Compare Notebook or Laptop Computers

Okay first thing first. I did not actually buy this computer from Amazon, I purchased it from a Microsoft retail store and it is actually not a U36SD-A1 but a U36SD-RBK5 but as far as I can tell the only difference is the RBK5 does not come with built in bluetooth. No big deal for me.

For those of you who don't feel like reading all of the following, I'll summarize this review into pros and cons.

PROS:
Awesome build quality
Thin
Decent track pad
Dedicated graphics
No optical drive

Cons:
Glossy bezel
No backlit keyboad
Sub par screen for this category

The build quality is very nice throughout the entire laptop. There is little to no flexing in any part of the keyboard or palm rest and the entire body has a really nice feel to it. Asus claims it has a "nanometer coating" and a "magnesium aluminum" frame, I'm not sure what a nanometer coating is but it feels nice and does seem to resist... Read more

Asus U36sd-A1, is one of the best laptops I have ever seen or felt. This piece of awesomeness is fast, sturdy and thinner than any other laptop in this category (excluding samsung which is overly priced). The solid metallic feel is great and fun to carry it around in one hand.

I decided to buy this after researching for over 2 weeks. Only competitor to this laptop worth trying is Toshiba Portege R830 series. But it has negative remarks for the cooling system they brag about but not sure how genuine the remarks are.
I have had a Toshiba before which lasted for 5 years without a glitch but it's time to try something new.

Asus, being the first in most reliable laptops (second being Toshiba), there's no chance I could avoid trying Asus this time. I bought this piece from gentechpc, configured to 6GB RAM. It has a nice little button at the top left corner which allows you to change performance modes (high performance, battery saving, entertainment mode,... Read more

I bought this laptop from a local Microsoft Store yesterday after stumbling upon an external link Amazon gave on this page. THIS was the laptop I had been waiting 9 months for since the U36JC debut. Felt like I just had a baby.. so joyous!

Anyway, as I unveiled it, I was impressed on how THIN the body was while having an AMAZINGLY solid frame. The laptop base does not bend if you hold it at any of the corners! It definitely does not feel like cheap plastic (probably because it really IS made of lightweight metal) & has a classy satin feel to it. It has a fingerprint-repelling nano-coating seemingly all over the body too. It is also so light for having such a powerful processor + graphics card. My computer friend was right to have me wait/hold out until this came out. I was tempted with HPs, Sonys, Acers but from his repair experience on so many laptops, those were all junk! (HPs were decent in the middle but still the construction felt cheap/plastic).

Such a... Read more