Gigabyte U2442 Line

ok pardon while I test...

JJJJJJJJJJJJjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjqqqqwwppccmmmnn

it seems weakest around "C", depressing no more than decimals of a millimeter (0.2 - 3) under normal keypresses. I really attacked that J key with a ton of force, and managed to push it over 0.15mm. Feels solid, though I'd never do it again I think. Whatever it is packing under there, like backlights and cables, is probably closely packed. It seems like I am really eyeballing these - i go by more of how much the keys around are warping rather than real distance.

if you don't deadlift 500lbs or have tremors it's not a concern at all. Strong homerow.

I seem to be hitting the trackpad a lot as I type though, that's probably an adjustment issue attributing to a much bigger touchpad.

 

Thanks for sharing! Any game benchmarks would be appreciated (esSpecially BF3).
I am also wondering about the keyboard flex.
Also, you said the display wasn't very bright, but how to the colors look? Are they dull and washed out, or are they vibrant? How are the viewing angles?

 

Pardon the spelling... I'm typing on my iPhone.

 

oh and to help out your relative in taiwan(TAIPEI SORRY):

Exit Guanghua Market (shiny 6floor one) and cross a few streets until you see a lot of big Acer/Asus signs on BaDe (not sure) and there will eventually be a big red GIGABYTE sign. They are one of the authorized dealers that carry u2442, they have u2442V in stock in fact. The owner really went to lengths to get a hold of this product - I waited about 2/3 of a month!

also check out "vincent" online frequently for the N series at 35500NT. recently there is plenty of the "V" variety around though.

 

aff now the "last post" is working in notebookreview forum, but I am receiving new post in my email with bug, some .prod thing which results in server not found... why don't they hire some professionals?

 

@airjar

dont have BF3 benchmark in my hands yet

I am adjusting to matte finish right now and I can't really speak impartially.
All I can say is, it is probably inferior to the matte samsung series 7 screen in terms of viewing angle and brightness but it seems to hold its own in colours. Calling it "washed out" compared to a glossy panel seems too harsh. On reflection I'm not really sure it is dim because at 100% it is blinding to me - ie on low brightness it seems to have a "fall off" of viewability and colour-contrast compared to glossy screens at lower brightness.

It's only 'dim' because habitually I don't use the screen at 90 - 100% settings, if that makes any sense?

I will try to see if I can tolerate it at 90% (which to me is where the "fall off" in contrast starts upon lowering to 80) I like the versatility and comfort of viewing that it offers so far.

 

2442n battery is 3800mah in description. It likely to last perhaps a bit over 3 hours on light using.

 

omghi2u how are the speakers? Do you have anything to compare them to such as the UX31E/A or UX32VD? And do your keys have the zhuyin characters on them?

Also, outside 臺北車站, there are these 2 computer mall buildings. Do you know if they have the U2442 for sale?

 

compared to my old laptop the speakers are LOUD, I now have to turn them down to avoid disturbing people. As for sound quality I am too biased towards headphones so I cannot speak. I will however say these are not wimpy speakers. There is some DSP enhancement included with the laptop called THQ or something, and it sounds good enough for me to not uninstall instantly! so its probably OK!

Never checked those places, so wouldn't know sorry.

-THX Trustudio actually, on closer inspection DSP seems related to CREATIVE

-yes I have zhuyin, which is meh cuz I use pinyin to type traditional ^^

 

I would replace my Vaio SA 290X for one of those if I could buy one. I find very annoying the hardware button to switch between onboard/dedicated VGA... no need for optimus, but software switching is a must.

 

New S switches without a problem. Theres a switch button, but its not really needed.
Also GGN based AMD cards will switch without a button.

 

Thanks! I'll let my relative know, he lives in Taipei and seems pretty familiar with guanghua market~ Appreciate testing out the keyboard too~

 

is the cpu upgradable?

 

Is there any modded bios/drivers for the old SA?

