Gigabyte U2442 Line

Gigabyte U2442 line- U2442 and U2440
GIGABYTE - Notebook / Slate & Device - Notebook & Netbook - U series

Anyone following these? There've been some hands on videos that look promising. HD+ screen and discrete Kepler GPU is matches up with what I've been holding out for. I've never bought from (or even heard of) Gigabyte before, but the limited impressions I've read seem alright. Anyone else looking forward to this? Are Gigabyte computers usually available in the US?

 

This is the perfect computer for me... It doesn't look like it's coming to the US anytime soon, however

 

Yes, I'm following the U2442 series. It's expected to hit the European market in July.

Gigabyte shows off 14-inch U2440/U2442 Ultrabooks and Carbon X11 notebook - Notebookcheck.net News


14 inch, 1.59kg, GT 640M, ivy bridge, HDD+SSD. And on top of it all, a really nice design. What more could you ask for, right?

 

Have they said something to that effect, or is this an assumption based on the lack of detail. I assumed hands on previews bu US-based sites like Endgadget indicated some hope, but I'm pretty new to the idea of buying laptops from companies other than, say, HP or Asus.

 

I imagine it will eventually make its way over to the US but it may take a while. Gigabyte is following in Asus', and to a lesser degree MSI's, footsteps. If you're a computer builder, Gigabyte is well known in the US for manufacturing high quality motherboards and video cards, but as far as I know their laptops have been a secondary product line and were mostly for the Asian market. Now, as with all companies going global, they're introducing things to the US and Europe and trying to figure out how to compete with the likes of Dell, Sony, Asus, and Lenovo with established channels and marketing, while having only a fraction of the budget and size.

In summary, it'll take time for them to get things moving, because they can't make the big global pushes like the bigger players can. That all said, I would really love to get some hands on time with the U2442 as well.

 

I would gladly purchase their laptop, if they would just let me. In fact, I would rather buy the U2442V than Samsung's NP700Z5C or Asus's N56V. Why? cause the U2442 is only 14" and it has a GT 640M card I've also looked into the Alienware M14x R2 laptop. It's also 14" but hey, it's 3kg while Gigabyte's is only 1,59kg. And it's Alienware. Frankly speaking, I don't really wanna be branded a gamingnerd if I were to bring that laptop to school

Anyways, the U2442V is an ultraportable ivy bridge laptop that has a really nice design.. it's a great choice for a student like me who's looking for a small laptop that can handle high end graphics

I don't know about other people but for me, anything above 14 inch is not portable. So I was really happy when I found out about this laptop

Gigabyte's totally got me. For now anyways. Besides, I read on other forums that Gigabyte's customer support is terrific meanwhile Asus's for instance is..not as good.

 

I gave up and bought a tricked out 13" Sony S. Need something now, and can't wait around for this to maybe eventually make its way over.

 

Since Gigabyte does have distribution networks in North America, hopefully, it will import the 2442N into the US. If not, the only way to get one would be from PCHome in Taiwan, which will ship to the US. This Article says that the U2442N will have a powerful GT650M, making it the king of the hill in ultrabooks. Kepler ultrabooks show up at Computex

 

yea at 1200usd is this a good buy? its available in my country right this moment

 

Depending on the config u will get(1600x900, 128GB SSD+750GB/1TB, low voltage?).
I would say the price is good. Would buy it myself for roughly 1k Euro.

 

I'm also following this (to the point of daily last-24-hour google news searches).

It's currently in a short list of 3: U2442, Vaio S13A (2012) and the UX32VD.

Non of these seem to be currently available in the UK (the Sony site says 3-4 week build), but the Asus is currently top of my list. It has the weakest graphics by far, however that screen makes it seem like a far better investment, especially from a productivity point of view (though I would really love a kepler chip for their blend of speed and efficiency!).

I'm really interested in the screen quality of the U2442 series, the resolution is nice, but if its a crappy TN (in contrast to a quality TN or IPS screen) then forget it - same goes for the Sony.

 

Same situation as you - looks like the Asus is the best option. Hopefully it makes an appearance here in the next week or so

 

I'm in the same situation too, looking at the hp envy 15 as well as the viao S. I've been told that the u2442 should be available by the end of this month and the hp envy should be announced by the end of the month, I'm getting to the point of not being able to wait mind.

 

Same problem. Does the IPS and high res screen really make that much of a difference?

 

So I just happen to be in Taiwan, and I am in the process of hunting down this mythical-beast-of-a-laptop. I've placed an order on this product 2 weeks ago but due to the incompetence of the reseller, was unable to retrieve the u2442n. (gave me BS about motherboard manufacturing shortage, then proceeded to slap me with a Jul 9th 'tentative date' for the 3rd time) I have found many alternative dealers of gigabyte nearby, some reportedly having this laptop in stock - I'll update shortly in the coming week(s).

