Review Asus Zenbook UX32VD Ultrabook

[Stefan Skotte]

I have one, and the temparatures arent a problem. Its of very good quality, and when paired with an ssd and memory upgrade this is a very good contender a macbook air. Especially if you cannot be accustomed to the different keyboard, lackluster resolution and higher price.

I come from years of using ibm thinkpads and lenovo's latest, so I'm pretty picky on keyboards and durability. They pull this of very nicely.

The review is also good and balanced, and highlights exactly my experiences with it. I would love if people could stop pretending that there are a 'perfect' laptop out there - its down to the individual that needs it.

[axzy]

 :-[ :-[ :-[
Bought one in Poland, it is nice, not as terribly hot as some think...
BUT I found one defect pixel, in less than a week from purchase date... The notebook is in a service now, waiting for ASUS decision -- this model should be covered by ZBD policy (which works 30 days). Unfortunately I may not return to Poland and exchange the notebook. The servicemen said that the whole lid should be replaced. In my case identification of dot was problematic -- because it is invisible on white and slightly visible on black and it was "entangled" into Windows desktop background -- so I found the flaw when I started installing Linux.
So, advice for potential buyers -- check the LCD.

[olivnotebook]

I wonder:
1. did anybody tried installing Linux on this beast.
2. is it possible to go into BIOS settings and switch NVIDIA completely.
2.1. if  the latest is possible, I would be interesting to test each ultrabook in this mode for noise level and heat emission level, since some users may choose to tame their ultrabook to prevent  emission, and switch on only occasionally to play games.

Thank you for good review and very in-time (model is already available on some markets)!

Hi, it's my  first comment on this site that I'm following since a couple of year. So I would like to thank all the team for the great work done !

About axzy' question 1 and 2 :
have a look at this site  :
http://www.linlap.com/wiki/asus+ux32vd#solved+issues

O'

[Kickup]

Hi,

author mentioned: "According to Asus, it will be possible for users to swap RAM modules and hard drives themselves without loss of warranty."

Can anyone please confirm this?

[olivnotebook]

Hi,

I received my ux32vd (full hd, i7). Wonderful beast. The screen is very very nice. It's fast. The hdd is big enough.
On the minus side I find it a bit noisy.

Straight from the box I got ride  of windows (in France you can get a refund from Asus, 43 euros for windows 7) and installed Fedora 17. No problems. Gnome 3 has no problems with the high resolution.

O'

[axzy]

On the minus side I find it a bit noisy.

Straight from the box I got ride  of windows (in France you can get a refund from Asus, 43 euros for windows 7) and installed Fedora 17. No problems. Gnome 3 has no problems with the high resolution.

Lucky you, mate. It is a pity I cannot throw WIndows away for 43 euro :)
I would like to ask how did you configure mSATA 32GB flash-drive?

[axzy]

Concerning my case with broken pixel -- in somewhat 10 days of thinking (I hope they have been thinking about logistics -- how to deliver the lid to my country) they accepted the case as guarantee; so I am waiting for the part.

[olivnotebook]

I would like to ask how did you configure mSATA 32GB flash-drive?

Hi axzy,

I have put the root (/), swap and /boot partitions on the 32 GB flash-drive.
On the HDD I have put the /home
Works fine. very fast booting and instant wake up from suspend.
For my usage it's perfect now. (If you do something like video editing, then maybe using the 32GB flash drive for the videos will be a better option...)

Good luck with your missing pixel !!

[Rez]

hi...what's the difference between ZenBook model ux32vd-r3001X and ux32vd-r3001V ? thanks...

[myname]

Hello, everyone,

I am thinking of buying a Zenbook. I have one question. I have read this model has a problematic keyboard. The keys only register if you press at the center of the key. Otherwise the keys do not register. The reviewer who reported this missed every 6th or 7th key while typing text.
Can anyone confirm this flaw?

Thanks

[axzy]

The keys only register if you press at the center of the key. Otherwise the keys do not register. The reviewer who reported this missed every 6th or 7th key while typing text.
Can anyone confirm this flaw?

I experience something similar -- but I could say frequency of such typos is lower than 1 of 7... and when you get accustomed to it you just press them a little bit harder, and in this case it works even when you press not exactly in the centre... for example if you try to reproduce this behaiviour using one finger typing in different areas of different keys you  will see this "bug" is almost non-reproducible... 1 of 100 I could say.

Another issue which makes me angry is that Elantech touchpad is touchable even in keys area... It is good for those who like tapping instead of keys... But I prefer to rest my finger on the right-click key... As result the touchpad understands this as if I use some 2 finger gesture... So I need always withdraw my hand from the key area to move the cursor... This is terrible, I hate this Apple-like innovation  >:D

[axzy]

in about 40-45 days from original request to service centre my screen was replaced. ZBD warranty worked well in this aspect. But the service did not agree to let me use my notebook these 40 days and let me bring the thing to replace only when the part arrives, so I was very sad man these days. I bought abroad so I cannot just return the item to the store and request substitution on site.
So I advice to scrutinize the display for broken pixels in first week and return to the shop...

[axzy]

after notebook was returned from the service, I started to reinstall Linux back, I found that 32GB SSD is NOT VISIBLE, I flashed the BIOS (which is no longer BIOS but EFI) to the latest version 206, and the SSD drive got visible again
Probably 206 is more stable than 203.
(also I found that they switched off the battery and thus system clock was 2009 year... -- but I doubt it alone may cause problem with invisible SSD)

[Grogi]

hi...what's the difference between ZenBook model ux32vd-r3001X and ux32vd-r3001V ? thanks...

Windows 7 Home Premium (3001V)  vs Windows 7 Professional (3001X).

[rzp2003]

the key board killed my interests, sorry