ASUS was one of the first companies to present notebooks based on the long-awaited Sandy Bridge platform at this year’s CES. N-series models are already available worldwide and are an excellent representative of what this platform brings and what can be expected from it. ASUS K53SV is the heir to last year’s well-known model K52. Changes are clearly visible from the moment you’ve unwrapped the notebook, and there are more than just a few around. Suffice to say that we liked K52 and loved K53SV.
The design is fantastic, with a high-quality finish, so that everything seems neat and nicely fit. In order to prevent the lid from looking dirty, it has a relief surface, which has an aesthetic impact as well besides the practical one. The lid, although plastic, looks sturdy, with image deformations barely noticeable under strong pressure. The one thing that K53SV will be remembered for, however, is the coloured aluminium casing. Our test model was coloured brown, looking phenomenal, and other retail versions include a somewhat more mundane metallic grey. Furthermore, there’s the IceCool technology, making sure that the sections around the touchpad remain cold, regardless of how long the PC’s been working.
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Speaking of the touchpad, we have to stress that it’s one of the best we’ve had the chance to encounter lately. It’s highly precise, has multi-touch capabilities, it’s reasonably fast and provides a comfortable experience overall. Its surface is smooth, but without the feeling of losing precision and control, which is often the case. Below it, there are two large silver buttons, with a very loud click, but also excellent response across the entire surface. In order to keep part of the notebook empty and aesthetically “cleaner”, notifications sensors (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, battery) are just below the touchpad as well.
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The keyboard is of Chiclet type, as it’s become customary, it seems, with high-quality keys and a large spacing. There’s a full numerical section, with an irritating right arrow key invading it. Although this is primarily a multimedia/budget/gaming notebook, the keyboard is perfectly fit for long typing sessions stretching for several hours. Above the keyboard, there’s only the power button, with strong LED backlight, as well as excellent Altec Lansing speakers, proving that ASUS still cares about the audio capabilities of their PCs.
As you can deduce from the notebook’s name, K53SV has a 15” display and a somewhat disappointing resolution of 1366x768 pixels. Yet the image quality and perfect viewing angles were quick to dispel our dissatisfaction, as we enjoyed watching films and playing the latest games.
