Aha! They look good. Must admit I've been looking at the Zenbook S as an ultraportable. All of their machines look beautiful.
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What kinds of Windows laptops do you want to see at CES?
- Thread starter hajime
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Yes they do look beautiful. Asus are making some very cool and interesting laptops.
That 13” burgundy Zenbook S is gorgeous. The 15” is nice too. Was considering the burgundy as a starter, but figured I might as well wait for these. I hope they use that burgundy color again.
Anyone know anything about what GPU is in the Studiobook? And is it an outdated architecture?
I'm really excited for notebooks this year, I'm going to really look forward to the X1 Extreme 2.0, the Studio Book S, and the Razer Blade 15. I'll throw the Aero 15x in here too because maybe they will update the design for the Intel 9th gen but the current design looks like it's straight from 2008. It will most likely offer the best performance per dollar out of all of these devices though, and that battery life is amazing as well.
StudioBook S runs nVidia Quadro
https://www.asus.com/us/Laptops/ASUS-StudioBook-S-W700G3P/
Not sure if that is an outdated GPU.
Looks like it uses a Quadro P3200 GPU, which is essentially a 1080m GTX with some shading units disabled... It sits between a 1060gtx and 1070gtx. Not bad at all.
https://www.techpowerup.com/gpu-specs/quadro-p3200-mobile.c3147
I wonder if Microsoft Stores, Microcenter, or Best Buy will stock the laptop so I can see how a 17" display feels. It's been a minute. And does anyone here have experience with ASUS products? Are they a hit or a miss?
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I do not have experience with Asus and am reading iffy experiences. Dave 2D also reviewed one of the Zenbooks a couple of weeks ago and said the thermals (fans) were not optimal. Looking at Asus’ support site though the issues I’ve seen mentioned elsewhere online are mirrored in the official forums.
Non-RoG forum:
https://rog.asus.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?107
I’ve seen other complaints about Asus and BSoD online.
A RoG forum:
https://rog.asus.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?295
Not too crazy about having only one option for repair in NYC. Dang.
Display-wise: for both models Asus is fitting a 17” display in a 15.6” chassis, so it will not be different from using 15.6.
Thanks for the thoughts on the Quadro card. Not sure where that leaves me with the StudioBook S.
My Best Buy kicks Asus to the curb (only two older models on display), I am not sure about Microcenter or Microsoft.
I am also looking at the MSI P65-Creator (as person in the sample video is using it for a lot of what I will eventually do). Wondering if they will update this Spring?
Guess I’ll start looking at other manufacturers beyond Asus. Their laptops are beautiful and cool, but I want better customer support than what I am coming across officially and elsewhere.
The only thing that worries me about the MSi Creator edition is Dave2D's review, saying the white finish is cheap paint, and it still looks too "gamery" for me - the Razer Mercury Edition is about as far as I'd go with that aesthetic. If they don't release a Mercury edition with the RTX it's going to make me have to think twice as hard about going with Razer.
But then again, Matthew Moniz thinks the Creator's edition is better in a lot of regards to the Razer blade,
Having owned both ASUS & MSI, I'd opt for ASUS, better build quality & quieter, there's a lot more gaming related bloat with MSI. The thin & light MSI's are also very difficult to upgrade as the main board is inverted to help with cooling (at least in the 2018 P65/P75).
I'd also wait on the ASUS StudioBook S as it just might be a killer notebook, if not the Zephyrus S GX701 is looking solid. That said my current 2018 Strix GL703GS is very far from being a slouch, nor might there be much if any tangible benefit to upgrade (barring RTX) as the Strix GL703GS is a proven warrior having completed numerous international trips without any issue.
Credit where credit is due my GL703GS came with a 3 year manufacturers warranty out the box, 2 year international, 3 years national (don't know if this applies to all regions) so ROG certainly has confidence in it's product.
Q-6
I'd also wait on the ASUS StudioBook S as it just might be a killer notebook, if not the Zephyrus S GX701 is looking solid. That said my current 2018 Strix GL703GS is very far from being a slouch, nor might there be much if any tangible benefit to upgrade (barring RTX) as the Strix GL703GS is a proven warrior having completed numerous international trips without any issue.
