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

CNET suggests 1940$ for the 128+128 GB raid0 configuration

 

*crickets*

 

Is it just me, or is RAIDing two SSDs silly?

 

No, it's only you.

 

...

You sort of will only be able to take full advantage of it when reading or writing relatively large files from one area to another of the hard-drive, without needing to compress them on the fly and so on. So.. when editing video-files that have to be cached back and forth, maybe..?

Striping two disks never was the most efficient way to use disk-space, though. And you will lose all the data if one of the hdds have to be switched out. Wouldn't necessarily give you a huge boost either. But with two sdds, you already have high transfer rate. And then get to double that if the conditions are right. Which they will be typically when something you would transfer would take more than a second or so. So for at least some value of teapot, it's not that silly.

 

It could be very fast, but a lot depends on how reliable the SSDs are. I have had a lot of trouble with SSDs failing suddenly, and I've been saved by the fact that my data was on an old-fashioned HDD so I only lost the OS and programs. So RAID 0 for SSDs makes me a bit nervous - now there are two that can fail and there's nowhere else for your data to go.

I don't think my experience can be typical though - I have had so many SSD failures that if this were typical no-one would be buying the things. I'd probably buy the RAID 0 SSD configuration and just be careful about backups.

 

The Sony Vaio z's come with raid0 ssd by default. Mine has yet to crash but I have heard of some that do, I'm guessing the majority don't --otherwise the thing wouldn't cost so darn much.

 

your SSD is darn expensive because it uses a custom format.

RAID 0 is one of the most dreadful ideas in existence, and people like it.

 

My SSD seems to be fast enough that I never see it as a bottleneck. Now it's always the CPU that has to keep up. The only thing that won't use the CPU is straight file copying on the same drive, but how often do you do that? And it's hardly slow as is.

There is MUCH more use to a big HD in the second SATA slot. That is clear. Even ignoring reliability or maintenance. (ie: Oh no, my laptop died/windows got hosed/etc. Let me pull out my trusty SATA-to-USB cable to recover some data. Oh right, I chose to screw myself to make occasional file copies slightly faster.)

As for editing uncompressed video: you really want to do that on a 256GB drive?

 

as a Unix Sys Admin, I can attest to that. Absolutely horrid. On a laptop I do not believe that the benefits exceed the cost. Honestly unless you are doing very intensive things and even then the speed difference should be negligible, and if you are doing heavy processing then you should be looking at a Lenovo or Dell workstation.

 

.. possibly.

Set up a system with a ramdisk for a page-file, a pair of striped ssds, and you have something that will have extremely good response as well as the highest transfer rates you can get. (Whether it's a laptop or a desktop..).

 

Has Asus definitively said that there will be an SSD + HDD version of the UX51?

 

nice laptop, but stupid expensive.

and you'd think they'd squeeze an extra mini display port in there for some triple monitor action.

i have to wonder what asus is doing spending all that money on building that chassis for such a low volume seller.
They should use this nice chassis to build some lower end more affordable i3 i5 and even amd's.

 

I dont think that nvidia mobile gpus support more than 2 monitors.

and asus is spending money on this chassis because they think they will profit from it. A notebook pulls its own weight, if they arent doing anything with amd is because they think it wont pull its own weight. Though hp might prove them very wrong

 

`(...)or the combination of a 128GB solid-state drive and a 500GB hard drive.` --- ASUS 15-inch Zenbook U500: Ivy Bridge, optional NVIDIA graphics and a full numpad (update: hands-on) -- Engadget

`(...)or a hybrid drive with a smaller SSD (128GB) and larger hard disc drive (up to 500GB),` --- Asus Zenbook U500 Hands-On - IBTimes UK

There should be one! And I hope so because I don`t want to spend $2k on a laptop :S

 

sure it can. it can support up to 4 active displays. Notebooks just don't have enough ports for it.
The retina macbook pro has 2 thunderbolt + 1 hdmi driving off the gt650m for triple monitor.

NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M - Notebookcheck.net Tech

I hope to see notebooks with 3 mini hdmi or dp ports. that would be killer multitasking.

 

At least using HDMI+DisplayPort would have been better than HDMI and VGA. You can get an HDMI or DP to VGA adapter if you want crappy analog signals, but the default option should be digital formats, since you can go from D to A easily but not from A to D without loss of information. This, and the possible price, are the only things I dislike about this laptop :/

Edit: for those saying if you really want performance you should get a workstation laptop or something, sometimes it's nice to have something that's reasonably powerful but doesn't break your back. Some tasks, such as compiling large C++ projects, are pretty easy to parallelize and benefit a lot from increases in core count and disk IO performance. That's the main reason I want this laptop, to compile stuff faster and perhaps play games occasionally. It's also still one of the few laptops at 15" with a 1080p screen, the specs are just a nice plus. I probably would be okay with a less powerful notebook with 1080p but there just aren't that many to choose from.

 

Any updates on when this will be coming out?

