Asus Zenbook Pro UX_ 15' inch 2016 - Predictions & Speculation

The current UX501 is a powerful BEAST with the latest graphics card, 4k display, SSD, great design, killer specs, ultra premium feel, everything about it is wonderful. It is the #1 true competitor to the overpriced, same specs MacBook Pro Retina 15 inch 512gb, 2015 version except....... it's Windows and $1,000 cheaper. $1500 instead of $2500 MBP. Crazy price difference ! Asus is winning over a lot of people.

Yes, technology is always changing, but Skylake is going to have radical big changes, redesign, 60% more energy efficient, etc. Skylake ultrabooks are worth waiting for & a big game changer, agreed by many.

What type of specs do you think would realistically happen for the next iteration, refresh for the Asus Zenbook Pro UX___ 15 inch, 2016 version ? Guessing it will be announced in late 2015 - early 2016. Release date probably around April 2016, since the UX501 came out in April 2015, recently. Hoping for the same price point $1500. Small chance, maybe a 17 inch model, that would make Apple & other brands jealous, want to release new 17 inch Skylake ultrabooks too. It is inevitable. Also, I would like to see Asus make their outer display black bezels way thinner, by atleast half or 3 / 4. Or a infinity bezel display (Dell xps 13, 2015 infinity display looks sexy). The current 2015 ultrabooks in general, bezels' are way too thick & unattractive. Looks kinda dated, not modern.

A lot of people complain about the current UX 501's 4k display & NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M. Any experts know exactly why ? Is it because 4k doesnt matter much on a GTX960M, useless ?

Graphics card - For the 2016 refresh, will probably be the GTX 980m, or whatever latest newest graphics card, Nvidia is planning for 2016. Can't wait, lots of hype for the new 2016 Skylake ultrabooks.

 

No chance of a real

No chance of a real gpu. Expect a 965 at best (even that would be optimistic). 4 k is useless because you can't use it unless you're doing 4k video editing. The 960 is a weak gpu that can't even run games at 1080p

 

It can run 1080p games just at lower detail settings.

 

960m is fine for 1080p. Benchmarks shown ran at 1080p "Ultra" and then also one is shown at "high": http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/sager-np7339-clevo-w230sd-review-by-htwingnut.774424/

 

It is subjective, but as a gamer I would not accept anything less than 60fps unless it's a very heavy scene. And these are today's games, not upcoming ones. Also, my Dell laptop with a 4710 and 850gtx scored 50xx in 3dmark 11, so the 960gtx doesn't look like much, especially on the next generation of an expensive and large machine. I would not accept a 960 in anything over 1k usd unless it was a 14" or smaller Ultrabook. That's my taste, though.

 

The 965M uses a GM204 core so you simply wont find it in the smaller machines, it has a much larger footprint.

 

Cant wait until skylake ux501 comes with skylake! Will sell my clevo and macintosh book air then.

 

-----
The truth is here at 4minutes and 3 seconds in:

youtube.com/watch?v=fSNBv8ffrMs&t=4m3s
-----

 

You will struggle to properly cool a bigger GPU in a chassis like that.

 

You can do it in a blade 14" with much older, hotter CPU, so I think a 970m is certainly possible. It's just a lot more expensive than a 960m and honestly they aren't selling enthusiast level power.

 

This shop claims to have a 2016 Skylake model with Mfg. Part NO: UX501VW-DS71T in stock.

CPU: i7-6700HQ 2.6GHz
DDR: 16GB
GPU: GTX 960M w/ 2GB
SSD: 512GB
LCD: 15.6" 3840x2160
USB: 1 x Thunderbolt over USB 3.1 Type-C and 3 x USB 3.0
HDMI (version not specified)
WiFi ac
Bluetooth
SD card reader
6-cell battery
4.5 lbs
Windows 10 (version not specified)
Price: $1499.--

http://www.portableone.com/ASUS-ZenBook-Pro-UX501VW-DS71T

 

Specs of the UX501VW on the Asus website: http://www.asus.com/US/Notebooks/ZenBook-Pro-UX501VW/?SearchKey=Ux501/

DisplayPort/Thunderbolt over USB Type-C it seems. 4K external monitors (and even 5K and 8K if it's Thunderbolt 3). Yeah baby!

