- Intel SU7300 Core 2 Duo 1.3GHz Processor
- 4GB of DDR3 RAM, 2 slots, 8GB Max
- 500GB SATA Hard Drive (5400 RPM), No Optical Drive
- NVidia G210M Graphics with 512MB DDR3 + Intel GMA 4500MHD (Switchable VGA); Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit) Operating System
- 13.3-Inch Widescreen HD LED LCD Display; Wi-Fi 802.11 bgn; Bluetooth; 0.3M Webcam
Product Description
The thin and light ASUS UL30Vt is a harmonious blend of form and function. Powered by an Intel Core 2 Duo ultra-low voltage processor, it boasts an impressive 11-hour battery life for all-day computing. It also sports user-centric features such as a multi-gesture touchpad and provides an impressive multimedia entertainment experience with Altec Lansing speakers and an NVidia G210M graphics engine (users can turn the graphics card off if longer battery life is needed). With Bluetooth, a 0.3MP Webcam, and Wireless b/g/n, the UL30Vt-X1 allows you to stay connected with ease. All of these features and more are shrouded in a robust brushed aluminum lid that not only looks magnificent, but also helps in maintaining the notebook’s stylish exterior day after day. ASUS notebooks come with a 1 year global warranty, one month zero bright dot guaranty, free two-way shipping and twenty-four hour tech support seven days a week. Plus it comes with a FREE One Year Accid… More about this product >>>
Price: $799.00
Average Rating: 4.5
Adding the following on December 12: I decided to purchase an Intel 80 gigabyte X25 SSD Drive.
Removing the original hard drive and inserting the SSD was a breeze.
Asus includes a DVD with an image of the hard drive for restoration purposes. I hooked up a USB DVD drive. Pressed Escape after powering up and the BIOS instantly recognized my DVD drive and allowed me to boot to the DVD.
Sadly, the recovery process to the SSD stopped at 28%. I tried it multiple times from all 3 USB ports. I am guessing the Recovery DVD is flawed. So, I had no choice but to do a clean install using a Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade Retail DVD. (I had one with a 3-license deal that a family member purchased.)
The installation was blazing fast on the SSD.
I then used the Driver CD Asus includes to install all the drivers.
Let me tell you, the SSD is fabulous. The computer boots up so fast. Shuts down fast. Runs fast. (Please know that I upgraded the SSD’s firmware immediately prior to the install. The firmware restores Windows 7 Trim support to the SSD.)
I paid $250 total for the SSD. I am very happy I made the drive switch.
The original 500 GB hard drive was fine. But I had a little extra $$ and always wanted to try an SSD. Seriously, the wake up from sleep mode and boot up truly rocks.
It is now time for my original ASUS UL30VT-X1 review.
I hope to address what most people would want to know.
Speakers: Surprisingly good sound. Volume is loud. Better than most small laptops. I think you will be happy with the sound. I am.
Touchpad: Asus, what were you thinking? Why try to be different if the difference won’t be better? While the Touchpad is usable and in time I suspect most will get used to it, I myself dislike it a lot. I dislike it so much I just had to attach an external mouse. After I put in a Logitech mouse with the tiny transmitter I was so much happier. I don’t like the feel of the Touchpad. It has these tiny dots. You truly feel the dots. It feels odd under my finger. I really hate it. The multi-finger gesture thing just doesn’t work well. Just not smooth. The glidepad is also just not smooth. I don’t like the feel at all. In my opinion, there will be many like me who just don’t like the Touchpad. And if you don’t mind either a bluetooth or standard wireless mouse, you will easily choose to go that route like I did.
I am upset at Asus for this stupid Touchpad design. So unnecessary. Not upset enough for me to return the laptop. (Again, I’ll just mostly use a mouse.)
The screen: If on battery and using the “save battery video mode,” the brightness of the screen changes greatly. This lack of brightness really bothered me, so I will almost always use the enhanced graphics mode. (Thanks for the comments about how one can increase the screen brightness while in power save mode. I knew that and tried that, but for some reason on my unit the brightness will not increase. Maybe I got a lemon on that respect alone?)
The quality of the screen is fine. No disappointment here. I like the screen. Very clear and a nice positive. The 13″ screen is a good size.
Battery: Started it on a full charge. Ran just Internet and email (nothing else) on WiFi connection. I got 5 hours. Better than most laptops. Yes, I know I’d get better battery life if I ran it with the decreased screen brightness on the power-save video card. But again, the lack of brightness bothered my eyes.
When you first boot up the laptop out of the box, be patient. Might take 20 minutes till first full boot.
I spent a lot of time uninstalling the crapware. Why do they think I want their lame games? They also put in a trial antivirus and trial Office 2007 with SQL Server. There is also a ton of Asus system software.
