ASUS Zenbook UX303 (Nvidia GT 840M)

I just found ln model in one store,for those who dont like flex and bouncing keyboard I would not recommend this notebook,keyboard is very bad

 

But does it flex with normal typin? because we don't need mush strengh to pusk a key....
or, OK, it flexes, but if you apply a certain ammount of force in it?

 

There is NO keyboard flex period. The video is a hoax or a defective unit.

Jim

 

I was replying to vigorito on his post just above mine, as he is refering he saw that laptopn in a store and noticed the flex... I thought it would be OK to ask -.-

 

Has anybody else had issues with the microphone. When talking on Skype, I'm receiving a lot of complaints with noise and feedback. I can put on headphones and listen to the microphone and I can confirm that there is an abnormal amount of noise. I have updated all drivers (and tried older ones as well), adjusted any and all settings, but can't get a situation where it sounds good. Is anybody else having this issue or is it possible my unit is defective?

 

The video is not a hoax - the reviewer is perfectly legit. That said, he typically reviews pre-production models, so the final product *may* be different. Also, just because your model is fine, doesn't mean the problem doesn't exist. The UX302LA/LG line was bombarded with keyboard problems and it was completely random as to whether you got one or not. Some were perfect and others had the metal flexing as high as the top of the H key. In most cases, the flex is caused by very thin aluminum that bows up from either being an incorrect size or mounted incorrectly. It's one piece and is built onto the keyboard, so if the motherboard or keyboard is mounted even slightly off, it can cause the metal frame on top to curve a little. With previous models, some have improved the issue by disassembling and resassembling the motherboard. Other's could never fix the issue, mainly because it was due to the keyboard being mounted and nobody was willing to go through the torture of removing it. Either way, the problem has existed in the past and can easily still exist now on some units.

 

maybe is some problem with region how the notebooks are made for which county SO al this listed models under has a keyboard FLEX AND BOUNCING PERIOD i was this morning in the local asus store and i checked all of them and they all have crappy keyboard the best keyboard i have found on asus zenbooks is the model ux31la its closest to rmbp.ill stick with my rmbp for some time still.


UX303LN-R4144H
UX303LN-DQ148P
UX303LN-C4146H

 

Here's a video to show mine. I don't know what you people call "flex" but when I press keys at normal typing pressure the keyboard remains stiff as steel. In the video I'm poking it at harder than typing pressure: https://www.dropbox.com/s/xdg617272eyruod/2014-09-29 17.45.41.mp4?dl=0

 

Just watch it,you should turn your light in the room on! Haha it seems youd doesent has it,dont force me to go again in the asus store to make a 3 vids about all 3 ln models because I will do it and prove the these models has and its very bad,im out of bussines with this model

 

Yeah, I had a UX302LA and it had a perfect keyboard. I returned it because of poor battery life and I didn't like the flex in the screen.There were some folks who got keyboards that had the bowing problem. As I recall, they either had them replaced or fixed.

I think a blanket statement that the whole line of laptops have "crappy" keyboards, is a gross exaggeration.

Jim

 

Hey guys, I've been back and forth a little with ASUS, sharing with them the links to this discussion, as well as the Lenovo discussions and our images. Today I got this in my inbox:

*firmware

 

IMO even with the yellows fixed the LN just isn't worth the price. Would be better with a 1080p screen and a lower price tag.

 

That is for what country? Pls say uk, pls say uk........

 

Which country is this?

 

Im from the states, not sure where they will be rolling out the firmware update first, but maybe it will work on all QHD models?

 

Don't hold your breath for a reasonable "fix". Samsung and Lenovo have had this problem since their release. The best they have been able to do is to run the display at maximum brightness which kills battery life. And the yellow is still not true yellow. The yellow problem is a result of a basic design problem, which is unlikely to be "fixed" with BIOS changes.

Jim

 

I would actually be quite happy with that solution, as it would mean the yellows would be good whilst plugged in and slightly off when on battery. I'll only be doing word processing/web browsing/movies on battery anyway and the current yellows are just fine for these.

The only use where the yellows are an actual problem is editing photos because you don't see the final result exactly how others will see it.

 

asus serbia,eastern europe

 

If you have time, please take a video of the keyboard flex. One of the models you mentioned (the C4146H) is the type that may come to my region. I really hope I am wrong.

