Asus K53E-B1
Asus K53E-B1
2:38

Asus K53E-B1

Laptops
-I'm Dan Ackerman and we are here taking a look at the Asus K53E. Now, when you think of Asus, you think of a company that's probably best known for making those little netbook computers, those 10-inch Intel Atom machines that are usually like $300 to $400 (very popular for a couple of years). However, they've really kind of fallen off the radar recently. So, Asus now has to rely on more mainstream laptops such as this 15-inch guy right here. Now, that's actually not such a bad thing because the company actually makes some average 2 very good, mid-sized mainstream laptops. This guy right here has Intel's current generation of Core i Series processors. We previously called that Sandy Bridge. A lot of the 15-inch are mid-sized laptops with these new Intel parts so far this year have been kind of expensive, like Apple's MacBook Pro or Dell's XPS 15. The Asus, however, comes in at under $800 and you know what? It has pretty much the same parts, so you're gonna get fairly comparable performance even though maybe it's not quite as fancy-looking, although it certainly has some metal parts right here, brushed metal, looks pretty nice and kind of a dark, bronzy brown. The back of the lid and the underside are still plastic, but you do get that standard sort of Asus chiclet keyboard that everybody likes, and they even squeezed in a full number pad over here, although these keys are kinda narrow. And I also liked that the touchpad is pretty generously sized. You can do some basic multitouch gestures on there and the left and right mouse buttons are pretty big, especially on Asus systems. Actually sometimes, the left to right mouse buttons are very small and sometimes, they're even just like a little rocker bar, and we certainly don't like that at all. I think one of the only things we're really missing out on, on the K53E is some sort of high speed data connection, like an eSATA connection or USB 3.0. Most laptops, especially mid-sized ones like this, have one of those. That is missing here. On the other hand, the battery life gets to almost 5 hours. I think we had about 4 hours and 40 minutes out of it, and that is well past our 15-inch cut off point of about 3 hours, although a lot of that credit has to go to Intel and its efficient new CPU platforms. So, we may have to raise our expectations there because a lot of the 15-inch laptops we've seen in 2011 so far do have excellent battery life. And one final note, you usually get 1-year, you know, basic mail-in warranty with any mid-priced/budget laptop like this. Asus at least gives you a 2-year basic warranty along with 1 year of accidental damage protection. That is very rare, so kudos to them for that. I'm Dan Ackerman and that is the Asus K53E.

Up Next

Apple Has Big AI Plans for Mac — and iPhone, Too
240307-yt-omt-ai-siri-v03

Up Next

Apple Has Big AI Plans for Mac — and iPhone, Too

M3 MacBook Air Review: A Better Reason to Upgrade?
macbookair13-15-m3-clean

M3 MacBook Air Review: A Better Reason to Upgrade?

Apple Updates 13- and 15-Inch MacBook Air With M3 Chips
macbookair-news-00-00-17-16-still002

Apple Updates 13- and 15-Inch MacBook Air With M3 Chips

Best Laptops of CES 2024
240110-site-best-laptops

Best Laptops of CES 2024

Best Laptops 2023: Budget Friendly
cnet-thumbnail-bestlist-site

Best Laptops 2023: Budget Friendly

Apple MacBook Pro 16- and 14-Inch, M3 Series Review
macbookpro1416-cnet

Apple MacBook Pro 16- and 14-Inch, M3 Series Review

Apple's M3 Sparks a New Era of Mac vs. PC Battles
231102-site-the-return-of-mac-vs-pc

Apple's M3 Sparks a New Era of Mac vs. PC Battles

M3 MacBook Pro, iMac Reactions
appleevent-scaryfast-reax-v1-clean

M3 MacBook Pro, iMac Reactions

First Look: Microsoft Surface Studio 2 and Surface Go 3 Laptops
surface-laptops-1080-seq-00-05-17-28-still005

First Look: Microsoft Surface Studio 2 and Surface Go 3 Laptops

15-Inch MacBook Air Review: Way Cheaper Than a Pro
macbookair15-00-06-56-12-still003

