hi there, i thought of opening a new thread rather than posting in recommendation thread.

lately i noticed there are demand in buying a 14" laptop that gives 8hours or more battery life (kudos to Acer for starting this trend).

and so i thought of buying one of those with a budget of RM2900~3000.

currently im looking at:

1. Acer Timeline 4810TG (C2D SU9400, 320GB harddisk, 2GB DDR3 RAM, ATI Mobility 4330, Vista Home Premium)

2. Asus UL80V (C2D SU7300, 320GB Harddisk, 2GB DDR3 RAM, Nvidia Geforce 210M, Vista Home Premium)

3. Dell Inspiron 14z (C2D SU7300, 320GB hard disk, 3GB DDR3 RAM, ATI Mobility 4330, Vista Home Premium)

which is better among all 3? i can't seem to choose.

Points:
1. Dell has the best aftersales service, but only 1 year warranty until i can stretch the budget.
2. Asus has Turbo33 Technology which overclocks the processor to 1.73Ghz from 1.3Ghz, and faster graphic card (Geforce 210m).
3. Acer is more business oriented. looks bland, but it does fine to me w/o all that glossy fingerprint stuffs (Asus and Dell is glossy iianm)
4. Windows 7, yeah i can wait for the windows 7 version of these laptops, just that i need early preparation on which to choose.
5. performance between these laptops.

i need feedbacks. afterall, CULV laptops with 14" are still new in the market.

This post has been edited by cloudstrife07: Oct 12 2009, 03:20 AM

do u really need so much battery life???

5hours battery life should be enough unless u want use ur lappy in jungle or any place that dont have any electricity like south african...

Between all of the laptops that you listed...i would go for Asus UL80V...the second one would be Timeline 4810TG (as i tested the unit before and can handle multiple task pretty well, dun really know about Dell & Asus)...

They say 8 hours battery only, but after u run a lot of applications, only last 4-5 hours. 8 hours means ur laptop is not running anything, it has to be sleeping.

No la..i've tested Aspire Timeline 3810T (which is an older version of Timeline series), really can last almost 7 hours (which is unbelievable) doing work, listening to mp3s and also some internet surfing ...

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Added on October 12, 2009, 10:55 amIf sleeping, then even my S42 can last almost 15 hours ..

This post has been edited by miahahaha: Oct 12 2009, 10:55 AM

yes i do need it nowadays as i'm helping my mom doing her business. having to search power socket now and then for presentation or for showing her customer her business stuffs in the laptop is quite irritating sometimes to me and her. and no, i dont want to squint my eyes so no 10" netbooks.

and who knows, maybe that loooooonnnggg battery life has its other use

im leaning towards the Asus, but then yeah, people owning that Dell and Asus is nowhere to be found here, except 1, jeremy0 who is owning the Asus UL80V.

i do agree it last 4~5 hours if you're constantly viewing HD movies or playing games. most of the reviews i saw on the net said that 8 hours is achievable. they even test it like a normal user; on the wifi, constantly surfing on flash webpages, some movies, download etc and they got it up to 7 hours++ which is pretty interesting.

well, basically i dun see the pt in overclocking for a CULV, since the most important thing abt them is low power consumption and not performance...

moreover conventionally, ATi GPU produces better colour compared to Nvidia, and easier when dealing with HD videos... that may help since u're dealing with presentations...

Maybe you can choose Timeline 4810TG lor...others i cannot tell you how's the performance but for 4810TG, i can assure you that 6 hours ++ is achievable ..and like you need, less hassle to look for power socket next time you helping your mother with her business..

well, atleast when u need more performance than usual, u can just OC it. i heard even after OC, that UL80V still has considerably long battery life for an overclocked laptop.

yup, that's the main point, less hassle to look for power socket everytime.

any other inputs, preferably from users themselves?

i heard from my fren that 22nd of october 2009, ASUS UL80Vt come together with Windows 7 home premium (64bit)....u better wait

all laptops will come with Win7 starting from 22 Oct...

that's the official launch date of Win7.. .

that y i ask him wait 22nd october 1st...

u buy now also got free upgrade from Asus wat...

i ask already..need pay shipping cost ler...

