ASUS Zenbook UX303 (Nvidia GT 840M)

It is uncommon for a battery wear to get high so fast but not imposible, first of all, try at least 2 other softwares just to be sure about those numbers. Then if you have the same numbers, you should check the way you use the battery, the calibration is only necessary when you receive your laptop, in your everyday use, you should keep your laptop plugged as much as you can; the batteries last longer with less cycles nowdays (full discharge and recharge).

keep us posted please

 

344.75 is the latest update available. I think the Hotfix 344.80 is only for the GTX 980. When you scan your PC or check Nvidia Experience, it only lists 344.75 as the latest for our GPU, so can someone clarify if 344.80 is safe to install?

 

344.80 works fine.

And it's not the same link with the same file. Different sizes, one for desktops (your link) and one for notebooks.

 

Hey peoples, just a quick question that I would appreciate some help with.

So I'm getting the 303LA tomorrow, and I'm confused on how to do a fresh install of windows. Can someone post a couple quick steps? I know I have to boot from a flash drive, but where would I acquire the files?

 

Hey there,

I’ve bought the Asus Ux303ln with the i7 and the dedicated graphics card. I have to say I really like this notebook a lot. But there are some issues concerning me, so I would lik to hear what’s your opinion/experience.

First of all I’ve noticed my batterystatus. I’ve been using the notebook for about 1 and a half week and after checking the wear level of my battery it is already up to 6 %. This seems quite high after using it for such a short time. Although I’m quite happy with the 6 hours I’m getting of a full charge at moderate using.

The second issue deals with the trackpad. I’ve read a lot about the problem of high cpu usage due to the Asus Smart Gesture. I know there is no satisfying solution but I want to tell my observations anyways: When the notebook battery is below 10 % the cpu usage is cut down to 5%. But this doesn’t effect the working of the multi gestures. They work just fine without setting the cpu usage to maximum (as it’s usual at normal battery status). Wasn’t Asus mentioning the higher cpu usage is necessary to work the multi gestures properly?

My next problem is the trackpad not fitting perfectly. On the left side of the trackpad there is a gap between the body and the trackpad, which you can’t find on the right side. It seems like they cut out a little to much of the body. Does anyone have the same issue?

At last there is the main problem. I actually could live with the ones mentioned above. But the next one could be with bigger conesquences. When charging my battery the first 60/70 percent it feels like the body is conducting a little bit of the electricity. I’m not getting electrocuted but I can definetly feel a bit of electric tension. Espacially close to the power connector and on the back of the screen, though you can feel it everywhere.
When charging the last 40/30 % I can’t feel anything anymore. It seems like the first half of the battery is charging faster than the rest, which could explain the electric tension. (?)

I would appreciate you to check this issues on your notebooks. If I’m the only one who has got this problems I will return my notebook.
I know I’m very particular but I’ve got bad expierences with my previous notebooks.

Thanks in advance!

 

No but a picture might tell us more

I don't have that issue. I would return your laptop.

 

I have a quesiton for anyone who cloned their HDD to SSD.
I bought a Crucial 512 Go MX100 and it seems it's gonna be a pain in the to clone.

Fortunately at home I have a desktop computer with two slots for hard drives, so I intend to plug the laptop HDD and the new SSD on the desktop to clone them.
I also have a USB adapter but it doesn't work because this one is changing the clustor size.

I have one question.
Will I have any trouble reading my HDD with my desktop or it should be ok ? Isn't there a BIOS protection ? I remove the secure part in it already.

THanks for your feedback.

 

There should not be any issue reading the drive in desktop. I've done cloning before I decided to do a clean setup.

 

Why doing a clean setup if cloning works well ?
Also, how can you get your Windows 8.1 key ?

Thanks a lot !

 

This question keeps popping up in this forum very frequently. I wonder if there is anyone kind enough to write a complete set of instructions on how to change the ssd and do a clean install or clone the existing one. Obviously somone who has done it already.

 

1. You can use Product Key viewing software to view the product key in the BIOS, but it's not needed during a clean installation of Win8 & Win8.1 as long as the key matches the edition you are installing.
Otherwise, the prompt will pop up for a correct product key and even by re-entering that key from the BIOS will result in rejection by it.
2. If you generate the factory recovery discs first, then you can use it to restore onto the new SSD. But if you want to clone, then you will have to use software that supports GPT partition. GHOST does not have this capability.

