Ivy Bridge Zenbook with FHD IPS screen UX21A UX31A UX32A UX32VD

ASUS Zenbook Primes with 1080p IPS panels and (probably) Ivy Bridge are real, coming to Taiwan in June -- Engadget

http://www.theverge.com/2012/3/12/2864340/asus-ux31a-ux21a-ivy-bridge-ultrabook-specs-exclusive

No TB from the looks of it, could be sweet though (for eGPU)

 

Backlit keyboard, sweet. I remember a quote from them saying they were working on that for the second generation, so that should probably make it to production this time.

 

The keys look less shallow, which is great. And the cursive font that pissed a lot of people off seems to be gone too

 

Nice. The wife needs a Lappy.

 

Found this on Engadget.

Processor is still unknown, however it has a
NVIDIA GT620 graphics
500GB Hybrid Drive,
1,920 x 1,080 resolution



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Dam don't know if I should get this or the Samsung Chronos 7 14inch when they come out.

 

it'll probably either be an i5 or i7 ivy ULV

 

cant wait for this laptop to reach my country!

 

And here you can see it being compared to the UX31A

ASUS Zenbook UX32VD with Nvidia Graphics Hands On Video | Netbooknews - Netbooks, Netbook Reviews, Smartbooks and more

Looks as solid as the UX31A and will hopefully get an attractive price

 

I am really looking forward to this computer as well. Looks like it is going to dominate the ultrabook segment. Dedicated graphics in a thin form factor with IPS 1080 display... what else could one ask for?

 

According to the specs sheet, you can either get it with a 1920x1080 resolution screen or a 1366x768 resolution screen. There is no choice for the 1600x900.

 

how about more Ram then 4gb, and throw in a SSD not a HD.......

 

This laptops looks very nice, especially with High resolution screen. However I confused with the graphics part; Intel HD4000 is not faster than Geforce GT 620M ???

 

Intel HD4000 is the built in graphics of Ivy bridge. The GT 620m is a dedicated card and much more powerful.

 

this is what I want to replace my ul30vt. I wanted a larger hard drive and HD screen. I cant stand the 1300k res screen anymore.

 

I have doubt that, according to notebookcheck 620m is in the levlel of 525m. So barely faster than HD4000 for extra 25W... It would be better to add 640m or anything.

 

Just because a card is dedicated doesn't automatically make it more powerful than onboard graphics.

Check out this link to see which dedicated cards score lower than the Intel HD4000 on benchmarks.

 

I guess I jumped to conclusions. Has HD4000 really been properly bench marked though? The variant on the quad core cpu may not be as good as the one in the ULV or dual core Ivy chip. I may be off, but I see it like how they nerfed the HD3000 in the ulv sandy bridge chips. Either way, won't a dedicated GPU help for video editing and photo work... not necessarily games?

 

Does this model have backlit keyboard or is it only the one with full HD and no GPU?

 

is 4000 that powerful?



525m gets around 7000 points in 3dmark 06 and can run starcraft 2 reasonable on high: NVIDIA GeForce GT 525M - Notebookcheck.net Tech

i dont think that 4000 HD gets close to that. BUT.. If 620m is a 64mb bandwith on the vram.. then it will suffer poorly.

 

From the same page you linked, it seems the HD4000 performs about 17% slower than the 525M

 

I guess it will also depend on if its GDDR3 or GDDR5!



A 640m (according to them) is around 10000 points in 3dmark 06. So thats quite a bit better. I think that 525m-ish performance if optimal could be good. this is an ultrabook after all.

 

Some more information on the new models -

Asus' UX32VD ultrabook shows up - Fudzilla

Asus Zenbook Prime UX31A First Look: A Good IPS Screen? - DigitalVersus
These guys managed to get their hands on a UX31A and test the screen, which is pretty sweet.

also, some of the UX31A models have already begun to show up in online retailers' stores.

UX31A R4003X

UX31A R4005V

These models are pretty expensive compared to the last generation, but that's probably not the price they'll stay at. Good to see that you can get a hold of the 1080p panel without having to get the i7 and 256gb ssd as well.

 

Good find, looks like I will be selling my zenbook soon lol.

 

Regrettably, if you click on the online reseller, the operative term in the listing is "Call for Stock." Also, the pricing looks like a gouge, even with the high specs. The replacement with a ULV IB i5, 128GB SSD, 4GB RAM and the 1080p display was said to be priced comparably to the model it is replacing, or around $1,200. The upgrade to the ULV i7 and an extra 128GB SSD should not cost $800 - and if it really does, IMO no one should buy it! My hunch is that these guys are taking pre-orders at gouging prices. I could be wrong.

To end on a high note: the screen measurements are AWESOME!!! Going to be hard for people to look at the new Sony Z with a non-IPS (but still gorgeous) 1080p screen starting at $2,000 and quickly rising to $3,000 and beyond.

 

The 32VD model with the GT 620M looks interesting...I need some gaming chops in a notebook (I make games), which is why I've lusted after the Zenbook only from afar

HD3000 integrated graphics kept it from being a potential purchase, and having just purchased an Ivy Bridge Samsung unit (Series 7 15") with HD4000, it's still not good enough. However, my Samsung also has a GT 640M, which IS good enough.

 

Announced today for US:
ASUS bringing Zenbook Prime UX21A, UX31A, UX32A and UX32VD to the US, prices start at $799 -- Engadget

Hands on preview:
ASUS Zenbook Prime UX21A preview -- Engadget

 

I wonder if there will be a touch refresh for Windows 8..but I really want a UX31A now..

