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Asus U36SD / U36S review – what an ultra-portable notebook!

By Andrei Girbea , updated on November 11, 2013
Tested: Asus U36SD
Rating: 4/5     Price Range: $749 - $1099
Summary: If you want a fast but portable laptop, the Asus U36SD is right now one of your best picks. It's not an ultrabook, but it's more powerful than those and also lasts longer on a charge, without being significantly bulkier. And it's cheaper as well!

A while ago I got to test Asus’s ultra-sleek 13.3 inch laptop, the U36JC.

There were many things I liked about it, but the fact that it boosted older generation hardware kept me from recommending it while waiting for the upgraded version. And we finally managed to get it: the Asus U36S , also known as Asus U36SD in the United States, is the star of this post.

So, this article is a review for the U36SD and in the rows below you’ll find details about all of its important aspects, from hardware to casing and battery life. Thus better keep reading if you’re interested in this 13.3 inch notebook, one of the sleekest in its class right now, and one that we expect to become quite popular this year.

I do have to mention that the version tested here is a review unit, as the U36S is not yet available in stores, but it is identical to the model you can already preorder right now in some parts of the world. It’s also the version we unboxed a couple of days ago.

Anyway, before actually jumping on with the details, let’s have a quick look at the specs so we’ll know what we should expect from the U36S we’re reviewing here:

  • 13.3 inch display, 1366 x 768 px, LED backlit, glossy finish
  • Core i5-2410M processor clocked at 2.3 GHz, with HyperThreading and Turbo Boost (2.9 GHz)
  • hybrid graphics: Intel HD Graphics + Nvidia GT 520M + Optimus
  • 6 GB of DDR3 memory
  • 640 GB 5400 rpm HDD
  • Bluetooth v2.1 + EDR, Wireless N, Gigabit Ethernet
  • 2 x USB 2.0 , 1 x USB 3.0 , Card-reader, webcam, VGA and HDMI ports
  • 6 Cell 4400 mAh 63 Wh battery
  • Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit OS
  • 12.9″ x 9.28″ x  0.76″
  • 3.6 pounds with the 6 Cell battery (3.74 pounds with the 8 Cell battery)
Asus U36S - a fancy 13.3 inch premium notebook

Asus U36S – a fancy 13.3 inch premium notebook

Notice that you get 6 GB of RAM inside this test unit, while on shops it will only sell with 4 GB, but you can easily upgrade memory on this unit. Also, final version will offer an 8 Cell 84 Wh battery, the one we saw on the U36JC, while this one only has a smaller 6 Cell battery. All the other features and specs are identical to the Asus U36S-A1 version you can find in stores.

Design and exterior

The sleek body is one of the things you’ll be impressed when first laying your eyes on the U36SD. It is only 0.76 inch thick, which is thinner than the Sony Vaio SB, Lenovo E220S or MacBook Pro, but a bit thicker than the Macbook Air and the Samsung Series 9, all competitors in the high-end 13.3 inch notebooks class.

The U36S is not however the lightest in its class, weighing 3.74 lbs with an 8 Cell battery, but it’s on par with most competitors and is not at all a burden to carry around.

The lid case of the new Asus U36 is covered in magnesium, thus it doesn’t bend and feels sturdy, despite the screen being very thin. The version we got to test came in black, but I do expect to see a silver version in stores as well. That one will be covered in brushed aluminum and both these finishes will deal fine with scratches, dust and fingerprints, just that smudges will be more visible on the black model.

Opening the lid, you’ll notice that the palm rest and area around and above the keyboard is cast from a single piece of magnesium as well, while the bezel around the screen is still made from glossy plastic, something we would have loved to see changing over the U36JC.

Port’s placement around the sides is practical and the cooling vent is placed smartly on the left side of the laptop, thus it won’t bother you when using the device on your desk, with a netbook mouse, unless you’re a leftie. Pictures below will tell you more about the ports.

