PCmag.com gives it an "excellent" rating

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2395705,00.asp

Except that it says it doesn't have USB 3.0. Therefore, we have a conflict. Does it or does it not have USB 3.0? Of course, there's the off-chance that I'm completely missing something.

But yes, excellent marks in that review.

conanthelibrarian wrote:PCmag.com gives it an "excellent" rating

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2395705,00.asp

I can see in one of the Woot pics that it has USB 3.0 (blue gives it away). I'm guessing the PC Mag article is wrong or I typed the model number incorrectly...

Looks like a really solid laptop...

mfeferman wrote:Except that it says it doesn't have USB 3.0. Therefore, we have a conflict. Does it or does it not have USB 3.0? Of course, there's the off-chance that I'm completely missing something.

But yes, excellent marks in that review.

$718.99 on Amazon

Ouch, so close to the perfect laptop at the perfect price. If only it had a real graphics chip in it.

I know this aint really bout the PUter but Just wondering . Can a geek in here help me out . I was wondering , Can you use USB 2.0 flash drives, and external HD's in a 3.0 usb port. Cuz all I have is 2.0 stuff here lol . And Im too cheap to upgrade right now lol. Thx for your HElp yall. And I hope I didn't goof to bad here TT. But b4 I put out ( the Money ) for a new lappy with a 3.0 usb ,I need to know first lol. And is this Upgradable to Win8. When they get the bugs outta it? Thx for your help guys

Denimbear wrote:I know this aint really bout the PUter but Just wondering . Can a geek in here help me out . I was wondering , Can you use USB 2.0 flash drives, and external HD's in a 3.0 usb port. Cuz all I have is 2.0 stuff here lol . And Im too cheap to upgrade right now lol. Thx for your HElp yall. And I hope I didn't goof to bad here TT. But b4 I put out ( the Money ) for a new lappy with a 3.0 usb ,I need to know first lol. And is this Upgradable to Win8. When they get the bugs outta it? Thx for your help guys

No, i don't think you can. but it had two USB 2.0 ports in addition to the one USB 3.0. should be ok?

@Denimbear USB 3.0 is backwards-compatible with 2.0 devices-- is that what you wanted to know? I.e., a 2.0 thumbdrive will continue to function (at 2.0 speeds) if you plug it into a 3.0 port.

Denimbear wrote:I know this aint really bout the PUter but Just wondering . Can a geek in here help me out . I was wondering , Can you use USB 2.0 flash drives, and external HD's in a 3.0 usb port. Cuz all I have is 2.0 stuff here lol . And Im too cheap to upgrade right now lol. Thx for your HElp yall. And I hope I didn't goof to bad here TT. But b4 I put out ( the Money ) for a new lappy with a 3.0 usb ,I need to know first lol. And is this Upgradable to Win8. When they get the bugs outta it? Thx for your help guys

levenzaha wrote:No, i don't think you can. but it had two USB 2.0 ports in addition to the one USB 3.0. should be ok?

I thought USB was always backwards compatible...

confirmed via: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2206161

Denimbear wrote:I was wondering , Can you use USB 2.0 flash drives, and external HD's in a 3.0 usb port. Cuz all I have is 2.0 stuff here lol .

Except for the 3.0 to 3.0 cables it fully works. I have tested all the combos.

Computer -> Device = Speed
A. 3.0 -> 3.0 = 3.0 (fast, need 3.0 cables)
B. 3.0 -> 2.0 = 2.0 (slow)
C. 2.0 -> 3.0 = 2.0 (slow, but maybe faster)
D. 2.0 -> 2.0 = 2.0 (slow)

In option C it might faster since the 3.0 device is usually faster and will up at the top speed of 2.0. I have a thumb drive like this.

Is this computer cat compatible? My cat's PC keeps getting a BSOD.

How does this compare to the i7 HP refurbs that have been showing up on here for around the same price?

can someone tell me if this anti glare is matte or glossy?

ThunderThighs wrote:USB ANSWER

We have verified with our vendor:

2 x USB 2.0
1 x USB 3.0

Now, go buy one.

PS: Thanks to Pemberducky for filling in at the last minute when TWC took my Internet down for maintenance at 12:15am.

