ASUS-S56CA-DH51-15-6-Inch-Ultrabook-Black
- Intel Core i5 3317U 1.7 GHz
- 6 GB DDR3
- 750 GB 5400 rpm Hard Drive, 24 GB Solid-State Drive
- 15.6-Inch Screen, Intel HD Graphics 4000
- Windows 8
- Intel Core i3-3217U 1.8 GHz
- 4 GB DDR3
- 500 GB 5400 rpm Hard Drive, 24 GB Solid-State Drive
- 15.6-Inch Screen, Intel HD Graphics 4000
- Windows 8
Technical Details
Style: Core i3
- Hardware Platform: PC
- Processor: 1.8 GHz Core i3-3217U
- Number of Processors: 1
- RAM: 4 GB
- RAM Type: DDR3 SDRAM
- Size: 500 GB
- Type: Serial ATA
- Speed: 5400 rpm
- LCD Native Resolution: 1366_x_768
- USB 2.0 Ports: 2
- Size (LWH): 14.9 inches, 10.5 inches, 0.83 inches
- Weight: 4.6 pounds
- Battery Type: Lithium ion
- Wireless Type: 802.11bgn
- Amazon.com Return Policy: You may return any new computer purchased from Amazon.com that is "dead on arrival," arrives in damaged condition, or is still in unopened boxes, for a full refund within 30 days of purchase. Amazon.com reserves the right to test "dead on arrival" returns and impose a customer fee equal to 15 percent of the product sales price if the customer misrepresents the condition of the product. Any returned computer that is damaged through customer misuse, is missing parts, or is in unsellable condition due to customer tampering will result in the customer being charged a higher restocking fee based on the condition of the product. Amazon.com will not accept returns of any desktop or notebook computer more than 30 days after you receive the shipment. New, used, and refurbished products purchased from Marketplace vendors are subject to the returns policy of the individual vendor.
Product Details
Style: Core i3
- Product Dimensions: 14.9 x 10.5 x 0.8 inches ; 4.6 pounds
- Shipping Weight: 8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
- Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
- ASIN: B009RUS452
- Item model number: S56CA-WH31
- Batteries 1 Lithium ion batteries required. (included)
- Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (181 customer reviews)
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #805 in Computers & Accessories (See Top 100 in Computers & Accessories)
- Date first available at Amazon.com: November 12, 2012
By K. Jancaitis on November 28, 2012
Style Name: Core i3
Amazon Verified Purchase
16 Comments
I purchased this computer (S56CA-WH31) for my
son to use at college, and have been configuring it for him for the past
couple of days. Here are a few of my impressions so far:
The overall construction is very good except for one issue - the DVD tray extends out from the side of the laptop by about 1 mm. One on-line reviewer noticed that the fit of the DVD tray was off in his review model also, but I am surprised that this got through into the production models. It is not a big issue, but it definitely detracts from the look of the aluminum body.
The screen is bright and clear and has good viewing angles. The keyboard is nice and big and works well with my hunt and peck. The large scroll pad is nice, and I am liking the imbedded buttons more than I thought I would.
The operating system is Windows 8 core (not pro). There is an ASUS-branded software DVD player, so I didn't have to upgrade to pro to get the windows media pack for DVD play as I feared I might have to. There is no utility to create recovery DVD's even though the paper manual refers to one called AI recovery. There is a Bluetooth module, so the "reviewer" who says that there isn't one is wrong.
The 500 GB hard drive is partitioned into a number of system and recovery partitions and a C: system partition of about 186 GB along with a D: data "drive" of about 258 GB. I used the Windows 8 disk manager to first remove the D: partition, expand the system "drive" to around 400 GB, and then used the rest of the space for a 39 GB D: drive just in case the recovery software expects to find the D: drive there.Read more ›
The overall construction is very good except for one issue - the DVD tray extends out from the side of the laptop by about 1 mm. One on-line reviewer noticed that the fit of the DVD tray was off in his review model also, but I am surprised that this got through into the production models. It is not a big issue, but it definitely detracts from the look of the aluminum body.
The screen is bright and clear and has good viewing angles. The keyboard is nice and big and works well with my hunt and peck. The large scroll pad is nice, and I am liking the imbedded buttons more than I thought I would.
The operating system is Windows 8 core (not pro). There is an ASUS-branded software DVD player, so I didn't have to upgrade to pro to get the windows media pack for DVD play as I feared I might have to. There is no utility to create recovery DVD's even though the paper manual refers to one called AI recovery. There is a Bluetooth module, so the "reviewer" who says that there isn't one is wrong.
