ASUS U500vz/UX51vz Owners' Lounge!

Is this for the "touch" or the new 3280x2000 pixel non-touch?

 

I went with dual channel. Am mobile right now, so will add the details when I get back home and check the box. I have the old 4gb stored in it.

 

Ok, there appear to be more people on here with this computer now and more activity, so I'm going to ask about this again. My UX51VZ exhibits what I call odd behavior when it is shut down. For those of you on here try this......With the notebook plugged in to the power supply and the wall outlet, do a shut down with the lid open. Leave the lid open. After it shuts down and is totally off, unplug the charger. Does it come back on by itself? Mine does. I love this machine. It just seems odd to me why anyone would design something to come on by itself just because you unplug the charger. I updated the BIOS to 204 and it still does it.

 

One thing that is keeping me from buying this laptop is that you only get either a matte nontouch screen or a glossy touch screen.

I would prefer a matte touchscreen.

Asus makes one here
ET1611PUT - All-in-One PCs - ASUS

Wonder if you could request they put that finish on this machine?

 

Is the new version of 2880x1620 resolution matte or glossy screen?

 

I'm interested in purchasing one of these. I'm looking for the touch version but the only one I could find in the U.S. seems to be the one in the microsoft store... which has integrated graphics. Does anyone know where I can find a model with the discrete nvidia gpu?

 

THe Microsot Store one has the 650M

 

Today Internet got flooded with news about competitor for this laptop:
Dell Precision M3800 MacBook Pro rival confirmed: 3200 x 1800 display rumored - SlashGear
Maybe it will also push ux51vz to be updated earlier.

 

Hey guys,

So I'm debating whether or not to buy the U51VZ now or to wait until a Haswell version is released. I'm starting college in the Fall (classes start on August 26th) and I ideally would want to make the purchase before classes start. Is it unlikely that the Haswell version will be released in the next month or so? Or would it be worth waiting until half-way through the semester to buy the updated version? Are the benefits going to be worth waiting for? I assume the GPU will be Nvidia GeForce GT 750M rather than the current 650M and that the battery life would be maybe an hour or so longer. Thanks for all your help in advance!

 

Does anyone know if the UX51VZ-US71T as sold by the microsoft store comes with the Nvidia GT650M graphics card? On the microsoft store website the only graphics card listed is the Intel HD 4000. I was chatting with someone on Microsoft's live chat who nearly swore to me that the model sold in their store only had the Intel GPU. I even linked him to Asus' site which explicitly states that the Touch version of the U500 comes with a Nvidia GT650M GPU. Can anyone shed light on the situation or tell me how I can further verify which GPU is included? Here are the relevant links:

Microsoft Store: ASUS ZENBOOK Prime UX51Vz-US71T Touchscreen Ultrabook - Microsoft Store

Asus Zenbook Website: ZENBOOK Touch U500VZ

 

Hi all,
I'm having a problem with the Wi=Fi reception. It's very unstable and would disconnect every 2-3 minutes.
Apparently, it's a "known issue". To quote an article from anandtech.com:
"I really like the UX51VZ, but there have been a few flies in the ointment. One is that WiFi connectivity is intermittent—there’s a workaround that involves disabling Bluetooth support, but while I can live with that it’s not ideal for many people."

I tried disabling both bluetooth adapters in Device Manager and Bluetooth connectivity per se in W8 options, but it didn't work.

Does anyone know any particulars of this "workaround" or any other tips on how to fix this issue? Very annoying for a laptop of this class.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

I have this same issue with WiFi. When I connect to my VPN at work every 2 to 3 minutes it disconnects then has to reconnect. Very annoying. I have already disabled Bluetooth also.

 

Have you tried a different driver version (maybe even an older one)?

 

Never a problem with a clean Win 8 Pro install nor a problem with Mint Olivia Linux.

Maybe a Asus OEM Win 8 issue? Though we haven't seen much mention of the problem here.

 

I'm troubleshooting this more today. I disabled Bluetooth in Device Manager with the same result. However, in the Advanced Tab for the WiFi from Device Manager there is also a Bluetooth AMP setting (not sure what that is really) but I disabled it and will try again today to connect to work.

