Asus Zenbook NX500

Don't be sad, it's not worth that money
You are paying 1000-1500$ more to just have a lighter, sexier asus N550

 

I've been following this thread for a while now, it looked so promising. But I really think ASUS has shot themselves in the foot big time with this laptop.

For me personally I cant see the justification in the $2,700 price tag, yes it pushes the envelope in terms of its display and when it was launched its boasted leading edge hardware. But they decided to place it on par with Apple's Retina 15 which is wildly over priced to begin with. Not too long ago you could get a tip top spec laptop for $1,500, it seems to me the advent of the ultrabook as been an excuse for manufacturers to inflate their prices.

I was already very much on the fence about this NX500 with its silly keyboard and lack of proper cooling, and that was when i thought it was was going to be going for around the $2,000 mark. Not to pass over the fact that this machine was always aimed squarely at users who look for the latest hardware, which due to ASUS's delays in being it to market earlier this year has meant as soon as it is released it will be outdated in the eyes of those target users.

In short I'm also out, for $2,700 you would expect the absolute best, which the NX500 from its early review does not appear to be. I really hope someone at ASUS reads this thread and learns a thing or two about its target market.

 

This is my first post at the forum, and it's not going to be very optimistic for ASUS. I hope someone from there reads it.

Since the very release of this laptop I've been following any updates on this as I really wanted to get one. I do like the design, concentric circles are awesome in my opinion, pushing it way too far ahead of any Windows-based competitor. And the "best you can find" screen would be another deal-maker, as i was supposed to have non-glare (and non-touch) modification according to some earliers press-releases. Even the flaws like stupid silver keyboard and far from perfect cooling wouldn't stop me from buying it.

But now I'm out. It's not just for the price, I would buy it at even $2,700 if it sported the latest hardware. And half a year ago it was really close, beating any competitor around. But making the customers wait for over 6 months and then let it out with almost outdated CPU & GPU - that's really really stupid, guys. Wait a little longer and put the new gen inside and you're still in the game. But now it's not just overpriced, it's really out of the market. And yes, now I'd rather get an rMBP at the same bunch of cash but with a much higher resale value and, probably, the latest hardware pretty soon justifing it's price tag.

 

The 2199€ model apparently just got in stock here:
ASUS NX500JK-DR018H Notebook Silber Gaming-Notebooks kaufen bei Media Markt

Too bad they don't ship outside of Germany.

If someone from Germany decides to order it, keep us posted

 

You're serious about paying 2,200Eur for a 256gb...

 

Biggest issue is that they still don't have any stock, or a delivery date, and im watching allmost every day for a month now.

So even if you wanted to blow €2200,- on it, you can't :-(

 

Available for preorder in France and supposed to start shipping the 10th of november: Asus - Zenbook NX500JK-DR012H - Tactile 15,6''QFHD - Intel Core i7-4712HQ - SSD 256 Go - RAM 8 Go - GTX 850M - Win 8.1 - Gris métal - NX500JK-DR012H - Achat/Vente Ordinateur Portable Grand Public | Rue du commerce

 

Be careful buying it from Germany as German market laptops normally would have a specifically localized keyboard.

 

I bought my last laptop from Poland. For some reason, the Polish keyboards tend to have the standard US QWERTY layout.

 

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If it is available in Europe, I am sure that Asus will make it available in the US sometimes in November. Can someone with Asus inside connection verify this?

 

I have one more comment on "latest and greatest" chip technology from Intel from the point of view of a total "layman":

-To state that Haswell i7 is "outdated" , is totally counter-productive. Just look what the Broadwell M is doing in the "latest" technology in Yoga 3 Pro!

Give me PROVEN i7 Haswell anytime within the next 12-18 mos over an unknown Broadwell M or even U (production delayed by at least 6-8 mos), and I am very happy with that proven performance!

And yes, I agree with all the ones that mentioned Asus sucking bad at releasing their products from demo to actual availability!! They are totally loosing customers with such a strategy. I do not think they understand the "Western" mind!! Maybe it works in other parts of the world but really not here: what happened to T300 Chi? What about the famous Ultrabook V?? c'mon Asus wake up or else you will be run over by MS, Lenovo ....

 

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I contacted WebAntics South Africa:
WebAntics Online Shopping Store (South Africa). Asus Zenbook NX500 15.6" IPS QFHD Touchscreen UltraBook

they will ship to USA, BUT they have NO STOCK at the moment and they do not know when they will get stock!! It is currently lkisted on their web site for about $2880 (Rand Equivalent). The person there told me she will contact me again via email when they get stock.

