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

I just checked out the Win8 preview on my super crappy Thinkpad Edge. I did not expect to like it (was intending on installing win7 on the new Asus one) but now, I really like this Win8 thing.

It takes some getting used to and it is a BIG change. But I can see myself fully immersed if I would get a Microsoft Lumia and WP8 phone. A windows (ie gaming) alternative to OSX that has an uniform experience between tablet phone and laptop is pretty nice to me. It only makes me want a touch screen laptop. Although I don't know if that will be comfortable with the keyboard sticking out. Touch screen interfaces are more comfortable if you don't have to hold your hand out, and can rest the surface in your lap for example.

 

you don't have to hold your arm up for touchscreen.

my natural position is elbow on the table while fingers touch the screen.


after using windows 8 for a few days, I have gotten used to it. Only a few new things you have to learn.
The 4 corners of your screen will get you where you want to go.
and for Metro apps, drag to close.


desktop mode is almost identical to win7. While the start button is gone, clicking in the same corner will get you the start screen.


Most of the start screen apps you probably won't use anyway.

I'm just saying that for this huge price, it better come with a touchscreen, even if I won't be using touch that much.

 

The inability to upgrade doesn't bother me as I'll just go for a decently rMBP. I'll use a external hard disk for pics and videos anyways. The lag has pretty much been fixed now, at least it seems like it on the ones I've tested. Build quality is pretty much perfect. You have to remember that people like us always find out about the crappy ones on forums and such. 95% I'm guessing are perfect.

The reason the Asus keeps me from going for the rMBP is that I'll need Windows for certain tasks. Also, gaming without having to boot into a different OS is a plus.

Sent from my blazing fast Galaxy S3!

 

Any speculation as to what brand SSD's this new UX51 series will use? I don't want to end up with 2x256GB Sandisk U100's for $2500 If that's what it's going to include I'll buy the hdd model and throw in the new Samsung 840's. What brand has Asus traditionally used in their machines?

Regarding pricing, it's right what I'd expect. Sh*t Sony charges that for their 13" models with 2x256! If the Samsung NP900X4C runs $2k for their top end SKU, then surely this top end ASUS can fetch $2500 considering how much better the specs are. Now I just need to see what Samsung announces tomorrow before I make my decision... I'm pretty sure it's not going to best the Asus in specs (except maybe screen res), but it surely will in size/weight.

 

2X128GB SSDs are Sandisk in prototype, it's enough sure that 2X256GB can't be Sandisk, because Sandisk hasn't 256GB SSD SATA3 models.

The Sony solution is a proprietary solution, it puts 2XSSD in a single 2.5" bay even the connector is proprietary, but I don't see any reason to upgrade S15 with RAID0 made by Sony.
I think if you upgrade by yourself swapping the HDD with an SSD like Samsung 840Pro you should be happy.

I see the Amazon.de price for the 2X128GB version (1699€) it include the DVD burner, if Asus also sells a package without DVD burner maybe we can hope for a price of 1649€.
Perhaps, perfect setup would be with only 4GB ram, 3632QM and without DVD burner for 1599€

It's very stupid that the processor now is a 3610QM, when 3632QM is just out, I never buy a premium laptop with old proc

Obviously my appreciation could disappear if a throttling problem is in this laptop.

 

I went to the local Best Buy and played with the rMBP. Very nice looking but graphics were .. Slow!
It was against two lower end Samsung's no less, one 700 series with a HD6490.

I used APOD (Astronomy Picture of the Day) for higher res jpgs to see how long it would take for pictures to actualize.
Astronomy Picture of the Day Archive
Click on one and then click again on the image for large JPGs.

the MBP was much Slower.
IMO, the GTX 660 card while faster than most, just is Not capable of making 4x the pixel count (2880 x 1800 vs 1400 x 900) react fast enough.
With the rMBP Res I think you need a Much better card to make it 'pop'.
At least the 675 or maybe double even that in ability.

 

Actually, the Video card is more than capable of showing the amount of pixels without any trouble, the culprit of the lagging issue was software. Both Airs and cMBP has had some issues with it when running Lion.

 

Thanks.
Perhaps you are correct. I am not an 'Apple person' but was considering the rMBP because it's great looking and Res/Revolutionary machine.
No longer considering it after that test and with all the non-Apple ultrabooks coming.
Had the rMBP had really 'popped' I might own it now.
If you're saying those issues were/could be easily resolved, I would reconsider.

 

If Sony now also solved the Orangegate problem + enhanced the sound the new S15 could be interresting again for me. They are making a bit point about sound on the website and the actual S15 was such a crap in terms of speakers. Lets see what reviews will tell.

 

my cell phone has better speakers than the S15 lol. That is the same text they used when the S15 came out so I don't have too much faith to be honest since it's a spec refresh and not a new laptop.

 

I was originally very interested this this and also the Sony VAIO S15 perked my interest but I'm now finding myself going in the direction of the Razer Blade R2. Yes, I know it's about 2 inches wider but 1920*1080 on a 17" screen should be more comfortable to work daily plus I'd be looking to mainly use it as a portable gaming rig and storage is a big thing for me.
The Sony is very limited in this department and the Asus seems to limited too, and when I consider how expensive they are (especially the Asus) and how much trying to increase the storage size would cost me the Razer Blade R2 becomes a much more attractive option to me.

