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MacBook Pro vs ASUS ZENBOOK Prime UX51Vz (15-inch)

J

jamesbond426

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 20, 2012
29
1
Hi,

I am currently looking to buy a new laptop and have narrowed down my choices to 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina display and ASUS ZENBOOK Prime UX51Vz-US71T Touchscreen Ultrabook.
(http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/productID.280668700)

I use the laptop mainly for watching movies(hence the preference for 15") and office work. Macbook pro has better display but windows is needed for work. Please note that i won't be carrying this laptop around too often(May be 10 times a year).

Any other recommendations are welcome as well.

Thanks.
 
Last edited:
devilcm3 said:
you can run both OSX and Windows, thats called bootcamp :rolleyes:

get the retina, problem solved :)
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply. However, i can't use the windows 8 effectively without touch in the pro. Moreover i need more storage than 256 SSD and 512 is a lot more expensive. Hence, i am looking at the ASUS.
 
Well from a purely technical level the rMBP beats it in pretty much any metric:

- Faster processor
- Discrete graphics
- Higher resolution
- Better image quality (color accuracy/viewing angles/contrast)
- Bigger battery
- Better trackpad
- Still thinner and lighter despite better specs
- Better build quality
- Looks better (that's subjective though but most will agree)

I don't see why you'd pick the Asus from a technical perspective unless you just want to save yourself the trouble of installing Bootcamp and dealing with a Mac keyboard in Windows.

At student pricing (I assume you're a student since you linked the student page), the 512GB 15" rMBP is $50 more ($2,299). If the price difference was something like $500-600, I think it would be smart to consider the ASUS despite it being technically inferior, but with a $50 difference, it's a no-brainer: pick the rMBP.

Judging by the specs, the Asus should cost no more than $1,699. It only has a 35W CPU, (last-gen) integrated graphics, 1080p TN screen, stuff than could be found in a $1000 laptop. The only thing that should make it expensive is the 512GB SSD, but charging $2,249 (at student pricing on top of it) is just plain ridiculous. Not even Apple could get a way with such a bad specs/price ratio.

Also, if you're willing to wait for the Haswell version, chances are that the price of the 512GB SSD upgrade will drop for the rMBP. That's what happened with the MBA anyway.
 
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pgiguere1 said:
Well from a purely technical level the rMBP beats it in pretty much any metric:

- Faster processor
- Discrete graphics
- Higher resolution
- Better image quality (color accuracy/viewing angles/contrast)
- Bigger battery
- Better trackpad
- Still thinner and lighter despite better specs
- Better build quality
- Looks better (that's subjective though but most will agree)

I don't see why you'd pick the Asus from a technical perspective unless you just want to save yourself the trouble of installing Bootcamp and dealing with a Mac keyboard in Windows.

At student pricing (I assume you're a student since you linked the student page), the 512GB 15" rMBP is $50 more ($2,299). If the price difference was something like $500-600, I think it would be smart to consider the ASUS despite it being technically inferior, but with a $50 difference, it's a no-brainer: pick the rMBP.

Judging by the specs, the Asus should cost no more than $1,699. It only has a 35W CPU, (last-gen) integrated graphics, 1080p TN screen, stuff than could be found in a $1000 laptop. The only thing that should make it expensive is the 512GB SSD, but charging $2,249 (at student pricing on top of it) is just plain ridiculous. Not even Apple could get a way with such a bad specs/price ratio.

Also, if you're willing to wait for the Haswell version, chances are that the price of the 512GB SSD upgrade will drop for the rMBP. That's what happened with the MBA anyway.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the reply. Where will i get rMBP with 512 GB SSD @ $2,299? It's priced on Apple website as $2499. Thanks for pointing out that the ASUS didn't have dedicated graphics. The non-touch version had them (http://www.amazon.com/UX51Vz-XH71-15-6-Inch-Laptop-Silver-Aluminum/dp/B009PHUUY0/ref=pd_cp_pc_0) and i assumed they would carry that over to the touch version as well.