 

I did a clean setup because I was experimenting with putting two mSATA drives into converter and trying to make it work in JBOD mode. I later gave up on that but kept clean setup. I have spare Windows 8.1 licenses (completely legal) so could experiment with it.

I use Paragon Hard Disk Manager software for all my cloning and repartitioning needs.

 

Thanks everyone for your answers.

I actually used Macrium Report, made a full image of my HDD from my laptop on an external hard drive, then I used the image to make my SSD on my desktop computer, copying all the partitions exactly the same (resizing a bit of course the C .
Tomorrow I'll be able to plug my SSD onto the laptop, I hope it will work !

That's good to know that it's not required to get the Windows 8 key since it's UEFI I guess. I guess that the UX303LN comes with a family edition of Windows 8.

 

For your battery, make sure to you did a full calibration and try other softwares to see if the battery wear is the same.

For your electricity problem it has to do with the way you plug your computer power adaptater to the power socket; just plug it in the other way possible and you won't get anymore electricity.

 

The instructions will vary depending on what software / tools you used.

I successfully cloned the existing hard disk ( a 256 GB Sandisk SSD) onto a Samsung EVO 1TB Drive using a Monster Digital Easy Upgrade Kit that I purchased at a local Fry's Electronics for ~30 bucks.
Amazon link is here: http://www.amazon.com/Monster-Digital-Easy-Upgrade-2-5-Inch-SSDKT-0000-S/dp/B00IQ7QCDS

I highly suspect you can get away with doing this in a much cheaper fashion but I just didn't want to deal with the hassle so I got the kit.

NOTES:

a. The kit came with the cloning software - Kamino Clone - on a CD so I copied all of it (42.4 MB) to a USB thumb drive that could be accessible by the UX303LN.

b. I believe you can change locations of the recovery partition as you are doing the clone. I did NOT do this so I don't have experience in what happens if you do. If you don't do this you will be left with a recovery partition in the middle of the disk which is VERY difficult to move. For me this was fine: I just extended the OS partition to take up everything leading up to the recovery partition as my C: drive. I then took everything afterwards and that became my D: drive.

c. You WILL need the correct bit to unscrew the screws on the bottom of your laptop. The ones included in the Monster kit did not fit perfectly and I didn't want to risk stripping the screws so I made sure I got one elsewhere. I'd do the same if I were you. Make sure it's a nice snug fit.

Actual cloning instructions:

1. connect the SATA end of the SATA to USB cable to the new destination drive.

2. plug in the drive to the UX303LN

3. CHANGE your power management settings so that your computer does not sleep while plugged in and plug in your UX303LN.

4. Run the cloning software from the USB stick (see note above). You need to select the appropriate source and destination drives. It's easy to tell based on the sizes listed as to which is which.

5. Wait a long time for the clone to finish. It will take several hours.

6. Disconnect the drive from the UX303LN and turn off the laptop.

7. Unscrew the bottom plate from the laptop (removing the back 2 feet to access two hidden screws there)

8. Gently pry the bottom plate off. I think it helps to start from the back hinge as that was the 'stickiest' part when I was removing it.

9. Once the plate is off, unscrew the screws necessary to remove the metal SSD bracket casing from the laptop. You'll need to then gently slide the SSD and casing to the side edge to dislodge it from the SSD connector.

10. Unscrew the side screws from the bracket to remove the original SSD.

11. Perform steps 10 through 7 in reverse order with the newly cloned destination SSD.


The laptop should boot perfectly afterwards without knowing anything has changed from an OS perspective.
You'll then want to go into disk management and look/fiddle with the partitions as you want them.

 

That won't work with many many many SATA to USB adaptors, because those ones usually change the sector size of the disks to insure a compability with older operating systems and very large size disks.
For example, with my SATA to USB, the sector size is said to be 4096 both logically and physically. So I had to plug the new SSD in a desktop computer to actually see the real sector size (512 logically, 4096 physically).
You can try those steps above, but if the cloning software tells you the sector size is different, you can be sure your adaptor is responsible.

 

I had the same issue with my N550JK. I exchanged it for another because I couldn't stand it. The replacement didn't have that issue, but instead had 3 bright clusters of 3-6 pixels, likely from pressure damage.

I kept that one but decided to warranty it later. The replacement screen Asus gave me was abysmal; where colors were bright and normal looking, the new one had a very prominent yellow tinting to it. I warrantied it a second time, same yellow-cast. I had no choice but to ebay the unit as I bought the laptop for graphics design and the screen was now unsuitable for it.

