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ASUS Zenbook UX31 13-Inch Laptop [OLD VERSION]

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Intel Core i7-2677M Processor 1.8GHz
4GB DIMM RAM
256GB Solid State Drive
13.3-Inch Screen, Intel UMA
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Ships in Certified Frustration-Free Packaging

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ASUS ZenBook UX303UB 13.3-Inch QHD+ Touchscreen Laptop, Intel Core i7, 12 GB RAM, 512 GB SSD, Discrete GPU Nvidia GT940M, Windows 10 (64 bit)
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ASUS Zenbook UX31 13-Inch Laptop [OLD VERSION]

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Color:Silver Aluminum

Product Description

13.3" (1600x900) LED / i-7 2677M Dual Core (1.8GHz) / 4GB DDR3 RAM / 256GB SSD / Windows 7 Home Premium (64bit) / 802.11BGN / 0.3M Pixel / Bluetooth 4.0 / 1 USB 3.0 Port / 1 USB 2.0 Port / Micro HDMI Port / .78" Thin and Only 2.86lbs / 1YR Global Warranty / 1YR Accidental Damage Protection / 30-Day Zero Bright Dot / 24-7 Tech Support

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A nice, solid machine

ByYippy Effin Skippyon October 29, 2011

June 7, 2012 Update: As one person pointed out, Asus is about the release the Zen Prime, or the second generation of the Zen Book. The following review pertains ONLY to the first generation. Some of it may still apply (I'm pretty certain Asus will still include a bucket load of crap bloatware) but as I haven't seen one I feel it's important to note it so I don't confuse people.

Also, as part of this update I'd like to say that I still have the Zen Book and I still like it. I've found that the keyboard is a bit touchy but works MUCH better if you put the thing on a hard, flat surface like a desk. Typing in your lap you may miss more keys than typing on a table or desk. In the time since this review first showed up, I've managed to put a couple of scratches in the spun aluminum lid of the machine as well. Obviously scratches make no real impact but they certainly do stand out. Everything else... pretty much still awesome!

Oh yeah, you can see the screen outside on a sunny day!

And now, back to my regularly scheduled (and unedited) review:

By now there are quite a few people reviewing these machines and there are some common themes. But before I get into it, for those that haven't really paid attention there are a number of models and you may wonder "Does THIS review for this model really apply to the one I'm looking at?"

The short answer is pretty much yes. There are really only a few variations and the biggest is how big the screen is. There's an 11 inch and a 13 inch. The other two variables are which processor you have and which hard drive you have. That's it. So for the most part a review for one model of Zenbook applies fairly well to all other models.

So, the common themes you may have seen in order:

1. The track pad sucks. No it doesn't. Per the recommendations I upgraded the driver and it works just fine. By default the cursor speed is slow but that is a simple setting in Windows. Once that was changed I've had no problems other than getting used to it. My old Toshiba had separate buttons so I got used to driving with one hand and clicking with the other. Because the buttons and pad are all one piece, when I try that it confuses the pad. Don't do that and it's fine. Two finger tap works great for a right click. So it does not suck. It's just different. People who are complaining about it either want it to be exactly like what they had or haven't even bothered to use it.

2. The keyboard is hard to type on/uncomfortable. It has taken me some getting used to. I'm a touch typist and can usually hit about 70 words a minute pretty regularly. The keys on this keyboard do take more force than on the Toshiba I'm replacing. But I'm not a featherweight typist so I haven't had much trouble. I do miss keys once in a while but it's not a problem for me. Mostly I miss the keys on the bottom row near the home keys. So cvb and nm, Also the keys are not back lit. Would be nice if they were but the screen is bright enough to see them without.

3. It comes with lots of junk pre-installed. Yes. It does. But so does every other factory computer I've ever purchased. Most I just uninstalled. Honestly there were more programs than I care for and it's a bit of a hassle to remove them but it's not a deal breaker for me. Just make sure you know what you're uninstalling as some are kind of necessary. For the record: HP's come with more junk thank this did.

4. Its wireless doesn't work. I have had ZERO problems. Missed the m) I took it out of the box and it connected to Boise State's wireless network immediately. Granted my office is less than 20 feet from the WAP. I updated the drivers and brought it home to my craptastic Lynksys G band router. It saw that and picked it up right away. It's got about the same signal strength as my Samsung Focus and my old Toshiba laptop. It's picked up every wireless signal I've tried to attach to without a single problem.

