Asus Zenbook (13inch) vs. Apple Macbook-Air (13inch) / Macbook-Retina (15inch)

[jcpb]

Watching Sahee fail at defending the ZBP and attempt to change the opening post every time she loses a debate is... amusing.

When the poll itself says more than 70% voted for the MBPR, ~14% voted for the MBA, with ZBP/other sharing the rest, I can see Sahee trying her best to resurrect a dead horse on the autobahn.

tl;dr = ZBP > MBPR because it's $1000 Euro cheaper! PLZ agree with OP or she gets really butthurt!

 

[Sahee]

Watching Sahee fail at defending the ZBP and attempt to change the opening post every time she loses a debate is... amusing.

When the poll itself says more than 70% voted for the MBPR, ~14% voted for the MBA, with ZBP/other sharing the rest, I can see Sahee trying her best to resurrect a dead horse on the autobahn.

tl;dr = ZBP > MBPR because it's $1000 Euro cheaper! PLZ agree with OP or she gets really butthurt!

I never defended anything, I just tried to adjust false statements which sadly have been heavily accumulated in this thread. I never said that the Zenbook is better than the Macbook-Retina, I said it's the best investment in case of value. Although I may disappoint you, but I am not a women... a lot of failed assumptions in this thread .

 

[InlawBiker]

Hey well I was just at BestBuy where they have 3 Ultrabooks on display side by side. A Samsung, Dell and the Zenbook. I fail to see how anybody could walk away with anything but the Zenbook after just toying with them for a few minutes. The Dell was $99 cheaper which will probably have an impact unfortunately.

The prices were comparable to the Air, which they should move over by the Windows machines so the difference is more apparent. I would take the Air 10 times out of 10.

 

[minnus]

I think the ZenBook is pretty amazing considering. People accepted the sacrifice of DIY upgrades for a slim form factor, claiming that the standard DIMM interfaces would introduce too much in size. People accepted the lack of discrete graphics due to the presumed limitations on cooling.

Then comes Asus with a laptop that is just as lightweight with, 1 DIY DIMM, a standard SATA SSD interface, a dGPU, and an IPS 1080P screen.

I applaud Apple for mainstreaming the slim form factor - and I applaud Asus for making it a techies wet-dream.

Edit: I have the rMBP, and I am reconsidering my needs and may opt for a ZenBook.

 

[jcpb]

I never defended anything

Lying with your eyes wide open, I see.

I just tried to adjust false statements which sadly have been heavily accumulated in this thread.

There are plenty coming from your end.

I never said that the Zenbook is better than the Macbook-Retina

You said the ZBP is better than the MBPR in every way except supposedly-"pro" work on the very first post, far before your frequent edits in a futile attempt to bolster your case.

Right now OP says something along the lines of:

"pro" work? MBPR!
everything else? ZBP!
usability? ZBP!
hardware? ZBP!
price? ZBP!
conclusion? ZBP all the way!
don't ****** argue with me why this is wrong!

Why are you trolling?

Why don't you buy your favorite ZBP and shut up? Comparison? More like your trying to have everyone else agree with you that they've overspent on their MBPRs/MBAs and should go out and buy ZBPs instead.

 

[njean777]

After seeing the keyboard bending and the display issues I wouldn't buy a zenbook prime at all. Also without OSX the laptop is completely irrelevant to me. When I buy laptops I buy apple on purpose because it has the ability to use both operating systems. Cannot do that with 99% of windows laptops.

 

[heresjohnny]

The human eye can actually recognize huge differences between a pixel density of 0-120, when a pixel density of 120 is achieved the human eye can no longer diverse single pixels (during computer normal usage: viewing distance about arm length)... every further increase leads to only small differences (if any!). So basically the viewing experience of both laptops will be about the same.

Now... I don't know where you read that, but, it's crap. I can easily see the difference on my rMBP vs MBP17 from well over a few feet away... Text is much, much easier to read on the rMBP. In fact when I use the 17" now (or even my thunderbolt display, at ~2 feet away), I feel like my eyes are not focusing properly.

I've used the Asus zenbooks - they are nice machines but as far as displays go, nothing in existence in consumerland is on the same level as the rMBP.

 

[greytmom]

Wow.

An awful lot of word salad to justify your choice... Not feeling very zen about picking up a Zen?

 

[Sahee]

After seeing the keyboard bending and the display issues I wouldn't buy a zenbook prime at all. Also without OSX the laptop is completely irrelevant to me. When I buy laptops I buy apple on purpose because it has the ability to use both operating systems. Cannot do that with 99% of windows laptops.

Well, but you are fine with Display issues on a 2200$ machine? The display bleeding depends on the sold unit... some do have it, others do not. Same as with the Macbook-Retina and its Ghosting and Burn-Ins.

