Ivy Bridge Zenbook with FHD IPS screen UX21A UX31A UX32A UX32VD

For me its a matter of price and features. The price of the zenbook and the general design screams PREMIUM but the screen bleed is worse than you would see on a 299 budget notebook.

The bleed does vary ALOT from machine to machine and at least in my case the two machines I found without major bleed issues developed the worst bleed of any of the 4 I had over the course of about 10 days of use.

Im a programmer and often work in text editors with a black background and color highlighted text so for me the bleed issues were quite apparent and a big problem. For others that might not be the case. Although the fact that they got worse over time suggests a deeper defect to me that I eventually chose to avoid all together.

 

Yea, I know I'll be upgrading to something touch enabled probably around black friday like you. I have touch development projects lined up already so will need the hardware. I needed something in the mean time too, thought about going costco but they didn't have anything that interested me. Does sams club have 90 day return as well?

I ended up getting the vizio ct14-a0 (i3 ib, 1600x900, 128gb ssd) at walmart.com on rollback for $641. Couldn't pass that up.

If you want to get something you can return, sams club has the vizio 15", 1080p ips display, 128gb ssd model for $899. its almost 4lbs so its a lil big but the screen is gorgeous.

If anyone would have told me a couple months ago that with all the asus, hp, dell, samsung and toshiba ultrabooks out there that one of the best built and definitely the best bang for your buck was a vizio I would have laughed, but im really happy with the 14" vizio i got.

 

UPDATE FROM jittles!:

A rep from jittles! just let me know that they are in touch with Asus representatives. Apparently, they didn't expect this much demand for the UX32VD so I guess they only made a limited amount. But anyways, Asus is doing everything to keep up with demand and told jittles! to continue taking backorders to asses the true demand of the laptop. They should be getting their first batch of 4 or 5 laptops by the 31st and will try to ship out the same day. I'm priority #8 (I guess they're gonna give you one once you order now), so they said I will be in the second batch of laptops they receive.

I must say that since they're a small company, their customer service IS top notch because they reply to each email personally.

 

Yeah, just got similar update from them. I'm #17 (fourth batch). I'm wondering how it correlates with information that was told to luckyknight and luctus that UX32VD is end of line and discontinued.

 

Yeah, I guess either Asus changed their mind or they had wrong information. I just hope I get my laptop. It shouldn't be this difficult, lol.

 

Yes, sams club has 90 days return, I did that with the ux31e, they just inspected all of the components and asked me why I was returnig that's it, just make sure to use a different membership card if it's your second return.

 

Jittles is posting the cpu for their Asus UX32VD-DB71 is a 1.7Ghz instead of the regular 1.9Ghz. Does anyone know if this is a typo or did Asus actually put a slower 1.7Ghz i7 cpu in their UX32VD now?

 

What is the purpose of this flicks software?

Still trying to find a list of Asus software you actually have to keep on.
I'm confused as to what is actually necessary and what is bloatware. I mean do you need the suspend software? I thought the intel stuff handled that.

I got rid of the video control software since most of that seems to be accessible via the intel HD 4000 drivers

 

From what I understand its not slower. Both are low voltage CPU's so at their clock speed they will have the same processing power or something lol. It's a non-issue I'm pretty sure.

 

That is a typo, Asus initially sent out the wrong i7 in their spec sheet, the UE instead of U. the UX32VD comes with the U which is 1.9 and same thing in the UX31A-DB71

 

I too received an email from the friendly Jittles staff. I am #6 (second batch), so hopefully me and austin will get ours the same time. I also agree, they seem to have great customer service and are really trying hard to get as much information from Asus as possible and trying to relay as much as they can to their customers. I will buy from them again if my order continues to go this smoothly (minus the whole Asus being lame and not making enough stock part).

 

Today, I was checking out the UA31A model at BestBuy. I pinched the screen frame at the bottom-right corner and the IPS cracked. This could confirm your point that the screen frame could be assembelled too tight that it is causing extra tension at the edges of the IPS screen and the LED light bleed.

 

How much pressure did that take? Vulcan nerve pinch or a friendly squeeze?

