Asus ZenBook 3 UX390 Owner's Lounge

I've had this laptop for a few days. I am still setting things up, but so far I like it very much. There are a couple of surprises:

1. Uninstalling McAfee trigger a TPM prompt on the reboot. I just answered yes,
2. The backlit keyboard has to be manually turned on using Fn-F4
3. It comes with Windows 10 Home. I missed that in the product description.

This is a single USB-C port machine. So far I have used the mini dock to connect some usb sticks, a usb 3.0 hard disk, and a usb 2.0 dvd drive. I've also used Sandisk Ultra Dual usb stick directly in the port. So far everything has worked.

I am looking for other owners' experiencies, especially regarding USB-C cables, adapters and periperals. Specifically, I want a docking station for my home, and extra wall charger, a car charger and a sd card reader.

 

Hi!
How is the fan noise? I'm leaning towards the i5 version because everybody says that with i7 the fan is always on!
I wonder if placing heat pads on the heatpipe over the CPU so that the bottom of the Zenbook is used as a big heatspreader makes any difference.
Unfortunately I cannot find Zenbook 3 with US layout keyboard anywhere in Europe yet..

 

The fan is not always on, but it turns on quite easily.

 

I don't find the noise that annoying, but I would like a way of throttling the cpu. About heat pads, I assume that the ASUS engineers already did what is possible.

Where did you find all these people with experience this machine? I only find people not owning it talking about it.

 

Hi!
Well, I didn't find that many owners either. I just gathered info about Zenbook 3 from reviews on the Internet. As you can see on this video at about 8:40, this guy had to reduce the power of the i7 (by undervolting or by using Throttlestop I presume) so that his Zenbook 3 remained silent. So I think that a core-i5 version should be better in terms of noise and heat. The problem is that I NEED a US-layout keyboard, and I also prefer the blue version, and that combination is impossible to find (Core-i5, US keyboard and blue colour).
As for the recommended solution of using some heat pads, you can check this article of my other favourite ultraportable http://www.ultrabookreview.com/10395-dell-xps-13-9550-iris-540/ . It surely helps keep the temps down. Well, it's a solution that Asus (and all other Ultraportables) engineers just don't use, because they don't want the laptop to feel hot in your lap (so they don't use the outer shell as a heatspreader).

 

I bought Zenbook 3 two months back. I wonder if anybody see this issue. Everyday, it loses about 1 to 2% of charge even though I kept it turned off or keep using with power plugged in. Can anybody explain this please?

 

Please, someone help me.

I just got my ux390 today, and it has the most awful trackpad I have ever experienced.

I feel like it must be some sort of driver issue, but I can't find any setting that fixes it.

when I begin to move my finger, there's a slight delay before it starts to move. The same again after i stop moving.

the movements themselves are inconsistent, and it's completely impossible to make small adjustments.

I'm literally about to throw the thing across the room just from trying to install my basic apps, as I keep over shooting or undershooting (or otherwise completely missing) buttons on screen, sometimes 2 or 3 times before i finally get the pointer to settle on the place i'm aiming.

i've disabled all sorts of gestures, adjusted the palm rejection delay, and even messed with the polling settings in regedit.

at the point, i'm ready to return it. It must be a defect, surely? no one seems to have mentioned this in any reviews.

Granted, i'm super sensitive to input lag, but I don't believe this issue could possible be missed by most people.

 

Hi everyone, loving the zenbook3 for almost 7 months now, and I've come back from usbc dongle hell with one quesion. Is there any good usb c or thunderbolt 3 hub that drives two external monitors AND has passthrough charging? or is there any usb c/thunderbolt 3 hub that offers a true daisy-chainable usb c port instead of just power passthrough?
The closest I have found so far are:
Arc Hub by Bourgedesign (kind of unproven brand, not sure if ships yet costs upwards of 100$) has HDMI & mDP which can supposedly be used simultaneously
Plugable's thunderbolt3 dock as well as owc are professional grade, 300$+ solutions which are overkill for my needs, and do not have simple video outputs, so they would require other adapters to use their usb c ports.
Plugable's triple display docking station is a strong contender, and I might end up buying this one, but it costs at least 200$ in my area, does not make full use of thunderbolt 3 capabilities, and I dont need 3 external monitors. plus it does not charge over usb c so it is a step backwards in terms of charging cables.

Any insights on this?

 

Hi Akessbelli!

I think that the Zenbook does not have Thunderbolt 3. I think that TB requires extra chips.

Anyway, I use a Targus USB 3.0 docking station with a
Targus dongle that combines power and data into one USB connection.

It has two display outputs. I have not used them with the Zenbook, but I used them with my previous laptop.

The docking station has part number ACP71EU and the dongle ACA41EUZ

The only problem is that sometimes the computer won't charge, and then I have to unplug the docking station from the power and plug it back in. I also have this problem with the ASUS universal dock..