Zenbook U500 Announced: 15.6" HD IPS, GT650M, Quad-Core i7...

The quality is really bad, just try to pick one on a store to see. If that is of no concern to you just go for it.

 

I guess a decision for current notebook buyers would only be possible after October 26 when Windows 8 is released. The fact that the machines cannot be released to the market before that is a pity. It would be a choice galore after that.

 

Asus must be out of their mind with these prices... I am out..

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus

 

Ah no way. Anyone will go with MBPr if Asus will have this sale price. I will not even think to buy this one at this price.

However, if it will come around $1500, I will definitely think. I wish it will come with different specifications. I will buy starter & will update ram/hdd myself.

 

Has this configuration been announced? i7 and FHD?

 

At this point, UX51VZ seems competitive (not for me, with these prices) even with the Razor Blade II:

Razer Blade review (late 2012) -- Engadget

 

Unfortunately, not. I was just responding to the wish of Sony S15 getting overhauled. Just a wish list so far.

 

Hmm, I do not find any information about the UX51!? Do you have a link?

New Razer Blade:
Why is this thing THAT quick in 3D mark vantage clearly outperforming the other notebooks? A bit sad that the U500 will not come with the new i7-3632QM.

 

because they have used a msata 64gb ssd, a waste of space really, much better to buy without that and get a crucial m4 256gb msata, and throw another faster ssd in there for boot, and leave the msata as storage

 

and people said the Dell XPS 15 was expensive....but mine came with 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD (samsung 830 btw) and blu ray for $2300


EDIT: I remembered that I used a coupon and got it for 2170...

 

U500 = UX51VZ it's the official name.

 

the dell is expensive for what it is offering and the performance u recieve. not saying the projected prices for asus isnt. but i would rather buy what asus is saying that dell is atm

 

XPS 15 is very overpriced for its specs, standard screen (many users have a lot of complains about it) only a GT640m but with hard throttling, 2300$ XPS15 version could match with 2X256GB version of ASUS but it has RAID0 SSD (It's almost sure that they aren't Sandisk SSDs, because Sandisk hasn't 256GB SSD sata 3 versions).
It outperforms a single 512GB Samsung PM830 for sure.
I have forgot XPS15 WiFi issue...
Blu ray or DVD burner for me it's not a plus, specially if it continuously annoys with checking disk rumors.
XPS15 weights 2.7Kg...

I haven't never see a laptop with so many returns to producer...
Maybe you are the only one happy user in XPS15 owners thread...

 

The $1999 price tag for the dual 128gb SSD is exactly what I would have expected. It's probably going to be $1799 for the low-end 128gb SSD/500gb HDD model.

When people make unrealistic guesses like $1600 they are just setting themselves up for disappointment.

 

Do you think we can hope for a configuration with only 1 hdd?
Besides, I'm still hoping for no soldered ram

 

I look at it like this,the Asus probably won't accept 16GB of ram. I run VMs and Win 8 Pro comes with a great hyper visor to boot

the Asus also throttles but neither of these are real gamer laptops so that's ok

and you can almost guarantee that the 2x256GB version will cost more than 2300. Also the 2300 includes Dell XPS care for 2 years

 

XPS 15 not only throttling but it has thermal shut down, many users have reported it, in several case they are only using an external monitor (external monitor switches on nvidia gpu).
I have seen HWinfo logs of xps 15 that says that gpu downclocks itselft until 130MHz and this is simply ridiculous.

In my country it's law (maybe eurpean law) 2Y warranty for every kind of product.

Price about 2X256GB SSD version: it's enough clear that price of 2X128 GB SSD it's around 1800€, if I assume that price of 256GB SSD is lower than 200€, I could transform a 2X128GB model with total price of 2200€ and I could resell two 128GB SSD so my final price could be around 2000€.

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i think those users just got a bad machine. I've run stress tests for hours with the CPU reaching 90-95 for sustained periods (3 hours once) and it never shut down on me.

Also I need more space so 256GB for me won't cut it.

 

I believe you were lucky instead...

 

Seems that even Anandtech and notebookcheck had a bad machines, they established thermal shut down with only 10 minutes of full load...
What are the clocks of cpu and gpu while you are running stress test?

If you see my total price of 2200 € you can understand what I mean, I'm speaking of replace the 2X128GB SSD with 2X256GB SSD so total is 512GB.

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Anandtech tested A04, it will still throttle but i am on A09 and unable to make it thermal shutdown

16GB RAM 512GB = 2300 US Dollar = 1783.65 Euro


also I am speaking about US dollars not Euros, 2200 Euros is like 2800 dollars!!!! No way does the Asus come out cheaper than a maxxed out XPS

 

I continue to read XPS15 owners thread and user with A09 BIOS want disparately return to A04 (but they can't), with A09 battery life is drastically lower, many users report fan is always on.
Throttling is still on XPS15, no way to avoid throttling with new BIOS if cooling system is so poor.
DELL has retired A09 BIOS, because it has created a lot of problems to many users.