So with gathered info and 'hearsay' there are these points to note:

- thunderbolt option now appears to be cancelled in Taiwan (dunno about future)
-u2440 series has almost no marketting as well as very low production in Taiwan (where it's made.)
-(unconfirmed) according to a 3Dmark of near-10000 (on their website), surpassing that of a normal 640M, this geforce gt 640M is very likely of GDDR5 variety because....
- NO 650M option in Taiwan yet (wouldn't that be amazing)
-Computex models were both glossy and matte, furthermore release specs don't specify a matte display. ie. possibly a glossy-ish screen at release.

35000NT = $1166 CAD = 1166$ USD give or take!!

So stop me or whatever if it's a bad idea. IMO - level with me - this U2442N/V is in a category only shared by SERIES 7 by SAMSUNG(really good matte display) lenovos ideapad(fat,768?) or maybe VAIO S by SONY(boo 640m LE) in price/performance/portability. XPS was botched with no 640M in sub-$1500 category, MBP is just tripping balls money (for a windows-over-OSX kind of user, no hating) and both messed up prices with absurdly large SSDs while losing points for inclusion of ODDs.
I have not fully investigated the ENVY with 7750 AMD graphics(ODD,768?).

For what it's worth, I'm upping from my trusty lappy of 2yrs:
Acer 3820tg - 1stgen core i5-450M, ATi 5650 1gb GDDR3 switchable, 3.9lbs
... what can I say about this, 768p just makes me cry when travelling with no monitor. umm, whachu know about ACTUAL thin&light gaming laptops?

As for the lack of thunderbolt... dual storage system alleviates the pain.
A-F-A-I-K if eGPUs are so magical then by the time thunderbolt eGPU peripherals are more available, a fast laptop wouldn't even be necessary, no?

 

portable laptops that can game will still be nice if you want to game on the go... an eGPU is not exactly something you would want to tote around. I could see it replacing the monster 17-20" laptops though.

 

scratch that, someone in taiwan has one with a matte display...



Also:



looks pretty damn fast for Geforce GT 640M, we may have some GDDR5 going on in here....

 

why no reviews anywhere?

 

because,
第一次感動~U2442N(開箱) - Mobile01


(fixed broken images)

 

I am also following the U2442 very closely. The display is what I'm most concerned with. I can't even stand browsing the web on a crappy display let alone gaming. I am considering (in order):
1. Gigabyte U2442N
2. Macbook Pro Non-retina with 16x10 upgrade
3. HP Envy 15 refresh with HD 7750 with IPS display
4. Dell XPS 15 refresh with 640m
5. Macbook Pro retina

If the U2442 has a nice display and fixes the build quality issues noted on the pre-production models, I'd get it in a heartbeat.
I have seen the display on the rMBP, and it's beautiful, but I know not many games will play at full res. If I knew games looked good at lower resolutions on it, I'd get it. I've also seen the Envy 15 IPS, and I like it (regardless of orange/red thing).

 

If you have so large scale on consideration when you could also consider Sony Vaio S15 or S13. S15 comes with good full HD IPS display, 640M LE and 3612QM.

For me, U2442n looks is a deal breaker. Same with Envy notebooks. I cant stand this aluminium look.
Pro Retina definately has the best size vs power ratio, but its also quite loud while gaming and its surely the most expensive choice by far.

 

I've been monitoring the release of this notebook since it's been announced, just found this thread and I'm starting to get worried that it won't ever get released in north america.
Also, does anyone know if the Elan smartpad in this notebook supports 1 finger vertical scrolling? Some elan smartpads will only do 2 finger scrolling or spin scrolling. Thanks

 

I don't want to get a GPU lower than 640m. I don't think I'd be able to play games at 1080p with a 640 LE.

 

Well, im hoping to overclock or even flash it to 650M, since its physically identical to it. Just lower clocked bios.

 

For what it's worth, Gigabyte said on their Facebook page in reply to someone's question that it's coming out in the US in mid July.

 

The 11000 3dmark score isnt that impressive, its about the same I get with my i5/555m combo in my lg xnote p330

 

yeah im worried about the display too, i don't wanna get the vaio S13 because the display looks grainy and pixelated from what I saw at the store. hopefully this isn't the case with this ultrabook. hopefully its a nice display, and a matte screen (vaio z style) *fingers crossed*

 

looks like its finally starting to show up on websites outside asia - just the i5 though
Ultrabook GIGABYTE U2442N, champagne gold | CZC.cz

im still hoping that thunderbolt is included in the final specs on some models

 

No TB for now.

