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Review Update Asus Zenbook UX302LG-C4014H Ultrabook

Ultimate rush. Which tech specs does the technically savvy user find most compelling? A beefy CPU, lightning-fast SSD, and a potent graphics card propel an Ultrabook to the top of the "must-have" list. Does the Zenbook UX302 score a "Very Good" this time around?
Even better? The Zenbook UX now comes with an SSD, Core i7, and dedicated GPU. Is the UX302LG-C4014H able to achieve a "very good" rating?
Even better? The Zenbook UX now comes with an SSD, Core i7, and dedicated GPU. Is the UX302LG-C4014H able to achieve a "very good" rating?

For the original German review, see here.

In December 2013, we reviewed the Zenbook UX302LA-C4003H. The 13-inch notebook scored quite well thanks to its very decent display (FHD) and the smart aluminum unibody design. The price of 1200 Euro (~$1650) for a mid-range configuration with Core i5-4200U and conventional hard drive (no SSD - just a 24 GB Sandisk U100 SSD cache) caused some raised eyebrows, however.

Asus has now released the UX302LG-C4014H, a souped-up version of the same notebook. A Core i7-4500U, GeForce GT 730M, and a Kingston 256 GB SSD are exactly what technical enthusiasts would hope for. A comparatively powerful graphics card in a 23 mm Ultrabook surely sounds like the way to go. If the asking price of 1585 Euro (~$2180) is appropriate or not is the subject of our comprehensive review update.

Almost 1600 Euro (~$2200) is a lot of money and there many 13-inch notebooks with premium-level aspects vying for the attention of the affluent customer in this segment of the market. Both the Apple MacBook Pro Retina 13 and the Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus scored very well in our reviews. Can the Zenbook UX302LG keep up with its competitors despite the lower resolution FHD display panel?

91%Apple acBook Pro Retina 13 Late 2013HD 5100i5-4258U13,3“
89%Samsung ATIV Book 9 PlusHD 4400i5-4200U13,3“
88%Acer Aspire S7-392HD 4400i7-4500U13,3“
88%Asus Zenbook Infinity UX301LAHD 5100i7-4558U13,3“
87%HP Spectre 13-3010egHD 4400i7-4500U13,3“
86%Dell XPS 13 L322XHD 4000i5-3337U13,3“
85%Asus Zenbook UX302LA-C4003HHD 4400i5-4200U13,3“
81%Sony Vaio Pro 13 SVP-1321C5ERHD 4400i7-4500U13,3“
Pred.Asus Zenbook Prime UX31A-C4027HHD 4000i7-3517U13,3“


Since the new model is identical in construction, we will start this review update with a look at the performance and will subsequently focus on ergonomics, power consumption, and battery life. All other areas (build quality, connectivity, communications, input devices, display, and speakers) are covered in our review of the Zenbook UX302LA-C4003H. One exception is the ClickPad, which Asus modified to fix a problem area: the pad of the UX320LA did not resume its original position after pressing it, which frequently caused clicked icons and files to move from their position on the desktop. The new UX302LG does not have this issue any longer.

Display

Our review model Zenbook UX302LG-C4014H and the family member UX302LA-C4003H are equipped with the same FHD panel (BOE and HN 133WU3-102, respectively). The UX is slightly brighter; the rest of the measurements are almost identical (contrast, color spaces, DeltaE). The following table shows how the panel fares when compared to competitors in the same price bracket. The Asus Zenbook UX301LA with its resolution of 2560x1440 pixels leads the pack as far as brightness and contrast are concerned. Most users won't need this high of a resolution, however, since the human eye is not able to resolve this kind of pixel density on a 13-inch panel. That's one of the reasons why the UX302LG with FHD is so attractive in the first place.

