~U3S Owners Lounge~

I'll install HL2 and CS:Source tonight to see if I run into the same issues.

 

that would be great. Cheers

 

I can get CS:Source and HL2 up and running just fine.

The U3S is running quite hot, but I'm not experiencing any issues.

 

3:16am??? Wow.
How do CSS and HL2 look on the U3S ?
I'm thinking of hooking up mine to a 40' screen, but I am sure it will drag my FPS down, right? My screen will probably be 1080p.

 

I forgot: very quick question:
The "enter" key on the U3S seems small to me on the pics. On the other hand I have seen some other pics of the U3S keyboard where the enter key is that one in shape of an "inverted L" like that:
!
<---!
I would clearly prefer a bigger enter key. Would you guys who got their U3S please let me know which version of the keyboard you got?

 

The inverted L is probably the european version.

 

The enter key on the US version is the retangular version. I have a pic of the keyboard linked in the first post.

CS:Source and HL2 looks fine on the U3S (works with both Intel and Nvidia graphics). I only have a 720p TV right now (1280x1024), so I can't confirm if the U3S outputs 1080p signal or not.

 

Great thanks guys. Too bad for the rectangular enter key. Given the prices of the U3S in UK I'll refrain from buying from there

 

The weird L-shaped enter key is part of the UK standard keyboard layout...A lot of the pics use those; for some reason, Asus likes to use UK spec models for their press pics.

 

Gotcha. Well I'm French (but living in the US) so I am kinda used to my big enter key. For some reason I got used to the QWERTY layout but not to the enter key. I guess getting the UK layout would be too much of a hassle so I am just giving up.

Also I was wondering: On one hand the U3S runs cool most of the time and the fan can become loud, especially in dedicated mode. On the other hand the battery life is OK but not great. So the question is: wouldn't the fan be responsible of low battery life? It would be strange since my guess is that a fan does not consume much power.
On a related subject I have a hard time understanding where the battery time differences between laptops come from. Seriously, take the SZ6 the M1330 and the U3S. They are all in the same category, same weight, almost same specs, same wireless chips, same hard drives or close... The Asus even lacks an internal ODD. I would guess the screens are not the same but could that explain the big battery life differences? It looks to me that the screens are made by the same bunch of manufacturers anyway.
Or could it be that the batteries that ASUS is on the cheap with the batteries it puts in its laptops?
Given the reports here and there, Asus has at least a one hour runtime shortage vs. the M1330 or the SZ6, for comparable specs, on the 6-cell battery.

 

It's probably a combination of BIOS optimizations and the cooling system, and possibly the LCD. Personally, I'd trade some battery life for a cooler running system.

Until someone actually put up some battery drain numbers for the M1330 and SZ6, it'll be impossible to tell just where Asus is messing up.

 

really!? it runs fine online? because i installed steam lately and tried running cs:source, and it ran horrible, choppy as hell. what settings do you have yours on? mine was on speed mode too.

 

i can run CS: condition zero after i reinstalled the OS and so Halo 2 (not so smooth)

 

The review is taking longer than I thought. On the bright side it looks like battery life is getting better. I sat through a 50 minute lecture and it took only 20 minutes off battery life. Thats pretty good( what shocked me is that for some reason my initial battery reading on the battery showed 3hours45 minutes today compared to 3 hours as usual. I just updated my system so hmm.

It looks like battery life got a whole lot better recently.

 

Did you install the latest updates from Microsoft? I've found an increase in battery life after the Oct 1st patches.

 

kennyy, do you think i should reinstall the OS with vista? which OS did you install on your u3s?

 

No just the one that got installed on monday, so October 8.

I have NHC installed and my speed reading is always 2.2 ghz even on battery saver mode not plugged in. THis happened after the update. I am wondering if this accurate those because this is when my battery life got better.

 

I just ran CS:Source, created my own server and added 32 bots. It seems to run fine. Are you sure the (not so smooth) isn't due to network issues? or maybe I just don't understand what smooth means in CS.

 

Well, I get my new U3S on Tuesday!

Anyway, I think the power issue is related to the built-in GPS. For GPS modules, it requires constant polling for data. Perhaps maybe it doesn't turn off the polling routine?

I'm going to set it up on linux when I get it, so we'll see if it's something Vista sets or if it's something hardware related.

 

You can turn off the GPS service. I did my initial battery tests with the GPS module removed. I don't think it stays on or affects battery life much if you don't use it.

 

Yes just reinstall the OS...i'm currently on Vista..thinking to do WinXP but not too sure how to do it, i know there are many good guides in this forum but i'm too lazy to read... lol

The CS is running fine
Only Halo 2 is not so smooth...like lagging....

 

Good to hear from you guys. I hope y'all can make a nice review (maybe together and split the work?). I'm still waiting on placing my order on mine.
Good news recently about the battery life!
Is it difficult to reinstall the OS on the U3S? Looks like you have to have all the drivers ready and it seems a slightly risky operation to me. Unless you tell me so. (by reinstalling, I mean format the HDD and do a ground-up reinstall)

 

Well the reinstall process is using asus provided recovery disc to install the OS

What you waiting for? Just place your order asap... lol

 

I find no information about the extra battery of U3s. Anyone know how much are they?

 

I couldn't find any information on extra batteries for it. I would like one eventually though.

//awaits delivery of my laptop on Tuesday

I'll try to get a review up afterwards (with how to set it up using linux as well)

 

These batteries are what's currently available for the U3S in the states.

3-Cell, Black 90-NLV1B1000T (In Stock)
6-Cell, Black 90-NLV1B2000T (In Stock)
6-Cell, White (Backordered)

We have inquired about the 9-Cell, but Asus has no word on that.

