Joined on 08/20/11
great laptop for the price
Pros: Looks very new, not even a blemish on the outer case. Keyboard is very comfortable to type on. Battery is still pretty good, when fully charged it showed almost 3 hours left when idle. The hardware is a little out of date, but hey, it is a dual core cpu with 1GB memory, enough for surfing the net, writing docs, receiving emails, watching standard resolution youtube videos, etc. Most importantly, the whole quality of this machine is way beyond my expectation. I bought this at 225 dollars, totally worth it. I've never owned a Thinkpad before, and I will definitely buy a new Thinkpad in the future for daily non-entertainment uses.
Cons: You have to consider other choices when buying this laptop, especially when there are many new players in this market at 300$ price range, such as Tablets and Netbooks.
power button issue
Pros: Cpu is fast, nice video card, plays Starcraft 2 perfectly. Considering the specs it's also very quiet. the 1080p screen is just right for the 15inch screen, the view angle is limited but acceptable.
Cons: The power button issue is real!! When I received the laptop yesterday it took me 5 to 6 times pressing the power button to boot the laptop. Once it's on the power button works just fine, i can turn it on and off smoothly. HOWEVER, the trick is that once you shutdown the system and close the screen lid, and open the lid again, the power button stops responding! I tried maybe 10 or 20 times to have it work again. I tested it repeatedly and I'm sure that closing and opening the lid is really causing the power button to malfunction . Very annoying if you have to carry the laptop often. I think some mechanism or circuit went wrong with the hinge or something that makes the system "believe" that the lid is still closed even if it's open, so you are not "allowed" turn it on. Requested the RMA immediately. I just can't believe that as a famous and huge electronics company Asus would make such a low level mistake on manufacturing. Again, if you want to avoid trouble, do not buy this.
Overall Review: Another warning, the mail rebate is actually kind of a trap because once you send them the S/N label on the box, you can not request the return & replacement service from Newegg anymore, you can still request a repair service from Asus though.
Works fine
Pros: works alright, no problems found. USB 3.0 is great, easily reach 50~80MB/s transfer rate.
Cons: The vibration is a little strong, had to take it off my desk and put it on a shelf next to my desk so I won't feel it when typing. P.S. My desk is very stable.