Gigabyte U2442 Line

At first I thought 15" was too big for portability, but then I looked at it objectively. The Sony S15 is like 1inch wider and and 2 inches longer than the S13 and weighs less than a pound more. It's definitely bigger, but they both feel like they're in the same portability category for me. And in exchange for being bigger, the S15 is cheaper and has 1080p IPS display which is a huge improvement (and both the S13 and S15 have an internal CD drive unlike the gigabyte). I know it's a little too big to be classified as an ultrabook, but the S15 in my opinion is the best all-around ultraportable dollar for dollar.

 

Personally having handled both the S13 and the S15 in the Sony store, I took the 15 out of consideration for the sake of portability and weight. You really owe it yourself to actually try these machines out in person if you haven't. The weight difference to me was pretty considerable, especially when you factor in lugging these things around on a daily basis. The S13P is a nice machine with the exception of the screen - it's tolerable but at the same time disappointing. I was hoping the U2442 screen would be a bit better; it's also slightly lighter than the S13P. While I was at it, I played with the Z which is incredible in portability but the keyboard and speakers are atrocious.

I've also played with the UX31A in person and the 1080p resolution is too much for my taste on a 13" screen, with the default 125% font scaling, it's okay but not everything scales well in Windows. The screen is indeed incredible compared to the competition though. In my short time playing with the machine, I felt the Asus' trackpad was wonky. I'm not holding by breath for the newer Asus models in general though because there are too many QC problems with their existing line of Zenbooks. Seems like everyone in this thread is looking for a dedicated GPU but if that's isn't major to you, the Samsung series 9 13" was pretty impressive to me (aesthetics and general feel, keyboard is just ok in my opinion).

 

You people should consider the Lenovo Y400 (shipping from october).
14inch notebook (not ultrabook) with configurable hardware, geforce 650m is an option.

more info and pic here: Lenovo IdeaPad Y400 and Y500: inexpensive notebooks with swappable drive bays | The Verge

looks really slim!

 

Unfortunately, the Y400 features only a 1366x768 screen.

 

Interestingly, the early version of Gigabyte U2442N (as in CeBIT 2012) had the thunderbolt port while the final version does not have it.

 

Looks can be deceiving.
From the source below, the Y400 weight around 2.475kg(5.5lb).
While the Y500 weight around 2.88kg(6.4lb)
¡¾ÉÕÇ®¸ç¡¿ËµËµÁªÏëY400¡¢Y500,¿ÉÀ©Õ¹Á½¿éGT650MÏÔ¿¨£¡½øÀ´²»ºó»Ú£¡-ÁªÏëY480ÂÛ̳-ZOLÖйشåÔÚÏß

 

My order with amazon uk has gone from instock to.... October 10th. First asus now this...

 

That's a bummer

I'm in the market for a new laptop, and I do game fairly often. I was hoping to find an ultrabook or similar sized system with a 640m or higher. I have a powerful desktop that I use at home so I definitely don't want some monster gaming system that weighs 6lbs+.

This laptop has been on my short list for months and the availability has been disappointing (I'm in the US). It isn't even listed on Amazon here yet.

I may give up and pick up the Sony or wait on the next crop of discrete ultrabooks. ;(

 

you can consider the Aspire TimelineUltra M5-481TG-6814

cheap (around 800$), 14 inch, geforce 640m LE, 4.3lbs, height 0.8'', but with i5 3317U and fail screen resolution (1366 x 768)

more info here: M5-481TG-6814 | Product Model

 

I looked at it, but the crappy resolution and high weight are too much for me. I'd rather spend another $300 and get a much better system.

 

Amazon UK had a few u2442V instock with the 750GB hdd so I pulled the trigger - think the Asus u500 will be quite expensive and I prefer 14 to 15 for portability. Plus Asus has had issues with heat etc so build quality is a bit unreliable (their mobos seem pretty rock solid though). Also Asus website pisses me off - its always so slow and times out.

 

When oh when to Amazon USA? Daddy I want a U2442N noooooow!

 

Given Dyanmism's "estimated" arrival of 9/18, and the fact that they already "showed up" on Amazon UK, I naively predicted we would also seem them on Amazon US in early September.