Credit where credit is due my GL703GS came with a 3 year manufacturers warranty out the box, 2 year international, 3 years national (don't know if this applies to all regions) so ROG certainly has confidence in it's product.
Q-6
@Queen6 appreciate that.
And I am glad your RoG is built so tough and has the extensive warranty.
Did some testing at Best Buy today and based on demo models, now I am thinking either Lenovo Yoga C930 or an updated HP Spectre due to the keyboard and screen.
I found every Asus on display hard to type on (demo units? Or just their keyboards?). These were Zen and Vivo models, not a RoG though.
Outside of the Surface Book 2, I find the HP Spectre has the nicest typing experience, with the Lenovo coming in second.
The Surface laptop was okay (keyboard and screen). Proves if I want a Surface, I should wait for the SB3.
Graphics card is also a consideration.
You’re spot on about MSI. Very surprising.
I’ll see if I come across a RoG somewhere (and remember to restart it or any laptops etc. I test).
Marching Onwards with my indecision.
And I am glad your RoG is built so tough and has the extensive warranty.
Did some testing at Best Buy today and based on demo models, now I am thinking either Lenovo Yoga C930 or an updated HP Spectre due to the keyboard and screen.
I found every Asus on display hard to type on (demo units? Or just their keyboards?). These were Zen and Vivo models, not a RoG though.
Outside of the Surface Book 2, I find the HP Spectre has the nicest typing experience, with the Lenovo coming in second.
The Surface laptop was okay (keyboard and screen). Proves if I want a Surface, I should wait for the SB3.
Graphics card is also a consideration.
You’re spot on about MSI. Very surprising.
I’ll see if I come across a RoG somewhere (and remember to restart it or any laptops etc. I test).
Marching Onwards with my indecision.
I think you will find the Lenovo Yoga a better bet than HP, but that might be in part because I am jaded by past experiences with HP and wouldn't buy one with your credit card :)
But the Lenovo Yoga I think you will find is tough, dependable and durable
[MEDIA=youtube]KPpDMFHWKME[/MEDIA]
I am waiting to see what MS delivers with the SB3 and will probably go with either that or an Asus this fall.
That’s what I’ve been consistrnly hearing about HP, how they repeatedly fail and customer service/support is awful. I think I need to test the Asus at other stores.
I know me, I’ll want something to test and learn W10 on before I get an SB3 or different brand as the proper desktop replacement. That may seem a bit ridiculous, but given my recent experiences in Windows-Ville, I think it also help me ease into using a laptop as my primary machine.
I’ll definitely hit the MS store again, and see what they have as far as Asus and Lenovo. I love what Asus is doing design-wise, so I need to find a store where a variety of current models are available to test.
Thanks for the info about the Lenovos. I know their Thinkpads are tanks, I am not a fan of their designs though.
That’s what I’ve been consistrnly hearing about HP, how they repeatedly fail and customer service/support is awful. I think I need to test the Asus at other stores.
I know me, I’ll want something to test and learn W10 on before I get an SB3 or different brand as the proper desktop replacement. That may seem a bit ridiculous, but given my recent experiences in Windows-Ville, I think it also help me ease into using a laptop as my primary machine.
I’ll definitely hit the MS store again, and see what they have as far as Asus and Lenovo. I love what Asus is doing design-wise, so I need to find a store where a variety of current models are available to test.
Thanks for the info about the Lenovos. I know their Thinkpads are tanks, I am not a fan of their designs though.
Take what I said about HP with a grain of salt. It was 12+ years ago between me and HP, but some things stick with you. Their support was abysmal. I don't have any idea if it has changed since then, but at the time it was an overseas call center and all support began and ended with put in the restore disk and restore your computer to the just out of box site. If you didn't do that, they wouldn't help you further. It didn't matter how much you debated with them that you had programs that couldn't easily be restored from a backup, because of the way they were serialized. That was their answer to everything. If you didn't put it back to the way it came out of the box, there was no further help.
Looking at Laptop Magazines Report Card from 2018, it appears that HP has made great strides, but because of past experience, I still don't know if I could ever buy one again. The only company I may have despised as much is Gateway but they are gone
As for Lenovo designs. I guess they are a bit divisive. I personally really like them. Them and Apple may be the two most iconic designs in the computer world.
