* OFFICIAL UL80VT and UL50VT / VS Owner's Lounge *

One surefire way I found was to make sure the laptop is turned off before plugging in the HDMI cable and turning everything on. Then, sound is rerouted to the TV (or in my case, a monitor with speakers via an optical audio connection). Plugging in the cable with the laptop on, I found that the sound output was not recognized. Not sure why.

The NVIDIA control panel should fix that, or adjusting the picture display on the TV should also do likewise.

Also, so this UL80JT is the one everyone's been looking forward to, eh? Looks like it has a non-glossy palmrest (which I'd love), a larger hard drive, an Intel Core i7 processor, and the NVIDIA G310 video card.
*Edit: apparently, the G310 is nothing more than a rebranded G210, so nothing new there. Also the i7 processor is @ 1.2 GHz, so I suppose it's not drastically different from the SU7300. What ASUS did change that seems noteworthy is this "second-by-second" switching of clock speed and video cards, rather than manually switching via the Power4Gear console. Dunno how that works or why that's more efficient; suppose we'll see. When the JT comes out, I hope someone can figure out how whether that palm rest can be applied to the VT!

 

You know there is always going to be a newer computer that is lighter, faster, cooler, etc. If you sit around and wait for the ultimate machine you'll never get one. You just have to take the plunge, buy one and be happy with it for a while. You'll never win the technology game.

 

I have a 24 inch monitor that can do 1900 *1200 (1080p). When I plug my laptop into the monitor (via HDMI) the only resolution I can get is the max resolution of the laptop. Is there any way to change the resolution when connecting to a source that is capable of displaying a higher resolution than the laptop?

 

Thanks for everybody's help concerning the over-sensitive touch pad issue. It seems that I have stumbled onto a solution. I downloaded the latest driver from Asus's website per itaru's suggestion and installed it. I then set the PalmTracking sensitivity to maximum, but it had no effect.

I then tried Clandestino's approach and uninstalled the Elan driver and software via Device Manager, but it kept reappearing. I searched through the driver installation folder I had downloaded, and inside it contained an uninstall application. Lo and behold, not only was the Elan software actually removed, but after Windows found new drivers over the internet I found that my over-sensitivity problems had vanished, but, unlike with Clandestino, I retained all multi-touch features, including two-finger scroll and three-finger click. For the life of me I couldn't tell you why, but it works.

I also delved further and found this problem occurring in several forums and with different computer models. Apparently Elan just has crappy drivers. Hopefully they'll get their act together and publish an updated driver that addresses these problems, as it sure would be nice to be able to customize the touch functions (and use the PalmTracker as intended; I keep scrolling down the page when I'm trying to type).

 

Even with this method ca still not working. The sound always comes out the laptop...

 

Just received my UL80AG from Amazon.ca
After reading through the post, I was afraid that the bad build quality will turn me off. However, the build quality was FINE !! I have no major complaints at all regarding the quality. It is really a great laptop for $700.

Now I just have to figure out how much I can overclock this thing...

 

Hi all! I just got my new UL50Vt a couple of days ago from Newegg, and so far I love it! No problems. I do agree with what some other people posted about the resolution being a bit too low for the larger screen, but overall it's not bothering me too much.
Fingerprints on the plastic surprisingly haven't been an issue for me. Even when I purposely try to put fingerprints on it, I can't see any marks. Maybe I just have really clean hands?
Anyway, I'm very happy with my purchase so far.

 

Someone else can confirm this, but I think only the UL80 VT version can be overclocked...you have the AG version, which is a little different since it doesn't have the switchable graphics........

Maybe you can overclock the AG version too?

 

To anyone having issues with the washed out contrast issue:

This was bothering me for a long while, but the solution someone posted a while back with changing the intel display saving mode only seemed to work intermittently. I think power4gear was the prog that kept resetting it. Anyway, I just updated to the latest p4gear(1.1.25, preinstalled was 1.1.24) and it seems to have fixed the washed out color when using battery.

Hope it works for others.

 

The best way for the sound to come from the TV speakers, is to open Control Panel > Sound and set the Samsung-1 (Nvidia High Definition Audio) as the default device. Make sure that it is already set as such before plugging the HDMI into your TV.

This audio option is only available under the Nvidia discrete video display card.

So plug-in your computer in the wall A/C outlet before turning your computer on so the computer will load in the Nvidia discrete video. Please ensure that the the display is under the Nvidia discrete video and audio before plugging in the HDMI into your TV.

 

how do i stop the taskbar from auto-hiding everytime i go into battery saving mode?

 

hey how did u update the p4gear? i downloaded 1.1.25 but when i tried to install it it said i couldnt as i alr have a version installed. do i have to uninstall 1.1.24 first?

