ASUS U24E Review and Owners Lounge

Did you make multi-partitions on your SSD? I made two partitions on my SSD, one for system and one for data, don't know if that's gonna reduce the life of SSD, do you have any clue? Thanks.

 

I only made 1 big partition (plus the hidden partitions WindowsVista/7 automatically creates). As for life: I don't think it'll make a difference, but only the programmers of the SSD firmware will be able to answer this.

 

Don't know what happened to the wireless on my U24E. It works fine at my home network. But when I connected to school's wireless network, I got dropped off from connection more 25 times during the online exam, while anyone else's computer was working fine. Does anyone have a clue? Thanks.

 

It probably is connected to the driver problems you were having.

 

I guess I need to search a newer version driver then, thanks.

 

Got Kingmax SMP32 120GB SATA3 SSD (Sandforce SF-2218) for my U24E few days ago.

BIOS didn't recognize the SDD on AHCI Mode. On IDE Mode, it's was detected on BIOS though Windows Installation can't recognize it . Doesn't work at all

 

I was about to finally get the U24E a few weeks ago, but something unexpected came up and it seems that I'll have to wait another 2-3 months. Right now it seems like most of the stores that were offering it for less than $800 are out of stock and on back order. Do you guys know if it's being discontinued or something? I am quite worried that by the time I am ready to purchase it, it might be unavailable (and it fits my needs better than anything else). Do you know if there's a refresh/successor coming up? If there's a new model with Ivy Bridge and SATA III coming soon that would make the next few months more bearable

 

It's just barely under $800 on amazon.com in the USA. I don't think the U24E has gone EOL yet. If you wait a few months it might be, in which case you could see rebates or discounts on it.

I have not heard anything about a refresh or any 12" news, besides the UX21A ultrabook.

 

Amazon seems to be the only reputable store that has the U24E for less than $800. I find it strange that there is so little news for that form factor and no Ivy Bridge refreshes (besides the Lenovo x230 and ultrabooks). I really hope that the U24E will still be around when I am ready to buy it (and in an Ivy Bridge/SATA III/IPS version...wishful thinking).

Another question - I ran into some issues at work and it seems that I'll need 16GB RAM and will greatly benefit from an SSD, which I was hoping to postpone. I reread all the related posts and didn't see any fixes for the SATA II limit. Is there any chance that this will get fixed? Perhaps a BIOS update? Or some kind of an adapter? I will need a 256+ GB SSD and the SATA II ones are ridiculously overpriced - the 2 options that seem viable are the Samsung 470 and Intel 320 and the cheaper one - the Samsung 470 256GB doesn't seem to be available for less than $300, when newer ones such as the 820 go for way less. Am I missing something?

 

You are right, the price for samsung 470 256GB is ridiculously high and most reliable websites are out of stock (because it was discontinued). I called samsung about the SATA II limit on the U24E, the representative told me that 830 is backward compatible with SATA II, you might wanna give it a try when it's on sale again.

 

Technically all SATA III/6Gbps drives are compatible with SATA II/3Gbps. But there is something funky about the U24E that makes it different (for one thing it advertises itself as a SATA III port). There would probably be a bit of risk involved getting any SATA 3 drive that isn't known to work with the U24E.

Keep in mind that the U24E came out in November, and I think Sandy Bridge launched last January. So a refresh for Ivy Bridge, which came out in the last days of April, is probably still a ways out if that is any indication. The main focus of the machines ASUS has shown so far are ultrabooks, refreshed G-series, and mainstream/ultraportable like the U4/56, X3/4/501, K55, and S series. See: Ivy Bridge Zenbook with FHD IPS screen UX21A UX31A UX32A UX32VD and http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/658302-asus-u47a-u47vc-successor-u46-series.html and http://forum.notebookreview.com/asu...5vw-ivy-bridge-660m-review-owners-lounge.html

Another thing I don't know is if there are any submodels of the U24E that have a revised PCB, it's not uncommon for a manufacturer to go back and make a new version of a motherboard for later released models. So far we haven't heard of anyone saying theirs is compatible with a known-incompatible drive; I'm just speculating.

 

It's weird that XoticPC has numerous SATA III upgrade options for the U24E, maybe you are right that there was a revised PCB. In January ASUS responded to a member regarding the problem and they said that R&D is working on the problem. Perhaps it's worth contacting them again and checking if there's a solution. I'll post here if I find out something new.

