Asus U36SG any good

Jaffa_Cree · 11th June 2012, 2:00 PM

Looking at getting a more portable 13" notebook and stumbled across this one.
Seems the works for me considering the sub $1000 price

Intel i5 2430 2.4ghz
4GB RAM
750GB HDD
13"
1 GB Nvidia 610M
USB3 / HDMI
8 cell battery up to 10 hours
1.6 KG

http://www.asus.com/Notebooks/Superior_Mobility/U36SG/

I would take the 10 hour battery life with a grain of salt, but overall it seems like a very decent spec. My only concern is would this overheat and what does it mean using a standard voltage CPU?

BBITS · 11th June 2012, 2:21 PM

CPU: Intel Core i5 2430M 2.4GHz(Turbo 3GHz)
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium
RAM: 4GB DDR3
HDD: 750GB SSH SATA
Graphic: Nvidia GT 610M
1GB Dedicated VGA
Screen: 13.3” LED Screen
*1yr Warranty*HDMI*1.6KG *USB3.0 *white
*8 Cell Batt *Bluetooth *Wifi 11N *Up to 10 Hours Battery Life

Comes with Office 2010 Student Edition and an external DVD burner from MSY, not bad for $899

Jaffa_Cree · 11th June 2012, 2:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BBITS

CPU: Intel Core i5 2430M 2.4GHz(Turbo 3GHz)
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium
RAM: 4GB DDR3
HDD: 750GB SSH SATA
Graphic: Nvidia GT 610M
1GB Dedicated VGA
Screen: 13.3” LED Screen
*1yr Warranty*HDMI*1.6KG *USB3.0 *white
*8 Cell Batt *Bluetooth *Wifi 11N *Up to 10 Hours Battery Life

Comes with Office 2010 Student Edition and an external DVD burner from MSY, not bad for $899

That is what I am thinking as well
Was considering the Dell 13" ultra or the Toshiba U830 but the Asus comes with dedicated video card, faster CPU at the expense of a slower HDD for a couple of hundred cheaper

Menthu_Rae · 11th June 2012, 2:46 PM

I have the U36Jc and it is pretty damn awesome. The battery life is fairly spot on - it is possible to get 10hrs out of it. My typical usage nets me about 6-7hrs

HUMMER · 11th June 2012, 2:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaffa_Cree

That is what I am thinking as well
Was considering the Dell 13" ultra or the Toshiba U830 but the Asus comes with dedicated video card, faster CPU at the expense of a slower HDD for a couple of hundred cheaper

but that then and replace the drive with an SSD and it would fly.

Jaffa_Cree · 11th June 2012, 3:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HUMMER

but that then and replace the drive with an SSD and it would fly.

exacltly my thoughts

my other concern is the processor, a Intel i5 2430 uses double the power as the new i5 ultra low range

EvilGenius · 11th June 2012, 3:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaffa_Cree

I would take the 10 hour battery life with a grain of salt, but overall it seems like a very decent spec. My only concern is would this overheat and what does it mean using a standard voltage CPU?

Standard voltage cpu just means it's not one of the ultra low voltage chips you see in ultrabooks. So, higher performance basically.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaffa_Cree

exacltly my thoughts

my other concern is the processor, a Intel i5 2430 uses double the power as the new i5 ultra low range

Unless you're concerned about weight it's not an issue? They put the ULV chips in ultrabooks which are aiming to meet low weight specifications, meaning small batteries. This notebook isn't constrained by that, so they put in a larger battery to get longer life.

Menthu_Rae · 11th June 2012, 3:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaffa_Cree

exacltly my thoughts

my other concern is the processor, a Intel i5 2430 uses double the power as the new i5 ultra low range

You will find that this is only really a problem when stressing the CPU. The power rating Intel provides is TDP don't forget... (Thermal Design Power, i.e. what heatsink/thermal system designers need to account for). When the processor(s) (non-ULV and ULV alike) are in power saving states, they all consume fairly little power.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HUMMER

but that then and replace the drive with an SSD and it would fly.

Word of warning - replacing the HDD is a total bitch. I fared OK on my laptop, but my mate (with the same laptop) ended up with his not quite closing flush (clips wouldn't click in) on the left hand side...

If you're going to do it - take your time - and be very very careful. There is a teardown guide here:

http://goo.gl/T5CST

Note that there is an extra ribbon cable for the fingerprint reader on some models.

Jaffa_Cree · 11th June 2012, 3:41 PM

i am nearly sold on this one

any one can advise if the hdd is 7200 or 5400rpm?
also what is the SSH drive? is that a solid state or normal sata?

Menthu_Rae · 11th June 2012, 3:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaffa_Cree

i am nearly sold on this one

any one can advise if the hdd is 7200 or 5400rpm?
also what is the SSH drive? is that a solid state or normal sata?

The drive will be 7200rpm, most likely a Seagate Momentus XT:

http://www.seagate.com/internal-hard...tus-xt-hybrid/

It is a "hybrid drive" - so it has some NAND flash on it that it uses to cache frequently accessed files... supposedly to give you the benefits of an SSD with the space of a HDD... but yeah, it is not an SSD in outright performance, I can tell you that.