Design-wise, I really like MSI, Razer and MS. But it is all personal opinion.
https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/laptop-brand-ratings
Take what I said about HP with a grain of salt. It was 12+ years ago between me and HP, but some things stick with you. Their support was abysmal. I don't have any idea if it has changed since then, but at the time it was an overseas call center and all support began and ended with put in the restore disk and restore your computer to the just out of box site. If you didn't do that, they wouldn't help you further. It didn't matter how much you debated with them that you had programs that couldn't easily be restored from a backup, because of the way they were serialized. That was their answer to everything. If you didn't put it back to the way it came out of the box, there was no further help.
Looking at Laptop Magazines Report Card from 2018, it appears that HP has made great strides, but because of past experience, I still don't know if I could ever buy one again. The only company I may have despised as much is Gateway but they are gone
As for Lenovo designs. I guess they are a bit divisive. I personally really like them. Them and Apple may be the two most iconic designs in the computer world.
Design-wise, I really like MSI, Razer and MS. But it is all personal opinion.
https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/laptop-brand-ratings
Long before you mentioned your history with HP, I’ve read countless tales of woe from their support forum, reviews and sites. They’re awfully pretty, but they still have high failure rates. So I felt uncomfortable enough to return that Spectre unopened due to the official responses at the support forum and other sources online. It’s too bad. I love those laptops for their keyboard and the look.
I know people love the Lenovos and I can see why.
I just need to go to a different store (MS) and do a few test runs with keyboards, screens etc. I’ll probably surprise myself...
Thanks for posting.
It is a shame that they don't seem to have improved much. The Laptop Magazine rating would lead you to believe that they had, but if you read their method for determining the CS score, they really didn't demand much. Could they answer a few simple questions right the first time kind of stuff? The bigger test is how well they perform when you have a serious issue resulting in downtime and how well they can resolve that and get you back up and running.
I don't know that I would ever return a laptop unopened though. Most (WTF Apple and Razer) give you 30 days for a reason. Even if I was sure that I would return it, I would use that 30 days to see if it could change my mind and sway my opinion.
You will figure it out though. No device is perfect, they all have their warts, scars, and compromises. The key is finding the flaws you can best live with and think you can be happy with
Excellent points about HP’s deep dive support.It is a shame that they don't seem to have improved much. The Laptop Magazine rating would lead you to believe that they had, but if you read their method for determining the CS score, they really didn't demand much. Could they answer a few simple questions right the first time kind of stuff? The bigger test is how well they perform when you have a serious issue resulting in downtime and how well they can resolve that and get you back up and running.
I don't know that I would ever return a laptop unopened though. Most (WTF Apple and Razer) give you 30 days for a reason. Even if I was sure that I would return it, I would use that 30 days to see if it could change my mind and sway my opinion.
You will figure it out though. No device is perfect, they all have their warts, scars, and compromises. The key is finding the flaws you can best live with and think you can be happy with
It is true: no device is perfect.
I returned the Spectre unopened because I got cold feet with HP and Best Buy.
I know you have mentioned going to the MS Store. I take it you don't have a Microcenter near you? They do have some models that neither Best Buy or the MS store carry.
I assume MS store at least gives the 30 days if you buy through them. I know HP's own policy is 30 days from date of delivery.
Unfortunately, I cannot get to the three Microcenters that are sort of local without a car. Public transit is good here, but not that good.
B&H are out because of their non existent return policy.
I may go back to my local Best Buy tonight. They have the Spectre and some Surface models. Maybe they’ll have more RoGs or something. I wasn’t actively looking at gaming machines so now I will.
The less I spend on a machine now, the better since I am treating this as my starter pc (the Acer bring lost to time).
Costco has some ROG's as well as a variety of other brands and models too. Not all in store for viewing, but they do give a 90-day return policy, free tech support and extend the warranty to 2 years.
I am waiting for the X1 Extreme G2 with new design coming in August. With the new Nvidia GPUs, hope they can do better with the noise issue this time.
https://www.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comments/akkmtx/2019_thinkpad_roadmap_allnew_designs_available_as/
https://www.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comments/akkmtx/2019_thinkpad_roadmap_allnew_designs_available_as/
