ASUS ZENBOOK UX31 Review

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ASUS ZENBOOK UX31 Review by VR-Zone.com

The success of the thin, ultraportable Apple MacBook Air has indirectly prompted Intel to envision how notebook computer of the future should be like. And that notebook computer is the new Ultrabook which was recently launched by various manufacturers.



The term "Ultrabook" first came about at COMPUTEX 2011, and ASUS was there to showcase their UX21 and UX31 machines - which use the power-efficient second-generation Intel Core processors, have long-lasting life, and are easy to carry. Intel had also held a press conference in Taiwan, and announced that it will invest up to US$300 million in research and development for the Ultrabook product line. From this, one can tell that even the chip giant felt a sense of threat from Apple.

Looking back, Intel was pushing for the energy-efficient Consumer Ultra-Low Voltage (CULV) processor. But why did it fail?

1. Intel forced manufacturers to take in their chips or else it would "affect" the future supply of chipsets. will affect the subsequent supply chipsets and processors.
2. The notebook PCs from various manufacturers that incorporate the CULV processor, the weight and thickness simply can't match that of the Ultrabook.
3. The performance is unable to fulfil the requirement of most consumers.
4. Apple introduced their first-generation MacBook Air which uses ULV processor, and it completely overtook the CULV notebooks in the market.


From the first to second generation Apple MacBook Air, the various notebook manufacturers did not feel any pressure. But with the third generation, something has to be done or else nothing could change how Apple define the trend of consumers' spending habit. ASUS U Series, from U1 and U2, has stunned and impressed everyone with their design, but not the latter models. However, the new ZENBOOK has reliven the U-series, more than the U1 and U2 era.

There are four ASUS Ultrabook models in Taiwan, which are listed below. Our review unit is the UX31E-061A2557M which incorporates Intel Core i5-2557M processor, 4GB DDR3 memory, and SandForce SATA 6Gbps SSD that uses SF-2281 controller.

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Incorporating aluminium for its chassis, the weight is approximately 1.3kg and gives a better feel than other ASUS laptops. The ZENBOOK UX31 or UX21 are more unique from the concentric circular lines at the top that look appealing on the whole. It measures 3mm at the front and 9mm at the rear which makes the ZENBOOK look extremely slim. On the display department, the screen resolution is 1600x900, which gives a larger viewing area. This resolution is also a breakthrough in ASUS 13-inch models and ASUS could be the only manufacturer offering it. (It is no wonder the ZENBOOK has so much attraction). In terms of I/O offerings, the ASUS has a set of USB3.0, USB2.0, DC, micro HDMI and mini VGA (with adapter). The UX31 also comes with a SD card reader, which is absent from the UX21.





The ASUS ZENBOOK UX31 comes with a leather case, which looks more like a document case than a laptop. From here, you can see the 3mm thinness at the front and the UX31 had round edges to prevent users from being scratched.





The UX31 offers a memory card reader that supports MMC and SD card, audio jack and USB 2.0 on the left. And on the right are the micro HDMI, mini VGA, USB 3.0 and DC connectors.

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The UX21 has a 11.6-inch 16:9 wide-aspect ratio display, with a resolution of 1366x768, while the UX32 has a resolution of 1600x900. The display bezel also measures 15.4mm thick (left and right), 20mm and 23.14mm up and down respectively. ASUS also incorporates a chiclet-style keyboard with matching colors. In terms of dimension, we measured 16.2 x 14.8mm for the A, S, D, F keys, and 16.2 x 18.25mm for the FN key. The UX31 features Audio by Bang & Olufsen ICEpower series; eEven if the Ultrabook is thin, the overall sound quality should not be compromised.

More pictures of the ASUS UX31:-

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We are sure readers would also be interested in the innards of the ASUS ZENBOOK UX31, and therefore we decided to open the machine's base cover to have a glimpse of the interior design. The motherboard is comprised of two parts. The audio and USB2.0 (which adopt an independent design), are connected via Flexible Connector.



The cooling fan is DELTA ELECTRONICS DC BRUSHLESS, model KDB05105HB.



The USB 3.0 port is courtesy of a FRESCO chipset



The REALTEK RTS5139 chipset used for the memory card reader



The SSD used is from ADATA with a SandForce controller (model: SF-2281), supporting SATA 6Gbp/s performance. The ASUS ZENBOOK UX31 also has the fastest read and write speeds among the four Ultrabooks.



At the hinge, you can see that it is limited to the UX31 model.



The built-in stereo speakers rated at 4 ohms, 2W



The ASUS Lithium-polymer battery pack rated 6840mAh, 50Wh



Besides the leather case, the ZENBOOK also comes with a USB to RJ45 adapter, and a mini VGA adapter.

