Asus ZenBook Pro UX501 Owner's Lounge

How did you do the calibration? I can't seem to get mine quite right

 

after upgrade to Windows 10 Asus Face ID is not working.
If anyone know about good alternative, I'll be very happy

 

I did it manually, adjusting colors and comparing with well-calibrated monitor. No special technique used, just patience.

 

I had to wait over 3 weeks for mine... and, I'm glad I did... so far, one really great laptop.

 

Hi Chaps and Chapettes!

No matter what I select on, the Asus UX501 or the Dell XPS 15 come out top each time.
But I like the design of the UX501 much much better.

I will be using this laptop to multi-boot.

Debian (where I'll be spending most of my time) and Fedora Linux (just checking out):
Web design (layout, responsive webpages, etc)
Web development (front-end and back-end)
Watching training videos
Website testing in various browsers (desktop and mobile)
VMware WS: 2 webservers running.

Windows 8.1/10:
Adobe CS4 and CC (when required for web design)
Unity (3D) Free Edition (for hobby, game tools not games)
MS Visual Studio Community Edition (w/ Windows Phone emulator, which requires SLAT a.k.a. EPT) (for hobby, App development)
Watching training videos
Website testing in various browsers (desktop and mobile)
VMware WS: 2 webservers running
VMware WS: 1 Debian/Fedora desktop running in VMware Unity

I've been reading this thread from page 44 to the end. And it raised more questions than I already had. For example I did not know about the off-yellow/white and sRGB colour gamut issues.

1. How do I recognise a UX501 as coming from the most recent assembly run?
2. Is the Off-Yellow/Off-White (at not-maximum-brightness) colour issue resolved?
3. Is the Screen flashing/flickering issue resolved?
4. Is the sRGB gamut coverage now consistently at least 94% coverage?
5. Which colour calibrator goes well with the 4K screen?
   (I saw the SpyderPro 4 mentioned, but I had issues years ago with the 2.)
6. How is Linux hardware compatibility (especially Wi-Fi)?
7. How is Wi-Fi performance in Windows 8.1/10 and Linux?
8. Does the CPU support EPT / SLAT?
9. Is Asus still using the Samsung SM951 M.2 PCIe x4 SSD?
10. How many SSD's can be added?
11. Which version of Win 8.1 is included?
    I'm looking for the Pro. When not Pro, does Asus offer a paid upgrade at their website?
12. Is the issue with a monitor connected to the Thunderbolt port resolvable through software/firmware/driver updates (not a deal breaker for me)?
13. Is a Broadwell refresh possibly around the corner (not a deal breaker for me)?

I'm looking at these 2 models of the UX501:
http://tweakers.net/pricewatch/compare/496/445681;445653/categorie/

And (because of the multi-boot) whether to go for the UX501 with 256GB SSD, and add another separate 256GB SSD. Or go for the UX501 with 512GB SSD.
http://tweakers.net/pricewatch/zoeken/?keyword=Samsung+SM951

 

[QUOTE="

1. How do I recognise a UX501 as coming from the most recent assembly run?
2. Is the Off-Yellow/Off-White (at not-maximum-brightness) colour issue resolved?
3. Is the Screen flashing/flickering issue resolved?
4. Is the sRGB gamut coverage now consistently at least 94% coverage?
5. Which colour calibrator goes well with the 4K screen?
   (I saw the SpyderPro 4 mentioned, but I had issues years ago with the 2.)
6. How is Linux hardware compatibility (especially Wi-Fi)?
7. How is Wi-Fi performance in Windows 8.1/10 and Linux?
8. Does the CPU support EPT / SLAT?
9. Is Asus still using the Samsung SM951 M.2 PCIe x4 SSD?
10. How many SSD's can be added?
11. Which version of Win 8.1 is included?
    I'm looking for the Pro. When not Pro, does Asus offer a paid upgrade at their website?
12. Is the issue with a monitor connected to the Thunderbolt port resolvable through software/firmware/driver updates (not a deal breaker for me)?
13. Is a Broadwell refresh possibly around the corner (not a deal breaker for me)?