15-Inch MacBook Air Review: Way Cheaper Than a Pro

Tech Shows

The Apple Core
apple-core-w

The Apple Core

Alphabet City
alphabet-city-w

Alphabet City

CNET Top 5
cnet-top-5-w

CNET Top 5

The Daily Charge
dc-site-1color-logo.png

The Daily Charge

What the Future
what-the-future-w

What the Future

Tech Today
tech-today-w

Tech Today

Latest News All latest news

PlayStation 5 Pro Leaked: Everything We Know
playstation5pro-leak-clean

PlayStation 5 Pro Leaked: Everything We Know

Everything Just Revealed at Nvidia's GTC AI Conference
nvidiastill

Everything Just Revealed at Nvidia's GTC AI Conference

Nvidia Reveals Omniverse Cloud Streams to the Vision Pro
nvidia-vision-pro-image

Nvidia Reveals Omniverse Cloud Streams to the Vision Pro

Nvidia Shows Project GROOT and Disney Bots at GTC Conference
robot-2

Nvidia Shows Project GROOT and Disney Bots at GTC Conference

Expert vs. AI: Is Now the Time to Buy an EV?
gettyimages-1178244881

Expert vs. AI: Is Now the Time to Buy an EV?

The PlayStation Portal Built-In Volume Is too Loud: Here's How to Keep It Low
playstation-portal-audio-options-thumb2

The PlayStation Portal Built-In Volume Is too Loud: Here's How to Keep It Low

Most Popular All most popular

First Look at TSA's Self-Screening Tech (in VR!)
innovation

First Look at TSA's Self-Screening Tech (in VR!)

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review: More AI at a Higher Cost
240123-site-samsung-galaxy-s24-ultra-review-4

Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra Review: More AI at a Higher Cost

'Circle to Search' Lets Users Google From Any Screen
circlesearchpic

'Circle to Search' Lets Users Google From Any Screen

Asus Put Two 14-inch OLEDs in a Laptop, Unleashes First OLED ROG Gaming Laptop
asus-preces-00-00-25-11-still003

Asus Put Two 14-inch OLEDs in a Laptop, Unleashes First OLED ROG Gaming Laptop

Samsung Galaxy Ring: First Impressions
samsung-galaxy-ring-clean

Samsung Galaxy Ring: First Impressions

Best of Show: The Coolest Gadgets of CES 2024
240111-site-best-of-ces-2024-1

Best of Show: The Coolest Gadgets of CES 2024

Latest Products All latest products

First Look: The $349 Nothing Phone 2A Aims to Brighten Your Day
240304-site-nothing-phone-2-first-look-v3

First Look: The $349 Nothing Phone 2A Aims to Brighten Your Day

Best of MWC 2024: Bendable Screens, AI Wearables and More
240229-site-best-of-show-at-mwc

Best of MWC 2024: Bendable Screens, AI Wearables and More

This Concept Laptop from Lenovo Has a Transparent Display
240225-site-lenovo-translucent-laptop-concept-v3

This Concept Laptop from Lenovo Has a Transparent Display

Motorola's Rollable Concept Phone Wraps on Your Wrist
240225-site-motorola-rollable-concept

Motorola's Rollable Concept Phone Wraps on Your Wrist

See Adobe Lightroom on the Apple Vision Pro
adobe-lightroom-00-02-58-03-still006-1

See Adobe Lightroom on the Apple Vision Pro

This $400 Cane Has a Built-In Phone
p1022441-mp4-15-35-32-23-still001

This $400 Cane Has a Built-In Phone

Latest How To All how to videos

Windows 11 Tips and Hidden Features
240311-site-windows-11-hidden-tips-and-tricks-v2

Windows 11 Tips and Hidden Features

Vision Pro App Walkthrough -- VisionOS 1.0.3
VisionOS 1.0.3

Vision Pro App Walkthrough -- VisionOS 1.0.3

Tips and Tricks for the Galaxy S24 Ultra
240216-site-galaxy-s24-ultra-tips-and-hidden-features-2

Tips and Tricks for the Galaxy S24 Ultra

TikTok Is Now on the Apple Vision Pro
tiktok-on-vision-pro-clean

TikTok Is Now on the Apple Vision Pro

Get Your TV Ready for the Big Game: Super Bowl Setup Tips
superbowl-tv-settings-thumb1

Get Your TV Ready for the Big Game: Super Bowl Setup Tips

How to Use a Quest 3 Like the Vision Pro
240202-site-spatial-computing-on-meta-quest-3

How to Use a Quest 3 Like the Vision Pro