AsusN53JG review
Well built and with a striking design, but its dedicated graphics chip isn't powerful enough and the keyboard is ugly and uncomfortable.
Specifications
15.6 in 1,366×768 display, 2.7kg, 2.4GHz Intel Core i3-370M, 4.00GB RAM, 320GB disk, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Asus has seen fit to include a dedicated Nvidia graphics card, a GeForce 415M. This scored 17.8fps in our Call of Duty 4 benchmark, which isn’t particularly impressive by today’s standards. With game settings turned down, you should be able to play older titles or less graphically-intensive games, but games enthusiasts should look elsewhere. CUDA support means supported applications will see performance boosts in certain operations, but as yet there’s not a lot of software that takes advantage of this technology.
There seems little point in including this dedicated card, when the Core i3’s integrated chip can handle HD video decoding and even some older games. While the N53’s design is striking, there’s nothing else that really stands out. It looks decidedly mediocre when placed next to the new Dell XPS L502X, which has a better keyboard and screen and is significantly faster in Windows applications. Although you’ll need to reconfigure it with Dell to drop the Blu-ray drive and top-end graphics chip to get near this price.
Basic Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Rating | **** |
| Processor | Intel Core i3-370M |
| Processor clock speed | 2.4GHz |
| Memory | 4.00GB |
| Memory slots | 2 |
| Memory slots free | 0 |
| Maximum memory | 8GB |
| Size | 39x391x266mm |
| Weight | 2.7kg |
| Sound | Realtek HD Audio |
| Pointing device | touchpad |
Display | |
| Viewable size | 15.6 in |
| Native resolution | 1,366×768 |
| Graphics Processor | Intel HD Graphics/Nvidia GeForce 415M |
| Graphics/video ports | VGA, HDMI |
| Graphics Memory | 1,024MB |
Storage | |
| Total storage capacity | 320GB |
| Optical drive type | DVD+/-RW +/-DL |
Ports and Expansion | |
| USB ports | 4 |
| Bluetooth | yes |
| Wired network ports | 1x 10/100/1000 |
| Wireless networking support | 802.11b/g/n |
| PC Card slots | none |
| Supported memory cards | SDHC, MMC, Memory Stick Pro/Duo |
| Other ports | eSATA (shared with USB socket), minijack audio output/S/PDIF (shared), minijack microphone input |
Miscellaneous | |
| Carrying case | No |
| Operating system | Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit |
| Operating system restore option | backup and recovery software |
| Software included | Microsoft Office Starter 2010, CyberLink Blu-ray Disc Suite |
| Optional extras | £70 |
Buying Information | |
| Warranty | two year collect and return |
| Price | £650 |
| Details | http://uk.asus.com |
| Supplier | http://www.comet.co.uk |