 

Yes, you have to uninstall the old version first using the control panel then restart. After the restart, you can install the new version which requires another restart.

 

Does anyone know when the Asus UL80jt is coming out with the i7 core??

 

First of all, make sure you're using the NVIDIA graphics card. Second, right-click the desktop and choose "Screen Resolution" (if you're using Windows 7). Set the display to the monitor, then select "display desktop on screen 2 only" (or the closest thing that looks like that option). As long as the desktop is being shown on the UL80's monitor I don't think you can get 1080p resolution.

 

Ah, I ended up just pressing the FN key and the F8 button which turns off the laptop display. I got 1080p automatically. I really love this laptop, it is fantastic!!

 

Hey, this was happening to me as well. I fixed it by updating the power4gear program. You may have to uninstall it and then reinstall it from the ASUS website. It worked for me!

 

Thank you for your reply. I have a UL50 and sound output I have not "NVIDIA High Definition Audio" I have "Realtek Audio Driver" ...

 

does anyone's screen go blank for a couple of seconds at the logon screen when windows 7 boots up?

 

This is normal if you're using the discrete graphics when you shutdown. During startup, Win7 defaults to Intel integrated graphics so it switches to discrete graphics during the login screen when it loads up the previous power settings.

If you're using the integrated graphics when you shutdown, you won't get the blank screen at the logon screen during startup since no switching occurs.

 

URGENT: Please, can someone tell me if the UL80VT has a DVD drive of 12.7mm or 9.5mm (height)?

 

The UL80VT uses a TSSTcorp TS-U633A SATA 9.5mm Tray DVD+/-RW drive.

 

Hey guys I just purchased and picked this up today.

I have some questions regarding overclocking from 1.3 to 1.7

I used the power4gear program and turned on turbo but when I open up the program TMonitor my Core 1 and Core 2 speeds are at 1236.0

Can anyone help me out here?

 

Thanks very much! You saved my day!

 

The overclocking button display in the power4gear program is just confusing.

I suspect that when you thought that you "turned on turbo" you actually turned it off.

If you see a red turbo button in power4gear it means that the ul80vt is in overclock mode. If you click the button then you are disabling the over clock mode.

 

Ah okay, thanks alot!

 

I connected the laptop via HDMI, but how do I change the resolution of the TV? Because the screen is not fitting on the TV.

I tried to change the resolution from NVIDIA control panel, but it would change the resolution of the laptop and not the TV.

Thanks.

 

Hi,

I can't dim my screen using Fn-F5/F6 buttons after I come out of sleep mode. Has anybody experienced this? The only way to get the Fn-F5/F6 functionality back is to reboot.

Thanks.

 

I don't have much experience with HDMI, basically I just plugged in my computer and it worked, switched resolution appropriately for the TV in an automated way.

But did you try making the HDMI a secondary screen using the Windows display properties? (prior to that you may need to turn off "clone display" mode using Fn+F8). If this works then you should be able to set the resolution for the secondary display (i.e., TV) independently from the main display.

This is probably a problem with the ATK/ACPI drivers, or (less likely) combination of ATK + video drivers. I would suggest uninstalling the entire ATK suite of drivers + software (Drivers, Generic Function Utility, Hotkey, OSD2, Media and whatever else) and then reinstall the latest versions available on support.asus.com for your model. Perhaps also a BIOS update.

 

did u face any problems after reinstalling power4gear? im quite apprehensive about uninstalling it and then installing it again, scared there might be some screw ups

 

If you've customized the power settings in Power4Gear, uninstalling and then reinstalling Power4Gear will cause all of your custom settings to revert back to default settings. I found this very annoying since I had to redo my custom settings all over again, but other than that it should not screw things up.

 

Use Cpu-Z to see the actual speed of the processor. You can download it at http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.php

If you have Turbo33 mode on, the processor should be at 1066.6MHz or at 1733.3MHz depending on the power settings in Power4Gear. With Turbo33 mode off, the processor should be at 800MHz or 1300MHz.

The Intel SU7300 processor is rated at 1300MHz, so Turbo33 can overclock it by 33% to 1733.3MHz which I'm sure Asus has thoroughly tested to be completely stable.

 

hmm i updated to 1.1.25 and it doesnt really seem to help much... but anw, is there a way i can set the power4gear so that when my laptop is plugged in it will auto select power4gear entertainment and when its running on battery it will auto select power4gear battery saving mode?

