Asus Zenbook Pro UX501 (UX501VW ) review and in-depth impressions

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Specs Sheet
Design and exterior
Keyboard and trackpad
Screen
Hardware and performance
Noise, heat and speakers
Battery life
Price and availability
Final thoughts
Comments

By Andrei GirbeaAsus Zenbook Pro UX501uw, last updated on May 20, 2022

Asus Zenbook Pro UX501uw

Summary: The Zenbook UX501 gets the looks, the build quality, the hardware and especially the price to match (and outmatch) many of its rivals. The latest Skylake version also gets an improved display over the original Haswell model, as well as a few new features, which make it a solid buy for the money, albeit there's still room for improvement when it comes to the keyboard and audio quality.

Our score: 4.0 / 5
Price when reviewed: $1499

THE GOOD

great design and build quality; great screen; fast hardware; decent trackpad; large battery; excellent price

THE BAD

the keyboard and the speakers are a downgrade over the previous generation

Table of Contents

Asus Zenbook Pro UX501VW
The specs
Design and exterior
Keyboard and trackpad
Screen
Hardware, performance and upgrade options
Noise, Heat, Connectivity, speakers and others
Battery life
Price and availability
Wrap-up

Asus have a new 15-inch laptop in the works for 2015: the Zenbook Pro UX501. It’s not yet available in stores at the time of this post, but it will be in the near future, alongside its close gaming oriented relative, the Zenbook G501.

The Pro UX501 is marketed as a premium multimedia full-size laptop and it builds on last year’s Zenbook NX500, which we reviewed here on the site a while ago. In fact, it inherits many of its features, including the sleek metallic body, a wide-gamut 4K display (although not the same one, as you’ll see later) and the large battery, but gets, among others, updated hardware, a new keyboard and redesigned speakers.

We’re going to address these here, in a series of impressions gathered after spending a few days with a pre-production UX501 model. I won’t focus on performance and battery life though, as we’ll keep those for the final review, which will be published when I’ll get my hands on a final version (hopefully in the near future, but there’s no promise).

I’ll touch most of the other aspects though and if you’ll have questions regarding any specific details I might have missed, feel free to get in touch in the comments section.

Update: In the meantime, you should check out our coverage of the newer Asus ZenBook Pro 16X OLED series.

Asus Zenbook Pro UX501VW

In the meantime Asus released an updated versions of the notebook tested here, the Zenbook Pro UX501VW.

The design, keyboard, speakers or IO are identical to our review model, so make sure to check out the sections below for more details. However, the UX501VW improves and adds on a couple of levels. For starters, it’s built on a newer Intel Skylake Quad-Core hardware platform, which runs cooler and more efficient than the Haswell hardware in this test unit. So expect superior performance under loads (lower temperatures leads to fewer throttling cases) and increased battery life. Of course, the bump to Skylake also brings support for DDR4 memory and faster NVMe storage, among others.

Besides this, Asus actually put a great screen on this newer model, with an UHD panel and accurate color reproduction, unlike on our test model, which makes the Zenbook UX501VW a good choice for graphics professionals. One other thing to mention is the addition of a Thunderbolt 3 connector, again a feature professionals are going to appreciate.

The Zenbook Pro UX501VW is available with an Intel Core i7-6700HQ, 16-32 GB of RAM, 256-512 GB of SSD storage, Nvidia 960M graphics, a 96 Wh battery and a UHD display in the US and Canada, with the base configurations starting at $1499. In Europe the same laptop is also available with a FHD display option and start at around 1600 EUR. Follow this link for more details and up-to-date prices at the time you’re reading this post.

The specs

So let’s get going, but first, a quick look at the specs.