Jaffa_Cree · 11th June 2012, 4:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Menthu_Rae

The drive will be 7200rpm, most likely a Seagate Momentus XT:

http://www.seagate.com/internal-hard...tus-xt-hybrid/

It is a "hybrid drive" - so it has some NAND flash on it that it uses to cache frequently accessed files... supposedly to give you the benefits of an SSD with the space of a HDD... but yeah, it is not an SSD in outright performance, I can tell you that.

so are these hybrids faster than the run of the mill 2.5" drives? or just marginal or non existent

SuiCid3 · 11th June 2012, 8:27 PM

I've got the U32SD.
Awesome little thing. Weight is comparable to many of the ultrathin laptops but with the benefits of the faster processor.
Battery life is awesome. It will generally last me throughout the entire work day doing basic, non-intensive tasks (7+ hours)

yezzum · 21st June 2012, 1:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SuiCid3

I've got the U32SD.
Awesome little thing. Weight is comparable to many of the ultrathin laptops but with the benefits of the faster processor.
Battery life is awesome. It will generally last me throughout the entire work day doing basic, non-intensive tasks (7+ hours)

What's your thoughts on this as a desktop replacement? I can dump my drives into a small external box, but would need a lappy that could drive two 24" monitors (or 1x27" + 1x24"). Not gaming that much anymore, so as long as it could hand Civ5, etc this might be a good alternative to the massive HAF-X case!!

MikeCheck · 21st June 2012, 2:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yezzum

What's your thoughts on this as a desktop replacement? I can dump my drives into a small external box, but would need a lappy that could drive two 24" monitors (or 1x27" + 1x24"). Not gaming that much anymore, so as long as it could hand Civ5, etc this might be a good alternative to the massive HAF-X case!!

No way, sorry.

Not made for that at all. Civ5 might RUN at the native res on the 13" screen, but at 24" or 27" the 610m would just die.

These are AMAZING machines that kick the crap out of current Ultrabooks, but not a Desktop Replacement at all.

M

sml_nail · 21st June 2012, 9:15 PM

I'm in the market for a similar notebook and I'm torn between this Samsung from Computer Alliance and a DELL XPS 14z.

The dell I've seen in person and has good build quality and is slightly heavier and more expensive along with a bigger screen. It does however have less RAM, smaller HDD and a DVD-RW instead of the Samsung's Bluray.

Decisions, decisions......

11th June 2012, 2:00 PM	#1
Jaffa_Cree Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 1,963	Asus U36SG any good Looking at getting a more portable 13" notebook and stumbled across this one. Seems the works for me considering the sub $1000 price Intel i5 2430 2.4ghz 4GB RAM 750GB HDD 13" 1 GB Nvidia 610M USB3 / HDMI 8 cell battery up to 10 hours 1.6 KG http://www.asus.com/Notebooks/Superior_Mobility/U36SG/ I would take the 10 hour battery life with a grain of salt, but overall it seems like a very decent spec. My only concern is would this overheat and what does it mean using a standard voltage CPU?

11th June 2012, 2:46 PM	#4
Menthu_Rae Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Northern Beaches, Sydney Posts: 6,140	I have the U36Jc and it is pretty damn awesome. The battery life is fairly spot on - it is possible to get 10hrs out of it. My typical usage nets me about 6-7hrs __________________ System Specs: i7 3770K, Noctua NH-U12P SE2, 32GB Corsair Vengeance LP DDR3-1600, ASUS P8Z77-V Premium, 2048MB Zotac GTX680, ASUS Xonar Essence One, 120GB/240GB Samsung 840 SSDs, 2x 3TB Toshiba HDDs [RAID1], 2x Zalman ZMMFC-1 Plus, Dell U3011 30" LCD, Creative T-40 Series II 2.0, LianLi PC-A71B, 8x Scythe SFF21G, 1kW Silverstone ST1000P. Over 50 Trades.

11th June 2012, 8:27 PM	#12
SuiCid3 Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: 2007 Posts: 2,798	I've got the U32SD. Awesome little thing. Weight is comparable to many of the ultrathin laptops but with the benefits of the faster processor. Battery life is awesome. It will generally last me throughout the entire work day doing basic, non-intensive tasks (7+ hours) __________________ 'To be pleased with one's limits is a wretched state' - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

11th June 2012, 3:41 PM	#9
Jaffa_Cree Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 1,963	i am nearly sold on this one any one can advise if the hdd is 7200 or 5400rpm? also what is the SSH drive? is that a solid state or normal sata?

21st June 2012, 9:15 PM	#15
sml_nail Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Newcastle, NSW Posts: 969	I'm in the market for a similar notebook and I'm torn between this Samsung from Computer Alliance and a DELL XPS 14z. The dell I've seen in person and has good build quality and is slightly heavier and more expensive along with a bigger screen. It does however have less RAM, smaller HDD and a DVD-RW instead of the Samsung's Bluray. Decisions, decisions......