301
cd/m²
312
cd/m²
306
cd/m²
310
cd/m²
355
cd/m²
320
cd/m²
329
cd/m²
328
cd/m²
327
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
HN 133WU3-102 tested with X-Rite i1Pro 2 // Gossen Mavo-Monitor
Maximum: 355 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 320.9 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 85 %
Center on Battery: 355 cd/m²
Contrast: 696:1 (Black: 0.51 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 3.76 | 0.5-29.43 Ø5
ΔE Greyscale 4.32 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
58% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
61% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
83.8% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
60.3% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.47
Asus Zenbook UX302LG-C4014H
GeForce GT 730M, 4500U, Kingston RBU-SC400S37256G
Apple MacBook Pro Retina 13 inch 2013-10
Iris Graphics 5100, 4258U, Apple SSD SM0256F
Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus
HD Graphics 4400, 4200U, Samsung MZNTD128HAGM
Asus Zenbook UX301
Iris Graphics 5100, 4558U, 2x Sandisk X110 SD6SP1M-128G RAID 0
Acer Aspire S7-392
HD Graphics 4400, 4500U, 2x Kingston SMSR150S3256G (RAID 0)
Display
5%
8%
Display P3 Coverage
60.3
63
4%
64.4
7%
sRGB Coverage
83.8
89.7
7%
92.6
11%
AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage
61
64.1
5%
65.4
7%
Response Times
Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% *
33 ?(15, 18)
Response Time Black / White *
26.2 ?(5.2, 21)
PWM Frequency
Screen
3%
-1%
28%
15%
Brightness middle
355
327
-8%
301
-15%
419
18%
316
-11%
Brightness
321
300
-7%
284
-12%
358
12%
298
-7%
Brightness Distribution
85
84
-1%
84
-1%
71
-16%
76
-11%
Black Level *
0.51
0.42
18%
0.39
24%
0.196
62%
0.19
63%
Contrast
696
779
12%
772
11%
2138
207%
1663
139%
Colorchecker dE 2000 *
3.76
4
-6%
4.89
-30%
4.33
-15%
Greyscale dE 2000 *
4.32
4.4
-2%
5.68
-31%
6.05
-40%
Gamma
2.47 89%
2.43 91%
2.47 89%
2.41 91%
CCT
6743 96%
7434 87%
7664 85%
7243 90%
Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998)
58
54.8
-6%
60
3%
59
2%
Total Average (Program / Settings)
3% / 3%
-1% / -1%
17% / 22%
12% / 13%

* ... smaller is better

Performance

The Intel Core i7-4500U (1.8 to 3.0 GHz, TDP 15 watts) is a dual-core processor and part of Intel's current Haswell generation. Our database contains the detailed specs and features. The CPU is the only option for the version of the notebook with the Geforce GT 730M GPU. Only the UX302LA (integrated HD 4400) can be purchased either with the i5-4200U or the i7-4500U.

The processor-integrated HD Graphics 4400 sees duty during idle or when applications are running which don't require a lot of graphics power. The GT 730M can be activated either on an application level or globally (Nvidia driver, Optimus).

The notebooks ships with 8 GB of RAM in a dual-channel (2x 4GB) configuration. The SSD is a Kingston RBU-SC400S37256G (256 GB; 161 GB available as shipped).

Systeminfo CPU-Z CPU
Systeminfo CPU-Z Cache
Systeminfo CPU-Z Mainboard
Systeminfo GPU-Z HD 4400
Systeminfo GPU-Z Geforce GT 730M
HD-Tune 371 MB/s Seq. Read
ASSSD 474 MB/s Seq. Read
CrystalDiskMark 466 MB/s Seq. Read
System information Asus Zenbook UX302LG-C4014H

Processor

Cinebench R15 Multi CPU@2.7 GHz
Cinebench R15 Multi [email protected] GHz

The dual-core processor features a base clock speed of 1.8 GHz, although the Turbo can overclock the CPU to 3.0 GHz if needed. This is a significant increase over the i5-4200U (1.6–2.4 GHz) in the UX302LA. We are a little weary as far as the actual performance is concerned, since the UX302LA showed signs of significant throttling during the stress test.

No need to worry: The Cinebench R15 benchmark tests shows a constant CPU frequency of 2.7 GHz - well within the Turbo range. Consequently, all CPU benchmark scores are where they should be and the Core i7 is able to outperform the Core i5 used by some of the competitors. The identical i7 CPU in the Aspire S7-392 trails the review notebook by about 5 %. The reason: during the multi-threaded test, the two processor cores operate at a lower 2.5 GHz. The results of the UX302LG for the Cinebench R11.5 tests - including the OpenGL test with the GT 730M - are identical whether the notebook is running on battery or not.

