Asus UX302

Since it seems so hard to find information on the UX302, I thought a dedicated thread could help pool information. So far it looks like the UX301 has been released in Germany but no word on the UX302 yet. Also in the past it seems Asus takes about 2-3 months after Germany release dates to release laptops in the US. So that would put US release end of Novemberish?

 

Also for those interested, Acer is also coming out with an ultrabook with basically the same specs, the Acer S3-392. It looks like they just added a page on their US website... Acer Aspire S7-392 Ultrabook™
Video: Acer Aspire S3-392 and Aspire S7-392 hands-on at Computex 2013 - Video - Engadget

Display:
Asus: 1080p touchscreen
Acer: 1080p touchscreen

CPU
Asus: i7-4500U (1.8 Ghz)
Acer: ??????

Graphics
Asus: GT 730M (apparently actually better than the 735M)
Acer: GT 735M

Ram
Asus: 8gb (1 stick soldered?)
Acer: 4gb (looks like two slots and upgradable?)

Thickness
Asus: 0.68 in
Acer: 0.70 in

Weight
Asus: 3.3 lbs
Acer: 3.6 lbs

 

Scratch that Acer link, it was for the S7-392 not the S3-392. My mistake.

 

Also i'll throw in the U430p with touch into this catagory... IdeaPad U430p | Thin and Light 14" Laptops and Ultrabooks | Lenovo (US) The U430 touch is a european model, the U430p will be avaialbe in the US with optional touch screen, see "Features" section. Also its not released yet, but there are rumors of it coming end of November (last comment... http://forum.notebookreview.com/ideapad-essential/724339-lenovo-u430-touch-23.html).

Display:
Asus: 1080p touchscreen
Acer: 1080p touchscreen
Lenovo: 1080p assuming touchscreen

CPU
Asus: i7-4500U (1.8 Ghz)
Acer: ??????
Lenovo: i5-4258U (2.4 Ghz)

Graphics
Asus: GT 730M (apparently actually better than the 735M)
Acer: GT 735M
Lenovo: GT 730M

Ram
Asus: 8gb (1 stick soldered?)
Acer: 4gb (looks like two slots and upgradable?)
Lenovo: 8GB (1 stick)

Thickness
Asus: 0.68 in
Acer: 0.70 in
Lenovo: 0.77+ in (probably bigger with touch)

Weight
Asus: 3.3 lbs
Acer: 3.6 lbs
Lenovo: 3.76+ lbs (probably bigger with touch)

 

A quick update on the hardware on the Asus UX302LG. There are 2 GBs of memory soldered on the MB and a free DIMM that can take up to 8 GB modules. There's also a 7mm 2.5" drive which should be easily upgradeable, although there's a sticker on it that says "Warranty Void if removed".

How do I know these? Well, I've played with the UX302LG in this last week. More details here: Asus Zenbook UX302LG review - the GAMING 13 inch ultrabook , including pics of the internals, benchmarks, etc.

 

Mike, great preview of this laptop.

This has MSATA connector you said, could it have installed say a 120GB MSATA drive for OS along with the 7mm drive for storage? I can't tell if its MSATA half-size or regular.

Thanks,
~Jesse

 

excellent review, this is exactly what I hoped for, discrete graphics and upgradable memory and SSD.

I've never touched a zenbook in my life but it sounds like the only difference between the 301 and the 302 is better build quality but non-upgradable internals for the 301 and discrete graphics and upgradable parts.

How bad is the build quality for the 302? I don't intend to drag it around everywhere outside my home for the most part. It'll just be nice to have something very portable to travel with when I do go out of town a few times a year. But maybe with something so portable I would feel like I need to take it everywhere, everyday with me. I have a work PC so I am set there. Thanks for the review, I am interested to find out what the few hundred dollar difference is between the 301 and 302. With the sparse reviews on the 301 out there, it doesn't seem like its worth it. I can't wait to pick a 302 up now, was about to pull the trigger on the vaio pro.

thanks for the review again and hopefully it'll be available here in the states soon.

 

It's the half sized one from what I can tell, based on the screw holes next to the connector.

@rjiemamam

There are a few more details: extra ports on the UX302, slightly larger, thicker, heavier body, only 1080p screen (1440p screen on the UX301), 28W processors on the UX301, faster ssd on the UX301 (that however can be addressed with further upgrades on the UX302), some design changes (glass on the palm rest on the UX301), white and gray options for the UX301 (not sure if a white UX302 will be available).

Now, the build quality is not that bad. If you can find a UX32A or a UX32VD in shops, you'll see what I mean. The glass lid cover is not very sturdy and it flexes when pressed, with affects on the screen (you can see the images distorting when pressing the screen on the other part).

The bottom is covered with a very thing sheet of metal (or plastic that looks very much like metal), which once again bends and flexes when pressed.

