If you are a fond of premium laptops (read ultra it notebooks) like the MacBook or Surface then Asus Zenbook won’t be a stranger to you. With a killer looks in royal blue, Asus Zenbook 3 Deluxe UX490UA-XH74-BL is on our list today. Let’s get to the details then.
Check out the latest price for the Asus Zenbook 3 Deluxe UX490UA-XH74-BL
Specs:
- CPU – Intel Core i7 Quad-Core (8th Gen), 1.8 GHz
- GPU – Intel UHD Graphics 620
- Memory – 16 GB DDR3
- Screen – 14-inch Full HD IPS (1,920 x 1,080)
- Storage – 512 GB SSD
- OS – Windows 10
Benefits:
- Performance – Well, with the configuration of an Intel Core i7 processor, 16 GB of superfast RAM and 512 GB of external storage, it doesn’t need to be told that it performs almost any tasks not only pretty easily but efficiently. What needs to be mentioned is that it topped the chart in almost all the tests with the ever-popular MacBook Pro. So, you can stay assured that if it isn’t anything that would need graphical prowess, this laptop would be able to handle it efficiently.
- Design – The Zenbook 3 Deluxe UX490UA-XH74-BL isn’t called one of the greatest aesthetical feats of Asus for nothing. The royal blue matte finished chassis with golden lining is quite classy; although, I personally am not a big fan of a monotonous casing (and especially golden highlighted buttons).
- Display – Whereas Asus advertised that it covers nearly 100% of the sRGB colour space, in proper testing it showed an even better result of 110%, meaning a vibrant display lagging only behind MacBook (125%). It also featured a ridiculously great delta E value of 0.2 and a maximum contrast ratio of 1316:1 which implies a higher emphasis between the lit and the shadowy area of the picture. The rundown of all these stats is that you get a brilliant display. But if one aspect of the screen that could have been a tad bit better is its brightness. With an average reading of 280 nits, it surely is quite average knowing that MacBook showed a brilliant luminosity of 450 nits.
Downsides:
- Price – Wait, did I hear it right? Was that even more than $1500?? Holy cow!! Just imagine what kind of gaming beast I can buy with that amount (you get NOTHING for guessing it right that I’m a gaming nerd…;)). Okay, jokes apart. That’s just a hell lot of money for a machine that would barely ever do anything other than checking mails and submitting PowerPoint presentations. I mean, it doesn’t even come with a graphics card. I know, I know, it’s not a gaming rig but again, you don’t have to be one to include one. Moreover, Asus decided only to attach an FHD display whereas many relatively lower range notebooks include a shiny little 4K display.
- Battery – Other than being a bit expensive (sorry, my bad. A lot actually…; D) the battery backup shown by Zenbook 3 Deluxe is not anything fabulous either. It ran out of juice under 7 hours while surfing the internet via the Wi-Fi in moderate brightness. Not only it does lag behind the category average of 8 hours, it also lags well behind the well-known contenders like the Apple MacBook Pro (9:20) and ThinkPad X1 Carbon (12:20). You really have to perform out of the world in order to live up to the name of the likes of MacBook Pro and Dell XPS.
- Webcam – Well, for such an exceedingly expensive executive notebook it does come with a substandard webcam. Sadly enough, the included webcam is a mere 480p camera. While the taken picture was decently vibrant in colour it did lack the detail, however. Many latest cheaper laptops come with a better solution.
Verdict:
Is this laptop able to make you go to past? Or maybe able to make a cup of coffee in the morning at the least? No, for both. I would go even as far as to say that a $350 Chromebook can do the stuff it does (although not to the extent Zenbook can for sure). I’m against the fact that you spend 1700 bucks on a laptop that is a ‘Jack of all trades’. But if you still would like a ‘quality product’ I would say that Asus Zenbook 3 Deluxe UX490UA-XH74-BL can be a good choice for that.
Check out the latest price for the Asus Zenbook 3 Deluxe UX490UA-XH74-BL