Gigabyte U2442 Line

U2442F-CF2 *IS* with 650m.

 

just ordered my u2442n from Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Computer Accessories, Networking, Electronics, and more! - SuperBiiz.com for the killer price of $1019.44. they are in stock and shipping same day. they also have the u2442v in stock.

if you follow the Superbiiz facebook page, they offer codes for $15 off your order. i used UPD8PC which reduced my cost to $1004.44 plus shipping ($17.50).

:thumbsup:

 

Wow... great prices. Links:

U2442V-CF1 Gigabyte U2442V-CF1 14.0 inch Intel Core i7-3517U 1.9GHz/ 8GB DDR3/ 128GB SSD/ W7HP Ultrabook Computer (Gold Rose) - Ultrabooks - SuperBiiz.com
U2442N-CF1 Gigabyte U2442N-CF1 14.0 inch Intel Core i5-3210M 2.5GHz/ 8GB DDR3/ 128GB SSD/ W7HP Ultrabook Computer (Gold Rose) - Ultrabooks - SuperBiiz.com

I've waiting this long... I'm going to wait and see what type of RAM comes with the 650M model.

 

You mean vRAM? I'm certain it's DDR3. I can't see them bumping up to GDDR5, although if it is I'm definitely buying. I have my laptops that work for me, but I've been waiting for something like this for a while. A 650m with GDDR5 would take the cake and my money too. How you like me now Alienware M14x!

 

Just did another look at the old vBIOS again.

One BIOS stated GK107 1303FD20 - Which is the GT 640M vBIOS.
Another BIOS stated GK107 1303FD10 - Which is exactly the same as what stated in a Clevo W110ER vBIOS

Clock wise, they are identical also, 835MHz Core, 900MHz Memory, 950MHz Boost.

But then again, we will never know right? Suddenly they thought of going with a GDDR5.

If you're looking for something with a GDDR5, you may look at the upcoming Asus UX42VS.

• ZENBOOK™ UX42VS
Despite a slender profile that tapers to 6mm and a low 1.9kg weight, the ZENBOOK™ UX42VS features an internal optical drive for enjoying DVD movies on its brilliant 14” HD display. Available with an Intel® Core™ i3, i5 or i7 ULV processor and 6GB memory, the UX42VS also features powerful NVIDIA® GT 645M graphics with 1GB GDDR5 VRAM and up to 1TB high-performance hybrid hard drive storage.

Notebookcheck stating that the GT 645M will have a clock of 710MHz and a DDR3 Memory.
But the one in Asus is GDDR5. So, if it is still at 710MHz but with a GDDR5 memory, means that it is almost as identical as the GT650M GDDR5(735MHz Core Clock). :thumbsup:

Edit : But it only pack with a HD(1366x768) resolution. Which is bad for a 14".

 

Interesting. Wonder when/if it will release in the States. But yeah, 1366x768 for 14" is abysmal especially with a premium product like that.

 

I've been patiently waiting for my next laptop, and the u2442 CF2 model with the 650m is the top of the list, for now (if only it could come with GDDR5!)

This is the first I have heard of the ZENBOOK™ UX42VS, sounds interesting for sure, but the screen resolution of 1366x768 totally kills it for me. I will never again buy a laptop with a crappy 1366x768 screen. Why can't some manufacturer get this right!?!?

Give me a decent GPU (doesn't have to be top of the line fast, but 650m level at least) with a higher res., decent screen and acceptable build quality!

I'm also eyeing the Lenovo y400 to be released soon, but the u2442 still looks like the goto model for me.

 

Y400 is quite big and heavy for a 14".

 

I have been on the fence about the U2442V, so I wrote to gigabyte the other day, as I saw on a few web sites that the U2442v-CF2 was going to be equped with the 650M. This may have already been confirmed in the forum, however I just thought that I would post it in case anyone else missed it.

Cheers,
CC

Here is the response from Gigabyte:"
Dear Customer,

From the U2442V CF1-CF2 is only Windows8.