EDIT: Forget the 5K and 8K. The GPU won't cut it. I got carried away. Hehe.

 

This is a really interesting notebook indeed.

To be frank, I'm amazed that it is readily available in the US ( http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produ...501vw_ds71t_15_6_zenbook_pro_multi_touch.html) and yet cannot be found in Europe. After all, Europe is a larger market. To be fair, it is more fragmented but that shouldn't make much of a difference when you have huge pan-European retailers such as Amazon.

I've messaged Asus Germany about availability but have yet to hear anything back from them...

 

It's only a recent refresh. Presented at CES 2016 end of last week.

The previous model with 512GB SSD was €1899.-- in The Netherlands though. So I expect this one to cost between €1699.-- and €1999.--.

Previous models:
http://tweakers.net/serie/3655/zenbook-pro-ux501jw/

 

I literally just got my Asus Zenbook UX501VW DS71T Skylake update with the Thunderbolt 3 port in the mail.
I purchased from a small website from Canada where I am located.
It became available for purchase yesterday morning and arrived a little more than 24 hours later.
I paid $1850 CAD for it which works out to about 1270 USD (that exchange rate burns when you are from Canada.)
I have confirmed all of the hardware specs to make sure I didn't buy a 4th gen 2015 model that was repackaged and sold to unsuspecting consumers.
This model also comes with an actual USB type C gen 2 /Thunderbolt 3 port. If you check out a recent mobile tech review video of this laptop with Skylake for some reason they have a model without the thunderbolt 3. It has a mini display port /thunderbolt 2.
I was very adamant to get this particular machine because of the quad core i7 in the premium build. With the Thunderbolt 3 I will be able to interact with external SLI GPU boxes like the new Razer Core so I am really not limited by this 960m.
Other machines that feature this thunderbolt 3 port like the Razer Stealth do not feature a full quad core processor.
The Dell XPS 15 has the 960m, but its HDMI port only outputs 30hz forcing you to use the thunderbolt for external displays.
Overall I am very happy with this machine as I will be using it primarily for 2D and 3D design.
The screen needs some colour calibration but it is bright and vibrant.
I will post a full review at a later time.

 

Congrats!
Sounds like you're very happy with it.
And you shouldn't be complaining about the price though. In your part of the world, North America, everything is always less costly than in Europe. Just enjoy instead!

Could you check what make and model LCD panel is in yours with Monitor Asset Manager?
http://www.entechtaiwan.com/util/moninfo.shtm
or with Extron EDID Manager?
Here : http://www.extron.com/download/software.aspx?material=2&id=E
or here : http://www.extron.nl/download/software.aspx?material=2&id=E

Cheers

 

It's strange that the BHP Photo Video website doesn't mention Thunderbolt, DisplayPort, and USB 3.1 (Gen 2)(Type-C).

 

You're going to use an external videocard box. Why is the Thunderbolt over USB Type-C a positive on the ZenBook Pro and a negative on the XPS Infinity?

 

Have a look here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Zenbook-UX501VW-DS71T-HID1-i7-6700HQ-2-6-3-5GHz-Touchscreen/dp/B0190DG32G

Offer is from the UK, but it mentions the USB Type C Thunderbolt port. However, it says it has been available since December 6. Is this the right one?

Converted to Euros, the 512 GB option costs about 2k.

 

Where did you get it? What the store in Canada. Please PM

 

I've seen that one. But in the only buyer review this is written:

They keyboard wouldn't be a problem, but I prefer to buy locally, or from an online shop in The Netherlands. And I don't like the US supplier through UK distributor construction. EU law gives me 14 days to make up my mind. But making up my mind is not necessary. Low return shipping in case of defects is.

