After playing around with so many gaming notebooks out there, it’s really weird in a way to tune it down a bit to get some “down-to-earth” testing on the following model. We’re talking about the Asus K53SV notebook, which did attract my attention the very first time I saw it thanks to its really stylish and clean case design.
The company confirmed at the beginning of this year that it would be revising its K-series, a series know for its great all-round characteristics. This time around we’ll be taking a look at the Asus K53SV, an excellent all-rounder and with some more than adequate specs.
Overview
Asus offers a great deal of excellent components and setups to choose from when setting up your very own K53SV, so in this regard I like to have some customization options. The K53SV comes with a number of different processors, starting with the low end model powered by a Pentium Dual-Core Processor and moving up the scale to the Intel Core i3 2330M, the Intel Core i5 2430M and the Intel Core i7 2670QM.
Note that you can also get the Intel Core i3 2310M, the i5 2410M or the i7 2630QM. Memory wise, you can get up to 8 GB of DDR3 RAM at 1333 MHz, while the graphics department is taken care of by a NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M with either 1 or 2 GB of RAM. Storage can go up to 750 GB at either 5400 rpm or 7200 rpm.
You have the option of adding either a Blu-Ray DVD combo or a Super-Multi DVD and Bluetooth is also optional, something which I didn’t really agree with, seeing as most multimedia or office laptops come these days with Bluetooth as standard. The rest of the setup is the same for all models.
The Asus K53SV comes with a well spaced keyboard
Design
Design wise the Asus K53SV looks simply great for the lack of a better word. The brushed aluminum hand rest along with the patterned case have a great effect on cooling the laptop while at the same time keeping finger prints and dust at bay.
The build quality is excellent, even when pressing down on the case or the keyboard, there was close to no budge from the setup. Thanks to the IceCool technology you can easily hold the setup on your lap without the fear of it overheating on you. The display can easily be opened and the overall structure feels very well put together and in this regard I’m giving the Asus K53SV the maximum amount of points.
The general feel of quality goes for the keyboard as well, with the overall feeling being that of a well put together notebook, so even those with high standards in this regard won’t be disappointed.
Display
The 15.6 inch display on the Asus K53SV does an all around decent job for the sector its part of. The maximum resolution of the display is 1366×768 pixels with the 16:9 aspect ratio. The contrast for the display installed in the K53SV is at 181:1, which compares well with the rest of the devices in this sector, however it might be not enough for those of you with a keener eye for this.
The notebooks average brightness is around 200 cd/m2, with the illumination being rather good at 83 per cent for the display. Yet because of the glossy finish, the Asus K53SV won’t do well outdoors. You can use it, but that doesn’t mean that it will do well in this regard as you will have to hide somewhere with shade.
Despite the overall decent image quality the K53SV offers the one disappointing aspect is in regards to the viewing angles of the display which are less than optimal. The display quickly loses its quality offering up strong discoloration even at reduced angles.
Performance
This time around we’ll be focusing a little bit more on the simple benchmark results. The setup which is under testing comes with the mid ranged Intel Core i5 2410M dual-core processor. This was chosen to create the most optimal mid-range solution for those of you looking for both power, portability as well as quality in one.
The Asus K53SV patterned finish helps keep fingerprints at bay
Video is provided by the NVIDIA GeForce GT 540M, along with 4 GB of DDR3 RAM and the 640 GB of storage on a HDD with 5400 rpm.
The Windows 7 rating for this setup is at 4.7, with the video card dragging the rating down. Cinebench R11.5 CPU 64 Bit test revealed 2.48 points while the Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64Bit test returned 25 fps. When spinning up PCMark Vantage, the benchmark returned 6043 points while PCMark 7 gave us 1876 points. These results placed the device very well in its category.
When moving on to the graphic card we’ve managed to squeeze out 7846 points in 3DMark 06 at 1280×1024, while 3DMark Vantage returned with 4170 points and 3DMark 11 gave up 982 points.
Gaming performance is as expected for a device in this category. Although not unbelievable, the Asus K53SV works well in Battlefield Bad Company 2 where it managed to squeeze out 42 fps on medium settings while Call of Duty Black Ops managed to stabilize around 40 fps even on high details.
Update: In the meantime I’ve also tested the Asus K53SV. My version came with an Intel Core i7-2630QM processor , 4 GB of memory and the Nvidia GeForce GT 540 graphics chip. I haven’t been able to try many games, but I did run a couple of synthetic benchmarks and the results are below.
Also, there’s a video review for more details on performances, battery life and exterior/casing.
Temperature and noise levels
The IceCool system does a great job at both keeping the system cool while the noise levels are acceptable. As such, when the system is in idle, the Asus K53SV averages out around 30 dB which is barely noticeable and while in full load with Prime and Funmark running, the device is still very quiet.
Temperature is maintained nicely, with the top surface of the notebook siting around 25 degrees Celsius (that’s about 77 degrees Fahrenheit) while during the stress test the temperature went up only to about 38 degrees, which is still very manageable (that’s roughly 100 Fahrenheit).
All in all, the IceCool system is working excellently, with the device managing to maintain a stable overall temperature, the only care you will have in this regard being connected to the vents which will be reaching rather high temperatures.
Pricing and availability
The keyboard on the Asus K53SV has a really great tactile response
The Asus K53SV is available in a large amount of sources, with a lot of retailers offering up the device. Pricing for it will vary depending on setup, so you can buy the A1 model from Amazon US for roughly $760 with free shipping. The model comes with the Intel Core i5 2410M processor.
You can also get it for as low as $970 for the B1 model from Amazon US. This one comes with the Intel Core i7 2630QM processor, so if you wish something a nudge more powerful, you can do so for the extra 200 or so dollars. Pricing will vary depending on region, but even in Europe the i5 setup will go for roughly 800 Euros.
Final thoughts
The Asus K53SV offers excellent performance and great build quality for this sector. Although performance junkies will be disappointed by the somewhat average gaming performance, you will have to note that we are talking about a setup which sets you back less than $1000 and for that money to get this level of quality is sure a bargain.
Even for those with less money to throw out at their disposal, the Asus K53SV offers up excellent price/performance balance while at the same time leaving you with some cash in the pocket. All in all, I’d give this one a top score for its sector. Stay tuned for more!
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