The best affordable laptop
There are a plethora of “best laptops” out there and it took a few weeks of research to find an ideal candidate that combines portability, processor speed, and affordability ie quality below $1000. One of the best laptop values around, Asus 13.3-inch ZenBook UX330UA-AH55 ($799.99) has a common configuration of an Intel 8th-Gen Core i5 CPU, 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD inclusive of a vibrant FHD 1920 x 1080 screen for under one grand. There are variations of these at different pricing such as ones with a 14” flip screen.
The Sleek Look of the ZenBook UX330UA’s silver aluminum-alloy deck is great. You will appreciate carrying a laptop that weighs around 2.5 pounds (1.18kg) as I do especially when I’m travelling or cycling to a nearby meeting. I would caution assuming portability means durability due to its slim design.
Connectability is ensured with 3 built-in USB 3.0 ports and one port is further enhanced with USB Charger+ which offers up to 50 percent faster charging to USB 3.0 devices whether the PC is in sleep mode or shut down. It also has a USB Type-C port and a micro HDMI port which allows you to hook up to a large screen to watch a presentation or downloaded movie. There is also a SD memory reader and headphone jack.
Students often spend hours working on assignments. This is where the antiglare screen helps. But the ZenBook UX330UA’s 13.3-inch screen also displays good color and brightness (more than say the Yoga 720) which means that it will allow the vibrant outdoor colours of Survivor while the sharp 1080p display will allow detail from the Game of Thrones Drogon to Euron Greyjoy’s flamboyant clothing. The audio is quite expressive sounding both treble and bass quite clearly.
Keyboard and Touchpad: The ZenBook’s keyboard is comfortable to use as both key spacing and height allows for fairly quick typing. The touchpad is perhaps too smooth while the clicks feel a tad stiff.
The pre-installed AudioWizard sound utility is there, but you might as well ignore it. The default Music mode provides a solid boost of volume–without ill effect–when compared to the Off setting, and the other options distorted and warped various instruments.
Performance: With an 8th-Gen Intel Core i5-8250U CPU and 8GB of RAM, the ZenBook UX330UA allows you to have as many tabs open as I do, something very useful when you flit from You Tube Video to Google Chrome research while writing an article. According to laptopmag.com, the ZenBook gave “a solid 12,871 to the Geekbench 4 general performance test” which beat the 7,188 ultraportable-laptop average.
However, the laptop’s integrated Intel UHD Graphics 620 graphics can provide 27 frames per second playability but not higher rates of 56, 52 and 33 fps which the Dell XPS 13 can. The ZenBook did well playing 3DMark Ice Storm Unlimited benchmark and I heard it does this better than the Lenova Yoga 720 though not as well as the XPS 13.
Cons: The ZenBook UX300UA lasts over 9 hours for a full work day on a single charge while other laptops can last between 10 to 15 hours. The webcam produces slightly grainy images which may not be too great if you want to do any selfies for social media.
Software: The ZenBook UX330UA includes a bare-bones installation of Windows 10 that includes a few helpful Asus utilities. The LiveUpdate program makes it easy to download system-specific updates from Asus, and Splendid Utility lets you adjust the display for blue-light reduction.
Asus Install provides a direct channel to download drivers and other software from the company. It includes WinFlash, a BIOS utility that allows for easier updating of the root-level layer of your system. Of course, you could get rid of the standard Windows 10 bloatware, such as Candy Crush Soda Saga and keep the storage space for some vital photos and videos.
Bottom Line: The Asus ZenBook UX330UA helps anyone working long and hard on a project with its solid anti-glare screen, and ergonomic keyboard. If you can live with its medium length battery life and less intuitive touchpad, this is really an ideal laptop to buy even 6 months after its launch. Apparently if you’re alright with trading some performance gains for extra battery life, consider the 7th-Gen CPU model of the ZenBook UX330UA, which is still available and costs around $50 less. That said, this particular portable work machine packs a punch.
Warranty: Asus backs the ZenBook UX330UA with a one-year warranty, which does not include coverage in the case of accidents.
