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

Sorry for bringing bad news but that sounds like a hardware problem.

 

Thanks for getting back to me...the reason why I was holding out for hope was because it kept switching between plugged in, not charging to no battery detected, over and over again. Never seen anything like it and thought shoot, maybe someone else has seen this issue too. Guess I'll be initiating a return to XoticPc... :-(

 

Yeah, that sort of issue is a returner, sounds like the charging circuit is a bit borked.

 

Good news! I found a T4 Torx bit and decided to check out the innards before sending it back...glad I did! The connection from the battery must have been jostled during ship because it wasn't all the way in! Pushed that down and now the laptop is charging perfectly!! *sigh of relief*

Now to read the rest of the forums on bios, and touchpad updates!

 

Part of the problem with this battery design I guess, well good to know that is sorted and hopefully this can be identified more easily in future if someone has issues.

 

Glad to hear that! I thought the connector looked reliable so didn't think that was a possibility, guess some assembly worker didn't connect it correctly in the first place...

 

That and a jolt after testing in the mail at some point.

 

Question, can we replace the two SSDs that come with the UX51VZ?

 

Well the SSDs are an Asus-specific design so the only (so far) models available are 128GB and 256GB. Asusparts have the 256GB device but they are pretty expensive:
spare parts and options Asus UX51VZ - Zandparts

 

^^ That is such a bad idea to go with Asus-specific SSDs only. This is a deal breaker for me. I'd love to buy a Samsung 512GB and put one in there, like on my Samsung.

 

Well if you can find a model with SSD + HDD you should be able to swap the HDD for a standard 2.5" SSD.
I have done some testing trying to convert the special interface to a standard 2.5" one but unsuccessfully so far.

 

It's really sad that Asus only sells the SSD + HDD models in so few countries like ukraine and romania. I was really interested to see the internals of those models and I know someone here bought one but unfortunately never posted any photos

 

Hi Cheerio,

Have you used Asus 15 inch touchscreen Zenbook with Linux? Does it work fine? Any comments?

I plan to buy it and to use it for audio-production on the go.

Thank you very much for your time and your information,
Truly yours,
Patrick

 

Hi all,

Does anyone know whats going on with the UX51's price?

It's already dropped in europe [ amazon.de has it for 1,600 EUR] and in canada [ ncix has it for 1,600 CAD] but it hasn't shifted at all in the U.S.

Amusingly ncix's US site has it for $1,700 - which is $150 more than ncix canada. But newegg/amazon etc are all still closer to $1,900.

Any idea if a price drop is imminent? Alternatively is ncix a reputable site? - I'll be shipping it overseas so I can't return it to the store and will have to rely on ASUS's warranty, would rather not get a lemon to start with.

 

All I can say is that I shopped at ncix in canada lots of times, my previous employer had a corporate account with them and they were always very good. It's of the larger component / PC shops in canada so I wouldn't be too worried.

 

Yeah it has been around a long time, regional price variations can be caused by differences in taxes or indeed prices from Asus and the like.

 

I don't know what use those would be. The consensus (if it can be called that) seems to be that the SSD in those models uses a soldered BGA style interface and that the HDD is mounted where the dual SSDs are in RAID systems. There's a solder pattern for a 2.5" style SATA connector besides the SSD connectors. One could try to solder in a connector and see if it works but that's a bit riscy

 

I see. I tried to look for some information on how those models are done but could never find anything. Personally it really annoys me that those models aren't available worldwide, as 256gb is nowhere near enough after you factor in the OS and recovery partition. The 512 model is better of course but I'm still not sure I would want to have all my data on a raid SSD...

 

Hi,

I'm looking for a bit of advice. I'm looking to purchase the UX500VZ touchscreen or even non touchscreen version in Ireland. Can anyone suggest a website in the United Kingdom or even a website in Europe (as long as it has an English version) where I can purchase either model. I am also looking for a non US layout of the keyboard.

I find the Asus website very unhelpful and confusing, finding it very difficult to understand what drive options / configurations are available and where to purchase from. I have seen some people mention dual SSD and others mention SSD and Sata but can't find anywhere to confirm what setups are available.

Apologies if this has already been answered in the thread but as there are over 280 pages I have been unable to locate the answer.

Thanks very much

 

Finally bit the bullet and bought the 256GB version. Other than the touchpad I have really no complaints. I am amazed that some people on here find the fan noise an issue. It doesn't bother me, then again, it came shipped with the new bios already, so maybe it's not as loud as it was for the early adopters.

 

if you bought it in US, could you share with me the website you bought it from?

 

I bought from JR.com. They have a deal now where they bundle in a NEXUS 7 tablet with the laptop.

 

I'll become one of the n56vz user this week. After read the whole tread and some other tread , i'm little concerned. There's constantly little problems appearing in the laptop, just like Bios, keyboard, gpu, cpu, temperature. Is this really a bad laptop? Before this one i ordered a hp envy dv6 7214nr, the one with FHD and nvidia 650m. But it was DOA. Sinds my first laptop i was disappointed about the reputation of hp.
So , is n56vz even worse than the hp?

 

You are posting in the wrong thread. This is about UX51VZ.

 

Where in the USA can i find the touchscreen version?

 

Microsoft Store just started selling UX51Vz with touchscreen.