Is anyone else in this same dilemma/come to a similar conclusion?

 

It's definitely another kind of notebook...For that use you may want to check also a Clevo

 

Im also debating between this and the razer blade. I just dont know whether to go with the ssd in the zenbook or the better gpu and processor in the blade. Also I dont think the blade has a battery replacement when the battery runs out.

 

Razor is ultrathin laptop, Clevos are bulky laptops.
I would like to consider the Razor as an alternative, but the price is out of my range.
Razor cooling system seems very good, and specs are higher than UX51.
Display isn't IPS but is a high quality TN.

 

Yeah, that's why I've come back to the Razer Blade. The original revision was underpowered spec wise but R2 seems to be bang on for maintaining portability.

Price wise, I do agree it's too much but the Asus isn't that far off it.
I can see the sony selling reasonably well though it is a pity it doesn't have a GT650 with GDDR5 as that would make it extremely tempting, assuming it doesn't have heat/throttling issues. (the U500's exhaust placement doesn't seem ideal tbh)

 

Just read this online about the UX51 having a touchscreen...

Asus CEO reveals details of Padfone 2 and new Windows 8 laptops | ITProPortal.com

Is this an error on the author's part?

 

it should be an error, it's the only source on the web speaking about a touchscreen (thank God I'd say...)

 

Not the first time it's been stated - that last time being a month and a half ago - both in this thread we've dismissed as errors so far.

 

Well we've had a hands-on tester confirm it isn't a touchscreen, but maybe Asus changed their minds and the production version will have one.

 

Didn't this also happen with the UX21A, which got pushed back/delayed and outfitted with a touchscreen when it was finally released?

 

Well, if there is an UX31 touchscreen on the offing, then why not a touchscreen UX51/U500
ASUS shows off a touchscreen Zenbook Prime Ultrabook, we go fingers-on (updated)

 

Cost. The UX51 is already out of many people's budgets. Although a touchscreen on this thing would really help justify the high price.

 

Not to mention that the touchscreen would be one of the substantial differentiation with respect to the Macbook Retina.

I have a Kensigton Bluetooth case keypad which I use with my iPad. One might be surprised how natural the use of thumbs and fingers on the touchscreen goes along with the keyboard.

 

The cheaper $2000ish UX51VZ-DH71 SKU is starting to show up, 2x128GB

Newegg.com - Asus UX51VZ-DH71 Notebook - Intel Core i7 i7-3612QM 2.10 GHz

Definitely would pick this up instead of the XH71 and pop in 2 higher performing SSD's. Hopefully there is an even cheaper option with traditional HDD's coming. I hate to pay for 2 drives I'm just going to toss...or more accurately sell on eBay

 

Wow, well it looks like the "cheap" one is still in my budget. If it gets stellar reviews it's still in the cards but otherwise... I'm not paying that much for anything but the best.

 

And here is the video where Jerry Shen talks about the touch based ultrabooks - UX51 and UX38:
FIRST LOOK: NEW ASUS PADFONE 2 WITH WINDOWS 8
Jump to 1:17.

With this the UX51 comes to the top of the extreme desirability list, bar major issues like abysmal battery life etc.

 

Looking at the laptop pictured in the video it does not seem to have a numpad. Maybe there is some kind of difference between UX51 and U500 where the former is a touch-enabled laptop and the later is non-touch.

 

That is Asus Padfone 2, what makes you think it should be the ux51?

 

"Sadly not" as the Blade is not available in EU :-/

Also the U500 will have better battery life if everything runs normal. The battery is even bigger than the one in the blade. They wasted some space inside the case if you check the pictures but indeed it is super thin, has great cooling and faster hardware. Display is not up to the one of the U500 but still quite good....at least for a TN device. I think it is sad though that the display is NOT clearly better than the one in the Blade R1. Some specs are better....other worse :-/

 

Yeah, unfortunately I'm in the same position as the Razer Blade R1 didn't come to the UK but hopes are that the R2 will be made available in the EU and UK.

So still have time to decide as none of the laptops are actually available for me to buy yet.

 

Also, check this:
Bloomberg Gets New Details On ASUS Padfone 2

"However, if you are not interested in the Padfone 2, Bloomberg was also able to get their hands on new info on ASUS U38 and UX51 touchscreen enabled laptops.".

So, as suggested by one of the posters, maybe it's a difference between the U500 and UX51? It says expected release November in the video as well. Would be cool if they also released a touch screen edition.

 

If you check out the video, albeit titled Asus Padfone 2, it contains information about UX51 and U38, which are 15.6" and 13.3" respectively.

Like previously stated it did not contain a numpad, and it might be that UX51 != U500. If the difference between UX51 and U500 is numpad and no numpad, it could also be a difference in discrete graphics, as well as touch screen and no touch screen.