----------

Hmm....Asus website says it has dedicated graphics (https://www.asus.com/Notebooks_Ultra..._Touch_U500VZ/).
 
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jamesbond426 said:
Thank you for the reply. Where will i get rMBP with 512 GB SSD @ $2,299? It's priced on Apple website as $2499.
Click to expand...

To get student pricing:
http://store.apple.com/us/browse/home/findyourschool


Hmm....Asus website says it has dedicated graphics (https://www.asus.com/Notebooks_Ultra..._Touch_U500VZ/).
Click to expand...

That would make more sense considering the price tag and size/weight. I would trust Asus's sites more than Microsoft's. I still think the 512GB rMBP is a better value at $50 more though. You still end up with a better display, slightly better CPU, slightly better GPU, better battery, better trackpad and so on...
 
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What a bunch of nonsense about the metrics.
The rMBP has a slightly better build quality but that is about the only thing.

The Asus I read about has an IPS panel and more than 1080p currently makes no sense in Windows. The GPU has 2GB GDDR5 and the same 900Mhz clocks. The battery is slightly smaller but that is about the only accurate thing from Mr Fanboy.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Asus-Zenbook-UX51VZ-U500VZ-Notebook.84246.0.html
MBP for comparison
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Apple-MacBook-Pro-15-Retina-2-3-GHz-Mid-2012.78959.0.html
All the touch notebooks sport the same specs as the normal UX51vz at least here in Europe.
http://geizhals.at/asus-zenbook-ux51vz-cm098h-90nwoc222n12b35d251y-a962034.html

If you use Windows buy a Windows notebook. Bootcamp is a solution for those that occasionally use Windows but that is it. The Touchpad in bootcamp is crippled to the point of being vastly inferior to the touchpad and drivers you get on an Asus or Samsung. The battery life in bootcamp suffers so much that the battery size difference is more than equalized. The active dedicated graphics in bootcamp also means that in many cases you end up with a more noise notebook with medium load.

But to the choice of Windows notebook.
Don't get touch. You don't need it. The touchpad comes with gestures that work for all the functions you actually need. The Desktop which you will mostly use anyway still works the same and doesn't even want touch. Most importantly though you can actually have a matte panel if you ignore the touch. I would get the matte any day over the touch.
Touch imo only makes sense on hybrid notebooks that you can transform into tablets like the Asus Taichi, Lenovo Yoga and so on. It is nothing more than a gimmick on a normal notebook.

Personally though I would get neither of those. I think the Samsung 770Z5E offers way more for much less money. Put an SSD in and you got amazing battery life a great high contrast Panel that beats the rMBP panel.
It is not quite the aluimium build of a zenbook but if you don't carry it around all the time the difference doesn't justify the price IMO.
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Samsung-Series-7-Chronos-770Z5E-S01DE-Notebook.91341.0.html
Faster graphics than the current 650M and a AMDs GCN which is way better than Kepler should you ever need GPGPU qualities. Kepler is great and power efficient at gaming but sucks in most other areas were sometimes even hot old crappy fermi beats it.

Only buy a Mac if the majority of time you will use OSX. Otherwise you are much better of with a real Windows notebook. Bootcamp is okay for some gaming, where touchpad, battery life don't matter and fans are running full tilt anyway, but not a place any sane person should spend most of their time.
 
dusk007 said:
What a bunch of nonsense about the metrics.
The rMBP has a slightly better build quality but that is about the only thing.

