Asus AsusPro Advanced BU401LA-CZ020G Ultrabook Review

The AsusPro Advanced BU401LA does not even try to hide its relationship with the BU201LA and uses the same serious, businesslike design as its smaller sister model. Easy-to-clean, matte-gray surfaces and angular shapes characterize the looks - so, the typical office dress-code. The weight of just 1.67 kilograms is amazingly low for a 14-inch device. Alongside the slim dimensions - it has a height of only 19.8 millimeters - excellent mobility is ensured. For comparison: even the compact Latitude 14 E5450 weighs almost two kilograms and is roughly three millimeters higher.

The casing's feel and rigidness does not give much reason for complaint although it is comprised of a mixture of aluminum and plastic. The chassis did not warp anywhere even under high force no matter where we tugged and pressed it. The stiff screen proved just as exemplary owing to the carbon-fiber reinforcement. A solid metal hinge keeps the screen in position and reduces any rocking of the lid to a minimum. Yet, the device can be opened with one hand.

Asus has once again delivered a virtually impeccable product in terms of build, and thus it even outshines some more expensive contenders. As always, we can only judge the review sample at hand - unfortunately, certain quality fluctuations cannot be excluded regardless of the manufacturer.

The Wi-Fi module from Intel dubbed Wireless-N 7260 supports both Bluetooth 4.0 and Wi-Fi in the 802.11 a/b/g/n standards, but not the high-speed 802.11 ac standard. Consequently, the gross data rate is limited to a maximum of 300 Mbps in the 2.4 or 5 GHz bands - providing that the involved router is also dual-stream capable. The connection convinced with impeccable stability and a decent though not above-average range in the test. The manufacturer, unfortunately, does not make retrofitting a WWAN module possible.

The BU401LA sports an integrated 1.0 megapixel camera and a corresponding array microphone for audio and video conferences. While we can only attest a very moderate quality, especially in low-light situations, for the webcam, the low-noise microphone frequently made an additional headset superfluous.

Security

Asus stresses the professional orientation of its BU401LA with a vast selection of different management and security features. The laptop not only sports the usual extras, such as a Kensington lock or fingerprint reader, it can also boast with a TPM and support for Intel's Small Business Advantage Package, as well as Anti-Theft and Computrace. We summarized just what these technologies are in our FAQ article.

Accessories

Like many other manufacturers, Asus is also stingy with accessories though that does not have to inevitably be seen as a point of criticism. Most users will not need more than the included power supply, various Windows and driver DVDs (Windows 7 Professional + Windows 8 Pro, both 64-bit version), and a few brochures.

Our review sample is also very clean in terms of software and is shipped without annoying toolbars and trial versions. The preloaded Windows 7 operating system only features some mostly quite useful tools that help the user, for example, creating backups or managing wireless networks.

Maintenance

Some Torx screws on the underside have to be removed before the inner hardware can be accessed. After that, the entire base plate can be lifted off with a bit of effort. Besides the screw-fastened battery, it is possible to replace the hard drive (2.5-inches, 7 millimeters height), working memory (one DIMM slot, filled), or Wi-Fi module in a few steps. Handy: an empty mSATA slot allows retrofitting a second SSD or parallel operation of SSD and HDD in case the 2.5-inch slot is equipped with a conventional hard drive.

Warranty

Unlike Lenovo's ThinkPad L440 or Dell's Latitude E5450, where the manufacturers only include a 12-month factory warranty, the price of the AsusPro BU401LA contains a 24-month pickup & return service. An upgrade to a total of three years for an extra 140 Euros (~$164) is not exactly cheap but involves an on-site service for the next business day.

Asus advertises the screen with the title "Wide View Angle," which made us a bit wary at first in view of the installed TN screen. However, there is no need for that. In fact, the reproduction only changes insignificantly over a wide viewing-angle range, which is otherwise only known from considerably more expensive IPS screen. The contrast ratio first decreases noticeably in very extreme deviations, in particular downward, and single colors are no longer displayed accurately.

Intel's Core i7-4650U can be described as a close relative of the frequently tested Core i7-4600U. Its slower-clocked CPU part distinguishes it with a base speed of 1.7 GHz (4600U: 2.1 GHz). The maximum Turbo of 2.9 (2 cores) and 3.3 GHz (1 core) is just as identical as the specified TDP of 15 watts. As the name indicates, the dual-core processor built in the 22-nanometer process belongs to the fourth Core "Haswell" generation - the Broadwell-based successor is already waiting in the wings and is to be introduced in January 2015.