	Asus Zenbook Pro UX501 (Zenbook N501JV)
Screen	15.6 inch, 3840 x 2160 px resolution, IGZO IPS, touchscreen
Processor	Intel Haswell Core i7-4720HQ CPU
Chipset	Intel HM87
Video	integrated Intel 4600 HD + Nvidia GeForce GTX 960M 4GB GDDR5
Memory	16 GB DDR3 (8 GB soldered, 1 x 8 GB DIMM)
Storage	512 GB PCIe SSD (M.2 PCIe 80 mm)
Connectivity	Wireless AC, Bluetooth, Lan (with adapter)
Ports	3xUSB 3.0, SD card reader, HDMI, miniDP, Thunderbolt, RJ45 (with adapter)
Baterry	96 Wh
Operating system	Windows 8.1
Size	383 mm or 15.07 in (L) x 255 mm or 10.03 in (W) x 21 mm or 0.83 in (H)
Weight	about 2.27 kg (5.00 pounds)
Extras	backlit keyboard with NumPad, Bang&Olufsen Speakers

It’s worth adding that Asus will offer the Zenbook Pro UX501 in a couple of different configurations and among the options, you’ll be able to choose between a 6 Cell 96 Wh battery (like on this model) or a 4 Cell 60 Wh battery. The latter models will be slightly thinner and lighter (2.06 kilos), but will of course suffer when it comes to autonomy.

Design and exterior

On the outside the UX501 is nearly a perfect replica of the NX500. Brushed metal is used for the entire outer-shell, the interior and the screen’s hinge and the laptop looks and feels like a premium device should these days, with its aluminum covered surfaces and machine beveled edges.

I do have to add that the inner chassis is still made from plastic, so this laptop doesn’t exactly sport a unibody construction like the Macbook Pro. The laptop is nevertheless strongly built, but some of you complained about this particular aspect on the previous 15 inch Zenbooks and I wanted to let you know it hasn’t changed here.

Back on topic, in reality the UX501 is millimetrically longer and thicker than the NX500, and from what I can tell that’s because Asus needed extra space for the only major exterior change on this new model: the keyboard, that now includes a NumPad Area. I have to admit I’m not a fan of this addition, especially since it attracts a much more annoying change: the speakers are no longer firing towards us, but have been moved on the laptop’s back, like on most of the other Zenbooks available right now.

To be frank, there’s no way I can understand why they did this. It’s not that they made the laptop larger when their 15 inch Zenbook was already trailing the competition when it came to size and weight, but why mess with the speakers? Those are extremely important on a multimedia machine and this UX501 is no longer a reference when it comes to either volume or sound quality. The NX500 was imo a downgrade from the older UX51 which included an external subwoofer, but at least offered front-facing speakers. This new model no longer does that, and still doesn’t include the subwoofer. WHY?

Anyway, on a much friendlier note, the UX501 gets an interesting addition when it comes to the IO: a Thunderbolt port (on select models, according to Asus). In other words, the miniDP port available before is now a Thunderbolt connector on some versions of this Zenbook, which can come in handy when connecting various accessories (mass-storage systems, external monitors, etc). That aside, nothing else has changed. The UX501 still gets 3 USB 3.0 slots, full-size HDMI output, a headphone-microphone jack and a card-reader that still can’t fit flush a regular SD card. There’s also an USB to Lan adapter included in the pack, if you’ll ever need that, but there’s no VGA adapter. I do appreciate that the video connectors are placed on the left side, which leads for an uncluttered right edge.

There is another thing I should add before we move on. The cooling solution on last year’s 15 inch Zenbook wasn’t spectacular and Asus tried to address that on this new model, internally, with what looks like a redesigned heatpipe system. More about that lately. They also made a minor tweak to the laptop’s rear rubber feet, which are now taller than the front feet by about 2 millimeters. That creates extra space beneath the laptop when you put in on a desk or other flat surface. Not sure if that’s going to make any difference, especially since the intake and exhaust are still crammed behind the screen’s hinge, but it might help. On the other hand, adding some cuts in the belly would have probably made a greater difference, but I’d guess that’s reserved for the more powerful GX501. We’ll see.

Ok, so the wrap this up, the Zenbook Pro UX501 remains a beautiful and excellently crafted machine. But while the competition is struggling to create more compact machines without compromising on anything important, Asus actually went the wrong way and made the new model slightly larger and moved the speakers on the back, all these in order to accommodate a new keyboard.

Keyboard and trackpad

The truth is the keyboard on the older Zenbook NX500 needed a redesign. It felt mushy and lacked firm feedback, which occasionally resulted in missed strokes.

