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

Can you please provide a bit of input to help me decide between the UL80vt and the Vaio CW (P8700 w/ GT230m).

A few questions:
Will the UL80vt play all the newest Need For Speed, Grid, and Burnout games smoothly at full settings or maybe Medium settings? I like car racing games! I'm kinda caught between the two laptops, on one hand I like the long battery life of the Asus and the lighter weight, but I am concerned about not having enough power. Power to run a few car racing games I like, to run Architectual software like Chief Architect, and for running multiple "Virtual PC" Sessions at once, but also power to spare so it won't be outdated for quite a few years. Have any "unbiased" input for me?

 

To help answer my question, could someone be so kind as to go to this "Can You Run It" site, and see if it says you can run GRID, Burnout and Need for Speed? Thanks in advance...

http://cyri.systemrequirementslab.com/srtest/

 

Not to deviate from topic, but a correction is in order: Dell also offers similar/same services.

 

Aha, but is offering a service the same thing as the way in which you deliver the service?

 

I received my UL80VT yesterday from XoticPC, with the 7200RPM 320GB HDD upgrade. I did a lot of research before deciding on this unit. FWIW, I am 54 yrs old and a VP of IT and have spent many years buying personal and corporate laptops. My own personal laptop at home before this was an Averatec 12" 3270 that still runs great (I upgraded the AMD chip on it). This Asus is definitely one of the nicest laptops for the money that I have ever seen.

I have none of the keyboard issues (noise or the left side rattling). I like the trackpad and the gestures you can do. Screen is OK by me. I have no qualms whatsoever that sticking one's fingernail in between the bezel and the screen results in some play. Why? because it's a useless measure and it's never done. And the bezel is not the anchor system for the LCD. Do you stick your fingernail in between the trim and the windshield of your car to see if there is flex there? I thought not -- same silly thing!

I'll report back when I have more time to put it through its paces, but it is one nice machine is all I can say now.

 

Mine is doing great so far. I haven't noticed any rattling noises from my keyboard.

Only problem so far is that I can't seem to get Counter-Strike to run on 1366x768. Any solutions?

 

Wonder if this will ever have the su9400 in it? I will most likely purchase one before the end of the week.

 

the UL80VT is extremely hard to obtain in Canada (at a reasonable price too). it's sold out everywhere, but I finally found an online store that sells it for cheap and it should be shipping soon.

can't wait to get it!

 

My UL50Vt arrives in Oregon tomorrow, then across the big pond to me!

 

Why? It would hardly be any noticeable upswing at all.

 

Yes, in fact, Dell's is faster and more efficient. I'm of course referring to Dell's NBD warranty service. The standard Dell warranty (especially Dell Home) is mediocre at best.

 

Mine came today but my mom had an appointment so I might have to pick it up from the post office tomorrow before work.

 

I am finding it amazing that some of you are so defensive about your UL80's. I too am an IT for a large agency and I can tell you that my keyboard is defective. Not sure why you find that so hard to believe. Actually I guess it is not the keyboard that is defective it is the way it was mounted or lack of proper mounting. When you see the whole bezel lifted up around the keys and you can depress it in an 1/8" something is wrong with it. When you press it in and the type on the keys and the noise goes away, there is something wrong with it. I too think the UL80 is a great laptop, which is why I didnt return it, I sent it in to have the keyboard fixed. Glad you got one that has no problems but please dont make light of the fact that some of us did receive ones with some quality control issues, geesh!

 

I don't think the defensiveness started until Charles' review was posted and his refusal to acknowledge that he may have received a bad unit in regards to the keyboard and sturdyness of the chassis (although I think everyone agrees the bezel is subpar on all units).

I do believe that Asus clearly has major quality control problems with these units. Mine came with a dead pixel right in the middle of the screen but had zero problem with the keyboard. I think many just felt that his review was overly harsh based on build quality on a relatively inexpensive laptop. Now of course it wasn't Charles' fault he received a model with lower build quality. That falls squarely on Asus and their quality control issues. I like many others just want people to know that the problems Charles experienced isn't the case for everyone and many of us are very happy with our UL80VT's, keyboards included.

 

How exactly do you overclock on this laptop?

 

OK I definitely agree with you. Even though mine does have an issue and I do feel there are some quality issues I also feel it is a great laptop. I have even recommended it to friends. And for the current deal at Amazon, wow - smoking deal.

 

954 taxes and shipping included? must be regular canada post shipping and even then.. the laptop would have to be 880CAD before tax. hard to believe.