Front and right

Front and right

Back and left

Back and left

As for the bottom part, this one is made from rough black plastic that feels quite reliable and offers a bunch of cooling vents, the hunched battery (there could be options for a 4 Cell battery which looses the hunch and is better integrated with the sleek shape of the laptop) and a bay that allows quick access to the two memory slots. Accessing hard-dive however is a tad more complicated.

Bottom

Bottom

More about the exterior of the Asus U36SD is available in the clip below.

Keyboard and trackpad

A Full-size chiclet keyboard is mounted on the U36S series and I consider it fairly good overall. Keys are proper sized and spaced, there’s little flex and noise and the keys have just enough travel. However, I’m not a big fan of the plastic finishing of the keys, as other devices in this class offer a rubbery smoother coating that feels better when typing.

Keyboard

Keyboard

Beneath the keyboard there’s a proper sized trackpad, clearly differentiated from the palm rest around. The same magnesium is used for its surface and overall the trackpad is smooth and accurate. You also get separated click buttons, fairly easy to press, although they become stiffer as we get closer to the middle, where a fingerprint reader is placed as you can see in the pictures.

TrackPad

TrackPad

Screen

There’s a standard 13.3 inch display on this Asus, LED Backlit, with 1366 x 768 px resolution and a glossy finish. A similar display to the one we saw on Asus 13.3 inch laptops during these last years. It offers overall good colors and brightness/contrast levels, but viewing angles aren’t great, especially vertical ones. You need to sit just in front of the screen if you don’t want things to get washed out, luckily the fact that the screen tilts a lot on the back will help you set the viewing angle properly even when using the computer on your lap, the sofa or while lying in bed.

Screen is glossy and can lean back to 160-170 degrees

Screen is glossy and can lean back to 160-170 degrees

And of course, with the glossy display, using this laptop outside or in strong light conditions will be quite a pain, because of the nasty reflections.

Hardware and performances

As you could spot in the specs list, there’s a 2nd generation Core i5-2410M processor inside this laptop, with Nvidia GT 520M hybrid graphics and Nvidia Optimus technology, plus 6 GB of memory and a standard 5400 rpm hard-drive. This configuration allows the ultra-portable to properly run anything you might throw at it, from standard apps like a browser or a text editor, to photo and video editing software.

In terms of multimedia content, you can run all kind of Full HD content and output it via HDMI and also play games, even some of the recent titles. Still, the GT 520M graphics inside, while a latest generation chip from Nvidia, is an entry level card meant for light gaming only. However, I did manage to run smoothly COD:Modern Warfare 2on medium details, and other titles like Starcraft 2, WOW or Counter Strike will work well also. The powerful hardware will also offer good video processing speed, that’s if you’re planing to edit some clips on it for Youtube or other websites.

The clip below will tell you more about performances and hardware:

Also, we ran a couple o tests and the results are available in these next pictures.

Now, you might also wonder how does the U36SD compare to the U36JC we tested before. I’m planning to write a detailed post on this subject, but for the time being, you should know that the new generation offers similar CPU scores in tests and graphics are significantly better, all these while running more efficiently (thus offering better autonomy). Thus the new generations will be better in games or any piece of software that needs graphics.

So if you were wondering which of the two similar 13.3 inchers is the better pick, there’s hardly any doubt here. If you however already own a U36JC and might consider upgrading to the U36SD, that’s a completely different story and I would say you’re fine with what you have, unless you really need the graphics power and don’t mind spending a couple of hundreds of bucks on the upgrade.

Connectivity

You get great connectivity options on the Asus U36SD, with Wireless N, Bluetooth 2.1 and Gigabit Lan. There’s also an USB 3.0 slot, something I consider a must on laptops these days.

There is no integrated 3G modem though and I doubt there will be a version with such a feature, although that would have been a nice feature and many of the premium 13.3 inchers offer one at least as an extra option.

