My Mini Review on Asus Zenbook UX433FA

[Baezil]

Hi guys,

 

This is my first ever post on LTT forum. I was originally on an Asus ROG GL552VW gaming laptop (SPECS: i7-6700HQ, 16GB 2133MHz Ram, 128GB SSD, 1TB 5200 RPM HDD and 60Hz IPS 1080p Matte Screen). Unfortunately, my friend kicked another friend's S9 (which had one of those metal screw on cases) which flew in the air (at least 3 metres high) and landed square on top of the keyboard area. When I turned it on, the computer booted through the ASUS logo bit (I believe this is known as the BIOS screen) but freezes and doesn't boot into windows. I luckily had everything backed up on OneDrive and the hard drive was working just fine as well. I did a fresh install of Windows and the computer did the same thing. I then installed Windows on a separate drive and once again, freezes after the BIOS screen. I had to use my Dad's mac for the meantime and MacOS just isn't my thing so I hated those few days. Luckily he agreed to by me an Asus Zenbook UX433FA which was on AUD240 off at JB-HI-FI (that's an popular Australian tech store fyi). Anyway that's a bit of useless backstory unless one of you guys knows how to fix the problem (can't do BGA repair, we don't have it in the state I live in). Here is my 1 week review with topics in no particular order:

 

Battery Life

On my old laptop, battery life was around 2hrs (if i was lucky), so having a battery which lasts an entire days worth of work is nothing short of amazing. Though I have found myself getting very close to running out on a heavy day, it would probably be fine with most people's work load. A typical day maybe looking at 2hours of word document while having atleast 5-6 chrome tabs open, Spotify in the background and Outlook open as well. One thing though is when you are charging the laptop, Asus decided to put the indicator on the opposite side of the port. Its only a very very minor thing, but still can be a little inconvenient (I am kind of nitpicking though).

 

Keyboard

Though slightly on the mushier side, if you have used an Asus laptop keyboard before, or ultra books, you should get used to it pretty quickly. One really nice feature I absolutely love is that fact that I can lock the Fn key by pressing (Fn+Ctrl), and it even has an LED indicator to check if it is enabled. Its little things like this that just add up for a much better experience. One thing though is when I close my laptop lid, and open it again the media hotkeys on the function row decide to switch itself to the normal function buttons (F1, F2 etc.). I just need to turn Fn lock on and off for the media hotkeys to be enabled again. A little annoying but again not a deal breaker. The LED back light is good enough, but I wish the brightness range was a bit broader. Another thing is that the delete key is kinda small, but again nitpicking. 

 

Trackpad

A good enough trackpad. I think one of the faults of the machine would be the trackpad, as it sometimes has these weird sensitivity issues with. But 95% of the time, it works as intended. The number pad light  up thing on the trackpad is actually semi-useful (here is a photo if you have no idea what I'm on about: https://www.google.com.au/search?q=asus+number+pad+trackpad&safe=strict&rlz=1C2CHFX_enAU765AU766&sxsrf=ACYBGNQyd_suxwIBNgwPcvroJVRIAX8PgQ:1569232843575&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwie2Nfx1-bkAhW073MBHXYJDDsQ_AUIEygC&biw=1280&bih=616#imgrc=-W1PkbonkMWdHM) . Though I initially thought it would be useless and a bit gimmicky, its weirdly very accurate and I have used it more often than i thought. Again, a bit of a set back is the incompatibility with Alt+ shortcuts in Word. Traditionally, certain symbols in word can be easily inserted by holding Alt and then typing in 4 digits. Letting go of Alt will insert a symbol, but the trackpad light up number pad doesn't seem to allow me to do this. Hopefully this could be addressed using a software update. Windows precision works well and overall a passable trackpad. 

 

Cooling and Performance 

I was really worried about how performance of this device would be. Luckily though, once again, it will do word docs, chrome and normal everyday tasks in a quiet and smooth manner. When you initially setup the laptop, the CPU fan will go nuts, but its just catching up on updates in the background. Though, during this setup period, the computer was consistently extremely hot, to the point where the gold metal accent on top of the keyboard section was untouchable. Luckily, this has never happened after that initial setup. The fan does have a annoying whirring sound when it is at full speed, but this rarely happens on battery power, and little more frequently (maybe once a day, but for 30 seconds) when plugged in. 

 

The CPU is an i5-8265U, and I initially thought this would be an extreme downgrade from the previous, but then I read some articles and looked at some stats. I didn't realise that the difference between a 6th gen i7 mobile and an 8th gen i5 could be this minuscule. The CPU usually sits around 5-20% doing the normal productivity tasks I have indicated above. The most intensive task I have run on the laptop is probably Ableton Live 10 Lite. Again, no performance issues even on battery power. Haven't tried any games yet, but I don't expect it to run very well as there is no discrete GPU, only Intel 620. Again, no problems as of yet with performance. 

 

Display and Windows Hello

A very solid display with good enough colours and amazing screen to body ratio (92%). The tiny computer is just so much more immersive when the screen bezel is this bloody thin. Viewing angles are great, but I wish it could be a bit brighter outside. I am amazed with how on earth the fit a webcam and Windows Hello Facial Recognition. Speaking of which, Windows Hello works 90% of the time. The only times it struggles is when you are lit from behind with sunlight. I don't know if that is because the sensors use IR and sunlight also crosses over into that spectrum. I have noticed that "Improving recognition" in the Windows Hello settings also seems to slightly speed up the login process. 

 

IO and Build Quality

IO is also good enough with this laptop. The USB Type C port doesn't support thunderbolt 3 or charging, which is a bit of a shame. I intend to use this computer for atleast 3 years, so I don't know if this will drastically affect me down the line. One thing is that the USB ports are a bit "tight", as you need to put in a bit more pressure to insert a USB. Again, very very very minor. 

 

The build quality is absolutely spot on. It feels premium and light, and I personally enjoy the aesthetics of the computer. It is a fingerprint magnet on the cover though, but can be cleaned with a damp cloth. I thought I would hate the Royal Blue - Gold combo, but it isn't as in your face as the pictures, much more muted. It has grown on me. The hinge is absolute genius. The body lifts up so i get a bit more of an angle to type (though not drastic, but anything is better than nothing). This also assists with cooling, which is probably another reason why the computer runs so smooth. 

 

Speakers

Sound from the speakers also sound great, with a good enough amount of bass, and gets pretty loud for an ultra book. No big complaints but it is downwards facing, so when on your lap, the sound is muffled. 

 

SSD

I got a 256GB SSD, which should be enough for the next 3-4 years. I save everything on OneDrive, but I did make a 50GB partition for a secondary storage spot. The SSD is pretty fast, and no real hiccups yet. 

 

Summary

Battery Life: 8.5/10

Keyboard: 8.5/10

Trackpad: 7/10

Cooling and Performance: 8/10

Display and Windows Hello: 8.5/10

IO and Build Quality: 9/10

Speakers: 9/10

SSD: 9.5/10

 

Total: 8.5/10

 

Definitely a good laptop for students. 

[Uptivuptiz]

Nice review overall. Would have liked to see some pictures, but I guess I can use Google for that