There will be a newer model U2442F that does not yet have a release date. It comes with GT650M 2G GDDR5, and the rest remains the same as U2442V

Thank you for choosing Gigabyte products
Question - 1280009
From : XXXXXXXXXXX
Sent : 10/25/2012 11:58
Question : Hi there,

I see that some stores in the US are carrying the Gigabyte U2442V-CF1. I also see that they note the Gigabyte U2442V-CF2 will be available late November. Can you please tell me what the difference between the CF1 and CF2 is? if it is just Windows 8 I will buy the CF1, however if it is a hardware change ie. Nvidia 650M I will wait for the CF2.

thanks


------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Model Name : U2442V

 

You can change what the power button does in the control panel in power settings. I'm sure my model came with the power button disabled. You can change it so that it only turns the machine on, and does nothing if you press it whilst the machine is running.

That's unexpected news about a GDDR5 650m. My OC'd 640m will now feel a little bit inferior.

 

@CC13

U2442 N = i5-3210M / 640m
U2442 V = i7-3517U / 640m
U2442 F = i7-3517U / 650m

CF 1 = Win 7
CF 2 = Win 8

It has not been confirmed if the 650m will have GDDR5 or DDR3. My bet is DDR3.

 

Anyone know if it's possible to replace the screen with a good 1920x1080 resolution screen? The upcoming 650m version would be my ideal laptop if it had a good quality 1080p screen.

 

According to the reply by Gigabyte as posted by CC13, the 650M in the U2442F is gonna be using the GDDR5.

This is definitely my next laptop after my 3820TG which keeps overheating. If only Gigabyte would just release it now.

TAKE MY MONEY!

 

Thanks for the reference.

I did paste in a direct quote which I received from Gigabyte regarding the DDR5 650M. We will see if the response I received back was accurate or not. I am going to hold out for the U2442F to be released. I see Dynamism has updated their web site to reflect the U2442F with the 650M for 1239.00 USD. I hope that their estimation for the end of November is accurate. I really want to update!!

Thanks again for your info, that explained a lot.

Cheers,
CC

 

I'm holding out for the U2442F too, hoping it's GDDR5.

 

This laptop has caught my interest again after all this 650M talk.

I just got back from the MS Store today and I have to say, I actually enjoyed the Windows 8 touchscreen experience. I can do things much faster touching the screen than using the touchpad. I do hate the smudges and reflections on the glossy screen though, but if a glossy screen can improve the display quality of the current U2442 models, I'm all for it. I hope Gigabyte does offer a touchscreen option.

 

They have the U2142 convertible, but it's only the integrated graphics: GIGABYTE - Notebook / Slate & Device - Notebook & Netbook - U series - U2142

 

If it's 650m DDR3 then there's really only marginal gains in performance, like 10-15% at best, easily obtainable with a 640m OC. If it's GDDR5 well then you're looking at a solid 25% over the 640m DDR3 version. But in that form factor I can't imagine it being GDDR5. The GDDR5 would likely have to be actively cooled and I'm sure the TDP of the machine as it stands is near its limit for the form factor. It would be nice to see Gigabyte pull it off, but it looks like thermals are fairly high to start. But we'll see. We'll see.

 

Can you explain more about how much more heat is generated from using GDDR5 than GDDR3 and why?

I think 650m using GDDR5 will run with lower core clock speed like 735MHz and GDDR3 version will run at 850MHz.
In that case, what's the difference on performance and heat generation?

Do you think it is worth to wait for a GDDR5 version?

 

I was wrong, it's power that's the concern not thermals. I had it reversed. http://forum.notebookreview.com/sag...ger-np6110-owners-lounge-111.html#post8518519

There's no guarantee it will be GDDR5. If it is, I think it's a worthy upgrade. Otherwise the benefits of 650m with just DDR3 is minor over the 640m.

 

According to the admin who run the Gigabyte FB page, the U2442F will use the 650m with DDR3 not GDDR5. Looks like I'm gonna bite the bullet and get the U2442N in that case.

 

"Dear Customer, Sorry for the wrong info. After confirming with our headquarter the memory for the video card is DDR3. Thank you"

At first they told me it was going to be GDDR5. Now they are telling me it's DDR3 (guessing GDDR3).
Too bad they are making a new model without changing anything...
So the only difference between U2442V and F is the core clock of GPU which can easily be overclocked by users.
Disappointed to Gigabyte.

 

Btw, anyone know if the U2442F will include the thunderbolt?