I've tried squeezing around the bezel on our UX31A to see if that made the light bleed better or worse and it didn't crack, but it was a light squeeze.

 

I didn't really squeeze the screen hard. I tried the same with some of the other display laptops. No other model cracked.

 

On most notebooks, the bezel (if plastic) will crack before the display does. Worrisome.

 

Still no updates on my several week old Amazon backorder, but I just checked Amazon's site and it appears like they have stopped taking orders for the UX32VD now. There is only an option to be notified when it is available now. I guess I will start searching for an alternative and cancel my order as I can't just sit and wait forever with no info or ETA. I placed the order a few weeks ago because I needed a laptop, not because I felt like it. After reading all of the issues on here I am thinking maybe it is a blessing in disguise though...

 

Quick question for you all out there. I have a UX31A-DB51 -- what temps do you see at idle on your UX31A's? (and what program are you using to get those temps?) I am seeing between 49-52C with just a browser window open, and to me that seems like a high temp number for idle. Also, my fan is always constantly on (very quiet on idle, since you have to put your ear up to the machine to hear it, but on all the time nonetheless). Even if these temps are within the operating parameters, if it's still higher than normal, I'd like to know so I can do an exchange.

 

Just got my UX32VD.
How do you do scrolling on the touchpad. Can't seem to figure it out

 

Up and down on the pad using two fingers at once.

 

Sounds like you either have a faulty trackpad, wrong drivers or weird conductive properties in your fingers. I have none of the problems you describe. Which drivers are you using? My advice would be to not use the buttons, use light tapping instead.

 

And today it's 799..If it goes back down to 641 I would pick one up in a minute. The MS store has the 15" and that is really a good little machine.

BTW, both the 14 and 15 inch models are available with the full HD IPS 1920x1080 screen..same as the ASUS..I would love to see if that suffers from the same bleed problems that these do.

 

For what it's worth, a local retailer other than the one who said they were discontinued actually claims to just have received a new batch today and to have 100+ units in stock. Everyone else is still out of stock though.

 

According to the Vizio spec-page though, the 14" model has a 1600x900 screen?

Not that it makes a difference for me since it's not available in Europe anyway.

 

So, today my UX31A came back from RMA (Belgium). I sent it back for the fan issue.
The enclosed letter says that they replaced the motherboard, with a "repairman note": "Replaced thermai". Should probably be 'thermal' but ok.

So the first thing I did is boot the laptop, put him in sleep mode and back out of sleep mode. Suddenly after a few minutes the fan started spinning at 5440 rpm again....
Exactly the same problem again, so no fix at all...

IF they replaced the thermal stuff and motherboard, it seems to be a software problem. But if they didn't.. well don't know.

So the next thing I did was uninstalling the Intel Thermal Framework. Unfortunately I only read about that as being a solution after I sent my laptop back.
But... now since I uninstalled that, I don't have any fan issues anymore (so far..)!! Does anyone know what other features are removed by uninstalling Thermal Framework?

If it stays like this, it's gonna be a keeper. I have the 256 GB Adata drive in it, backlight bleeding is acceptable to me (the worst in the bottom right), if it doesn't get worse it's ok.

 

They make multiple models..with the 1980x1080 as well as the 1600x900..same as ASUS does. You can even get the full HD IPS 1920x1080 from Walmart of all places.

VIZIO Silver 14" Thin Light CT14-A1 Ultrabook Laptop PC with Intel Core i5-3317U Processor and Windows 7 Home Premium with Windows 8 Pro Upgrade Option: Computers : Walmart.com

Go to the bottom to see the display characteristics.

 

Yea, I hadn't realized I slipped in during a little windows of the $641 pricing. In any case I'm really liking it so far. A couple cool little details I didn't think about until I was using one... first the AC adapter has a light thats yellow while charging and turns green when complete, a nice touch. Also by default the F keys work like a mac (up/down brightness etc) without having to hit the fn key, you can flip it the other way if you like.

