Going for Lenovo rather than this. The CPU benchmark is too good

ThunderThighs wrote:It is not backlit.

Hey @Thunder thighs what do I do if I have a case # and have been emailing Service@woot.com for over a week with it and cannot get a response? Thank you in advance for your assistance.

adanhi wrote:If I want to replace the HDD with a SSD, how am I to re-install Windows on the new drive?

You have a few options:

• Buy an external USB hard drive enclosure for the SSD and use software (such as Acronis True Image) to clone the internal hard drive to the external USB hard drive. Then install the SSD in the laptop.
  
• Use backup software to do a full backup of the current drive, create a "rescue CD/DVD", install the SSD, boot from the rescue disk, and restore the backup.
  
• Download the Windows 7 ISO (as linked in my earlier post), burn to DVD, and reinstall Windows 7 from scratch. Use the provided license key (typically on a sticker on the bottom of the laptop) when prompted by the Windows 7 installer. Then reinstall needed drivers.
  

Sleepy

terrencegf wrote:You have a few options:

• Buy an external USB hard drive enclosure for the SSD and use software (such as Acronis True Image) to clone the internal hard drive to the external USB hard drive. Then install the SSD in the laptop.
  
• Use backup software to do a full backup of the current drive, create a "rescue CD/DVD", install the SSD, boot from the rescue disk, and restore the backup.
  
• Download the Windows 7 ISO (as linked in my earlier post), burn to DVD, and reinstall Windows 7 from scratch. Use the provided license key (typically on a sticker on the bottom of the laptop) when prompted by the Windows 7 installer. Then reinstall needed drivers.
  

Thank you, good sir. Neither of those sound like too much of a hassle.

Woody1 wrote:Seriously? Look at the main photo which has a NUMERIC KEYPAD to the side of the QWERTY keyboard. Then in the second photo it does not. Are people just sleepy today?
17" picture on Woot


15.6" Picture off to the side

umm... don't both of those have a numeric keypad?

i know it says expandable up to 8 gig of ram but a lot of laptops will take more than whats stated....will this take 16 gig ? two 8 gig modules without modification?

Does it have Bluetooth?

batsee wrote:Does it have Bluetooth?

Nope, no Bluetooth. FWIW, I have never used the Bluetooth on any of my laptops. (I prefer the touchpad over an external mouse.)

I don't even want a laptop, and am thinking about buying this. I've always had great experience with Asus!!!

Still have 3 boxes based on Asus P3B-F mobos (circa ~2001?) w/1.4Ghz Tualatins. One has always runs 24/7/365, and I'm typing on it now. Nope, I don't use it for FPS games.

I don't worry about having to reinstall Windows, since I started with 95 and have always "just upgraded" through XP. Never a clean install. My reinstall is called "clone weekly to another hard drive". I would guess that a clone to file on a USB 3.0 external hard drive would be faster than across my two 7200 rpm drives, which takes 2-3 hours for 650GB of data.

Just sayin,
--randypj

Is this a 64-bit processor?

Great review... Thanks

I know it's not a gaming laptop but will this play the following:

1) Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (just came out a few days ago)
2) Counter-Strike: Source
3) Dead Space 1 & 2
4) Mass Effect 2
5) Tribes: Ascend

Another thing. I'm a little confused when it comes to what drivers to install (when the time comes to completely reinstall Windows 7). For instance, on the ASUS website they have five (64-bit) AMD chipset Drivers (Here's the list):

V8.903.0.0000 (2011.12.29 update)
V1.2.1.321 (2011.12.29 update)
V8.901.0.0000 (2011.12.02 update)
V8.882.0.0000 (2011.09.22 update)
V1.2.1.269 (2011.03.24 update)

http://support.asus.com/Download.aspx?SLanguage=en&m=K53Z&p=3&s=295

As you can see, 2 of those drivers were released on the same day. Should both be downloaded and installed or just the top one?

noname7 wrote:Sounds like you or whoever built the computer bought the wrong motherboard and you're blaming it on Asus. In my experience, their components have been top-notch and their customer service equally so. I trashed my CMOS and they overnighted me a replacement for free, no questions asked.