 

I asked, they said no

 

ok so it seems we are stuck with the gddr3 650m. How far off in speed is the gddr3 vs the gddr5. Also would it be easy to OC the gddr3 version to gddr5 speeds and or get to gtx660m speeds?

I just sold my y580 because it was too bulky.

My friend is running a MBP retina but i dont wanna pay $2300 for a laptop, but still want his graphics speeds and a thing profile.

Is the u2442f still worth it?

 

This is a rare case - Y580, rMBP 15, U2442(VNF) are actually all good laptops!

Y580 is $800 and can supersample/ultra everything on its 768p monitor.
U2442N at $1000 is not as beast as Y580, yet arguably more so if you factor in the weight/size.
strictly speaking, if you like OSX, rMBP 15 is going to be the best mac experience for a long time and it is, specs-wise, faster (in OSX).

note the SSD in U2442(X) is only ~100mb/s slower than rMBP's if you get the liteON OEM model.
Y580's optical disk drive is easy to swap out and add SATA2 HDD, (just buy a kit from silverstone).

imo the U2442F has no edge over then U2442V now that it is confirmed GDDR3, moreover, the U2442V in most respects other than battery life can be compared equally with U2442N. If the price is too much >1100$ i'd hesitate to pick up the U2442F over the V because GT650M GDDR3 is kind of a boring upgrade over GT640m (both 2gb). In fact, since you went for a lenovo y580 before, (low price + bad battery life), I'd almost say skip V/F and get N instead, because it will literally just be an extremely light version of Y580 running mid-high specs instead of ultra. With SSD+HDD and even performance all-around compared with its siblings, the N manages to hit the same 'magical pricetag' that I felt Y580 did with i7quad/GTX660M under $800.

Looking beyond U2442, there is that zenbook u500 generating some buzz, and asus n56vz is slimmer than y580 with a better, 1080p matte display.

No matter what you go with it will be a DOWNGRADE in terms of native-resolution gaming vs Lenovo Y580, but that is a price you pay for portability (and higher res). None of the lighter + cheap notebooks come with GDDR5 as far as I know, and GTX660m is noticeably faster than the category of 650/640m GDDR3.

 

I am just about to pull the trigger on the U2442 but im just wondering if the extra $100 dollars for the V version is worth it. I understand that the battery life in V would be better but how much better? And since would the performance of the lower voltage CPU be less than the regular N version?

Anyone care to comment?

Hey omghi2u,

I am also currently using the Acer 3820tg but it keeps overheating nowadays and a notebook shutting off during a GW2 game is not fun... How's the difference in performance between the 3820TG to the u2442 btw? and may i just ask where u got urs from?

Im thinkin of ordering from Dynamism but i have never purchased from them before. On the other hand, i have purchased from Excaliberpc but lately i've heard that their RMA isnt very good.

 

I alreaday pulled my trigger at V today right after I confirmed with Gigabyte that u2442f doesn't come with neither thunderbolt or GDDR5.

V has better battery life, less heat, less noise(arguable?), slimmer& lighter adapter (65w).
N is very slightly better in performance.

That's it. It's your choise if those factors are worth $100.

 

thanks for the reply miroo1014.

I'll get the u2442V in that case. Btw, may i know where u got urs from?

 

NP.

I got mine from superbiiz.com, with $15 discount it was $1115 thats cheap
I put the order today and it is already sent out for shipping.

 

thanks for the replies guys but looks like my questions kinda got overlooked.

How much better is a 650m gddr3 vs 640m gddr3.

Can you overclock the 650m gddr3 to be as good as 650m gddr5 or can you over clock the 640m to be that good as well?

Trying to find a way to get similar performance level of a macbook retina without dropping $2300.

Just looking to see what the overclock abilities are like on this machine?
Has anyone OC'd or Flashed the card? any Bios Mods out there? Whats the top this thing can perform?

 

Though I can't comment about U2442V's battery life in specific, I'm sure that's easy to dig up on other's experiences. On U2442n, with 20-30% (BATTERY brightness level which is soooper dim) I only get around 4-4.5 hrs with aggressive screen dimming, turning off bluetooth and with smartcooling etc - that's when I am not carrying around an adapter and it gets me through a day of full time school quite fine, albeit dimly. During a schoolday I'll keep about 2 tabs of chrome, foxit pdf running and make sure I don't spin up the harddrive a lot(being clever about using SSD always) I'd anticipate you could atleast expect 6hrs without worrying nearly as much about brightness, bluetooth plus all trimmings on U2442V.

