ASUS U80V-A1 Review

So I have finally had a chance to sit down and play with this new laptop. The ASUS U80V-A1 is remarkably light,sleek and just a sexy beast.

I am going to try and keep this review as objective as possible so i don't sound like some over the hill fan boy.

Specs:
Core 2 duo t6500
4GB Ram
ATI 5470 512vram
B/G/N + bluetooth
DVD super-multi
back-lit keyboard
multi-touch Touch pad
HDMI x1
USB x3
VGA x1
express slot
Flash card reader


Alright so first things first, The packaging.





It came packaged like no other laptop i have come across before. It was very elegant all the way through.

Contents:
Laptop
Battery
Data discs
cable tie
mini mouse
Bag
Ac cord and adapter
Windows 7 upgrade
2 year warranty registration form.
Screen cloth.

*Note, I was impressed with the quality of the bag, above your normal little laptop sleeve you might get with other companies. The bag was a good size and had extra compartments to hold accessories.

Now onto the appearance.





It has a very shiny finish to it, with little tiny specs of blue if you look closely enough. A neat little finish. Only downside, is that it does pickup your finger prints. Not as bad as some of you may think, but still annoying.

The keyboard is very slick no complaints here. The back light is a good idea, which can be controlled either by the laptops sensors or manual function buttons.





As you can see, it is relatively small and slim. The DVD drive i thought might be a problem, but it seems relatively sturdy.



The screen is exceptionally bright, which again can be controlled by sensors depending on your current environment or the manual function buttons. As you can see in the picture the back-lit keyboard can be handy in darker rooms.

I also tested video playback with regular dvd rips and bluray quality material. The laptop had no problem reproducing the content. Also hooked it up to my HDTV via the HDMI port and had video play back on the TV. Once again no problems here as the quality was premium.

On a down note, the speakers did seem to be a little lacking in bass reproduction. The SRS Premium Sound does help when turned on but overall felt lacking (maybe because i'm use to my expensive sennheiser headset.) Other then the bass the sound reproduction was quiet clear.

In terms of speed, the laptop boots into windows very fast and is exceptional at handling multiple process consuming task at the same time.



Another cool feature was the "Smart Log in" You setup prior by allowing the laptop to take a snapshot of your face. So every time you wish to log in all you need to do is click smart log in, and it recognizes your face and logs you in automatically. Good security feature.

*Down Note
It did come with alot of bloat wear that i had to spend alot of time removing. I know every laptop does come with this junk but its a pain in the butt.

3D Mark 06.
i ran this last night and scored a 3157, No wear near my beefy desktop but a still an admiral performance for a notebook.

Did not get a chance to test any games. I will be testing Fear 2, prototype, TF2 and the sims 3 this week.

Conclusion.

Overall a very solidly built machine, elegant from start to finish. ASUS has done a great job creating a sexy slim laptop while keeping it fairly powerful. The chaise it self seems strong and solid and not just "cheap plastic" I couldn't be happier with my decision to stick it out for this bad boy.

 

good job man. great review. one question though, the empty space in the middle... now is this how it is or is there u80's with the middle piece?? or is it removable,? because i have usually seen them with no empty gap.

 

also wat about W7 on this lappy?

 

the empty gap is when u have no battery in. When you put the battery in it fills the gap and looks completly normal.

 

as for windows 7, i downloaded the final retail version of ultimate but im a little weary of driver issues. So not sure what im going to do at the moment.

 

Sweeeeeeet!

 

what about screen quality. That is where I heard the laptop really fails. Can you check the blacks, and if possible watch some HD video and see how that works out. Thanks in advance

 

great job sorrix. tis what i've been waiting for for a good like 2 weeks =P

 

Nice review Sorrix!

Looking forward to see the rest of the benchmarks this week ^_^

If possible, could you also post the temps of the notebook after your fiddle around a bit with games? One can only wonder at the heat produced by something so slim

 

I will monitor the heat while i stress test it during the games I'm going to run.

*update

The battery lasted just over 5 and a half hours under light use and battery saving settings. I am impressed. I was thinking id get 4 hours best.

** Tcee- did this review help sway you decision

 

Guys, take shelter. An ASUS has good battery life. Beautiful laptop. By the time I replace, but G2S, though, there'll be a new iteration of this that'll smoke this one.