Heat, noise, speakers and others

Power and an ultra light body usually mean trouble, and i’m talking about heat. As you can see in the pictures below, the Asus U36SD I got to test does get hot quite fast. We can even say it overheats. CPU and motherboard temperatures jump to 80+ degrees Celsius after running some intensive apps. The picture below is taken after playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 for like 10-15 minutes and I’m pretty sure those temps would go even higher after playing for an hour or two.

And not only the inside heats, but also the exterior, as the bottom back and the bottom left parts become hot. Too bad I don’t have a proper thermometer to measure exact temperatures for those areas, but I can say that using the computer on your lap while using such apps will not be pleasant. Upper part however only gets a bit warm though, if that’s any consolation.

Temperatures after running a game for 10-15 minutes

Temperatures after running a game for 10-15 minutes

Of course, with heat there’s noise, as the fans inside this laptop are active most of the time and can get quite loud when dealing with games or HD content.

Update: Now, you won’t really notice all these problems during light everyday use, while running a browser, outlook, listening to some music or watching some SD video content. The will only get worm in these cases and the fan will be pretty quiet. Still, when dealing with complex applications, you end up with what I mentioned above.

I encountered heating problems on the Sony Vaio SB as well, another sleek laptop with an overall similar configuration, so I guess that’s what you have to settle for if you want a thin body and power. Otherwise, the Core i7 Lenovo e220s we tested manages to run quite cool, but it’s a bit thicker and offers no dedicated graphics. Also, future drivers might be able to fix some of the heating problems we encountered on this Asus U36SD, but I wouldn’t get my hopes too high.

Should also mention the speakers, but there’s not much to say about them, although we have some Altex Lansing speakers with SRS surround sound inside this one. They provide good punch and audio quality, but there’s nothing impressive about them. And same thing goes for the webcam: just something to do the job, while not excelling in any way.

Battery life

Getting the latest generation Intel Sandy Bridge hardware on this Asus U36SD notebook means improved energy efficiency over the previous U36JC generation. And while that one managed to squeeze around 5 hours of life on average use from the 8 cell battery, the U36SD manages nearly the same from a 6 Cell one. Here’s what we got:

  • around 6 hours of life during light use, with Screen at 50%, while editing and reading texts, on Power Saver and with Wireless turned OFF
  • 4 hours and 50 minutes on everyday use, with Wireless ON, Balanced mode selected and screen at 70%, while performing various daily tasks
  • a little bit over 4 hours while looping a 720p clip in Balanced mode with screen at 80%

With the 8 Cell battery, you’ll get an average 6 hours of life on the U36SD, which can range from 3 to 8 based on your activity, and that seems fairly good for me, considering we have quite a powerful machine here.

Prices, warranty and availability

With power, battery life and a sleek body, you’d probably expect the new U36 to be pricey. The good news is that the version we tested here, the Asus U36SD-A1, goes for under $1000. The bad one is that it goes only a little bit under, at least for now.

At the moment, the U36SD is only available for preorder in the US and in Europe. List price is set at $999, with some discounts available in online shops. I’m waiting for it to get listed on Amazon.com though, as they usually offer the biggest price cuts and the best deals on electronic products.

Update: The U36SD is now available in some stores and it is also offered with a small discount online.

You should know that Asus bundles this U36 with a nice warranty package, which includes 24 month Global Warranty, 12 month Accidental handling warranty, 30 days Zero Bright Dot LCD replacement and 24/7 phone support. And this is something you’ll usually pay extra on many other laptops.

Thus I for one consider this Asus notebook proper priced, offering a price/features ratio others will struggle to beat. And it should get even better when the price will drop to around 900 bucks, as I expect to happen by early Fall.

Asus U36Sd comes with fair pricing for its features and looks

Asus U36Sd comes with fair pricing for its features and looks

Of course, Asus plans to offer other versions for the U36SD as well, with a cheaper Core i3 powered entry-model and a top version that will feature the Core i7-2620M quad core CPU. More details about these will be added once they become available in shops.

