This might be the most stupid comment I've ever read on this website. Congrats!

It's hard to tell sometimes if people are being serious or just using forums as a testing ground for working on material for absurdist comedy characters.
The warranty only covers hardware faults which are not user created Mr comedy character. Do you have a new tour planned? Maybe you could play in every branch of John Lewis!

These threads are so funny.

This is a great laptop by the way (runs linux nicely as well) it is completely stateless machine with over twice the raw processing power as an atom X7. It makes me laugh people are slating the cpu, the core-m is quite a feat of technology.

you are kidding right, this chip isn't even as good as a 2nd gen i5 (2410M) to be precise, and we are up to gen 6/7 already

I nearly bought one of these instead of my Macbook pro as it seems a good couple of hundred quid cheaper than comparative ultrabooks from Dell/Lenovo/HP...the Core M CPU put me off though. At this price its a great buy though.
Heated

This has been plagued with wifi problems (I almost bought one but got a Surface 3 instead after reading comment after comment after comment by end users who were having problems), which are down to the INTEL drivers for the wifi card but are being treated as a hardware issue by ASUS, eg they're replacing the machines which doesn't solve the software issue.

you are kidding right, this chip isn't even as good as a 2nd gen i5 (2410M) to be precise, and we are up to gen 6/7 already

Bought it yesterday with the PC world price match. Lovely little computer and really nippy for how I tend to use computers. Obviously not the highest spec but would people buy a mini computer like this to play new release cutting edge games and edit 3d video?

Very tempted by this, does it have a backlit keyboard?

That's a great reason to waste my time going all the way over to the 1 branch of John Lewis in the County that's much further away and harder to park at than the several PC Worlds closer to me. If you need a 2 year warranty for a laptop you shouldn't be allowed near a computer without adult supervision.

No one's forcing you to go, 2 year warranties are very useful.

A. The CPU isn't soldered to the motherboard. The CPU in this laptop uses socket BGA1234. (The RAM is soldered to the mainboard in this unit)
B. The BIOS supports other CPUs
C. The laptop allows higher thermal properties of upgraded CPUs
D: You really know what you're doing when upgrading a CPU
E. You really wouldn't buy this laptop to upgrade the CPU if it was possible.

You can order online at John Lewis and have it delivered locally to a Waitrose.

If anyone has O2 Priority Currys have a £20 off voucher!

This might be the most stupid comment I've ever read on this website. Congrats!

This is a joke

And my small brain couldn't possibly cope with your explaining why it wouldn't be stupid going much further, and more expensive, to John Lewis when you can get it 95p cheaper in a closer shop.

It's hard to tell sometimes if people are being serious or just using forums as a testing ground for working on material for absurdist comedy characters.
The warranty only covers hardware faults which are not user created Mr comedy character. Do you have a new tour planned? Maybe you could play in every branch of John Lewis!

Define good?
This CPU can be used in very low profile fanless designs that also offer great power efficiency.
From that perspective this is currently the best CPU range available; Core M.

He was being ironic I suggest. Core M is a different packaging from the Core i chips - Anandtech Link.

Aren't all comedy characters supposed to be "absurd"? That's kind of the whole point of comedy.

Was tempted by this deal, but the speakers are at the bottom of the unit! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hu7Mzg7bXBo

Yup I know hence I posted the socket it uses :smiley:

Ah I see you a newbie when it comes to computers. Amazing that you have not never needed to buy one.... maybe come back after owning a couple and post your experiences - we would all like to hear...

Death, taxes and hardware failure in PCs/laptops/tablets - all are guaranteed to happen in your lifetime.

I was looking atthe screen in pc world....
Note the screen on this is 'matte' not the usual these days 'gloss' i believe

One of the reviews mentions this;

"This is just a fabulous little laptop. Really light, good battery life, although not really checked it thoroughly yet as I have only had it a few days, well made. Touch pad works really well. So far I am really pleased. But just noticed that the JL warranty is now 3 years, was only 2 when I bought last weekend."

So it looks like you may well get a 3 year warranty instead of 2.

This is quite a good deal @ £399, IMO.

I looked at this laptop a couple of months ago - and would have bought it were it not for a brilliant deal I got on a yoga 3 pro (£470 - very similar but has a better (touch)screen, larger SSD & classier hinge although it does have a slightly worse battery life).

