NotebookCHECK - Notebook Forum

Quite a shame that it goes in 'flames' when pushed a bit.... This is almost the perfect machine if it wasn't for those worrisome temperatures, this is more powerful than my current laptop, but I would not dare to do on UX32 what I do with mine.

800€ (or less), i5 Ivy Bridge (a dual core and HD 4000 seems to do the job fairly well), good thermal dissipation and low noise, at least 2h30 battery while browsing, good screen (doesn't need to be as good as this one), 13" to 15" form factor ... is it too much to ask? Maybe some 13" non-ultrabook will deliver that.

While it is in other segment Asus N56 seems to be the near ideal right now, I had my hopes for the UX32 :/

Awesome review! The first I've seen on the EX32VD. Thanks so much! Is it possible to swap the HD? I'm assuming that it is not.

The Hitachi hard drive seems to be 7mm tall. How large is the housing? Will it fit a 9.5mm drive if I want to replace the one that comes with it?

You guys give the most thorough, unbiased, and intelligent reviews on the web. U r awesome. I will definatlely buy a Zenbook UX31A...thx.

Quote from: Dan N. on June 03, 2012, 17:09:54
Awesome review! The first I've seen on the EX32VD. Thanks so much! Is it possible to swap the HD? I'm assuming that it is not.

Quote from: bt on June 03, 2012, 20:38:51
The Hitachi hard drive seems to be 7mm tall. How large is the housing? Will it fit a 9.5mm drive if I want to replace the one that comes with it?

It is possible to change the HD, but as you said you have to have a look at the thickness of 7mm. There is not enough space for a 9.5mm drive :)

Quote from: Ryu on June 04, 2012, 04:23:56
You guys give the most thorough, unbiased, and intelligent reviews on the web. U r awesome. I will definatlely buy a Zenbook UX31A...thx.

:)

Kind regards

48.67 fps in D3 in 1366x768 is all nice and well, but doesn't 1366x768 look absolutely craptastic on the 1920x1080 native display?

I'm wondering if 1920x1080 Low / AA off is they way to go in regards to fps/look.

I would have preferred a few millimeters more in thickness for better cooling and the integration of a newer, more power efficient Kepler Geforce GT 640M, like Gigabyte and Acer are integrating into their ultrabooks.

I wouldn't complain either if I could get a 13" display with the same quality but 'only' 1600x900.

Would be interesting to know, if this display supports high quality scaling, to use at lower resolutions like 1280x720 or 960x540 for games/videos... 

I wish this 13incher was rather a 1440x810! and a 15incher a 1600x900!(i want the numpad) Full HD on 13inchs is too much. Matt IPS is worth the money though!

I guess it should be visible in GPU-Z whether the GPU is GF117 or GF108. But I am guessing it would be the 28 nm variant because it's an Ultrabook.

How can you be unsure if it contains a GF117 chip when it says quite clearly on HWInfo64 in your stress testing screenshot that it indeed does

Is it possible to replace the mSSD on here? Also how many RAM slots are usable on the mobo and what is the max speed accepted? Also, has anyone found and 7.0mm high HDDs listed anywhere? I want to by this and the ability to install a big mSSD will be an important factor.

Quote from: Michael Von Hippel on June 21, 2012, 02:43:50
Is it possible to replace the mSSD on here? Also how many RAM slots are usable on the mobo and what is the max speed accepted? Also, has anyone found and 7.0mm high HDDs listed anywhere? I want to by this and the ability to install a big mSSD will be an important factor.

I might be wrong but only one slot may be viewable, and 2 GB is fixed on the main board.
However they write about

QuoteDDR3 1600 MHz SDRAM, 2 GB, OnBoard Memory, 2 x DIMM socket for expansion up to 4 GB SDRAM

, see the specs: http://www.asus.com/Notebooks/Superior_Mobility/ASUS_ZENBOOK_UX32VD/#specifications

I wonder:
1. did anybody tried installing Linux on this beast.
2. is it possible to go into BIOS settings and switch NVIDIA completely.
2.1. if  the latest is possible, I would be interesting to test each ultrabook in this mode for noise level and heat emission level, since some users may choose to tame their ultrabook to prevent  emission, and switch on only occasionally to play games.

Thank you for good review and very in-time (model is already available on some markets)!

Running very hot - and the misplaced dedicated graphics card on a 13", I think not only makes the Ivy Bridge a flop, but also this Ultrabook from ASUS a flop.

