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

When googling the drive model number, i found X100 somewhere. Looks like the drives are X100 Solid State Drive by SanDisk

Still cant confirm the form factor.

I would guess it's m-sata drives though. The size and weight difference is just too big considering they are building a light and thin laptop.

Size (Cased 2.5"): 69.85 mm x 100.5 mm x 7 mm and 9.5mm
Size (mSATA): 51 mm x 30 mm x 3.6 mm

Weight (Cased 2.5"): 66 g
Weight (mSATA): 7 g

 

OK I rephrase my question does the HDMI output support HDMI 1.4 a?

 

The HP ENVY is an interesting alternative. The ENVY can be customized with the same graphics card, i7-3630QM, and a screen with a resolution of 1920x1080 (perhaps the one with Orangegate). The ENVY weighs about one pound more at 5.7 pounds. The build quality is almost equal, but the ENVY costs $1050 (tax and shipping not included) right now with a coupon.

 

^

It'd be an mSATA drive.

A lot of OEMs use the X100.

I'd question the build quality though, I had a play with one in store last week and it felt fairly plasticy to me.

Also, it doesn't have an IPS display, just a standard TN panel, unlike the U500.

I'd put it in the same league as Asus N56.

 

yeah that isnt the real envy 15 its the old pavillion dv6. the one i have is the one with metal and ips display

but weight wise it isnt a contender but if u want everything that the u500 has and can scarifice a bit of weight and thickness, then the old envy is the perfect one at half the cost

 

Really have to reply, or it'll never end.
I think what nipsen meant was your GT640M boost clock.
Since you've mentioned that you OC your GT640M to 800MHz core clock, by right your boost clock should have increased as well. 885MHz perhaps?
As for the GT640M LE, the stock base core clock is at 500MHz, while the stock boost core clock is at 570MHz.
Since the BIOS MOD affected the boost clock and disabled it, whatever MOD we choose will always be the same for both the Base Core clock and Boost Core clock. Means that the 950MHz MOD will always be at max 950MHz.
While yours are OCed to 800MHz will still have the extra boost clock(I assume it will be around 885MHz) to go higher.

As for the 3DMark comparison, you are comparing a Quad spec scores to a Dual spec scores.
Looking at the scores by one of the forumers with a Quad spec laptop with a 950MHz core MOD, he achieved a score of 2431.
You should actually look at the Graphics score for a better comparison(Yours scored 2125, while a Quad Sony scored a 2239).

I think that would be the message nipsen is trying to tell.

But then again, I do agree that a GDDR5 will still be better than a DDR3 in a real gaming scenario, moreover if you can OC the core clock to be on par(950MHz boost with GDDR5 vs 950MHz boost with DDR3).
It may not be noticeable on some games, but it may be significant on some.

Conclusion : You will feel the benefit of GDDR5 if you fully utilize the GPU core, in other words, OC the Core. Else, the extra performance gain is there but put to a waste.

Do correct me if I'm wrong.

 

There isn't much out there that is comparable to the U500VZ as an alternative, unfortunately.

Asus N56 (TN display, thicker, heavier, more plastic)
HP Envy DV6T (TN display, thicker, heavier, more plastic)
Dell XPS 15 (TN display, heavier, only GT640M, Wifi and throttling issues)
Dell Inspiron 15R (TN display, only GT630M, wifi and throttling issues as above)
Lenovo Y580 (TN display, much thicker, heavier, plastic)
Sony Vaio S 15 ('orange' issues, only GT640MLE (but can be overclocked), build quality issues)
Apple MacBook Pro Retina (Much more expensive, higher resolution screen, bootcamp issues w/ windows 8, GT650 but only 1GB GDDR5)
The various Clevo models, but they're much thicker and heavier too, with questionable build quality.

Really not else around.

Issue for me is that the U500VZ probably won't be sold here, unfortunately. At least not this year.

It's either compromise on build quality, display, dimensions and weight, or deal with the issues on the Sony, or deal with the price on the Apple.

