Asus Model: Q501LA-BBI5T03

Yeah that is confusing. I was trying to say that if you look at the bottom of the laptop, there is a layer of the soft feeling plastic and then there's another type of plastic underneath this layer that has the lower melting point.

 

What about waiting for the other Best Buy Model to go on sale? The Q550LF-BBI7T07?

Both designs look the same and the Q550 has a CD drive.
I thought there was a slight chance I could consider this laptop but that all went out he window when I realized it has an integrated intel HD 4600.

To me its worth it to pay a few hundred more for a tier 2 GPU (GT 745m) and get an i7 to go along with the IPS display.
And yes that IPS display is stunning, I don't know why a person would say its okay, I compared it with other computers at best buy and I can Asus has one of the best 1080p FHD displays out there. Sony, Lenovo, Toshiba had the 1366 x 768 or 1600 x 900 that either had bad color, brightness, clarity but Asus has none of those.

 

Just picked up this laptop yesterday. So far I am really liking it. The estimated battery life is 8hr 39mins, and have not had it long enough to verify. The one thing I noticed instantly, is the smallest power brick I have ever seen on a laptop and I love it. I also know you can charge the entire laptop n about an hour or so. Just figured I had to share how small the power brick was, as this is a huge feature on a laptop that you have to carry around with you.

2 issues I have found. 1 after taking a nap, I came back and it was powered OFF not SLEEP. Anyone know how to fix this? I can see people losing work with this.

I could not find settings for the Gesture Touchpad settings?

Sam

 

On the 550, keep in-mind the CPU is a DUAL core i7 not QUAD core. It's still a value for the upgraded memory, disk, and descrete graphics but CPU performance isn't much better.

 

550 also thicker and heavier, though if you aren't a student you may not care

 

I got the Q501LA as well because it was thinner and possibly less heavy than the 550. I also preferred the Q501LA's mousepad because the 550 has a similar mousepad to the HP envy Sleekbook (beats) that makes the clak-clak-clak noise. I also tried looking for other options but after seeing the ASUS screen res, I could not go back to any other computer with lower screen res and be comfortable with them. The only problem that I have is that the HDD noise is very noticeable in a very quiet room. The fan also goes off randomly some times although it is pretty quiet compared to previous computers that I had.

 

That is the main reason why I am holding off on buying the laptop. I don't understand why there would be an i7 that would be dual core. Either push that down to i5 or just have it be a quad core i7. I understand entending battery life concept but they could have done quad core starting at 1.5ghz. But then again I am not a power user, I don't do video editting or heavy gaming but I would like to future proof the laptop as much as possible.

A difference of 1 pound or so wouldn't even be noticeable to me. The thickness, I haven't checked that out yet, I'll go next time and compare both models.

 

Just out of curiosity, when do your unit's fans turn on? Mine seems to be pretty loud around 25C (using Speedfan) for both cores but can be heard around 21C.

 

I updated my BIOS to the newest version and it seemed to fix the problem. I found it on Asus's website for drivers and the directions are there too. Hope that helps.

 

If thats what you want. I don't need a cd. I have a portable. I wanted it to be thinner. I don't need a Gpu card because I'm not going to game with it other then dumb games on Facebook. I don't need the I7. I'm not going to multitask. The Gpu takes more battery. But this is going to be my in house mobile toy for me and the wife. I have a serious quad core I7 high end gaming cpu with a Bluray drive and SSD. Just depends on what you want Waiting right now for the Ups guy

 

I did go and check out the Q501 today and one of the more attractive options is that it is thin and easier to hold than the Q550. I don't have any desktop stations to fall back on so I need to make sure that this laptop can handle what I throw at it. The nvidia 745m should come with optimus technology so it its wont the dedicated gpu wont take more battery as long as it would fall back on the intel 4600.

The 750$ is a good price point, you should write a review on it when it arrives!

 

Yup all what you want.If you want a cd or gpu the Q55 is nice. I just got it so.Q501 Nice and thin..good so far

 

So what is the asus installation wizard? Suppose to download or just garbage?

 

We've had ours for a week now. So far, so good. Battery life has been great (compared to our previous HP laptop) and the novelty of the amazing screen hasn't worn off yet. The fan runs quiet during normal use, and only kicks up the speed when I play a games that are more involved than those on Facebook. It only gets slightly warm on the bottom, but not hot enough to interrupt surfing sessions for hours on your lap. It's fairly light for a 15.6" screen and the i5 is quick. It's not a power horse, mind you. I wouldn't try to play hardcore games on it or do major video editing, as it would function, but be very slow.

My only issues are that when it goes to sleep/hibernate (not sure which it was), it was difficult to wake it up. Normal startup is pretty quick. Not fast, like an ssd, but quick. However, after this sleep mode, it seemed to take longer to respond.

