ASUS Zenbook 13 Review – Small Yet Powerful
ASUS’s Zenbook 13 is a beautiful laptop that not only looks good on the surface but is an absolute beast inside. So let’s take a look at the specs of the laptop, its performance, and what truly makes this standout.
Asus Zenbook 13 (UM325) Tech Specification
| Processor | Graphics: AMD Ryzen 7 5800U Processor, 1.9 GHz (16MB Cache, up to 4.4 GHz, 8 Cores, 16 Threads) | Integrated AMD Radeon Graphics |
| Memory & Storage | 16 GB LPDDR4X Onboard RAM Storage: 1 TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSD |
| Display | 13.3-inch, OLED, FHD (1920 x 1080) 16:9, Glossy display, 400nits, DCI-P3: 100%, Pantone Validated, 100% sRGB, 4-sided NanoEdge design with up to 88% screen-to-body ratio, IPS-level wide-view technology |
| Software Included | Pre-Install MS Office Home and Student 2019 with lifetime validity, McAfee with 1-year validity | |
| Keyboard | I/O Ports & Others | Edge-to-edge design, full-size backlit, with 1.4mm key travel Touchpad: Glass-covered, Precision Touchpad with NumberPad 2.0, i.e., integrated LED-illuminated numeric keypad 1x HDMI 2.0a, 1x USB 3.1 Type A (Gen1), 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C, 1x Micro SD card reader & IR HD web camera with Windows Hello support Face recognition login Wi-Fi 6 (Gig+) (802.11ax) 2*2 Bluetooth 5.0 |
| Operating System | Pre-loaded Windows 10 Home with lifetime validity |
Despite being one of the lightest 13.3-inch subnotebooks, the Asus ZenBook 13 UM325 is nonetheless powered by a native octa-core SoC. It’s the AMD Ryzen 7 5800U, which is built on the Zen3 architecture and features numerous enhancements. The SoC comes with 16 GB of working memory, while the huge 1-TB SSD provides plenty of storage. The new SoC does not bring anything new to the table with the Vega 8 iGPU. However, the Ryzen 5000U APUs’ iGPU now has a slightly higher clock speed, so we should see improved performance here as well. Asus uses an OLED panel for the display, which is beautiful.
The ZenBook 13 UM325 has a limited assortment of equipment, notably in terms of external connectors. However, all of the essential ports are accessible, and you can add more using an adaptor. Even if one of the Type-C connectors is occupied by the charger, the three USB ports are plenty. The small ZenBook 13 UM325 also has an HDMI port for connecting an external display. Those who prefer to use DisplayPort can do so with a USB Type-C to DisplayPort converter. This option is supported by both Type-C ports. There is also a microSD card reader included.
The built-in display is a 16:9 OLED screen with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels (FHD) and a diagonal of 13.3 inches, resulting in a pixel density of 166 PPI. Our ZenBook, on the other hand, barely ranks in the middle of the field of comparison devices with an average brightness of 370 cd/m2. The relatively low black value, on the other hand, represents the characteristics of OLED technology, resulting in a very strong contrast ratio. Furthermore, because the display does not have large-area backdrop illumination, “clouding” is not an issue. A refresh/PWM method is employed to avoid burning-in effects.
The Asus ZenBook 13 UM325 has quite a large battery, with a 67-Wh capacity. Our test unit lasts for 9 hours in our WLAN test. The competition, despite their smaller batteries, obtain superior results in this area, but our ZenBook 13 UM325S does not need to hide. The device is also ideal for a long night of movie-watching. It can play our test video on a continuous loop for 10 hours. The display brightness is reduced to 65 percent for both of these tests, resulting in a standardised level of 150 cd/m2. It will take little longer than 2 hours to fully recharge the device.
Performance
The Asus Zenbook 13 isn’t advertised or meant to be used as a gaming laptop but we decided to push it to the limits anyway and see how well it could perform. And while it’s not a 1080p gaming beast, it can hold its own quite well in the 720p and 1080p category.
As you can see, most esports titles run quite easily on this laptop. Furthermore, AAA games are also very playable on the Asus Zenbook 13.
Final Verdict
The Asus ZenBook 13 UM325 is a lightweight subnotebook with a bright display. The subnotebook is also light, with a pleasing modern appearance. The device is not only light, but also incredibly stable, thanks to the use of high-quality materials. Furthermore, the device’s sights and haptics create a high-quality impression. The AMD Ryzen 7 5800U is a great match for the ZenBook 13, delivering excellent results in our tests.
