Summary
14 and 14X are both great laptops regardless. If battery life and cool-to-touch is most important, the 14 is a great pick and you also save $70. For productivity workloads, 14X is faster with a lot more processing power and CPU cores. For casual users though, the 14X will still be very fast and offer a lot longer battery life. From a marketing perspective, the 14X is considered the overall more premium model.
Zenbook 14 (UM3402) advantages:
* Much longer battery life than 14X
* Cooler to the touch than 14X, but more likely to hear fans
* Can be up to $70 cheaper at times. (Walmart $630 recently)
* 14" makes it more compact than 14X @ 14.5"
* Charger brick also more compact. 390 grams (14X) vs 221 (14) grams
* Lighter and slimmer profile - superior grab-n-go (14X bulkier)
* SD card reader
14X (UX3404) advantages:
* Not as slim as the 14, but may have better build quality.
* Connectivity: 2x Thunderbolt 4 ports (14 is just USB-C) 2x USB 4.0 ports (14 2x USB 3.2)
* Quieter under load and pretty much silent in whisper mode
* Better webcam (1080p vs 720p)
* Better for gaming (1.69 TFLOPS vs 1.13) ~50% faster!
* Significantly higher single (30-35% faster) and multi-core (68%) performance, though differences may not be noticeable - overall much better pick for productivity workloads like encoding/video editing; 14 cores and 20 threads on the 14X; 8C/16T on the 14)
* Users with both models report the 14X may have a more premium build
* Superior cooling system (14X maxes at 47 dB under load, versus 52.5 dB on the 14 -- major difference if doing full workloads)
* Superior audio via Harmon Kardon speakers
* Faster RAM
* Faster NVMe (PCIe 4.0 vs 3.0)
* Display: 120hz vs 90hz on the 14, though I wouldn't consider this a major factor at all
* Display: Review suggest the 14X display produces better whites and color balance; also little brighter
* Display: 14X has ambient light sensor for dynamic display brightness
Subjective Differences
* 14 uses fingerprint unlock; 14X only offers IR face unlock
* Display: 14.5" 14X vs 14" on 14
* Touchpad slightly bigger on 14X (13x7.6cm vs 13x7.4cm)
* 14X glass touch pad; 14 plastic
https://nanoreview.net/en/laptop-....4_d.2_r.2
Versus the HP Pavilion Plus 14 (currently $699 Costco)
Thanks to: TenseRain704
1. The Zenbook has better build quality and less flex.
2. The keyboard and the trackpad are noticeably better on the Zenbook.
3. The Zenbook has slightly better sound quality but its not great either. The HP sounds muffled.
4. The Zenbook has louder fans ans they come on more often. The HP's fans rarely comes on except when I was installing Windows.
5. The Zenbook screen does lie flat, unlike the HP. Wouldnt make a difference to most though.
6. The Zenbook charges faster but the power brick is also heavier.
7. I prefer the ASUS BIOS.
8. I've had issues with both. The Zenbook screen would randomly blacks out for half a second; The HP occasionally fails to wake up from sleep and has to be restarted.
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expired Posted by SlickLocket671 • Jan 12, 2024
Jan 12, 2024 6:56 AM
Item 1 of 3
Item 1 of 3
expired Posted by SlickLocket671 • Jan 12, 2024
Jan 12, 2024 6:56 AM
ASUS Zenbook 14X Laptop: i7-13700H, 14.5" 2.8K 120Hz OLED Touch, 16GB DDR5, 512GB
+ Free Shipping$700
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Zenbook 14 (UM3402) advantages:
* Much longer battery life than 14X
* Cooler to the touch than 14X, but more likely to hear fans
* $70 cheaper at Walmart ($630)
* 14" makes it more compact than 14X @ 14.5"
* Charger brick also more compact. 390 grams (14X) vs 221 (14) grams
* Lighter and slimmer profile - superior grab-n-go (14X bulkier)
* SD card reader
14X (UX3404) advantages:
* Connectivity: 2x Thunderbolt 4 ports (14 is just USB-C) 2x USB 4.0 ports (14 2x USB 3.2)
* Quieter under load and pretty much silent in whisper mode
* Better webcam (1080p vs 720p)
* Better for gaming (1.69 TFLOPS vs 1.13) ~50% faster!
