Where are all the Asus Zenbooks?

dreamlander · Feb 7, 2017

I haven't bought a laptop in about 10 years. I am looking for something small that I can travel with for importing photos to start culling and processing.

After reading enough to make my head spin I landed on the Asus Zenbooks.

The problem is finding out where in the heck you buy these things? There are SO MANY models out there, and they seem to be scattered around at different retailers. I am reading all these reviews from Oct. 2016 and they all say they will be shipping soon. Like this article here:http://www.ultrabookreview.com/11034-zenbooks-ux330-ux310-and-ux510/

I am most interested in the Asus ux410ua, but I can't find them for sale anywhere. I am also interested in the ux330ua, but the only one I can find is on Amazon with minimum specs. I at least want the 512GB ssd.

So what gives? Whatever happened to the days where you choose your model, choose your specs, and see the price accordingly? I am supposed to just comb every site out there that sells Asus and hope I find the model with the specs I want, or do these laptops I am wanting not even exist?

Maybe I am overlooking something and you guys can help me out.

I want:

-smaller than 14"

-good ips display

-at least 8GB ram

-512GB ssd

-under $1000

Thanks

Austinian · Feb 7, 2017

I got my UX305 at the Microsoft Store, but here's a list of resellers:

http://promos.asus.com/us/where_to_buy/

dreamlander · Feb 7, 2017

Austinian said:
I got my UX305 at the Microsoft Store, but here's a list of resellers:

http://promos.asus.com/us/where_to_buy/

The Microsoft Store has one zenbook. Every store I have looked at has a couple different models, and not the one I want.

I just don't understand this at all. You go to the Asus website and they have all these promos for these spec'd out laptops, yet they are not for sale anywhere that I can find. It is a very strange business model.

Austinian · Feb 8, 2017

dreamlander said:
Austinian said:

I got my UX305 at the Microsoft Store, but here's a list of resellers:

http://promos.asus.com/us/where_to_buy/

Click to expand...

The Microsoft Store has one zenbook. Every store I have looked at has a couple different models, and not the one I want.

I just don't understand this at all. You go to the Asus website and they have all these promos for these spec'd out laptops, yet they are not for sale anywhere that I can find. It is a very strange business model.

And you can't buy from the Asus store itself?

Loading…

store.asus.com

dreamlander · Feb 8, 2017

Austinian said:
dreamlander said:

Austinian said:

I got my UX305 at the Microsoft Store, but here's a list of resellers:

http://promos.asus.com/us/where_to_buy/

Click to expand...

The Microsoft Store has one zenbook. Every store I have looked at has a couple different models, and not the one I want.

I just don't understand this at all. You go to the Asus website and they have all these promos for these spec'd out laptops, yet they are not for sale anywhere that I can find. It is a very strange business model.

Click to expand...

And you can't buy from the Asus store itself?

http://store.asus.com/us

Unless I am missing something, no. They have like 4 zenbook models in stock, and don't even list a majority of them. B&H has about 5 times as many models for sale.

There are some many models it is hard to keep the differences straight, and all the models can apparently be spec'd different according to their site. All the retailers seem to list the specs in their own way not giving you all the details, so it can be hard to figure out what you are exactly buying. The unorganized feel of everything from Asus is almost turning me off from buying.

CAcreeks · Feb 8, 2017

dreamlander said:
dreamlander said:

And you can't buy from the Asus store itself?

http://store.asus.com/us

Click to expand...

Unless I am missing something, no. They have like 4 zenbook models in stock, and don't even list a majority of them. B&H has about 5 times as many models for sale.

Amazon.fr (the French Amazon website) shows the model you seek, with a note saying they don't know when or if it will be available again.

Sure looks like a nice laptop! Although the 128GB SSD seems too small for Windows in the long run, and the i5 CPU could be more up-to-date.

Austinian · Feb 8, 2017

dreamlander said:
Austinian said:

dreamlander said:

Austinian said:

I got my UX305 at the Microsoft Store, but here's a list of resellers:

http://promos.asus.com/us/where_to_buy/

Click to expand...

