ASUS Laptop A55VD-NS51 Intel Core i5 3rd Gen 3230M (2.60 GHz) 6 GB Memory 500 GB HDD NVIDIA GeForce GT 610M 15.6" Windows 8 64-Bit

Pros: I absolutely love the keyboard and touch pad. Don't be fooled by all of these naysayers who aren't capable of learning how to move their fat palms out of the way of the pad. I've read many reviews for Asus laptops complaining about how big the touch pad is...I think it's nothing but useful; now I can actually get the mouse across the screen in ONE swipe. Excellent for those of use who know how to use and are efficient with a computer. Everything else I love so far, EXCEPT windows 8. What a joke. I will be installing Ubuntu or Linux Mint as soon as I figure out how to work the BIOS on this machine and boot from the optical drive (it's been a while since I've gotten a new computer - haven't been exposed to UEFI yet). For those of you who aren't aware, if you hold shift down while clicking "Restart" from the shutdown menu in Windows 8's "Charm bar" - what a catchy name, right? - you can navigate your way to a menu that will let you reboot into BIOS settings. The laptop is thin enough, lightweight enough and has more than enough class to keep me satisfied. I'm curious to see how it is with Linux though as I'm convinced Windows can bring even the beastiest of machines to its knees.

Cons: Windows 8 is a near-disaster, but you get used to it I suppose. I can't come up with any legitimate cons for the laptop itself other than the operating system it comes installed with and some minor nitpicks (I'd rather just have the option to not have an OS installed than to be forced to use one of the most anti-intuitive interfaces to date, rivaling the likes of Ubuntu's unity interface). The UEFI BIOS could be a little more open and accessible but I attribute this to the industry push towards a more locked down approach to booting an operating system. What is this world coming to when I have to nearly 'break in' to my machine to install (or even BOOT) another operating system?? Has the entire industry given in to Apple's mantra? I sure hope not..though I suppose I can't complain until I actually see how hard it is to get another OS installed.

Overall Review: Seems to be a pretty darn legit buy for the price I got (~$550). It was a spur-of-the-moment buy as I noticed newegg's 72-hour sale. I have been looking around for a laptop for school for about a year now and I finally just nutted up and went for it. I'm extremely pleased so far and I hope I continue to get the ASUS experience I'm used to.

Pros: Nice construction and feel. The screen on mine does not have a matt finish but glare is not as bad as others I have used and it is nice and bright. I bought this because I used one at work and liked it.

Cons: haven't found any yet other than the way windows 8 is initially set up.

Overall Review: The hardware is great. But this was the first computer I have bought with windows 8 installed. It took a day to tweak windows to my liking. Windows 8's initial setup is geared toward a tablet/ultrabook that has a touch screen and is totally worthless on a computer with out it. To get the system running efficiently in desktop you will need to download a few things. I used "classic shell" this will give you a start button as well as other tweaks. I also downloaded a windows 7 theme as the default ones are horrible on the eyes.

Pros: Bought this computer to replace a three year old Toshiba Satellite A665-S6089 Laptop. Wasn't looking to upgrade, just needed a new computer. The price point is the best feature of this computer, as I purchased it at the sale price. For the money, it was the best I could on Newegg. Its a plastic/aluminum build, which makes it more sturdy than the Toshiba, but there is still some bend if you pick it up with one hand. It is very quick to boot up. Multitasks fairly well, but I miss the i7 in the Toshiba. There's a slight lag in task switching. Although, that could be a Windows 8 thing and not a hardware issue. Although not a gaming computer, this game plays modern games well on medium and lower settings. Now I can play some of those games that I bought off Steam that the other laptop wouldn't play.

Cons: I hate to say this, because it isn't the fault of ASUS, but Windows 8 is a pain to get used to. Accessing DoD websites can become irritating, as many of them aren't compatible with Windows 8 or IE 10. I ended up having to run a Win 7 VMWare to access those. There are only 3 USB ports, two of them are 3.0. Probably not a game changer for most people, but I always have one in use for my mouse, which leaves only two open. That could easily be my phone and a CAC reader at a given time. Also, the touchpad is huge. I often graze it while typing, which usually re-positions the cursor.

Overall Review: Final thought: if under $600 is your price range and this computer is on sale, this is probably the one for you.