Long story short, get it replaced for a new unit, NEVER use Asus warranty screen replacements.

 

Hi All,

I think my Zenbook has some quality related issues. However my vendor argues that these issues are normal. Can you confirm them?

The red marks indicate scratches and bends.


Because of the bending on the left side, my touchpad has a litte gap to the rest of the body which leads to some kind of clicking-sound when typing it, even with very low force...

 

Ok so I cloned my HDD to SSD.
Everything works perfectly but it is impossible to activate Windows.

I call Asus and they say :
- you have to buy an Asus CD
- or you have to do everything again and use Asus Backtracker to backup your data, and nothing else

And the guy adds :
- by the way, you change your hard drive, so your laptop is not under warranty anymore.

The worst support ever. I would have bought a Mac if I had known that the Asus system was so closed.

 

Hey,
First I want to thank aShtk and seagle7 for the fast replies.
Actually the trick turning the plug of the power adapter worked fine. I don't really get why it's working now but I'm happy this problem is solved.
In case of the battery wear: I did a full calibration when I recieved the notebook. It's the first thing I do. I allready checked the wear level with 3 different softwares, too. They all show nearly the same numbers. (Between 4.8 and 5.6 %)
So I guess I just had bad luck concerning the battery. Now it's working fine without any more loss.

 

It means one of two contacts in the power socket is connected to ground and respective prong on the adapter passes ground through. When they match, ground is preserved all the way through.

 

So I'll be sending my UX303LN for an RMA service. Processed it today and will ship it out next week. I explained to them my hinge issue and how there is a rattling/moving part inside the center of the hinge panel. Hoping for a quick repair service! Anyone had an experience with ASUS North America? First time I am sending a laptop in for service.

 

Greeting Everyone

Is anyone know about the QHD colour display problem solved or not?
If yes, where should I find the update?

Thank you

 

At your service !

Yes looks like it's bad luck on that one. I don't know if there is a way to reduce the battery wear, but if somebody finds one, please share

 

Here
http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/746873-asus-zenbook-ux303-nvidia-gt-840m-160.html#post9856614

 

Hello,

Today, all of a sudden, my laptop's touch gestures started to work very very laggy. 3 fingers and 2 fingers touches and swipes are responding too late. I have no idea why and I'm hating it. Argh, it is really too annoying. Even right now, I swipe up with 2 fingers and after 40 seconds, the page goes up. I swipe down with 3 fingers and after almost 1 minute, it goes to desktop.

Please help me, any ideas about what caused it would be appreciated. I'm not able to troubleshoot the issue. Heeeelp.

 

Have you re-installed the touch pad drivers?

 

While checking the US support site for the UX303LN today, I noticed that Asus has added a drop-down menu for selecting CPU type. It includes a selection for "Ix-5xxxxU". Wouldn't that be the model range for Broadwell? Perhaps this is a mistake, or perhaps they are planning a refresh of the model sometime in the future.



At any rate, selecting the mysterious new 5xxxxU series shows an interesting BIOS update dated 2014/12/19 with the description "BIOS 202 Update Intel VGA VBIOS". This seems like it could be the official update addressing the QHD+ screen issues, but it's not listed in the 4xxxxU section, and it's numbered 202 which is the same as the oldest BIOS under the 4xxxxU section. Obviously, download the mysterious BIOS update at your own risk.



Very interesting. Not sure what it all means, but at least something moved on the driver page for the UX303LN, it's been pretty static since release.

 

I tried updating the bios with the one under 5xxxxU would not even let me using the flash utility. FYI I have the unofficial bios update posted here installed, maybe that's why it wouldin't let me update?

 

Heya guys .. a gaming performance tip here. (It may well be fully covered in this thread somewhre, but too long to sift through and thought maybe this would help someone else.)

I picked up the UX303LN the other day .. very nice machine; was quite hesitant about the super high DPI screen - on a smaller display, is it really necessary? Surely all those extra pixels are going to sap battery life and kill GPU performance. Totally true, at least for the latter.

Right off, it seemed most or all games were trying to use the built-in Intel GPU over the NVidia 840M, so had to head into the NVidia Control Panel and change the global option to prefer the NVidia card; after that, things did seem to use it.

Machine came with outdated drivers, so had to pick up the latest from the ASUS site (which had Sept 2014 drivers, not too bad.)

Change Windows 8.1 power preference to Performance and not Balanced...

