A latecomer to the Core M party
A bit a long wait, but the ASUS Transformer Book T300 Chi is finally here.
Better than than never right? It might have taken some time, but ASUS’ Transformer T300 Chi detachable hybrid notebook has finally reached our shores. When we first laid eyes on it last year at Computex 2014, we were stunned by its super slim dimensions. A year on however, the luster of that super slim design has been somewhat diminished because it is no longer the only slim hybrid notebook around now, so does the Transformer Chi T300 have what it takes to stand out? Let’s find out.
The Hardware
Stickers on the device proudly proclaim that it is powered by Intel's newest and exceptionally frugal Core M processor.
Let’s begin with the the ASUS Transformer Book T300 Chi's hardware. It is powered by Intel’s latest "Broadwell" Core M processor, specifically the top-of-the-line Intel Core M-5Y71. This processor is a dual-core one that has a base clock of 1.2GHz and a maximum turbo clock speed of 2.9GHz, along with a 4M L3 cache (which looks like it's more powerful than the Core M-5Y70 used on the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro). More importantly, since the Core M processors were designed specifically for use in ultra-thin notebooks and hybrid devices, it has a TDP of just 4.5W and requires no active cooling, allowing ASUS to employ a fan-less chassis design for the ASUS Transformer Chi T300.
Processor aside, the ASUS Transformer Book T300 Chi gets a very adequate 8GB of RAM and 128GB of SSD storage. A peek inside the Device Manager reveals that the Transformer Book T300 Chi is using SanDisk’s iSSD i110, an embedded storage device that comes in a BGA form factor, which is a contributing factor towards how ASUS managed to achieve the Transformer Book T300 Chi’s slim dimensions (more on this in the next section). As a result, this also means that storage cannot be upgraded by users.
Graphics processing duties are handled by the integrated Intel HD Graphics 5300 GPU within the CPU. This is a new integrated GPU part that can be found in all Core M processors, and on paper it seems to be a match for the older Intel HD Graphics 4400 which is seen in processors that are powering a lot of the older Haswell-powered Ultrabooks in the market today.
Design & Features
Here is the ASUS Transformer Book T300 Chi next to an iPhone 6. There's really not much difference between the two.
The ASUS Transformer Book T300 Chi is a detachable hybrid notebook, the tablet display portion of the device is just 7.6mm thick and weighs only slightly above 700g. This is impressive especially when you consider that this is just about as thick as the first generation iPad Air. The display size is 12.5 inches and it has a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels, giving it a pixel density count of just under 235 pixels per inch, which is comparable to the Retina displays found on Apple’s MacBook Pro notebooks. The display is crisp and sharp and viewing angles are great. Our only complaint is that the screen seems a little dark even at maximum brightness settings.
The edges of the machine have chamfered diamond-cut polish edges.
ASUS has placed an increased emphasis on design in recent years and the Transformer Book T300 Chi features an all-aluminum construction that feels strong despite its thinness, and does not exhibit any signs of flexing. The edges are chamfered using a diamond-cutting polish, which is a nice flourish. Unfortunately, instead of giving the Transformer Book T300 Chi a raw or brushed aluminum finish or something flashier, ASUS has instead decided to paint the entire device in black, which somewhat takes the sheen away from its rather brilliant design. Nevertheless, the Transformer Book T300 Chi is attractively styled and feels well-built.
The keyboard dock adds significant heft to the device, but they keys have a nice feel to them. Note how the touchpad has chamfered edges as well.
The ASUS Transformer Book T300 Chi also comes with a detachable keyboard dock. With the keyboard dock attached, the Transformer Book T300 Chi is still only a very slim 16.5mm thick, however, weight increases quite substantially to 1.43kg. Attaching the tablet display to the keyboard dock was a breeze thanks to the magnetic hinge. According to ASUS, the hinge uses "the world’s most powerful magnetic material in a carefully-designed pattern" and is capable of supporting up to 2kg. In our usage experience, we have no reason to disbelieve this claim. The tablet display attaches very securely to the keyboard dock and requires a firm hold to detach. We could also hold the Transformer Book T300 Chi up by the keyboard dock and the tablet display will also show no signs of detaching.
Two powerful magnets on the hinge secure the tablet display to the keyboard dock.
