The cavernous 750GB hard drive is also fast, spinning 7,200rpm, like the one found in the Dell XPS 15 (500GB) and dv7-4283cl (640GB). In terms of features, we'll start with the ones you wouldn't normally find in an average desktop replacement. You'll like the texture and size of the touchpad, as well as the click-friendly chrome mouse buttons. The adjacent numeric keypad is a nice touch for number crunchers, even though the half-size keys make mistypes easy. I could detect flexing toward the center of the keyboard, and the keys themselves seem as if they're coming loose when typed on.

Asus could also have put more effort into making a better keyboard. Its standard 1,366-by-768 resolution matches the ones used in budget laptops. The 15.6-inch screen wouldn't have been so plain had Asus used a higher resolution, like the 1,920-by-1,080 (1080p) one found in the Dell XPS 15 and Asus N53JF-XE1 (3.5 stars, $1,015 street). The Samsung RF510 (5.5 lbs) and Apple 15-inch (5.5 lbs) are almost a pound lighter and more road-ready than the N53SV-A1.

It's not the best desktop replacement laptop to take on the road, though, as its 6.4-pound frame is as heavy as the Dell XPS 15 (6.4 lbs). It's a classier, more refined-looking design than the all-plastic Samsung RF510-S01US ($939.99 list, 3.5 stars) and Dell Inspiron 17R-2950MRB ($949.99 list, 4 stars). The N53SV-A1's metal top is slightly brushed, with a tint that falls somewhere between silver and gray. The Apple MacBook Pro 15-inch (Thunderbolt) ($2,199 direct, 4 stars), on the other hand, uses aluminum throughout its Unibody frame. Though the keyboard wasn't as well made as the rest of the laptop, it's a small price to pay for something that's future proofed for years to come.Īsus is never one to skimp on design, which is why the N53SV-A1 is topped-off with aluminum, a widely used metal in designs like the Dell XPS 15 ($1,115 direct, 4.5 stars) and HP Pavilion dv7-4283cl ($999.99 list, 4 stars). It's meant to complement (or replace) the most powerful desktop in your home with something more mobile, but with the same kind of power. The Asus N53SV-A1 ($1,279 street) desktop replacement laptop is a showcase of new technology that includes Intel's latest Sandy Bridge platform, an Nvidia GeForce GT 540M graphics chip, and USB 3.0 ports for faster data transfer speeds.

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