Anyway, the Core M processors are basically fine for 95% of non-gaming stuff people use their laptops for.

They go up to a decent speed for a few seconds when needed, then drop back down again for when the computer is idle.

The problem was that they launched these laptops a year ago or so, at a high price and everyone expected them to whizz through the benchmark tests - and they just weren't very impressive on those benchmarks.

But they're fine for HD video, they boot up very very quickly, they're light as anything and incredibly classy. Battery life is great & they're silent, or near enough.

If that's what you want, go for it.

The only thing is it's quite likely (IMO) you'll be able to pick up one of these 1st generation ultrabooks (Yoga 3 pro/UX305/Spectre x360 etc) for a very good price on black Friday.

I'd probably rather have a touchscreen 256gb spectre x360 or yoga 3 pro for <£500 than this, but horses for courses etc etc!

Sounds very smiliar to the latest X7 range of Intel Atoms...
Are the Core M's significantly more powerful than say the Intel Atoms in the Surface 3 tablet?

Great lightweight laptop even at the higher price that I paid for it some months ago. hothothot

​Where does it state 3 year warranty?.. they do that on the macbooks but website currently says 2 years if ou want 3 years it is £99 extra...

It is 2 years warranty, 1 year extra over manufacturer's warranty. £99 extra if you want to take accidental warranty

Not sure about being significantly more powerful - but definitely snappier. Part of it is the Core M's can use much faster SSD's for storage. Atom's can only use e-mmc - so reading/writing to disk will take >4x as long. You notice it when booting, opening programs / files etc.

http://techtablets.com/microsoft-surface-3/review/

The surface 3 is a really nice little device that will do a lot, but it's definitely a step down from a core M ultrabook.

Don't forget to purchase via Gate 365 (British Airways) for 4 Avios / £1.

I don't think it does.

http://www.ultrabookreview.com/5123-asus-zenbook-ux305/
Keyboard Type Chiclet
Backlit No

These threads are so funny.

This is a great laptop by the way (runs linux nicely as well) it is completely stateless machine with over twice the raw processing power as an atom X7. It makes me laugh people are slating the cpu, the core-m is quite a feat of technology.

Some comments removed - Please remember the CoC and keep the thread on topic - thanks :smiley:

I'd totally disagree Ultrabooks are the exact windows competition to a Macbook pro....look at the Dell XPS13, HP Spectre X360, HP Surfacebook...and this Asus...they may has well have an Apple logo on them for how close the styling, spec and build are.

The machines I list above are on most shortlists as an MBPr alternative

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Face-Off-Dell-XPS-13-vs-Apple-MacBook-Pro-13-vs-Asus-ZenBook-UX305.144230.0.html

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/04/asus-zenbook-ux305-its-no-macbook-but-its-a-good-midrange-laptop/

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/zenbook-ux305-v-surface-pro-v-macbook-pro-v-dell-xps-13.772863/


Just three examples from the first page of google search results....

I'm not knocking the ASUS though...it;s a fine laptop especially at this price.

The only thing holding me from pulling the trigger on this for my other half is the lack of backlit keyboard. Shame!

I got a 256gb yoga 3 pro for £470 a couple of months ago. These core M ultrabooks didn't sell anywhere near as well as the manufacturers hoped they would, so there's quite a lot kicking around in warehouses etc.

It's exactly that kind of stock that gets heavily discounted on black Friday. So yeah, I expect quite a few deals on non-skylake laptops in a couple of weeks' time, which is worth bearing in mind if you're thinking of pulling the trigger on this deal.

£399 for the ux305 is pretty decent though.

Ops! It's only 13.3" screen
:disappointed:

Only if you have an older machine to trade. :disappointed:

I was going to buy this as a gift for my other half, but not sure if any other alternatives for ~£500.

Thanks OP gone for this to replace my ageing Asus Vivobook that's served me well, going to trade in an old desktop pc to get the £100 cashback.

firstly this laptop is not designed for video/photo editing, gaming any intense uses. It designed for light uses, word processing ideal for students, web browsing general use.
The most important thing is its got NO FAN so NO SOUND its quiet , peace and quiet when you do your work, so what do you want out your laptop? if its light use go for this.