The solution on this newer Zenbook Pro seems to me identical to the one Asus use on the Asus N551 laptop, both in terms of how it performs and in terms of layout. And that comes with pros and cons.

On one hand, I feel that typing on this implementation is a more pleasant experience, although I only used it for a few days. The keys feel more robust and better finished, not as plasticky as before. On the other, this particular layout isn’t very good. The NumPad section is cramped, with rather narrow keys, and what’s more annoyingly is the fact that the arrow keys are just as small. On top of that, the Power button is integrated as the top right key and while it’s stiffer than the others, you’ll still end up pressing it by mistake and put the computer to sleep from time to time.

However, my biggest grippe with the NX500’s keyboard remains unaddressed here: contrast. The lack of it, actually. Asus stuck with silver keys on a silver background, corroborated with white illumination LEDs, and that makes keys difficult to distinguish when the backlight is active. If you’re an experienced typist and don’t need to look at the keyboard this might not mean much to you, but for the regular user it will. I’m not the only one complaining about this aspect and perhaps someone at Asus should start reading the forums and the reviews and get back the BLACK keys they’ve used on their laptops a few years ago. Contrast makes a whole of a difference and should be used to our benefit!

Anyway, on to the trackpad. Not much has changed here. The glass clickable area is spacious, smooth and accurate most of the time, no matter if it comes to handling swipes, gestures or taps. But the experience is still somewhat lacking here and there, for at least two reasons. First, the clickpad’s software doesn’t allow any tweaking (cursor speed and sensitivity, for example) and second, physical clicks are noisy and stiff. Having tested countless Asus laptops in the recent years, I’m 99% sure these aren’t going to be addressed on the final retail models. But let’s hope I’m wrong.

Screen

The screen on this Zenbook is not bad, except for one major issue, that if you get past the occasional scaling issues you’ll encounter with many third party apps, which either look blurry or don’t scale at all. And that’s because Asus put a 4K display (3840 x 2160 px) on the UX501. Out of the box it’s set to scale content up to 200% so by default everything looks like a much crisper version of a 1920 x 1080 px resolution on the 15.6 inch screen.

It’s worth adding that some of the base models are going to get a FHD (1920 x 1080 px) panel, which will help with scaling, battery life and even performance, but while I’m not convinced UHD screens are actually worth getting on a laptop today, I have to admit that I did enjoy this panel’s sharpness or potentially increased working space.

Asus opted for a pentile screen on the UX501 and not the quantum dot panel they bundled on the NX500. In fact, they went for the Samsung SDC434B panel we’ve seen on a bunch of other laptops (Lenovo Y50, MSI GS60, Dell Inspiron 15), which in unable to display yellows properly. In fact, yellows have a mustardy tint. That can be somewhat addressed with appropriate BIOS profiles, but Asus are usually very slow or even incapable of providing those fixes. Remember the Zenbook UX303LN who never got the fix?

Yellows were imo not as skewed on this test unit as they were on the UX303LN, although the numbers below do show they are not accurate either and the calibration run did little to address that. So if you do need this computer for color-accurate work, look elsewhere, the Samsung panel will not deliver.

Panel HardwareID: Samsung SDC434B;
Coverage: 97% sRGB, 74% NTSC, 78% Adobe RGB;
measured gamma: 2.2 ;
max brightness in the middle of the screen: 275 cd/m2;
contrast at max brightness: 490:1;
white point: 6600 K;
black on max brightness: 0.56 cd/m2;
average DeltaE: 2.71 uncalibrated, 2.30 calibrated.

There’s something else to keep in mind here. Asus went for a touchscreen on this laptop and it’s one of the glossiest I’ve seen in a while, so glossy that reflections can become annoying even in standard office environments, especially since the panel is not very bright.

Asus will also offer a matte non-touch version of the UX501 this year, but that might not be available all over the world.

Hardware, performance and upgrade options

We had one of the beefiest Zenbook UX501 configurations for this preview and that includes the Intel Core i7-4720HQ processor, 16 GB of RAM, a 512 GB SSD and Nvidia 960M graphics (with Optimus and Intel HD 4600).