[/QUOTE]
I've only had my 501 about a week and have the following to offer:

1. The BIOS that came with my laptop was the current BIOS on the ASUS site so it's fairly recent.
2. I haven't noticed any colour issues; check a screen shot I posted earlier.
3. I've not noticed any flickering; screen is 'rock solid'.
4. Can't answer.
5. Can't answer.
6. Can't answer.
7. I haven't noticed any issue... have a Nighthawk router and it's always been solid. There was no problem with the laptop recognising the WiFi.
8. Can't answer.
9. I checked with ASUS and my version (based on serial number, I guess) has the 951 drive. Same drive I have in my desktop. Works just as fast.
10. I cannot add a SSD unless by USB. I still haven't given up on using a portable SSD using the Thunderbolt port, but, not prepared to 'smoke' the laptop.
11. Can't answer, but, will check. May be a problem with authentication number. I had to purchase a new Win7 Pro for my earlier ASUS 17" laptop. Speccy gave me a different number than the one on the 'sticker' and neither of them would work for reinstallation of windows. This is a feature of some OEM windows installs.
12. Can't answer, not used Thunderbolt yet.
13. Looked at the teardown for the laptop and it doesn't appear to be a likely option. All circuit board items appear to be pretty fixed.

Dik

 

original post

I personally can't tell if there's any problem with yellow from this image because the yellow area is so small. Could you take another photo with a bigger yellow area on the screen? Ideally with another device on the side showing exactly the same image. I think something like a tablet or smart phone will do.

 

Frankly

Frankly, you should have waited a while before updating to win 10.
It takes a few months untill reviews come in and problems are solved.
Now that you have already updated, just wait it out/ try reinstalling face id.

 

I am very satisfied with Windows 10 on UX 501, the only problem with Face ID is nothing big.
All my data, programs and settings remains o.k.
Mostly I like a new start menu and good speed, especially Edge browser .

 

Hi guys!

Is the screen issue with the yellows being off only on the 4k touchscreen or is it on all 4k screens?

thanks in advance!

 

I think it's only the Samsung one. On the Eurocom M5 Pro customization page you can see what other 4k screens are available. (They are also more expensive.)

reference

 

Hmm okey, so if a retailer is selling a 4k non-touch matte display then that is not the Samsung screen?

Am I right in saying so?

 

I'm not sure since all of the reviews I read regarding 4k display are all touch screens. If one comes with non-touch matte, I would check reviews on that specific product to be sure.

 

Thanks for taking the time to answer my umpteen questions. Appreciated.

Meanwhile I've found the answer to Q8 here:
http://social.technet.microsoft.com...er-v-list-of-slat-capable-cpus-for-hosts.aspx
http://ark.intel.com/Products/VirtualizationTechnology

Looks like some 5th gen i7 CPUs do not support EPT. While all 4th gen i7 CPUs do. Weird!

 

Yeah I cant seem to find any reviews of that particular setup though... Please let me know if you find one!

 

Is the Off-Yellow/Off-White (at not-maximum-brightness) colour issue resolved?

• Unlikely, unless Asus switched to a new panel. Just search for images of homer simpson to see if the panel still displays a mustard yellow.

Is the Screen flashing/flickering issue resolved?

• This seems to vary from machine to machine.

Is the sRGB gamut coverage now consistently at least 94% coverage?
Which colour calibrator goes well with the 4K screen?

• I used a Spyder5Pro and it shows sRGB at 94%

How is Wi-Fi performance in Windows 8.1/10 and Linux?

• Connecting at 700+Mbps to my Asus RT-AC68 router in Windows 8.1 and 10.

Is Asus still using the Samsung SM951 M.2 PCIe x4 SSD?

• AFAIK, yes, but only on models with 4K display.

How many SSD's can be added?

• 0 for models with 6-cell battery and 1 replaceable for models with 4-cell battery.

Which version of Win 8.1 is included?

• Windows 8.1 Home

I'm looking for the Pro. When not Pro, does Asus offer a paid upgrade at their website?

