn't necessary, when hitting the FN keys in the dark for instance (gaming too) it is helpful and just plain looks classy. Likewise, I wouldn't have minded another $200 for a 5650 or 335. In fact, it would liken the U33 to the Sony Z, for a MUCH lower price.

I expect the amount of battery life actually drained from LED backlit keys is minuscule at most, so I'm not too concerned with that aspect. Of course someone with considerable modding ability could also fashion a switch if they really wanted but that is pretty detailed work if you say, created a sliding switch that was flush with the keyboard deck or some such.

I'm fairly sure that the chipset would only support the Dual Core i7s, which use the same amount of power as the i3s and i5s (standard voltage types, like those used). These also have switchable graphics options, while the ultra high performing Core i7 720/740, 820/840, and 920/940 Quad Core options do not - those use more power and put out more heat of course. The ones I'm talking about, the Core i7-620 (and 640, which is newer) are similar to the i5s with TurboBoost, but have more cache and higher frequencies, as well as hyperthreading if I recall correctly. They're the top of the line for the 2-core options, as I can understand that the quads just wouldn't be able to fit and contain the heat. I don't object to installing one of my own, as I've seen some 620 Qualification Samples on Ebay for cheap, but I'd like to see at least one person give it a try beforehand to ensure there aren't any issues compared with the highest "legit" variant, the Core i5-540.

 

Now, again, I am purchasing my U43JC from Best Buy. So, I could be disappointed. But, if the BestBuy version has what the other U43JC's have then the ONLY thing I really wished it had was backlit keyboard. I would surely pay extra for that. I had it on the Dell Best Buy Blue Label Laptop that I replaced and the reason I got a big store credit from Best Buy and I must say the backlit keyboard is a great thing to have.

 

While the Bamboo collection is very nice, I don't know if I would classify them as "premium" notebooks. There doesn't seem to be much of a premium for the bamboo and aluminum. If you look at the U30JC-A2B that came out not too long ago, it is very similar to the U33JC spec wise but actually costs about $20 more than the U33JC. I know it has a disc drive, so it isn't exactly the same thing, but I'm just trying to say that the Bamboo collection isn't perhaps the premium notebook people think it is. They may look premium, but the price is pretty on par with what they offer. The UL30JT/U35JC lack USB 3.0, Bluetooth, WiDi capable network card, and a 2MP webcam. After you add all that in, how much of a premium are we really paying for the premium look and (hopefully) superior finish?

If people want better graphics cards, then buy something like the Acer 3820TG. I wanted something with Optimus, good battery life, portability, and a decent GPU for things like CUDA. If Asus bumped up the CPU or GPU on these, they would certainly be out of my price range. Also, I saw ChivalricRonin saying he would prefer an ATI GPU with manually switchable graphics. What would be the advantage of that over Optimus?

I believe the i7 would be a possibility in these machines, but my guess is that anything over a $370 CPU upgrade seems a little ridiculous on a $1000 notebook. I could be wrong, but why would someone pay 30-50% of the price of the notebook just on a CPU upgrade? It might be nice in a few years time to upgrade to an i7, but if I needed one today I'd buy a notebook that already came with one. I would definitely get an SSD or hybrid drive before upgrading the CPU though.

I will say a backlit keyboard would have been VERY nice. It really would have put the cherry on top as far as looks go.

 

"WiDi capable network card"
According to Nvidia website, as long as your notebook has the Optimus Technology, then you can also utilize the WIDI (Intel Wireless Display Technology)....Nvidia better be right or I am shipping it back for the U43F.

 

you also need to attach the proper widi adapter to your TV. perhaps that is what nvidia is referring to?

 

I didn't know Nvidia had anything to do with WiDi. Admittedly I don't know a whole lot about the tech other than the demos I've seen, but I figured it had to deal with Intel's own chips. There are a number of Asus notebooks with Optimus but have no mention of WiDi. Not saying you are wrong but it seems there must be some Intel piece of hardware that allows for the Wireless Display.

 

ASUS or some site clearly state which of their notebooks are WiDi-capable ... and not all systems with Optimus were WiDi-capable yet. Down the road, all of the newer ones (with an Intel chip) probably will be.