My other issue is it's a fingerprint magnet. This wouldn't be such an issue if it weren't so pretty, but it is pretty and thus it is an issue (for me).

We're halfway into our 14 day return policy and so far we're keeping it!

 

Fan? I didn't notice a fan on the Q501LA? There are no vents? There is a fan in this thing?

 

Open the laptop and look in between where the screen attaches to the keyboard. There are vent slots that shoot the air up across the screen. If you look at the pictures I posted on page 5 with the bottom off you can see the fan.

 

Purchased this laptop on Saturday and I like it a lot so far. However, My touchpad is a little uneven since the top left corner is slightly sunken in. I'm going to exchange it for a new one.

Would anyone happen to know what kind of memory is needed to upgrade this unit. I heard PC3L which makes sense. Anyone know of a good brand for the PC3L?

Also, the specs indicate that this unit is maxed at 8GB of RAM, however, looking up the processor 16GB is supported. If I add more than 8GB of RAM what will happen?

 

You can find this on the Bestbuy site. The reviews under the laptop. Post your findings when your done. I INSTALLED A 360 GIG SOLID STATE DRIVE. I TOOK OUT THE Single 1.35V 2 RAM GIG STICK. THE OTHER 4 GIGS ARE SOLDERED ONTO THE MOTHERBOARD. The Asus EASILY TOOK A Single 8 GIG Stick UPGRADE. Make sure it is 1.35V PC3L type. Mushkin works very good, but will cost about $70.
To take off the back cover.. you have to use a super thin spludger kit, like for iPods. Slowly pry off the corner and side edges off the back cover after all screws are removed, then do the backside. Use the spludger going 90 degrees each time to pop off the clips that are around the perimeter of the entire back cover. The front middle is the hardest, so it will naturally come off lastly on it's own.
The advertising and Asus tech support say this unit is 8 Gig ram max.. NOT TRUE. Most of the latest laptops can take more than the recommended max, and not have ANY issues, except for better performance. THIS Q501LA WITH A SSD IS SUPER FAST TO ME. For such a low price on the laptop, you may be able to afford a 240 gig ssd, and make it your dream device for years to come. Thats not me just a review I saw there.

 

That review is what I was referring to in my post when I said "i heard" lol

 

I bought this laptop today from BestBuy. The power button is little bit outward in my case. Do you have the same issue?

 

Ah but.... The extra ram won't be dual channel, correct? If 4 gigs are soldered the the mono then you would need 4 gigs in the second slot, no more no less to get dual channel.

Im not sure if I'm going to keep my Q501l. My main gripe is the overly arm color temperature of the screen. White windows look yellowish. I suppose it's a matter of taste, but I prefer a more neutral pallet.

No dual band WiFi. This is replaceable too at least.

Someone mentioned the track pad.. mine makes a little clack sound every time I tap, like a cheap piece of plastic. Annoys me everytime. Other than that this laptop is a really good deal...

$750 + 4G ram + SSD+ new WiFi = 1K give or take

 

No because I usually let it go to standyby or turn it of with the computer never touch the button. And its not in a spot I will hit JME

 

Dual Channel Configuration... I just looked at CPU-Z and my WEI score, and the stock 2gb+4gb is running in dual channel mode. Maybe this is a new feature of Haswell chipsets to allow for mis matched ram sizes?

Also, the default Asus power plan was set to performance.CPUZ showed a processor speed of 2.5 ghz - just an FYI if you want to save battery might want to change the plan settings

 

Maybe its your screen or you adjustments? My white looks white. All colors look pretty good. If you can't find one right away you like better exchange it and gain 15 more days?? I think you do? Maybe not?

 

Try putting the laptop next to another screen like the IPad, phone, or another laptop screen and you will see what I mean most likely.

I've noticed the ux31a touch has the yellowish color as well, so it must be Asus touch pannels. I've tried every adjustment but can't get it to what I like. Better, but not fully. I'm just used to the blueish screens I guess..

 

I'm on my second Q501 in the 15 day window with BBuy. Great machine, but both have the same issues noted in a couple of posts - the fan can almost always be heard. It's not overly loud, but in a quiet room it is noticeable. Background noise, playing music etc hide the noise, but it would be great if it wasn't present at all.

 

Mine is pretty quite. But if i don have noboady home and no noise I can barely hear it from time to time. When its being used. But every lap top I've owned I could hear a fan. Except my 13" with a ssd drive. Maybe they don't get as hot?? I can still hear it if I'm gaming. But I have to listen for it. I think all laptops will make some "quiet" noise

 

I'm comparing it to the last 2 Dell's I've had which didn't have any constant noise. AND, the floor model at BBuy is quiet. I know there's a lot of ambient noise there in the store, but I can tell its quiet as a mouse.