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After checking out the Ultrabook from the exterior to the insides, we shall go into the testings. The tests involved the following:

1. CPU performance test
2. Hard disk performance test
3. Temperature Test
4. Endurance test
5. Weight test

The ASUS ZENBOOK UX31 offers two CPU choices - the 1.6GHz Intel i5-2557M and 1.8GHz i7-2677M. Our review unit is the UX31E-061A2557M which uses Intel i5-2557M and the memory is 4GB. Unfortunately, there is no way to upgrade the memory. Here's a look at the CPU-Z and system information:-







Above: The scores for CrystalMark 2004R3



CoresMark 2010 is a new software that tests and benchmark the performance of next-generation multi-core processors. From the benchmark, you will find that the highest temperature is 76-degrees celsius.



Results from Nuclearus Multi Core v.2.0.0 - RC1



wPRIME



The CINEBENCH Release 10



CINEBENCH Release 11.5

In the second part, we will provide information on the ADATA XM11 120GB SSD for your reference. This mSATA SSD uses SandForce SF-2281 controller, whereby the compression writing technique is unique, and thus the ATTO performance is seemingly more remarkable.



ATTO



CrystalDiskMark ALL 0×00, 0 Fill



CrystalDiskMark ALL 0×00, 1 Fill



HDTUNE 4.61



And a look at the results from PCMark 7 Professional Edition

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To measure the temperature performance, we use AIDA64 for the system stability test. The maximum temperature reached is approximately 86 - 88 degrees celsius, while the general standby temperature is around 48 degrees celsius.

video MVI 0041 - YouTube

On endurance tests, the UX31 provides seven hours of operation on its 6840mAh 50Wh Lithium-ion battery. Let's see how well it does on Battery Eater 2.70.



High-performance under the Custom Test setting and the ASUS lasted 129min (screen brightness at the maximum).



Power4Gear Entertainment mode with Reader test running, and the results is 299min (screen brightness at 50% of high performance).



Reader Test running with power saving mode, and the ASUS lasted for 341min (screen brightness at 50% of high performance).



Just the ZENBOOK alone, it weighs 1.41kg.



Together with the leather case, the total weight is 1.62kg.



Add in the transformer, mini VGA adapter and USB to RJ45 adapter, and the weight goes up to1.841kg



BootRacer shows that the boot time takes just 12 seconds.

video: Asus UX31 Ultrabook - instant on demostration

In addition to the ASUS instant on 2, we have also filmed a video for your reference which also includes the boot up time when you first power the machine.

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In terms of appearance, many users would feel that it is "the same" as the Apple MacBook Air. And yes, we also had the same sentiments in the beginning too, even when we had our actual testings and usage. Weight-wise, it cannot be compared to the TOSHIBA Portege Z830; the Z830 weighs 1.1kg, which is slightly lighter than the Ultrabook. But based on our experience, the price of the Z830 is surely much higher than the ZENBOOK, and with a smaller capacity SSD.

For audio, the ASUS ZENBOOK incorporates Audio by Bang & Olufsen ICEpower series, and is also tuned by ASUS' "golden ear" audio team. It is like the first time we hear the ASUS Bang & Olufsen from the NX90, and one can't imagine how such a small machine can produce the NX90 sense of space. In recent years, the 13.3-inch screen is a breakthrough in ASUS' line of notebook PCs, with a resolution of 1600x900. From our understanding, it uses CPT panel and the colors aren't too bad. Of course, it cannot be compared to IPS or VA panel though. Most of the 13.3-inch Ultrabook are still offering resolution of 1366x768, and this could be a reason why you should choose the ASUS ZENBOOK.

However, pricing is a little high, especially in Taiwan retail market. We feel that the ZENBOOK with 128GB SSD, Intel i5-2557M processor should be between NT$31,500 (US$1,04 to NT$32,000 (US$1,065) price range, in order to be more attractive to consumers. Even though the similar specifications of the MacBook Air is about NT$3,000 (US$100) more expensive than the ZENBOOK, most users would probably go for the Apple product. The ASUS ZENBOOK may have a lot of internal changes and breakthroughs, but we, as consumers, would expect to see more in future Ultrabooks or laptop products. We also hope to see Intel's next initiative, and not just for the moment. Otherwise, the Ultrabook would be in the same dire footstep as its CULV notebook siblings.

*This article is translated from chinese.vr-zone.com

Here's the local pricing for the ASUS ZENBOOK:-



NOTE: 1 Singapore Dollar = 35 Philippine Pesos

Overall rating:

[YellowSubmarine]

Nice kun available ni diri.. kanus-a kayha

[NapoleonBlownapart]

Na article sa net.. Nov.3 ni diri

[akomao]

wow. mas affordable jd diay xa..