Yup..certain brands need to pay for shipping cost (as far as i know HP & Acer)...well,like you said, better wait for it to pre-install with 7

buy 1 more extra battery

i recently purchase 3810T. i must said the performance has nothing to shout about. but i define mobile as in light weight and long lasting battery, which i really appreciate wat acer 3810T providing.

it's like your handphone. u charge at nite while u r sleeping. then next day bring ur laptop together with u without the charger and use all day long. then recharging the battery again at nite and so forth..

but charge for many hours also not good for battery....

Acer is more business oriented. looks bland

how about wait for benq s43? design better a bit though..

bro, maybe you don't realise that the power adapter come with acer timeline does automatically stop the charging process once the battery is 100% full. it doesn't affect the battery life. in fact, battery life is shortern when someone power the laptop with adapter and charging battery at the same time. it's due to the heat generated during charging while laptop is being used. google u will find the answer

This post has been edited by klkuee: Oct 15 2009, 12:26 AM

me too still deciding between acer 4810tg n asus ul80vt..heres some pros n cons i am concern:

Acer Pros
1. SU9400 (any big difference in performance compared to SU7300 at default clock speed?)
2. 1.3mp webcam
3. Touchpad

Acer Cons
1. Small arrow keys
2. Lower cell battery
3. Paint on the palm rest area looks like will discolor after sometime


Asus Pros
1. Sony vaio lookalike keyboard with normal size arrow keys
2. Higher cell battery and its claim 12 hrs usage (should at least beable to last 1-2 hrs more than acer?)
3. Design and build looks better than acer

Asus Cons
1. 0.3mp webcam
2. Asus using atheros single band 2.4ghz wireless card compare to acer using intel 5100 dual band 2.4ghz/5ghz (read from another forum some u.s users are experiencing connection drop with their ul30 altho different model but ul80 also using the same wireless card)

This post has been edited by sianlang: Nov 8 2009, 06:08 AM

i can tell u, Atheros adapters are better than Intel 5100...

heard too many connection problem with that... 5300 is better though...

i guess the drop connection could be the 1 antenna in the ul30 hopefully its not the same in ul80 (owners of the ul80 can confirm this?)..still the atheros they used r single band which makes it unable to utilize the 5ghz on my dlink 855

guys

acer timeline baterry liked 8 hours

really can tahan 8 hours meh??

I just bought an Asus UL80VT few days ago. Of course I tested the battery life and charging time. So here is it:

The battery lasted for 7.5 hours. Here's what I did full time, the laptop didn't sleep:
- softwares installation (was setting up things to use later), this include reading from CD/DVD
- transfering tons of files from my old desktop using LAN
- played few minutes of DotA, just to test the IGP 4500HD (Quiet Office mode)
- convert/compress several short videos to send to my handphone via bluetooth
- my Winamp was running all the time
- fixing some photo, or making some wallpapers with Photoshop
- also restarted several times, since after some software installations need to restart.

Then for charging (laptop tuenrd off), it just took 1 hours 50 minutes.

This post has been edited by M1X: Nov 9 2009, 04:39 AM

That's why I'm contemplating on either UL80VT, or just wait for the next big thing to arrive..hahah..Which I have no idea when or what model..

---

Added on November 9, 2009, 6:17 amOr should I just get a computer with almost same specs(of course better processor) and add another battery?

This post has been edited by killz23: Nov 9 2009, 06:17 AM

The UL80VT CPU speed can reach 2.1GHz when you use Max Performance mode (the heat... of course). I thought it only reach 1.7GHz, but just now I read with CPU-Z software, it tells me 2.1GHz instead...

Anyway, it can beat a standard laptop's T4300 2.1GHz easilly (on a cheap laptop) that my sister bought a week earlier.

what's the level of brightness lcd?