 

Does anyone's spacebar make a squeaking noise, especially when hitting close to the center?

 

Yup I've been working/playing with mine for over an hours now. No noise. If you have on that makes noise dunno

 

Could you post more pictures or better yet a video of the laptop. I need to buy a new haswell soon seeing my chronos laptop has become very flaky after year and warranty exchange lets me pick up something else. They don't have this laptop on display at any of the bestbuy's near me (Chicago) and I really wanted to get a good look at it before I buy it. I wanted a UX31A-BHI5T11 but the lack of upgrade ability (ram and especially SSD) turned me away. It would have been perfect for me for commute (college student) but I'm hoping the Q501LA-BBI5T03 won't be too heavy.

 

Has anyone had problems with the keyboard? It seems several reviews have commented that the keys don't register very well. The model I used seemed to have a similar problem at the store, and I would have to delete and retype a word every 25-40 characters.

One thing that bothered me was that the keyboard was a bit mushier, and a bit different from standard chiclet keyboards and I found myself having trouble typing at higher speeds (~80 wpm or so). Is this a problem for anyone else, or is it something you get used to?

 

Keyboard feels fine to me. My daughter types 80 wpm no problem

 

I bought my Q501LA 5 days ago and I'm very pleased overall. I'm going to mention a couple things, some of which may have already been mentioned.

1. Fingerprint Magnet
Yes, you can just leave it be with the finger prints or you can wipe it off as well. Personally, it does bother me slightly because finger prints stand out on this rather shiny metallic design.





2. Glossy screen
I absolutely love this model's 1920x1080 resolution and the IPS display (although I do think IPS is overrated). It's very glossy however, as you can see in the picture. So if you'll be using your laptop primarily in a setting where this will be an issue, this is something to take into account. Touch screen is absolutely fabulous, very responsive and quick. The screen itself does not accumulate finger prints as much as the rest of its body, from my observation thus far.





3. Backlit keyboard
There are 3 different brightness settings for the backlit keyboard which can be very stylish and/or useful in a low-light setting. One problem worth mentioning is that it's not too easy to distinguish whether caps lock is on or not when the keyboard is lit up.

4. Stiff Hinge
I previously owned 3 HP models, all of whose hinges broke so I was very paranoid about whether or not this product will also lead to another hinge problem. It's one long hinge, which I thought would be harder to break. However, the hinge is pretty stiff in my opinion. I do understand that it is a touch screen laptop so its resistance needs to be stronger than a regular laptop, but I do feel that its stiffness may cause the hinge some problem later in the future. (Does anyone else that owns this product feel the same? Or provide me with some reassurance? lol)

5. Fan noise?
Yes, I am able to hear my fan running, but I don't see it as something abnormal or problematic because it is HDD and it's SIGNIFICANTLY quieter than my HP Pavilion dm4 that I purchased in 2010.

6. Keyboard performance
A few people have said that the keyboard sometimes does not register what they typed. For my particular product, that's not a problem. It is true that there is no crispy tactile feedback that my HP had, but I can still type fine on this keyboard without any hindering of my typing performance or efficiency.

Overall, I am very satisfied with the Asus Q501LA but I do worry that my laptop may have a abnormally stiffer hinge, so I plan on going into Best Buy to check out the display model and compare.

 

Good to know. Thanks!

 

Just signed up to ask a few questions as ive purchased this for studys over in the UK! Currently at customs. Here in the UK, theres practically no Haswell ultrabooks, even laptops for that matter so with the taxes, i thought the prices were pretty reasonable!

One question, why is it that this model has almost no coverage on the internet? Practically, the only useful site with a little detail is here. Not even ASUS has any details on this model. Why is this?

 

What do you all think about the fact that the fan blows the hot air directly onto the edge of the screen hinge? If the air is hot this could affect the longevity of the screen. The last HP laptop that I had started having screen issues and I think it was because the vent was on the back side and it would heat up the bottom side of the screen area.

 

Dunno I don't feel large amounts of heat blowing out after many hours of use.

 

Take a look here. Seems to me it is the one mentioned in this thread, although named differently.

 

Yes, I am having this same problem and it is very frustrating. I would seriously consider returning the model for this reason alone, except that I have already scratched up the casing a little so probably they won't take it back. I wonder whether anyone has tried returning the model or getting it repaired with respect to this issue? Would it actually be considered a problem they need to fix or is it just "that's the way it is, deal with it"?

For reference the keyboard failed to register a total of about 10 characters in the course of typing this post.

 

I would try to exchange it and say that's defective, outlining the keyboard problems and possibly providing other reviewers comments as well. It might be a quality control issue with the keyboards.

 

Mine is fine but if yours is that bad I would definitely return it in exchange for another.

