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 The Asus K46CB Review, Posting this on request.

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NightFelix
post Jul 30 2013, 04:39 PM

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QUOTE(mfitri77 @ Jul 30 2013, 04:28 PM)
Safe to say that K46CB, Z400T will get the Haswell refresh, and my advice is if you can wait, do wait. So far Haswell's launch is being staggered into the marker, with few models from several manufacturers.
*
Thanks notworthy.gif Will wait couple months more since currently Compaq CQ40 still usable. laugh.gif
wendysama77
post Aug 2 2013, 11:13 PM

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I checked the ASUS official website it said the GPU got 2GB and 4GB. Does it means the GPU can be upgrade or what?

http://www.asus.com/my/Notebooks_Ultrabook...#specifications

Sorry for asking such stupid question.

This post has been edited by wendysama77: Aug 2 2013, 11:15 PM
penguinkribo
post Aug 3 2013, 05:49 AM

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QUOTE(wendysama77 @ Aug 2 2013, 11:13 PM)
I checked the ASUS official website it said the GPU got 2GB and 4GB. Does it means the GPU can be upgrade or what?

http://www.asus.com/my/Notebooks_Ultrabook...#specifications

Sorry for asking such stupid question.
*
I think it depends on which version you are buying (notice that there are few different processor version you can buy)
nexus2238
post Aug 3 2013, 09:18 AM

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QUOTE(wendysama77 @ Aug 2 2013, 11:13 PM)
I checked the ASUS official website it said the GPU got 2GB and 4GB. Does it means the GPU can be upgrade or what?

http://www.asus.com/my/Notebooks_Ultrabook...#specifications

Sorry for asking such stupid question.
*
Unless the GPU is something in the range of GTX780M, 4GB VRAM is a total waste of space and money.
No, unless GPU is MXM type (which you will only find in expensive "gaming laptop"), GPU is not upgradeable after the laptop come out of factory.
wu ming
post Aug 3 2013, 12:13 PM

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QUOTE(mfitri77 @ Jul 30 2013, 04:28 PM)
Safe to say that K46CB, Z400T will get the Haswell refresh, and my advice is if you can wait, do wait. So far Haswell's launch is being staggered into the marker, with few models from several manufacturers.
*
Any idea how long to wait?
TSmfitri77
post Aug 4 2013, 07:45 AM

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Probably bunched together around September to October, when Apple releases their new products.


Junshenh27
post Aug 8 2013, 08:11 PM

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QUOTE(mfitri77 @ Jun 14 2013, 10:07 AM)
The Asus K46CB Review

I was amazed the first time I saw the K46 series. Nice alluminium look, albeit with the black plastics framing the screen and underside. What is most interesting to me is the fact that at 21mm, Asus has managed to somehow shoehorn a DVD writer in the model, although most other ultrabook using series has long ago abandoned the DVD writer in their designs for thin and light.

The first K46CM model also had the distinction of being able to include a discrete NVIDIA graphic in the form of a 635M. In effect, it turned what should have been a lightweight ultrabook into a lightweight ultrabook that could play some games.

The K46CB, is basically the old K46CM with a faster Ivy Bridge ultrabook processor, with the newer 740M discrete graphic. So, is it still a good laptop.

The Review

The K46CB still uses the old 1366 x 768 standard TN screen. Nothing much can be said, but I like the fact that the sturdier construction eliminated the annoying sway I find on most other notebooks especially the Lenovo’s. Even a slight wobble of the table translate into a wobble on the screen, something the stiff although thin design of the K46CB has. As for viewing angles, they’ve mostly solve the side by side but look up and down and you’ll still find the colors washing out pretty bad and pretty quick. The display is not as bright as what you would find on top of the line TN screens but, I would say it falls on the industry standard anyway. The back screen is black/almost brown aluminium but the whole thing tends to be a fingerprint magnet. Oils stick easily there.

It has, for an ultrabook, a good selection of ports, HDMI, VGA, an ethernet port, USB, headphone jack and the aformentioned DVD writer, which thanks to the thin design you tend to pick the unit by and hear it grate against the body. I’ve learned to be a bit careful picking the unit up to avoid this. I do think that Asus might as well go and eliminated the drive altogether, and just use the space/cost saving for improving the design.

