Asus Zenbook UX32

ASUS Zenbook Prime UX32VD-DB71 Review

You can't blame ASUS for wanting to diversify its Ultrabook lineup. Not when it has an awesome full HD screen that's even better than the MacBook Air's. For the UX32VD, ASUS added discrete Nvidia graphics to this glorious display. Yes, this a 3.2-pound laptop that can game. ASUS did trade the full-fledged SSD on the UX31A for a 500GB hard drive and 24GB SSD combo to keep the price reasonable. How reasonable? Try $1,299, which is only $100 more than the Air. Find out if this ambitious ultraportable has the oomph you need.Click to EnlargeYou didn't expect ASUS to cram discrete graphics into the same super-slim chassis, did you? The good news is that the UX32VD isn't much thicker or heavier than the UX31A. The newer Ultrabook has a 0.21 to 0.72-inch profile and weighs 3.2 pounds, compared with 0.44 to 0.66 inches and 3 pounds for the UX31A. That's still plenty portable.The UX32VD features the same sleek spun-metal lid found on previous Zenbooks. The deck and bottom are also aluminum, but the internal frame structure is a plastic aluminum composite instead of the aluminum unibody design on the UX31A and MacBook Air.