ASUS NX90 laptop review
At the beginning of this year, at one of the international technical exhibitions, ASUS once again surprised the public by presenting a somewhat unusual notebook of the NX series. Let me remind you that the N series is treated by the manufacturer as the New Generation, that is, something new.
The NX series went a little further and it can be “spelled out” as “New generation, eXtraordinary” - something that can be used as an illustration to the phrase “the flight of engineering thought”. Or designer. Or both.
Looking at the pictures of the ASUS NX90 on the Internet, all the unusualness immediately catches the eye ... not to mention the first meeting "live".
')
In this section of the review it is possible to argue a lot and for a long time, weighing certain advantages, but the common denominator is never reached. Let me just say that the appearance is really unusual, and to some extent even controversial ... but all these experiments are always interesting and attract attention. David Lewis (David Lewis), the chief designer of Bang & Olufsen, put his hands on the design of the model. There are several plots with him on Youtube, where in unfamiliar English he talks about this laptop.
It all started with a large mirror surface, which I didn’t associate with a laptop in any way - it’s just awesome.
Do not be there barely noticeable inscription ASUS, I would think that this is a sheet of skin of some orbital station or some piece of alien material - yes, anything, but not a single association with a laptop.
There is nothing really visible in the front, also in the back (there are only air vents).
But on the sides - literally placers of various connectors - ranging from dense VGA, ending with HDMI and two USB 3.0 ports. It was nice to see a slotted BluRay drive.
On the reverse side there is absolutely nothing, except for 4 rubber feet - no compartments for access to memory or hard drives, or even battery locks - yes, the battery is not removable. But they were surprised by the size of the adapter - usually it is very large with similar (gaming) laptops, but here it is the most common such adapter.
Under the improvised drum roll opened the "book" - everything is as in numerous photographs from the Internet. Large screen (18.4 '' with a resolution of 1920x1080), on the sides of which is a Bang & Olufsen ICEpower speaker system. The shape of the speakers is unusual and it is she who causes confusion in many. Okay, more on that later.
Above the screen is a glass peephole of a 2 megapixel webcam:
Below the screen is a series of multimedia buttons, and below - the touchpad and main keyboard. By the way, this is also a controversial issue - the buttons of the top row. In fact, they completely duplicate the dozen Fn-combinations scattered across the keyboard ... I don’t understand what the practical use of them is. Personally, they hit me all the time when typing - I could not get used to the fact that the F1-F12 is not in the top row.
The rest of the keyboard is very convenient - the rectangular keys of the "island" type - it's not hard to press the wrong direction; sorry here just that there is no backlight. There are small white LEDs in the power button and in CapsLock, two more are right below the screen - they are not intrusive at all. Another pair of LEDs is hidden in the front face - they only see the reflection on the table.
All the space under the keyboard is also mirrored, and even before the start of my tests, they kept a collection of colleagues' prints on themselves - some of the “fingers” were even recognized :) So the aesthetic integrity of the appearance will have to be carefully monitored.
In general, the laptop leaves an exceptionally pleasant impression, comparable to everyday practical tasks - very many details are thought out to the smallest detail, an exceptional build quality and tactilely pleasant materials. The appearance after a few minutes does not seem to be somehow alien - it seems like the dynamics to the site, and the two touchpads are also quite familiar.
Weight with a battery is 4.8 kg - this is with immodest dimensions 526x280x30 ~ 44mm.
Full activation takes 40 seconds - during this time the 64-bit Windows 7 Ultimate installed (or rather, restored from the hidden backup partition) manages to fully boot with all the programs written in the autorun (as usual, many of them almost all of them can to delete is either something unnecessary, or a trial one).
Non-standard labels are not noticed, but maybe it is for the better. For the sake of interest, I launched ASUS LifeFrame - a program that is responsible for working with a webcam (by the way, it can be launched with a keyboard shortcut on most devices). The image in 2-megapixel quality decently slows down, but the picture is really nice in quality; but the more usual resolution for the Internet (640x480) is practically without delays.
