ASUS U30JC-A1 with NVIDIA Optimus Review Discussion

The U30JC is the latest 13-inch notebook from ASUS offering the new NVIDIA Optimus switchable graphics. Offering the best of both worlds, Optimus allows seamless switching between the Intel GMA HD integrated graphics and the NVIDIA GeForce 310M dedicated graphics. For the average user this translates into great gaming performance and excellent battery life when your priorities are writing term papers or taking notes in class. Check out our in-depth review to see how the notebook performed in our tests.

Read the full content of this Article: ASUS U30JC-A1 with NVIDIA Optimus Review

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So this thing looks pretty amazing.

 

Nice review, Kevin

Were you able to test Turbo Mode in Power4Gear hybrid? Did you see any performance gains with the overclocked CPU in Turbo Mode?

 

I have been looking at this notebook for awhile, thank you for the review.

 

The Power4Gear software has high performance as the fastest mode. Nothing in the BIOS either for overclocking.

 

Strange that the battery life is better when using dedicated graphics but still this seems to be an amazing laptop. I need to keep this one on my radar screen. Thanks for the review!

 

"Con: thicker than previous UL30A"

This does not replace the UL30A so why is that a con?

 

Was hoping they would have been able to fit NVIDIA Optimus inside the thinner chassis

 

Any news about prices in Europe? (or even better: prices for Belgium).

If this thing stays within the 800-900€ price range this is gonna my next lappy for sure ^^

 

So there's no turbo mode button on the bottom left of the power4gear? I thought the U30JC-A1 would have it since Asus is advertising the 33% boost in CPU frequency, similar to the UL30VT models.

 

Nope, went in the app to look for it and it doesnt have that turbo checkbox thing.

 

Well it looks like the ASUS does have a UL30-series model with NVIDIA graphics AND turbo boost...

http://www.xoticpc.com/asus-ul30jca1-order-p-2763.html

Basically same without the optical drive. I wonder why they didn't include the turbo feature on this one.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe the Core i3 supports Turbo Boost; only Core i5 430m and above does.

 

Ah, that's it.

 

I noticed that this version had a Core i3 and a 512mb graphics card. I though I remembered those AsusWorld magazine scans having this, or a very similar model with a 1gb graphics card, and core i5 and i7 (non quad) options? Or was that something different? So far looking great, though I'm very interested in the U33 bamboo series and hope that it includes a backlit keyboard which this model seemed to lack.

 

You are right about the Core i series, but the older UL series also had turbo boost and that was running a higher end Intel CULV cpu.

 

Does this have a lit keyboard?

 

Well, there's the UL30JT advertised in the ASUS world magazine, which should be lighter and thinner, but with ULV Core i CPUs. However, I believe there has been a delay in Intel's manufacturing of the ULV Core is, so it will probably be a couple of months before those come out.

 

I guess there is a trade-off with the full powered processor as compared to the lower power CULV in the UL30vt. Because this machine is heavier and a whole lot thicker than the 14" UL80vt, depite having a smaller screen. So in that regard it is a step back.

In order to make an affordable true thin and light from ASUS we will have to wait for the lower voltage i5-UM chips, if intel ever releases them to the market.

 

No backlight below the keys.

 

With an optical drive? I think your hopes might have been a tad too high.

 

Forget the optical drive... I only use it for installing an OS and never touch it again.

 

Thanks. Then not interested.

 

What's with the battery life numbers??

 

It's a matter of how little power the Nvidia GPU consumes when it's essentially idle.

Nvidia did a fantastic job shutting down and underclocking the GPU when it isn't rendering 3D graphics. So, if you're just surfing the web or opening files in Windows Explorer the Nvidia GPU barely consumes any power.

This is the first time we've seen a discrete graphics card that actually consumes LESS power than the Intel integrated graphics when the GPU isn't rendering in 3D.

However, when the discrete GPU is stressed (such as when playing a game like Left 4 Dead 2) it consumes MUCH more power than the Intel integrated graphics and kills the battery in about 2 hours.

 

So what's the point of Optimus then... if you're on idle, then you might as well use the discrete card. If you're going to game on battery, discrete is still better (performance wise).

 

I have the exact same question, sgogeta. I have to think that the OP's test on idle isn't a great indication of real battery life performance. My best guest is that in a non-idle situation (ie web surfing, email, excel) the onboard graphics unit would provide better battery life than a discrete situation. Could be wrong, someone needs to isolate the variables here.

