Ivy Bridge Zenbook with FHD IPS screen UX21A UX31A UX32A UX32VD

No, I added kingston 1600 Mhz CL11 1.5v and its fine. Battery life good windows rating up to 7.2 on ram

 

I just put an SSD (Samsung 830 256GB) into my UX32VD and did a fresh install. I've now installed all drivers and setup the battery saving profile.

The SSD and fresh install really helped my battery. Now this picture is only to show off, it is VERY FAR from realistic (basically I waited for the lowest discharge rate). But still it shows a new minimum lowest discharge rate for me on the UX32VD.



My guess is that I should be able to get 6 hours with normal usage (browsing with WiFi).

 

Seems like no major retailer has UX32VD in stock. Is something going on?

 

I bought mine from the Microsoft Store. Depending on when the UX32VD comes out I will probably return it.

 

Hopefully they are addressing the bad IPS displays.

 

Is it possible to extend a zenbook warranty through asus? I called them today and was advised that extended warranties can ONLY be purchased through the retailer. Amazon.com only offers a 3year through squaretrade. Do the retailers all differ or is squaretrade the only option?

 

Nice, the Samsung 830 clearly has better idle power consumption than my OCZ vertex 4 here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/asu...-asus-ux32vd-owners-lounge-3.html#post8766959

 

So I purchased what I thought was the i5 version of the UX32VD. Had no idea that it came with a terrible display. So looks like I am return it. Nowhere on the spec sheet did it say it had a regular display. Also, it looks like something is pinching the lcd because it has the ripple effect whenever I close it.

 

So, I went to another Best Buy today and exchanged my UX31A for a second time. I checked out their floor model and saw it had an ADATA drive so my hopes were up, but after the exchange I checked the inside as saw I got another Sandisk drive. At this point it's getting ridiculous with it being my third UX31A with a Sandisk drive. Newegg and Amazon aren't selling them anymore, and all the Best Buys around me no longer have them in stock. I may eventually just return it for a refund and wait to get something better. Has anyone else gotten one with an ADATA drive recently, either at Best Buy or somewhere else?

Asus also got back to me about my online request for getting one with an ADATA drive, they just told me to call them about it instead. So I did, and they said they can't provide me with a custom laptop, even though it's really not custom at all, just one of the versions they already make. They said I had to check with the retailer to see which drive I'm getting before I purchase it, which is impossible since they won't let you open box to check until you buy it. I might be overreacting, but I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau about the runaround with the different drives. I based my purchase of this partly on the fact that it had a drive that was just as fast as the Macbook Air's, and now I seem unable to get the same drive that other people were getting. If anybody else also wants to file a complaint, either over the drive or any of the other quality control issues, here's the link to their BBB page.

How did you get them to take 20% off? I didn't know the MS Store discount was the result of a coupon, and I would much rather save that money directly than have to try to sell the XBox on Ebay.

 

I called around to multiple BB stores asking if they would honor a MS coupon. One said yes! Longer explanation below.

Purchased mine August 5th at a BB for $799.99 (20% off $999.99). No tax in Delaware, so worth the trip. (Was originally planning to buy from MicroCenter, but they've been stringing me along for weeks.)

BB did not let me stack the XBox deal with the MS coupon, although I was told they were stackable on the phone. When I arrived at the store, the manager informed me that price matching worked like a sale, and that the BB computer system would not allow double sales. I smelled a bit of BS, but he wasn't going to budge, so I surrendered and accepted their generous price-matching. (Two other BB locations I had called refused to do it. One tried to "make a deal", but I didn't want any extras.)

I gave up on the XBox deal in part because the sales woman who had helped me over the phone was kind enough to open the brown box of the laptop she put on hold for me. When I saw that it was a SanDisk model, I requested she do me a favor and open the box of the only other copy in the store. It was a SandForce. Done deal.

 

My 256GB SSD is a Sandisk and it rates a 7.5 on WEI. I'm not sure why people are freaking out for the Adata drive that scores 7.9. .4 isn't a big deal in my opinion.

If anyone is interested in possibly buying mine for what I paid for it which included a XBOX 360 and 20% and MS assure and Office, PM me. I may be selling it whenever the UX32VD comes.

