The ASUS Zenbook Prime
is an enlightening experience.
There are
many who may claim that their Ultrabooks are the best of the lot, but none have
quite captured the essence of Intel's brainchild much like Asus had with their
Zenbook Ultrabooks. It's hard to improve on perfection, but with the Asus
Zenbook Prime, we take a look at whether or not all that tinkering is for
better or worse.
Starting
off with the look and feel of the new Zenbook, the UX31A feels very similar to
its predecessor. The brushed aluminium unibody looks a lot more clean this time
around, though the edges still feel kind of sharpish.
Asus Zenbook UX31A
In terms of
IO ports, Asus has once again eschewed VGA and LAN ports and is instead
replaced by two USB ports, a 3.5mm output jack and an SD card slot. Fret not
however, as Asus has yet again seen fit to provide a USB adapter for the LAN
and VGA ports. Nevertheless, we feel that by today's standards, two USB ports
is simply not enough for the active geek traveler.
The biggest
improvement, we believe, comes in the form of the keyboard. Not only is it now
backlit, but it also feels a lot more tactile than the previous model, which
makes it a joy to type on. The trackpad also feels a lot more responsive.
The UX31A,
is powered by Intel's Core ¡7-3517U 1.9GHz processor and 4GB of DDR3 RAM. It
certainly isn't the most powerful machine out there, but is still capable of
playing back 1080p videos without lag on the marvellous full HD IPS display.
Speaking of
battery lifespan, the UX31A has a battery that's rated at about 6,840mAh, which
roughly translates to about 5 hours plus (6 hours rated) of constant usage. The
new SanDisk 256GB SSD also adds to the swift user experience, although due to
the Trim processes, it can get rather jerky at times.
“Where
the Asus Zenbook UX31A excels the best, we feel is in terms of user experience.
The clean chassis design, the tactile backlit keyboard and gorgeous screen all
add to a very good user experience. You might miss a few IO ports, but it's
undeniable that this is a truly enlightening device.”
The newly-revamped keyboard now has backlit keys and feels better
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Details
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Price
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$1408
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Manufacturer
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Asus
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Info:
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www.asus.com
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Specifications
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CPU
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Intel
Core i7-3517U 1.9GHz
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RAM
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4GB
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OS
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Windows 7
Home Premium (64-bit)
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Display
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13.3 inch
Full HD IPS panel (1920x1080)
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Storage
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256GB
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Connectivity
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Wi-Fi, 1
x USB 2.0, 1 x USB3.0
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Extras
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SD Card
slot, LAN and VGA USB dongle
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Ratings
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Performance
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Features
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Design
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Value
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Excellent
screen + Improved keyboard + Solid performance + Amazingly thin - Lacking in
IO ports
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Benchmark results
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PCMark7
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2,684
points
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PCMark7
(Productivity)
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987
points
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PCMark7
(Entertainment)
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3,011
points
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PCMark7
(Computation)
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5,408
points
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