*Official UL30VT-X1 Owners Lounge*

he's full of it. he said it show up in the list all of a sudden. that's BS. How can Asus reps not know about upcoming releases. they are doing this all for hype and shorting inventory just for this purpose.

the silver model not have larger battery or else i'll be pissed.

 

Come now, just because you bought the older one doesn't mean you can't be happy for those of us getting the new one! Besides, you could always buy the extra battery yourself, and enjoy a total 18-ish hours battery life!

 

i'm pissed by their actions. stupid way of marketing. in my books, it's like directly lying to consumers about no upcoming release.

 

Yeah, I suppose that's true. I know I'd be pissed as well, had I jumped on the X1. Oh well, it's still a hell of a computer, still better than anything you'd get anywhere else, that's why we're all in this thread.

 

they did this with netbooks too. thousand of releases one after another. and usually less than a month apart. WTH.

too bad they aren't like Apple. When Apple did the price drop on the Iphone, enough people complained and Apple lived up to the complaints and gave money back...

 

Any retailers actually selling and shipping the Zeroshock IV to the US?

 

Apple did not give people their money back, they offered a store credit to those who bought a first generation iPhone before the price decrease. Given the massive mark up on their accessories it probably only cost them half of what each credit was actually for and turned into a good PR win for them. Realistically they just wanted to cover up the fact that they grossly overpriced the iPhone at first and were fully prepared to screw over their early adopter/fan boys until the uproar began.

 

so what are the rumored differences between the X1 and A1 besides being silver and having a bigger capacity battery?



If they change the trackpad to a matte material, Im selling my X1 ASAP. Its a perfect laptop but the trackpad is HORRIBLE... and I thought people were exaggerating.

 

I'm still happy with my purchase. I have 2 batteries (5600 & 4400mah), Intel SSD and 3 yr warranty for (800+94+214+89)= ~1200

 

The changes likely won't affect the hardware at all. I'll make an educated guess here based on previous releases and say that the A1 will have:
5600mAh 84Whr battery
2-year Warranty
Silver
~$850 or less

Don't count on anything more than that.

 

Looking for a Canadian one over here :[

 

For those still interested in the X1, there IS an option to pre-order it through Amazon now!

You have to check the other offers:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B002XZLURC/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new

 

I would say you should wait for the VT. I had bought the ul30A over a month ago, before I knew about the VT version. I loved it, but when playing Hulu, connected to my 46in plasma HD TV, you can see stutter. when I played it using my Asus x83v (core 2 due P8400, nvidia 9600M), I noticed a dramatic difference. Now, since I do not have VT, I cannot tell you for sure whether nvidia 210M will also make a huge difference, but I assume it will--atleast based on 3Dmarks, etc for 210M. I think 9500M and 210M are somewhat similar. Because of that, I just gave my ul30A to my brother for Christmas, and I'm gonna wait for ul30vt.

I hope this helps in your decision. Now, I hope that ul30vt-a comes out in time.

 

Ok so can someone tell me what the definitive version is here? Is the only difference in the new is that it's silver? I'm completely confused following these new releases happening in the time span of less than a month.

 

UL30VT-X1
Black
4400mAh battery
1 year warranty
$800
Available now

UL30VT-A1
Silver
[SPECULATED]5600mAh 84Whr battery
[SPECULATED]2-year Warranty
[SPECULATED]~$850
Available in January

 

based on the lettering system they use (and someone else's previous reply), I would say that the main difference is: 1) battery--4400m vs. 5600m, 2)black color vs. silver. I don't know about any other differences. anyone else want to chime in?

 

I just cancelled my pre order on amazon.ca, I guess I'm waiting for the A1 now

 

Why do you speculate that the UL30VT-A1 will only cost $850? Seeing how UL30A-X5 and the UL30A-A2 differs only in battery capacity and there's a $100 price differences... I would speculate the VT-A1 will cost over $900.

I hope my speculation is right because I figured that I would get the better value from buying the X1 + a 2nd battery pack over waiting it out for the A1.

 

Am I the only one that notices a big difference in desktop image quality when switching from the gmh4500 to the geforce one? the colors on the 4500 look washed out...

 

You can adjust it...

 

I'm a little disappointed in the build quality of the UL30VT. Has anyone noticed that if you press down on the palmrest area, you hear a clicking noise? It's quite apparent on mine, and it's starting to get on my nerves...

 

Yep, I've noticed the same thing, paticularly in the middle-to-right side of the palm rest area. The left side doesn't seem to have this problem on mine.

