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

not sure if asked before, but if xotic and other reseller is offering 2 screen type( other probably is AUO v4? considering it state 95% gamut), then the IPS is drop in upgradable with other 40pin LVDS machine?

 

Karamazovmm, you may not quite understand the magnitude of the throttling on the XPS 15. It's not that the CPU throttles under high loads and artificial load tests. The CPU/GPU throttle (based on BIOS) whenever you use any 3D application or game, almost immediately. After about 30 minutes or so the system actually begins to throttle both CPU and GPU at the same time under newer BIOS revisions and under older ones it's not uncommon to shutdown from overheating. I've never seen a notebook that does throttles so badly, it's embarrassing that Dell even continues to sell it.

Lumping it in with the M14x R2 and N56 is not reasonable, those systems only throttle under unreasonable artificial loads. If you run prime 95 and Furmark on the XPS 15 it begins throttling immediately and will shut down a few minutes later. I (and a lot of other people) would be willing to put up with a system that only throttles in unreasonable situations.

 

I actually stress both gpus and cpus when Im working so it matters to me and a lot of other people. Face it, it throttles. Just because it doesnt throttle when you game it doesnt mean it doesnt throttle. There are a lot more things than gaming in life, and they dont really stress the cpu.

As I said, its from intel, if you dont believe it, I dont care. the nbr text has been edited since I read it yesterday, dont know why.

@Quix Omega

Im aware of the throttling in the xps 15, and I pointed out the m14x R1, not the R2. Again the n56 throttles not from artificial loads (im not talking about running furmark and prime 95, stupid thing to do anyway), Im talking about pc intensive workloads, which are easily reachable, if you dont limit the turbo boost multiplier it throttles. And they continued to sell the studio xps line, what did you think they would do? throw away the money that they put into the R&D, promotion, production of the machine? they never did that.

So again aside annoying me with this talk of n56 doesnt throttle, and disregard that even asus is using the ultrabook moniker in the ux51, is there anything else? Or you are going to venture in the same avenue of calling the consumer stupid and manipulated? As I said before, its enough. and I will explicitly say we have again gone OT. If you want post your answer and I will not reply, if you like that kind of thing, kids these days

 

I have neither more to say about these arguments nor more clearly.

 

Dear Asus,

Please release this laptop before someone gets hurt. It's getting ugly in here.

Thank you,
zooot.

 

Haha I agree! I'm thinking about unsubscribing from this post because there are a few people that insist on bashing each other. I really cant wait for this laptop. I hope Asus gets it right, or else I think I'm just gonna get a laptop without a dedicated GPU, although I really want one.

 

Thanks for bringing the topic back on track.

What about the UX31A then? Does it fit the bill?
Or the touchscreen version of it. Personally, with an OS like Windows 8, buying a laptop without touchscreen would be like buying a CRT based TV.

Best would be of course the UX51 with touchscreen.

 

A UX51 with touchscreen would make a lot of sense I think, and it's likely Asus will do this at some point. For now we need to decide whether to buy the non-touchscreen version or wait.

I have been using Windows 8 on my Asus G73 laptop (good machine but heavy) for a little while now and it really is quite usable without touchscreen, contrary to my expectations. There are some oddities like the mouse wheel scrolling you sideways in the Metro-ish apps, but they're not serious obstacles.

Whether you need a touchscreen really depends on what you plan to do with the computer. If you're going to do a lot of consuming content through the Metro-style apps you might want one. I mostly use the computer for development, graphics and games, and for day to day work I don't need a touchscreen and wouldn't use one much if I had it. The main use case I'd have for a touchscreen is if I start developing apps specifically for Windows tablets or phones and wanting to test them. For now I don't do that so I'm happy to buy a non-touchscreen UX51 if the reviews are good. Maybe next year there'll be some cheap Windows tablets I could use for testing if I need one. Portability and power are more important to me right now, and probably for anyone who mainly uses the laptop for work and some games.

If tons of good touchscreen Windows games start appearing I might rethink.