5. The edges are kind of sharp. Yes they are. It's not completely uncomfortable but it would be nice if they were rounded over. At least along the front edge where your wrists tend to be. They're not going to cut you but they can dig in a little (missed the l) bit.

Over all it's a great machine. It comes with a nice nylon bag/case to carry it in so before you buy the machine and a case check out what (missed the a) comes along with it.

The screen is nice. BRIGHT. Very bright I found myself turning that down a little as it's brighter than I like. But that's a nice change. Usually you turn screens up full to 10 and wish there was an 11. The fact that I'm down around 2 or 3 in a dark room and 5 or 6 in a lighter (missed the t) bodes well for use outside.

The audio is far nicer than a machine this size deserves. It's a little on the quiet side from what I came (missed the m) from but the sound is great. The Toshiba had larger speakers by Harmon/Kardon. By comparison this is a little quieter and has a slightly hollow sound but is not at all "tinny". The volume isn't as loud as the last laptop but the actual quality is great.

My actual biggest gripe is that on the 256 gig hard drive Asus actually partitioned the into a C: and a D: drive. It's an old school way of thinking which says software gets installed to C: and data gets saved to D:. In practice it doesn't work as well since Windows just likes to save stuff to your user library which by default is located in C:\Users. You can extend that library if you want but I chose to delete the D: partition and extend C: to the whole drive. I find that a better way of working. That's a personal preference and it took all of a minute to fix it.

So, is it a good machine? Absolutely. I got mine from BB because they were in stock. Does it have some faults? Yeah but what machine doesn't? The perfect machine for me may not be the perfect machine for you. Is it better than a MacBook Air? Depends on your preference. That's like asking if Ford is better than Chevy. From a purely objective point of view I'd have to argue that they're pretty much (missed the m) on par with each other. The ZenBook is a little cheaper, has a higher resolution screen and comes with a few extras the Mac doesn't. The Mac is... well it's a Mac and I have no idea why you'd spend extra because of that. I'm not a Mac guy. I can tell you that the two compared side by side have very similar stats so that's simply a matter of preference.

Over all, it's a good, well built machine with a lot of features, a good price point and a few flaws that I consider pretty small. For the record, I do IT work for Boise State so I see a LOT of laptops on my desk ranging from ultra cheap netbooks to the super high end MacBook Pro.

My personal choice said this was the best machine (missed the m) for me. It may not be for you but it's a great machine and I have no problems with 4.5 out of 5 stars. Fix the edges, reduce the needless software and maybe tweak the keyboard a bit and I'd give it a 5.

2525 comments 305 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

ASUS Zenbook UX31E-DH72

ByJRon November 29, 2011

Color: Silver AluminumVerified Purchase

Despite the mix of reviews, I decided to purchase the i7/256GB SSD version of the Zenbook. After a day I have come to the conclusion that either some of the reviews were of a completely different computer than the one I have or the reviewers were from competitors. Out of the box the unit worked with no problems.
For those keeping tabs on the hardware, my unit has the Elan touchpad, the SanDisk U100 256GB SSD, and the Atheros AR9485WB-EG wireless network adapter.

The touchpad exhibits no problems and works as advertised. The WIFI connection has been no problem connecting on a WPA-2 network. It connects right away and speed testing of the throughput matches what I have seen from other computers on the same connection. Web video is flawless.

The SSD is more interesting. Initially I got the same WEI rating of 5.9 that I have read about on several reviews and user sites. However, doing all the windows updates, updating the hardware, updating the BIOS to 207, deleting the D partition, and expanding the C partition to the full size of the SSD, I now get a WEI of 7.5. I have not run any more sophisticated benchmarks or tried to tune the drive. As it should be by default, the drive had TRIM enabled. While this is not a 7.9, it is in line with the ratings I get on other SSD's from Patriot and Kingston in other systems I have, albeit the speed ratings on the U100 would indicate it should be faster. In real world use the speed seems very acceptable.
The WEI ratings I get are:
Processor 6.9
Ram 5.9
Graphics for Aero: 5.6
Gaming Graphics: 6.3
Drive: 7.5
For a system with a low voltage processor and integrated graphics that seems pretty decent.

