Asus ZenBook Pro UX501 Owner's Lounge

That's me! I've been lurking here on Tweakers/Amazon/NotebookReview for months since I can't decide between the XPS15/New UX501 or any other upcomming competitors.

So, do you think it has good color reproduction? Is the screen still extremely glossy?

 

Hi everyone,

just for your information - was using the UX501 with Photoshop CC and Capture ONE and suddenly crashed on and and on - "kernel_security_check_failure"
UX501 - Windows10 64bit

Took me some time to find out, that the latest nVidia driver 361.43 was causing the problems (update from 21-Dec-2015)

Now there is a beta driver on the nvidia site available: 363.60
http://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3832

Description:
https://forums.geforce.com/default/...vers/announcing-geforce-hotfix-driver-361-60/


My machine is now stable again. I still get from time to time crashes of the HD-Intel driver - but the machine is not crashing constantly.
If someone else has a better solution, let me know!

Hope that helps
Albert

 

Haha! Funny that!

This video comparison of the UX501JW with the XPS 15 Infinity, also keeps me interested in the XPS :

In that video, from 6:26 in, she shows that the compared UX501JW has "Thunderbolt over mini-DP". Not "Thunderbolt over USB-C".
And from 7:19 in she even says about the XPS : "So no mini-DisplayPort here. Big difference."

Also the UX501 in that comparison still has the Samsung PLS panel with the mustard yellows. Which she mentions (as SpongeBob problems) from 9:00 in.

The XPS's panels with Sharp IGZO backend are very tempting and wide gamut.

 

If you compare those two panels the Samsung panel on the Asus looks absolutely atrocious. The UX501VW and XPS 15 are the only Skylake laptops with 960M (or higher) graphics that have a decent battery life and don't have a gamer appearance as far as I know. If the UX501VW turns out to have terrible color reproduction with the new LG screen i'm going with the XPS.

Edit: Asus support confirmed to me today that the refreshed UX501 would be for sale (in The Netherlands) before the end of this month.

 

I know. At first I only read about it. And then I had a chance to checkout the one from a friend. And calibrating it with an X-Rite i1Display Pro didn't make much change. The green yellows just became more faint.
It's a slight green haze covering the whole screen and affecting only the yellows.

Good news that the VW is coming.
Let's hope that it's not going to cost more than the US$ price (with only the currency signs swapped out) + VAT.

You mean that Asus actually replied?
I contact them via Twitter and support. I see others getting replies before and after me.
Maybe I shouldn't have asked about the Asus PA329Q and Hyper Express.

 

I noticed it appeared on this Belgium site for €1799,- today.
I sent them a PM on their Asus Benelux FB page. Had a reply within a few hours

 

I didn't realise that Cool Blue was also operative in Belgium.
€1799 looks spot on. Because $1499 becomes €1499. Plus 21% VAT : €1499 x 1.21 = €1813.79
I haven't been on FB for about 18 months. Maybe I should try again.

 

This here is the closest to the UX501VW's screen, not saying that the screen in the UX501VW is RGBW too but it quite possibly could.

http://www.panelook.com/LP156UD1-SPA2_LG Display_15.6_LCM_parameter_25915.html

The SPA2 is listed as RGBW.


EDIT : Also found this here.

http://www.alibaba.com/product-deta...405153652.html?spm=a2700.7724857.29.12.Iub7vI

Listed as RGB Strip. So maybe it does have a decent screen. I wonder how cover coverage is...

 

Just got the UX501VW. So far it's really good! There's no yellow-ish screen at all (only if you toggle Eye Care Switcher on). The display is just amazing and the glare isn't a big issue (there's a lot, but it's not a plain mirror like most reviewers said). No complains (other than it's a little bigger than I was expecting) so far.

 

@a15g Many wonder about that.
I know that the XPS 15 Infinity has 100% sRGB and 100% AdobeRGB coverage. Let's hope that the GPU and wires to the panel also support 10 or 12-bit colour.
The XPS almost takes away my reservations about 4K notebook panels.
I've been told that the 1080p screen also covers 100% sRGB and 100% AdobeRGB. But I haven't seen that one. Only the 4K model.

