Asus X302UV-FN016T Subnotebook Review
For the original German review, see here.
Over the recent years, Asus has had a lot of success in the 13.3-inch subnotebook segment with the ZenBook UX303 and UX305 series. These slim and stylish computers are supposed to compete with the Air 13 models from Apple. The X302UV is also a 13.3-inch notebook. However, it lacks an elegant metal case. Since the price range of our current test model is lower, it comes with only a plastic casing. A Skylake processor and the brand new GeForce 920MX graphics core are on board. Our review will reveal whether this is a winning combination. This computer competes primarily with the Lenovo U31-70, the Lenovo E31-70, and the Acer Aspire V3-372.
Case & Connectivity
The case of the X302UV is made entirely of plastics. The top side of the base unit is silver with two different textures. While the palm rests simulate brushed metal, the rest of the top side is covered by a grid pattern. The other parts of the case are black. There is also a texture on the lid: grooves spread from the center. Build quality and stability are alright. There is a small maintenance hatch on the underside of the computer, which covers a RAM module. Thus, it is possible to increase the RAM capacity. 4 GB are soldered to the motherboard.
In order to get to the innards, you have to open the case. First, all screws have to be removed from the underside of the computer. Note: You also have to remove the maintenance hatch, since it hides another screw. Afterwards, the notebook has to be placed on its feet. Now, you can remove the top side of the base unit. This should be done carefully since the shell is fixed by small plastic clips. In addition, the top side of the base unit is connected to the motherboard with two ribbon cables.
The small computer does not have any surprises in terms of connectivity. It comes with the usual interfaces. There are two video outs (VGA, HDMI). One of the three USB ports supports the USB-3.0 standard.
The memory card reader is not one of the fastest of its kind. It achieves a maximum transfer rate of 37.1 MB/s when copying large data blocks. Moving 250 jpg files (about 5 MB each) is done at 27.9 MB/s. We test memory card readers with a reference card (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II).
Input Devices
The Chiclet keyboard lacks a keyboard light. The flat, slightly roughened keys feature a medium key travel and a well-defined pressure point. In our opinion, the key resistance is a little too spongy and should be crisper. The central part of the keyboard springs slightly while typing. However, this was not disturbing. All things considered, Asus delivers a decent keyboard for home use. The multi-touch capable ClickPad is about 10.5 x 7.3 cm (~4.13 x 2.9 in). Thus, there is enough space for gesture control. Fingers glide easily on the smooth surface. The pad features a short travel and a well-defined pressure point.
Display
Asus has equipped the X302UV with a matte 13.3-inch display with a native resolution of 1366x768 pixels. Brightness (209.6 cd/m²) and contrast (436:1) are too low. Furthermore, at a brightness level of 90% and lower the display shows PWM flickering at a frequency of 50 Hz. This can also cause eye problems and/or headache in sensitive individuals.
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Brightness Distribution: 88 %
Center on Battery: 218 cd/m²
Contrast: 436:1 (Black: 0.5 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 3.89 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 4.9 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
73% sRGB (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
46% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
49.98% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
72.6% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
48.37% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.41
Screen Flickering / PWM (Pulse-Width Modulation)
Screen flickering / PWM detected | 50 Hz | ≤ 90 % brightness setting | |
The display backlight flickers at 50 Hz (worst case, e.g., utilizing PWM) Flickering detected at a brightness setting of 90 % and below. There should be no flickering or PWM above this brightness setting. The frequency of 50 Hz is very low, so the flickering may cause eyestrain and headaches after extended use. In comparison: 53 % of all tested devices do not use PWM to dim the display. If PWM was detected, an average of 18110 (minimum: 5 - maximum: 3846000) Hz was measured. |
As a color profile is already active out-of-the-box, the color representation is very good in state of delivery. The display shows a DeltaE 2000 deviation of 3.89, which is very close to the target range (DeltaE smaller than 3). However, the display is bluish.
Display Response Times
↔ Response Time Black to White | ||
---|---|---|
23 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 6 ms rise | |
↘ 17 ms fall | ||
The screen shows good response rates in our tests, but may be too slow for competitive gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.1 (minimum) to 240 (maximum) ms. » 45 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is similar to the average of all tested devices (21.6 ms). | ||
↔ Response Time 50% Grey to 80% Grey | ||
42 ms ... rise ↗ and fall ↘ combined | ↗ 20 ms rise | |
↘ 22 ms fall | ||
The screen shows slow response rates in our tests and will be unsatisfactory for gamers. In comparison, all tested devices range from 0.2 (minimum) to 636 (maximum) ms. » 63 % of all devices are better. This means that the measured response time is worse than the average of all tested devices (33.9 ms). |
The subnotebook comes with a viewing angle unstable TN panel. Thus, it is not possible to read from the screen from every position. Outdoor use of the X302UV is limited to shady and overcast environments, since the display brightness is very low.
