Asus A7J (Core Duo T2400 Processor 1.83GHz, 1GB RAM)

Print

Email

Bookmark

Share

Add to My Products

You'll find most of the connectivity ports on the left and rear of the machine.

Based on the Windows XP Media Center Edition OS, the unit comes with the required infrared remote control and multimedia interface to simplify movie and music playback. Though there is a row of multimedia buttons fronting the desktop replacement as a possible alternative, the omission of dedicated volume control keys limits its usage. A built-in 1.3-megapixel Webcam, besides video conferencing, can also be used to create your own personal video clips. However, discretion should be practiced for private home videos since the A7J lacks security features like biometric fingerprint scanner or a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) chip. That said, the harddisk can be password-locked to prevent unauthorized access.

The 17-inch display is one of the brightest and most vibrant LCD panels we've seen. Wide-viewing angles, 1,440 x 900-pixel resolution, good color reproduction and Asus' proprietary display application give little reason to hook up to an external monitor. The video rendering is handled by an ATI Mobility Radeon X1600 graphics chip with 256MB of HyperMemory which, as we will see later in the performance section of the review, is fully capable of handling most current gaming titles.

With the end of the silent movie era, the soundtrack is as important to creating the mood and atmosphere of a movie as the visuals. A total of four speakers, driven by Intel HD audio chip, are spread nicely over the chassis and reproduce exceptional sound quality for a notebook. Though bass was lacking during our review due to the absence of a subwoofer, S/PDIF digital audio connector was available to hook up to a dedicated Hi-Fi set.

As input devices go, the full-size keyboard is comfortable for typing marathons, though we would have liked to see a dedicated numeric pad for easier data entry. The touchpad is large enough for cursor control and a dedicated deactivation button is available during mouse use to prevent inadvertent input. The mouse buttons, attractive in brush-metal finish and flushed design, are unfortunately not sensitive and, during our review, required multiple presses before detection.

Performance And Battery Life
Our S$3,198 (US$2,289.85) review unit was configured with an Intel Core Duo T2400 1.83GHz processor, 1GB of DDR2 RAM and 100GB harddisk. It scored a reasonable 174 and 195 on MobileMark 2005 and SysMark 2004SE benchmarks, respectively. The average processor performance was more than adequate for most computing tasks, but graphics-rendering was where which it truly shone.

Scoring an impressive 1,964 on the video-intensive 3DMark06 tests, it currently occupies the top spot for video performance. Outstripping the previous leader, the Acer TravelMate 8204WLMi, by 76 points and the HP Compaq Business Notebook nx9420 by a wide 327 margin, the Asus A7J is capable of handling most games currently in the market. Mobile gaming, however, may be a remote possibility as its 1 hour 50 minutes battery life was one of the worse we had seen since laptops jumped onto the Centrino bandwagon.

Service And Support
Asus offers a two-year limited global warranty with all its notebooks. Should a problem occur with the unit, you can send it to any Asus service center around the world and get it repaired using the warranty card. For users who travel overseas often, having a global warranty is important. However, the Asus service overseas centers should be checked for accessibility. Asus Web site provides software support and updates as well as a telephone hotline number.

« Previous page