 

there will never be a perfect alternative but the closest i think is vaio s15 and rmbp. i wouldnt even consider the n56/dv6t/inspiron 15R/y580 cause those arent the premium brands. the xps 15 would maybe come close but due to the massive throttling issues its no go. I think the alternatives go like this rmbp>envy 15(real one)>vaio 15> all the rest

 

I guess the closest you might get would be one of the hp pavillions/amd quad-core apu setups with some customisation. Or one of the lenovo models set up in the same way - optional 1920x1080 display, that sort of thing. That apu setup would also be more suitable to a smaller chassis and cooling solution as well..

>_< ..it will never end now. But it seems the bios used in the bios-mod thread elsewhere on the forum uses a boost state of some kind..

And you have to agree it's amazing to have randomly picked a lower clock - at exactly the amount lower than the normal for the "boost" difference.. by chance - and get the exact same performance result you would at the same clock? Not slightly different, or forty points up or down - but the exact number. Does that seem likely to you? Sort of a bit too much for a coincidence?

.. I mean, look. It's just that the results were too similar. Standard clocks for all 650m cards on 3dmark11 - and the same 2100 gpu score (this gpu score is largely independent of the other hardware). Anyone can check that. Dual core, quad-core, gddr5, ddr3 - same score on different standard systems. y580, n56, gigabyte, etc. They all scored just about exactly the same - within four points, usually less. When I tested a 650m with gddr5 to check, like I said. To find some weird situation where I got a higher lower fps-limit, or better max frames, or some situation where I could put on more AA, or if there was some difference when upping the resolution (i.e., I got about the same fps on both computers in 720, then upped the resolution and saw if I got any better or worse results on one or the other) - and nothing. Couldn't find it. Which surprised me, since "everyone knows" there is "some" sort of performance increase.

So I want something more than "I am sure there is some performance gain to be had, because I really believe so, since gddr5 has a five instead of a three, and that makes it faster! Also, Apple is God, so shut up!". That's all.

 

Actually, I own an HP DV6T with the Matte 1080p 1920 x 1080 FHD display and its an IPS, and it has no Red Color issues. Its a really nice display. Like it better than the Sony S15 IPS. However, I'm going to be returning this laptop and getting a new ENVY (re-badged Pavillion) with the same specs since there was a few build quality nags I had with the outer case, but overall I love it as it has a Blu-Ray player and burner, finger printer scanner, buttons on touchpad, and more as well.

The only reason Im considering the Asus U51X is if they come out with the Touchscreen version... if they do, I may return the ENVY and go for that as Id like to have a full 1080p 15.6 touch on my next laptop if one becomes available soon.

 

Please, everyone stop talking about boost speeds for the overclocks, there are none! That is the MAXIMUM CORE CLOCK SPEED! It doesn't "boost" any higher, at all!

Yeah it would have been better to look directy at graphics scores, but I wrote the post out quickly. If you compare graphics only performance between a card with each memory type, at the same core speed then the DDR5 *will* win, it's the whole point of the memory type (unless you're in some strange scenario where you're not memory bandwidth starved at all, which you won't be with these keplar cores).

Read what I wrote in the quote above, once on the overclocks, there are (and this is the bit you need to read carefully) NO MORE BOOST CLOCKS! The overclocked speeds I stated are the absolute maximum clockspeed of the cores.

 

I can't recall where I've read it about a GDDR5 GT650M vs a DDR3 GT650M, so I can't link you to anywhere.
But to make it simple, what can you tell me of :
A stock GT650M DDR3 with a Base Core Clock of 835MHz and Boost Core Clock of 950MHz VS a stock GTX660M GDDR5 with a Base Core clock of 835MHz and a Boost Core Clock of 950MHz?
Are they equally the same performance?
If not, then what are the differences that make up the performance difference?

 

I would be also very interrested in a comparison of S15 (640LE 900/1000 mod) vs. U500/UX51vz @ stock).

@ Terpen Tijn
Could you please run 3Dmark11 for us? That would get us a at least some impression how it compares to the modded S15 in terms of gaming performance.