I guess processor speed doesn't really matter to me, because no matter how fast, I only use it for internet surfing, assignments, and maybe some autocad in the future because I'm in engineering degree..

So should I get cheaper lappie with good performance + additional battery or UL80VT? For student..

u wouldn't want to take an extra battery along... it's heavier than u expect...

if u want both performance and battery life, perhaps Asus U80V... C2D T6500 with HD4570, 14" @ 2.1kg (light for a regular 14" laptop), and users report abt 5hrs of batt life...

@astria, according john_jay2, now u80v comes with g105m.

This post has been edited by lee_what2004: Nov 9 2009, 08:38 AM

WAT... THE... CRAP!!!

that's is so utterly lame...

the legend of U80V is no more...

seems like its u50vg that change from g105m to hd4570

Erm...So is that considered downgrade? hhaa..

I just need a good-looking laptop with good performance...5hrs + doesn't seem that long to me..Can last whole day in school ar?

well, in that case UL80Vt seems to be ur only choice if u dun want netbooks...

No other cheaper brands with similar specs?

unless you want forget the nvidia g210m and use su4100 instead su7300.
acer aspire 4810TZ, rm 1999.

This post has been edited by lee_what2004: Nov 9 2009, 09:14 AM

well, SU4100 is fine... main difference with SU7300 is that lack of Virtualization Technology...

other than that, they both have same spec (1.3GHz, 3MB L2 cache, 800MHz FSB)

It doesn't really matter for the graphics card..I don't use it for gaming anyway..How's acer's quality now?

People always complaint that acer has the worst quality control ever.

well, there also no turbo33 for the acer.

quality wise, acer has really improved.

even the acer they say bad, mine still alive after 3 years

This post has been edited by lee_what2004: Nov 9 2009, 09:19 AM

i think it's fine with out the overclock... afterall CULV sells battery life, not performance...

Yeah..I don't need SUPER powerful laptop..I don't play games..

I need decent processor, decent ram, small thin and light and goodlooking , decent graphics enough to do autocad and won't lag too badly, light and has long battery life. And webcam too, because I very lazy wana install external webcam..

one more, according to Fritz chess benchmark, 1.4GHz su9400 is little bit faster than mine 1.73GHz t2250

well, its the autocad part, I don't think culv would do well

This post has been edited by lee_what2004: Nov 9 2009, 09:23 AM

why Asus UL* series notebook dun hv kensington lock? i wanted to buy but i need to the lock when i bring to office.

Hahah..processor so fast, for someone who doesn't game, does it make any significant difference?

not really, only when cpu intensive, the difference will show.

What stuffs are considered CPU intensive?

What about Asus EEE1005 HA? Seems like really good also, albeit it's a netbook and no DVD writer..Hmmm...I don't use my DVD writer very often, but sometimes I do need it (watch drama:p)...

AH! some many choices..If only can get UL80V at a better price..You guys think after christmas will have discounts?

I choose UL80VT over U50VG because the stock shipped last week, U50VG equipped with G105M... Crappy, isn't it. But it cost RM3400+!! WHile UL80VT just RM2999 (I heard KL there RM2899? Whatever..)

About the LCD brightness, I just use about 20%. Because it give me the best image/colour display possible. I working on graphics, so too right or too dark will posses in-accurate artworks...

UL80VT all the way, it's the best gift... LOL... If I got money I would buy both the UL80VT, one for my friend! (They only shipped 2 units into Kuching!!!)

This post has been edited by M1X: Nov 9 2009, 09:34 AM

sure you want to stare at 10'' the whole time? watching movies is better on larger screen

Ohhh...Wait..U50VG used to ship with a different graphics card? hahaha..don't confuse me with graphic cards here..hahaa..I don't really know which is which..

now got confusion on u80v and u50vg
u80v used to hd4570, now using g105m
u50gv used to g105m, now using hd4570.
need to see confirmation

U50Vg - G 105M
UL80Vt - G 210M

UL80Vt wins...

well, for autocad, a decent CPU is needed... UL80Vt is still ur best choice as u can overclock if u need the extra power for ur work, and back to normal when u dun need it... the dedicated GPU is also helpful for autocad as well...

i think M1X said it's 7.5hrs on UL80Vt even with ocerclock rit???

