On with the review.
Specification and Buying
I bought my X5DIJ from Ebuyer.com for £389.99, which given the amount of shopping around I’ve done online, comparing both other models and other retailers, seems like the best price for this spec machine anywhere. The exact model I’ve got is X5DIJ-SX087C. It has the following:
- Intel Core2Duo T5870 2GHz
- 3GB DDR2 RAM
- 320GB 5400RPM hard drive
- Intel GMA4500M
- DVD+/-RW
- 15.6″ Widescreen (1366×768)
- Windows Vista Home Premium 32bit, with option to upgrade to Win7
- Gigabit Ethernet and Wireless b/g/n
- Full size keyboard including numpad
- Integrated webcam
- 6 Cell battery, good for around 3-4 hours
I ordered it with next day delivery at around 10pm and it arrived via UPS the following afternoon.
First Impressions
The build quality seems good and the keyboard is quite comfortable to type with. It has taken a little while to get used to the full size keyboard but it’s not a big issue. The display is nice and bright but can be adjusted to suit individual preferences.
As usual Vista is a little sluggish, but with the decent processor and 3GB of RAM it’s perfectly usable. Still, I’ll probably be making use of the Win7 upgrade depsite the frankly ludicrous 18 euro shipping fee Asus want.
It’s fairly quiet, with just a small amount of noise from the fans although I haven’t really stressed it yet, so we’ll see if some intensive work warms it up to the point where the fans get to full speed.
Conclusion (for now)
So far I’m very pleased with the X5DIJ. For £400 it seems like a very capable machine. Stay tuned for updates and photos, as well as parts 2 and 3 of this review.
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About the author
Jonathan Phillips is the founder and main author here on Division by Zero. A PHP developer by trade, Jonathan spends his days building and marketing websites and the rest of the time coming up with ideas for websites and businesses he hasn't got time to implement.
41 Comments
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at 4:20 pm
Sorry for posting here, you can delete it once read.
I got this laptop today, X5DIJ-SX087C. However, on the dvd drive on the side it says MULTI PLAY, does it mean it can’t do anything writing? Is yours the same? Thanks.
at 8:56 am
Hi Kal,
I think it’s just some new way of saying it plays CDs and DVDs, whether they’re DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD+RW or DVD-RW. Some prat in a marketing dept. probably thought it sounded good. What’s interesting is that my laptop came with Lightscribe software, but the drive doesn’t have the Lightscribe logo on it. I haven’t any LS discs so can’t check. Anyone else tried it?
at 3:58 pm
whats better. THIS MODEL OR THE ASUS X5din. i just orderd the DIN one for 420 quid…….. is it worth it? Or shall I buy the dij for 380 pounds. Hope to read your full review once finished/
at 8:58 pm
Hi Akbar,
From what I can tell this one has more hard drive but less RAM. The main difference is that the J only has Intel X4500 graphics, whereas the N has Geforce, which means it will probably play HD video much better, and will play more games (but still not very well). If video and games are important to you then I guess get the N. For me it was more about storage space and the money I’m ashamed to say!
Stay tuned for the next part of the review, coming soon!
at 11:42 pm
Hi divisionbyzero,
Well, i hope it can write to discs, or there’s going to be problems. I have installed my Vista Home Premium to see if all is fine, but not puting it to any real use yet as i’m waiting for my Windows 7 disc to arrive, it’s been shipped as i got a confirmation email a day after paying 18.99 EURO and ordering it from the Asus website.
On your next review, please do mention how you installed Windows 7 as i’m confused if it will be a clean install or just an upgrade, and how it is to be done. Because, i also received a Vista recovery pack and a Asus drivers/utilities disc, but if i’m correct theres no need for these as the recovery is installed on the laptops HDD already, but, whether this will be wiped away after upgrading to Windows 7 i don’t know.
at 8:17 am
Hi Kal,
When you install the upgrade it should give you the option to do an upgrade or a clean install. A clean install will probably wipe everything, but only on the partition/drive you choose to install on. It should leave the recovery partition alone.
