*Official UL30VT-X1 Owners Lounge*

so i'm selling my EEE PC on ebay to replace this one.

Asus 1000HE + OCZ Solid Series 60G SSD + Vantec External Hard Drive enclosure with original 160gb hard drive.

someone want to buy it for 375... should i take his offer that he sent me using best offer?


this means it would cost me 799 (ul30vt-x1) - 100 (amazon gift cards) - 375 = 324 total for the upgrade... but i would need to buy another SSD + enclosure.

 

if you think of it this way, technology always advances, just don't buy a laptop period! every 3-6 months there's something new

 

Has anyone figured out a way to output to an external display (HDMI) with the Intel Integrated Graphics card instead of the Nvidia g210m?

 

I know the world of laptops is very fast moving, but I'm just trying to be smart about this so I don't regret buying a 13.3" laptop when a 12" version is announced.

 

honestly, 1in wouldn't much much of a difference, it would probably do better for you if you have the bigger one. your eyes will thank you at the end of the day

 

true, a high res on a small screen is hard on the eyes. Maybe I am too picky. still would like to hear thoughts from people who maybe know asus's habits, and also the possibility of if the same hardware in a 12.1" is possible.

 

asus habits?
well they released the first EEE pc then within 1.5yrs they released another 20+ models. you go figure

 

Someone really needs to come up with a list of bare essentials to install immediately (for full functionality and nothing more) following a reformat. A few of the posts in this thread have been helpful in that regard, but its not quite there.

Things I've noted:
-- You _need_ to use the nvidia drivers supplied by ASUS, as nvidia's own mobile versions do not support "hybrid."

-- Pressing the hardware video switch button puts up a gray box in the top corner for a moment, and acts unpredictably. I think its toggling between "on" "off" and "auto." Can't reliably tell what its doing without pressing it multiple times. Right now I'm just using Power4Gear to switch between performance settings.

In a perfect world, you could run with the overclocked CPU without the P4G app, simply use the standard Windows power settings system/menu/selection, and the top-left button would simply toggle the discrete graphics on/off. Or maybe there is some other "utility" combination that allows this? Who knows. The software situation is messy--so far my only complaint.

 

i think thats because you are missing either the atkosd2 or the generic functions utility or both

 

I actually was very set on getting the UL20A, with the UL30A-A2, as my second choice about 2 weeks ago. Then I went to a store to demo both the UL30A-A2 and UL20A, and this really changed my mind.

The 1'' difference is similar to the difference between carrying a standard sized printing paper and a folder that holds standard sized A2 printing paper. Personally, the difference in portability was barely negligible. I ended up purchasing the UL30vt and I am planning on getting a neoprene case for it, but right now it slips into my backpack with a textbook and 2 notebooks very easily. Remember, the thicknesses of the 2 laptops are the same, and the slim form factor makes it much smaller than other 13.3'' laptops that I have seen, except for the pricey Macbook Air that I got to demo and a Sony one which I forgot the model name of (both priced at least 2x that of the UL30 with equivalent to inferior specs). Aside from that, the weight differences felt like about .5lb between the UL30 and UL20, not enough for me to personally consider the 12'' model to be significantly more portable.

Also, the UL20 has a slightly smaller keyboard, which didn't feel as natively comfortable for my hands (I wear between a medium and large size latex gloves in my science lab if this helps). The UL30 feels like a full sized laptop's keyboard and I didn't have to make any adjustments really to get used to it. My only qualms with the UL30 keyboard is that sometimes the space bar doesn't register me hitting it, but I've already started adjusting to it and it's only very rare that it happens now.

What I liked about the UL30 really outweighed the small benefits from the extra portability the UL20 offered, which ultimately led to my decision to wait out for the UL30vt. These include: noticeably larger screen for better multitasking and less eye strain, better battery, gaming ability with the VT model, the full-sized keyboard and all this came in still a very portable package within a reasonable price. I was in the market for a portable laptop without sacrificing too much performance, and the UL30vt fits this role flawlessly.

 

Intel graphic card cannot use hdmi port!

Only the g210 cards work for the hdmi

 

I don't want awful/ambiguous pie-chart volume etc.

 

dwong721 good info. couldn't have said it better

 

nice write up, dwong.

 

I imagine that your 4830 is not switching from it's low-power state to it's full power state for the Experience Index test, I've seen that before.

 

Really? then what's the point of the UL30a having the HDMI port + Intel Graphics Card? I think the Intel card should be able to output to HDMI...