Asus does supply an envelope with this laptop, and if you'll keep it in there, you shouldn't have problems when commuting and having it in your backpack or bag. Regardless, a sturdier body would have been nice, but that would have pushed the weight up, so that's probably why they went with this solution.

 

Judging by the photos you made in the review, I'm pretty sure that this warranty sticker is for the ssd itself and not for the zenbooks warranty since the sticker is covering the screw of the ssd. I guess it is possible to remove the ssd without damaging the sticker. Or were there any other stickers you had to damage while opening the zenbook?

 

This is very nearly my ideal laptop except for 2 things - storage and ram

Ram is my hangup for VMs, it will be dissapointing to have to run 3x vm's with only 2 gb ram each and I am not sure I can cram all I need into 256gb. I reeeeally want 128+1TB if possible, but I am having trouble finding the part to buy for the 128gb SSD in mini MSATA. I guess the other option is to buy a 512gb HDD ($$$$!) but it will bug me to know there is an empty mSATA in my system. hmmm the search continues....

 

Amazon.com: 128GB mSATA Mini (Half Size) SATAIII SSD: Computers & Accessories

 

looks like ASUS has a support site for it....

ASUSTeK Computer Inc. -Support- Feature Videos UX302LG

 

I love the blue finish but I hate the glossy screen. If Asus had come with a matte screen version, I would have ditched my UX32VD (1080p) in favor of the UX302.

 

The internals look almost the same as the ux32vd; which makes me wonder if it will have the same fan problems.

 

Hope not.

Any news? The UX301 is on amazon.

 

Best Buy has the UX302LA (no discrete GPU) listed at $1000, but it's not for sale yet.

Asus ZENBOOK 13.3" TouchScreen Laptop 4GB Memory 500GB Hard Drive UX302LA-BHI5T08 - Best Buy

i5-4200U
4GB
500GB HDD

What's interesting is that it says the memory is expandable to 8GB, which is strange. If it has 4GB soldered, then you should be able to expand it up to 12GB, right? If it has 2GB soldered + 2GB DIMM, then it should be upgradable up to 10GB. Maybe it doesn't have any RAM soldered and just has one 4GB stick, unlike the UX302LG.

Whatever the case, with the self upgradable RAM and SSD, I see this model as a cheaper alternative to the UX301.

 

Nice find, I hope this mean UX302lg is getting closer.

 

The UX302LA is now for sale from Best Buy. Still no word on the UX302LG.

 

wow great to see the ux302LA at that price point. The hdd is user-upgradable to an ssd correct?

 

Yep, and the RAM as well. It'll take any 7mm SSD. That's a big selling point IMO. Great for future use as SSDs get even bigger and cheaper.

 

Does anybody know if this will be on display (out of the box and turned on) at best buy any time soon?

 

not usually a tinkerer with laptops. so it's got an msata slot, as well as an occupied 7 mm 2.5" slot. in essence then, i can have TWO ssds in there?

 

I checked with my local Best Buys today. Two of the four near me had it in stock, but wouldn't take the time to say if it was out for demo yet. I'm sure it likely will be this week.

Not a full-height mSATA, a half-height one. While 128GB half-height mSATA SSDs do apparently exist, they're not available from any reputable sources. I imagine as SSD NAND dies continue to shrink, we'll see larger capacities available, but for now, 64GB is about as big as you can get from a known brand.

 

Just to clarify, your local best buy has the ux302la in stock... not the ux302lg? Because ive called everyday and nobody has the lg yet. I know this forum isnt specifying which model, but if anybody has any info, or gets any info on the ux302lg please pass that info this way! Im sure lots here would love to get in on that lg action

 

Correct, they have this one, which obviously isn't the one with the dGPU that we all want, but it still should be the same look/feel for those who want to just check it out in person. I've yet to find anywhere online that lists the UX302LG for sale/pre-order other than a few Australian sites, like here. I tweeted XoticPC about it, and they replied that they were "checking directly with Asus" about it.

 

i actually do prefer having the option of the hd4400. brings down the price to about 1000, right within budget.

 

In the comments of the UX302lg review, the editor says in the comment section he was told early November for an expected release date for the US. Asus Zenbook UX302LG / UX302 review - the GAMING 13 inch ultrabook But he does say to take it with a grain of salt.

 

What are the contents of the box? Does it come with a sleeve and usb adapters? Can u post some photos of all the contents?

Also a CPU-Z scan screenshot would be good.

 

It comes with the AC adapter, a sleeve, USB-to-Ethernet adapter, miniDisplayPort-to-VGA, and a cleaning cloth. The sleeve is pretty nice. It has a magnetic flap, and the fit is very snug.
I've tried several different programs, but none of them seem to detect the soldered memory. CPUz only shows slot 1 as occupied.