Really?

Netbook can use for Autocad ar? hahaha..Must be weird lo liddat

I just read reviews for the Acer...Many people complaing the performance is only sub-par..I guess you cannot judge performance from specs alone huh?

So UL8Vt is best choice by far right? No HP or dell to compete?

his talking about the ul80vt, not the asus netbook.

well, how much are your expecting from non-performance notebook under 2k

if considering the turbo33 factor, no other brand still can compete.

This post has been edited by lee_what2004: Nov 9 2009, 09:52 AM

About the overclock thing, I really unsure! Other software like Everest and PassMark reads only 1GHz while I running Quite Office mode, but CPU-Z reads 2.1GHz all the way (I think CPU-Z more thrust worthly, cuz 1GHz is logically really slow. Plus, it not logic that I can play GRiD over 1GHz on Entertainment mode...)

And... I ran 2.1GHz during my battery test session?! Posted 7.5 hours?! That's INSANE!

Also, note that G210M supports Nvidia CUDA, while G105M not. Do AutoCAD software banefits from CUDA? If yes, then it a real nice choice to choose laptop with CUDA supports. It can speed up process tremendously.

This post has been edited by M1X: Nov 9 2009, 10:02 AM

I know..I mean if use netbook, can use autocad on it? haha..that'll be funny..

Average student notebook enough lar..but looks good the best..haha..

But I thought would at least NOT die every now and then on the user ma..If liddat, i'd rather cough out some extra dough to get better lo..haha..

What's turbo33? THe overclock thingy?

yeah, the overclock.

Since I can switch the overclock on and off, then it'll be great whenever I wana do my assignment or just surf the net...

Is this a proprietory technology?

not sure, but so far, no other brand using it

not really...

Asus juz make it easier to overclock using softwares...

there are tonnes of software to overclock in the Internet, juz that it requires some settings, and may be intimidating to those who ve no idea wat is FSB, HT, multiplier, etc...

---

Added on November 9, 2009, 10:07 amseriously, u wouldn't want netbook for serious work... as the name suggests, it's ok for Net surfing and basic office works...

more over 10" screen for autocad?? ?that's juz too small...

This post has been edited by astria: Nov 9 2009, 10:07 AM

perhaps the same with the turbo on msi gaming notebook

officially speaking, G 210M do not support CUDA becuz of Nvidia's new policy of CUDA for mobile cards...

in the latest Forcware for mobile from Nvidia, u'll see that it writes CUDA is only for those GPU with 32SP and 256MB RAM... so the minimal for each generation of cards would be GeForce 8600M GT, GeForce 9500M GS, GeForce GT 120M and GeForce GT 220M...

of course, u can always bypass that with modded driver.. .

---

Added on November 9, 2009, 10:10 amshould be, but MSI is more convenient... there's a button on the laptop itself to do the work...

This post has been edited by astria: Nov 9 2009, 10:10 AM

Hmm, I don't get it. The Power4Gear actually simply just changes some other things (not CPU and FSB speed). FOr example switching between IGP and discrete graphic, and switching between passive or active cooling... etc.

THere IS a turbo button but I didn't tried it yet. Hmm, perhaps I try it now, it require restart though.

it changes the fsb to gain 1.73GHz
the turbo button perhaps is express gate button.

This post has been edited by lee_what2004: Nov 9 2009, 10:16 AM

Ugh...some technical terms flying around..Confused dy....Why can't you guys just conclude and say like, "Asus UL80V is better because the software beats MSI"...Instead of GPU D200203M is faster by 30% with Dual-threading technology edging past MSI which has Gforce N3094823AP with 1.39939KGHz processor running Triple-Multiple-Threading technology...

conclusion: Asus UL80VT

HAHAHAHAHA, NOW I FINALLY UNDERSTAND !!!!

