The Taiwanese company ASUS has long established itself in the personal computer market, creating some of the most affordable and reliable models. In this review, we will talk about the representative of the line under the letter K. This series of laptops is in special demand among users who want to get the most productive and stylish computer for little money. Is it a panacea for all those who are still in search of a decent laptop? Perhaps, but it was not without annoying problems that haunt the entire series, including the ASUS K43S.
Equipment
In addition to the laptop itself, in the box with the ASUS K43S you can find:
- Battery (yes, this is a classic laptop with a removable battery).
- Power supply with charger, as well as its external version.
- Cable for connecting to the unit.
- Guide to working with a laptop.
- Warranty and a couple of brochures.
ASUS K43S: specifications
The heart of the machine was the well-known chip manufactured by Intel. Core i3-2310M (codenamed Sandy Bridge) is a mobile processor, which at one time managed to settle in different laptop models. He proved himself to be the best. It is made by 32-nanometer process technology. It is quite energy intensive and fast. This chip also has an integrated graphics subsystem HD Graphics 3,000 series.
The discrete graphics card Nvidia GeForce GT520M is responsible for the performance in games, video and complex programs. The solution is not the most practical and not the most productive. In this video module, you can find 512 megabytes of free memory, which is clearly not enough for a comfortable pastime in modern video games. Also, under the hood of the ASUS K43S , 4 gigabytes of Samsung DDR3 standard RAM were covered. The amount of main memory stopped at around 320 gigabytes. Hitachi is responsible for the physical space. Its speed is 5400 rpm. A six-cell battery with a capacity of 5200 milliamps hours is installed in the laptop.
Housing and communication design
The dimensions of the laptop are 348 x 242 x 35 millimeters. Weight - 2440 grams. Of course, budget solutions like the ASUS K43S cannot boast the aesthetics of the Apple MacBook level. But, in fairness, it is worth noting that this model, and the K line as a whole, is distinguished by a rather solid appearance and strong assembly. The laptop comes in several colors, including black, brown and several bright glossy models.
The lid of the laptop is made of corrugated soft-touch plastic. The bottom is made of porous plastic. She's pretty nice to the touch. The cladding around the keyboard is also plastic, looking like anodized aluminum. On the side faces of the laptop is a rich set of ports and a radiator grill. On the left side are:
- Lock to protect the device from theft.
- Socket for connecting to the mains.
- RJ-45 port.
- D-SUB port
- HDMI video port.
- And standard USB-A (2.0).
On the right side are located:
- Mini-Jack audio port (3.5 mm).
- Two additional USB-A (2.0) ports.
- DVD drive.
Also on the front side you can find a slot for connecting SD and MMC memory cards.
Display
Notebook ASUS K43S is equipped with a very non-standard display. Its diagonal is 14 inches. The display is widescreen. It has a basic resolution of 1366 by 768 pixels. The brightness level is quite high, but not impressive. But if it is intended for indoor use, there should be no problems. The viewing angles are not very encouraging. Of course, with a strong slope, inversion does not occur, but visibility is significantly impaired. This will certainly require additional gestures from the user: it will be necessary to adjust the angle at which the lid of the laptop is open.
Keyboard and trackpad
Perhaps the controls are just as important as the power under the hood. You will have to interact with the keyboard and touchpad of the computer on an ongoing basis. Therefore, it is necessary that they be as convenient and practical as possible. Unfortunately, the ASUS K43S cannot boast of these characteristics .
The keyboard has a fairly high stroke. The buttons are too mobile. There is no backlight in the keyboard, which is critical when working with function keys. There are serifs on the buttons A and O for more accurate positioning with a ten-finger blind set. Using the function keys, you can adjust the volume, brightness and the like.
The trackpad is terrible at all. It is very small, located asymmetrically in relation to other controls. Made of plastic, but it is very hot. And with a high load on the video card, using the touch panel is simply impossible.
Software component
The laptop runs on the Windows 7 operating system with a preloaded set of software designed specifically for the ASUS K43S. Drivers, the Nvidia device control panel, specialized software for configuring the touch panel - this is what this is all about. The system works pretty fast. It is perfect for this computer.
Upgrading to more modern versions can adversely affect performance, as well as disable all specific equipment. When reinstalling the system, you will need a whole set of drivers, most of which can be found on the official website of the manufacturer. On a clean operating system, an SD card slot, touchpad (or rather multi-touch gestures), function keys may be denied work.
Reviews
Most of the reviews on this model are positive. Despite the overheating, lack of keyboard backlight and non-standard aspect ratio, people praise the work of ASUS, warmly speaking about working with this computer. Many noted the compact gadget body. The laptop is easy to carry. It fits in most standard backpacks. It differs in a rather light weight, in comparison with similar models from other manufacturers.
Undoubtedly, buyers appreciated the availability of the laptop. Its cost for many has become a decisive factor in choosing a computer. The average price is kept at 23-25 thousand rubles. What is written in the minuses of the ASUS K43S? Device characteristics, for example, a graphics subsystem. She shows herself worse than might be supposed. As a result, the laptop "stumbles" on any, not even the most difficult game.