Asus ZenBook UX3410UA Notebook Review

The integrated card reader does not manage good transfer rates. Similar to the Asus ZenBook UX310, we can only measure up to around 39 MB/s in combination with our reference card from Toshiba (Exceria Pro M401, 64 GB); a 1 GB folder with pictures (~5 MB each) is copied to the notebook at only around 33 MB/s. Especially photographers will have to consider this. A continuous storage expansion is not only prevented by the performance, because about two-thirds of the card protrudes from the chassis.

The mouse replacement is called Asus Precision Touchpad and is implemented as a ClickPad without dedicated buttons. You can click the whole lower part instead, which produces a steady, but a bit loud feedback on both sides. The smooth surface is sufficiently sized at 10.5 x 7.5 cm and multi-touch gestures are supported with up to four fingers. The handling benefits from the good gliding capabilities and we did not have any problems during our review. Asus also provides an app for handwritten inputs. However, the system only recognizes single letters or digits, so the practical benefits are limited.

The biggest difference between the test model and the ZenBook UX310 is obviously the larger 14-inch screen. Asus uses Full HD panels with a matte surface for the two configurations. Contrary to the UX310, the Chi Mei CMN14D2 (N140HCE-EN1) is an IPS display with WLED background illumination.

We think the resulting pixel density (157 PPI) results in a very good compromise between sharpness, screen estate, and power consumption. Subjectively, we like the rich colors, the bright display and the crisp images. Asus does not use PWM to adjust the luminance and we cannot determine backlight bleeding, either. Asus also implemented a brightness sensor, which can adjust the luminance automatically. It is handy that you can easily activate/deactivate the sensor with the key combination Fn + "A".

Our test model of the ZenBook UX3410UA is equipped with a 512 GB SSD. The M.2-2280 drive from SanDisk (X400) is attached via SATA-III, so the transfer rates are limited at around 500 MB/s. We can also see these values in the benchmarks and the drive does not show any problems in general. You can use around 440 GB for your own files and applications ex-works.

Modern PCIe-NVMe SSDs manage much higher sequential transfer rates, but the differences are hardly noticeable in practice. The performance with small files is more important in this case, and the differences between SATA-III and NVMe drives are smaller in this respect.

The free 2.5-inch slot can be equipped with an additional storage drive (HDD or SSD) to expand the storage capacity. You can compare the performances of many solutions in our comprehensive SSD/HDD benchmark list.

The new graphics card from the Kaby Lake ULVs has the designation Intel HD Graphics 620. It is the GT2 version with 24 Execution Units and manages a core clock of up to 1050 MHz in combination with the Core i7. The GPU is not equipped with its own video memory, so it uses the system memory. Our test model uses fast DDR4 memory in a dual-channel configuration, which increases the GPU performance even further.

This is also supported by the benchmarks, where the HD Graphics 620 is among the fastest integrated graphics cards. Depending on the test, the HD Graphics 620 with single-channel RAM (DDR4, HP ProBook 430 G4) is beaten by 14-46%, and even the old Iris Graphics 540 with eDRAM is only a couple of percent faster in the current 3DMark.

The test model is slightly beaten by the entry-level GeForce 920MX when we compare the performance with dedicated GPUs. The optional GeForce 940MX (2 GB DDR3-VRAM) is around 50% faster depending on the test.

The graphics performance is not reduced on battery power. More benchmarks for the Intel HD Graphics 620 are available here.

One fan takes care of the heat from the components – similar to the ZenBook UX310UQ. However, the fan of our test model is much more audible with light and medium workloads in particular. It will sometimes even start spinning while idling without apparent reason and reaches a very audible 35 dB(A) at around 3000 rpm. We can also measure higher values under load, despite the lack of a dedicated GPU, but the results can vary a bit depending on the scenario. Our measurement device shows more than 43 dB(A) both with medium as well as maximum load. This is too loud for this performance class; all the other comparison devices with iGPUs only reach up to 37 dB(A).