One question I have about touchscreens - maybe someone here knows the answer: do they have to be glossy? I have never seen a non-glossy touchscreen, and if it's a choice between matte non-touch or glossy touch on a work computer I'd always choose matte non-touch.

 

Lots of good points there.
I completely agree that for development and serious gaming, touchscreen is not really relevant.
For casual browsing, and apps usage, a touch screen might be handy. Also when the whole OS is geared towards touch experience, one might find it useful to have this capability.

Apart from that it is also future proofing the investment. With the prices that we are seeing here, I would like to ensure that the technology that I am buying stays young at least for a few years. The trend of touch screen computing is growing - and is not limited to consumer apps but has started to target business applications as well. So for me buying a touch screen becomes quite pivotal.

RE: non-glossy touchscreen - this is definitely possible, I have seen several non-glossy touchscreens. Even the supermarket invoice screen at our place is non-glossy. I guess any surface with good conducting (for capacitance) should do. But I guess glossy screens provide less friction and are thus more optimal?

 

Yeah sorry about all that.

Now on topic, the launch date is really going to be with win8 as it appears, I just hope that it is indeed 2x 2.5'' bays, instead of what I expect to be msata/gumstick. touchscreen or not, its something that i have mixed feelings, while its something nice to have, its also not something that its make or break or that it would reward the format, the screen is just too big to use as tablet, à la taichi, and too small to use as a presentation/brainstorming device like the microsoft surface (the big one, not the tablet)

 

That is a good point. In fact, I wonder what made Asus decide against one in this model, when they're in the process of adding touchscreens to new versions of their existing Zenbooks. It's like the UX51 belongs to the previous generation but is a bit late on the scene.

However, Windows 8 is not as thoroughly touch-oriented as I had expected. It has the old Windows desktop and a look and feel that is just like Windows 7 but without the transparent window decorations. Touch is not useful in apps designed for this interface, and there remain many of those. Perhaps this just falls under the category of "legacy support", but I don't see professional uses of computers going wholly touch in preference to mouse and keyboard, because touch is actually less convenient on desktop computers, or wherever you need to point very precisely.

Not sure about that. My slightly sweaty fingers slide more easily over a matte plastic screen (like on the Kobo Touch) than over my glass-fronted tablet or phone, where they stick. Sometimes I feel like I'll give myself a blister using the tablet (e.g. in the great game called Spirit, where you swipe big circles around the meanies).

 

Here it is: http://incredibletogether.asus.com/notebooks.html

 

I was wondering...in the case Asus doesn't make a hybrid configuration (SSD+HDD), and thus I'm forced to buy a dual SSD configuration with raid 0, will it be possible to take away and sell one of the two SSDs, replacing it with a HDD? Or are there hardware differences between raid and non-raid drives?
(Sorry if used bad english or if I made a dumb question, I know nothing about raid)

 

This is where you hit the nail on its head!
I think a distinction needs to be made. As I see it, there is definitely a category which is somewhere between purely touch based units like iPad, Galaxy Tab and purely mouse/to uchpad/keyboard based units like traditional laptops. I cannot imagine being able to use a notebook which is purely touch based. But I have found that the touchscreen superbly complements the other mediums of inputs (keyboard/touchpad). And that's where my desire to have a touchscreen for UX51 comes from.

I know that feeling man. I too have gotten the feeling that my finger tip might light on fire while playing fruit ninja trying to slash those fruits like crazy.

 

Funny thing that the 13'' says IPS while the 15'' doesn't... Not saying that the 15'' won't have an IPS (the preview version had one, right?) just saying that not even ASUS puts the specs very clearly.

 

Oh dear... now even the IPS screen is in question. And all of these sources indicate the graphics card is the GT 650M with DDR3 memory instead of DDR5. Then there's the 4 hour battery life. Yeah, sorry Asus, but the Retina is still the king of laptops for now.

 

So basically what you are saying is that based on rumors that it does not have IPS screen and DDR5 memory it is a bad laptop. Come on. Please wait until we have some verification with passing judgement.

 

No. I said the Retina was still the king of all laptops. I'm sure this will be a great laptop, but with almost two hours less battery life, lack of IPS and GDDR5, and worse customer service with lower resale value compared to Apple, there is no way I would pick the Zenbook over the Retina.