 

There's no way to automatically switch from one power configuration to another, but each power configuration has a battery mode and a plugged-in mode. When the notebook is on battery power, the battery mode is active and when plugged in, the plugged-in mode is active. You can independently customize the mode in Power4Gear and it will remember the settings so that you can have a high performance setting in plugged-in mode, and a low power setting in battery mode. The mode switch will be automatic. Click on Advanced Settings in Power4Gear to tune the settings for each mode further. Have fun with it.

 

I decided on the u50vg-a1. actually exceeds my expectations. only negatives are, touchpad perimeter no activity and fingerprints everywhere. i've had it for a week, decided over the ul series for the better processor, esata, camera. i get about 4-41/2 hrs of battery with full brightness surfing the web and minor apps running. just thought i'd share that.

 

what lock can i use for my ul80vt? can i use a kensington lock? not sure if there's a kensington slot

 

http://usa.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=QqP6p1vDWwn0IIzZ

Then click on the "Specifications" tab.

Then look under the "Security" heading.

Then learn how to search for this OBVIOUS information before posting here.

 

I am not the one who asked the question but why not just ignore the question rather than post a rude answer?

 

I was just wondering if the graphix boost light works on your ul80vt? I just got mine and beside the button there seems to be two little lights to show which graphics card is in use. These do not seem to work on mine, are they supposed to?

 

Look closely....Those are the number lock and caps lock indicators.

 

lol haha thankyou very much for making me look like an idiot. Thanks for clearing that up.

 

Wrong link. Wrong answer.
The original poster asked about the ul80vt and your link was for the specs of the UL50Vt.

The ul50vt specs indicates that it has a Kensington slot.
The ul80vt does not have a Kensington slot. It has a slot for a 5mm wire lock which does not seem to exist.

http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=oJ2UcCTkGd6GG7Rs

 

Hello! I've been researching ASUS notebooks for several weeks, and I'm thinking that I'm going to buy either the UL50VT or UL80VT. I'm looking for something that's more of a desktop replacement, so that's why I like the bigger screen of the UL50. However, I read a review that seemed to indicate that the UL50's keyboard is more cramped than the UL80's since it also has a number pad. I'm planning on doing a lot of typing, so the keyboard is fairly important to me. Is there really a difference in the keyboards, and if so, is it very noticeable? Thanks so much! I really appreciate your help!

 

The UL50's keyboard and the UL80's keyboard are identical when it comes to the main keys that are used for typing. The only thing that's cramped is the number pad and the arrow keys on the UL50's keyboard since those keys are slightly narrower than the rest of the keys, but still acceptable. Look at this picture to see what I'm saying: http://1.1.1.2/bmi/www.excaliberpc.com/images/resources/593918/000c7426f9fa4e63be34200024107756.jpg

So if you're looking for a desktop replacement and not mobility, go get the UL50VT and you can't go wrong. The chiclet keyboard takes getting used to, but after a few days of use it becomes quite comfy to type on, and now I actually prefer it over my desktop's regular keyboard. This is partly because my desktop keyboard is cheap and crappy though, not because the chiclet keyboard is so great.

 

damn it
I was happy with UL80 for the 1st week...
Now..the creaking started!!! the insanity!!
BOTH palm rests creak like crazy whenever my hand touches the laptop. It feels like it will keep creaking until it cracks....

Fortunately i bought from Amazon and will be returning.. although i really loved the other specs of the latop, the creaking is just insane....

 

Welcome to the club. A reviewer managed to solve the squeaky/creaky palm rest by applying a drop of glue where the top plastic part meets the bottom plastic part, just above the speakers. The sound comes from the top part rubbing against the bottom part where they join when the palm rest flexes as you apply pressure on it, so the drop of glue stops that.

I'm not comfortable with dropping glue on my notebook though, so I've adjusted my typing and learned not to apply pressure on the palm rest. Problem solved at the expense of comfort.

 

ya. your description is RIGHT on.
Above the speakers the creaking is quite loud...
i don't think i will have any problems returning this...since this is clearly a quality issue with the laptop...so..i'm going to return this before the 30 days are up..
Amazon even pays for return shipping...so..might as well

 

sux that such a simple problem couldnt have been avoided by their engineers - its the little things that become big annoyances, and esp when you're paying $850

 

Be careful. While Amazon will take it back, they will only give you 85% of your money back.

I had ordered a UL30 with the wireless signal strength issue, had a major saga with fed ex trying to get it back to Asus for a repair, so with 28 days after purchase gone, I decided to say screw it, and send it back to Amazon. They charged me the 15% fee for open box computer, even though it was clearly a build issue.


On an unrelated more fun note, swapping in a Kingston 64GB SSD drive when it arrives on Monday. Details and some quick benchmarks to come, I'm looking forward to the experience, my first SSD.

 

interesting..

well...even 85% i would be happy with.. since it annoys the hell out of me