Asus ZenBook Pro UX501 Owner's Lounge

IPS panels will struggle to match the blacks of TN.

 

I've read in a couple reviews that one of the positives of this laptop is how bright the screen can get...

Have they released a second version of this laptop or something? I pre-ordered and received this laptop on launch day. My biggest complaint is that the screen is not bright. My old laptop had a much brighter display.

Is there some special tweaking you have to do to get this laptop's display to be bright or is there a 2nd version or...? Also, did anyone ever find a solution to the "yellow" problem? It actually doesn't bother me anymore because I've gotten used to it, but a solution would still be nice.

 

I was really looking forward to buy the UX501. It looks pretty decent and also the specs are just what I would want in a Laptop.
Unfortunately after reading many reviews the yellow-ish tint is really a problem if you want to go into photo editing (what I wanted to do).

My only alternative now is probably the Acer V Nitro Black Edition with similar specs (however I am not a fan of the design).

Second option would be to wait for Asus to hopefully fix the display and add the broadwell processor?

Also I am not sure how well 4K displays work on Laptops and the scaling as well. So maybe I will change and go towards the FHD Asus UX501 version instead (if it does not have the yellow tint).

Does anyone know if the FHD version will be available with the 512 GB SSD? In most parts of Europe (in my case Germany) you are only able to get the 128 GB SSD + 1 TB HDD and no other model.
Which is kind of disappointing.

 

Have you considered the HP Omen?

 

I just found out about this notebook yesterday. It seems to be the one I had been looking to buy last year around this time when Asus was mucking around with the release window for the N551. I agree with pretty much everything you've said about the UX501- it seems to be just what I want in a laptop.

But knowing Broadwell is on the horizon, I'll probably hold off for a couple months in hopes for either a price drop, or a revision with an updated processor.

 

maybe something is coming down the pipe. pure speculation, of course. but as is the case in other regions, here in Canada, after a few weeks of significant discounting, the price for the box is now back up to $2500 CAD -- but back-ordered on all fronts.

so either ASUS is having difficulty meeting demand, or maybe supplier is holding back production, or something -- or maybe they really are coming out with a hardware revision that hopefully addresses some of our issues. but really, in terms of the display, blame Samsung (and others). they just can't get the tech right, just yet.

Asus ROG G501 FHD comes with a Samsung non-glossy IPS display, which has 100% sRGB and 71% Adobe coverage, out of the box. but the same machine, in a 4k variant, has a non-glossy IPS Samsung with a far-less awesome 67% sRGB and 47% Adobe coverage. (also the Asus N551 FHD clocks in at 100% sRGB / 68% Adobe, and is also a Samsung panel.)

does anyone make a decently-powered 4K box with an "as advertised" 100% sRGB screen? maybe not yet ...

 

This is my ideal laptop if it wasn't for the screen.

Quick question: For those who have purchased and returned this laptop, what brand/model did you replace this laptop with?

 

I was going to but the UX501 but have now decided to get the MSI GS60 Ghost Pro. It has better specs in almost every regard except for battery life and maybe style.

 

Guys, please, answer my few questions below because this is the only laptop that I like as a matter of design and specs especially in this price range and after reading this thread I'm getting a bit skeptical...

- HOW BAD is the glossy display... I mean, of course, it's glossy and glare will be there but... HOW BAD is it, say, compared to a macbook with a glossy display as well?

- Does keyboard really flex under normal pressure?

- Is there much CPU throttling under consistent work, say rendering?

Thanks!

 

Here



at 5:59 you can see the two screen (UX501 and Macbook pro)

 

Wow, the UX501 is finally back in stock in the Asus store. Was beginning to think they'd abandoned it. Wonder if they made the promised improvements. I think it's possible that the recent reviewers are getting units with improved displays.

 

Hi guys , i believe i have found the solution to fixing UX501 screen flickering problem .