@js997 You lucky dog. Congrats!
The issue with the previous model are greenish/mustard coloured yellows. Yellow is seldom yellow.
The glare is going to be a deal breaker for me. But I'm going to have a look at the screen in the shop first anyway.
And yes, the UX501 JW Zenbook Pro looks bulkier than the XPS 15 Infinity. It's not bulky though. But only if you see them next to each other.
It's funny to see the raised position of the panel in the XPS 15 Infinity. To avoid neck pains I guess.

 

The FHD has 98% sRGB according to notebookcheck's review. The AdobeRGB however isn't anything near that.

 

That's a bit of a bummer.

I checked the review.
And read that the 1080p matte screen can only be combined with an i5. That's also not good.:

Also to be honest, I think that the review is a bit of a mess. Again.
I don't disputed the results. I just have issues with how things are presented and what is presented.

For example the comparison table just above "Dell advertises 100% coverage of".
It lists the (uncalibrated?) AdobeRGB coverage (64). But not the sRGB coverage. They list the (sRGB?) gamma (2.35), colour (5.95), and greyscale (8.41) deltas?
These values match with the CalMAN diagrams further down. But the diagrams do not mention the colorspace target.
I'm not even mentioning the unwillingness to calibrate to both sRGB and AdobeRGB colorspaces.
And let's assume that the CalMAN diagrams were measured against the sRGB colourspace, why not also calibrate to AdobeRGB colourspace to see what can be salvaged?
Look at the improvement after calibration.
But why would they be thorough if they can be partial or even cursory?

I contacted them 3 times about this and other things, but never received a response. My emails disappeared in the twilight zone.
But every review website has things that are weird. And whinging about it (after they've ignored me) is not going to change anything or help anybody .

 

Hi Armin

I got this laptop a couple of days back here in the USA and the Computer brand name says that it is an Asus N501VW. The motherboard model is also listed as Asus N501VW. I ran HWiNFO64 on the laptop and the result is hosted on www.googledrive.com/host/0B67hgN78ay9BRFItZjRwYVZCcWs. Does your laptop also show similar results. I appreciate any help, as I need to decide if to keep this laptop or to return it.

 

Well the yellows in this screen doesn't seem to be greenish at all. Maybe I should need to compare both JW and VW models to see if the panel is the same or not.
I noticed that the power of this laptop is severely downgraded while on battery, games like GTA V work perfectly connected to AC but lags quite a lot while on battery, even with everything set in High Performance mode. Any thoughts?

 

It's already been said that the new UX501 uses a LG panel vs the old Samsung pentile panel.

 

I tried a 501JW at the local electronics store today. I was extremely surprised (negatively) about the keyboard. It feels really cheap/flimsy in my opinion. Partly due to the enormous amount of keyboard flex. Is this something all UX501 models have? I'm typing this on an Asus N56 that is almost a third the price. I was expecting the keyboard to be just as sturdy..

 

I got this laptop a couple of days back here in the USA and the Computer brand name says that it is an Asus N501VW. The motherboard model is also listed as Asus N501VW. I ran HWiNFO64 on the laptop and the result is hosted on www.googledrive.com/host/0B67hgN78ay9BRFItZjRwYVZCcWs. Anyone else got the same issue? Are UX501VW and N501VW the same? I appreciate any help, as I need to decide if to keep this laptop or to return it.

Thanks!

 

If i'm not mistaking the N501 is the Indonesian version of the UX501. Looks like you've bought the laptop from a company that imports from Indonesia. I'm not sure if this can do any harm (in the future).

 

Maybe one of the gamers can reply to your question. I'm not gaming on notebooks. I'm sorry.

 

I you highlight text in word with yellow it should be quite obvious if the yellows are corrected or not. Regarding gaming on battery, that is the norm at this given point. No laptop can yet fully employ the gpu while on battery, there simply is not enough power supply as such, hence the downgraded experience.

 

Thanks for your elaborated reply, @SpQg!

____________________
I forgot to mention this earlier, but the VW model now has four vents in the bottom case to dissipate GPU heat better than the JW version. The laptop feels really cool while doing non-intensive tasks. However it gets quite hot while playing games with high demanding graphics with the laptop sitting in your laps, probably due to those new vents. Other than that, handrests and keyboard are 90% of times cool.