 

I tried contacting ASUS regarding the SATA issue, but since I don't have a S/N number (thus I can't use the support form) I tried chatting with a representative. They were apparently busy the whole day and no one responded. If one of the U24E owners will be nice enough to contact ASUS support for me and ask them if the problem is resolved, that would be very helpful. Either way, I'll try chatting with someone again next week.

I also contacted XoticPC and chatted with someone from there. Some very interesting responses (after I explained that I read here about the SATA III problem):

XoticPC: Thank you for providing that information
We do recommend using the Intel 520 series SSD for compatibility reasons
seems to be the most reliable and one of the fastest
Shouldn't have any trouble going with that drive
Me: the reason why i was asking is that a number of members of the NotebookReview forums found it impossible to install SATA 3 drives and they had to resort to SATA 2
http://forum.notebookreview.com/asu...u24e-review-owners-lounge-18.html#post8230357
XoticPC: I haven't heard of this limitation occuring with our installs
and never with the 520 series
Me: if it will be possible to install the 520 that would be great. so I can select any of the SSD options that are listed without worrying about compatibility or you would recommend the 520 in particular?
XoticPC: If you make this aware when you place the order, our production team will be sure to use the SataIII drivers and if not you can give us instructions on what to do in that situation
I do recommend the 520 series though
Me: do you mind if i let the other members of the forum know that you guys haven't experienced that limitation and that they can safely order from you?
XoticPC: I would let them know that we're going to test this for you and will report the results upon successful completion. I'm 99% certain there won't be an issue but I don't want to give false hope just in case that 1% turns out to be the case

Thanks to XoticPC for answering my questions. I find that very intriguing. Perhaps there are some versions of the U24E that work with SATA III (XS71 vs XH71 or submodels perhaps). Has anyone here tried the Intel 520 with their U24E? What do you guys think about all this?

 

This 11.6" Acer Aspire V5 could possibly be alternative or competitor to the U24E. It's not an Ultrabook like the U24E but it is ultraportable. It depends on Acer's build quality and whether it can match or beat Asus's. I doubt it.

Acer Aspire V5 11 Ultrabook Specifications, Price, Reviews and Gallery

 

The U24E is definitely not an ultrabook.

 

Hey, I just wanted to chine in, I own a U24E and contacted Asus support to see if SATA III drives are suppose to work with this notebook. Their response so far is a quick 'There is no SATA III in your notebook.'

I sent a reply email asking for clarification to make sure my question wasn't misunderstood in the translation. But it looks like I'm be returning my SSD since it won't work in this notebook though.

 

Released Firmware 207 today !
Does it bring support of Sata3 SSD ?
Has anyone already tested it ?

Ptit Fred

 

No, the "cold boot BIOS bug" still present.

I've replaced original WD HDD with OCZ Vertex2 and then I turn on my u24e - it enters into BIOS Setup with user rights, and I've to press Ctrl-Alt-Del or choose "Save and exit" to boot.

 

It says "Update ME Firmware" for the BIOS changelog... as far as we know the SATA3 bug is a hardware problem not a software one.

 

I was away for a few weeks and finally managed to chat with someone from ASUS yesterday. They didn't know anything and directed me to their phone support. I just finished talking to someone and as soon as they heard that there's nothing wrong with the hard drive and I am just inquiring about a possible upgrade they told me that they do not provide info for upgrades. They wouldn't even tell me if the unit is SATA III or SATA II. I am still very confused as to how XoticPC can offer SATA III upgrades when there's no one here that had any luck. It's annoying that ASUS wouldn't provide a straight answer and there's no way to know whether the XS71 model (which is supposed to be newer) or the new batches have resolved the SATA problem.

 

We would need an XS71 owner to rip it open and compare to the disassembly pics on this thread to see if there is an "audio board" revision later than 2.0.

 

I bought a new CPU for my U24E on ebay this WE. So i will open my notebook very soon (the CPU has to travel over the sea).
Here, we don't have the XS71, mine is the very small version with i3 2350M !!!
My upgade will not be "very important" because i will go on a i5 2540M.
Nevertheless, i will check to the audio board version during the upgrade.

Ptit Fred

 

I asked to myself if it could be possible to reduce the heat of the CPU with 2 or 3 small strips (thickness of 0.5mm and width of 5mm) of copper glued upon the CPU heatsink and directly (by "the shortest way") rooted upon the air intake of the fan ?
These strips could be glued to upon the air intake on the "fan box". It could be easier than Dakasi's solution.
Your thoughts concerning this potential mod ?

Ptit Fred

 

Hi Fred, welcome to notebookreview!

