Asus N56VM review

All that screen space would be wasted if the N56VM wasn’t able to run applications to make the most of it, but thankfully it more than delivers. The laptop’s Intel Ivy Bridge Core i7-3610QM runs each of its four cores at 2.3GHz, but can use Turbo Boost to reach a rapid 3.3GHz in certain applications. Paired with 6GB of RAM, the N56VM achieved a desktop-bothering 95 overall in our multimedia benchmarks, meaning you should be able to run any program without worrying about performance.

Gamers are equally well catered for. Although the laptop has one of Nvidia’s more entry level mobile graphics cards, the GeForce GT 630M is still more than capable of playing the latest games at 720p. Our Dirt 3 test produced a smooth 49.1fps, and we could even play at 1080p once we’d turned off anti-aliasing – 33.9fps is easily enough for smooth gameplay at High detail settings.

With Nvidia’s Optimus graphics switching, you shouldn’t have to worry about the GPU draining your battery when on the move, either. In our light use test, the N56VM managed a respectable five hours away from the mains – far behind ultra-portable laptops, Ultrabooks and MacBooks, but still a fantastic performance for a quad-core laptop.

At £900, the N56VM looks like good value. Hardcore gamers will probably want a more powerful graphics card, and the laptop’s battery life isn’t quite enough for all-day computing, but performance rivals that of a desktop PC and the high-resolution screen provides plenty of room to work with. Intel’s dual-core i5 processors may offer better value when they arrive in the next month or so, but right now the N56VM is a great all-rounder.