Wrap-up

We’ve reached the end of this reviews and it’s time for some conclusions. As you saw, there are plenty of aspects where the U36SD manages to impress: body, looks, performances, battery life. Screen and keyboard/trackpad are good as well, but there’s room for improvement here.

In fact, there’s only one thing you should really worry if looking at a U36SD: heat. And it’s not just a discomfort matter, created by the hot body and the noisy fans, it’s also a potential reliability problem, as heat stresses electronic computers faster than many other factors and they might end up failing on the long term.

A solid option, despite the heating problems

Asus U36SD is a solid option, despite the heating problems

Now, there’s still a chance my test unit was someway faulty, but based on other encounters with new generation Core ix platform on ultra thin laptops, I don’t think that’s the case here. Still, if any of you guys own one of these I would love to hear your input on temperatures and noise, so please leave a comment below.

Pros:

  • solid body, high quality materials used for the casing and proper attention to details
  • sleek looks, with a very thin body
  • overall good keyboard an trackpad
  • powerful hardware and proper performances
  • good connectivity options, with USB 3.0 slot included
  • good battery life for such a powerful notebook, especially with the 8 Cell battery

Cons:

  • the screen and the bezel around it are glossy
  • speakers won’t impress
  • gets hot and noisy under stress (the review unit did at least) – not that much during light everyday use

All in all though, if it wasn’t for this matter, there would be nothing stopping me from making the U36SD an editor’s choice. It is a great looking device, solid built and with good performances and battery life, all these while offering a hard to beat price/features ratio. And there’s not much more you can ask from a fancy ultra-portable and you won’t find on this one, especially in the under $100o price range.

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Andrei Girbea, Editor-in-Chief at TLBHD.com. This project was born as part of my search for capable mini-laptops that I could easily lug around to work, and still provide the performance that I'd need on a daily basis. I'm primarily using such ultracompact devices and have been testing them since 2006.

63 Comments

  1. Bombasaki

    July 11, 2011 at 8:33 pm

    Hey Mike, How’s this Asus compared with the ThinkPad X1? Having in mind that It will be used for: Long meetings(business use) and playing SC2.

    Regards,
    Armando 

    • Mike

      July 12, 2011 at 5:56 am

      Shortly, I find the X1 better looking and with a superior keyboard. It’s also thiner ans lighter. However it’s nearly 50% more expensive, has no dedicated graphics and battery life is nearly half of what the Asus offers.

      FOr busienss i guess you’ll need the autonomy . As for games, SC2 should run on the integrated graphics decently, but I’m not sure if it will be smooth enough though.

      • Bombasaki

        July 16, 2011 at 12:40 pm

        Amazing Mike. Thank you, when you talk about the heat issues, do they appear when surfing+Office work? or do they only appear when watching videos/movies/gaming? 

        I currently use a G53jw and I’m very happy with Asus and thay also said something about the heat but mine is just loud!

      • Mike

        July 16, 2011 at 5:58 pm

        During light use they shouldn’t be a problem. The back tends to get warm, but nothing really disturbing.

  2. Hpp

    July 13, 2011 at 9:37 am

    Hi  Mike, I really think of buying this notebook, but the noise levels seem to be quite out of my desire. Could you please tell the name of the software you mentioned in your video review (fan speed reduction app) ?

    Thanks in advance
    Joe

    • Silverfox

      July 16, 2011 at 2:40 pm

      Yeah, I’m wonderring a bit about the same thing. Will using the laptop under normal tasks and multitasking enable heat and noise, or is it just under gaming and hd content?

      Btw.. good review Mike. Thanx, been looking for a proper review for a while now!