Anyway, does anyone know when USB 3.0 is going to be prolific in the laptop market? I plan to buy another laptop in late july, would love a machine like the ASUS U30JC-A1 with a USB 3.0 port. Imagine the external hard drive possibilities!

 

This machine might not be as good for gaming as ur old acer...

I would say that this is a great notebook except for

1. Would be much better if it had optimus with GT335M.
2. Higer res screen( maybe 1600X900 )
3.Overclocking.

Looks like its going to be a little more wait for a better version although this is quite great///

 

thats a pretty high res for a 13.3 in screen... well for me it is

btw if the thing gets more battery on the discreet card.... why use intel HD?

nice review though... looks like something i might pick up

 

I wish they would stop using optical drives. What a shame.

 

Is it true that the i3 platform is much thicker than the CULV counterpart?

 

Optical drives are fine, they give you a slot to put a 2nd HDD.

The i3 is the same as the i5/i7 platform. You're comparing two very different sets, the CULV counterpart will be the low voltage i5/i7s, which won't be released for a few months.

 

For those who can't handle the extra thickness, there are alternatives, like the UL30Jt. You'll get a slower CPU though.

http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=dh1loes9V1IGKwCA

I'd like to see a model without ODD, one 2.5" and one 1.8" for HDD and SSD, respectively.
By replacing the ODD with a 1.8" it should be enought room to cool a regular CPU without making the latop thicker.

 

This.


It's the reason we're all waiting for the UL30JT!

 

It's not out, dude.

 

What would the performance difference be between i5 Processor 520UM and i3 520M be? Significant considering the processor speed?

 

I was wondering this too. I am torn between this model and the Lenovo y460, which has i5 520m and a better video card. It does not have NVIDIA optimus, but does have switchable graphics. I really was hoping that the U30jc would have an option for an i5 processor.

I am just curious about the build quality. I owned a Lenovo y430 before, and build quality was average. The build quality of this U30JC seems great,but I am wondering if it really is that much better than the new Lenovo Y460.

I need a laptop soon as my y430 got stolen, otherwise I'd just wait for the UL80Jt...which really does seem like the perfect laptop for me. Although, if this had the i5 520m, I would probably be sold.

 

I never said it was.
The U30JC isn't really easy to find either.

 

Depends what you are doing with your notebook. Day to day tasks, you will see no benefit but if you run CPU intensive apps, the 520M will be a lot faster than than the 520UM. Btw both are i5.

 

Long live optical drives!!!!

that is all.

 

Yes yes... but outside of the computer connected via USB

 

any passmark cpu test score???

 

Wow, I see Asus is still using a pathetic 0.3MP webcam. Seriously, how much does it really cost to add in a 2MP webcam?

 

Without the 33% turbo boost on this core-i3 JC, how does it compare to the overclocked VT (with turbo boost at 1.73ghz or recently 1.9ghz)??

 

The i3-350M still beats the SU7300 @ 1.9GHz

However, I do find it odd that on Intel's website, the SU7300 is also listed as not having Turbo Boost technology, but is still able to use Turbo mode via Power4gear hybrid.

 

^ That's the reason I'm salivating over and waiting for the ulv i5-equipped notebooks later this summer/fall!!!

 

Maybe because the SU7300 does not have Intel's Turbo Boost?

 

So why would it be possible to go from the stock 1.3GHz to 1.7GHz with Turbo Mode enabled?

 

Because I believe the "Turbo Mode" mentioned is not by Intel, but is an ASUS specific name for their FSB overclocking. That is, Turbo Mode is not an Intel feature, it's what ASUS calls their own overclocking feature.

 

Turbo Mode in that context is not a feature of the SU7300 processor as noted; it is a feature of ASUS notebooks. It overclocks the FSB of the CPU to get a higher clock. Intel's "Turbo Mode" is entirely unrelated to ASUS' Turbo Mode.

SU7300
Stock: 1.3GHz = 200MHz FSB (800MHz quad-pumped/effective) * 6.5 multiplier
"Turbo Mode": 1.7GHz = 266MHz FSB (1066MHz quad-pumped/effective) * 6.5 multiplier

Edit: Judicator ninja'd my post and is correct.