I bought mine on this website http://www.anitec.ca/product/625166...o-1-3ghz-14-wxga-centrino-2-notebook-ul80vta1

I paid 897 (was 2$ less) + taxes and xpress post shipping (1-2 day shipping) = 990~

899CAD is the price NCIX charges for the UL30! I would jump on it at 899

 

My UL80VT from GenTechPC (paid $902 CAD just fyi) was shipped out yesterday, should be here in a few days. Can't wait till I get my hands on it!

 

I only paid 5% tax too since anitec is based in BC, I also paid 27$ more because I wanted it fasttt with xpress post

it was shipped today so i'll get it friday. otherwise it would have been next wednesday or something.

total would have been 965 without xpress post.

if you can get it for around 900 before tax and shipping. go for it.

 

Update: In some ways, I now agree with Charles about build quality. Build quality had not been an issue for me until yesterday morning when I was typing. I noticed that when I pressed down on the front edge of the left palm rest it squeaked annoyingly (it hadn't done this until then). I began squeezing the front edge and noticed that top part of the chassis isn't cemented to the bottom part of the chassis very well so that when you put pressure on it (such as when you rest your palm on it) it made a noise. I tried placing about an inch long piece of scotch tape across the part that was sqeaking, and the squeaking went away completely. It was disappointing to find this because it was the first issue with the build quality. Also, I now understand what Charles meant when he said that when he pressed in the center of the laptop it causes the bottom of the laptop to touch the surface it is resting on... it's not if you press in the middle of the keyboard like I had thought you had said for some reason, lol (my bad!! )... it's if you press on the trackpad buttons (like Charles had really said), he was right that you can feel the laptop touch the surface it is resting on, but the thing Charles was wrong about is that it isn't the bottom of the laptop touching the surface below it... it's a little "support peg/foot" that protrudes from the bottom of the laptop about 1/10" of an inch. The overall chassis does flex a tad, but it is just the peg touching, and the peg is maybe moving 1/16" of an inch tops (probably less). So yes, the chassis does flex just a hair, but not as bad as the review makes it sound (I think the review should be updated with this information personally).

I am thinking about putting a drop of super glue on the edge of the left palm rest to keep it from squeaking. I'm pretty sure it would work without a hitch unless you put too much glue and then tried to take the casing apart and wasn't able to. I figure it wouldn't void the 1 year accidental warranty but maybe the 2 year standard warranty if they figured out what I did. I'm not sure though...

Overall, I'm still impressed with laptop and can definitely still recommend it to friends who can't afford a 15" MBP. I can also verify that it does live up to its 10 hour battery life claim.

After I discovered the flex, I began contemplating switching over to a Macbook Pro 13". So I went to my local Best Buy to compare sizes, keyboard, touchpad, etc... I got to the store and there was a bestbuy sales guy there that I got to know pretty well when I bought my Dell Studio 14z. I began explaining to him how the 14z hadn't met my needs due to a sucky touch pad and paint chipping off for no reason, etc. I pulled my UL80VT out of my bag and explain to him the features of the laptop (i.e. switchable graphics, 10 hour battery life). I loaded up Batman Arkham Asylum and he was amazed that it played smoothly at native resolution. I showed him squeaky palm rest and explained to him I was considering getting a 13" Macbook Pro. He responded that he didn't think that apple would have anything and recommended that I just stick with the Asus... lol And he's a sales guy that is supposed to sell laptops, and he recommended me not to get a Macbook Pro. lol

I still think I am going to keep it. In the off chance I decide to return it, it will only be because I would be switching to the UL30VT, which should have better build quality plus identical features in a slightly smaller chassis.

 

I'm experiencing the palm rest flex issue as well, although it only happens when I press down on the left side. What bothers me is the fact that I tend to carry my notebooks by the palm rest and the HDD sits below that area. In the long term, this could potentially cause issues with the HDD if not other parts of the notebook. I've had a Thinkpad T40 and T42 die due to chassie flex.

I went ahead and did the same tests Charles did in the review on my EEE 1000HE and Thinkpad T61p and all three notebooks tend to flex below the screen, but the materials on the UL80 is definitely softer than the others and the structure of the chassie just doesn't compare, not even to the EEE. I feel Asus really cut corners on the new UL series to bring the costs down.

I'm keeping the UL80, as its benefits outweight its flaws for me.

On another note, I've been playing Dragon Age Origins with turbo and G210M turned on. Game play is pretty good at native resolution, the only issue I've seen is tearing when FMV is being played.

 

ha.. funny he didn't recommend the MBP. Maybe he only recommends that to wealthy looking yuppies?

