Asus U5F goes Core 2 Duo, gets Splendid

It appears Asus' long-standing U5 series is finally getting an entirely overdue refresh, but late is indeed better than never. The freshened up U5F sports a layout and enclosure quite similar to its W7J sibling, and is built around the Sonoma platform. Beneath the hood you'll find an Intel Core 2 Duo T5500 processor, 12.1-inch XGA monitor, 512MB of RAM, 80GB hard drive, Windows XP Home, built-in WiFi / Bluetooth, a dual-layer DVD burner, and Intel's 945GM integrated graphics set. Aside from the VGA output, audio in / out, couple of USB 2.0 ports, and gigabit Ethernet jack, you just might notice Asus' own "Splendid video intelligence technology" kicking out "improved contrast, brightness, and color saturation," and the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) should keep the snoopers at least somewhat at bay. This 3.1-pound ultraportable machine doesn't yet carry a pricetag, but should be making its way to Chinese retailers real soon, but be sure you're really down with those intimidating palm rest stickers before throwing down your loot.

[Ian Jardine @ Dec 28th 2006 12:33PM]

Hmmm NO Vista upgrade path for this 512MB RAM puppy.

[Pal @ Dec 28th 2006 12:49PM]

Bah! Widescreen or bust!

[bacon_skoda @ Dec 28th 2006 1:22PM]

Short Shift key on the right side.
"Don't Buy" - Cramer.

[anthony @ Dec 28th 2006 2:17PM]

Nice laptop from Asus. The configuration of this laptop is good and it is with built in wi-fi and Bluetooth.

http://laptops-latest.blogspot.com

[RB @ Dec 28th 2006 3:11PM]

Ian Jardine - check your facts before you go hating on a laptop that's not your own.

ALL Asus laptops in this current period get a FREE Express Vista upgrade:

http://event.asus.com/vistaupgrade/

[Dustin @ Dec 29th 2006 12:23AM]

I second the Vista recommendation, you REALLY don't want to run with less than a Gig

[Elliott @ Dec 28th 2006 3:21PM]

Yeah, what's the deal with no barebone widescreen laptops?

[Ian Jardine @ Dec 28th 2006 5:19PM]

RB,

I've seen how slow Vista runs on One GB of RAM, so with only 512 MB RAM this configuration would not be worthwhile upgrading to Vista IMHO.

[Sourabh @ Dec 30th 2006 4:03PM]

It is not based on the Sonoma platform, its Napa! Please correct the mistake :)

[Delgado @ Jan 2nd 2007 1:41PM]

Correction: You've seen how fast the beta version of Vista runs on one gig. You haven't seen the final version.