However, since this is a pre-production model, we’re not going to get in depth on performance, benchmarks and gaming results. I’m sure many of you would be interested in those, so stay close. As soon as I get my hands on a final retail version of this thing I will update this section.

Compared to last year’s NX500 though, the UX501 is a fairly different solution. First of all it now gets a more powerful quad-core 47W processor, as opposed to the Core i7-4712HQ processor in the NX500. That will be visible when it comes to demanding tasks like editing photos/video, running programing software, virtual machines and so on. The new processor is hungrier and theoretically heats up quicker though, and given how the NX500 had issues under load, I’m a bit worried about the UX501. On the other hand, when it comes to graphics the GTX 960M chip shouldn’t be a major step-up from the 860M solution used in the NX500, but it does run colder and more efficient.

So again, we’re not drawing any conclusions, but from the little I can say right now this new configuration seems to perform well in most activities, even in those that put the hardware to serious work. In fact, the internal cooling system was changed on this new Zenbook and got redesigned heatpipes.

Speaking of the internals, you’ll notice that there’s a RAM DIMM available on this laptop, as well as a M.2 PCIe 80 mm storage slot. That DIMM can take an up to 8 GB memory module, while 8 GB of RAM are also soldered on the motherboard. In other words, you can end up with a max of 16 GB of RAM on this machine. The M.2 slots support fast PCIe SSDs and this test unit bundles a 512 GB Samsung XP941 stick, one of the fastest available right now (and one of the priciest as well).

BTW, accessing the internals is a fairly simple job, but you’ll need a Torx T4 screwdriver for all the screws around the rear-panel and a Philips PH0 for the extra two screws hidden beneath the rear rubber feet.

Noise, Heat, Connectivity, speakers and others

Again, we’re not going to get in depth on noise and heat, simply because this tested laptop does not run on final hardware/software and the results could be misleading. I can say that the laptop’s back does get warm in daily use and the fans remain silent when performing daily taskstasks (editing texts, browsing, Youtube, music), but do kick on and become audible once you put the computer to work. More about these in the update.

As for the speakers, well, I already complained about them above. Asus moved those on the bottom. In fact, from what I can tell from the internal pics, these look a lot like the speakers used on other Zenbooks, so there’s nothing special about them anymore.

That’s also the impression I got using the laptop for a couple of days, but do keep in mind this is a preproduction model and things might be different on the final units. Anyway, I had to keep these at max volume most of the time and even so, they were barely capable of filling up a small room. As for the audio quality… well, it was disappointing for what I was expecting from the 15 inch Zenbook, having the previous models back in my mind as a reference. BTW, Asus includes the AudioWizard app on the laptop and by default the Music mode is selected. If you switch to OFF the results are even worse.

As for connectivity, the laptop offers Bluetooth 4.0, Ethernet (with the included adapter) and wireless. Asus went for a Qualcomm Atheros AR5BWB2222 module here, a solution found mostly on mainstream notebooks in the last years. I didn’t have the time to properly test it, but I haven’t noticed any issues in my brief experience with the UX501 while browsing, downloading stuff of the Internet or streaming video content of Youtube (including 4K clips). I haven’t encountered any signal drops either or “Limited Connectivity” when resuming the machine from sleep.

Last but not least, there’s a 720P webcam on top of the display, flanked by an array of dual-microphones. Expect it to be good enough for occasional calls, as long as there’s sufficient lighting.

Battery life

The tested model came with the larger 96 Wh battery and Asus promise around 6 hours of everyday or multimedia use. Again, I’m not going to get specific here as the results I got on the pre-production model might not be accurate, but I can say that this particular UX501 came only a little short of those numbers, averaging between 4 to 5 hours of life on a charge in real everyday use. It only got close to 6 in Office mode, while editing documents in Google Drive, with almost nothing else running at the same time.

That’s what Asus claims we should expect from the Zenbook UX501

I do expect some nice improvements when it comes to gaming on battery, as the 960M graphics chip coupled with Nvidia’s BatteryBoost technology should spur impressive runtimes. But that’s something else I will have to test on the final models.