Yeah adding any mass to the heatpipe will work (to a point), see this for an extreme example:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus-gaming-notebook-forum/414147-grab-copper-drill-now.html
and this:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/acer/553306-acer-timelinex-3830-4830-5830-t-g-308.html#post8032300

It will need to be thermal adhesive, not regular glue (it might melt at worst, or not transfer heat at best).

 

The U24E is still my top choice for a new laptop, but I kept doing research and stumbled upon the UX32VD (one of the Zenbooks). I went to a store and spent some time with the UX31A, which is not supposed to be that different, and was left impressed. I also read most of the posts in the Zenbook thread. Can some of you guys compare the U24E and the UX32VD? How would you compare the built quality and the heat/noise? What are your general thoughts?

I know that the two machines are in somewhat different categories and the U24E would have a faster processor (i7 LV vs i7 ULV), the UX32VD has a better screen, but I mainly care about the built and heat/noise. I would appreciate any comments and suggestions.

 

I just noticed that asus has just released a newer version of the U24E in hong kong, instead of the i5 2450M cpu, this new one has the third generation cpu i3 3110M, supporting HD4000 display, model number is U24A.


would there be a real different between the cpu.

 

I hope the sataII limitation issue has been fixed in the new IB u24a

Sent from my SPH-M580 using Tapatalk

 

Hi,
I have changed my CPU this night and made also by the same time the dakasi's mod (add of 2 copper bars as explained in page 20).
As soon as finished, i have checked the temperature of the components with HWmonitor and i was very bored to see the chipset one's was very "more" important than before (78°C during Windows performance evaluation). Did you know the max temp for the chipset ?
After a quick analyse, i understood that the new thermal pad i have used for the chipset is too thin to make contact. During the copper mod, it had been covered of dust and it required to be changed...
I have just ordered thicker thermal pad... i will have to make the opening a second time ... and wait before using my notebook.

Note : my audio board is rev 2.0

Ptit Fred

 

The cpu about 10% more which doesn't translate to much in real world use. The integrated gpu on the other hand, there is a huge difference.

Japanese release imminent for the updated U24, running an i5 Ivy Bridge with a release date of next weekend.

U24A-PX3210R

Here's hoping they have solved Sata II/III and improved temperatures.

 

Hello guys!
I have bought U24E several days before and installed Ubuntu 12.04 with no problem, everything work out-of-the-box. But I can't manage with high power consumption. I read this thread and edited grub configuration. I had no need to manage with suspend etc because there's no problem in 12.04. But power consumption is not good - less than 5 hours of battery life.
So could anybody tell how to increase battery life in fresh-installed 12.04?
Thanks in advance.

 

Hi Ptit Fred,
Cooper bars behave completely different than heat pipes (the ones I used). You may even worsen the heat transfer if, once the cooper bars reach a stable (high) temperature, the heat is then transferred to the heatpipes along the surface where they are in contact. Heatpipes work best if there is heat in one end and a cooler in the other end, and nothing in between.
Also you may be also transferring heat from the cpu to the chipset.

 

I have bought SATA-CF adapter instead of SSD. U24E boots from it, no problem. You can see it here. The site is in Russian but there are model name and a lot of photos.

 

Hi,
I have received my replacement pad for the chipset. So i have completely opened my U24E for the second time : put the new thermal pad on chipset and change the thermal grease on CPU (arctic alumina).

Now : in idle, i have 40 - 42 °C on CPU ,
and with OCCT : the cpu could rise to 80°C after 10mins of test (Tj for i5 2540M is 100°C so it is safe).

My temperature controls were made under OCCT or HWmonitor.
In my previous message, I was troubled by the THRM value : first i thought it was the chipset temp, but now i think it is the CPU value measured by the motherboard and not the chipset's one.
The THRM value seems to be very well correlate to CPU (package temp).
I m very satisfied by this CPU change.
Ptit Fred

 

How fast/slow is this? Can you run & post results using ATTO & CrystalMark (storage device benchmarks)?

Sent from my SPH-M580 using Tapatalk

 

Sorry, I can't test with these programs because I use Ubuntu.
I can say that speed depends on CompactFlash card you use. Even the "120X" card is faster for reading than internal HDD (I just tried to copy files to RAM). But it much slower for writing.

 

kitaets, you can do a quick benchmark using palimpsest ("Gnome Disk Utility") or

Code:

hdparm -Tt /dev/sda

Probably looking at 60Mb/s tops, limited of course by the CF card itself. The adapter can apparently go up to SATA II/3Gbps:

Spoiler

 

I do remember a storage device benchmark available for Ubuntu but I don't remember the name right now.