It is clear that the place of the NX90 on the table, and not on the lap, but it was still interesting how the laptop behaves under load. In idle mode, the laptop is almost inaudible, but Furmark once again did its job - the cooler on the back turned on to the maximum, however, the noise from it was insignificant. And, judging by the diagnostic programs, the GPU temperature did not exceed 70 degrees.
The case itself heats up very slightly - only the right touchpad and keyboard in the central part.
Typing is quite convenient (although I did not use Russian) - this is solely the merit of the buttons: they are large. with quiet. moderately elastic pressing. But the very arrangement of the keys, in my opinion, let us down - all the time he knocked down the topmost row of multimedia buttons and the touchpads themselves on the sides. Well, I used to, that in the upper left corner is Esc, and in the upper right - Backspace or at least Del. Immediately in the extreme right row they decided to fit, neither more nor less - the power button, which I almost pressed a couple of times.
Touchpads - their mere presence in two places is somewhat surprising, but in general these are the most common touchpads. True, the buttons under them are also simple, and I liked this solution more than the lonely chrome “loaves”, which are now put almost everywhere. And again, returning to the prints - no matter how the hands lay on the laptop (whether working with touchpads or regular typing), the wrist marks inevitably remain. They are easy to remove, but still ... it is not clear how such a thing could have been thought of!
The screen is beautiful - it is bright and very detailed, clear. High resolution (1920x1080) practically did not produce pixel blemishes even in plain text or in icons on the desktop (from a distance of half a meter). The color rendition is also at a high level - it is very pleasant for eyes to see this.
Well, the main feature of ASUS NX90 is sound. At first, the shape and dimensions seemed incredible to me, but by the time I took a picture and turned on the device, it seemed to me to be the most usual multimedia system - I almost stopped paying attention even to my ears. But they must be admitted that they are good - in terms of sound quality, there is nothing to do with what was heard in all other laptops. In terms of volume, this is still not a quality 2.1 system, but in terms of sound quality - very close to that.
So, for example, it all started with the fact that I launched a couple of different tracks from a flash drive - the laptop was already at half the volume easily voiced by a small office (with 3 people), in which a window was opened (and outside the window there was a railway and a roadway). At maximum volume, the sound was already somewhat uncomfortable, at least, if you sit right at the screen; but still nothing wheezed and rattled. In conclusion, one of my colleagues gave me a listen to the collector's edition of a group - he heard familiar melodies, he soon returned)
In general, the speakers stuck for good reason - the sound is really cool and perfect for family watching a movie or for multimedia accompaniment of a noisy birthday.
For this option, the laptop can not worry - in this matter he has something to say and show. For example, as a processor, the test model uses a quad- core Intel® Core ™ i7-720QM processor with a clock frequency of 1.6GHz (2.8GHz in TurboBoost mode); however, there will be a bundle with top- end Intel® Core ™ i7-820QM (1.73 / 3.06GHz). The tests “stone” almost did not torture, but I note that if earlier during the SuperPi program (up to 1M), I managed to write something on Twitter from my phone, now, under the same conditions, the twitter client barely has time to start.
4 gig of RAM (DDR3, 1066 MHz) - despite the fact that the maximum amount that can be set is 12GB (4 slots).
Discrete NVIDIA GeForce GT 335M graphics card with a gigabyte of memory.
Separately, I would like to note that in the model under test, two hard drives of 640GB each were installed. What is surprising, both from different manufacturers, and the speed, respectively, were different:
Well, the Blu-ray slot combo drive turned out to be not at all superfluous - after all, are you buying licensed BluRay movie discs? :)
The performance index in Windows 7 Ultimate (64 bit) is a modest 5.9 points - all because of the disks.
In general, as you can see, such a laptop will not be bored - solitaires, Blu-rips and even the most resource-intensive toys will easily fly on it. To some extent, the configuration is similar to those installed in the ASUS RoG gaming laptops.
The operation time could not be tested, but it is clear that the device is not one of the autonomous ones. I trusted the information from the tray - it said that at maximum brightness the laptop would work for about an hour and a half. I liked the Power4Gear Hybrid utility - I did not pay attention to it before, but in the case of the NX90 I decided to see what parameters and how they affect the device operation time.
