[REVIEW] ASUS A46CM-WX094D - Slim Enough To Carry, Gamers Can Play Everywhere!

Hey folks, I’m back. Finally I got another laptop (well, it’s not too late to review this, it’s a new model, and I’ve owned it for just 6 months (maybe less than 6 month). And, this is it. An ASUS A46CM-WX094D

Key specifiactions:

•           Type      : Notebook PC
•           Size        : Standard 14” Notebook PC
•           CPU       : Intel Core^TM i5-3317U (1.7GHz, Turbo up to 2.6GHz, 2 cores, 4 logical Threads)
•           RAM      : 4GB DDR3-1333 (2 slots available, upgradable to 8GB) And now still 4GB
•           HDD       : 500GB SATA (wonder if it’s 5400rpm or 7200rpm, stil can’t get enough info)
•           GPU       : Nvidia GeForce GT635M with 2GB 128bit GDDR3 VRAM (Equipped with Optimus Technology, so it can autoswitch to Intel HD Graphics 4000 to extend battery life)
•           ODD       : DVD-RW SuperMulti drive (surprisingly can fit on this SleekBook)
•           Display  : 14” WXGA (1366x768) display with LED backlight.
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Nah, let’s take a closer look

This is what CPU-Z and GPU-Z says about the CPU and GPU:

Design

  This notebook has nice and solid build quality, it’s body made from Al-Mg alloy (means it’s an alloy from Aluminium and Magnesium) which made it looks really tough and have scratch-resistant ability. Altough 80% of it’s body made from metal, this notebook didn’t feel really heavy (at least for me 2kg is not really heavy).

  Categorized as a SleekBook, which means it’s between standard Notebook and UltraBook. The thickness of A46CM is awesome, 21mm (2,1cm), thin enough for a SleekBook. It’s main rival is Acer Aspire V5-471G (same class, gaming SleekBook).

Performance

  The CPU used on A46CM series contains 3^rd Generation Intel Core series (Ivy Bridge); Core i3-3217U, i5-3317U, and i7-3517U. Mine is A46CM-WX094D (using Core i5). The ULV processors seems weak at performance and good at battery life, but in fact, they’re not weak. Battery life was quite good (sometimes it can stays up to 5 hours) although the performance still roaring. I’ve used this laptop to play some heavy games with High details, and it doesn’t feel laggy, seriously. The GeForce GT635M (which is derived from legendary GT555M, found on Alienware M14x and ASUS N45SF) helps so much on gaming performance. Here’s some screenshots of some games I’ve played.

Note that 25-30fps is a playable FPS rate, meanwhile <20fps is quite laggy (although some games still playable at 17-20fps). >30fps is fast, and 60fps is perfect FPS rate (but some games will feel awkward on 60fps, like it’s too fast)

DiRT 3

Playable with “HIGH” settings, meanwhile “ULTRA” will drop its FPS rate to 18.

Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box

I’ve set it to custom quality (my best quality setting), and it’s playable with 8x AA

Need For Speed – The Run

Playable at 25-30fps with “ULTRA” settings, but I set it to “HIGH” because I’m afraid I will explode that GT635M (FrostBite 2 is quite heavy), and what I get on “HIGH”? 35-40fps!

Race Driver GRID

Bitch please, custom “all-highest” quality without VSync and it’s playable with “almost-perfect” 55fps!

Ace Combat: Assault Horizon

There’s no quality settings found at te options, so I thought that AC-AH sets the quality automatically depends on your graphics card (because my friend who uses Radeon HD4650 reports the bad graphic quality to me, meanwhile I got such eye-catching quality). Playable at average 30fps.

Conclusion: gaming performance is quite good.

Battery Life

  Well, the battery life of A46CM series is quite good, because they all use Intel ULV (Ultra Low Voltage) processors. Based on my own eperience with this thingy, i can get average 4-5 hours on light browsing and office works, 2,5-3 hours when downloading huge stuffs (both use Power4Gear Battery Saving mode). Meanwhile on gaming, usually i play when charging but sometimes, when i play heavy games without charging, it tooks 1,5-2 hours (with Power4Gear High Performance mode).

Overall Conclusion

  With average price (at US$650 or approx. IDR 6,600,000), nice design, quite good spec and performance, this laptop is worthy enough to own, and i quite satisfied with this.

Score: 8.5 out of 10

That's for now, see ya at next stuff review!