An awful lot of word salad to justify your choice... Not feeling very zen about picking up a Zen?

This topic is not meant in the purpose to justify my decision to buy a portable machine (and who mentioned that I bought the Zenbook?). I'm just saying that the Zenbook is the best Windows machine to date and a good alternative for Mac-Users who are not addicted to their MAC-OS.

 

[MacMan988]

I would not buy if they don't release 17" versions of the mbp.

 

[leenak]

I'm just saying that the Zenbook is the best Windows machine to date.

now there is no denying that it is a good alternative but why call it the best winows system. I love 13 inch screens but many people do not. Some people will need quad processors, a better graphics card, more memory, etc. it may suit your needs but generally, I'd only recommend something like the Zenbook to someone who has portability as a primary criteria.

 

[njean777]

Well, but you are fine with Display issues on a 2200$ machine? The display bleeding depends on the sold unit... some do have it, others do not. Same as with the Macbook-Retina and its Ghosting and Burn-Ins.



This topic is not meant in the purpose to justify my decision to buy a portable machine (and who mentioned that I bought the Zenbook?). I'm just saying that the Zenbook is the best Windows machine to date and a good alternative for Mac-Users who are not addicted to their MAC-OS.

Most MBPr's do not have those problems, as with any new laptop you will have defects, difference being it is not a fundamental hardware problems (keyboard bend). Also compared to the MBPr the ASUS is nothing in terms of power compared to the MBPr. There is no comparison to make between it and the ASUS. One is a consumer laptop the other is meant for people that need serious power on the go and want portability.

 

[Sahee]

Most MBPr's do not have those problems, as with any new laptop you will have defects, difference being it is not a fundamental hardware problems (keyboard bend). Also compared to the MBPr the ASUS is nothing in terms of power compared to the MBPr. There is no comparison to make between it and the ASUS. One is a consumer laptop the other is meant for people that need serious power on the go and want portability.

Please pardon me, but I've visited this forum on a daily basis since I've registered here and I rarely encountered people who buy the Retina-Macbook for "Pro"-Use, most buyers seem to be normal consumers. In fact the main theme in this community board (at the moment) seems to be: "Gaming on Macbook-Retina" and "Bootcamp on Macbook-Retina", I guess that says it all.

The 13inch Full-HD Zenbook's offers nearly the same viewing experience as the Retina-Macbook. (170DPI vs. 220DPI)

 

[njean777]

Please pardon me, but I've visited this forum on a daily basis since I've registered here and I rarely encountered people who buy the Retina-Macbook for "Pro"-Use, most buyers seem to be normal consumers. In fact the main theme in this community board (at the moment) seems to be: "Gaming on Macbook-Retina" and "Bootcamp on Macbook-Retina", I guess that says it all.

The 13inch Full-HD Zenbook's offers nearly the same viewing experience as the Retina-Macbook. 170DPI compared to 220DPI. The Zenbook is the better choice from a consumer point of view, simple... as long as the consumer is not a kid who wants to have a new gaming toy.

I use my Retina for gaming, so of course I am going to need a more powerful machine then the Asus ultra book. Like I said it is no comparison for me. The Asus is not powerful enough for any of my needs, and also cannot run OSX. I need OSX for aperture. That is the program I use for my photo editing, so can ASUS offer me that in a slim ultraportable computer that has the power to game adequately and run OSX without having to hack it (if it is even possible)? No, I think not. Also of course you are going to see "bootcamp on the Rpro" because MS has a monopoly on PC gaming. Sure some ports come over to OSX, but they are years late and most of the time worse.

And obviously you are on the wrong board to be comparing an Asus Zenbook to a MAcbook Pro Retina. They are totally different leagues of machines.

Also how do you know people are not using the Pro for "pro" use? Just because they are asking about bootcamp doesn't mean they are not using Adobe suite, FCPX, Aperture, etc. on OSX. You cannot generalize just because they made a thread about a certain subject.

 

[greytmom]

The Zenbook is the better choice from a consumer point of view, simple... as long as the consumer is not a kid who wants to have a new gaming toy.

Speaking of kids. Listen, when you get to be my age, and hopefully even sooner, you will understand that the only needs you are really qualified to judge are your own. It's not up to you to decide what creates value for someone else. Value is in the eye of the beholder.

The more you argue this point and try to impose your standards on others, the more clear it is that you are, indeed, very young.

 

[Sahee]

Speaking of kids. Listen, when you get to be my age, and hopefully even sooner, you will understand that the only needs you are really qualified to judge are your own. It's not up to you to decide what creates value for someone else. Value is in the eye of the beholder.

The more you argue this point and try to impose your standards on others, the more clear it is that you are, indeed, very young.

Well, you are right. I'm sorry for that post, I have been a little bit bugged by some comments.

