Asus Model: Q501LA-BBI5T03

Upgrading the Intel WLAN from Intel WLAN usually have less compatibility issues but it sometimes does exist.
However, I don't see why 7260 would not work when the system originally have 5100.

 

I was able to find an open box item that was Geek Squad certified for $600. To my pleasant surprise, this unit already had the Intel 7260 Wifi adapter already installed. After further inspection, my until is a Q501LA-BBI6T03 and not a Q501LA-BBI5T03 as listed on Best Buy's website. The box it came in though does list the model as Q501LA-BBI5T03. Weird. Also, the inside frame of the laptop states "N541" so I think it is somewhat safe to say that this unit is a N541 that is somehow modified for Best Buy.

I've installed a SSD drive in this unit and now it is speedy, IMHO. BTW, I had a fit trying to restore the Asus image but was finally able to get this accomplished by downloading an using Asus Backtracker. This program created the factory image to a USB drive and it restored perfectly from it to the new SSD.

As others have stated, I had issues with the keyboard backlit as well not working correctly. Once I uninstalled Asus' power program, this issue went away.

It's too early for me to say how well I like this unit and how good/battery is but I plan on beginning to use this unit this afternoon so I should be able to provide a more thorough update later this week.

 

I also have the 7260 wireless card and newer model number on the bottom of the laptop.

Sent from my LG-E980 using Tapatalk

 

I've had a couple of days using this PC for business use instead of my Lenovo T520 and here is my honest opinion. First, the display is really nice and bright. Almost too bright in some cases. In real dimming lighting, I still find the display too bright for my taste. I have installed a Sandisk Extreme II SSD. Boot and wakes times are extremely fast. Wifi transfer speeds are very high and stable thanks to the 7260 Wifi adapter and Widi works wonderfully. As for benchmarks, it benchmarks 'slightly' below my T520 but it does have an I7 processor. They are extremely close however. The touchpad is workable but not the best. There are a couple of Asus Smart Gesture features that once I disabled (swipe down, left, right for Windows 8 features) makes it much more usable for my taste. As others have stated, the keyboard could be better. Understand that I've been on a IBM/Lenovo business grade laptop since 2005 and these have the absolute best keyboards available and I know I'm spoiled. I do miss many characters on this Asus and while it is frustrating, I don't consider the keyboard to be faulty. I believe that if I were to spend more time on it and not my T520, I would get used to it. I'm hoping that the keys will get easier to press with use but I'm not holding out hope for this to happen.

 

I bought this laptop on Nov 14th. While the model number is the same as advertised (Q501LA-BBI5T03), this laptop did come with the 7260 card and supports widi. The bottom sticker mentions the manufacture date as 2013-08 in case anyone was wondering about their wireless card and model number.

Has anyone else noticed how the fan on the laptop is almost always on, even when the processor activity is minimal? The fan is noticeable in a quiet room and I was wondering about that. I know someone else had commented about that earlier but I didn't find much follow up to it.

Also regarding the keyboard, some of the keys sound a little squeaky, but function all right (unlike the complaints that others have had). However, the pgdn button seems to be seated weird..it still works, but makes a very audible noise when pressed and feels sticky compared to the other keys.

Are these issues worth worrying over?

 

If anyone is interested, openSUSE 13.1 works amazingly well with this laptop. I did have to turn off secure boot to get it to install, but it runs flawlessly with the hardware.

Sent from my LG-E980 using Tapatalk

 

Hey guys anyone still looking or is interested in this laptop, its back on sale on BB.com for $649.99 and supposebly theres a 50 gc if select store pick up.

 

I was at BestBuy just an hour ago, and they told me the price will stay like that until next week. :thumbsup: Pay day here I come! Is $650 a good deal for this laptop, any better one at the price range? I'm gonna have to read the whole thread later tonight to see if the purchase will be made.

My last laptop (toshiba z835-p330) is becoming a butt hole. The letter "a" button doesn't work any more; I have to copy and paste the letter "a" all the time or use the on-screen keyboard.

 

Is there a bottom cover for accessing the hard drive or does it require you to remove the entire bottom cover and deal with those plastic clips that seem to break off so easily?

