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

I'm plotting a trip to Buffalo should it be necessary.

 

its midnight of the 25th or 00:00 of 26 Oct - Windows 8 release date. that's probably all.

 

Where do you live? On Mars?? Here in Europe it's October 24!

 

yeah, read the quote lool ^^ 1day and 5 hours is exactly midnight on 26th, that's what the countdown timer is for(i guess).

 

1234567890

 

Don't know if this has been discussed before. But, it looks like the vent has been positioned such that hot air will blow directly onto the bottom part of the display. Am I missing something here?

 

That has been done several times in many laptops, I think apple has done that for a quite a while now. I have never really heard about any long-term deterioration arising from that configuration.

EDIT: oh yeah, but don't do intensive stuff with the lid closed (when using an external monitor or something).

 

That's certainly what it looks like. I presume they have decided that will not be a problem for the display, though you would think it would obstruct the airflow a bit, having the air hit the panel like that. So it probably isn't quite as effective at cooling as some. Cooling is one of the big questions I have from reviews of the finished product. Other big questions are: is there a 2.5" drive bay? And does the screen have an orange-red problem like the Sony S15?

 

I'm actually not sure whether that's the case regarding HDMI, I think my laptop also supports HDMI 1.4 but when it outputs to a 2560x1600 screen the most I can get is 1080p over HDMI. I've seen similar reports from other laptops. I would also never use VGA on an LCD, the result is just terrible with analog and non native resolution. Still don't understand why Asus put VGA on this laptop, if it had miniDP I was willing to overlook the high price and buy it but I'm not spending that much on a laptop that isn't perfect for my needs.

DisplayPort will certainly support that resolution just fyi. For some reason no one puts them on laptops besides apple and HP or something :-(

 

Don't forget Dell, this Zenbook even has a GT 650, which supports DP natively... it would literally cost them nothing to implement it.

 

A quick Google search reveals that Lenovo and Toshiba also have laptops with DisplayPort. I agree DisplayPort would be preferable to VGA, though I guess Asus's inclusion of VGA is an attempt to pitch this laptop at the ThinkPaddy business crowd who do presentations on VGA projectors. Only we Zenbook folks are, obviously, sexier than those people.

 

Displayport is superior because you can plug adapters in for DVI, HDMI and VGA. There really is no excuse here.

 

the asus will prolly get the hp envy 15 screen. and it has been fixed. and alot of laptops are using the exhust on the screen method, the macbooks, envys, dell xps, etc/ its not gonna be a problem because you dont usually have anything right next to the display (like when ur gaming and what not).

 

Yes, I suppose it's less likely to be obstructed even than vents at the back. With my G73 laptop I often forget and find the vents are cluttered by junk on my desk.

One thing I don't like so much is sucking air in from underneath though. This basically means you can't put it on your lap without it overheating.

 

oh hmm i hope thats not too much of a problem on this asus, my envy has intake vents on bottom part of the sides so they usually arent coverd up

 

How long do you think it will take to get a full review by one of the usual sites (i.e. anandtech, notebookcheck,..)?

 

Notebookcheck should take quite a while as usualy, ananthech is an it or run, they usualy take a week to review after they recieve it, but its possible they already have it to relese de review with windows 8, tho unlikly.

 

From what I can tell, if you're referring to the Envy 14 in your signature, you currently have a video card allowing HDMI 1.3 with a max resolution over HDMI of 1920x1200. ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650 GPU

The 650M appears to have a max digital resolution of 3840 x 2160, but it doesn't specify if that can only be achieve with DisplayPort, or also with HDMI. GeForce GT 650M.

In theory, it seems that the Asus will work with a higher resolution monitor. Just need to make sure that a 1.4 cable is used and the appropriate color depth is being used. But would love for someone to chime in who might know more than just what I can piece together by searching. What could Asus do that would cause it to only be able to output 1920x1200?

 

You've missed an important detail. This laptop has Optimus so the main graphics outputs come off the Intel HD Graphics so they don't support higher resolutions. IF, like some models, the HDMI port is directly attached to the GT 650, then it will support the required resolution. But since no one has one of these right now we don't have any way of knowing.

 

Here There is the full streaming of the conference, Zenbook Touch is at 14:10. They spent only 30 seconds for their most expensive laptop, what a shame.