I'm sitting here with my white one from Currys. I checked out all the colours and the white looks awesome. :smiley:

Cannot believe no backlit keyboard :confused:

I would say it almost certainly does not have a backlit keyboard. Just look at the results on the following google search;

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=asus+UX305++backlit+keyboard&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&gws_rd=cr&ei=W-c8VoeDBcSLU7CoiugM

The only result that suggests it has a backlit keyboard is from before the laptop was even released. Every other hands on review remarks about the lack of a touchscreen, and the lack of a backlit keyboard. Both omissions are rather surprising (and disappointing).

Is it any good then??

"Good" is defined by your requirements, including budget.

This laptop fits Web/work/Netflix/video on a superslim, fanless chassis. I looked around for a month and for £649 I'd hesitate, but not at the current price point.

A convertible is enticing, but I had a Windows tablet (1080p,8gb,i5) for 6 months and I hardly used it.

I game on my PS4, so this laptop will suit me just fine, for at least its 2y lifespan.

I considered a Chromebook for a while, but for me they're still in need of some work. Maybe my next laptop will be a Chromebook.

I own one. The keyboard is not backlit. I am very happy with it for running VMs, sysadmin tasks, basic photo editing etc.

Depends hugely on resolution of the files being worked on and patience. I use a decent desktop with lots of memory for video editing but that's at least partly because I couldn't contemplate editing video on a 13" screen.

There is no backlit keyboard. Love the silver finish around the edge. The more I look at it the more stunning it gets! Looking forward to showing this baby off at work. So glad I got the white :smiley:

Just bought a metallic silver one from John Lewis today, at £499.95 because my high spec 4 year old toshiba is still worth more than £100 (to me at least) and I'm loving it. The stand label was out of date - I asked and this colour has recently been reduced from £650 to £500. Didn't use the O2 priority thing at currys for an extra £20 off, and they've let me down too many times.
It's on Windows 8.1 which I'll upgrade to 10 for free of course and stick me free kaspersky antivirus I get from Barclays online banking first. I can confirm that there's no backlit display or security lock slot but I've done without either for years anyway, even with my mediocre typing skills. The poer button is top right next to both the delete and backspace buttons so probably need to be careful there, but I'm pleased with it overall for my browsing, ebay selling and NowTV streaming and that's my bottom line....thanks OP.
P.S. only 2 year warranty, can't justify an extra £100 for the accidental 3 yr JL one atm...

​from personal experience, if you had no limit to spend on a laptop would you have bought this one?

I am going to be all over this. Have Macs and Chromebooks but no Windows machines at the moment and this will be a lovely way to return. Thanks OP!

This or a macbook air? The price isn't a factor

No failures in the 5 years or so of owning a Samsung laptop. Good job seeing as they stopped making laptops now, sadly.
As for PC's - I build my own, and in 15 years of doing so have had 1 hard disk fail on me.

Questions....?

For those mentioning the Spectre x360 - can honestly recommend it. Keep an eye out on the HP store as they sometimes throw in a 3 year carepack.

a great price for an awesome bit of kit

Oh what's the trade in, might definitely have to do this!

Surface 3 isn't an ultrabook. And an ultrabook isn't a laptop. They are expensive. I've had two ultrabook soldiers, both i5 and they sizzle. The screen is the weak part and extremely expensive to replace on a true ultrabook. There's a big misunderstanding about what an ultrabook actually is

On the downside the 128gb had is very poor. I know it's an ssd but it's not much storage.

I am giving very serious thoughts into buying this laptop. Is there any reason why I shouldn't?

I will use it mainly to browse hotukdeals, bbc website. facebook, porn videos, microsoft word/excel, youtube, the occasional film, and a bit of photo editing and coding.

The Core M in this certainly isn't very powerful (the new generation Core M is quite a lot better, apparently), but this laptop compares very favourably with the Macbook 12" considering the price; the only things better about the Macbook are the moderately higher resolution screen and double the storage space (and most likely the trackpad, if we're being honest), and that's not really worth double the price.

about to buy this laptop, but just want to confirm is it fanless?? so no sound it just sometimes heats up, I just wanted something silent. ??

