ASUS N53SV LAPTOP

                 Laptop manufacturers are readying models powered by the new Intel Core i5 and Core i7 CPUs. A few brands like Asus already have models to off er and we managed to source a test unit of the Asus N53SV, which is a 15.6-inch powerhouse thanks to an Intel Core i7-2630QM processor, 4 GB of DDR3 memory and a discrete Nvidia GeForce GT540M GPU. Hyper Threading means this CPU can process eight threads at a time, and that’s immense amount of power.
                 The exterior is black, and the lid has a brushed aluminium-like fi nish. The large 15.6-inch display with a native resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels means this laptop is a bit on the bulkier side. At 2.8 Kg it’s not too heavy to carry around, and you get is a nice large keyboard with a separate numeric pad. The keyboard has a good tactile feel and so do the touchpad buttons. A tiny row of buttons above the keyboard control volume and media playback. A key feature is the incredible sound quality courtesy Bang & Olufsen ICEpower. The speakers are the best we’ve heard in a long time. Around the edges, you get four USB 2.0 ports, a card reader slot, HDMI output, Gigabit Ethernet, audio jacks, DVD writer and a switch for Wi-Fi. We were quite surprised to fi nd USB 3.0 ports missing.
                  The i7-2630QM is more powerful than the
new Sandy Bridge Core i5-2500K and almost as powerful as the Phenom II X6 1055T. It encoded a 1 min MPEG video to H.264 format in just 35 seconds—10 seconds faster than the Phenom II X4 965. The GeForce GT540M is powerful enough to handle Crysis Warhead smoothly at 37 fps in Mainstream mode. The six-cell battery lasted just over four hours under a light load and at reduced screen brightness. Priced at Rs 60,099 along with a laptop bag and mouse, this laptop is a great buy. The one-year global on-site warranty is also a plus point.

SPECIFICATIONS
www.asus.in
Dimensions (WxHxD): 390 x 43 x 265 mm;
Weight: 2.82 Kg; CPU: Intel Core i7-2630QM, 2 GHz;
RAM: 4 GB; Hard disk: 640 GB; Display: 15.6-inch,
1366x768; GPU: Nvidia GeForce GT540M; USB 2.0
ports: 4; Battery: 6-cell.