Asus Q324UA

OK, no one seems to even know about this laptop. So, here is a link to the Asus web site.

https://www.asus.com/us/Notebooks/Q324UA/

The Q324UA is the same as the UX360UA except the color is black. This is an amazing laptop. I bought mine at Best Buy, I7-7500, 16 GB memory, 512 GB SSD. I will try to answer any questions.

Edit: I have had the Q324 since November 29 so I thought I would give my first impressions. I have had several Asus laptops over the last few years. My main complaint with Asus laptops has been poor battery life. The Q324 is giving me about 11 hours of run time which I think is excellent. Mostly light duty, web browsing, Email, forums, board games and a flight simulator. Wifi is excellent. My ISP provides 60 Mbps down and 6 Mbps up, which is what I get on my desktop Ethernet connection. The Q324 gives me the same down and up speed over wireless. The Q324 also comes with a fingerprint reader which I don't think is mentioned on the web site. The screen is very bright with vivid colors. I run at 30% brightness and it is very bright for my eyes. Fit and finish is perfect. All edges are smooth with no sharp edges. There is almost no flex of top, bottom or keyboard. And almost no flex when trying to twist the screen. The hinges work smoothly and there is little or no movement when using touch. I like the keyboard, but I am a hunt and peck typer so I am easily satisfied by keyboards. But, the key push is smooth, silent and feels good to me. That's about it for now.

Regards, Jim

 

I just got this laptop yesterday (Best Buy has it on sale this week for $999.99) and am currently in the process of doing a clean Windows 10 install. I don't have much to say in terms of impressions just yet, but I had a few tidbits that I thought would be useful for prospective buyers.

1) Factory installed SATA3 M.2 2280 SSD is a Micron 1100.
2) The bottom plate is openable by just removing the 10 torx T5 screws. I was worried that there would be additional screws under the rubber feet (I saw this was the case on some other Asus Zenbook/ultrabook models) but thankfully this model doesn't do that. I swapped out the Micron 1100 for my own Samsung Evo 850. Be careful lifting the backplate, however, because the side near the hinge will stay connected and doesn't fully detach (there are some wires connected).
3) To choose a boot device at bootup just mash the Esc key after pushing the power button. I installed Windows 10 via USB with this method.
4) F2 at bootup goes into the BIOS.
5) The factory installed Windows 10 was v1511, not the "Anniversary Update" (v1607), part of the reason I wanted to do a clean Windows install.
6) The Asus support downloads page for this model is at: https://www.asus.com/supportonly/Q324UA/HelpDesk_download
If you just search for Q324UA the support pages for that model are blank.
7) Mine had BIOS v301 installed, which is the latest available at that Asus support page.
8) Ran HWinfo64 when I booted on the factory SSD and Intel Speed Shift was on (checked this because I previously tried a Dell XPS 13 w/ Kaby Lake and that model did not have Speed Shift enabled).
9) No dynamic brightness/contrast (CABC) like on the Dell XPS 13.
10) Keyboard is better than the XPS 13, not as good as the HP Spectre x360 (my personal opinion, of course).
11) When I first booted the laptop after opening and charging (on the factory SSD), the touchpad was not functional. I had to use the keyboard to get through the initial Windows 10 first time startup. Thought I got a defective unit for a while, but a reboot afterwards made the touchpad come to life.
12) Wifi card is Intel 8260 (2x2 802.11ac).

 

madmook, Thanks for the tip about the sale. I immediately went to Best Buy and got a refund for the price difference. By the way my Q324UA has v1607, probably installed via Windows update.

Tell me more about why you switched from the Micron 1100 to the Samsung Evo 850.

Regards, Jim

 

I always like to do a clean install of Windows when I get a new machine. All manufacturers put some bloatware into their factory installs. This also means I install the latest versions of all the drivers and whatnot. For the Q324UA, there were more than a few items that have newer versions, just look through the downloads available from the Asus support page for this model. And get the GPU drivers direct from Intel, manufacturers rarely have the latest graphics drivers.

I also happened to have a 500 GB M.2 Samsung Evo 850 layin around, so I swapped that out. The Micron 1100 appears to be a decent enough SSD, but Samsung drives are generally the best when it comes to power consumption and efficiency. I couldn't find any reviews comparing the Micron 1100's power usage to other models, but I should be safe in assuming the Sammy drive wins out in that department. So I get my clean Windows install and I am now using a more power efficient SSD, that's all. If I didn't happen to already have an 850 Evo, I'd be perfectly content with the Micron 1100.

