gadgets

What is it?
ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 UX450FD - flagship metal laptop with 14-inch IPS-display, Intel 8th generation processors, up to 16 GB of RAM, fast SSD-drive, combined with a capacious hard drive and a discrete graphics card NVIDIA GeForce 1050 in Max- design Q.

What makes him interesting?
 ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 UX450FD Review: Compact 14-inch Laptop with NVIDIA GeForce 1050 Max-Q-2
ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 UX450FD occupies an interesting niche in the ASUS range: on the one hand, it is smaller and lighter than its older 15-inch brother. On the other hand, the hardware is more powerful than the ultra-portable models, which makes it more functional, while being quite comfortable to be transportable. The laptop is equipped with a 14-inch IPS-display with a resolution of 1920x1080 and thin frames. The screen is certified Pantone, promise color coverage of 100% of the sRGB space. Inside - Intel Core processors, in our sample i5-8250U is installed, but there will be configurations with other models, including the newer family of Whiskey Lake. 16 GB DDR4 2400 MHz RAM, and NVIDIA GeForce 1050 with a 4 GB Max-Q design as the video accelerator. There are enough different storage options, we had a version with a 256 GB SSD and 1 TB HDD. Intel Optane technology is supported. Of the unusual features worth noting the absence of a fingerprint scanner, it was decided to replace the infrared camera and the definition of the face of the owner. The laptop uses a hinge with the ErgoLift design, due to which the keyboard and the bottom cover are in an open position at a slight inclination. This situation has a positive effect on cooling and, in theory, more convenient for printing.

How does it look and qualitatively assembled?
 ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 UX450FD Review: Compact 14-inch Laptop with NVIDIA GeForce 1050 Max-Q-3
ASUS periodically makes some changes to the new models in terms of design and appearance, but in general, the ZenBook line remains recognizable. First of all, thanks to the cover with the company concentric pattern, it is also present in the ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 UX450FD. The laptop is made of metal of the already familiar dark blue color, and a decorative golden stripe is located above the laptop keyboard. The frames on the sides of the display are really narrow, the gap under the screen is wider, there is a golden marking of ZenBook on it:

 ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 UX450FD Review: Compact 14-inch Laptop with NVIDIA GeForce 1050 Max-Q-4
There are an ample number of connectors, there is all the most necessary, in contrast to the majority of modern ultraportable laptops with a pair of three Type-C. On the left there is a slot for the power supply, 1xUSB 3.1 Type-C Gen 2, 1xUSB 3.1 Type-A Gen 2 and HDMI:

 ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 UX450FD Review: Compact 14-inch Laptop with NVIDIA GeForce 1050 Max-Q-5
On the right are LED indicators, a combined audio jack of 3.5 mm, a slot for MicroSD memory cards and a full-sized USB 2.0:

 ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 UX450FD Review: Compact 14-inch Laptop with NVIDIA GeForce 1050 Max-Q-6


Front - neckline for opening a laptop:

 ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 UX450FD Review: Compact 14-inch Laptop with NVIDIA GeForce 1050 Max-Q-7
Behind - two thin rubber legs, on which there is a laptop in the open position, two hinges and marking of the ZenBook line:

 ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 UX450FD Review: Compact 14-inch Laptop with NVIDIA GeForce 1050 Max-Q-8
The ErgoLift design lifts the back of the work surface:

 ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 UX450FD Review: Compact 14-inch Laptop with NVIDIA GeForce 1050 Max-Q-9
Below are wide air vents, under which you can see the filling of the laptop, four usual round legs and stereo speakers in front:

 ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 UX450FD Review: Compact 14-inch Laptop with NVIDIA GeForce 1050 Max-Q-10
Above the screen - a pair of microphones, a webcam and infrared cameras to determine the owner by face. Windows Hello works with these cameras quickly and accurately in any lighting conditions:

 ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 UX450FD Review: Compact 14-inch Laptop with NVIDIA GeForce 1050 Max-Q-11
Externally, the ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 UX450FD looks great, traditionally for the line. There are also no significant complaints about the assembly, even considering that we had an engineering sample, and not a commercial model. The laptop weighs 1.6 kg, the thickness is 1.79 mm, it easily fits into any backpack with a compartment for a laptop and wearing it daily does not cause any discomfort at all. In this case, it is really important, considering what is inside the notebook. By the way, the laptop formally meets the military standard of reliability MIL-STD 810G (performance in different weather conditions, resistance to external influences). But one should not be confused with shock and waterproof models; this is a completely different class of devices.

