*Official UL30VT-X1 Owners Lounge*

This is excellent information. I always knew Amex offered this, but didn't know Visa and Mastercard did as well.
Thanks for sharing.

 

I just took a close look at that hole on mine and it's a lanyard receptacle, ha-ha. I'm not sure why you'd ever want one on a laptop but there you go.

 

Where are you guys getting the UL30vt-a1 has a two year warenty? There is nothing on warenty term on the Amazons pre-order page...........

 

I just purchased mine from gentechpc. It states the 2 year warranty + 1 year accidental.

http://1toppc.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=UL30VT-A1

The odd thing is that it showed the U30VT as the black version when I ordered it and now it's silver. I'll need to contact them to confirm.

 

Received my ul30vt-x1 today.. thought I'd give a first impressions.
Well.. my original thought was the screen sucks.. I'm getting used to it though even after a couple hours.. angles are not great.. but like I said I'm warming up to it. Loving the keyboard.. I'm coming from a lenovo s10/min311... so the keyboard is fantastic! I'm not getting the clicking from the palm rests... build quality seems pretty solid. I've ran the new wolfenstein 2009.. runs great.. I've got Dragon Age installing and will install Fallout 3 after that. then bioshock.. will update after that. Runs very cool.. been on my lap for an hour or so.. and most of the heat is coming from me. Battery life is not quite what I was expecting.. 4 hours(85%) right now in battery saving mode.. with DAO installing in the background off of a network drive.. that may have something to do with it. Laptop seems very peppy .. even in battery saving mode and multiple programs running.. it's great this came with 4gb ram.. that's probably helping out.. plus I'm used to Atom processors in my previous laptops. This is shaping up to be a keeper!

 

The battery life seems a bit off. Did you switch your GPU off while testing for the battery?

 

yeah.... checked that.. plus was in battery saving mode.. I assume that forces you to integrated..
What do you get when in battery saving mode and integrated at around 100 percent?

 

alright.. another update.. and question.

Tested Bioshock, fallout3, Dragon Age and TF2. Bioshock, Team Fortress 2 and Fallout run about the same which is excellent! native 1366x768 and high settings on each.. fantastic framerates.. all play as well as I hoped. Dragon age also plays very well .. native res and medium settings..
QUick question.. I'm having issues with the touchpad in each.. anyone else? Just doesnt wanna cooperate... plus can't do the middle mouse scroll which zoom you in and out of character in Fallout 3 and Dragon Age... anyone have any experience to save me anytime here?
Next game I'm testing will be Borderlands.. gonna look at updating my video drivers first though..
At this point.. very satisfied.. only disapointment is display..

 

A1 is only $50 more? i feel so ripped off...

 

Thanks for the info, its great that a laptop of this size (between netbook and notebook) can play these games. IS the screen a deal breaker or we can put up with it?

My 1000HA has one of the best screens I've seen...So bright, sharpe and the contrast is also most perfect. Shame it grinds to a hault on 720p and flash websites. I'm holding out for a A1 for the extra battery and silver for less finger print magnet etc.

By the way, how is the X1 in terms of finger prints?? Is it really as bad as people calm it is?

 

Do you mind checking to see what screen model/manufacture you have on the X1?

Just in case you're not sure how to check, it's device manager > monitors > right click on generic PnP Monitor > properties > Details tab > Hardware ID

I feel the same way every time a piece of technology comes out

At least the screen cover is made brushed aluminum which helps from attracting fingerprints. Nowadays it's hard to avoid any type of glossy material in consumer class laptops.

 

This might sound silly, but I can't see it written anywhere. To UL30vt owners, are all 3 USB ports powered ports? Also it has bluetooth correct?

 

Monitor ID..........
Monitor/AUO102C

Not sure if this is a dealbreaker yet .. but it's definitely an issue.. On a black or dark screen it's like one of those lenticular vinyl pictures where you turn it one way and it changes to a different picture... I remember whining about light leakage on my old Dell 9300 but this is pretty bad... gonna compare it to my friends Lenovo U330 13 incher to really see how bad it is. It's almost like there is only a 5% viewing angle at best.. where the screen is what it should look like.. anyone else?
Also my battery life is not stellar yet.. I was expecting to see at least 8+ hours on battery saving mode but Ive never watched it go past 6.. usually less. To be fair I haven't run the battery down all the way yet.

