The UX305CA confirms how far Ultrabooks have come in recent years. Though we’re dealing with extremely tight dimensions and lightweight construction, we’re still able to home in on great hardware specifications; these factors do not impede mobile capabilities they once did.
With today’s Zenbook, there is a strong focus on minimalism with the styling following an elegant aesthetic. So in this particular department, UX305CA is likely to appeal to a larger audience; those of which are frequent travellers or simply require something which takes up very little space and weighs a mere killo.
There are a variety of models available under the UX305CA which feature different processors, different screen resolutions and an assortment of storage capacities. Our unit contained the Intel M3 6Y30 – a Skylake-powered dual-core processor, a QHD display offering 3200x1200 and a 128GB SSD. We found the CPU provided good all-round performance and the screen delivered a crisp, vibrant display, but the storage at 128GB is somewhat limiting – especially when you consider Windows 10 Pro with the few ASUS applications consumes up to approximately 60GB. The 256GB or even 512GB models are likely to be more highly favoured but if you are on a tighter budget and tend to keep data stored on portable drives then opting for the smaller capacity is unlikely to cause any issues.
One of the major attractions to the Zenbook UX305CA is the omission of any cooling fans within the chassis. By adopting a passively cooled processor and an SSD, the system is completely silent – something which is certainly a rarity these days, and at first it almost appears as a phenomenon or an odd occurrence; but one which is definitely welcomed. The expectation with such tight spacing and a lack of any cooling fans would lead you to believe the temperatures might soar under full sustained usage, but they’re more than acceptable.
Hitting shelves with a price-tag of £550 GBP / $700 USD, Zenbook UX305CA is accurately priced, looking at other Ultrabooks and considering the solid build-quality, hardware specification and other perks such as being noise-free.
The Zenbook UX305CA does not struggle to impress. Thanks to its all-aluminium design, this elegant Ultrabook is lightweight and compact – making it easy to take with you if you’re on the move. Furthermore, the system utilises a solid hardware specification with boasts a completely fan-less design.
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Pros
+ Sleek, elegant design
+ All-aluminium
+ QHD display
+ Skylake-powered
+ Super-thin and lightweight
+ Ideal for travellers
+ Silent - completely fan-less
+ Card slot reader
+ Compact charging unit
Cons
- Power button is too close to DEL/backspace
- 128GB SSD doesn't offer much space
+ Sleek, elegant design
+ All-aluminium
+ QHD display
+ Skylake-powered
+ Super-thin and lightweight
+ Ideal for travellers
+ Silent - completely fan-less
+ Card slot reader
+ Compact charging unit
Cons
- Power button is too close to DEL/backspace
- 128GB SSD doesn't offer much space
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