Asus Build Quality Question (and some others)

I will buying my wife a laptop for Christmas but laptops are a new area for me (as opposed to PCs). She is a teacher and needs one for desktop replacement; occasionally will take it to work but is not a priority. This will be used for Office 2010, internet research, emails, logging onto the school server, skype, CD/DVD burning, occasional video streaming, but no gaming whatsoever.

I have already decided on 4 gigs of RAM, Windows 7 64, 15.6" screen and leaning towards the i3 cpu. I would like to have a higher budget but $700.00 will have to do. In my research I came across the Asus laptops and have been impressed with what I have read but it is hard to find a lot of customer reviews.

Can anyone tell me the build quality of Asus systems? Any series that I should avoid? I have read a lot about their poor customer/tech services; true?

I have looked into HP's dv6t series and I like the way you can configure the build but after having experienced their serious failure rate with their DV600 series I am HP shy. I have also looked into Lenovo's Thinkpad Edge series and like their 15.6" model but both HP and from what I have found with Asus seem to offer a little more bang for the buck for basically the same system.


I have been looking at the X52F-X2: Micro Center - Asus X52F-X2 Laptop Computer - Dark Brown X52F-X2


Thoughts?

 

Asus build quality is the same as any other laptop manufacturer - Buy a cheap laptop, get a cheap laptop.

The K and X series are their entry level ones. Try an N series, or U series for solid build.

Customer service is no better or worse than the rest of the industry. If you HAVE to send it for repair, request service in CA or Canada. Indiana has some monkeys with wrenches.

Having said that, I've owned a lot of asus laptops - the G series ones regularly have "issues", but they're also high performance, high heat, lower-cost gaming laptops. Any other asus laptop other than a G series will be an awesome purchase.

 

Here's your answer :


Source:
laptop-reliability-1109 | SquareTrade Warranties

 

A problem with ASUS' recent stuff is that they're starting to use Quanta and Foxconn for their lower end models and Eee lineup, respectively. This may not imply lower quality necessarily, but since they have shifted over the past few years from in-house manufacturing, then to Pegatron, and now to some outsourcing, it's hard to make a sweeping call on ASUS in general.

If you really need to know about a specific model, there are only two real ways to know: see it in person, or wait until user reviews shed some light on it.

 

I have experience with 2 asus laptop and several other brands, including sony, hp and dell.
Dell is definitly the most durable and hp died on me within less than 2 years because of overheating errors.
Asus on the other hand, I had a business model, L50v. It was very good, last almost 3 years which is very long because I use it in a quite extreme conditions.
I dropped it twice from table to floor because of my sister and no errors at all.
I often had to carry it around the globe because I study aboard.
But then it could very well be because it is business model though, it emphasis on the reliability of the laptop

For your choice of laptop, I would say it is not bad at all, through maybe with that spec, you may think about switching to one with smaller monitor and a better battery performance.
one thing you should be aware of is the small hard disc size, 320GB for a 15 inch.

 

LOL Sorry, ever since hard drives broke the 120gb mark (where 30-40 was for the os?!) I've had a hard time keeping a straight face when someone says they need "more space". Because yeah, all the "pretty pictures" have to be stored somewhere.

But seriously. Asus laptops, when you get a good quality one, are great. When you get a cheap one, they're still good ... and their warranty is still awesome!

 

Thanks to all of you for your insights and reponse. I can build and repair PCs but laptops are an area that haven't done much research on. I joined here because I have been impressed with these forums and knowledgeable members.

 

I use ASUS equipment on just about all my systems , from Desktop to Notebook.
Over the years have used most brands that are out on the market and I have found that for me ASUS is the best for the money. And in spite of some who have had bad repair experiences over all I have had the best with ASUS repair services over the other brands .

 

120GB is way too small IMO especially if you're a Graphic Artist.

Anyway, I have the K40 (pretty outdated) and the build quality is good for it's price. I've seen the newer K42s and K52s, and their build quality and look are way much better than my K40. I would recommend it (K52). But if you want to pay for more, choose the latest N or U series which are even better than the K and X series.