Garbage Tech: ASUS K55N laptop

Since living in NYC I have dragged home about a dozen machines... laptops and desktops and have opened up cases on the sidewalk to remove RAM, hard drives, video cards, etc... Some are shit and some have been incredibly useful and or made into recording workstations. This is a superb find as it is a quad core AMD machine with an OK video card. CPU wise it seems that it is almost exactly on par with the i5 core2 in the thinkpad I have been using, with the advantage being that the video card is significantly better and the screen is bigger, if lower resolution.  The touchpad seems to fade into unusable jerkiness at times, and used to do this strobing dimming of the screen and flashing of the charging state up until recently when I fucked around with the power profiles. Be nice to see it with some more RAM and I am using the adapter for the soldering iron, but it is pretty cool and I have spent a couple of days setting it up and using it as the daily driver. Much nicer to look at a big wide screen and the gaming is much better with the good video card. I am setting it up to be my mobile DAW creative pad.

New York giveth, New York Taketh.

Specs below.

• Notebook type
  Budget
• Manufacturer
  Asus

PROCESSOR / CHIPSET

• CPU
  AMD A8 4500M / 1.9 GHz
• Max Turbo Speed
  2.8 GHz
• Number of Cores
  Quad-Core
• Cache
  4 MB
• 64-bit Computing
  Yes
• Chipset Type
  AMD A70M
• Features
  AMD Turbo CORE technology

CACHE MEMORY

• Installed Size
  4 MB

MEMORY

• Max Supported Size
  8 GB
• Technology
  DDR3 SDRAM
• Speed
  1600 MHz
• Form Factor
  SO-DIMM 204-pin
• Slots Qty
  2
• Empty Slots
  1

STORAGE

• Interface
  Serial ATA-300
• Optical Drive
  DVD±RW (±R DL) / DVD-RAM

RAM

• Memory Speed
  1600 MHz
• Configuration Features
  1 x 4 GB
• Technology
  DDR3 SDRAM
• Installed Size
  4 GB

DISPLAY

• LCD Backlight Technology
  LED backlight
• Resolution
  1366 x 768 (HD)
• Widescreen Display
  Yes
• Image Aspect Ratio
  16:9
• Monitor Features
  Zero Bright Dot, glare
• Type
  LED
• Diagonal Size (metric)
  39.6 cm
• Display Resolution Abbreviation
  HD

AUDIO & VIDEO

• Graphics Processor
  AMD Mobility Radeon HD 7640G
• Integrated Webcam
  Yes
• Sound
  Altec Lansing speakers, microphone
• Features
  ASUS SonicMaster Lite

HARD DRIVE

• Spindle Speed
  5400 rpm
• Type
  HDD
• Capacity
  500 GB

INPUT

• Type
  keyboard, touchpad
• Features
  multi-touch touchpad

COMMUNICATIONS

• Wireless Protocol
  802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0
• Wired Protocol
  Gigabit Ethernet

OPTICAL STORAGE

• Drive Type
  DVD SuperMulti
• Type
  DVD±RW (±R DL) / DVD-RAM

PROCESSOR

• CPU Type
  A8
• Processor Number
  A8-4500M
• Manufacturer
  AMD
• Clock Speed
  1.9 GHz

CARD READER

• Type
  2 in 1 card reader
• Supported Flash Memory
  MultiMediaCard, SD Memory Card, SDHC Memory Card, SDXC Memory Card

BATTERY

• Capacity
  50 Wh
• Cells
  6-cell
• Technology
  lithium ion
• Run Time (Up To)
  5.5 sec

AC ADAPTER

• Input
  AC 120/230 V (50/60 Hz)
• Output
  65 Watt, 19 V, 3.42 A

CONNECTIONS & EXPANSION

• Interfaces
  Microphone input
  Headphone output
  VGA
  2 x USB 3.0
  LAN
  HDMI
• Memory Card Reader
  2 in 1 (SD Card, MultiMediaCard, SDHC Card, SDXC Card)

HEADER

• Brand
  ASUS
• Product Line
  ASUS K series
• Model
  DS81
• Packaged Quantity
  1
• Compatibility
  PC

MISCELLANEOUS

• Color
  black
• Features
  ASUS IceCool design, ASUS Super Hybrid Engine II, ASUS SuperBatt Technology, InstantOn, system password
• Included Accessories
  power adapter

NETWORKING

• Data Link Protocol
  Bluetooth 4.0, Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n

SYSTEM

• Notebook Type
  notebook
• Platform
  Windows
• Hard Drive Capacity
  500 GB

MONITOR

• Diagonal Size
  15.6 in

DIMENSIONS & WEIGHT

• Width
  14.9 in
• Depth
  9.9 in
• Height
  1.4 in

MANUFACTURER WARRANTY

• Type
  1 year warranty

MAINBOARD

• Chipset Type
  AMD A70M

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

• Weight
  5.29 lbs

OPERATING SYSTEM / SOFTWARE

• OS Provided: Type
  Windows 8 64-bit Edition

VIDEO OUTPUT

• Graphics Processor
  AMD Mobility Radeon HD 7640G

NOTEBOOK CAMERA

• Integrated Webcam
  Yes

INPUT DEVICE

• Numeric Keypad
  Yes

SERVICE & SUPPORT

• Type
  1 year warranty

SERVICE & SUPPORT DETAILS

• Type
  accidental damage coverage, limited warranty
• Full Contract Period
  1 year

GENERAL

• Manufacturer
  Asus