I followed the steps from this link and "Option four" actually fixed the constant flickering when adjusting between programs and also the constant lighting changes on screen. (But being the typical i want to fix it once and for all , i just implemented all options =)

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/6042-adaptive-brightness-turn-off-windows-8-a.html

Hope this helps everyone.

 

I had to do this on my ux305fa also and it wasn't obvious at all in the intel settings. What is frustrating is there seems to be adaptive brightness settings all around and you need to disable them all. These settings would be more useful if they only adjusted for extreme changes in light and didn't constantly shift.

I'm now trying to decide whether i should get this system or wait for a broadwell or skylake update. Also, in that video review on the last page, the fact that the thunderbolt port cause weird graphics glitches and artifacting on the reviewer's external monitor kind of scares me. I would definitely need that because i want good support for future 4k monitors. I can get it for $1300 for a limited time at a secret location. Any opinions?

 

Do you guys know if Asus US store delivers worldwide? (Europe/Italy) In the Asus Store it costs 1500$ (in Euro it would be 1354.22€) but in Italy it costs 2800€ (2500€ some shops). Even with VAT applied I would save a lot of money.

The Asus store ITA doesn't have this product in the store, even if it has been announced and Amazon and other shops have it.

I think Asus doesn't know how to sell a laptop...

 

According to their website, they don't...

http://store.asus.com/us/custom/201412A040000001

"No, we do not currently ship internationally. We ship Asus products that are eligible for Standard Ground Shipping to all 50 states of the United States."

 

Costco has a deal with US UX501JW; $150 off + 1 year ADP (Costco members only)

http://www.costco.com/ASUS-Zenbook-...ntal-Damage-Protection.product.100203984.html

 

There goes my secret deal which i still can't decide on...

 

Well if you have any specific questions, I am in fact an owner. I don't feel too bad about missing out on the deal since I got mine tax-free, but that ADP

Well, performance wise, you'll be getting a small boost. Battery wise, the quad cores are still rated for 47W TDP, so probably a slight boost while idle-ish. Either way, it's not going to be a night/day difference.

Yeah, the thunderbolt port for display doesn't work, but 4K works for both HDMI @ 30Hz and mDP@ 60Hz, so just buy the right cable. The thunderbolt here is good for data transfer with a thunderbolt drive (or so I hear; I haven't gotten my hands on one)

 

Thanks a lot! Wait, so i know that the mDP and thunderbolt use the same physical connection. So are you saying as long as i use a monitor with a DP and not thunderbolt port it will work fine at 60Hz? Having the same physical connector has been kind of confusing me. Another question, how are the fans/noise on the laptop? My current laptop fans rev up/rev down for a second at even a small processor usage increase (like loading a website) and it drives me crazy. As long as the fan isn't constantly changing speeds it won't bother me. Obviously, during games it will be much louder which is fine. Overall, are you glad with your purchase? Thanks for your help!

 

Question: Does your 4k screen still display yellowish tint even after trying all the possible solutions on the net, such as uninstalling Asus Splendid program? (- source of that claim)

 

I don't want to give any false information here; I haven't actually tried a 4K 60 Hz connection with the mDP since I don't own a 4K external monitor. I've only verified that the port works through the VGA-mDP adapter. It should probably work, since that is what mDP advertises.

Fans are virtually silent under anything but heavy load. Basically the fans only turn on audibly when I'm using Nvidia graphics or doing some computationally taxing video upscaling. ASUS does a great job with the cooling solution - the dual fans blow out through the vents in the hinge.

Overall, I'm very happy with my purchase. Everything is as advertised, except with the compromise of not-profession-grade color calibration, which I don't care too much about. Build quality is pretty solid, keyboard feels nice, and touchpad is smooth and doesn't feel like mud. Cooling is great and I can run stuff even in 85 degree weather. Aluminum gets a little warm under load, but I don't mind as it's worth it for the great finish and feel. Costco has a great return policy - you can't go wrong with trying it out for their 60 day period.