Price and availability

The Zenbook UX501 is available in the US for $1499.

The base model includes a Intel Core i7-4720HQ processor, Nvidia GTX960M graphics, 16 GB of RAM, a 512 GB SSD and the 4K display.

Similar configurations are more expensive in Europe and keep in mind that over here the Zenbook UX501 is available with a different internal layout that includes space for the 2.5″ HDD, but only gets a smaller battery.

Update: A Skylake version of this laptop is available in the meantime, with a Core i7-6700HQ processor, support for up to 32 GB of RAM and NVMe storage, a Thunderbolt 3 port and an improved display, which also starts at $1499 in the US. Follow this link for up-to-date prices and configs at the time you’re reading this post.

Wrap-up

This wasn’t an actual review, so I’m not going to draw the line on this laptop before actually getting to see how the final models perform and what they’ll offer in terms of battery life and thermals.

I am however convinced that the UX501 is only a small update of last year’s NX500 and to the most part, a step-back. While the more capable processor and graphics are welcomed changes, the new keyboard, the screen and audio system are not. They might not be deal-breakers for you, especially since the Zenbook Pro UX501 is much more affordable than the NX500 and it still gets the looks, the build quality and especially the hardware to match (and outmatch) many of its rivals, including the:

Macbook Pro 15 2015, which is smaller and lasts longer on a charge, but only relies on outdated graphics solutions and sells for more;
HP Omen, which is cheaper, uglier (imo), lacks an UHD display and offers very poor battery life;
Dell XPS 15 w/Retina display, which hasn’t received an update in 2015 yet.

The MSI GS60 Ghost Pro on the other hand, well that’s going to be a true competitor for the Zenbook. You might want to check out our review over here.

Update: In the meantime, you should check out our coverage of the newer Asus ZenBook Pro 16X OLED series.

Last but not least, if you’re interested in the Zenbook UX501 you should also keep an eye on the Asus G501 model, with a black/red case and keyboard. More about it in a future post.

With the right price and thermal performance, the Zenbook Pro UX501 could be a winner. Time will tell.

Anyway, these were my detailed impressions of the Asus Zenbook Pro UX501, the soon to be available 15 inch premium Asus multimedia laptop. Let me know what you think about it in the comments section below and look forward for the updated/final review somewhere in the next weeks.

Disclaimer: Our content is reader-supported. If you buy through some of the links on our site, we may earn a commission. Terms.

Review by: Andrei Girbea
Andrei Girbea is a Writer and Editor-in-Chief here at Ultrabookreview.com. I write about mobile technology, laptops and computers in general. I've been doing it for more than 15 years now. I'm a techie with a Bachelor's in Computer Engineering. I mostly write reviews and thorough guides here on the site, with some occasional columns and first-impression articles.

45 Comments

Don

April 29, 2015 at 5:01 pm

Looks nice but where’s the ventilation? I think this will throttle like crazy.
hrrmph

May 5, 2015 at 7:39 pm

Can you comment on the ability to add a second SSD (SATA or mSATA), or the lack of that ability.
Nils Nilsson

May 9, 2015 at 1:13 pm

Any plans to make a real review of the UX501 (production unit)?

That said, I’ve now received my UX501 (Europeean version, UHD, Touch, 512GB SSD, 16GB RAM)) and the screen is horrible. The problem with the yellows are just as bad as ever, and also, my unit has some enormous light bleed, so bad I can even see it on non black background. The speakers are unfortunately also really bad, no match for my MacBook Pro from 2011. The keyboard also does flex quite a bit when pressed, but is not all that bad when actually typing (although again it’s not close to the one on the MacBook Pros).
KSinner

May 13, 2015 at 10:18 am

Hello everyone. They say that the problem with the yellow creates utility ASUS Splendid. If you remove it, then the problem is solved with a yellow.
- Nils Nilsson
  
  May 14, 2015 at 11:46 pm
  
  That would have been great if true but unfortunately, it isn’t. Have tried it myself and so has others which can confirm it makes no change at all on the UX501.
- kousuke
  