Galaxy S4 comparison

 

it's.. it's.. beautiful.. haha. what do you mean by it only detects one stick of ram? what does that imply?

 

The system recognizes that there are 4GB of RAM available. I wanted to look up the 2GB of soldered RAM to see what its specs are, but all the programs I've tried like CPUz, Sandra, RAMMon, and Speccy can only see the non-soldered 2GB stick. I don't know why that's the case, but it's not really a big deal.

 

Thank you very much GTRagnarok! Interesting that your miniDP port is very clearly a DisplayPort logo. There was some confusion on the UX302LG review b/c it looked like it had a Thunderbolt icon.

 

Nice, thank you for sharing. :thumbsup:

 

Thanks for sharing GTRagnarok had me drooling all over the place

Btw I just had the weirdest livechat with asus, apparently they deny knowledge of the bestbuy model...But they claimed ux301 is available?!

--------------Your chat transcript



Charles S. Wed, 10/30/2013 04:45:38 pm
Hello Alex, thank you for contacting ASUS support. Please give me a few moments to review your information. I will be with you shortly.
Alex Wed, 10/30/2013 04:45:51 pm
Hi
Charles S. Wed, 10/30/2013 04:46:09 pm
Hello Alex.
Alex Wed, 10/30/2013 04:46:24 pm
I have contacted you guys for several times checking availability of ux302
And yet each time your responses had been there is nonsuch
info ava at this moment
Charles S. Wed, 10/30/2013 04:47:08 pm
Alex, I would be more than happy to happy to check if this model is indeed produced.
May I have a few moments to check into the information for you please?
Alex Wed, 10/30/2013 04:47:24 pm
yet bestbuy informed me they have ux302la in stock
So that sort of puts eitheer live chat support or bestbuy info into question
Charles S. Wed, 10/30/2013 04:50:38 pm
Alex, I know that you are very interested in this particular unit. The thing is we have announced development of this unit but as of now no US release date has been issued for this model.
Alex Wed, 10/30/2013 04:51:08 pm
And the ones apparently sold by bestbuy?
And it is on their website as well
Charles S. Wed, 10/30/2013 04:52:16 pm
The UX301 is available currently for sale and we have the UX32A and UX32VD models available for sale.
I have done some more research and have confirmed that as of now, regrettably that unit (UX302) has not seen a North American release as yet.
Alex Wed, 10/30/2013 04:55:03 pm
I understand, and I am not trying to be difficult here, but as I have stated
bestbuy has at least a ux302la in stock
both online and at retail store
at least for LA version
if true, these models must have come from somewhere
Charles S. Wed, 10/30/2013 04:56:23 pm
We hope to have more information available on our News section of our site at a later date. This information that Best Buy is providing may relate to pre-ordering that unit so that when it does become available for purchase it can be gotten.
Alex Wed, 10/30/2013 04:56:52 pm
what I need to know is that I need to know whether ux302lg ver will be available shortly so I can consider my options
Charles S. Wed, 10/30/2013 04:57:24 pm
This is the specific announcement made by Asus regarding those models: http://www.asus.com/News/HdaKeDLi5GFAIrkE
Alex Wed, 10/30/2013 04:57:50 pm
Unless u guys are implying they are not selling that model since it is impossible
Hmm
from other info appeared online someone already had their ordered fulfilled...
Charles S. Wed, 10/30/2013 04:59:06 pm
I must apologize but regrettably I would have no further information available to give you on this particular models specifications and would not want to provide incorrect information regarding this unit.
Alex Wed, 10/30/2013 04:59:16 pm
so there is NO way it could have happened?
Ok, I understand
Charles S. Wed, 10/30/2013 05:01:34 pm
Alex, from I have seen and researched, only the UX301 is available currently for sale and the information given by Best Buy as I said may relate to pre-ordering the unit.
Alex Wed, 10/30/2013 05:02:08 pm
Oh?
Ok thank you for the info
Charles S. Wed, 10/30/2013 05:02:27 pm
Is there anything else I can help you with?
Alex Wed, 10/30/2013 05:02:32 pm
Ux401 is available?
301
Charles S. Wed, 10/30/2013 05:04:10 pm
The ASUS Zenbook UX301LA-DH51T is available at the moment for sale from numerous resellers among them Best Buy, Amazon, Adorama, Newegg, HH Greg, and others.
Alex Wed, 10/30/2013 05:04:30 pm
Okok thanks !
That will be all
Charles S. Wed, 10/30/2013 05:04:48 pm
Thank you so much for contacting us.
Duration: 00:19:16
E-mail from LiveChat

 

Heh, maybe Best Buy broke the street date?


