ASUS U56E-BAL7 15.6" Laptop (Intel Quad-Core i5-2450M CPU, 750GB HDD, 6GB Memory, UMA Graphics, USB

I've had this notebook for 5 months now and I don't regret the purchase. Good battery life, nice keyboard and a good amount of RAM makes it a great deal. I've trusted asus for many years going back where it only made PC's motherboards.

As a previous reviewer said, speakers are OK for this kind of computer. Don't expect hugh quality audio! but I guess it's something common in almost all laptops.

USB 3.0 it's a plus, along with an HDMI port.

double check the price though, amazon has this unit a bit overpriced.

You've read the specs so you know what's in the machine and it's got a lot to offer. For me the outstanding feature is the long battery life. I needed a decent machine with a long life and this one has it. I would give it a better rating except for the speakers. They are merely okay, nothing spectacular, just okay. It would have been nice to have a backlit keyboard too, but that would shorten the battery life. The graphics, intel 3000, are built into the cpu and does what I want but, it isn't a heavy gaming gpu. I've had mine for about a month now and I would certainly buy it again; sorry I didn't get it here as I found it cheaper elsewhere. So, if you need a longer battery life, mine gets around 8 hours of actual use, definitely take a serious look at the Asus U series.

P.S. I've read where some people are having trouble with the trac pad. I haven't had that problem, but it is something to look into before you buy. Knowing what I know I would still buy this one again.

Buy ASUS U56E-BAL7 15.6" Laptop (Intel Quad-Core i5-2450M CPU, 750GB HDD, 6GB Memory, UMA Graphics, USB Now

I purchased this laptop at BestBuy about 4 months ago. I was replacing a 5 year old Sony Vaio that had it's wireless switch crap out. I still use the Vaio in a docking station hard wired to the network and it works great. The ASUS was $599.00 so it was cheaper than Amazon has it but I would have paid higher for it. The battery life alone sets it apart from any laptop I have ever owned. I get 8 hours plus when unplugged and that is running videos, surfing, picture uploading and wireless on. It took me awhile to get used to the keyboard set up, the keys actually pop up individually from the laptop but since I have been using it, it is actually really easy to use. Huge HD and it came with 6 GIGs of Ram, I was thinking of taking it to 8 GIGs to max it out but I really don't think it needs the extra two. Screen is very clear and it all works great. I would recommend this laptop to anyone who was looking. The price point and quality are both excellent.

Update: 2/1/2013 Just sent this laptop off to Asus to have it repaired. I believe that the hard drive failed, it would not let me restore or factory reset. Went into a death loop spiral with chkdsk in DOS mode. So frustrating considering it never left my ottoman, ever. 8 months, not a good sign...

Update: 3/4/2013 Received the laptop back about 2 weeks ago. Mother board was bad and HD had a bad section, or so they said. Laptop has been running fine since I got it back, except that I have experienced the very long black screen start a couple times again. This was the reason I was trying to restore it before when it finally died on me. I am just backing everything up daily and hopefully it will last. I really like the computer and it does everything I need it to do. I will keep my fingers crossed.

Read Best Reviews of ASUS U56E-BAL7 15.6" Laptop (Intel Quad-Core i5-2450M CPU, 750GB HDD, 6GB Memory, UMA Graphics, USB Here

This computer is really fast and the keyboard feels nice. This was my first laptop so I was surprised by a few things. The speakers on this one are mousy quiet. ASUS does that on this model to save battery power. The keyboard is not backlit either for the same reason. So far that has not been a problem. I had to change the setting for TouchPad Sensativity. I set if from very slight touch to maximum touch (which I recommend) because the touchpad was clicking on links all day long without me even trying. Ahhh, just the slightest touch activated that thing which was no touch at all. So I changed that, and I love this computer.

Want ASUS U56E-BAL7 15.6" Laptop (Intel Quad-Core i5-2450M CPU, 750GB HDD, 6GB Memory, UMA Graphics, USB Discount?

Bought a refurbished product at a real discount. The DVD drive was broken but the seller sent a replacement within a few days. The performance of the computer is excellent. The energy usage is far better than the other laptops I use. I intend to copy its settings to use in my other computers. The battery life is fantastic as well. The profile of the laptop is sleet and attractive while the battery sticks out as sort of a rest to incline the laptop for typing. I like it but it may not be for everyone. The keyboard is nice but is not backlite if that is important to you. Its nice that it has a numeric pad but they are small keys so it takes a bit of an adjustment to use effectively.

The only con I've had so far is the sound. I read that it was bad but I could not believe it is as bad as it is. The sound is far worst than any laptop I've ever had. I am not very picky about sound quality but the volume is low and very tinny sounding. You should plan on using add on computer speakers for sound.

I recommend this computer unless you can't live with the sound issues.