Asus Zenbook - i5 vs i7?

TheKirk

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Hi fellas

I'm about to buy a new laptop. It replaces my old, big, heavy no-brand pc, which I have had some problems with - main problems being:
- Battery
- Heat
- Size (when used in school)

So, given that I'm studying, I think it would be ideal to replace it with a so called ultrabook, and I have fallen in love with the Asus Zenbook.
But theres something I'm not quite sure about. Will I be able to run games on that? By games I mostly refer to Football Manager and Diablo III. I know that both i5 and i7 are powerful processors, but would I be able to run Diablo III with any of them? Or would you recommend me getting the i7 model? Or would it just be a waste of time to play games on this machine?

Theres quite a bit difference in the price of these different models, so it's quite important for me to know.

Another question about this PC - is it possible to switch out the SSD harddrive (fairly easily)?


Thank you!
 
Hello and welcome to the forums
You will be able to run games,but don't expect a great performance at all.(Ultrabooks aren't for gaming)
Between i5/i7,well if the price difference isn't much,go with i7 but if you care a lot about battery and heat,go with i5.It runs cooler
As for the SSD,yes you can easily swap it with something faster if you want(if that's what you are asking)
 

Warmacblu

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You're just in luck, I have an i7 Zenbook and have been playing the Diablo III beta with it.

It runs the game just fine on the lowest settings but it does get hot while doing so. I mainly play on a desktop with a quad core i7 and a GTX 580 so playing on the Zenbook is not ideal but if I want to play for a few minutes during lunch or something, it's definitely doable. When I am not gaming, the Zenbook stays fairly cool; I can keep it on my lap all day without any discomfort.

You can take out the SSD but that requires you take apart the entire laptop. Why would you want to remove it?

I purchase the Zenbook with the i7 because I wanted the best I could get at that time. I'm sure I wouldn't of noticed much of a difference with the i5 so if you are on a budget then definitely go with the i5.
 

thbrett

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I also like the Asus ZenBook however I'm going to wait a bit as the alleged specs for it's successors is to have an Ivy Bridge CPU, Intel's HD Graphics 4000 and backlit keyboard. If this is true it would be better for gaming however still not a as powerful as a gaming laptop.
 

TheKirk

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Thanks for the replies, guys..

I know that it's not ideal at all to use an ultrabook for gaming. However, I don't have a desktop, and I don't plan to get one. I could get a gaming laptop of course, but they are really expensive, and, compared to ultrabooks, not that portable.

I think my problem is that I'm just not sure if I'd feel that my money weren't well spent if I pay $1500+ for a Zenbook that I really can't use for much more than surfing, working, watching movies and showing off..

Warmacblu, you mentioned that it would get hot while playing Diablo III - does it get so hot that you wouldn't recommend me buying it if I maybe intend to use it to play for several hours?

Oh, I'd like to specify that i DON'T intend to use this as a "gaming laptop". I use my PS3 for gaming, so I'd just be using this for Diablo (and football manager, which almost anything should be able to run).
So I'd be really happy if I could buy an ultrabook that would suit this need.


By the way, the reason why I might want to switch the SSD drive is that there's also quite a difference in the price of the 128 and the 256 gb model. I might want to buy the 128gb model to save money and regret it later..
 

Warmacblu

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Honestly, if you want to do any gaming you may be better off with a pseudo-gaming laptop. For 1,500 dollars, you can get a really nice laptop with a decent GPU that'll handle Diablo III like a champ. I believe the GT 560M is pretty common in entry-level gaming laptops and they cost somewhere around the 1,000 dollar mark.

As far as the Zenbook, it's definitely not meant for gaming. Even the next gen Ivy Bridge ones won't be ideal. Sure they'll be better than the Sandy Bridge ones but still not good enough for long term play. If you are considering it though, it gets too hot to keep on my lap while gaming, I have to put it on a table or something for that. I am sure it would be fine for a few hours if it were on a nice cool table but again, it's not really meant for gaming.

The SSD in the Zenbook is not like your typical drives with an enclosure. If you were to buy the 256GB down the road, you may have to buy it from ASUS anyways. Take a look online at some photos of people who took apart the Zenbook; it really is amazing how tiny everything is.

To sum up, if you really want to play Diablo III, I would highly recommend against the Zenbook, even the upcoming Ivy Bridge ones; they are simply not meant for gaming on any level besides casual or browser games.
 

