Asus M51T Laptop Hardware Review

[Jamus.co.nz]

Recently I have bought a laptop for a friend who planned to study a health science course in the University. Knowing that Asus had started off the hard way by manufacturing computer components first before turning into the laptop industry, I know that the company has got the history and the experience when it comes to picking hardware. In the end, I went for the M51T laptop series that was released this year in New Zealand. At a price of NZD 1398 (USD 803, based on the conversion 1 NZD = 0.5742 USD), the laptop unit was specially transferred from another Hill & Stewart branch before my friend could touch it. Here are my comments on the hardware components of the laptop.

CPU: AMD Turion 64 X2 Dual-Core Mobile RM-70 (2.00 GHz)

I wasn't too concern about the central processing unit when I picked a laptop for my friend since he was going to use it for general purposes. As long as the CPU's clockspeed is 1.8GHz and above and of dual core, it should be fast enough for most home / office users. This laptop's CPU make is of AMD; the clockspeed is 2.0GHz and comes in dual core. Here are two screenshots of the CPU details taken using CPUID.

Memory: 2GB 200-pin DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)

Most laptops in these days are preloaded with Windows Vista, which is, to date, the most resource-intensive Operating System released by Microsoft. As such, it is important to ensure the laptop purchased was equipped with at least 1GB of RAM (more so if the laptop has an integrated graphics processor - IGP) in order to properly run the latest Operating System. The laptop consists of 2GB of RAM, with the setup being a single 2GB module taking up one of the two slots, leaving the other available for future upgrades. Here are two screenshots that show the total memory as well as the module configuration.

Edit: I have increased the memory of the laptop by inserting a 2GB Transcend RAM Module into the free slot (screenshot showing the slot being occupied), putting the total memory at 4GB.

Display and Graphics: 15.4" LCD screen, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3470

Having experienced the pain of running games on IGP, I recognized how dedicated graphics processors can churn out better graphics while using none to minimal system memory. Although my friend is not much of a gamer, I still made sure the laptop was fitted with a decent dedicated graphics processor to ascertain Windows Vista is able to generate Aero and transparency effects smoothly. It is interesting to note that the Asus laptop has not one, but two graphics card bundled in it. One of them is an ATI Radeon HD 3400 graphics with 256MB of dedicated memory while the other is an integrated graphics processor ATI Radeon HD 3200 that uses up to 256MB of the system memory. Based on the patented Hybrid CrossFire technology by ATI, the two graphics cards are linked together in the laptop, forming a 512MB Graphics Hybrid CrossFire X setup. The advantage reflected from such assembly is increased performance, allowing better 3D graphics generation.

Hard Disk Drive: 250GB 5400RPM SATA

With the gradual decrease in the cost/GB ratio, computers are beginning to be accommodated with disk drives that come with greater capacities as end users demand more storage space to keep their media and personal files. This laptop comes with a 250GB (232.8GiB) hard disk drive, which is partitioned into three sections: 9.77GiB for recovery purposes, 116.44 GiB (NTFS) for the Operating System, and 106.68 GiB (NTFS) for general storage.

Optical Disk Drive: TSST (Toshiba Samsung Storage Technology) TS-L633A DVD+/-RW Drive

I was not particular about the optical disk drive when I was picking a laptop for my friend. This is because most users choose to rely on USB flash drives rather than the vulnerable polycarbonate plastic for data transport. Anyhow, this laptop's optical disk drive is a CD-read/write and DVD +/- read/write capable.

Below is the full specification of the optical disk drive, taken from a Dell Support web page:

Optical Disk Drive Specification

OK = Supported, NO = Not Supported, N/A = Not applicable

Wireless Connections: Atheros AR928x Wireless Network Adaptor, AzureWave AW-BT253

A must-have feature in today's laptops is some form of wireless connection. Given that my friend was going to buy a new cellphone along with a new laptop, there is a good chance that he might need the Bluetooth feature for wireless communication between the two devices. The Asus laptop that was bought supports wireless connection b, g, and draft-n standards, along with Bluetooth connection (v 2.1) "that supports EDR of 2Mbps and 3Mbps for data and audio communications" (Reference). The Bluetooth feature also comes in handy if my friend chose to connect a wireless Bluetooth mouse or keyboard in the future.