The 500 GB hard drive is partitioned into a number of system and recovery partitions and a C: system partition of about 186 GB along with a D: data "drive" of about 258 GB. I used the Windows 8 disk manager to first remove the D: partition, expand the system "drive" to around 400 GB, and then used the rest of the space for a 39 GB D: drive just in case the recovery software expects to find the D: drive there.Read more ›
Style Name: Core i3
Amazon Verified Purchase
44 Comments
Overall, this is a decent to good Ultrabook,
providing fantastic value at the price point the i3 version is being
offered for ($500 at time of purchase). I'd rate it at 3.5 stars. It's
a handsome looking notebook and I bought this to replace a tiny netbook
my wife had been using; the price of this Ultrabook is only a couple
hundred more than a difficult to use small, brand new netbook, while
having good functionality (good luck typing on a fancy, more expensive
tablet, or sub 11" notebook), more processing grunt than tablets and
most netbooks, all within a slim, relatively lightweight profile that is
suitable for travel.
There are a lot of pros and cons to this ultrabook, but some of are non issues to casual users, while others make this ultrabook better suited to advanced users (or advanced users who set it up for a casual user).
OUT OF THE BOX:
The quality and appearance is great. The aluminum body and top lid are very sleek looking. The darker brushed aluminum on the top does tend to discolor and pick up fingerprints with ease. It's not terribly heavy and while the base is very sturdily built, the screen lid feels a bit flimsy. The top lid appears to be a combination of flimsier plastic, with a very thin brushed aluminum overlay. Lightly pressing on parts of the lid causes the LCD screen to have fluctuations. Despite the notebook being light, you'll want to resist picking up the notebook by the lid/screen, as it may risk damaging the LCD.
LCD QUALITY:
The glossy screen is clear, but has very poor viewing angles. 1366 x 768 resolution is merely adequate. Minor backlight bleeding on right and left edges. Colors are bright, vibrant, with a lot of contrast, but actual gamut (range of natural colors it can reproduce) is only average.Read more ›
There are a lot of pros and cons to this ultrabook, but some of are non issues to casual users, while others make this ultrabook better suited to advanced users (or advanced users who set it up for a casual user).
OUT OF THE BOX:
The quality and appearance is great. The aluminum body and top lid are very sleek looking. The darker brushed aluminum on the top does tend to discolor and pick up fingerprints with ease. It's not terribly heavy and while the base is very sturdily built, the screen lid feels a bit flimsy. The top lid appears to be a combination of flimsier plastic, with a very thin brushed aluminum overlay. Lightly pressing on parts of the lid causes the LCD screen to have fluctuations. Despite the notebook being light, you'll want to resist picking up the notebook by the lid/screen, as it may risk damaging the LCD.
LCD QUALITY:
The glossy screen is clear, but has very poor viewing angles. 1366 x 768 resolution is merely adequate. Minor backlight bleeding on right and left edges. Colors are bright, vibrant, with a lot of contrast, but actual gamut (range of natural colors it can reproduce) is only average.Read more ›
Upgrading the internal HDD to a 240GB SSD has fixed all of the problems I mentioned in my previous update. The computer now runs incredibly fast.
I will add, however, that trying to reinstall Windows 8 with the same product key was impossible except by using an unmodified x64 iso of Windows 8. For some reason, I could not download the iso from Microsoft and had to find it elsewhere. After finally getting the proper iso, the reinstall was a breeze, and the OEM product key was entered in automatically (make sure you have secure boot enabled). I also formatted the internal 24GB SSD and now use it to store my internet browser's cache to extend the life of my 2.5" SSD. Not having the Intel Rapid Start or Asus Instant On features has not created any noticeable affect on performance or resume speeds.
*UPDATE AFTER 2 WEEKS OF USE*
Do NOT buy this laptop if you don't intend to upgrade the internal Hard Drive to an SSD. The performance of the internal HDD bottlenecks the entire computer. I cannot listen to a 320kbps mp3 while browsing the internet without it skipping/stuttering, and I cannot listen to a FLAC file doing nothing else without it skipping. I also cannot watch an SD .avi file without it skipping/stuttering at least 10 times during a 40 minute TV show, and I cannot play Worms: Reloaded (a very simple game that this computer should be able to handle) without it locking up for a second or two EVERY 3 SECONDS. Either the internal HDD is EXTREMELY slow (my guess because my RAM and CPU usage are always well below 100%, and it's not just video but also audio that skips) or my unit is defective in some other way
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