That is very sad. I am VERY sure that turning the fans OFF would not be any problem. This CPU generates hardly ANY heat while on idle and core speed could be extremely reduced for browsing/downloading only. I am convinced that active cooling would not be necessary. At least it should be possible to reduce the fan RPM so much that you do not hear anything unless you put your ear on the machine.

That may sound stupid but can you take a picture of the carrying bag? The red of the display looks nice on the pictures which I have seen so far.

 

Odd, because I can't find a single reference of the DV6T (current) being IPS? I thought HP labelled their IPS displays as 'Radiance'?

 

It could just be the power schema. Can you dive into the current power plan options: 'change advanced power settings' and then lookup processor power management. It's particularly the policy that you need to look into. If you set that to passive, its possible it will turn off the fans.

 

Any news on ux42/ux52?

 

Definitely not....there is no chance that some laptops will be shipped with DDR3 and some others with GDDR5. Asus' announcements always talked about GDDR5, the prototype had GDDR5, this final unit has GDDR5...Only retailers talked about DDR3, as they talked about ULV CPUs and rotating SSDs.......Besides, it's becoming an arguing between you and Nipsen, so please stop it. No problems if you want to do here a direct comparison between an overclocked 640M LE and this 650M, since Vaio S15 is the nearest windows competitor for this laptop, but keep in mind that this is a thread dedicated to a specific laptop, not to graphic cards in general. This thing will make more difficult for Terpen Tijn to find all the questions directly related to the laptop

 

Yeah we know now that it's DDR5. But as Amal mentioned already, it's still worth explaining the advantages of it, as there are (as we've seen) several people who don't understand them yet. It can be a fairly big deciding factor in somebody who's putting the research into a new laptop, and this is one of the main places they will look, so it seems the perfect place to have this discussion. You may not find it useful, in which case please feel free to skip over the posts, but I'm sure there are people around who will find it useful information.

And on a sidenote, the aggressive attitude and threats were definitely not called for, nor are they welcome, so please keep it polite .

 

Hey Terpen Tijn, may I ask in which shop you bought this laptop ?
I am also leaving in the Netherlands, and although I don't think I'll buy that one, I'd still be interested to see it ...
It appears it's not yet referenced on tweakers unfortunately ...

Thanks
Gmooron

 

I just received my laptop as well. Fans seem to be always on as Terpen Tijn also noted.

I will run a 3dMark11.

What is the best way to test for throttling?

 

Frozer, I believe HWinfo64 was mentioned as a way to test throttling. I have no experience with it however. Do you notice any red/orange issues with your unit?

 

Usually Notebookcheck runs Prime95 and Furmark at the same time for an hour, and as soon as the test starts they run also HWInfo in log mode (in this way it monitors the Nvidia instead of the HD4000). In the log it's possible to see if something throttles

Notebookcheck's Criteria

 

Do you have any GPU intensive games? I can't play Starcraft 2 for 10 minutes without my PC overheating and throttling. Keep in mind, that's on Ultra High graphics settings though.

 

how are people getting them already??

 

Okay first off the bat someone requested a 3dMark 11 run:
Here is the stats for my run, I believe everything can be gathered from that information, everything was run on standard without uninstalling any crap.
NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-3612QM Processor,ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. UX51VZA score: P2309 3DMarks

 

UX51VZ A? Do you have a touch version?

 

Nice. Looks like your nvidia driver is out of date, can you update it to the latest on nvidias homepage and rerun the 3dmark 11 test? I want to see if you get even better score with more up-to-date drivers.

Also as previously posted, play a high-end game on max settings for about an hour and tell us about your experience.

Edit: Keep posting info about your new laptop, the more the better. Me and probably alot others are hungry for information about U500vz!

 

Nothing happens when I touch the screen.

Name is confusing though, box says U500V, MB ver ux51VZ

Okay did a very fast throttle test with Furmark and Prime95. It throttles instantly, all four cores stay at 1200 MHz. Stopping Furmark allows the cores to got to 2800 MHz again with running just Prime95.