MY QUESTION: aren't these units from France, Germany and SA meant to run on 220-240V and 50-55Hz? So even with an adapter to 110V-60Hz one might get some flickering issues with the display? Anyone knows, please chime in.

 

The PSUs will be dual voltage and will run from 110V to 240V just fine (all at 60Hz).

 

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
CORRECTION:
They DO NOT SHIP TO USA!

 

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Can someone enlighten me as to WHY Asus plans on releasing a Broadwell M Chip Zenbook UX305 along with an i7 Haswell Zenbook NX500??

 

Laptops are very personal devices, 0 expletives have different requirements for cost, power and battery life.

 

When this Asus NX500 will be available??I m tired of waiting for this model so i think i will try to ge the MSI GS60 2QE Ghost Pro 4K Gold Edition.

 

Cyberport Asus NX500JK-DR018H 4K Notebook i7-4712HQ QFHD Touch GTX850M Windows 8.1 says that it will be available 27.11 in Germany and Austria.

 

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Does anyone have any contacts with Asus to verify if the NX500 will be available for sale in the USA any time soon??
SO far it seems, it will be available in France, Germany and South Africa,? However, BH Photo NYC is advertising it too?
If the NX500 is not available in the US will they provide us with at least the new UX305 with the Broadwell M Chip?

 

Seems like NX500 won't be coming to USA. Can't even find it on their website anymore.

 

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Are you guessing or making a comment based on certain facts? Please clarify your statement. It might not be on Asus web page but it is advertised by B&H Camera?

 

Was guessing since I haven't been able to find it anywhere and they don't have it listed on the website anymore.

 

Erster Eindruck: Asus Zenbook NX500JK im Test - Notebookcheck.com Tests

idle power consumption is awful for a zenbook, my big N550JV idles at less than that.

maybe some tweaks would do.

 

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
This week-end I combed the net and found out that the Asus Zenbook NX500 is now widely available in several foreign countries such as Germany and France and it is no longer on a pre-order status, it seems to be available! B&H NY is still listing it as pre-order so I will keep track and see if/when it becomes available in the US. I am sure Asus will eventually release one of these following products in the US:
1-Zenbook NX500
2-Zenbook UX 305
3-T300 Chi

The wait is killing me!!LOL

 

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B&H camera posted now "coming soon" but still pre-order status
i read somewhere on the web that Amazon will also carry-it to
Hopefully ordering will start very soon
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What's up with all the random characters in your posts?

 

Hey guys,

I'm also very interested in getting this laptop, have had my eyes on it since it was announced. I have called ASUS regarding the USA release and they said that from their stand point its been released its just up to the vendors to start selling them. He also stated that sometimes stores have a hold on the product until they can actually sell it. As the above user noted amazon has started selling it but I'm still waiting for it to come to a actually store so it would be a easier way to return if for some reason I wasn't happy with it.

 

http://amzn.com/B00NV9M6HC

 

Here's a link to the NotebookCheck review: Asus Zenbook NX500JK-DR018H Ultrabook Review - NotebookCheck.net Reviews

Processor performance is a dealbreaker for me unfortunately.

 

Amazon had about 19 units and sold out in 3 days!1
im sure they will get more and also other stores, i just refuse to pay that high price,

 

The price will fall for sure, it's just about if people are willing to wait or not.

 

Any ideas where this notebook is available for purchase, in stock?

B&H has discontinued it, and there are none left at Amazon.

 

This is in stock again at B&H. I'm trying to convince myself of the price.

2699 with free expedited shipping.

 

Just got mine! Looks fab. Although the plug is somewhat unusual. It looks like a Type B and instead of metal ones, it has sort of black rubber pins on it. Anyway, I'd need to get a converter to get this baby going.

 

Yes the kettle plug style lead is a bit big for the smaller bricks.

 

Hey meaker, you got one too?

 

Not myself but I have had a variety of smaller machines that use a similar style of connector, a lot do up to the 120w size.

 

My NX500 just arrived (I ordered from B&H in New York and they shipped to Canada in 3 days -- amazing!).