If you want to keep your data etc. from what I’ve read all you need to do is choose upgrade rather than clean/custom install and choose to do the upgrade on the partition where Vista is installed. Your user account should be preserved but old applications etc. may be moved to a folder called windows.old
Hope that helps, my info is based on http://www.maximumpc.com/article/howtos/how_use_your_windows_7_upgrade_disk_fresh_pc so maybe check it out just to be on the safe side.
Happy upgrading.
at 4:18 pm
I think i’ll try an upgrade first and see how that goes since it will keep my files, applications and utilities in place, and if i’m not happy with it i’ll do a clean install.
However, it seems like there are a few things to do before upgrading to avoid small problems. It’s on the link below. This link doesn’t always show up, so keep trying it -
http://support.asus.com/faq/asus-faq.aspx?SLanguage=en-us&no=C551B31F-19DB-0BF8-03BF-B2BA025FFB1A
Here is the upgrade guide from Asus -
http://event.asus.com/nb/win7/win7_upgrade_steps.pdf
at 7:46 pm
Thanks Kal,
I’ll check those links out again when I come to upgrade. Let me know how it goes.
at 12:47 am
Hi divisionbyzero,
Can you please check on your laptop, there should be a program called SRS Premium Sound or something, i have just upgraded to Windows 7, then suddenly i kept getting an alert saying the SRS Premium Sound had no drivers.
It was working perfectly fine on Vista, it seems like it was the only driver that wasn’t installed by Windows 7. Then i put in the Asus Windows 7 Driver DVD to install a couple of missing softwares, but it got rid of te SRS Premium Sound software. Please let me know what version it is, i will try to find it on the internet. Thanks.
at 5:40 pm
Also, what’s the deal with the HDD size?
Drive C: 112GB Free of 149GB
Drive D: 137GB Free of 137GB.
Whats using it up?
I have NO files of my own on them yet whatsoever. 37GB on Drive C is being used somehow, and even if it was totally Free, it adds to 286GB, not so close to 320GB.
at 12:12 pm
Hi Kal,
With regard to your drive size issues, Asus put a recovey partition on the drive so you can restore windows quickly if needs be. I think that will eat about 10GB. You can delete it by going to Administrative Tools in the Control Panel, selecting Computer management and in there choose Disk management. You will see the 10GB partition and can delete it, although I always leave them, just in case.
As for the other missing space, when a hard drive is formatted some space is lost. On an 80GB drive this is about 6GB, and the amount increases the larger the drive is. It’s space used to keep track of where on the drive data is kept, so it can be found again.
at 11:24 am
Thanks for your reply divisionbyzero.
Just got my laptop yesterday and I have to say it looks great. I was just wondering will it be possible to install virtual xp on vista/windows 7? I have windows xp media edtion disc and would like to do a dual boot.
How is the graphics card on your model? I have found out that this geforce is onboard and not a seperate graphics card which is a real shame.
The touch pad is a bit unusal.
Thanks.
at 12:05 pm
I agree the touchpad is strange, but I’ve gotten used to it ok.
I don’t think you’ll need the Windows disc to run a VM, as a web developer I’ve been using Virtual PC for a while now for cross browser testing, and Microsoft provide free VM images of XP and Vista for you to use for testing.
at 11:27 am
Kal,
You have to backup your drivers before installing windows 7.
at 12:07 pm
And well noted about the drivers!
at 4:37 pm
Hi,
I didn’t know i had to back up drivers, it doesn’t state that in any of the upgrade manuals, as it’s not deleting anything, it’s just migrating.
According to the information on the asus website, there are just around 3 programs that require uninstalling first, to avoid upgrading conflicts.
Then you pop the windows 7 disc in and let it do it’s thing. Which i did, but one driver was missing, belonging to the program called SRS PREMIUM SOUND, so i popped in the ASUS driver disc i got with WINDOWS 7, installed ALL just to be on the safe side, but then this got rid of the SRS PREMIUM SOUND program altogether. I don’t know what this program used to do, but i’m sure it is used to test and set your SRS sound on the laptop.