And World of Warcraft (not a heavy GPU loader, though not lightweight either) was running fullscreen windowed at 18fps. Dreadfull. Changing to fullscreen (unbordered, real fullscreen) and it'd just render in top left.

OKay, thats a big clue; usually you then just go fiddle with options in NVidia control panel, but there aren't any .. only '3d Settings' tab is available, with the usual old Display and other tabs missing. *hu*

Took me awhile to realize that the Intel GPU is still running and managing the actual screen, and the NVidia is really acting as an overlay or hole-filler for a running application.

Right click on the actual desktop (or hit the bottom right systray, or various buried Windows 8.1 desktop mode control panel pages) and you can find both Intel options, and Nvidia option; on the desktop it was called somethign like "Graphics Properties" (both a checkbox menu, and bring up the control panel) and NVidia Control Panel.

Firstly.. hit up the Intel panels, and set a lower screen resolution; this is where having two profiles woudl be handy, but I don't think Windows supports a useful profile system yet. (Why aren't all these control panels working together, to make a nice and easy system? Instead its confusing as hell, even to old timers..)
-> I changed the display to be 1600x800 (the native resolution is 3200x1600) - a 2:1 scaling shoudl be quite fast (no fractional scaling)
-> leave the scaling set on.. so you're defining a smaller framebuffer (less pixels to work on) and telling the Intel card to scale to the actual LCD fullscreen
---> at this point, you have lower resolution to the OS, but everything is snappy

-> Windows control panel .. find the section to change the text-size, turn it back down (not running at 3K res anymore)
-> Check the 'Let me control my own whatever' option, so you can change DPI scaling; turn it down from default 250% to 100% or 125%, and then Steam and other apps will show up at normal size again, and icons go back from being high res giants to normal

Now you're effectively at a lower res (sigh) laptop, but can turn it back up when needed. It still looks _beautiful_ due to the 13.3" screen, and 1920x1080 or 1600x80 still is highly dense.

Lastly..
-> Back into NVidia settings to tweak performance and set up your options, but this isn't as necesary

Now you can set your games to fullscreen borderless and it'll work, and can set the new (faked) resolution

For me, on battery with balanced performance..

== WoW went from 18fps full-low settings, to 100+ (it caps at 100) fps with high settings; I set max settings and get 59fps even when in a battleground with 80 people running around.
== Deus Ex: Human Revolution went from sluggish to 100fps, super snappy
== Endless Legend (and Age of Wonders III, Civ Beyond Earth, Civ V etc and so on) run great!

I didnt' try Skyrim yet.. soon

As to 2014 era games.. well, I found this last year or so not very compelling so I don't have too many current ones. But with the performance I'm getting now, I'm pretty confident they'd be playable.

Hope this helps someone!

jeff

 

A lot of 3rd party applications do not like hi-res screen in my experience, so I was running 1600x900 all this time. I can read text (yay!) and applications don't have any problems scaling. Seems like a waste of hi-res but I don't mind at all.

Native 1600x900 display would be more power efficient - fewer pixels equals fewer transistors. But backlight is the most power hungry component in display, so meh.

I tried running it at 1920x1080 but everything is a bit blurry and too small.

Have been using Microsoft Arc Touch Bluetooth mouse and it is great, albeit requires getting used to.

 

Thanks for the info. What did it say when you tried to flash it?

Speculatively, if this BIOS is for a Broadwell CPU, it would be for a new chipset as well, and you wouldn't want to be able to flash it to the 4xxxxU series. If no one is able to install it, even from a stock BIOS, then either it is a mixup intended for another machine, or there's a Broadwell version of the UX303; probably in a lab somewhere at Asus. They had to test the code on something. CES 2015 is two weeks away...

 

I got this error :

The BIOS file version does not match the BIOS ROM version.

 

Here is that Broadwell UX303LN:
i7-5500u in Notebooks mit Hersteller: ASUS, CPU-Typ: Core i7-5 Preisvergleich | Geizhals EU

ASUS Zenbook UX303LN-R4281H Preisvergleich | Geizhals EU

 

Thanks for the links. Has the UX303LN always been Broadwell in that region? Or is that something new? I wish they would refresh it here in the US with Broadwell and a 1080p screen. Has anyone compared the battery life of the Broadwell models to the Haswell LN?

 

Hey guys,


I'm looking for some opinions from former/current/future ASUS UX303 users.

I have the option of purchasing 2 different variants of the UX303 and would like some input as to which I should purchase.