Unfortunately, the magnetic hinge is just that and so the detachable keyboard dock functions solely as a keyboard and does not incorporate any built-in battery to extend battery life nor storage to boost capacity. As a result, the keyboard dock has its own built-in battery and does not draw power from the tablet display. This also means that the keyboard dock requires charging from time to time. On the bright side, the built-in battery is claimed to be good for up to 84 hours, so charging it shouldn’t be a frequent affair. And according to ASUS, the keyboard dock was specifically designed to give a good typing experience. The specifications from ASUS indicates that the keys have 1.55m of travel and requires 62g of force to activate.
In real world usage, we can say that this keyboard dock is one of the more pleasant ones to use and far surpasses the Surface Pro 3's Type Cover. We would even go as far as to say that it sets the standard for other detachable hybrid devices to follow - where typing experience is concerned. To be honest, the Surface Pro 3's Type Cover is geared for portability and it does a fine job for its slim dimensions and 295g weight. On the other hand, the keyboard dock provided with the T300 Chi is geared towards replicating a proper fixed keyboard experience found in a standard notebook, but it achieves this at the expense of added heft.
With a device so thin, something has got to give. In this case, the ASUS Transformer Book T300 Chi only has a single micro-USB 3.0 port, a micro-HDMI port and a 3.5mm audio jack for outputs.
Because of their slim dimensions, connectivity is often an issue with ultra-thin notebooks and detachable hybrids. As for the ASUS Transformer Book T300 Chi, in order to accommodate its svelte 7.6mm thinness, ASUS had to forgo full-size USB 3.0 and HDMI ports in favor for smaller micro-USB 3.0 and micro-HDMI ports. Fortunately, ASUS provides a micro-USB to USB adapter, so you can still use your USB devices easily. The keyboard dock also has a micro-USB port, but that is used only for charging. The device does however have a standard 3.5mm audio jack.
Speaking of connectivity, it is odd that the ASUS Transformer Book T300 Chi does not support the latest wireless 802.11ac standard like most modern tablets and notebooks do. Instead, what we found in the device was Intel’s older Wireless-N 7625 network card, which means support for the older 802.11n standard. And since it supports two spatial streams, this also means a maximum data transfer rate of 300Mbps is possible, which is a little slow in comparison to what 802.11ac compatible devices are capable of.
Finally, the ASUS Transformer Book T300 Chi is equipped with two speakers, one at each end of the tablet display, which features ASUS' SonicMaster technology. Unfortunately, they do not impress. Even at maximum volume they were quite soft and had non-existent bass.
Performance Benchmarking
We will be testing the ASUS Transformer Book T300 Chi using our usual suite of benchmarks. And as for comparison, we will be including results from recently tested 2-in-1 convertible devices including the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro, Microsoft's Surface Pro 3, arguably its two keenest rivals in this segment. Here is the list of benchmarks used:
- PCMark 8
- 3DMark 2013
- Tomb Raider
- Far Cry 2
And here is a quick look at how the ASUS Transformer Book T300 Chi compares against its key rivals, the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro and Microsoft Surface Pro 3.
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PCMark 8
The ASUS Transformer Book T300 Chi began brightly on PCMark 8, managing a respectable 2193 points on the Home workload, which was almost 40% better than the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro and slightly better even than the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 and Dell Inspiron 13 7000, both of which were powered by supposedly more powerful Core i5 processors. However for the workloads following that, its performance was not that much different from the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro, despite having a slightly more powerful Core M processor. The Yoga 3 Pro had a substantial lead on the Storage workload by virtue of its faster PCIe-based SSD.
Futuremark 3DMark 2013
On 3D Mark 2013, the ASUS Transformer Book T300 Chi managed marginally better scores than Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro. However, the difference was so small (only around 3%) that we can probably chalk it down to standard deviation. The machines with Intel Core processors managed much better results on 3DMark 2013, with the Acer Aspire R13, which has a Core i7 processor taking the lead in this benchmark. In comparison, the Aspire R13’s scores were about 38% better than the two Core M-powered machines. Despite the better figures on the better performing machines, as a whole, all of these machines aren't cut out for gaming.