 

hello

now i just ordered the Asus u3s "germandy edition"

But the first thing is that there is maybe no GPS included

i hope i will get the notebook in the following week


The next think, which is very important for me is, if the notebook has an optical audio out, so that i can link it with an A/V Receiver, which encodes the DD5.1 signal?
Is there any connection, or do i have to buy an external soundcard?

 

Congrats!

And are you referring to S/PDIF? If so, then it should work.

 

I think the German edition should be liek the UK edition, without GPS but with LED screen and more expensive than it is in the US. Besides that you're not missing much by not having the GPS function, unless you are a taxi driver or something. You're likely to have the turbo memory instead. And Oh, you'll probably get the large enter key in an inverted L shape (which I prefer; the US has rectangle enter keys).

 

i want 9-cell!! lol

Can someone tell me Asus U3s battery is same as Asus U1?

 

That means, there is an S/PDIF?
But do i need a special cable to get this function?
Normally i use an fiber optic cable to connect the pc and the receiver (Dolby Digital).

About the LED screen. I asked the seller at the telephone, but he said that it has normal screen.

The interested thing would be the optional 3G

But also the seller does not know really about this book..

How do i know if there is "Turbo Memory" installed?

Thank you very much

greets from "Austria"

So it's in the stars which function i get now^^ "

 

Hey c147258, can I ask how much did you pay for it?Thanks!

 

i payed 1604,01 € (with student rebate)

 

I think it's a good price for Europe, and for a good laptop. You will find turbo memory in a dedicated slot on the back of the notebook. This is a versatile location meant to use either GPS, 3G or turbo memory modules. The turbo memory module should look like a bigger RAM module. Check the pics that Eugene took at the beginning of this thread.

 

And for what do i need this?
Speed? for?^^

ok.. i found that:
The turbo memory speeds up the boot up of notebooks with better operating power efficiency.

i hope this works^^

Is that the additional 512MB RAM on Board? (i think that is on every notebook from asus u3s)

 

Turbo memory is an innovation brought by the Santa Rosa platform, which is the latest centrino platform to date introduced by Intel this summer. The idea behign turbo memory is similar to an additional cache between Vista and the HDD. Only Vista manages turbo memory; the size of the cache to be managed is generally 1GB. Vista tracks the computer and programs usage and caches frequently loaded applications in the turbo memory. Since turbo memory access is faster than an HDD access, things like load times are boosted.
However all this is "in theory" for two reasons. First 1GB is not much today when applications are so huge and Vista is so much space-demanding. So not everything can be cached. Second, Vista and especially Intel (who makes the chips) did not really finalize their turbo memory implementations (the way Vista uses it, and the drivers that Intel makes). As a result initial reviewers of this technology found no improvement of system performance, and major laptop manufacturers like Dell and HP did not bother featuring turbo memory in their product lines. Only the more "creative" manufacturers like Asus and Lenovo do, I think.
There is however a recent article on AnandTech or TomsHardware (one of the two) who found that, after a specific reboot sequence and a few tweaks, turbo memory finally did the job it was first intended to do: boost performance. The gains found are minimal though, in the 5% nexus depending on applications, if I remember correctly.
My idea is that this technology is promising and that the early problems were just a question of drivers being not ready. Performance can only improve in the future as better driver versions or Vista patches appear. Also the price should be taken into account. The typical option price is $50 for 1GB at Lenovo for instance, and I don't think it's that bad. But for that money an extra 1GB of RAM is a smarter choice, since turbo memory is not as fast as RAM, and will never be.

 

I was just browsing through the Asus update page and found that the U3S BIOS had been updated to version 204 on sept 28. Many other things have been updated in the two weeks from Sept 24 to today, so you want to check this out.
I'm just passing this on as information to the people who were the first adopters of the U3S, and therefore may have gotten a machine with older drivers

 

Anyone try the GPS yet?
Besides N.America map do thinking i can get Australia Map as well?
cheers

 

Does the bios allow for booting off of a USB drive at all?

Thanks

 

I think you'll need to contact Horizon Navigation to get new maps ( http://www.horizonnav.com/).

 

All newer BIOSes do, AFAIK.

 

my Asus notebook bag

Poor quality bag sigh!!

 

I've had something similar happen to the strap of the G2S backpack. Guess I'll have to be more careful when using the U3S bag.

Maybe you can contact Asus about the bag?

 

I've had issues like that with many laptop backpacks. It's due to over capacity and strain on the threading (in my case I usually add a few books with the load of the laptop).

Typically the downward force will just cause the cross-threading to give out. See if Asus will do anything about the bag (however, I'm sure they won't -- since they don't actually make them).

That does suck though :'(

 

It's time for me to look for new notebook bag . Any suggesstion ?

 

I really like my Tumi bag, although for $250, it's a bit on the expensive side. I've put it through a lot over the last year and not a single problem so far.

 

Kennyy, you're in Australia, right? If so, check out Crumpler. I like their style, and I have a camera bag from them that I've been happy with. Their website is amusing, but annoying to navigate.

 

I knew crumpler but they are too expensive...
I rather go with Targus or Belkin..

 

That bag issue is annoying... poor kennyy. Did you really stuff the bag too much?

Also is anyone still working on a review of the U3S? It seems to me that we gathered a lot of information in this thread and that much work is done. I'd do one, but not actually having the U3S yet complicates the matter a little.

 

kennyy:

Targus makes all the bags for Asus, so you're likely to get a bag of equal quality =T


frencholivier:

I don't think anyone is working on an "official" review. I don't have the tools, programs, or time. Not sure about the other owners.

What's preventing you from buying?