An advantage of JohnLewis with this, is if you find you can't get the £100 off from MS, then you may be able to return to John within 90 days. Anyone agree with that?

If lots get returned, we could end up with a whole new HUKD about discounted ones in store!

Looking at your other post, you appear to be considering this or a MB Air. Decide if you want OS X or Windows. Yes, boot camp works, but there are enough little glitches I'd avoid it if possible.

Compared to other ultrabooks, there are nicer ones, but I'd rather have money going into the pension than spent on a depreciating laptop. It's a generally nice machine, but not one designed with an unlimited budget.

Would this laptop be able to handle long sessions of CAD, MATLAB and CFD?

I'm running both. Personally I prefer OSX, you obviously dislike OSX though as you **** it off in every thread you have a chance to.

at £499 or even better at £399 if you have a trade in this Asus is a brilliant laptop for the money and Win 10 is a big improvement over 8.1

OrribleHarry tends to chime in with opinionated stuff in every thread he writes in. To say Windows 10 beats OSX hands down is obviously pretty ridiculous. You only have to look at the myriad of software issues with the Surface Book and Surface Pro 4 to see that it isn't as dependable (yet) as OSX.
It will be a great OS - but it isn't there yet.

£100 trade in for your old computer (assuming it meets their criteria)

Cheers bredder

No worries blood

:smile:

Was hoping to pop into JL today to have a look at this but didn't get the chance...

Has anyone replaced a MacBook Air with one? I've got a 2011 MBA which I'm looking to change, I like the look of the new MacBook but it seems a little expensive and screen too small. So this solves both of those things but I'm worried I'll miss not having a Mac and not sure I'd want to have both!

Owning 1 laptop isn't allot of experience re faults; 5 yrs is good though - you have been lucky.

I have had screen faults, intermittent motherboards faults, drive failures from approx 5 laptops I have owned.. that is why a warranty for laptops is well worth it.

It's relatively easy and allot cheaper to replace parts in a PC. However a new motherboard for laptop means the laptop is a write off nearly all the time due to the part cost unless its a very high end model.

I ordered one, pick up tomorrow from my local waitrose :smiley:

Will this run the latest version of Football Manager?

​That's not true if you actually read my threads I OWN a MacBook Pro but I PREFER Windows 10

I've just changed the settings for "when I press the power button" both on battery and on charge, to "do nothing" , therefore the power button only works to turn it on initially. I've set it to "when I close the lid" to shut down, but this could be "do nothing" as an option as well. That way on mine, it's either close the lid or shut down through the start menu, I won't accidently shut down if I miss the delete or back space button.

My biggest annoyance with setting this up so far is that I can't watch NowTV on it yet, as I keep getting a "(T6036) - Graphics card driver issues" error message when I try to play a movie on my account. I downloaded silverlight and a had a look on the web but still no joy, and watching TV is one of my main uses for this.
I'll ring them on Monday, but if anyone else gets this and sorts it out, please PM me how please? (or post it, lots of people on NowTV I guess)

Thank you, yes, I've seen where this link goes, but tried various Intel, Asus and windows updates so far, so hopefully I will get a bright Customer service rep on Monday....

Try completely uninstalling/deleting the driver - and then allow Windows Update to install the default Intel driver.
Asus may have added some weird customisation that may now be interfering with NowTV.

Same problem with sky go. Took me ages to with out what was going on but eventually a drivers update solved it.

i want

​Have you tried it? you need access to a real Mac to do it, it's also not simple and only works on certain hardware.

​correction correcting :P there is actually 6th gen called Skylake. But not 7th gen as of yet.

Just had a play with the black one in PC World (the white one looks horrible). I had heard some complaints about the trackpad but it seemed OK to me. The lack of backlit keyboard is a pain but it's something I can live with.

It may not be the most powerful laptop in the world, even at its price, but it's ideal for a ultraportable. For a desktop replacement or games machine I'd be looking elsewhere.

Think I'll order the silver one from JL for delivery to my local Waitrose as an early Xmas present to myself.

I see asus have announced the new skylake model and this model with more storage options, i take it the skylake will be the price this was when new?

Can the 128GB SSD storage be changed on this?

I got mine today... It was damaged. Had to return it. Also had an argument with the John Lewis customers services on the phone. Oh the joy.

