ASUS Zenbook Prime (UX21A) Review: The First of the 2nd Gen Ultrabooks
by Anand Lal Shimpi on May 22, 2012 2:46 PM EST- Posted in
- Laptops
- CPUs
- Asus
- Ivy Bridge
- Zenbook
- Zenbook Prime
- Ultrabook
- Notebooks
The Display in Numbers
The new 1080p panel looks good, but does it make any sacrifices in its performance? Thankfully, no. Max brightness is down a bit compared to the previous generation, but it's still higher than any of the portable Macs and much higher than your typical PC displays. Black levels are much improved over the original Zenbook as well:
The resulting contrast ratio is almost tablet-like:
It's not just the basics that ASUS delivers well on, color accuracy is top notch:
Color gamut is shy of the MacBook Pro but much better than the previous Zenbook and the MacBook Air:
Size is definitely an issue here. While I think the 1920 x 1080 panel will be a very good fit for the 13.3-inch UX31, there's a smaller subset of folks who are going to appreciate it in the 11.6-inch UX21. Personally I think it's fine but at 189 PPI the 11-inch Zenbook Prime is going to be a tough sell for those who have a tough time looking at small text.
Text on the 11-inch 1080p panel
ASUS' solution is to ship the UX21 with Windows set to 125% DPI scaling by default, unfortunately most applications (including many of Microsoft's own) don't deal with non-integer DPI scaling very well.
Here's what the default desktop looks like at 125%:
And here are examples of applications that don't behave well with Windows 7's DPI scaling:
In Skype, some text elements are tiny while others are huge. PCMark Vantage is an example of where you see this as well:
Here the scaled text actually can't fit in the area allocated for it, while the rest of the text is entirely too small.
There's not much you can do to work around this today with Windows 7. You're either going to have really small text or have to deal with funny scaling. This is unfortunately a major downside to not controlling the OS layer, ASUS is at the mercy of Microsoft to get scaling for displays with high pixel densities right. Windows 8 should be better in this regard but I ran out of time to try it out on the Zenbook Prime before the embargo lift.
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rast20 - Tuesday, May 22, 2012 - link
Different IVB CPU. We can't see it (both configs only feature "ULV IVB") because it's still supposed to be secret, but I'd guess one is i5 and the other is i7.AmdInside - Wednesday, May 23, 2012 - link
The fact that it features an IPS display makes it an easy choice over a Macbook Air and I personally love both Win7 and MacOSX so it is not about OS. I wish I had not just purchased a projector or else this would be on my shopping list right now.ImSpartacus - Wednesday, May 23, 2012 - link
Over a 2011 Macbook Air, sure.I'm reserving judgment until I see the 2012 models. As Anand mentioned, ASUS wouldn't've rushed the Zenbook Prime review units if they didn't have to do it. We won't be waiting long.
cwcwfpfp - Wednesday, May 23, 2012 - link
Thanks for the thorough and insightful preview Anand. By far the most informative of all the previews/hands-ons for the UX21A I've read.I am going to add my voice to those pointing out the 4GB limit. While I think those saying 4GB won't be enough for gaming are a being unrealistic, I do think it is realistic to want more RAM options for other reasons. Right now 4GB should be just fine, but do you guys really see it being sufficient 2 years down the line? I say this as a graduate student often on the move who would like something light to carry around and do work on. So I do foresee having multiple applications running at once and would love more RAM for future-proofing.
I also have my own issues with the keyboard and touchpad layout - basically I think they went too far in borrowing elements of the MacBook Air here and suffer from form over function. Not a fan at all of the clickable touchpad - much prefer dedicated left/right buttons (and even additional buttons above the touchpad would be nice). Also would like to see dedicated page up/down keys - preferably right above the arrow keys. This is more of a personal preference though. I'm sure a fair number of people will disagree with me on that.
That said, overall the UX31A/21A looks like the ultrabook to beat right now. In fact I will likely pick up a UX31A when it comes out, despite my minor complaints above.
SignalPST - Wednesday, May 23, 2012 - link
Can you test the WiDi feature on the Prime? I've heard that version 2.0 supports 2 individual display outputs at 30fps or 1 output at 60fps.Also, since IVB supports max 3 display outputs, can you output both to the microHDMI and miniVGA, and keep the main LCD active as well?
IntelUser2000 - Wednesday, May 23, 2012 - link
I think that's with WiDi 3.0, which will likely come with updated HD Graphics drivers. WiDi 2.0 didn't come with Sandy Bridge launch, only with updated drivers.Also it says on one Ivy Bridge presentation that you can output to two additional monitors using HDMI and Displayport.
SignalPST - Thursday, May 24, 2012 - link
Hmm... you're right. Hopefully we'll get to see some of that action on the Prime.ssj4Gogeta - Wednesday, May 23, 2012 - link
"life is short, I draw the line at spending it testing claims of 150 day standby battery life"You forgot you' have to measure it three times then take the average. :-P
Pantsu - Wednesday, May 23, 2012 - link
Hopefully the 13" models won't be overpriced where I live, since this could be my next laptop. I was afraid the 1080p panel would be only available for $1500+ models.The W7 scaling is probably why most laptop manufacturers didn't want to offer 1080p option. Luckily Windows 8 should fix that issue too.
I'm still debating though whether I want an ultrabook or if I could do with a standard voltage model with discrete graphics, as long as it is lighter than my current white macbook. I don't need an optical drive or ethernet, but neither do I necessarily need the laptop to be ultra thin and light. Looks like I'll wait until back-to-school season until I make my pick though. There should be a good amount of choices available then.
ijozic - Wednesday, May 23, 2012 - link
I don't understand why Asus designs their Zenbooks pretty much like MB Airs? Personally, I find the Apple laptops' looks overly sterile so this makes the Zenbook a no choice for me (unfortunately).My biggest functional gripe with this choice is that they are copying the side profile design of the case - IMHO, if they'd made a case with a uniform thickness, they'd have had room for more ports (e.g. more USBs, SD card reader slot, maybe even a thin express card slot), plus extra battery capacity.
Also, a 1600x900 screen would seem as a more usable choice and thus it would be nice to have it as an option. Well, at least the screens are not glossy as on the Apple..