Ivy Bridge Zenbook with FHD IPS screen UX21A UX31A UX32A UX32VD

I still have the standard HD. But I installed a Patriot 8GB module. I re-ran the performance index and RAM shows at 7.4

Regarding the keyboard flex - there isn't any noticeable flex on mine. I wonder if these videos are on pre-production models?

I also am not having any fan issues. I did update the BIOS to 206 (came with 203) as soon as I got it, not sure if that has anything to do with it.

 

The problem seems to emerge whenever the laptop has been in sleep for a couple of minutes. At least that is when I have noticed the problem, but I am not absolutely sure that sleep is the cause.

 

Hey Don how you finding the UX31A? did you end up getting an ADATA SSD?

 

@chicgeek

Why the Zenbook Prime over the SS9 or the Lenovo X1 Carbon?

What kind of machine are you coming from? Coming from a Thinkpad X61 tablet running Ubuntu flawlessly, I'm being fairly picky on my next purchase.

I obviously prefer my thinkpad keyboard, which is why I'm having a hard time putting out for this Prime. Software dev is where I'm mostly going to be using it.

 

To be honest, the form factor of the thinkpad is just not for me. My boyfriend has an X301 and it's brilliant with Ubuntu, but I can't being myself to wanting anything like it.

The SS9 is still a candidate.

I'm coming from an Asus UL30A-A2. I've had it for 2.5 years and - to be honest - it's not holding up well. The bezel and wrist rest scratched very early on from only contact with each other, the top and bottom of the casing is coming apart, and a hinge cover is missing. All with gentle use..! But that was a mid-range Asus, and I can't help but think it was an anomaly... I hope.

Once a bit more information comes out about Ubuntu compatibility for both of these laptops, I think it'll feed into my decision.

 

My fan seems to be on 24/7. I flashed the newest BIOS from the Asus update, but since then it seems like the fan just won't turn off. Anyone have the same thing or manage to find a way to control the fan?

 

Pretty sure none have shipped since they sold out on Friday morning, say 8am. Word is buying through Amazon, folks have gotten 32's in leas than a week shipped, but with the first run basically sold out, I'm waiting for New Egg to confirm fresh availability and may order then.

 

I've tested three VDs so far, and none of them showed any keyboard flex.

Even when I try to push it down with some serious weight there is not the slightest indication of any flex. Needless to say when typing fast and hard you don't feel any flex what so ever. Totally rigid. I honestly have no idea why flex seems so apparent on some videos. Perhaps most of them are of pre-production models?

 

I have pretty much the same issue. The fan is very loud and has this whiny sound to it that makes it unbearable. As some guys mention not even noticing the fans, clearly there are differences in delivered products here, so I'm going to send it in and get a new one since I like everything else about it. I really hope I get lucky with my next one, if not I might just keep it and hope asus can fix it with another BIOS update or something like that.

 

I did get the adata and so far I am loving it. I guess the 31As have a few less issues than the VDs do. That one thing with the keyboard light annoys me because I never want to reboot if I can help it. I opened a ticket with ASUS..hopefully they have something for it. I thought about updating the BIOS but that seems to have caused fan issues for some people so I am trying to avoid it unless I have no choice.

 

So far all UX31AS have had adata, so im guessing thats standard.
I get the fewer problems might be attributed to the unibody structure. Mine ships in tomorrow. hopefully i get as lucky

 

Did you get it from Amazon? They were quick.

 

A warning to you who are planning to upgrade the RAM on the UX32VD:

Corsair Vengeance 1600mhz (800mhz) CL9 modules makes the notebook run in only 1333mhz (666mhz). I upgraded mine with a 4GB stick and noted rightaway that the bandwidth seem to have dropped. Sadly there are no BIOS settings for how the RAM is managed, as with pretty much any other notebook.

I guess that you need to match the CL of the original mobo-soldered 2GB ram in order to maintain the bandwith. So you'll need CL11 modules. Otherwise both will run in CL9, forcing it to lower the mhz. The speed difference is hardly mentionable though, I don't think anyone would notice the difference between 1600mhz CL11 and 1333mhz CL9. The lower timings in the latter will boost it somewhat, although it will still be a tad slower.

Crucial sells 4GB 1600mhz CL11 SO-DIMMs. I'd put my money on one of those instead.

 

Im from Australia so Im picking it up from the ASUS pcmarket when they email me saying its in.

Tried any light gaming on it? Im curious about its performance in diablo 3 particularly. I am not buying the laptop with the intention to game intensively, only go get my diablo 3 fix for like an hour or less.

 

Crusial also got their 8 GB version available.

I've just ordered the Corsair Vengeance SO-DIMM 1600MHz 8GB CL10. Do I understand you right if I would get a slightly quicker RAM if I buy the Crucial DDR3 SO-DIMM 1600MHz 8GB CL11? With the Corsair Vengeance module, which speed would it than eventually run on, someone which upgraded who can check?

Comparing the 2 modules on komplett.no

 

With the UX32VD Diablo III will work just fine in full hd 1920x1080 using medium settings. I've tried StarCraft II which gives well over 30fps with High/Med settings in 1920x1080, even having 2xAA enabled. Totally smooth and very playable. Race Driver: Grid also manages over 30fps in 1920x1080 at medium settings/motion blur enabled. Looks absolutely spectacular. It's surprisingly capable as a portable gaming machine, just as long as you don't expect it do the most demanding games in full hd and the maximum settings. The wonderful IPS screen more than makes up for any graphics settings tradeoffs though.

Ah sweet, the 8GB version does not seem to have arrived in Sweden yet.

While I haven't tried, nor read any reports with CL10 SO-DIMMs, I suspect that any lower than CL11 will prevent it from running at 1600mhz (800mhz). That is because otherwise the notebook would have to overclock the built-in RAM to match the CL9-10, which it does not do to maintain guaranteed stability. It would be good if Asus added BIOS settings that instead loosens the timings on the mounted RAM to match the mobo-soldered RAM - but I don't think they'll ever add that, it'd be considered too 'advanced' for the average user as it could make the notebook not boot if handled incorrectly.

So, everyones best bet is to currently only opt for CL11 SO-DIMMs if they wish to maintain a frequency of 1600mhz (800mhz).

 

Hahaha this all sounds so promising, yet I believe youre talking about the UX32VD I am getting the UX31A

 

interesting i also would like to know this , btw my replacement should be here soon

p.s> so cl11 instead of cl10 you suggest?, guess im gona have to apply for an refund and purchase cl11 instead , so long corsair vengeance -.-

 

Haha sorry for the confusion, I meant the UX32VD. The UX31A would manage about half the fps, or much lower settings/resolution.

Yeah that's most likely the case, if you wish to maintain the 1600mhz (800mhz) frequency. The speed difference is not really noticeable in the real world though. I'll probably keep my Vengeance.

 

I've got the Corsair Vengeance CL10, haven't looked to see the speed it is running at, but my Windows experience number went from 5.9 to 7.2 so as dunces says - in the real world, the chances of you noticing this are almost zero.

 

now yall are confusing me i was just about to return my module -.-

 

I'm getting kind of confuced here...

From Crusial's page:

CL — CAS (column address strobe) latency, which is the number of clock cycles it takes before data starts to flow after a command is received. Lower CL is faster. Modules with different CL can be mixed on a system, but the system will only run at the highest (slowest) CL.

Regarding to this information, CL10 is faster than CL11. If the soldered memory is CL11, the Vengeance SO-DIMM 1600MHz 8GB CL10 will also run at CL11. Therefore the Vengeance(CL10) will perform exactly the same latency as the Crusial(Cl11) and there is NO reason to change the memory breakdown234 ....

 

Ah, I see. No I haven't tried any gaming at all.

 

I just cancelled my 8 gb corsair, I guess I´ll just order it again..

Edit: would 4 gb extra RAM running CL9 be just as fast as 8 gb running CL10? It´s half the price so maybe I should just get that and have total 6 GB instead of 10 GB RAM?

 

Getting back to lightbleed, I tested UX32VD against wifes 2011 13" MBA. Set both screens to matching medium, comfortable brightness in living room. Played the "10 hours of black screen" video on Youtube.
-1 MBA black is NOT as black as Zenbooks. This is why contrast ration on MBA is not as high.
-2 MBA has NO light bleed. Screen may not be as black, but it is even.
-3. My Zenbook has 3 lightbleed areas on the lower left to lower middle. Extend about 1/4" into the screen.
-4. Show ANYTHING on the bottom of the zenbook and the bleed isn't visible.
-5 This REALLY doesn't bother me. The display is better off axis than the MBA, so it is a better screen. Both have Glare under control (MBA is a coating, zenbook with matt finish)

However, played the WHITE VIDEO off Youtube and the whites are different. Zenbook is warmer and more red, while MBA is a cooler blue. For acurate color work, BOTH probably need to be color calibrated. I used the simple Windows Color Calibrator on the Zenbook and cooled the display a bit (less red). Have a Spider 3, should probably use that, but it really isn't bad, so I haven't and would really worry about this either. (Bough the Spider for an HP DV7 that was SO SO SO blue it was really bad!!!)

And the display fonts: MBA is a lower res. But we run UX32 at the factory default font scaling of 125%. I'm 44 years old and fighting off getting bifocals, so I like things a little bigger. I think BOTH need a larger font. Windows does a MUCH better job of font scaling than OSx, but certain apps don't scale right and those apps have very small fonts. Again, this is just me, as my 19 year old son thinks it is fine. MS and Apple need to address this going forward at the OS level if the panels keep getting high pixel densities. If things don't scale right, eventually even teenagers aren't going to be able to read the darn things!


Now those fans starting and stopping for no reason......

Bob

 

I got 7.4 Windows Experience Rating, but WEI seems to have strange methods of measuring RAM performace. AIDA64 reports that the bandwidth have dropped because of the lower frequency, but only by about 5-10%. Please run CPU-Z and see what frequency you're running at. It should be at 666mhz as well.

Only return it if you're picky about having it running at maximum 1600 mhz (800 mhz), like stated - you're probably not going to notice any difference outside of benchmarking programs.

This is not how the UX32VD functions. Instead of running at the slowest CL, it will adhere to the fastest CL - while instead lowering the frequency. This is how it works with a CL9 upgrade at least.

With SO-DIMM DDR3 modules a higher frequency (higher mhz) is always preferable to tighter timings (lower CL). An 1600mhz CL11 configuration will be slightly faster than 1333mhz CL9 or CL10. Hope this clears some confusion.

 

Makes sense to me. So for those of you looking to upgrade your RAM, I offer the following suggestion:

Newegg.com - Mushkin Enhanced Essentials 8GB 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Laptop Memory Model 992038

Why this model? Why not another brand? Only because this module runs at 1.35v, where most others require 1.5v. It's more likely to be stable in any laptop, given it's lower power requirement. And anyone who's had problems with computer stability in the past, knows just how frustrating THAT can be.

 

I own the UX31A-DB71 and the fan does get a little crazy every now and again. This usually happens when I wake the machine up. Even at 44C the fan decides to spin up to max for a minute or two then calm down only to do it again two minutes later. A restart usually fixes it. This is with the newest BIOS 206 from Asus. I'm hoping they'll fix this soon since it's disconcerting when the fan spins up for no reason during a meeting.

 

For reading a lot of text (i.e. programming) would you say the Zenbook is unquestionably easier on the eyes compared to the MBA?

 

Yes, for one reason: You can scale the windows font bigger on Windows 7 vs OSx. Asus set it at 125% by default. If you up it to 150%, everything gets bigger and easier on the eyes. OSx doesn't have this option.

As for at the default font sizes, both screens similar. Yes, the Zenbook has a higher ppi, but it isn't that much greater where I notice it. The 1366 x768 ones DO look blocky, but both the Zenbook and MBA look pretty smooth to me.

Bob

 

Did you update the BIOS? I have the DB51 and I swear I haven't heard the fan once in more than 24 hours and I am in a totally silent room. Most people who talk about the fans seem to have updated the BIOS and I am wondering if that's the culprit. I know I won't be updating mine until they have an answer for this.

 

Got it. Thanks for the reply. I think I'm okay with the smaller font sizes but reading a lot of text where there is a bit of a "halo" effect can be a bit tiring on the eyes. But it sounds like from your vantage point both the MBA and Zenbook would suffice?

I wish the Zenbook would hit B&M retailers so that I could just walk into a store and make the comparison myself. I'm relying on you first adopters. =)

 

I did actually. Version 206 is the latest I believe and I applied it a few days after receiving it.

 

That seems to be the common denominator with fan noise. Mine came with 204 and I think I will keep that for now.

 

can any of the UX31A owners post the 128gb SSD Space out of the box.

im deciding between ux32vd and ux31a (i5, 128gb)

i already placed an order for the ux32vd but theres no stock so i can still cancel.

im just worried about the capacity of 128gb. i have a 1tb passport but i still need enough space on the computer itself say 100GB..

 

So is it confirmed that the 128gb, i5 model of the UX31A on amazon for $1118 is the AData driver? Well it probably won't matter to me I am buying ASUS 99% regardless in near end of August!

 

Yeah, and I don't think I can roll it back.

 

Same experience. Mine has no flex unless you type unrealistically hard.

 

How about this RAM?

Amazon.com: Patriot Memory Signature DDR3 8GB 1600MHz SODIMM (PC3 12800) PSD38G16002S: Computers & Accessories

 

Can anyone with the Corsair vengeance CL10 ram confirm that it is NOT running at 1600Mhz?

 

Just received my UX32VD. Initial impressions: damn, this is a nice machine!

In response to the issues people have mentioned:

1. Keyboard flex: there is some very slight flex in the keyboard, near the middle. While you can notice it if you look for it, it is very slight. Overall, the keyboard is excellent - probably the best ultrabook keyboard I've ever used. I would say that it's not quite as nice as the MacBook Air's keyboard, but's definitely in the same league, and it is comparable. No complaints here (in contrast, I thought the original Zenbook's keyboard was beyond terrible, the Samsung Series 9's keyboard was acceptable but not great. My current favorite laptop keyboard is the Lenovo T420's).

2. Backlight bleeding. Yes, it's there. Not noticeable unless the screen is black. This is a bit annoying - it's because the frame of the monitor is not flush against the display. I feel like this could be fixed with some well placed electrical tape on the inside of the monitor's frame, but it's small enough an issue that I don't really care. Overall though this display is fantastic - easily the nicest notebook display that I have seen.

Shame on Asus for putting so much extra crap on the machine, but that's easily removed.

So initial impressions are really positive, I'm very happy with this machine - minor complaint with the backlight bleeding, but the beautiful display and excellent keyboard exceeds my expectations which I think makes up for it. I will swap out the HDD for an SSD when it arrives next week, and add more RAM too.

 

Will this RAM work at 1600 MHZ.

Amazon.com: Patriot Memory Signature DDR3 8GB 1600MHz SODIMM (PC3 12800) PSD38G16002S: Computers & Accessories

 

Excaliberpc has ux32vd db71 units in stock right now

 

Some utilities make backups of the original beforing flashing the new one. As I have never used the one ASUS supplies I'm not sure if they do but you might want to check.

 

I don't remember what it was out of the box but after installing all I want to install including Office and about 10 GB of other files I still have almost 51GB free.

 

Hmm, tempting, especially since my Amazon order is stalled... That said, they're not an "official" retailer: ASUS ZENBOOK™, the incredible Ultrabook™

Anyone have experience with these guys?

 

I have a 2011 11.5"MBA and I am sitting here now looking at this thread on both. On the MBA the white is much whiter as you said but I just noticed that what appears blue on the MBA looks more green on the DB51. I have no preference either way for one over the other but I am surprised that there is that much difference and I am wondering which is more accurate.

 

ok then i shall return the vengeance afterall , now anybody got the best cl11 8gb module out there that i could purchase ? , a link please

 

They only do returns for replacements, anything else is 15% restock fee

 

Do you see the whole 128gb?

Is there a recovery partition? How big is it? Can i delete after i make the recovery disks?

Thanks