The Asus I read about has an IPS panel and more than 1080p currently makes no sense in Windows. The GPU has 2GB GDDR5 and the same 900Mhz clocks. The battery is slightly smaller but that is about the only accurate thing from Mr Fanboy.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Asus-Zenbook-UX51VZ-U500VZ-Notebook.84246.0.html
MBP for comparison
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Apple-MacBook-Pro-15-Retina-2-3-GHz-Mid-2012.78959.0.html
All the touch notebooks sport the same specs as the normal UX51vz at least here in Europe.
http://geizhals.at/asus-zenbook-ux51vz-cm098h-90nwoc222n12b35d251y-a962034.html

If you use Windows buy a Windows notebook. Bootcamp is a solution for those that occasionally use Windows but that is it. The Touchpad in bootcamp is crippled to the point of being vastly inferior to the touchpad and drivers you get on an Asus or Samsung. The battery life in bootcamp suffers so much that the battery size difference is more than equalized. The active dedicated graphics in bootcamp also means that in many cases you end up with a more noise notebook with medium load.

But to the choice of Windows notebook.
Don't get touch. You don't need it. The touchpad comes with gestures that work for all the functions you actually need. The Desktop which you will mostly use anyway still works the same and doesn't even want touch. Most importantly though you can actually have a matte panel if you ignore the touch. I would get the matte any day over the touch.
Touch imo only makes sense on hybrid notebooks that you can transform into tablets like the Asus Taichi, Lenovo Yoga and so on. It is nothing more than a gimmick on a normal notebook.

Personally though I would get neither of those. I think the Samsung 770Z5E offers way more for much less money. Put an SSD in and you got amazing battery life a great high contrast Panel that beats the rMBP panel.
It is not quite the aluimium build of a zenbook but if you don't carry it around all the time the difference doesn't justify the price IMO.
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Samsung-Series-7-Chronos-770Z5E-S01DE-Notebook.91341.0.html
Faster graphics than the current 650M and a AMDs GCN which is way better than Kepler should you ever need GPGPU qualities. Kepler is great and power efficient at gaming but sucks in most other areas were sometimes even hot old crappy fermi beats it.

Only buy a Mac if the majority of time you will use OSX. Otherwise you are much better of with a real Windows notebook. Bootcamp is okay for some gaming, where touchpad, battery life don't matter and fans are running full tilt anyway, but not a place any sane person should spend most of their time.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the reply. I don't need to be using windows too often. May be 5 hours a week. I don't think the Samsung provides any variants with SSD for 770Z5E though. By the way, when is it going to be released in the US market. I can wait for about a month or two but not more than that.
 
jamesbond426 said:
Not necessarily 8. Any windows would do. I do some web development and need the visual studio 2012 which i don't think is available for Mac.
Click to expand...

No it's not. But it should run just fine in bootcamp or a virtual machine. I asked about the Windows version, since 7 wouldn't need the touch screen.
 
jamesbond426 said:
Thank you for the reply. I don't need to be using windows too often. May be 5 hours a week. I don't think the Samsung provides any variants with SSD for 770Z5E though. By the way, when is it going to be released in the US market. I can wait for about a month or two but not more than that.
Click to expand...
They offer some with built in SSDs but you can install your own SSD. It is a apparently a bit of a pain to remove the back plate but doable and there is a standard 2.5" hdd in their which can be replaced by pretty much any retail SSD. I.e you can put a 960GB Curcial M500 in there for all the money saved.
At least in Euro country there would still be mucho money left over compared to a rMBP even in the entry config.

I thought it is available in the US. It has been selling here over the pond for a while now. Maybe they serve Europe first because they make more profit here. Apple is in the US way more popular and not quite as expensive as in europe. Even without taxes Apple charges a rather ridiculous markup for not providing any sort of decent support the US has with Apple Stores. Some may be justified because of currency risks but not this much and not this long.

I very much doubt they cannot handle to provide enough units for the US market as well so it should show up soon. Usually there isn't too long of a delay between those to markets.