I just try not to pickup the laptop with one hand from that side, or press down too hard on it.

For now, its a minor annoyance, but one that should have been easy to catch and correct during testing phases. Of course it could become a major problem over the lifetime of the laptop, if it keeps creaking and getting worse.

 

After all this time I've been waiting, I think I may wait a bit longer for the A1. *sigh*

 

Not to on your excitement, but I don't see how patience was/is the key here. The only thing you know so far is that it will be silver. Other specs have not been released. That means you still might be getting the same battery, screen, etc... And, with that said you will be getting all of that 2 months *after* this model came out.

I just think it is a little to soon to say "I am glad I waited"... Unless silver was your only reason for holding out... However, given the choice between black and silver - choice on my part. I love silver, but for a business laptop (main use for trips for work) I think it needs to be back. Silver and White seem a bit, home user orientated. But that is just my perception.

 

Here in sweden we can only buy the Silver one =/ I wanted a black one but ending up buying a silver one beacause the black will be out in Feb here.... I HATE to Wait hehe

 

Not to say that you do not have the issue, but mine does not experience this at all. I found the build quality to be top notch. It is no "think pad", but it isn't a tankishly big either. The only thing I could see them improving is the the back of the display casing. It does 'flex' a bit, but some concessions have to be made for space, size, and weight reasons. There are always trade offs to a certain degree when it comes to small light and compact laptops. Lenovo users have tankishly tough notebooks, but are faced with lugging around a huge boxy looking volvo type rig (thinking old volvo here).

And this is truly a "lap"top. I gamed on this thing for hours while resting on my lap (on a blanket no less) and she only gets warm near the vent. Every other part of the laptop is room temperature. The vent is maybe, 90-100F, which truly is incredable. How many other laptops will scorch your sensative areas? This thing does *not* overheat in any way and makes it truly a laptop, and not just a notebook or portable computer.

 

i don't have the palm rest clicking problem. don't know what you guys are talking about.... MINE is pretty SOLID

 

Maybe myself or versusone can upload a video of it.

It is definitely apparent. If you guys aren't having any problems I'm wondering if there is a clip or something broke on the inside that would be causing this. I'll have to check it out more thoroughly later tonight.

 

Thanks for the mini review. The more that I read, the more that I think that the issues that people raise with the device are truly minor concerns. It sounds like a well built laptop with great performance.

}:^)~

 

I'm really getting so pumped for this laptop. Just gotta sell my netbook and make the cash! Also, I'm glad they're releasing it in January. School starts again at the end of January. I wouldn't have been able to wait much longer.

And to the guy saying that it's early to get excited, I really highly doubt it's going to be the same laptop, but silver. Asus knows the demand for the A1 model, I think they're actually listening.

 

Yup, the January release for the A1 is no surprise at all. Even though the ASUS rep said there was "no chance." Honestly he should have seen it coming. I think most people who have been following this lappy from the start kind of knew.

If pre-orders are allowed last week of December, then we may be looking at first week-ish delivery dates. I'm still thinking it'll be released around the 15th though. And Canada a bit later again... Like maybe a week later.

 

Exactly. No one should be "shocked" to hear news of a silver model. A bump in the specs is still up in the air though, but will most likely happen. As long as it gets the higher capacity battery then we win!

 

Even if it was a surprise and you bought the X1, I doubt it would be hard to sell such an awesome notebook for even the purchase price. The black is very nice anyway. I actually like the black better (except for the fingerprintyness.) I just can't personally live with the lower capacity battery.

 

does anyone know if ASUS has any type of thing where you can pay a certain amount to have another year of warranty or something?

I already bought the X1 and i kinda wish i could wait a little longer for the A1 but i need this ASAP. I figured i could live with the black color and i could always just buy the 5600mAh battery if i ever need more battery life, which i doubt.

i'm also too lazy to go through the hassle of returning it or reselling it once the A1 comes out. haha xD

 

Oh, and the other variable: Hard Drive capacity! Almost forgot about that one.

Here are the current relevant models:

UL30A-X5: 500GB HDD
UL30A-A2: 500GB HDD

UL30Vt-X1: 500GB HDD
UL30Vt-A1: ???

UL80Ag-A1: 320GB HDD
UL80Vt-A1: 320GB HDD

UL50Ag-A2: 320GB HDD
UL50Vt-A1: 500GB HDD

So, actually looking at it now, it seems as though the 14" models only have the 320GB HDDs. The 15" models differ depending on the model. And the 13" models all carry 500GB? This is not counting the business or SSD models, of course, and assuming there actually is some pattern to this madness.

