Asus ZenBook 14 UX425
Everything you could want from a laptop whatever your budget: speed, stamina and slimline good looks
SCORE
Range starts at: £538 (£699 inc VAT) Model tested: £958 (£1,149 inc VAT) from scan.co.uk
Our ideal “budget” laptop is one that doesn’t feel or look like a budget laptop at all. While we admit that a starting price of £699 might be pushing the definition of this category, the ZenBook 14 UX425 is indeed that rarest of items.
We tested the more expensive model, based around a Core i7-1165G7 with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD, but as long as you ensure the model you buy includes an 11th-generation Core processor – indicated by the first two digits of the chip’s name – you can be assured of a responsive machine.
If anything, a Core i7 is overkill in a laptop such as this: a maximum height of 13.9mm doesn’t leave much room for chunky heatpipes and fan cooling, so once the CPU gets hot the most effective course of action is to slow down (usually referred to as “throttling”). “throttling”) This is why the ZenBook 14 was w in the h top few places in short-burst tests t such as our photo-editing photo-editin benchmark a and Geekbench 5, 5 but slipped down d the table in our longer and more demanding video-editing test.
Instead, think of this machine as a partner for everyday office duties, and here it won’t disappoint. We’ll start with the spacious keyboard, which stretches all the way across the 319mm-wide chassis. Even the backlighting is classy, shining through the keys so that only the letter is lit, and with a choice of three brightness levels. The keys have a firm, decisive feel that touch typists will appreciate, with Asus’ one minor misstep being the single-height Enter key.
While other manufacturers tend to leave the touchpad alone, Asus loves to throw in extra features with its laptops. Here, tapping a tiny icon in the top-right of the touchpad activates an LED number pad that you tap lightly on to add numbers to your active document (most usefully a calculator or Excel). We calculated that we kept it switched off 99.7% of the time, but fortunately the wide touchpad is smooth and responsive.
Arguably this laptop’s finest component is its bright, 400cd/m2 screen. This covers almost 100% of the sRGB gamut with phenomenal accuracy – it had the best Delta E measurements on test with an average of 0.27 – and it even does a reasonable job of covering the DCI-P3 CI-P3 gamut at 71%. %. Still, nothing can an match the MacBook Air and its 97% coverage of that space.
Even if it technically can’t match the MacBook, we’d challenge anyone to notice whilst watching Netflix. For instance, the moody backgrounds of Altered Carbon come through with all the impact their creators intended, and audio is crisp and detailed. The speakers don’t have the gravitas or detail of the MacBook, but they’re more than good enough to enjoy music on.
This laptop’s gaming capability will depend on which model you buy. Pay careful attention to the processor, because if it’s a tenth-generation Core chi chip only the least demanding games will reach playable rates at the screen’s native
“It adds up to a brilliant laptop, and even if you choose to save a few pounds by opting for a tenth-gen version you’ll be delighted”
resolution. But if you buy a version with an 11th-gen chip (denoted by “11” at the start of its name, such as the Core i7-1165G7), you’ll see excellent results such as those of our test unit. For instance, 45fps in F1 2020 at High settings is more than playable.
If you’re happy with a tenth-gen chip, look for the UX425JA units; for instance, Comet sold a Core i5/8GB/ 512GB version for £753 at the time of going to press. We’d be tempted to plot the middle course and choose the 11th-gen Core i5 with 8GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD for £899 from scan.co.uk. You can buy the exact model we tested for £1,149 from Scan, but we don’t think it’s worth the extra £250.
There’s another possible benefit from choosing the Core i5 version: it should boost battery life by a fraction. This is already a strength of the UX425EA as it lasted for a superb 11hrs 41mins in our tests. The supplied USB-C charger is highly portable too, making this a great machine for travelling with. Back on a desk, its wide supply of ports come to the fore, with an HDMI out on the left-hand side along with two USB-C ports. A conventional USB-A port sits on the right alongside a microSD card slot. It adds up to a brilliant laptop, ptop, and even if you choose oose to save a few pounds by opting for a tenth-gen Core re version you will be delighted lighted by the quality on offer. fer. It’s a budget laptop that at doesn’t feel like one – and d a worthy Labs Winner.