Asus Transformer Book T300 Chi

I had the 5y10c model for a few weeks. I sent it back on Wednesday.

The finish is VERY slippery -> needs a skin or a case.

Dell stylus works. This/these is/are my first device with an active digitizer, I'm not an artist so I can't say much beyond it works. i.e. I cannot compare to n-trig, wacom, drawing usability, etc.

It throttles to ~ 4.6W on battery(found this the other day trying prime95), ~12W on AC ->
locks @ 1.2GHz on battery under prime95
locks @ 2GHz on AC prime95
(7140 was @ ~6W on batt and cpu 14-6GHz)
Prime95 chewed through 12% of batt(30% -> 18% then I put on AC after noticing throttling(hwinfo sensor) and deciding to check and also worried about killing batt) in a span of a few minutes.

Geekbench scores on BOTH battery AND AC(re-tested after I found the batt throttling) scores lower than the $450 Best Buy Dell 7140(bought one last Saturday 5/16/15)

Octane v2 on Chrome BOTH the T300 & 7140 scored ~17k (I don't have a high opinion of octane as a bench though given my i7-3930k/i7-4770k/i7-4800MQ ALL score ~33k.)

I found it too large and unwieldly to use as a tablet even after buying a cheap case thinking that that might help it -> kind of like using a legal pad

Battery life I got on it light web browsing was c. 4h 40m to maybe 5h, the highend model WILL be lower, think 4h max.

Keyboard dock is AWFUL(keyboard) and so is the trackpad.

[EDIT]
Wifi range is utter crap. Barely any 5GHz signal a mere 30' from my router, funnily enough an ASUS RT-AC66. 2.4GHz band APPEARS to be better but bandwidth is VERY low in same spot, ~30-45Mbps. 7140 gets 100s of Mbps in same location. (Possibly a drawback of the Al chassis or just poor antenna locating.)
[/EDIT]

Keyboard dock is perfectly stable on a nice relatively level surface, but in their insane desire for thinness they put the dock ballast too far towards the back, so in your lap at an angle it's unstable as all hell.

The aluminum chassis helps the T300 keep thermals under better control than the large copper heatsink/mostly plastic shell of the 7140. I only hit 80C running prime95, while the 7140 was bumping up against 90C. Light web browsing max I saw for the T300 was 52C and normally it was 47-8C while the 7140 is generally mid 50sC.

Took over 3h for the T300 to install ~100 windows update on first power up after charging. Ate through 50+% of batt in less than 1.5h after which I moved it back to AC to finish. (7140 took ~45m t install ~60 updates on first powerup.)

T300 chi (5y10c) is a 1x4GB setup -> memory is SINGLE channel -> lower iGPU perf(mostly, there will be some impact on general use as well). I'm hazarding this is because the 5y71 is 2x4GB to get the 8GB and ASUS was too cheap to do 2x2GB on the 5y10c. 4GB is a ridiculously egregiously low amount of RAM for devices that are using soldered RAM, more I find it reprehensible especially for the price that ASUS is asking(and MANY other manufacturers selling products with fixed RAM). (The 7140 has the same low 4GB but is dual channel configuration.)

Overall I liked(and kept) the 7140 for it's size, batt runtime, and user maintenance acces plus fullsize USB port as well as all of the others. Additionally I think that the BB 7140 is the true fair price(w/10% mover's coupon or other discount) for core m devices given their performance, a bit better than highend atom).

The only real difference between these core 5yZX models will be the turbo clock and how long the various designs can hold that clock speed o.w. IMNHO they will ALL perform at a similar level all things being equal(BIOS throttling settings, etc.)

IOW I found the T300 disappointing and disappointingly overpriced. I found the 7140 to be more acceptable(performance was still lower than my already low expectations and this is from buying a cheap china z3735f that outperformed my low expectations which led to me wanting to look for a bt better -> core m) with the pluses of better batt runtime, user maintenance access(SSD, WiFi card, WLAN card, etc.), better accessory availability(mobile keyboard w/extra batt, more case choices, etc.) and generally a better overall size for tablet usage(still a little on the large size but WAY better than the T300).

Theb7140 isn't perfect, but it ended up being more of what I was looking for, so the T300 got shipped back to M$ Wednesday.

 

Hey guys, just reviving this thread from the dead. I ended up ordering one of the base ones from the MSFT store for 430 out the door. It will get here monday and I have about 2 weeks to play with it to see if I like it. It seems that the internet is full of mixed reviews of this computer. With the price going down so fast, is this a better buy? I figure at 430 (397 pre tax) many of the shortcomings will be mute. Even if I use this as a tablet 99% of the time just to read, watch, and surf it seems like one of the better options at this price. Either way, I will update this thread with my thoughts when I actually get it and if I do decide to keep it, I will most likely get a dell A03 pen and the nice asus folding cover (that is so similar to the apple ones). If anyone has a good write up or review on that cover, I'd love to read it. There is very little information on the cover and its so expensive...

 

I look forward to hearing what you think. I would not be in the market for one now, but the MS promotion right now is pretty hard to pass up.

 

It is out of stock right now. If I can still get in on the deal when it is back in stock (I doubt it) I think I'll jump on it. I won't touch it for anything more than that, though.

The biggest drawback for me is that the T300 Chi's display has very low brightness when unplugged, from what I've seen. Is there a way to work around that and get full brightness even when unplugged? I definitely want something that I can read from outdoors.

I'm eager to see what the Acer Switch 11V looks like and costs. Acer has done quite well in the outdoor visibility department, from what I have seen. The keyboard and overall design looks to be quite nice on that one. And it even has a camera (probably 5 mp with no auto-focus, but it's nice to have even a crummy camera on hand).

