Asus UX31 Ultrabook

From the Ars article, almost all the way at the end:

First ASUS ultrabook to market: meet the Zenbook

 

they had the UX21 with crappy panel.

I guess the 1600x900 in UX31 is something better.

 

Errr, is the Newgg UX31 not 1600 x 900?

Newegg.com - ASUS UX31E-DH52 Notebook Intel Core i5 2557M(1.70GHz) 13.3" 4GB Memory DDR3 128GB SSD HDD Intel HD Graphics

Hmmm

 

that's a mistake on their site. it sure is UX31 with 1600 screen.

 

who's actually looking into getting one of these bad boys?

 

Which model to purchase, that is the question of the night... would having an 256 gb ssd justify spending $250 more? hmmm

 

i'm guessing everything is solder on and nothing is user upgradable...

 

I really like the specs, and would have seriously considered getting one, but the lack of a matte screen option kills it for me (And yes, I know this is an ASUS thing...I was just hoping).

I am now waiting to see how the reviews will be for the Toshiba Portege Z830 ultraportable which is going to be released in November, which has a matte display, and as an added bonus it has a backlit keyboard.

It looks like there is going to be a lot of ultraportables being released in the next couple of months from various manufacturers, so things are looking up in the lightweight laptop category.

 

Not if it uses the same 1600x900 13. 3" panel the Vaio SA uses (not to be confused with the 13. 1" 1600x900 panel of the Vaio Z series).

 

toshiba looks ugly compared to UX31, lower resolution + the ports on the back are against it...

backlit KB is not the deciding factor for me.

well, but if the Asus had antiglare LCD......we can dream on...

 

Hmmm...did anyone actually see one in person?

site says it has a 450nit screen which is pretty good...but by previous comments I am guessing its not matte...how glossy are we talking about here?

ASUS ZENBOOK? ::: Product Feature

 

There are a lot of video reviews of this unit. Here is one that shows how glossy it is:

ASUS UX31 13.3″ Ultrabook Hands on [Video] | Netbooknews - Netbooks, Netbook Reviews, Smartbooks and more

 

That's probably a good guess. Maybe the HD.

 

Lol... maybe that is soldered on, too?

kk, kk, that would make too many variants of the mainboard, even Sony is unwilling to do that with the 2000USD (starting) Vaio Z2

I wonder if it's just a normal mSATA drive, though

 

ok is this thing up for sale yet? this thing has higher res screen. I really want this laptop.

 

you think even RAM is not replaceable?

I've only seen preorders.

 

Amazon earlier today had a pre sale for both the ux21 and ux31 but now the deal is dead. I really need to see this notebook (ux31) in person. Are they are going sell these notebook at local Brick and Mortar shops?

 

t screen looks good but unfortunately it looks like a glossy mirror

And to the above, yes ram is soldered in like all ultrabooks.

I saw amazon had it on none pre-order but now its out of stock.

 

This morning I ordered one from amazon.com
was still "preorder" status on their website,when I got home from work tonight they showed item temp out of stock so I called to verify that they would fill my order,the guy I spoke to didn't have a clue if Amazon even had ANY stock of the UX31 to fulfill any orders,long story short I ordered one from J&R music world, and cancelled with amazon heres the link for j&r...
JR.com: ASUS ZENBOOK UX31E-DH52 13.3" Notebook PC in PC Notebook Computers

 

FINALLY, this website is back up. That was like a full day of downtime (since last night).
This morning I also "pre-ordered" my UX31 from abt.com, and hoping they will get their shipment soon from ASUS. They told me on the chat that it would probably be early next week.

I actually like the glossy screen. Reminds me of Dell's "TrueBrite" laptop screen. I would rather have razor sharp images than the dull look of the matte surface. It's not that hard to avoid reflection in most places that I use a laptop (indoors).

 

i think i'll give it few days and wait for some reviews from owners.

but I can't help it, I like the looks and the 1600x900 screen is tempting too.

 

Dutch site hardware.info has a full review up. Weight is 1.49 kg. Poor viewing angles. (posted from phone)

 

Looking at those vids on youtube, the mirror-like reflections are a deal breaker. I really like the matte screen, so I think I'm gonna wait and check out the Toshiba.

As far as B&M stores, there's a Microcenter near here, they'll get the UX31 eventually, I'll go check it out when they do, but I'm not hopeful I'll like that screen in person.

 

Soo, battery life is listed at only 7 hours. I was expecting more from a ULV Sandy Bridge core, SSD, no dedicated GPU and a minimum of other hardware. Still interested but was expecting at least a higher manufacturer rating.

Edit: Hardware.info gives 469 minutes or 7.8 hours of unstressed use.

 

I wish it had a lighted keyboard.

I realize some people don't care (I'm typing on the non-lighted 2010 MBA right now) but it does make a different for me. But I'm picky about keyboards, which is why I like the Toshiba's better (dropped cursor keys and dedicated Hm/End/Pg keys). Just wish the Tosh has a higher rez screen (and I like the abundance of legacy ports).

Will BB or any of the other "in-person" stores be carrying these ubooks?

 

only 7 hours wow. I may just have to stick with my ul30vt for alot longer. Even after a year and a half i still get 8 hours when running on office mode. Maybe i may just need to get the updated version of this laptop then.

 

here's the link for anyone else interested
ASUS Zenbook UX31 Ultrabook review | Intel Core i7 2677M | Hardware.Info Nederland

that's kind of sad news.. so far the UX31 is the only one that matches the lightness and screen resolution of the MBA.. but seems to come in at a similar price point with worse viewing angles

 

guys, would you rather go for ux31 or HP EliteBook 2560p (LG668EA)12.5" i7-2620M 4GB 320GB, with HDD replaced with 128gb m4?

office suite use, lot of travel, no games.