Performance
With the X302UV, Asus offers a 13.3-inch subnotebook. Thanks to the use of Skylake processors in this series, it does not lack CPU performance. The GeForce graphics core allows gaming to some extent. Our test model is available for about 690 Euros (~$776). Other configurations are available - with and without dedicated graphics cores. Currently, the cheapest model is available for about 550 Euros (~$619).
Processor
The CPU of the X302UV is already well-known: The device is powered by Intel's Core i5-6200U (Skylake) dual core processor. This mid-range processor should be quite sufficient for the requirements of most users. The Core i5 is a frugal ULV processor (TDP: 15 watts). The CPU works at a base clock of 2.3 GHz. Thanks to Turbo, the clock rate can increase to 2.7 GHz (both cores) and 2.8 GHz (single core), respectively. The CPU uses the Turbo in mains operation as well as on battery.
Cinebench R10 | |
Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit | |
Acer Aspire V3-372-57CW | |
Apple MacBook Air 13 inch 2015-03 | |
Asus X302UV-FN016T | |
Asus Zenbook UX303UB-R4100T | |
Lenovo U31-70 80M5003EGE | |
Rendering Single 32Bit | |
Acer Aspire V3-372-57CW | |
Apple MacBook Air 13 inch 2015-03 | |
Asus Zenbook UX303UB-R4100T | |
Lenovo U31-70 80M5003EGE | |
Asus X302UV-FN016T |
Sunspider - 1.0 Total Score | |
Asus X302UV-FN016T | |
Lenovo U31-70 80M5003EGE | |
Asus Zenbook UX303UB-R4100T | |
Acer Aspire V3-372-57CW |
JetStream 1.1 - Total Score | |
Asus Zenbook UX303UB-R4100T | |
Acer Aspire V3-372-57CW | |
Asus X302UV-FN016T | |
Lenovo U31-70 80M5003EGE |
Mozilla Kraken 1.1 - Total | |
Lenovo U31-70 80M5003EGE | |
Acer Aspire V3-372-57CW | |
Asus X302UV-FN016T | |
Asus Zenbook UX303UB-R4100T |
Octane V2 - Total Score | |
Acer Aspire V3-372-57CW | |
Asus Zenbook UX303UB-R4100T | |
Asus X302UV-FN016T | |
Lenovo U31-70 80M5003EGE |
Peacekeeper - --- | |
Acer Aspire V3-372-57CW | |
Asus Zenbook UX303UB-R4100T | |
Lenovo U31-70 80M5003EGE | |
Asus X302UV-FN016T |
* ... smaller is better
System Performance
The system runs fast and smoothly without any problems, achieving very good results in the PC Mark benchmarks. It is not possible to improve the system performance. Asus has already maxed out the possibilities.
PCMark 7 Score | 4955 points | |
PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2 | 3466 points | |
PCMark 8 Creative Score Accelerated v2 | 3885 points | |
PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2 | 4464 points | |
Help |
PCMark 8 - Home Score Accelerated v2 | |
Acer Aspire V3-372-57CW | |
Apple MacBook Air 13 inch 2015-03 | |
Asus X302UV-FN016T | |
Asus Zenbook UX303UB-R4100T | |
Lenovo U31-70 80M5003EGE |
PCMark 7 - Score | |
Acer Aspire V3-372-57CW | |
Apple MacBook Air 13 inch 2015-03 | |
Asus Zenbook UX303UB-R4100T | |
Asus X302UV-FN016T | |
Lenovo U31-70 80M5003EGE |
Storage Device
A 2.5-inch solid-state disk with a capacity of 128 GB is used as the system drive. About 90 GB of the total capacity is free; the rest is used by the Windows installation and the recovery partition. The transfer rates of the SSD are good.
Graphics Card
Nvidia has launched refreshed editions of the 920M, 930M, and 940M graphics cores in the first quarter of 2016. An "X" has been added to their name. While the 930MX and 940MX graphic cores are only slightly higher-clocked variants of their predecessors, significantly more has been changed in the 920MX GPU: Nvidia also uses the Maxwell GPU architecture in the entry-level model now. The 920M core is still based on the Kepler architecture. The GeForce 920MX features a base clock of 965 MHz, which can be increased to 993 MHz by the Boost. The GPU comes with 2048 MB of DDR3 VRAM. The 3D Mark benchmarks show little performance differences between 920M and 920MX.
The "X" models have another new feature: They support fast GDDR5 VRAM. Whether manufacturers will ever equip a 920MX GPU with GDDR5 VRAM remains to be seen. The faster VRAM is supposed to make a performance gain of up to 20% possible.
