ASUS UX32A questions. (ram, hdd upgrade, os-related, comparison with UX32VD)

Hello everyone!

As the title suggests, I have a few questions related to the UX32A model. I am interested in buying the i7, 6GB, 500GB + 24GB SSD model and I am interested in the following aspects about it:
1. Can I upgrade the ram?
2. Can I change the 500GB disk with an SSD?
3. Is anyone around here using this machine with Ubuntu installed? If yes, what are the impressions(in terms of battery life and compatibility)? Furthermore, can I install Ubuntu on the integrated 24GB partition?
4. Should I go with this model or should I choose the UX32VD (i5, 4GB, 500GB+24GB) which I know is upgrade-able in terms of ram and hdd? Also, there is an interesting aspect related to these two models. Here, in Romania, the UX32VD model that I mentioned is more expensive than the UX32A one, although at the first sight, the performance of these two would suggests the other way around. Is there something that makes the UX32VD model to be more expensive, although the UX32A is supposed to be better (besides the vendor`s preferences)?

Thank you in advance!

 

I have the UX32A. From what I've read I think its physical structure is the same as the UX32VD. Which means:
1. Yes, RAM is upgradable. Haven't tried this myself though.
2. Yes, but keep in mind you have to either buy a 7mm drive (Samsung 830/840, Crucial M4), or modify 9mm drives to fit.
3. No idea.
4. Check the GPU and screen resolution specs.

 

Do you know the exact model number (with the suffix)? The 32A I'm familiar with is not equipped with an i7.

ASUS - Notebooks- ASUS ASUS ZENBOOK UX32A

If the model in question is that one in the link, then you can expand the memory (it has a single DIMM slot expandable up to 4GB).

Do you have a link to the one you're looking at?

The hard drive CAN be swapped out, but it's not easy. It uses a special screw and I believe the whole bottom of the case needs to be removed.

As for the price difference, I believe the VD has dedicated GPU, while the 32A utilizes Intel HD graphics.

 

Thank you both for the answers.
Indeed, after looking carefully I noticed that the VD has the nVidia 620M card while the 32A has the Intel HD Graphics one.

Also, the RAM is upgrade-able only up to 4GB just in theory, or in practice also? I am asking this, because as far as I know, that is what has been said about the VD model also, but as you can read *here*, it supports up to 10GB (the 2 GB soldered on the motherboard + 8 GB upgrade).

This is the link to the one that I mentioned. I hope the specifications are readable, because it seemed that due to some policies of the site, google translate wasn`t able to translate it into english.

I have one more question. In terms of GPU, where would you place the Intel HD Graphics? I plan to use the laptop mainly for programming, web surfing, watching some movies and the rest of the usual activities, so no gaming. But I also would not want to wait forever to load a HD movie(or whatever format will appear) two years from now. Do you think the Intel HD would perform OK under this circumstances or should I choose the VD, which has the dedicated GPU?

Thank you again!

 

If you don't use it for gaming then you don't need a dedicated GPU.

 

A little of both, really; the memory cap is what's recommended by the manufacturer for stability's sake, although as you can see from the article you posted, as well as others' findings here on Notebook Review; often times, you can upgrade it further than advertised. Just bear in mind that a DIY upgrade on the Ultrabooks requires opening the case and accessing the guts, thus voiding the warranty.

If you don't intend on using any graphics intense applications, the Intel HD 4000 will take care of you just fine! From what you described as your typical usage, the integrated graphics controller on the i7 is powerful enough to handle what you would throw at it.

 

Zalman

I'm about to buy a ASUS UX32A and would also like to increase the RAM from 4GB to 8GB and (at some point) increase the SSD. Have you managed to do this?

From what I have read, the memory is part of the motherboard and cannot be upgraded and (unlike the UX32VD) there is no additional slot to a second card. Is this right?

Would be great to find out what you have done.

 

Crucial has a module especially for it: Computer memory upgrades for ASUS ZENBOOK UX32A Laptop/Notebook from Crucial.com

 

I have the UX32A-DB31, which comes with the i3 as opposed to i7 cpu.
1. You can upgrade the ram, I'm waiting for a crucial 8GB to install this week. I will update you later.
2. I switch my hdd for a crucial SSd. It's lightning fast.
3. You can install Ubuntu on the integrated SSD I've done that, but I wasn't impressed with the result. Now I have ubuntu on my new SSD and used the integraded one as an encrypted drive. It's smooth, backlight, wifi, bluetooth, sounds, all work out of the box. I don't think I've to do anything to get hardware to work. It's very fast.
4. I am not sure on this one. I went with the UX32A for the price, since I have a powerfull desktop for my computing. But I've doing doing development on the road, so the upgrade was necessary. The one you posted with i7 and 6GB ram, sounds good to me. Maybe the price comes the quality of the parts? This is all conjecture.

 

Hi all

sorry to bump this old thread, but info on the UX32A seems scarce! How did you guys get on with upgrading to SSD? Can anyone recommend a particular model that they upgraded? Any gotchas in the physical process of replacing the old disk drive?

I love my UX32A but unfortunate the Hitachi HDD has started giving disk errors, and I know it's just a matter of time before it fails. So, I've decided this is a good time to switch to an SSD, but I saw one Youtube video where he claimed it wasn't possible to upgrade the UX32A, only the UX32VD. So before I go down this road, it'd be great to get some confirmation from people who've actually succeeded in doing the drive upgrade.

thanks!