Asus Zenbook UX302LG-C4014H
GeForce GT 730M, 4500U, Kingston RBU-SC400S37256G
Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus
HD Graphics 4400, 4200U, Samsung MZNTD128HAGM
Acer Aspire S7-392
HD Graphics 4400, 4500U, 2x Kingston SMSR150S3256G (RAID 0)
Apple MacBook Pro Retina 13 inch 2013-10
Iris Graphics 5100, 4258U, Apple SSD SM0256F
Asus Zenbook UX301
Iris Graphics 5100, 4558U, 2x Sandisk X110 SD6SP1M-128G RAID 0
Cinebench R11.5
-14%
-8%
-3%
16%
CPU Single 64Bit
1.32
1.14
-14%
1.19
-10%
1.21
-8%
1.45
10%
CPU Multi 64Bit
2.87
2.49
-13%
2.74
-5%
2.92
2%
3.48
21%
Cinebench R15
-13%
-2%
-1%
CPU Single 64Bit
116
101
-13%
117
1%
112
-3%

106
-9%

CPU Multi 64Bit
262
231
-12%
251
-4%
283
8%

261
0%

Total Average (Program / Settings)
-14% / -13%
-5% / -5%
-2% / -2%
16% / 16%
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Single 64Bit
1.32 Points
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Multi 64Bit
2.87 Points
Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64Bit
37.6 fps
Cinebench R15 CPU Single 64Bit
116 Points
Cinebench R15 CPU Multi 64Bit
262 Points
Cinebench R15 OpenGL 64Bit
47.57 fps
Cinebench R15 Ref. Match 64Bit
99.6 %
Help

System Performance

The overall system performance of the UX302LA was hampered by the conventional hard drive, although the user was not affected directly, since the large cache SSD ensured quick boot and load times. Copying data or installing programs of course took longer because of the slow platter-based drive.

The Kingston SSD doesn't need extra cache and reads as well as writes small and large files quickly. The PCMark tests in particular see a boost here, especially the PCMark 7 benchmark. For the latter, our review model outperforms the UX302LA (HDD) by 36 %. The competitors fare slightly better, although the advantage or disadvantage depends largely on the individual sub-tests. Interesting: the RAID 0 SSD array of the Aspire S7-392 doesn't really have an advantage when running the PCMark tests and the System Storage Score is identical to the one of the our review model. The System Storage Score of the UX302LG is 63 % higher than the UX302LA's (HDD).

Asus Zenbook UX302LG-C4014H
GeForce GT 730M, 4500U, Kingston RBU-SC400S37256G
Acer Aspire S7-392
HD Graphics 4400, 4500U, 2x Kingston SMSR150S3256G (RAID 0)
Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus
HD Graphics 4400, 4200U, Samsung MZNTD128HAGM
Apple MacBook Pro Retina 13 inch 2013-10
Iris Graphics 5100, 4258U, Apple SSD SM0256F
Asus Zenbook UX301
Iris Graphics 5100, 4558U, 2x Sandisk X110 SD6SP1M-128G RAID 0
PCMark 7
0%
-1%
25%
46%
Score
5166
4970
-4%
4912
-5%
5460
6%
5825
13%
Productivity
2484
2623
6%
2365
-5%
4657
87%
10890
338%
Entertainment
3671
3490
-5%
3766
3%
3895
6%
2791
-24%
Creativity
9761
9867
1%
9140
-6%
10152
4%
4422
-55%
Computation
16185
15602
-4%
18424
14%
15931
-2%
22733
40%
System Storage
5429
5432
0%
5159
-5%
5545
2%
5389
-1%
Lightweight
3315
3542
7%
3212
-3%
5637
70%
3735
13%
PCMark 8
Home Score Accelerated
2744
2449
3112
3075
Work Score Accelerated
3968
4154
3681
4079
Total Average (Program / Settings)
0% / 0%
-1% / -1%
25% / 25%
46% / 46%
PCMark 7 Score
5166 points
PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2
3110 points
PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2
4395 points
Help

Storage Devices

According to CrystalDiskMark, the Kingston SSD is on average about 90 % faster than the hard drive in the UX302LA. The benchmarks only evaluate the platter-based drive and can't take advantage of the SSD cache. The Kingston SSD offers good performance and outperforms the Samsung MZNTD128HAGM (ATIV Book 9 Plus) clearly during writes. The RAID 0 array of the Aspire S7-392 can now show its advantage with a performance plus of 20 %.