* Significantly higher single (30-35% faster) and multi-core (68%) performance, though differences may not be noticeable - overall much better pick for productivity workloads like encoding/video editing; 14 cores and 20 threads on the 14X; 8C/16T on the 14)
* Users with both models report the 14X may have a more premium build
* Superior cooling system (14X maxes at 47 dB under load, versus 52.5 dB on the 14 -- major difference if doing full workloads)
* Superior audio via Harmon Kardon speakers
* Faster RAM
* Faster NVMe (PCIe 4.0 vs 3.0)
* Display: 120hz vs 90hz on the 14, though I wouldn't consider this a major factor at all
* Display: Review suggest the 14X display produces better whites and color balance; also little brighter
* Display: 14X has ambient light sensor for dynamic display brightness
Subjective Differences
* 14 uses fingerprint unlock; 14X only offers IR face unlock
* Display: 14.5" 14X vs 14" on 14
* Touchpad slightly bigger on 14X (13x7.6cm vs 13x7.4cm)
* 14X glass touch pad; 14 plastic
Summary
14 and 14X are both great laptops regardless. If battery life and cool-to-touch is most important, the 14 is a great pick and you also save $70.
For productivity workloads, 14X is better with a lot more processing power and CPU cores.
https://nanoreview.net/en/laptop-....4_d.2_r.2
Major downside is the battery life. You can push it to 10hrs if you nerf the processor, but it feels very sluggish. Without any battery saving modes, it gets around 4-5hrs with some fan noise.
A major red flag for some is the graininess. The touch digitizer doesn't line up with the pixels on the display causing a screen-door affect. I got used to it but some don't.
Plugged in the CPU is extremely fast, but the igpu limits it to mostly video consumption and VERY light games.
65 Comments
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https://www.bestbuy.com/site/asus.../6543526.p
1. The Zenbook has better build quality and less flex.
2. The keyboard and the trackpad are noticeably better on the Zenbook.
3. The Zenbook has slightly better sound quality but its not great either. The HP sounds muffled.
4. The Zenbook has louder fans ans they come on more often. The HP's fans rarely comes on except when I was installing Windows.
5. The Zenbook screen does lie flat, unlike the HP. Wouldnt make a difference to most though.
6. The Zenbook charges faster but the power brick is also heavier.
7. I prefer the ASUS BIOS.
8. I've had issues with both. The Zenbook screen would randomly blacks out for half a second; The HP occasionally fails to wake up from sleep and has to be restarted.
TIA
1. The Zenbook has better build quality and less flex.
2. The keyboard and the trackpad are noticeably better on the Zenbook.
3. The Zenbook has slightly better sound quality but its not great either. The HP sounds muffled.
4. The Zenbook has louder fans ans they come on more often. The HP's fans rarely comes on except when I was installing Windows.
5. The Zenbook screen does lie flat, unlike the HP. Wouldnt make a difference to most though.
6. The Zenbook charges faster but the power brick is also heavier.
7. I prefer the ASUS BIOS.
8. I've had issues with both. The Zenbook screen would randomly blacks out for half a second; The HP occasionally fails to wake up from sleep and has to be restarted.
Zenbook 14 (UM3402) advantages:
* Much longer battery life than 14X
* Cooler to the touch than 14X, but more likely to hear fans
* $70 cheaper at Walmart ($630)
* 14" makes it more compact than 14X @ 14.5"
* Charger brick also more compact. 390 grams (14X) vs 221 (14) grams
* Lighter and slimmer profile - superior grab-n-go (14X bulkier)
* SD card reader
14X (UX3404) advantages:
* Connectivity: 2x Thunderbolt 4 ports (14 is just USB-C) 2x USB 4.0 ports (14 2x USB 3.2)
* Quieter under load and pretty much silent in whisper mode
* Better webcam (1080p vs 720p)
* Better for gaming (1.69 TFLOPS vs 1.13) ~50% faster!