Like Wifi, a laptop needs to have the WiDi symbol on it to utilize WiDi. It should be in the list of specs. UL30Jt is Optimus-run, as is my U30Jc. Neither are WiDi-capable.

WiDi is certainly an Intel invention. Not NVIDIA. Just go look on Intel's page.

 

I did A lot of research on WIDI as the technology is great. I had it on my Dell Best Buy Blue Label, when Best Buy had the 6 month exclusive contract on the WIDI technology.

Intel won't admit it works as they want you to only have the intel graphics card.

But, here you go from Nvidia website: Does NVIDIA's Optimus technology work with Intel's Wireless Display (WiDi) technology?

 

I wonder whether you guys can help me. I'm about to buy a laptop, I've liked Asus for a while, and I don't know how best to allocate my money/ specs.

I'm a professor and I do a fair amount of video editing for my Powerpoint presentations-- some sound editing, too-- but I don't do any serious gaming. Mostly I do a lot of web-based research with multiple windows open for Word, Excel and the like.
I like the idea of WiDi and I need bluetooth. Am willing to forgo a DVD player for light weight.

Basically, I'd like to future-proof the computer b/c I want to use it for 4-5 years if possible. My current (HP DV1000) has lasted for 5 years but is finally falling apart. I nursed it along for an extra year by upgrading the HD but now it's physically breaking.

If I'm willing to add a few hundred to the U33JC purchase price, what's the best bang for my buck re: speed and future-proofing? Higher CPU, 7200rpm hard drive, or more RAM?

I don't think that I'm a candidate for SSD drives b/c I don't do gaming. Am I right in thinking that that's the main reason for getting one of those?

Any advice you have will be much appreciated.

 

Best Bang for your buck would most likely be the Hard Drive.
SSD would help you tons, its not really a gaming asset; its an overall speed improvement.
If you don't want to put down the full cash for an SSD, Maybe the Seagate Hybrid Drive? They've been proven to be faster than traditional 10k hard drives, and still at an affordable price range.
Since you have so many applications open, throw in 6gb of ram and you should be set.
$110 for the Seagate upgrade, $140 for the RAM upgrade: $250 total.
Overall I think these two would outweigh a CPU upgrade, and would be cheaper.

 

I would concur that the SSD is not necessary if you're not gaming, and not a very good value if you do, and that the Seagate drive is the best of both worlds. RAM wise, if you buy a single 4gb stick and then use one of your old 2gb sticks, you can get to 6 for cheap. If you want to go full dual channel, 8 is always an option down the road, where you can just add another 4gb stick to compliment the one you bought. Once those are done, assuming you go with the standard i3 CPU, I do think an upgrade would be beneficial. I'm planning to install a Core i7-620M or 640M, which is leaps and bounds more powerful, if I buy a U33 and find it supports that processor.

 

Deciding to do 6GB (2+4) or 8GB (4+4). Will the motherboard support dual channel if mismatched 6GB?

 

Thanks, guys. Repped. I'm so out of touch with new technology that I didn't realize one could upgrade the CPU down the road. In the old days I'm pretty sure you couldn't.

Is 1333MHz RAM a significant upgrade over the 1066? I guess I should get the one that's $5 more...

 

It sounds like your question has been answered but I thought I'd chime in as well. If I were you I'd buy a standard U33JC as I think it has enough juice to do what you need. If it doesn't, I would upgrade in this order:

1) Seagate Momentus XT Hybrid Drive
2) Replace one 2GB stick of ram with a 4GB stick for 6GB total. There is virtually no difference between 1066 and 1333 but I guess if it is only a few dollars more, why not?
3) CPU Upgrade to an i5-580m or an i7-620m (if possible). I do feel the i3-370m can easily handle everything you need it do, at least for a couple years.

The ram and hard drive upgrades are easy, but I must admit I have never done a CPU upgrade. Since there shouldn't be any soldering involved, I don't see why it would be too difficult though. All of these upgrades could be done cheaper if you buy the components and install them yourself.