The true performance leader is Sandisk's X110 SD6SP1M-128G (RAID 0) in the Zenbook UX301. A speed of 500 MB/s for the Read 4k QD32 test is very rare indeed. Most users won't be able to notice a difference between the various SSD models, since the drives generally operate at a very high level and those differences only show up during benchmark tests.

Asus Zenbook UX302LG-C4014H
GeForce GT 730M, 4500U, Kingston RBU-SC400S37256G
Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus
HD Graphics 4400, 4200U, Samsung MZNTD128HAGM
Apple MacBook Pro Retina 13 inch 2013-10
Iris Graphics 5100, 4258U, Apple SSD SM0256F
Acer Aspire S7-392
HD Graphics 4400, 4500U, 2x Kingston SMSR150S3256G (RAID 0)
Asus Zenbook UX301
Iris Graphics 5100, 4558U, 2x Sandisk X110 SD6SP1M-128G RAID 0
CrystalDiskMark 3.0
-6%
19%
20%
50%
Read Seq
466.5
525
13%
705
51%
838
80%
710
52%
Write Seq
291
135
-54%
634
118%
378.1
30%
591
103%
Read 4k
25.91
30.44
17%
17.4
-33%
26.53
2%
30.95
19%
Write 4k
113.2
94.1
-17%
30.9
-73%
61.8
-45%
83.9
-26%
Read 4k QD32
221.5
338.4
53%
342
54%
276.8
25%
461.7
108%
Write 4k QD32
256
129.9
-49%
240
-6%
327.4
28%
370.7
45%
Kingston RBU-SC400S37256G
Transfer Rate Minimum: 287.4 MB/s
Transfer Rate Maximum: 428.7 MB/s
Transfer Rate Average: 371.6 MB/s
Access Time: 0.1 ms
Burst Rate: 300.9 MB/s
CPU Usage: 2.6 %

GPU Performance

Cinebench R15 OpenGL HD 4400 @1100 MHz
Cinebench R15 OpenGL HD 4400 @1100 MHz
Cinebench R15 OpenGL GT 730M @875 MHz
Cinebench R15 OpenGL GT 730M @875 MHz

The GT 730M is an entry-level middle-class mobile graphics card. The shader clock speed of 875 MHz  is a bit lower than the speed of the GT 740M (980 MHz), which is frequently used in inexpensive consumer notebooks in the 500-600 Euro (~$690-$825) range. During idle, the dedicated GPU can be deactivated so the IGP can take over.

When performing the standard 3D tests like 3DMark 2013 benchmark, the GT 730M is only about 15 to 27 % faster than competing notebooks with an Intel HD 4400 (dual-channel). The Asus Zenbook UX301 with Intel's Iris Graphics 5100 actually scores even better (+7-9 %). This raises the question of whether a (seemingly) not very powerful dedicated graphics is a worthwhile investment or not.

The answer depends largely on the benchmark used for the evaluation: even though the dedicated GPU doesn't have much of an advantage during the 3DMark 2013 test, the OpenGL component of the Cinebench R11.5 shows a performance difference of up to 65 % between the integrated GPU and the  GT 730M. Even the HD 5100 can't keep up here.

3DMark
1280x720 Cloud Gate Standard Score (sort by value)
Asus Zenbook UX302LG-C4014H
5117 Points
Asus Zenbook UX301
5518 Points +8%
Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus
4314 Points -16%
Acer Aspire S7-392
4119 Points -20%
1280x720 Cloud Gate Standard Graphics (sort by value)
Asus Zenbook UX302LG-C4014H
6678 Points
Asus Zenbook UX301
7264 Points +9%
Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus
5659 Points -15%
Acer Aspire S7-392
4895 Points -27%
1280x720 Cloud Gate Standard Physics (sort by value)
Asus Zenbook UX302LG-C4014H
2815 Points
Asus Zenbook UX301
2998 Points +7%
Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus
2356 Points -16%
Acer Aspire S7-392
2650 Points -6%
Cinebench R11.5 - OpenGL 64Bit (sort by value)
Asus Zenbook UX302LG-C4014H
37.6 fps
Apple MacBook Pro Retina 13 inch 2013-10
22.44 fps -40%
Asus Zenbook UX301
22.18 fps -41%
Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus
16.43 fps -56%
Acer Aspire S7-392
13.34 fps -65%
3DMark 06 Standard Score
8814 points
3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score
40845 points
3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score
5117 points
3DMark Fire Strike Score
927 points
Help