 

Mr. ASUS just responded on Amazon about the 8gb RAM issue. Here's what he said:

"All of the ASUS UL Series chipsets support 8gb RAM...however we have not officially qualified the machines on 8gb. We have no reason to believe that any problems would arise with 8gb, but again, have not done any extensive testing/qualification.

Sorry about the confusion with what is on the web, we'll get that tightened up."

 

I just cancelled my pre-order with Amazon and placed one with Gentech instead. No tax in NY plus upgrade options = win. I really would have liked to see a 120GB SSD upgrade option since 80Gb is too small, and 160Gb is too expensive. I suppose I'll just buy the SSD separately and drop it in.

Edited for stoopid spelling.

 

Thanks for the confirmation. Yeah, that's the same panel found in the HP DM3. It's only got 200nitts of brightness and 170:1 contrast ratio which really isn't anything to boast about. For now, I guess new owners can only hope there's a different panel in the UL30VT-A1.

 

To the individual who purchased an additional ac adapter on ebay ... did it work out for you as you thought? done a side by side comparison?

(my apologies for not looking up the who and when ... im lazy)

 

bummer about the screen ....

 

GenTech's price went up to $823

 

I wouldn't dwell over it. It's only a $4 difference (originally $819). Plus, given gentech's superior customer service, it's still worth it IMO.

 

Here's a question for those of you who already have your laptops and performed a clean install of windows 7.

Did anyone buy a new full version of windows 7 professional or ultimate and install from those disks or has anyone bought an upgrade product and install professional or ultimate that way?

ive always avoided upgrade products preferring a cleaner full install - any thoughts on using full version versus upgrade products since all installs of windows 7 are supposed to have all versions included until they are unlocked/purchased?

also, since the ISO can be downloaded for either professional or ultimate, and a key can be bought on ebay for less than 40 bucks - i didnt know if anyone has gone that route and if there were any thoughts on the matter?

ive purchased many operating system keys off ebay for a fraction of the retail cost both for myself and for my clients and there has never been any problems with them...

thanks ya'll

 

David,
any experience with XoticPC and their customer service dept? Im trying to avoid sales tax in ca (sorry gentech).

thanks

 

From what I hear, xoticpc isn't bad. Check their reseller ratings for confirmation.

On another note, I've heard that gentechpc has offered CA buyers free gifts to make up for the sales tax that CA residents have to pay. I would recommend you contact Ken Lee at gentech first and see what he can offer you and compare your options before making a decision.

 

how do i get ahold of ken lee?

 

Alright so I compared the screen directly with a IBM/Lenovo U330.. also LED backlit.. surprisingly the ASUS owned it.. contrast.. colors looked better.. My friends U330 is a year old but looked washed out compared so I'm not feeling too bad about the screen now.
So I guess my only complaint would be the black housing.. I've had the laptop one day and it's covered in smudges and prints.. My hands are not particularly greasy or dirty either... I wish there was a coating or something you could put on it so it didn't show so much.. I'm sure I like the black better.. but because of this I think anyone thinking about getting one should go for the A1.. wouldn't be so bad but it's just about impossible to clean it off of the brushed metal lid. I think I won't wash my hands for a bit and wipe them all over the lid.. so it's all one color.

UPDATE://// so I may have overplayed the whole fingerprint thing.. I took some windex and wiped down the lid and it looks back to new.. it just doesn't clean unless you use some kinda cleaner.. duh!@

 

Wonder if the A1's screen is better? I have a X1 ordered on amazon.ca but there isn't any stock!

Also try using a microfiber cloth to wipe down the laptop.

 

while browsing this thread I see a couple of complaints about the display. Anybody care to share exactly whats wrong with it? The display is really important to me. Thanks

 

Where does the 3% discount show on the gentech site? I haven't tried to buy the A1 yet, so maybe it only appears when you go through that process. Is there a special coupon code to enter?

As for xoticpc, I do see how to get the 3% discount (code is cashrebate), but they also seem to say the free shipping is through code FREESHIP. Somewhere else it says only one coupon code is allowed, and it would be the greater one. Somewhere else it says something about the 3% becoming only 2%. Has anyone actually purchased this yet and received both free shipping and the 3% discount? If so, can you tell me how to get both? Thanks.

 

[email protected] or you can PM him.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/member.php?u=34663

Here's the page you're looking for:
http://1toppc.com/Merchant2/images/cash_discount.htm

 

So it's all about viewing angle.. when you tilt the screen just right and hit the sweet spot it looks great.. but that sweet spot is pretty small. It's really noticeable on a black screen.. or when your booting it up..