Option 1: UX303LA (i7-4510U/8gb/128gb/ 1080p/ 802.11ac/integrated graphics)
Option 2: UX303LN (i7-4510u/8gb/ 256gb/QHD+/802.11agn/ 840M)

Option 2 (LN) is $200 more than option 1 (LA).

The LN has a larger HD and better GPU, however it is equipped with the QHD+ screen.
The LA has a better wireless card and is $200 less.

I would be comfortable swapping ssd's in either system and the price difference is not a major concern, my main issue is the functionality and performance of the 840m and QHD+ display.

Any thoughts/comments/concerns are greatly appreciated.


Thanks

 

The reason I'm still a (potential) future owner is the absurdity of having only those two terrible options. At least, in the US, the wireless cards are the same. There are 174 pages of thoughts, comments, and concerns mostly over those two options in this thread. Have fun.

Ok, briefly... If you don't need the graphics power, go with the LA and upgrade the storage as needed. Just don't tell Asus, or they'll shred your warranty. Save the old drive, and pop it back in before you get support. Most reports indicate you'll be a happy camper.

However, you wouldn't be asking if you thought you could live without the discrete graphics. Problem is, that while the LN has that, it also has a QHD+ screen, so there can be scaling issues (buttons, text, or menus too small) with applications that run in desktop mode. Only you can decide if that's ok, or if you can live with turning the resolution on the screen down to below native. Keep in mind that the 840M GPU has no hope of letting you game at QHD+ resolution with playable framerates.

Of course, the icing on the yuck cake is the yellow color issue that plagues the particular QHD+ panel used in this laptop, it renders yellow as a mustard like or greenish color (other manufacturers that have used this panel have had the same issue). There is rumored to be an official software patch coming from Asus, but no exact ETA. There's an unofficial patch posted in this thread that is reported to come from Asus support in China. Patches form other manufacturers for their own laptops that use this panel are considered by most to be partial fixes, with side effects like decreased battery life.

Some here have tried 3rd options, like buying both and swapping the lids (screens), or importing a model from a different region where models are sold with both 1080p screens and 840M GPUs.

Good luck with your choice, I hope this has been helpful. Do let us know what you decide, and your experience with the new laptop you choose.

Happy Holidays.

 

It's of course not available yet. If you are really,really lucky you can get die 1080p, matte, non touch version coming with the Intel Core-i5 4210 or Intel Core-i7 4510U. So no you can't say, whether this new version offers a better battery life!

As far as I can see, we will see a refresh of this Notebook all over the world in the next year's first months.

 

Hello! Guys,

Anyone of you facing the following problem?
Laptop automatically shut down after power running low. But after i charge the laptop, i unable to on the laptop. The power button got light but the screen is blank. I even try the method to wake up laptop in deep sleep mode. I open lid, short press power button and press keyboard. But my screen still blank. Anyone facing this problem before? and how to solve it? Thank you .

 

My version of the UX303LN comes with a 1080p touchscreen and I couldn't be happier !

@CharlieGulf : you're right about upgrading the storage and the warranty. I told them on the phone I did that, because I had a problem with the Windows 8 key afterwards, and the support not only couldn't help me because they are very bad, but instead they noted in their database that I had had upgraded the storage and that my warranty is voided.
Actually, I called them back, very pissed, because this is not a normal behaviour from a support team (which is here to support you, not trying to do their best to annoy you when you call them), and the warranty is not voided, but it is noted "Warranty after check", something like that, for their services.
So if you upgrade the storage and they know about it, they will check first if nothing was damaged before trying to repair your laptop.

 

Hello

I have the opportunity to buy the 303ln but i don't know witch one to choose.

- i5 / 500 HDD / FHD mat
- i7 / 256 SSD / QHD tactile (+200€

But as I understand, the i7 isn't a lot more powerfull then the i5 and I have an 256 SSD laying around so I can swap the HDD.

So my main concern is about the QHD screen. Is it worth it ? Are dpi-scaling problems and yellow problem not big of a deal ?

 

yuanyuan - We are sorry about the troubles that you are facing with your notebook. It may be a case where your notebook is over charged. You can attempt this troubleshooting step below to reset your bios and drain the power coils within your notebook.

1. Plug in the charger
2. Press and hold the power button for 30 seconds
3. Push the power button and tap on ""F2""
4. Once into the BIOS, tap ""F9"" and select ""Yes""
5. Then tap on ""F10"" and select ""Yes""

If this does not help please email us at [email protected] for further assistance.