SInce the first day I bought this laptop, it ALREADY running on TURBO mode! THe red "ON" button actually is the STATUS, not the button to turn ON turbo mode... LOL!!!

Now I turned OFF the turbo, and the CPU roll back to 1.7GHz. So UL80VT REALLY topped 7.5 hours on OVERCLOCKED stat!!! So, reaching 0ver 10 hours on normal stat IS REALLY POSSIBLE!!

This post has been edited by M1X: Nov 9 2009, 10:22 AM

source
@M1X, did yours come with rubberized palm rest?

well, u probably will need to understand some of these terms in order to maximise the performance of the laptop...

anyway, my pick is still Asus UL80Vt, mainly becuz:
1) less than rm3k
2) super long battery life
3) CPU can be overclocked by 33% to provide more performance for ur work
4) the dedicated G 210M can provide some degree of hardware acceleration for ur work, and still allow u to play games, mostly at mid settings...

---

Added on November 9, 2009, 10:24 amtry battery saving mode and see how far u ca go...

This post has been edited by astria: Nov 9 2009, 10:24 AM

Yes, all palm rest are plastic. Only the LCD lid is alluminium.

So... On turbo mode, the CPU top 2.1GHz with 1066FSB
On normal mode, the CPU hit around 1.7GHz with FSB around 820MHz...

I gonna checkout the temperature later... Yeah I gonna test the battery later!!!

This post has been edited by M1X: Nov 9 2009, 10:26 AM

plastic, that means glossy body?
rubberized palm rest should mean no glossy fingerprint-friendly

I didn't see any finger or palm print on my laptop though, the quality is good with unique "techy" style pattern, it not just bland surface. Maybe it vary on different models?

But of course, I wipe it some times cuz dust getting in my way... lol

---

Added on November 9, 2009, 10:36 amI gonna turn off my laptop a while to charge the battery little bit (don't mistaken, I ran this laptop since yesterday without plug in the battery. Cuz I don't like playing games with battery plugged in.)

This post has been edited by M1X: Nov 9 2009, 10:36 AM

perhaps,
glossy notebook is hard to maintain

So UL80V can last over 10 hours?? hahaha..

I'm so tempted to push the Buy button now...

Hahaha I still on the testing. But the reading now shows 9 hours (it not really accurate anyway). Now trying to get the stupid LAN going online to start transfer file from my old PC to laptop... argh why not running?!

This post has been edited by M1X: Nov 9 2009, 11:42 AM

Yeah..I don't trust those battery bars too..

My BenQ R43 supposedly can run 4 hours on a full charge, but once i surf the net and watch some videos, the laptop will be dead in 45 mins or less..

LOL, watching movie actually cost more battery power. I'm running BLUETOOTH now, and I think it gonna eat lots of battery. No choice, my sister took my phone USB cable, the only way I can get online now is via Bluetooth... DUH~

Use Bluetooth to get online??

How you do that??

Eh, UL80V doesn't have bluetooth right? Or should I say, need to pay more to add that into the package..

UL series don't have bluetooth
but ULxxVT got bluetooth

I believe he tethering internet connection from his phone using Bluetooth. It will eat battery life faster but since UL series has almost 10 hours battery life, it's not so much as a problem. Probably the phone battery will run out first.

Alamak, with wireless device (bluetooth) turned on, the battery falling quite fast... THis is gonna be a bad test...

Of course the phone battery runs out quick... I charge it continuesly... I gonna get my USB cable back from my sister... THe laptop battery drop quick too, since it also running bluetooth... DUH

Let see... I started the battery test on 11:20 (the battery only charged to 98%), now is 12:12, battery now left 87%... Don't think it gonna make it over 10 hours if continuesly using bluetooth... CRAP~ I gonna phone my sister to get my USB back tomorrow.

This post has been edited by M1X: Nov 9 2009, 12:18 PM

Phuuu...how many hours past?Batt stats?

