Asus Zenbook UX301LA – Review

Asus Zenbook UX301, already known by the name Zenbook Infinity is a ultrathin laptop easy to distinguish because the top cover with the brand Asus staining cornflower blue and purple (Amethyst Grey) presents coated glass Corning Gorilla Glass Third generation.

The design of the form is similar to the previous generation of Zenbook, in our test model with an elegant dominance of dark tones, and for all the support base that houses the keyboard, both for the base, is also available White Stone.

Unites the two version of the use of aluminum, glass (pinning) and ceramic. For the end user is not provided direct access to the battery, hard drives and memory.

Asus Zenbook UX301LA – Specifications

Asus Zenbook UX 301 comes with a 13.3-inch touch display enviable resolution of 2560 × 1440 WQHD with IPS technology and a thickness of just 1.55 inches thin at the least (about 15 percent thinner than the previous generation ), the weight is about 1.4 Kg.

Another feature of evaluation is not secondary to the presence of two hard drives, both in the solid state, both with a capacity of 256 GB for a total of (512 Gbytes), configured in Raid0, and then partitioned into separate partitions to keep the operating system and data. But it is by the fund CPU and integrated graphics that come the greatest benefits of this solution.

Our model Asus Zenbook UX301LA is sold with Windows 8 Pro 64-bit, it mounts the fourth-generation Core iX CPU Intel Haswell, namely the model Intel Core i7-4558U 2.8GHz, which can work up to 3.3 GHz, the absolute summit of a CPU in this product segment. Who buys Zenbook UX301 can possibly evaluate the choice of Intel Core i7-4500U and 4200U.

But our advice to those who are directed towards this proposal is certainly a good choice to end without saving, and certainly not save enough to choose Intel Core i7-4200U. Also the new-generation integrated graphics solution Intel HD 5000 Hiris and supplied by first class finishes with 8 Gbytes of RAM.

This configuration is top-notch: Asus home sales volume will also be helped by the model Asus Zenbook UX302 lower class, with more traditional storage solutions, only a boot disk with 16 GB of SSD type, and the integrated graphics previous generation.

The fund provides support for Wifi 802.11 ac, Bluetooth is supported in version 4.0. The audio equipment uses technology SonicMaster Bang & Olufsen ICE Power. As for the possibility of expansion on the left beside the profile connector for charging is the first of the two USB 3.0 ports, supported by the connector for headphones and microphone, and preceded by a micro HDMI socket.

Following on profile right slot for reading SD Memory Cards, the second USB 3.0 port and a mini Display Port. On the upper frame of the display is obviously a Webcam Hd products available from external microphones and ambient light sensor.

Asus Zenbook UX 301LA – Lightweight and Comfortable.

Hard to find critical aspects to the design of this Ultrabook, really well done. The comfort of the table top is satisfaction. Feedback touchpad is at the level of what is available on the MacBook Pro, which for us is an absolute point of reference, as a benchmark.

Well, the backlit keyboard with the keys to the island, but in this case we prefer and recommend keys to the island with a slight curvature, to welcome the fingertip. It a personal preference, just a short observation.

The audio is released by a grid placed between the bearing surface and the display and two side slits, and the SonicMaster technology you can appreciate the quality, as the sacrificed remain low and the maximum power, almost self-evident given the impossibility to adopt integrated speakers excellent.

The more you appreciate the benefits in the absence of unpleasant distortion, even at maximum volume. There is no heat dissipation nuisance in areas where leaning palms. It is done directly on the support surface in the area farthest from where you learn. In the long work sessions will perceive only a temperature slightly higher than its own body to the left of the touchpad.

Long sessions are allowed by the 6-cell battery which in our tests, with its capacity of about 47 MWh, has allowed us to work safely for more than 6 hours, but with a few tricks that can be up to offer more than 7 hours autonomy. We are not faced with a range record, because the CPU is of some importance. Sure it’s a good balance between the maximum achievable performance and durability.

Regarding the display panel, it has proven flexible, without excess, with a uniform brightness and wide viewing angle, beyond just enough for each type of use. It would have been one more step to think about the full rotation of the display on the bottom shelf, but we’d probably be even gone beyond what are the characteristics of the form factor Zenbook, changing the product.

Given the choice of this model, and most certainly in the professional, polished finish paying the limits of excessive reflexes. Again, we prefer solutions matte finish, there is less to such displays since arriving Windows 8 and are spreading the touch screen also for the business. In this regard: the notebook is obviously now upgradeable to Windows 8.1, but that was not pre-installed in this model being tested.

Asus Zenbook UX301LA – The Benchmark

In terms of performance Asus Zenbook UX301LA tested in this configuration shows top performance: the 8.1 FutureMark stopped on the threshold of 3,000 as the total score. 3076 under the heading Creative, 3910 and 4751 in the field of Work for the Storage SSD drive with double (2 × 256 GB). The results for performance of Windows, first of all influenced by the resource SSD storage (for a score 8.4 out of 9.9), then the processor rewarded with 7.2/9.9, and 8 Gbytes of RAM (7.7/9.9).