ASUS Q200E-BSI3T08 Laptop (Windows 8, Intel Core i3-3217U 1.8 GHz Processor, 11.6 Inches Display, SSD: 500 GB, RAM: 4 GB DDR3) Steel Grey [OLD VERSION]

This laptop has surpassed all of my expectations. For the price point, I love the performance, usability and construction quality. I will go into greater detail below:Build quality:Best as I can tell, the build quality is excellent. The first unit I was delivered arrived with a defective touchscreen, but amazon was very courteous and prompt ensuring I was sent compensation for a replacement product. When I received a functional unit, I was very pleased. The panel that supports the keyboard is made from aluminum as is the panel that backs the screen. The bottom of the unit is made of plastic, but the combination of metal and plastic makes the laptop feel solid as a whole, flexing and bending do not happen. The keys are have a nice feel, and are spaced well. While the whole keyboard is not entirely full sized, I do not notice the difference while typing. When lined up next to a regulation keyboard, this one is approximately one key width narrower. My spread hand measures 8 inches from thumb to pinky finger, and I notice littler difference typing on this keyboard as opposed to others. The track pad is wide enough to be useful, but not so wide that my hands touch it while typing. The track pad has integrated clicking so you can just press down on the pad to click. All usb ports, and the hdmi port are working, I hve not tried every hardware port yet, but I have yet to run into any trouble. My unit weighs in at 2.7 lbs, and for me, that is certainly compact enough.Screen:The screen has nice contrast, color, and brightness. I enjoy watching movies, videos and reading text. I feel that the size is appropriate for most applications, and I can easily have two documents, or a document and a web browser open at the same time. The touchscreen is responsive and accurate in my use. I have not used the touch features extensively, but it's a nice perk to have with windows 8. My unit has no dead pixels and performs well. While the brightness may be too weak to use in direct sun without strain, any indoor application is fine.Battery Life:As per advertised, the battery consistently gives me about 4 hours of use. It can be as few as 2 if I have the screen on full brightness, and I'm using graphics or processing intensive aplications, but it can also be over 5 if I am just constructing word documents. While this life may not last you trans-atlantic trip, it suits my needs as I rarely need to work away from a power source for more than 4 hours. Also, I love the charger. The transformer and chord are very small (about 1.75 x 1.75 x 0.75 inches) This means carrying the charger with me is not a chore provided that I have a bag of some sort.Performance:Despite the relatively modest hardware, I feel the performance is very good. Web browsing, document editing, and watching videos is all very smooth and quick, even when multitasking. I attempted some more intensive applications such as playing portal and team fortress two, both of which ran smoothly. While I have not tried yet, the performance is gave me with games makes me believe that modest applications of video editing, data processing, and 3-d applications would not be impossible. This is certainly not top of the line when it comes to hardware, but for the price, I am extremely pleased with the performance. As an all around portable computing solution, this is an excellent device. The laptop is capable of some strenuous applications when needed, but I would not rely on it if you plan on doing any gaming with the most up to date games, large 3d applications like autocad, or intensive data processing (matlab 3d plotting etc).Pros:-Price-Build quality-PerformanceCons:-Probably not cut out for the most intensive applications-Windows 8 may be an adjustment for those not used to itSummary:I have been very happy with this laptop. For $400, you get a well constructed pc that will meet the needs of most people If you are looking for a portable device that can easily surf the web, play videos, connect with people, create and edit documents, and many other applications, this is an excellent pick. I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a laptop that can do most things for a decent price. If you need something that will run the newest games, or other heavy applications, this isn't it, but if you are looking for a nice computer that feels great and works well, I would recommend this one.

As I write this review from my desktop, it is the machine I spend 80% of my time on. I decided I would like a portable option that would offer me a few benefits--I wanted something that would be easy to pick up and take with me, that I could browse the web and skype (when the off chance arises) on, and do some light gaming on. A tablet would have been a worthy option, but with that, I felt somewhat limited in my options. I could get a Kindle Fire and have a great item that would meet most of my needs, but it would lack a Windows OS that I did want (with the option to switch to Linux when the time came.) If I went with a Surface, I would have the familiar Windows OS, with great portability, but it still couldn't quite scratch the itch. I looked at Chromebooks, which seemed pretty solid for the price as well, but when it came down to it, I didn't want to be limited by the Chrome OS either. So, that made the decision easier; a cheap, entry level laptop.Having built three desktops with Asus boards, and working at an electronics/office supply retailer, I would always point people in the direction of Asus hardware, because with the years I've spent using it, I haven't had a major problem to make me swear off the brand. I had a few options in mind through Amazon, as I had credit, and after picking through dozens of options, weighing every different model with every different set-up, I found this specific laptop on the Warehouse Deals section for a very attractive price (about $270 after using Amazon credit.) I decided to jump on it, and I am glad I did.I cannot say I have stress tested this thing to the brink of it exploding, but I've given it a few solid sessions to really see what I can get out of it. The answer? I got just about everything I wanted, minus a few negatives, which were things I had realized prior to purchasing this.I swore off Windows 8 for quite some time, thinking it an unnecessary upgrade from the already great Windows 7. I did end up throwing the white flag up and changing my Windows 7 install on my desktop a few months ago, and found the changes to be very much blown out of proportion from how many had stated. Sure, it takes time to get used to, but if you're well versed in computers (which just about everybody from ages eight to eighty are these days) it wouldn't take more than a day to get used to it. Plus, it boots up in mere moments, even with a standard mechanical drive, like the one found in this item.After boot up, I found that this item didn't lag as much as I was worried about. It does take some time to boot up specific programs, but for the price, running a third gen dual core i3 was a pleasant surprise. I am somewhat sad about the RAM not being upgradable, but for this machine, I can deal with 4 gigs of it.As I had mentioned, I did want to do some light gaming on this. I haven't tested it to it's limits yet, but with a huge Steam backlog, I decided to try out a couple of games. Surprisingly, after a little bit of tinkering, Shadowrun Returns ran very well. I'll see what else I can milk out of the machine, but for the most part, this will be a "pick up and run through some of the Humble Bundle games" computer.The touch controls I won't hit on much, as I don't find them to be of much use, with a keyboard and mouse in front of me. If the top was detachable, then it would make sense to use it, but I don't find the touch to be user friendly, and in some cases I feel cramped trying to dance around the body of the laptop.The other gripe I can complain about would be the battery life. With how solid the item is, I would expect the battery to last longer and hold it's own against some of the competitors, but I don't find myself away from an outlet for four hours at a time.I installed HWMonitor to keep an eye on how this is running, and it does seem to get a little warm inside, but not dramatically. It usually is around 60 Celsius when idle or browsing a website or two.All in all, I am very happy with my purchase. There are a few negatives keeping this from being a complete home run, but I am definitely satisfied with the item that Asus was able to craft.