The system runs cool, which is a surprise. Running in high performance mode with the charger connected and exercising an external DVD and external HDD, it still runs cool. I used an infrared thermometer to look for the hottest spot on the chassis which seems to be on the bottom about two inches in from the left side along the vent holes and has been running around 92 deg F normally with the highest I have seen being around 98 deg F.

I have no screen defects and the display is excellent. I don't see the viewing angle issues that have been noted, the screen is very readable throughout a 150-160 degree arc both horizontally and vertically. The glossy screen is a bit of an issue for me, but nothing serious. The display is very sharp and very small fonts are clear and readable.
I don't have any crooked keys and the keyboard is fine for this touch typist. I can hit 80-90 WPM no problem. The key travel is not as much as on my desktop keyboard, but not an issue.

The web cam and microphone are about the norm for laptops. Camera is clear, but colors are a bit washed out in a reasonably bright room.

The USB 2.0 port provided adequate power for an external DVD drive with a single connection. The USB 3.0 port worked fine with a USB 3.0 external drive. I have not done a drive speed test on the USB 3.0 port to compare with the speeds I see elsewhere, but in use is seems comparable to the USB 3.0 ports I have on my desktop system.

Fortunately I already had every combination of HDMI cable and was able to connect the micro HDMI output to two projectors and a monitor. The system automatically detected the connected device and changed resolution to match the device. It also automatically returned to the native resolution when the external display device was disconnected. I don't use analog VGA, so I have not tested the dongle for that.
I have seen no sparks flying or other issues. So either I am lucky to have gotten a "good one" or the sparking was a "bad one". I would want to avoid getting something conductive into the vent holes on the bottom.

The chassis is very nice looking, IMHO more professional looking than the other ultrabooks (Acer S3 and Toshiba Z835or the monotone MBA. The fit and finish is excellent. The chassis is very solid and exhibits little if any flex. The edges are not sharp enough to be an issue. The spun metal look of the top is very nice and the unit seems to change color based on the amount of light in the room. The sleeve that came with the unit is very nice (I almost ordered one when I bought the unit because it was not mentioned or pictured, but I decided to wait and that was a good idea. and the small power supply is a nice change from the bricks that some manufacturers supply with notebooks. But seeing the Windows sticker on the power supply is a little weird. I wonder how long it will remain there, the power supply does get hot when charging and running at the same time with a mostly discharged battery.

I plan to do some cleanup and optimization, but the bloatware was not excessive.

So, what is wrong with the ASUS UX31-DH72. I think all computers should have a hardware network connection. The USB dongle is small, light and has its own bag, but I would have preferred to have had just an adapter from a small port on the computer to RJ-45. Having to use one of only 2 USB ports for a wired network connection really is a compromise.
Backlit keys would be nice, but I don't get too excited about them. They seem like a bit of a waste of power to me, but I am a touch typist, so that might color my option.

Update: After three weeks of use, I can definitely raise the review to 5 stars. Everything works like a champ. The computer is even fun to use. I still wish there was a hardware network jack, but it is great.

22 comments 17 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

Beautiful, but take the time to do a bit of configuration out of the box

ByD. POOLEon November 8, 2011

I won't harp on the appearance of the materials, font's used, etc. Yes the weight may be different then Asus has advertised, there are alot of variants of the machines in each form factor (ux21 or ux31) and this may explain the discrepancy in the specs. Either way the design is impressive and it is a stunning notebook.

Other reviewers have been accurate regarding the poor performance of the atheros 9485 wireless card. I have had a similar experience with my unit running it in it's unboxed condition.

I flashed the BIOS from 204 to 206 (using winflash), updated drivers for the sentellic track-pad, the atheros 9485 WiFi, bluetooth, and etc, removed alot of Asus bloatware, specifically "Power4Gear" & "LiveUpdate".

Now this thing is starting to impress me. Network card is running as fast as the netgear card on my PC. Track-pad is working as it's designed (although I'll admit it takes some practice to get accustomed to it).

It's hard to believe that people overreacted and sent them back before even updating the software. Do realize that you are what's considered an "early adopter" if you purchase the first machines off of the production line. If you don't realize this then you are unworthy of this machine, go get an apple.

44 comments 73 people found this helpful. Was this review helpful to you?YesNo

5 star		40%
4 star		14%
3 star		13%
2 star		12%
1 star		21%

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