This is a great desktop replacement. The cooling is second to none, no bottom vents to block and 2 cooling fans.
I just got it out of the box and swapped the 160GB "320 Intel" SSD SATA II for a
OCZ Technology 240 GB Agility 3 SSD- 3G SATA 6.0 Gb-s 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive AGT3-25SAT3-240GI used ACRONIS True Image Home 2011. I just cloned the 160 to the 240 and swapped the bays. I will put the 750 in a case for bulk storage.
It made a measureable difference and was an easy swap. Both are built with inexpensive Nand 25 ram but the OCZ is SATA III which is twice as fast.
I haven't had time to run any bench marks yet but will do so and post the results.
Having had the heat problems with HP and their latest quality control issues this is a blessing. I just tried in vain to replace a HP 17-1181NR 17-Inch Envy with the new HP 2280NR HP ENVY 17. The 1st one came with a defective keyboard, the 2nd one arrived with opened factory seals and a FACTORY TEST CD in the drive. The 3rd one arrived with a 6" scratch on the bottom across the bottom of the battery. No more HP for me! My first computer was an HP and last year I purchased 3 1181NRs and 2 desktops and I had trouble with 2 of the 1181s when they arrived. GOOD BY HP!
This ASUS is awesome and I will put it through the paces and repost. It's nice to open the box and have it working :)
1/18/12 Hi all and thanks for all the post...
Someone asked about the battery life: during heavy use 2.5Hrs light use stretched it to almost 4Hrs. Light use was word documents, typing with some excel mixed in. Both drives are SSD and this helps.
Why did I switch drives? I like SSD over HDD for many reasons; power usage, heat, speed and last but not least lifespan.
An SSD is what we all thought a computer was supposed to be, not a modified tape drive LOL An HDD is just a highly advanced tape recorder. It stores data on a aluminum disk dating back to the 1950s, come on this is 2012! Storage size, unless you are a kid, most adults don't have enough free time to fill up a 160GB + 240GB SSD drive and if you do, you are making enough money to afford a larger SSD; so either way SSD is the only way to go. Just my opinion :)
I am a small business owner and use this laptop for work and entertainment. It stays on the coffee table plugged into a VIZIO 55" TRUE LED monitor/tv via the HDMI. I use a Logitech wireless key board
Logitech Wireless Keyboard K360 (Dark Silver) (920-003366) and a HP WIFI mouse
HP WiFi Mouse My previous Bluetooth mouse ate batteries. Since my switch to WIFI the batteries last much longer. The same for the keyboard, USB uses way less power than BT and the dongles are so compact these days.
My old HP would heat up so bad you could hear the fan slaving to keep up with any heavy graphics use; YouTube, Netflix, 3D CAD etc.... I haven't heard the fan ever on this computer ,,, EVER! I gave up the newspaper 10 years ago and read all my news daily on it and select what video news I want to see. Streaming video form network TV or Netflix never stutters.
The WEI scores: Overall 7.2... Calculations per second 7.5... RAM 7.6... Graphics (both) 7.2....Disk Data Transfer Rate 7.9! the highest. Not bad for and out of the box laptop with an SSD addition.
PRICE: Configure this from DELL or HP and you will spend 2x trying to get the same and the HP will still overheat!
It's been on 4 trips so far and I like the backpack it came with. The keyboard, mouse, HDMI cable, 750 HDD backup(the one that came with it) etc all fits in it. I haven't need service so I can't comment on that! That speaks volumes in its self.
If you are looking for a light weight word processor to commute with, this is not it. This is a fully functioning DESKTOP ON THE GO! Every product has its use and if you want complete functionality on the go, this is the best choice after removing the HDD and adding the second SSD.
These are just my OPINIONS and yours may vary, that's why there are so many choices out there (~,~)
