ASUS X551MAV-EB01-B(S) Laptop Review
By JS Fergus
In
this article, we're going to examine the Asus X551MAV-EB01-B(S). What kind of
person would this laptop be good for? Is it just the thing for globe trekkers,
or perhaps more settled people who work the typical 9-5 office job? Is it good
enough to game, or will it disappoint those who want to play the latest First
Person Shooter or RPG?
To
find out, we're going to break it down and see the features it has to offer,
and what benefits these features have for what kind of user. We're going to
give the pros and cons, and then give some snippets of what other people are
saying about it. Finally, we're going to give our overall impressions on who
should be buying this, and tell you who we think the best retailer is.
Features and Benefits. Latest
Generation Intel Dual-Core Celeron 2.16GHz Processor (Turbo up to 2.58Ghz); 500
GB Hard Drive. 4GB RAM. 64-Bit Windows 8.1; 15.6-inch High Definition Display.
Web Camera; Fast Wi-Fi in 802.11N. Multitouch trackpad. SD Card Reader (SDXC); USB
3.0 for 10 times faster data transfer speed. 1 x USB 3.0, 1 x USB 2.0, HDMI,
VGA, Ethernet ports.
Now
the first thing this laptop claims is that it comes with a latest generation
dual core processor. In this case, that would be the 2.16GHz Intel Celeron
N2840, which is the same processor behind a smaller, more compact laptop that
I've also reviewed before, the HP Stream 11. In simple terms, the N2840 is good
for simple office work, and has basic integrated graphics for some video
playback, but unless you like playing low requirement games like Minecraft,
then gaming with this CPU isn't such a good idea.
The
X551MAV-EB01-B(S) comes with a 500 GB HDD. That's a fairly standard amount of
space these days, and it won't be enough if you're a chronic downloader like
me, but definitely enough to host a lot of documents, spreadsheets, mp3's,
videos, and maybe even some lightweight games. Not to mention, that's a lot
more space than most SSD laptops these days, and space is a very important
factor for me.
The
4GB RAM is enough for most daily tasks and multitasking... Or if you're a tab
nut like me, support over 20 tabs without freaking out. As long as you don't
have two dozen browser tabs, Microsoft Word, Adobe Photoshop, Minecraft, and
VLC media player all running at the same time, you should be good. I tend to do
that, but my rig has 8GB.
The
X551MAV-EB01-B(S) runs on Windows 8.1, so for those of you who're still
clinging to good ol' reliable Windows 7, there might be something of a learning
curve. For you guys who've already moved on and migrated to Windows 8, then
this should now be familiar territory.
The
15.6-inch HD display is good for when you want to watch a movie, or not have to
scroll down so often when reading your email. At the same time, it's not too
big to carry around, and fits nicely into most backpacks. The webcam will of
course allow you to take and make video calls... or take selfies if for some
reason you can't use your phone.
At
4.7 pounds (2.15 kilograms), it's also pretty light (lighter than my cat,
even), although that's somewhat subjective. If you're past 50, it might not be
as manageable as you run from airport to airport with it in tow.
The
wifi is pretty fast, so you shouldn't worry about buffering too often while
streaming videos, or obnoxious long waiting times, and the multitouch pad
should come in handy for quick zoom ins and outs.
The
X551MAV-EB01-B(S) has an SD card reader for photographers, and several other
ports. The USB 3.0 port runs ten times as fast, which is great for when you
want to dump a bunch of files onto a thumb drive in a hurry. There's also a USB
2.0 port, for other things, like charging your phone and attaching other USB
tools.
It
has two video out ports, HDMI and VGA, which means you can connect to both old
and new projectors easily. The Ethernet port will also be a big help if the
wifi is bad, but a LAN cable is present (along with a wired connection).
So What's The Point? I
would say there are a couple of big reasons to buy this laptop. First off, it's
a decent budget computer that's pretty well rounded, and actually has a few
redundancy features, like the VGA port and the Ethernet port. Those are always
great for when you happen to be presenting or connecting in a rural place with
outdated projectors and a lack of wifi hotspots. The price is of course, also
pretty good, all things considered.
Perfectly Imperfect Now,
this is obviously because it's a budget laptop, while I'm a performance jockey
who likes being able to play Skyrim at 60 fps, so it's only natural that I've
got qualms with this computer. The processor is only good enough for mild
gaming, and not for what I want to do with it.
The
integrated graphics aren't that great either, and so photographers, video and
audio editors, and other such folks who use intensive hardware like Photoshop
and Sony Vegas won't be able to use this all too well.
Wisdom of the Masses The
X551MAV-EB01-B(S) holds a score of 3.6 starts out of 5 on our suggested
retailer. If we converted that to a scale of 10, that would be 7.2, which makes
it rather decent. 45% of customers gave it a 5 star rating, and while that's no
majority, that's still pretty darn good, all things considered.
It's
described as very light, and highly portable, a work station laptop that does
good for the office, and will nicely complement your gaming PC and HD video
tablet. It's also said to have a keyboard at the right size, and an excellent
performance at its price point of $250.
On
the other hand, this laptop reportedly has a little flaw in that it lacks
Bluetooth. If you don't like using the trackpad, that means you'll have to use
one of the USB ports for your mouse, rather than a Bluetooth mouse. Neither
does it have a restore disk, so you'll have to make one yourself with
downloaded restore information.
Overall,
the X551MAV-EB01-B(S) is what it is: a budget laptop with decent budget
performance. It's built for office work rather than gaming, so you should
expect to use it for the daily grind, rather than playing Skyrim. And for what
it's made to do, it does it admirably. For travel, it's lightweight and has a
manageable size, and the backwards compatibility will let you take it to places
where many other laptops in its price point will have trouble.
I
think I'll be getting this, just so I don't get distracted and play Skyrim when
I should be doing my spreadsheets.
So
where can you get this? Click through the link below and our site will tell you
where you can buy it for a good price.
Computers
are JS Fergus' first love. Desktops, mainly, but he has a soft spot in his
heart for laptops. To find out what JS thinks of the top selling laptops for
2015, check out his site http://www.topnotebookpick.com.
Article
Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/JS_Fergus/2135575