Ok, That is part of what I am talking about, I had the replacement motherboard sent over night, it took a full seven days and I was not refunded. I have a bad taste left from ASUS

furiousporkchop wrote:Another thing. I'm a little confused when it comes to what drivers to install (when the time comes to completely reinstall Windows 7). For instance, on the ASUS website they have five (64-bit) AMD chipset Drivers (Here's the list):

V8.903.0.0000 (2011.12.29 update)
V1.2.1.321 (2011.12.29 update)
V8.901.0.0000 (2011.12.02 update)
V8.882.0.0000 (2011.09.22 update)
V1.2.1.269 (2011.03.24 update)

http://support.asus.com/Download.aspx?SLanguage=en&m=K53Z&p=3&s=295

As you can see, 2 of those drivers were released on the same day. Should both be downloaded and installed or just the top one?

From my experience, the latest 8.x "Chipset driver" contains the video driver and utilities, USB 3.0 driver, and a few other drivers. (IMO, they should have named it "video+other driver".) The 1.x "Chipset driver" contains a SATA driver, which I didn't see was needed by the device manager. Maybe that update was part of Windows 7 SP1, or in a Windows update.

nappyho wrote:no reinstall disk included....so, how do you reinstall the win 7 home premium when it comes time ?

You don't. Buy a new a new CD with a new Key.

shackrock wrote:Exactly what I wanted to hear. In for one for the GF.

Do you know what really boggles my mind? You guys keep talking about brand names. It's all bull. Across the board you can buy this laptop from 5-6 different mfg's. Same thing goes for the HD and the Ram. Bottom line, it's either an Intel cpu or an AMD, and those are the only choices available. Are you people honestly that computer illiterate?

nappyho wrote:no reinstall disk included....so, how do you reinstall the win 7 home premium when it comes time ?

Sometimes there is a sticker with a license number on it that you can use if you have a Win 7 cd. Not sure if that is the case or not with this. I have an Asus laptop and it is good. Although, it is 1 yr old and has been to the shop 2x.

cleothemuse wrote:Good deal for the average user, but gamers and/or graphic designers (and I am both :D) need a GPU with dedicated RAM.

Actually, I have the A6 version of this laptop and graphics are actually very good. I have played Wow, Max Payne 3, CoD, Skyrim, and Guild Wars 2 on it all on high or medium-high settings. I did upgrade to 8gb of ram, but that is quite cheap. For a gamer that doesn't want to spend $1,000 dollars on a laptop, this is actually a great deal.

The A-series processors have an integrated amd video card on the chip. The M in the name of the graphics means that the motherboard also has a separate discrete video card. These two graphics cards will run in crossfire mode and give you very good graphical performance for the price.

this same laptop is for sale at Tigerdirect.com for $319. Actually, I've noticed that alot of the so-called deals they have here, you can find cheaper elsewhere. Just giving a heads up to do your homework before you buy anything.

nappyho wrote:i know it says expandable up to 8 gig of ram but a lot of laptops will take more than whats stated....will this take 16 gig ? two 8 gig modules without modification?

Don't waste your money- the hardware isn't worthy of 16GB of RAM even if it was supported. 4GB is adequate, 8GB is the sweet spot because RAM is cheap-but really I bet your usage will never really go past 3-4 GB 99% of the time. 16GB is just a plain waste on this Laptop.

terrencegf wrote:From my experience, the latest 8.x "Chipset driver" contains the video driver and utilities, USB 3.0 driver, and a few other drivers. (IMO, they should have named it "video+other driver".) The 1.x "Chipset driver" contains a SATA driver, which I didn't see was needed by the device manager. Maybe that update was part of Windows 7 SP1, or in a Windows update.

It wouldn't hurt the laptop if I download and install both drivers would it? I am this close to buying it. By the way, thanks for replying.

Does anyone know if this will handle playing .mkv files on Media Player Classic with the correct codecs through HDMI on a 55" HDTV? Seems like it would but I just wanted to get some other opinions. Want to make sure the graphics/CPU will support the TV. BTW I'm using MPC because VLC has been giving me issues, but either way, looking for a laptop that will play .mkv files on a 55" TV.

nairb101 wrote:I have this laptop, the only real annoyance is the lack of a scrollbar on the touchpad. Adding aanother 4 gig of memory helped performance quite a bit.

It should work with two-finger scrolling... put two fingers on the touchpad, slightly apart, and drag up/down/left/right... scrolling should work fine.

furiousporkchop wrote:I'm seriously considering buying this laptop but I'm reluctant because I've never bought a refurbished "anything" before.

What are the odds that this laptop will be shipped with a scratched screen or a dent in the case? Or do they all look brand new, out of the box?

I've been wanting a laptop for a long time and this appears to be the cheapest yet more acclaimed than any that I've seen before.