Asus UX51VZ (2X128GB SSD) has a cost of 1800€ in Europe and 2000$ in US, you can't do a direct conversion so you must pay almost 2400$ for 2X128GB SSD (1800€ = 2320$).
If I pay 2200€ mean that I have 4 SSD, so I can resell the 128GB SSDs and maybe my final price is around 2000€ for 2X256GB SSD

I guess it's very easy to do the same count with your market prices.
Asus UX51VZ (2X128GB SSD) ---2000$+
Samsung PM830 256GB-----------185$+ (Price found on Amazon.com)
Samsung PM830 256GB-----------185$=
________________________________________
Total----------------------------2370$

I have to resell 2X128GB SSD even if they are practically unused I suppose fair price could be 50/60$ for each one

Total---------------------2370$-
2X128GB SSD Resale------110$=
__________________________
New Total----------------2260$

So I have more than XPS15 (IPS screen, GT650m, RAID 0 SSD with a total of 512GB, weight of 2.15Kg vs 2.7Kg)
XPS15 with 512GB not RAID 0 has a cost of 2300$, it has some plus like 16GB ram and Blu-Ray ROM, but I have others plus that no one wants, the Wifi issue, the serious throttling problem, display with grid issue and annoying checking rumor from ODD.

In my country XPS15 16GB ram 512SSD = 1900€ (official Dell price)

 

I'm really tempted to just go with a macbook pro retina. I thought the price would have been a bit cheaper. I do love the quality of Asus, but Apple has the better build quality here.

 

this is assuming the SSD's are even user replaceable. We do not know for sure as Mike was unable to tell with his tools.

 

Mike can't open his prototype because he has an agreement with the supplier, but the screws are simple torx like XPS.
I have heard that ASUS generally allows RAM and Hard disk replacement without void warranty.

 

The question, though, is whether the SSDs are replaceable parts at all. Some Ultrabooks and MacBooks have SSDs in proprietary formats that you could not just pull out and replace or sell.

 

honestly, the xps 15 isnt a good comparision for the asus. the only one that is directly a competator is rmbp. the sony s15 comes close but that still has inferior specs and inferior build quality

 

S15 price is much lower than Asus UX51VZ, and we don't know exactly the build quality of this Asus.

 

if you add RAID 0 256GB configuration, it comes in about the same price as the Asus actually but I owned the s15 a few months back and can say that the build quality is questionable.

 

I was hoping to get it for $1500, but at this $2300 it's not a good deal specially when MBPr is available in same price range & has very good & quick resale

 

Page 330 of XPS' owners lounge is self-explaining.. Someone wrote that the only game he can play wihout throttling is League of Legends.. And if you think that I can play that game at 1920x1080 and full details without throttling with HD3000 (not even the nvidia) on my brother's L502x....

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in that same thread there is a guy who played Max Payne 3 on medium high for hours..try that one on the HD3000...

then again while they put "gamer" graphics on this Asus and even slightly less so on the XPS...these are not gamer laptops

 

Seems that Sony will update S15 when Windows 8 will be released:
The major update seems to be 3632QM:

http://www.sony.jp/vaio/2012_autumn/pdf/spec.pdf



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Without throttling? I doubt it... They definitely aren't gaming laptops, but 650 is a medium class graphic card, not a gaming one. If I spend 2000$ on a laptop I want to have at least a decent experience with every application I may need, even gaming. Of course I don't expect playing the most demanding 3D games in 1080p, full details and AA, but at least medium details... For everything else HD4000 is enough, but without a discrete graphic card one fan is enough, so I'd expect also optical drive or HUGE battery, and definitely lower price. It would be a different product, not an MBPr competitor

Sent from HTC HD2 with Tapatalk

 

Why Dell has put in a gt640m in xps15 if no one can fully use it?
Maybe was better to put in a gt640 LE or much better to use only the HD4000.

If you are not a gamer why don't buy an ultrabook without discrete gpu?

I'm not a gamer, but sometime could happen that I want play some game, so I want this kind of notebook.
In xps15 throttling is so hard that is sufficient to connect and external monitor to have it.

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thanks for that but it also comes with xLOUD not Dolby....anyone hear of that before??

I ask because my cell phone has better speakers than the current S15...i joke not. Hands down the worse speakers i've ever heard from a laptop...I couldn't even hear you tube videos if i had the TV in the same room on

 

So can we just quit with the useless comparison between the xps 15 and the ux51?

Closest thing that you can compare the ux51 is the rmbp.

the xps 15 is doa notebook.

the s15 has a subpar build quality, much like its little brother has. And sony always updates when they launch a new processor, and thats just what they change, the cpu.

Those prices arent dead on yet, they may change as in a lot of other notebooks that I have waited, but dont expect anything less than 1500 on this machine.