 

I've been shopping around for something with an IPS screen in this price range and this lappy seems to be the best deal at $650. Only thing close in specs I found was a cheap Toshiba with non-IPS 1080p screen and a Sony model for a bit more. I've had the Asus N550jv with the glossy IPS panel and it was a very good quality screen. If they use the same screen in this model, it's real crisp and vibrant.

 

I am thinking on buying this one or the N550JV for 850$ (non touchscreen one).

Do you think Is it worth the 200$ difference? (against the 649$ on bestbuy)


Thanks

 

Well the N550 has an i7 4700mq cpu which scores 7900 on passmark where as the Q501 has the i5 4200u that scores only 3900 so you would have much more processing power with the N550 not to mention a dedicated GT 750m with DDR3 RAM for gaming. Plus you get a dvd drive with the N550. I would say the price is worth it IF you need the extra power. But the N550 power brick is much bigger and has less battery life. You'll have to decide what you need.

 

Hi =)

I am from Brazil, but last 2 weeks I bought my unit at Fort Myers, FL, Best Buy.
My first unit came with the "W" key very loose, with a dead pixel and the box seems that was already opened.

So I returned my unit in the next day and got a another unit that is working fine =)

Thanks.

 

For those with the keyboard backlight (backlit) issue. The previous poster who noted you need to upgrade to BIOS 209 is CORRECT -- even if you are on BIOS 207 (there does not appear to be a BIOS 208).

Anyway, here are the steps to do it yourself:

1) Download the latest bios from here
2) Copy the extracted file (it ends in .209) to a thumb drive -- making sure it is the only file on the drive
3) Restart the computer, pressing F2 when it starts to load
4) Select the Advanced tab
5) Select the EZ Flash program
6) Select the correct mount (mine was 1), and look for the file ending in .209 (if you select the right mount, the only file will be the one ending in .209)
7) Update the BIOS
8) Confirm update by rebooting while pressing F2 and looking at BIOS number - it should be 209.

That's it. My backlit keyboard now works when the power is plugged in (and when it is not).

Thanks to the prior poster for relating this information.

 

So, I am right now typing on my new Asus Q501LA from best buy. I'm just going to type some random opinions about my new laptop.

The keyboard is definitely different than my previous 13.3" laptop. I like it, but I still needs to get used to it. The location of the powerbutton is in an awkward position since I use the pageup/pagedown keys often. The silver coloured keys look very unique. The arrow key's orientation is very awkward since the right arrow key digs in to the numberpad.

I am using the stock BIOS version and luckily I am not experiencing any of the keyboard-light problems that some of you face. This laptop seems very nice. There is a small problem with the touchpad, so I am going to make an exchange first thing tomorrow. The top right corner of the touchpad is raised and it doesn't always register. This thing is a fingerprint magnet!

This thing came with a n intel N7260

I am directly under a light, and the screen brightness set at 60-70% is perfect. In total darkness, the keyboard light set to medium with the display set at 30-40% is more than enough for me.

 

I too just picked up this laptop and am typing on it now. Had to update my BIOS as the keyboard light wouldn't stay on. BIOS 209 fixed it as stated above. The IPS display presented some serious temporary ghosting when I first turned it on but has since faded. It was so bad I could see the image of the "next" button while setting up Windows. Hardware ID says this is an LG display and I also have the Intel N7260 WiFi card with WiDi. Nice buy for $650.

**FYI....You can increase the integrated graphics memory in the BIOS as well. It's defaulted to 64MB but can be set all the way up to 512MB which I have done.**

 

I'm not gonna play with this one till I get an exchange since I don't want to mess it up. This whole windows 8 crap is so confusing! I couldn't find the shut down button, I had to hold the power key till it turned off. Thanks for the BIOS tip, hopefully increasing the igpu's memory will make it perform better.

Did you get a free copy of an antivirus? The sales associate had me choose one from the wall. I chose Kaspersky Internet Security. Too bad I can't use it since this thing has no disk drive. The $629 toshiba [15.6", 1080p, i5] had a disk drive and it is thinner by 0.1mm than our asus.