 

Interesting, now it's pretty much down to the display being amazing whether I return my S13A for this or not

TB or displayport would have been a big plus

 

the biggest problem is that you can't find it anywhere to buy.

 

reports are saying that TB will be optional
Gigabyte Intros Ultrabooks with 14-inch High-Res Screens, Nvidia Graphics Cards ( - Hardware Systems )

im guessing sometime in the next couple of weeks you will be able to find somewhere to buy it

 

what do you guys want thunderbolt for?

 

EGPU connection

It also future proofs your laptop to a certain degree, my opinion is that in the next few years, thunderbolt ports will be quite common. The connection for it is blazing fast and you can use it for data, video, audio, and also power!It will be the one wire that will rule them all!

 

yeah but with such dedicated vga no need for external one.

 

anyone knows if the gt650m and gt640m gpus are using gddr3 or gddr5 graphic memory in the u2442 models??

 

You would just be CPU limited. The 650m is a pretty good match for the i5 imo.

 

that's the most absurd post I've seen for many years.

there's a process known as "upgrade" that allows you to change the cpu to a more powerfull one.

 

Skinflint Price Comparison EU

Several german shops now have it on order.
i5
640M
8GB DDR3
1600x900 screen.

 

You are buying a notebook with a very well balanced vga/cpu, for a good price. There´s no reason for making an improvised "do it yourself" upgrade with an external gpu + cpu change. In 2 to 3 years simple sell your used notebook and buy a better one.

 

in this forum you have thousands of very smart people that disagree with you. just check the gpu subforum. you would be very surprised.

 

Pretty sure they are only gddr3 unfortunately

 

i agree with fscussel.. we are buying a laptop for portability. i do not want to have some extra thing on my desk when im out somewhere. i want my laptop and gpu to be in 1 unit.

if i really wanted to have even better graphics for games. i would be on my desktop instead.

the 640 is a godsend for this laptop. i can't wait

 

I am anxiously awaiting this box. Anyone have any word on how good the display is?

Hows it compare to the Sony S13 IPS display? Curious as to how good the keyboard and touchpad are too.

 

S13 is a TN Display. Only the S15 has the (orangegate) IPS display.

 

The new S13 1600x900 covers about 75% of sRGB (quite good for a laptop display). The new S15's IPS is an updated version of the orange/red IPS which no longer has the problem.

 

Wrong.

New S15 has still the same old panel with orangate issue. Theres many post and threads in sony forum about it.

 

U2442N has arrived, first impressions:

bloatware is under control: MS office trial, bing bar, etc didnt take too long to remove. central interface manager app is very quick and has a hardware button located discretely next to the power switch.

laptop POSTs quite fast, boots windows 7 before the logo even comes together (so in ballpark of 6-9 seconds after the POST) on the stock 128gb msata SSD.

DDR3 in the GT 640M (at $1166 I'd expect no more)
no thunderbolt

Screen is on the dim side coming from a glossy lappy, still very comfortable in most kinds of lighting (i still only use between 60-70% brightness). Looks slightly blue on first glance.

two fans are quiet and responsive to stress - they point away from the user.

trackpad is of the textured variety, not overkill like some older HPs, very generous size and I am not drawn to my wireless mouse whilst leaving the room to type this reply.

3.4lbs this thing is LIGHT and totally cool on the lap after running skyrim at high preset a few minutes ago. noise is neglible. 90W powerbrick is not offendingly big, there are smaller replacements on the market.

battery life seems not as nice as it was on my acer 3820tg out of the box, but I have no idea how to use optimus... reads about 3h 48min off the taskbar icon. (absolutely nothing is turned off, 60% brightness)

keyboard is pleasant, much cleaner than a floating-island style keyboard and the keypress is light with a good amount of travel in a subnotebook category.

laptop has a very clean aesthetic, no shiny surfaces and distractions to speak of! The people who rip on its looks are probably coming from plastic white macbooks, LG Pxxx, or powerbooks. Lookswise, easily on the level of vaio, edging out HP and dell IMO. The bottom of the laptop sacrifices looks for accessibility, which is a sound trade for the avg enthusiast in the market of this laptop.

lastly the biggest flaw to this laptop, bar none:
WHAT A PAIN IN THE A$$ IT WAS TO FIND ONE.

One more thing to add: if you've ever been pesterred by friends on VoIP to buy a headset due to a noisy mic, this laptop mic is totally satisfactory over Mumble!! Huge improvement over 3820tg because the mic is not placed near HDD or mobo.

 

omghi2u congrats on the purchase! Can you see if there is any keyboard flex? My relative in Taiwan is helping me purchase one, but its still hard to locate.

BTW: Dynamism has the U2442n listed on its site~
http://www.dynamism.com/top-notebooks/gigabyte-u2442n.shtml

 

where to buy it?