* Significantly higher single (30-35% faster) and multi-core (68%) performance, though differences may not be noticeable - overall much better pick for productivity workloads like encoding/video editing; 14 cores and 20 threads on the 14X; 8C/16T on the 14)
* Users with both models report the 14X may have a more premium build
* Superior cooling system (14X maxes at 47 dB under load, versus 52.5 dB on the 14 -- major difference if doing full workloads)
* Superior audio via Harmon Kardon speakers
* Faster RAM
* Faster NVMe (PCIe 4.0 vs 3.0)
* Display: 120hz vs 90hz on the 14, though I wouldn't consider this a major factor at all
* Display: Review suggest the 14X display produces better whites and color balance; also little brighter
* Display: 14X has ambient light sensor for dynamic display brightness
Subjective Differences
* 14 uses fingerprint unlock; 14X only offers IR face unlock
* Display: 14.5" 14X vs 14" on 14
* Touchpad slightly bigger on 14X (13x7.6cm vs 13x7.4cm)
* 14X glass touch pad; 14 plastic
Summary
14 and 14X are both great laptops regardless. If battery life and cool-to-touch is most important, the 14 is a great pick and you also save $70.
For productivity workloads, 14X is better with a lot more processing power and CPU cores.
https://nanoreview.net/en/laptop-....4_d.2_r.2
Overall it's pretty good. Some things I don't like:
- It's heavier than I thought it would be.
- Battery life is not that great
- The edges are weirdly sharp
- Keyboard is just ok. Spacebar in particular is kinda mushy.
- Has really weird behavior with sleep mode. I close the lid and the screen locks, but videos continue to play and I can still hear them going. I have checked and re-checked all the power plan settings, but the issue continues.
- Have had some issues with the trackpad registering phantom touches
- Audio is VERY bass heavy, which is weird for such small speakers. Music sounds pretty good, but watching movies/TV is very difficult to discern dialog.
- It does this weird thing when unplugging the charger (or plugging it in) where it's changing screen settings (resolution, HDR) and the whole thing goes black for a second or two.
- This is a Windows 11 issue more so than one specific to this laptop, but installing windows on a new SSD was wayyyyyyy harder than it needed to be. The "bitlocker" drive encryption makes you jump through several hoops before you can get a new OS installed. I have 20+ years building computers and installing Windows but I thought I had bricked it more than once.
- I HATE HATE HATE the USB-C charger. The way it sticks out and hangs down off the side is visibly putting so much more stress on the port than the old barrel-charger design did. Again, not specific to this laptop, but I really truly hate it.
- The USB-C charging cord is built into the charger rather than being a removable cord. If (when) something happens to that USB-C plug, the whole charger becomes garbage.
on the plus side
- screen is gorgeous.
- the 13700 is very fast
- The Iris XE graphics are way better than I though they would be. GTA V benchmark averaged 157 fps at 900p Normal
- It charges fast. You can get ~60% in an hour or so.
- It was easy to open. I put a 1tb SSD in there, and the physical process was easy (software was another story as noted above)
- Thunderbolt ports are nice to have. You could hook this up to a mid-range GPU in an external dock and use this as a decent gaming desktop.
Overall, I've been happy with it. If I could fix the weird sleep issue it would probably help the battery issue quite a bit as well. I haven't really tried that hard to be honest.
Overall it's pretty good. Some things I don't like:
- It's heavier than I thought it would be.
- Battery life is not that great
- The edges are weirdly sharp
- Keyboard is just ok. Spacebar in particular is kinda mushy.
- Has really weird behavior with sleep mode. I close the lid and the screen locks, but videos continue to play and I can still hear them going. I have checked and re-checked all the power plan settings, but the issue continues.
- Have had some issues with the trackpad registering phantom touches
- Audio is VERY bass heavy, which is weird for such small speakers. Music sounds pretty good, but watching movies/TV is very difficult to discern dialog.
- It does this weird thing when unplugging the charger (or plugging it in) where it's changing screen settings (resolution, HDR) and the whole thing goes black for a second or two.
- This is a Windows 11 issue more so than one specific to this laptop, but installing windows on a new SSD was wayyyyyyy harder than it needed to be. The "bitlocker" drive encryption makes you jump through several hoops before you can get a new OS installed. I have 20+ years building computers and installing Windows but I thought I had bricked it more than once.
- I HATE HATE HATE the USB-C charger. The way it sticks out and hangs down off the side is visibly putting so much more stress on the port than the old barrel-charger design did. Again, not specific to this laptop, but I really truly hate it.
- The USB-C charging cord is built into the charger rather than being a removable cord. If (when) something happens to that USB-C plug, the whole charger becomes garbage.
on the plus side
- screen is gorgeous.
- the 13700 is very fast
- The Iris XE graphics are way better than I though they would be. GTA V benchmark averaged 157 fps at 900p Normal
- It charges fast. You can get ~60% in an hour or so.
