Asus K50IJ-RX05

8/10 asus k50IJ

sanjeev herimatt - 10/25/09

The ASUS K50IJ series is one of the latest budget notebooks designed to provide better performance than a netbook and a larger screen for only a modest price increase. ASUS K50IJ-C1 Specifications: Windows Vista Home Premium (SP1, 32-bit) Intel Core 2 Duo processor T6500 Processor (2.1GHz) 15.6" 16:9 Wide Format (1366 x 768) HD LCD Display 4GB DDR2 800MHz RAM, 1 slot, 4GB Max Intel GMA X4500M integrated graphics 250GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive DVD Super Multi Double Layer optical drive 802.11 B/G/N Wireless LAN 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet Weight: 5.83 lb. including 6-cell battery Dimensions: 14.57 (W) x 10.08 (L) x 1.22-1.40 (H) inches Battery: 6-cell battery Warranty: 2-year global warranty, 1-year accidental damage, 1-month zero bright dot LCD warranty Extras: Notebook carrying case and mouse Build and Design At first glance the ASUS K50IJ might not look like anything special .In all seriousness, the K50IJ isn't a poorly built laptop. The chassis is pretty solid with a mixture of glossy and matte plastics and doesn't suffer from the flex or squeaks that are common to cheap plastics. The glossy palmrests are nice and large with good support and the full-size keyboard with dedicated number pad is comfortable to type on during a full day at work. Additionally, the screen hinges don't provide much tension when the lid is closed so the lid will "flop" against the chassis until the screen lid is about two inches open.. The bottom of the notebook features the battery located behind a single access plate that must be removed in order to release the battery. There are no access panels on the bottom of the laptop for upgrading the RAM, hard drive, or wireless cards. While the lack of upgradeability might be a major flaw for some users, it's safe to assume that most people buying this laptop won't be making upgrades. In fact, the K50IJ only has a single RAM slot and comes with a 4GB RAM module, so it's impossible to add more RAM to this system. Unfortunately, if you want to upgrade the hard drive to a faster drive or SSD then you'll have to disassemble the entire chassis. Screen and Speakers The 15.6-inch high definition (1366 x 768) panel on the K50IJ-C1 rates average or slightly above average with vibrant colors and excellent contrast. Horizontal viewing angles are extremely good, so you won't have any trouble sharing a movie with a friend or two. Upper vertical viewing angles are average as the colors start to wash out when viewed from above and colours begin to distort and invert as you move the screen back. The Altec Lansing branded stereo speakers are located beneath the left and right palm rests on the front edge of the notebook. These "lap-firing" speakers tend to produced muffled sound when you have the notebook on your lap (since sound is being directed at your crotch) but the sound is surprisingly good when the laptop is on a desk and the speakers can bounce the sound up toward the user. In short, the speakers are okay, but we would have liked to see a dedicated subwoofer in a notebook this large. As always, we recommend a good set of earphones or external speakers for a better listening experience. Keyboard and Touchpad The keyboard on our review unit of the K50IJ is very comfortable in terms of the typing experience as each key is nice and large with good spacing and proper cushion and feedback. The Elantech-based touchpad is large and comfortable to use with a nice texture and multi-touch capabilities, but my praises end there. Ports The port selection on the K50IJ-C1 is hardly impressive. In fact, it's downright sad to see a notebook this large with so few ports. The K50IJ includes four USB ports, VGA out, a 3-in-1 card reader, audio jacks, Ethernet, a power jack and optical drive ... that's it Battery With the screen brightness set to 70%, wireless active, and the Vista power profile set to "Balanced" the ASUS K50IJ stayed on for 3 hours and 22 minutes of constant use Conclusion The ASUS K50IJ is a relatively impressive budget notebook that offers reasonable performance for the price, Pros: ? Bright, colorful screen ? Nice keyboard ? performance for the price Cons: ? Limited ports ? Limited upgradeability ? Unimpressive touchpad