 

Perfect, thanks. This is exactly the type of insight I was hoping for. As I said, I don't know much about it so have just been searching everywhere. Thanks!

Also, bizarre. Skimmed the Asus presentation ( ASUS Windows 8 Products lineup Press Conference - YouTube) and they basically skip right over this laptop. For other laptops they announce specs like video card and such. For this one they just announce it and kinda go to the next item.

 

Damn ASUS. I have been so close to ordering this laptop multiple times so far, and I would have an order right now only if ASUS gave detailed and correct information regarding model numbers, their exact description etc.

Now we have UX51VZ and U500VZ which so far seemed to be the same laptop, but now one of them seems like it's touch..

For this price, I want touch aswell as the other specs.. but I dont want a glossy screen that covers the whole front of the screen area. God damit ASUS, give us clear, detailed information NOW.

 

Yes, it's frustrating. Also on G+ they keep releasing videos about Taichi, Transformer and VivoBook, but not a single piece of news about the top model.

 

XoticPC said they expect to receive units a couple of days after Windows 8 launch, at which time specs would be 100% accurate and then orders could be placed. So maybe next week can place an order with 100% certainty.

Weird that Asus is running with U500VZ but vendors all showing UX51Vz-XH71 as a specific model. I would imagine that Newegg and Tigerdirect would indeed have these laptops in if they're really to be released tomorrow and thus have confirmed their specs. So maybe UX51VZ non-touch, U500VZ will be touch? I'm sure in a few days we'll know the details, I'm just too impatient.

 

It's as if Asus is in two minds about whether to seriously pursue the high end of the market. They say almost nothing about the UX51/U500 as if they don't expect it to sell.

Or... they are still far from ready with this laptop and it could take a while before we see any real production models. The late introduction of touch seemed like an afterthought and I wonder whether they actually have any of these near to being ready. The fact that no-one has had access to a finished review model suggests that they may not be ready.

I fully expect the countdown on their "Incredible Together" site (why do they need so many half-baked, inconsistent microsites?) to hit zero and reveal... another contentless marketing video.

 

In Sweden all the vendors use the name U500VZ and it has the same specs as the OP in this thread. They have been up on these web stores for about 2 weeks now. But outside Sweden it seems UX51VZ is preferred? All this confusion makes me want to not buy the laptop just because of how bad ASUS handles this.

However I love the design and specs so I probably will buy it anyways.

 

So the process in the world of Asus laptops is: advertise confusingly, take pre-orders, ship, then reveal to people what they bought? It's a mess. Compare Apple: announce models and specs, put them for sale on website, ship, you get what you paid for. I'm no Apple fan but they are streets ahead of Asus in terms of this process.

Also, they haven't even told us whether the UX51VZ-XH71 comes with a touch screen or not. Or whether it's glossy or matte. So anyone who has preordered doesn't know these things either. I don't know how Asus expects their retailers or customers to make sense of all this.

OK, so they took the countdown down a day early, to reveal... a site that makes no mention whatsoever of the U500/UX51 but only lists the UX31. And a marketing video, as expected. There is a link to "learn more" which takes you to the same crappy zenbook.asus.com site with no new information at all.

And they have added the Taichi and Vivo things to the main website, but no UX51/U500. I wonder whether this one is secretly scheduled for a later release than the others.

I really am wondering whether this is their way of saying that the UX51/U500 is not ready for launch. It would be nice to have a clear message about this.

Asus, please will you let us give you our money? Please?

 

It is indeed looks like they are not ready. Just not able to make up their minds.
However - support site was updated with drivers, BIOS and other stuff. No laptop manual though

 

And the "specifications" link on that page is conspicuously broken. Could be bad organization, or could be that the detailed specifications are still in flux - which would mean the laptop is not close to ready. I do suspect it's just bad organization in this case though, since the release of drivers suggests they have a pretty good idea of what needs to be driven.

 

at 14:10 there isn't U500, but UX31 touch

 

And on their main website's new page about the Windows 8 lineup the Zenbook Touch section also mentions only the UX31A with touch. The impression I get is that the Zenbook Touch line is, for now, just the UX31A, with the other models to be added at some unspecified later date. So they are not, after all, launching the UX51/U500 at the same time as Windows 8.

I hope they prove me wrong.