Yes, I had the older drivers with the same result, and installed the latest ones on the Asus UX51VZ download site and no luck either. I think the Intel site may have even newer drivers, so I'll try that if disabling BT doesn't do it.

Update....I fixed the problem, or well at least I should say I know what it is.

When I was connecting to my VPN I was at my kitchen table that is pretty far from the router. I didn't think it was a problem because the WiFi in the system tray was showing 5 bars and excellent signal strength. I decided to move upstairs to my office where the router is. I've been using it about an hour now and not one disconnect. I moved the notebook back down to the kitchen and it did the same thing, disconnecting every minute and reconnecting. Back upstairs and no disconnects again.

Not sure why it would be disconnecting in the kitchen when it shows such a strong signal, but it does. Of course in my office I'm only 5 feet away from the router. Possibly in the kitchen it is just the position of the notebook. I'll try it in some different spots. I don't know where the WiFi antenna is in this thing, but I'll experiment a little and see if I can find a position in the kitchen that works. Funny thing is I have my old HP laptop that never once disconnected in 3 years sitting in that same spot. I also never noticed the internet disconnecting in that spot on my Asus, just VPN. I imagine the VPN connection is probably much more sensitive to a low or intermittent signal.

 

Davidoo,
VPNs are notoriously sensitive to latency. Am mobile right now, so later today I'll post a link or two for apps that are much more accurate than Windows for WiFi. status.

 

Still mobile, but here are two that I use, both are free.

Wi-Fi Inspector | Xirrus

and this one is even more powerful:
inSSIDer for Home – Discover The Wi-Fi Around You | MetaGeek

 

So giving up on waiting for HasWell. Getting the USA touch model.

Any huge problems? Sounds like wifi only issue that can be solved with new intel drivers

 

Had a U500VZ for a week now and on the whole I love it.

Yes the fan does seem to be on all/most of the time but its quiet and I can live with it.

What does annoy me though is the touchpad:
1) Asus Smart Gesture often crashes after waking up from sleep so I loose the ability to two finger scroll and two finger right-click. It can be restarted by killing it in Task Manger and re-running the exe.
2) The scrolling is a bit jumpy, not that smooth and seems to have different sensitivity depending on the window!
3) The two finger right click works pretty intermittently, most times I have to try it more than once

So it would appear that Smart Gesture is a bit flaky, are there alternatives out there that you guys are using instead?
Thanks

 

Ok, didn't wait for an answer and downloaded the latest Elantech touchpad driver from the Asus site.

It's much better - smoother scrolling and a reliable right click.

BUT the scrolling is reversed and Smart Gesture has not been replaced with a smarter UI for configuring it! Help!

 

Thanks Guilden. I downloaded the inSSIDer. It is a good tool and gives you a lot of information. The odd thing is it said my connection that had constant disconnects (5Ghz channel 149 and 153) was at a -60db and a Link Score of 100 (perfect) on the tool, yet I get disconnects. I have been trying various channels and combinations all day and finally figured out the that dual channel width (40 MHz bandwidth) might have been what was causing the disconnects. As you said, VPN can be more finicky than the usual Internet surfing. I get the best signal strength on Channel 36 and switched to singe channel 20MHz and it is stable now (at least for the last half hour test). The speed takes a hit going from 40 to 20 MHz channel width, but still getting 130 Mbps. I had as high as 300 Mbps with the 40 Mhz.

I like the way the inSSIDer shows what channel all the other networks in my neighborhood are on. On my 5GHz band, I was the only one, so all channels were clear. Thanks!

 

Has anyone has any problems with this interfacing with an Iomega prestige external HD? I've found that when trying to copy files onto the portable HDD it freezes at the 'calculating' stage of the process. This happens regardless of the size of the file transferring. I think this is a problem particular to this combination of w8 and Iomega drive as I've seen a very similar issue on an HP forum.

Weirdly it works fine with any of my other USB sticks/drives. Just not the Iomega one (which is hugely frustrating as it's my main, 1TB one!). Any ideas what it could be? (Also this problem takes away the ability to re-format the portable HDD from this computer (despite being able to do it from my vista laptop). Anyone else had similar?