Unusual design
Impeccable build quality
Really cool sound from the speakers
Large, high resolution screen
Slot BluRay Drive, HDMI, USB 3.0, Wi-Fi n
Very quiet and hardly heated
High performance
Giant size and weight
Glossy case and screen
Keyboard without backlighting, not the most convenient layout
Non-removable battery, upgrade "home" is not provided
High price
On the other hand ... dimensions and weight can be considered as a plus - once I dragged the laptop home, and then you enjoy its sound and screen sizes. The possibility of upgrading is also doubtful - there will be a 12-gig version (with 1280GB on disks), which you will not upgrade anymore ...
The exact combination of numbers on the retail price tag is still unknown, but I think it will be something five-digit, thousands from a hundred rubles.
This notebook is exclusively designer, so it was not originally intended for gatherings in coffee houses and hauling in a backpack at a lecture. Dimensions, weight, materials, performance and price - all this unequivocally hints that the device should be at home, displacing a large stationary sistemnik. And not just somewhere on the shelf, but exclusively in the most prominent place - in the living room, near the fireplace or under a huge plasma panel. So that the guests will not say anything except “Wooow !!!” and think. Naturally, the music and video should be included shortly before their arrival, so that the rubbing of prints is not stored in anybody’s memory.
ASUS NX90 is not for the mass market, but, rather, only for those who want “for any money to get something cool and modern, which no one else has” - after all, in fact, none of the manufacturers offer anything like this. Macbooks and vayos similar in prices may not be any worse in terms of, for example, productivity, but you can hardly find at least one person who would stop them with their interested opinion. And this in my review of the pictures on an ordinary office table does not look very much ... but if it was some cozy country house, everything would be perceived quite differently.
The rest of the NX90 is another laptop, albeit with good features: a processor, video, memory, a screen ... a sort of fusion of modern technology, with a margin of safety that will last for a long time.
As a bonus - wallpaper [1920x1080] with NX90. Very comfortable for the background of icons, so calm.
C looking forward to the devices presented by ASUS at Computex 2010, apparently, it will be interesting. In the meantime, all the success and thanks for reading!
The NX series went a little further and it can be “spelled out” as “New generation, eXtraordinary” - something that can be used as an illustration to the phrase “the flight of engineering thought”. Or designer. Or both.
Looking at the pictures of the ASUS NX90 on the Internet, all the unusualness immediately catches the eye ... not to mention the first meeting "live".
')
Appearance
In this section of the review it is possible to argue a lot and for a long time, weighing certain advantages, but the common denominator is never reached. Let me just say that the appearance is really unusual, and to some extent even controversial ... but all these experiments are always interesting and attract attention. David Lewis (David Lewis), the chief designer of Bang & Olufsen, put his hands on the design of the model. There are several plots with him on Youtube, where in unfamiliar English he talks about this laptop.
It all started with a large mirror surface, which I didn’t associate with a laptop in any way - it’s just awesome.
Do not be there barely noticeable inscription ASUS, I would think that this is a sheet of skin of some orbital station or some piece of alien material - yes, anything, but not a single association with a laptop.
There is nothing really visible in the front, also in the back (there are only air vents).
But on the sides - literally placers of various connectors - ranging from dense VGA, ending with HDMI and two USB 3.0 ports. It was nice to see a slotted BluRay drive.
On the reverse side there is absolutely nothing, except for 4 rubber feet - no compartments for access to memory or hard drives, or even battery locks - yes, the battery is not removable. But they were surprised by the size of the adapter - usually it is very large with similar (gaming) laptops, but here it is the most common such adapter.
Under the improvised drum roll opened the "book" - everything is as in numerous photographs from the Internet. Large screen (18.4 '' with a resolution of 1920x1080), on the sides of which is a Bang & Olufsen ICEpower speaker system. The shape of the speakers is unusual and it is she who causes confusion in many. Okay, more on that later.
