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

Ctrl+I doesn't work. There is no setting for Option Rom in Bios and it seems that by default it is very reluctant to load into RAID setup, even when you cancel\enable RAID in Bios.
Probably a bug.

 

More updates coming soon.

ASUS ZENBOOK Touch U500VZ

 

I bet the touchscreen version is going to cost $2200. Asus has gone mad.

 

Obviously I read it, I was asking for a source about the "Touch screens are glossy edge to edge" thing. I should have quoted just this sentence maybe

 

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I like how they say "World's 1st Full HD IPS Full Display on an Ultrabook". Not if HP has anything to say about it!

HP Spectre XT TouchSmart Ultrabook 15t-4000 | HP® Official Store

I put one on pre-order to try it out and it ships the 4th of Dec. Also has a full HD IPS Touch 15.6 display (May use the same as Asus). Asus better get their a$$ in gear if they plan on being the first, haha.

 

Notebookcheck must do something wrong when measuring contrast, perhaps not disabling ambient light sensors and auto adjustment. My previous machine (Vaio SA 13.3") got a 151:1 contrast ratio in their test but as I have experience with LCD screens with that kind of contrast that was simply wrong. I guessed that the real contrast was approximately 300:1 and when looking at the specifications of the screen later that was correct.
Their reviews are pretty good otherwise but take the LCD measurements with a bit of salt.

 

Which would be just no problem @ idle Yesterday I carried my UX51 to work in the bag and I forgot to turn it off or put it to sleep. It was in there, closed, all vents completely covered and still running and after taking it out after 1-2 hours it was warm of course but still not hot. Optionally they could also enable a 3rd mode called "ultra silent" or whatever.

@ Megol
Yea, right.

 

I really don't get it... In the Envy test posted a page before, they measured the noise at about 34db, while saying this would be "silent". Why are the same db measurements at the Zenbook considered as "loud"?

 

I agree. Notebookcheck considers 30 dB as "barely audible" noise, so I wouldn't call 34 dB "loud", just audible. Consider that background noise in a silent room is 28 dB (more or less).
On the other hand, it's clear from the temperatures that this notebook doesn't need active fans at idle, at least not continuously, but I wouldn't call this a "major issue"

 

I think they said it pretty clear what they mean:

 

In Slovenia the only available model is ASUS ZENBOOK U500VZ-CN012H with 6GB of RAM and 500Gb HDD + ssd cache configuration.


Prenosnik ASUS ZENBOOK U500VZ-CN012H I7-3612/SSD&HDD/VGA/W8/15,6"/torbica najni

Did anyone get one with those specs?

 

1350€?? I'd buy it in 1 second if it came to Italy!! How do you think they will set up such a configuration? Hybrid 2,5" HDDs? If positive, do you think they will be user replaceable with 3rd party standard SSDs?

On a side note, if such a configuration is actually available, I guess it does exist some kind of adapter to raplace those weird SSDs with a 2,5" drive...

 

Yes, but in the same time, they say, the Envy runs very silent, although they measure the same db level. So what's the difference between these two measurements, where one can be annoying and the other silent, while both are equally loud?

 

That is exactly what I would like to know? If yes than this is quite a bargain and almost better then the top of the line model.

 

If you read a few pages back you would know that the memory chip is soldered as in other zenbooks so there is nothing weird about it.

 

I've read all the thread post by post, but I was speaking about the storage, not the RAM

 

Why would I write about RAM if we are talking about storage. Yes, the storage memory chip (SSD) is soldered, I even posted pictures to show where it's located on the motherboard.

 

Then, there are many images of the SSDs taken apart, and there are the versions with the hybrid 2,5" drive, so I was wondering if it was possible to replace SSDs with a 2,5 drive using some kind of adapter.

Sent from HTC HD2 with Tapatalk

 

Looks like bestbuy has both models now.

ux51 - Best Buy

The pictures are wrong but its the same laptop.

Also do you guys think its better to wait and get the touch screen version or just get the xh71.

 

alfling seems that you posting without reading many parts of thread...