• Does not look like it's possible.

 

Hi guys

I just updated the Asus smart gestures to the newest version supporting Windows 10.

Everything is fine except for the 2-finger scrolling experience with Microsoft Edge. I feel like it no longer has "momentum" when I scroll. In other words, the page will immediately stop scrolling when I lay my fingers off the trackpad, very annoying when surfing long pages.

However this feature works just fine with Google Chrome, which I'm no longer prefer to use anymore.

Is there any way to fix this some how. Thanks

 

I have a 4k matte version, it's the same screen and with the same problems.

 

Hey, does anyone experience wifi connection problem on zenbook pro with windows 10? I'm currently experiencing a lot of connection problem, constant ping spike disconnect within 2 min of connection.

 

This could be due to automatic updates if you have them enabled. There are a lot of automatic updates triggered that are hidden in the machine. A process called "themes" one time randomly started downloading something in the background and sucked all my bandwidth. Automatic Windows updates could also be the cause and the automatic GPU driver update could also be the cause. I had to stop the services several times. If you are noticing ping spikes, search for Administrative Tools and then go to resource monitor and click over to the network tab. It will show you which processes are using what data. Svchost.exe is a common offender so look for the port that it is located on and match it with the corresponding processes in the task manager and shut them down.

In other good news there was a new bios update and just from a few test it seems to have corrected the issue with the flickering screen. Also the yellows do look a bit improved however this could have just been my calibration.

 

Thanks for taking the time to respond. Especially to some of the yet unanswered ones. Appreciated.

We're almost complete.

When the Spyder5Pro shows 94%, is that before calibration (factory calibrated) or after calibration with the SpyderPro?

---

The Off-Yellow/Off-White colour issue is what scares me the most. But if it is limited to yellows/whites, and not constantly over the full screen I could live with it.

I'm only considering the 4K model.
I'll assume that comes with the 6-cell battery, so I would be better off going for the 512GB SSD version.
EDIT: Apparently you get the 6-cell battery only with the 512GB model (which is PCIe x4).
Which also means that the 128GB and 256GB models are stuck at SATA III.
Also, the Sandisk SSDs have no bigger capacity than 256GB. So what make is the 512GB?
It hurts to say this, but for my requirements there are too many ifs and buts. The quest continues.

The Windows 8.1 Home version is a big disappointment though. It could force me to buy a separate Pro license.

Thanks for responding.

 

I live in The Netherlands.
Just bumped into his review from the 30th June (in Dutch) which mentions that the 256GB SSD is a SanDisk SD7SN3Q256G1002. Not the Samsung SM951. Again a notebook manufacturer which charges Europeans more for less.

On page 3 "Under the hood": http://nl.hardware.info/reviews/6137/3/asus-zenbook-pro-ux501-review-macbook-pro-killer-onder-de-kap

And on page 9 "Specificationds and Performance": http://nl.hardware.info/reviews/613...acbook-pro-killer-specificaties-en-prestaties

And page 4 "Hardware and benchmarks" of this other review (from the 9th July): http://tweakers.net/reviews/4095/3/...voor-matig-scherm-hardware-en-benchmarks.html

And it doesn't bench well:

Haven't checked Storagereview and Thessdreview yet.

EDIT:
The specs at the Asus site (also the /nl/ pages for The Netherlands), list 2 versions of Windows 8.1, a Pro and non-Pro. I don't know how I missed that.

https://www.asus.com/Notebooks/ZenBook_Pro_UX501/specifications/

/nl/ : https://www.asus.com/nl/Notebooks_Ultrabooks/ZenBook_Pro_UX501/specifications/

I'll bug them at the shop about this.

 

Hello, Friends. I was too good opinion about this notebook. Until today, when it started to make flickering after the notebook reboot because of the video driver crash. It is quite big problem. After 10 minutes the flickering reduced. But, it will happen again in future, quite possible.

 

I also had the bad screen flickering problem after resuming the laptop from sleep. It was quite disappointing after spending $1500+tax on a laptop. I have RMA'ed the laptop, and will update on the results.

