Asus K Series Laptop Notebook Line Up. Comparing Specification, Pricing and Value

By Derek Monday, 16^th of August 2010

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After my previous article on the 6 new series of laptop/notebooks from Asus i thought i would go into the K Series in more detail as this value line up really represents bang for your buck to the aussie consumer.

Below is a complete graph of the Asus K range line up. The items highlighted in orange, we've decided not to stock in store as they were either not competitive or were not significantly better then the next model. Most models have now arrived in Australia.

Model	RRP	OS	CPU	Speed	RAM	HDD	LCD	VGA	VRAM
*K72JR-1YR-TY108V*	*$1,399*	Win7 Home Premium 64Bit	Intel® i5 450M	2.4G(Turbo 2.66G)/3M	4GB DDR3	500GB 5400rpm2 (1TB)*	17.3" LED	ATI HD5470M	1G
K72F-1YR-TY089V	$1,099	Win7 Home Premium 64Bit	Intel® i5 450M	2.4G(Turbo 2.66G)/3M	4GB DDR3	500GB 5400rpm	17.3" LED	Intel® GMA HD	N/A
K52JC-1YR-EX145X	$1,199	Win7 Pro 64bit	Intel® i5 450M	2.4G(Turbo 2.66G)/3M	4GB DDR3	500GB 5400rpm	15.6"	NV GT310M	1G
K52F-1YR-SX202X	$999	Win7 Pro 64bit	Intel® i5 450M	2.4G(Turbo 2.66G)/3M	DDR3 1066 2G	500GB 5400rpm	15.6" LED	Intel® GMA HD	N/A
*K52F-1YR-SX223X*	*$899*	Win7 Pro 64bit	Intel® i3 370M	2.4G/3M	DDR3 1066 2G	500GB 5400rpm	15.6" LED	Intel® GMA HD	N/A
K52F-1YR-SX262V	$749	Win7 Home Premium 64Bit	Intel® P6000	1.86G/3M	DDR3 1066 2G	500GB 5400rpm	15.6" LED	Intel® GMA HD	N/A
K42JC-1YR-VX065X	$1,299	Win7 Pro 64bit	Intel® i5 450M	2.4G(Turbo 2.66G)/3M	4GB DDR3	500GB 5400rpm	14" LED	NV GT310M	1G
K52DR-1YR-EX143V	$1,099	Win7 Home Premium 64Bit	AMD® Phenom II P920	Quad Core 1.6G/2M	4GB DDR3	500GB 5400rpm	15.6"	ATI HD5470M	1G
*K52N-1YR-EX111V*	*$999*	Win7 Home Premium 64Bit	AMD® Phenom II N830	2.1G/1.5M	4GB DDR3	500GB 5400rpm	15.6"	ATI HD4200M	N/A

Let’s start off from the Asus K52F-1YR-SX262V laptop. In this series sees the release of a new processor, the Intel Pentium Dual Core P6000. This processor is comparable to the core duo line up for and is slightly better for the equivalent clock speed. For an entry-level price, there are some big features like 500GB hard drive to store all your files and HDMI to connect to your LCD TV for things like movie playback.

The next laptop up from this is the Asus K52F-1YR-SX202X notebook. It’s got the Intel i5 Processor with a clock speed of 2.4Ghz, with an over clock speed of 2.66Ghz, this means that you get more battery life, because your CPU is not a maximum speed all the time, only when it’s needed. For this reason, we believe for the price difference, compared to the Asus K52F-1YR-SX223X laptop with an i3 processor and no turbo boost, the Intel i5 Asus K52F-1YR-SX202X notebook represented much better value. This is why we left the Asus K52F-1YR-SX223X laptop out of the models offered by Wireless 1.

For an equivalent notebook to the Asus K52F-1YR-SX202X but in a bigger screen size is the Asus K72F-1YR-TY089V laptop. It’s a 17.3” size LCD and costs around $1099.

We also decided not to range the Asus K52N-1YR-EX111V laptop. The difference being that the AMD model has more RAM, 4GB vs 2GB, however the processor of the Asus K52F-1YR-SX202X notebook is better than the AMD model and if more RAM was required, this would be cheaper and a lot easier to do. The Asus K52F-1YR-SX202X is the better laptop within the sub $1000 price point. For people who do designs and play games, a computer with a GPU is recommended.

The next model up, the Asus K52JC-1YR-EX145X has this. The main difference for the additional $200 which brings it up to the $1199 is the additional 2GB RAM bringing it to a combined total of 4GB, Bluetooth connectivity and a nVidea GT310M dedicated GPU. The GPU is a chip like the main processor, which is built for handling 2D or 3D graphics calculations, which takes a huge load of the main CPU, hence make your laptop faster. This chip is highly recommended for people who edit videos and photos or like to play games, as these applications are very graphics dominant.

If the Asus K52JC-1YR-EX145X notebook is slightly too large for you, which is a 15.6” screen, you can opt for the Asus K42JC-1YR-VX065X notebook, this is the 14” laptop and is priced at $1299. Both laptops are identically spec’d, so why do you have to pay the $100 more for less product? This is purely an economics answer. The 15.6” size screen is a more popular size and from economies of scale, cheaper to produce, however $100 might be worth the extra money in return for less back pain, when your lugging your computer to and from work.

The other notebook to consider within the $1000-$1200 price point is the Asus K52DR-1YR-EX143V laptop. It sits around $1099. The processor is not as good as the Intel i5, it’s more comparable to an i3, however it does have a 1GB graphics card and a Blueray player and this is the main point of difference.

In summary, the K52F laptop with the Intel P6000 is a good value for money model for people on a budget and is great for everyday computing, but if you want the best all rounder notebook the K52JC-1YR-EX145X is the pick of the bunch especially if you do any sort of photo or video editing and prefer a computer that’s a little bit faster.

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Asus K Series Laptop Notebook Line Up. Comparing Specification, Pricing and Value

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