Above the screen is a glass peephole of a 2 megapixel webcam:
Below the screen is a series of multimedia buttons, and below - the touchpad and main keyboard. By the way, this is also a controversial issue - the buttons of the top row. In fact, they completely duplicate the dozen Fn-combinations scattered across the keyboard ... I don’t understand what the practical use of them is. Personally, they hit me all the time when typing - I could not get used to the fact that the F1-F12 is not in the top row.
The rest of the keyboard is very convenient - the rectangular keys of the "island" type - it's not hard to press the wrong direction; sorry here just that there is no backlight. There are small white LEDs in the power button and in CapsLock, two more are right below the screen - they are not intrusive at all. Another pair of LEDs is hidden in the front face - they only see the reflection on the table.
All the space under the keyboard is also mirrored, and even before the start of my tests, they kept a collection of colleagues' prints on themselves - some of the “fingers” were even recognized :) So the aesthetic integrity of the appearance will have to be carefully monitored.
In general, the laptop leaves an exceptionally pleasant impression, comparable to everyday practical tasks - very many details are thought out to the smallest detail, an exceptional build quality and tactilely pleasant materials. The appearance after a few minutes does not seem to be somehow alien - it seems like the dynamics to the site, and the two touchpads are also quite familiar.
Weight with a battery is 4.8 kg - this is with immodest dimensions 526x280x30 ~ 44mm.
Turn on and work
Full activation takes 40 seconds - during this time the 64-bit Windows 7 Ultimate installed (or rather, restored from the hidden backup partition) manages to fully boot with all the programs written in the autorun (as usual, many of them almost all of them can to delete is either something unnecessary, or a trial one).
Non-standard labels are not noticed, but maybe it is for the better. For the sake of interest, I launched ASUS LifeFrame - a program that is responsible for working with a webcam (by the way, it can be launched with a keyboard shortcut on most devices). The image in 2-megapixel quality decently slows down, but the picture is really nice in quality; but the more usual resolution for the Internet (640x480) is practically without delays.
It is clear that the place of the NX90 on the table, and not on the lap, but it was still interesting how the laptop behaves under load. In idle mode, the laptop is almost inaudible, but Furmark once again did its job - the cooler on the back turned on to the maximum, however, the noise from it was insignificant. And, judging by the diagnostic programs, the GPU temperature did not exceed 70 degrees.
The case itself heats up very slightly - only the right touchpad and keyboard in the central part.
Typing is quite convenient (although I did not use Russian) - this is solely the merit of the buttons: they are large. with quiet. moderately elastic pressing. But the very arrangement of the keys, in my opinion, let us down - all the time he knocked down the topmost row of multimedia buttons and the touchpads themselves on the sides. Well, I used to, that in the upper left corner is Esc, and in the upper right - Backspace or at least Del. Immediately in the extreme right row they decided to fit, neither more nor less - the power button, which I almost pressed a couple of times.
Touchpads - their mere presence in two places is somewhat surprising, but in general these are the most common touchpads. True, the buttons under them are also simple, and I liked this solution more than the lonely chrome “loaves”, which are now put almost everywhere. And again, returning to the prints - no matter how the hands lay on the laptop (whether working with touchpads or regular typing), the wrist marks inevitably remain. They are easy to remove, but still ... it is not clear how such a thing could have been thought of!
The screen is beautiful - it is bright and very detailed, clear. High resolution (1920x1080) practically did not produce pixel blemishes even in plain text or in icons on the desktop (from a distance of half a meter). The color rendition is also at a high level - it is very pleasant for eyes to see this.
Well, the main feature of ASUS NX90 is sound. At first, the shape and dimensions seemed incredible to me, but by the time I took a picture and turned on the device, it seemed to me to be the most usual multimedia system - I almost stopped paying attention even to my ears. But they must be admitted that they are good - in terms of sound quality, there is nothing to do with what was heard in all other laptops. In terms of volume, this is still not a quality 2.1 system, but in terms of sound quality - very close to that.