Sent from my SPH-M580 using Tapatalk

 

I bought this laptop (i7), a week ago. But I noticed an oddity. Usually fan is quiet, but sometimes when braking makes a sound like "hrrr".
Is this normal?

 

Maybe your unit came with a faulty fan from the factory. Is the "hrrr" really loud & noticeable? If so, your warranty should cover that.

Sent from my SPH-M580 using Tapatalk

 

Not very loud, but noticeable ok.

 

Yeah, I forgot about this
I installed quiet slow CF card: Transcend 133х 8Gb, so the speed is very limited to the card. The average read speed is 45mbps, it's faster then HDD (36).
I have not tested write speed because my card is reeeealy slow and this test will say nothing about the adaptor.

I installed OS (Ubuntu 12.04) to the CF, moved /home to SD, moved /tmp and other temporary files and log files to RAM disk. Now my system boots up in 30 seconds (from pressing "enter" in boot menu to complete login). With HDD it was 45 seconds. While starting programs the difference is really noticeable. But when I'm installing new software the other difference is noticeable too But I don't care, I don't install new software or updates every day.

Now I'm trying to increase the life on battery. BTW, it has been already increased as a result of using CF.

 

I've heard that the U24e does not work with SATA 3 hard drives, hybrid drives and SSDs! Is this true? Please someone who has a SATA 3 drive in their U24e, tell me it isn't so?
http://www.amazon.com/review/R3VJIR7WO80HS5

Anyone with the Momentus XT 750GB in the U24E?

 

ickibar1234, If you go back and read the thread backwards you can see that it is unfortunately the case. The SATA3 topic has been extremely well covered and I have summarized it here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/asu...121-asus-u24e-review-owners-lounge.html#sata3

 

Wow, you caught that early. It's been 11 months and Asus still hasn't released a BIOS update to resolve this issue, or motherboard revision if need be. Thanks

 

Hi guys,

Is anyone can defeat me? LOL (My SSD Benchmark)
See attachment..




I am from Indonesia,

Asus Pro24E have 2 version here. Mine is Intel Core i3 version (another is i5), preinstalled from ASUS, Windows7 Home 64 bit with 4GB RAM. I have upgrade RAM to 12GB, but now running 8GB.

Replacing originally 500GB WDC Harddisk with Intel SSD 330 series 180GB capacity.
I choose 330, because same hardware architecture (from AnandTech Review) comparing with 550.
And cheaper, off course. Even 330 series does not support encryption and lower Endurance than 550 premium series.

But, 3 year warranty from Intel speak louder
In the next 3 year, maybe I have a new Notebook and new SSD, right?
I got Intel 330 180GB only US$ 180, and in the box said compatible with SATA II and SATA III.
Thats why I choose Intel, and absolutely right..
You can see my benchmark above.. nearly same as specification. But, I dont know how to test SATA III 6GB/s performance?
No... forget it.. Now My Notebook speed is blast amazing.. It tooks less 10 secons to boot Windows7.

Well, BIOS is 206 running AHCI Mode (not IDE).
WIndows7 fresh install from ASUS Recovery CD (taken from harddisk).

You can see full detail specs of Intel SSD here ARK | Compare Intel® Products

Enjoy.. and thank you for thread starter (author) for his great review.
You may post update on first page, about this SSD compatible.

 

Hi everyone,
Here, ASUS France said it's not a BIOS relative issue, but a motherboard one. They accept that the customer send the laptop back for repair (according to the warranty), and then it works!
You can see details here (sorry, this is a french forum, but you can translate it).
I did it too, but I still couldn't test it since I don't have any SATA III SSD yet (my Sammy 830 has not been delivered yet).
Hope that can help for y'all.

 

Interesting, the poster quoted "SMALL BOARD" as being changed. Maybe that is the really small board (almost an adapter) that plugs the hard drive into the motherboard?

 

The poster is me And yeah, I've asked to the other guy who did it successfully what they've changed on his laptop, but he couldn't remember what exactly... I'll take a look to the intervention details to see if there are some other clues.

 

Hi all !
Intriguing info from Crucial:
128GB, 2.5-inch Solid State Drive, upgrades for ASUS U24E Laptop/Notebook, CT2880188 from Crucial.com
Model marked as "Guaranteed-compatible with the ASUS U24E".
Did anybody try it?

 

It's confirmed not working, as stated here.
I think Crucial's website relies on the laptop specs. I mean, from the specs, it should work just fine (since the Intel HM65 chipset is compatible with SATA III).