 

I posted my detailed review here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=5487355#post5487355

I will also be posting a video review and an unboxing of the UL80VT-A1 shortly.

EDIT: Part one of my video review is up here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZa8i0sZiVY

I also added pictures of the Dell/HP/Asus laptops here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/Quadron/AsusVsDellVsDm3z?feat=directlink

 

So the UL50VT is the same as what is marketed elsewhere in the world as their UX50V? Is that correct? What are the top end specs I could order? Love this machine from what I have read; slim, sexy looking, tons of battery life and does this have the dual Altec speakers?

 

Don't think so Neal. The UX should have a backlit keyboard and Geforce105m instead of the 210m

 

Quoting why I like the laptop, in the context of other's found faults, is not being "defensive." It is stating facts as I see them.

Please get yourself a dictionary.

 

I got one from Gentechpc as well, how did you only pay $902CAD? mine is $960CAD and i expect ill have to pay some GST on that once its through customs.

Wish I had waited a little longer and gone with a canadian retailer, i dont think i would have saved all that much, but wouldnt be waiting in Customs Limbo.

 

So far I like mine as well. Although I readily admit that it feels cheap, I paid $720 with the Amazon promotion so technically it was cheap. But it is powerful, it is light, and it doesn't look like it is going to break on me (and if it did, it came with a warranty). The only part that really annoys me is the CD-ROM drive - it is almost impossible to get open in the dark, and it has the feeling that it could very easily snap off.

But then again, this is only a $720 computer with a good warranty, so who cares?

 

I just returned an HP Envy 15 yesterday after 7 days. It performs well enough and has a nice look but to get any good battery life out of it, you need to keep their battery "slice" attached which makes it HEAVY! I'd say at least 8-9#! When I brought it back to BB, the Geek Squad guy couldn't believe how heavy it was...just sayin'...

 

They actually shipped via USPS Priority (thought it was going to be UPS like their website said) but nonetheless, I inquired about all this before hand of course and Ken insured me that I would pay very little to no fees. Does USPS even charge brokerage/custom fees?

 

Sounds like these folks in their review didn't like the build quality of the UL80vt either...

http://gadgetophilia.com/asus-ul-80-vt-review/

 

I'm not 100% sure about this but..

regular mail brokerage is 5$ but you'll have to pay government sales taxes depending on what the item/value is declared.

 

To other UL80VT owners; what laptop sleeve would you recommend using with this laptop? I am currently looking for a sleeve that will fit this laptop well.

 

cheap and will protect it well.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.9655

 

Alrighty, I just got my UL80VT a few hours ago..let it charge..You guys can add me to the list of people with keyboard issues. It's not hard to type on or anything but, some of the keys (namely on the left side) are a bit loose feeling..I had a similar problem with my 1000he but it didn't seem as noticable..probably cause the keys were smaller. I also noticed that my cpu-z is saying my processor is clocked at 2.1ghz sometimes..is that normal? (this is right out of the box)

 

Any one else have other suggestions? If not, I may just get that one.

 

To DallasBill

LOL Mr vp, you made fun of the way the reviewer reviewed the laptop and that "was a silly thing to do". Your reply was immature, plain and simple. Oh and by the way defensive, "attempting to justify or defend in speech or writing". You were justifying why you thought your laptop was great even though others were finding fault with it.

 

Double sided tape would probably be your only solution. I actually found those under the keyboard of my 1000HE, so I'm guessing Asus would end up doing that for the UL80 in the future.

 

Hello, I've been trying to decide wich one to buy the upcoming ul30vt or the ul80vt. I am going t o use it a lot in school so my primary concern is fan noise. Another guy told me the ul30's fan i almost always turned off. How about the ul80vt I mean it is bigger so that would mean more potential for passive cooling but on the other hand it has an optical drive that takes up a lot of space. Whats the behaviour of the ul80vt's fan?

 

Someone was saying that they could overclock to 2.1 on a single core. Maybe that's what happening here. Mine is arriving in a couple of days. I'll check it out then and also add my 2 cents on the build quality.

 

Alrighty thanks, tis kinda scary, cause nobody else mentioned 2.1ghz by default..they had to do something to get it.

The fan(UL80VT) is super quiet if you're just surfing the net and such..i can't even hear it atm while I'm typing this (and it's on max performance) ..if it's on it's probably like 5-10%.

 

Really no comments yet on the UL50Vt? Mine is going out in the post soon and I'll be recieving it here in Japan before long!