The Microsoft Store has one zenbook. Every store I have looked at has a couple different models, and not the one I want.

I just don't understand this at all. You go to the Asus website and they have all these promos for these spec'd out laptops, yet they are not for sale anywhere that I can find. It is a very strange business model.

Click to expand...

And you can't buy from the Asus store itself?

http://store.asus.com/us

Click to expand...

Unless I am missing something, no. They have like 4 zenbook models in stock, and don't even list a majority of them. B&H has about 5 times as many models for sale.

There are some many models it is hard to keep the differences straight, and all the models can apparently be spec'd different according to their site. All the retailers seem to list the specs in their own way not giving you all the details, so it can be hard to figure out what you are exactly buying. The unorganized feel of everything from Asus is almost turning me off from buying.

Well, AFAIK there's nothing unique about Asus. We have a couple of their laptops and they're OK, but I wouldn't say they're any better than their competitors.

If they don't have a model with the features you want, I'd certainly look at the offerings of the other major vendors.

Just a thought: Newegg's laptop page has a lot of selectors that may help you narrow the possiblities.

Loading…

www.newegg.com

Russell Evans · Feb 8, 2017

CAcreeks said:
dreamlander said:

CAcreeks said:

And you can't buy from the Asus store itself?

http://store.asus.com/us

Click to expand...

Unless I am missing something, no. They have like 4 zenbook models in stock, and don't even list a majority of them. B&H has about 5 times as many models for sale.

Click to expand...

Amazon.fr (the French Amazon website) shows the model you seek, with a note saying they don't know when or if it will be available again.

Sure looks like a nice laptop! Although the 128GB SSD seems too small for Windows in the long run, and the i5 CPU could be more up-to-date.

Maybe the current models are out of stock because they are being updated with the Nvidia 1000 series video chipsets? If so, then it might not be such a bad thing that the OP can't find one.

Thank you
Russell

CAcreeks · Feb 8, 2017

Russell Evans said:
Russell Evans said:

Amazon.fr (the French Amazon website) shows the model you seek, with a note saying they don't know when or if it will be available again.

Sure looks like a nice laptop! Although the 128GB SSD seems too small for Windows in the long run, and the i5 CPU could be more up-to-date.

Click to expand...

Maybe the current models are out of stock because they are being updated with the Nvidia 1000 series video chipsets? If so, then it might not be such a bad thing that the OP can't find one.

I doubt it. The Amazon.fr page shows it as using Intel HD graphics. An add-on GPU might not fit in such a small laptop.

https://www.amazon.fr/Asus-Zenbook-UX410UA-GV010T-Ultrabook-Garantie/dp/B01MQ2EOAA

The i5-6200U benchmarks at only 3942 Passmark. The i5-7300U is up to 4801, probably with lower power consumption, and the i7-7600U benchmarks at 5874.

Russell Evans · Feb 8, 2017

CAcreeks said:
Russell Evans said:

CAcreeks said:

Amazon.fr (the French Amazon website) shows the model you seek, with a note saying they don't know when or if it will be available again.

Sure looks like a nice laptop! Although the 128GB SSD seems too small for Windows in the long run, and the i5 CPU could be more up-to-date.

Click to expand...

Maybe the current models are out of stock because they are being updated with the Nvidia 1000 series video chipsets? If so, then it might not be such a bad thing that the OP can't find one.

Click to expand...

I doubt it. The Amazon.fr page shows it as using Intel HD graphics.

OK my bad, I was looking at the UQ version, not the UA on Asus' site. The UQ version has a NVIDIA 940MX installed.

CAcreeks said:
An add-on GPU might not fit in such a small laptop.

Unless the specs are wrong on the Asus site, both versions seem to be built in the same case.

https://www.asus.com/Notebooks/ASUS-ZenBook-UX410UA/specifications/

Dimensions 323 x 223 x 18.95 cm (WxDxH)
Weight 1.4 kg with Battery

https://www.asus.com/Notebooks/ASUS-ZenBook-UX410UQ/

Dimensions 323 x 223 x 18.95 cm (WxDxH)
Weight 1.4 kg with Battery

Thank you
Russell

dreamlander · Feb 8, 2017

Well I think I have narrowed it to these two. You guys know way more than me, so if anyone would be so kind and look things over to see if there is any thing I am missing.