Edit: Pretty much got my machine all set up now. Everything is working fine. Most of the Asus programs and utilities were indeed superfluous, but it turns out something called "ATK Package" is needed for the keyboard backlighting function keys to work. This program is available in the Asus folder (along with installers of all the included drivers and programs, which is a handy inclusion by Asus). This utility is not available for download on Asus' support page for this model, so for anyone else who is swapping out the hard drive, you'll want to copy the entirety of that Asus folder for backup.

 

When I try to download anything from that Asus site, a window pops up with a message about a program called FixIt. Any idea what that program is?

Regards, Jim

 

No, I click the download from "Global" link and the file downloads directly. Never saw anything about a "FixIt". Might wanna be careful with that, sounds funky. For example the BIOS v301 download link goes to http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/nb/Q324UAK/Q324UAK-AS301.zip

 

The link here and all of the download links in your previous post all end with a message about the page can't be found.

Jim

 

That's weird, I don't know what to tell you, their website works fine for me. See my screenshot below (I have the mouse cursor on the "Global" link):

 

The pop up I was getting is Foxit. I found it and un-installed it. Must have been Asus bloatware. And, now I am getting downloads from the Asus page with no problem.

Regards, Jim

 

Any other impressions? How is the battery life and fan noise on this model?

 

Battery life is execellent! I get over 10 hours with light duty, Email, browsing, board games and a fight simulator. I have only heard the fan two times. Very slight noise just after a boot. I also have a HP X360 first gen. I was looking to upgrade to Kaby Lake. But, the HP X360 Kaby Lake doesn't have a card reader or HDMI, so I went with the Q324UA. The Q324UA is very similar to my HP X360, but with the
Kaby Lake upgrade. So far, I am thrilled with the Asus.

Regards, Jim

 

Overall, I am also satisfied with this laptop. Like hawkeye62 above mentioned, the good port selection was one of the deciding factors for me as well. I need at least one regular ol' USB 3.0 type-A port on either side of the laptop, and it is paining me to see a lot of models nowadays doing away with these, along with SD card slots, HDMI ports and whatnot. I would've happily gotten a Kaby Lake HP Spectre x360 if they hadn't changed up the port selection from the Broadwell model.

I haven't really tested the battery life on mine, but so far it seems like 8+ hours of general usage is doable.

The fan on mine does like to come on pretty often, and it appears that it's because Asus put an aggressive fan profile for this laptop. The Dell XPS 13 would stay silent because it would let the CPU get up to 50-60ºC before spinning up the fan. If HWMonitor is reading things right, CPU temps on the Q324UA need to be around 29-31ºC before the fan turns off. If you look through the reviews for this model on Best Buy's website, a common complaint is the fan noise, and I am experiencing for myself the basis of those complaints. It's generally not super loud, it just likes to come on pretty often. Check out this screenshot of HWMonitor running:

Nice and cool temps, right? But the fan is currently running and will be audible in a quiet environment. I wonder if there's a way to tell Asus to loosen up on the fan profile in a future BIOS update. There's really no danger in letting these mobile chips run up to 60ºC, and it'd be nice to have a completely silent machine for more of the time. I personally can tolerate the fan noise, so I'm very content with the rest of this laptop.

 

Hi guys,

I'm considering the Asus Q324UA against the latest HP Spectre x360. Very similar specs on both. Has anyone compared these side by side?

I've read a few complaints about the Asus:
- poor build quality with the screen bleeding and the frame not square
- speakers are quiet
- lots of fingerprints visible

Any thoughts on that?

https://www.amazon.com/HP-Spectre-x...id=1482459157&sr=1-1&keywords=hp+spectre+x360

 

My Q324 build quality is perfect. No issues and no screen bleed. Speakers are loud enough for me, although they are on the bottom, so on a soft surface like a bed they could be muffled. I have normal finger prints showing up on the screen similar to what I get on my HP Spectre X360 (First Gen). The black finish on the case doesn't show finger prints. Another complaint I had read in a review was about fan noise. I have only heard my fan two times, right after a boot. And it wasn't all that loud. I went with the Asus because HP didn't put a SD card reader or HDMI port on the latest Spectre. And I read a lot of positive reviews on Best Buy for the Asus. I think my Spectre first gen is the best laptop I have ever owned and I would have gone for the current model except for the missing reader and HDMI. I think the Q324 is going to be my new "best laptop I have ever owned".

Regards, Jim

 

What application in the "ATK Package" did you run to get the backlight to work on your keyboard?

 

Is the fan high pitched? I had the Yoga 910 and it was pretty much perfection.. until the fans kicked on.. Holy lord they were high pitched (Like I experienced on the new HP Spectre 360).. So I returned that one.. Also had the new 2-in-1 XPS and returned that because of the severe CABC and also severe battery drain in standby.

