Usage: Billed as a “Versatile Entertainment Laptop” The Asus A52F-Xe2 notebook is used for work and many
multitasking applications. The laptop runs quickly and is responsive. Typically, I can run Xsitepro 2, have 20 or
so browser tabs open, a code editor, stock analyzer, etc. and the laptop doesn’t slow down and switches between
apps seamlessly. It’s put under a heavy work load and seems to hold up well compared to the Lenovo 3000 N100 which
was a Intel Centrino Dual core T2400 processor, 2 GB laptop I was using before and that was running
Vista Business. Laptop boot up and shutdown time is excellent on the A52F-XE2. The processor frequently runs in
turbo boost mode when multitasking, but I shut off the display after awhile, deeming it rather useless. I don’t
need to see when turbo boost is working (which is most of the time when you actively using the computer).

Price paid: $678.03 at Amazon in November of 2010 (affiliate link). This price
is subject to change at any time.

Presenting a no frills Asus A52F-XE2 notebook review

Pros:

• Asus makes quality products. I used to build many a computer and their mother boards were always top
  notch.
• Notebook includes a very generous and untypically standard, 1 year accidental damage warranty that
  replaces or fixes the notebook in the event of damage from spills, drops or electrical surges with a 3
  day turn around time (excluding shipping transit time).
• The overall build quality feels superior to other laptops in this price range. If you look at various
  user reviews of Asus laptops posted on Amazon and Newegg, the overall cumulative ratings, from a
  reliability standpoint, are quite solid. Asus also does a good job of standing behind their
  products.
• Back lit LEDs dim when the computer has been idle a few minutes, in both plugged in and battery mode to
  save on power/battery life.

Cons:

• No blue tooth. You’d think blue tooth would be standard in all notebooks just like wi-fi is.
• Both dimm slots are taken. If you want to upgrade the ram, you have to take a 2GB module out and
  replace it with a 4.
• Could use more than just 3 usb ports.
• Facial recognition software doesn’t always recognize my face. But, that just might be a problem with my
  face? Actually, it’s probably about as hit and miss as the biometric finger print reader than was on
  my Lenovo.
• Hard drive setup with partitions, with windows on the C drive and D drive used for data. However, when
  importing my files from Vista Business to the laptop using the file export feature in the backup and
  restore, it moved all my files into the C volume. I just ended up deleting the D data partition and
  merging them into one partition.
• Touch pad features a “Palm Proof” technology that distinguishes between you purposely using your fingers to
  guide the mouse or your palm accidentally touching the pad. The problem is that, I don’t find it works
  particularly well, for me, at least. Maybe it’s the way I type, but I often find that when my palm rubs against
  the pad, the cursor still moves. It may not be as bad as a typical pad, but still annoying enough to make me
  not want to touch the pad while typing. It also sometimes wipes out an entire piece of text I am writing in one
  swoop (like this article, which then prompts me to use “undo”).

Neutral Points:

• The sound system/speakers are better than poor but not great. Pretty much typical laptop fair, but far
  better than the nearly inaudible Lenovo I was using before.
• No dedicated video card, but at this price point not many laptops do.
• The computer prompts you to burn restore discs, but this took 4 standard dvds and the process was
  slow, taking several hours to complete.
• No blue ray (but at this price point you typically don’t get blue ray).
• Battery life is only average, but then again, it is a 6 cell battery.
• Weighs just under 6 pounds. The weight doesn’t bother me. It’s not touted to be lightweight but
  it is still lighter than my old Dell Inspiron 8200.

Product Specifications:

Intel Core i5-460M (2.53GHz) with Turbo Boost up to 2.8GHz and features 3mb of cache. This
basically means that the minimum speed the processor runs at is 2.53 Ghz but periodically boosts to 2.6 Ghz when
under load. So the notebook basically runs with Turbo boost when I am using it. The mobile version of the core
i5 differs from the desktop version, and utlizes only 2 cores rather than 4. This is presumabley for power
conumption and heat dissapation purposes.

4GB of DDR3 1066MHz DRAM, which is pretty common place/standard today. 2 slots, both
of which are utilized by 2 2gb sticks of ram, 8GB Max capacity if purchasing 2 4 GB ram modules and taking out the
2 modules currently residing in the machine and a 500GB Hard Drive

15.6-Inch HD Display (1366×768); Intel HD Integrated Graphics; Super Multi Optical
Disk Drive, which is a fancy name for a dvd burner; HDMI Port.

Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit) Operating System; Wireless 802.11bgn; 0.3MP
Webcam

1 Year Accidental Damage Warranty and 1 Year Standard Warranty Included. 3 USB
ports.

I am posting a few pics of the insides of the notebook. I may not bother with the
outside, because you can always look at Amazon for those

Here’s a view of the inside. Note that everything is covieniently accsible via one
panel with the exception of the optical drive:

Here’s a shot of the processor with the heat pipeline running off towards the CPU
exhaust fan:

Intel Core I5-460M with heat pipline

and you can see here, both dimm slots are filled:

Asus A52F-XE3 Laptop Conclusions:

If you are in the market for a mid-tier processor laptop and you are on a budget, this
laptop can suit your work needs. If you are into rendering high end graphic work, you might want to look at a
notebook with a Core I7 processor. However, as stated earlier, I do quite a bit of multi-tasking and have many apps
running at once, and the computer slows down very little, if at all. For a sub $700 laptop, with a quality build
and 2nd to none one year accident protection warranty, it’s hard to not recommend the (affiliate
link) Asus A52F-XE3.