Asus UX305 Owners Lounge

http://windows10_dpi_blurry_fix.xpexplorer.com/

 

So I bought a UX305CA from Microsoft Store in Canada to complement my N550JK.

It was only $649 CAD which converts to $455 USD (excellent deal), and is the QHD+ touchscreen version with skylake CPU.

I have until end of January to return it if I change my mind, but so far I am enjoying this new toy!

Does anyone know of a good 500 - 512GB m.2 ssd upgrade for this at a good price?

 

Hello all, a newbie in the forum here.

I just recently bought a UX305CA with the Skylake M7 processor. I love it to bits, but it seems to be plagued by coil whine. I am not sure if I am just unlucky or if any of you guys are experiencing similar issues, but this is actually my 3rd UX laptop, I've returned the previous two to the vendor because they both had coil whine. Unfortunately, this third one has it too. Mind you, it is not deafening, but definitely noticeable, especially when in a silent environment. It sounds kind of like a short circuit happening under the keyboard, it changes pitch according to load, but it is there pretty much all the time. I noticed it is much more prominent when using Windows 10, I tried booting Linux Mint and Ubuntu live USB (touchpad not working though, possible fix allegedly coming up in kernel 4.5) and in both the noise is still there but much quieter. I guess the difference is just Win X being a resource hog and a snitch, constantly calling home with "telemetry" data. Actually, the most noise I noticed was when I was installing Windows from recovery.

Overall, I love the notebook, as I said before, but the fact that it is fanless and as such should be completely silent aggravates the whole coil whine issue. I checked out a friend's UX303LN the other day, and the coil whine was there, although only noticeable when I put my ear right next to the keyboard. Under load it seems to be drowned under the fan swoosh.

I am possibly going to return this one as well, but I wonder if there are any out there without coil whine? Or is it just me having too sensitive ears?

Any of you having similar issues?

 

Cursor/touchpad curse...
with a lot of effort I have somewhat minimized the jumping-cursor issue that plagues the ux305 and other asus noteooks [for that matter, "other notebooks of recent generation" period....]

Question: is there a shortcut key or something to manually DISABLE the touchpad? I read that on some other ASUS notebooks that use "Smart Gesture" applet from ASUS, the FN+F9 combo disables. but not on this one apparently. Anyone have a suggestion?

FWIW I have noticed that accidental touches of the pad are not the main or only cause of jumpy cursor. the 'shift' key does it also. and while I was typing the foregoing I got the accidental wipeout [cursor relocated and wiped out a few seconds of work]....
this is making me want to go back to my old generation thinkpad

 

Anyone with the Core m3 Zenbook try Adobe Premiere? It's obviously not very powerful, but is it good enough for basic stuff like single track 1080p editing?

 

Hello, can anyone please let me know whether the UX305CA QHD (UK model) has a matte or glossy screen? I was initially under the impression that the FHD version (which is not available in the UK) has a matte screen and the QHD version has a reflective glossy screen. However I've since read a few reviews that seem to suggest that the QHD model also has a matte screen. E.g.

http://gadgetshow.channel5.com/review/asus-zenbook-ux305ca-review

"Opening the lid, you'll find a 13.3-inch 3K display (3200 x 1800), which sports an IPS panel with a matte coating"

Also the answers to the question "Does this have a glossy touch screen? on the Amazon UK site suggests it is not a glossy screen.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Zenbook-UX3...TF8&qid=1455803594&sr=8-1&keywords=asus+ux305

But then I've across several reviews and feedback that suggests it does have a glossy screen. E.g.

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store...-Signature-Edition-Laptop/productID.328071100

I'm hoping it has a matte screen but am not sure whether it has.

Thanks,

 

Yes I am also disappointed by the read / write speed of the SD card reader. I have a Kingston UHS-1 U3 64GB microSD card with SD adapter (SDCA3/64GB) with advertized read 90 MB/s write 80 MB/s. The SD reader of the UX305 only gives about 42 MB/s read 30 MB/s write speed using ATTO disk benchmark. I thought I bought a fake SD card!! When I tested the same card using a USB 3.0 reader, it gives about 94 MB/s read 52 MB/s write, more like the advertized speed.

 

What about your 3d ux ? Still a coil whine ? I have the same issue on mine :s

 

if any of you have been plagued by a Sleep, No-Wake condition pls let me know how you fixed or can get out.
I own a ux305fa and have no issue with that but bought a 2nd one for my brother and twice his has gone coma.
the 1st time it came back ok after the battery exhausted but that is a long wait on this model. currently his is sound asleep and unresponsive to anything. he's not technician so doesnt want to pull the battery connector.... which is what I would have done asap

 

just wanted to chime in and say that since i have owned the unit in december, this is easily the best laptop i have ever owned for my uses. the keyboard is great typing on and i rarely have to correct myself with any typos. the touchpad is a nice size too and i have no issues with using gestures or any fake touches, etc. battery life is excellent. if i could own a second one for work purposes, i would as i use this one at home. the items i posted previously i have either corrected or have gotten used to (chrome no longer blurry, certain apps dpi now fixed thanks to user mystery905 recommendation). recommended laptop for sure.