 

@ ALL
2442N listed in Germany but no information when it will be on stock:
Gigabyte U2442N, Core i5-3210M 2.50GHz, 8192MB, 878GB, Windows 7 Home Premium | Geizhals.at EU

@ omghi2u
Thank you for all the information. Please don't hesitate to tell us more about this machine. Looks like you are the only source on the web right now ;-) Is there any chance that there would be a 640M DDR5 model? I really would love the 2442 with DDR5 GPU. I do not see any real competitor to this notebook as the Acer M5 is rubbish, the Macbook Pro is too expensive, the XPS 15 (sadly) throttles as hell, the samsung series 7 (15") has a BAAAD display, the 17" is too big and the Sony SVS-13 has only 640M LE :-/ Did I forget anything? Another question:

Compared to which samsung series 7? As I mentioned before the 15 inch screen is really bad and the 17 inch pretty good. If the screen of the 2442 is inferior to the 15" model I might have to wait again for a machine which fits my needs. Give me some hope - or better...just be honest ;-)

 

No. Its simply not possible to auto switch ATI 6 series like this. They dont have ability to use AMD Enduro. Only 7 series AMD 28nm cards have it.

 

So Enduro is the ATI optimus?

 

Yes. AMD Enduro = Nvidia Optimus.

 

which is better? or the same?

 

Enduro is basically like what Optimus was a few years ago. Its buggy, doesn't work correctly all the time, and has reduced performance compared to the same card with Enduro disabled.

If you remember people complaining about the M11x R1 with the Nvidia 335m and how Optimus wasn't working correctly Eunduro is experiencing very similar complaints. I have a P150em with 7970m and Enduro and yes it's buggy, but I hope it will eventually work out much like Optimus has.

 

Those are the exact same reasons I'm looking at this too. However, when I went and looked at the Samsung 7 series 17" I thought the display was too dull for my taste (it wasn't very bright, and the colors were a little washed out). I agree that it's too big though. If they had those specs on the 15" I would have been tempted to buy it.

@ omghi2u: Thanks for the replies, and keep them coming please!

 

There is a gpu bios mod in testing that raises the clock speed to 640M levels without significant thermal difference

 

one more reason to go U2442, it has nvidia =)

 

Thanks! I was considering the Sony S13P before but all the reviews and comments about wimpy speakers really turned me off.

I think I will wait for the US version as I don't want the Zhuyin keyboard.

Does anyone know if you buy a system from another country (such as Taiwan), is it possible to use the Windows key on the bottom of the system to install an English version of Windows that you download from Microsoft?

 

IIRC i really liked the 15" display inside a 14" form factor that the samsung had, mind you there are so many versions of that series 7 out there, and I was in a samsung booth and they often swap the best panels for the ones on display. I will say that the pixels are less visible on the gigabyte. (there were much more noticeable striations on the samsung)
Even with no adjustment to the colour profile I am pretty satisfied with the screen so far, and the screen is by no means a weak part of the lappy. Actually, the more I adjust to the screen the less I find I have to nitpick at.
Maybe I am just biased for matte displays, and the series 7 happened to be the most recent one i set my eyes on. Heh

 

One of the first steps of win 7 home premium installation was to select language. (I am running english, with chinese and jap IMEs added in manually)

 

Can you swap the battery or is it fixed in?

And can the msata be swapped for a 256GB?

 

if you could, any video. close pictures of the screen would really be awesome!! only thing that im iffy about is the screen.. if its better than the SONY VAIO 13S TN screens. im sold.

 

Are there any sites yet that are selling this with Thunderbolt or at least have the option to add it?

@omghi2u: Thanks for all the info you have provided so far on this laptop. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the trackpad. TIA

 

Video on display, keyflex:
Gigabyte U2442N Display / Keyboard Focus - YouTube

Photo of display at 100%:
imgur: the simple image sharer

Trackpad exceeds my expectations for the lappy, it is textured very slightly and generously sized. It is on the less sensitive side - I have the sensitivity at 100% but it is very precise. Very useable, with gestures, on both lap and desk. Don't reach for my wireless mouse as much as I used to when away from the usual space.

 

any plan of it hitting USA?