Anyway, when you guys upgrade, see if you happen to come across the same issue, i know people on the asus forum have had this problem also, but had no real replies or solutions.
at 4:40 pm
And about the missing space, i’m kinda gutted that 70gb is being used up by the system itself, but i’ll get over it.
at 6:51 pm
Hi,
I was just wondering, how long should you leave the laptop on charge for?
The laptop fan is making some noise as you noted in your review. Its pretty annoying. Have you all installed norton internet secuirty? I think its best not too. Your laptop will slow down.
On the laptop it states that it is the K5OIN Model………….little strange.
Kal the space is taken up by the ASUS applications…….
at 10:28 pm
Do you mean to recharge the battery fully? Or how long you should leave it chargin after the battery is full? If the latter ideally you should take the battery out when on the mains so it’s lifespan isn’t affected.
As for it being marked a K50IN, I assume you have the X5DIN? I believe the X5D range use the same motherboard as the K50 series. Mine says K50IJ motherboard.
Hope that helps.
at 10:35 pm
Hi,
I uninstalled my Norton Internet Security before upgrading to Windows 7, not a big fan of it.
As for charging, i just charge it until it’s showing as 80% or more charged in the bottom right of the screen, then i unplug it.
The X5DIJ model we have is really the K50IN model by the looks of it, i’m sure mine states K50IN somewhere too.
at 10:57 pm
Don’t worry about charging to 100%, nothing wrong with that, although try not to unplug unless you have to, a battery will have 300-500 discharge cycles in it, so if you charge to 80%, unplug, let it run down, and then charge again, all in the space of a day then I think you’ll have used 0.8 cycles, meaning you’ll be lucky to get 2 years of use out of the battery.
Take a look at my post on battery life, I may have covered the subject there, although it was a rather rushed post.
at 12:34 am
Hi,
I had no idea the laptop works with the mains alone! Thanks for the battery post, it all makes sense, no wonder my hp mini netbook just lasts 15-20 mins or so and i haven’t even had it for one year yet! And my brothers sony vaio is around 3 years old and the battery dies off in around 20 mins too so he has been telling me. Both of us have always kept our batteries in, even with the mains in.
Can you explain more about the cycles please, i mean are you suggesting either to keep it charging even if it hits 80% without unplugging or evenbetter use it mains only without the battery?
at 8:18 am
Hey Kal,
Both! By all means charge too 100%, but if you’re going to be sat at a desk etc. for a while on the mains then pop the battery out so it doesn’t warm up.
A charge/discharge cycle is basically taking the battery from 100% down to 0% and then back up again. A lithium ion battery will apparently have the ability to do 300-500 of these in its lifetime. But don’t worry, I think going from 50% down to 0% and back to 50% only counts as half a cycle (hence the 0.8 in my last comment).
This is only based on what I’ve read online of course, but like you, all the laptops I’ve had spend most their time on the mains, and the battery life is awful, so it’s gotta be worth a try! So pop the battery out when on the mains and make sure you keep it out of the sun and away from heat sources like radiators.
at 12:56 pm
Thanks guys for your reply.
What I was meant to say is how many hours should you charge the laptop right out of the box?
It never came charged when I first took it out of the box, so I left it on charge for about 7 hours and the fan is making some noise.
How long will windows 7 take to arrive through the post and how do I order it??
Some comments on the ebuyer thread state that it took over a month for it too come.
Take care.
at 2:31 pm
It shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours to fully charge. How hot is the bottom of the laptop getting? If the fan vents can’t get enough air then it will start to overheat and the fans will go full speed. I haven’t got mine up to full speed yet, obviously not working it hard enough!
When the laptop arrived there should have been a blue leaflet inside telling you how to upgrade. I’m not sure how long it will take to arrive but I think the delays you’re reading about are mostly from people who bought the machine before 7 came out, and after it did there were delays sending out the upgrades due to high demand.