It has aluminium, or faux aluminium, I couldn’t tell for the keyboard area and palm rest. The keyboards are black, and do have nice placing and size relative to each other, but as a result of the thin design don’t have too much travel, so some may have difficulties in adjusting to the shallow press. That being said, I had no trouble adapting to using the keyboard, but if you need that long travel when pressed, you’d hate the keyboard.

The trackpad, is not perfect. But it is the best one I have used on a Wintel machine these days, which thanks to Windows 8 made it more important than ever. In a scale of 1 - 10, with 10 being the trackpad on an Apple Macbook Pro, I’d give it a 7.

Runs on an intel i5-3337U, a newer ultrabook ivy bridge processor with faster turbo speed.  Nothing much can be said, but the more interesting part is the 740M. Now, supposedly faster than the last gen’s 635M, but you are running it to a HD screen anyway, so you should get a decent frame rate anyway. Diablo, Skyrim ran fine, as was Civ V. In a pinch, absolute nice and decent mid to lower range gaming. And it does have Optimus, but..

Having an ultrabook processor in this case didn't help battery life much however. With a rather small battery, the K46CB lasted between 4-5 hours standard wifi browsing using the browser.

What you do need to look out for is the fact that it still uses your standard HDD and single channel ram. So performance do get dragged down by these two factors.

Heat dissipation is quite nice also. At no time during my gaming/prime 95 testing did the laptop became too hot to touch, although the fan, located on the left side of the laptop was loud noticeable.

Sound was nice also, with Asus using its own enhancement called SonicMaster. Songs that I’ve played managed to bring out the normally quieter parts of songs that I would miss with some Acer’s Dolby implementation.

In the midst of all this, Asus did make some compromises. The amount of memory that came with the base K46CB is still the same 2GB RAM. What’s even worse is the 2GB RAM is located  under the backplate, while a free slot located under the easier to remove HDD / RAM backplate. So if you wanted to replace the 2GB RAM with a faster model, you need to practically take off the whole backplate. A single slot 2GB RAM also meant slower memory performance, so you may need to splurge a bit on getting the RAM upgraded. At least the HHD / RAM backplate allows easy upgrade to the HDD as well.

Considering all that though, if you wanted something thin, a bit light and portable, and with enough horsepower to do some light gaming, take a look at the K46CB. Priced at between RM1999-2099 with memory upgrades, it has some imperfections, but all in all a very useful laptop.
*

The keyboard will trapping the dust? Can I have a upgraded K46CB laptops without upgrade K46cb?


This post has been edited by Junshenh27: Aug 8 2013, 08:13 PM
Treena
post Aug 14 2013, 03:06 AM

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QUOTE(mfitri77 @ Jun 14 2013, 10:07 AM)
The Asus K46CB Review

I was amazed the first time I saw the K46 series. Nice alluminium look, albeit with the black plastics framing the screen and underside. What is most interesting to me is the fact that at 21mm, Asus has managed to somehow shoehorn a DVD writer in the model, although most other ultrabook using series has long ago abandoned the DVD writer in their designs for thin and light.

The first K46CM model also had the distinction of being able to include a discrete NVIDIA graphic in the form of a 635M. In effect, it turned what should have been a lightweight ultrabook into a lightweight ultrabook that could play some games.

The K46CB, is basically the old K46CM with a faster Ivy Bridge ultrabook processor, with the newer 740M discrete graphic. So, is it still a good laptop.

The Review

The K46CB still uses the old 1366 x 768 standard TN screen. Nothing much can be said, but I like the fact that the sturdier construction eliminated the annoying sway I find on most other notebooks especially the Lenovo’s. Even a slight wobble of the table translate into a wobble on the screen, something the stiff although thin design of the K46CB has. As for viewing angles, they’ve mostly solve the side by side but look up and down and you’ll still find the colors washing out pretty bad and pretty quick. The display is not as bright as what you would find on top of the line TN screens but, I would say it falls on the industry standard anyway. The back screen is black/almost brown aluminium but the whole thing tends to be a fingerprint magnet. Oils stick easily there.

It has, for an ultrabook, a good selection of ports, HDMI, VGA, an ethernet port, USB, headphone jack and the aformentioned DVD writer, which thanks to the thin design you tend to pick the unit by and hear it grate against the body. I’ve learned to be a bit careful picking the unit up to avoid this. I do think that Asus might as well go and eliminated the drive altogether, and just use the space/cost saving for improving the design.