Of course I search on Amazon about 10 times a day, with no luck. Now that the shipping date has been moved at Amazon UK out to October, I guess we should also update our guesses/predictions. Maybe available here...in another month?

-Matt

 

I already posted this on the U2442 review thread.

Laptop is in stock at superbiiz.com for $1020 + shipping. Link: 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
Despite what the website says, the graphics card the IS nVIDIA 640M 2GB. (I called to verify this).
I just ordered it and called to confirm. They will be shipping it out today! I should it have it sometime next week.

To clarify, this is shipping from California to my Illinois address. Not sure if they ship international.

 

EXcaliberPC.com
http://www.excaliberpc.com/618942/gigabyte-u2442n-cf1-14-ultrab
(Availability: 2 In Stock. as of now.)

 

Not seeing it at superbiiz.

Still 2 in stock at ExcaliberPC. Who's eager enough to try? Actually, most of us are waiting for the combo HDD/SSD model, right?

-Matt

 

damm it i just order my acer m5

 

I am, just pulled the trigger. I'm all of 45 minutes away from their offices, so I expect the free ground shipping should be pretty quick, assuming they're not lying about the "in stock" part. We'll see soon enough.

If anyone cares, I'll bust out the DSLR and take a bunch of macro pics if the thing really does show up in a few days. Was tempted to wait for the U500, but at potentially 1.5x to 2x the price and a who-knows release date, I figure the 2442 is good for now... I can always sell & swap later if the U500 reviews are insane.

 

I assume it's easy to install the HDD by the user himself or herself.

I would like at least a 7200 rpm HDD, not the factory-installed 5400 rpm one.

 

I assume so too, but ownership is so sparse, I don't think anyone has attempted/reported yet.

-Matt

 

you can ask to this thread maker for more info: http://forum.notebookreview.com/other-manufacturers/681789-gigabyte-u2442n-review.html

he opened the rear cover exposing the hd (you can found the photos on that thread too)

 

In the best of worlds the EU delay to October means that they are releasing an upgraded version with Thunderbolt and if we are super lucky it also has a 650m and GDDR5, at least we can hope for it!

 

Any release info on the U2442V? I would think it would be the more popular version, since its CPU turbos to within 100MHz of the "N" version's CPU, but it has half the TDP (17W vs 35W). I'd also like to know if the U2442V has the same heatsink and mobo layout as the U2442N, since the i7-3517U uses a different socket than the i5-3210M.

 

Amazon has it via excalibur

Amazon.com: Gigabyte U2442V-CF1 14" Ultrabook: Computers & Accessories

 

You can buy them from Excaliberpc via their webpage, eBay, or Amazon US. They cost ~$50 more if purchasing from the other sites. Anyone know of any promo codes or coupons for excaliberpc.com?

So what is the final verdict on the U2442N vs U2442V? Or more specifically, the Core i5-3210M vs Core i7-3517U CPUs. Battery run time differences and performance differences?

 

I think there's two ways to look at the question. On paper, the i7 makes more sense to me. The real-world comparisons I've seen, however, suggest the differences are negligible. The ULV i7 doesn't really get much better battery life, and the mobile i5 doesn't really perform much better even with the higher clockspeed. In other words, on the street it's a draw. Of course, how the CPU is implemented and how it interacts with the other components is an open question, and that will vary from one model to another. However, if you're waiting for a systematic comparison of the two U2442's, I wouldn't cross your fingers. There just aren't enough in the wild yet.

-Matt

 

Obviously a direct comparison would be great, but I wasn't really expecting that. If it's pretty much a tossup I would just save the $100 and go with the cheaper i5.

 

are you sure? i'm really not an expert but i think 17w instead of 35w is a lot! of course a battery life depends on the entire system and not the cpu only but i always thought CPU and GPU was the first energy drain cause!

 

Yep, I thought the same. I'll see if I can pull up some of the comparisons I've read that suggest in practice the difference is a lot less than the specs suggest on paper.