One thing I originally found useless but turn out to use alot is next to the brightness up/down there is a brightness off button. So if your switching to the machine and away from it alot you can toggle the backlight off/on instantly... which is good for extending battery life (the backlight has to be the biggest power draw) and keeping prying eyes off your screen.

Right now I think the 15" ct15-a1 is the best deal going at walmart.com and samsclub. Its $899 with full hd ips matte screen, i5 ivybridge, 128gb ssd, 4gb ram. In an under 4lb package. (the 14" is 3.39 the 15" is like 3.96). The price on walmart.com is a rollback so no telling how long it will stick at that. Its normally 997.

 

I have been using a S9 for a few weeks and it has a Fn lock key of all things so you can use it like a mac or if you need the F keys (mainframe access) you can turn the lock off and they become the default. Nice touch.

 

This company in the UK has a UX32A-R3007V but are selling it as UX32VD with 1.7ghz I5.. I assume it doesn't have a nvidia GPU? The part number says UX32A-R3007V in the description. You have to wonder if they forgot to edit something.?

ASUS ZENBOOK UX32VD UX32A-R3007V | Insight UK

 

Best Buy is doing the same thing. The are selling a model UX32VD-R5504H.This is not the high res IPS display version.

Link: Asus - 13.3" Laptop - 4GB Memory - 500GB Hard Drive - Radiant Silver - UX32VD-R5504H

 

Does anyone have a list of what bloatware is useful which ones should be uninstalled?

I saw the sticky, but my UX31A has a lot of stuff that isn't mentioned.

 

Google is your friend

http://notebookheavy.com/2012/05/07/clean-up-the-asus-zenbook-bloatware/

I used this and the post in this thread about the bloatware removal

 

I also had an S9 for a brief time... previous generation 11.6" model. The FN Lock was a cool feature... loved the unit... if only the wifi had greater than a 5ft range. Seriously it would only work within 5ft of my router.

Microcenter was great with it though... they swapped out the network card and guess what... it maybe had an 8ft range from the router. Pretty much the wireless couldn't get through that duraluminum case. So I regretably took it back and got the vizio, which so far ive been really happy with.

 

And the Microsoft store is now selling a UX31A without the IPS screen for the same price as those selling it with. It makes you think that ASUS may be moving away from that screen with all of the problems they have had with it.

Buy ASUS ZENBOOK Prime UX31A-R5102H - 13.3 inch notebook PC with Intel Core i5 Ivy Bridge processor - Microsoft Store Online

 

I haven't had a problem with WIFI but the new version has a different Intel card (not necessarily better, but different). Unfortunately it also has a different SSD, our favorite Sandisk U100 instead of the Samsung that the last generation had. At least it can be upgraded in this.

 

Yea, I REALLY wanted to like the 11.6" S9. Its screen was beautiful albeit low res. I even told microcenter to switch the nic for the intel 6230 because that fixes the problem but they could only swap for another broadcom. I could have bought a card and swapped it out myself but ran across the vizio deal and though id try my luck for the 1600x900 screen.

Im pretty much amazed that out of every tried and true computer company out there the new kid on the block is the only one that delivered pretty much what they were selling.

 

This is somewhat sad and funny at the same time. Cutting back to the 1600x900 screen tells me they either have a shortage or they got sick of the resturns. But they really need to cut the price for the screen downgrade. I guess its still competitive with samsungs S9 out there but at that price id go vizio 15 at $899 first even though its bigger.

 

Has anyone gotten one from Amazon with the a data drive? I stopped by a few different best buys and bought three of them, but they were all sandisk. Will return them and try my luck with one from amazon.

 

Oh lol thanks!

I've got other queries for you guys. When I'm charging this thing the taskbar battery thing would show 94 or 97% (plugged in, charging) and the light on my charger would be green indicating it's fully charged ... anyone know why I'm not getting 100%?

Just installed Asus Smart Gesture ... are there no options for this one? I tweaked the options on the original Elan Driver ... can't seem to find it on Smart Gesture.

EDIT: Unless somehow green light doesn't equal the 100 .. then all of my wat.

EDIT 2: Mine (UX31A DB51 is a SanDisk .. sadly. Got it from Future Shop in Canada (950 without tax).

