ASUS UL80Jt: Overclocked i3 ULV
by Vivek Gowri on November 17, 2010 1:15 PM EST
Back when ASUS released the UL80Vt last year, we gave it a glowing review, praising its balance of performance and battery life without breaking the bank. The UL80Vt had an overclocked Core 2 Duo SU7300, an NVIDIA G 210M with a manually switchable option, and ASUS’ now standard (for the U/UL series) 84Wh battery. This gave it pretty solid performance, on par with larger mainstream notebooks, and close to 13 hours of ideal-case battery life, even with Turbo33 mode enabled. Today, we’ve got the UL80Jt, an updated version running the new Core i3-330UM processor and NVIDIA’s Optimus-enabled G 310M graphics.
| ASUS UL80Jt-A1 Specifications | |
| Processor |
Intel Core i3-330UM (1.20GHz, 32nm, 3MB L2 cache, 18W) Overclockable to 1.60GHz |
| Chipset | Intel HM55 |
| Memory | 2x2GB DDR3-1066 |
| Graphics |
NVIDIA GeForce G 310M 1024MB (16SPs, 608/1468/1240 Core/Shader/RAM clocks) Intel HD Graphics (Optimus Switchable) |
| Display | 14.0" LED Glossy 16:9 768p (1366x768) |
| Hard Drive(s) | 500GB 5400RPM HDD (Seagate ST9500325AS) |
| Optical Drive | 8x DVDR SuperMulti |
| Networking |
Atheros AR8131 Gigabit Ethernet Atheros AR9285 BGN 56K Modem |
| Audio | HD Audio (2 stereo speakers with two audio jacks) |
| Battery | 8-Cell, 15V, 5600mAh, 84Wh battery |
| Front Side | None |
| Left Side |
Headphone/Microphone jacks 2 x USB HDMI VGA Cooling Exhaust AC Power connection |
| Right Side |
Optical Drive (DVDRW) Flash reader (MMC/MS/MS Pro/SD/xD) 1 x USB 2.0 Gigabit Ethernet |
| Back Side | None |
| Operating System | Windows 7 Home Premium |
| Dimensions | 13.5" x 9.6" x 1.1" (WxDxH) |
| Weight | 4.8 lbs (with 8-cell battery) |
| Extras |
Webcam 86-Key keyboard Flash reader (MMC/MS/MSPro/SD/xD) Multi-touch touchpad ExpressGate OS (8-second boot) |
| Warranty |
2-year global warranty 1-year battery pack warranty 1-year accidental damage 30-day zero bright dot LCD |
| Pricing | ASUS UL80Jt-A1 starting at $869 |
Like its predecessor, the UL80Jt is a thin and light 14” notebook, sharing the same dimensions and form factor. Not much has changed on the outside, as we’ll get to in a moment, but the insides are pretty different. The Core i3-330UM has a default clock speed of 1.20 GHz, and ASUS’ Turbo33 utility gives it a 33% overclock, raising the total to a much livelier 1.60 GHz. The i3, unlike its more expensive i5 and i7 brethen, does not benefit from Intel’s Turbo Boost technology, which will automatically adjusts clock speed for single or multi-threaded applications. The other change here is the not-so-new G 310M and the Optimus graphics switching technology. We’ve extensively covered both of these in the past, so I’ll just gloss over them in the intro and go more in-depth in the graphics performance section.
As for the rest of the specs, we’ve got a 1366x768 resolution 14” screen, 4GB memory, 500GB hard drive, 2.4 GHz wireless-G, and that glorious 84Wh 8-cell battery. What’s interesting to note is that there is no Bluetooth to be found here, even with an $869 pricetag. We'll have to see if the revised UL80 can top the equally well rounded and more powerful U30Jc that also earned our Bronze Editor’s Choice award.
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mschira - Wednesday, November 17, 2010 - link
One of the more revealing side notes here is on the Nvida 310M - it's simply old and slow, with integrated GPUs on it's heel.I am ready to forgive an ultra thin/ light and notebook such as reviewed here not having a good GPU.
But the real problem is NO current 13" notebook (except the SONY z-series) has anything better than the 310M.
I am looking for a new laptop with an acceptable dedicated GPU, but there simply in none.
M.
scook9 - Wednesday, November 17, 2010 - link
Even more sad....look up the specs, the 310m IS the 210mThey changed NOTHING but the name...no new features, no die shrink, no additional sp's NOTHING
VivekGowri - Wednesday, November 17, 2010 - link
Basically this. The G 310 was a viable graphics chip at the very beginning of the i3 generation, but at this point it's a sad caricature of a dGPU. Between the 210 and the 310, they really haven't done much other than add some of the new 300M technologies; the core is still exactly the same.This is why we can't wait for them to update these things to the GT 415M....
mschira - Wednesday, November 17, 2010 - link
Come ON. Nvidia changed the NAME, what more do you want?M.
Dustin Sklavos - Wednesday, November 17, 2010 - link
One difference, actually: the 310M supports Optimus, the 210M does not.VivekGowri - Wednesday, November 17, 2010 - link
That's part of what I was referring to as "adding the new 300M tech", but interestingly enough, the first Optimus notebook ran off the G 210M. I was talking to Jarred about this the other day; here's the link.http://www.anandtech.com/show/2934/nvidia-optimus-...
Thermogenic - Thursday, November 18, 2010 - link
Take a look at the Alienware M11x - it uses a 335M, but only has an 11" screen.fokka - Thursday, November 18, 2010 - link
if you want a 13" machine with decent gfx-power, get the acer 3820. it has a ati 5650 inside which should be even better then the downclocked 330m in the vaio z series. only downside is the lack of an optical drive, if you need one.Evil_Sheep - Wednesday, November 17, 2010 - link
I think this review makes it clear that the current-gen ULV is a big disappointment...even the last gen ULV was preferable. The small jump in performance isn't worth it when the last-gen ULV gets at least 50% more battery life.I also can't understand why Asus has crippled the UL80Jt with slower GPU memory than the U30. What were they thinking? Was it worth saving a couple bucks?
Anyway it doesn't matter because the next generation of Asus U-series notebooks (with GT400M-series GPU's) is already on its way, if you can wait a little bit longer.... http://www.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=zSxiiUUgbhKS...
hybrid2d4x4 - Thursday, November 18, 2010 - link
Sweet! Thanks for that link. Good to see they are moving on from that useless 310. I just hope they have a SKU with a matte screen, then they might finally have me as a customer!