 

What was its base price? Only the i7 is online. I chose to buy from BB over MS based on location and knowing I might need to return the laptop due to screen issues.

 

As to New Egg, they posted "out of stock" as the reason for stopping sales, which is different from Amazon.

Now, Amazon has restarted its sales of UX31A. I can't find any info as to the outcome of their review or as to what it was exactly about, they just restarted it. I few thoughts:

- restart of sales doesn't mean they got a new batch. They might have frozen the existing batch while sorting out their dealings with ASUS (e.g. rules for return or damages);

- if this were a new, "improved" batch, I am sure they would have advertised it (users' feedback on Amazon had been just shocking);

- not sure if one would have been able to get any "improved" batch so quickly - Amazon's "investigation" lasted just for 2-3 days...

Anyone who has any knowledge as to what happened on Amazon, please share it.

 

With Amazon having restarted selling UX31A-DB51, I am going to buy one from them in next 24 hours.

If anyone has any concerning info, please share it.

If you know any special deals I might get with Amazon, please share it, too. The only deals I could find is (a) a free Amazon gift card coming with the device and (b) a discount for Win 8 upgrade if you buy a device until some day in Jan 2013. However, a few year ago I saw someone referring to a Microsoft deal that anyone buying a PC with Win 7 pre-installed would get a discount for another legitimate copy of Win 7 (e.g. for an old laptop). I can't find this offer at Amazon, though. Pls share if you know any other offers from Amazon or other reputable online (re)sellers.

I am going to buy the device in 24 hours from now (I am in UTC+11 time zone), so I would appreciate your prompt feedback.

Thank you

 

I think I am just going to buy a Samsun Series 9 15' They have one in stock at a best buy about 40 mins from here. Unless it is too big but I delt with an Envy 14 for 2 years so I think I can handle it.

Thoughts on screen quality? I will be getting the 8GB version. Anyone know if you can upgrade the SSD?

 

It does not have the same PLS(IPS) screen as the 13.3 does. I hear it can be upgraded to 16GB.

 

So it has a worse quality screen? 16GB would be nice.

 

The base price was $1499 from the MS Store.

 

I guess worse would be accurate. Do you have a Microsoft store near you? You can pick up the 13.3 there is they still have one for 20% off or you can order from amazon with overnight delivery and get a free $100 gift card. In either case it is still cheaper than the 15" and probably more what you want.

 

They are the Sandy Bridge ones, not the Ivy Bridge.

 

Well I really want to purchase from best buy for the 18 month financing and the free xbox. I orderd the UX32VD that comes with the i5 from BB and it came with a terrible 1366x768 screen. Frustrated with how nothing is in stock. First the good UX32VD and now the 13.3 Series 9. I don't understand why they would put a lower quality panel in the 15' version.

I still plan on checking the 15' out tonight to see if it really is THAT bad.

I already have a Samsung 830 SSD and the Muskin RAM sittin on my desk... so hopefully the UX32VD comes back in stock at BB sooner rather than later.

 

Where? Both the MS store and Amazon have the X3C which are the Ivy Bridge. MS does not have it on their website anymore but the stores may still have them in the back, They removed them to make room for the ASUS..haha. Here is the Amazon link.

Amazon.com: Samsung Series 9 NP900X3C-A01US Ultrabook 13.3-Inch Laptop (Mineral Ash Black): Computers & Accessories

 

At my local MS Store, they had the Sandy Bridge ones for $999 but since last Sunday they switched it out with the Ivy Bridge ones but they are $1299.99. I asked to see if they had any more and they told me they sent them back...

I looked at the new 13.3" S9 but their screens weren't near as good as this UX31a and the specs on this machine is so much better.

 

Went back to the original Best Buy that I got my first UX31A at, since I saw they had them in stock again. This being my 3rd exchange and 4th laptop, they wanted to know what was going on, so I explained the situation. I opened up the newest package while still at the customer service area, and saw it was Sandisk yet again for the 4th time. While technically I could keep exchanging it (until the system locked me out, someone said), for obvious reasons they wanted to see if something could be figured out so I didn't have to keep doing exchanges or so I didn't have to take a refund. They had me go talk to the computer department and then the manager about trying to find one with an ADATA drive without open a bunch of boxes. Eventually we figured that since there really is no way to tell from the outside brown box, I would hold on to my current UX31A while he emailed Asus about it. So at least now someone from Best Buy is asking Asus about what's up with the SSD variants and how to tell which one is which, because they're going through a lot of unnecessary exchanges. Hopefully in a couple days I'll hear back from them, and we'll see what's going on.

 

What WEI score are you getting with those Sandisks?

 

People should stop worrying about WEI. It tells you next to nothing about the actual performance of your computer. I've seen some of the latest laptops score lower than a several year old Vaio of mine with very mediocre specs.

WEI = meaningless

 

I haven't even been using the laptop, just opening the box and checking the sticker.

 

Just an FYI for everyone -- looks like the UX31A-R5102F at Best Buy is now $1099.99, at least on BestBuy.com that is -- not sure about the B&M stores. If it is $1099.99 across the board, it now looks like the Amazon deal with the $100 gift card is a better bet than getting one at Best Buy where you have to pay tax, even with getting the free Xbox. You can probably price match with Staples to save $50, but that's about it...

 

That SSD won't fit into any Samsung S9. They require msata drives which are about the size and thickness of a postage stamp. And the 15" screen is not bad, at least it is 1600x900 which is still hard to find in most laptops. It just doesn't have the viewing angles or color reproduction that the 13 has.

 

That's odd. MS stopped selling the X3C a few weeks ago. They shouldn't have had it on display, are you sure it wasn't the 15?

 

True however everyone is so concerned about it and I don't see a problem with my Sandisk. Would I rather have faster yes but it's not terrible either.

Yup I aked them and they only had 3 of them left because I almost bought it instead of the UX31A.

 

Do a clean install and then see what score you get and then start wondering.....

 

At first I thought you might have been looking at the wrong model/version on Best Buy's site, but you're right, the price went up. What a weird thing. Maybe they're trying to get me to settle for a Sandisk drive, but that's not likely to happen.

This shows the difference between the two drives pretty well.
ASUS Zenbook SSD Compare ! Sandisk vs ADATA - YouTube
Considering that the computer is only as fast as it's weakest link, drive speed is arguably more important than CPU or RAM speed. Any time you're reading or writing a lot of data, you're going to wish you had a faster SSD.

 

just thought i would post my update..ive had my ux31a for about 2 weeks now (from bestbuy i5 128gb) and it is amazing, luckily ive had no problems what so ever..screen is amazing, the store clerk let me open the box to check for the adata so when i noticed the sticker i jumped on the box..im glad i did seeing that its now up $99 from what i paid for it...also, it takes a fall..while at work my charger got wrapped around my seat and when im slid backwards the computer fell, but when i picked it up it was still perfect..made me realize that i still need to add accidental warranty on it soon..i did have some trackpad issues (the mouse would move around while i would type) but the driver updates fixed that problem..mind you, this is coming from someone who have a netbook for 3 years during undergrad so im not picky..but what i will say is that i compared my screen to that of my friend's 15inch mbp screen (not the retina display) and the asus was the winner..hope this helps for any of you still debating, there are good ones out there!

 

So are you saying that if I did a clean install I will rank higher or lower than 7.5 for my WEI?

 

Given his tone, I think he's suggesting that the discrepancy would be greater.

The thing here is this: you have to weigh the reason you bought the computer against what the perceived loss is. As much as there is a material difference between the ADATA and SanDisk drives, if *you* bought the computer to do normal computing, i.e. web browsing, watching the occasional video and other things, then the difference will most likely not bother you. The "injustice" as it is perceived here, is that you paid the same price as I did, though you received a harddrive that is slower than mine. If your use of the computer isn't of the type to notice that speed difference, then there really isn't a loss to you, if you like all the other aspects of the computer.

The problem with a site like this is that there are people whose lives are for more invested in their computer toys. There's really no way to know, for example, if their complaint of light bleed is coming from a "normal" person's perspective or from a person whose life revolves around their computer's WEI score.

If you do not feel that your computer is slow, and you like your computer, then your computer is perfect for you. Any incremental benefit to be derived from returning your computer 6 or 7 times to Amazon is something for you to determine for yourself. In short, there are people here who have legitimate complaints and there are the pimplefarming tools who fit the stereotype of a pasty-faced computer nerd. Its hard to know whose complaining about what.

I received an ADATA drive, but my friend didn't. Neither of us see a difference in speed, but at the same time, neither of us are the types to run some benchmarking tool to split hairs either - you know the type, the tools who list benchmark scores and parts listings in their forum signatures and sometimes even the type of thermal paste they use to reseat the CPU to make themselves feel like they actually had a part in building something. I have more lightbleed on mine than he does, but - guess what - it doesn't even phase me. It simply isn't a real bother to me as it only manifests itself during the boot phase of the computer - and this is even after running videos at an aspect ratio that requires black bars to exist at the top and bottom portion of the screen. And that may have alot to do with the fact that I'm not expecting an ultrabook to operate like some Alienware gaming machine. Forgive me.

As an aside, Don1, the one who responded to you, has some sort of mental problem. He's apparently returned his machine, but feels the need to endlessly grind his axe in this thread - a classic symptom of the pathology of the type of folk I allude to above. He is personally butt-hurt at the letdown - much like a jilted nerd let-down by the girl he fantasized about during senior year of highschool - and he's felt the need to spend time on this thread for no other reason than to just trash-talk.

 

edit:

nvm

 

Not sure if this is the "couple of month refresh" mentioned earlier in here or not, but if you go to the zenbook site it now shows the ux32vd coming with either 4 or 6gb RAM and either a 128gb or 256gb ssd, the old specs appear to have been replaced.

ZENBOOK

 

Seems like we get this post every couple of weeks...This is the regular Zenbook, not the Zenbook Prime.

I have been fiddling with newer Elantech drivers from other manufacturers and found the Samsung Series 9 driver works very nicely:

Support - Notebooks NP900X3C | Samsung Laptops

I'm using this driver right now, and other than a little Samsung branding in the control panel has worked very nicely so far!

 

Is there any way to get the ethernet dongle wlan driver to install correctly after a clean win7 install? I can't get the thing to work. The driver installation failed via win update. All of the drivers on asus's website for the dongle also fail. The one I can sort of get to work after executing the setup.exe file makes the screen flicker on and off for a bit, and then hangs. I dont really care about not having wlan since I cant see a situation where I would really need it, but it would still be nice to get the damn driver to work.

 

On my S9 it went from 7.5 to 5.9 which is the number I have always seen in the past. I would expect the ASUS to do the same. I don't know what magic these manufactures have come up with but despite WEI it acts like a 5.9 anyway,

 

UX31A - Can anyone tell me the size of the ASUS box for the subject? (not the brown shipping box but the inside ASUS original box)

Need to know if it's much bigger than the laptop's size - someone agreed to bring me the device from the US but is not willing to take the box.

Thanks in advance.

 

I am sure that is because they don't want to get stopped by customs and have to pay tax on it. Be happy they will bring it at all.

 

The laptop itself is extremely thin, that is the point of an Ultrabook. The box, as would be expected, is significantly bigger than the laptop itself as it contains packaging materials as well as accessories in a neatly packed method.. It is probably smaller than most laptop boxes, but comparing it to the laptop size is silly.

 

It's about 2"x10"x17".

 

Just chatted with Amazon's representative. Looks like I won't be able to buy UX32VD from Amazon any time soon

 

UX32VD is now being shipped to store at BB. At first it was showing them as in stock at all 3 locations near me however, I called them and the said that was an error. They could however exchange my previous purchase, ship it to me, and let me keep the xbox. Finally. I hope it all works out.

 

That's a pat answer from Amazon and it may show up in three days which is more likely. You are better off to order it and then keep looking around. Amazon doesn't charge your card until it is shipped.

 

Anyone having problems with there trackpad? When ever I wake my UX32VD from sleep, the mouse doesn't work, it takes a few seconds for it start moving around.

Edit, also when I try to drag and highlight text to copy, it won't highlight it would just go off as soon as I let go off the mouse. Never happened before the new ASUS updates.

 

Is there a way to get a bloatware free version, like an option to do a clean install without bloatware?