Can you post or PM me if you manage to swap the SSDs? all reviews I've read say that it's locked up pretty tight or the you can get the screws out but it's fixed near the hinge

Hey there, yes it's an S200E but I'm planning to hang on to it for now. Still runs well as I fitted an SSD.

Looks like the silver version is OOS, on the JL website at least....seems like a lot of people want a Macbook air lookalike running windows...

I'm a "newbie when it comes to computers" - so I demonstrate I'm clearly not - then 5 years of owning a laptop is suddenly not good enough to meet your criteria (I've owned 2 before that and neither of those had any issue either), and now PC's are really easy to build so don't count. Not really possible to have a coherent argument when you keep on moving the goalposts really, is it....

Let's go back to the start, with your first comment stating warranties weren't worth much in your view, and that anyone who has suffered a number of problems had caused it themselves.

Your post was unhelpful to people who maybe haven't spent much on a laptop or tablet before.

Your own very low incidence of problems with your laptops, is not representative of most people's experience I would say. A fault on a laptop outside warranty can render it worthless due to spare part prices.

I posted my comments to provide a counter to your comments, so that people with less experience are able to make an informed purchase...and decide if an extended warranty is useful for them or not.

A word of warning - I picked up the black one today and while it's a solid machine and runs well it has a lilac / purple hue that makes it look a bit girly. It's also a fingerprint magnet.

These are just cosmetic issues but not sure I can live with a purple laptop.

I'll need to double check the box and see if it is definitely a black one they sent me

It is. BGA = ball grid array... i.e. balls of solder

I can just about see the purple tinge to the black now, it doesn't really bother me to be honest. Anyone else had slow wifi issues with theirs?

Not had any Wi-Fi issues with mine. So far it's ran really well and I've already got the £100 trade in agreed for my last laptop.

I love mine. Boots in 6 seconds, It never runs hot either. Windows 10 is actually quite good. So far so good

Sorted out the slow wifi by turning off bluetooth, they share the same antenna/bandwidth. Happy with it now!

There's no fan so runs silent

I had two working laptops i could have traded in, but on reading the terms they don't apply for the discount. One has too small a screen and the other is too old.

To do the trade in do you need the original proof of purchase? Mine is on the verge of 6 years & I definitely don't have the old receipt! Do they check age base don purchase date or base don some manufacturer log?[/quot

they probably find out via the serial number, like on the dell site it shows the date it was manufactured when typed in.

I only had to put in the make, the processor and serial number. No receipt was required.

Sorry. Not sure I understand the question. The sound is fine on the laptop.

They were referring to whether it makes any noise when running e.g. from fans, etc.

easier said than done

​Ok, managed to swap the ssd to a Samsung Evo M.2 ssd. You need to take out all the screws from underneath plus 2 more hidden behind the rear rubber feet. Then its a matter of unscrewing the single screw which keeps the ssd in place. Reinstalled W10 and it runs like a charm.

Brilliant, thank you. Isn't it great when people on here help each other out with technical details instead of those that just want to bicker?
I can't afford another SSD right now after the £500 outlay for this, but when I can at least I'll be more confident about not damaging it thanks to this kind post.

Thinking about pulling the trigger on this today! Shame JL only have the black version left in stock, had my heart set on the silver! Anyone with the black version, does it still look as stylish as the silver?

​Try calling your local computer shops, I've had success before on previous trade ups.

​Thanks for the info :smile: I will be doing this shortly myself.

Legend, gonna buy it now!

Great news - will have a dig around before I pull the trigger & buy!

For some reason, on the JL website, the "silver" option has changed to "gold" but it still showing as out of stock....

Thanks. Picked up a black/grey one today from John Lewis for the other half. Just need to find an old computer for the MS trade-in offer now (today is the last day for eligible purchases). The one I had planned to trade-in is in superb condition but just a little over 6 years old.

anyone else having problems with a noisey trackpad?

Thanks, prehaps im hitting to hard, used to bashing my old sony laptop.

Fantasic machine, love every bit of it, screen is amazing. The best laptop I have ever used. However there are Intel wifi issues (wifi dropouts). I am trying different things until I can figure out. I will even will try another brand of wifi card (If Asus don't blacklist cards like terrible lenovo do).