Loading…

www.bhphotovideo.com

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01M...s=asus+330&dpPl=1&dpID=417yCr3mvYL&ref=plSrch

I am leaning ux330ua. Cheaper, better battery life.

The advantage I see in the ux306ua is bigger ssd, and maybe a better processor, I really don't know. Doesn't quite seem worth extra $270 to me, am I missing anything?

Thanks for the help.

https://500px.com/joshkuhn338

photosen · Feb 8, 2017

Those look nice, I also find Asus models unnerving, there's no easy way to find just what you need. I was originally looking for one with a qhd screen but gave up, I'd get one with a regular 1080 display for about $500, and install a Linux distro. You might also want to take a look at the silver Thinkpad 13. At $1,000 you're also looking at a Thinkpad x1 Carbon or a 13" retina macbook pro on sale - not trying to steer you to any model or brand!

CAcreeks · Feb 8, 2017

dreamlander said:
Well I think I have narrowed it to these two.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...306ua_vb72_13_3_zenbook_ux306ua_notebook.html

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01M...s=asus+330&dpPl=1&dpID=417yCr3mvYL&ref=plSrch

I am leaning ux330ua. Cheaper, better battery life. The advantage I see in the ux306ua is bigger ssd, and maybe a better processor, I really don't know. Doesn't quite seem worth extra $270 to me, am I missing anything?

The cheaper ux330ua actually has a slightly faster processor. The i5-6500U benchmarks at 4427 passmark, the i5-7200U at 4728. I guess you're paying for the 512GB instead of 256GB SSD. I'd say 256GB is enough if you keep most of your photos and videos at home or on cloud storage.

Gorilla glass screen should be easy to keep clean, but perhaps overly reflective. Hard to say which of these displays would be wider gamut or more color accurate.

Robert Zanatta · Feb 9, 2017

One thing with the Zenbooks is the fan can run a fair bit (my daughter has one). I'd search for reviews on the specific models, keying in on fan noise, if you are concerned about how quiet the machine runs. I would think the newer model would handle heat a bit better.

If the drive is SATA or M.2, it's easy to replace - just a few screws. SATA SSD drives can be purchased for less than the cost of the price difference.

For 7200U vs 6500U, GPU performance increase is also more, and probably noticeably more.

The displays are bright and vivid, with OK off-axis viewing. Don't know about colour gamut. Here it says 72% NTSC.

dreamlander · Feb 9, 2017

CAcreeks said:
dreamlander said:

Well I think I have narrowed it to these two.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...306ua_vb72_13_3_zenbook_ux306ua_notebook.html

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01M...s=asus+330&dpPl=1&dpID=417yCr3mvYL&ref=plSrch

I am leaning ux330ua. Cheaper, better battery life. The advantage I see in the ux306ua is bigger ssd, and maybe a better processor, I really don't know. Doesn't quite seem worth extra $270 to me, am I missing anything?

Click to expand...

The cheaper ux330ua actually has a slightly faster processor. The i5-6500U benchmarks at 4427 passmark, the i5-7200U at 4728. I guess you're paying for the 512GB instead of 256GB SSD. I'd say 256GB is enough if you keep most of your photos and videos at home or on cloud storage.

Gorilla glass screen should be easy to keep clean, but perhaps overly reflective. Hard to say which of these displays would be wider gamut or more color accurate.

Thanks for the info on the processors.

Yeah, only think I can find on the screen is "anti-glare" ips fhd display. So who knows.

dreamlander · Feb 9, 2017

Robert Zanatta said:
One thing with the Zenbooks is the fan can run a fair bit (my daughter has one). I'd search for reviews on the specific models, keying in on fan noise, if you are concerned about how quiet the machine runs. I would think the newer model would handle heat a bit better.

If the drive is SATA or M.2, it's easy to replace - just a few screws. SATA SSD drives can be purchased for less than the cost of the price difference.

For 7200U vs 6500U, GPU performance increase is also more, and probably noticeably more.

