UPDATE 10/16/13: I've had this system for a couple months now. It's still running really well, I'm glad to say. I've had no problems at all aside from drivers needing updating, so I stand firm on my 5 stars. Judging from other reviews people have given, there's a risk of getting a bad one, but that's a risk you ALWAYS take when buying computer hardware. The majority of problems people have appear to be software/OS issues (I've seen Internet Explorer pop up the most in these complaints, so people, please, don't use IE for anything other than getting another web browser. It's not worth the headache.) So once again, I highly recommend downgrading to Windows 7, or at the very least, install the updates for Windows, then update all the drivers, and make sure that's the first thing you do when you boot it for the first time. I think that would've solved a lot of problems people were having.
I also want to add that my battery life is CRAZY. I can sometimes get 6-7 hours out of it on a full charge. Since there have also been complaints about short battery life on this system, I don't know if I got lucky, or if they (again) just got bad units. Either way, I love this laptop and I'm very happy with it, so I still very much say if you want a good priced system with some power to it, this is it.
ORIGINAL REVIEW:
I bought this laptop after two days of careful research. I know some people can't be bothered to read through a whole review, so here's a quick pros/cons list:
Pros:
Lightweight, slim, very portable
Great hardware, especially for the price
Charges quickly
Touch pad actually works well
Four speakers, so the sound is pretty good
Cons
WINDOWS 8.
The keyboard keys take a little bit of getting used to
Takes a little force to get usb drives into the ports, but just for the first couple times
Video chipset uses system RAM if it needs additional video memory, so expanding the RAM comes suggested
I know computers pretty well, being a computer science student approaching graduation, and having built several custom desktops. So far, this laptop seems fantastic for the price. It shipped incredibly fast, (meaning I ordered it at 7 at night and it arrived at 9 the next morning. I'm starting to wonder if Amazon isn't hiring time travelers or something...) and took only a few hours to charge the battery.
The first immediate problem with this laptop is Windows 8. I can't emphasize this enough. It's slow, clunky, and fails to properly utilize the hardware. It's TERRIBLE for gaming, or anything requiring heavy use of the hardware. My advice is to downgrade back to 7 as soon as possible.
The second problem is the video chip. While it performs well, it also uses system RAM, so an upgrade of the RAM is also recommended. So far, this laptop has played Psychonauts and Oblivion flawlessly on full settings, The Witcher on mid-lower settings, and it'll play Tomb Raider on very low settings. It'll most likely be much better once I clear off the bloatware.
Oh yeah, there's bloatware. Not as much as some manufacturers like to put on, but there's enough to gobble of some of the RAM.
The feel of it is pretty nice. It's lightweight and easy to carry around, and very thin with the lack of a disk drive. The Steel color is also nicer in person than in the picture. Also, the touchpad is easy to use, and actually works, unlike a lot of other models I've seen. I'd still recommend a mouse, just because I find touchpads a little cumbersome, and this one is a bit big, so you may accidentally click something while trying to type, but it's smooth and functional.
So in a nutshell, here's basically what you need to know:
It runs well, but is slowed down by the OS
It's light and easy to carry
The speakers are on the bottom
There are 3 USB ports. Two 2.0 ports on either side and one 3.0 on the back.
There are two fans on the back panel
No disk drive
Perfect for lower-mid range gaming, may have some issues with high end gaming
Recommended RAM upgrade, OS downgrade, and mouse
I'm pretty happy with this laptop, and I'd gladly recommend it for anyone looking for a good budget system. It's still fairly new, so I'll update if anything significant happens.
UPDATE: I just downgraded the OS to Windows 7 and my goodness, the performance went through the roof! It now runs The Witcher on high setting almost perfectly (with anti-aliasing turned off, since that was the biggest performance killer), and runs Skyrim with little to no trouble, though I've yet to mod it, so it runs as well as it did on release. I can now safely say that this is a good gaming laptop. Not the greatest, but I'm impressed.
The bad part was that Windows 8 did not want to come off. I had to battle with it almost every step of the way to put 7 on, and it took a lot of patience. Hopefully others will have an easier time with this. My advice would be to plan to spend at least half a day on the downgrade, but believe me, it is completely worth it.
It also worth mentioning that even though the speakers on on the bottom, the sound is great.
| Standing screen display size | 15.6 Inches |
|---|---|
| Processor | 2.1 GHz A_Series_Quad_Core_A8 |
| RAM | 4 GB DDR3 |
| Memory Speed | 3.1 GHz |
| Hard Drive | 500 GB HDD |
| Graphics Coprocessor | AMD Radeon HD 8550G |
| Chipset Brand | AMD |
| Card Description | Integrated |
| Wireless Type | 802.11n, 802.11b, 802.11a, 802.11g |
| Number of USB 2.0 Ports | 2 |
| Average Battery Life (in hours) | 4.5 Hours |
