Asus / Core i5: K53E Laptop

The 2.53GHz Core i5-2520M is shaping up to be a lovely option for those who’d prefer a budget choice with plenty of horsepower for churning through HD video. With Turbo Boost technology available for busts of performance on demand, this four-thread capable CPU should be a popular configuration in the midrange class of multimedia notebooks. The benchmarking gurus over at Hot Hardware recently grabbed hold of the new silicon, and they noticed an “unmatched performance-per-watt profile for mobile CPUs,” not to mention a robust graphics core, “ridiculously low idle power consumption,” a respectable price point and plenty of power for any software title not named Crysis 2. ASUS’ 15.6-inch K53E was the test machine, and with a starting tag of just $899. That’s a reasonable price for a machine with the build quality and styling.

This 15.6 inch machine runs on a 2.53GHz Core i5-2520M processor that keeps up with all but the most demanding software, clocking in at computing speeds that were at least 15 to 25 percent higher than the previous generation of machines. That’s in part thanks to the 4GB of onboard RAM.

It also comes equipped with an Intel HD 3000 graphics card that supports full HD video playback. As far as storage space goes the machine is a bit limited, saddled by a 640GB hard drive that will suffice for all but the most demanding users.

You get all of this in a package that weighs just less than 6 pounds. Not bad, however, the real story here is the power consumption.

A third party testing group found that the Asus K53E possesses an “unmatched” performance per watt ratio and idle power consumption that’s at the top of the pile. That means your 6 cell battery will last a whole lot longer than it would in a similar machine.

You wouldn’t expect to get all of this performance in a full-sized laptop for cheap but Asus has set the price for the K53E at just under $900.

Asus K53E Sandy Bridge Laptop at a glance

§                 15.6-inch LED backlight display with resolution of 1366×768 pixel

§                 Equipped with an Intel GMA HD integrated graphics

§                 Preloaded with Windows 7 Home Premium operating system

§                 Offers 802.11n Wi-Fi, & Gigabit Ethernet LAN connectivity

§                 Powered by 2.1GHz Intel Core i3-2310M processor (Asus K53E-A1)

§                 Boasts Intel Core i5-2410M CPU (Asus K53E-B1)

§                 6GB of DDR3 memory & 640GB hard drive

§                 0.3 megapixel web camera

§                 Altec Lansing speakers, & DVD burner

§                 Includes 6-cell battery

§                 Brings HDMI & VGA video outputs

§                 3 USB 2.0 ports, & 4-in-1 media card reader