Gaming Performance

Gaming capability seems to be in sync with the results of the OpenGL tests. We don't have all the data, but we estimate a performance increase compared to the HD 4400 of up to 50 %. The difference between the GT 730M and GT 740M (+12 %) on the other hand, is not very large. Notebooks with the latter GPU - for example, the Toshiba Satellite C50-A-1DN or the Vaio Fit E SVF-1521C6E/W (slightly different configuration) - are available for less than 500 Euro (~$690).

Asus Zenbook UX302LG-C4014H
GeForce GT 730M, 4500U, Kingston RBU-SC400S37256G
Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus
HD Graphics 4400, 4200U, Samsung MZNTD128HAGM
Acer Aspire S7-392
HD Graphics 4400, 4500U, 2x Kingston SMSR150S3256G (RAID 0)
Asus Zenbook UX301
Iris Graphics 5100, 4558U, 2x Sandisk X110 SD6SP1M-128G RAID 0
Nexoc M512
GeForce GT 740M, 3540M, Mushkin Atlas 120 GB mSATA
Dead Space 3
1366x768 High Preset
40.7
26.2
-36%
46.2
14%
Diablo III
-48%
-35%
8%
1920x1080 High AA:on
36.2
25.6
-29%
40.2
11%
1366x768 High AA:on
61.4
31.7
-48%
36.4
-41%
64.7
5%
Anno 2070
1366x768 High Preset AA:on AF:2x
27.3
17.1
-37%
17.4
-36%
23.9
-12%
30.9
13%
Total Average (Program / Settings)
-43% / -43%
-36% / -36%
-28% / -30%
12% / 11%
low med. high ultra
Anno 2070 (2011) 44.8 27.3 17
Diablo III (2012) 61.4 36.2
Dead Space 3 (2013) 102 51 40.7 23.6

Emissions

System Noise

More performance equals louder notebook? Not necessarily: the UX302LG is more or less inaudible during idle. The fan stops spinning (29.6 dB) as long as the GT 730M can be turned off when the extra performance is not needed (default configuration). Should the user decide to put the dedicated GPU into service, the fan starts up and the noise level increases to 31.5 dB. Under load and during the stress test, we recorded between 38 and 40 dB, which is very low for such a thin chassis and given the performance the system is capable of. The competition is also fairly quiet - especially during idle, none of the Ultrabooks can be considered loud. Under load, the MacBook Pro Retina 13 and the ATIV Book 9 Plus are the loudest (42 and 41 dB, respectively). The family member UX302LA is louder during idle (30-32.4 dB) because of its HDD, but not as loud under load (~34.5 dB).

Asus Zenbook UX302LG-C4014H
GeForce GT 730M, 4500U, Kingston RBU-SC400S37256G
Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus
HD Graphics 4400, 4200U, Samsung MZNTD128HAGM
Apple MacBook Pro Retina 13 inch 2013-10
Iris Graphics 5100, 4258U, Apple SSD SM0256F
Asus Zenbook UX301
Iris Graphics 5100, 4558U, 2x Sandisk X110 SD6SP1M-128G RAID 0
Acer Aspire S7-392
HD Graphics 4400, 4500U, 2x Kingston SMSR150S3256G (RAID 0)
Noise
-3%
-1%
-1%
6%
Idle Minimum *
29.6
29.6
-0%
27.4
7%
29.6
-0%
29.6
-0%
Idle Average *
29.6
29.6
-0%
27.4
7%
29.6
-0%
29.6
-0%
Idle Maximum *
29.6
29.6
-0%
27.4
7%
31.3
-6%
29.6
-0%
Load Average *
38.3
41.4
-8%
42.5
-11%
38.7
-1%
33.5
13%
Load Maximum *
39.6
42.4
-7%
44.7
-13%
39.1
1%
33.8
15%

* ... smaller is better

Noise Level

Idle
29.6 / 29.6 / 29.6 dB(A)
Load
38.3 / 39.6 dB(A)
  red to green bar
 
 
30 dB
silent
40 dB(A)
audible
50 dB(A)
loud
 
min: dark, med: mid, max: light   Voltcraft sl-320 (15 cm distance)