EDIT: This is not a an ideal example (i.e., Sandy Bridge)

Ultrabook ULV vs Notebook Mobile CPUs « Ultrabook News and the Ultrabook Database

but it highlights an important issue -- real world comparisons exploit the system as a whole, not just the CPU in isolation. A good illustration is that the slower mobile chip outperforms the faster ULV in the "average web working scenario" while not surprisingly, the ULV wins the heavy CPU load scenario. I think baked into my earlier glib comment that "they're about the same" is that running the heavy CPU scenario (e.g., gaming) while unplugged is relatively unlikely. In other words, doing so will wipe out either system in about an hour.

-Matt

 

TDP is max power consumption. Based on comparisons between laptops with the i5 and laptops with (almost) the same components (GPU, etc.), but with the ULV i7, I expect about an hour more (idle) battery life. I think it's not that much compared to the 4-5 idle hours of the U2442N, but batteries get worse during their life times, so in a couple of years the extra hour (or what's left) may be quite a benefit. So I think I would opt for the V (ULV i7) version (but I'm quite a battery life junkie). Unfortunately, my supplier doesn't sell the V version, so I had to go for the N version instead.

 

Back in stock at amzazon uk. I have ordered one again..

 

TDP is max thermal output. Nothing to do with power

 

Thermal output = (CPU) power consumption (law of conservation of energy, first law of thermodynamics). Or your CPU must emit light...

 

Yes but it can vary significantly (as in higher) from max power consumption

 

Well, it shouldn't. It's the same.

 

Back in Sandy Bridge days, it was measured that clock-for-clock, ULV used approximately 30% less power than LV and 50% less than standard. I can't imagine that's changed much since, except that Ivy Bridge didn't bother with LV parts. (Maybe standard parts are closer to LV now?)

One BIG thing to note is that ULV aggressively downclocks the GPU, whereas standard chips just let it run hard, since the GPU alone accounts for nearly 2/3 of the TDP. The ULV actually can skim and slightly exceed its TDP during gaming, whereas for standard parts that's nearly impossible.

On this notebook, of course, the discrete nVidia GPU has a TDP of ~32W and overwhelms the ULV savings as soon as it comes on, but that's to be expected.

 

Here are two quotes from the notebookreview.com review of the U2442N (Core i5 - standard voltage) that got me thinking about "on paper" versus "real world" comparisons:

Review Gigabyte U2442N Notebook - Notebookcheck.net Reviews

Note that the implied comparison is between a standard Core i5 versus a ULV Core i5. On this note, the review comments that:

Interesting, I didn't know that!

Anyway, I wanted to highlight those two phrases above, first, "affects everyday use very little," I take to mean "doing normal stuff like web browsing and email," and the second phrase, "a clear difference...when running very demanding programs," I interpret as, "stuff you do while plugged in."

Still, it's important to note that the U2442V (at least, the one that ExcaliberPC is selling) is the i7 ULV, which stretches the analogy/comparison a bit far. Too bad there aren't more data at this point.

-Matt

 

Surprise surprise.. Amazon have delayed shipping.. Sigh

Amazon have dispatched

 

Woot, got my 2442n today. Ordered from excaliber over the weekend, they shipped on Monday and I'm typing on it now. Definitely better looking in person than in the pictures. The wide bezel that some people frown on doesn't really bother me. I can't detect any keyboard flex to speak of, either.

The screen is okay, although the viewing angle isn't great. Colors seem fine, if a tad muted - but Diablo 3 is gorgeous and runs beautifully. The 1600x900 resolution is damn near perfect for the 14" form factor, tho. The fans aren't 100% silent under normal desktop usage but the low hum disappears readily enough. Noticeable fan noise under load, but absolutely tolerable and reasonably easy to wash out with a TV on the background or the built in speakers.

Slick packaging, too. Dig the included leather pouch and the surprisingly small power brick. Also dig the lack of bloatware, very clean overall. In general, the keyboard feels pretty nice. I've always been hesitant to spend time on the chiclet type keyboards, but this seems pretty slick and I'm able to type away without any noticeable adjustments - and that's coming from a superb T60 keyboard. I hadn't noticed there aren't discrete pgup/pgdown or home/end keys, though... that's pretty annoying. Also would have preferred a bit larger/more separated arrow keys.

The touchpad seems fine. I've yet to have a single inadvertent screen jump and the dedicated button is WAY better than most integrated touchpad units I've used in the last few months, especially for those of us used to resting a thumb in the left click position.

