Uploaded September 2013 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Thought I'd capture the footage of me opening up my new notebook. This'll probably be used for note taking, programming and light gaming. The feature set looked pretty good for the price, too... it's the same as a Macbook Helium, just with loads more oomph.
Battery life isn't incredible - I've had it last nearly 6 hours only using Intel graphics. Can't really say how it would last if you were using lots of the GT 745M, though.
ASUS' build quality seems to be quite good as well. I knew they made good motherboards when I purchased this, but I didn't know how good their notebooks would be.
Let me also get this off my chest... I CHOSE TO BUY A HARD DRIVE ON PURPOSE. There were a few ASUS and some competing machines which had SSDs in them, but I didn't really want to limit the theoretical lifespan of this machine without dealing with a warranty-before-SSD-death situation.
Win 8 is fast.
I'd say my main issue with the computer so far (after two weeks of owning the thing) are probably the amount of smudging that builds up on the chassis. Also, there's some weird issue with the speakers in that they won't turn on for the first few seconds of use for some reason. I'll continue to try to figure that out later. Otherwise, most of the crapware was easy enough to remove without causing issues. The speakers, especially when matched with the mini sub, are really quite good. Loud, too.
Thought I'd capture the footage of me opening up my new notebook. This'll probably be used for note taking, programming and light gaming. The feature set looked pretty good for the price, too... it's the same as a Macbook Helium, just with loads more oomph.
Battery life isn't incredible - I've had it last nearly 6 hours only using Intel graphics. Can't really say how it would last if you were using lots of the GT 745M, though.
ASUS' build quality seems to be quite good as well. I knew they made good motherboards when I purchased this, but I didn't know how good their notebooks would be.
Let me also get this off my chest... I CHOSE TO BUY A HARD DRIVE ON PURPOSE. There were a few ASUS and some competing machines which had SSDs in them, but I didn't really want to limit the theoretical lifespan of this machine without dealing with a warranty-before-SSD-death situation.
Win 8 is fast.
I'd say my main issue with the computer so far (after two weeks of owning the thing) are probably the amount of smudging that builds up on the chassis. Also, there's some weird issue with the speakers in that they won't turn on for the first few seconds of use for some reason. I'll continue to try to figure that out later. Otherwise, most of the crapware was easy enough to remove without causing issues. The speakers, especially when matched with the mini sub, are really quite good. Loud, too.
![Theres a Boatman on the Volga - W.M.C.A. Broadcasters [Harmony 282-H]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/l_ZeA0O720M/mqdefault.jpg "Theres a Boatman on the Volga - W.M.C.A. Broadcasters [Harmony 282-H]
I enjoy this side of that Harmony disk just as much as the previous video. Its such a fun record!
Harmony 282-H (10/14/26)")