The suspicious stuffing in a dedicated a graphics card for no reason, adds to the suspicion of adding automatic "end-of-life" to the device, having the graphics card trash the device shortly after two years of use.

I have one, and the temparatures arent a problem. Its of very good quality, and when paired with an ssd and memory upgrade this is a very good contender a macbook air. Especially if you cannot be accustomed to the different keyboard, lackluster resolution and higher price.

I come from years of using ibm thinkpads and lenovo's latest, so I'm pretty picky on keyboards and durability. They pull this of very nicely.

The review is also good and balanced, and highlights exactly my experiences with it. I would love if people could stop pretending that there are a 'perfect' laptop out there - its down to the individual that needs it.

 :-[ :-[ :-[
Bought one in Poland, it is nice, not as terribly hot as some think...
BUT I found one defect pixel, in less than a week from purchase date... The notebook is in a service now, waiting for ASUS decision -- this model should be covered by ZBD policy (which works 30 days). Unfortunately I may not return to Poland and exchange the notebook. The servicemen said that the whole lid should be replaced. In my case identification of dot was problematic -- because it is invisible on white and slightly visible on black and it was "entangled" into Windows desktop background -- so I found the flaw when I started installing Linux.
So, advice for potential buyers -- check the LCD.

Quote from: axzy on June 25, 2012, 13:21:51
I wonder:
1. did anybody tried installing Linux on this beast.
2. is it possible to go into BIOS settings and switch NVIDIA completely.
2.1. if  the latest is possible, I would be interesting to test each ultrabook in this mode for noise level and heat emission level, since some users may choose to tame their ultrabook to prevent  emission, and switch on only occasionally to play games.

Thank you for good review and very in-time (model is already available on some markets)!

Hi, it's my  first comment on this site that I'm following since a couple of year. So I would like to thank all the team for the great work done !

About axzy' question 1 and 2 :
have a look at this site  :
http://www.linlap.com/wiki/asus+ux32vd#solved+issues

O'

Hi,

author mentioned: "According to Asus, it will be possible for users to swap RAM modules and hard drives themselves without loss of warranty."

Can anyone please confirm this?

Hi,

I received my ux32vd (full hd, i7). Wonderful beast. The screen is very very nice. It's fast. The hdd is big enough.
On the minus side I find it a bit noisy.

Straight from the box I got ride  of windows (in France you can get a refund from Asus, 43 euros for windows 7) and installed Fedora 17. No problems. Gnome 3 has no problems with the high resolution.

O'

Quote from: olivnotebook on July 20, 2012, 10:41:13
On the minus side I find it a bit noisy.

Straight from the box I got ride  of windows (in France you can get a refund from Asus, 43 euros for windows 7) and installed Fedora 17. No problems. Gnome 3 has no problems with the high resolution.

Lucky you, mate. It is a pity I cannot throw WIndows away for 43 euro :)
I would like to ask how did you configure mSATA 32GB flash-drive?

Concerning my case with broken pixel -- in somewhat 10 days of thinking (I hope they have been thinking about logistics -- how to deliver the lid to my country) they accepted the case as guarantee; so I am waiting for the part.

Quote from: axzy on July 26, 2012, 20:59:35

I would like to ask how did you configure mSATA 32GB flash-drive?

Hi axzy,

I have put the root (/), swap and /boot partitions on the 32 GB flash-drive.
On the HDD I have put the /home
Works fine. very fast booting and instant wake up from suspend.
For my usage it's perfect now. (If you do something like video editing, then maybe using the 32GB flash drive for the videos will be a better option...)

Good luck with your missing pixel !!

hi...what's the difference between ZenBook model ux32vd-r3001X and ux32vd-r3001V ? thanks...

Hello, everyone,

I am thinking of buying a Zenbook. I have one question. I have read this model has a problematic keyboard. The keys only register if you press at the center of the key. Otherwise the keys do not register. The reviewer who reported this missed every 6th or 7th key while typing text.
Can anyone confirm this flaw?

Thanks

Quote from: myname on August 22, 2012, 11:07:17
The keys only register if you press at the center of the key. Otherwise the keys do not register. The reviewer who reported this missed every 6th or 7th key while typing text.
Can anyone confirm this flaw?

I experience something similar -- but I could say frequency of such typos is lower than 1 of 7... and when you get accustomed to it you just press them a little bit harder, and in this case it works even when you press not exactly in the centre... for example if you try to reproduce this behaiviour using one finger typing in different areas of different keys you  will see this "bug" is almost non-reproducible... 1 of 100 I could say.

