Great value all rounder

C Marshall on 21.04.2013

This is an extremely well built, mid-level-performance notebook. The RAM is not upgradeable, unfortunately, but the hard drive is. This device runs very quietly, and the fan doesn't kick in unless you max out the CPU. The only slight noise is the hard drive, but that's a murmer. I think I will uprade to a SSD. If you want to do this, or upgrade to a larger notebook drive you will need to choose a 7mm thick disk. The graphics aren't up to gaming, but the screen is clear and sharp. The sound reproduction isn't terribly 'bassy' (not surprisingly for a metal laptop), but it is pretty loud compared to previous laptops I've owned. The keyboard is very usable, and not spongy or too loud. The touchpad is nice and large (and maybe a little oversensitive, but I'm getting used to that after a few hours). I don't really have a use for the touch screen, but it's there if you want it. I recommend installing classic shell which allows windows 8 to work a little more like windows 7.