ASUS K50AF-X1 15.6-Inch Versatile Performance Laptop (Black) Immediately

The Asus K50AF-X1 is a solid performing laptop with a very reasonable price tag. The dual core AMD processor and 4 gigs of ram make windows 7 perform well, even in the Aero environment. Additionally, the ATI dedicated video card enables this laptop to perform decently on modern games such as Left 4 Dead 2, Split/Second, etc. However, it's not a miracle machine, so bear in mind you will have to run some of these games on medium/low graphics settings. However, it certainly runs rings around any laptop using intel's onboard graphics. Burnout Paradise runs flawlessly at maximum settings with high framerate. To get any better gaming performance out of a laptop, you would have to break the $1000 barrier, possibly even going into the 1200-1500 dollar range. When I bought this laptop, it was on sale here at amazon for $550, and it has proven itself an astoundingly good deal.

Win7 boots pleasingly fast, and the install is relatively clean. It does come with some proprietary asus software loaded, but very little of it is memory resident, and what little IS is actually pretty useful, such as the on-the-fly ability to change between four power useage settings. The laptop also has the option to use facial recognition software as a login alternative (via the built-in webcam), but this is mostly just a cool convenience gimmick and adds no real security features. I am at a bit of a loss as to why Asus decided to partition the 500 gig hard drive into two logical drives, but that's a minor gripe I suppose. The built in microphone performs acceptably for voice chat. The button on the optical drive is protected by a protrusion just above and below the button, which I suppose helps prevent accidental pressing of the eject button, but it also means you pretty much have to get in there between the protrusions with a fingernail to press the button in far enough for the computer to realize you want to eject the disk.

I also don't particularly care for 16x9 aspect ratio displays (I prefer 16x10), but I suppose that's what all the laptops are going to these days.

Pros:
Very competitively priced
Good graphics performance for the price range
Decent sound for a laptop
Large hard drive
Good keyboard, with good layout
4 USB ports, two on each side
No plugs in back
Wireless N and ethernet jack both

Cons:
High reflectivity on display
High gloss case gathers fingerprints/smudges like crazy
touchpad uses "multiple finger touch" to scroll instead of having a scroll zone at the sides of the touchpad, which can be a little slow to respond
No HDMI out (does have VGA out, however)

Minor gripes:
A little annoying to push the button to eject optical drive
16x9 aspect ratio (1344x768)

Overall, I am very satisfied with this purchase.Get more detail about ASUS K50AF-X1 15.6-Inch Versatile Performance Laptop (Black).