It has aluminium, or faux aluminium, I couldn’t tell for the keyboard area and palm rest. The keyboards are black, and do have nice placing and size relative to each other, but as a result of the thin design don’t have too much travel, so some may have difficulties in adjusting to the shallow press. That being said, I had no trouble adapting to using the keyboard, but if you need that long travel when pressed, you’d hate the keyboard.

The trackpad, is not perfect. But it is the best one I have used on a Wintel machine these days, which thanks to Windows 8 made it more important than ever. In a scale of 1 - 10, with 10 being the trackpad on an Apple Macbook Pro, I’d give it a 7.

Runs on an intel i5-3337U, a newer ultrabook ivy bridge processor with faster turbo speed.  Nothing much can be said, but the more interesting part is the 740M. Now, supposedly faster than the last gen’s 635M, but you are running it to a HD screen anyway, so you should get a decent frame rate anyway. Diablo, Skyrim ran fine, as was Civ V. In a pinch, absolute nice and decent mid to lower range gaming. And it does have Optimus, but..

Having an ultrabook processor in this case didn't help battery life much however. With a rather small battery, the K46CB lasted between 4-5 hours standard wifi browsing using the browser.

What you do need to look out for is the fact that it still uses your standard HDD and single channel ram. So performance do get dragged down by these two factors.

Heat dissipation is quite nice also. At no time during my gaming/prime 95 testing did the laptop became too hot to touch, although the fan, located on the left side of the laptop was loud noticeable.

Sound was nice also, with Asus using its own enhancement called SonicMaster. Songs that I’ve played managed to bring out the normally quieter parts of songs that I would miss with some Acer’s Dolby implementation.

In the midst of all this, Asus did make some compromises. The amount of memory that came with the base K46CB is still the same 2GB RAM. What’s even worse is the 2GB RAM is located  under the backplate, while a free slot located under the easier to remove HDD / RAM backplate. So if you wanted to replace the 2GB RAM with a faster model, you need to practically take off the whole backplate. A single slot 2GB RAM also meant slower memory performance, so you may need to splurge a bit on getting the RAM upgraded. At least the HHD / RAM backplate allows easy upgrade to the HDD as well.

Considering all that though, if you wanted something thin, a bit light and portable, and with enough horsepower to do some light gaming, take a look at the K46CB. Priced at between RM1999-2099 with memory upgrades, it has some imperfections, but all in all a very useful laptop.
*
Hi!! Can this laptop support games like mw3, bf3, deus ex and perhaps bioshock?
tennytyy
post Aug 14 2013, 10:25 AM

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QUOTE(Treena @ Aug 14 2013, 03:06 AM)
Hi!! Can this laptop support games like mw3, bf3, deus ex and perhaps bioshock?
*
Of cause it can support all the games you listed above, just do not expect to run all the games in max setting.
Wisekiller
post Aug 14 2013, 01:41 PM

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Hai all,

I would like to know is there any heating issue in this laptop. M looking forward to buy one.
Jus wondering is there any heating issue if play game for few hours
And need some advice whether this laptop is good for gaming because it is ultrabook??
and is this laptop have ice cool technology??

Anyone? pls help.
Treena
post Aug 14 2013, 04:07 PM

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QUOTE(tennytyy @ Aug 14 2013, 10:25 AM)
Of cause it can support all the games you listed above, just do not expect to run all the games in max setting.
*
Thank you so much! you're so helpful smile.gif
Besides the Asus K46CB do you have any other recommendations for a budget below rm2500?
The Asus gaming line seems so manly and it would be pretty weird for me to carry it around campus.
Any recommendations from any brand would be fine, I'm so sorry but I don't really know who to ask, and I don't really wanna believe what the shop says because knowing I'm a girl I'm afraid that they would cheat me haha.
Many thanks ahead!
jdachum
post Aug 14 2013, 05:26 PM

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QUOTE(Treena @ Aug 14 2013, 04:07 PM)
Thank you so much! you're so helpful smile.gif
Besides the Asus K46CB do you have any other recommendations for a budget below rm2500?
The Asus gaming line seems so manly and it would be pretty weird for me to carry it around campus.
Any recommendations from any brand would be fine, I'm so sorry but I don't really know who to ask, and I don't really wanna believe what the shop says because knowing I'm a girl I'm afraid that they would cheat me haha.
Many thanks ahead!
*
Wow! A girl playing all those games! Impressive! HAHA! Another laptop coming into mind is Lenovo Z400, but that depends on how you want to carry/use/handle the laptop. K46CB is slimmer, lighter than Z400. Performance wise, if you are using some CPU-intensive programs, Z400 will be better than K46CB.