 

lol yeah Asus has a bad rep about battery life and their laptops lol

I am surprised at the HD4570 though. Even with DDR2 and a 64bit it seems it's not too bad at benchmarking, but then again Radeons usually score big at synthetic benchmarks. We'll see once Sorrix tries games on it ^_^

 

it's making it a lot tougher lol. but yeah the only disappointment would be the 3dmark06 score. the sony scores a whole 1000 more. but they're just numbers right, in-game performance tell a lot more than benchmarks. oh and i visited the sonystyle store today; the 13 inch screen is quite a bit smaller. i don't get it though. the mbp is also 13 inch right? why does that screen seem so much bigger?

 

Thank you I have been waiting for this. This has swayed my decision even more toward the Asus!

 

where did u buy that because i cant find it no where i only find the u81?

 

Well Apple stores hand out apple juice before you enter so all their products look better.

 

Amazon just released it but when I checked they had one left.

 

Because the glass panel goes edge to edge, it makes the black bezel around the LCD panel looks like it is part of the LCD panel

i guess its all about illusions.....smart on Apple's part

 

I special ordered it through staples. I live in toronto

 

Great review Sorrix! BTW, what games are you going to run on it?

EDIT: I think the thread should be moved to the owners and reviews section of the ASUS forums.

 

last i checked, staples didnt carry it, I've only seen it available at smaller computer shops. Mind telling me which location you went to?

 

you need to special order it through staples, They dont carry it in the stores, but they can order it in for you. If you would like the special order part number i can give it to you.

 

yes please....i would really appreciate it. Also do you mind letting me know what price you bought it for?

 

the special order Part number is: 4461487 (EMJ Vendor) Price $1,149 CAD

Thats all you need, just go in and talk to a sales guy giving him the above info. Make sure he knows its a special order not regular inventory.
I got it with in a week of ordering it.

This info is good only for Canadian staples

 

For a major vendor, thats a pretty good price....Thanks for the info

 

Does your touchpad have the "light vapor trail?" (Does the touchpad light up as it follows your fingers? are you able to turn on/off this feature?) And what kind of battery did it come with? (how many cells?)

 

yes it does light up, and it comes with a 6 cell battery that claims to live up for 6 hours i think?

i saw this thing in person today. i got to say, any doubts i had about it, were erased right when i saw it. the thing's pure . it is absolutely gorgeous. the screen size is 14 inch right? but it looks bigger for sure

 

yea, it looks a little bigger becuase of the sides. It is a 6 cell battery and it does last really close to 6 hours. and yes u can turn off all the little features like the touchpad lights.

im in love with it. I put windows 7 on it and it runs amazing, very responsive. Only 32 bit. I want to try a fresh install of 64 bit, but a little nervous about drivers.

 

So with a 6 cell it actually does reach near 6 hours of battery life? What settings did you do to get that? All lights off? Wifi off? Screen brightness?

 

Theres a bunch of pre set power options. With the screen dimed back light keyboard off but everything else normal you can get 4 hours+ if you put it on battery saving mode. then it turns all things not being used off and gets you relatively close to 6 hours.

Theres a ton of different preset options which are great depending on what your doing and how long you need the battery to last.

 

Still thinking about this laptop? For me i am committed to this and nothing else. I suspect in christmas they will refresh this with just the video card I want but I try not to think about such things.

It is without a doubt a nice looking, reasonably priced, reasonably spec'd notebook.

 

I'm always interested in everything lol Even had I bought something else I'd still be interested in interesting looking notebooks

As for a refresh, idk. Asus does refresh their notebooks once in a while, but that depends on the line itself.

Okies well I'm looking forward to benchmarks and temps ^_^

 

http://www.zdnet.com.au/reviews/har...s-U80V/0,2000065761,339297553,00.htm?feed=rss

zdnet with its own review of u80v =)

 

Thanks for the review, Sorrix.

Think you could spare a few pics/description of the included mouse? I'm curious to know the quality fo the bundle.

And thanks for pointing out that review, tcee-; it really helped clear doubts from that pc pro review.

 

Alright got windows 7 64bit no probs so far, Very smooth and fast. Going to be testing temps and some games soon.

 

Cool! Looking forward to it! Btw, if it's not too much trouble, mind taking a shot or two of the accessories that came with the U80V? The few shots we have don't exactly show them all too clearly and it'd be a nice addition to your review!