 

Get the BIOS update from Asus it fixed the problem for me.

 

I updated to 207, and I still had the screen flickering.

 

Wanted to give my experience with the ASUS UX501 in case anyone's considering purchasing it. I've only been able to get my hands on the 4k screen version.

I was originally in the US and ordered a unit from ASUS after the long period of time where it was out of stock. The unit came in and it was damaged, the hinge part essentially popped off so I just returned it.

Came back to Canada (was only in the US temporarily) and purchased another unit off Canada Computers thinking the hinge thing was just a one time thing. Got the unit today, and I'm returning it tomorrow. Everything else about the laptop is great - killer specs, light, silent, but the screen is an atrocity. I was under the assumption that only a couple of shades of yellow would be funky but the whole damn thing is color inaccurate. Whites are beige tinted. Blues like the Skype and Facebook logo are washed out and simply unattractive to look at. A true yellow is a sickly greenish yellow on this thing. Saying "unless you need this for color accurate work, the screen will be fine" is completely false. You can try to turn a blind eye because performance on this thing is fantastic but c'mon, why spend $2000 and get a screen that's worse than a $400 laptop's. I know I can 'adjust' to it but I'd rather not compromise on something I'll be looking at everyday.

Also I called in to ASUS and they told me as far as they know the screen isn't a registered problem with the model... Called into Canada Computers and whereas they usually have a 10% restocking fee unless the unit is damaged, they said I can forgo it because the screen is a known issue with this laptop.

So all in all, heartbroken because the laptop is gorgeous and performs beautifully but the completely crap display makes it a compromise not worth making.

 

Hi,
I opted for the 4k, 60wh mode before 2 weeks(90wh was not in store).
128GB SSD + 1TB HDD
Till now i didn't noticed any flickering or yellow problems

The only frustration for me is the slow wake up of the HDD.
I'm going to upgrade my both SSD and HDD next week

I got on sale for 600EU Pair of 1TB 850 EVOs to upgrade mine UX303 and ux501 HDDs

But i also wanna upgrade the m.2 SSD of the ux501
Can you point me for some upgrades for the m.2 SSD to 512GB(480,500) for this model.

Thanks

 

Thanks a lot !!! Btw, Intel released a new version of driver for the wireless adapter, version 18.12 something, solved all the problems !

 

I just remember pre and post calibration values were about the same. Please note that I have the matte non-touch 4k panel (from G501), but as far as I can tell, it is the same panel as the glossy touch version (from UX501). The off-yellow/off-white color doesn't bother me, since I'm not using the notebook for color sensitive work. It also feels less "mustard" compared to the UX303. However, if you place it next to my UX51VZ, it's quite obvious.

If you want PCIE x4, I would go with a model with 6-cell battery. It's basically guaranteed if you buy a model with 4k display and 6-cell battery, but I'm not sure of the FHD/6-cell models.

 

G501JW just received BIOS 209 yesterday that fixes "eDP Panel Power Sequence not correct after S3 resume. Panel will abnormal after wake up0 from panel-off". (misspelling from Asus)

I'm guessing 209 for UX501 will also fix the screen flickering issue once it's available.

 

Search for "m.2 NGFF 512" and you should find several SSDs that will work. Just make sure you buy something that supports SATA instead of PCIE. For example, Samsung PM851 should work.

 

We don't get a customiser. Only the 2 pre-configured models that I linked earlier: http://tweakers.net/pricewatch/compare/496/445681;445653/categorie/

So there is no FHD/6-cell model available to us.
I guess that we are still seen as cheese manufacturing farmers wearing wooden shoes.

 

I skimmed through most of the starting pages that I had skipped initially.
And my worst fears were confirmed.
I highlighted the relevant text in both quotes.
This is the end of any interest that was left for the UX501.

From my experience with colour calibration, there is absolutely nothing to gain when a screen is covered in a haze of one colour. Simply because the haze will also change colour after each calibration, (partially) correcting the colour being off, but screw up one or more other colours simply because it changed colour. It's like covering the screen with a different coloured see-through overhead sheet.
It's a battle you can't win.