So, for example, it all started with the fact that I launched a couple of different tracks from a flash drive - the laptop was already at half the volume easily voiced by a small office (with 3 people), in which a window was opened (and outside the window there was a railway and a roadway). At maximum volume, the sound was already somewhat uncomfortable, at least, if you sit right at the screen; but still nothing wheezed and rattled. In conclusion, one of my colleagues gave me a listen to the collector's edition of a group - he heard familiar melodies, he soon returned)
In general, the speakers stuck for good reason - the sound is really cool and perfect for family watching a movie or for multimedia accompaniment of a noisy birthday.
Performance
For this option, the laptop can not worry - in this matter he has something to say and show. For example, as a processor, the test model uses a quad- core Intel® Core ™ i7-720QM processor with a clock frequency of 1.6GHz (2.8GHz in TurboBoost mode); however, there will be a bundle with top- end Intel® Core ™ i7-820QM (1.73 / 3.06GHz). The tests “stone” almost did not torture, but I note that if earlier during the SuperPi program (up to 1M), I managed to write something on Twitter from my phone, now, under the same conditions, the twitter client barely has time to start.
4 gig of RAM (DDR3, 1066 MHz) - despite the fact that the maximum amount that can be set is 12GB (4 slots).
Discrete NVIDIA GeForce GT 335M graphics card with a gigabyte of memory.
Separately, I would like to note that in the model under test, two hard drives of 640GB each were installed. What is surprising, both from different manufacturers, and the speed, respectively, were different:
Well, the Blu-ray slot combo drive turned out to be not at all superfluous - after all, are you buying licensed BluRay movie discs? :)
The performance index in Windows 7 Ultimate (64 bit) is a modest 5.9 points - all because of the disks.
In general, as you can see, such a laptop will not be bored - solitaires, Blu-rips and even the most resource-intensive toys will easily fly on it. To some extent, the configuration is similar to those installed in the ASUS RoG gaming laptops.
The operation time could not be tested, but it is clear that the device is not one of the autonomous ones. I trusted the information from the tray - it said that at maximum brightness the laptop would work for about an hour and a half. I liked the Power4Gear Hybrid utility - I did not pay attention to it before, but in the case of the NX90 I decided to see what parameters and how they affect the device operation time.
Check weighing
Unusual design Impeccable build quality Really cool sound from the speakers Large, high resolution screen Slot BluRay Drive, HDMI, USB 3.0, Wi-Fi n Very quiet and hardly heated High performance Giant size and weight Glossy case and screen Keyboard without backlighting, not the most convenient layout Non-removable battery, upgrade "home" is not provided High priceOn the other hand ... dimensions and weight can be considered as a plus - once I dragged the laptop home, and then you enjoy its sound and screen sizes. The possibility of upgrading is also doubtful - there will be a 12-gig version (with 1280GB on disks), which you will not upgrade anymore ...
The exact combination of numbers on the retail price tag is still unknown, but I think it will be something five-digit, thousands from a hundred rubles.
Total
This notebook is exclusively designer, so it was not originally intended for gatherings in coffee houses and hauling in a backpack at a lecture. Dimensions, weight, materials, performance and price - all this unequivocally hints that the device should be at home, displacing a large stationary sistemnik. And not just somewhere on the shelf, but exclusively in the most prominent place - in the living room, near the fireplace or under a huge plasma panel. So that the guests will not say anything except “Wooow !!!” and think. Naturally, the music and video should be included shortly before their arrival, so that the rubbing of prints is not stored in anybody’s memory.
ASUS NX90 is not for the mass market, but, rather, only for those who want “for any money to get something cool and modern, which no one else has” - after all, in fact, none of the manufacturers offer anything like this. Macbooks and vayos similar in prices may not be any worse in terms of, for example, productivity, but you can hardly find at least one person who would stop them with their interested opinion. And this in my review of the pictures on an ordinary office table does not look very much ... but if it was some cozy country house, everything would be perceived quite differently.
The rest of the NX90 is another laptop, albeit with good features: a processor, video, memory, a screen ... a sort of fusion of modern technology, with a margin of safety that will last for a long time.
As a bonus - wallpaper [1920x1080] with NX90. Very comfortable for the background of icons, so calm.
C looking forward to the devices presented by ASUS at Computex 2010, apparently, it will be interesting. In the meantime, all the success and thanks for reading!
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/96757/
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