1 More Question, Please?

Is the keyboard back-lit?

thanks

garzman80 wrote:How does this compare to the i7 HP refurbs that have been showing up on here for around the same price?

In my experience, Asus has always had top of the line build quality with their computers (slightly below or on par with Lenovo). When terms such as "faster" are thrown around, you have to start looking at system specs in addition to the manufacturer. You can't buy a nice car with a 4 cylinder and say "Its not quite as fast as this car with a crappy 6 cylinder engine, therefore the 6 cylinder car is better"

I'm sorry, but isn't that great of a high-end laptop. I would call this Mid-Range. No eSata, mediocre processor, standard 15.6-inch screen, 5400 rpm hard drive, and Intel graphics? Now, don't get me wrong, I'm sure it's a good laptop, just don't make it sound like it's a high-end beast of a machine. I'm sure you can browse the web, office apps, heck, I'm sure you can play some older games just fine. But, don't expect to brag about the laptop or play the latest computer games. This is great desktop replacement. You want the best of the best: Get a Clevo P570WM. Now that's a beast with a desktop CPU i7-3960X, 32 GB RAM, up to 4 hard drives, DUAL GPU, 17.3” 1920x1080, dvi, hdmi, esata, etc, etc, etc. But, loaded to the gills, it would set you back about $5k. Now, that's some bragging rights. Instead I ordered myself a Clevo P170EM loaded to the gills.

Yawn on the powerhouse laptop. Sounds like the eDiscovery laptops I used to buy to do investigations. Exactly how portable is that beast? I'm guessing not very.

This laptop, although no CRAY ;), is great for 99% of the public.

I don't care if you're doing software development with Visual Studio or Eclipse, or creating a pen-testing laptop, or whatever. This is a great laptop for almost anything.

Sure, it's not going to be great for doing CAD drawings or running an instance of HADOOP, but again, it'll meet 99% of consumers' (or business') needs.

By the way, I don't work for Asus. In fact, I work for one of their competitors.



Also, this would make a fantastic Linux box!

Antebios wrote:I'm sorry, but isn't that great of a high-end laptop. I would call this Mid-Range. No eSata, mediocre processor, standard 15.6-inch screen, 5400 rpm hard drive, and Intel graphics? Now, don't get me wrong, I'm sure it's a good laptop, just don't make it sound like it's a high-end beast of a machine. I'm sure you can browse the web, office apps, heck, I'm sure you can play some older games just fine. But, don't expect to brag about the laptop or play the latest computer games. This is great desktop replacement. You want the best of the best: Get a Clevo P570WM. Now that's a beast with a desktop CPU i7-3960X, 32 GB RAM, up to 4 hard drives, DUAL GPU, 17.3” 1920x1080, dvi, hdmi, esata, etc, etc, etc. But, loaded to the gills, it would set you back about $5k. Now, that's some bragging rights. Instead I ordered myself a Clevo P170EM loaded to the gills.

it is simply not a woot or anything. Even for 500$ you can get better deals, like the HP g6z-2200 for example, with Radeon 7670M

http://deals.woot.com/deals/details/3fbcdfe8-10e9-4749-a166-0af2b31790ef/lenovo-ideapad-y400-laptop-14#0

SIGNIFIGANTLY better deal, spend $150 more and you're getting a laptop 5 times as powerful.

i7-3630QM
NVIDIA GeForce GT650M 2GB
1TB HDD

cockroachman wrote:it is simply not a woot or anything. Even for 500$ you can get better deals, like the HP g6z-2200 for example, with Radeon 7670M

But then you would be stuck with an HP.

mfeferman wrote:Yawn on the powerhouse laptop. Sounds like the eDiscovery laptops I used to buy to do investigations. Exactly how portable is that beast? I'm guessing not very.

This laptop, although no CRAY ;), is great for 99% of the public.

I don't care if you're doing software development with Visual Studio or Eclipse, or creating a pen-testing laptop, or whatever. This is a great laptop for almost anything.

Sure, it's not going to be great for doing CAD drawings or running an instance of HADOOP, but again, it'll meet 99% of consumers' (or business') needs.