In my opinion, the ASUS K46CB doesn't look manly haha. It actually looks neutral and easy to carry around. As of now, with an add in of 6GB RAM to K46CB to a total of 8GB will cost you around RM2150.

On side note, I am still torn between K46CB and Z400 :/ But I guess I will wait for a few months till around November for them to release a refresh model of laptop with Haswell processor, which uses less power and increase battery life.
Treena
post Aug 14 2013, 07:19 PM

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QUOTE(jdachum @ Aug 14 2013, 05:26 PM)
Wow! A girl playing all those games! Impressive! HAHA! Another laptop coming into mind is Lenovo Z400, but that depends on how you want to carry/use/handle the laptop.  K46CB is slimmer, lighter than Z400.  Performance wise, if you are using some CPU-intensive programs, Z400 will be better than K46CB.

In my opinion, the ASUS K46CB doesn't look manly haha. It actually looks neutral and easy to carry around.  As of now, with an add in of 6GB RAM to K46CB to a total of 8GB will cost you around RM2150.

On side note, I am still torn between K46CB and Z400 :/ But I guess I will wait for a few months till around November for them to release a refresh model of laptop with Haswell processor, which uses less power and increase battery life.
*
Thank you smile.gif But I play casually, ain't that serious because I like outdoor adventures too haha.
Anyways my friend recommended Lenovo Y500, and he mentioned something about Ultrabay. God it's so confusing! If only I had a higher budget I'd go for Illegear, and I'd be the only person in town to carry that beauty :3

Hence, it's all down to the K46CB, Y500 and Acer's V5-473PG.
Still asking around for opinions.
mfitri77 recommended Acer's V5, saying that it vents air to the back, that's good I guess because my left hand do feel the heat with side venting.

I'm in a dilemma. Damn.

As for you if you can wait, I believe that would be a great choice smile.gif
And thank you for confirming the price of K46CB!
Treena
post Aug 14 2013, 07:29 PM

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QUOTE(jdachum @ Aug 14 2013, 05:26 PM)
Wow! A girl playing all those games! Impressive! HAHA! Another laptop coming into mind is Lenovo Z400, but that depends on how you want to carry/use/handle the laptop.  K46CB is slimmer, lighter than Z400.  Performance wise, if you are using some CPU-intensive programs, Z400 will be better than K46CB.

In my opinion, the ASUS K46CB doesn't look manly haha. It actually looks neutral and easy to carry around.  As of now, with an add in of 6GB RAM to K46CB to a total of 8GB will cost you around RM2150.

On side note, I am still torn between K46CB and Z400 :/ But I guess I will wait for a few months till around November for them to release a refresh model of laptop with Haswell processor, which uses less power and increase battery life.
*
Hi, just one question. Do you roughly know how much is the Asus K46CB with i7 3537U processor and 8GB RAM?

tennytyy
post Aug 14 2013, 10:56 PM

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QUOTE(Treena @ Aug 14 2013, 04:07 PM)
Thank you so much! you're so helpful smile.gif
Besides the Asus K46CB do you have any other recommendations for a budget below rm2500?
The Asus gaming line seems so manly and it would be pretty weird for me to carry it around campus.
Any recommendations from any brand would be fine, I'm so sorry but I don't really know who to ask, and I don't really wanna believe what the shop says because knowing I'm a girl I'm afraid that they would cheat me haha.
Many thanks ahead!
*
Well, you can have a look at Lenovo Y400 too.
The best bang for the bucks at your budget.
Treena
post Aug 15 2013, 01:16 AM

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QUOTE(tennytyy @ Aug 14 2013, 10:56 PM)
Well, you can have a look at Lenovo Y400 too.
The best bang for the bucks at your budget.
*
aite! thank you!
jdachum
post Aug 15 2013, 02:36 PM

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QUOTE(Treena @ Aug 14 2013, 07:19 PM)
Thank you smile.gif But I play casually, ain't that serious because I like outdoor adventures too haha.
Anyways my friend recommended Lenovo Y500, and he mentioned something about Ultrabay. God it's so confusing! If only I had a higher budget I'd go for Illegear, and I'd be the only person in town to carry that beauty :3

Hence, it's all down to the K46CB, Y500 and Acer's V5-473PG.
Still asking around for opinions.
mfitri77 recommended Acer's V5, saying that it vents air to the back, that's good I guess because my left hand do feel the heat with side venting.

I'm in a dilemma. Damn.

As for you if you can wait, I believe that would be a great choice smile.gif
And thank you for confirming the price of K46CB!
*
Man, who don't love a girl who plays casual games and do outdoor adventures! LOL! Are you looking for something portable, easy to carry around laptop? I don't think Y500 falls into that category. I will definitely go for Illegear, or even Razer Blade (SLIM BEAUTY!) if I have the cash!

Btw, I think you never mention what's your budget? I guess it's at around RM 2500? You can look at Z500, or Z400 (14" screen).

Are you looking for beauty, slim, portable and performance all in one laptop? Haha, course I'm looking for that.
Treena
post Aug 15 2013, 05:06 PM

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QUOTE(jdachum @ Aug 15 2013, 02:36 PM)
Man, who don't love a girl who plays casual games and do outdoor adventures! LOL! Are you looking for something portable, easy to carry around laptop? I don't think Y500 falls into that category.  I will definitely go for Illegear, or even Razer Blade (SLIM BEAUTY!) if I have the cash!

Btw, I think you never mention what's your budget? I guess it's at around RM 2500?  You can look at Z500, or Z400 (14" screen).

Are you looking for beauty, slim, portable and performance all in one laptop? Haha, course I'm looking for that.
*
Yeap. Same here, as long as it's not so heavy for me, mainstream-looking and can definitely support some fps games and LoL I'm a very happy girl.
I did mention my budget, around rm2500. I don't want to ask my parents for more because I'm still a student, soon to be taking engineering course bwahahahaha!
I'm so dead. Anyways, thank you for your recommendation on Z500 or Z400 smile.gif Will look into them.
LonelyPenguin
post Aug 18 2013, 09:19 PM

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The graphic card is GK107 or GK208?
jim991
post Aug 19 2013, 09:58 PM

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Hi,

I have the Asus K46CB i7 3537U with 8GB RAM for over 4 months. Bought in Thailand for 27k bht, now the price dropped to 24k bht. In my opinion this is one amazing piece of hardware. 4 months ago it was best value for the money. Maybe still is?

Pros:
very slim and sturdy design, display doesn't wobble and is laptop is very light for these specs, easily portable
quite powerful specs, no CPU throttling, GT740 easily overclockable. 3dmark 2011: 2321, 3dmark2013 firestrike: 1387p., Bioshock, newNFS, Dishonored and GRID 2 work flawlessly at high settings
great keyboard
very quiet in idle and not too noisy when gaming
ODD bay easily replacable with HD caddy. I recently bought one on ebay for 400bht and will going to replace ODD with factory 750GB drive.
very strong wifi signal - tested in many different coffee shops in my city.

Cons:
factory HD is super slow. I had to replace it with Kingston SSD 128GB drive. That's the first thing you want to do because otherwise system feels like 10years old netbook.
trackpad is just average
no backlight keyboard
I couldn't handle factory installed Win8 so I downgraded to Win7.

Other remarks:
Battery time: around 3 hours. (50 firefox bookmarks, MSoffice, winamp, skype and few other smaller tasks, display 50%).
Watch out for Intel Anty Theft system! This hardware so called "feature" completely locked up my computer after I registered it! Don't touch this crap ever!
display is not that bad, pretty bright and good contrast. Much better than my previous Dell 1310. Passable.
temperatures: between 45-50 at idle, up to 70 at load. Chassis doesn't get hot at all. However the vents on the left side are working pretty hard when gaming.

I use this laptop on daily basis at work for 7-8 hours and so far I am happy with the purchase smile.gif

cheers!
Jim

This post has been edited by jim991: Aug 19 2013, 10:23 PM

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