ASUS U30Jc: Refining Thin and Light Performance

ASUS U30Jc: Two Steps Forward, Two Steps Sideways

First, let me make it clear that there's really a lot to like with the U30Jc. It has a great design aesthetic, it's fast enough for all but the most demanding users, and it delivers great battery life. There are faster laptops out there at the same price, but they inevitably fall short in other ways. For instance, the Acer 5740G has much faster graphics but battery life tanks. The Alienware M11x (with reasonable upgrades like 4GB RAM) has fast switchable graphics, but driver support is a lingering question and even an overclocked CULV will struggle at times. The U30Jc balances size, features, and battery life very well. So if it's not clear, the move to a Core i3/i5 platform and the improved build quality and design are the steps forward.

So what are the "sideways" steps? The first is the LCD, which remains of dubious quality at best. We've seen worse displays, true, but we've also seen many better displays. With a price of $900, it may be asking too much to get a decent LCD in the mix, but ask we shall! Next update, ASUS, please give us something like the G73Jh display, only smaller (or the 1001P display, only larger). The 1366x768 resolution is probably just about right for a 13.3" laptop, so at least we don't have to complain on that account… the 14" and 15.6" laptops with the same resolution are another story.

The other step sideways is the GPU. The ASUS ULxxVt models used a GeForce G210M, and while it was okay we definitely wanted something with a bit more oomph. 16 SPs… er… CUDA Cores with a 64-bit memory interface will easily outperform Intel's IGP (even the new Intel HD Graphics are far slower, let alone the old GMA 4500MHD), but that's like beating a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest. We really wanted at least 32 shader cores and a 128-bit interface—something like the N61Jv's GT325M would have been great. Of course, if you could get nearly everything the N61Jv offers in a 13.3" chassis, then we'd have no reason to even consider the 16" model. Anyway, ASUS claims that allocation of GT335M parts was too low to let them use that GPU back when the U30Jc was being designed; NVIDIA doesn't have much to say other than that faster mobile GPUs are readily available. We suspect NVIDIA is right and that ASUS decided not to go with a faster GPU in the U30Jc for whatever reason. So, in terms of graphics performance the G310M is "adequate" but nothing special. Optimus at least makes the inclusion of a discrete GPU a non-issue, provided you're running Windows 7.

To Intel's credit, their HD Graphics in Arrandale are generally more than twice as fast as the old GMA 4500, and we have to wonder what NVIDIA will do if/when Sandy Bridge comes out. If Intel can double the number of shader cores, increase the clock speed, and give their IGP more memory bandwidth they could easily close the gap. They still need to work out some driver issues, though, as we've encountered several games that refuse to run at all on Intel's IGPs (GRID, DiRT 2, Fallout 3, and Mass Effect 2 to name just a few we've encountered). [Update: As one reader pointed out, the latest Intel drivers fix GRID and DiRT 2; Fallout 3 is hard-coded to not like Intel it appears, and the hacked d3d.dll still crashes after 20-40 seconds for me. So they're better than a month ago but still need work.] The Intel IGP in the U30Jc does handle multimedia functions without difficulty, and having an NVIDIA GPU means you can also get accelerated Flash 10.1 support without worrying about Intel fixing their drivers. And that leads us into the final tally.

As a multimedia platform, the U30Jc truly excels. It can handle everything from standard 360p/480p Hulu Flash video up through 1080p H.264 content and never break a sweat. With its reasonably light weight and good battery life, it will work as a portable movie platform on long flights, or just for doing mundane business work all day without the need to search for an outlet. Even better is that the U30Jc can do all of this and still deliver an attractive chassis at a good price. The G310M won't be able to run every game on the planet acceptably (and likely we'll see some titles over the coming years that push graphics even harder), but it will run nearly everything at low to minimum detail at the native resolution.

If you have to pick between $750-$900 laptops these days, the final decision ultimately comes down to personal preference. Those looking for a laptop that offers good performance with all day battery life will find the U30Jc is right up their alley. Priced at around $900, it's at the higher end of the spectrum but some of the costs come from for the aluminum surfaces and inclusion of an Optimus enabled GPU. (Worth note is that the U30Jc is a popular laptop right now, so we've seen the Newegg price jump $20 just the past few days and other online retailers are backordered. Shop around if you're not in a hurry.)

If you're looking more at a gaming laptop, the Acer 5740G warrants a close look. Most sub-$1000 gaming laptops will deliver about half the battery life of the U30Jc but around twice the graphics horsepower. Just look for any laptop with a GT325M, GT330M, GT335M, or higher—or on the ATI side, the HD 5650 is a great performer with added features like DX11 support and performance that generally beats the GT335M. The same goes for the HD 5730 (and the HD 5750 and HD 5770 if anyone starts using them), although pricing tends to be in the $1000+ range for most of those laptops. You'll also be looking at 15.6" and larger laptops at that point, so for the 14" and smaller crowd the options are very limited.

Really, some of the toughest competition for ASUS comes from their previous offerings. Compared to the old UL30a and UL30Vt, the new U30Jc offers substantially more CPU performance and a better chassis than the glossy black models. The silver UL30Vt on the other hand looked just as nice. ASUS also adds an optical drive into the mix, and the price is now $900 compared to the $800 for the UL30Vt. The laptop weighs a bit more and is a bit thicker and gets slightly less battery life, so if you prefer a true thin and light you might want to look at the UL30Vt (which will likely fade away in the coming months). For those more interested in CPU performance and features, the U30Jc with Core i3 and Optimus graphics is a great buy and should keep you happy for several years to come.

We awarded the UL80Vt a Bronze Editors' Choice last year, and at this point the new U30Jc supersedes that recommendation and earns a Bronze Award as well. Both are still worthy of consideration, but we'd lean more towards the added performance and Optimus Technology in the U30Jc. A better LCD and GPU are the only things that keep this from taking home the Gold. If you're keeping track, the ASUS N61Jv, Eee 1001P, and G73Jh have all received Editors' Choice Awards in recent months. It's not that we're playing favorites, but ASUS' mobile division is managing to put out some very compelling products. Whether it's netbooks, ultraportables, thin and lights, multimedia, or even gaming notebooks, ASUS has some excellent laptops available right now at very reasonable prices.