By the way, I don't work for Asus. In fact, I work for one of their competitors.



Also, this would make a fantastic Linux box!

You beat me to it! As someone in the market for a budget desktop replacement and shopping now I would say this could be referred to as a "beast" in value vs specs category at the very least. Don't usually see PCWorld make such a glaring mistake on the 3.0 USB port (especially since listed as top Con) but for anyone with that concern CNET spec sheet lists 3.0. A great buy here for those on a budget!!!

copenbr what system are you looking at?

I took a look around the interwebs and found many owners complaining about the erratic ELAN touchpad... Is this still an issue or has ASUS addressed the problem?

Antebios wrote:I'm sorry, but isn't that great of a high-end laptop. I would call this Mid-Range. No eSata, mediocre processor, standard 15.6-inch screen, 5400 rpm hard drive, and Intel graphics? Now, don't get me wrong, I'm sure it's a good laptop, just don't make it sound like it's a high-end beast of a machine. I'm sure you can browse the web, office apps, heck, I'm sure you can play some older games just fine. But, don't expect to brag about the laptop or play the latest computer games. This is great desktop replacement. You want the best of the best: Get a Clevo P570WM. Now that's a beast with a desktop CPU i7-3960X, 32 GB RAM, up to 4 hard drives, DUAL GPU, 17.3” 1920x1080, dvi, hdmi, esata, etc, etc, etc. But, loaded to the gills, it would set you back about $5k. Now, that's some bragging rights. Instead I ordered myself a Clevo P170EM loaded to the gills.

No bluetooth either. Wht the heck is with all the non bluetooth computers on woot lately? Unless you want to carry around a usb cable it is sort of an important feature for interfacing with tablets and smartphones.

Woot does not accept return if it is not defective

PemberDucky wrote:yeah, i wonder if the article is wrong, too.

everything i've looked at says it does have USB 3.0, including our own specs.

however, i'll put in a query with folks who can confirm...just to be sure.

USB 3.0 Port are completely backwards compatible. Just like USB 1.0 and 1.1 devices work in USB 2.0 ports sames goes for 2.0 working in 3.0 ports. you can also plug a usb 3.0 thumb drive into a usb 2.0 port. You get the speed of the slowest end. so if one side is 2.0 then you get 2.0 speeds. More info - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_3.0

chefferz wrote:http://deals.woot.com/deals/details/3fbcdfe8-10e9-4749-a166-0af2b31790ef/lenovo-ideapad-y400-laptop-14#0

SIGNIFIGANTLY better deal, spend $150 more and you're getting a laptop 5 times as powerful.

i7-3630QM
NVIDIA GeForce GT650M 2GB
1TB HDD

Math is apparently not your strong suit. That Lenovo is slightly better than the Asus here- in fact, about $150 better, IMO. It's definitely not "5 times as powerful" by any stretch of the imagination.

pointmass wrote:I took a look around the interwebs and found many owners complaining about the erratic ELAN touchpad... Is this still an issue or has ASUS addressed the problem?

Elan touchpads are crap. I have one on my Lenovo G550 and it is terrible. They were able to improve it a bit with a software update but it is still very poor versus synaptics. If you don't want to use a mouse I would be hesitant to recommend this with an Elan touchpad. However, I do like Asus laptops in general.

I've had this since it was on Woot last fall, and I really like it. The battery life is amazing, I didn't have to unload a bunch of bloatware, the gaming has been glitch-free and the keyboard is the best I've used n a laptop. It's fallen from the couch a couple of times while sleeping, and didn't miss a beat. Handsome, lightweight and capable. Biggest downers were not having all the drivers loaded on the refurb, and the speakers are inaudible at full volume if there is other noise in the room. NEVER have I heard such anemic output. Earbuds sound just fine. Yes, it has USB 3.0!

brendaf4017 wrote:can someone tell me if this anti glare is matte or glossy?

Glossy.

Also, it runs Autodesk (CAD) just fine.

Glossy, really? That blows.

riparianprince wrote:Glossy.

Also, it runs Autodesk (CAD) just fine.

Also, this would make a fantastic Linux box!

Now THAT's what I like. Always looking for a great Linux box.