      Regards Silverfox

  3. Maurizio

    July 15, 2011 at 2:10 pm

    Great work, man!!
    Anyway, I readed somewhere else that the noise and the heat aren’t a problem at all, and that the 8-cell battery lasts longer, I’m scared now 🙂

    • Mike

      July 16, 2011 at 5:57 pm

      Maurizio, this is a sample unit like I said and that’s what I encountered. that picture stands as proof… Could you give us the link to that post were you read those things mentioned?

      • Mike

        July 17, 2011 at 8:06 pm

        Meh, those are store specs, not real life tests. As for the U36JC, I tested that one too, see the review here on the site. Haven’t encountered similar heating problems with that one

      • Mike

        July 17, 2011 at 8:07 pm

        And BTW< the U36Sd will be available in Europe in mid August. That's why you can't find it in Italy yet

      • Maurizio

        July 20, 2011 at 5:51 pm

        thanks for answering me…! Anyway it looks like nowadays it’s available here in Italy in an online shop, you are almost sure it’s a “fake”, like they’re still waiting from the suppliers? It’s half August the official date for Europe?? 😉 thanks

      • Mike

        July 20, 2011 at 6:02 pm

        can’t tell that for sure… That’s what I got from my friends at August but of course those dates can differ from country to country

  4. Venessa

    July 17, 2011 at 3:52 pm

    hi mike~ just a simple question. do you think this computer is suitable for light gaming wif low graphic?

    regards,
    Venessa

    • Mike

      July 17, 2011 at 8:05 pm

      yes, it will handle light gaming OK.

  5. Don

    July 17, 2011 at 10:21 pm

    Hey Mike, 

    You say mid august for Europe, do you have any info for Canada, or america in general?

    • Mike

      July 18, 2011 at 7:32 am

      Don, not really. I know that it will hit Eastern Europe in the second week of August. Some countries might get it a bit sooner. So my estimations are 1-15 August for US and maybe Canada as well.

      • Don

        July 19, 2011 at 12:34 pm

        Thank you! Great review aswell!

  6. Daniel Jonsson

    July 19, 2011 at 4:59 am

    Hi! Is it possible in BIOS to disable the Nvidia graphics card?

    • Mike

      July 19, 2011 at 10:55 am

      Haven’t checked that out. Will try

      • Daniel Jonsson

        July 19, 2011 at 3:48 pm

        Thank you very much. =)

      • Daniel Jonsson

        July 23, 2011 at 12:15 am

        Mike, have you tried yet?

      • Mike

        July 25, 2011 at 11:02 am

        Sry Daniel. I don’t have the review unit anymore. I was hoping to get a reply from Asus but they’ve sent their test unit to some other guys and I can’t get in touch with them 🙁 I will try to answer you question asap, just that I don’t know when exactly this will happen, could take hours or days…

      • Daniel Jonsson

        July 25, 2011 at 4:49 pm

        Aha, okey. I appreciate your effort. Thanks anyway.

      • Mike

        July 26, 2011 at 7:06 am

        Hei Daniel. Managed to get a reply: there’s not such option, BIOS is quite rudimentary on this one

    • Guestim

      August 27, 2011 at 6:02 pm

      Don’t know about BIOS, but you can disable it through Nvidia control panel.

  7. Anonymous

    July 20, 2011 at 3:25 am

    I  am strongly considering purchasing the Asus u36s when it comes out. Are there any other laptops I should consider? I really like the Asus’ balance of size, weight, performance, and battery life.  Looking for something in the 12-14″ range. Looking to buy in the next month or so in the $700-1100 range.

    • Mike

      July 20, 2011 at 8:55 am

      James, you have a bunch of different options in this price range.

      I can’t speak about 14 inchers as I haven’t tried them, but I did try a bunch of different new 13.3 inchers and most 12 inchers.

      For 13.3 inchers you have the macbook pro, asus u36s, sony vaio sb, toshiba portege r700, samsung series 9, macbook air and a bunch of others. In the smaller class you have a bunch of Lenovos and Samsungs.

