Sleek looks, top-notch performance, and very good battery life--all for less than $749. The Asus K53-B1 is ready to go toe-to-toe with the best multimedia notebooks you can buy for under a grand. Equipped with a second-generation Core i5 processor, 6GB of RAM, 640GB of storage, and the latest Intel HD graphics, this machine has a lot to offer. Should the ASUS K53E be at the top of your shopping list? Read our review to find out.
Design:
The ASUS K53E looks very good inside and out. The scover is finely textured plastic with a dark bronze finish and a chrome ASUS logo front and center. No matter if you're a student in class or a professional in a board meeting, the subtle pinstripe look will blend in pretty well with either surrounding. The finish holds up well to fingerprints, with the etched grooves breaking up any smudges before they become readily visible.
On the inside of the K53 ASUS uses brushed metal for the palmrest and keyboard trim, keeping the same color scheme, albeit a lighter shade of bronze. The palmrest wasn't as smudge-resistant as the lid, collecting plenty of finger prints after a heavy day of typing. That said, it was easy to wipe clean with a cloth without much trouble.
At 15.2 x 10.2 x 1.4 inches, this 15.6-inch laptop is easy to carry in a backpack, but its weight--5.8 pounds--makes it somewhat hefty for this class of notebook. The Toshiba Satellite L655 weighs 5.4 pounds, but the XPS 15 we reveiwed weighed 6.6 pounds with its extended battery.
Heat :
The ASUS K53E kept temperatures in check after playing a Hulu video full-screen for 15 minutes. After this test the touchpad measured 82 degrees, with the center of the keyboard between the G and H keys measuring 82 degrees and the underside measuring 84 degrees. By all accounts these readings were well within our comfort zone for notebooks.
Cooling fan noise was minimal under stress, kicking on only when needed and staying out of normal audible ranges during normal use.
Keyboard and Touchpad :
If you enjoy chiclet-style keyboards, the ASUS K53E provides a mostly pleasant typing experience. The keyboard exhibited some flex under pressure, but the layout is well spaced. While cramped, the included number pad is handy if you like having those dedicated buttons. Outside of some secondary functions on the keyboard, ASUS didn't provide any direct-access multimedia notebooks on the K53E. That means you'll have to use function key combos to do things like adjust the volume and brightness.
Measuring 3.25 x 2 inches, the ELAN touchpad of the K53E is big enough to easily handle multi-finger input without feeling cramped. We found it easy to whip the cursor around on the smooth surface, as well as to execute gestures like pinch to zoom and rotate. The touchpad also supports three-finger flicks for paging through photos and documents, and the ability to launch My Computer and switch windows with a three-finger swipe up or down. However, you have to first press all three fingers on the touchpad simultaneously, and it was a little tricky to execute.
Located within the recessed touchpad tray, the two touchpad buttons provide solid feedback when pressed but click a little too loudly.
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