ASUS A54C-AB91 15.6-Inch Laptop (Black)

I’ve gotten several laptops in my lifetime. And, this is the best one I’ve gotten so far. Nothing really stands out but it’s just altogether well made. When you strike the keys, it feels very nice. The picture quality of the screen is good. Programs load up pretty quickly. Every laptop I’ve purchased I have regretted. I bought a laptop that was small and lightweight. I thought that it would be great to carry around. But, I learned that ease of carrying it around doesn’t justify the small screen. Then, I went the other way and bought a huge screen. But, the weight made it so cumbersome. For example, just typing on your lap was annoying. But, this laptop seems perfect. Light, good screen size, and programs work perfect. Here are some points that I hope helps you make a decision.

Pros:

1. Touchpad. I love the touchpad. Very responsive. And you can scroll up/down and sideways by using two fingers. Never seen that before! Of course, you can zoom in and out by bringing your fingers together and out.

Cons:

1. low battery life. After a few hours of web surfing, you’ll have to replug. My other laptops lasted much longer right after purchasing. (After a year or two, all of my laptops’ batteries just sucked.)

The Intel version is considerably faster than the AMD E-450 model, which carries the same price. The only downside is a cut in battery life, the AMD gets a little over 4 hours, while I could only get about 3 out of this one. That is under constant use browsing web pages, and using wifi.
It is no speed demon, but it gets the job done. The display has good color, and is bright enough for use outdoors. The USB 3.0 port is a nice touch.

Before Windows 8 was released, this model was selling for $329, and could often be found on sale for $299. And at that price, it is an amazing machine. But at today’s nearly $400 price, there might be other options to consider.

I do my major computing on a Dell desktop, but I needed an affordable laptop for portability around the house and occasional travel. I’m very pleased so far with this one’s performance. The screen is quite large and the quality of graphics & videos is more than good enough for my basic needs. (I can’t speak to how it would be for gaming, since I don’t do any of that.) This is a fine choice and good value.

My sister, a high school student, needed to replace her junky netbook with a real computer, so I ordered this one for her figuring it was just perfect for a student.

We received the computer in two days (thank you, Prime), plugged it in, and started setting it up. My husband was so impressed with the Asus computer that he preferred it to our Toshiba AND our HP laptops. In fact, he spent nearly all of Thanksgiving break playing around on her computer. Speakers are good, graphics are good, and I genuinely prefer Windows 7 to Windows 8, which was probably *the* deciding factor in choosing this Asus laptop over several other models in this price point, most of which were equipped with Windows 8. Keep in mind this was during the week of Black Friday, so there were tons of deals on laptops, but this one seemed like the best buy to me, and I was right.

She absolutely loves the computer. We got her set up with a free 60-day trial of Microsoft Home and Student, which is actually my only complaint, that computers don’t come with software like that anymore! Not anything against the computer itself, just against the current market and the unfortunate situation that puts many broke students like herself in…having to shell out an extra $100+ for software just so they can write a paper or create a presentation.

Bottom line: Buy it! This was a great buy for her, and my husband was so impressed with the Asus that I bought him one for Christmas to replace the 1 year old HP laptop that bit the dust…

Purchased this laptop at the end of July and after 4 weeks the monitor died. Shipped it at my expense to get repaired and it was returned to me in worse condition than when I sent it in. Sure the “repair” was free but what good was it? New repair is pending…

So far I’m not impressed, let’s see how this next repair goes. Seriously, shouldn’t they have just replaced the entire machine? If they take care of me I’ll be sure to post here to let all know. Will keep you posted…

Update…11/15/2012

I just received the re-repaired laptop last week and I’m pleased to say that after leaving it on for a few days and using it the problem has been fixed. I’m pleased it’s now fixed although I still believe it wasn’t fair for me to have to pay almost $65.00 in total shipping charges when the product was only 4 weeks in my possession. Other than this the computer has worked well and I can recommend it!

I’ve been using this laptop for a couple of months, and I really love it. My last two laptops were a Toshiba and an HP. Both were relatively inexpensive at around $500 and they both felt really cheap. Both also died around the 3 year mark. I literally had tape holding the HP together at the end, and it barely ever left my coffee table. The toshiba was physically ok at the end, but totally crashed and could not be recovered even after bringing it to computer repair people. While I don’t know what the longevity of this Asus will be, it feels and looks so much better out of the box, even though it is the least expensive. The screen is beautiful. It is fairly light for such a large computer. The battery life isn’t great, but I am so used to the batteries on my last laptops loosing their charge after a year or so that I am happy to have any battery life. Programs were easy to instal. I really like the feel of the keyboard and track pad. Someone mentioned that the volume is too low, but that can be adjusted with the pre-installed desktop icon that says “Asus Sonic Foccus.” I actually think the sound quality is pretty decent. Overall, my computing needs are pretty basic. This computer is great for the basic stuff. Of course, it runs slow until you install all of the windows updates, but as soon as you have installed all windows updates and an anti-virus program, you should be trouble free as I have been. This is the first laptop that I have actually been excited about in many years.

I bought this for my wife who likes to check email, browse the internet, write blogs, watch Netflix, and other simple tasks. Has a quick, Intel dual-core processor with power to do everything she wants. She also does Quicken and loves the 10-key on the keyboard. Very nice, bright screen that is adjustable for when you want to watch a movie at night and not blind yourself . Fast wireless 802.11bgn/wired network cards. This is perfect for a typical home user not into heavy gaming. I do wish is that this had a light-up keyboard for use when it is dark. I bought her a flexible USB light from Amazon for $6 to remedy this.

*** The included ASUS 360 warranty is great. Full 1-year partslaboraccidental drops, spills, power surge, fire warranty. 24×7 tech support with 3 business day replacement turnaround. Hope I don’t have to use it, but that’s great peace of mind.