Considering the early state of our test sample, this behavior could be a result of non-optimized software. The fan does not create any inconvenient noises and also cools the processor well, so we do not think it is a hardware defect. We are already in contact with the manufacturer and will update this section as soon as we get new information.

The ZenBook UX3410UA is a very cool device and basically does not warm up at all while idling and with light workloads. The warming under load is mainly focused at the top of the base unit around the cooling and the heat pipe, but up to 39.4 °C during the stress test is anything but problematic. We can only measure a little more than 35 °C at the bottom, so you can use it on your lap very comfortably.

The SoC will quickly reach the temperature limit of 70 °C where the TDP limit (15 Watts) sets in when we stress both components. We can only see the maximum core clocks for a couple of seconds in our stress test with the tools Prime95 and FurMark before the SoC reaches 76 °C. The CPU clock will level off at around 1.7 GHz (base frequency 2.7 GHz) after that, while the GPU still runs at 1000-1050 MHz. The situation changes a bit on battery. The processor has a higher clock (~2.8 GHz), but the GPU drops to just 450 MHz. A 3DMark 11 run immediately after the stress test did not result in a lower score, so there should not be any limitations in practical load scenarios.

The compact plug-in power adapter (45 Watts) can get quite warm under load. We can measure almost 50 °C in an extreme scenario (charging of the battery + load), but around 44-45 °C under load when the battery is fully charged.

Two stereo speakers are located at the front edge and direct the sound downwards at a 45 ° angle. The sound will be reflected towards the user on solid surfaces, but the result can be a bit muffled on soft surfaces (lap, couch, etc.). Our measurements show very linear mids and high tones as well as a decent maximum volume of almost 79 dB(A). However, we are still not really convinced by the result, mainly because of the missing bass. Subjectively, movies and music just lack power.

Asus installs the AudioWizard, which offers some presets (Movie, Music, Voice, Game, Voice Recording), but manual adjustments are not possible. The performance is obviously sufficient for some YouTube videos or some background music, but you should use external speakers or headphones for a better audio performance. The stereo jack is inconspicuous in this respect and the connection to our Bluetooth speaker (Denon Envaya Mini) was established without any problems and was very stable.

The ZenBook UX3410 is a very efficient system while idling and with light workloads, because we can only measure 3.7 up to 6.8 Watts. The keyboard illumination will draw another Watt. The results are also good within our comparison group.

We can see the effect of the increased TDP limit under load. Our measurement device indicates little more than 47 Watts at the start of the stress test, despite the integrated GPU. The consumption will level off at around 37 Watts after ~1 minute. The provided 45-Watt power adapter is therefore sufficient, but it does not have a lot of headroom to charge the battery under load. A full recharge of the battery takes 2.5 hours when the system is turned on, although 50% of the capacity is already available after 50 minutes.

The new Asus ZenBook UC3410UA follows the trend to use a larger display. The 14-inch panel works very well inside the 13.3-inch chassis and there are no negative aspects compared to the regular ZenBook UX310 except for the slightly shorter Wi-Fi runtime. Quite the contrary: The stability is even better thanks to the slightly thicker lid and the great IPS display easily surpasses the TN screen of the UX310 in every way.

The ZenBook UX3410UA is even more appealing with the larger screen. Asus also uses a very good matte FHD-IPS panel. 

The ZenBook can also convince in many other sections. The aluminum casing is sophisticated and sturdy, the performance utilization of the processor is very good, and the input devices are decent as well. Offering four USB ports is laudable, but we do not expect slow USB 2.0 ports on a device that costs 1,200 Euros (~$1287). The integrated card reader is not a fast model, either.

We are less convinced by the fan, which can be quite loud and also starts to spin with light workloads. This is perhaps related to our early test sample, and we hope that a software update will improve the situation. The identical cooling solution is at least noticeably quieter in the regular ZenBook UX310UQ, despite the dedicated graphics card.