Temperature

Stress test, CPU fluctuating between 2.0 and 2.2 GHz
Stress test, CPU fluctuating between 2.0 and 2.2 GHz
Prime95 multi after stress test, CPU at a constant 2.3 GHz
Prime95 multi after stress test, CPU at a constant 2.3 GHz

We checked the temperatures during idle with the default Nvidia configuration enabled. Optimus is able to turn off the GT 730M and the fan stops spinning altogether if that's the case. Normally we would expect a heat buildup, but our review model only reached 26 degrees C on the top. The MacBook Pro Retina 13, ATIV Book 9 Plus, and Zenbook UX301 get slightly warmer (29, 35, and 32 degrees C, respectively).

Under very high loads (stress test), the situation looks different, although the temperatures of 44 and 47 degrees C (maximum top/bottom) are not as high as they could be. The Zenbook UX301, for example, reached 52 and 50 degrees C, respectively.

During the stress test we also check the CPU frequency and the operation of the Turbo. With Prime 95 and Furmark running in parallel for at least one hour, we saw frequencies from 2.0 to 2.2 GHz. The Turbo mode is active, although not performing quite as well as during the simple Cinebench tests. With the GPU part of the stress test (Furmark) not running, the CPU frequency stabilized at a fairly constant 2.3 GHz within a few seconds. Throttling, as observed during the stress test of the Zenbook UX302LA (CPU 1.2 GHz) is clearly not an issue. The internal temperature of the CPU never exceeded 80 degrees C.

Asus Zenbook UX302LG-C4014H
GeForce GT 730M, 4500U, Kingston RBU-SC400S37256G
Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus
HD Graphics 4400, 4200U, Samsung MZNTD128HAGM
Asus Zenbook UX301
Iris Graphics 5100, 4558U, 2x Sandisk X110 SD6SP1M-128G RAID 0
Apple MacBook Pro Retina 13 inch 2013-10
Iris Graphics 5100, 4258U, Apple SSD SM0256F
Acer Aspire S7-392
HD Graphics 4400, 4500U, 2x Kingston SMSR150S3256G (RAID 0)
Heat
-15%
-13%
3%
3%
Maximum Upper Side *
43.7
47.2
-8%
51.6
-18%
43
2%
41.3
5%
Maximum Bottom *
47.3
47.3
-0%
50.2
-6%
40
15%
46.8
1%
Idle Upper Side *
27.5
35
-27%
31.8
-16%
29
-5%
26.8
3%
Idle Bottom *
28.2
35.3
-25%
31.3
-11%
28
1%
27.5
2%

* ... smaller is better

Max. Load
 33.3 °C
92 F
43.7 °C
111 F
43.1 °C
110 F
 
 31 °C
88 F
42.2 °C
108 F
38.6 °C
101 F
 
 28.6 °C
83 F
28.1 °C
83 F
30.3 °C
87 F
 
Maximum: 43.7 °C = 111 F
Average: 35.4 °C = 96 F
39.7 °C
103 F
47.3 °C
117 F
40.9 °C
106 F
35.5 °C
96 F
39.7 °C
103 F
34.3 °C
94 F
31.6 °C
89 F
32.9 °C
91 F
31.6 °C
89 F
Maximum: 47.3 °C = 117 F
Average: 37.1 °C = 99 F
Power Supply (max.)  50.7 °C = 123 F | Room Temperature 22.2 °C = 72 F | Voltcraft IR-360
(±) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 35.4 °C / 96 F, compared to the average of 30.7 °C / 87 F for the devices in the class Subnotebook.
(±) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 43.7 °C / 111 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 47.3 °C / 117 F, compared to the average of 39.4 °C / 103 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 26.2 °C / 79 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 30.3 °C / 86.5 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 (-2 °C / -3.6 F).

Energy Management

Power Consumption

The power consumption of our review notebook is higher compared to the 13-inch competitors equipped with the Intel HD 4400, although a difference of seven watts (load average) is not significant. Notebooks with Intel's Iris Graphics 5100 ( MacBook Pro Retina 13, Zenbook UX301) need between 52 and 58 watts. The UX302LA (IGP, HDD) uses a bit less power during idle; overall power consumption is about 16 % less.

