06-20-2013, 12:09 AM
So I recently got a new laptop, the Asus k55n-ds81, to use for college. The main purchasing points for me were its strong graphics card, cheap price, and slick design. On top of that, it is an ASUS laptop. I have used ASUS for a lot of things in the past (especially the motherboard on my gaming rig) and haven't had a problem with them since, so I really trust the brand. Anyway, the laptop can be found here:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-K55N-DS81-15-6-Inch-Laptop-Black/dp/B00B7K11MI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369282926&sr=8-1&keywords=K55N-DS81">http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-K55N-DS81-15 ... =K55N-DS81</a><!-- m -->
One of the first things I did with this laptop was upgrade the RAM from 4GB to 8GB, which gave it a noticeable speed improvement when doing basic tasks.The laptop has been able to run everything I throw at it really well. It runs Windows 8 like butter (I'm not a fan of the whole Metro thing, but it's very easy to ignore), runs League of Legends at 60fps on medium, runs Eclipse IDE and Visual Studio 2012 like a charm, and lacks bloatware. That's always nice. On top of all this, the thing is light, has a clear display, and looks semi-sleek.
Now I'm just kinda blabbing on about this laptop, but I wanted to also mention its battery life. It kinda sucks. As far as I can tell, its maximum battery life is about 2.4 hrs when doing basic webbrowsing. While playing games or developing, that battery life is reduced significantly. Since college hasn't started yet, I don't know how it will fare in class, but I'm hoping it can hold up for basic notetaking for atleast 2 hours.
Another small complaint is the color. Of course, black is cool, but it attracts fingerprints, grease stains, dust, and small white fuzzies you never knew existed from everywhere. After a day's use, the laptop is covered in small particles of who knows what on the lid, keyboard, and trackpad.
Did someone say trackpad? It's okay. Nothing special. The buttons are a tad hard to press, but other than that the DPI and sensitivity is fairly solid and the gestures built in work really well. The keyboard is also solid. The keys are easy to press, well positioned, and aren't too loud.
Overall, I have been very pleased with the $420 investment I made with this laptop. It has exceeded every expectation (except battery life). So there's my quick review.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-K55N-DS81-15-6-Inch-Laptop-Black/dp/B00B7K11MI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369282926&sr=8-1&keywords=K55N-DS81">http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-K55N-DS81-15 ... =K55N-DS81</a><!-- m -->
One of the first things I did with this laptop was upgrade the RAM from 4GB to 8GB, which gave it a noticeable speed improvement when doing basic tasks.The laptop has been able to run everything I throw at it really well. It runs Windows 8 like butter (I'm not a fan of the whole Metro thing, but it's very easy to ignore), runs League of Legends at 60fps on medium, runs Eclipse IDE and Visual Studio 2012 like a charm, and lacks bloatware. That's always nice. On top of all this, the thing is light, has a clear display, and looks semi-sleek.
Now I'm just kinda blabbing on about this laptop, but I wanted to also mention its battery life. It kinda sucks. As far as I can tell, its maximum battery life is about 2.4 hrs when doing basic webbrowsing. While playing games or developing, that battery life is reduced significantly. Since college hasn't started yet, I don't know how it will fare in class, but I'm hoping it can hold up for basic notetaking for atleast 2 hours.
Another small complaint is the color. Of course, black is cool, but it attracts fingerprints, grease stains, dust, and small white fuzzies you never knew existed from everywhere. After a day's use, the laptop is covered in small particles of who knows what on the lid, keyboard, and trackpad.
Did someone say trackpad? It's okay. Nothing special. The buttons are a tad hard to press, but other than that the DPI and sensitivity is fairly solid and the gestures built in work really well. The keyboard is also solid. The keys are easy to press, well positioned, and aren't too loud.
Overall, I have been very pleased with the $420 investment I made with this laptop. It has exceeded every expectation (except battery life). So there's my quick review.
