Blog

Although ASUS has already announced some new gaming notebook models based on Intel’s Sandy Bridge and the company release ASUS U30S, which packs a Sandy Bridge Core i5-2410M processor, 8GB of RAM, NVIDIA’s 520M graphics with Optimus and a eight-cell 84Wh battery……..

Asus U30S packs a nice looking body, great features and the latest Intel SandyBridge hardware platform. All these make it a goody many would love having on their desks.Asus U30S is for sure a solid looking device. Covered in fancy charcoal aluminum, it’s both stylish and solid built. Lid cover bends only a tiny bit and screen hinges looks solid, unlike on other Asus notebooks we saw before. Inside, there’s the same aluminum finish, but the area around the screen is still made from glossy plastic so will scratch and catch fingerprints.Asus U30S measuring 1.3-1.4 inches in thickness and as for weight, it’s around 4.0 – 4.2 pounds.On the bottom part of this laptop you get easy access to both hard-drive and memory which is great if you plan for upgrades.As for trackpad, it comes with a smooth aluminum finish and is decently sized. Of course, it’s not as big as on a Macbook, but it’s enough to comfortably use it even for multi-gestures. Click button is fairly good as well, although separated buttons for right/left click would have been welcomed.

Specs:

• 13.3 inch LED backlit display, 1366 x 768 px resolution, glossy
• Core i5-2410M processor clocked at 2.3 GHz
• Intel HD Graphics + dedicated Nvidia 520M graphic chips
• 8 GB DDR3 memory
• 500 GB 7200 rpm hard-drive
• internal DVD-RW optical unit
• Wi-Fi N, Bluetooth 3.0, Gigabit LAN
• 3 x USB 2.0 slots, VGA, HDMI, audio, mic, card-reader, webcam
• 8 Cell 5600 mAh 84Wh battery
• Windows 7 Home Premium OS
• Weighs around 4-4.2 pounds (do not have a precision scale to actually measure the weight exactly)

Pretty standard 13.3 inch display on this laptop, LED backlit and with 1366 x 768 px resolution. Typical problems seem on most displays used on Asus laptops are present: glossy finish and glossy bezel around (although quite a narrow one), medium to poor viewing angles (although not as bad as on others, the U36J for instance) and the fact that the screen doesn’t bend to more than 130 degrees on the back, as the battery placement prevents it.Definitely the most important upgrade this Asus laptop brings is the new generation hardware inside, on Intel’s SandyBridge platform. There’s a powerful Core i5 processor clocked at 2.3 GHz with HyperThreading, 3 MB Cache memory and 35 Wh TDP. Plus the new generation graphics: Intel HD + Nvidia 520M + Optimus, just enough to get the extra punch in games and multimedia content. Add 8 GB of memory and a fast 7200 rpm hard-drive and you get a very nice mix.ontent and enough to actually run some games. Still, you do have to remember the 520M is an entry level mobile chipset from Nvidia so don’t expect wonders from it.

Pretty much all the things you would need on this one, except for 3G and USB 3.0 . While the first is not a common option on laptops anyway, the second should be on a device launched in 2011. Still, since this is an early sample, we can hope the final Asus U30S will get an USB 3.0 slot as well.As for the others, you get USB 2.0 slots, VGA, HDMI, mic and headphones, card-reader plus Wireless N, Gigabit Lan and Bluetooth 3.0, so pretty much what laptops offer as standard nowadays.There’s also an internal DVD-RW optical unit on this one, which is something we don’t find too often on laptops in this class. This laptop comes with Windows 7 Home Premium as default and of course a bunch of bloatware preinstalled. Luckily, thanks to that punchy hardware inside, those won’t really have any effect on everyday performance, but I do advice getting rid of them asap. Trend’s Micro antivirus solution, most of the Asus utilities and the Trials included are the ones to cut of first. But make sure you get a proper antivirus instead, like Avast or Windows Defender.

There’s an 8 Cell 5600 mAh 84 Wh battery inside this one, so you probably expect good battery life for the Asus U30S.No exact info on both availability or pricing for this one. Nor do we know if it’s going to reach the States or not with this particular name, as the U30S is a model meant for the European market.Asus targets the sub 1000 euros mark with this laptop, so that could be translated for around 1000 bucks in the US. Asus U30S is a proper 13.3 inch laptop for 2011. Solid built, stylish looking, powerful and with proper battery life.

The Pros:

• solid built exterior, encased in aluminum
• nice design
• good trackpad and keyboard
• top hardware and solid performances
• good battery life
• fast hard-drive
• internal optical unit
• very good speaker quality

The Cons:

• glossy screen and bezel around it
• no USB 3.0 slot
• a bit thick and heavy for a portable 13.3 inch laptop

Thanks

To Buy Click On Ads: