New Love-New Laptop

I finally got my new laptop!
After a month of debating (not all the time of course) which to get and comparing, I finally got one.
Well it wasn't my first choice.
But it's so easy to love, so I haven't regretted. ;)

My first choice was Dell. I mean, come on, the 5460 Ultrabook is only 1.55kg. Super light, super slim, and even comes in red. Plus it's affordable and it's a brand new model.
And that's where the problem comes in.

It's new. TOO new. Plus it's Dell. I've been to like so many shops in Penang but no one is selling it. No one even sells it online except a few who are based in KL. How am I supposed to buy a laptop that I can't even feel, right?

This is the 5460. Super slim! Love totally. Pity it's too new. :(

And if you think there's no need to feel a laptop before purchasing, think again. Unless you're an everything-also-okay person. I learnt this the hard way. I almost got my second choice, a Toshiba. U940. The specs were perfect, the colour nice, the reviews on it great. So I checked it out at a shop which had it on display, started typing something and walked away next.

Keyboard: Horrible.

To me, at least. For someone like me who blogs a lot, chats a lot, and probably will do a lot of word assignments and essays on the laptop, the keyboard is the main thing. I don't care how great the processor is, or how long-lasting the battery is, or how fast the laptop boots up, or how stunning the graphics are, or how thin the design is.

This is the baaaaad keyboard. So sad! :( Keys are TOO shallow.

I just want to know how is the keyboard.
And if it's horrible, everything above doesn't matter anymore. Not even the fact that the keyboard is backlit.

So I ended up with Asus. I didn't plan to, because I read about Asus' crappy customer service, which is the top worst among the brands. And well Dell has unparalleled customer service. Asus' build quality is generally known as very good though, and in surveys was listed as having the least defective products among the brands. The brand itself is one of the better brands, unlike Sony which is major overrated, or Acer which is perceived as a "cheap" brand (although quality might be improving).

This is the one they've been recommending me

But the day I went and was recommended Asus by two different shops (who recommended the same model to me LOL, which is the one I bought). So I was like "okay I'd better have a look" since it apparently "suits" me. It was definitely heavier than the Dell 5460. But it's just under 2kg, looks nice, has good specs which need a little tweaking, has an ultra-slim DVD drive so I don't have to lug an external one around, and the best part:

The keyboard feels GREAT.

*which sealed the deal for me*

(well it didn't seal it right away, but it did leave a good impression)

The nice chiclet-keys keyboard ;)

So after like a week, I went there again, wanted to see HP Envy 4 but it wasn't available on display (by the way the 1204 one has really nice specs), and after the incident with the Toshiba I didn't want to buy anything without feeling it first.

One of the shops displayed a Dell 5460 though, which made me go ecstatic for like 5 minutes (it's really light!) but then the guy said it's only in grey, with much lower specs than I would have wanted, and a much higher price (with that price I could've gone for a 5460 with the highest specs in KL and even at Dell's website). And I wasn't sure about the keyboard, the guy won't open up the plastic to let me type and see, so...

I could wait 3 more weeks, go down to KL and get a 5460 there before checking into Taylor's. But I flitted over to the shop with the Asus, and the keyboard sat there staring up at me (hahahahaha) and I just can't stop looking at it. And my parents were like "it's not that heavy anyway", "it has a build-in DVD drive, better for studying", "it has 2 years warranty", "it looks nice really" etc etc.

So I said okay then, I'll have this one instead. The retail price was rm2099, but I got a discounted price of rm1949 after I decided I didn't want the free gifts (the stuff they give are lousy anyway, better to save money and buy something I really need instead). Upgraded to 4GB RAM from 2GB, so the final price was rm1999.

I did keep within the budget of rm2000 after all! :DDDD
Don't want to overspend, since buying other stuff have been coming down to a large sum of money. :(
I might use some savings to swap my HDD with an SSD later and use it as an external hard disk. :D
Definitely will be much faster. But depends, if I really need the faster speed.
*'cause I already have an external hard disk LOL*

Already have a WD hard disk ;)

So happy ;) I did spend a few dazed hours afterward justifying the decision to myself, but when I got home and unboxed it I fell in love again (especially with the keyboard :P) so I am sure I made a decision that I am satisfied with. I haven't actually started it up yet, as it's still charging for the first six hours, and I'm still using my old laptop to type this, but here are some pictures I took with Ethan (he's ecstatic to have a newcomer into the house) :D

The BOX.

Eco packaging ;)

Adapter, power cord, battery

Owner manuals

My laptop, all wrapped up in a sheet

Here it is ;)
The one on the right is the old one, the one I'm currently using.

See the slimness of my new laptop!

Why are old models so bulky?

Lid of new one is brushed aluminium. The old one is shiny plastic.

Old laptops are so huge and so not streamlined. LOL

The nice keyboard ;)

Some say the keys are still a little too shallow, but it's way better than Toshiba  U940 though

Ignore the mess behind please. That's my work table :P

Here's a fact sheet of the specifications:
Model: ASUS K46CB-WX060H
Operating System: Genuine Windows® 8 64
Display: 14.0" 16:9 HD (1366x768) LED Backlight
Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-3337U Processor
- 1.8GHz, 3M Smart Cache
- Max Turbo Frequency 2.7 GHz
Memory: 2GB DDR3 SDRAM (Upgraded - 4GB)
Hard Disk Drive: 750GB-5400rpm HDD
Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 740M with 2GB DDR3 VRAM
Optical Drives: 8 x Super Multi-Dual
Dimensions: 34.8 x 24.8 x 2.10cm (WxDxH)
Weight: ~2.0kg (with 4-cell battery)
Colour: Black
Warranty: 2 years ASUS Limited International Warranty

This is not a review, since all I've been doing is looking at it, and to do a review will probably need at least a few weeks of using, but I've found one review around the web, not the exact model but very close. HERE

Did not get the touchscreen version (I believe it's the Vivobook) because I don't see the need for a touch-enabled screen (yet! maybe it'll be compulsory a few years later LOL), and a clumsy one such as me will probably wreck the screen the more I >>>touch<<< it.
Also the Vivobook doesn't have a DVD drive (which can be rectify of course with an external one, but clumsy me will probably lose the thing).
And the graphics is only Intel HD 4000 integrated graphics. Mine has a dedicated NVIDIA graphics card for better graphics when I need it. :)
I upped the RAM, so both are the same now. And I get mine for 200 less, for lack of only a touchscreen. ;)
Awesome right?

So far so good, pleased with it except for the fact that the lid is seriously a fingerprint magnet. Definitely need a skin cover to protect it. ;)

Apart from that,
Love love love! <3 ;)