 

1500€ or 1500$ ?

Anyhow, in every currency 1500 would be extremely good, but seems that not will happen...

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it doesnt really matter usually the price in dollars translate equally in euros, not in value but in number. Meaning U$1500 = 1500 euro.

thats the lowest price I can think that this machine can have, nor that it will have

Im still very much in doubt that there are 2 2.5'' bays in that thing, its question of size, the battery is quite large, then you have to account the dual fans... I think its going to be something very interesting

 

I think it COULD be at this price if they make a configuration with only one HDD (no ssd) and the other bay empty. However I think that as a Zenbook they will sell it with at least 1 ssd, so maybe the base configuration will be ssd+empty or ssd+hdd. If ssd+ HDD comes at 1500€ I'll buy it
Hope that cpu, gpu,display and external subwoofer are the same in every configuration...
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Hopefully they will use the new display also which has NO ORANGEGATE issue any more. The new processor will not bring any benefits in terms of heat or performance as notebookcheck has shown. 5% more speed (due higher clock) but thats it.
Yea the sound quality will stay crappy and I was a bit shocked when I heard the speakers by myself but I think I could live with that. The price is just SOO much lower than the U500. Might be my only second option. I would have kept the S15 if the reds would not have been that bad.

 

If this thing is actually $1,900 there is NO WAY that anybody would buy this over the rMBP...the rMBP is just better in every respect for the same price, plus it has a superior screen.
Unless you're a die-hard windows fan, rMBP seems to be the way to go!

 

Well it's not that clear cut. The rMPB apparently has image retention issues with its screen and people are still complaining. Second they say the build is a bit flimsier, resulting in creaking noises. When it comes to the ram and ssd, they aren't really replaceable and it costs quite a bit just to have 500gb of space. For me, it's not very easy to choose one. The rMBP inability to upgrade in the future really puts it off for me, especially since the U500 has room for dual storage. And, on top of that, the U500 comes with a matte screen while Apple only offers glossy on the rMBP.

 

Exactly. samk0814 if you wouldn't mind telling us how rMBP is better in every aspect, other than higher resolution which doesn't even mean it's better, it's just higher. For some people that's actually worse.

 

Oh and you mention the higher resolution. The rMBP has trouble running the OS at such a high resolution causing it to lag/stutter sometime, especially when the integrated gpu is in use. There really is no point in such a high resolution as everyday tasks are affected by it.

 

I know, that's what I've been saying all along. There was a discussion about it few pages back.

 

In addition, the UX51VZ - at least according to the initially announced U500 specs - has 2GB of RAM with which to drive a 1920x1080 screen, whereas the rMBP is driving a much higher resolution screen with only 1GB of video RAM. So if you intend to run games the Asus is probably the better choice.

And if you're at all invested in Windows then the rMBP doesn't look as attractive since you won't get the full benefit of the screen outside of MacOS. I have a ton of Windows software that I have put money into, and Windows software I need for work, so the rMBP looks attractive hardware-wise but not software-wise. Since I would have more use for Windows than MacOS at this point, some of that expensive SSD storage in the rMBP would be wasted, along with some of the expensive pixels.

For me another critical factor in deciding is how the storage and RAM are organized inside the UX51VZ. If they are replaceable, standard SSD drives and RAM sticks then that's a definite bonus over the rMBP's permanent and proprietary parts. But if they're also impossible to upgrade or replace then the Asus loses that advantage.

Also, when I price out the rMBP with AppleCare (which it seems you'll need if anything goes wrong, due to the lack of serviceable parts), it still comes out more expensive than either version of the UX51VZ.

Edit: Come to think of it, for a Windows user another additional cost for the rMBP would be the Windows licence.

Does anyone yet know what the difference is between the $1999 and $2399 versions of the UX51VZ? Do both include the same GT650M graphics?

Edit: There's an Excel spreadsheet on Asus's website that lists the following model numbers: UX51, UX51VZ, UX51VZH, UX51VZA (and also UX42, UX42VS, UX52, UX52VS). I wonder what those others are.

 

So far it seems that it's the storage configuration. But it's important to realize that no official pricing has been revealed yet and personally I would really not go by some random retailers that no one has ever heard of. They may have estimated the price since Asus still hasn't released any pricing. Once I see the prices on Amazon or Newegg is when I'll know how much it'll actually cost.

 

Newegg is pricing it at $1951.99 Newegg.com - Asus UX51VZ-DH71 Notebook - Intel Core i7 i7-3612QM 2.10 GHz

Macmall also has it for $1999.99 with 2 128gb ssds MacMall | ASUS UX51VZ DH71 - 15.6" - Core i7 3612QM - Windows 8 64-bit - 8 GB RAM - 128 GB SSD + 128 GB SSD UX51VZ-DH71

 

Why don't you get the rMBP benefits in Windows (besides Mac OS taking up space)?