3DMark 06 Standard Score | 10781 points | |
3DMark Vantage P Result | 6584 points | |
3DMark 11 Performance | 1888 points | |
3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score | 58897 points | |
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 5744 points | |
3DMark Fire Strike Score | 1154 points | |
3DMark Fire Strike Extreme Score | 586 points | |
Help |
3DMark 06 - 1280x1024 Standard Score AA:0x AF:0x | |
Acer Aspire V3-372-57CW | |
Asus Zenbook UX303UB-R4100T | |
Asus X302UV-FN016T | |
Apple MacBook Air 13 inch 2015-03 | |
Lenovo U31-70 80M5003EGE | |
Asus F555LJ-XX110H |
Gaming Performance
The GeForce 920MX graphics core has a successful debut. While the 3D Mark benchmarks show little differences between the 920M and 920MX, the results are different in real-world gaming. Our comparison table shows that the 920MX achieves about 20% higher frame rates than the GeForce 920M GPU. The frame rates often come very close to the GeForce 930M GPU's. The 920MX might be able to outperform the 930M when combined with a fast GDDR5 VRAM. All things considered, the X302UV can run many games smoothly in HD resolution (1366x768 pixels) with low to medium graphics settings. Higher settings are possible in a few games. This is primarily true for games with moderate hardware requirements. Performance-hungry games such as “Far Cry Primal” are not playable.
low | med. | high | ultra | |
Diablo III (2012) | 122.8 | 79.3 | 64.7 | 39.1 |
Tomb Raider (2013) | 104.2 | 52.6 | 30.6 | 14.6 |
BioShock Infinite (2013) | 77.4 | 43.1 | 35.7 | 12.1 |
Battlefield 4 (2013) | 54.5 | 37.8 | 26 | 11 |
GRID: Autosport (2014) | 176.6 | 68.4 | 30.7 | 14.9 |
Dirt Rally (2015) | 170.3 | 44.4 | 22.6 | |
Batman: Arkham Knight (2015) | 22 | 19 | 9 | |
World of Warships (2015) | 97.5 | 65.9 | 29.7 | |
FIFA 16 (2015) | 91.2 | 51.2 | 31.7 | |
Anno 2205 (2015) | 38.1 | 19.1 | ||
Fallout 4 (2015) | 27.9 | 17.4 | ||
Star Wars Battlefront (2015) | 42.6 | 25.5 | 11.3 | |
Rainbow Six Siege (2015) | 54.3 | 34.1 | 17.2 | |
Just Cause 3 (2015) | 31.5 | 24.7 | ||
Rise of the Tomb Raider (2016) | 23.2 | 14.7 | 8.1 | |
Far Cry Primal (2016) | 24 | 11 | 9 | |
The Division (2016) | 29.4 | 18.2 | ||
Hitman 2016 (2016) | 23.7 | 17.7 | ||
Need for Speed 2016 (2016) | 28.1 | 24.7 |
BioShock Infinite - 1366x768 Medium Preset | |
Acer Aspire V3-372-57CW | |
Toshiba Satellite C70-C-1FT | |
HP Envy 15-w000ng x360 | |
Asus X302UV-FN016T | |
Toshiba Satellite C55-C-1NE | |
Asus F555LJ-XX110H | |
Apple MacBook Air 13 inch 2015-03 |
GRID: Autosport - 1366x768 Medium Preset | |
Asus Zenbook UX303UB-R4100T | |
Asus X302UV-FN016T | |
HP Envy 15-w000ng x360 | |
Lenovo B70-80 80MR0006GE | |
Lenovo Yoga 500-14ISK | |
Lenovo U31-70 80M5003EGE | |
Asus F555LJ-XX110H |
Battlefield 4 - 1024x768 Low Preset | |
Acer Aspire V3-372-57CW | |
Asus X302UV-FN016T | |
HP Envy 15-w000ng x360 |
Rainbow Six Siege - 1024x768 Low Preset AA:T AF:Linear | |
Asus Zenbook UX303UB-R4100T | |
Asus X302UV-FN016T | |
Acer Aspire V3-372-57CW | |
Lenovo U31-70 80M5003EGE |
Star Wars Battlefront - 1024x768 Low Preset | |
Acer Aspire V3-372-57CW | |
Asus Zenbook UX303UB-R4100T | |
HP Envy 15-w103ng x360 | |
Asus X302UV-FN016T | |
Lenovo U31-70 80M5003EGE |
FIFA 16 - 1366x768 High Preset AA:2x MS | |
Asus Zenbook UX303UB-R4100T | |
HP Envy 15-w103ng x360 | |
Asus X302UV-FN016T | |
Lenovo U31-70 80M5003EGE |
Diablo III - 1366x768 High AA:on | |
Acer Aspire V3-372-57CW | |
HP Envy 15-w103ng x360 | |
Asus X302UV-FN016T | |
Asus F555LJ-XX110H |
World of Warships - 1366x768 Medium Preset AF:Trilinear | |
Asus Zenbook UX303UB-R4100T | |
HP Envy 15-w103ng x360 | |
Acer Aspire V3-372-57CW | |
Asus X302UV-FN016T |
Dirt Rally - 1366x768 Medium Preset | |
Asus Zenbook UX303UB-R4100T | |
Asus X302UV-FN016T | |
HP Envy 15-w000ng x360 | |
Acer Aspire V3-372-57CW | |
Lenovo U31-70 80M5003EGE | |
Asus F555LJ-XX110H | |
Dell Inspiron 15-5558 |
Emissions & Energy
System Noise
While idling, the fan runs quietly and at a consistently low speed. Surprisingly, the fan does not get very loud during the stress test – even though the CPU and GPU work at high speed. The noise level increases to a mere 34.6 dB(A).