 

EVGAFTW same as me this is model i was planning to buy

Gigatron - ASUS Zenbook UX303LN-C4146H

this model has a flex period,i test all 303ln series several times,i really doubt that all 3 variations of 303ln are defective

 

For anyone owning the LN version, how's the temperature under load (i.e. gaming)? Does it reach the 90's °C?

I am considering the i5 instead of the i7 to prevent the processor from reaching 90 degrees C, but considering they both use 15watts of power, it probably won't make a difference.

 

Ok, thanks I will check the display model before buying when it comes to my region.

 

I'm also interested in temperatures and fan noise. Right now my notebook is fine in idle when nothing is active running, but the fans will quickly start at some load (scrolling in browser, light multitasking), which really gets on my nerves. It's important for me that the notebook will be cool and quite at regular work (some programs are running and do little work in the background) and maybe at some more load.

I'm not sure if someone already wrote about it, but has Asus its own Power Management tools? Back in the days of the M2400N they had a great power tool that made the notebook in office mode except the harddrive complete silent. Would be nice to have something similar for the UX303LN. If the i5 will be much cooler then I would maybe also go with it, but I hope and don't think so. I know from Macbooks Pro reviews that the systems are getting hotter after the Haswell-Refresh and the fans are a little bit more active, but my hope is that thanks to a good power management I could throttle the system at normal work and can activate the additional power if needed. So, how well works and how good customizable is the power management of the UX303LN?

 

My LN with the LA 1080p screen is pretty much silent whilst browsing, youtubing etc and when gaming I can only just hear the fans.

I also have little to no keyboard flex. Certainly none whilst typing with regular force.

This really is a great notebook.

 

Kudos to you for figuring out how to swap the screens on your own! To be clear, you swapped the panels, not the entire lid right? I'm debating doing a manual screen replacement on a different Asus touchscreen notebook but I'm not 100% sure how it goes when a digitizer is involved. It has a similar hinge too.

At any rate, enjoy your the-way-it-should've-been 303LN!

 

I want to buy this one and connect it via HDMI to my 20" IPS monitor at home. so how’s the cooling/temperature when display isn’t lifted up? can anyone test it (gaming, movies etc.)?
and it has a free mSATA slot right?

 

He swapped lids. There's no reasonable way to swap panels on touchscreens. The glass is likely glued or very well taped.

 

I'm going to be doing a fresh Windows 8.1 install (to be free of ASUS bloatware and avoid any nasty registry issues from pulling them out), and plan on wiping the computer when I get it, including the useless backup partition since it has a small 128 GB drive.

1. So forgive my ignorance, but does this computer use UEFI, or standard BIOS, and should I even care/do I need to do anything special when I'm re-installing Windows to make sure it still boots fast?
2. Should Windows Update automatically pull all of the correct ASUS drivers or do I need to manually download/install some of their apps to get everything functioning correctly?

 

1. Make sure you boot the install media in uefi mode.
2. Most drivers install but for things like the Intel chipset I like to download the latest from intel directly. Any asus specific control software and audio drivers are best downloaded from asus.

 

1. I just built a PC myself, and swear UEFI worked fine without me doing anything special (I want UEFI right?) How exactly do I boot in UEFI mode? Sorry I'm not new to computers, but I am new to laptops, and haven't kept up with all the latest.

 

Yeah I just switched the lids which was very easy to do.

The max dGPU temp I've seen whilst playing games and running the UE4 tech demos is 71 degrees (lid open).

I use Station Drivers to find the latest drivers for each component, then as Meaker suggested the ASUS support site for the few ASUS specific bits.

I couldn't boot UEFI for some reason (using the UEFI boot option on the last page of the BIOS) but I disabled secure boot, booted normally from USB stick and Windows 8.1 automatically installed in UEFI mode.

It was a nice surprise to also find Windows 8.1 had automatically activated itself using the embedded OEM key.

 

What version of Windows 8.1 did you install? Just a retail copy, and OEM one, or what? Not sure what key it will accept, would like to know for my installation tomorrow, thanks!

 

The official MSDN Windows 8.1 Core/Pro 64-bit ISO.

 

I love MSDN.

 

Hi guys,
If I get this laptop UX303LN-R4141H - Full HD (matte), i7-4510U, 256 GB SSD, 8 GB RAM
does it have the yellow issue?
just to be sure, th yellow issue only affects the QHD screens right? not the FHD?

 

Yes, only Touch models. Yellow colors are coming from adhesives/glues between glass and touch panel. most smartphones have this problem, too. expecially early charges/release models.