As I said,Ultrabooks aren't for gaming(they are the equivalent to Apple's MBA on window's side,so they have a weak GPU).With $1500,you can buy something like AW M14x(if you care for the battery life).It's heavier than most 14" laptops but it's still portable and has a decent setup too.
As for the SSD,it depends on you.For me,128GB is low.Because when you install the OS along with some games/apps,it pretty much takes all the space.
 
I would wait a little bit before buying an UltraBook if possible. Yes, it is true that UltraBooks are not really meant for gaming because like the MBA, you are stuck using the integrated Intel HD 3000 graphics core which is not known for blazing performance.

nVidia's has managed to reduce the power consumption of their graphics core with Kepler. So much so that the GT 640M will be included in upcoming UltraBooks. Yes that's correct, an Ultrabook with discrete graphics.

With an estimated street price of $800, the Acer Timeline Ultra M3 will be one of the first UltraBook with discrete graphics to hit the market. The downside of the Acer is the screen's resolution. Even though it has a 15" screen, the resolution is 1366x768. It's kind of a bummer... I would expect a 1600x900 resolution for that screen size.

http://hothardware.com/Reviews/NVIDIA-GeForce-GT-640M-Kepler-Goes-Mobile-with-Acer/

Other UltraBooks with discrete graphics card will be released, so hopefully the will have higher resolutions than the Acer. Although there will be the enthusiast level GeForce GTX 660M thru GTX 675M graphics card, it is not known yet if they will be implemented into an UltraBook design because the more powerful the graphics core, the more heat is generated. One of the UltraBook's specifications is that it must be less than 1" thick which makes it difficult (but not impossible) to design a heatsink to dissipate the heat.
 

Warmacblu

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^Good information.

To sum things up, get the Zenbook if you want a nice and fast (minus gaming) laptop. If you really want to play Diablo III, I would highly recommend a laptop with a discrete graphics card. You can find some nice ones that still maintain portability.

One final option to consider ... for 1,500 dollars you could build a nice desktop that will max out Diablo III and many other games for 1,000 and a decent laptop for you to take with you to school for 500.
 

bennaye

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^ but at $500 remaining you're probably looking at a netbook. and school is a place of learning and study, not for games :)

if you're typing up notes or looking at word documents or whatever, then a netbook will suffice.
 

whyso

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Very true but many reviews said that that netbook was HOT! the 6xx series will comprise of newer fermi cards and old rebadged 5xx series cards. I believe that the 675m is a 580m.
 

Warmacblu

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I disagree, you can find a nice i3 laptop for $499.

Just check this site everyday:

http://www.logicbuy.com/categorydeals/computers/laptops

If you are having a hard time finding a nice $500 laptop then mess around with your budget. Maybe $600 for the laptop and $900 for the desktop (still a nice machine that will max Diablo III).
 

TheKirk

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Sorry for the late reply - I haven't been home for a few days.

Well, I'm a bit disappointed to hear that it probably won't be possible the way I want it. :(
But I still think I'll go with the Zenbook and then maybe get a cheap desktop at some point when I've suddenly got money again.

But then I stumble upon my original question again. If this computer can not be used for gaming anyways, why would I choose the i7 version over the i5? I know that the processor isn't only for gaming, but what tasks can I give this computer, where I'll be able to see a clear difference between the two processors? I'd like to know what I'm paying an extra ~$300 for if I go large...

Oh, by the way.
Does the Zenbook cool through the keyboard like the Macbook Air?
 
No you won't see a clear difference TBH.The extra speed isn't worth the $300.
Cool through the keyboard ? I had a MBA for like 2 weeks and it didn't run cool at all(after few hours,the keyboard/touchpad would get hot so I had to raise the fan speed)
 

Warmacblu

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There are exhaust ports underneath the Zenbook and a nice large exhaust strip that vents hot air across the screen. It acts like a nice defroster when computing in freezing weather.

I still think a decent 500 or 600 dollar laptop for schooling purposes and a nice 1000 or 900 desktop for gaming would be perfect for your needs. You could even build a 750 dollar desktop that could run Diablo III better than most laptops.
 

povesen

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Jun 22, 2012
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Read this thread prior to buying D3 as I already owned a Zenbook and was unsure whether it would run D3... Despite your advice I decided on buying anyway, and it runs just fine with no lag, hiccups or anything of the sort. Though I should inform you that I run it on a 1280x720 resolution and all other settings at the lowest possible... However, I don't really feel like it affects my gaming experience.

My Zenbook is the i7, 4gb and 128 SSD and use the Iobit Gamebooster when I play to just give that extra edge.

Though its kinda late I hope it helps anyone else in doubt :)