The popularity of gaming laptops and what the ASUS K501LX in particular has to offer

The computer gaming industry gets bigger every other day and even though casual gamers have their needs taken care of by mobile devices, avid gamers are not going to give up on traditional desktop gaming experience any time soon. As technology advances, it has become possible for laptops to pack a lot of power and coupled with their portability most people prefer them to desktops as a better choice for their gaming needs. Besides, the power bequeathed to laptops to enable flawless gaming can also be substituted for resource demanding applications like those used for graphics design and video editing. The good thing about gaming laptops is that they can be adopted for use as conventional desktop computers when need arises.

An ASUS K501LX review

One of the first things you are bound to notice about the new Asus K501LX is its new shape which differs completely from the standard design Asus would be expected to conform to. The new design easily passes as sleek and attractive; the shape is complemented by a dark blue aluminum-brushed metallic cover which was probably chosen to make the K501LX stand out from the pool of models which make up Asus gaming line. Still dwelling on design specifications, the laptop is 0.9 inches wide which is fairly thin and weighs an incredibly light 4.4 pounds.

For gaming laptops, power is more important than a pretty design. The K501LX sports a 5th generation Intel Core i7 CPU, a discreet NVDIA GeForce GTX GPU, 8 GB of DDR3 RAM and a 256 GB Solid State Drive. With GeForce GTX graphics, you can be assured that the laptop will support most of the tittles which were released recently as well as Direct X 11. You get a 15.6-inch Full HD display for an enhanced gaming experience although it also doubles up as a great feature for people who intend to spend as much time watching movies on their new laptop.

It is useless for a laptop to have a lot of power if its architecture does not allow for efficient cooling. Gaming applications impose heavy demand on a laptop’s resources which explains why manufacturers have perpetually been trying to improve their cooling technologies. The K501LX features Asus IceCool technology and the Smart Dual Fan Cooling System. You might want to note that the laptops CPU clocks at 2.4 GHz (Turbo 3.0 GHz).

With regards to connectivity, you get two USB 2.0 ports, the same number of USB 3.0 ports, wireless and Ethernet connectivity, a HDMI port and an SD card slot. The machine ships in with Windows 8.1 and a free Windows 10 update.

Other features worth noting

Said that the K501LX has a great design, you certainly expect nothing less of a Chiclet style and backlit keyboard. The touchpad is fairly big and highly responsive although you will want to purchase a gaming mouse for convenience.

ASUS K501LX Pros

• Great design
• Incredible workmanship
• Packs a lot of power for a machine in its price range
• Takes a short period of time to attain a full charge

ASUS K501LX Cons

• Does not come with an optical drive
• Audio is not so great
• Low storage capacity for people who do a lot of gaming