When comparing ASUS ZenBook Pro UX501VW vs Eluktronics PA71HS-G Premium, the Slant community recommends Eluktronics PA71HS-G Premium for most people. In the question“What are the best USB-C laptops?” Eluktronics PA71HS-G Premium is ranked 5th while ASUS ZenBook Pro UX501VW is ranked 8th. The most important reason people chose Eluktronics PA71HS-G Premium is:
The case is made from a very durable plastic with a metal finish that does not feel cheap or flimsy to the touch.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Quiet fans
The fans produce at most 43.9 dB(A)of sound, quieter than virtually all of its gaming competitors. During idle, it is very quiet at just 28.9 dB(A).
Pro Good display
The UHD (8340x2160) IPS panel is a touchscreen model. It's average brightness is 250.2 cd/m² which is reasonable, but not ideal for outdoor use. The glass layer used is thicker, muting colors a bit more than other laptops. sRGB achieves 89%, and AdobeRGB scores 58% - both reasonable results, however not extraordinary. The screen is glossy, and provides great viewing angles.
Pro Good performance
The i7-6700HQ processor paired with 16GB of RAM and accompanied by the GTX 960M offers good performance for just about any task, although machines with similar hardware can be found for considerably less (although they don't come with USB Type-C).
The CPU scores 113 in CineBench R15 - a disappointing result. It's expected that that the system throttles down below its maximum setting before finishing the test.
For storage speeds, this laptop is great. It uses NVMe SSDs that are more common on extremely high end hardware. It can achieve 1633 MB/s read, and 1579MB/s write.
Gaming performance is very good, with games running on high settings with ease. Ultra settings will bring down FPS to below 30 for some games, however lighter titles can still run up to 77FPS (StarCraft 2).
Pro Good battery life
At full load, the ZenBook Pro can last for 1h57m, and when surfing the web it lasts 6h19m. These are good results for a gaming focused gaming laptop.
Pro Excellent build quality
The case is made from a very durable plastic with a metal finish that does not feel cheap or flimsy to the touch.
Pro Overall good price/quality ratio
At this price, the Eluktronics P650RS offers a lot of features, performance, and quality compared to competitors. Gaming laptops with a GTX 1070 usually cost $100 or more and might not have the same level of build quality or other features found in this laptop.
Pro Excellent gaming performance
Both the GTX 1060 and GTX 1070 versions of this laptop offer excellent performance when gaming. The P650RS consistently hits 80+ FPS in most AAA games at ultra settings. For example, the GTX 1070 version can play Total War: Warhammer at 100FPS on 1080p with ultra settings. While the GTX 1060 version can play Battlefield 4 at 80FPS on ultra settings.
Even the relatively cheaper version of the P650RS with the GTX 1060 can pack a punch.
Pro Quality speakers
The two speakers packed in this laptop are pretty good, especially when compared with previous models. They provide reasonable bass and the mids have both good richness and deepness to them.
Pro Good keyboard
The keyboard is pretty good. It's backlit with programmable colors. The tactile feedback is decent across all keys and the travel length is about the average (1.5mm) for this kind of laptop.
Cons
Con Gets warm
While they keyboard doesn't get hot, it does get warm (33C or 91F), and temperatures on the exterior exhaust fan can reach 48.5C (119F) which is higher than comparable laptops.
Con Poor speaker volume
Basses are virtually non-existent, and the volume doesn't go very high (although at high volume the sounds aren't distorted).
Con The touchpad has issues with two-finger use
When trying to scroll up or down by using two fingers there are some synchronization issues with the touchpad.
Con The display should be better for this price
The Eluktronics P650RS uses a IPS display panel which is decent in itself but could and should probably be better for this price point.
Where it lacks specifically is in terms of contrast, colours, and response time. There's also some light bleeding when looking at a completely black screen.
Con Terrible battery life
Even when using this laptop for light activities such as web browsing, watching movies, or editing documents it averages at about three hours of independent use. This was measured at about 40% screen brightness so it would be much lower at a higher brightness.
When it's used for gaming then the average battery life drops to less than two hours of independent use because of the relatively high resource requirements that both the GTX 1060 and GTX 1070 have.
Con Has some issues with heat
Since the cool air is sucked from the bottom of the laptop, the bottom needs to stay above the sitting surface at all times.
But even when this advice is followed, the P650RS still has some issues with overheating. The center and left parts of the keyboard are the most problematic ones. It's not unusual for the keyboard to heat so much as it starts being a bit uncomfortable to use.
Con The speakers are not very loud
Even though they provide good sound, the P650RS-G speakers are not loud at all.
