ASUS A53E-XE1 with Intel 2nd Generation I3-2310M, 4GB DDR3, 500GB HD, 15.6-Inch Screen (Black)

Ok, first of all i wanna start by saying that my knowledge is above the average about computers, not a pro but not dumb either so I'm a little fussy when it comes to electronics.
Down to business:
Pros:
* Excellent heat management.
* Screen is very bright and image is crisp.
* Chiclet keyboard (very smooth typing)
* Aluminum finish on the palm rest (prevents scratches and smudges)
* Very good battery life (depends on use)
* Second generation Intel I3 (Good processor at a cheap price while maintain quality on materials)
* Integrated numeric pad
* Battery Charger cord is long enough for most people (3mts)
* A second function key to turn the screen off when not using it.
* The mouse pad doesn't catch all the smudges and fingerprints you get in other laptops.
* It doesn't have a fan grid underneath it so it won't suffocate as much as many laptops out there.

* Cons:
* The worst thing of this laptop are the speakers despite of being Altec Lansing the sound quality is one of the worst I've ever seen on a laptop, the volume in general is very slow and the equalizer software (provided by Asus) doesn't help at all, don't get me worng, it will be of use from time to time but because it's on the entertainment category you expect more from these speakers ,the sound is identical to a netbook computer. The only way you get a good sound is with headsets.
* Despite having a Chiclet keyboard and having improved the typing experience there are times when you press the central area keys that you feel the frame around the keys like it bends down for the pressure of the key stroke (I don't know maybe it's just me but I feel it sometimes).
* I consider a good thing not having external buttons or switches outside the keyboard for the volume or the wifi antenna even though that means more second function keys, and I don't have a problem with that either but whenever I want to save battery the only way I can turn the wifi antenna off is from the OS because the switch (second function button) doesn't work, I even updated the bios and all the drivers but I can't get this button to work.
* I recognize the initiative from Asus to include multi touch gestures to the mouse pad but they have problems to make it work properly, I mean, sometimes the simplest gesture (two finger scrolling) seems to work fine but suddenly it becomes sluggish and inaccurate, you really have to put your fingers in a straight line for the computer to recognize the gesture, whether it is a two or three fingers gesture.
* At last, setting up the OS to run properly without all the crapware it comes with is a real pain in the @/&), it's really hard to get rid of all that junk software.

The bottom line:
In my case, this is a temporary laptop, I bought it for my work (graphic design, photo editing) while I wait until next year to buy a better one, I would recommend it to the student who want a decent laptop for school and mid- range gaming (it runs bioshock I with good settings but not to with the maximum settings), if you pay no mind to certain details like the keyboard and get used to the speakers this is a great laptop to you, it's about getting the hang of it, overall it feels very solid when you hold it closed, and it comes with a very good processor and good amount of ram so it's rather fast. If you are not very demanding to a laptop this cheap this could be a great deal and you should buy it.

I loved Asus, and always had good experiences with them. However, I recently bought this new laptop a few months ago, and my screen is covered with dead pixels forming giant lines that are a few cm thick maybe my screen pretty much unreadable and are spreading to cover the whole screen. I take very good care of this laptop and only keep it at my desk, and it has encountered no physical damage. Also, this morning the AC adapter connection to the laptop just stopped working and will only work at a specific angle after minutes of jiggling the port. I talked to customer service about these issues because they had started so soon after I got it, and the guy just told me I'm out of luck.

I'm really disappointed with Asus, a brand I previously was a fan of and recommended to friends and family. I was looking forward to having a quality laptop and it has become unusable within only a few months with no physical damage on my end. Buy this product with caution.

I have used several different models of asus laptops and this is another good one. It has good options, good components, and all for a great price.

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