  May 15, 2015 at 12:45 am
  
  What do you mean? solved with a yellow??
hassan

May 14, 2015 at 8:42 pm

is it good for gaming ?
- Christopher
  
  May 16, 2015 at 5:31 am
  
  A 4K screen on a laptop is never conducive to gaming. Too many pixels to push at 4K unless you game at 1080P, but still, why have the screen in the first place? These companies need to get it through their head that 1080P is sufficient, scaling isn’t going to get any better and I’m not willing to give up Win32 applications for the sake of competing with apple for pixel density.
  - Michael Burgoyne
    
    July 12, 2015 at 1:51 am
    
    The point of 4K is for photo editing. NOT GAMING!! This is supposed to be ASUS version of the MBP. Everyone expects so much out of an ultra thin laptop. ASUS ROG laptops are specifically for gaming and do not offer 4K. So buy one of those.
Andy Chen

May 28, 2015 at 4:35 am

Hi Andrei Girbea,

Really great article. I’m really struggling between this one and the XPS 15. I have saw you have a comparison between NX 500 and XPS 15. Based on the improvement of NX 501, which one is the one you prefer more? Thank you so much!
Galaxy Legend

July 10, 2015 at 4:12 pm

Hey !
Have you got hold of the 1080p version of the review unit ? If not, could you tell me if the yellow screen problem may also affect this model since its a 1080p and not 4k.
Thanks.
Sven

July 17, 2015 at 7:41 pm

I own the NX500. The hardware upgrade is only logical. I don’t like that
a) they used a keyboatd with numpad again (who needs that? NX500 doesn’t have a numpad, neither does Dell’s XPS 15)
b) obviously switched a good LCD panel for a very bad panel (it’s probably cheaper)
c) you can only buy models with a 128GB SSD + 1TB harddisk in Germany. Because of the harddisk, the models have the smaller battery

If I wanted to buy a new laptop, and if it wasn’t urgent, I would wait for the new Dell XPS 15. The thin border around the panel should make it smaller and maybe lighter. Also, they will probably leave out the numpad and Dell usually has pretty decent keyboards. The NX500’s keyboard is not too bad, even though the silver keys with background lighting is really a joke. Those engineers should be fired. Also, I have the impression that the NX500’s keys are bigger than the N550JV’s (I also have a N550JV) and thus I suspect that the UX501’s keys are also smaller than the NX500’s.
Shanks

August 22, 2015 at 4:43 pm

Hello, i am a student looking for a laptop for decent gaming and study. My budget is very low (around $550) but i dream of buying at least a core i5 laptop. Can you please educate me?
Fp

September 9, 2015 at 10:14 am

Hi everyone
I really want to like this laptop, but the comments in here sounds disappointing :(
I heard there is a newer version of this laptop that has the keyboard and screem problems fixed. How can I know if the zenbook pro that I bought is the newer version? Thanks
danwat1234

October 11, 2015 at 10:03 pm

The GPU in the UX501 has 2GB of RAM not 4GB. 4GB is in the G501 though, both having a 960m.
- danwat1234
  
  October 11, 2015 at 10:03 pm
  
  I wonder where the fans suck air in from if the air is expelled out the back?
Yngve

October 23, 2015 at 8:38 pm

Do you know how the screen sharpness looks when run at 1080p instead of 4k? I generally like the greater pixel density, but would need to run non-adapted applications at lower resolutions for them to be useable.

Thanks!
kk

October 24, 2015 at 1:06 pm

i just want to ask that does i can separate the screen from keyboard body…..and used as an tablet….
Bakr

December 11, 2015 at 10:29 pm

Thanks for your review , but i wanna ask if the laptop support samsung 950 pro m2 PCIe
John

January 15, 2016 at 11:22 pm

in your review you say the colors are inaccurate that being said do you recommend this laptop for my photography or not and if so can the colors be adjusted and how? thanks in advance.
- Andrei Girbea
  
  January 17, 2016 at 8:16 pm
  
  There was no fix at the time of the review and I can’t tell for sure if there is one now. If there’s not, then no, don’t get this laptop, unless you plan to use an external monitor for color accuracy.
  