Despite the core clock now is much lower, the voltage still stays on 0.88v... SO the temperature still the same... Hmm... SO maybe in logic, we could just leave the laptop overclocked...

Then the batt life is only 7.5+ hours at max?

Not sure, wireless stuff usually eat more battery. If you just doing office work (not play the Facebook of course), it might last longer. Still testing, and DC (disconnect) frequently -_______-

Guess I just continue my Photoshop work

This post has been edited by M1X: Nov 9 2009, 12:45 PM

Ahhh...

How ler...Hard to decide now...Sigh...

decide between?
ul80vt with 2 battery?

This post has been edited by lee_what2004: Nov 9 2009, 01:03 PM

Hahahaha UL80VT uses 8 cell battery, I heard it also tweaked by Asus so the total power stored is higher than usual. Yes, 8 cell. And the battery span from the left to the right side if the laptop, very long.

If you try to hold a smaller Ul like UL30 and UL20, the battery probably even heavier than the laptop alone!

This post has been edited by M1X: Nov 9 2009, 01:13 PM

should be 84mW

... battery report : 2 hours 23 minutes usage : 28% ...

I am so sleepy now, already over 24 hours didn't sleep... Maybe I continue this test after I get a nap later... Heehee

ul80vt owners can post a detailed spec of their set? want to confirm what we are getting n compare with the acer 4810tg(assuming sg will be getting the same specs as my)

Acer:

Intel Core 2 Duo SU9400 1.4GHz
4GB DDR3-800 (2 DIMMs)
Chipset Intel GS45 Express
Integrated Intel GMA 4500MHD with 64MB dedicated memory & ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330 512MB DDR3 VRAM
14" TFT with WXGA (1366x768) resolution and LED backlight
500GB 2.5" 5,400-RPM hard drive
Ports 3x USB 2.0 1x VGA 1x HDMI 1x RJ45 1x headphone 1x mic
Cardreader 1x SD/SDHC/MMC/MS/MSPRO/xD
Intel Wireless WiFi Link 5100 & Gigabit Ethernet
Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR
Camera 1.3 megapixel webcam
Dimensions 338.4 (W) x 240 (D) x 24-28.9 (H) mm
Weight 1.9 kg
Battery 6-cell Li-Ion 56Wh

SG$1598 (during the sep IT expo)

This post has been edited by sianlang: Nov 9 2009, 01:55 PM

The acer's only available in Asia?

UL80VT

Intel SU730 1.3GHz (uh, running 1.7GHz minimum though, capable overclock to 2.1GHz)
2Gb DDR3 1066 (1 DIMM only, another slot is empty)
Chipset Intel GS45
IGP GMA4500HD / Nvidia G210M 512Mb GDDR3 790MHz
l4" 16:9 wide LED 1366x768 backlit
DVD-RW
Seagate 300GB 5400rpm HDD
USB 3x, VGA 1x, HDMI 1x, RJ45 1x, Headphone 1x, Mic 1x
Card Reader (as usual all those types are supported)
Intel WiFi Link 1000 BGN
Atheros AR8131 PCIe gagabyte ethernet
Bluetooth
0.3Mp cam (crap? lol)
DImension 13.5 x 9.6 x 1.1 inch
Weight 4.8 lbs / 2.17 Kg
Battery 8-cell 84Wh

Accessories : Asus mouse, Wire-tie, carry-bag

RM 2999 (some people says RM2899) - With Windows 7 Home Premium

RM 2799 - Without Windows 7 Home Premium

This post has been edited by M1X: Nov 9 2009, 02:21 PM

thx alot m1x for the info seems like we getting the taiwan version...i wont say crap on the webcam but why asus had to cheapskate on this is really...

Because the LCD really toooooooo damn thin, less than 0.2 inch... Maybe?

... battery report ... 3 hours 18 minutes usage : 38% ...

ah well, but it helps to save on bandwidth when doing video conference...

using a 1.3MP webcam now, but it's still laggy over here in Australia whenever i connect to Singapore or Hong Kong...