My laptop unit weighs a smidge under 4 pounds…basically it is 4 pounds. It’s light, but if you have it resting bare on your legs for hours you are going to feel a bit uncomfortable from the 4 pounds. On the positive, after hours on my bare legs, the unit never got too warm. Temp was nice.
I wish the laptop weighed 3 pounds or less, but the 4 pounds total is not a deal-breaker. I make this particular comment because Asus calls it “Thin and light.” It’s thin. And I guess it’s light compared to a full-size laptop. But when I think “light” for a laptop I think 2 to 3 pounds…not 4 pounds. (I agree with the comments that this laptop is not really heavy. I didn’t mean to make it sound like it is heavy.)
The laptop boots up fast. Runs as fast as you’d expect from the specs…and I am happy with the speed.
Body: Fingerprint and body oils magnet. Again, Asus, what were you thinking? Just plain dumb. The black looks nice, but your prints will be all over the thing.
Keyboard is fine. Most will be OK with the keyboard. I like it.
Value: You know the price on this model will drop to $500 in 2010. If it was $500, I’d be more forgiving on its Touchpad fiasco. But for $800, I have to reduce stars because it was so unnecessary, as was the decision to make it a fingerprint magnet. Stars off for that too. Again, some won’t mind the Touchpad as much, but a lot will agree with me.
I am also reducing it 1/2 star because of the crapware and the fact they call it “light” when it weighs 4 pounds. How about “Thin and comparatively light”? (OK, commenters. Go ahead and tell me I just shouldn’t keep it on my lap for so many hours straight. I know.)
I am keeping this laptop. It’s a great start by Asus. But if they released a similar model that corrected some of the disappointments, I’d sell it in a second and buy the newer model. If one is not in need of a new laptop now, maybe wait until Asus gets the next model right(redesigned touchpad, no-fingerprint magnet body, maybe a pound lighter but not necessarily).
Rating: 3 / 5
Got this VT a few days ago. It is an awesome upgrade from my Eee 1005 of last year. Really fast, even after loading it up with all my stuff and not removing any of the usual junk with a new computer. I would have said 5 stars, but the new “Smart-Pad” is not too good…slow to track across screen & not adjustable, old one on Eee much better. I suppose I will adjust, but as I keep going back to my old Eee, I keep enjoying the old feel & speed of the touch pad.
Rating: 4 / 5
This is a good laptop. I am using it as a second laptop for portability. If you are coming from a mac and used to it, there may be some gotchas. Specifically, the trackpad is not all that good. Also, the screen could be much better. It has a very small viewing angle from which it looks good. The HDMI is definitely nice. It helped me to not buy a second computer as HTPC. Maybe I will someday, but for now the laptop works.
Rating: 4 / 5
First, I have to say this is an amazing laptop! Very thin and light, comfortable and sleek. However the ‘propaganda’ provided that this is an 11hr laptop is VERY misleading if not openly deceptive. I read the reviews and everything written about this laptop before I placed my order probably 3 times. One thing that worried me was a review where someone said they would be lucky to get 5 – 6 hrs battery life out of it.. well even that is optimistic. This laptop comes with software that manages the power consumption with four different settings if you set it to the most efficient setting it even replaces the desktop background with a more efficient background, auto hides the taskbar, disables the widgets on the desktop, all in addition to the normal dimming the screen and throttling the CPU. I had hoped… that this extreme setting would provide the means for at least the 5 – 6 hrs that others said was doable… and it might but not very confidently. For a laptop that when I bought it said 12 hr battery life (later updated to say only 11) I would expect at least 8 – 10 hrs by choosing the most efficient settings with normal web use. That is not the case!! Oh and this is even using the integrated graphics not the more inefficient (but awesome) discrete graphics card. So I did some research on Amazon’s return policy because I was so intensely alarmed by the discrepancy of the real thing from the advertising.. it looks like I could return it for 85% of my money back. Considering I splurged to buy this over the HP DM3-1030-US (which easily goes on sale for the $500 – $550 range) primarily for what I thought would be 2 times the battery life I am thinking heavily about returning this and buying the HP.. and cutting my losses. However from Amazon’s policy I think I have 30 days from shipping date to do this return… and I do really like the laptop so I think I am going to use it for another week before I decide either way. Also I considered the Acer Timeline series… that may be a better route for a great battery life.
Rating: 3 / 5
Windows 7 Experience Index
CPU:4.9
Memory: 5.4
Graphics: 5.1
Gaming graphics: 6.0
Primary hard disk: 7.3
Long battery life with pretty good performance around $1,100. Not bad!
Rating: 5 / 5
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