Both colours out of stock now on the John Lewis website, but you might still find some in store. However the purchase period for the Microsoft £100 trade-in offer has now passed.

Only problem I have with the zenbook is the WIFI connection doesn't seem the best (anyone have a solution)?

Did you try turning off Bluetooth?

Only had the machine a few days but might just be my mind thinking it due to reading through the comments. Will give it a bit longer I think.

Has anyone had confirmation of the £100 refund for trading in an old machine? Sent everything off on Saturday & still yet to hear anything back.

You can track progress on the claim site. They do however say that validation can take up to 7 days.

This should be expired as OOS :-( Although still available at PC World, but I really wanted to buy from JL. Will see what Black Friday brings!

My £100 trade in has now been validated. :smiley:

Just had my £100 validated for a 5 year and 11 month old laptop that was badly running out of stream (charger does have to be sent off too). Getting that money off made this a really good deal.
For anyone interested, this runs Adobe CS4 very quickly although displays the Photoshop menus in an incredibly small font which is a shame as you have to lower the resolution to make it more visible.
Anyone got any good recommendations for games that run well on this? I dowloaded Skyrim for a couple of quid, mainly to test how it deals with 3D games and can confirm that it ain't good.

I'm sending a desktop in. The laptop I originally intended to trade-in turned out to be nearly 7 years old.

Looks like the "email me when back in stock" option has disappeared from the JL page with this on, so I guess this mean that they are not getting any more in?

I think the new UX305CA model with a Skylake processor will replace this (at £650). £400 for a MacBook Air beater was a great deal.

Really wish I had snapped this deal up but I dithered too long. PC World is also showing as being out of stock for every store near me.

Apart from the improved processor the spec on the UX305CA looks identical so £650 isn't such a great price. Shame there's still no backlit keyboard.

I'm glad I've got the "gold" (really silver) one. I've also bought an Integral fusion "leave in" 128gb 3.0 usb drive from mymemory, which cost about £32.50 after TCB. It actually match the colour and placed at the back left port of my Asus protects the unifying receiver of my mouse.
A backlit keyboard seems to be the "would've been nice" theme, but in practice how many of us are actually taking/will be using this on long haul flights where they turn the lights off for the whole cabin?

Anyone had an update on their tradeup? Posted mine 2 weeks ago and still says Approved on the tracker. No reply to my e-mail 9 days ago asking if they'd received my pc.

I looked at all three colours before settling on the black. The black is actually more like the slate grey from older apple devices - very dark grey with a hint of blue/purple. The silver/gold has more of a champagne tint. The white is a crisp white but from a distance could easily be plastic and so doesn't have such a premium look. It also has white keys which could start to look grubby.

Black ZenBook UX305 now back in stock at John Lewis. Just bought one for my lad, Christmas sorted!

http://www.johnlewis.com/store/asus-zenbook-ux305-ultrabooks-intel-core-m-8gb-ram-128gb-ssd-13-3-/p2115982?s_afcid=af_47868&awc=1203_1448961814_3e677279e9d970c81ff7b0af88f39ae7ewis.

Furthermore, it seems like the guarantee is now 3 years, as oppose to 2?!?

I think they may have increased the guarantee to 3 years? This could be down to the £100 cash back offer finishing?

I was hoping that the silver model would come back into stock but I've just ordered a black one as a Christmas present to myself. Ready for collection at my local Waitrose tomorrow!

Would this laptop be ideal for recording vocals using a Blue Yeti Microphone?

Looks like I might have to do a few things in Device Manager - I had to update the graphics card there, on the advice of a kind person on here, before I could stream NowTV. Maybe this is why the 3.0 port that is supposed to be able to charge my phone when the Asus is shut down isn't working? my Kaspersky AV isn't updating automatically either...

Now showing OOS for the black one with JL, but more than 10 in stock for the "gold" one...

Brilliant laptop. :smiley:

Price now jumped £100 at JL to £599

ditto. price now 599

Cashback claim approved. Payment within 28 days. :smiley:

I have a feeling it is bank transfer. But I can't remember if I provided these during the application.

I remember giving my sort code and account number so expecting my funds to go straight in there

Cashback payment received. :smile: