Asus ZenBook Duo UX8407 convertible review - Intel Panther Lake is a game changer

[Redaktion]

Asus has redesigned its dual-screen ZenBook Duo convertible for 2026, making it better in multiple respects. These include the new Intel Panther Lake processor with more efficient CPU cores and a so much faster iGPU that can just about make the GeForce RTX 4050 irrelevant.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Asus-ZenBook-Duo-UX8407-convertible-review-Intel-Panther-Lake-is-a-game-changer.1212285.0.html

[Very good, but price?]

Very nice to see Panther Lake being 46% (at 35W) to 90% (at 20W) more power efficient than 860M and 890M.

[flyingdragon94]

Could you benchmark the Intel Arc B390 on Doom Eternal? I'm curious as to how it would perform at 1800p when injected with XeSS Balanced via Optiscaler.

[Vekhek]

Amazing work! You've compared 388 with everything but it's direct competitor ryzen 9 370hx. Gpu is literally only interesting thing in the CPU, and amd has no better portative graphics than 890m. (Ai max are not portable cpu with their tdp)

[Sergey]

it's direct competitor ryzen 9 370hx

This is a laptop review - please check out our dedicated 388H and B390 analysis articles for more comparisons and everything. Besides, there are simply no convertibles with the HX370/375 available right now, if you really want an apples-to-apples comparison.

[Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition]

Sergey, any idea if you guys will be reviewing the yoga slim 7i aura edition (2026 panther lake) any time soon?

[nice: 128 GB at 128-bit]

The issue I have with this laptop, are only 32 GB solered RAM. Give me at least a 48 GB RAM option. I'm not even asking for a 96 GB RAM option, so that I could host Gpt-Oss-120b or a GLM-4.5-Air quant.

At least Panther Lake supports up to 128 GB RAM, which is nice for a 128-bit wide memory interface APU/SOC.

Up to 128 GB

Which makes it twice, what Strix Halo offers: Strix Halo' memory width is 256 bits wide, but SH supports only up to 128 GB RAM.

[The Werewolf]

stylus and travel case included

Not in all countries.
In the US, you get both and three models i7, i9 and i9X.
In the UK, you just get the stylus and two models i9 and i9X.
In Canada, you get neither and two models i7 and i9X.
Same equivalent price in each country.

At least now in Canada you can choose between the English and the Multilingual keyboards. We used to only get the multilingual which I hate. In fact, it's why I returned my 2022 model.

[shawman]

This is a solution in search of a problem. I dont think we need dual display in a laptop. Go for 16 or even 18" if you want a big screen. Connect to external display via usb-c if you need additional real estate. Focus should be on improving efficiency of laptop and may be change regulations to support batteries > 100wh as we have Si C and may be even Solid State Batteries coming up with higher densities.

[you dont say]

This is a solution in search of a problem. I dont think we need dual display in a laptop. Go for 16 or even 18" if you want a big screen. Connect to external display via usb-c if you need additional real estate. Focus should be on improving efficiency of laptop and may be change regulations to support batteries > 100wh as we have Si C and may be even Solid State Batteries coming up with higher densities.

I wonder if they did so marked research before and how many people would buy it. The whole point of APU-only is low weight and this is 3.75 pounds and I personally would like it somewhere around 2.2 pounds (not likely to happen with a 60 W B390 APU, and more like 2.4 pounds at least) (or, of course, below the magic 2 pounds number) (yes, this means only one display and it's fine as I don't need two, makes it also just more expensive).

I think it's 99 Wh because 99.9 Wh is the limit allowed to take a device on a plane.

[FPS per weight]

In terms of FPS per weight, the Asus ZenBook Duo UX8407AA scores 7190 in 2560x1440 Time Spy Graphics and weights 1.7kg. 7190/1700 = 4.23.

Go to notebookcheck.net/Benchmarks-and-Test-Results.142793.0.html and compare for yourself (import into a spreadsheet and add a new column, which divides the Time Spy Graphics score by each laptop's weight).

Just for comparison:

• Highest score: Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 GA402XY scores 10.58 and a Razer Blade 16 2025 RTX 5090 scores 10.57. This is 2.50 times the Duo's score. Of course, 2 screens add weight (and price).
• Highest 4050 Laptop score: 4.77 (Lenovo Yoga Pro 9-14IRP G8)
• Lowest 4050 Laptop score: 2.85 (Dell XPS 14 2024 OLED)
• Highest 4060 Laptop score: 7.33 (Asus ROG Flow Z13 GZ301V
• Lowest 4060 Laptop score: 3.78 (MSI Cyborg 15 A12VF
• Average 4060 Laptop scores: 6.01 (Lenovo Legion Slim 5 14APH8) and 7.12 (Asus TUF Gaming A14 FA401WV-WB94)

If one considers a normal, non duo screen, Arc B390 laptop, the FPS per weight score is much higher: notebookcheck.net/Asus-ExpertBook-Ultra-review-One-helluva-debut-for-Intel-Panther-Lake-X7.1209366.0.html:
6.54 = 7270/1111 ("1.111 kg").