Asus Zenbook UX302LG-C4014H
GeForce GT 730M, 4500U, Kingston RBU-SC400S37256G
Apple MacBook Pro Retina 13 inch 2013-10
Iris Graphics 5100, 4258U, Apple SSD SM0256F
Asus Zenbook UX301
Iris Graphics 5100, 4558U, 2x Sandisk X110 SD6SP1M-128G RAID 0
Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus
HD Graphics 4400, 4200U, Samsung MZNTD128HAGM
Acer Aspire S7-392
HD Graphics 4400, 4500U, 2x Kingston SMSR150S3256G (RAID 0)
Power Consumption
-16%
-1%
2%
18%
Idle Minimum *
3.8
2.8
26%
4.5
-18%
4.7
-24%
4.2
-11%
Idle Average *
8.3
8.8
-6%
4.8
42%
9
-8%
6.6
20%
Idle Maximum *
9.5
9
5%
7.5
21%
9
5%
7.6
20%
Load Average *
38.3
58
-51%
52.2
-36%
30.9
19%
27.5
28%
Load Maximum *
39.6
60.6
-53%
45.5
-15%
31.8
20%
25.8
35%

* ... smaller is better

Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0.1 / 0.3 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 3.8 / 8.3 / 9.5 Watt
Load midlight 38.3 / 39.6 Watt
 color bar
Key: min: dark, med: mid, max: light        Voltcraft VC 960
Currently we use the Metrahit Energy, a professional single phase power quality and energy measurement digital multimeter, for our measurements. Find out more about it here. All of our test methods can be found here.

Battery Life

To get an idea of the typical run times, we used our WLAN test. 7 hours and 40 minutes are impressive, especially since this run time is 27 % longer than the one we recorded for the UX302LA, which has a battery with the same capacity. Except for the MacBook Pro Retina 13, the other notebooks have a shorter battery life.

Battery Runtime
WiFi Surfing
7h 40min

Verdict

Faster processor, higher-performance GPU, better hard drive performance (but at the cost of available space) - is the additional price premium for the UX302LG justified? Overall, it's a small step forward. The Core i7 CPU is indeed a little faster than the typical  i5-4200U, especially since throttling is not an issue. There's no question that the GT 730M offers better performance when compared to the Intel HD 4400. Ultrabook-gamers should be pleased, since this level of performance in a 13.3-inch, 23 mm chassis is hard to come by. A GT 740M is only marginally faster.

The battery life has improved (+27 %, WLAN test) and neither temperature nor the noise level have increased significantly. The CPU performance didn't improve by a huge margin (14 % compared to the UX302LA with the i5- 4200U). The Asus Ultrabook did indeed score a Very Good (88 %) this time around - partially since we didn't have to deduct points for the ClickPad performance. The ClickPad Asus used for the UX302LA didn't return to its original position when clicked, which caused annoying errors during operation.

1585 Euro (~$2180) is a lot of money. Given the price point, we used premium notebooks for our comparison. Apple's MacBook Pro Retina 13 is a good choice when display quality and resolution (2560x1440) are of the utmost importance. The Zenbook UX301 is also worthy of consideration, since it has the same resolution (and the same chassis), but a top-notch contrast ratio of 2138:1. Samsung's ATIV Book 9 Plus offers the highest pixel density with 3200 x 1800 pixels. All three competitors show very good overall performance (PCMark 7), but as far as gaming performance is concerned, the Zenbook UX302LG - equipped with a GT 730M and a CPU not affected by throttling - is clearly the leader of the pack.

The Zenbook UX301 is now available on Adorama for $1849
Review notebook courtesy of ...
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In Review: ASUS Zenbook UX302LG-C4014H (90NB02Q1-M00310), courtesy of notebooksbilliger.de
In Review: ASUS Zenbook UX302LG-C4014H (90NB02Q1-M00310), courtesy of notebooksbilliger.de
The Zenbook UX301 is now available on Adorama for $1849