Uninstalling splendid didn't make a difference. However, the "yellow tint" refers to like an offwhites on not-maximum-brightness. At max brightness, it is not really noticeable, and unless you are a color professional, it is perfectly fine overall. sRGB is pretty good at 94%, so the colors will be almost completely accurate unless, once again, you are a color professional and really need to make sure your whites are actually white.

 

Has anyone tried the 1080p version yet? Does it also have the color problems (white = yellow?)

I am currently deciding between the UX501 FHD or Acer Nitro Black

 

ilikealuminum - please, let me know about the glossiness? Everyone on the Internet including youtube reviews cries that it's the most reflective screen ever made and this is the only reason that stops me from buying it as I haven't seen it in a physical store...

 

Basically, ASUS did not apply any anti-reflective coating on their glossy screen (like on glasses) like Apple does, so comparatively it is more reflective. Obviously compared to a matte screen, the reflections are much more pronounced. However, I've been using glossy screens for my entire life, and I'm used to tilting the screen or just ignoring the reflection. The screen is definitely bright enough to use indoors. But in the end, it is personal preference. I would suggest stopping by a physical store that sells any laptop and looking at any glossy screen-see if it really bothers you.

 

Well, for a big work screen 24+inches I hate glossy (once I had a glossy one) and sold it and bought a proper dell ultrasharp matte screen and I'm inlove with it since.

But for smaller screens - I've seen many glossy laptops, not macbooks only, and most of them seem to be okay. Just recently I saw a friend of mine carrying some glossy Dell laptop and I tested it for that matter - the glossiness didn't seem like that much of a big deal...

I went in a store and tried many laptops though they didn't have the ux501 and again, the glossy screens were not that bad. For proper work I guess matte would be still better but I plan to use it with a big matte monitor whenever possible anyway.

I also love the glossiness of my iPhone's screen.

Again, I'm just terrified that in many reviews they say it's the glossiest screen ever made and that it lacks brightness to compensate the glossiness...

 

I won't vouch for this supplier since I haven't used it, but if you really want the laptop but are concerned about the reflections, this site has protective films specifically cut for UX501. Cost is $30 before shipping?

 

i was thinking that a matte screen protector would help if the glossiness is too hard to take for work

 

They are also selling a UX501 with a matte display. (no touchscreen)

 

Well, I was really thinking about the non-touch matte display version but with Windows 10 coming and it being 2015... - I really want the touchscreen.

Putting matte screen protector is just like putting a screen protector on a phone which I never do and can't stand so unfortunately I don't see this as an option.

Anyways, guess will wait a bit more to see if I get to see it in a physical store if that doesn't happen soon, I'll just buy it and pray I can cope with the glossiness.

 

Hi guys. I just bought a matte, FHD display version of this laptop and I love it. However there 2 things I dislike about this one.

The display looks nice but my eyes getting tired quickly even when I set the brightness level quite low. I have to look away very often to keep my eyes from getting strained.

The other thing is the touchpad is not response quickly as I expected. I got a Surface 2 and its tiny little touchpad on the type cover is even faster than this high-end laptop's touchpad. Maybe the software hasn't been optimized yet I guess

Is there any solution to address these issues? Thank you

 

thundaza, could you share where did you purchase this laptop from? (and just to make sure, is there any display problem you can notice?)

as for eyes getting strained, you might find relevant information here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/thr...ss-lightheadedness-ux303lb-fhd-screen.778000/

 

Thank you for sharing information.

I bought it in Vietnam. Here the matte FHD display version with 8gb of RAM and 128GB SSD and 1TB HDD is the only version of UX501 you can get. No other option available

About the screen, I haven't got any display issue other than eyestrain

 

: (

I saw the 1080p FHD version on Chinese equivalent of Amazon as well, but returning it if anything goes wrong would be too much of a hassle.

 

The "Dayvue" type film from the site I linked seems to use an optical anti-reflective coating, ie, it's a glossy protector with the same kind of anti-reflective coating used on glasses and MacBooks. Could be an option for you if the glossiness is too much.

