I was apprehensive about replacing my seven year old HP laptop. It served me well but had some hiccups that I had become accustomed to. The thought of adapting to Windows 7, Office 2007 and new hardware besides was daunting.I couldn't be happier! Windows 7 is a dream and the laptop itself is really an easy machine to work with and no idiosyncracies. The price was a complete bargain! I did my market research and ASUS was listed as the best buy for the money, but I didn't expect to be so happy! I had heard that the touch pad and keyboard were not responsive and that people had trouble using the camera, etc because the instructions weren't included. I found everything simple to use and intuitive. I would highly reccomend this computer to everyone, not just the budget conscious.
Have to say that I'm quite pleased with this unit and its overall performance running under Windows 7. After cleaning out some of the (unwanted) apps and programs, it has performed flawlessly for about a month now. The Intel Dual-Core CPU has made this notebook a joy to use, but what really shines through are the superb graphics from its 15.6-inch, 1366 x 768-pixel (16:9) display and the overall ergonomics. The horizontal angles on the LCD screen were excellent, and can share the view with a couple of your friends while watching a movie, photos or PowerPoint presentations on its screen.
The K50 keyboard feels solid, and there's barely had any flex. The keys offer a nice response. The spaciousness of the keyboard is a joy during long writing stints, and the numeric keypad to the right didn't need any sacrifice of key space to accommodate it.
The touchpad is large and quite comfortable to use. The buttons are large, and have quietly audible clicks when pressed. The touchpad seemed to lack some response while moving the cursor at high speeds out of the box, but tweaking it a bit seemed to resolve the issue.
Unlike my previous HP and VAIO laptops and notebooks, I don't need a supplementary cooler when using it for long periods. Their "IceCool" design offers cleverly designed and positioned heat vents which keeps the palm rest cool, lower than that of the average human body temperature at the palm rest area, even after long computing hours.
The K50 notebook has all the necessary ports for my use. On the right side are separate headphone and microphone jack, two USB ports, VGA output, RJ45 Ethernet and the required power jack. The DVD/CD optical drive and two more USB ports are on the left. There's a memory card slot in the front (tested only with SD cards so far) and dual Kensington lock slots on the back.
The ASUS K50 system comes with a six-cell battery installed and accessed from the bottom of the computer. It seems to power the system for four hours with normal usage in power saver mode, and in high workload, I found that the system runs about two and a half to three hours. Since it's not a netbook, didn't expect more. Obviously this notebook doesn't have enough battery capacity to be carried out without the charger.
Was quite impressed with the overall sound quality delivered by the built-in Altec Lansing Speakers. They delivered good sound without distortions, and both the high and low end of the music was clear and crisp. An external subwoofer might be good to boost low bass range sounds, but overall the sound quality impressed this reviewer.
Pros:
Full-size 15.6 inch display with excellent color and brightness
Cool to the touch during operation
Solid full-sized keyboard
Excellent ergonomics
Good performance at an affordable price
Nice subtle design
Good sound quality
Cons:
Upgrade capability may be limited (like many notebooks)
Touchpad response requires some tweaking
If you are happy with its subtle design and don't plan on upgrading the system anytime soon, you won't find any better performer than the ASUS K5 in its price range. If you can spend a few bucks more, there are other computers that might give you better gaming performance, but that wasn't a personal consideration. This is a good laptop providing excellent value for the money, more than this reviewer expected.
In summary, the ASUS K50 is a pleasure to use. It's a solid 5-star product, without a doubt.
Buy ASUS K50IJ-H1 15.6-Inch Versatile Entertainment Laptop (Black) Now
I've not had the unit long enough to write an informative review but I did do some extensive research before I selected ASUS and this model to begin with... so far, not a single disappointment...Read Best Reviews of ASUS K50IJ-H1 15.6-Inch Versatile Entertainment Laptop (Black) Here
I ordered this laptop it was my first laptop purchase. My husband helped me a little when it came to purchasing the product. When it came in he was actually a little jealeous of my laptop. He paid a lot more for his with extra features that he does not use. The computer is WONDERFUL! I am planning on starting my own home business and so far this has been great. Beautiful colors on the screen.Want ASUS K50IJ-H1 15.6-Inch Versatile Entertainment Laptop (Black) Discount?
This product is outstanding. It is fast, the screen is excellent, and the battery life is also quite good. So far I have no comments on longevity (bought it at the end of June), but it is working well after a month. I enjoy using it, and given the price differential ($600 vs. $2,000 between it and a more expensive model), this seems to have all that I need. I'm in the real estate and lending business, so I don't need a gaming computer, so it seems perfectly adequate. One complaint: Asus sets up its drive partitioned into a System Drive (C:) and a Data Drive (D:); however, Win7 wants to put "My Documents," "My Pictures," etc. on the C partition. I had to create a workaround to make my programs automatically fetch from and save to a documents directory on the "D" partition. It's minor, but if you are not a somewhat above average user, you won't know what to do to fix this problem.Otherwise, no gripes at all, and Win7 works fine.
Steve Bradley
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