Laptop shopping is always about making compromises, trading computing power for battery life or reducing size and weight at the cost of extra features. For ultrabooks or other ultrathin laptops, this is especially true, and nearly every slim 13-inch laptop we've reviewed has had one or more cut corners and missing features that remind you of the inevitable trade-offs required.
Asus DB71
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
The 13-inch Asus Zenbook UX32VD comes alluringly close to being an ultrabook without compromises. For $1,299 it includes an Intel Core i7 CPU, a full HD 1,920x1,080-pixel-resolution display, and a discrete Nvida 620M GPU. Most laptops of a similar size, including Apple's genre-leading MacBook Air, lack all three of those features (although a Core i7 option is available on the Air for $1,599).
That makes this the closest hybrid of a 13-inch ultrabook and a full-power mainstream laptop to date, and might be the answer to occasional reader questions I get about superthin laptops with GPUs and high-res screens. Acer also has a few larger ultrabooks with GPUs, but they have other issues, including low screen resolutions.
It's not all perfect, however. $1,299 is still a lot to pay for any laptop, especially when other ultrabooks are $800 or less. It has both a hard drive and a solid-state drive (SSD), adding weight and heat, and the Nvidia 620M GPU is pretty low-end. The design is very MacBook-like, but still not as elegant or ergonomic. And, finally, the touch pad isn't as responsive as it should be, even after a late software update from Asus.
Despite these shortcomings, the UX32VD is great for on-the-go gaming or situations where you really need a full HD screen. Asus makes several UX variations, including the UX31A and UX32A, which swap in different CPUs, screens, and hard drives. The UX31 is a more upscale design variant, thinner with a more unibody chassis. Neither has a component set as attention-grabbing as the UX31VD, though. If your ultrabook needs are more basic, there are many other worthwhile options out there to consider.
Asus Zenbook models compared