Picking a Zenbook...

I've been looking at laptops and received some great feedback on the What Notebook Should I Buy? Forum. Thank you everyone!

I'm looking for something to run Linux and do some amateur photo retouching (just for family photos). I think I have it narrowed down to the Zenbook models. My issue is which one... $1k is the top of my budget and cheaper would be better. That said, I don't want to buy something that's a compromise and regret it later.

UX430UA - This is the most expensive model that's still in my budget, but also seems to have the best specs. i7-8550u, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD. I guess if money were no object I would go with this one, but it's $200-250 more than the other models. I have heard about some coil whine and heat issues, but mainly in the model with the 7th gen processor. Is that still a pronounced issue with the 8th gen processor?

UX330UA - This is the cheapest model. It drops down to the i5-8250u, 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD. It is also about the same size as the UX430UA and UX410UA with a smaller screen.

UX410UA - This seems to be the oddball and the one that I do not see recommended as often. It has a slightly less streamlined body (weighing 12% more than the other 14" model) and is not even displayed when you search for Zenbooks on Asus' site. Spec-wise it seems similar to the UX430UA but with 8GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD + 1TB HDD. Given how similar it seems to the UX430UA, I would wonder if it suffers from the same coil whine and heat issues.

Does anyone have any experience with these models, or any suggestions amongst them?

 

I'd be a little nervous about relying on a system with 8GB RAM for photo editing, programs used for that seem to be more RAM-hungry than other applications.

 

Well the UX410UA has an open RAM slot, so I could upgrade that if it's an issue.

 

This is true, I'm guessing it will be necessary almost right away.

 

While not necessarily relevant to Asus, since you happen to work for a PC retailer Do you know of any other laptops under $1k that have 100%-ish sRGB coverage? I don't intend to travel with this laptop so I feel like the "ultrabook-ness" is a waste, but most of the 15" models I've found in my price range have lower quality screens when it comes to color gamut.

 

Budget laptops generally have last gen 60Hz 1080p 72% (or lower) gamut displays. MSI GL72M 7RDX-800 is 17" but has a 94% Adobe display in that price range. That's about it.