So it's possible to undervolt this thing using Intel Extreme Tuning Utility. I was able to stably undervolt my 4200U by 0.065V with small but observable effects. The 4200U can turbo at 2.6 GHz with one core and 2.3 GHz for two cores. I did some stress testing with OCCT, and here's what I saw. Ambient temperature is 22C.

At stock voltage, running the OCCT CPU test causes both cores to turbo at 2.3 GHz. The temperature rises quickly and peaked at 78C. Then after about 2 minutes, it gets throttled to 2.0 GHz. From here, it maintains a steady temp of 70C and the clock is a steady 2.0GHz with occasional bumps to 2.1 GHz and dips to 1.9 GHz.

With the undervolt, the first part of the test is very similar. The temperature rises to about 77/78C and then it gets throttled after 2 minutes. But it throttles to a constant 2.1 GHz with occasional bumps to 2.2GHz. The temperature is kept steady at 71C.

Idle temps for both cases appear to be about the same (40C). So overall, it's not a huge difference but it's free and there's no reason not to undervolt IMO. I imagine there would be a small improvement in battery life too.

 

Thanks a lot GTRagnarok for all these pics and info. Can't wait to get one. BTW did you notice, RAM consumes only 1.28v. Are you aware of any other RAM in 8gb module that uses 1.28v instead or 1.35v/1.5v? I can't seem to find one but would like to replace the 2gb module with an 8gb one.

Also can you take a pic of the blue glass lid and show it to us? Any battery statics yet ?

 

Thanks to everyone posting info about the UX302, trying to find any is difficult :S

Does anyone happen to know if a white version will be release (like the UX301) or if it will be available as blue only?

 

Certain laptops run 1.35V RAM at 1.28V. Buying 1.35V RAM should be fine. This is what I got:

Newegg.com - G.SKILL 8GB 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Laptop Memory Model F3-1600C11S-8GSL

It should be here tomorrow, along with a 250GB Samsung 840 EVO SSD. I'm not going to do any battery tests until I've installed the SSD. Any tips on how I should go about battery testing?

The glass lid is essentially a mirror, and it's hard to capture it faithfully on camera. There's a subtle circular pattern on it like in previous Zenbooks. I think it's simply gorgeous in person, and these pictures don't really do it justice.

 

would you be able to keep track/take photos of your upgrade process? it'd be nice to know how easy it may be to replace the ssd and ram module

 

Thanks for the additional pic
I do believe bestbuy jumped the gun,
Though here in Taiwan, Asus home turf
There is absolutely no info on any of them
God I want a ux302lg><

 

No problem. I'll see if I can make a video of it.

 

Makes me wonder if I should wait for the UX301 to come into stock, or go for this one. The UX301 is so much more expensive.

 

yeah the ux301 is just way too out of the budget for me. right now i'm deciding between this, the yoga 2 pro, and the new rMBP13. even at 1249 i'm still considering the macbook to be slightly too expensive..hard for me to justify spending so much on a computer now that i am almost out of school and likely won't be using it as heavily.

 

love the pictures!

 

I am out of school, but I still use a laptop for work. I got an 11 inch laptop, and it's too small for everyday use for me. I thought portability would be important, but I need something a little bigger. The Yoga 2 pro just isn't as nice looking, and I've never ran mac stuff, so I'd like to stick to windows. Otherwise the MBP13 has lots of good hardware too.

GTRagnarok - how upgrade friendly is this laptop? Are you replacing the hard drive with the SSD?

 

It should be fairly upgrade friendly as it uses a standard 2.5" (7mm height) drive and a standard laptop RAM slot. I'll be replacing the HDD with an SSD and the 2GB stick of RAM with an 8GB one tomorrow. I intend to make a video of it so everyone can see how easy or hard it is. This review has a bit of information about the internals of the UX302:

Asus Zenbook UX302LG / UX302 review - the GAMING 13 inch ultrabook

It's disappointing that it says warranty void if the drive is removed. But from the pictures in that review, it's just a sticker on the drive(?). I'm not sure how they can tell if it's removed. I can't open mine up right now to see for myself because I don't have a Torx T5 sized screwdriver.




I found the default fan profile to be way too aggressive. They're constantly spinning, even at idle. But I just found this awesome program called NoteBook FanControl:

http://www.computerbase.de/forum/showthread.php?t=1070494

I changed the fan profile to the Zenbook UX31A, and it's so much better now. Now the fan doesn't come on at all for most things, including web browsing. Temps are hovering around 55C while browsing. Once I replace the noisy HDD, this laptop should be completely silent 99% of the time!

 

How sturdy is it? I saw some slightly worrying flex in the lid in the video review from ultrabookreview. Would you feel comfortable carrying it around all day in a bag?

 

How do you reinstall the OS on the new SSD?
Where do you get it from?

 

A lot of SSD's give you software to clone hard drives like Norton Ghost or something like that. Or you can put on a clean OS as well.