 

Relax, it has been verified that the 650M DDR3 was shown along with a whole host of other possibly incorrect information from only the boutique retailer that said themselves was just a speculative sheet provided from Asus. Other retailers are showing it as DDR5.

We don't need anymore bickering in this thread or any more Apple wars.

 

I'm not trying to start an Apple war, but I am going to claim with decisiveness the Retina is better than the Zenbook. The last saving grace Asus might have is a touchscreen display, but I don't think most people need one on their laptop anyway. There isn't much room for debate as to which laptop is superior, and since they're both selling at the same price, the only way Asus is going to sell me one is to drop the price at least a few hundred dollars.

Which retailers are showing GDDR5 memory?

 

Komplett.no - ASUS U500VZ 15.6" Full HD IPS

 

there is no special hardware in the drive itself, the hardware would be enabled on the mobo at the pch. So yes you can buy a HDD and put it in there.

 

Let's make this purely objective - based on differentiating factors:

Battery Life Superiority: Macbook Pro Retina
Touchscreen: Asus UX51 (?)
Upgradibility: Asus UX51
Resale value: Macbook Pro Retina

In a way a good resale value, takes care of the upgradibility issue.
So Macbook is not looking too bad currently.

Did I miss any other differentiating factors?

 

That's a good list. The Retina is slightly lighter and thinner (0.71" high and 4.46 pounds vs. 1.0-1.2" high and 4.7 pounds) but those numbers are negligible. Even assuming the Zenbook was able to get upgraded and has a touch screen (which are still rumors), the battery life difference of 2 hours and resale value are far more important. There are also the perks of owning a MacBook against any other type of laptop, but I'm not going to start an Apple war.

I predict NotebookCheck will give the UX51 a grade of 87%, just one percent lower than the Retina.

 

Thank you for the information.

HWInfo screens made by MikeTLB showed GDDR5

Sent from HTC HD2 with Tapatalk

 

Resale value is as a good thing for the seller as a bad thing for who wants to buy a used laptop, so it isn't a good parameter.
Just in my opinion

 

A lower resale value means lower prices, but also means fewer people want to sell their laptop at those lower prices. They would rather keep the laptop instead due how much money they paid when buying the laptop. So the prices people set on their used laptops are going to be close to the original selling price, really.

We're not going to have an argument over resale value as a positive, that has nothing to do with the topic. Let's just say resale value is in the Retina's favor and move on.

 

Whatever happened to the UX21A? I loved the thing when I saw it at a store...

 

UX21A, you mean the touchscreen version of 11 inch zenbook?
There is already a 13 inch zenbook available:
Asus UX31A Touchscreen Ultrabook

The 13 inch Acer S7 would be very interesting too:
Acer S7 Ultrabook

 

Well this isn't good, Newegg no longer specifies GDDR5 for the 650M, it just now says "VRAM". Only place that specifies DDR5 now is ASUS ZENBOOK Prime UX51Vz-DH71 15.6" Ultrabook PC - Silver in PC Ultrabooks | JR.com

The other part that worries me about MikeTLB's preview unit versus the production unit is that there doesn't seem to be anything that says an external DVD unit is included.

I really don't know why they aren't released the official specs. I wonder if GDDR5 and no external unit will be a deal breaker for many.

 

No, I mean the non-touchscreen version. I saw it at a store, it has been available for a while, but it is not available on ASUS's website...

 

Lack of GDDR5, I would say is a deal breaker for some. But for lack of external I cant see that way. A DVD is really cheap these days and, I am not sure, but it seems that most people simple dont use them anymore. I know I dont use it anymore, only when I need to reinstall the OS and do that just because I am too lazy to spend 10 minutes to set up a pen drive.

 

Its on the ASUS website now

ASUS and You. Incredible Together.


Also does anybody know if this automatically comes with a one year accidental warranty since everywhere I look thats what I see.

 

I think we should just sit back and chill until the official specs are released. Worrying about specs now is just unneeded stress, we can't change them anyhow.

 

German online shops list DDR5.

