Asus launches ZenBook 14 (UX431) with Whiskey Lake CPUs and upcoming GeForce MX150 configuration

[Redaktion]

Asus has announced the ZenBook 14 (UX431). Two configurations of the laptop are currently available, with a third higher-specced option coming in the second quarter of the year. The usual slim ZenBook aesthetic is present with the latest additions, which come with 8th Gen Intel Core processors and the option of a discrete graphics card.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Asus-launches-ZenBook-14-UX431-with-Whiskey-Lake-CPUs-and-upcoming-GeForce-MX150-configuration.413930.0.html

[S.Yu]

For a second I thought the laptop was pentagonal.

[NANI???]

Bad configurations. 3 problems.  1) The MX150 should be available on the i5, but it is only on the i7.  2) The thermal performance is bad on a slim laptop. So the i7 multi core benchmark will be slower than the i5. I would prefer i5 over the i7, because a majority of high load software are multi core. I hope it uses double heat tube or double fans.  3) 8 GB RAM is not enough, and will be a bottleneck on i5 for media and content creation. Only offering 16 GB with i7 means I won't consider this laptop (if the RAM is soldered).

[Navabi]

Do you guys now what's the difference between this laptop and UX433? I am planning to purchase either one of them... thank you!

[sticky]

@Navabi
UX433 is the continuation of x30 series (UX430, UX330, UX305 etc), which is slightly more premium than x10 series (UX431, UX410, UX310, UX301 etc). x90 series (UX491, UX391, UX390 etc) are what Asus considers the most premium ultrabooks.

They are similar. Generally x30 is lighter with slightly bigger battery compared to x10, and also packs the most recent features e.g. touch numpad. x10 series is also offered with low-end specs such as Core i3 and 4GB memory.

Unfortunately however, as Zenbooks are severely overpriced today, I would not recommend them considering their alternatives.

[Navabi]

@sticky

Thanks a lot for your reply!! Indeed I saw a lot of negative comments online on Zenbooks especially on the throttling/trackpad issues... is there any laptop around the price range of UX433 that you would recommend?

[sticky]

@Navabi
Happy to help. Since you were looking at Zenbooks, I'm supposing you don't need anything too powerful.

1) ultrabook with MX150 dedicated graphics (UX433FN equivalent)
Lenovo Ideapad 720s 14 - starts at $800

i5-8250U, 2GB MX150, 8GB RAM, 256GB NVMe SSD, 55Wh battery, 1.5kg

2) ultrabook with Integrated graphics (UX433FA equivalent)
LG Gram 13 or 14 (13Z980 / 14Z980) - starts at $900

i5-8250U, iGPU, 8GB, 256GB SATA3 SSD, 72Wh battery, 1kg

3) 2-in-1 with integrated graphics (UX461FA equivalent)
Lenovo Yoga 730 13 - starts at $700

i5-8250U, iGPU, 8GB, 128GB NVMe SSD, 48Wh battery, 1.2kg

[Johnnydoe Jane]

You're showing more ads when I have an ad blocker, but that doesn't help, I won't click ads anyway. I think all visitors with ad blockers don't click ads ever.

Basically, you want to earn money from 'ad impressions' in this case. That means advertisers pay for their ads being shown, even when nobody looks at them or clicks on them. Is that ethical? It's a complete waste for advertisers. Just ignore ad blockers.

[S.Yu]

You're showing more ads when I have an ad blocker, but that doesn't help, I won't click ads anyway. I think all visitors with ad blockers don't click ads ever.

Basically, you want to earn money from 'ad impressions' in this case. That means advertisers pay for their ads being shown, even when nobody looks at them or clicks on them. Is that ethical? It's a complete waste for advertisers. Just ignore ad blockers.

I haven't clicked on an ad intentionally for over a year now(excluding a site that I want to support where they also asked explicitly that you click on certain ads that only load when you consent to supporting the site through ad clicking), my lifetime annual average would probably be lower than one ad a year.