 

wondering what kind of realistic upgrade it would be if I went with the i7 + 256gb setup. My current laptop is Intel SU7300 Core 2 Duo 1.3GHz Processor and 4GB of DDR3 RAM...


I guess we'll wait for someone to do a detail review before purchasing!

 

Passmark score for the I7 is 3292. SU7300 passmark is 981. The power difference is significant. So is the graphics difference between the two CPUs.

 

I'm waiting for some reviews to come in first as well.

If the panel is good or at least better than the current crop of Asus 13.3 panels, then I wouldn't mind sourcing just the panel and upgrading my U36SD. Wonder if that's a possibility...

 

It probably can't be done. We tried upgrading our Acers and the display connections on the HD+ display were different than that on the HD.

If it is 450 nits, it will be a vast improvement over the current Acer displays.

 

Second review came in. tweakers.net

A whopping 520 nits brightness!

 

Bahhhh.

 

Looks like those guys at tweakers got inside it. There are pics here:
Asus UX31: kloon of koning? | Hardware en aansluitingen | Core | Tweakers.net Reviews

 

What size torx screws are those, btw? T6 perhaps? That would be cool enough, I have T6 screwdriver.

 

Not sure, but judging from the pictures provided of the inside of the laptop, it doesn't look like anything can be upgraded / replaced (soldered onto the MB).

 

Well, CPU can be repasted at least. Talking that dutch photos. Also the SSD clearly isn't soldered. There is a warranty seal on the screw though.

edit: Plus i don't see RAM dies anywhere. Perhaps they are replaceable and placed under the battery (for example).

And yes, I will buy a UX31 with i7 and at least 128GB SSD as soon as that is possible. Nothing on amazon.co.uk or amazon.de (and other shops) so far.

 

Looks like it's using ADATA SSD. i thought the SSD from that company is pretty cheap and performance isn't great... hmmm

Btw, for those who want a translated version of the article by tweaker Google Translate

 

Any other 13.3" Ultrabooks with 1600x900 option that I'm missing?

 

The disk is clearly replaceable and it seems to be the standard mSata formfactor.

Adata XM11


so it can always be replaced with for example an Intel 310 drive.

Intel 310, 80GB, speeds below Sata 3Gb/s, controller: Intel


This is naturally speculation based on the dutch pictures.

 

Nope ... this is it. And, if the Tweakers people are right, the display is probably one of the better TN panels you can get. This looks promissing. I still don't think there is room under that fan for a PGA socket, so, even though XoticPC says it can be repasted, I doubt that. I would guess the SandyBridge CPU is in a BGA mount. The replacable SSD is a plus.

 

i have a dilemma.

is the 256GB SSD worth the extra dollar?

and how much difference there is between that i5 and i7.

i have seen notebookcheck, i5 is 81st, i7 is 65th in the rankings.

 

was hoping for matte panel, can't have everything. replaceable SSD ok.

 

Where to buy now?

I see it at Best Buy for online order or ship to store, 128GB model for $999
Asus - Laptop / Intel® Core™ i5 Processor / 13.3" Display / 4GB Memory - Radiant Silver - UX31-RSL8

 

So strange. The BB specs state that the unit has a 1.6GHz processor. However, I double-checked the Asus website; they don't make the UX31 with this configuration. I would thus assume that it's a typo on BB's part.

Still, at $999 (plus tax), this is $100 below the stated MSRP, which is a pretty good deal. Amazon had them yesterday morning at $1011 though. I'm only hesitant to bite because I want to see it "in the flesh" first.

For those of you considering making the jump to an "ultrabook," have you taken a look at Samsung's 12.5" Series 3? It has a full-powered Core i5 (2410) processor, 3.1-lb weight, matte screen, smaller chassis than the UX31, and retails at $749. (It, of course, has a standard HDD, but is readily upgradeable to SSD.) The only thing I am not sure about is battery life, and maybe the standard, WXGA resolution.

 

Nice .... a price war.

The XoticPC version and, I think, the Amazon have 2 year/1 year accidental warranties. BB ususally sells with less. I would make sure you're comparing apples to ... you know.

You are correct. They are using the UX21 speed. The UX31 should get the I5-2557 with base clock of 1.7ghz (turbo to 2.7).

They are quite close. Cinebench scores of 1.07 vs 1.12 in single thread. 2.16 vs 2.26 in multithread. But the I5 outperforms the I7 in Open GL test.

 

it would be a typo, just like 1366x768 resolution on newegg.

 

Check Anandtech re. the CPUs. They did a thorough comparison when the MBAs came out.

Here's the link: AnandTech - The 2011 MacBook Air (11 & 13-inch): Thoroughly Reviewed

IIRC, their conclusion was that the i7 upgrade might have been worthwhile for the 11.6" model (i.e., the 1.6GHz chip), but not really with the 13.3" model (i.e., the 1.7GHz chip). I think this is due to the smaller difference in turbo frequencies --- 2.3GHz, vs. 2.7GHz, vs. 2.9GHz.

 

I went ahead and placed an order for an external Blue Ray ROM / DVD burner made by ASUS to go with my new UX13. I know the 1600 x 900 isn't enough to do true 1080p Blue Ray, but I'm curious if it will still be able to at least play the Blue Ray movies? If not, no big deal, I was mainly buying it to be able to install DVD software onto the laptop when it arrives.