Thanks for visiting FatWallet.com. Join for free to remove this ad.
BNizzle
Senior Member
posted: Mar. 14, 2012 @ 8:01p
If they would combine this with an unlocked phone discount, that would be great.
Sk8terboy
Dismembered Member
posted: Mar. 14, 2012 @ 8:51p
Asus did so much right with this, except: "HARD DRIVE SIZE | 640 GB SATA 5400 RPM &OPTICAL DRIVE | None"
I guess I understand the "need" to gimp this by not including a DVD drive for weight/bulk savings. 640GB harddrive is awesome, BUT 5400 RPM? Then, mate that slow@ss drive to a gaming graphics card? Really?!? What am I missing here? I'd take a 500GB 7200 RPM drive over a 640GB 5400 RPM anyday, and even would pay an extra $40-50 for that priviledge if necessary.
I guess I just don't get it. Ultraportable, 3.66 lbs, 13.3 inch screen, Moderate graphics card, 4GB DDR3 memory = All cool stuff! 5400 RPM harddrive = not cool. Why gimp such an otherwise sweet machine?
I'm seriously considering this for a relative who wants light weight and longer battery life. Does anyone know how long this sale lasts? I'd hate to order and then return and I don't have time to check it out at my local MS store until the weekend. I'm also considering swapping the HDD with an SSD. Any thoughts?
Informant
Member
posted: Mar. 14, 2012 @ 10:23p
Not near as good as the Toshiba deal that sold out yesterday at 499
jodykw1982
Member
posted: Mar. 14, 2012 @ 11:38p
Informant said: Not near as good as the Toshiba deal that sold out yesterday at 499
Sk8terboy said: I guess I understand the "need" to gimp this by not including a DVD drive for weight/bulk savings. 640GB harddrive is awesome, BUT 5400 RPM? Then, mate that slow@ss drive to a gaming graphics card? Really?!? What am I missing here? I'd take a 500GB 7200 RPM drive over a 640GB 5400 RPM anyday, and even would pay an extra $40-50 for that priviledge if necessary.
I guess I just don't get it. Ultraportable, 3.66 lbs, 13.3 inch screen, Moderate graphics card, 4GB DDR3 memory = All cool stuff! 5400 RPM harddrive = not cool. Why gimp such an otherwise sweet machine?IMO, optical drives are rarely needed in a notebook. I'd prefer not having it if it means a lighter, thinner laptop. This is a personal opinion, since I rarely use my notebook optical drive and it's so easy to use an ISO if I really needed to.
But my main point in posting is to disagree with your RPM preference. It sounds like you have a legitimate argument for your use case, but to me, battery life (even just 20 more minutes) seems more important than a 7200RPM drive. Further, I wouldn't worry about 5400 RPM hurting your gaming with the graphics. What games will peg the HDD while in game?? It's all about CPU+GPU while in game. Perhaps the initial level may take a bit longer to load... ?
Either way, once you move from an i3 (or slower) to an i5 (or faster), IMO, sell the HDD and buy an SSD (like jaymez619's considering).
Informant
Member
posted: Mar. 15, 2012 @ 2:28a
jodykw1982 said: Informant said: Not near as good as the Toshiba deal that sold out yesterday at 499
Sk8terboy said: Asus did so much right with this, except: "HARD DRIVE SIZE | 640 GB SATA 5400 RPM &OPTICAL DRIVE | None"
I guess I understand the "need" to gimp this by not including a DVD drive for weight/bulk savings. 640GB harddrive is awesome, BUT 5400 RPM? Then, mate that slow@ss drive to a gaming graphics card? Really?!? What am I missing here? I'd take a 500GB 7200 RPM drive over a 640GB 5400 RPM anyday, and even would pay an extra $40-50 for that priviledge if necessary.
I guess I just don't get it. Ultraportable, 3.66 lbs, 13.3 inch screen, Moderate graphics card, 4GB DDR3 memory = All cool stuff! 5400 RPM harddrive = not cool. Why gimp such an otherwise sweet machine?