 

thanks for the info. I've had some pretty horrible displays on my laptops before and it can be frustrating, especially for how long I'm staring at it everyday. So I try to make sure the viewing angles are at least acceptable.

 

I'm really considering the UL30VT-A1. Should I get it from Gentech, EXCaliberPC, or XoticPC? (all around $820) Which store has the best service/support?

Another question...it wouldn't be the best idea to wait for Arrandale-based laptops with switchable graphics similar to this, would it? I think I'll be waiting too long for that...just making sure.

 

Who needs good viewing angles? My HP has such bad viewing angles that it's like I have privacy filter on it.

 

Go with gentech. So far they are most helpful on the asus forum. Most of the other asus resellers u see only start posting when asus is about to release a new laptop, but gentech has always been on the forums regardless of that.

 

All of those vendors are excellent; I purely chose gentech because they had the best deal at the time, but as of now I believe xotic has the best deal.

 

Ok, looks like Gentech is the top one out of those...

Any advice whether to wait for Arrandale or not?

 

Another vote for gentech.

The general rule of thumb when buy any technology is to buy it when you need it. Since the tech industry is moving so quickly, it's extremely hard to keep up with the newest technology.

 

I emailed Xotic about the color of the a1 on their site not being silver and Justin W wrote me back the following:

"The ASUS UL30VT-A1 that Xotic PC offers will have a black exterior finish."

So there goes the whole a1 being silver and the x1 being black thing ....

 

On the contrary, the UL30VT-A1 I ordered from Gentech is silver. At least this is what Ken told me when he contacted Asus to confirm the color. Either way, I don't mind either color, so I'd be happy nevertheless

 

wow... guys who like 'em black should probably go with Xotic, but then what's the use for the model number again? Shouldn't black for X1 and silver for A1?

 

Silver from Amazon and Gentech
Black from Xoticpc

{weird}

 

This means that either xoticpc or gentechpc is misinformed.

 

I spoke to Joe from XoticPC on the phone today, and he said that if I was seeing the A1 model at other sites with silver color, then it was likely that their's was the same. He was going to try to get hold of ASUS and said he would email me once he found out. But I haven't heard anything.

All this confusion that has arisen about color, RAM (that's resolved now), etc. are kind of surprising to me. I would think this would all be very simple for ASUS and the sellers to find out and report clearly, without any doubt. But I guess I'm expecting too much. It really makes it difficult for those of us who really want silver and the best price.

 

Try and contact xoticpc again and ask them to confirm with Asus. Because Asus initially provided the color black for the A1 SKU. They must have changed it recently which is why gentech is telling me right now it's silver. Gentech initially had the A1 in black as well - as a matter of fact, I order it when their site still said it was black. But upon confirmation with Ken today, the A1 is indeed silver and gentech has changed it on their website accordingly. If Ken says it's silver, then I'd be willing to bet it's silver and not black.

 

Just to add one more seller to the mix, Excaliberpc.com has the A1 in SILVER for $819 (someone else already reported this). I'm just pointing out that it is definitely silver, and the pictures look very nice. I'm going to venture a guess that the xoticPC report of it being black is incorrect.

 

One thing i'm more concerned though, is the atheros wifi card. Early adopted of the UL30A has had quite a bit of wifi issues - specifically with regards the antenna strength and dropped connections. I hope this won't be the case for the UL30VT.

 

a good question for everyone with the x1 already, although no one has mentioned any issues thus far with the wifi card.

can anyone with the x1 confirm what wifi card is onboard?

 

From the OP, the wifi card on the X1 seems to be the Intel Pro 1000.

 

it would just be nice if it was consistent. although gentech has updated the description of the item on their site, once you put it into your cart the description says its black even tho color pics are silver and floating 'items in cart' box says silver - just funny really ~ lol

And same with price increase ... listed as 823 on web description, but in cart its still 819!

 

I really need a battery issue figured out.. mine doesn't seem right.. so I've drained the battery completely out.. then recharged fully.. and in battery saving mode/integrated graphics and the display dimmed most of the way.. the battery says I'll get at most 5 hours at the 100 percent charge.. usually a little less if I'm acutally using the laptop.
Can anyone else simulate this and let me know what your getting please. If this is a battery issue I need to get it straightened out. It would be great to get a few reply's to this.. to get an average.
Thanks in advance