 

USA Touch at Microsoft Store: GIMPED on 2GB 650m!!!

While I saw this in the microsoft store at Oakbrook when it was first introduced, it DID have the NVIDIA sticker on it at least. Also they listed the 2GB

Ordered one with my faculty student discount.

Well guess what. Somehow they ripped the 650 out. I am shocked and horrified. It is going back.

$2200 for a laptop with HD4000 - seriously?

It was IN THE STORE. I touched adn played with it.

Also, btw, they only give Win8 - not pro. So sicne most peopel spending this money would use for work, you can't join a domain etc.

Crazy.

 

Has anyone installed windows 8.1

Since updating my nvidea driver does not work correctly and as such my screen resolution is not displaying properly. I have tried to update every driver imaginable. The nvidea driver update software fails telling me I have to install an intel driver. When I attempt to access the nvidea control panel it tells me I am not currently using a display attached to an nvideo GPU.

Does anyone have any advice?

Cheers.

 

I went with Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600MHz 8GB CORSAIR Vengeance Model CMSX8GX3M1A1600C10 Laptop Memory - Newegg.com Phew, the price went up drastically since last December. I paid almost half the current price. Ouch!

No BIOS change necessary, it's detected immediately and used.

 

Hello,
has anyone ever encountered this issue?

My energy program swaps to Maximum Power automatically (since I use Battery Care) when laptop is in charge.
But after a while my laptop is in charge, I see CPU frequency in activity management at 1,17 Ghz (and not 2,2) which is the frequency it uses in Battery Saving. Already checked in intel control center, everything is set to maximum. What could it be?

 

Really? I just ordered mine last thursday from the microsoft store and received it today through next day air. Mine has the 650M in it, along with the sticker.

 

Did u check device manager?

 

I recently bought a ux51vz xh71 and have nothing but love for it so far except one problem. Every time i plug in my smartphone, a Motorola droid razr maxx hd, Motorola mobility software doesn't launch or recognize the phone the same way it does on other computers, so that when i unplug the phone, which i have no option to eject as a device, the computer crashes and i get the blue screen and an npc watchdog error. I believe this may be a windows 8 issue, but still any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

@React A wild shot, but have you tried downloading the drivers and software from their site. It's possible that the first time you do it it automatically installs the driver and it is this that is failing. If the driver is pre-installed it may skip this step and then work.

 

Unfortunately no one got back to me on a better UI for the touchpad but I found this Asus UX31E – setting up the Elantech touchpad driver for Windows 8 | wj32 which at least showed me how to find the relevant entries in the registry.

Let me know if there is a better way of controlling the touchpad.

 

Yeah, I have the drivers installed and everything. I'm also getting fps in games that wouldn't be possible with integrated graphics. Not sure what happened with yours ):

 

Yeah i tried downloading the drivers for my phone from their site multiple times and though it goes through and seems to download onto the harddrive, it doesnt pop up when i put the phone in like it does on my pc with windows 7. I've troubleshot this quite a bit and was really just wondering if maybe some asus software was getting in the way or possibly there is some way to safely eject i havent come across.

 

Ok, did a "refresh" from the image on the SSD for my Touch USA. Yep, Borderlands 2 is now smooth and PhysX is enabled (but went to 720p with Physx and added SMAA Injector)

 

Has anyone tried to update their Intel Rapid Storage Technology Driver (IRST)? I can't seem to do it. I have version 11.6.0.1030 and the Asus download site for the UX51VZ has a newer driver for the IRST, version 11.7.0.1013. I download the file, extract from the zip folder and double click the .exe file and it acts like it updates. There is also a patch.exe file that I have run many times and nothing happens. After I do the restart that is prompted I look in Control Panel/Add-Remove programs and it still has the old version.

I'm one of those that is OCD about having the latest drivers, but have given up on installing this one. Because it is for the way the SSD drives works, perhaps there is another way you have to install it, or I shouldn't install the update at all?

 

So that means your USA Touch model from the Microsoft Store does have the NVIDIA 650M?

 

Does the HDMI port on the UX51VZ support HDMI input? Would I be able to use the laptop as a monitor for my Xbox 360?

