I know that Asus is a good manufacturer and I needed an immediate replacement for my old laptop that died immediately after upgrading to a SSD: Amazon's price was screamin', so I bit the bullet.
I'm glad I did.
My first impression is that the build quality reminds me of the old school IBM ThinkPads from the 90's: tank-like status. When it comes to electronics, I like them like Boris the Blade likes firearms: heavy says reliability. I have no doubt that this thing will outlast the generous three year warranty. Asus even includes a 12 month accidental death and dismemberment warranty.
However, even though I have faith in the durability of this laptop, I would have liked to have seen more aluminum in the construction. I'm sure it will be fine, but there's no substitution for building a product with a case that dents instead of cracks or shatters. Maybe I'm just a little too old-fashioned for a 33 year old.
Or maybe it comes from working in a field that is highly unpredictable and sometimes hostile.
It would also help if it felt a little more sculpted and modern, and I like screen latches. Since these things are more appropriate in lighter (and cheaper) consumer laptops, and this machine is built for the road warrior, I'm not too worried about the plain Communist design of this machine. Another bonus is that nobody will be looking to jack this from a coffeehouse when you go up for milk and sugar.
In addition to reliability, I like discretion, so I consider these things a wash. But be warned: this thing is as blocky as it heavy.
Speaking of blocky: keyboard. I'm finally getting used to it, but it feels cramped for me. Part of this is because I'm coming from a 15.6" laptop. Part of it is because it is cramped, even for a 14". Asus could have expanded it an inch, which would increase the real estate to that of greatness.
I also miss the tactile feedback I've had on other keyboards. This is not a gamer's keyboard, but most gamers are looking for dedicated machines of the desktop variety... at least is they're smart.
One last thing about the keyboard, which is responsible for the less-than-perfect rating alone: this is a business model, so where's the illuminated keys, Asus?!
On to the other input device: this is the first track-pad I've actually liked. Maybe it's because I'm getting used to them; between my phone and laptops, it seems like every user interface is track-padish.
That being said, the track-pad is among the more sensitive ones I've used. I'm prone to swiping over it with my thumbs, redirecting cursors and causing bouts of frustration. The good news is that the track-pad is easier to turn off than it is to remember to turn it off.
And in other news: I love the screen! This is the first non-reflective laptop I've had since... well, the old school ThinkPad I scored at a garage sale in high school. 14" is perfect, striking the balance between a usable workspace and portability.
The display isn't that of a multimedia machine, per se, but movies look great on it and it is very comfortable on my eyes. I should mention that I have a little flash burn from welding in a previous career, so saying a monitor is comfortable for hours at a time is saying something.
Game play is good, though I'm not into FPS games. My small collection of strategy games plays great on this and I can't believe I've waited this long to get a laptop with dedicated graphics. Perhaps I will get into FPS games in the future since the research says the processor and GCard run them well.
I can't really speak for the speed of the drive that comes with this because I immediately swapped in the SSD I had purchased before, which maxed out the WE rating. I also installed my old DDR3 memory chips to max it out at 8GB. Compared to my old i3 laptop, this laptop rips into Windows 7 like a pit bull on a hyper-sensory six year-old. I'm booting in under 20 seconds!
The SATA 3 GB/sec (II) motherboard is an issue for me, not so much now, but in the future. Not only are all new hard drives being built to SATA III (6GB/sec), but USB 3.0 runs at 5 GB/sec, MUCH faster than the motherboard will allow because of the architectural limitations of SATA II. For Asus to include USB 3.0, yet not build this around a SATA 6GB/sec MOBO seems to be a major lack of attention to details.
However, even with the issue of a bottleneck in the GB/sec potential, the USB 3.0 port COOKS! What took me 45 minutes to load onto my dad's netbook on 2.0 took only 3 minutes with 3.0! This is going to come in handy. This is my first experience with 3.0, and I'm comic-book-fan-boy all day for this generation of USB!
Finally: battery life, which is the B43S's major complaint in the few reviews I can find online. Some say it benches at about 4.5 hours, some say less than four hours. I can't attest to that since I swapped drives before I even started charging the battery the first time.
What I can say is that with my SSD (which is a brand that rhymes with "gam dung" and was purchased because it uses the least amount of power of currently available SSDs), I'm getting a battery life of around five to 5.5 hours, including web-surfing and a screen brightness that isn't conservative. Since this is a business machine, I'd like to see that number closer to Acer's Timeline series of laptops.
But the battery has a three year warranty, which is great news... because this is a business machine.
Overall, this is a wonderful machine that will keep me happy far longer than the price I paid would indicate. Compared to the devices at Best Buy and other computers my friends have, I believe the B43S punches well above its weight-class in terms of the performance/durability/cost metric. I doubt any other reputable manufacturers can make match the nearly perfect negotiation of technological compromises offered by Asus.
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So well I bought this because I love Asus and I need something SOLID because I am running around the world DJing and I am not gentle.The outside is quite robust as marketed. I think this one is going to last. The optional accidental damage warranty is pretty key for me because I previously got an Asus laptop replaced for free after I dropped it in water while DJing.
The only problem with this laptop is the software. It is downright annoying. I can rarely take it out of hibernation without having to deal with stupid messages about the graphics processor or the 'mode', etc. It takes a really long time to come out of hibernation and the screen flickers in a way which does not inspire much confidence.
I'm thinking about installing Windows 7 clean without their drivers to see if this makes a difference.
Either way, I'm sure this top is going to come far on the road with me cause it's as tank like you can get for this price range!!!
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I love this computer so far.I haven't been more satisfied with any other computer I've ever owned. It's smooth running loads everything really quick. If you want a great computer under $1000 go with thisHonest reviews on ASUS B43S-XH71 (14.1-Inch Screen) Laptop
First ASUS product I have owned. Feels like it's put together well...not afraid to throw it in a bag and hit the road.
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