 

[zerotiu]

Please pardon me, but I've visited this forum on a daily basis since I've registered here and I rarely encountered people who buy the Retina-Macbook for "Pro"-Use, most buyers seem to be normal consumers. In fact the main theme in this community board (at the moment) seems to be: "Gaming on Macbook-Retina" and "Bootcamp on Macbook-Retina", I guess that says it all.

The 13inch Full-HD Zenbook's offers nearly the same viewing experience as the Retina-Macbook. (170DPI vs. 220DPI)

Well, I think from gaming experience you can easily measure a computer performance generally. Yes, there are benchmark applications but it is a little bit harder. For example : the rendering time for rMBP for xxxMB fille is 3secs , if you have latest previous computer, you might not notice much different.

What I'm trying to say is , I usually search for latest games, their max setting, and review in youtube. Oh this computer can run X game with max setting, should be fast enough for other apps. Rather than search for rendering time because gaming performance is easily to be searched in youtube. I believe other people have their own standard to check computer performance faster. If I need more detail performance, I will use benchmark to measure it.

 

[Sahee]

There is a new in-depth video regarding the Zenbook. Its the UX31A which is a different model, but it shares the Design and Screen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVK-9cPRTLw&feature=related

_______

For those who do not want to read trough the whole thread, I sum the information up. 2012 is an amazing year for portable devices and there are 2 machines that could be called "Blockbusters". Macbook-Retina and Zenbook-UX32VD. I will not go in detail about the Macbook as its getting reviewed by the media on daily basis, but I will sum up my gathered Information about the Zenbook which is carrying a Full-HD IPS Resolution Display in a 13inch case:

The UX32VD is as thick as the Macbook-Air, with the distinction that the Zenbook can be easily opened and upgraded (SSD and RAM). After the purchase the machine will be delivered with an HDD and Dedicated SSD (Cache). The Cache-SSD can be enabled to perform like a normal SSD, if it gets edited it will have 32GB of DATA-Space for Files.
Tutorial: http://ultrabooknews.com/2012/06/28/mod-your-asus-ux32vd-from-hybrid-to-ssd-for-free/.
The HDD can be replaced with an Sata3 SSD (for example Samsung 830) and RAM can be customized to a total of 10GB of RAM @1600MHZ. Tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xw-2wdZ0MdU.

After the HDD has been replaced with an SSD and the custom SSD-Cache has been edited to perform like a normal SSD, you will have two SSD's and 10GB RAM (with discrete GPU) in a enclosure that is as small as the Macbook-Air case. You will have the option to install Windows on your Main-SSD and Linux Mint on the Second-SSD with 32GB DATA-Space. This is an amazing option, viewed by the fact that this machine is as thick as a magazine.

There is a big letdown regarding the Zenbook, you will not be able to sell it for a good amount of money as it's value will dramatically decrease caused by the fact that its a Windows PC. When you buy the Macbook-Retina you will be able to buy the upcoming Apple-Tech by reselling your last device without making much money loss, especially if you can use the education discount. I expect the Retina-Macbook to be at about ~1600-1700$ after 1 year of careful use, that's pretty awesome when you take into account that it is possible to initially purchase the machine for 2000$ with Education discount.

If you wish to use your computer for 4-5 years, than the Zenbook should be a good choice... but if you are used to upgrade your machine every few years, than the Macbook will solve your purpose better.

 

[leenak]

If you wish to use your computer for 4-5 years, than the Zenbook should be a good choice... but if you are used to upgrade your machine every few years, than the Macbook will solve your purpose better.

this is a false statement. The video card and processor are generally the limiting factors for PCs, depending on the use. The MB Air can have 8 GB of RAM and the rMBP can have 16GB. The 10GB Max on the Zenbook won't have a bigger advantage in either case in 4-5 years. Also, since external storage is easy to obtain and can be extremely fast with thunderbolt ports, this is a non-issue for most people.

I am sure that in 5 years, the current rMBP will be used by many original owners and secondary owners. The current Zenbook will be outdated well before the current rMBP.

 

[Krazy Bill]

Why don't you buy your favorite ZBP and shut up?

Some of you Apple shills crack me up. You have too many emotions invested in this talk of "Mine is better than yours!" nonsense.

Why don't you just hit the back button and exit the thread?

 

[Sahee]

this is a false statement. The video card and processor are generally the limiting factors for PCs, depending on the use. The MB Air can have 8 GB of RAM and the rMBP can have 16GB. The 10GB Max on the Zenbook won't have a bigger advantage in either case in 4-5 years. Also, since external storage is easy to obtain and can be extremely fast with thunderbolt ports, this is a non-issue for most people.

I am sure that in 5 years, the current rMBP will be used by many original owners and secondary owners. The current Zenbook will be outdated well before the current rMBP.