 

Aww hell no. I wonder how it will act in real world usage, eg. when playing games. I do not want to buy a laptop for this price with this performance on paper and not be able to utilize it.

 

The good thing is that it sounds like some sort of protection, and not a thermal throttling. Maybe it's the same as in the N56VZ (which almost never throttles in real life scenarios)
EDIT: does the GPU throttle too?

 

What was the max temp of your GT 650M & CPU?

Edit : Can you try furmark only? See whether your GPU throttle or not.

 

Just ordered mine from XoticPC. They've got the DH71 version in stock.

Frozer do you have any games you can install and see if anything throttles? I'm assuming you had the battery settings on high performance and the laptop plugged in.

 

Well lets just say I have most games, what game would people prefer I test?

Regarding red:
Versus Galaxy Nexus:


Versus Samsung 206BW on the left and LG W2363D on the right:


Running new 3DMark11 with updated driver as I speak.

Edit: It seems like Dropbox is having issues . . .

 

Well, I think that now I'm free to speak...:SLEEP:
I have already seen Hwinfo logs while gaming scenario.
Unfortunately if Asus has not changed something in BIOS, the throttling problem is present even while gaming, it affects only CPU (it downclocks to 1.2GHz), the GPU instead runs like a charms with Turbo boost active (835MHz).

Temps are very good 85°C max for CPU and 80°C max for GPU in gaming scenario but CPU most of time is on 1.2GHz.
So I think that is possible to try something with Trottlestop (but this is an extreme way), or setting CPU to 99% in Windows (this setting disable turbo boost).
Disabling the turbo boost you should have a stable frequency of 2.1GHz without jumping to 2.8GHz and if cooling system in enough good with dropping to 1.2GHz.

Test like 3Dmark11 doesn't mean almost nothing with modern laptop, The running time is too short to evidence any kind of thermal problem and with modern laptop the performance are largely dependent from cooling system.

 

True my 3DMark11 tests are more to see what kind of performance the GPU is theoretically capable of
NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M video card benchmark result - Intel Core i7-3612QM Processor,ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. UX51VZA score: P2401 3DMarks

 

I have seen that Crysis 2 is one game where that throttling problem is more evidenced.
So It's better to use it like gaming test.
You need only to run HWinfo64 in log mode while you gaming and afetr you can post the log result directly in this forum.
You must have attention before run HWinfo64, you need to launch something that actives the GPU otherwise in log result you see only the HD4000 instead of GT650m.

Edit: in these pictures I see Red/Orange problem

 

Looks like the red is better than the red on the Galaxy Nexus but looks rather orange compard to the Samsung and LG screens.

Crysis should be good for testing throttling in games, or BF3. I'm rather curious personally with D3 and SC2, even though they are not as graphically demanding.

Thanks again Frozer.

 

I will run a test with Crysis 2 once it transfers from my Main PC. My main worry at the moment with the laptop is the fans, they are constantly on for me. Also they are a bit louder than I would optimally like. Android Sound Meter when it is lieing on the keyboard shows: 45 dB.

 

Well, it does look kinda orange though.
I've tried opening both, the red search results and the image of the newgrounds on my lcd. The red is way off.
Or could it be your camera?

Btw, can you just do a short run of Benchmark Preset 1080 on furmark, and share with us a screenshot of the results?

Thanks.

 

Nearly the same score as with a modded Sony S15...hmmm

@ Frozer
About red/orange problem...are you 100% sure that your Galaxy Nexus was showing pure red? In my comparison of the S15 vs Eizo vs Galaxy Nexus the reds of the Nexus were CLEARLY better then the ones of the S15. The red on the GN was very rich and pretty close to the Eizo (S-PVA) ... only darker. In your picture the red of the UX51VZ was much better than the red on the Galaxy nexus which would tell me that there is no problem at all or it must be extremely unremarkable.



Thank you VERY much for all this information.

 

Maybe the "red" picture on google images was not red Will try again after I finish my Crysis 2 test. Btw I am liking the speakers on this laptop and I have not tried the subwoofer yet.

