Asus Zenbook Prime UX21A issues

Hey there!

I got my UX21A three days ago and there are some issues, using Ubuntu 12.04...
Since, there are reports of similar (if not the same) issues on UX31A, this thread should address these two models...

Issues:
* some Fn-Keys do not work
* keyboard-backlight won't turn off
* Power-Key doesn't show Power-Menu.. it does nothing instead, when pressed..
(* wifi disconnects often (but signal is very good!), latency is sometimes very high (up to 1000ms, but only on 802.11a - 5GHz)) -- might be just an issue for me...
* brightness sensor (does ubuntu already handle those kind of data?)
* keyboard-backlight turns off after closing lid and go to standby
* standby doesn't always work when closing lid (then you have to use the Suspend-Fn-Key...)
* power saving is not quite perfect, I only get about 5,5~6h of battery life ;) (using same tweaks as for UX21E)
* there are random freezes, once or twice a day, using latest (and earlier) shipped kernel of Ubuntu 12.04 (linux 3.2.0-26), this issue is not present in Kernel 3.4 and higher (using mainline kernel 3.4.0, but power consuption is ~1W higher (equals 30 minutes!) with this kernel)
* webcam
* incl. USB-LAN-Adapter

Not tested yet:
* suspend do disk
* Micro-HDMI
* incl. VGA-Adapter


Now, do you have any idea, how to bring these Fn-Keys to life?

Kind regards

Have you tried assigning the power key through the keyboard-> shortcuts menu?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by krustenBrot

Have you tried assigning the power key through the keyboard-> shortcuts menu?

---

Of Course... and it did not recognize any of those Fn-keystrokes...
I also tried using 'xbindkeys -k': Same result..

Please please please, could you comment on fan noise? I read that the new Zenbook is quite loud, and I would like to hear some opinions before buying it, specially from Linux users :)

If you could, would you record a video sample of the fan operations when the computer is doing intensive tasks? (for example running multiple echo yes > /dev/null in parallel)

That would be awesome!

Alessandro

Thanks for reporting, nexero. I'm thinking about buying a UX31A, but waiting for more reports of Ubuntu's performance on these machines. I'm definitely bookmarking this thread to keep up with any updates. What kind of battery life are you getting with the UX21A?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by LMP900

Thanks for reporting, nexero. I'm thinking about buying a UX31A, but waiting for more reports of Ubuntu's performance on these machines. I'm definitely bookmarking this thread to keep up with any updates. What kind of battery life are you getting with the UX21A?

---

You're welcome!
I just updated the first post: I got about 5,5~6h last days, just by using Chrome and wifi with backlight set to zero (lowest value, still well readable!)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by alexcriss

Please please please, could you comment on fan noise?

---

The fan is very quiet in linux. In Windows sometimes it goes up to 100% immediately which seems to be a bug. I think that's why it's mentioned in most reviews.

I have fiddled a bit with the screen DPI settings. Eventually i found and applied this fix: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+s...85/comments/10
and now everything is fine.

I also get almost 6 hours on battery (with the UX31A).
The fan noise is sometimes high if the load is very high, but i would not call it disturbing. Most of the time, it runs quietly or not at all.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nexero

You're welcome!
I just updated the first post: I got about 5,5~6h last days, just by using Chrome and wifi with backlight set to zero (lowest value, still well readable!)

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by dancat

I also get almost 6 hours on battery (with the UX31A).
The fan noise is sometimes high if the load is very high, but i would not call it disturbing. Most of the time, it runs quietly or not at all.

---

Thanks, nexero and dancat! That sounds like good news on the battery life front.

Just to update those looking to buy this laptop in the U.S: Amazon is now selling the UX31A (no longer pre-order status). They estimate that it will ship in 8-9 days.

Thanks, nexero and dancat! Looking forward to hearing more about how well ubuntu runs on this laptop.

One concern of mine is how small the text will be on the 11.6 in screen. Can someone comment on this? Would you be able to post a screenshot of a web browser on www.nytimes.com with default font sizes and everything? The online reviews of the laptop running Windows seem to indicate that it is shipped with Windows set at 125% dpi scaling, so not sure if I can trust the screenshots in those reviews.

Thanks!