 

You can buy the better battery separately.

 

Yes. Which is what I did. Even on my HP MINI 311, I rarely had to swap to my second battery. It was nice to have the buffer - to take my bag with two batteries and not have to worry about being near an outlet at all.

I can confidently take my UL30VT with me, and a spare battery and never worry about bringing the charger with.

 

Also have the left side palmrest clicking problem - but it's so minor.

The keyboard is a bit soft for my tastes and the LCD has terrible viewing angles, but is very sharp + bright straight on with the G210M enabled.

Heat + speed + weight + battery life are incredible on this laptop.

The Intel X25 80GB SSD didn't improve the "real-world" speed much over the stock 500GB - so I have to give credit to ASUS for providing good components.

 

Right, but I figure that I won't use the spare battery once I get it (seems to me that it will cost me more to get that spare.) I also want the silver color more due to the fingerprint issue, and the extra warranty never hurts. I really have to wait until I sell my current computer anyway, so instead of getting it on my credit card, I might as well be patient and get the one I know I need.

When it comes down to it, I just can't stand the thought of it getting all mucky like a black ipod. I plan to carry it without a case, which kind of compounds that issue.

 

we'lll see about the specs. if it include more warranty and higher battery life, i should put this laptop on ebay and see if i can get for 1150 for the upgraded SSD and external enclosure...

or i can just keep it and buy a spare battery.

but i'm a bit lazy to go through selling the laptop and waiting for the stupid laptop to be in stock. I know ASUS will pull that trick and limit stock once again because they need to bring up the hype

 

oh, an i found the clicking noise that people mention on the left side of the palm rest. mine is located @ the very edge. so i have to press the front edge where the crease is, in order to hear the clicking. pressing any other place other than that would not give the sound. very very minor problem

 

Mine is actually NOT on the left side, but on the right side. It is at the very edge, as you mention. It is right below the ASUS sticker, right below the "Power4Gear" and "ECO Friendly" section, but right at the front edge of the laptop. Basically, press down on the "M" in "Memory" on the asus sticker, that is where the problem is for me.

I would say its minor, except that every time I go to pick up the laptop with my right hand, all my fingers underneath the laptop and my thumb on top, it presses on this weak spot and has a very audible clicking sound. For a sense of scale, it is at least twice as loud as clicking the mouse buttons.

Also, I swear when I picked up the laptop like this with the original hard drive, it would make the hard drive squeal and click much much more than usual. I haven't noticed any problems like that now that I've switched to the SSD.

Just to repeat, this is much worse on the right side, than the left side. The left side is fine on my laptop.

I'm sure this is just because the laptop has most of its mass back near the battery and LCD, that picking it up near the front causes a twist or flex. In the end I'll just avoid handling the laptop at that spot and not really worry about it. That's really the only build quality issue I have with the unit, everything else is pretty solid.

EDIT: Link to short video
http://s863.photobucket.com/albums/ab197/Albigger/?action=view&current=UL30VTClicking01.flv

 

Does anyone have the model number for the display panel on the ul30vt-x1 or it's 14" brother, the ul80vt ?

This can be found with a program like everest home edition. For all the complaints about the screen it'd be nice to know exactly who makes it, or even if there are more than 1 manufr.

Thanks

 

Where do you go to activate ACHI in BIOS?

 

i wanted to know this too. people say activating ACHI is better for SSDs

 

That is because ACHI supports the TRIM function/command. ACHI is on by default for this laptop. You can find it under the IDE configuration in the BIOS.

 

I just did a clean install of Windows 7.

Can someone tell me the required Drivers and Softwares required?

Thanks.

 

Yup... Same here. The HD would squeal when I picked up the laptop. With a SSD it's silent.

 

i did a fresh install of windows7 and here is the software i installed:

* nvidia drivers from the asus site (to support hybrid graphics)
* elan touchpad drivers (the gestures worked by default in win7 but i wanted to control the level of palm tracking)
* intel drivers for wireless (from the intel site)
* atk driver and atk hotkey (necessary to get all the function keys working)
* wireless console 3 (to be able to enable/disable wireless and/or bluetooth individually)

that is it for what i installed. i really dont want to install power4gear since it appears to take over the power profiles from windows, but it is necessary to do the 33% overclock of the cpu, so i might install it.

edit: with those programs installed, the button to switch graphics also does not work.

 

is the ul30vt-A1 has a diffrent material compared to the X1. are the both aluminium/plastic covers?

the only diffrence i know is the colour of the A1 is silver