- It was easy to open. I put a 1tb SSD in there, and the physical process was easy (software was another story as noted above)
- Thunderbolt ports are nice to have. You could hook this up to a mid-range GPU in an external dock and use this as a decent gaming desktop.
Overall, I've been happy with it. If I could fix the weird sleep issue it would probably help the battery issue quite a bit as well. I haven't really tried that hard to be honest.
Military grade case. Works fine after 8 months. After setup cloned a 2TB 850X and installed.
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/revi...ort=OLDE
Love the fully functional USB Cs. I use a multifunctional dock for charging.
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LG is 799 here https://www.buydig.com/shop/produ...cf0a82b
Overall it's pretty good. Some things I don't like:
- It's heavier than I thought it would be.
- Battery life is not that great
- The edges are weirdly sharp
- Keyboard is just ok. Spacebar in particular is kinda mushy.
- Has really weird behavior with sleep mode. I close the lid and the screen locks, but videos continue to play and I can still hear them going. I have checked and re-checked all the power plan settings, but the issue continues.
- Have had some issues with the trackpad registering phantom touches
- Audio is VERY bass heavy, which is weird for such small speakers. Music sounds pretty good, but watching movies/TV is very difficult to discern dialog.
- It does this weird thing when unplugging the charger (or plugging it in) where it's changing screen settings (resolution, HDR) and the whole thing goes black for a second or two.
- This is a Windows 11 issue more so than one specific to this laptop, but installing windows on a new SSD was wayyyyyyy harder than it needed to be. The "bitlocker" drive encryption makes you jump through several hoops before you can get a new OS installed. I have 20+ years building computers and installing Windows but I thought I had bricked it more than once.
- I HATE HATE HATE the USB-C charger. The way it sticks out and hangs down off the side is visibly putting so much more stress on the port than the old barrel-charger design did. Again, not specific to this laptop, but I really truly hate it.
- The USB-C charging cord is built into the charger rather than being a removable cord. If (when) something happens to that USB-C plug, the whole charger becomes garbage.
on the plus side
- screen is gorgeous.
- the 13700 is very fast
- The Iris XE graphics are way better than I though they would be. GTA V benchmark averaged 157 fps at 900p Normal
- It charges fast. You can get ~60% in an hour or so.
- It was easy to open. I put a 1tb SSD in there, and the physical process was easy (software was another story as noted above)
- Thunderbolt ports are nice to have. You could hook this up to a mid-range GPU in an external dock and use this as a decent gaming desktop.
Overall, I've been happy with it. If I could fix the weird sleep issue it would probably help the battery issue quite a bit as well. I haven't really tried that hard to be honest.
Looks like this first party GaN charger (AC100-02) which is actually on sale ($50) should be compatible to replace that terrible brick. Supports 20.0V⎓5.0A (100.0W Max) which is what the Asus site lists the 14x charger as doing.
https://shop.asus.com/us/90xb07in...arge
I'm thinking of downgrading to Windows 10 as I'm not sure of the UI quirks in Windows 11 but not sure how that would affect battery (positively or negatively). Was wondering if you had any thoughts about that.
I have 4 instances of Visual Studio up and running, SQL Server Management Studio, a couple dozen browser tabs, 2 Remote Desktops, and various other programs running and still haven't run out of RAM.
Some workloads may require more, but I think for most people 16gb is still enough.
Looks like this first party GaN charger (AC100-02) which is actually on sale ($50) should be compatible to replace that terrible brick. Supports 20.0V⎓5.0A (100.0W Max) which is what the Asus site lists the 14x charger as doing.
https://shop.asus.com/us/90xb07in...arger.html [asus.com]
I'm thinking of downgrading to Windows 10 as I'm not sure of the UI quirks in Windows 11 but not sure how that would affect battery (positively or negatively). Was wondering if you had any thoughts about that.
For those complaining about the battery life - show me another high-quality brand laptop with an i7-13700H and similar specs that gets better battery life in full-power mode AND is under $700. Exactly... because it doesn't exist! If you need to be unplugged for more than 5 hours, you are doing it wrong. Laptops this powerful are never intended to be used longer than that - and in a pinch you should be using power-saving mode anyway.
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What a bargain.
The OLED and keyboard and speed. What a perfect setup.
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