Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition Review: Performs As Good As It Looks
Specifications Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition
- CPU: Intel Core i9-12900H
- Display: 14-inch IPS LCD 2880 x 1800p, 90Hz
- GPU: Intel Iris Xᵉ
- Memory: 32GB DDR5 4800MHz
- Storage: 1TB NVMe PCIe Gen4
- Battery: 63WHr
- Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 64-bit
Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition Review: Design
The company has completely redesigned the Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition, incorporating multiple space-related design elements into the device. My favorite is the external OLED display, which makes the laptop look unique, and it also adds value to the device by showing custom status, notifications, battery percentage, and more.
There are a few space-inspired design elements in the keyboard and around the palm rest. Even on the back, you could understand that the Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition has something to do with space and science. When it comes to practicality, the laptop has a dedicated HDMI port, USB-A port, and two USB Type-C ports with Thunderbolt 4 support.
The Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition is a thin and light laptop and weighs only 1.4 kg, making it easy to carry around. While most special edition devices aren’t practical, the Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition doesn’t compromise on the basics and still manages to set itself apart from almost every other laptop on the market.
Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition Review: Display
Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition has a 14-inch OLED display with a resolution of 2.8K (2880 x 1800p). This is a 16:10 aspect ratio panel with a 90Hz refresh rate, and the display also offers peak brightness up to 550 nits with VESA Certified Display HDR True Black 500. In addition to the content consumption, the display is also color accurate, which the Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition suitable for content creation.
The combination of all the aforementioned features of the Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition makes this an excellent laptop for content consumption. While this is also a great display for gaming, the lack of a dedicated GPU makes the Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition unsuitable for gaming. The Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition is also a color accurate display and comes with Pantone validation.
Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition Review: Keyboard and Trackpad
Aside from the space-themed paint job, the keyboard on the Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition is great for regular everyday use. The keys are clicky and offer 1.4mm key travel, and there’s also backlight support. While there is no dedicated physical numpad, the trackpad also doubles as a digital numpad if needed.
Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition has a glass trackpad, which accurately follows finger movement, and it’s also fairly average in size. While it gets the job done, I personally believe that an external mouse will make you more productive.
Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition Review: Audio and Camera
The Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition has a stereo speaker setup, and honestly these are the loudest speakers I’ve heard on a Windows laptop. The speaker setup on the Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition Review offers clear and loud audio, and there’s Dolby Atmos support too, further enhancing the audio experience.
The device has a 720p web camera and I am tired of complaining about the same, especially seeing one on a laptop costing more than Rs. 1,50,000. While the web camera gets the job done in most cases, a 1080p webcam would have further increased the overall value of this machine.
Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition Review: Performance
There is something special about the Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition, a 14-inch thin and light laptop, which usually uses a U-series or P-series processor from Intel with about 25W TDP. The Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition uses the Intel Core i9-12900H, a powerful gaming-grade CPU with 45W TDP.
Keep in mind that the Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition is a compact laptop that weighs only about 1.4kg. The device also offers 32GB of DDR5 memory with a 1TB PCIe Gen4 SSD. One of the drawbacks of the Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition is that the laptop does not have a dedicated GPU, which would have put this laptop in a different league.
Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition Review: CPU Performance
The Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition achieved 1684 points on single-core Geekbench 5 CPU performance and 11292 points on multi-core Geekbench 5 CPU performance. Likewise, the laptop on Cinebench R23 scored 1700 points on the single-core test and 9630 points on the multi-core CPU test.
In the CPU-Z test, the Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition scored 687.5 points on the single-thread CPU test and 6537.3 points on the multi-thread CPU test. While the single-core performance of the Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition is comparable to more expensive gaming laptops with the same Intel Core i9-12900H, the multi-core performance is slightly on the slower side.
Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition Review: PCMark 10 Performance
On PCMark 10, the Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition achieved a total of 6042 points. The device scored 11070 points on Essentials, 7460 points on productivity and 7249 points on the digital content creation test. These scores do indicate that the Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition can handle tasks such as video editing and video playback without any problems.
Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition Review: GPU Performance
We ran the Superposition benchmark on the Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition. With 1080p resolution and average graphics settings, the Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition offered an average FPS of 23.50. Likewise, at 720p low graphics settings, the laptop achieved an average FPS of 49.53 FPS. According to these figures, you can play games on the Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition with a resolution of 720p (low) and achieve about 50 fps.
Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition Review: Verdict
The Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition is a special edition laptop and is mainly intended for those who want a very unique laptop. The laptop also offers good CPU performance and can be very practical when used for CPU bound tasks. Due to the lack of a dedicated GPU, you may not enjoy gaming on the Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition.
Considering the design and performance of the Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition, it mostly resembles a collector’s edition. If you want a 14-inch laptop that is very unique yet powerful, get the high-end variant of the Asus Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition.