Also, how do I get the $25 gift card? Is it through microsoft only or what? The guy at BestBuy didn't give me a giftcard or anything like it.

I was about to get the geek squad certified, but they wouldn't give me any discount on it whatsoever.

 

Windows 8 takes some getting used to no doubt. I did not get any antivirus, just 6 months of free ASUS cloud storage via some sort of gift card. I have not opened it yet. I'll need to look into this...hmmmmmm. I want to make sure I keep the laptop first. I believe I saw the Toshiba on display but It didn't appear to be an IPS display so they viewing angles weren't real good, assuming it's the same one you saw as they did have a few.

I'm not sure about the gift card, I'll have to look into it. I didn't do an in-store pickup, I went and got it in person. I'm into the tweaking of laptops and Windows so I prefer the Geek Squad doesn't touch my laptop but I do realize not everyone has that ability or time to spend doing so. My touchpad is raised on the left side but it still functions well. Hopefully you'll get a better one on exchange.

 

@bubbaRob
If you do drop by Best Buy, here are other things you should look into since it looks like you missed out on some free things. I also bought the laptop in the store. When I do my exchange, I'm gonna ask about the gift card and the cloud storage.

You should be eligible for free 6 months unlimited cloud storge
also free $25 microsoft gift card
and a 1 year antivirus under $50. I suggest 2014 kaspersky internet security over the webroot or trendmicro they offer.

....

Update with my laptop:

So I got my laptop exchanged and got a good replacement. The only thing I noticed different with the replacement is that the USB and HDMI connections looks to be a few millimeter too far in the unit. Hopefully these overly recessed connection ports won't cause me any problems in the future. I'll have to wait and test out various external connections to see if it poses a problem or not.

....

Update with the supposedly free promotional items/services

They told me the 6 months free unlimited Pogo cloud storage service is only eligible for those who bought the laptop online. I call BS since a different BestBuy told me a different answer, "the promotion showed on the website should be applicable for in-store purchase." Then again, I don't really care since I rarely use cloud storage anyways, and if I do, I use dropbox or live.

The free 1 year anti virus is good and is pretty much mandatory for them to give this freebie to the customers. They sent me an email with a kaspersky product key. I don't know if it is the same as the one in the physical box they gave me, but if it is different, then yay for me.

The MicroSoft gift card issue is still going on. When I went to the store, BB told me my laptop qualifies for it but they refuse to give me a microsoft store gift card. The customer service manager told me the promotion has ended yesterday. I then told him that I bought the laptop yesterday. Then he changed his story stating that it is a one day offer provided by MS. I informed him that this is a new and on-going promotion that will end January 2014. He then had me call a MicroSoft 1800 number, but MS told me that BestBuy is supposed to give me either an actual card or a coupon for online use. I called BestBuy after calling MS, but then the BB store manager still refuse to give me the $25 MS GC and he said he has to call another store and a MS representative to verify. Hopefully this gets resolved since I have my eyes on a few things on the MS app store.

I have a feeling my local BestBuy is either incompetent or just doesn't want to give away the freebies my product is eligible for.

 

Thanks for the update. The card they gave me was in fact the Pogo cloud storage for 6 months, but I didn't purchase it online so I'm not sure why I got this. On the other hand, they never offered me any sort of Anti-virus software or an MS card so I'll call the manager and see what's up.

**UPDATE** Spoke with a nice manager and he said indeed an MS Store $25 card should have been included with my purchase and he suspects that the computer system couldn't "stack" both offers and offered to take off $25 of the purchase price instead. The promotion ends on December 28th or while supplies last according to MS. He also offered me the anti-virus software. I agreed and all is well. FYI for those who might purchase this laptop, you'll probably have to remind the sales person of these items at checkout.

Rob

 

Forgot to mention, there is also this intel software package. I only got it for Total War: Rome II. Great game and it runs fairly decent on our laptop. Thank you also for your update. Hopefully my local store manager will find a way to either reimburse me or get me that $25.

Just a reminder for those who are planning to get this laptop. Read the above quote.

update:
BestBuy has removed the $25 free microsoft store gift card from the main page of the laptop. It used to be located under Free Bonus Content, but it isn't there anymore.