Problem is, the processor is a first generation i5.
josejohn
Senior Member
posted: Mar. 15, 2012 @ 7:52a
jaymez619 said: I'm seriously considering this for a relative who wants light weight and longer battery life. Does anyone know how long this sale lasts? I'd hate to order and then return and I don't have time to check it out at my local MS store until the weekend. I'm also considering swapping the HDD with an SSD. Any thoughts?
Think there may be a bit of trickery here guys, i'm 98% sure that hasn't always been RRP: $999.00
govtec
New Member
posted: Mar. 15, 2012 @ 9:46a
Does this laptop have easy access to swap out HDD?...I read one of the reviews of a slightly different model that said it required practically taking the whole computer apart to get to HDD.
Dotbody
Happy Member
posted: Mar. 15, 2012 @ 10:57a
josejohn said: If you don't want to spend the money for a SSD and/or if you can live with almost SSD like performance with larger capacity, look at the Seagate Momentus 750GB (2nd Gen) hybrid drive.At that price, I'd rather just get a full blown 120gb 6Gbps SSD; though it's a good suggestion for those needing 750gb inside their laptop...
Dotbody
Happy Member
posted: Mar. 15, 2012 @ 11:00a
govtec said: Does this laptop have easy access to swap out HDD?...I read one of the reviews of a slightly different model that said it required practically taking the whole computer apart to get to HDD.Looks like you may be right; swapping the HDD will require 10-15 mins instead of 2 mins. Annoying, but not too difficult.
Review points: Decent keyboard (not backlit) Good touchpad, bad buttons on touchpad Easy to access RAM for upgrades Not easy to access hard disk Very reflective LCD bezel makes it painful to use outdoors Mediocre LCD display quality, poor viewing angle, mediocre color reproduction Low resolution webcam The discrete GPU runs circles around Intel HD3000 chipsets Very good battery life (nearly 8 hours with low load, nearly 4 hours fully loaded)
Dotbody
Happy Member
posted: Mar. 16, 2012 @ 3:19p
atomicfire said: Looks like a pretty good deal, but the lack of integrated bluetooth kills it for me. Green for you. Review hereThanks for the review. In for one.
I've used the bluetooth on my current laptop perhaps twice in the past 18 months. Both times to tether internet from my droid X for free (Win7 comes with the drivers/ability to do this). Now with free Wifi tethering via Foxfi, I have no need. Especially since whenever I'd sync via bluetooth, incoming/outgoing calls would occur over my laptop speakers and mic...weird. Out of curiosity, what are you using bluetooth for? A mouse?
If you don't mind occupying a USB port when the occasion requires bluetooth, you could always manually add an Asus dongle for $1.99 shipped. I suppose you could technically change out the wifi card for one with integrated bluetooth, but that seems hardly worth it.
Dotbody said: atomicfire said: Looks like a pretty good deal, but the lack of integrated bluetooth kills it for me. Green for you. Review hereThanks for the review. In for one.
I've used the bluetooth on my current laptop perhaps twice in the past 18 months. Both times to tether internet from my droid X for free (Win7 comes with the drivers/ability to do this). Now with free Wifi tethering via Foxfi, I have no need. Especially since whenever I'd sync via bluetooth, incoming/outgoing calls would occur over my laptop speakers and mic...weird. Out of curiosity, what are you using bluetooth for? A mouse?
If you don't mind occupying a USB port when the occasion requires bluetooth, you could always manually add an Asus dongle for $1.99 shipped. I suppose you could technically change out the wifi card for one with integrated bluetooth, but that seems hardly worth it.
It's been about 20 minutes since I pulled the trigger. I went through ShopDiscover to save 5%. I still haven't received confirmation. How long did your order take to get confirmed? My only worry is the 0.3 MegaPixel camera. This will be used for Skype. I've shopped around and can't find a 13" laptop with this processor, RAM, and most importantly, price range. Thanks OP.