 

Ok I made the plunge because I can't wait until ASUS finally gets it right and ships this with the 5600 battery. I need a new lappie and I have already put this off long enough with the go-round with the UL30A-A2. It shipped this morning to my friend who will reship it to me. I'll will be some pissed if this finally shows up in the next couple days on Amazon.ca for something less than the $929 CAD price range.

For those of you in Canada I will post the final cost (before taxes) when it is all said and done.

So far: 799 US purchase = approx $862 CAD with 2% currency exchange factored in (I will update that once I see it on my CC).

Unless anyone can tell me a better shipper, my friend is sending it USPS expedited. The cost should be around $32 US including $675 insured value (the highest value you can insure to Canada using expedited). I could ship it priority but the cost jumps to around $65 US for the extra $125 in insured value.

Anyone have any input on shipping alternatives once it arrives at my friends in California (ETA tuesday)? THe lower insured value does concern me, but I can't bring myself to pay an extra $30 to get the extra $125 in insured value. I am trying to keep shipping costs reasonable and siding for a few extra days shipping time and the low customs fee with USPS.

BTW I registered for the free trial with Amazon Prime free trial to get free 2 day shipping from them, am cancelling it as soon as the lappie arrives at my friends

 

Hey so where can I get this with the "right" 12-hour battery?
I've heard that Amazon ships the wrong one.

 

SSD clean install and everything has gone really well, the only remaining problems are: Is there any utility that accurately will display processor clock speed? Windows experience cpu is 4.9 (up from 4.1) so I think that turbo33 is working, but cpuid shows 2.1ghz and most other things show 1.3ghz. Second, I can only get wifi to connect in g mode. Has anyone verified than n mode works? Under the wifi card properties / advanced tab / wireless modes are 1. 802.11b 2. 802.11g 3. 80211b/g. The n mode tab is set to enabled, but this seems odd to me. My router appears to be configured properly. If i use b/g/n mixed mode, i can connect @ 54Mbps, if I select n only mode on router, ul30vt can see network, but cannot connect. router is using 2.4ghz n mode not 5ghz.

 

So I got the UL30VT in today. I have to say that it is very nice. First impressions of the build quality is that it has a firmer chassis with less keyboard flex than the UL80VT (the UL80VT has just a little, that wasn't noticable when typing). There also is no palm rest creaking. Everything feels sturdy. Other first impressions are all favorable. The screen is pretty much the same as the UL80VT (maybe a hair more contrast, but its hard to tell because I don't have the UL80VT on hand). Performs the same in games and has identical bloatware as the UL80VT as expected.

Most importantly, in terms of size from what I remember, the UL80VT only seems barely bigger the UL30VT. There seriously is only a minimal difference in size/weight. If you need a disc drive and want the larger battery, don't hesitate to go with the UL80VT. If you want the smaller size and weight + 500 gb HD + bluetooth + sturdier chassis, go with the UL30VT.

 

read? !!! there's only one model 8 cell battery for vt right now

 

quick questions, is the screen glossy or matte?

 

glossy as can be

 

It's definitely glossy.

 

thanks for the response

 

CPU-Z reads the multiplier wrong at an 8 instead of the actual 6.5, this results in the inaccuracy of the reading. The Bus Speed and FSB are read correctly and these are the things being overclocked, the processor speed is just the bus speed multiplied by the multiplier. 200 Mhz X 6.5 = 1300Mhz 266 Mhz X 6.5 = 1733 Mhz.

TL;DR
Check the Bus Speed in CPU-Z, 266Mhz = Turbo, 200 = No Turbo

 

It only ships with the 4400 battery right now, and word is there will not be any alternative until at least January.

You can buy the 5600 battery separately, but I would wait to do that for the price to drop.

 

Quick question for other users. Does your Power4Gear turn off Aero while on battery in quiet office and battery saver mode? Does anyone know where to turn this function off?

Thanks

 

I found one annoying thing about the UL30VT keyboard, if you try to push the space bar all the way on the right side toward the bottom, it sometimes doesn't register/do anything. As I'm typing this, I keep having to hit the space bar repeatedly. (I type space bars using my right thumb)

The left side/middle of the space bar seems to work perfectly though.

Do any of you have this problem?

 

Thanks for the info, nice to know!

 

space bar works fine for me

 

Bottom right of P4G, there are two dropdown boxes. Its the one on the left IIRC.

More than anything, hiding the task bar is completely unnecessary.

I'd suggest turning off the "desktop optimization" or whatever its called and use another more customizable tool to accomplish the same thing, at your choosing http://silentdevelopment.blogspot.com/2009/10/aerofoil-150-released.html

I really wish I could completely do away with the abomination that is P4G without losing the OC feature. What a horrible "front end" to Win7's perfectly capable power management.