      It really depends on what you need most. IF you need power and graphics, I would go for either the SB or the Asus U36S, as they both offer dedicated graphics. Also, they are both a bit noisy and can get quite hot when stressed. The Asus is slightly cheaper and has significantly better battery life, while the Vaio SB is more expensive, has a matte display (but colors and viewing angles are poorer than the ones you get on the glossy screen of the Asus notebook) and comes with 3G modem option.

      If you don’t need graphics, you get a bunch of different options, but I really like the Lenovo E220s, as it also comes with a nice price tag. See my review here on the site.

      OF course, for me the perfect mini laptop is a thinkpad x220s or x220t but they are above your price range.

      Let me know if you need more help here.

  8. Tapasmonkey

    July 21, 2011 at 10:17 am

    Hello Mike, do you have any idea where I can get hold of one of these in Europe?  – I can’t find anyone selling it in the UK or anywhere else in Europe for that matter

    • Mike

      July 21, 2011 at 1:00 pm

      They’ll start shipping by Mid August from what i know, they’re not available in stores yet that’s why you can’t find them

  9. Nick

    August 5, 2011 at 5:40 pm

    I would love to know this as well!

  10. Darthnai

    August 7, 2011 at 12:32 am

    Great reviews.  I’d like to hear how this stacks up against a Toshiba protege, and what your personal choice would be for a 13.3″ laptop.

    • Mike

      August 7, 2011 at 7:52 am

      i’m looking forward to testing the new portege, should happen soon

  11. Roar Lorentsen

    August 7, 2011 at 3:36 pm

    Hey Mike, I consider this laptop and i liked your review. However the one I am considering has a
    500GB hybrid harddrive with 4GB SSD. I know this has been an option for U36JC too, and i guess this will boost performance and give longer battery time. Have you any comments about how much better?

    Regards 
    Roar, Norway 

    • Mike

      August 8, 2011 at 12:52 pm

      Roar, it should make a difference and I totally advice going for something like this. A better option would be to get an SSD drive that you can connect via PCI-E but I’m not sure the U36SD supports something like this (I know the Thinkpads come with this option), this way you get a fast SSD for your operating system and a standard drive for other things

  12. Søren

    August 15, 2011 at 1:09 am

    Hi, Hope you are enjoying your new laptop. How are the noise levels when gaming or when the cpu is stressed?

  13. Alcantara

    August 15, 2011 at 10:42 pm

    Hey Mike, i’m wondering if i pick this laptop or the U36JC. The better performance worth the heat and noise problems? And the better performance also worth more 100 euros? I would get both in Germany. 

    Regards,
    Gabriel

    • Mike

      August 16, 2011 at 2:53 pm

      if you want the better graphics and the extra battery life, get the new one. Otherwise, the JC should do..

  14. Rigofire85

    August 17, 2011 at 4:12 pm

    I would like to know if its possible to update the Asus U36 RX114V with better graphix? And will an upgrade to 8GB Ram work (My version comes with the max 4GB, but the SD seems to be very similar)

  15. Asususer

    August 18, 2011 at 2:00 pm

    Hi – I’m finding it next to impossible to get an answer out of Asus as to when this u36sd laptop will get released in the UK – any idea when this may be??

    • Mike

      August 18, 2011 at 8:03 pm

      sry, i don’t know anything about the UK market. it will be available here in stores in like 2 weeks, so probably around september you should see it in the Uk as well

      • banksy

        August 27, 2011 at 3:06 pm

        Hi Mike, i see the new Asus u36s has now been announced in europe, available only in germany and austria at the moment……Any of when the UK will get it??  Also it seems to have doubled in the expected price tag….any thoughts on that?

      • Mike

        August 27, 2011 at 7:36 pm

        not sure about UK, but expect it at the beginning of september

  16. Amd

    August 26, 2011 at 11:29 am

    What’s the best solution to these types of heat issues? Active cooling pads seem very popular these days, worth the expense? I’m thinking about long-term life span of components.