EDIT: converted £1427.16 equals €1878.32.

 

I fully agree. The UK offer also only offers a 1 year warranty by the retailer. ASUS standard is two years from the manufacturer. I think it's smart to hold out until the rig becomes available on the continent.

Re the price: The £1427 option is without windows. Are you planning on running Linux?

 

That's pretty decent specs for the form factor, I wasn't expecting to see anything much better than a 960M in this, and let's face it, that still loads better then AMD’s Radeon R9 M370X which is the best you can put in a Macbook Pro (and there's a hefty price for that), see:

http://gpuboss.com/gpus/Radeon-R9-M370X-Mac-vs-GeForce-GTX-960M

NB: in particular, scroll down to the "Reasons to Consider Nvidia GTX 960M" section, not just the headline scores, the difference is much more pronounced than the scores suggest, e.g. 75% higher frame rates in some games.

It's still not for me, prefer the grunt of at least a 970M, but it looks like a decent machine for the form factor

 

Windows 10 Home is included.
Description : Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 bit
Specs : OS: Windows 10 Home 64-bit

I do plan on using Fedora 23 Workstation.
But I have a retail copy of Windows 10 Pro which I can just uninstall and install on one notebook that I own. For hardware calibrating my monitor. Because the monitor manufacturer's software has no Linux version. And for running Windows only software (like 3DS Max 2013, Unity, and some) with KVM/QEMU.

Don't forget to also check the UX501 owners lounge : http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/asus-zenbook-pro-ux501-owners-lounge.772953/

 

Sounds like you want to use this also for gaming. Than a 970M is a lot better choice. Depending on the games, and for how long you plan to use the notebook of course.
Me, I will use it for web design and development, and print press artwork mainly (my income).
Then for 3DS Max 2013 (serious hobby now, used to be part of my income) and Unity (3D) tools and shaders. With Max I only need good 3D accelerated performance in the viewports. Rendering I do on old boxes, or in Unity.

 

Yes, I don't just use my laptop for gaming, but my current XMG P505 is certainly up to playing many of today's games on ultra settings at 1080p, which a 960M won't do, though you could probably still play many games at lower settings on a 960M, if it's something you still occasionally wanted to do.

If not gaming, then the 960M is probably more than powerful enough.

 

It must be because XMG has great gaming notebooks.

No gaming on the laptop. I have a PS4 which I rarely use though for FIFA games. Usually a few hours in the weekends. I'm also probably the worst gamer in the Universe and beyond.

 

Can you say where you got it from? I also live in Canada and $1850 for this laptop is a fantastic price.
And also, what's the actual battery life on this laptop for just normal use like browsing, office, etc? I currently have the Dell XPS 4K i5 and it's frustrating to have it not last even 5 hours.

 

I think they're pretty good, they're certainly good value - my XMG P505 (see my signature) cost about the same (purchase a year ago) as this Zenbook and has a higher spec (except the screen, perhaps, but I actually preferred just a 1080p FHD screen, it's matte too, which I like). It's a different sort of machine from the Zenbook, though, is quite a bit thicker and heavier, but isn't as thick and heavy as a lot of gaming notebooks (I'm looking at you Alienware...), and the styling is also much more subdued (which I prefer) than the garish "boy racer" style of many gaming notebooks.

 

The screen of the NX501JW (the non-Skylake version) is terrible. Your XMG's screen would be really bad if it did worse. 4K or not.

The specs of your XMG notebook will not lose out to the NX501VW and XPS 15 Infinity. With the SSD probably, but tiny files (like the bits and pieces of an OS) bring any drive to its knees. SSD or HDD. Only IOPS will make a significant difference with tiny files. Which is a lot higher with the SSD's in the other 2.

I also prefer 1080p resolution for notebook screens up to 17".
When I compare the pixel size and PPI columns in the following 2 tables, I don't understand what the "4K on notebooks" hype is all about.
Pixel size and PPI are roughly the same.

