Performance: Overall this laptop's performance was excellent. Tasks like email, word processing and web browsing will be speedy and you can even accomplish tougher tasks like video editing and mid-range gaming at top speed. It was among the fastest with writing, creating spreadsheets, video chat and other productivity tasks. It was among the fastest for mainstream gaming, viewing and editing photos and editing music, and among the fastest with productivity and Web-based tasks such as word processing, Web browsing, casual gaming and video chat. The sound on movies, music, and games was acceptable with the built-in speakers, but if you're looking for the best sound you might want to add speakers or use headphones.
Portability: At 6.75 hours, battery life was adequate but not notable. At 3.7 pounds, this is lightweight for a laptop this size.
Ergonomics: The keyboard, touchpad, labeling, and LED indicators were all well-designed, making it comfortable and convenient to use. The full-sized keyboard was pleasant to type on. The keyboard was lighted. The touchpad supports use of multiple-finger gestures to zoom and scroll.
Display: The display quality was very good overall. Colors were in the ballpark, though not completely accurate. The display was anti-reflective, so there was little or no glare when viewing in a brightly lit room or outdoors. The viewing angle of the display is middling, so you might have to adjust the position for optimal viewability for one user and even more so for multiple viewers.
Useful features and attributes on this model include: There's a 256GB solid-state hard drive, which uses less power and accesses data more quickly. You can connect common external devices such as hard drives and Blu-ray burners to the USB 3.0 port for maximum performance. Gigabit Ethernet provides fast transfer of data over a local network. An HDMI port is provided for connecting this laptop to an HDTV.
Downsides: There's no optical drive like a CD or DVD reader, so you'll have to buy an external drive if you need one. The battery is not easily removable.