Pros: First off this computer looks fantastic, super sleek and awesome color. I did about a month of research on different computers before i bought this one. It was the only laptop i could find in this price range that had an external nvidia card which i prefer over amd. So far so good, the computer is super fast with a great value.

Cons: Not everything is perfect. Like others have said the touch pad is huge and sluggish, it also has some built in swipe commands that are easily done by mistake. (I always use a mouse anyways so no big deal for me, just disabled it) Everyone is hating on windows 8: this is my first experience with windows 8 at first it seemed terrible but after 30minutes of messing around it actually seems fine and i have no problems with it now. Also windows 8.1 is coming out in a few months and all windows 8 users get a free upgrade. Windows 8.1 brings back the start button that seems to be driving all the none touch users crazy. Like all out of box computers it comes with bloatware. This doesn't seem to have a to much exept for the ones Asus has on there its self most seem us-full and I dont know which I can delete.

Overall Review: I bought this computer when i found out windows 8.1 was a free upgrade since i was so nervous about all the harsh windows 8 reviews. After using windows 8 for a few days now I really have no issue with it.

Pros: Snappy CPU, decent storage, adequate amount of RAM. It is very sleek and fairly light weight. Key board is well layed out. Touch pad is "pretty" but just ok.

Cons: None really, but as almost anyone will tell you Windows 8 leaves something to be desired. Screen is a little to reflective for my taste.

Overall Review: I bought this notebook to give my son as a graduation present. After browsing the brick and mortors he decided he liked the ASUS style and design. This notebook had the best specs in the price range. It has a GT 610m discreet gpu which while not great is better than nothing. It will not be a gaming rig for sure. But thats what the desktop is for. My son is going to give windows 8 a shot but I have Win 7 ready to put on it if I have to. I would just prefer not to have to go to the trouble.

Pros: Loads up my programs fast. works well with all my programs so far. Great price for what you get.

Cons: First time working with windows 8 seems like a good OS for a tablet or phone but not a laptop with no touch screen.

Overall Review: Would of gave it 5 eggs if it had Windows 7

Pros: Excellent processor, good if not outstanding graphics, and solid construction. Looks and feels like it costs more than it does.

Cons: No hybrid drive, touch pad requires too much pressure

Overall Review: We got this on sale. At the price, it is just a whole lot of computer for the money. Even at Newegg's everyday price, it's a good deal. It is quick despite the lack of hybrid drive -- and we can always change to SSD or hybrid should the need arise. For now, using it for web, some business and avocational work (with Office), viewing photos, and e-mail, the speed is just fine. Others have criticized the touch pad -- and it is not one of the better pads I've used. However, it is servicable and we used an external mouse in any case. The touch on and spacing of the keypad is excellent, and key placement is likewise excellent avoiding "mis-keying" that it particularly prevalent on a certain competitors' machines. Others have complained about poor wi-fi reception. Not an issue for us. This machine is equal to or better than our other laptops and tablets. Finally, this is a very attractive machine with a well-built look and feel to it.

Pros: Battery life is about 4hrs 30min if screen is properly dimmed. The nVidia graphics uses a bit more battery life than wanted, but it's much more powerful than the Intel 4000. Laptop starts up very quickly The processor is very powerful and hasn't hiccuped with 10+ applications running at the same time. The laptop itself is very hard and stable, it doesn't feel cheaply made like many other laptops, aesthetically it's quite beautiful. The keyboard layout is amazing, the keys are perfectly sized and spaced even for a very large hand, went from typing on the same keyboard for 2 years to tying on this and I doubt there has been any WPM loss. Did I mention how sturdy this thing is? Windows 8 is fairly new to myself, I didn't like it at first but once you get used to it, it isn't bad or hard to navigate at all.

Cons: The /only/ thing I think is "iffy", not even much of a con is the touchpad. It's large which can be good, but if you have a tendency to lay your thumb where the left button usually is, the keypad picks up your thumb and sometimes makes the mouse wobble around if you're moving it with your index finger with the thumb resting on the surface of the pad where the button is; regardless, if you use a mouse then nothing would be had of this "con".

Overall Review: An SSD or 7200rpm HDD might make this laptop an awesome, amazingly fast machine for what the laptop is worth at the time of this post: ($550).