 

Newegg expects the UX51VZ to ship in the next week (and could ship today "if stock is available"). However, this just seems like a standard response. I wasn't able to confirm if there is indeed stock available. I wish the description on Newegg mentioned a Matte screen. Pretty sure I'd pull the trigger, and if it doesn't work out, just return it.

 

There's two model numbers on the support site. U500vz and U500vza. I'm guessing one is a touch screen and the other is a regular display?

 

Very probable, because touch version of UX31 is called UX31A:
ZENBOOK
(see the specification page)
So maybe U500VZA is the touch version.

 

I think it's only bad organization too. Otherwise they could simply launch it later, or say it would be available later.

You're right! It has no number pad

 

What I don't understand is why Asus don't standardly publish information about model numbers and the associated specifications for everyone to see before these machines reach the retailers. And they should give out standard spec sheets to retailers so the retailers aren't left guessing, as many evidently are.

Anyway, I don't think the A in UX31A signifies touch. There is a non-touch version of the UX31A. And both touch and non-touch are listed under U500VZ, with no A, on that Asus site. So we still don't know what the A signifies. Knowing Asus it'll be the UX51500VZA-DHXHGJKWBBRJ71 versus the UX51500VZA-DHXHGJAWBBRJ71 or something, but only in certain markets and weather conditions.

 

I believe there are two lines of the Zenbook (2nd generation) currently: Zenbook Prime and Zenbook Touch. Like you said, the UX31A is also the name of the non-touch. I believe the touch and non-touch will be separated by the line of Zenbook rather than the letters:

Zenbook Touch UX31A
Zenbook Prime UX31A

 

TigerDirect just told me that the release date for the Asus UX51VZ-XH71 is November 10th. Maybe that's why details are so sparse compared to some of the other items and why it isn't fully listed within some of the microsites. Makes more sense if it's being released two weeks later.

 

I hope we can see some reviews before then.

 

is it just me or this will have 2 models, one with touch and another without it? probably a ulv flavor as well? Can I have syrup with my pancakes? What a mess.

 

It seems it will have evrything but an hibrid configuration

 

Sure, you can have any of the following Asus breakfasts:

1. Two pancakes on a plate (no syrup)
2. Maple syrup on a plate (no pancakes)
3. One pancake with sugar water on a plate (extra-heavy plate, may be dirty)
4. Four pancakes on an extra-light plate (no syrup)
5. Four pancakes and maple syrup (no plate, number of pancakes subject to change, sugar water instead of maple syrup in some regions)

Take your pick! Something for everyone in Asus's happy world!

 

I like choice, they can put out as many models as they like.

Still not decided on the touchscreen vs matte though. Debugging my WinRT apps without needing a tablet sounds really nice and the glass cover will make it durable... But you know, glossy is annoying.

 

I feel the same. I really dont like that it most probably is glossy, but I also dont like that there will be no bezel around the screen. The bezel looks great on the non-touch version!

But buying a premium laptop with Windows 8 it feels like a waste not getting it with touchscreen. Damn you ASUS.

 

Ah, you're both right. Gigante is right that my laptop actually only has HDMI 1.3, but it sounds like even with 1.4 with Optimus it might not work. Found this thread about the UX32VD not being able to drive a 27" monitor properly: HDMI, Optimus, and 2560x1440 - AnandTech Forums

So DisplayPort is still the best bet for big monitors I think, there just don't seem to be many laptops in this weight/performance class that have it (well, there aren't really many other laptops under 5lbs with these kinds of specs). Was going to go for the Envy 15 but HP went and discontinued that a few days ago

 

Damn, all that analogy suddenly makes me feel like having real pancakes!
(... but only if I have the possibility to eat it with knife+fork and/or my fingers)

 

We now have manuals online for U500VZ: ASUSTeK Computer Inc. -Support- Drivers and Download U500VZ

Sadly it does not mention Touch Screen, so my guess is that the U500VZ does not feature a touch screen. As others have mentioned perhaps it is U500VZA that has the touch screen.

 

I might be wrong, but I guess those manuals were there for a long time now

 

Pretty funny when I looked at that manual (U500VZ). The url was written:

"...eManual_UX51VZ.pdf"

Just can't make their minds up can they...

 

The Windows 8 manuals have been there for a long time now that is true. But the three manuals at the top, for example: User’s Manual for English Edition, are quite new added at 2012.10.23 update.

Quite interesting with the name