  You should go on the forums on notebookreview.com, find the UX501 owner’s thread and ask for a potential solution there.
Kousuke

January 19, 2016 at 7:04 am

Hey Andrei,

the skylake version with thunderbolt 3 and NVme PCIe SSD variant is now avaliable

Would you be able to review this model and let us know if a FHD version exist?

store.asus.com/us/item/201511AM230002951

Cheers,
Andrew
- Andrei Girbea
  
  January 21, 2016 at 12:29 pm
  
  I’ll ask for a review unit, but there’s no promise. The FHD version of the previous UX501 was not available in the US from what I remember, so there’s a fair chance this won’t be either. That’s too bad, cause the 4K panel was highly inaccurate and I don’t know if they changed it or not.
- Hugo
  
  May 2, 2016 at 12:09 am
  
  Hi, could you tell me the difference between the ASUS ZenBook Pro UX501JW-UH71T Laptop and the VW edition?
Igor Z

August 6, 2016 at 4:21 am

Hey,could u please let me know if this model (ASUS 15.6″ ZenBook Pro Multi-Touch Notebook) is somewhere close or identical to the one that u have reviewed,upgraded (Zenbook Pro UX501VW).
I’m looking into buying a stable all around 15inch for photography n graphics design. price up to 1500$us.
thank you in advance, what ur doing..very appreciated!
- Andrei Girbea
  
  August 6, 2016 at 3:11 pm
  
  Can you post a link? Sounds like the same product, but I can’t be sure without checking it out.
Alex

September 8, 2016 at 2:03 pm

I have the UX501VW-GE004T model (no touch screen – bought in Romania ) and I have not noticed any problems with the colors. After 2 months of use – mostly photo and video editing, must admit I’m quite satisfied with the purchase.The only drawback is the scaling of text in some programs but I was aware of this problem before buying the laptop.
- LawrenceB
  
  December 7, 2016 at 4:26 am
  
  Hi Alex, is your model with uhd 4k display + anti glare/non glossy? and is it possible to upgrade the ram to 24gb or 32gb?
  thanks
LawrenceB

December 6, 2016 at 5:04 pm

Hi,
I'm looking for a sleek laptop with a matte UHD/4k display, min 960 gtx and 32gb ram, so i'm hoping the UX501VW (or G501) is the one. In your review the UX501 supports 32gb, and you said a matte one's coming later. Do you mean this one: UX501VW-FI011T? Do you know if this version supports 32gb ram, because I can't find anywhere that it supports more than 16gb max.
thanks :)
Morteza

February 17, 2017 at 5:37 pm

Hi, I am in Sweden, but I like to buy this laptop and send from America to Sweden, can?
Petar Lupic

March 3, 2017 at 8:21 am

Serius yellow color problem! I returned it back for full refund. Dont buy this if your photogrpher!
- Andrei Girbea
  
  March 3, 2017 at 12:34 pm
  
  This review already warns about that, in the eventuality you actually read it :)
Davorin

May 12, 2017 at 2:51 am

I send the laptop back for warranty they nedded to change the whole motherboard.
The motherboard didnt last a year YOU SELL SHITTY PRODUCT never again I WILL BOUGT shitty asus..

tHANK YOU FOR YOUR NO SUPPORT ASUS
Andrei Oprescu

May 31, 2017 at 5:17 am

Hi Andrei,

I bought the Zenbook Pro UX501JW – FJ061T (1400 euro from Romania one year ago) 128 Gb SSD + 1tb, 8 gb ram DDR, nVidia GTX 960m (I regret not buying the Skylake version 256 gb ssd, 8/12 ram DDR4 maybe was better but I don`t know how much better the prices were very similar), I use it primarly in Lightroom and it`s slow, I am very dissapointed how it performs in Lightroom, I feel like the SSD is not fast enough, even if I copy/paste a big file on SSD the speed is oscillating between 26-50 mb/sec but mostly around 26 mbps. I installed a fresh copy of windows 10 but still it`s the same.
After 15 minutes of using only Lightroom (not even a browser opened) it really slows down, after a restart is working ok but then after 10-15 minutes again slows really bad (it takes 6-8 seconds if I want to just zoom on a picture).