 

Hi guys, I recently picked up a unit last week so it is the newer version with the Intel 7260 Wireless card

I am frequently getting disruption in my wifi connection, the signal stays strong but just does not connect to the Internet.

Could this be a BIOS issue, I went in there and could not tell what version it was...

Note: I am using my old laptop in the exact same location with no issues in Connectivity whatsoever.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

@Justin
My only suggestion is to possibly upgrade the wireless card's driver first.
ASUSTeK Computer Inc. -Support- Drivers and Download Q501LA
Chose your OS, then wireless, then upgrade your drivers.


I just got done doing a clean install on my Q501LA. Its even easier than clean install on windows 7 since here you don't even need to input your own product key, but you do have to provide for a generic 8.1 core product key in order to install. The new OS automatically activated with the OEM key.

This is the copy of the LEGAL unactivated microsoft windows 8.1 I used:

MICROSOFT.WINDOWS.8.1.RTM.X64.ENGLISH.DVD-WZT
SIZE: 3,899,295,744 byte
MD5: F104B78019E86E74B149AE5E510F7BE9

I won't include the link, sorry, but it is the same exact ISO you get from MS. Just google the MD5 and you should be able to easily find it. Make sure the source and file is legal and legitimate, and has the same MD5 value.

 

Supposedly, if you install the right edition the installer will pick up the key and installs without the need to enter it since it's embedded in the BIOS.
But if the unit is pre-Win8 build then yes, you will need to have a legit key to install.

 

Thanks Kevin, you saved me some time from seeing if my old copy of windows 7 HP would have worked

.......

Sorry about my rambling. This is more for a future notice to myself in case I ever need to do a clean install on my asus again. If it helps others, then I am glad I posted it.

Asus' drivers installation page is easy to navigate and find what you need. However, a person like me who isn't very tech savvy but only wants the drivers/softwares needed for a clean install, their simple page can still be daunting. Here is a list of things I downloaded from the website above. This is for the Asus Q501LA-BBI5T03. If I overlooked anything important or critical, let me know since I don't really know what I am doing

Chipset_Intel_Win81_64_VER9401027.zip
Intel INF Update Driver
2013.10.28 update
Version V9.4.0.1027

ATKPackage_Win81_64_VER100030
ATKACPI driver and hotkey-related utilities
2013.10.22 update
Version V1.0.0030

Audio_Realtek_Win81_64_VER6017032
Realtek Audio Driver
2013.10.28 update
Version V6.0.1.7032

VGA_Intel_Win81_64_VER101810330802
Intel Graphics Driver
2013.11.18 update
Version V10.18.10.3308.02

LAN_Realtek_Win81_64_VER802109092013
Realtek LAN Driver
2013.11.27 update
Version V8.021.0909.2013

CardReader_Realtek_Win81_64_VER62920039048
Realtek Multi-Card Reader Driver
2013.10.28 update
Version V6.2.9200.39048

SmartGesture_Win81_64_VER225
ASUS Smart Gesture (Touchpad Driver) [Please update ATK Package V1.0.0020 or later in advance]
2013.10.29 update
Version V2.2.5

KBFilter_Win81_64_VER1005
Keyboard Device Filter Utility
2013.10.29 update
Version V1.0.0.5

LiveUpdate_Win81_64_VER326
ASUS Live Update Utility
2013.10.24 update
Version V3.2.6

WiFi_Intel_Win81_64_VER16536
Intel WiFi Wireless LAN Driver
2013.10.29 update
Version V16.5.3.6

WirelessRadioControl_Win81_64_VER1002
ASUS Wireless Radio Control (A driver to make you switch Airplane mode(Wireless) On/Off)
2013.10.29 update
Version V1.0.0.2

Bluetooth_Intel_PV7_Win81_64_VER3113070362
Intel BlueTooth driver
2013.10.28 update
Version V3.1.1307.0362

MEI_Intel_15M_Win81_64_VER95151730
Intel Management Engine Interface
2013.10.29 update
Version V9.5.15.1730