(Except for the 13.3" notebook and 40" desktop monitor. Which you don't use at arms length anyway, like the other screen sizes.)

Popular notebook screens we've been using for donkeys years without any hype :

Resolution Diag Size PPI
1920x1080 17" 0.196 129.58
1920x1080 15.6" 0.1799 141.21
1920x1080 13.3" 0.1534 165.63

1366x768 11.6" 0.188 135.09

Popular 4K desktop monitors hyped and commanding high prizes :

Resolution Diag Size PPI
4096x2160 31" 0.17 149.38
3840x2160 40" 0.2306 110.15
3840x2160 32" 0.1845 137.68
3840x2160 31.5" 0.1816 139.87
3840x2160 31" 0.1787 142.14



And then we have the monstrosities (when using MS Windows UI) :

4K notebook screens we see now, which are unsuitable for MS Windows UI once text/reading gets involved. :
Resolution Diag Size PPI
3840x2160 17" 0.098 259.17 (do these exist?)
3840x2160 15.6" 0.0899 282.42
3840x2160 13.3" 0.0767 331.26

4K desktop monitors unsuitable for MS Windows UI once text/reading gets involved. :
Resolution Diag Size PPI
3840x2160 28" 0.1614 157.35
3840x2160 27" 0.1557 163.18
3840x2160 23.8" 0.1372 185.12
3840x2160 23.6" 0.1361 186.69
3840x2160 23.5" 0.1355 187.48

For proofing or displaying artwork, photos, etc these are excellent. If they don't have a TN panel.

Owners of these will of course disagree.
(Because they are all blessed with 20/20 vision. )

MS, and coders should get their act together. Users should stop using old versions of software. Or old versions should just be prevented from running with high dpi monitors, by Windows.

Jeez! This was supposed to be a quick post.

 

I don't know how trustworthy this review is, but this is what they have to say about the 4K screen of the UX501VW :

Source : http://www.ozlaptopreviews.com/asus-ux501vw-review/


UX501VW with FHD screen spotted in an Irish shop but it's not in stock (yet) :

Source : http://www.elara.ie/productdetail.aspx?productcode=ECE3667946

 

Screen could be different on the DS71T model but unless we get the panel model from the one you listed we can't say all UX501 screen will have poor sRGB out of the box. I would also take that site with a grain of salt. I mean every review you look at they seem to be very broad and vague.. I could write what they just did. No pictures or screen shots of laptop so chances are no proof of actually handling the laptop. No pictures of sRGB % read by a device proper for calibrating.

The panel in the DS71T is the LP156UD1-SPB1.

 

The screen on my XMG P505 is an AU Optronics B156HAN01.2 (1920*1080) Matte IPS, and subjectively I find it to be a very good display and it's so nice to have a good matte display after trying out various notebooks with mirror-like glossy displays. Also seems to get good reviews (see discussion of it here, though the notebook is a different model from mine: http://www.notebookcheck.net/Schenker-XMG-P505-PRO-Clevo-P651SG-Notebook-Review.132393.0.html )

 

That's the same impression that I had. That's why I opened with that phrase.

Yes I agree.
I also can't imagine Asus making the same mistake twice in a row.

 

You're right because your laptop's panel is listed here : http://www.notebookcheck.net/The-Best-Notebook-Displays-As-Reviewed-By-Notebookcheck.120541.0.html

 

I just bought the Zenbook Pro UX501VW-DS1T ( http://store.asus.com/us/item/201511AM230002951/A26128). Powerful machine with beautiful screen (both color and brightness). When I bought it the ASUS store website said it had a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) (I saved the web pages so I have those for confirmation). Now that I have the machine, I’m having trouble determining whether there is really has a TPM chip in my actual machine.

