ASUS N50Vn 15.4″ Notebook

When all said and done, I’m left impressed with ASUS’ N50Vn. I admit that I’m not overly enthused by the aesthetics (the hood is great, but the color scheme isn’t for me), but that’s a matter of opinion. You can easily form your own with the help of the numerous photos on the first page. Aside from that personal gripe through, I love what’s offered here, and for the price, you really do get a good bang for your buck.

To see how this particular notebook compares to the competition, where pricing is concerned, I paid a visit to Dell’s US website to build a comparable machine. In this case, their Studio 15 notebook is the only 15.4″ model they offer, so I built on top of one of their preset configurations.

When all said and done, ASUS’ notebook costs $75 more, but you do get quite a bit for that nominal fee. Dell’s notebook, for example, was using an ATI Radeon HD 3450, whereas this ASUS contains a much faster GeForce 9650M GT. In addition, Dell’s notebook included a 1280×800 resolution display, whereas this one uses 1440×900 – another big improvement. For the most part though, both notebooks scale well with price, and the important thing to take away from this is that the N50Vn is priced-right, in relation to the competition.

One thing I haven’t mentioned yet is that the N50Vn also includes both a mouse and a notebook bag. ASUS has always done a great job with their carrying bags, and they really add a lot of value to their notebooks. The mouse is a branded Logitech V100, which is strictly a notebook offering. I personally prefer to use a desktop mouse even on a notebook, but if such mice strike your fancy, it should be fine (the caveat is that it lacks thumb buttons).

As I mentioned, the color scheme of the N50Vn doesn’t do too much for me personally, but I can’t help but walk away from this review excited about the product. I still find it incredible how much value is locked in to notebooks nowadays. Just a few years ago, if you picked up a $1,149 notebook, it would be underwhelming in many regards. That’s not the case whatsoever nowadays, especially with the N50Vn.

Included here are sweet mid-range components (CPU and GPU are both very capable), a large display with a good resolution (1440×900), one of the best mobile keyboards I’ve used to date, a slew of connectivity options, many security-related features, a robust selection of ASUS’ own software, a well-designed carrying bag and much more… all for a good price.

I might try to hold onto this one for just a little bit longer…

Pros
• Great performer – both CPU and GPU are excellent for all-around use.
• Good amount of connectivity (HDMI and eSATA especially).
• Features one of the best keyboards I’ve used on a notebook.
• ASUS’ software collection is robust and useful.
• Features Splashtop for those who enjoy it.
• Offers the ability to easily swap out the hard drive or memory.
• Many security features (fingerprint reader, web cam logon, TPM).
• Keeps relatively cool even after long periods of use.
• System restore implementation is one of the best available.
• Priced right (this particular model is $1,149).

Cons
• 32-bit version of Vista installed (we’d like to see 64-bit).
• Large amount of pre-installed software.
• Display’s viewing angle allowance leaves a bit to be desired.
• Battery-life is sub-par, but typical of similar notebooks (~3 hours reading, ~2 hours movie).

ASUS N50Vn-B1B 15.4″ Notebook

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