Asus X53Z review

Unfortunately, the screen’s image quality was distinctly average, with the 15.6in screen appearing rather dim and lacking vivid colours. Asus provides an application for tweaking the display, but even this failed to improve things dramatically. The screen’s viewing angles were reasonable, as was screen tilt, but its glossy finish meant that light reflections were slightly troublesome. The 1,366×768 resolution is also run of the mill for a 15in laptop, but images and text looked reasonably sharp.

Its I/O connectivity is excellent for a budget laptop, with a single USB3 port taking pride of place. There are also two regular USB ports, audio input and output jacks, a multiformat card reader and a DVD re-writer optical drive, as well as an Ethernet port and VGA and HDMI video outputs.

With its plastic construction, average screen and entry-level processor, it’s fairly easy to see how Asus has managed to sell the X53Z at such a low price, but it still copes with everyday tasks well enough thanks to its long-lasting battery and comfortable keyboard. It won’t be able to play modern games, though, so we suggest going for the fantastic HP Pavilion DV6 instead if your budget stretches to it. Nevertheless, the £369 Asus X53Z provides plenty of laptop for the money.