But as soon as I unboxed it I noticed something strange about the trackpad. When I make a left mouse click the pad squeaks really badly and also gets stuck in the down position. Here's a 30 second video that I posted where you can hear the sound (and if you look closely) you can see the pad sticks down and then when I push on the unibody it unsticks and pops back up.



Has anybody else experienced this? Is this just "standard new laptop stuff" and the pad with "break in" with enough use?

 

Looks like you've got a defective one. Just ask for replacement.

ps Hows the sound, btw? Mine sounds kinda muddy. I am not sure whether they are defected or just need some time to burn in.

 

My sound is pretty good. But I'm not an audiophile. Is there anything you (or anybody) suggest that I do to test the audio?

Also, earlier in this thread there were some people asking about Ubuntu performance. I'm going to try to get Ubuntu installed (having trouble with getting the BIOS (207) to boot from USB... but if anybody's interested in Ubutu performance / compatibility I'm happy to give it a go (warning: I'm not a big Linux guy... but I'm happy to provide some info to the community on the NX500 and linux).

 

What happens when the output volume of the speakers is above 50% ? Do you notice any distortion? How is the bass?

About linux, yes, you can try ubuntu 14.04 and see if everything works out of the box, ie. touchpad, wifi, switchable graphichs, brightness/volume buttons etc. You can paste the output of the lspci command here.

Good luck, Regards

 

Did you need to pay any duty/brokerage/taxes to Canada? Do they pay for return shipping in case of a defective unit like yours?

Thanks!

 

I'm running kubuntu from a USB drive. It runs well. I had to tell the system to use the kernel driver for the Broadcom Wireless Adapter.

The volume up / down function keys work, but the screen brightness ones don't. Also speaking of audio, I can't actually hear the speakers.

KDE looks good and the window overlay transparencies are there. It appears to be running from the HD4600 integrated graphics, not the 850M.

Here's the result of lspci

kubuntu@kubuntu:~$ lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation Xeon E3-1200 v3/4th Gen Core Processor DRAM Controller (rev 06)
00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Xeon E3-1200 v3/4th Gen Core Processor PCI Express x16 Controller (rev 06)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 4th Gen Core Processor Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 06)
00:03.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation Xeon E3-1200 v3/4th Gen Core Processor HD Audio Controller (rev 06)
00:14.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset Family USB xHCI (rev 05)
00:16.0 Communication controller: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset Family MEI Controller #1 (rev 04)
00:1a.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset Family USB EHCI #2 (rev 05)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset High Definition Audio Controller (rev 05)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port #1 (rev d5)
00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port #2 (rev d5)
00:1c.2 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port #3 (rev d5)
00:1c.4 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset Family PCI Express Root Port #5 (rev d5)
00:1d.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset Family USB EHCI #1 (rev 05)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation HM87 Express LPC Controller (rev 05)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 8 Series/C220 Series Chipset Family SMBus Controller (rev 05)
01:00.0 3D controller: NVIDIA Corporation GM107M [GeForce GTX 850M] (rev a2)
03:00.0 Unassigned class [ff00]: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTS5227 PCI Express Card Reader (rev 01)
04:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4360 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter (rev 03)
05:00.0 SATA controller: Samsung Electronics Co Ltd XP941 PCIe SSD (rev 01)
kubuntu@kubuntu:~$

 

B&H were great to deal with for shipping to Canada. They pre-paid the GST / HST as part of my purchase and shipped using Purolator so I didn't get hit with any "brokerage" fees from the courier (I hate UPS for this reason). I will have to pay the shipping back. But I called and talked to B&H and they issued an RMA right away and since I'm going to be in NYC next week they said I could just drop off the defective unit when I was there. The bad thing is that they're currently showing the unit as "discontinued" so I can't get a replacement I have to take the refund I really like the display on this machine and just wish the trackpad worked. I'm kinda tempted to open it up and see if it's just a poorly installed piece of hardware that I could fix by pulling it out and re-aligning it and screwing it back in place.