    • Mike

      August 27, 2011 at 7:33 pm

      not sure, i haven’t tried one but should help…

  17. Jermaine

    August 29, 2011 at 10:03 am

    I would like to get this laptop for editing photos in photoshop and lightroom. How would you rate the display for doing such work and can it be improved by using a screen calibrator such as the Eye One Display 2 calibration device or similar?

    I see in the Gentech forums of people complaining about the screen and this worries me. 
    Would very much appreciate your thoughts on the above.

    Thanks.

  18. Nobleambitions

    September 8, 2011 at 9:41 am

    Mike, I am considering purchasing this laptop which is selling cheapest in my location for around $1700 (with i7 processor and 160GB SSD), and the Asus U46SV is $300 less but only has an i5 although I like the 500GB hybrid SSD it has, and the slightly better graphics (GT540M). It is also around 30% thicker but still thin by notebook standards.

    Considering I would like a thin notebook with moderate gaming abilities, would you say the extra $300 is worth it for a thinner, lighter notebook with an i7 processor?

    • Mike

      September 8, 2011 at 11:33 am

      if you want gaming, you’d better go for the one with GT 540M. The U36 is lighter, more compact and offers better battery life. IN games though you won’t really feel the difference between the core i5 and the core i7, but you’ll feel the one between the two graphic chips

  19. Livia Carmona

    September 13, 2011 at 6:36 pm

    Hi Mike, Thanks for this review.
    I am a little worried then, cause someone is buying this computer for me in France, but I live in Brazil and in a very hot region (now it’s winter and it’s 31C outside).
    So I’m realy worried about the heat problem… what do you think? Too risky?
    thanks

  20. Karen

    September 15, 2011 at 10:20 pm

    I just picked up this unit. I also was looking at the new MSI X370 anyone know anything about it?

    Thanks,
    Karen

    • Yossioring

      November 13, 2011 at 10:55 am

      Hi mike,

      Im debating betwin the jc nyc with the 6gb ram to the new s..is the new one ram is expandble?

      Im using it mainly for internet and very light gaming..

      Great reviews and great job done by you here!

      Tnxxx, yossi..

  21. Zapgooch

    April 30, 2012 at 12:05 am

    Where you from Andrei, russia? czech?

  22. Abilash

    May 24, 2012 at 10:00 am

    Hey Mike.

    Your review is perfect. I have bought this laptop and it has serious heating problems. Mine is the US version u36sg has i7 +nvidia gt610m. Laptop is really awesome if we neglect the heat issue. Main problem is that even if we run light tasks the laptop base will get heated up. In my case no noise issues, even when the fan is up, the noise genereated is less. After 20 -30 mins of normal use the base of the laptop is heated up and you cant keep it on your lap anymore. Hence this one never qualifies for a ‘lap’top.

    As my first u36sd had a defect with bezel, I had to send it back for a replacement. But I could see that both of the products that I used had the same heat problem. I can explain the heat problem for this model as follows:

    The left half of the laptop is generally cool because the laptop fan is taking care of the temperature there. But in the case of the right half of the laptop, I could hear some small noise like something working and once it get heated up (say first 20-30 mins after turning ON the laptop) the heat in this right half will persist there as there is no fan to expel the heat generated. Some hardware on the right top of the base is heating up. To be more specific it is the position where the windows serial no is located. If you listen to that area you can hear something is continuosly working and generating heat.

    Everything about this laptop is awesome but fails on this one thing – the heat. I could see people giving great reviews about this laptop on amazon. I dont understand why customers are not worried about the heat. For people who use this laptop only on desk… its fine. But such a light weight laptop is meant to be a ‘lap’ top…. Also this heat will deteriorate the life of the system.

    I’ve written a lot….hopefully this helps future customers.

    thanks

    • Andrei Girbea

      May 24, 2012 at 10:32 am

      Thanks for your feedback Abilash, much appreciated!