I usually buy refurb and have had excellent results. I have gotten nice HP and Dell refurbs. Not familiar with ASUS, but have always been pleased. They look new to me.

optrixx06 wrote:this same laptop is for sale at Tigerdirect.com for $319. Actually, I've noticed that alot of the so-called deals they have here, you can find cheaper elsewhere. Just giving a heads up to do your homework before you buy anything.

Maybe I'm missing something but is the $280 pricepoint on woot not cheater that Tigerdirect's $320 pricepoint?

Though I do agree that one must always do comparative shopping. Often the "great deals" here are offered elsewhere at similar pricepoints, particularly on refurbished items such as this ASUS. Even on new items, factoring in shipping, tax, etc., items can be obtained cheaper elsewhere. One must always note that the retail price that woot's price is compared is not the next lowest price of a competitor or eventhe average price for the same item across the market.

With that said, I concur with the general consensus. This is a decent machine for the average user at a good price. ASUS is a solid brand and I am in for one, keeping in mind that no brand is perfect and there innevitably will be a defective machine at some point (these are refurbished after all).

furiousporkchop wrote:It wouldn't hurt the laptop if I download and install both drivers would it?

While they are both labeled "Chipset Drivers", they are NOT the same set of drivers, so they don't conflict.

The v8.x driver is mandatory for the video card and USB 3.0.

I installed the v1.x (SATA) driver "just for fun" and it didn't seem to make any difference. So IMO either install it or don't, your choice.

nairb101 wrote:I have this laptop, the only real annoyance is the lack of a scrollbar on the touchpad. Adding aanother 4 gig of memory helped performance quite a bit.

Where did you get the RAM, was it easy to install?

Bill2525 wrote:I just had a state of the art computer built with an ASUS mother board, I spent $6000 on the computer and because of the ASUS motherboard, it is basically worthless, I suggest avoiding ASUS. Just my experience. that’s all I am saying

The replacement isn't any better, same problems

I've used ASUS motherboards in PCs for years and I wouldn't hesitate to use ASUS again. Every manufacturer puts out a lemon now and again, even Intel and AMD. My guess is your specific motherboard model may have issues but that should not be generalized to all ASUS products.

Or, if you do subscribe to that philosophy, I suggest you not ever buy a car.

Will this run Photoshop CS6 fairly decent?

In for 1

Thanks for all the helpful comments guys. I plan on adding 4GB RAM.

Only read first page of posts but here's my input on the laptop.

A4 is a relatively slow processor, great for web/word processing/music/movies etc. It's the lowest end of the line up though.

For another $50-100 or so you can generally get the A6 version on sale which is $429ish not on sale. The A6 is a really good processor and the video on it is more capable than many dedicated cards in this range of cheaper laptops. Anything in the A series from AMD does destroy the pentium i3/i5/i7 line up for video capability and processor wise the A6 is on par with the i5 but priced down with the i3 laptops.

As for Asus any one giving bad examples is just being dumb and going off their 1 time personal experience because Asus laptops are currently (and have been for several years now) rated #1 in reliability above Toshiba, Sony, and Apple (in that order). Their desktop motherboards and videocards are also rated very highly and many businesses won't put anything other than Asus boards into their computers.

Will this play Guild Wars 2?

wingman0609 wrote:Maybe I'm missing something but is the $280 pricepoint on woot not cheater that Tigerdirect's $320 pricepoint?

Though I do agree that one must always do comparative shopping. Often the "great deals" here are offered elsewhere at similar pricepoints, particularly on refurbished items such as this ASUS. Even on new items, factoring in shipping, tax, etc., items can be obtained cheaper elsewhere. One must always note that the retail price that woot's price is compared is not the next lowest price of a competitor or eventhe average price for the same item across the market.

With that said, I concur with the general consensus. This is a decent machine for the average user at a good price. ASUS is a solid brand and I am in for one, keeping in mind that no brand is perfect and there innevitably will be a defective machine at some point (these are refurbished after all).

Well said. Bravo!

adanhi wrote:umm... don't both of those have a numeric keypad?

Yes, but the top image is of a chicklet keyboard (ICK) the bottom, of a "real" keyboard. Which is supplied with this laptop?

I am confused - the big picture and the smaller picture (copied below) are of different laptop keyboards. Which is supplied with this laptop? Chicklet - as in main photo, or "keyboard", as in the side photo???



Inquiring minds want to know BEFORE WE PURCHASE.

pinkbandannaguy wrote:Will this play Guild Wars 2?

Possibly on lowest settings... Anything beyond that and I really doubt it.