Specifications

Asus Zenbook UX302LG-C4014H (Zenbook Infinity Series)
Processor
Graphics adapter
NVIDIA GeForce GT 730M - 2048 MB VRAM, Core: 875 MHz, Memory: 900 MHz, ForceWare 311.59, Optimus
Memory
8 GB 
, Dual-channel, PC3-12800 Ramaxel Tech, 1 x 4096 MB onboard, 1 x 4096 MB in the RAM slot
Display
13.30 inch 16:9, 1920 x 1080 pixel, 10-finger, capacitive, HN 133WU3-102, BOE HN133WU3-102, IPS, glossy: yes
Mainboard
Intel Lynx Point-LP
Storage
Kingston RBU-SC400S37256G, 256 GB 
, 161 GB free
Soundcard
Intel Lynx Point-LP - High Definition Audio Controller
Connections
3 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, 1 HDMI, 1 DisplayPort, SD eSata, Audio Connections: Headphone/microphone combo-jack, Sensors: Ambient light sensor
Networking
Intel Wireless-AC 7260 (a/b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/ac = Wi-Fi 5/), Bluetooth 4.0
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 21 x 326 x 227 ( = 0.83 x 12.83 x 8.94 in)
Battery
50 Wh Lithium-Polymer
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 8 64 Bit
Camera
Webcam: 1280x720
Additional features
Speakers: Stereo, Keyboard: Chiclet, Keyboard Light: yes, Sleeve, Mini-DisplayPort to VGA adapter, USB3.0 GB Lan adapter, 24 Months Warranty
Weight
1.559 kg ( = 54.99 oz / 3.44 pounds), Power Supply: 180 g ( = 6.35 oz / 0.4 pounds)

 

Similar Notebooks

Devices with Same Screen Size and/or Weight

Asus Zenbook 14 OLED review - The 1.2-kg subnotebook with 120-Hz OLED and Core Ultra 7
Arc 8-Cores, Intel Meteor Lake-H Ultra 7 155H, 14.00", 1.213 kg
Asus ExpertBook B9 OLED (2023) review: Slim business notebook for demanding users
Iris Xe G7 96EUs, Raptor Lake-U i7-1355U, 14.00", 1.01 kg
Asus ZenBook 14X (2023) laptop review: OLED ultrabook at its limit
Iris Xe G7 96EUs, Raptor Lake-H i9-13900H, 14.50", 1.56 kg
AMD Ryzen 7 6800U Efficiency Review - Zen3+ beats Intel Alder Lake
Radeon 680M, Rembrandt (Zen 3+) R7 6800U, 13.30", 1.095 kg
Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED laptop review: Subnotebook impresses with fast AMD Ryzen 7 6800U
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Links

  • Manufacturer's Information

Price Comparison

Pros

+Interesting materials
+Good build quality
+Lots of accessories
+Keyboard is backlit
+a/c WLAN
+Bright IPS panel
+fast SSD
+Very good battery life
+Low power consumption
 

Cons

-No security features
-Can't be upgraded or maintained
-Display is reflective

Shortcut

What we like

It's amazing how much the performance of thin Ultrabooks improves time and time again.

What we'd like to see

Not a lot we would wish for. A matte display option? Or maybe a less expensive version with Core i5 processor?

What surprises us

Asus was able to eliminate CPU throttling even during maximum load scenarios. The buyer really gets the CPU performance he or she bought (for a substantial amount of money).

The competition

Sony Vaio Pro 13 SVP-1321C5ER 

Dell XPS 13 L322X Ultrabook (Early 2013) 

Samsung ATIV Book 9 Plus 940X3G 

Acer Aspire S7-392

MacBook Pro Retina 13 Late 2013 

HP Spectre 13-3010eg 

Asus Zenbook Infinity UX301LA 

Asus Zenbook UX302LA-C4003H 

Asus Zenbook Prime UX31A-C4027H 

Rating

Asus Zenbook UX302LG-C4014H - 03/20/2014 v4(old)
Sebastian Jentsch

Chassis
82 /  98 → 84%
Keyboard
81%
Pointing Device
94%
Connectivity
62 / 80 → 78%
Weight
68 / 35-78 → 77%
Battery
90%
Display
81%
Games Performance
74 / 68 → 100%
Application Performance
82 / 87 → 94%
Temperature
81 / 91 → 89%
Noise
92%
Audio
60 / 91 → 66%
Camera
38 / 85 → 45%
Average
76%
83%
Subnotebook - Weighted Average
Sebastian Jentsch, 2014-02-26 (Update: 2018-05-15)