CULV laptop choices

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velocitytrap

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I'm been looking at the CULV laptops waiting for them to mature a bit more before I picked one up but it seems that they have been pretty slow to come out with new models. I'm looking for something with very high resolution and long batter life. I spend most of my time on word or excel so I want to have a high resolution to fit more on the screen. As for power I need basic web browsing and youtube maybe flash but no gaming.

I saw this MSI X-Slim X340 which is ultra portable but small battery and only a core solo has me looking else where. The biggest issue I have with a lot of these laptops is the glossy screen. I would have to have a matte screen. I also saw the new ASUS UL80VT which I liked but anyone know of anything better?

Suggestions?
 
My sister bought the UL50Vt upon my recommendation and she's very pleased with it... Tho originally I mentioned the UL80Vt, she ended up liking the 15" size better since it's her primary/only system while in college, studying engineering. ASUS has a pretty good warranty and the hybrid graphics plus 8-cell battery (+BIOS overclock option) are nice perks that most other CULV laptops lack...

Personally I'm waiting for an i3/i5 CULV laptop w/USB 3.0 before I upgrade from my netbook, tho I've been tempted by the UL30 and some of the smaller 11.6" Acer Timeline models.
 
i love my DM3T with the SU7300

i use it for almost everything




i would love to get a i5 ULV notebook at sometime with optimus or AMD comparable tech
 
DM3T with SU4100 reporting in. I was afraid the CULV cpus would be too slow or sluggish to my taste however I was wrong. I feel like I can use it for almost anything (besides gaming and heavy encoding).

It feels as snappy as my other laptop with a T6500.
 
the DM3T got a pretty scathing review on engadget. (really terrible screen, and really terrible touchpad)
unless they've revised those issues i'd go with an acer 1410 or asus UL.

damn shame lenovo didnt make the X100 a culv laptop
 
I couldn't find anything that would rival the power of UL30VT while keeping at least 50% of it's battery life.

If you want matte screen Vostro V13 might be your only hope but in Poland it costed 150 euro more than UL30VT while having non overclocked cpu, only intel IGP instead of gf210+intel and half of battery life so i gotten Asus in the end.
 
So I've been searching the web and came up with what I think are a few of the top contenders with a few comments. Not all laptops are CULV but all are ultraportable. I haven't seen the DM3T so thanks for the input I'll look that up.

Dell Envy 13" - glossy screen
Dell Adamo - battery doesn't last long
Voodoo Envy - expensive ($2000), way thin, 2gigs ram max. glossy screen
ASUS UL30VT - probably best bet so far @ $750, glossy screen
Acer 3820TG - This is another good one. Think the battery doesn't last long though.
Vaio Z - expensive
MSI X-Slim X420

It looks like there is a move toward the i-processors and away from CULV. Maybe due to more power hungry users or short supplies?
 
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It's just the new hotness, so new models are gonna gravitate towards that obviously... Eventually we'll have some CULV-class i3/i5 processors that are clocked slower than current offerings and are (hopefully) more power efficient, that's what I'm really waiting for ('sides USB 3.0).
 
omega-x said:
the DM3T got a pretty scathing review on engadget. (really terrible screen, and really terrible touchpad)
unless they've revised those issues i'd go with an acer 1410 or asus UL.

damn shame lenovo didnt make the X100 a culv laptop
Click to expand...

You are right. The screen is not so great but not too terrible. The touchpad however it just plain horrible. Overall I would been more happy if they just remove it and leave me without the Alps touchpad. I been using the logitech nano mouse to get by.

Overall though I enjoy the laptop. The magnesium chassis and sleek design. If only it had e-sata... But its all good. My desktop is my main system and the laptop is just for school.
 
Speaking honestly Asus UL screen is also below average and touchpad is only "acceptable".
 
I've had a UL30VT since December and I love it. It's my personal opinion that the screen complaints are very over exaggerated and are perfectly fine, especially for the price you pay. I also really like the touchpad and ability to two mouse scroll and everything. I easily get 8+ hours with brightness on medium and regular usage (internet, word, flash games, blue tooth mouse). It comes overclocked at 1.7Ghz and is way way way faster and more responsive than you would expect after hearing it's a 1.3Ghz cpu stock. The portability, size and weight are just awesome.

The only thing I don't like about it is the 1366 max resolution, which is completely standard at the 13" range. In my opinion the UL30VT would be the most well rounded notebook on the market if it had a higher resolution (like 1600x900) and the optimus automatic graphic switching capabilities that I'm sure the new versions will have
 
Pretty sure there's already a version out w/Optimus, UL30JC or something like that...
 
Love my Gateway EC1803h with SU3500 (1.4 GHz Core 2 Solo) for $340. :)

Sadly, they're hard to find these days.
 
my own use with the dm3t I can say that after about 4 months.... the touchpad isnt great but it is completely usable...

also performance and weight for the price it is great.

also i have a x25-m SSD and it is really snappy
 
Just an update on my search...

With any laptop there is no perfect one. I think that everyone has to make compromises. With that in mind I gave up on getting a CLUV processor. With prices dropping on the new intel i-series I decided that new technology would make the laptop more future proof. Although the i-series processors are more energy efficient then the core duo models they still don't have 5+ hour battery life without extended batteries that would weigh more. I looked at the new Macpro but the 13" update was lacking a matte screen and higher resolution and I was worried about durability traveling. However the Macs have awesome battery life. Long story short I ended up with a Lenovo T410s. It's 14", matte screen, high resolution and an i5 processor. This laptop was a good compromise for my wants and should hold up well to travel. Thanks for all the ideas!
 
Here is a review that I should have posted before:
http://www.thinkpadtoday.com/thinkp...t410-and-t410s-and-why-you-should-buy-one.htm

Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDE5mMe-lSA

The screen is 14.1″ WXGA+ with a resolution of 1440 x 900 16:10 aspect

I like the fact that it's 16:10 I can fit more on the screen

Price depends on what you want with it. I got an 80gig ssd but stayed with 2 gigs ram. I'll upgrade later for cheaper. It was about $1300. I rationalized the price buy getting a higher spec laptop that will last longer. I hope that it will make it at least 5 yrs. Should be fine with what I want to do with it.
 
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