DPTF_Intel_V2_Win81_64_VER7102103
Intel® Dynamic Platform and Thermal Framework Drive
2013.10.29 update
Version V7.1.0.2103

Winflash_Win81_64_VER2420
Windows BIOS Flash Utility
2013.10.24 update
Version V2.42.0

Q501LAAS209
BIOS 209
2013.08.22 update
Version 209


note:
- The power4gear hybrid utility does the same thing as window's power option, so I discarded it.
- The asus splendid video enhancement technology is pretty much for brightness/contrast, which can be done with the Intel graphics and media control panel, so I discarded it.
- I've had similar options to the usb charger plus, which I've never used, on all my previous laptops, so I discarded it.
- From my google-fu, the files under EMI and Safety are all useless. So don't even bother.
- Our laptop doesn't have Qualcom Atheros Wireless or Bluetooth, so I discarded those two drivers.
- The Intel Smart Connect Technology in my opinion is useless and drains battery. I'm not much of a social media person and I have a phone for the email. So I discarded it.

 

Anyone else experiencing temporary "ghosting" of the display? It does go away but it is annoying me. I have read that some low end IPS displays present this problem. This is a great laptop and I really don't want to pack it up and try another if it's something that can be considered normal. On the other hand I also don't want the screen to die right after the one year warranty expires either, if this is a sign of a bigger issue. Any thoughts?

Also I've found a glitch in the Asus power management software. Under the advanced power settings I have set the maximum processor state at 50 percent in order to save battery life while operating off of the battery. It appears that anytime I reboot the computer this setting is not saved and defaults back to 100 percent.

I find this odd because all of the other settings that I have changed will remain the way that I have set them. I ended up having to uninstall the Asus software and just use the normal windows power options advanced settings. just wanted to share this bit of information if you find that the battery life seems to be draining rather quickly.

 

For those who are playing Total War II - Rome, which graphic settings are you using?

Thanks

 

ASUS Q501LA on sale at Best Buy for $649.99, should have waited...
Asus 15.6" TouchScreen Laptop 6GB Memory 750GB Hard Drive Q501LA-BBI5T03 - Best Buy

 

Exchanged for another laptop and no more ghosting/temp burn-in issues...Glad I got another one.

 

I think The Rome II is pushing it and most likely the settings will need to be set as low quality.

 

I am playing it at native resolution (1980x1080) at medium to high graphic option, BUT I dont understand nothing about if it is running good, but it seems nice. Thanks.

 

Go to video settings and click on benchmark to let it play a cinematic and it will determine the fps on your system.
Normally, it's preferred to have 60fps minimum for best gaming experience.

 

Thanks.

So, I ran the benchmark at some graphic settings and on 1368x768@LOW I've got an 28.4fps on this laptop. You can play with that, but it is not 60fps as you said to catch the best gaming experience.

 

how did you turn off secure boot? I dont see it listed in the bios anywhere (trying to install win7)

 

But, GRID 2 seems to run nice on it at low settings.

 

hey do you guys know what the recovery options are? I searched in the windows for recovery options and it says i need a "windows installation or recovery media".

I wanted to do a factory reset or a fresh install of windows because im having issues with my resolution text size changing after standby mode.

I also wanted the recovery option for future back up if something corrupt happens to my system ill be able to factory reset. It doesn't seem like this comp has any program to do this, maybe im wrong. All my other computers have had an option to factory reset.

 

You can use the built-in recovery by Pressing F9 during startup. This will allow you to "RESET" you PC to the way it is out of the box. This will remove all of your apps and data files as well. It basically re-images the drive. Now this could be a problem if your drive dies because it also contains the recovery partition. To solve this issue you can use a free program like Macrium Reflect to create your own image on a separate drive and use their Windows PE rescue media (DVD or Flash Drive) to boot and restore from the image. Macrium includes an option to handle the issues with Windows 8 secure booting and normally restoring the image goes on without any issues since it's a direct clone of the drive.

