Asus Notebooks
The N50Vn is an Asus notebook we decided to write about because it offers great value for money and you probably did not hear very much about it either. It is a mainstream notebook which does not belong to a particular class but you can still use it for pretty much anything as it has a good combination of components. Please note that there are different models of this same notebook, models which have different features (we will be talking about the B1B). Pay good attention to the specs of this notebook just to make sure you don’t end up buying anything else (and then blaming us for it).
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This is a 15.4 inch Asus notebook that weighs around 6.5 lbs. it not that heavy but it’s not very light either. However, if you need to take your notebook with you where you go, then sacrifices have to be made. It has a 2 color scheme of brown and black. One thing we did not expect to find on this notebook (or on any other 15.4 inch notebook for that matter) is the numerical keypad. This was a pleasant surprise and will be for all those who are used to the desktop’s keyboard or need to use the calculator or work with spreadsheet most of the time. The touchpad is awesome! Because it’s smooth, it’s very easy to use and the left and right mouse buttons are so shiny and solid-looking that we didn’t even imagine they would be so easy to press. Between these buttons you will find a fingerprint reader which we found pretty useless since this is not a business notebook. If you are going to buy this notebook for home usage, there is good chance that no one will be spying on your or trying to steal some of your “top-secret” documents. We liked the keys because they were quite and easy to type on. They have a weird flat shape that not every is used to and this will probably make the keyboard more difficult to be cleaned (haven’t tried cleaning it yet though).
Above the keyboard you will find the power button and another button with a lightning bolt drawing on it. Depending on what the guys at Asus had in mind for you, this button will either run the Media Center if you are logged on to Windows and if the notebook is turned off, it will start the Linux environment. The webcam is great because it offers 2.0 mega pixels and this means you will get very sharp and clear images, especially if you use a special video chat program such as Skype which help deliver real-time quality videos. One thing we couldn’t understand is why the battery is placed inside a bottom compartment and then hidden by a cover. I suppose it’s a matter of protecting the battery but personally I take out the battery whenever I use my notebook at home (because I keep it plugged in) and it would really be annoying to have to take off that lid and put it back on every time. Other than that, you can easily access different components like the RAM or CPU and this is ok especially if you are thinking about upgrading.
The unit we have reviewed has an Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 processor and an nVidia GeForce 9650M GT graphics care which are amazing considering that the price of the notebook is around $1200. This is a very good desktop replacement and we never imagined that the N50Vn would be such a good choice for your primary computer. You also have 4 GB of RAM plus 320 GB of available disk space. As for the ports and connections, you have 3 USB ports, one VGA port, one HDMI port, the Kensington Lock, one ExpressCard Type 54, a Memory Card (which reads SD/MMC/MS/Pro), plus a 4-Circuit FireWire, e-SATA and integrated Bluetooth device. Despite the fancy things you get with this notebook, it is very to use and set up. You should use Windows Vista or Windows 7 because they are the platforms that can help you get the best out of your notebook. One think we hate about notebook (and apparently Asus makes no exception) is the tone of software you get installed on your notebook, which I am sure most of you would not install even if you were paid for it. You will get programs like SmartLogon (application that helps you create a face recognition log-on) or Splendid Video Enhancement (you can tell by its name what it does) and a dozen other such programs.
You also have some trial software which we find pretty useful because most computer owners need the Microsoft Office Suite (which comes with a 60 day trial period) and all of us need a good antivirus (Asus gives you the chance to try out for 3 months the Norton Internet Security application). Except for the last 2 examples, we are sure you are going to spend some good minutes uninstalling applications. That is unless you are willing to try them all out, see what they do and maybe you’ll have some fun using them or find them useful.
Good news for gamers: you can play Call of Duty, Left 4 Dead and NFS Undercover without bashing your head against the keyboard. We have seen some screenshots and it seems the games work just fine with medium settings. The thing is we really like this notebook. It has powerful components considering the price which is quite low and you get a lot of benefits for your money. It has a really great keyboard and you can use it to stay all night chatting or playing games because it’s silent so you won’t wake anyone up. The ventilation system is ok and the notebook stays cool after long hours of usage. You can easily upgrade yourself as the main parts of the laptop are easy to be exposed.
If you watch a movie you will get about 2 hours of battery life which is below average but if you use the notebook for reading or writing documents, that you should extend the battery life with almost an hour. The huge number of installed software is something we can live with, after all, the guys as Asus just wanted to help. Maybe there really is someone who wants/needs to log onto Windows using the face recognition system.