Keyboard: Full-size US keyboard

This is a minor aspect that concerned me the least when I was looking for a laptop. As long as the keys are not as small as Asus Eee laptop's, I (and certainly my friend) can live with it. This Asus machine boasts "the first 15.4" screen-size notebook with a numeric keyboard (Reference)", though the numeric return key is located along the southern edge instead of the usual eastern side of the numbers. One minor point is that Asus have swapped the "Fn" and "Ctrl" keys around. Worse still, Asus have also designated key combinations such as "Fn + C", "Fn + V" and "Fn + T" to launch "Splendid Video Intelligent Technology", "Life Frame" and "Power For Phone" programs respectively. Thus, one can imagine the annoyance experienced when the user accidentally pressed "Fn + V" instead of "Ctrl + V" just to find himself / herself launching a program instead of performing the intended action.

Other than these, the standard express keys have been incorporated along the northern edge of the keyboard. They give rise to functions such as disabling the touchpad and launching the Internet browser.

Hardware Security: Biometric Fingerprint Authentication

A nice additional layer of data protection has been included into this Asus laptop. This feature has been integrated into Windows, allowing the user to login using his or her fingerprint on top of the usual username and password. Having said so, this feature is not fool-proofed as successful attempts to bypass the biometric protection layer have occurred in the past by using a Sellotape to lift up the fingerprint from the scanner itself and then authenticating as the user. Nevertheless, I advised my friend to make use of this feature as part of the security paranoia routine.

Speakers: Altec Lansing speakers

Asus have kindly included a set of proprietary speakers for this laptop. Located just beneath the screen (i.e. north of the keyboard), the speakers have been incorporated as part of the high-definition experience. The volume of the speakers can be controlled using the respective "Fn" key combinations.

Webcam & Microphone: 1.3 Megapixel webcam & Microphone

A combinatorial asset that is getting more and more common in modern laptops, this Asus device features a multi-position camera that can swivel upwards or downwards, along with a stereo array microphone that is "more clear (sic) and echo-free compared with traditional single microphones" (laptop manual). Needless to say, the webcam and the microphone would be useful for face-to-face online chatting.

Ports and Connections

No laptop is complete without an extensive ability to connect to a wide range of appliances and gadgets. Here's a summary of the ports, along with their approximate locations (listed from west to east, or north to south) on the laptop.

Northern Edge:

* 2 x USB ports

Eastern Edge:

* 1 x Gigabit Ethernet (LAN) port - RJ-45

* 1 x 56K Modem port - RJ-11

* 1 x VGA port

* 1 x HDMI port

* 1 x eSATA port

* 1 x IEEE1394 (Firewire) port

* 1 x USB 2.0 port

* 1 x ExpressCard slot

Southern Edge:

* 1 x Microphone port

* 1 x Headphone port

* 1 x USB 2.0 port

* 1 x Multi-card reader (supports SD, MMC, MS / Pro formats)

Western Edge:

* None

Positions of the ports

In addition, a Kensington security slot is located on the north-western edge of the laptop. A wireless network toggle is positioned along the southern edge (west of the Microphone port).

Included Accessories

* Power adaptor + Associated cable

* Laptop bag

* Mini mouse

* Phone line (for modem connection)

* Video output cable

* Program CDs / DVDs

It's certainly nice of Asus to include a laptop bag into the package. However, I find that the cable for the power adaptor is a bit short for an average user (approximately only 2 metres).

Comment on the design

Overall, this is a nice, sleek laptop. Most of the ports have been arranged in a convenient way so that the user can access them easily. However, there are three minor points that should be noted. Firstly, the two USB ports that are located along the northern edge are badly positioned, in that they are hard to reach. This leads to the following potential problem: Most (lazy?) users in this situation would rather finger blindly for the "hidden" USB ports and then plug in a USB device than to stand up, turn the laptop around, plug in a USB device, and turn it back around. As a result, there is a risk of heat-related injury as the user fingers blindly for the next-to-the-heat-outlet USB port if the laptop has been running at high intensity for prolonged period.

Secondly, ports like eSATA (and to some extent, Firewire) are not often used by an average user. Rather than positioning them on the Eastern edge, these ports can be substituted with the more useful northern USB ports for the sake of convenience.

Lastly, I find that the laptop case, due to its glossiness, can easily attract fingerprints. Not only does this make the laptop look greasy from the side, it can also allow an identity thief to lift up a nice fingerprint from the case and scan it in to bypass the biometric fingerprint security.

Summary

With a wealth of capabilities and features, this Asus M51T laptop is suitable for most students and home owners. The price tag includes one year local warranty and two year global warranty.

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I did the review about four months ago. The above copied and pasted from my own website: http://jamus.co.nz/technology/laptopreviewm51t.php

(The images that I have tried to c/p did not come out on the forum, unfortunately)

[+shift. MVC]

Some pictures of what you are reviewing would be awesome, otherwise from what I read looks like a nice review.