Thanks to King Midas's guidance, I used all three methods listed here ( http://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/36454-trusted-platform-module-tpm-chip-verify-windows-pc.html) to check for TMP chip status and got the following conflicting results:

1. Method 1: The device manager on the system reports that I have Trusted Platform Module version 2.0.

2. Method 2: The TPM Management snap-in console does not report the error that "Compatible TPM cannot be found" (as shown in the article as confirmation of no TPM), but rather returns the following error: "Loading of the management console failed. The TPM returned and unexpected result. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x8029010C) Try again."

3. Method 3: There is no TPM settings (either to enable, disable, or otherwise) in the BIOS.

Can anyone else with this machine confirm whether or not their machine has a TPM chip or not and if they get similar results when checking? I can’t tell whether the results from method 2 and 3 are because there is no TPM chip in the computer, or because there is some problem with the TPM chip to try to trouble shoot the problem I am having as discussed in this post: http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/zenbook-pro-ux501vw-problem-with-tpm-and-bitlocker.787074/

Any guidance or direction anyone might be able to provide would be much appreciated.

D.B.

 

Hi Cyborg Buddha:
I recently bought and received my Zenbook Pro UX501VW-DS1T ( http://store.asus.com/us/item/201511AM230002951/A26128). Powerful machine with beautiful screen (both color and brightness). Since you have the same machine, am wondering if the machine you received has a trusted platform module chip?

When I bought my machine at the ASUS store website said it had a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) (I saved the web pages so I have those for confirmation). Now that I have the machine, I’m having trouble determining whether there is really has a TPM chip in my actual machine.

Thanks to King Midas's guidance, I used all three methods listed here ( http://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/36454-trusted-platform-module-tpm-chip-verify-windows-pc.html) to check for TMP chip status and got the following conflicting results:

1. Method 1: The device manager on the system reports that I have Trusted Platform Module version 2.0.

2. Method 2: The TPM Management snap-in console does not report the error that "Compatible TPM cannot be found" (as shown in the article as confirmation of no TPM), but rather returns the following error: "Loading of the management console failed. The TPM returned and unexpected result. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x8029010C) Try again."

3. Method 3: There is no TPM settings (either to enable, disable, or otherwise) in the BIOS.

Can you confirm whether or not your machine has a TPM chip or not and if you get similar results when checking for a TPM chip on your machine? I can’t tell whether the results from method 2 and 3 are because there is no TPM chip in the computer, or because there is some problem with the TPM chip on my machine. The reason I am asking is because I'm trying to trouble shoot the problem I am having as discussed in this post: http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/zenbook-pro-ux501vw-problem-with-tpm-and-bitlocker.787074/

A response from you would be greatly appreciated.

D.B.

 

Update: I was able to confirm that the computer does have a TPM chip: Last night I was on the line with a higher level of ASUS tech support. This tech rep, unlike the prior lower level guy, advised that the machine does have a TPM chip. He recommended a factory reset of the machine to resolve the TPM errors I was getting and the errors I was getting when I tried to encrypt the system drive with Bitlocker. I did not do a factory reset, but went through all the steps to do so just short of resetting the machine to make sure I understood the steps he was recommending. Instead of resetting, I continued to try to access the TPM snap-in management console after I got off the phone with him. Miraculously, for reasons I'm not sure I fully understand, after an hour or so, I was able to get into the TPM management console without error! Not sure if it was all the trouble shooting I was doing in the computer over the last week or so that triggered something. Perhaps the computer got some automatic update from Microsoft or ASUS that fixed the problem. In any event, I am now currently in the process of encrypting the C drive with Bitlocker! Success!!! Also, this is confirmation that the machine does indeed have a TPM chip!