No it's not. But it should run just fine in bootcamp or a virtual machine. I asked about the Windows version, since 7 wouldn't need the touch screen.
Click to expand...
Windows 8 doesn't either. Windows 8 has all of Windows 7. It just has a few more features that one can use or not. Win 8 also has lots of nice stuff that has nothing to do with the modern ui and its touch stuff which is well worth it.
Fast boot, which is extremely fast with modern notebooks and proper UEFI support.
much better explorer, file copy.
better power efficiency with deferred interrupts and that stuff which will also show up with OSX 10.9

Windows RT is mostly Touch but Windows 8 is just a Windows 7.1.
 
dusk007 said:
What a bunch of nonsense about the metrics.
The rMBP has a slightly better build quality but that is about the only thing.

The Asus I read about has an IPS panel and more than 1080p currently makes no sense in Windows. The GPU has 2GB GDDR5 and the same 900Mhz clocks. The battery is slightly smaller but that is about the only accurate thing from Mr Fanboy.
Click to expand...

Mr Fanboy? You must have missed the part about Microsoft having incorrect specs on their website. You're accusing me of lying because of that? Ha. Well.

Anyway, the CPU is still inferior (you skipped that part), so is the trackpad, the screen is still not as good, and yes, the resolution being significantly higher does make a huge difference, although I agree anything above 1080p is pretty much useless in Windows. Basically, I maintain everything I've said except the parts based on misinformation from Microsoft's website. They should be at blame here, not Mr Fanboy, it's highly unprofessional, and in this case it's at their loss.

I was talking with the assumption that OP would use both OS X and Windows, not 100% Windows. 1080p is not even close to Retina, it's much closer to the older 1440x900 panel the cMBP is using.
 
I am not accusing you of lying but of being terribly bad informed for the kind of knowledge you were ranting about.

You have a 1:1 pixel mapping for fullhd content. A 1440x900 screen can be bad at various instances with small text. IMO it is unjustifiably crappy low. 1680x1050 is minimum for me on 15". 1080p is double the pixel density and fine for small text. Retina is still double again but it is more a luxury than anything else.
Besides you can at least here in europe already buy the model with also a retina screen. http://www.campuspoint.de/asus-zenbooktm-ux51vz-db104h.html
Costs still less than the entry rMBP but comes with 512GB. The old model is available for 1800-1900 € here.
A rMBP starts at 2200€.

I don't think it is worth it because on the internals (battery life, noise, sound quality, ...) the Samsung is better, costs a lot less (about 1300€ + cost for SSD to put inside) and its outside build quality isn't so bad in comparison to justify that price difference. Build quality isn't an all metal unibody and cannot compete with the rMBP or the Asus Zenbook but it is still very good and thin.

The CPU difference really won't matter. The highend CPUs just cost a lot more for no real benefit than can be felt. If the slower CPU is too slow for some task so will be the faster one. In most stuff especially the mentioned use case nobody can possibly make out the difference. It only matters for people obsessed with benchmarks or who compared the x264 encoding speeds online.
 
1680x1050 is a minimum for you on a 15" screen? good grief, you'd probably want 1080p on a 4" phone as well :rolleyes:

If you have to ask whether or not you should be a MPB(r), then you should just buy your asus laptop.

GO to the apple store and play with the mbp then go to bestbuy and play with your zenbook. Make the call after you grope both. Don't listen to these guys here with their opinions. They make zero sense. 1680x1050 on a 15" screen. Pftt. :rolleyes:

and why would anyone choose a 16:9 screen over a 16:10???


dusk007 said:
I am not accusing you of lying but of being terribly bad informed for the kind of knowledge you were ranting about.

You have a 1:1 pixel mapping for fullhd content. A 1440x900 screen can be bad at various instances with small text. IMO it is unjustifiably crappy low. 1680x1050 is minimum for me on 15". 1080p is double the pixel density and fine for small text. Retina is still double again but it is more a luxury than anything else.
Besides you can at least here in europe already buy the model with also a retina screen. http://www.campuspoint.de/asus-zenbooktm-ux51vz-db104h.html
Costs still less than the entry rMBP but comes with 512GB. The old model is available for 1800-1900 € here.
A rMBP starts at 2200€.

