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
Final Words
With the exception of the SSD and Windows 7's unfortunate lack of elegant DPI scaling, the Zenbook Prime is the epitome of Ultrabook perfection. It has all of the build quality that we loved about the original Zenbook, with almost none of the quirks.
The display is truly in a league of its own. Color reproduction, brightness and contrast are all exactly where they need to be. Viewing angles are similarly perfect. While the original Zenbook's panel was frustrating, the Prime's display is wonderful to look at. Whether browsing the web or watching movies, it's just awesome. The biggest question is whether or not 189 PPI is too much for you. On an 11.6-inch screen I expect that not everyone will be fond of the resolution, but if you've wanted a ton of desktop space on a small display then the new UX21 will be everything you've been hoping for. I suspect more users will be happy with the 1080p IPS panel on the 13.3-inch UX31 however. I'll try to post an update in the coming days with some Windows 8 experience to see if that makes for a better fit. Kudos again to ASUS for working very hard to be competitive in this space, despite not having the purchasing power or control over the supply chain that Apple does.
The improved keyboard, is like night and day compared to the previous version - with a backlight to boot. The trackpad is also improved, although at the risk of overusing the Apple comparison I will say that it continues to be a hair behind what Cupertino has been able to deliver. The problem there is likely a lack of control over the software stack, a benefit reserved for vertically integrated companies.
Wireless performance and functionality are both improved over the original Zenbook and are, at least on paper, equal to Apple's MacBook Air. The move to a 2x2:2 802.11n setup with 5GHz support easily doubles WiFi performance compared to the original UX21. The use of Intel's Centrino Advanced-N WiFi stack enables WiDi support, which can be very useful on a notebook.
The convenience of two USB 3.0 ports, courtesy of Intel's HM76 chipset, is a welcome improvement as well.
Overall, I'm glad to see that ASUS is focusing more on the tangibles and user experience than just on shipping well engineered products. It's hilarious that out of all of the players in the notebook and tablet spaces combined, that ASUS seems to be one of the only ones (if not the only one) actually trying to go after Apple.
While I'll save the truly final verdict for when ASUS gets me shipping hardware, chances are if you've been waiting for the perfect 11-inch Ultrabook - the Zenbook Prime UX21A is it.
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duploxxx - Wednesday, May 23, 2012 - link
quite a bold statement I would say without any proof on Haswell....At a high level, for any modern game, you shouldn't count on being able to run it at the Prime's native 1080p resolution. You need a discrete GPU (or Haswell) to pull that off.
Portal and total war really show what kind of GPU perf you can expect from the HD4000 still too low to run gaming decent just like the diablo3, wouldn't be my favorite "playable" fps
prdola0 - Wednesday, May 23, 2012 - link
I wish Asus added a Kepler-gen GeForce also into the 11" version. Then I'd buy it, but not like this.QQuxa - Wednesday, May 23, 2012 - link
less than 4 hours of internet browsing? :(icrf - Wednesday, May 23, 2012 - link
The UX31A-DB51 will be the perfect replacement for my dad, who's been using a netbook (Asus EEE PC 1000HA) as his primary computer for the last several years. The SSD speed doesn't concern me, but the DPI scaling does a bit, as small text is getting harder to read for his generation.aliasfox - Wednesday, May 23, 2012 - link
Nice machine. I recommended a UX31 to my dad a few weeks ago (needed something by end of May), with the caveat that if he was able to spend more money (business account), that getting the MBA had its advantages - better keyboard and screen, namely. It looks like the new generation does better on the screen and more or less matches the MBA on keyboard (I know Apple wasn't the first with chicklets, but the MBA and UX21A keyboards are so similar that I wouldn't be surprised if they were using the same OEM for the keyboard).My question though is why did ASUS wait until IVB to come out with the chassis (keyboard, screen) changes? If they had been ready near the beginning of the year (just an assumption), ASUS could have definitively trounced the competition, MBA included. Having a paper launch mere weeks ahead of the (expected) new MBA launch - and having a retail launch likely within the same week - gives everybody a lot of incentive to wait and see what the other guy is doing.
I haven't seen mini VGA since my PowerBook G4 from 2003. Wonder if I could sell my decade-old s-video and VGA adapters now!
But yes, TB would've been a much better option than multiple mini video ports...
KPOM - Wednesday, May 23, 2012 - link
It will be nice to see what Apple has in store for the next MacBook Air. The available 1920x1080 display in the 11.6" UX21 is a nice option. Hopefully Apple will see that and raise with a Retina Display (2732x1536), complete with Mountain Lion's new HiDPI.I wonder if Apple will wait for Mountain Lion to be ready before shipping the new Air and Pro (like they did last year with the Air), or if the flood of Ivy Bridge Ultrabooks will force their hand. Mac sales have been a little below estimates the last two quarters, so my guess is that they won't wait for the OS this time around.
hechacker1 - Thursday, May 24, 2012 - link
Pretty sure that Mountain Lion is right around the corner, other than HiDPI stuff, it isn't a huge change from Lion.And they'll absolutely need resolution doubling in place for it to be usable.
I too await to see their competition. Though the prime is already looking good.
ReverendDC - Wednesday, May 23, 2012 - link
This is....nice. I do see incremental improvements in the Ivy Bridge system vs Sandy Bridge. In the end, though it was ASUS that really made this system shine. A 1920x1080 in an 11"?! Whoa!Let's not gloss over the fact that ASUS heard their users' complaints and made the appropriate changes within 6 months. That is extremely rare for a modern PC company, whether MSFT or Apple-based. They really need to receive appropriate kudos for their recent operations. They have definitely become an option for me going forward just for that fact.
What we really need is competent competition. Hopefully, AMD delivers Trinity in a similar form factor for far cheaper than these options. Even the $799 system listed would go for about $499 - $599 with AMD silicon, but you won't get the raw computing power. At the same time, you would have a road warrior gaming system with "good enough" computing. I know this is a bucket I find myself in many times.
Still, nothing to shake a leg at, and great review, AnandTech. Things are improving on the Windows front in terms of design and use.
Sunburn74 - Wednesday, May 23, 2012 - link
There is a limit to how crappy a processor you can have in your laptop and get away with it, even with a SSD. My gf has my asus ul30vt whilst I am using an HP envy 14 (2010). Both have 120gb sandforce SSDs in them. The asus is noticeably more sluggish with everything. Virus scans take over an hour (on my hp envy its about 10 mins), pdfs are choppy, programs take time to load, etc.You can only lowball the processor so much.
Personally, if you're buying a laptop for use for 2-3 years, I'd pay the 200 dollar difference for the more serviceable processor over the long run. When talking about PCs, people talk about future proofing, and not necessarily lowballing your components. You'd think with the less tweakable laptops that concept would be even more prevalent.
IntelUser2000 - Friday, May 25, 2012 - link
It's unlikely you'll see $200 in savings just over the CPU since the top Core i7 is at $300. It would be possible over the Core i7, but its at $999. So you are looking at average of $50 savings for $749, or at most $100 at $699. Going lower AMD would be giving CPUs for free, or sacrificing other components.