I would have prefferd the version with the matte FHD display, thats why I stayed blocked on this configuration.

Do you have any advice on how to make it run faster? Maybe I have to install or update a driver?

Thank you, any advice is welcomed even another system.
- Andrei Girbea
  
  May 31, 2017 at 9:44 am
  
  Hi Andrei,
  
  That sounds like throttling, you should use HWinfo to monitor CPU and GPU speeds during your loads and see if the noticeable drop in performance is corroborated with a drop in frequency and high temperatures. If there's indeed thermal throttling, repasting the CPU/GPU might help.
  
  Ont the SSD, I don't remember exactly if this computer supports PCIe SSDs, but it probably doesn't. So I don't think you can get a faster SSD. Could try updating the ASCII drivers though, these have been a problem in the latest Windows 10 updates.
Rick

November 24, 2017 at 2:37 pm

I actually purchased a used ux501v for work. I use it on the weekends to play fps games with my kids in multiplayer mode mostly with wifi connectivity. I purchased it instead of the XPS 15 because of the 10key pad which I use constantly at work (when off the dock). I wiped the ssd and installed an unbloated Win 10 pro and currently have the insider preview version of the os running. I use it as an outside salesman part of the time and love the touch screen as well as the needed 10key. I personally prefer the silver keys over contrasting keys for looks. I used to have a Mac Powerbook G4 and have never gotten over the appearance of the body colored keys with available backlight for the evenings. I also keep the screen at 1080 instead of 4k. It works better visually when I have it docked in my office with 3 screens running and makes little difference to me when out on the road. The scaling from a 4k to 2 HD monitors was hard on the eyes although the computer made it appear seamless. I was going to upgrade the removable ram stick to give me 24 gigs of ram, but I have had no issues with performance in any game, photo editor, or video editor yet. I've only had it 5 months, so I may still upgrade it and the 512gb hd to a 2tb, but for now, I have the fastest and most versatile computer in my company. The only disappointment is the speakers. They are basically the only weak spot on this machine. For me, it's not a big deal since I have speakers on my HDMI in the office and bluetooth in my truck. I wear headphones for gaming, so I rarely use the speakers. The battery power in my office (just a test) was just over 5 hours. In my truck, it was on and off a lot more, but it lasts a 10 hour day with 22% or better left if I don't plug it in between visits.If the battery gets weak, I will probably do all the upgrading at once. For now, it does everything I need with style and grace.
Alicia

June 9, 2018 at 5:07 am

I've purchased my Asus Zenbook Pro UX501V in January 2016 when i just released it for not long. The model i got was built in December 2015(shown at the back of the laptop itself).I still remember that when i first bought it and turned it on when i reached home, the touchpad is faulty. Had to send it back and get a brand new laptop. Was already losing a little confidence at the time.

So since then I've been using that laptop. However in Late May 2018, my laptop died. Sent to the service centre and was told the motherboard is faulty, cost AUD $800 to get it replaced, excluding labour cost.

I was in shock and disappointed!!! It's only been 2 1/2 years of using it! And I spent about AUD$2.7k when I bought it! I don't think I'm a heavy user as tasks I carry out are usually, Autocad, Sketchup, Done Lumion rendering few times and that's it! I dont use it for gaming at all!

Utter disappointment!!

I WILL NEVER GET AN ASUS ZENBOOK AGAIN! Something for you guys to think about.
Peter

October 4, 2019 at 1:20 pm

What is the value now of this? Do you think this is better of a macbook pro 15”, mid 2015?
I mostly use it for photo retouching (photoshop, lightroom), sometimes doing also the video part (premiere).
What is now the best laptop I can get around 1000$?
Thanks
- Andrei Girbea
  
  October 4, 2019 at 4:04 pm
  
  This is old and the hardware has come a long way since. I'd reckon you need good hardware, do you also need a good screen?
  
  Around $1000 can get you something like the Lenovo legion Y540 or the Acer predator helios, both with fast processors and decent graphics. They don't get the most color-accurate screens, but those aren't that bad either at about 75% AdoebRGB

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Asus Zenbook Pro UX501 (UX501VW ) review and in-depth impressions

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