Tin, you can be 100% sure that the 3820tg is what I would still be using right now if I did not early-adopt this machine on a whim!! - I just happened to be in Taiwan reading about this laptop this summer. I am still very fond of 3820tg, nothing but the greatest memories in 2 yrs. (Note that 3820tg was my first lappy ever, and now it seems I've established a routine of buying a spanking new~$1000 notebook every 2 yrs...sigh) Anyways coming from the 3820tg there is obviously a big bump in performance moving up 2 generations of 'core' processor, and kepler graphics. The u2442, just like the 3820tg gives you the same sense that it really pulls its weight five-fold in terms of performance. I forget whether 3820tg had throttling or not because I never overclocked it, but it was immediately obvious that u2442 was not throttling when I put it up to any task. It gets loud and hot just as the 3820tg will but the heat is less obvious, especially around the trackpad/keyboard. The SSD U2442 came with is faster than the Crucial M4 (firmware updated) that I left in my 3820tg, which is actually saying a lot. (both boot windows before the logo can spin around completely)

One thing left to be desired is the ~1hr loss of battery from the 3820tg - you will certainly feel it if you enjoy subnotebooks for what they are, as I do. The u2442 is technically a lighter machine than even the 3820tg though. In all else but battery the u2442n has been a worthy successor to 3820tg for me.

GW2 has a ridiculous upper bound on CPU, by the way. That is precisely why U2442 instantly will run it smoother 200% in WvW than 3820tg. (I have high shader, high textures, high character textures, rest mid, FXAA, and the game is playable in WvW). However, due to the CPU-reliant nature of GW2 even U2442 will choke sometimes, so it is likely that the performance of both 3820tg and u2442n will increase dramatically as GW2 comes to use GPU more effectively in the future.

I am running my GT 640M with Amal's BIOS F0A mod at 1000mhz core. This surpasses the stock clock of GT 650m ~700-850mhz, and the improvement was big to benchmarks, yet only just-about-detectable to fps. I'd gather from this that the GT650M would, again, show a trivially marginal improvement in fps, especially considering that the i7ULV processor inflates the benchmark scores even more due to +1mb l3 cache.

GT650 and 640M, with GDDR3 as it stands is in a lower category to the GTX660M. Without GDDR5 you will not expect to approach the same performance you can bring out of a GTX660M.
e.g. if 640M can run FXAA,high settings. then 660M can do supersampling, FXAA, full filters, high-ultra 60+fps. (both at 768p, for example)

Also, since you seem to be keen on macbook specs, how have your friend's retinaMBP been running in bootcamp? I remember that the bootcamp experience on plastic macbook + intel X3100 was actually an enjoyable experience back in the days of core2duo for me - (I was so amazed that needforspeed and all these 3D games ran on integrated graphics when I had the chance to try it on my cousins macbook), so I am curious as to how rMBPs superb gaming specs translate over in the current generation.

 

ok so without the gddr5, we are limited. Also would the 650m have higher overclock abilities or is the same as the 640m just comes with a higher stock clock.

And his MBP retina is pretty superb. It get supers hot but he runs WOW on Ultra settings in 2880p with around 35fps in the most intense areas. pretty good.

Im just trying to come close without having to spend so much money.

What FPS rates are you getting with your overclock now in the games you play? assuming you do ha

 

To better explain - 640M, 650M and 660M are all based on the same GK107 core, i.e. if not for GDDR5 they'd basicly all be manufactured on the same wafer. (in fact this may still be the case). So what does this mean? when they quality-inspect all the gpus on the wafer, they sort through 640s and 650s together (GDDR3/GK107) and essentially pick out 'inferior 650's and label them as GT640M. This would suggest that GT640ms can not hold up to the rigorous clockspeeds of 650 without exploding in a tiny laptop, but in fact U2442 makes this possible without throttling :thumbsup:.

I may be oversimplifying the process, but what it boils down to is, the reason why GTX660M is a big deal even though they all have same core, same shader cores, etc, is because of the much faster memory and less because of how good they quality-check a batch of random GT650ms.

 

this helps alot ok final question.