 

Anyone with setFSB expertise want to give it try on the UL30VT? I'm curious as to how far we can push these processors.

 

I don't know...I think P4G works fine and don't mind using it. Different strokes for different folks I guess.

 

Yes, at first this seemed to be pretty annoying, but I've learned to center my thumb closer to the center of the spacebar to counter that. I also get this on the bottom left corner of the spacebar, but it's not as pronounced as the right side.

 

anyone confirmed using 802.11n?

 

To be badged Centrino 2 it must have at minimum Intel 802.11n.

But yeah, confirmed.

 

hmmmm. I didn't know that. I wonder why I can't get it to work. I'm using a belkin n+ router that is set to use mixed mode g/n. I'm at a loss. If I set the router to use only n, asus won't connect.

 

I have a question for those that have made the upgrade to an SSD. If I put my current HDD (the default drive the laptop came in) into an external enclosure via USB, will I be able to use it as an external drive? (what will happen to the partitioned C and D drives that are currently on them. I just want to organize my crucial apps onto my D drive, so later on I can hook up the HDD externally to install my apps on a fresh install of Win7 when I receive my SSD.

 

ur SSD will be C drive since windows only install on C... your external will be D drive.

you can drag and drop all or whatever you want to D drive.

 

Hmm... never thought of that. I'll look into it.

 

As for WEI scores, the fact of the matter is that the top of line caps at 7.9 I believe, and if a relatively weak 16 shader (210M) can score 5+, it is already a totally worthless score for comparisons. Being that the new 5870 is on the order of a magnatude faster yet looking at the cores one would be inclined to think it is only 50% - 60% faster.

Ok, with that out of the way, I have ran into a very irritating issue... One that is seriously ruining my experience with this laptop. Listen up guys, because this may affect you (or it may not)...

While playing LOTRO tonight I noticed my mouse would lag up at times. At first I thought this was because I didn't disable the trackpad and my thumb was bumping it. Ok, no problem, I will disable it and I did. I played for a while more and again, the mouse would lag at times. It was very obvious... After looking into the matter further, I figured out that my hand in certain positions on the keyboard interferes with the BT signal. I can duplicate the issue at will and appears to be extremely senseative to 'skin' touch on the palm rest. This is, quite frankly, the most irritating thing i have dealth with on a laptop in a long time. This same BT mouse worked FLAWLESS (still does I might add) on my HP MINI 311. I have to believe that either I have a defective unit, my hands are force sensative, or that all of these units will exhibit this issue under certain circumstances.

Asside from the mouse lag with BT, the machine is perfect... But the mouse lag is going to cause me to ditch the BT (something I highly pursue in a laptop and value) for a stupid dongle (I have a logitech one that is small, but it is STILL a dongle...)... Blah... This is so dissapointing.

 

So I just realized my UL30VT has partitioned hard drives. My main slot has only 17gb left and the other one has 334gb. ? Why the hell do they do this BS? Because now I have to reformat, but I have a feeling that when I use the recovery cd it will just partition it again?? I want one storage area so I don't have to mess around with things being in the proper spot.

 

Some (if not all) asus laptops come with a partation for recovery, at least the ones i have used, so probably that 17gb partition is the recovery, probably more usefull in the ul30vt because no dvd rom, but if you have a spare and you dont think ever gona need it you probably can remove the partition and reformat to have the full drive.

 

since i don't have the laptop, i must ask...

Recovery on a cd or on partition?
If it's on recovery cd, does that mean it has Win7 and all drivers?
Can I clean install with the recovery cd or do I need a copy of Win7 myself? Does the recovery process allow me to select what i want to install, such as programs?

if on recovery partition, can we burn it?

 

There are two partitions. My main one with the operating system has 17gb of space remaining becasue I have installed all of my games off of Steam..and the other partition has 334gb. I'm going through the AI Recovery program right now..it says it will be about 4 dvd's worth. The question when I do a recovery cd like this will it recognize a partition and do that again when I reformat?

 

so 4DVD to burn out the Recovery CD!
now i need to know if we can clean install without installing all the crap that came with the computer. hopefully we can only install Win7 and all the asus drivers + needed progs

 

has anyone else had a problem w/ the bt?

 

I have the same problem. Space bar on right side doesn't register sometimes. Annoying

 

i've never owned a bluetooth mouse, but doesn't bluetooth generally use more battery power than a usb dongle? I got a logitech wireless mouse with nano receiver for 10 bucks, so i'm not very worried about bluetooth