Is this a good deal? Asus UL80

[Inspector Jihad]

http://www.amazon.com/UL80Ag-A1-Ligh...4473742&sr=1-6

i need a new laptop and i was considering this one.

 

[parim]

The processor is rubbish, i would go with some thing that has a P8XXX series processor from intel

 

[CurseTheSky]

The processor is actually very capable while still sipping power. It's a HUGE step up from Atom, which is missing a ton of features compared to other modern processors. It's just a down-clocked Core 2 Duo.

If you just want something for general use (word processing, Internet browsing, light gaming, etc.), the ASUS UL series is excellent. Unparalleled battery life, thin and light chassis, and decent build quality. If you need a LOT of processing power (video encoding, heavy gaming, etc.) look elsewhere.

 

[jimhsu]

Some perspective (using notebookcheck's 3dmark CPU scores:

Atom N280: 502
SU7300: 1163
P8700: 2231

Conveniently all these are offset by about 2x.

 

[Inspector Jihad]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16834115653

that was the other one i was considering. i could go with something with a more powerful processor but i need something just for internet, hulu, music and office. no gaming or anything. what do you guys think?

 

[Plester]

Acer Timeline is the bomb - build quality will be better than the Asus.

 

[Inspector Jihad]

Acer Timeline is the bomb - build quality will be better than the Asus.

yeha thats what i've heard. i played with a diff UL model at best buy and wasn't too impressed with it. so how would you guys think this processor compares to a pentium dual core t4200. my sister has that in her HP and it seems to be a pretty capable processor. is this one close to that?

 

[Inspector Jihad]

allrite, i'm going wiht the timeline.

 

[CurseTheSky]

After reading a few reviews, I heard that the Timeline build quality was actually worse. Who knows which is true - I haven't tried both. I will say that the screens in the UL series isn't that great (bad viewing angles, bad black levels), the track pad could be better, and the keyboard's keys have too short of a travel, but the chassis is way better than anything I've used personally in the past 5 years (two HPs, a Toshiba, and a different ASUS). My girlfriend's XPS M1530 seems about on par with it, and a friend's Lenovo and another friend's Sony do feel a bit better. It's definitely more solid than the several Inspirons I've used, two Acers I've tried (not Timelines), and an MSI netbook.

 

[Inspector Jihad]

After reading a few reviews, I heard that the Timeline build quality was actually worse. Who knows which is true - I haven't tried both. I will say that the screens in the UL series isn't that great (bad viewing angles, bad black levels), the track pad could be better, and the keyboard's keys have too short of a travel, but the chassis is way better than anything I've used personally in the past 5 years (two HPs, a Toshiba, and a different ASUS). My girlfriend's XPS M1530 seems about on par with it, and a friend's Lenovo and another friend's Sony do feel a bit better. It's definitely more solid than the several Inspirons I've used, two Acers I've tried (not Timelines), and an MSI netbook.

the keyboard flexes in the middle for the ULs i tried at best buy. it was pretty annoying. and there is a trackpad problem in many of them from teh reviews on newegg and amazon.

 

[LongTimePCUser]

The ul80vt battery lasts 12 hours.

If you plan to travel with a notebook and run off the battery, then the ul80vt is, by far, the best bet.

If you are doing games and running off plug-in, it also has a second gpu (nvidia) that will run most modern games. On battery, it runs off an Intel gpu for low power usage.

Build quality was a small issue with the first few shipped (squeaking keyboard) and low contrast lcd which seems to have been resolved in recent shipments. The one I received in
December has no squeaks and a very good, very bright lcd.

 

[Plester]

After reading a few reviews, I heard that the Timeline build quality was actually worse.

I am comparing a Timeline 3810 that my wife owns to a UL80 at a local shop and the timeline is without a doubt the better made machine.

 

[taltamir]

if you are looking to spend a lot more money for something with a really long battery life that is more powerful then a netbook, then this is your laptop of choice.
I wouldn't get the UL80, and instead get an i3 laptop. Having a battery life of 7 instead of 3.5 hours at the cost of being a tiny fraction of the speed doesn't appeal to me.