I really wanted this, because the other hardware and the design are very tempting.

And I can't really find anything else but the Dell XPS 15 (cr.p GPU) and Toshiba P50t (cr.p GPU, which is quite a bit older and difficult to get now) coming close. And the 15" MacBook Pro also has a cr.p GPU of course.

 

I attached a photo of the G501 4k display (left) vs. the UX51VZ 3k display (right). UX501/G501 is not suitable for color specific work. For everything else, not bad after the price drop, even more so now that that fixed the screen flickering issue.

 

Thanks for posting that shot!
Assuming that it was taken in a room with all lights off.
I can see that indeed the whole screen (left) is covered with a haze. But it's very very subtle, and hardly noticeable with other colours than yellows. Even whites and greys are hardly affected.

I just said a 4 letter word and it was not Asus.
It's as if Asus doesn't want to sell UX501 like hot cakes and make a shed load of money.

All I end up with now is gaming laptops. For example MSI GS60 Ghost Pro. Terrific box but the dragon logo, all the branding "blahblahblah provided by blahblahblah", the red accents, and triple coloured keyboard backlight don't have the same business appeal as the UX501's styling. But that's personal preference of course. If I were looking for a gaming laptop I would have pulled the trigger on the Ghost though.

 

I think I will buy this when Skylake comes out.
When will the new NVIDIA series come out?

Can I add 1gb storage to this in addition to the SSD? (msata or hdd2) ?

 

The models with PCIE 4x SSD does not have any additional storage expansion. If and when 1TB PCIE SSD becomes available, you should be able to swap out the SSD.
Models with SSD/HDD can be upgraded, but I believe there is already a version with 256GB SATA SSD + 1TB HDD.

 

I'm using my G501 for business and just placing a sticker over the ROG logo. It just too bad I can't take a UX51VZ display and swap it into a G501/UX501. That would fix the display issue and provide better performance since the resolution is 3k vs 4k.

 

I have the 256 SSD version, its an m.2. connecter, so no additional Harddrives can be added.

 

Should I update my BIOS if I don't have the screen flickering? A lot of sites say updating BIOS is tricky if not done correctly.

 

Update it. Asus installer will take care of it. You don't have to do anything manually. And yes, I didn't have any flickering before and after the update.

 

I purchased the ux 501 a few days ago and when i turned on the laptop i was offered to download windows 10. I downloaded windows 10 and after it was installed the Asus installer window popped up saying I needed to download and install a critical update; bios 209. I selected download and install and bios 209 downloaded. At 50% of the install a window popped up giving me the option to restart now or postpone the install. Whenever I click either option the message appears that an 'error occurred' and the install closes and box closes. Anyone else notice a compatibility issue with Asus bios 209 and windows 10?

 

@Haloabn I'm having the exact same problem even though I'm on Windows 8.1.

 

Download the bios file directly from Asus (support.asus.com) and flash from the notebook.

 

I went to the Asus support website and do not see a bios 209 download for the ux501. I only see the bios 207 download available...

 

Can anyone tell me if there is a FHD model with a matte display? (If yes, where?) I only found one which has a anti-glare display.

https://www.notebook.de/asus-g501jw-cn217h-intel-core-i7-4720hq-240ghz-win-81gtx-960m-p-73060

https://www.notebook.de/asus-zenbook-ux501jw-cn245p-intel-core-i7-4720hq-260ghz-win-81-p-75220

So I am now comparing the G501 vs. UX501.

Just looking at the specs the G501 is much better - 960M with 4GB Ram, matte display, 8 GB Ram.

The only downside compared to the UX501 is that it is black and less stylish? Or can anyone give me another reason?

 

G501 is a fingerprint magnet. Everything shows up on the black exterior. Screen wise, it is matte, but you lose touch.

The 4k version has the same display panel as UX501 and yellow issue. FHD version should be fine.

 

@eugenes How do I flash from the notebook?