 

It will be available in the market after Windows 8 launching. Maybe on or after 26th October

 

3rd generation Intel HD Graphics can support 3 monitors in certain configurations (source: 3rd Generation Intel® Core™ Processors with Intel® HD Graphics 4000/2500 — Configuration FAQs for using three monitors) I presume that whatever the Core chips can drive, the additional NVidia chip can provide (since it has no monitor connections of its own and shouldn't care).

What's really great is that it has a Mini DisplayPort and can drive a 2560x1440 monitor. (The HDMI 1.4 on current zenbooks should be able to, but it seems that it's hobbled by Intel... still trying to find out.)

 

Wait, it does have mini DisplayPort? The first post seems to say it doesn't although I haven't read through the whole thread, just the last 15 pages or so. That would be awesome. Yeah, my current laptop also should be able to drive 2560*1440 off HDMI but it doesn't seem to want to do so, I have to use mDP for that. I actually really like the mDP connector too. Nice and compact.

 

Pretty sure it has to do with Intel's drivers, and maybe the size of the framebuffer, etc. And that if you booted up your average mac or windows boot with an nvidia or radeon card, you would have support for resolutions like that via hdmi.

..you could also have sound, if you wanted.

 

Huh? There are lots of 15" laptops with 1080p, many of which are far more powerful than the UX51. Just off the top of my head:

Clevo P150
Clevo W350
HP dv6
HP Envy 15
HP Elitebook
Asus N56
Asus G55
Lenovo T530
Lenovo W530
Sony Vaio S15
Vizio CN15
Dell XPS 15
Dell Inspiron 15R SE
Dell Precision
MSI GE60
MSI GT60
Macbook Pro Retina (more than 1080p, but still)

... and I'm sure I've forgotten several others.

 

It's just that there are very few low-budget laptops with 1920x1080 screens. It's not really necessary to have an incredibly powerful graphics card to display a 1920x1080 picture (or much higher) in just a desktop with some few 3d-effects, and so on. So a lot of people would be happy with a slim 14 inch, or an ultrabook, or an ultraslim, etc., with a dual/quad-core, 1920x1080 screen, hdmi out, an ssd, and a good battery.

And there aren't any laptops like that on the market. Closest seems to be the lenovos you can get a 1920x1080 option on the screens (if you're lucky enough to live in a country where that's available), and maybe the HP models you can drop the dedicated card and add an extra battery and the screen. But both of those variants are married to the larger chassis options in the first place.

There's nothing stopping anyone from making an apu setup with a high resolution screen in a small chassis, though. That would have a beautiful screen, weigh 1.2kg, be reasonably useful for media-playback and some 3d, etc. But that's not how the market works. You're supposed to pay premium for the amount of pixels - as if they were a rare unrenewable mineral, I guess.

 

Oh sorry, I guess I meant in this weight range. I was considering the Envy 15 but I want something just a bit lighter. My Envy 14 is nice but I feel that something a bit lighter would be much nicer. Out of those probably the only ones with similar weight/thickness are the Vaio S15 and maybe MBPr. Again, my main concerns are having a quad core of some type and 1080p, and after that it should be light (in the 4-5lb range). I don't think there are many laptops like that, and they all carry a premium, but I'd be quite happy if they made them with weaker GPUs to save on some weight on the heat sink. Like the guy above me said, you don't need a massive GPU just to run 1080p desktop stuff (or terminals in my case). I just want the pixels.

 

I believe the HDD + SDD version will be almost the same price as the default configuration. A 128 GB SSD costs $100 at most from Newegg and a 500 GB hard drive is at most $80. So yeah, I would be surprised for the price to drop even $100 for the lowest configuration.

 

Companies charges too much on these upgrades. You can get 256GB Samsung 830 SSD for $185-200, while Apple & all others will add $400-500 for it

I would buy it if I will be able to get it with basic configurations. I will upgrade RAM & SSD myself.

 

Not unless Asus stops locking sata speeds to fit the hdd the device ships with, along with using bios-timing that will prevent you from installing faster or more efficient ram.

But yes, that is a very good selling point, isn't it.

Or.. would be, at least.

 

Oh, yeah there isn't much in 15" 1080p under 5 lbs. The UX51 seems to be 4.7 and the Vaio and rMBP are both 4.4. I can't think of any others.

 

@ iofthestorm
There are 2 Vaios: S15 and VPC-SE but I am sure there are more 15" (1080p) Ultrabooks to come if you do not need a (strong) dedicated GPU. Yet I am also surprised that there are not more notebooks in this range right now.

 

HP Unveils Innovative Multitouch Hybrid PC and Ultrabooks HP Spectre XT TouchSmart Ultrabook - Engadget Galleries

HP Spectre XT will have a 15.6" 1080p IPS and be 4.77lb. It will have a metal case, edge-to-edge glass display, and glass touchpad. Being a true "Ultrabook," it will have a dual-core CPU and better battery life. It will start at $1400. Interestingly, it will have a Thunderbolt connector.

 

VIZIO Thin and Light High Resolution Ultrabook Computer | VIZIO

Vizio CT15-A2 has a 15.6" 1080p IPS display, is 3.96lb (!) and 0.68" thick (!). 256GB SSD. It comes with no bloatware (!) Some dude here claims it's $999 at Costco (!!!)