 

Ya, it was a one day kinda sale. Sold out very quickly when I ordered it.

As for brightness, pretty sure you just turn off adaptive brightness in windows and also change it in the power settings. The 11v looks junky IMO and defiantly not as high quality. Also it may not seem like much but the jump from 11.6 to 12.5 is fairly large in terms of being able to see things.

 

I've bookmarked the link and it seems to be still showing the same deal ($499 plus an extra $100 off with the SAVE100 code), but out of stock. I'm sure you're right, but I'm keeping an eye on it just in case.
I use a T100 for my mobile laptop/tablet, and I've often wished I had gone with the Switch 10, mostly because the outdoor visibility is absolutely pathetic on my T100, and that is kind of one of the main reasons I want something to grab-and-go with. So, when I upgrade I don't want to make the same mistake again. Also, I think the keyboard and touchpad on the Switch 11V look nicer than the T300 Chi (hard to tell without seeing them in person, though), the full USB 3.0 on the dock is definitely nice to have, and I like that the Switch 11V keyboard dock has a hard connection, not Bluetooth.

The DV11P looks nice for the BestBuy price, too, but 10.8 is getting to be a bit small, as I'm wanting something to replace *both* my T100 *and* my work laptop (Dell Latitude). And I don't want to spend the money for a Lenovo Helix. I think that about covers the Core M tablet 2-in-1 options available now (Unless you count the goofy Switch 12).

 

Well I got the computer on Monday and I must say that I am impressed. First things first, my use case. This is not my main computer and all I really do with it is surf, watch movies, and read. This is more of an on the go computer for me, something I will take with me when I travel and try to get work done at starbucks.

The build quality is very good, its metal but unfortunately it picks up finger prints like thats its job. I am not a fan of the chamfured edges, they kinda dig into your hand, but most people like the look, so I get it. The keyboard feels good but its bluetooth, so thats good and bad. A plus is you can place the tablet away and control it. Great for when its plugged into a monitor or TV, but the bad is that it lags like any bluetooth keyboard does. Its very small, but as someone who uses a high end mechanical keyboard and 12,000 dpi mouse... its there. Its not bad and most people won't care. So far its proven to be more useful, so I kinda like it. The magnetic connection is also really tight. You can hold the tablet and the keyboard won't fall and vice versa. Thats great for when its on your lap.

The performance has been very good. I have not noticed much lag or stuttering, but with chrome open and being such a resource hog, yes, if you have 8 tabs open... it will lag. Videos load quickly and look very crisp. 1080p on 12.5 inches looks great and I personally would not want anything higher. With that said, battery life is pretty solid. 6+ hours easy. The trick to good battery life is taking off the adaptive brightness in windows. The screen is SUPER DUPER bright. I usually crank up my screens and this is one of the few that I actually feel great at 50%. When you put it low though, its not super low so reading in bed can cause eye strain.

Interesting things you probably wont read about:
- The keyboard battery life remaining is shown on the lower right of the windows bar. This is great bc you won't worry that you will run out of battery life.
- The display will sleep when you close it while in the keyboard dock. I would assume that most others would, but you never know.
- Windows button is not on the screen so you can touch the screen and not worry about hitting it. I hate capacitive buttons on screens bc I always end up hitting them.
- You can put the tablet in the dock backwards. So "kiosk" mode works and this is great.
- Yes, its long... it seems comically long.
- The asus driver update software is actually quite good.
- The charger brick is small

Bads:
- The speakers are THE WORST I HAVE EVER USED. Ok, I may be wrong, they are at least stereo, but you will keep it at 100% and wish you could go higher. I have to use an external speaker in my kitchen when cooking.
- There is no full size USB port. This kinda sucks but they do include a cable that goes mini to full size usb. They at least give it to you... not bad. I did try to plug in a usb hub and it didn't work... so this could be bad... I still have to test this out.
- The charger brick, although small, does not have folding prongs.
- You have to charge the keyboard and there are no "benefits" of using it other than its a keyboard. I get it, its bluetooth and you can't really add a battery or usb ports, but its still worth pointing out.

Things I want to try:
- Stylus performance
- League of legends

Ok well there you go, a brief (huh) right up from me. Do I think its worth it, yes. I am keeping mine. At 699, its a bit of a stretch. At 599, getting there. At 499, good score. At 397 (that insane one day sale) Super Slick Deal!

 

OK, by the end of the week (possibly the day) I will spring for a new tab, and I'm wondering what you all would say (again) about the DV11P 7140 64gb model available (again) on sale at BestBuy for $499 vs. the T300 Chi 128 gb model available on Amazon for about $489. Here's how I'm seeing the breakdown just now; feel free to chime in or correct:
For DV11P:
*I can have it by tonight from the store.
*I can haggle in store to get the price down.
* best in (Windows) class rear facing camera
*better batter life (from what I can gather)
* better battery/kb dock available when I can scrape together some extra funds
* more portable (smaller footprint)
* more ports
For T300 Chi:
*larger screen
*more storage (huge and will save me money on a Micro SD card)
* metal chassis (should also be better for heat dissipation.
* better kb dock included
* super thin.
* looks stunning

Any other thoughts?
I may also just order another Vivotab Note 8, an even cheaper way to go.

 

Wow.
Absolute crickets when it comes to the T300 Chi. Anyone out there?

 

Well-well seems that will have soon announcement of successor of T300Chi with the name T302 Chi.
http://tablet-news.com/2016/03/09/a...-on-shots-features-new-type-of-keyboard-dock/
http://notebookitalia.it/asus-t302-chi-t302c-t302ca-nuova-keyboard-dock-23215





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