 

Hi Folks

I can appreciate the protruding SD card is a P.I.T.A.

I remember seeing someone on the search for a low-profile MicroSD adapter...

Well I've managed to find some info. Just have a google around the Raspberry PI community :

Here's a low profile SD -> Micro SD Adapter : Adafruit Low-Profile SD to Micro-SD Card Adaptor for Raspberry Pi: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories
Here's a hacked SD Card : Raspberry Pi • View topic - SD Card Cutting Tutorial

I've just ordered the Micro SD adapter and will report back how well it works.

Cheers

 

Its just output. If you're looking for input you want a USB TV tuner card with HDMI in.

 

Thanks for the input, Guilden!

It seems my dad (he didn't refuse helping me, which was basically cool for opening the back lid, which really was a bit tricky because of the self-adhesive tape) didn't put the ram properly in place or didn't position the protective foil properly. So, after checking that that and replacing both, everything’s fine

 

I am trying to connect an Eizo CX270 monitor with 2560 by 1440 px resolution, which has HDMI, DVI or Display Port input.

1. Standard HDMI cable won’t work.
2. HDMI to DVI Dual Link cable won’t work.
3. Highspeed HDMI to HDMI cable won’t work.
4. DVI to DVI Dual Link cable with HDMI to DVI adaptor won’t work.

I only can choose Full HD resp. 1920 by 1200 px resolution as max. Next try will be Highspeed HDMI cable with DVI to HDMI adapter ...

I also added individual resolution settings via Nvidia System Settings, which resulted in the same visual size on the monitor (max of 1920 by 1200) but with cramped resolution. Also any combination of scaling in the monitor’s OSD and in Nvidia System Settings won’t do the trick.

Has anyone got a similar PC/monitor setting working?

 

Hi guys! I am a brand new owner of the sweet Zenbook U500vz, and so far everything about this machine is great! I only have one problem right now. The problem is, that the screen keeps changing brightness randomly, which is quite annoying. It happens when I have illuminated the keyboard.

Any help?

 

This can happen when you have the auto screen brightness feature enabled. The light sensor is on top of the screen near the camera. Especially if there is a light source behind you, this can make the screen brightness change often as you move around and the light changes going towards the sensor. If you want to turn this off, go to the Settings by moving your mouse near the lower right corner of the screen....or use the Windows Key + I combination. Click on the "Change PC Settings" on the bottom right once the charms bar opens. Then under "General" look for the setting to turn on or off "Adjust my screen brightness automatically." I actually like the auto brightness feature, but you can turn it off here and the screen will stay the same brightness all the time.

 

Just found a solution: http://whrl.pl/Rc44I9

I connected the monitor via High Speed HDMI cable and created a dual monitor setup.

Open Nvidia Control Panel
1. Switch to 'Change resolution'
2. Select your monitor
3. 'Customize'
4. 'Create Custom Resolution' at the bottom (maybe you have to check the activation for other resolutions)
5. Enter the following
Horizontal: 2560
Vertical: 1440
Refresh Rate: 35Hz
Colour Depth: 32bit
Scan Type: Progressive
Timing: CVT reduced blank
6. 'Test' and confirm its working
7. Go back to the list of available resolutions
8. Select the new one and 'Apply'

 

Still have this issue where the IRST driver's won't update. Can someone else try to update from the Asus site and see if you can get version 11.7.0.1013? I run the update and it prompts me to restart, yet I still have the old 11.6.0.1030 version after the restart.

 

Hey guys, I just got my new UX51vz about a week ago. I have updated the Bios to 204, and the Fan at Idle is still quite loud. Any insight?

 

Same with my Bios 204 Zenbook. When I opened it for RAM upgrade, I saw a heating pipe going over the board between the two fans, but it seems this isn't enough cooling ... I saw some writing about a fan control application, but as my office is in top floor under the roof and as it's summer time, I won't risk any damage by changing fan speed/cooling.
Sent from my Windows Phone 8X by HTC using Board Express

 

still no news regarding a refresh?

Have they actually said they wont be refreshing it? at least then i dont need to hunt for news all the time....

 

I have not seen or heard any information regarding this. I did email ASUS with no response.

 

What is a refresh?