 

Hey !
I'm looking forward to purchase a ux501. The one available here is a full HD model with 8gig of ram and 4gb graphics. The battery is listed as 4 cell so I assume it is 60Wh rated.
Now comes the question, has any1 here purchased a similar model ?
I'm particular on the full hd part. If so, how is the battery life ? And is the screen affected by this yellow tinge problem ? Please answer soon .

 

Hey !
I'm looking forward to purchase a ux501. The one available here is a full HD model with 8gig of ram and 4gb graphics. The battery is listed as 4 cell so I assume it is 60Wh rated.
Now comes the question, has any1 here purchased a similar model ?
I'm particular on the full hd part. If so, how is the battery life ? And is the screen affected by this yellow tinge problem ? Please answer soon .

 

I have one. Pls read my posts on previous pages

 

So now I should worry about the laptop giving me nausea... nice

 

I haven't received my ux501 yet; it's been on backorder for 2 weeks. I've looked into it in fair detail and have the following comments:

The Samsung SM951 M.2 PCIe x4 drive is very fast. I have one in my desktop in an ASUS Maximus VII Impact and it 'smokes'.

I've already picked up a Logitech Bluetooth mouse. It works with my desktop after a little fiddling, but is supposed to work seamlessly with the 501.

I have photos of a 'teardown' before I have the laptop.

Other than the 'yellow screen' issue and the lack of battery power the laptop seems to be great and a real bargain. On backorder, but the laptop was $500 off regular price. I only hope that ASUS is not waiting for Win10 release before shipping out the next 'bunch'.

First posting... Dik

 

Cooling, I understand is quite good... achieved by two fans and two large copper heat pipes. I have photos of a 'teardown' and the fans and heatpipes are very visable.

Dik

 

I've seen it advertised on may sites for U$1500. In Canada, on sale, it is $CAN2000.

Dik

 

Personally I'm gonna wait for another month or so. It would be a shame if i get one now and later Asus release a newer version with the issues fixed ( yellow color, keyboard issue,space bar not that clickable).

 

Agreed, I would have, but there was a $500 off sale and I only had a couple of days to take advantage of it... I understand the yellow screen issue is deeply embedded in the hardware and not likely a fix...

 

Khanis can you please upload a picture of the yellow on your HD screen. I would like to verify it myself. Also how is the laptop doing off late ? Any issues ? Thanks.

 

Ok . Do give a review once you recieve it.

 

Hi, Sorry if this is a stupid question but would i be able to install a regular 1TB HDD into the 512gb SSD model? I've seen configurations with 128/256gb SSD and a 1TB HDD so was wondering if this was possible.

 

You may be able to. The Samsung SM951 SSD comes in 512 GB as maximum size and that's the SSD on the UX501. There may be larger SSD's coming out that the laptop supports. I don't know if the laptop is capped at the 512 GB.

Should have added I have an SM951 in my desktop and it is one really fast drive... don't think there is anything readily available that's faster...

I don't know if all have ThunderBolt connector. If so, and if they work, there are a couple of external ThunderBolt drives that might be OK. Also you may be able to install additional memory in the card reader.

Dik

 

Yup... will do a memory, drive and system 'burn in' and will also run a few benchmarks... I'll let you know how it fares. My desktop scores 3DMark of 11,260 without tinkering with it and a simple read throughput of 2.5GB/sec. I'll want to compare it to the desktop.

I use a program called Speccy to give me system info... will also post a listing of the output.

 

The version with 512GB SSD comes with a larger battery which covers the HDD space so I think it's not possibile

 

You may be correct. Currently the 951 only comes in 512 GB max size and I don't know if Intel has something or if the machine only handles 512 GB max.

I was thinking another larger M.2 drive if available; my 951 is approx 1"x 3"x 0.125" in size. It's pretty small. As you noted, it would not likely be possible to put something like a regular SATA HDD. That's why I suggested the external.