 

Got my UL80VT yesterday. What people are saying about build quality is spot on, particularly a little bit of palm flex over the CD slot, the soft plastic under the screen and a minor amount of keyboard flex (I've seen a lot worse). But honestly I wouldn't have noticed those things so much if I hadn't been reading about them, and they still don't really bother me because I'm so happy with the computer otherwise.

I'm not having the keyboard issues people mention, at least not yet, and so far I really like typing on this computer. It's a bit mushy like the MacBook pro, but with more click, which is nice. The trackpad is wonderful IMO, especially after a couple days of use/grease. I never use the unibutton because I've programmed two-finger tap as right-click. Two-finger scrolling completes the experience.

I've gotten used to the monitor, which is terrible at off-vertical angles and needed some adjustments out of the gate (why the folks at XoticPC and/or Asus set the screen so blue, I will never understand). Video is sharp.

The best thing about the battery is not that you can actually use the computer for 8 hours, but that you can leave the computer sitting out and not worry about whether you'll have to charge it later. I work from home using an external monitor, keyboard and mouse, running on AC, and when the day is done, I unplug the computer and bring it to the living room, knowing that it'll be fine until bedtime. That's a great feeling.

So, the UL80VT disappointed me in areas that weren't too important to me (build quality issues I won't notice, sub-par screen) and greatly satisfied me for the reasons I actually bought the laptop (capable graphics, killer battery life, multi-touch trackpad, beautiful design, nice specs in general). Overall, I'm thrilled.

 

This thread is mainly for UL80Vt, we prolly need another owners' lounge for UL50Vt and also upcoming UL30Vt.

 

What is the story on wireless performance for the UL80VT? I had the UL30A-A2 and the wireless was dismal to say the least. Those of you who have the UL80VT, is it coming with the atheros card or an intel card? The specs on the ASUS website do not even show specs for this model on the Canadian or US sites. It show specs on the global site for the Vista release, not the Win7 release, and it shows as


Intel® Wireless WiFi Link 5100 ABGN Intel® WiMAX/WiFi Link 5150
10/100/1000 Base T


Are you getting good wireless outside of being in close proximity to your own router? Anyone taken it out into the big wide world, and are you picking up wireless no problem? The UL30A hardly detected anything. It never would of picked up any public networks. The university I go to is blanketed with wall to wall wireless, but I could not get a signal. I want this laptop for travel, so knowing the wireless performs is crucial


There is a hella deal right now on newegg.ca ($837 cad) but I have to buy before monday to take advantage of it. I am a little gunshy after what I experienced with the UL30A, and given there is a 15% restocking charge for returns by newegg.ca, I want to know what I am getting before it arrives.


Thanks for any and all input on wireless performance, especially from anyone who has taken it outside the home.

 

PS, for any other Canadians, everything from newegg.ca is 10% off today until midnite, thats what got the price down so low

 

Mine has an Atheros card.

 

Could someone with an UL80VT-A1 try to run Counter-Strike 1.6 and tell me if they can get the game to run at a resolution besides 1280x720? It's all I can get for some reason.

 

Hey folks!

New UL80VT-A1 owner here I actually purchased this laptop back at the end of October. I also live in Canada, so I paid a bit more than what seems to be awesome deals popping up down across the border: CAD $960 plus taxes (I really do hate taxes). Since it was an emergency (long story short - old Acer laptop broke down, had no secondary computer, and a lab report due in three days), I couldn't wait for prices to drop after a week's release, nor could I find some across-the-border deal.

I'm glad to say, however, that I consider myself quite lucky upon finding this laptop. Contrary to Charles's (and even Quadron's) reviews, I have found no seriously poor or annoying build defects with my UL80. Yes, there is a bit of chassis flex, but I don't usually twist my laptop anyway, so it's a non-issue. Yes, the screen bezel isn't attached to the screen very well, but I don't see how this affects performance from my perspective (it isn't even noticeable from my viewing angle). Quadron also noted that the upper and lower chassis weren't connected (had to use scotch tape), and the left palm rest is squeaky: I have none of these problems, as I found my chassis to be quite well-attached, and my palmrest is pretty much perfect.

 

Then I gather the wireless performance will parallel the UL30A. Fine in your own home, but otherwise pathetic in the big wide world.

I don't get it. Why build a light, thin, highly portable laptop at a price point that people like this student/budding academic can afford, and not insure that the wireless will respond. I can just see it, sitting in a conference or in a hotel lobby in Europe, everyone else can connect, and I can't because I am not sitting right on top of the router. Or desperately hunting in the airport, trying to find a point where the signal is strong enough for those with sub-par wireless cards

Damn, I love the UL30A and the UL50VT has be drooling, but the wireless issue continues to a dealbreaker for me.