There just doesn't seem to be the perfect 2-in-1 out there.. All riddled with fan noise.. My only successful machine i've had wasn't a 2-in-1 and was the Kaby Lake version of the XPS 13 (non 2-in-1) that after a repaste.. Fan NEVER turned on unless a hardcore load.. and even then, the fan was nearly inaudible when it was on.

If this Asus doesn't have a high pitched fan, I could probably live with a wooshing sound instead.

Let me know, thinking about picking up an open box from Best Buy tomorrow of this.. Sad I missed the $999 sale back then.. They are back up to 1199 sigh.

 

As I said in an earlier post, I have only heard the fan twice, both right after a boot. The noise was more like a hum rather than a high pitch or a wooshing. YMMV

Good luck, Jim

 

I was able to test an open box unit at Best Buy today and was able to run a few benches to load up the CPU and monitor temps..

Fans come on quickly and move a lot of heat.. Temps were in the high 70s.. and I observed throttling.. CPU couldn't maintain the 3.5ghz speed for very long unfortunately. So then I undervolted to -80mv core/cache and it only helped hold the 3.5ghz slightly longer but still throttled.

Not bashing the unit but the fan did easily turn on and unfortunately will keep running until for a while..

Otherwise thought the Q324UA was a nice machine, well built and fast.. Ended up trying another XPS 13 2-in-1 for now.

 

The program itself is called ATK Package, it's not a literal package that consists of multiple programs.

 

A few weeks ago Asus released a new BIOS version 304 (factory is v301) on their website. I installed it and didn't notice much of anything. Their support website/download page doesn't have any changelog, so I asked their support what the new version did, and after a long while they finally replied: "The firmware of BIOS 304 has been updated to improve the performance and stability of the system." At least it didn't seem to break anything.

Edit: Another new BIOS version was released by Asus, version 305. Now they've added a changelog to their support site's listing for this BIOS: "Optimize system performance". Real helpful, Asus. Still, I've installed it and the laptop still works so whatever.

 

Can you charge the laptop through the USB C ?

 

Nope.

 

If you do a fresh windows 10 install and don't have the Asus folder for the Keyboard Backlights ATK. You can use the drivers from this CPU (the Asus Q324UA does have the downloadable drivers)

atk fn hotkeys keyboard light
https://www.asus.com/us/Notebooks/Q524UQ/HelpDesk_Download/

 

Use this Laptops downloadable ATK drivers. They work!

https://www.asus.com/us/Notebooks/Q524UQ/HelpDesk_Download/

 

Asus' support downloads webpage for this model has moved to: https://www.asus.com/supportonly/Q324UA/HelpDesk_download

I'll go and edit my past posts.

 

I had the Q324UA for a month but ended up returning it. Sure, it was lightweight, looked great, had a lot of ports for a thin laptop, was fast and had great battery life. That said, I ran into a few issues:

-The screen had burn in after web browsing for 30 minutes or more. My previous zenbook had no such issues.

-The flip sensor was buggy and switched back and forth between tablet and desktop modes at random.

-The fan noise was high pitched and annoying. Disabling bloatware helped reduce the frequency of the fan kicking on, but it still did at random.

It was a great laptop, and I'd still recommend it if the price is right, but there are slightly thicker models in a similar price range that provide noticeably better performance.

 

Just got the Asus q324 yesterday and am setting it up now. it's only been up for an hour or two and it is very hot. I see everyone talking about the fan being loud -- my fan is not loud which makes me think it's not running. Is anyone else having problems with the heat being too hot for their lap, since this is a "laptop"? I'm not an expert at all (all my sons have MACs so they're no help)

p.s. I bought it open box at Best Buy yesterday for $769 + tax so it sounds like I got a good buy. Could it be because someone returned it for the heat?

 

I would download this program: http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html

It allows you to monitor your temperatures. Anything in the 80's or 90's (degrees celsius) would be a bad sign.

The fan should definitely be audible if you put your ear up to the fan vent on the left side of the laptop. Might have to go into a quiet environment.

 

Has anyone noticed excessive battery wear? My capacity is down 13% in about 6 months. Design capacity is 57,057 mWh but current full charge is only 49,641 mWh.

Regards, Jim

 

13%, ouch. Here's what hwmonitor says about my battery:

 

I am going to call Asus.

Regards, Jim

 

Called Asus support a few days ago. I am not sure the technician knew what my problem was despite several attempts on my part to explain the issue. Anyway, he had me install new drivers for the Intel chip set, and guaranteed the problem would be fixed. Well, the problem is not fixed, I still have 13% battery wear after six months. I will be sending it back to Asus for a new battery sometime before the warranty expires.

Regards, Jim