 

Instead, would it be possible to disable also GPU's turbo boost?

Yes it's weird, could it be related to the fact that the camera is higher than the laptop? But it's an IPS display, so it shouldn't be a problem..

45 dB at idle? And what does it show near your ears?
Could you try in this way please?

I think Crysis 2 is a good test, since it was the only game which suggested possible throttling with the prototype. Maybe, if as [-Mac-] said the GPU keeps running in turbo boost and only cpu throttles, it might be useful to try some CPU intensive game, with less work for GPU. Maybe Civ 5 would be good?

TONS OF THANKS FOR YOU MAN!

 

Like many others I have been eyeing this one for a while, and if it would come up short on actual performance versus what it says on the spec sheet, I am interested in alternatives.

Vaio S15, new HP Envy and rMBP seem to be the alternative and there is some consensus on that matter.

What I would like to know, since gaming is a pretty good benchmark is, what settings these machines can run these games without throttling, and overheating.

Resolution, "overall graphical setting", framerate, AA etc.

If the rMBP can play Crysis on Normal steady 30FPS, without overheating, but the Vaio S15 can play it on Good (one setting above Normal), then surely, for gamers the S 15 is a better choice.

If someone can conjure up a comparison sheet of this sort, it would help me and probably others make a decision towards this machine. It doesn't tell me much that this machine throttles and overheats on Crysis in Super Ultra High Mode. If it would get too hot and throttle, I would lower the settings. I don't have a requirement that this (rather expensive) machine should be able to play every game, at highest setting, in 60FPS. Maybe I would just be as happy with 30FPS, or 60FPS in High Mode ( not pushing for Super Ultra )

Anyone working at a shop, or a review blog that could find that data ? Maybe this data is scattered over NBR ?

"Highest settings without breaking a sweat" test, is kind of what I am looking for.

 

Okay guys I have now run Crysis 2 for about 25 minutes and that should give some idea about throttling. CPU cores started out at 2800 MHz but after some time dropped to 2100 MHz and kept jumping up and down though staying mostly at 2100 MHz.
With Regards to the GPU, It shows that the Geometry clock was steady at 835.3 MHz, Memory clock steady at 1000 MHz.

Temperatures: GPU went to 71 degrees celsius and stayed there. CPU core max temperature was 77 degrees celsius and it stayed there. At least to me these temperatures seem very good.

Perhaps next it is time for a furmark benchmark.

For those interested in the gory details from HWinfo64 see this link:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0ApqA58GEvFrXdFJyRk9VMGlCSWk0T1NfUmktcm9JV3c&output=html

 

This seems very good to me too. I've never expected such a thin laptop to always run in turbo boost, but if it can run at nominal frequency, like it seems to be, I'm satisfied! At what settings did you run Crysis?

 

Well the settings I ran Crysis 2 in was too high I believe it was Extreme . . . The game ran but not with enough FPS to be comfortable to play. Furmark test is running currently and I see some dreaded words: THROTTLING. So this laptop is NOT made for synthetic benchmarks.

 

U500VZ was already tested with Crysis, it runs at 30fps, with CPU throttling to 1.2GHz with some jump to 2.8GHz, you can see even in Mike review.

The test that I suggest is to set CPU performance to 99% by Windows Setting (nothing of dangerous, CPU is still able to downclocks itself) this setting disable turbo boost, so I would see a comparison in Crysis with and without this setting.
Hwinfo should be active in log mode, so we can see the 2 logs after the test.

 

Let's wait the log With Crysis it actually throttled 3-4 times too, but just for something like 2 seconds

 

The temps look very different from prototype, Can I ask you where are you and what the your ambient temp?

 

Well, in my books, I would be happy about playing crysis on the settings one below Extreme. That might allow it to not throttle and give enough FPS. I am sure it would still look amazing and the temperatures are great. So, throttling under some testing software doesn't bother me, since I won't be running benchmark tests all the time.

The benchmark tests should give you results like "managed to play this game, with this settings, at this FPS without throttling and these were the temperatures".