Another issue which makes me angry is that Elantech touchpad is touchable even in keys area... It is good for those who like tapping instead of keys... But I prefer to rest my finger on the right-click key... As result the touchpad understands this as if I use some 2 finger gesture... So I need always withdraw my hand from the key area to move the cursor... This is terrible, I hate this Apple-like innovation  >:D

in about 40-45 days from original request to service centre my screen was replaced. ZBD warranty worked well in this aspect. But the service did not agree to let me use my notebook these 40 days and let me bring the thing to replace only when the part arrives, so I was very sad man these days. I bought abroad so I cannot just return the item to the store and request substitution on site.
So I advice to scrutinize the display for broken pixels in first week and return to the shop...

after notebook was returned from the service, I started to reinstall Linux back, I found that 32GB SSD is NOT VISIBLE, I flashed the BIOS (which is no longer BIOS but EFI) to the latest version 206, and the SSD drive got visible again
Probably 206 is more stable than 203.
(also I found that they switched off the battery and thus system clock was 2009 year... -- but I doubt it alone may cause problem with invisible SSD)

Quote from: Rez on August 12, 2012, 12:08:55
hi...what's the difference between ZenBook model ux32vd-r3001X and ux32vd-r3001V ? thanks...

Windows 7 Home Premium (3001V)  vs Windows 7 Professional (3001X).

the key board killed my interests, sorry

Returned second UX32VD to Amazon.ca.

First one had great display, no white light bleeding around edges however, it had a blue ghost circle about 2 inch in diameter, almost non-visible. My concern was it might cause problems later. Returned...

Received second UX32VD. Display was total crap. White bleeding along perimeter, top right corner had bright bleeding, absolutely non-usable. Bottom cover flexing and cracking.

By god I've tried to like it. It has a potential. But totally crappy build quality and horrible display quality on two machines in a row is a deal breaker.

I am confused about the Maximum RAM.
According to the specs: 2GB OnBoard Memory, 2 x DIMM socket for expansion up to 4 GB SDRAM.
**The Asus representative told me that the total RAM possible is 2GB according to his info sheet.
**The sales person at the computer store told me: 2 + 4 + 4 = 10 GB but he was not sure.
**I think it could be just 4 GB but I hope not.
I find Asus the worst when it comes to info and website!

Nice pics. Asus Zenbook Prime UX32VD is a high end device. Device has some good features such as powerful graphics card, SD card slot, miniDVI, USB ports, HDMI port, power-in, and headset jack and many more. http://www.techiecop.com/laptops/asus-laptops/asus-zenbook-prime-ux32vd-laptop-review.html

 ;DSimply wonderful. I have one for one month now, and I'm impressed with the general quality and performance. Price is very reasonable too. Only mistake, install windows 8, used it for two weeks, the computer stalled several times and, in some cases, it cooked  inside the nice sleeve that comes with the equipment for a few hours. It was a pain in the a** to go back to windows 7, but after some hard work it was back to life. http://www.notebookcheck.com/forum/Smileys/default/grin.gif

For UX31/UX32 owners: I read about an annoying problem with the fan system in the UX32A&VD and UX31A&VD models. A lot of people assure that fans start switching on and off (3600rmpm-0rpm-3600rpm-0rpm...) in an endless cycle. What about this? If I get one, should I expect having the same problem?

I use my ux32vd i7 version for playing every day. No GPU of CPU throttling and I can play all day 24/7 if I want to, heat is not a problem. The cores do get up to 90 degree C, but the case where you put your hands are not disturbingly hot. Awesome laptop. Just a bit "noisy", but you get used to it easily.

Bought the ux 32 VD 5 days ago.

Works very well. FInition is perfect and the package is very complete. The screen is great! You almost don't hear the laptop in normal or light charge. Touchpad isn't that bad too. You get used to it after 1-2 days.

I'm playing League of legend on a extern monitor in 1920*1080 resolution. You can play 3-4h without any heat or Noise problem. Even after that you can put the laptop on your knees.

So yeah, the notebook is expensive, but have to say it's worth it.

I will return the second unit of UX32VD to the seller and give up trying. UX32VD could have the best display for an ultrabook if they did not have backlight bleeding at the corners of the screen. The light is green and it is really annoying for such a good display.

The bleeding spots are visible only when the background is black. And it is black when you watch a movie or you work at an ssh terminal.

The unit exposed at the shop has almost zero backlight bleeding, however I bought two units and they both have much. Bad luck? I do now know. I am a bit sad.

idt