So if i am fersure going to overclock either way choosing between the 640 model and 650 model shouldnt matter right?

and when you everclock your computer will send your gpu to lower levels when your just web browsing or writing an essay right? just making sure if i overclock a laptop that if im doing just school work that battery life wont go down the drain because it will be running my gpu during that time

 

Correct, optimus shuts off the GPU and the ivybridge's HD4000 takes over.

 

thanks so much, yeah hopefully i can get high settings with the overclock mods.

gonna purchase the 640 version just cuz i dont wanna wait 2 months for no real difference

 

You might actually OC the 650M better than the 640M,
Coz the 650M will have a bit higher voltage config for the GPU core.
I haven't looked into the voltage for both yet, but I assume it to be that way.
For example, my GT 640M LE can run up to 1000MHz core clock stable, without the need to Over Volt it, but more than 1000MHz, it'll start to become unstable.
While the GT 640M and GT 650M might go higher than 1000MHz without Over Volt, due to its higher voltage config than the GT 640M LE.

 

I'm a newb on overclocking gpus.
Can someone post or link how to OC gpu in u2442v?

 

i suggest to keep looking this page in the next few days:
ASUSTeK Computer Inc. -Support-

asus in going to update official site about ux42a and ux42vs models, if one of those 2 has a 1920x1080 resolution it could be the perfect ultrabook (remember, ux42 will have geforce 645m)

 

WOW,

Totally not sure what to do now. 640M or 650M???

From what I have taken from this feed, is that there is not a huge performance gain going with the GT650M DDR3 over the GT640M,

I am not in a super rush, so I think I will wait until the U2442F is released, and will confirm then on what Ram the GPU has. In the meantime, I will watch the ASUS site as well........

Thanks for all the information guys. It really helps!

 

I think the 640m and 650m should be rated similar voltages. Even then knowing the overclock capability of them will be unknown it seems since i cant find anyone really doing it. Thus i would just use your mod. Im a noob so i dont wanna try and configure it myself or "test the waters".. Also looked into samsung series 7 because it has gddr5 version of it which by my understanding could then be clocked to 660m speeds. Though i dont see anyone doing it, dont know if it can do it without throttling, and i dont wanna try it myself. Thus the 640m u2442 seems like a safe bet for now then hoping someone will see if it has higher capabilities then the 640m le

 

Just pulled the trigger on the U2442V via Superbiiz. Seems to be cheapest price around.
Any recommendations on the additional hard drive i should get?

 

Series 7 is a 15" though isn't it?

 

thus it is.

Exact same size at a macbook pro pretty much.

But i cant find any reviews of people OCing and I cant find much on the cooling of the unit.

If the unit had good cooling potentially you could have gtx 660m speeds in a more compact unit for about $1000.

 

More compact than U2442?

U2442 is lighter by over 1.5 lbs, smaller width and depth, and < 0.8" vs 0.94".

I'm just having a hard time justifying it either way because I have my Clevo W110ER, but it's missing higher res screen and larger screen and backlit keyboard. Although the W110ER is smaller (width and depth), although much thicker, but doesn't weigh much more (4 lbs) and can take a full quad core mobile CPU. If I didn't already have the W110ER then I'd buy this Gigabyte in a heartbeat. I'm thinking it would take a machine similarly built as the U2442V with a 650m GDDR5 for me to upgrade. But I'm still on the fence. Here's to hoping I get a holiday bonus.

 

no no no not more compact ha never said that.

just thought it was an interesting option for my self who needs a laptop that i can lug from school and home and run Blizzard games/Cs on it at high settings

 

Yeah, I think both are excellent options. Just wish they had something like this when I went to order my W110ER.

 

ok so i did it. Finally ordered u2442v through dynamism. Everyone keeps saying superbiiz was the way to go, but for me living in california once you add tax it was the same price as dynamism(which is tax free) and with dynamism you get there customer support and free shipping to any warranty center. So just a heads up.

Ok well hoping it will get to me by friday can someone help me by giving me the basics of what ill need to download and do to overclock the 640m.

Trying to run atleast 1000mhz clock and 1000mhz memory clock.

Can i just snag that bios mod for the vaio s13?

or do i need to download specific things for u2442, just a noob here looking to play powerful games.

help me out

 

Hmm, did you see this: G46VW - Strike on the Move