 

That's actually quite interesting. could one actually make you take a picture of it and post it here? - I recon the VW model uses the same bios 211 as the JW, thus having the same throttle levels?

 

I got the ux501 first gen second hand. Not impressed with the battery life. How is the battery life on the 2nd gen?

 

I'm kinda guessing, but I reckon it wont wildly differ from JW, ofcourse depening on which model you've got - there's a quite noticable difference between the 6 cell and 4 cell versions.

 

I have the US version, as we all have the same versions.

 

I got mine a week ago, did some hardware screening...


Battery last me about 5-6 with brightness at 75%

 

Is that 5-6 hours with youtube/internet/microsoft word? that's only slightly better than gen 1 ux501 usa version.

Anyways, I have been having a problem with the headphone jack randomly not working. It just didn't work for the entire day yesterday, even after system restore. Now it works. Very strange problem.

 

Actually I did some programming also, so yes regular stuff, not gaming

 

I have the FHD model and want to upgrade it with a 256 GB SSD and +8 GB Ram. Is there anything I should be aware of? Any recommendations?

 

do you live in USA or Europe? because I'm selling a 1tb ssd in usd for cheap if you are from USA.

 

EU unfortunately

Regarding the ram I saw that I currently have
SK HYNIX HMT45156BFR8A-PB
DDR3-1600 / PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM SO-DIMM

Should I choose the same for the upgrade? Or can I use a different one? (HyperX, Corsair ...)

 

Upgraded from BIOS 209 to 211. My machine is now running 5-10 degrees hotter.

 

how much ram does the EU version have? unless you do tons of video edition and photoshop multitasking, there is really no need to go higher than 6gigs of ram. the 16gigs of ram on the US version is super overkill. As for SSD, I would go with a slightly larger pcie ssd for the OS drive, and a normal 7500rpm larger drive for your media. If u must use all ssd, go with either http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00M8ABFX6/ref=s9_hps_bw_g147_i10 or http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M8ABHVQ/ref=twister_B00MW5YM8M?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 both are excellent choices for cheap.

 

Hey guys I own the ux501 and it arrived with the bottom left of the trackpad slightly higher than the bottom right side such that the bottom right is just below the chasis and the the left is just above (basically the trackpad sides are uneven and the display model at bestbuy is even). It does not impede functionally but is it worth sending back in-case it causes a future problem?

 

none d

None of those two ssd's will work in this laptop, despite them being really good. You need a m.2. connector rather than SATA3, unless you would want to replace your HDD, if you have one that is?.

I'm not quite sure they have fixed the issue where we can't upgrade with the PCI/Nvme ssd's besides those there are plenty options - basicly all m.2. SATA SSD's that do not wun on PCI are more or less acceptable, so just browse - beaware of lenght though, they can vary.

 

If you have the 8Gb model? you most likely have 2x4 of the SK Hynix ram and a upgrade of the unsoldered ram would give you 12 GB - in that case it doesn't matter what ram you upgrade with, any good 8 gb stick would do - corsair is my prefered brand, but they are all good tbh.
Besides that are you sure you even need the upgrade anything over 8 gb is usually just overkill, and only few really need it.

 

If annoys you, send it back. There's nothing worse than a brand new product with errors

 

Greetings, i have a few questions.
I am thinking of getting the new ux501vw series.

I cant decide between the 4k glossy with touch or 4k mate display, is the gloss better on the new vw series or just as bad.? I think i would find a use for touch if i had it.

Also can set it up in bios so i can boot from usb i would like to make a fresh reinstall of windows 7 pro then upgrade it to 10 pro. That would also allow me to remove the partisions.

 

Hi.

My spouse has got the N552VX. I've used it a bit and I've noticed the touchpad gives a little bit when some pressure is applied. You can actually see a gap/opening into the chassis if you press in the corners.

Anyone who owns the UX501VW who can confirm that their touchpad does not do this?

Thanks!

 

By the way. UX501VW-FI099T is now available in Scandinavia, 16GB/512GB/4K matte non-touch/i7. I'd like to know how that display performs wrt. colors!