One thing we noticed was that the Transformer Book T300 Chi's tablet display got warm to touch while running 3DMark. The heat can even be felt from the display side of the device. Using our infrared temperature gun, we took a recording and found that the hottest part of the chassis recorded a rather toasty temperature of 44 degrees Celsius.
Far Cry 2
On Far Cry 2, the ASUS Transformer Book T300 Chi again managed slightly better scores than the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro. However, the difference in performance did not count for much since it was still well below the playable threshold of 30fps. In fact, none of the machines tested could hit 30fps, which is a bit sad considering Far Cry 2 is a game that is almost seven years old! In light of this, our recommendation, should you wish to play first-person shooters on such machines, is to significantly reduce the resolution as well as graphics settings - or better yet, invest in a proper gaming notebook.
Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider is a far more recent game and the results here were much more disappointing. Both the Core M-powerd ASUS Transformer Book T300 Chi and Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro failed to even achieve double digit results even on "Normal" settings. Clearly, Intel’s integrated GPUs still have a long way to go before 1080p gaming is possible. You could reduce the resolution, but that would defeat the purpose of having a high resolution screen in the first place.
Battery Life & Power Consumption
Based on our experience with the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro, the ASUS Transformer Book T300 Chi’s showing in our performance benchmark was not unexpected. But if there’s was one area it could excel in, it would be in the battery life and power consumption tests.
Despite the relatively tiny 32Whr battery, which is the smallest by far here (next in line would the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 which has a 42Whr battery), the ASUS Transformer Book T300 Chi managed a very respectable 3 hours and 57 minutes in our battery test, which simulates a mix of usage scenarios including normal word processing, watching videos, video conferencing and light gaming. This gives it a power consumption figure of just 8.1W, which is a great deal lower than any of the other machines tested including even the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro.
Portability Index
Our Portability Index factors in battery life, weight and volume so you can see which notebook is the most worthwhile to carry around. Based on our unique formula, we can see that Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro tops the charts, which is not entirely surprising considering it offers good battery life and it is incredibly slim and light. Coming in second place is the Microsoft Surface Pro 3 (with Type Cover), which is the lightest device here at just 1.1kg even with the Type Cover attached. That said, the ASUS Transformer Book T300 Chi’s score of 2.749 is still respectable and it is really letdown only by its keyboard dock, which adds quite a bit of weight.
If we were to remove the Transformer Book T300 Chi's keyboard dock, then its score shoots up to a very high 12.194 - which shows just how much weight the keyboard dock adds. In comparison, the Surface Pro 3 without its Type Cover manages "just" 7.023. The ASUS' superiority here is not all that surprising given that it is both thinner and lighter than the Surface Pro 3.
Surface Pro 3 Challenger
The concept of hybrid devices is not new, but devices that can properly execute it are few. To date, amongst the many hybrid devices we have reviewed, the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro and Microsoft Surface Pro 3 are the ones that best embody the idea of a hybrid device, which is one that combines the best aspects of a tablet and an ultraportable notebook. Of the two, the latter is probably the ASUS Transformer Book T300 Chi’s keenest competitor due to the fact that it too has a detachable keyboard and it is priced more competitively. But before we begin our detailed comparison, let’s start by summarizing the merits of the Transformer Book T300 Chi.
To begin, we really like the design of the Transformer Book T300 Chi. It looks really attractive and it is built to a very high standard. Despite its thinness and lightness, it felt sturdy, strong and did not exhibit any noticeable signs of flexing. And because it is so thin and light, the Transformer Book T300 Chi was able to fulfill its role as a tablet well. It did not feel unwieldy to handle at all, even if its 12.5-inch display is considered large by tablet standards. Speaking of its display, we found it to be sharp and the resolution is more than adequate.
Tablet mode aside, the ASUS Transformer Book T300 Chi also worked well as notebook, thanks mostly to the incredibly well-made keyboard dock. Admittedly, ASUS could have made the keyboard dock a little more convenient to use, such as enabling it to draw power directly from the tablet as opposed to requiring a charge every 84 hours, but we are willing to overlook it since the keyboard was such a joy to use. The touchpad was also excellent as it was responsive and accurate. All of these mean that the Transformer Book T300 Chi works well not just as tablet but also as an ultra-portable notebook.
Compromises have to be made to achieve the tablet display's 7.6mm thickness.