Jako is referring to hybrid (SSD+HDD) version with HM76 chipset where SSD is soldered to motherboard and this is the only version with a SATA connector available.

 

Because raw dB(A) values do not take into account the characteristics of the human ear. Therefore some computer magazines (c't for example) publish the 'weighted' loudness in Sone unit not in dB(A).

A low frequency noise of 34 dB(A) may not be as disturbing as a high frequency noise of 34 dB(A) because a) human ear does not evaluate (or 'amplify') the low frequency noise the same way as the high frequency noise, b) human beings do not evaluate low frequency noise like they do high frequency noise because it may not tick them off that much.

 

I must have missed it, I can't remember of any soldered drive, Can you link me to the post please?

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/asu...-ips-gt650m-quad-core-i7-196.html#post8937051

 

Well... In that case ugly hack of physically unplugging one SSD should do the trick.

How you can call laptop with soldered 4GB (and not 8) memory - Top of the Line? Some choices Asus made is just hard to understand.

 

Does the RAID 0 set up crash that often? Seems like a pain to reconfigure this laptop. Is it necessary or is it just a pet peeve of most people?

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

Is the touch screen version of this only a 1366 x 768?

 

According to their websites, ASUS - Notebooks- ASUS ASUS ZENBOOK Touch U500VZ its Full HD (1080p)

 

So there is a 24GB SSD cache soldered AND a standard 2,5" HDD?

 

Always used SSDs in RAID0 until lately went through replacing 4 (four) dead ones within few months. OCZ Agility 3, Partiot Inferno, Vertex... One way or another - they failed. I have good replacement plan, so no money lost, but lots of frustration.

Now you have to go through the pain of resetting RAID, reinstalling OS, games, tools, etc. So I end up buying one 120Gb SSD for OS and some apps and good old WD Black 640Gb for storage. The rest - on NAS.

However, according to Tom's Hardware.

And some tips to optimize your SSD and HDD (it's in Russian, but Google Translate works ;-))

 

That's one thing that makes me nervous about a laptop with proprietary SSDs in RAID 0. I have had 4 SSDs encounter problems within 18 months, two of them failing completely only 5-6 weeks after install. (These were OCZ Vertex 4 drives. The others were OCZ Vertex 2 and Mushkin.) If you're trusting your data to a RAID 0 array you have to be very sure the drives in that array are reliable. And many SSDs seem not to be very reliable. These days I use spinning disks again, having lost days of work recovering from SSD failures.

 

Thanks, Nice info. Is that to expected then, that your SSD will crash? Is that regular behavior? How has the performance been since you moved everything to the external

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

 

You welcome. Yes, I would expect that SSD will crash. For me - none lived longer than 18 months yet. I am testing Crucial m4 and Agility 3 now. So, purchasing good warranty with this laptop is essential.

Totally worth it. I am using Synology DS212j. Wish I bought 212+ or 213+ to be able to easily extend it .
But I am not using it that much from computers - just RAID 1 for my pictures, movies, docs etc. and media server to stream content.
For the rest - Win8, Office, Hyper-V for .NET Dev environment (SQL, Visual Studio, etc.), couple games and MS Office - 120Gb SSD just fine.

 

That's pretty bad. Not trying to troll, but maybe you shouldn't buy anymore ozc or sandforce-based ssd that isn't Intel and instead use the bulletproof Samsung 830?

In general, does anyone know how reliable these SanDisk and ADATA SSDs are? I mean if Asus is buying and using these then they must be pretty reliable and or meet stringent specifications?

Sent from my SPH-M580 using Tapatalk

 

Anandtech just released a review of iPad Mini, which was presented the same day as the Asus UX51VZ. Maybe we can hope for a review within few days

 

Does not fit :-( The size would have been perfect but this bag has massively rounded corners which prevents the UX51 from slipping completely in the bag which results in the fact that you cannot close it (again because of the corners only).

Last hope for now:
Cool Bananas ShockProof Tasche für MacBook Pro 39,1 cm: Amazon.de: Computer & Zubehör
Sadly this one is 3cm thick but again you never know if it is for 3cm notebooks or 3cm in total!? Soon I will know ;-)

Hopefully Amazon does not block me from ordering since it is the 3rd order which I do have to send back within one week :-/

 

Did anyone test the touch version ?