I was relying on reselling value with that statement. Both computers use Ivy-Bridge, DDR3 and a GPU of the same series, the living cycle of the rMBP is not as much higher as you would suspect... but people will find a hard time reselling their Zenbook on the second hand market, that's why I personally think the rMBP is in favor once the device needs to be replaced, especially because of the new display technology you can expect it to hold its price pretty good for the next 2-3 years.

 

[jeremyka]

not sure why you are even considering rmbp being a student on a budget? If you want OSX then get a regular mbp or, if you want windows or hackintosh, you can get Asus mbp equivalent for under 1k: http://slickdeals.net/f/4841840-ASU...80-750-GB-7200RPM-HDD-Blu-ray-999-Microcenter

 

[Sahee]

not sure why you are even considering rmbp being a student on a budget? If you want OSX then get a regular mbp or, if you want windows or hackintosh, you can get Asus mbp equivalent for under 1k: http://slickdeals.net/f/4841840-ASU...80-750-GB-7200RPM-HDD-Blu-ray-999-Microcenter

Who said that I am on a budget? . I just care for Value that's all, and after my research I personally have the opinion that the Zenbook will dramatically lose in resale value after a short period of time, while the Macbook will achieve a pretty good resale value after about 2 years. That's why I picked the Retina-Macbook, it will guide me trough my studies and afterwards I will see if I sell it for a good amount of money or replace it with another Mac (maybe Retina is common for Macbooks by than, who knows).

 

[Office Hours]

Not TOO familiar with this laptop but I remember hearing:

13" 1080p IPS matte dispay. That's VERY nice.

i7 + dGPU. Again VERY nice for a ultrabook.

Swappable SSD + RAM. Again nice.

If it's under $1500, that's really good. I'd wait for the touch screen version with Windows 8 though. I'd at least consider it over a MBA. Many here hate Windows, I don't, so why bother posting this here? It's a waste of time.

 

[Sahee]

Not TOO familiar with this laptop but I remember hearing:

13" 1080p IPS matte dispay. That's VERY nice.

i7 + dGPU. Again VERY nice for a ultrabook.

Swappable SSD + RAM. Again nice.

If it's under $1500, that's really good. I'd wait for the touch screen version with Windows 8 though. I'd at least consider it over a MBA. Many here hate Windows, I don't, so why bother posting this here? It's a waste of time.

Basically I've just posted the information that I gathered during my own research and wanted to share it with other people to help them making their decision. I don't think I wasted time after all and in the end it even helped me making my decision.

My final verdict:
Macbook-Retina > Zenbook > Macbook Air.

If you do not have the budget to buy Retina-Version, than the Zenbook is really the best Laptop you can buy. I recognized that it is a little bit more expensive in the states but its still worth its price. I can afford the Retina and I felt that it would be a better investment, as I can be sure to sell it for at least 1000€ (if not more) in 3-4 Years. At that time range the Zenbook would have became pretty much obsolete in resale value, as good as the Zenbook is for its price... it cannot be sold for a good amount of money.

The Zenbook would be the best investment for the presence while the Retina will exhibit its real value after time gone by and as good as the Screen of the Zenbook is, it sadly is still a 13inch screen with a DisplayRatio of 16:9 and its lacking a Display-Port.

...and I forgot to mention the most important point and basically the main reason why I came here: OSX.
Especially given the fact that I'm dissatisfied with the route that Windows is going with Win8... I will keep my Windows desktop machine for gaming... that's it. If I would not have gone the Mac-Route, than I would have picked Linux for my working environment... and that comes from a long time windows user.

not sure why you are even considering rmbp being a student on a budget? If you want OSX then get a regular mbp or, if you want windows or hackintosh, you can get Asus mbp equivalent for under 1k: http://slickdeals.net/f/4841840-ASU...80-750-GB-7200RPM-HDD-Blu-ray-999-Microcenter

The only thing I really needed was a laptop. That's why I decided that investing that money is worth it... given the fact that I need nothing else for the next couple of months and especially given the fact that I will extensively work with that machine cause of my study subject (computer science) I do bet that the screen will be worth its price tag. The upgraded Zenbook cots 1300€ while the Retina-Macbook costs me 2000€ (as I am Student). I felt that those 700€ are totally worth it and will most likely pay out in the future.

For those who care, here is the typical Student check list:
50' inch TV for Soccer-Games - Check
Surround Sound System + AV Receiver - Check
Big Sofa were at least 4 friends can sleep - Check
Big Freezer - Check
PlayStation/Blu Ray Player - Check

...as I said, I'm fine and I thank god for that. Apart from that Freezer nothing got payed from my parents... I earned that money myself working for a construction company and "NO" I do not live at my parents house.

Next thing to buy is Final Cut Pro and a Full-HD camera .