Thank you.

 

Do realise, that from a legal point of view, as a company it makes perfect sense to consider the warranty voided after the consumer opens up the laptop and tinkers with it. If you were to damage it and afterwards say it was their fault, they would have to provide proof of the opposite (if within 6 months of purchase, according to European law). Which puts them at a disadvantage when they can't provide any (I.e. A warranty sticker that's torn).

 

I can accuse them of damaging the laptop whether opening it is allowed or not, so I don't see your point here.

Anyway, if you read the warranty statement, it's not written that you cannot open the laptop. They are very blurred on that point actually, I'm not sure this is perfectly legal to indicate such a weird point :
"b) The product has been tampered with, repaired and/or modified by non-authorized personnel;"

I don't think you can consider the laptop as modified if you are able to put back the original hard drive without having damaged anything.
And actually as I understood Asus doesn't consider it this way, but will investigate to see if it caused any damage.

 

Any update? have they done anything?

 

That's what I'm trying to tell you. You can accuse them either way, but they can indicate that you 'might' have caused it because the sticker isn't intact. And FYI 'tampered with' means exactly that.
I'm not saying it gives them enough evidence to prove that you caused the damage, but it does give them the advantage of being of able to tell whether you tampered with the laptop or not and whether the damage could have been caused by that.

 

Looks like some stores in Germany now have dropped the release dates completely, but fortunately do have a new model in stock UX303LN-R4141P. Seems the same as the R4141H... I can't see any difference in the specs.

 

Hello! Hope to get some help from the owners of the Thai version of this laptop. Ux303ln-r4116h

Any updates on the version from Thailand? Any problems after using it for a while?

I'm thinking of getting from Powerbuy or IT in Pantip.

Where can I find a reputable ASUS repair centre in Bangkok to add my own SSD and how much would that cost?

Thanks!

 

Some questions to the owners of the matt-fhd model.

1. Is there any noticeable keyboard flex? I tried the QHD+ touch model in store and could notice a little flexing in the middle. Compared to the UX32LN, however, it is miles better in my opinion. The UX32LN is one of the worst when it comes to keyboard flexing. I can tolerate a little flexing but not so extreme like on the UX32LN. So I wonder if Asus have done something about it.

2. How good is the battery life? Will it manage about 5-6 hours without gaming? With just the default settings, i.e. wifi on, maximum screen brightness etc.

3. How is the screen? What would you say about the contrast, brightness, back light, color gamut, viewing angles etc? I know that Asus use some of the best ips-panels, but does this one show colors correctly and is it bright enough to be used outdoor in a normal sunny day?

4. Does it get extremely hot or throttle when doing some heavy computing? I'm talking about light CAD-modeling, virtual machines, 3ds max, matlab and simulink and some video and photo editing, mostly sony vegas pro and photoshop.

5. How good is the sound quality? I listen to high quality classic music on my sennheiser ie80 with HTC one M8 and a portable cd-player, so sound does matter to me.

Finally, what's your overall impressions of this one, how is the keyboard, trackpad, display?

I'm asking these questions because I can get one with core i7, 128 GB SSD, 8 GB RAM, 840M with 2 GB DDR3, very cheap like $950. So hopefully you guys can help me before I pull the trigger.

Regards

 

I have the glossy touchscreen FHD version but can still answer some of your questions.

1. If you press hard the keyboard is flexing a bit but if you type normally you won't notice any flex
2. I can have about 9/10 hours with the same settings but screen brightness at minimum, so I think you should get 5/6 hours.
3. -
4. I don't know about that, but while intense gaming the GPU gets hot but the laptop does not.
5. I really like the sound quality. I had read quite bad reviews (but also good ones) on it and I'm surprised. You can tweak it a bit through the control panel. There is a little surround effect, I don't know how many speakers there are but it's quite a pleasure to put some music on it. Of course I would appreciate more bass, because there is nearly none, but it's a laptop.

The trackpad is amazing for me, but I come from a tiny ty one. Though, I don't even consider the Macbook trackpads as better. The keyboard is good, the only thing that can bother me is the "Alt Gr" very next to the "Context menu" key, so sometimes I press the wrong one. The "Turn on/off" key is just next to the Del but it's harder to press than the other ones and I never pressed it accidentally, though I would recommend to be careful.

The build quality is very good, but still a step under the Macbook.