Asus UL30A-A1
Notebook Specifications
Notebook: Asus UL30A-A1 (UL Series)Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo SU7300
Graphics Adapter: Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 4500MHD
Display: 13.3 inch, 16:9, 1366x768 pixels, glossy: yes
Weight: 1.9kg
Price: 700 euro
Average of 2 scores (from 3 reviews)
Reviews for the Asus UL30A-A1
Source: CNet
Whether CULV thin-and-light laptops will ever fully find a spot between the Netbook world and the full-featured laptop world, they are most definitely a category that's growing every day. Dropping an optical drive and throwing a low-voltage processor alongside a long-lasting battery is the trend of 2009, although the low-voltage laptops we've seen so far have often sacrificed either build quality, performance, or value-for-dollar. If you're in the market for an affordable thin-and-light, the Asus UL30A-A1 provides great value and a solid Core 2 Duo CULV processor in an attractive package.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 09/30/2009
Rating: Total score: 80%
Source: PC Mag
The consumer ultra-low voltage (CULV) processor revolution is about to quiet all the buzz netbooks have created in the laptop category. CULV processors favor battery life and don't necessarily come with optical drives—just like netbooks. I've seen a bunch of CULV-based laptops already, starting with the MSI X340 (021US) and Acer Timeline AS3810T. But so far, the ASUS UL30A-A1 is my favorite.The ASUS UL30A-A1 is an amazing ultra-thin laptop that gives 10 hours of battery life for less than what everyone else is charging.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 09/24/2009
Rating: Total score: 90%
Source: Computer Shopper
Not since the HP Pavilion dv2-1030us have we seen an under-$800 fully functional ultraportable, so the $799 Asus UL30A-A1 is a welcome addition to the category. The 13-inch 3.7-pound Asus UL30A-A1 is a low-cost, highly portable notebook with good looks and decent performance. We define an “ultraportable” as a notebook weighing less than four pounds, and typically, they have 12.1-inch screens, but since this one makes that weight requirement, it falls into ultraportable territory, with the extra inch of screen real estate as a bonus. With marathon-level battery life, this is one of the most portable notebooks we’ve seen. Its performance lags, but its $799 price puts it ahead of the pricey ultraportable pack.
Single Review, online available, Long, Date: 09/01/2009
Rating: price: 80% performance: 80% mobility: 95%
Comment
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator (GMA) 4500MHD: Onboard (shared Memory) GPU built in the GM45, GE45 and GS45 chipset (Montevina). Because of two more shaders and a higher core clock, much faster than the old GMA X3100. Still not advisable for gamers (DirectX 10 games not playable or only with very low settings). The integrated video processor is able to help decode HD videos (AVC/VC-2/MPEG2) , e.g., for a fluent Blu-Ray playback with slow CPUs.
Lower end of Graphics Cards for users who want to play games. New games should run on these cards, but only with decreased details and mediocre resolution.
>> Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Graphics Cards and the corresponding Benchmark List.
Intel Core 2 Duo: This is the Core Duo and Core Solo successor with a longer pipeline and 5-20% more speed without more power consumption. As an addition to the Core Duo design there exists a fourth decoder, an amplified SSE-unit and an additional arithmetical logical unit (ALU).
The Core 2 Duo for laptops is identical to the desktop Core 2 Duo processors but the notebook-processors work with lower voltages (0.95 to 1188 Volt) and a lower Frontside bus clock (1066 vs 667 MHz). The performance of equally clocked notebooks is 20-25% lower than Desktop PCs because of the lower Frontside bus clock and the slower hard disks.
SU7300:
>> Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Processsors.
13.3": This is a common display format for subnotebooks. Netbooks, UMPC and some subnotebooks have tinier displays. Nevertheless, the majority of standard laptops has a higher format. The advantage of a small display is, that the subnotebook can be small dimensioned and can be carried easily. Further the small display needs few energy, which improves the battery runtime and in consequence the mobility. The disadvantage is that the reading of texts is a bit exhausting for the eyes, especially with high resolutions.
>> To find out how fine a display is, see our DPI List.
1.9 kg: These sub-notebooks weight less than the average of all notebooks, but represent a heavier class of weight among the sub-notebooks. 12 inch displays are normal for this class of weight.
Asus: ASUSTeK Computer Incorporated, a Taiwanese multinational company, produces motherboards, graphics cards, optical drives, PDAs, computer monitors, notebook computers, servers, networking products, mobile phones, computer cases, computer components, and computer cooling systems. The company's 2007 revenues reached US$6.9 billion. ASUS also produces components for other manufacturers. The Eee PC initiated the netbook boom in 2008.
85%: This rating is to be considered as average, because the amount of notebooks with better ratings is about equal like the amount with worse ratings.
>> Further information can be found in our Notebook Purchase Guide.