 

Yeah the keyboard on this laptop is atrocious. I can't type asentence without a character not eing inputed. Typing above speeds of 80 WPM with any degree of acuracy is impossible. Half th etime when I attempt to log into websites, I have to retype the password because the keys wern't registered correctly. I've never had this problem on any other keyboard. I'm returning it tomorrow. It's a shame because everything else about the laptop is fantastic.

 

Jesus. Now im extremely regretting my purchase. the price for a Haswell ultrabook with those aesthetics at that price seemed to be perfect. Even with my import charges, it would still be pretty well priced.
Ive suffered too much already. Its been in customs for 2 weeks and is finally getting charges calculated. Ive already wasted too much time on importing a laptop for studies and have been through too many problems without one and a lot of shouting from teachers.
Should i just purchase a cheap Dell Inspiron 15z or hope that my keyboard is fine? are a lot of people having this? I type about 90 WPM but I never max out my desktop keyboard which is pathetic and only registers 3 keys at a time.
Could it be this that you guys are wondering why its not registering? Maybe youre all used to 6KRO or NKRO?

 

I've just had a week with my Q501LA. here are some random observations. So far, so good. The keyboard on mine is fine, no missed strokes, quieter than ones from the past I've had. The whole computer seems well built, haven't found any construction issues. The glossy screen hasn't bothered me, touch is accurate, both on the screen and the touch pad. Windows 8 seems simple enough once I got used to it. I'm sure there are quirks that I'm going to come across, I've found a few things I'd do different, and maybe I can change it's behavior...later. There is bloatware, a lot that may be useful to others, but perhaps not me. I do anticipate problems once I start to remove it, based on other forum threads. I did a complete backup, just as insurance. Battery life doing regular internet, and a few movies to boot is about 9 hours. Granted, video editing or other activities will probably be a lot less. Wireless hasn't posed any problems and seems to be better than I'm used to on my old Toshiba. Heat? Just watched a streaming movie after being online most of the day, sitting on a bed and it's barely warm on the bottom. The aluminum is cool everywhere else. Yes, it is a fingerprint magnet. I was wondering if there was some sort of polish or wax that could tone this down, but it doesn't seem wise with a computer. In some lighting conditions, backlight and silver keys don't mesh, but for the most part, it works ok. I think a ssd and memory increase will be in the future, but for now it seems fast enough, though not as speedy as I was expecting an i5 to be. I'm not a gamer, so I can't report on that arena. The HD screen is beautiful. As I said, so far the hardware is good, but I haven't gone deeply into it...yet. Maybe my opinion may change later. For all the choices I saw at the Best Buy, this computer seemed the best pick, save for the Q550. But for the price difference between that and this, I was able to get a tablet also.

 

I finally got it in and i do have the keyboard problem as well but it doesnt happen so frequently, pretty disappointed on this regard.
Apart from this, overall, im happy with it!

Im using the laptop right now on its charge that it came with. Came with 80% and im using it atm. Im seeing all the 9 - 10 hours being posted. How do you attain this? Did you have to lower the brightness and put it into power saver? The screen seems to be just bright enough for daylight use when it is on 100%.
If anyone could shed some light on this, id be greatful!

 

I've had this notebook about a week and in the last couple days I've noticed that the battery icon in the systray sometimes gives a message like 99% available (plugged in, not charging). The folks at Asus support suggested I try reinstalling the driver, and when that didn't work, they suggested I take it back to Best Buy and get the battery replaced.

I tried unplugging it and letting the battery drain below 95% and plugging it back in. At that point, the battery charged up to 100% and stayed there for a while and then it went back to the previous message.

The agent at Geek Squad that I spoke to thought that this may be a new feature to prevent the battery from overcharging and to extend its life. He suggested I let it discharge to below 30% and then see if it charges up okay and not to worry about it if it does. He also said that since the battery cannot be easily removed, the unit would have to be sent out to be repaired and that can take up to two weeks. This is my biggest concern with this model. I've never had a laptop whose battery couldn't be easily removed before.

Has any one else encountered this issue? Do you think it's a problem? What do you think about the fact that the battery can't be removed?

 

This is definitely intended behavior, meant to extend battery life. Modern notebook batteries decay the most while charged at maximum. High temperature is also a factor, but the more time a battery spends between 20-90% charge the better. You can read more about Lithium-based Bateries here.

 

Just checked mine and it is also saying 99% etc.
Should be fine since the battery life ive been getting is decent.

 

Mine still runs great. No keyboard problems. Not loud at all. If I put it by my ear I can hear the fan. But I don't have the best hear either. I work in Construction. But after having the Asus for over month. I probably wouldn't get a touch screen. Kinda cool but I don't use it. I think when I was comparing Laptops the touch was ~$100 more for comparable items. Better to spend the $100 on something better or save the $100. jmo