I don't think it is worth it because on the internals (battery life, noise, sound quality, ...) the Samsung is better, costs a lot less (about 1300€ + cost for SSD to put inside) and its outside build quality isn't so bad in comparison to justify that price difference. Build quality isn't an all metal unibody and cannot compete with the rMBP or the Asus Zenbook but it is still very good and thin.

The CPU difference really won't matter. The highend CPUs just cost a lot more for no real benefit than can be felt. If the slower CPU is too slow for some task so will be the faster one. In most stuff especially the mentioned use case nobody can possibly make out the difference. It only matters for people obsessed with benchmarks or who compared the x264 encoding speeds online.
Click to expand...
 
Thank you for all the replies. All the three laptops mentioned are more than good enough to serve my purpose and the prices for all of them seem to be about +/- $300 of each other if similarly configured. I think maybe i should go with the one with least number of issues(heating, ghosting etc) and with the best support in US. Don't know which one it is yet but i have a bit more time to research. Thank you once again for all the help.
 
dusk007 said:
I am not accusing you of lying but of being terribly bad informed for the kind of knowledge you were ranting about.

You have a 1:1 pixel mapping for fullhd content. A 1440x900 screen can be bad at various instances with small text. IMO it is unjustifiably crappy low. 1680x1050 is minimum for me on 15". 1080p is double the pixel density and fine for small text. Retina is still double again but it is more a luxury than anything else.
Besides you can at least here in europe already buy the model with also a retina screen. http://www.campuspoint.de/asus-zenbooktm-ux51vz-db104h.html
Costs still less than the entry rMBP but comes with 512GB. The old model is available for 1800-1900 € here.
A rMBP starts at 2200€.

I don't think it is worth it because on the internals (battery life, noise, sound quality, ...) the Samsung is better, costs a lot less (about 1300€ + cost for SSD to put inside) and its outside build quality isn't so bad in comparison to justify that price difference. Build quality isn't an all metal unibody and cannot compete with the rMBP or the Asus Zenbook but it is still very good and thin.

The CPU difference really won't matter. The highend CPUs just cost a lot more for no real benefit than can be felt. If the slower CPU is too slow for some task so will be the faster one. In most stuff especially the mentioned use case nobody can possibly make out the difference. It only matters for people obsessed with benchmarks or who compared the x264 encoding speeds online.
Click to expand...

Calm down with the name calling will you. First I'm a fanboy and now I'm "terribly bad informed" for not knowing the specs of thousands of PC laptops sold worldwide by heart so I can notice Microsoft put the wrong spec list on their website just by looking at the model number.

Displaying 1080p content is only one of the many things you can do on a laptop. I personnally practically never watch movies on mine and the few times I do, I notice movies are often not even 16:9 but rather wider formats like 2.35:1/2.39:1. When you watch streamed 1080p videos they often have so much compression artefacts that this is what will limit image quality rather than the upscaling.

I honestly don't see that much advantages for the 1080p resolution specifically. I also question what you call "double" in terms of pixel density/resolution considering 1080p is not double 1440x900 and 2800x1800 is not double 1080p no matter how you look at it.

There's no doubt that there's quite a noticeable difference between a 1080p and 2880x1800 display when you look at things like text, vector graphics and @2x bitmaps which you will see every single time you use your computer. At this very moment everything on my screen is Retina-optimized besides those ugly smileys. Sure Retina is a luxury but what do you expect other than luxury when you're shopping for a computer over $2k? Is a 512GB SSD not a luxury too? Should we all use the most basics computers just because we don't technically "need" anything better?

I agree about the part that the CPU isn't that much better. Like I said, it's "slightly" better. I just wanted to prove you wrong when you said everything I listed wasn't accurate save for the battery fact. In fact, everything I said about specs was correct considering the specs sheet provided on Microsoft's website, which itself proved to be wrong.
 
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