Sent from my HTC Sensation

 

Does anything think Asus higher-ups or engineers review these threads on notebookreview? I suspect some do, but also suspect that they our comments and frustrations don't affect their product decisions.

 

Well I think it would be a little too late to consider our comments and frustrations for the current products, but I would hope that they consider it for their next products.

Sent from my SGH-T989 using Tapatalk 2

 

This quote to me sounds exactly like someone trying to start an Apple vs Anything war. But maybe that's just me. AnandTech has a good comparison of battery life on the rMBP here. Just a summary : Apple claims 7 hours, light workload gives 5 and half to 7 and a half, medium workload gives you 3 and a half to 5 hours, and heavy workload gives you 2 and a half hours.

So, which number to use? Compare it against what number of hours Asus pulls out ? So it isn't very helpful for me, who might be gaming a lot, and would need to have it plugged in the whole time to talk about battery life, compared to someone who will only use it for Facebook, (for which the rMBP is a great investment).

Also, when I buy a laptop I don't buy it to last me until the next best thing comes out (from Apple). So from a purchaser's perspective I don't care about the resale value. I plan on owning this laptop for 2-4 years where the resale values of both computers are pretty much that low so it wouldn't be worthwhile to sell it.

Several sources have confirmed IPS display and GDDR5, and questioning it just to undermine this computer and saying that the rMBP is better is also another move just to spike an Apple vs. Anything else war. Zenbook has 2GB GDDR5 rMBP has 1GB GDDR5. There is no question about it Zenbook has better discrete graphics. What I would like to chalk this GDDR3 vs GDDR5 matter is that people are confusing it with the RAM, which has DDR3 SDRAM. It can be argued whether or not the IPS is better or worse than the Retina screen, but at the same resolution (i.e. not 2440x1900 or whatever it is) I'm not sure that I could see the difference. You can get the rMBP from 8 to 16gb of ram, but you can only upgrade to 12GB with the Zenbook from 8.

Now the 8g/256gb ssd rmbp is 200 dollars more than the Zenbook. I live in Denmark so I can't say how much that really is, but I guess it's kind of close to the price of a PS3 or an XBOX360. In denmark the price difference is 4000 DKK between the two, which is close to the price of an iPhone 5 or Galaxy S3. So it's quite a big price difference.

Even if the Zenbook has GDDR3, non-touchscreen, non-IPS, worse resale value, and worse battery. In my opinion the 200$ / 4000 DKK price difference makes that just fine.

So "objectively", and "claiming with decisiveness", the Zenbook is favorable to the rMBP. But wait, that's not possible because it's only my opinion. What I deem is more important, and more value-appropriate. So that must mean. Wait. I can't decide "objectively" nor "claim with decisiveness" which is a better laptop ? ... Weird how these opinions work.

 

So once again, just trying to keep it objective:

Battery Life Superiority: Macbook Pro Retina (Asus: 74wHr v/s Macbook: 95 wHr - that clears the better battery argument)
Touchscreen: Asus UX51 (?) (This is clear (if the rumors are true))
Upgradibility: Asus UX51 (This is clear)
Resale value: Macbook Pro Retina (Check ebay.com or ebay.de for macbooks which are 2-4 years old v/s windows laptop with the same age)

And from that perspective, the Retina looks better. No passionate claims, or rhetoric.
Once again, if there are differentiating factors missing, please do add to it.

- A fellow notebook user trying to decide upon a suitable laptop

 

Also let me point out that running Windows 8 on the rMBP throws out all the advantages about battery. If you run Windows 8, the only advantage will be the resale value and that's more because of the consumer's perceived value of Apple hardware. Strapped for cash college kids would rather pay 800 for a 2 year old MAcBook than a new low end Dell for example.

 

I told you guys I would follow up RE: canceling my ux51 pre-order and picking up the MBR. I scored a great deal on a sealed 2.6ghz 512GB 8GB + AppleCare for 2599 shipped. For the price, which is more than 600 below what it would cost me to walk out of the Apple store, it was hard to pass up.

