I recently made a purchase on a new laptop, the Asus K55A, in the colour blue. This was to replace my current laptop which is slowly on its way out, as most laptops eventually do. I am writing this post as a secondary guide to my previous article on how to purchase a new laptop. This is my follow up on the advice which I provided to the readers, so here we go. Now writing this article will not be easy, the simple reason for this of course is due to the issues I have with Windows 8. I want to try and write about the laptop itself rather than the horrible software that Microsoft has installed on all new computers that aren’t Apple branded.
Friday morning and my new laptop arrives at the door, after signing for it and waving the delivery lady away I excitedly attacked the packaging. Despite being rather desperate to check out my new tech I stopped to examine the case that my new laptop had come encased in. Put together rather well cardboard packaging, I briefly considered using it as a case to store and protects the laptop. So after my epic battle with the cardboard I set eyes upon the Asus.
Now before I carry on any further I just want to explain why I chose this model. Originally I wanted the cheaper version of this model, for around £100 cheaper I could’ve had pretty much the same specs which is to say the least unfortunate. The specs for the Asus model that I’ve chosen are as follows, 15.6 inch display, Microsoft 8, 6GB of RAM, Intel HD graphics card (Dedicated), and a 750GB hard drive. Not bad for around £420, the cheaper model is basically the same as this though, only with 320GB Hard drive and a 4GB RAM. The reason why I chose this laptop of course is mainly because of its dedicated graphics card (edit: we think its the k55D that has dedicated graphics), I want to be to play games as well as other basic functions like internet surfing, writing, blogging and so on.
Windows 8 Premium is annoying, mainly because its completely different to the Vista or older operating systems. I dislike change quite a lot, although the new system is does look pretty and I honestly believe they had smart phones in mind when they designed the interface. The desktop contains “apps” and looks more like my Iphone display rather than a laptop display.
Ok now the main review, the actual body and design of laptop. The Asus model that I now possess looks fantastic, it has a sleek shiny blue coat and is very thin considering the specs packed into the body. The cooling fan is quiet and doesn’t allow the laptop to get hot at all which I believe is feature all computers should have. The touch pad has two buttons like other designs but isn’t separate in any way. The keyboard feels alien to me at the moment but I’m sure I’ll get used to it, the buttons don’t stick and feel quite nice as I type away. The LED screen lights up quite nicely, and the system turns on very quickly as well as returning from sleep mode in under 2 seconds.
The down sides, comparing it to my previous laptop, are as follows. The in-built speakers are quite frankly pathetic. The speakers even at all full volume aren’t even remotely loud, and the quality feels hollow. The operating system does take some time to get used to, but I truly believe that Microsoft are trying too hard to mimic Apples interface and operating systems.
The Asus K55A is a decent model, but if you haven’t experienced the new Windows then I suggest keeping your older operating system laptops. I have a long way to go before I will be able to navigate the controls, options and features, but from what I can see the LED displays all the apps clearly.