The upgrade order website should say how long it will take to arrive.
at 12:55 am
Ahh i see, i understand now. So basically the battery has 300-500 full charges. So whether it is going from 0% to 50% or 50% to 100%, it counts as 0.5 cycle. And if it went 0% to 100% it’s 1 whole cycle. Well i’ve started using mine without the battery now since i don’t require moving around
Akbar,
I orderedmy Windows 7 on the 24th and it got shipped on the 26th and it arrived a few days later. You can order it here https://ebiz3.mentormediacorp.com/upgrade/(S(4rxso5ylgmvzdxydo4qm5r45))/Select_Lan.aspx
at 12:44 pm
Thanks for your help
at 5:54 pm
The bottom of the laptop is getting very warm after about 15 mins of web browsing, so I have to take it off my lap. The laptop does’nt last 40mins when fully charged. These are the only two problems I am having. Any of you lot tried HD movies on your laptop? let me know how it looks?
at 6:54 pm
Is it just web browsing you’re doing? That much heat from so little activity, plus the short battery life makes me think something is wrong. I recommend you get in touch with Asus or the retailer you bought it from.
at 5:57 pm
Also do you know what is taking up all the hard drive space? I have 115 GB free memory of the 250GB. I also think it is because of those asus applications.
at 6:57 pm
The Asus apps wouldn’t have taken up much space I’m sure – I have 232GB free out of 320GB and I’ve installed stuff like office 2007, photoshop etc. which are taking up quite a bit of room. How long have you had the machine? If you have a flickr (or similar) account maybe post a screenshot of your ‘My Computer’ window so we can all see where the space has gone.
at 10:55 pm
Divisionbyzero,
The laptop gets really hot, so I have to take it off my lap or im gonna burn.
Yes its only web browsing that I have been doing. Its only minor web browsing, like visting forums and readin articles.
As for the space I have no idea whats taking up the room………..
My machine came with the 250 hard drive. Been over 2 weeks know.
How long does your battery life last without the power cable plugged in?
Thanks and take care.
at 1:18 pm
My battery life lasts between 3.5 and 4.5 hours depending on what I’m doing, although I turn the screen brightness down slightly which probably helps.
If you’re getting excessive heat and poor battery life definitely send an email to ASUS, there should have been contact details in one of the booklets that came with the laptop.
Best of luck!
at 6:41 pm
I have installed windows xp and it is a much better performance compared to vista.
With XP the battery lasts longer and the laptop is eaiser to handle
Leaving the power cable plugged in at the side of the laptop also improves the cooling down of the laptop. In my opinion vista was the main problem and it is a load of rubbish…………
One last thing ebuyer have dropped the prices, which is annoying having had the laptop for only a few weeks.
Thanks.
at 4:32 pm
Ah well, that’s always the way with shops – my xbox 360 dropped in price by £40 a month after I got it, c’est la vie! Glad your experience with the laptop has improved.
at 10:12 pm
umm hey m havin problems with the cam and ive had the laptop for a day and the camera has flipped me up[side down and i dont know what to do any suggestions, thanks x
at 7:13 pm
@becca
Which software does the picture appear upside down in? Is it the ASUS lifeframe software that comes with the laptop? Off the top of my head it could be a driver issue, maybe re-installing will fix the problem. Also try other software that supports webcams – Live Messenger, Skype etc. to see if they do the same.
@Alex
That definitely sounds like a driver problem – I’m not sure the Vista drivers will work under XP, maybe try the ASUS website for XP specific ones? If you can, stick Win7 on it. Although I love XP dearly (how sad am I?) it’s time to start saying goodbye.
at 6:39 pm
i have a problem under win xp with my graphic card…more exactly the resolution is on 640×480 on 4 bit..on windows vista works fine. Have any of you run into this problem??? please help me if you can.
at 10:49 pm
I’ve got this laptop, and im growing to be furtherly dissapointed in it, my mouse pad stopped working after a few months of using it, and my keyboard is very part time, i now have to use an external mouse, and i have to occationally use an on screen keyboard!
I am still under the 1 years manufacturers warrenty, and i am going to have a little rant to them soon…
at 8:51 am
So how your Asus laptop holds so far? Can you update your impressions after some time of usage?
at 8:53 pm
hi all just pondering how do i rotates the webcam on my asus x5dij because it is always upside down regards