How convenient is it to use the keyboard and touchpad?
 ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 UX450FD Review: Compact 14-inch Laptop with NVIDIA GeForce 1050 Max-Q-12
We have already seen the ErgoLift mechanism in the ASUS ZenBook S review. It raises the back of the work surface and the keyboard is at an angle to the table. The maximum opening angle of the screen is approximately 145 °. I will not state unequivocally, use scenarios and situations, but such a construction seems to me really convenient. The keyboard layout is familiar to the current ultra-portable ZenBook (the 15-inch Pro on the right has another column of keys). Long Shift, Single Storey Enter. Block arrows reduced height, and similar in height F1-F12, which are combined with additional functions through Fn. The Fn + Esc combination switches the mode of operation of this row, on the Fn button there is a corresponding operation indicator. The layout is close to the standard, there are no problems with addiction:

 ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 UX450FD Review: Compact 14-inch Laptop with NVIDIA GeForce 1050 Max-Q-13
The button stroke is quite comfortable, the button-to-button distance is the size of the buttons themselves are standard. There is a backlight with three levels of brightness:

 ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 UX450FD Review: Compact 14-inch Laptop with NVIDIA GeForce 1050 Max-Q-14
In ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 UX450FD installed familiar touchpad. It is glass, with oleophobic coating, good slip and sensitivity. On the touchpad in ZenBook in general, no complaints have arisen for at least the last couple of years, in this case, nothing has changed:

 ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 UX450FD Review: Compact 14-inch Laptop with NVIDIA GeForce 1050 Max-Q-15
How good is the screen?
ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 UX450FD is equipped with a 14-inch IPS-display with a resolution of 1920x1080. There are sensory configurations, we had no sensor. But, in any of the options, the screen is covered with glass, which for some may be an unpleasant moment due to glare. Frames on the sides - 5.2 mm, the screen occupies 86% of the area of ​​the panel. They promise 100% sRGB color space coverage and good calibration. Visually, the screen is very pleasant, with rich colors and an adequate margin of brightness. Maximum viewing angles, of course:

 ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 UX450FD Review: Compact 14-inch Laptop with NVIDIA GeForce 1050 Max-Q-16
Hardware measurements showed that the maximum brightness reaches 321.546 cd / m2. The brightness of the black field is 0.401 cd / m2, and the contrast is 802: 1. Calibration is not bad, but there is a slight lack of red (relative to the reference value), with the result that the picture is a bit “colder” than the standard. The color error ΔE ranges from 0 to 8, the color temperature is about 7500K, and the color gamut is really close to the promised sRGB.
We had an engineering sample, apparently, quite early and in most cases the processor was not identified (it was more precisely defined as Genuine Intel CPU 0000), although in fact in our sample the very real and familiar Intel Core i5-8250U was installed. There are options with i7-8550U and, apparently, there will be configurations with the new Intel Core i5-8265U and i7-8565U of the Whiskey Lake family. Intel Core i5-8250U is a quad-core processor with a clock frequency of 1.6 GHz (and up to 3.4 GHz Turbo Boost), a 6 MB cache and Intel UHD Graphics 620 integrated graphics. The amount of RAM is 16 GB DDR4-2400. Wireless interfaces: Wi-Fi 802.11 AC (2x2) and Bluetooth 5.0. But the most interesting point is the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 discrete graphics with a 4 GB Max-Q design. A 14-nm GP107 chip is used, the standard frequency is 1000 Hz, the Boost is 1139 MHz. Productivity is 10-15% more modest than full-fledged option. At the same time, higher efficiency per watt of power, for which the Max-Q variants are made. Yes, this is not a top-end video card, but you can quite comfortably mount video on it and play with native FullHD resolution.

The bottom line

Previously, productive hardware was poorly associated with light and compact laptops. But ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 just combined the features of two different classes: on the one hand, the configuration allows you to mount videos and even play modern games somewhere on a trip. On the other hand, it is compact and lightweight, so much so that you can carry it with you daily without any problems. Yes, there are models that are thinner and lighter, but they cannot boast of such performance. Traditional strengths of the ZenBook line also remained in place: a stylish metal case and high-quality display. As a nice bonus, full-sized ports are in normal quantities, than ultraportable laptops usually cannot boast. The laptop can not be clearly attributed to a particular class, respectively, and direct competitors are extremely difficult to find. Moreover, it was not possible to find something in the 14-inch format on the GTX 1050 Max-Q. ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 is about to be on sale, they promised a price tag of $ 1600, which is approximately45 000 UAH

5 reasons to buy ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 UX450FD:

• High-quality assembly, materials and design;
• high performance;
• excellent display;
• A sufficient number of full-sized ports and all the necessary wireless interfaces;
• comfortable backlit keyboard and touchpad.

2 reasons not to buy ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 UX450FD:

• heating and throttling the processor at maximum loads (possibly a sample feature);
• You need a laptop that runs full-time on battery.

Specifications ASUS ZenBook Pro 14 UX450FD
Display	14 inches, 1920x1080, IPS
Dimensions	323x225x17.9 mm
Weight	1.6 kg
operating system	64-bit Microsoft Windows 10
CPU	Intel Core i5-8250U, 4 cores, 2.6-3.4 GHz (Kaby Lake R, 14 nm)
Ram	16 GB DDR4 2400 MHz
Graphics	nVidia GeForce GTX1050 Max-Q, 4 GB GDDR5, Intel UHD Graphics 630
Storage device	SSD NVMe 256 GB, HDD 1 TB
Communications	Wi-Fi 802.11 a / b / g / n / ac, 2.4 and 5 GHz, Bluetooth 5.0
Connectors	Type-C USB 3.1 Gen 2, Type-A USB 3.1 Gen 2, USB 2.0, HDMI, MicroSD card reader, combo audio jack
Camera	Camera with infrared sensor
Battery	Lithium Polymer, 52 Wh, 3 cells