Ivy Bridge Zenbook with FHD IPS screen UX21A UX31A UX32A UX32VD

Wow, I received my UX32VD on Friday and find it to be excruciatingly slow. I'll post boot times later but my almost 4 year old Centrino Duo is quicker. I'll disable the bloatware to see if that helps and while a part of me wants to drop in the Samsung 830 I picked up to see what kind of improvement that makes, I'm not sure I even want to invest the time. We'll see how it feels once the bloat is disabled.

Light bleed isn't so bad and is really only noticeable on boot.

Build quality is strong, no keyboard flex to speak of and it's a very pretty machine but if speed doesn't improve, it's got to go back.

 

I actually felt the same way when I first got mine. I reinstalled windows 7 without the crapware and it was dramatically faster. Later, I upgraded the RAM and got the Samsung 830 and now its super quick. I use some pretty heavy applications like photoshop cs6 and after effects and they both fly.

Just make sure you run the magic disc (or whatever its called) for the samsung to optimize windows for the SSD. If you don't want to buy the SSD, follow Dunce's guide to using the internal SSD for windows


Overall, I'm quite happy with my UX32VD. I guess I lucked out because I have minimal light bleed, no flex, a perfect track pad, my fans work perfectly and they are quiet (not even that loud gaming), no wifi issues, no dead pixels, etc. I got mine from amazon and it was among the first batches I believe.

 

Well, the ddr3lm runs at 1.35v while the ddr3 runs at 1.5v and the memory is powered all the time, even when its in sleep mode because its storing where you were. So it has to have some effect on sleep time and on battery life overall.

I doubt its a great amount but more power draw shortens battery run times, no way around that.

 

About rapid start, i was able to find the partition info here

doing that and restarting allowed rapid start to install.

 

KEYBOARD FLEX - for those folks saying no keyboard flex, when you press hard on the J button, you don't see considerable flex? I have a UX32VD, second one from Amazon and both have considerable flex around the J key. Otherwise everything else is pretty sweet.

 

I don't have any keyboard flex when I press my J key.

 

In case anyone was wondering, you can disable most of the onscreen 3d fn key effects by disabling "ATKOSD2" process (leave the "ATKOSD" process alone).

You'll get a nice little 2d blue box in the corner instead and it won't interrupt your games like the 3d version will.

 

What model do you have? When was the screen flickering?

Thanks

 

Although 1.35V would probably have lesser power draw compared to 1.5V and IIRC 1.35V DDR3L utilizes 15% less power compared to 1.5V DDR3, the difference is quite negligible that you'd hardly notice.

Get 1.35V if you're really into getting every possible ounce left in your battery - but the power draw is negligible between the 2 compared to other higher power draw components.


BTW, I just got my UX32VD today. Man the laptop is quite sleek and light I'm coming from a 5-yr old DELL Inspiron 1520 which weighs like at least 3 times the UX32VD

The display is really vibrant. I'm not sure what the deal is with backlight bleed or is it even there on my unit - but I hardly care about it since the display looks very much rich to my eyes without any dead-pixels which is what I really care about.

The touchpad sucks - I'd say partly because of the driver. I still would have been happy if the touchpad size were a little smaller so that the palms don't accidentally move the mouse cursor and trigger a click. I know Windows programs exist for overcoming this - but still it is a huge flaw IMO. My old DELL had a smaller much sensitive touchpad. Anyone know if I can go back to the old-school scroll on the right and bottom edges of the touchpad ? I couldn't find any options in the driver for that in Windows.

Also why doesn't the ASUS website have any Elantech driver download and have only Synaptec ? Is everyone downloading the Elantech drivers from their site directly ?

I just ran memtest, and it did not pick up any memory errors, which is good. I just ran gparted to check the partitioning info - the 500GB hard drive seems to be using GPT partitioning scheme. Anyone have any ideas if the BIOS supports booting off regular MBR partitions ?

I'm going to be solely using linux, (and windows in dual boot just as a last resort). I didnt have enough time to do the repartitioning today - will update how it goes.

 

What do you mean, run magic disc ? Why this is necessary ?

 

A couple more UK website have added the UX32VD to their catalogue with a delivery date on 01/08/2012.

Maybe that's the actual UK launch date?

 

So an update after 3 hours of work yesterday.

Had ordered a Belkin Screencast, so I can use Widi to stream Blu-Ray movies and other video from the UX32VD to my Samsung 3D LED LCD TV. Adapter was bought 3rd party, as most retailers don't carry it anymore. But unit arrived brand new, sealed, and had all the accessories.

Upon ordering the device, I went out to Intel and read how you needed the latest and greatest software to make the unit work. STOP! After 2+ hours of trying to connect the unit to my TV, and finding Intel My Wifi software wasn't installed correctly, a My Wifi control panel was said to be required, then found it gets uninstalled, etc... and NEVER being able to keep a connection with the Screencast for more than a few seconds, I started over.

Intel's site says the software needs to be installed in a certain order, and supposedly links you to all the right stuff. But one of the FIRST things you're supposed to do is install the latest GFX driver for your Intel 4000 video. After uninstalling Intel's Widi widget, the Widi software itself, etc... uninstalling the Intel video left me with NO video in Windows. A shutdown and restart made it find the VGA graphics, and it reinstalled the driver after logging back in.

But in the end, what SEEMED to fix my whole problem was going back to the Widi software that ASUS had installed on the laptop. I reinstalled the Intel video driver, then installed Widi from my original SATA drive and the ASUS driver utility. Using the ASUS loaded widi software, I connected to the Belkin Screencast reliably, and was able to update it's firmware without incident (unlike the previous 30 times where the connection would drop and firmware updates were impossible). I reinstalled the Widi Wiget, and it worked GREAT with the Asus version of the Widi software.

I DID have some more trouble, when I tried to use WinDVD to stream my Iron Man 2 Blu-Ray to my TV. But it ended up there were two HUGE patches for WinDVD I hadn't seen while in Cinema mode. Troubleshooting, I went back to Classic mode and the updates showed via pop-up upon launching the app. These took several minutes each minimum, cause they uninstall the current version of your WinDVD software, and install a newer one. But once both "updates" were applied, I went back to Cinema mode, used the wide widget to put WinDVD full screen on the TV, and it worked great. Well, mostly great. At Chapter 3, when Tony Stark is in Washington for the "hearing", the audio dropped. No idea why. I stopped the disc, restarted, and used Scene selection to restart from Chapter 3. Watched the movie for at least an hour, and the problem didn't occur again.

STILL haven't reinstalled ExpressCache on the laptop. Would like to try this, and see if it resolves my sleep mode issue. Figure I'll use the internal SSD for this, even though it's not quite as fast as the 512GB Crucial M4 I installed in my UX32VD. Is that crazy? Should I not use ExpressCache? All I know is overall I love the laptop, but sleep mode is NOT stable on my laptop.

 

I am totally amazed that they got rid of Intel Smart Connect in the UX31A, when the UX31E had it... I really liked that ability, since 99% of laptops don't have this feature. This feature is nice, because I have some things that need to stay connected to the internet. In addition, it is nice to have the computer in standby mode to have the WIFI auto connect and my email being checked automatically.

Also, I am still not sure about the light bleeding. I have a small amount (which is only noticeable at night time with a complete black screen), but it bothers me, because my ASUS x83-vb2 had issues with the monitor and battery a few months after my warranty expired. In addition, I have a flicker ONLY on the "Windows welcome screen" during boot. Does anyone else have this screen flicker?

I really like my UX31A-R150 from Best Buy, but the bleed and battery are making me worry, since they are both issues that I had in my old ASUS laptop. Having issues similar on two machines that span 4 years time leads me to believe that ASUS had some major quality control issues, or they are putting cheap hardware in their devices.


Pro:
1. Amazing quality of the screen. (I do have a small amount of light bleeding when in pitch dark).
2. Size has not increased from the UX31E.
3. Increased speed of Sandisk SSD from a 5.9 windows experience in the UX31E to a 7.5 on this new UX31A.
4. Keyboard is much better and back light nicely.
5. No more sound distortion at high levels, but look at #6 in the con section.
6. Trackpad is Elan and works fine.

Con:
1. Small amount of light bleeding when completely dark and in a dark room.
2. Slower bootup time (even though the Sandisk SSD on the UX31A is showing WEI of 7.5 compared to the WEI of 5.9 on the UX31E), so one would assume it would be faster, especially with the improved processor..
3. Battery life doesn't seem as good, but it might still be calibrating.... so not sure yet.
4. Does not seem to trickle charge while constantly plugged in like the UX31E.
5. Space is an issue on this model. Out of the box with my UX31E I had around 80 and this one is about 65....
6. The sound is flat and lifeless.
7. Runs warmer then the UX31E.
8. No Intel Smart Connect Technology on this, but it was on the UX31E..

Overall this is a good computer. I am trying to decide if I will return this one for another because of the light bleeding, but I am not sure due to the fact that it doesn't bother me that much. In addition, I have seen reviews of people returning the item, only to get a worse bleed.

I have been doing a lot of research on IPS displays and backlight bleed. I have seen that most units that use the IPS display have some type of backlight bleeding, so I am unsure if this is something that you just have to deal with. I have read forums from the IPAD, Transformer Prime, Dell, and even TVs that are using this technology. I am waiting to hear back from ASUS, since I asked them this question and they had to have someone call me back, haha. Can't transfer me?... weird.

 

where do you see the equivalent of the best buy model for the same price?

 

im guessing the poster meant that once you add tax to the 999 model it about equals out to the amazon price (unless you were able to get the xbox deal and sold it)

edit: i still dont believe its less of a machine though, from what i have read it seems like bb models have better screens, or it could just be the pickiness of the user that distorts the reviews

 

D&H a supplier for a few chains is listing the UX32VD as 8/1

 

Microcenter has the ux71a D51 for $999. Same specs as the best buy model except has low power memory and a better warranty.

As the other poster said, amazon ends up about the same price too when you take tax versus no tax into account.

Also, amazon has the 100 gift card now that makes it effectively 979 with no tax. so amazon is a lil cheaper but you end up with 100 amazon gift card instead of cash in your pocket.

 

gotcha, ive been looking at the 256gb version and haven't seen a comparable price for that

 

@TuxDude

Hey man, thanks for the update - I'm curious as to how the UX32 works in linux... what's the battery life like? how is the text resizing? how do the video drivers work out? does HDMI out work with sound? stuff like that...

I have an ASUS ul30vt (pre-Optimus) mixed graphics and I'm relatively aware of some of the issues, as well as the bumblebee project to work on optimus stuff, etc.

 

Haha..I too have the screencast as people are pretty much giving it away. I plugged it in and 60 seconds later it was working.

 

Well, I am sending my third one back too. I thought it was a keeper as the bleed is very little but the idea og having to reboot every time it goes to sleep in order to get the fan back to normal is more then I want to deal with. I'm sure it's a simple fix but I'm not waiting around for it. I went to look at the Samsung again and that is junk for the price. Slow memory and the original sloooow Sandisk SSD that scores 5.9 in WEI. Sony Z is way overpriced and that is the only think close to being a true ultrabook. MBA is still good and BB has them all on sale now but after this screen theirs is a real disappointment. Maybe I will just wait awhile and see what comes along.

 

so your first one was amazon, 2nd bb, 3rd amazon..is that right?..out of all 3 which version did u prefer? Also was the bb model also having the fan issue, and could you say what your reason was for returning the other two..im trying to see if the problems that other people are having are problems that i can live with, i really dont want to have to research another laptop

 

These are the things I tried today morning before leaving to work.

I booted Ubuntu 12.04 Live ISO directly off a Grub4DOS USB stick, and the desktop came up fine. I didnt do an install - but these are the things I observed:
1. Intel graphics worked out of the box.
2. Wifi was detected, was showing all the networks, but was failing to connect to any of them.
3. Touchpad was really crappy. I would expect a better driver to fix this problem. I was hardly able to drag. I'd suspect this partly to be a problem of the buttons being part of the touch area (who was so stupid to come up with such a useless idea). For drag to work, multi-touch support should be enabled because of this.

I also booted off openSUSE 12.1 (which has an older kernel compared to Ubuntu 12.04)
1. When framebuffer kicked in during the install process - screen went blank. I had to add the nomodeset option.
2. Everything else looked good, though I aborted the install because I wanted to repartition the hard drive and the SSD using gparted in parted magic.

I had Parted magic (which is also a linux distro for using gparted) 6.1 on the same USB stick which seem to boot fine. Though the latest parted magic was unable to detect the /dev/sr0 device for the cdrom (emulated though grub4dos in my case). I'd suspect this to be some grub4dos and parted magic compatibility issue.

Also I removed the backplate, installed the 8GB Patriot RAM module, there was no issue in detecting the 10 GB of RAM, and it was running at DDR3 1600. Started a memtest on this, battery was at 25% or so, and by the time I took a shower and came back - it completed 43% but my battery died I'll be re-running in the evening just to confirm RAM is working fine.

Yes I was browsing few ubuntu and opensuse forums for info about the ivy bridge support on the new laptops, the touchpad, Fn keys, and optimus. Other than optimus everything else seems pretty reasonable but definitely not out of the box. I'm perfectly fine with this if I get a working setup which is all that matters to me.

And like you said Optimus support still doesnt exist fully with Bumblebee or Ironhide projects. I dont intend to use the nvidia graphics in linux frankly. I'd be happy if I can get some optimus PM (power management) app working to power off the nvidia card.

I couldn't locate any option in BIOS to disable the nvidia card Which would have been much easier if you ask me.

 

Heres my experience (not the original person you asked). I've been through 3 so far and am leaning toward returning the 3rd one due to the fan issue.

1st one. Got it at microcenter (same i5 model as amazon sells). atdata drive, didn't notice fan issue but wasn't aware of it then. Knew it was going back the day I got it due to bad screen bleed and if i touched the lower bezel the screen bleed would get worse and stay that way for hours. Essentially the sceen seemed pinched by the lid/bezel. figured it was screwed down to tight. Microcenter took a while to get a replacement in so I held onto this one for a while.

2nd one. atdata drive, Got it from Best Buy because its screen looked great in the store and I thought I was lucky and found a good one and would be returning the microcenter one later. When I got this one its screen had NO BLEED issues but ive had it about a week and now it definitely has bleed issues when viewed in a dimly lit room. It also has the fan issue which I find most annoying.

3rd one. atdata drive, I exchanged the microcenter machine for another one when they got them back in stock. major light bleed, worse than the first one. It went back the next day before I knew about the fan issue so didnt test.

- All 3 had light bleed issues
- All 3 had atdata ssd drives
- The best buy model has higher power draw memory, no accident warranty
- the best buy model definitely has the fan issue. not sure about the others.

At this point... I think im either going to rule out the asus completely, or if i can find an E on sale cheap i might go for it since the screen is more consistent and they keyboard wasn't THAT bad, and if its cheap enough ill look at it as a bargain instead of a premium notebook. The QC on the asus units really isn't up to what Id expect for a premium notebook designed to compete with the macbook air. If I could get a windows keyboard in an air I would take it in a heartbeat over this unit.

In short, if asus actually produced the machine they were selling I would be a very happy customer, but between their QC issues with the screen, different ssd vendors and the issue with the fan that essentially nerfs an ultrabooks core feature (instant on) I can't really see picking one as my daily machine no matter how good it looks on paper. Its a shame too as I love the machine, for the most part.

 

They are just benchmarks, you can not see any difference on everyday usage ! But if you do a lot of video or MP3 editing than you will see that A-Data is faster. Other than that you do not need any benchmark.

Its NOT increased. If you install right drivers you will get SAME result with UX31E and its 7.5 like my UX31E.

Its NOT slow. If you do a clean Windows 7 install, you will see that it will boot much faster. Ifs a problem of Asus software and drivers. You do not need unnecessary Asus applications which are slows down the boot of Zenbook.

A-Data and Sandisk boot times are exactly same.

 

thanks a lot for your input! im coming from a 10 inch netbook (hp mini) that ive had for 3 years during undergrad, it worked great, its still running now, no problems ever, maybe i just have a higher tolerance for cpu "issues", for one thing it took my mini a good 2 mins or so to boot up lol, and the fan was noticeable at times, but these things never bothered me, and since the life of my netbook was 1.5 hours, the higher power for the ux31a i think will still be fine..the only thing i will have a problem with is a poor screen..so i think if i go with the bb model and the screen is good then im keeping it because for now, with lawschool starting in a few weeks, i feel as if this is still the best ultrabook on the market for the price range, if im wrong, can someone tell me what others i should be considering as well?

 

Damn. I really wanted an ultrabook for studies/work but I will have to pass on this one. Severe light bleed issues on a machine that is peddled with the promise of a premium screen? And then there's the fan issues... and the keyboard flex.

I mean... being forced to work for free as an Asus quality controller, ultimately getting tired of sending the damn thing back, settling for the least defective one, and finally getting severe buyer's remorse (trying to convince oneself that this is somehow worth 1000$)? lol

 

No, all were Amazon. The first had terrible bleed and the adapter (wifi/widi/bt) all three kept dropping. The second had a bad vga adapter out of the box..looked like I booted into safe mode and the WEI score was 1..haha. This one was the best so far but still not perfect by any means. For $1000 you should get better. For the most part it seems to me that everybody here is trying to convince themselves to keep it and it really isn't "that bad". I was one of them but after another week I just came to the conclusion it's not worth it.

 

thats a good point, for 1k people should not have to remind themselves that what they purchased has more pros than cons..as far as other windows ultrabooks im against dell in general, and the hp ultrabooks arent appealing, neither is the lenovo u300s, esp since it has a glossy screen.

 

I agree with you that you shouldn't accept a product that is sub-par when it's pricetag is 1450 USD (for us in Norway at least).

But I think that there is no perfect laptop, there will always be pros/cons and some minor stuff that is "wrong" with it.

 

Same software as the UX31E I had and it takes longer to boot up. It also has a faster processor, so um... ya its slower out of the box. Ofcourse it will speed up if you do a clean install of Windows, but I am speaking of how this works out of the box. This just confirms what reviewers have been showing when comparing the UX31A to the UX31E.

In addition, my UX31E from Best Buy had a 5.9 WEI on the Sandisk SSD. This one has a 7.5 WEI.

 

I don't know..I have had a 11.5 inch MBA for a year and can't find a single thing wrong with it..it just works..I'm not thrilled with the specs but that's another issue as it does everything it is supposed to do without any problems I can find.

 

I find plenty of things wrong with Apple products. I work on them. But in general, their quality control seems pretty good. And it's nice that you can just walk into an Apple store and get a swap if you have an issue with a new laptop.

 

I guess there aren't really any discounts for the VD right now?

Also, if I were to go to the US (on vacation) and pick one of these up, which store would you guys recommend I go to? And how might the swap/return work if I get a system that has errors etc?

Has anyone tested the Battery Life on the VD? How long does it last if you just do word processing, internet etc?

 

I'm so disappointed ! So many issues with those laptop.. I thought ASUS quality was better than that! I'll buy it on amazon when available in France.
But how many times can you send it back? Then won't allow you to send it ten times in order to find the perfect one I suppose..

 

They might but I'm sure you can't say that every single unit they made of any specific model has issues like you can about these, right?

 

What about Wifi on the UX32VD, do people have Intel or Atheros? Any differences?

 

I'm not sure of the UX31 models, but very few people have had serious defects/issues with UX32VD afaik.

And most of the UX31 issues seem to be the following:
1. Backlight bleed (not sure how many are valid and how many are blown out of proportion here).
2. Getting a Sandisk SSD instead of ADATA. Honestly this is not an issue - but I do understand that people getting the Sandisk one might lose out on performance a bit. Unless your work is purely IO intensive - I dont see any point in just going with the benchmarks.

Other than that there are few drawbacks in both the UX31 and UX32 models. As a buyer you should do your research before buying a model. You can't blame ASUS after you've bought it.
1. Touchpad interferring with the keyboard and the crappy driver.
2. Cramped keyboard layout (not all people would be happy with this kind of key layout).

ASUS has come a long way with their quality control, but still not on par with Apple. And ASUS do not have direct retail outlets like Apple. These are concerns that as a buyer you should be thinking before you buy an ASUS laptop, simply just no point blaming afterwards.