I actually left my pre-order in place, as I'm at least going to give it a try. If I end up liking the Asus better I can sell the MBR and probably break even. Had some trouble getting Windows 7 installed on the MBR due to a USB 3.0 flash drive. If you do this make sure you have a USB 2.0 flash drive to do the install from. Once it was up and running I quickly discovered Windows 7 doesn't like to be run at 2880x1800. You need to bump the dpi up to 200% which apparently doesn't work with many apps, notably Firefox. So really, if you want to run Windows 7 on an MBR you need to do so at 1920x1200, which is still higher or as high as the top Ultrabooks on the market. I believe Windows 8 will better support retina resolutions. Once I receive my ux51 I'll follow up and let you guys know how they compare as Windows machines.

Regarding battery life, I've never ran a laptop off battery unless I'm on an airplane, and I suspect either option will last a full domestic flight.

 

I understand your qualms. A month ago I dived into Laptop research. Spending this much money, you really want to get it right.

My point was that keeping it objective is not so helpful when deciding a laptop. Many years ago when the LCD were getting more and more popular, there was one recommendation which all people provided: go and look at them yourself and see what looks the best for you. Stats and specs weren't enough then, I don't know if they are enough today.

If you weigh Upgradability more than release value, or you absolutley loathe WinX/Linux and love the MacOSX its not a question what kind of computer you should get. Other way around, for people that don't like OSX, getting a Mac is counter-intuitive, no matter how objectively better the laptop is. It is hard to find a good laptop and we all want the best one, sometimes no matter the cost. But you also have to be subjective and find what is best for you. I'm not trying to convince you to get the Zenbook over the MBP or the other way round, just don't expect to be happy about "objectively the best laptop".

 

The only real differentiating factor is OS X vs. Windows. Hardware doesn't mean crap if you plan on running OS X on the Asus or Windows on the rMBP. Before this thread derails, just keep that in mind... now back to discussing the Asus Zenbook U500.

 

I wonder if that also applies to installing linux on a Windows machine. And given that Mac is also Unix based...
Oh well, so much for keeping things objective. I am out of this discussion.

Do hope that the UX51 does not disappoint when it comes out. Been waiting for a long time now...

 

OSX is UNIX, linux is based on UNIX.

 

I know. ;-)

 

If the SSDs are in a standard 2.5" format that ought to be possible, except for a couple of potential concerns: as I understand it an HDD draws more power than an SSD, so you'd have to be sure that the power supply for the UX51 could cope with the increased draw. It's possible that Asus put two SSDs in the machine because it helps them get away with smaller power supply, in which case adding an HDD might be risky for system stability. Also, HDDs can get hot so you might have cooling issues that were not present with the SSD (which could be another reason Asus went for two SSDs).

 

YEEEEEOWCH

Asus Zenbook U500 review / Asus UX51VZ - top notch 15 inch ultraportable

"..On the other part, this laptop can get very hot. I could not run a stress-test on this unit, since it’s an early sample, but I did run some games.
When playing Crysis 2 for about two hours, the CPUs will get close to 95 degrees Celsius, while the Graphics goes to 80+.
Also, the bottom is getting Scorching Hot and so is the rim on top of the keyboard, as part of the cooling exhaust is placed behind the screen’s hinge.
But the palmrest and the area around the keyboard stay merely warm, which is very important.
[.......]
During everyday activities though, extreme heat in not going to be a problem and you’ll even be able to comfortably use the laptop on your lap.
But if you’re after the Zenbook U500, I’m pretty sure you’re not going to use it just for casual stuff, right?.."
[.......]
Wrap-up
All in all, the Asus Zenbook U500 is certainly one of the most impressive premium laptops of the moment. It’s beautiful, it packs an excellent display and it’s powerful. But, like you’d expect from such a thin machine that bundles fast hardware, it does have some heating issues.
And it’s going to be expensive.""

 

Zooot, are you saying that programs (like powerdirector or photoshop) not optimized for touch won't respond well and be pretty much unusable on a touch screen? If so, you just crushed my dreams of video editing full hd videos on a windows 8 pro tablet.

 

"Nailed it". Just like the retina macbook! Success!