 

PCHome has about 8 different variations now. I don't see any thunderbolt yet. The I5 U2442N sells for $1113. http://shopping.pchome.com.tw/DHAV0V-A65362574 Full powered I5, 128 MSata SSD, HD+ display etc. You can get a 128GB SSD and 750 conventional drive combo for $100 more. The U2442V is actually more expensive, by another hundred or so. PCHome has them in stock and will ship to the US (a lot of people bought 3820TGs that way).

There are plans to bring them to the US. A US distributer has been selected but I forget the name. Since they're just hitting Taiwan, I would think it will take some time to get them here.

BTW fscussel, long time. Good to see you.

 

Bronsky, are you onboard for this laptop? your expertise would be very welcome here!

more tidbits: palmrest is, so far, always -very- cool to the touch. I can't detect much heat from the HDD at all (assuming that's where it is located). Same goes for the keyboard, feeling only the slightest heat around "j" key area.

The heat seems to concentrate more to the bottom of the notebook over long periods of usage, yet there is always a .4-5mm gap maintained by the lappy feet for airspace.
Moreover, on closer inspection, the lappy does not rest on all its feet! Weird.
Granted, there are 9 feet in total and I don't feel the lappy 'rock' anywhere.

 

I'm interested but I'm also considering running my warranty out on the 3820TG. It's the first notebook since the 3820TG that really caught my attention. Depends on the price when it comes to the US.

 

Hmm, looks all pretty interresting but I am not so convinced by the display. I think I will try to compare it to the Sony Vaio SVS-13A1 to make my final decision.

@ omghi2u
Did you already do some high performance tests while monitoring CPU/GPU speed to check if the cooling system works as expected? Hope that we do not see throttling again.

 

@Bronsky: Thanks for the PCHome link.
@omghi2u: Glad to hear you like the trackpad.

Does anyone know the difference in performance between this laptop's 640M vs. Sony's 640M LE? Should there be a noticeable increase in FPS in the 640M? I plan to play BF3 and MW3 once in a while.

 

LE version is about 25% slower:
"In contrast to the GT 640M, the performance drops by about 25 percent in line with the lower clock rate. The resulting 3DMark 11 score of 1365 points (performance preset) is even marginally lower than the GeForce GT 635M in Asus' N55SL "
Review Sony Vaio SV-S13A1Z9E/S Notebook - Notebookcheck.net Reviews

 

Thanks, DvP. Good to know.

 

Given the 3 hour battery life, I'll likely need to take the power cord with me. How big is the brick part of the cord? How much does the cord/brick weigh?

 

@ omghi2u
Did you already test 3dMark 06/Vanatage or 11? Did I miss the results? Would be quite interresting. THX!

 

Is there a thread for this somewhere? Couldn't find one.

 

ughhh i want this laptop now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Ditto. Gigabyte better release it in the US soon before another laptop takes my money.

 

How many different varieties of this laptop might appear in the USA?

What will our options be?

i5 vs i7?
hdd vs sdd?
thunderbolt vs not?
HD vs HD+?

 

hey omghi2u, like everyone else I really appreciate you sharing your info on this lappy.

Quick question, would you say that this laptop is pillow proof? like would it be fine to have it on a bed while watching hulu or movie?
I know you said it runs cool on the lap, but then you said it vents from the bottom so I just wanted to make sure.

 

Hi Guys,

I found a new presentation video of the U2442 confirming that there will be a 650m version also:
GIGABYTE U2442 - YouTube

It really looks as the screen could be the only drawback if the cooling works nicely. Still pretty excited!

 

I asked the same question on the firms FB page they said, that some models will include the 650m, but availability of the model is yet to be confirmed.

 

What's the problem with the screen?

 

We have Vaio S13/S15 bios mod available now. That makes Vaio 640M LE as fast as GT650M or even faster with Afterburner.
GT 640M LE --> GTX 660M have all same/identical GPU. Only clock speed difference, which is now fixed for Vaio.


http://forum.notebookreview.com/sony/677079-sony-vaio-s-bios-mod-gt640m-le.html

 

(Hopefully not too off-topic) Interestingly when I look at the Sony web site it lists a S13A with a 640M on the comparison page, yet when I drill down to customize it just has the LE.

Maybe an option coming soon?