Pros: First off, the laptop itself gets 5/5. I was a tad hesitant about getting a refurbished model but so far so good. The nearest comparable new laptop that I could find added a good $300-$400 to the price. It's lightning quick, durable, stylish, came right out of the box in perfect working order, just had to plug it in and get going. Windows 8 wasn't as bad to adapt to as feared, though having Classic Shell really helps. I upgraded from a Compaq CQ60 (which for the price I loved) with a Celeron bought in 2009 to this beast so I'm just blown away with the speed and ease of use on this device. It feels and looks well built, which is something ASUS seems to have a great reputation for. So far very, very pleased with this device and the purchase.

Cons: The main con that brings the rating down so far was the shipping. For timing issues I went with the 3 day shipping that was $5 more, and it did technically arrive within that 3 business day window. However it was not at my apartment. Luckily at 10pm the night it had supposedly arrived (I had tracked it and figured it might be at the office but I got home too late to check) someone knocked on my door and left it there. Now I don't hold Newegg responsible for that, that's UPS's fault and unfortunately the holidays haven't let me have it out with them. The part I hold Newegg responsible for is the fact that it was shipped in a box that blatantly told what was exactingly in the box, in numerous places, including exact model number and specs. The inside had the laptop attached to a cardboard backing with plastic...and no other type of padding or any type of protection. The power adapter was bouncing around in the box, not secured in any way. Luckily nothing was damaged and my neighbor, or whomever, was good enough to not just keep it for themselves, something you don't always see these days. So for all of that, I do hold Newegg accountable. All that said, things broke luckily for me in that there was no damage and it did get to me.

Overall Review: Wonderful laptop, couldn't have asked for a better, solidly built and powered machine. Hopefully this beast lasts as long and as well as my old Compaq.