However, it does have its fair share of limitations. To begin, performance is not its strongest suit. While it was slightly faster than the Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro, it trailed the Core i5-powered Surface Pro 3 by around 15% to 30%, depending on the benchmark and work scenario. The gap in performance is further increased when compared to more powerful devices with Core i7 processors. And while it was whisper quiet (there’s no fan, after all), the ASUS Transformer Book T300 Chi can get quite hot to touch, especially after watching high-resolution videos or running CPU-intensive applications for extended periods of time. Finally, because of its slim dimensions, ASUS has had to forgo full-size USB 3.0 and HDMI ports for micro-USB and micro-HDMI ports, which means adapters are necessary if you wish to use them with your existing devices. Fortunately, ASUS provides a micro-USB to USB adapter.
When viewed as whole, we think that the ASUS Transformer Book T300 Chi’s pros far outweigh its cons, so how does it measure up against the Microsoft Surface Pro 3, arguably its keenest competitor? In terms of performance, the Transformer Book T300 Chi trails behind. As we mentioned, the Core i5 processor in the Surface Pro 3 is the better performer and the difference in performance can be pretty substantial, but that is not to say that it is underpowered. In our usage experience, the Transformer Book T300 Chi feels adequately fast and only really showed signs of slowing down when running intensive professional applications like Photoshop and InDesign. The bottom line here is that anyone used to the performance of an Intel Core i5 processor and above is going to be able to notice the loss in performance, but the difference in real world terms is not so great as to be a deal breaker if you intend to use the ASUS Transformer Book T300 Chi as it is - which is to say a a hybrid device that's great for tablet mode use with a really usable keyboard to complement your existing ecosystem of products like a powerful and extensible desktop machine or DTR notebook. By contrast, the Surface Pro 3 is designed with office and creative professionals in mind with better hardware and designed with accessories like the docking station in mind to make it an all-round system suitable for most work needs.
As for design and portability, we are giving it to the ASUS Transformer Book T300 Chi. Its tablet display is wonderfully thin at just 7.6mm, which is a whole 1.5mm or nearly 17% thinner than the Microsoft Surface Pro 3. It is also 100g lighter and it also has a sharper, higher resolution display. And while its keyboard dock adds quite a bit of weight and thickness, it provides a much more pleasant typing experience than the Surface Pro 3’s Type Cover, which feels somewhat compromised in comparison. However, points have to be given to Microsoft for giving the Surface Pro 3 full-sized USB 3.0 ports and Mini-DisplayPort.
Yet another (indirect) competitor is Samsung's Galaxy Note Pro 12.2 which is an Android tablet that's made for the road warrior. It was an expensive proposition when new a year ago and it's value proposition has eroded further with a surge in 2-in-1 Windows 8.1 laptop options from late last year. It is nonetheless as interesting contender as it's an ideal work and play tablet for those who've established a simplified workflow on Android, but your options and extensibility are limited by the software platform.
The ASUS Transformer Book T300 Chi is exceptionally well-designed and will suit mainstream users looking for a ultra-portable hybrid device who need an excellent productivity tablet, as well as an excellent keyboard.
At the end of the day, it really boils down to what your priorities are. If you value performance above everything else in a single machine, the Surface Pro 3 is the one to have. Besides, if you find the Type Cover too iffy to use, you could always opt for a third-party portable Bluetooth keyboard (but that would mean lugging two pieces of equipment). However, if you're not demanding and don’t mind trading the slightly lower performance of the Core M processor for a stronger battery uptime, the ASUS Transformer Book T300 Chi is the best implementation of Intel’s new low-power Core M processor that we have seen yet.
As for pricing, the two are surprisingly well-matched. The ASUS Transformer Book T300 Chi comes in at S$1498, which is really decently priced considering its design, build quality, features and performance. The Microsoft Surface Pro 3 comes in various flavors but one with a Core i5 processor, 4GB RAM and 128GB SSD will cost S$1,491 (with the optional Type Cover). If you want one with the same 8GB RAM as the ASUS device, you will be looking at S$1,871, but then this model also has a more capacious 256GB SSD. The Lenovo Yoga 3 Pro is not competitive at all, considering the base model with 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD is priced at S$2,298.
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