 

Update: I was able to confirm that the computer does have a TPM chip: Last night I was on the line with a higher level of ASUS tech support. This tech rep, unlike the prior lower level guy, advised that the machine does have a TPM chip. He recommended a factory reset of the machine to resolve the TPM errors I was getting and the errors I was getting when I tried to encrypt the system drive with Bitlocker. I did not do a factory reset, but went through all the steps to do so just short of resetting the machine to make sure I understood the steps he was recommending. Instead of resetting, I continued to try to access the TPM snap-in management console after I got off the phone with him. Miraculously, for reasons I'm not sure I fully understand, after an hour or so, I was able to get into the TPM management console without error! Not sure if it was all the trouble shooting I was doing in the computer over the last week or so that triggered something. Perhaps the computer got some automatic update from Microsoft or ASUS that fixed the problem. In any event, I am now currently in the process of encrypting the C drive with Bitlocker! Success!!! Also, this is confirmation that the machine does indeed have a TPM chip!

 

First few sightings in The Netherlands.

UX501VW-FJ024T listed for €1899.--
Date expected : 25-04-2016.
http://www.scheerenfoppen.nl/nl/com...ren/laptops/asus/ux501vw-fj024t-laptop/p88746

UX501VW-FJ024T listed for €1899.--
http://www.wehkamp.nl/elektronica/l...w-fj024t-15-6-inch-laptop/C26_6F4_F41_677347/
(It says sold out and not available anymore, but that is utter cr4p of course. It's probably just to hide it from the search results.)

UX501VW-FJ024T listed for €1726.67
https://www.centralpoint.nl/notebooks-laptops/asus/ux501vw-fj024t-art-90nb0au1-m01890-num-5431063/

UX501VW-FJ128T listed for €1654.54
http://www.gamingtotaal.nl/asus/not...asus-zenbook-pro-ux501vw-fj128t/#.VqroTEXtSJI

UX501VW-FJ128T listed for €1903.24 (rip-off)
http://notebookshop.nl/notebooks/asus/564296/asus-zenbook-pro-ux501vw-fj024t.html

UX501VW-FJ128T listed for €1749.--
https://www.cdromland.nl/product/307/106371/Asus-UX501VW-FJ128T

 

Shops in Norway have two models listed as of today, the best specced one being UX501VW-FI099T, with a matte, non-touch 4K screen.

I've asked Asus support to give me details on the display on the FI099T, to try to determine the color gamut etc. But they were unable to say anything other than confirming that the panel indeed is a matte, non-touch 4K... strange.

Anyone else seen, or own, the matte, non touch 4K version?

 

Yeah, support staff of major OEMs usually doesn't have access or prior technical knowledge to parts. If you can find out the part number of the screen, you can look it up on www.panelook.com and get the color gamut - and much more - there.

Hopefully a current owner can provide that if you can't find the info online.

 

Is this something that'll show up in the specs on the computer? I ordered the FI099T, should have it sometime next week so I could check if it's possible.

LP156UD1-SPB1
LG Display 15.6" 3840×2160
LGD04D4

That's what I've found on mine so far, if that doesn't help let me know where to look for what you need
@Fossekall

 

Does anyone know where to find out the models listed for your country please? I'm either after a French or UK one and have no idea which model numbers i'm looking for, for the Skylake, 512 version.
Thanks
K

 

I bought the UX501VW-FJ098T from John Lewis in the UK, it was advertised as 256GB + 1TB but is in fact the 512GB SSD variant.

 

Does you model FJ098T have a non touch matte display, like the norwegian one mentioned above? Thanks.

 

The french version might be interesting if it were not for the keyboard layout...
UX501VW FY102T seems to have a full hd matte screen, which would be great for better battery life.
I wonder if I could find replacement keyboard keys for it...

 

I am thinking of the french variant aswell. If it is not possible to change the layout (AZERTY) will you still consider it as an option?

 

This variant UX501VW-FY095R, mentioned in this thread before, with the Full HD matte screen is now in stock in the UK...unfortunately I cannot find a shop that ships abroad. Less memory and smaller ssd, but that can be upgraded later if necessary.

 

I was planning to buy the ux501vw but after seeing this info I was wondering if people think the matte finish will make it to the US or not. I hate glossy.