Asus Zenbook UX303LB (940M) Subnotebook Short Review
For the original German review, see here.
We gave the Zenbook UX303LN-R4274H a rating of 86% in May 2015, which only the best devices achieve. There weren't any noteworthy shortcomings: In addition to a matte, bright IPS screen, very good input devices, low emissions, and superb runtimes went hand in hand. Fused with a swift SSD, a solid 15-watt SoC, and a GeForce 840M, the 13-inch laptop featured everything in a classily built aluminum casing that many buyers want.
Now the 840M makes room for the 940M. That is reason enough for a quick glance at the configuration. Is the Zenbook UX303LB still a purchase tip, or should the buyer stick to the now supposedly cheaper 840M precursor, available with a Haswell SoC and 256 GB SSD for a price starting at 1000 Euros (~$1095)? The UX303LB-R4079H review sample with a Broadwell i5-5200U and 940M, but otherwise identical configuration, costs exactly 100 Euros (~$109) more.
Display
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Brightness Distribution: 95 %
Center on Battery: 313 cd/m²
Contrast: 489:1 (Black: 0.64 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 3.1 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.86
ΔE Greyscale 2.3 | 0.09-98 Ø5.1
72.6% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
99.1% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
75.7% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.2
The screen is identical with that of the Zenbook UX303LN-R4274H sister model. Please see the test for details.
Performance
Is the GeForce 940M worth its higher price? We tend to say no. The same GM108 Maxwell chip as in the older GeForce 840M is behind the name. Nothing has changed about the technical specs - 384 Shader units, 24 TMUs, 64-bit memory interface. Only the base and boost speeds have been increased marginally.
We took a particularly detailed look at the 940M's graphics performance in Lenovo's ThinkPad T450s (i5-5200U). Its power is 50 to 60% higher than the integrated HD Graphics 5500, as Dell's XPS 13 proves. The dedicated 940M also leads to a 50 to almost 70% advantage in real games. However, the 840M is on par as the comparison in 3DMark 11 shows. It falls behind by at most 4% here. The Physics performance of our review sample is lower than in the sister models due to the Core i7 in both UX comparison devices.
An overview of games that can be played with the GeForce 940M can be found on the GPU's page. Graphics heavyweights like The Witcher 3 and Batman: Arkham Knight should be crossed out on the wishlist. Dirt Rally, GTA V, Battlefield Hardline 2015, Evolve, The Crew, Far Cry 4 or Dragon Age: Inquisition belong to the many smash hits that can still be played in the HD resolution using medium details.
As to the processor, we can only provide a comparison with the Core i7 versions (5500U, 4510U) here. They reap in a small plus of 10 to 14% owing to the higher clock rates. It can sometimes even be 17% in the multi-test of Cinebench. That equals a performance plus of only 5% over the same processor type (former i5-4200U or i5-4210U) in the Haswell/Broadwell comparison. However, shrinking the build process from 22 to 14 nm has not resulted in higher power consumption. Acer's Aspire V3-572PG and Aspire R14 R3-471TG lag behind by 7 to 18% in the Cinebench tests, which is to exemplify the Haswell i5 version of the UX303L that is still on the market. The devices' varying Turbo Boost utilization prevents making an exact 1:1 comparison across different devices.
| PCMark 7 Score | 4909 points | |
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| 3DMark 11 Performance | 2485 points | |
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Emissions & Energy Management
System Noise
The noise production barely differs to that of the 840M model. Unlike the waste heat, the present UX3030LB is noticeably cooler in single places in the stress test. That could, however, also be due to different ambient temperatures during the assessment.
Noise Level
| Idle |
| 29.6 / 29.6 / 31.4 dB(A) |
| Load |
| 37.3 / 38.2 dB(A) |
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30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
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min:  , med:  , max:  Voltcraft sl-320 (15 cm distance) | ||
Temperature
(-) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 46 °C / 115 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 35.6 °C / 96 F, compared to the average of 39.3 °C / 103 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 24.7 °C / 76 F, compared to the device average of 30.8 °C / 87 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are cooler than skin temperature with a maximum of 28.8 °C / 83.8 F and are therefore cool to the touch.
(±) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.2 °C / 82.8 F (-0.6 °C / -1 F).
| Off / Standby | / 0.1 Watt |
| Idle | 2.5 / 6.7 / 8.7 Watt |
| Load |
43.7 / 60 Watt |
   
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Key:
min: ,
med: ,
max: Voltcraft VC 960 | |
Pros
Cons
Verdict
The buyer gets a stylish, compact subnotebook with a long battery life, swift SSD, and a viewing angle and rich color IPS screen in the Zenbook UX303LB-R4079H (Broadwell i5, 940M) for presently 1100 Euros (~$1204). On top of that, a GeForce 940M that can render current games in at least the HD resolution (1366x768 pixels) smoothly is included.
In addition to the review sample, there are configurations with a Haswell SoC and/or GeForce 840M on the market. Their prices can differ greatly. If the price difference does not seem too vast, the buyer can confidently take the current Broadwell model with the 940M. However, anyone who wants to save 100 Euros (~$109) and more will do nothing wrong with the "outdated" Haswell/840M version. The performance differences in gaming and processor performance are measurable but insignificant for practical use.
Links to the reviews:
- Asus Zenbook UX303LN (Broadwell i7, 840M)
- Asus Zenbook UX303LN-R4141H (Haswell i7, 840M)
Asus Zenbook UX303LB-R4079H
- 02/16/2016 v5 (old)
Sebastian Jentsch
Price comparison