 

Managed to upload a photo:

Sorry for the low quality. I've took it out of my house with a potato camera phone. But yes, you can see those vents under the laptop. Also there's a rubber feet in the bottom right corner that comes off over and over every time I take the laptop out of the sleeve. It's not deal-breaker because I'll glue it later so it doesn't come off anymore. I'm also a bit worried about the keyboard since a lot of people is claiming that the keys started to malfunction practically two weeks after they purchased the laptop. These kind of things shouldn't happen to a $1500 laptop, and even less if it's the second revision of it.

PD: The core i7 sticker was glued in the palmrest, same as the "HDMI" (seriously, why do I need a sticker to know that?), an ugly and big "ENERGY STAR" sticker and the GTX960M one. All were misaligned and/or unglued. I've got rid of them right before turning the laptop on for first time. Guys, I strongly suggest you to get rid of them too, since they will make a stain in the palmrest over the time and there's no possible way to clean it. Stick them to the bottom if you don't want to lose them.

 

Hello, Guys.
After 6+ month of everyday use this laptop is working well.
Are there some improvements in new version of BIOS 211? Is it worth to update?

 

no obvious changes after 211. like i said, system was running hotter than previous. So i opened it and cleaned out the dust. its cool again. I upgraded BIOS hoping GPU throttling would be less

 

Does the UX501VW have the 10Gbs Super Speed USB 3.1 Gen 2?

I understand that it has Thunderbolt 3 (using the Type C connector), but does it also have USB 3.1 Gen 2 (using the Type C connector)? Thanks

 

I've had this laptop since august 2015 and I absolutely love it. It boots up really quickly, applications open quickly, I can play games at decent FPS, etc. It is a great laptop.

But there is one problem. I've tried to ignore it and not think much of it, but it is so annoying.

The problem is the window maximize animation. Why does a laptop so powerful have stuttering/choppy window maximizing animation? If the window isn't fullscreen and the size of half the screen, then the animation is smooth. If the window is fullscreen (not F11 fullscreen, just the fit the entire screen full) the animation is at like 10 fps. Same with task view.

I know, this isn't a big problem. I understand that. But whenever I look at other, less powerful, computers do these operations at a butter smooth fps, I just get irked and wonder why my powerful laptop can't do the same.

I have the 2015 Asus Zenbook Pro UX501JW. It has the 4k touchscreen, 16GB Ram, 2.6-3.6 GHz Quad core I7 processor, 512 GB SSD.

My friend bought the exact same laptop a couple days ago and it has the issue.

Does anyone else have this? Does it not bother you? Have you found a fix?

Please help me. I've searched so much and asked in so many places and no one could help.

Please.

Its on Windows 10 BTW.

Thanks.

 

Judging by your nickname seems like you registered here just because of that problem :b

I think this has something to do with the 4K screen. Some animations are really slow but they work fine in 1080p or 2K. If you put your laptop in tablet mode you will inmediately notice this bug right after pressing the start button. I think its a Windows problem, since the laptop is more than powerful to run those animations at ANY resolution...

 

So there isn't really a fix huh...

 

Hi Choppy,
Actually, there is a fix, kind of. I don't notice this problem on my laptop since I always turn this feature off when setting up a new machine. I hate the windows animations. Always have for every iteration of Windows as the animations make the machine feel slower to me. Once turned off, all windows will immediately snap into view when selected.

Go to performance settings;
Click the Start menu, type SystemPropertiesPerformance and hit Enter. In the Performance Options window, under the Visual Effects tab, locate and uncheck Animate windows when minimizing and maximizing. Click OK and you are done.

Hope this helps!

 

Same issue here, except my "bump" is more to the left. My trackpad is even, but as you move to the left, the bezel and palm rest rise slightly. To me, it looks like the bottom of the laptop, or tray, wasn't cut correctly. When screwed together it pushes the palm rest up.

I bought mine from NewEgg and really don't want to deal with the hassle of a return, as the rest of the unit is working very well and has no other issues. But, it you take a very VERY close look at the metal parts of the chassis, you can see that there are many small imperfections in the cutting. All but this "bump" are imperceptible to me.

 

I tried upgrading my SSD with the Samsung V-NAND SSD 950 Pro M.2 NVM Express.

Now I wanted to install windows on it but it's not recognizes by the system. Any ideas? Did I choose the wrong SSD? Which one should I choose?