The actual highlight of the Core i7-4650U is its integrated graphics unit. While the HD Graphics 4400 of most other ULV models only has 20 so-called Execution Units (EUs), the "50" at the end of the CPU's name discloses the stronger HD Graphics 5000 with an impressive 40 EUs. The GPU that clocks with up to 1100 MHz supports DirectX 11.1 and Intel's Quick Sync feature for faster video converting, among other things.

The laptop's memory is composed of 4 GB of RAM directly on the motherboard, and an additional 4 GB DDR3L-1600 module that is inserted into the device's sole DIMM slot. At least that allows the working memory to operate in the speedy dual-channel mode, though it is awkward to upgrade. All frequently used applications and user data are stored on a 256 GB SSD.

The AsusPro is a bit at a loss compared with the ThinkPad L440 and Lifebook E544 due to its frugal 15-watt processor; its CPU performance in multi-threading in particular. The higher performance of 16% for the Core i5-4210M and 26% for the Core i5-4330M in Cinebench R11.5 is also set against a not insignificant TDP difference, seeing that Intel classifies these two models in the 37-watt category. It is considerably tighter when one core is loaded and the Core i7-4650U can keep up quite well owing to its strong Turbo Boost. HP's EliteBook 745 G2, powered by a quad-core APU from AMD, comes in last in this comparison.

The BU401LA does not lose any of its power in battery mode and achieves an identical 2.9 points in the multi-core test. The single-core score of 1.41 points is also virtually the same - exemplary!

As appropriate for the category, our review sample relies on a swift SSD with a generous storage capacity of 256 GB. To be more precise, it is a Lite-On LC-256M6S in a 2.5-inch format. It is likely a model based on the Marvel controller 88SS9174 combined with an MLC-NAND flash.

The drive's excellent performance is beyond doubt. Almost 500 MB/s in sequential read and a write speed of approximately 400 MB/s are just as impressive as the outstanding results in the 4K tests. The LCS-256M6S can even stand up to a Samsung PM851, for example.

To make things short: Current games from 2014/2015 are simply too much for the HD Graphics 5000. Except for a very few titles, such as Sims 4 or F1 2014 where the graphics quality can be reduced far enough, even our ultra-low setting in 1024x768 pixels stuttered along dismally. Gaming fun hardly arises - but that is still an acceptable drawback for an office laptop in our opinion.

It does convince: Depending on the load, the casing's temperature reached an average of 30 to 33 °C. Single hot spots with evidently higher rates were only discovered close to the rear, around the vents. However, we did not measure more than 40 °C even in this area so that the BU401LA can be used on the lap without problems.

The processor inside the casing settled to approximately 65 °C in our stress test, comprised of Prime95 and FurMark. Short peaks of up to 75 °C were also possible when the TDP was temporarily surpassed. Since Intel specifies a maximum core temperature of 100 °C for the Core i7-4650U, there are enough reserves for the next midsummer. Nevertheless, the chip is not spared from throttling. The CPU's clock dropped to only 800 MHz after a while in order to not (permanently) exceed the power dissipation specified with 15 watts. The GPU ran with a frequency of 400 MHz.

The AsusPro Advanced BU401LA seamlessly connects to the positive presentation of the BU201LA, and again it proves that not only well-known business manufacturers like HP, Dell or Lenovo can develop convincing professional machines. Despite the Core i7 processor, SSD and other highlights, the laptop undercuts the prices of many contenders without forcing the user to make quality compromises. The casing is both light and extremely rigid, and the input devices belong to the best of their category. The low noise and temperature development round off the balanced total package.

However, before we completely lose ourselves in songs of praise, we also have to point out the ultrabook's shortcomings. Some might be negligible: no DisplayPort, a highly mediocre webcam, the axed TrackPoint - all that is aggravating, but they are not make or break criteria for us. The worthy of improvement screen with a low brightness that makes outdoor use very difficult is much worse. Too bad that Asus saved particularly in this point after the smaller sister model could score with an outstanding Full HD IPS screen. Nevertheless, the AsusPro BU401LA will find its target group, especially among price-conscious buyers who will preferably use their device indoors.