 

FINALLY someone posts something useful. Been asking this like 3 times already. Google kept on giving me random amazon reviews.

Still don't know what this "flicks" software is

 

I was really enjoying my UX31A until today when it completely went dead.

I unplugged it and turned it off. When I tried to open it at the coffee shop the laptop was hot to the touch, which was strange. I tried to start it, and it wouldn't turn on. I opened and closed it and tried to start again. Then the temperature started to increase to the point I couldn't touch the bottom of the laptop. I tried to turn it on a few times with no luck. However, even though the screen wouldn't come on if I held it up to my ear I could hear something running inside the laptop.

As I type this (not on the Zenbook) it has finally cooled down and gone silent, but still won't turn on. The on-key, wireless key, and capslock key are all lit up, as is the little light key on the side, but the laptop will not turn on.

2 hour drive to Best Buy for a return this weekend I guess. Too bad I was really enjoying using it.

On a separate note, someone above mentioned that the light bleed issue was getting worse through use. I can confirm this on mine. When I started using it I had zero light bleed on start up screen or while watching movies. Last night when I watched another movie after 3 days of use I had a small amount of light bleed along the bottom edge, with the brightest spot being in the bottom right corner.

Not enough to bother me, but it was there after three days.

 

Question. How do I get the other 20+ GB of space back? The 128gb version on shows 100gb max, which is absurd for a 128gb drive.

 

Remove the asus restore partition, which is about 20GB in size.

 

Has anyone tried the ux31a on Windows 8? I installed the atk driver and keyboard filter, but only the volume function key combination works. As soon as the brightness or wireless capability function key combination are activated, all the other key combinations stop working and it just doesn't work anymore.

 

If Vizio made a 13.3 they would probably sell a lot of them with the way they price things.

 

Early on all of the UX31As from Amazon had ADATA drives. I had three from them but I don't know if that is still the case now.

 

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I was thinking the exact thing also if they fixed the battery issue.

 

It is the same with the UX32VD. The first batch had 32GB iSSD, now all batches come with 24GB iSSD.

 

Asus really needs to get with consistency in product specs... The specs for a model shouldn't change all the time due to whatever parts they have available. Thats the whole purpose of different models.

Is the ssd an adata or sandisk, is the screen the 1080p with bleed issues on the 1600x900 at the same price, is the msata ssd 32gb or 24gb.

Its silly... and really confuses things for the customers. Also, when you can't see what you got until you get it home it adds to returns which doesn't lead to a good relationship with your retailers.

 

I don't think the battery is an issue as much as an over statement. They say its rated for up to 7 hours (on the 14" i3) and 6 hours or 5.5 hours on some other models.

I have the i3 14" and got just over 6 hours in a combination of desktop publishing, notepad use and slideshows. My screen was at 1/2 brightness and it wouldn't have been an issue at all to drop it a couple more clicks since the screen is so bright.

The few reviews that are out there are all testing the i7 version usually with the 15.6" 1080p screen that they say will last 5.5hrs, and they do video testing on it and it gets 3-4.

Im sure if you did tests with gaming it would get even less. Theres no doubt it can use a bigger battery... but in my use its not all that different from the zenbooks i went through, probably a little less time though.

In my usage where im using it periodically while using other computers Ive found I can significantly boost the battery life by just hitting the backlight off key when i move away from it instead of waiting for the screen timeouts. I didn't do that in my 6hr battery test though.

 

My first unit stopped charging one day after a week of ownership. I arranged for an exchange. After a couple days it started charging again. I exchanged it anyway because it made me nervous.

My second unit was good for two weeks. Then the webcam stopped working (definitely a hardware problem). I am waiting for Amazon to replace this one (but it has been on backorder for some time). Yesterday it locked-up hard after resuming from sleep. Tried to reboot but it failed. I was able to restore (Windows recovery) it but many files were corrupted (ran system file checker). It seems like my ADATA SSD failed (event viewer showed the SSD was unresponsive).

I will try once again because I really like the design. But wow, I have read about so many problems, and now I am having them as well.