What I am hoping to do is to remove the RAID 0 configuration on this 2x128 gb setup. That would give me 256GB of SSD storage which I would think to be nice.

And if that comes out for about 2000$, it is 200$ cheaper than rMBP (with better graphics card) and 100$ more expensive than Sony S15. The 2x256 model is probably one going for 2500$ and is still, 200$ cheaper than rMBP similarly configured, which goes for 2700$.

Like I've said before, I understand when its not inside peoples budget, but I don't really understand the outcry of it being super expensive. These laptops are all expensive and you could get better components in uglier and worse builds, in bulkier and heavier frames - but for me its a fair price. Not a good price, not cheap, not super expensive, but fair.

Also note that if it does not hold up to what the specs promise (read: throttling, wifi issues, overheating) it is too expensive.

 

2x128GB raid 0 is 256GB, it's raid 1 (which is what I plan to run) that would only give you 128GB.

 

I think they mixed up the laptops. The UX51 as we've seen it is shown here:



But in the description they are showing a touchscreen laptop much smaller than a 15.6" when describing it as a touch screen:



The specs are great and yes, it will be worth the premium if it can perform without throttling, screen issues, etc.

 

Ah, my bad. I will have an external server at home that serves as back ups, so I would rather have no raid 2x128 than raid 1. One SSD as system disk+documents. Second disk for media+games.

 

For most people SSD speed will not be a bottleneck even without any RAID 0. A more useful setup, combining system speed with storage space, would be one SSD and one HDD. I'd be looking for 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD, though I think the SSD + HDD version of the UX51, if it exists, will have only a 128GB SSD.

 

That's still a usable size for an OS install and a few programs and everything else on the HDD.

 

Yes, this should be the best choice for 99% of buyers... who knows if ASUS will hear our prayers

 

I can't see them releasing a ton of different SKU's with different hard drive configs. I think they might of thrown the SSD + HHD idea out the window and just be offering either 128x2 or 256x2. I wonder why they decided to do that, raid 0 is a bit silly for the mainstream user to be running. It's just too risky and the performance gains won't be noticed by most of the population. I per-ordered the 128x2 model, can't decide if I'm going to keep it like that in a raid 1 config (will be using it for business and would like to have instant back-up) , replace them both with 2 Samsung 840 Pro 256GB drives, or settle for 1 Samsung 840 256 and 1 1TB HDD and back-up on a nightly schedule.... one thing I'm definitely not going to do is pay an extra $500 for 256GB of more crappy Sandisk storage! Hey, maybe that's why they went with the raid 0 config, so the Sandisk drive's weren't so slow?

 

I believe @mac already comment sometimes on this thread that sandisk controllers aren´t used in any 128 or 256 size drive so we may be lucky and asus is using an Samsung 830 or even an Samsung 840 on the updated model, maybe someone could find some information about that?

 

Not exactly, I have said that it's very improbably 2X256GB SSD are supplied from Sandisk, because Sandisk hasn't any 256GB SSD SATA3 in its catalog, but for 2X128GB I can't say nothing, also we know that prototype had just 128GB SSDs from Sandisk.

 

Hi Guys,

Somebody in another forum found the U500/UX51VZ listed in a shop with i7-3632QM....strange isn't it?
Ultrabook ASUS ZENBOOK UX51VZ-CM042P | CZC.cz

It is a shop in Czech Republic but if that is a mistake I would wonder where such mis-information would come from It even has a new product code "CM042P". Looks valid somehow...but sadly if you do search for it you will only get CZ results. Maybe the term CM042P includes some region code. Not sure so far - maybe also wrong information from one major distributor in cz or some leak.

 

It was posted before, only first bunch will come with 3612. Some countrys may not have it at all and will go with 3632 some time after general release.

 

newegghas pics and spec for the high end model now

Newegg.com - ASUS UX51Vz-XH71 Ultrabook Intel Core i7 3612QM(2.10GHz) 15.6" Full HD 8GB DDR3 Memory 512GB HDD NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M

 

bite my shiny metal a** , asus

 

Not true, my Samaung NP900X4D came with a sata 3 256GB Sandisk U100 drive, so OEMs are using them.

http://www.sandisk.com/about-sandis...s-(ssd)-for-tablets-and-ultra-thin-notebooks/

Even if they do include Samsung or similar drives, it would still be cheaper to buy the lower priced SKU and add the drives yourself, you would even profit if you sold the original drives it came with.

 

It's true, now it's available 256GB SSD sata 3 even in Sandisk catalog, until a month ago there were only 64GB and 128GB models.

It's very curious that Samsung uses Sandisk SSDs instead of Samsung SSDs in their laptops, maybe Sandisk models have some pro over Samsung models or simply they are more cheap.

Inviato dal mio GT-I9100 con Tapatalk 2

 

Am I the only that doesnt believe this notebook is going to come with 2x 2.5'' bays? Asus will need to make some real sorcery to pull that out

And Im actually thinking they are either going for the gumstick or the msata format

 

I think they're following the Sony's way: 2 SSD sticked togheter in a 2,5" box and proprietary connector

 

thats the expensive way of doing this, I still think msata and gumstick is much cheaper