Asus Zenbook Prime UX31A-R5102F

When the ultrabook category rolled out last fall, Asus led the charge, being one of the first on the scene and offering a potent ultraportable experience in a slim and elegant design. The ultrabook arena has gotten a lot more crowded lately, but Asus has upped the ante with the Zenbook Prime UX31A-R5102F ($999.99 list), which boasts a stunning 1080p display and an Intel third-generation Core i5-3317u processor. It's not the only ultrabook in town with an Ivy bridge processor, and there's plenty of room for competition in terms of battery life and port selection, so this time the race isn't so easily won.

Observant readers may notice that the Asus Zenbook Prime UX31A-R5102F is identical in almost every respect to the Asus Zenbook Prime UX31A-DB51 ($1,099 list, 3.5)?the only difference appears to be in the model number. With the parts and performance the same between them, buyers should decide between the two primarily upon sales pricing and availability.

Design

The UX31A-R5102F is easily one of the sleekest and most visually impressive ultrabooks on the market. A machined aluminum chassis provides stability where most competitors are flimsy, and the two-toned metal on metal design is simple but stylish. Measuring 0.7 by 12.8 by 8.9 inches (HWD), the UX31A-R5102F is about the same size as the Sony VAIO T13 (SVT13112FXS) ($799.99 direct, 4 stars), and average in weight at 3.05 pounds.

While details like a radial brushed finish on the lid and a vertical hairline brushed pattern on the palmrest are visually appealing, the real eye-popper is the impressive 1,920 by 1,080 resolution display, which uses In-Plane Switching (IPS) technology for richer colors and extremely wide viewing angles. This display joins the already impressive audio powered by Bang & Olufsen's ICEpower speakers,which provide enough volume to fill a room and is clear enough to have a few people gather round to listen to a song or watch a video.

The keyboard has been tweaked slightly, switching out the metal keycaps seen on the previous Asus Zenbook UX31-RSL8 ($1,049 list, 4 stars) for matte plastic. The chiclet layout and shallow keystrokes remain the same, but an adjustable backlight lets you work in whatever lighting conditions you find yourself in. The touchpad offers gesture support, but be careful as you swipe, pinch, and scroll, because a stray thumb can easily register as a second finger, causing some frustration. Thanks to a change in supplier and improved drivers, however, the clickpad on the UX31A-R5102F has none of the inaccuracy or jumpiness that has dogged some clickpads in the past.

Features

On the UX31A-R5102F you'll find two USB 3.0 ports, a media card reader (SD/MMC), a mini VGA port, a micro HDMI out port, and a combination headphone and microphone jack. Above the screen is a webcam that shoots 720p video. Wireless connections include dual-band 802.11n Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, and Intel's wireless display technology, WiDi 2.0. With a WiDi adapter, like the Belkin ScreenCast ($129.99 list, 4.5 stars) or the Netgear Push2TV HD (PTV2000) ($99.99 list, 4 stars), you can stream HD content without having to hassle with an HDMI cable and plug adapter.

Asus also includes two adapter dongles with the UX31A-R5102F: A USB to Ethernet adapter to provide a wired Internet connection, and a mini-to-full size VGA adapter for connecting an external monitor. Unfortunately, the one adapter most users will actually want and need?an adapter for the micro HDMI output?isn't included. You'll also get a protective nylon sleeve to carry the Zenbook in, and a separate little pouch for holding the adapter dongles.

The UX31A-R5102F is outfitted with a 128GB solid-state drive, which comes with its own benefits and trade-offs. On the positive side, solid-state memory is extremely stable and fast, translating into noticeably faster performance than seen with a mechanical drive. On the other hand, spinning drives offer much more storage capacity at a significantly lower price, and many manufacturers are using a hybrid hard disk and flash cache to offer larger storage capacity without sacrificing much of the fast performance.

The drive comes with Windows 7 Home Premium pre-installed, along with a few software trials, such as a 30-day trial of Trend Micro Titanium, Microsoft Office 2010 starter, and Google's Chrome web browser. Asus also includes several proprietary utilities, such as Asus Vibe 2.0, which includes a multimedia library and games, and a trial of Asus WebStorage with 2GB of free cloud storage space for a year; unlimited space is available for a modest subscription fee (from $8.99 for three months to $54.99 for two years). Asus covers the Zenbook UX31A-R5102F with a two-year warranty on hardware and offers free consultation for initial software installation and removal.

Performance

The UX31A-R5102F is equipped with a third-generation 1.7GHz Intel Core i5-3317u processor and 4GB of RAM. It's the same processor seen in the Sony VAIO T13 (SVT13112FXS), but the Zenbook left the Sony behind in PCMark 7 thanks to its speedy 128GB SSD, scoring 4,315 points as opposed to the Sony's 3,383. In Cinebench R11.5, which more directly measures processing speed, the Zenbook scored 2.41 points?a step ahead of the Sony (2.32 points) and well ahead of the Sandy Bridge-equipped ultrabooks seen earlier this year, like the HP Folio 13-1020us ($899.99 list, 4 stars) (1.93) and the Dell XPS 13 ($999.99 direct, 4 stars) (1.82). This performance also helped the Zenbook lead the pack in Handbrake and Photoshopmultimedia tests, which it finished in 1 minute 59 seconds and 4:33, respectively.

Though the third-generation processor boasts Intel's improved integrated graphics?HD Graphics 4000?it still struggled in our gaming tests. The Asus Zenbook UX31A was unable to run Crysis, and Lost Planet 2 ran at unplayable levels, producing 15 frames per second (fps) at medium quality and 1,024-by-768-resolution, and 6 fps when set to 19,20-by-1,080 resolution and higher detail settings. Though it's not the laptop to take to a LAN party, the UX31A-R5102F still performed well in 3DMark 06, scoring 5,290 points at medium settings and 2,133 at higher resolution and detail settings, more than adequate for all but the most strenuous graphics processing.

With a 50Wh battery sealed inside its aluminum chassis, the Asus Zenbook UX31A lasted 6 hours 21 minutes in MobileMark 2007. While this is a slight improvement over the previous iteration (6:09), and better than the Dell XPS 13 (5:58), it's still toward the bottom of the pile for battery life. The Sony VAIO T13 (7:18) and Toshiba Portege Z835-P370 ($1,049.99 list, 4 stars) (7:21) both offer an hour more, while the HP Folio 13-1020us (8:47) stretches that to nearly two and a half.

A lot has happened since the first Zenbook came on the scene. Asus has updated the gorgeous design with a high-resolution display, more comfortable keyboard with backlight, and new hardware, making an impressive machine all the better. But the competition hasn't been sitting still, and there are several models that offer better battery life, better port selection, and larger storage capacity. The best of these competitors actually comes from within the Zenbook family. The Editors' Choice for midrange ultrabooks is still the HP Folio 13 1020us. The current Editors' Choice for high-end ultrabooks is the Asus Zenbook Prime UX32VD-DB71 ($1,299 list, 4.0), which offers all of the gorgeous design elements with a wider feature set, an Intel Core i7 processor, and discrete graphics. For power users needing better graphics performance, the UX32VD is the clear choice, despite the higher price tag, but the Asus Zenbook UX31A-R5102F is the a solid buy for everyday users who want a refined design and impressive display and sound.

BENCHMARK TEST RESULTS:

COMPARISON TABLE
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