 

I have been waiting for this laptop since a half year and I finally got one few days before christmas. I bought the lighter DR013h edition with 8G of RAM and 256G hard drive.
It looks better than I expected. I can't remember, when I last bought something that looks better in reality than on photos.
The display is awesome, I immediately fell in love with it.
Keyboard is ok. Typing feels a bit unusual but I will get used to it. I like the white keys, I got tired from black keys after 15 years of black keyboards anyway.
Touchpad is good, moving and tapping feels comfortable.
Temperature is ok - under GNU/Linux I get around 50 degrees celsius for the CPU, when idle.
I can't say much about the SSD, because I use full system encryption, but it is more than fast enough for me even with encryption.
The laptop is usually pretty quiet but can get loud when under load. I however noticed something unusual. I'm not sure, if this is only my model but when the laptop runs on battery, I noticed some noise when doing something on the laptop - even if I just move the scrollbars, sometimes even if I just move the mouse. The noise is comparable to older HDD doing work, although only noticable when the room is quiet. The noise do not come from speakers - they seem to come directly from the inside. This issue appears on both, Windows and GNU/Linux.

GNU/Linux
I have installed Arch Linux next to Windows 8, with a bit of trouble but it now works well. Wifi didn't work out of the box, I had to manually download and built an additional proprietary driver to get it work (broadcom-wl from the user repository AUR).
The partition setup of the disk is a bit unsual, instead of sda I have md126. and parted complains about a corrupted partition table. I then did all the partition work in Windows.
The nouveau driver for the GTX 850M works, but I got a bunch of errors during boot and it slowed down the boot process by several seconds. So i decided to use the Intel graphics. I haven't tested the proprietary nvidia driver directly but it seems to work well with bumblebee. The glxspheres demo gives me 60 FPS when used with the intel graphics and around 215 FPS when used with the nvidia card.
The keybaord backlight keys (F3/F4) send screen brightness keycodes and the actual screen backlight keys are not recognized, but the 'auto' key is. Backlight can be changed with xbacklight. keyboard backlight can be changed under /sys/class/leds/asus::kbd_backlight/brightness - 4 modes are possible (0-3).
Sounds works for me but I have to manually disable speaker or else I get sound from both headphones and speakers when I use headphones.
The plane mode light (F2) is enabled after boot and keeps being enabled even when connecting with Wifi. The only way to make it off is to suspend the system shortly. The light goes away after resume.
Webcam works well out of the box.
It's late here. Will post more tomorrow if somebody is interested.

 

Anybody knows what gen (2/3) the ssd on this thing is?

 

I have been "burned" before by the infamous UPS "brokerage" fees when buying items from B&H. I have learned the hard way that if you are in Canada and order (anything) from the US, that you never, Never, NEVER, EVER use UPS to ship the item.
Their brokerage fees are like highway robbery and sometimes can cost you almost as much as the item you purchased !
After getting the royal screw-job from UPS a while back I wrote to B&H and told them that if they did not offer an alternative to UPS, then I would never buy from them again, all due to getting hosed on the outrageous brokerage fees that UPS was demanding just to cross the border.
I am glad they changed their policy.
UPS can suck it.

 

Hi to all
I have purchased this from John Lewis in UK - they are the only one who have it in stock and is only available online - they dont have it in store nor for display
it sells for £1800 for the 512GB version

First impression:
Very big/heavy comparing to what i was expecting
Solid all aluminum feel
Glossy screen
Keyboard is not ideal but you get used to it in time
It does tend to go hot quite quickly and playing video from youtube at 4k is a bit laggy
this can only be used at 250% scaling (which comes by default) as otherwise everything is too small
the one thing that makes this laptop stand to any other on the market including MBP is the colour gama
i have been using it next to my other laptop (acer aspire s7/full hd) and the difference is huge - esp that the acer is brigther and it really does have one good display
you can see colors you didnt knew they exists - having same wallpaper of a tropical island - the difference is so visible
i noticed that blues, reds and greens have a much higher spectrum allowing you to see tones you couldnt not see before
a look at the chrome logo will illustrate my point - that been said watching videos is really crazy - colors are just screaming
visiting vodafone website - the red made my eyes bleed

My only frustration with this atm is the brightness
when setting it up you can see it has an acceptable level but once w8.1 finish setting the brightness drops considerably and becomes stuck - you cant go back higher - the only way around to increase it back is to update the display adapter driver
this works tempo as once you restart or turn off laptop - when you reopen is back to the low brightness and you need to repeat this
i tried installing the drivers from intel directly but i couldnt do it
it tells me the laptop has a bespoke driver that needs to be downloaded from the manufacturer website - but i cant find any the asus website

anyone has any ideas on how to permanently fix this - i know is an issue with 8.1 rather than the machine - altough it might be that the 4k screen is trying to push back brightness for some reason - but shouldnt be at the level


sorry for the typos - typed at light speed - not from the nx500