I want to buy this one and connect it via HDMI to my 20" IPS monitor at home. so how’s the cooling/temperature when display isn’t lifted up? can anyone test it (gaming, movies etc.)?
and it has a free mSATA slot right?

 

So only QHD screens are touch screens? I thought the 1080p would also be touch

 

The crappy yellow is coming from the 1800p screen design, not touchscreen glue!

The "extra" ssd slot is for a HALF length mSATA.

Good luck, Jim

 

That's not the reason for the issues with the colour yellow on the QHD screens. There is an issue with the design of the panel itself.

Yes there is a free mSATA slot but it is only half length which severely limits your SSD choices.

EDIT: Ninja'd by the Jimster.

 

No, that's not true... The yellow issue is only the QHD screen and it's caused by the RGBW Samsung panel that they chose to use. The FHD version uses a totally different panel and looks the same with or without the digitizer. On the Y50(Which uses the same technology of panel) the touch panel version and the matte version had the same colors. I have a tough time believing they use adhesive on 100% of the screen anyways. Why not just the edges. Otherwise there would be defects with bubbles everywhere.

Edit: lol guess I'm not the only one replying to this

 

okkk.. but UX303LN-R4141H is a german version which is non-touch matte FHD. are you sure it has yellow issue too?
asus zenbook ux303ln in Notebooks Preisvergleich | Geizhals EU
hmmhmm. are there any pics and reviews for non-touch matte FHD?

 

What about the screen itself between the QHD and FHD? The qhd is all glass like the macbook pro right? What about the fhd? Is it like that as well our dies it have that plastic frame around the screen? Do you know what i mean?

 

If you get the touch version it will be all glass! Otherwise there is a bezel. The only way to get the LN with fhd touch is to swap lids with the LA version

 

Hi I have a question regarding memory upgrade. As it has one part of the Memory soldered on the board... if You want To exchange the module... Do You then have To make sure you use a memory module with the exact same timings / latencies etc... and if yes which ones ?

 

Don't listen to that. The problem has nothing to do with glue or touchscreens, it has everything to do with the QHD Samsung pentile display used in the UX303LN, the Yoga 2 Pro, and the ATIV Book 9.

This is the problem:



That is our screen under a microscope, the top half displaying white, the bottom half displaying yellow. Notice the extra white sub pixel? It allows the screen to be bright and have high contrast without boosting the backlight (which wastes battery). On the downside, certain colors are significantly dimmer than others.



Notice the gradation of white (or lack there of) in the top right of the ASUS display (left image)?

As long as you don't have a pentile type display, you should be fine. To the best of my knowlege, all of the 1080 screens are run of the mill TFT or maybe IPS. I think the best version is the Australian one, with the touch 1080p variant.

 

Just got my UX303LA and really like it. However I'm having three issues I thought some of you may be able to help me with. I've already fought my way through a few like finding the adaptive brightness setting...

1. Wi-Fi seems to just randomly disconnect for a few seconds, then reconnects This happens every 15 minutes or so. All drivers are installed as far as I'm aware and the issue isn't occurring for any other devices on the network.
2. My Bluetooth mouse paired great and worked fine, then I rebooted. The Bluetooth icon is no longer in the lower right and I'm not sure if its even on, or how to get it on.
3. After installing the drivers my Device Manger looks good, except one thing. In the Universal Serial Bus controllers section is a single device with a warning sign labeled Unknown USB Device (USB Descriptor Request Failed). The weird part is that nothing is plugged into any of my USB ports.

Any help would be great guys, thanks!

 

In another forum about older zenbooks (ux31) I read that Asus own power saving settings can be responsible for such a behaviour. The solution back then was to use the normal Win7 power saving settings. Maybe you should check Asus and Windows power saving options and play around with the settings there.

 

I can't decide which one to buy LA or LN. Does the LA has dual fan also?

 

What's the battery life with the i5? (LN, not LA)

 

Has anyone tried to send the unit back to Asus to get it "fixed" (yellow color issue) and got it back with any improvement ? I got mine (UX303ln) from NCIX.com ... the computer is great however the yellow issue is a real problem when you edit pictures.

I called today Asus and their representative was not aware of any problem with the unit !! They are sending me a box to send it to them to get it fixed ... I dont want to waste my time knowing it is not really a fixable issue considering it is a manufacturer hardware problem present in all the units. Let me know your experience. I would have chosen the carbon x1 instread if I knew the problem before buying it (it is been over 30 days).

Let me know guys and thanks for the support !