Noise Level
Idle |
| 32.9 / 32.9 / 33 dB(A) |
HDD |
| 33 dB(A) |
Load |
| 33 / 34.6 dB(A) |
| ||
30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
||
min: , med: , max: Audix TM1, Arta (15 cm distance) environment noise: 31.2 dB(A) |
Temperature
During the stress test (Prime95 and FurMark run for at least one hour), the X302UV behaves almost the same in mains operation and on battery. The graphics core works consistently at maximum speed (993 MHz) and the processor clocks at 2.7 GHz (mains operation) and 2.6 to 2.7 GHz (on battery), respectively. Although CPU and GPU clock at high speed and the fan does not get too loud, the temperature increases very moderately during the stress test. The 40 °C (~104 °F) level is exceeded only at a single measurement point.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 29.6 °C / 85 F, compared to the average of 35.9 °C / 97 F, ranging from 21.4 to 59 °C for the class Subnotebook.
(±) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 41 °C / 106 F, compared to the average of 39.4 °C / 103 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 24.4 °C / 76 F, compared to the device average of 30.7 °C / 87 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are cooler than skin temperature with a maximum of 28.7 °C / 83.7 F and are therefore cool to the touch.
(±) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.3 °C / 82.9 F (-0.4 °C / -0.8 F).
Speakers
The stereo speakers of the X302UV are located on the underside of the case. They produce an acceptable sound, which lacks bass. You have to use headphones or external speakers for a better sound experience.
Power Consumption
While idling, the maximum power consumption of the X302UV is 5.2 watts - a very good value. During the stress test, the power consumption increases to 44 watts, which is slightly lower than comparable GeForce 920M notebooks'. This is due to the more frugal Maxwell architecture of the 920MX GPU. During real-world gaming, the energy demand is about 30 watts (+/-5 watts). The power adapter is rated at 65 watts.
Off / Standby | 0.3 / 0.38 Watt |
Idle | 3.3 / 5.1 / 5.2 Watt |
Load |
29.5 / 44 Watt |
Battery Life
Our realistic Wi-Fi test simulates the load during web surfing. The "balanced" profile is active, the energy saving settings of the notebook are enabled, and the display brightness is set to about 150 cd/m². The X302UV achieves a good battery life of 6:32 h.
Pros
Cons
Verdict
Acer offers a 13.3-inch subnotebook in the X302UV. With a price tag of about 700 Euros (~$788), the test model is cheaper than established 13.3-inch laptops such as the Apple MacBook Air 13, the Asus ZenBook UX303, and the Asus ZenBook UX305. However, it uses a simple plastic case instead of a slim metal case. In addition, the X302UV does not come with an IPS display.
The integrated Skylake processor delivers sufficient CPU performance for all usual application scenarios. The new GeForce 920MX graphics core enables limited gaming capabilities. The 920MX performs better than comparable models from AMD. Regardless of the load, the computer works quietly and hardly gets warm. A fast SSD ensures a fast system. With a total capacity of 128 GB, the SSD's storage capacity is quite low. This is where the price range becomes noticeable. You have to open the case to replace the SSD. The built-in keyboard is not one of the top models, but appears decent. The battery runtimes are good.
The dark, low-contrast, viewing angle unstable display is a weakness. The displays of subnotebooks in particular should not have these properties.
So, the X302UV can only be used indoors. It would have been better if Asus had equipped the laptop with a better display than an SSD. Buyers can upgrade to an SSD themselves, but it is not possible to improve the display after purchase.
Asus X302UV-FN016T
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06/06/2016 v5.1(old)
Sascha Mölck