"Thank you for your order. Your order is being processed and you will be notified of the result shortly."
djklmnop
Senior Member
posted: Mar. 17, 2012 @ 10:43p
Why do you guys keep calling these ultrabooks? They're not even that thin compared to the real ultrabooks.
djklmnop said: Why do you guys keep calling these ultrabooks? They're not even that thin compared to the real ultrabooks.
What's an ultrabook by definition? They're all laptops in my book.
mlandau1
Member
posted: Mar. 18, 2012 @ 12:10a
Intel has a set definition for an ultrabook. Really dumb.
djklmnop
Senior Member
posted: Mar. 18, 2012 @ 1:32a
Well, I click on the deal thinking I'm getting an ultrabook. Just like if you posted 17" netbook, I would assume I'm getting an Atom processor in it!
Dotbody
Happy Member
posted: Mar. 18, 2012 @ 9:28p
djklmnop said: Why do you guys keep calling these ultrabooks?...guys? Who else besides ruudvn? At any rate—and though I disagree with a company self-proclaiming its own class—I don't think calling this an 'ultrabook' is a problem. It's within the maximum thickness in several of Intel's stated approved sizes (under .8"), as are the rest of its specs and battery life. I have no plans to slice fruit with it, but IMO, if it's too thin to host an optical drive, it gets to graduate to whatever genre you want to call these.
And @jaymez619 -- For some reason, microsoft store won't send an email until the morning (≈9:30am EST). I can't say I'm impressed with the shopping experience, but I suppose it works.
Dotbody
Happy Member
posted: Mar. 20, 2012 @ 5:12p
Just arrived this afternoon. I'm impressed. Though as the reviews mentioned, the touchpad mouse click is the only disappointment (somewhat hard to push, and somewhat loud).
Edit: I dismantled it and installed an SSD, then reinstalled a clean Win7. I booted from USB, and had an issue starting the actual installation. Turns out you can't install via USB 3.0, so be sure to use one of the 2.0 ports. After that, you have to install several drivers (2 VGA, 2 or 3 LAN, etc) to complete the install. I also installed several utilities that looked helpful.
thecheapgeekmb
New Member
posted: May. 17, 2012 @ 3:30p
I stumbled across this forum searching for reviews of the Asus 36USD RBK5. I just purchased 2 of these for inventory at my computer store. Brand new in the box for $558. Kevin @ thecheapgeekmb.com
Disclaimer: By providing links to other sites, FatWallet.com does not guarantee, approve or endorse the information or products available at these sites, nor does a link indicate any association with or endorsement by the linked site to FatWallet.com.
Members of our community may attach files to a post in accordance with the User Agreement. FatWallet is not responsible for the content, accuracy, completeness or validity of any information contained in any attached file. Files have *not* been scanned for viruses. Be especially wary of Excel files which may contain malicious content.
One-time set up
Avoid the hassle of entering your information every time you buy.
•
Instant Cash Back tracking
Since we complete the purchase, we can credit your Cash Back immediately.
•
Buy with just two clicks
One click begins checkout and another confirms your purchase.
Once set up, making a purchase with FW checkout is a breeze. FatWallet Checkout confirms the after-tax
price plus shipping and, after you confirm, completes your purchase for you.
Shopping
Earn Cash Back while you shop - just 3 simple steps.
1. Sign Up so we know who to pay! (It's FREE.)
2. Shop through FatWallet for deals from your favorite stores. Your online purchases earn Cash Back that builds in your FatWallet account.
3. Get Paid by requesting a payment via check or PayPal.
FatWallet coupons help you save more when shopping online. Use our Coupons Search to browse coupons and offers from thousands of stores, gathered into one convenient location.
Forums
As part of our FatWallet Community, you can share deals with almost a million shoppers in our forums. Forum content is generated by consumers for consumers. Share deals, money-saving tips, and more. It's FREE, fun, and addicting.
Support
Our customer experience team is here around the clock - real people ready to assist.
Click to copy code and go to .