 

@alexd457 Wow, those are pretty good choices!

 

Yeah, but I bet the visio does not have a discreet graphics card

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

 

It doesn't. Neither does the HP. The Vizio CN15 does have one however (GT 640M LE)

 

iofthestorm asked for such a solution which does not have to have a discrete GPU

When can we get finally some real news about the U500 :-/

 

My bad. I missed the part about not needing a discreet card. Yeah, eagerly awaiting news on U500.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

 

No news on the SSD+HDD model yet, huh? I would get that model if it's around $1600-$1700.

I'll be broke after this holiday season, because I'll also be buying the Galaxy Note II for full price and the V-MODA M-100 headphones. Why must all these cool toys come out at around the same time...

 

Same here, 1600-1700$ is a sweet spot for me aswell. Could just swap the hdd for a ssd in the future cheaper. Damn cant wait for more info and a proper review of the final product

 

for $1129 this new Vizio has similar spec except it has GT640 LE...this would be equal to the lower end Asus but much cheaper

http://store.vizio.com/windows8/cn15a5.html

 

Nah I do want some discrete GPU, but don't require anything particularly strong. Unfortunately they don't do that too often, it's usually either crappy integrated or high end GPU, although the GT640LE or whatever in the Vaio S15 is fine for me. I just want to play SC2 at native resolution with a stable framerate basically, which I don't think the HD4000 can do (stable meaning 60+fps at all times).

The Vizio CN15 does look appealing though, although it's a bit on the heavy side for what I'm looking for. Kind of funny, I used to be hyped up about the U500/UX51VZ but after reading this thread and looking at some of the alternatives I'm now more interested in the alternatives. I guess I just was hoping for a slightly lower price, because in the range the current rumors are saying, I see no reason not to buy a Macbook Pro Retina (well, except for the fact that I hate OS X and Apple, but just on paper they're quite nice).

Ugh though, I wish companies would start putting miniDP ports on their laptops. My needs are too specific I guess, and most laptops don't seem to support higher than 1080P out on HDMI for some stupid reason (HDMI 1.4 is supposed to let you do that but seems like it doesn't work on a lot of laptops that I'm looking at). I really want to get a 27" monitor but that would be unusable without DisplayPort or a proper HDMI output. I might end up having to suck it up and get an Envy 15 with the extra weight. That wouldn't be that bad of a tradeup from the Envy 14 honestly. Actually, supposedly it weighs the same as my Envy 14.

 

Hi everyone,

I have been following this thread for a while, and now the prices has finally arrived in Denmark.

Komplett.dk - ASUS U500VZ 15.6" Full HD IPS

14000 DKK, or around 2400 USD, or 1500 GBP.
(or 74400 Baht if you please)


So, to sum it up, VERY pricey!

Quite a bit more than I expected, but I hope they will release a HDD + SSD option soon.

This ships in the end of October.

 

Wow...

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2

 

so expensive...and confirmed 4GB RAM soldered...

 

I rather companies go the route of XPS 15 and others who put 1 ram stick behind the motherboard rather than soldering it on. That way it's out of the way of people who don't know what they're doing yet accessible to those who do to make changes.

 

Well! Just like you I have been following this for a while and I have been very excited. The exchange is correct but here VAT is included and in general a higher cost of living in Denmark vs US.

So let's just provide other people with a frame of reference, if we cmopare prices to Apple computers in the two countries. Retina Macbook Pro with the 256 GB SSD (equivalent to 2x128GB SSD), with 8 GB RAM (same as Asus), costs 2200 USD but in Denmark it costs around 17.700 DKK (without AppleCare, 20.300 DKK with AppleCare).

So in Apple dollars 2200 USD = 17.700 DKK
And the Asus goes for 13.995 DKK or roughly 1700 dollars, not 2400.

Given that most people find a price difference of 700 a lot. I thought it was worth mentioning.

Also, I find the hardware on the inside to be better in the Asus, at least the one that I am most focused on, the graphics card. But I'm not sure about the screen or the build quality. Seeing as I want to spend some gaming time on my next Laptop MacBook is not the path for me, and espcially not paying upwards of 4000-7000 DKK more.

The irresponsible me wants to buy this computer right now (and according to MikeTLB before, it also comes with extra subwoofer, a bag, and 2 or 3 coords for charging which Apple would charge you for) - but the responsible me would wait and see if it has WiFi or Throttling issues that come out in reviews.

 

I agree so much! The U500 also came up on swedish komplett.se ( Komplett.se - ASUS U500VZ 15.6" Full HD IPS) with price of 16000 SEK, which isnt as much as I thought it would be. I am SO close to preorder it at this price, but as you say maybe I should wait for the final reviews before ordering it.. but DO WANT ))

 

Find it weird that asus isn´t using the new i7 3632QM
Asus normally is up to date on the processors, maybe the computers have already been built and the launch had to be delayed duo to windows 8?
should we expect a U500 with an i7 3632QM soon?

 

Either way it doesn't make much difference, the performance gain is tiny - I think the only change is a 100 MHz faster core.

 

Fyi Mike said it comes with no bag in his preview and it had just one subwoofer.