 

hey DvP:

just came online to tell you the same...ordered the same bag...Damn!
Call me a copycat but i will order the Cool Bananas Bag also...
its the same which i used for my 13,3" Notebook the last 5 years by the way...

EDIT: This Cool Banas Bag which i have for my 13,3" fits perfect without too much space inside and my 13,3" Notebook (LG P310) is also really thin (in comparison to others to that time) Just tell you this to give you some hope..

 

@ Flokator
Do you oder 100% the same bag again? The black (no other color available) one - 2007 model? Woudn't it make more sense to order not always the same bag It would enhance our chances to find one which fits properly.

 

I didnt order yet but this was my plan, yes. because i really need a bag soon, im tired of wrapping my notebook in a towel ^^
if you want, we can do it like this:

i order the Cool Bananas Bag and one more of your choice today and i tell you how they fit!
i just dont have time to search for another option, so if you have any idea, then please tell me a.s.a.p!
Ok ?

 

Same goes for me....i wrap it in a training trousers right now So you will order exactly the black one which I posted above? Black one from 2007?

Alternatively I would suggest to order this one:
Cool Bananas RainSuit Neopren Tasche für Apple MacBook: Amazon.de: Computer & Zubehör

In the comments somebody writes that his 15" HP Pavilion fits in there which would tell us that the UX51 must fit also. And honestly it looks much better than the black one + its a rainsuit. AND you can get this color which I do like a lot. Somebody mentions in the comments that the original size is 39 x 26 x 2 which would be PERFECT!

I think I should have ordered this one instead of the black shock proof :-/

 

ok, i ordered both now. As soon i will get my order, i will tell you how they fit!
but i would say, that we have completely different kind of taste relating to the colours..i ordered the boring black and the boring grey ^^
its more my style than the zombie green\blue but i guess it doesnt make difference in size ;-)

 

@ Flokator
No problem ;-) The LA robe is really beautiful and I am sure you would have like the style also. Please let us know about your results. Ordering both was definitely the better idea than ordering 3x like I did. THX!

 

Just noticed that BestBuy appears to be selling the XH71 variant for for $2280.
Asus 15.6" Laptop 4GB Memory 256GB Solid State Drive + 256GB Solid State Drive UX51VZ-XH71 - Best Buy
I wonder if other places would price match.

 

@DvP:

No Problem. Lets hope that amazon is as fast as usual. I will tell you immediately then. In best case, they both fit very well and i can decide between them.

it the worst case....ahhh lets not think about this.

 

I'm planning to buy the XH71(12gb ram version) via an online store. I need international shipping and a good return and service policy by shipping. Which online store do you suggest?

 

DAMN! Does not fit either :-(
What about this one? Did you get it already? :-/

 

No, didnt get it

but i really hope that this one will fit:
Cool Bananas RainSuit Neopren Tasche für MacBook Pro: Amazon.de: Computer & Zubehör

this are the measures, so it SHOULD fit (39 x 26 x 2)

EDIT: Im confused...

i ordered this one:
http://www.amazon.de/gp/product/B004CW4H56/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00

it looks exactly like this one:
http://www.amazon.de/Cool-Bananas-RainSuit-Neopren-MacBook/dp/B003EY4LWW/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

but in the article description they have different measures:
1 --> 21 x 2 x 27 cm
2 --> 26 x 2 x 39 cm

...

 

That must be a mistake because a 15" notebook could never fit. The bags which I ordered were already 39x26 but the edges have been massively rounded which was the problem. Hope you will get the last one soon. I can return the other 2 in the meanwhile

 

Dont be so picky...
HM Laptop Sleeve Carry case bag F Macbook Pro 15" 15.4" & New Macbook Pro 15.4" | eBay
or
2011 New Sleeve carry case cover bag skins For Macbook Pro 15" 15.4" | eBay

 

Does anyone know if this beauty can be found in JAPAN??

I'm going to a trip there and everything in any other country is cheaper than here.