The 14" form factor is awfully slick. I get the feeling that while the U500 has better specs and a nicer screen, it'd be just too big for a comfortable "couch PC" and definitely more unwieldy in general. And now, a couple pics plucked from the built in card reader...

 

looks very nice, can you please take some pictures with the screen on. thank you.

 

Sure thing..

 

Thanks for the pictures. Too bad about the pgup/pgdown/end/home keys... I use them all the time and that would be a major PITA.

 

This is also a bit of a bummer to me.... I'm willing to take the risk with this fan noise thing (I feel this is often super subjective based on user) but I use the Pg-Up and Pg-Dwn all the time while taking notes in class with OneNote. Is there a way to maybe lock the Fn key?

 

I haven't tried it in Win7 yet, but there should be lots of tutorials out there for registry key-reassignments. Yeah, you end up losing one function for another, but it should be an easy (and easily reversible) process, e.g., I've used SharpKeys with XP and it's totally painless:

Map Any Key to Any Key on Windows 7 / XP / Vista - How-To Geek

-Matt

 

I am sat here right now typing on my U244N

 

You received that quickly!

Seems amazon uk are out of stock, though nice to see the base model without the 750GB drive has dropped in price by £50.

 

I paid for next day delivery. They refunded it without me asking, took 2 days instead of 1. :thumbsup:

OK here are my initial thoughts:

When I opened the box I thought - wow this actually looks very small. It feels very light. I wondered where my £850 had gone (I know some people have said wow what a great spec and it is, but it's a bit more than the £550 I spent on my Dell Inspiron Q15R last year). I did think it looked a bit cheap but that might be the silver talking compared to my last black Dell. It's not a competitor to the mac if anyone is thinking that.

Screen brightness is actually very good (only using indoors). Horizontal (left to right) viewing angles are actually reasonable. Vertically down is OK. Vertically up isn't great.
It feels very fast - it's the first laptop I've owned running a SSD on Windows.

HM77 chipset, BIOS mentions RAID and I have 2 SATA options. I am thinking of getting a 500gb 2.5" HDD just for data.

Speedfan can monitor temps fine. I have submitted info to the developer so hopefully he will add some fan control. There is nothing in the BIOS for fan control.

Gigabyte have their own little utility but it doesn't let you do much in terms of noise.

Strangely enough I have seen the fans turn off on the desktop (idle). When web browsing they turn on.

I tried setting Windows power management settings to use passive instead of active cooling but didn't seem to have much affect.

I was wondering if anyone has tried replacing the stock thermal pad (I assume it has one) with artic silver - might reduce temps by 7c or so.

I purchased this really because I wanted a desktop replacement and the extra power of gigabit networking, better nvidia GPU and 8gb RAM swayed me a bit. I probably would have gotten the ASUS UX32VD if it had been in stock. But it's not in the UK. So ASUS lost out some money there, there loss.

I will use this 99% of the time connected to my 24" LED so the screen isn't a major issue for me. I do want some sort of fan control - will see how it fares downloading files at night. I hated my Dell for that.

When sat at the screen at a desk the screen is perfectly fine. You don't want to be standing over it as you wont be able to read a thing

 

I am a proud owner as well (I like the keyboard more and more!), but I have some questions to the other owners

- I encounter some interrupts of the touchpad, i.e.it simply doesn't react for ~30sec, everything else works. Have you seen a similar thing? (not too often)

- Yes, the fan is quite often running. Also not so critical, but the computer is cold as ice, I am using only office stuff, so why the hell is it on?

- Can somebody explain to me how this Rapid Start Technology works? In particular what does this timer say? What does 0min mean, what does 30min mean?

Cheers!

 

I have noticed that if you adjust "Maximum processor state" while plugged in can turn off while web browsing. Still early days yet - it does take some time for the thermal pad etc to settle.

Yeh my touchpad has gotten stuck in only the few minutes I have used it. I hate touchpads, they all seem to cause my grief. I will normally use a mouse but just messing with it at the moment and contemplating a reinstall maybe even linux. SSD on windows gives it a new feel tho

The only bloat it came with is bing bar and Microsoft Office trial

 

How bad is this fan noise that everyone is trying to turn it off?

Has anyone tried different drivers for the touch pad yet?