 

My computer doesnt go into recovery mode when i press F9. Do i need to install a bios or something? im on win 8.1

 

Well I have read that some of the recovery options have been removed from Windows 8.1 and this may be confirmation of this. I am on Windows 8 and can still access recovery. Did yo upgrade to Windows 8.1 or did it come factory installed? From what I am reading, if you upgraded, then the recovery partition is still Windows 8 and can no longer be accessed via recovery. If it came loaded with 8.1 then maybe the directions below will help. Sorry I cannot be of more help.

How to refresh, reset, or restore your PC - Microsoft Windows Help

 

I installed 8.1 myself... Damn this sucks, i hope asus will put out an update to fix this recovery problem. Or is there anyway i can go back to windows 8?

 

As far as I know, without having Widows 8 media or recovery discs, you can't go back. Maybe Asus will sell you the recovery media?? Their website shows an option to purchase the media but then has a notice that it's only for certain PC's. Otherwise you'll need to buy Windows and go about it that way. I guess if you are still within your return period you could return the laptop and get another due to having issues with the 8.1 upgrade.

 

I don't see why you have to upgrade to 8.1 since our laptops came with windows 8.1 core preinstalled. Or atleast mine did.

For back up and recovery, I use windows 8.1 system image back up which is similar to windows 7's.
Go to File History Settings, and at the bottom left corner, it will say System Image Backup.

 

Both of mine have Windows 8. The problem for raxdax is that if he does a system image backup now, he'd be imaging the drive including the issues he is having, which is why he wants to start over fresh.

 

You can still go back to stock OS.
Go to Settings -> Select “Change PC settings -> Select “Update and recovery” in PC setting -> Choose “Recovery” and use “Get started” to reinstall Windows.

 

That doesn't work for me it says:

"Could not find the recovery environment" "insert your windows installation or recovery disk"

 

I suspect it's looking for a Windows 8.1 recovery partition so it's not recognizing the old Windows 8 partition. If you look in disk management, can you still see the recovery partition? Mines says "Recovery Partition...Healthy" and is a total of 20GB. I don't think it's gonna happen without a copy of Windows 8 as Microsoft's FAQ spells out, post-8.1:

"You won't be able to use the recovery partition on your PC to go back to your previous version of Windows." If you hadn't earlier thought to create a recovery USB flash drive from that partition, you're most likely stuck doing a clean install of Windows. And that in turn usually requires beseeching or paying your PC's vendor for a Windows disc, because most computers don't ship with a separate system DVD."

I'll post back if I find anything more to help you but I am at a loss for now.

 

Thanks for the help man, i really appreciate it! I checked my disk management and i found something thats allocating 20.01 GB but its not named "Recovery Partition". Is it possible to put windows 8 on a usb and then do a clean install of it? If that was possible how would i get the asus recovery tools back when its a clean windows 8 install?

 

Thanks for the help man, i really appreciate it! I checked my disk management and i found something thats allocating 20.01 GB but its not named "Recovery Partition". Is it possible to put windows 8 on a usb and then do a clean install of it? If that was possible how would i get the asus recovery tools back when its a clean windows 8 install?

 

If I am reading the following instructions from the website below, you may be able to try making a USB recovery drive, copying over the recovery partition in Step 7, and thus it will install Windows 8 back on. BUT there is a disclaimer at the bottom that says:

"If your PC came with Windows 8 and you upgraded it to Windows 8.1, your recovery drive will include Windows 8, and you’ll need to upgrade to Windows 8.1 after you refresh or reset your PC."

Now this implies that this would re-install Windows 8 first but you have to upgrade to Windows 8.1 again. So you maybe back to where you are now. But having said that, maybe something didn't go right with your original upgrade and doing it a second time might fix it. A fresh install is always the best but it doesn't appear that it is possible using the method below.

Pay special attention to Step 3. If the option is grayed out then do not proceed. Also Step 7, do not delete the recovery partition from your computer.

Have a look below...good luck.

Create a USB recovery drive - Microsoft Windows Help


***Feel free to PM me instead of posting in the thread so we don't clog it up. We can post a solution here if it works for everyone to see ***

 

I don't remember exactly without doing it again, but it was in the bios settings. I think it was under where the boot order settings are. I am on the 209 bios version.





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