The displays are bright and vivid, with OK off-axis viewing. Don't know about colour gamut. Here it says 72% NTSC.

Noise is not a big issue for me.

Funny you say that about reading reviews. That the most annoying part to all of this. Every review out there on the ux330ua is of the fully spec'd out machine. Best processor and the 3200x1800 display, Yet this machine does not seem to exist. At least not to purchase anyway.

grispie · Feb 13, 2017

dreamlander said:
The problem is finding out where in the heck you buy these things? There are SO MANY models out there, and they seem to be scattered around at different retailers. I am reading all these reviews from Oct. 2016 and they all say they will be shipping soon. Like this article here:http://www.ultrabookreview.com/11034-zenbooks-ux330-ux310-and-ux510/

I am most interested in the Asus ux410ua, but I can't find them for sale anywhere.

I'm having the same issue. I currently have an older Asus with a TN panel. From experience with my current laptop, i have faith in another asus. They are well build & reliable.

So i was enamoured with the ux410 and also the announcement of ux430. Can't find them. First announcement was in oct.. The only thing coming close & available is the ux330. Looks nice, although i like the new 14inch generation..

With me, it is only available in shops with an i7, 8gb and 256gb ssd. Still pondering whether 8gb memory is enough though.. Pondering dell xps 13 also, since this is really configurable. But the asus price benefit is nice to have, knowing that they are still wellrounded machines.

dreamlander · Feb 13, 2017

grispie said:
grispie said:

The problem is finding out where in the heck you buy these things? There are SO MANY models out there, and they seem to be scattered around at different retailers. I am reading all these reviews from Oct. 2016 and they all say they will be shipping soon. Like this article here:http://www.ultrabookreview.com/11034-zenbooks-ux330-ux310-and-ux510/

I am most interested in the Asus ux410ua, but I can't find them for sale anywhere.

Click to expand...

I'm having the same issue. I currently have an older Asus with a TN panel. From experience with my current laptop, i have faith in another asus. They are well build & reliable.

So i was enamoured with the ux410 and also the announcement of ux430. Can't find them. First announcement was in oct.. The only thing coming close & available is the ux330. Looks nice, although i like the new 14inch generation..

With me, it is only available in shops with an i7, 8gb and 256gb ssd. Still pondering whether 8gb memory is enough though.. Pondering dell xps 13 also, since this is really configurable. But the asus price benefit is nice to have, knowing that they are still wellrounded machines.

Weird isn't it? I think I am settling on the ux330, i5, 8gb, 256gb ssd at $760. May not be the top end but that price is very attractive.

grispie · Feb 13, 2017

dreamlander said:
Weird isn't it? I think I am settling on the ux330, i5, 8gb, 256gb ssd at $760. May not be the top end but that price is very attractive.

Yes, around that same price here in euros. It's very attractive & i know it is a solid machine. And probably at its lowest price right now.

But i think i'll hold off untill a newer model comes along. I'd love to have the slight more real estate from 14inch.. Eventually it will come.

I think they sell to major resalers in batches of the same product ,either with an i5 or either with an i7 e.g. One can never order a configured model for some reason.

I believe you can add memory to the ux330 later on. So specwise it would be fine and the net reviews are quite good.

dreamlander · Feb 14, 2017

grispie said:
grispie said:

Weird isn't it? I think I am settling on the ux330, i5, 8gb, 256gb ssd at $760. May not be the top end but that price is very attractive.

Click to expand...

Yes, around that same price here in euros. It's very attractive & i know it is a solid machine. And probably at its lowest price right now.

But i think i'll hold off untill a newer model comes along. I'd love to have the slight more real estate from 14inch.. Eventually it will come.

I think they sell to major resalers in batches of the same product ,either with an i5 or either with an i7 e.g. One can never order a configured model for some reason.

That would make sense as to why the diiferent retailers have a variety of specific models with specific specs. It is pretty exhausting looking at every retailer to check which model they might have.

grispie said:
I believe you can add memory to the ux330 later on. So specwise it would be fine and the net reviews are quite good.

Where are all the Asus Zenbooks?

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