ASUS UL80Jt: Overclocked i3 ULV
by Vivek Gowri on November 17, 2010 1:15 PM ESTASUS UL80Jt Performance
So, here’s where we get into the real stuff. The UL80Jt has a 1.20 GHz Core i3-330UM that basically performs at half the speed of the 2.4GHz Core i3-370M currently shipping in the U30 and U33Jc. Logical, you say. Well, yes, but you’ll see why it’s not such a great trade off in a bit. But for now, let’s put it this way. In CPU benchmarks, the i3-330UM gives you 50% of the performance of the Core i3-370M and roughly 75% of what the i7-620UM will do. Compared to the trusty old CULV 1.30 GHz Core 2 Duo SU7300, you’re looking at a 20-30% advantage depending on benchmark.
ASUS’ Turbo33 mode gives it a bit more kick—the 33% overclock puts it almost on par with the i7 ULV processor, but still pretty far short of the regular i3. Here’s the thing though—given the amount of bloat ASUS puts on the notebook as is, you almost need to run it in Turbo33 mode in daily usage just to get decent performance out of it. Once you remove the bloat, it’s not too bad in 1.2 GHz mode, but it is noticeably slower in day to day usage when you’re switching to it from a regular Core i3 notebook. I went from the U33Jc straight to the UL80 and missed the extra performance on tap.
As with my last review, I’m gonna throw the Futuremark results at the bottom here for the guys that care about it. I’m not too sold on 3DMark and PCMark much anymore, I think there are more effective ways to measure performance. However, I do recognize that there are people that care for the numbers, so here they are.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
47 Comments
View All Comments
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!