ASUS X401a, anyone tried to make an ultrabook lite?

Best buy is selling the ASUS X401a for $329. Its got a sandy bridge tech 2.3ghz dual core processor (no hyper threading), uses asus active hybrid engine 2 for instant on like an ultrabook. 4gb ram, usb3, 320gb sata 3 drive, 4.1lbs and a pretty clean design for a basic machine.

I'm thinking that swapping out the HD for an SSD, say the 64gb crucial or samsung 830 since their affordable would give this machine near ultrabook performance for about $400. Has anyone tried anything like this?

Its getting 4hrs of battery life in the reviews ive read, im betting moving to an ssd from the spinning platters might give it an extra hour.

What do you think?

 

i have been eyeing on this too, interested in getting one due to the price point and less bulky than a 15 inch notebook....primarily as a backup machine if my UX32VD craps out for some reason

i only have one question though, will really appreciate it if someone who has the laptop in hand can answer this for me:

- is it easy to swap out ram and HDD? also, the bigger question: is the HDD 9mm or 7mm?

thanks in advance

 

Registered just so I can answer this question for you guys

The HDD and Ram are not quick swap. There is no doors for them, the bottom is entirely just one piece of plastic. As for the HDD being 9 or 7mm I cannot say, I haven't opened it up in fear of voiding my warranty.

 

I'm looking at this one too, as a travel machine compared to my 15" i7 beast that gets maybe 2 hours battery life.

I'd be looking to swap to an SSD as well. I've got 4GB RAM in my current setup, and have maxxed it out only by trying, so I see no reason to upgrade RAM. But once you've gone SSD, you can't go back! If anyone has opened it up, please let us know how hard it is to get in there.

One of the reasons I bought my current Asus was how easy it was to get to the components. It's a different story when the machine is as compact as the x401a.

 

thanks for your reply and registering just to give us the answer, but its unfortunate that upgrading parts wont be as straight forward.

guess i will have to see the unit myself first this coming weekend. i live in canada so i guess warranty doesnt matter to me as much, but that said i am also looking at the acer 11 incher for 279 (sadly it was for sale for 250 a few weeks ago and price went back to 279 since)

Acer - 11.6" Aspire One Laptop - 2GB Memory - 320GB Hard Drive - Ash Black - AO756-2623

has a weaker processor (which im ok with since i have been a ULV cpu user for quite awhile) and less ram (but i have tons of ram lying around including 2x4gb sticks) and lack of usb 3.0 port, but its 50 bucks cheaper and upgrading is simple as pie. at any rate, both laptops are being sold at bestbuy so i guess i will check both out in person

 

I just purchased one for 280. I like it so far and plan on swapping out processor for a i5 and adding a SSD. Taking it apart it's one piece but doesn't appear to be too bad at all.

 

Anyone know if the bios on asus laptops are locked to certain processors?

 

How or where did u get it for 280?

 

It's pretty easy to swap both items but the max RAM is only 4GB but if you want to put more RAM you can but it has not been tested to see if it's stable enough.

Regarding about the HDD size its a 9.5mm