The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Asus A53U-ES21 - $379.99

    Discussion in 'Asus' started by thenamesian, Mar 4, 2012.

  1. thenamesian

    thenamesian Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    8
    Messages:
    45
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Greetings all,

    I'm looking for a laptop to "get it done" for a few months until the new Clevo refresh. I found the Asus A53U-ES21 on Amazon for $379.99 -- this seems like a great deal.

    http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006MO0IYQ/ref=cm_sw_r_an_am_ap_am_us?ie=UTF8

    First off, is this a new model? I don't know much about the AMD processor or the ATI graphics. I don't want to be gimping myself but I don't expect a whole lot. I'm also curious to know if it's possible to upgrade the RAM myself.

    Anyone have any experience with this laptop? I really like this price point & am close to pulling the trigger. I'm also interested in any other suggestions you folks may have.

    Thanks!

    Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
     
    thenamesian, Mar 4, 2012
    #1
  2. thenamesian

    thenamesian Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    8
    Messages:
    45
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Alright, well I went ahead and purchased the laptop. It will be here tomorrow. I'll try & post a review. From what I've read, the AMD has more favorable integrated graphics performance over the comparable i3 Intel. Haven't had an Asus machine in awhile but at this price point I'm hoping to have found the 'shining star' of value notebooks.

    Thanks all!

    Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
     
    thenamesian, Mar 5, 2012
    #2
  3. tijo

    tijo Sacred Blame

    Reputations:
    7,588
    Messages:
    10,023
    Likes Received:
    1,077
    Trophy Points:
    581
    Well, you do get what you pay for, but it should get the job done while you wait for the clevos like you said. You'll most definitely be able to upgrade the RAM yourself and it should play games at low settings decently. It will handle any normal computing just fine.
     
    tijo, Mar 5, 2012
    #3
  4. thenamesian

    thenamesian Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    8
    Messages:
    45
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    My only goal is to get the most bang for my buck. Obviously specs are specs. If this is the best $380 I spend on a laptop then so be it. Could be a great chassis, screen, keyboard, and/or trackpad as well.

    Will update you guys tomorrow.

    Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
     
    thenamesian, Mar 5, 2012
    #4
  5. thenamesian

    thenamesian Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    8
    Messages:
    45
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Very short review: build quality is above average. Some materials are quite cheap. Majority of machine is plastic. Touch pad is "meh". Tweaked some settings & it got a little better. Speakers suck. Low volume & so-so quality. Keyboard really isn't too bad. Screen isn't too nice. Terrible vertical viewing angles. Cooling system seems okay. Performance is about what you'd expect: gets the job done but there is definitely some times that can frustrate you if you're multi-tasking. HD video playback is passable. YouTube works fine if you don't have too many windows open. Flash games work pretty well too.

    Overall I'd say this is *about* right for $380. I'd rather have paid $340 but this will have to do.... for now.

    Sent from my Galaxy Nexus
     
    thenamesian, Mar 8, 2012
    #5