Buy ASUS ZENBOOK Prime UX51Vz-US71T Touchscreen Ultrabook - Microsoft Store Online

 

theres no way i'll buy this laotop for $2500.. is there another touchscreen version ofr a lot less than this sh'it?

 

granted yes it is very very expensive. but this is definitely going after the MBP market looking at its specs. and its technically a better deal. the SSD is msata and that alone is 500+ for 512gb. better deal would be the new samsung series 7 chronos with the ati 8870 if it ever comes out in USA.

 

but what about the other asus touchscreen version u500vz?? when is that coming out? and its NOT a better deal than a MBP. also, the samsung chronos 7 sucks.. i wouldnt buy it..

 

Their tech spec show the graphics as Intel HD 4000, not GT650M. They have it wrong I assume?

 

It has GT650M.

 

again, can someone tell me where the u500vz is sold?

 

Eh... In Sweden among other places. U500VZ = UX51VZ.

 

Howdy,
The United States version is called UX51Vz-US71T.

The only place I can find it for sale is at The Microsoft Store

 

Can anyone confirm if the UX51Vz-US71T actually has the Intel HD4000 graphics as listed on microsoftstore's website, or is it a typo and is actually the nVidia 640m GPU that is listed on every other UX51VZ/ U500 derivative?

 

It's a typo. It has Nvidia 650M in it not 640M.

 

Either way it's the same chip

 

I have a question, if I open the laptop to clean from dust the warranty is voided? (because uses a layer of tape)

 

Hy all,

Just got the UX51VZ-CN066H. 128GB SSD + 500GB HDD.
If you have any question please feel free to ask.
Bios Version 205 out of the box. I have no issue whit the fans till now, and everithing else is as expected, a greate piec of tech.
Price is somwhere at 1400 Euros.

 

Is one of the DIMMS user upgadable or are both soldered into the MB? I was wodering if we could go to 12GB (since 4 iis soldered in). I saw a report 1 would be user replacable....

 

Where did you buy it? If you're going to open it for whatever reason could you take some pictures of the internal drives?

 

I played with the USA version at the Microsoft store in Chicago. It was really impressive from the build quality to the screen adn touchpad. The touch screen was fantastic in metro (yes, I actually LIKE that interface for the touch apps).

I could not see a single opening in the bottom to replace the 4+4 RAM with 4+8. I thought one DIMM was user replacable.

LIkes (played with it for 20 min)
1. Amazing design and quality
2. Quite as hell even palying a few indie steam games
3. Felt REALLY light..... potentially due to the weight distribution being good. To be honest, a cheaper 3.9lb 14" ultrabook next to it "felt heavier".
4. Amazing touch screen. Even with lowest brightness in teh massive microsoft store still readable if en face.
5. Huge 512GB SSD seemd fast on a few moves, opening outlook etc. To be honest, it felt faster than my i7 (920)+older dell 256GB SSD in terms of Office 2013.
6. Never got "hot" even playing games (granted these were Steam Indie titles but still....)

Bad

WINDOWS 8 - NOT EVEN PRO for $2500
8GB - seriously? For $2500??? Anyone who uses office 2013/Endnote/chrome etc at the same time knows you can suck up massive ram. Yes, the ssd is fast. Hell, Adobe Lightroom is almost painful in 8GB with RAW files.
Could NOT find a slot to add an 8GB module (swap out 4GB). The downside of this is you would have single channel ram due to the 4+8 even if you could do this
Honestly would rather have 256GB+750HD with intel IRST etc.. but hey - 512GB will get me all my music, apps for itunes, office, docs, and tons of steam games
Did I mention 8GB?
Did I mention WINDOWS 8 not pro so you cannot remote into it or connect to a domain - .

 

One is User Upgradeable, But Soldered are just 2GB, so the maximum amount of ram will be just 10GB.

 

I am from Romania, and we are the lucky ones(Romania, Ukraine and Japan) wher this version is sold
Pictures i will make in 2 weeks when I upgrade the RAM module whit an 8GB one.

 

I thought so... I dont suppose there are any stores there that ship internationally?

 

The poster was being rude. He clearly has not seen the unit nor the quality.

A real question: did yours ship with 2gb soldered on motherboard and 4gb dimm (replaceable) or 4mb on motherboard

 

It is and the single opening you are requesting (=the bottom lid) have a number of very visible screws, there are also two screws under the rear rubber feets. When all screws are removed there's still a strip of double sided tape in the rear however it isn't hard to remove - a little bit of gentle force is enough.

Intel have supported asymmetric dual channel for a number of generations so that shouldn't be a problem. And replacing the RAM is easy if one have the right screwdriver.

As a power user (=lot of heavy programs running at the same time) 8GiB is still enough for me. I don't use Office so maybe that's making the difference

 

It is shipped whit 2GB Soldered and a 4GB DIMM(Replaceable)

 

I will see if the online shop wher I bought this will make that, or just contact them, they will speak English for sure. Try to contact the sales manager on the following email adress: simona(a)evomag.ro
the laptop you can find here:
http://www.evomag.ro/PORTABILE-Ultr...T-650M2GB-USB-3.0-HDMI-Win8-64-bit-95247.html

 

That would be fantastic thanks! I'll try sending them an email as well. I'm just about to pull the trigger on either the 256 or 512 ssd version here in canada but would much prefer to buy the ssd + hdd if I can.