  23. Zook

    June 18, 2012 at 11:02 pm

    hey there, really nice review. I’m currently deciding on an ultrabook and this is one that I am considering. My ideal one right now is the ASUS U44SG but it has been extremely hard to find to say the least. The U36SG here looks to be very similar to it, albeit weaker specks and a smaller screen size. Are there any other 14″ notebooks you could recommend?

    • Andrei Girbea

      June 21, 2012 at 6:11 pm

      Zook, I’m not really familiar with the 14 inch class 🙁 I know that the Lenovo U410 is decent, I’ll have it for review next week. HP also has the Envy 14 fauxtrabook. Dell has the 14z. But like I said, that’s not my class, small laptops are my expertise. Sry for that

  24. nadira

    June 19, 2012 at 11:41 am

    hai mike,
    which is better? asus U36SD-RX048D, or Acer aspire S3 ultrabook i3, or smasung np350?

    considering im a student doing my thesis..

    those notebooks are sleek and have pretty much the same price here in indonesia (aspire is lil bit higher tho)

    thank you, im waiting for your answer 🙂

    • Andrei Girbea

      June 21, 2012 at 6:12 pm

      Nadira, the Asus is not an ultrabook,. Hence, it’s slightly bigger and heavier, but it’s also way more powerful. So if you really need the speed, go for it. Otherwise, if you wnat something sleeker for casual daily tasks, you can chose any of the ultrabooks.

      As a word of advice, if you can get anything else than the Acer, please do, The Samsung Series 5 Ultra is a good cheap ultrabook for instance, or the Hp Folio 13

  25. Kurtulus

    September 29, 2012 at 2:34 am

    Hi Mike and other laptop enthusiasts,

    I am quite satisfied to be able to read a review close to ASUS mysterious laptop U36SG. Unfortunately although it has been a while since U36SG took its place on the shelves, it seems most of the reviewers including famous ones cnet, pcmag do not wanna pay attention. However Mike’s review about previous model U36SD helped me to understand downs and ups. Thanks Mike!

    Well as I was searching my promised ultrabook that has not bitten apple on it, I was amazed first by Asus UX31A and then felt better with U36SG. I am planning to go on a long trip to central and south America where I will need to entertain myself on day long bustrips. In that regard, a long battery life comes prior to computing power. It seems U36SG with 10hours battery life, a separate graphics card and a standard voltage processor offers both but I am afraid that it may fry my legs during my travels. I will use it at least when I am on the road, mainly for reading documents and watching movies. Do you think that I am right about my worries? I needed to ask this after I read the Abilash’s comment which is two posts before mine.

    I wish you can also make a review about mysterious U36SG.

    Kurtulus

    • Andrei Girbea

      October 2, 2012 at 8:07 pm

      Hey Kurtulus.

      laptops like the ones you mentioned, thin and powerful, run usually fairly cool when performing everyday tasks and will get very hot when dealing with games and the dedicated graphics kick on. So, for your needs, you should be alright with using the laptop on your lap, although when running 1080p movies it might get a bit warmer than you’d like

  26. Serg

    January 6, 2013 at 8:53 pm

    Unfortunately I have to report that all Asus laptops have a serious problem with the sound, with a simple search on google “asus laptop sound problem” discover a world of mistakes and headaches

  27. Lukas

    July 2, 2013 at 2:32 pm

    Mtherboared temperatur standard 75*C
    CPU temperature 50*C

  28. Beatrice

    September 27, 2014 at 12:24 pm

    Hi there.
    My Asus U36s turned off while using and doesn’t react at all anymore!
    Do you know that Problem? Can you help?
    best regards B

    • Andrei Girbea

      September 27, 2014 at 4:53 pm

      Does it still boot when plugged in? If not, try to remove the battery, plug it in and see if it boots in this case. If not, you will probably have to address a specialized service.

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