 

Another review/preview:

AnandTech - ASUS Zenbook Prime (UX21A) Review: The First of the 2nd Gen Ultrabooks

 

Nice link to the review. Kind of disappointed they went with a slower SSD though =(

 

Thats why you pick up the UX32VD-DB71 and throw in your own SSD, and get dedicated graphics.

 

Thanks. Man, the new Zenbook looks great....I shouldve waited before getting the my Zenbook........... Better Screen, better keyboard and mouse pad, and better wifi card.

 

I'm actually going to sell my first gen Zenbook and maybe pick up the Prime if I don't like the Envy-14 that I got a good deal on.

 

HDD- Check
IPS- Check
IB- Check
Discrete GPU- Check
Ram- will it come with 8GB?

 

Wonder what the ETA is? My new Samsung Series 7 is still in the return window, I'd be all over the UX32VD if it's out in the next few weeks. Also bit curious about the 620M's performance and if it's a Kepler-based GPU. The 640M does a decent job, and the Sammy is a nice unit if you can live with the TN panel, but it's no Zenbook in terms of just being dead sexy and light.

 

From the OP "coming to Taiwan in June" and the fact that the 13" models have MSRPs, I would guess they could be here soon. The (p)reviews I have read today said that the 11" models don't even have pricing set, so my guess is that those will come later.

 

UX32VD-DB71 looks perfect for me.

HDD
Discrete graphic card
IPS screen

the only thing I don't like it only comes with 4GB of RAM. Is it possible to upgrade to 8GB or buy another 4GB and have 8GB.

is keyboard backlit?

This is from Anandtech,I don't quite understand this, doesn't the new one come with a discrete graphic card, so it wouldn't be affected.

 

They were reviewing the UX21A which is HD4000 only.

 

I never thought I would say, "I want VD!"

Truth be told... I am really torn between the 11 with 1080p or the VD as an "everything" machine.

 

I'd probably go with the UX32VD-DB71 and put in my own SSD, and more memory.

 

I was looking at getting the Samsung Series 7 chronos 14inch whenever it came out. But this is a good contender, straight up sexy and light.

 

Did a little more research on the GT620M. It's GDDR3 vs GDDR5, and it has half the fill rate of the 640M.

Sadly, I'm thinking it still may not be enough GPU for my needs, especially trying to drive 1920x1080.

 

my thoughts exactly. At first I was excited, because I confused its performance with 630m but 620m is quite a step down. Really a shame.


What I hate about ultrabooks, like netbooks before it is that almost all of them tries to shoehorn the same things in. They all want to be macbook air, it is so obvious. All the spec videos on YT and other places. they seem to care more about the thinness than anything else. And everything else suffers because they are so thin.

I understand the need to have light and small footprint, but thin, thin, thin is not everything. Because like with Netbooks you end up with a over satured marked that will die.
There should be more ultraportables that want to give power and battery now that we have technologies like Nvidia Optimus.

 

The thing is, the UX32 is a bit less thin and less light than the UX31, ostensibly to accommodate more potent hardware and/or to keep costs down.

I suspect they went with the 620M for power consumption issues, since the '32 lineup has a smaller battery than the refreshed '31, and there may be issues mating up a faster GPU with the ULV IB.

 

What would you guys guess would be the 620M 3dmark06 performance? I only really want this laptop to play Civ V, Path of Exile (potentially D3, etc) at native res... so the new Clevo 11.6' with the 650M might be overkill...?

Any tips appreciated!
Petrov.

 

According to Asus Zenbook Prime UX32VD Review - Watch CNET's Video & Read Our Review, the 620M is quite good, pulling around 60fps in Street Fighter IV at 1080p. Not exactly an intensive game, and we don't know the settings, but still, it ran at 17fps or so on the HD4000. As long as it can play Diablo III, I'm a happy camper.

 

This is impressive, isn't it, for the 620M?

I found a recent review of the Lenovo Y480 with a 640M, and they also got 57fps in Street Fighter IV at the Lenovo's native resolution of 1366x768 - it seems that either the Asus review or the Lenovo review are wrong, as there's no way a 620M can do more fps for the same game at higher resolution, than a 640M...?

Review: Lenovo IdeaPad Y480 (Core i7 3610QM Processor 2.3GHz, 8GB RAM) - Notebooks - CNET Asia

Petrov.

 

That's confusing... it was 57.2 FPS to be exact on the 620M. Maybe Nvidia is hiding a trump card in a Kepler 620M for Ultrabooks. It doesn't make sense, what so ever, but hey, we can always hope can't we This is presuming the 640 in the Lenovo is a Fermi 640 and not a Kepler 640. Even then, this is extremely unlikely speculation, but then again, he says 57.2FPS in both the video AND the review. Surely they didn't it up that badly.

EDIT: Or maybe ASUS was lying, and it really is a 640M? (Once again pure speculation for the sake of speculation.)

EDIT2: That Lenovo has a 1366x768 resolution as well. Looks like CNET has made a relatively large blunder.

 

I wanted the 11" 1080p too but since it has no SD card... probably go for the 13".

 

Well, I have a Kepler 640M in this Samsung I'm typing on right now. It's right on the edge of what I consider acceptable at 1600x900 (which is why I bought it).

I don't see a Kepler 620M being faster.

 

Even though its 620M shouldn't there be a difference because the Zenbook prime is full HD?

I was leaning towards the series 7, but this look just as good, discrete graphic card, HDD, Full HD, light and thin. Its basically on par with the series 7.