ASUS Zenbook 14" UX3405, Core Ultra 9 285H, 32GB, 1TB SSD, Gray

The Zenbook UX3405 is a productivity monster with a gorgeous OLED screen and a top-tier Core Ultra 9 CPU. Integrated graphics are the big compromise, landing in the 14th percentile for GPU performance. Worth buying if you don't game and want serious portable power.

The Core Ultra 9 285H is a 16-core beast that lands in the 80th percentile for CPUs in our database. That's well above average, and it shows in everyday multitasking. 32GB of LPDDR5X at 7467MT/s means you can run a dozen Chrome tabs, a code editor, and a video call without breaking a sweat. The 1TB NVMe SSD is also solid, sitting around the 80th percentile for storage speed. The weak spot is graphics. Intel Arc integrated graphics put this at the 14th percentile for GPU performance, so don't expect to play anything beyond light indie titles or older games at low settings. The 60Hz display doesn't help there either, but for productivity, the responsiveness feels snappy.

Stacked against the Apple MacBook Pro M4 Pro, the Zenbook loses on GPU performance, battery consistency, and display refresh rate, but it undercuts the MacBook on price in the US and offers Windows flexibility plus a touchscreen. The HP OMEN Transcend 14 and MSI Raider both bring dedicated GPUs, making them far better for gaming and creative work, though they're heavier and often pricier. The Microsoft Surface Laptop 7th Edition is the closest philosophical match, with a premium build and ARM-based efficiency, but the Zenbook's x86 Core Ultra 9 gives it broader software compatibility. The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i is a different animal entirely, a chunky gaming rig that crushes this in graphics but can't touch the portability.

At $1,399 USD, this Zenbook sits in a weird spot. You're paying for the OLED panel, the Core Ultra 9, and that 32GB of RAM, which is a genuinely strong productivity combo. But the integrated graphics hold it back, and the 60Hz screen feels like a compromise at this price. The European and Japanese listings are significantly pricier in their local currencies, which makes the value proposition shakier outside the US. If you need raw CPU power in a portable shell and don't care about gaming, it's a fair deal. If you want any graphical muscle, your money goes further elsewhere.

The ASUS Zenbook UX3405 is a 14-inch OLED ultraportable that packs a serious CPU punch. You get an Intel Core Ultra 9 285H, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD in a 2.82-pound chassis. That's a lot of horsepower for a laptop you can toss in a backpack without thinking twice.

The display is the other headline here. A 500-nit OLED touchscreen with 100% DCI-P3 coverage makes everything look rich, and the 16:10 aspect ratio gives you extra vertical room for documents and code. It's not a gaming machine, but for students, developers, and anyone who lives in spreadsheets or a browser, this thing is built to fly.

Skip this if you need any real GPU power. Video editors working with 4K footage, 3D modelers, and anyone who wants to play games released in the last five years should look at something with a dedicated graphics card. The 14th percentile GPU score is a hard stop for those use cases. Also skip it if you're outside the US, where the local pricing gets much harder to justify against competitors.

Buy this if you're a student, developer, or office pro who wants a fast, light laptop with a stunning OLED screen and doesn't plan to game. The CPU and RAM combo will chew through productivity tasks for years. Skip it if you want to play modern games, edit 4K video with GPU acceleration, or need a high-refresh display. It's a focused tool, not a jack of all trades.