The best ASUS could do is probably take these inputs and improve on their future models.

 

I have Intel Wifi on mine. I've not come across anyone who has an Atheros on their UX32VD.

 

Well. No. But not every single Asus UX32VD has the same issue. Though back light bleeding may be common. The software issues with the track pads will hopefully see improvement in the near future.

Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T using Tapatalk 2

 

I don't think there's any such thing as "blown out of proportion" when you're talking about a $1300 laptop. It should be perfect - or as near so as reasonably possible. If there's a noticeable flaw on such an expensive, premium machine - that's a big problem.

 

Well. Maybe. But a lot of expensive TVs have backlight bleed too. Unfortunate. My LCD TV has a little bit but not enough that I felt like returning it. So it'll depend how bad the bleed is and how sensitive the customer is to it.

Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T using Tapatalk 2

 

Thats really what it comes down to... on paper this machine is great, before you turn it on its great. Then turning it on is like playing a slot machine, you hope for a jackpot but its unlikely.

For me, I want a hires screen, 1366x768 just doesn't cut it for me. This limits the options considerably. Id been trying hard to talk myself into ignoring the bleed... the screen is beautiful for work if the colors are bright... its just dark scenes / photos / themes that are the big problem. BUT, the fan issue really blows it for me... having to reboot the thing so the fan works right pretty much defeats the premise of an ultrabook... INSTANT ON. So now im back to looking at alternatives.

 

You missed the biggest issue from my point of view... the fan cycling after resume. Essentially after you have shut the lid and opened it again to continue work the fan cycles every minute never going to idle with no regards to the current temperatures.

The only way to fix it is to do a reboot. Since it does this every time you suspend/resume your choices are... dont use suspend/resume and clean boot all the time losing your instant on capability which is why many bought it in the first place... or live with the fan cycling which makes the notebook inappropriate for use in a business meeting in many cases, is noisy and eats battery life. I don't like the light bleed but was trying to ignore it, this one I can't ignore.

 

I'd view bleed on a TV much worse than a computer, your watching video with many dark scenes on a daily basis. Bleed keeps your TV from displaying blacks uniformly. Any bleed in a TV would go back in a heartbeat.

 

So... anyone who is looking for alternatives... what are you looking at?

Anyone who has a ux31e, what was good and bad about it? If they discount them at what point do they become a good option.

 

The reason I didn't mention that in the list is I have a gutfeel - a software or driver update should fix it.

Did you check the list of running processes - I'd suspect some process is trying to use up the CPU a lot and continuously. It has been long since I used Windows regularly and I dont have much info about the task manager. But at least in linux - the cause for this would be something like a flash plugin (which used a lot of CPU cycles and does not let the processor go to sleep). In essence the CPU heats up and makes the fan kick-in. The root problem usually ends up to be a faulty driver (again ASUS to blame) but I wouldn't call it a hardware issue. Why I would care less about this is there is a good chance that if you get the right drivers in place this issue could be fixed.

Manufacturers like Apple tend to have an edge here because of their control over both hardware and software with limited number of variations. They have strict testing of each software update to ensure their devices do not encounter these issues.

On the other hand if you go with Apple hardware you're stuck with their software - it limits your freedom quite a bit.

You need to pick which works out better for you.

 

No heavy CPU load, no heat increase. I've monitored fan speeds related to temperatures and graphed it over time. After a fresh boot it behaves normally, IE the fan rarely comes on at all. Once you resume though, the fan cycles to max then coasts down then spins up again... no processes using alot of CPU, no heat increase on any of the internal temps. It just cycles, its stuck in a loop.

It's most likely software, but my history with asus on my g73 has been that asus fixes don't tend to come that fast or work that well. One can hope though.

The thing is, its probably not worth waiting on... by the time asus gets their ducks in a row on this model, win8 will be out with alot of game changing hardware to oogle at. I got the zenbook because I needed someething now, if I wanted to wait I definitely would.

 

Are you using the ExpressCache or you've wiped out the entire SSD and reclaimed the space ?
And by resume you mean - resume from sleep or resume from hibernate ?

 

Is the fan noise really THAT bothersome? I hear the fan whir up when it awakes from sleep but it isn't nearly enough to return the device