 

heres a few shots of everything.

 

so the mouse isn't wireless afterall? aw.. lol

sorrix did i ever tell you you're my hero? =D hahah

 

Thanks for the pics Sorrix.

Saw the laptop at Pacific mall the other day, have to say it looks pretty nice. I think I'll go ahead and order this the next time I get the chance at Staples - something about the big name retailer that I trust.

 

ahah thanks, i love being someones hero

and yea ordering from staples was a good idea, good return policy incase anything happens. Funny thing is they try and sell you a warranty. Asus' warranty that comes free is better.

Asus' Prob didn't seem to want to work with windows 7 64 bit. lol Need a new hardware monitoring program

 

so sorrix, confirm that it's not a wireless mouse? =(

 

the only thing bugging me about this computer is the processor....would there be a big difference between the P8600 and the T6500? Im still split between the unibody mac(last gen refurb)....lenovo T400 and the U80v


i kno the U80v offers more processors but all the retailers in Canada only offer the T6500

 

i'm with you too flexx but if you see it in person.. you'll be hardpressed to resist it lol

 

Well for one thing, do you NEED more CPU power? The difference between the P8600 and the T6500 in terms of raw computing isn't stellar. If you really needed more processor power you'd go with the higher end CPUs with 6mb L2 cache. The real difference the P8600 gives is the lower TDP which at full load could add an extra 30min of battery life and can reduce heat of the overall machine.

 

yea the mouse is just a cute little one with a usb cord that wraps around.

Also the T6500 is more then adequate for everyday applications light gaming, editing and so forth. Im useing this mostly for school but i will do some like games. havn't had a chance to test any yet. But so far my impressions with windows 7 64 bit, im so very impressed its fast as hell never hangs and did i mention this laptop is a sexy beast ? its so pretty lol

 

Well Windows 7 *is* supposed to be all that you know lol

As for the CPU, a single core CPU is enough for everyday tasks technically speaking(never had any lag for multiple internet, chat, music and word windows on my old Athlon 3700+). The T6500 should suffice for mildly heavy tasks and light gaming as you said(just stay clear of the heavy CPU hungry games). The HD4570 will bottleneck gaming far before the T6500 does anyways.

What games are you planning to test btw Sorrix? I mean, we're talking about an HD4570 DDR2 so idk what you wanna throw at the little creature

 

The games i have currently on my desktop are. Sims 3, prototype, fear 2. then all the steam games like css tf2. Will try these and post fps what settings and laptop temps. most likely will get a chance tmw.

I plan on trying Aion when it comes out in sept. Would like to see how that will run.

 

its mainly for use in university so extended battery and portability would be a huge benefit (hate when batteries stick out). I also design print advertisements for real estate agents using programs from Adobe which is where CPU power would come in..... Each of my choices have an advantage over each other (portability/battery - mac, processor - T400, GPU/battery - U80)


anyways, Im looking forward to the gaming tests.....especially on Valve's Source Engine, where most of my gaming stems from


edit: i forgot to ask, how long did it take for you to receive your laptop from the day you ordered it?...reading your review again made me make my decision...im 99% on the asus now...lol

 

saw/played with the laptop today in the store. seemed pretty nice until i checked the winodws experience score. I know it doesnt mean much but i was still surprised to see a 4.1 graphics rating. i cant believe it has a worse rating than the studio xps 13 which has a worse card.

can anyone verify the score? thanks

 

@jimmyb: WEI not only doesn't mean much, it means practically nothing. Depending on your Windows update, the score itself changes sometimes for the better or the worse(for example, it used to be from 1 to 5 I think, now I believe it's changed from 1 to 7). 4.1 seems adequate enough given that it's a DDR2 GPU. I'm not even sure how Windows rates the GPU so the score to me doesn't mean much.

3dmark vantage IMO is one of the best synthetic benchmarks for GPUs since it's not CPU dependent like 3dmark06 or the other benchmarks.

@FLeXx: Well it'll depend on where you put your priorities. Sometimes the "perfect machine" comes along, but most of the times you'll have to compromise somewhere in your expectations/needs when choosing a machine in a given budget.

Worst case scenario you can swap the CPU if you really need to. I believe it's feasible on Asus machines although I'm not 100% sure on this one.