 

have any of you on this thread run into Battery info or charging problems? by this I mean, indication of "not charging", or "battery not found" on the info popup at the battery icon, or a seeming "brick" state where after hibernating it will not turn on though the battery SHOULD be charged? my brother keeps having these odd issues with his and when I looked at it, using my charger, I could find no real issues once the battery was properly charged? gave back to him, and all these issues happen....

 

Install the Intel HD Graphics driver and restart your PC. Intel HD Graphics 520 Driver Download (uploaded by me):

No need to uninstall or remove the current one. Just download the newest version and install it.

 

FYI FWIW anyone searching this obscurity in the future. this one turned out to be very odd: the user has some store brand battery quick charger: one of those battery packs you carry around in case your cellphone goes draino at the worst time. in both cases [or may have been 3] where the UX305FA went into zombie state this was the common denominator. something amiss in the sleep/wake function with this particular device left the notebook unable to start/wakeup/respond. only solution is to take the back off, disconnect batt connector, give it a minute, reconnect. or if you have a lot of time, wait for the battery to slowly ebb away. strangely enough, the battery/manager circuit is still alive, just does not respond to button etc. once it hits the low threshold, it will awake if plugged into AC and power button engaged. very strange.

to this point, does anyone know the stages that the power button cycles through when depressed/held?

 

I have a UX501VW, but I need something smaller to bring to lectures and such. Batterylife on the 501 isn't all that great either so I'm looking at getting a 305 to have something portable and less prone to charging.

Anyone know if they're due for an update anytime soon? Most recent model I've seen in stores here are 305 Pure 1,2,3 and 4.

 

I have really bad noise Skylake issue with fanless Asus UX305CA.
It is completely silent at BIOS and unbearable in silent enviroment.
Sound changes depending on what shows on screen.
I have made youtube video with boosted sound to show it. Have anybody have the same sounds as i do?

 

i hear nothing but a few finger noises of you shifting around.

 

Those of you who own this ... are you happy with it? Would you buy it again?

Are the speakers as bad/quiet as I've read?

 

Maybe Youtube lowers voume.
Could you please listen to this audio also https://soundcloud.com/vadim-s-4/hhhh-02 ?
I've put smartphone onto keyboard to record the noise.

 

Personally, yes I would buy one if my criteria was the same as before. Mine has been "bulletproof", it legitimately gets long battery life [and the batt is holding up to cycles brilliantly], does not get hot unless you're going full-game/video all the time, and the display, for MY eyes, is one of the best if not the best I've had. I can use a lot longer than others because I can run the display at 15% and with no glare/reflection/refraction it produces no eye fatigue on its own. The speaker volume can be fixed which I detailed in another post, but even at +100%, it still is a smallish sound - I wouldn't buy it with that in mind. I wouldn't pay full list price either - there is just too much competition. At new/list, I would buy https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DT4A2R4/

 

also, if you read carefully the newer version is not as highly regarded as the older Core M UX305FA-USM1

 

Thanks for responding, cognus!

Why is the older model regarded more highly?

It's funny you should mention that Acer 15. It was on my list. But the screen gets poor reviews. And I would prefer to stay in the 13 to 14 inch range ...

 

No matter where you find lots of reviews, there is a clear delta between that model and the later skylake model. you'll have to make your own assessment [and there area few comments here on NBR]. As to the display on the Acer, you are dealing first of all with the difference in Glossy vs Matte subjective preference. I cannot, will not use glossy. If you prefer glossy, that Acer ain't for you as it is matte. My read on the reviews is opposite: it is an unusually good budget display. [that specific model... Acer's enumeration scheme is very difficult, submodels of the same genus can be VERY different]. To that issue, I am sure many have stayed away from ux305 because, to one accustomed to overbright and glossy displays, this would appear "dull". the dysfunction is equivalent to people evaluating IEM, Headphones, Earphones: if they were hearing-damaged from such devices young in life, and accustomed to "colored" sound, they will deliver bad reviews for top-notch audio devices [audiophile, studio, musician stuff].
functionally, the notebook in question here, in my experience, is highly reliable... until the hard drive goes! hahaha. the only problems I've seen are the sound level [speaker] and the one oddball freeze/lockup which I described in excruciating detail above, and that is the ONLY CASE I can find anywhere on the web google-searching on nerd/tech forums for hours. there are other asus models that had lockup/brick problems but it is not this specific model.
ymmv