Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: a 15.6” notebook walks into the AnandTech labs, sporting NVIDIA’s GeForce GT 425M and a 1080p display…. Yes, for the fourth time in under two months, we have a midrange 15.6” 1080p notebook on our test bench. So far, we’ve praised the displays as being universally great, though other design elements have been lacking. Now ASUS offers up their N53JF, with a Blu-ray combo drive and Bang & Olufsen ICEpower speakers. On paper at least, this looks like a notebook that could even topple the Dell XPS 15 L501x from its lofty perch. As always, the devil is in the details, but let’s see if this devil is willing to make a deal.

So I have a confession to make. The past few months I've been incredibly preoccupied with smartphones, so much so that the ASUS MS238H has been sitting on my desk for a very long time. The data's been largely taken, the display calibrated, but for whatever reason the review has endlessly been on my back burner - I'm sorry ASUS. The upside of this situation, however, is that I've spent a long time using the ASUS MS238 and feel like I know it inside and out, and it's a slim value performer. 

Read on for our full review.

When we first looked at the ASUS Eee PC 1201N last year, we thought it was a unique take on the netbook idea, and possibly one of the first acceptably performing netbooks on the market. Fast forward to 2010, and we have the Eee PC 1215N, basically an updated 1201 with a dual-core Atom D525 and Next-Generation ION. But with the release of the dual-core Atom N550 for netbooks and smaller netbooks releasing with NG-ION in tow, does the $499 1215N still have enough appeal to capture the niche market it had before? Read on to find out.

Back when ASUS released the UL80Vt last year, we gave it a glowing review, praising its balance of performance and battery life without breaking the bank. The UL80Vt had an overclocked Core 2 Duo SU7300, an NVIDIA G 210M with a manually switchable option, and ASUS’ now standard 84Wh battery. This gave it pretty solid performance, on par with larger mainstream notebooks, and close to 13 hours of ideal-case battery life, even with turbo mode enabled. Today, we’ve got the UL80Jt, an updated version running the new Core i3-330UM processor and NVIDIA’s Optimus-enabled G 310M graphics. Does it measure up to the reputation its predecessor had, or will it ultimately be overshadowed by newer and equally well rounded notebooks? Read on to find out.

With an all-custom launch for the Radeon HD 6850, the door was immediately opened to a variety of 6850 cards with a wide variety of performance characteristics. In fact you won't even find the reference design for sale in North America, making it all the more important to look at custom cards. As such We have wasted no time in collecting a few cards to see what they’re capable of, and today we'll be looking at those results. After all we’ve seen what the reference card can do, but how about the cards you can actually buy? And how about overclocking, do the latest 6850 cards continue the tradition of the *850 being strong overclockers? Today we’re going to answer all of that and more.

The original ASUS G73Jh was an instant classic: a great performer with a good screen, build quality and cooling at an amazing price. Six months later, ASUS is coming out with a “new and improved” version with a few updates to make things interesting. Most of the upgrades are straightforward but sensible: the i7-720QM has been replaced with the new i7-740QM and USB 3.0 support is now part of the package. The far more controversial changes come courtesy of the GPU: AMD’s HD 5870 is out and NVIDIA’s GTX 460M is in, which also means HDMI 1.4 is now included. While the HDMI update is nice (but mostly useful if you want 120Hz 3D output), the GPU performance is a tougher call. Is this a better overall notebook or mostly a lateral move? That’s what we’re here to find out.

Intel's been making a decent amount of noise with their Intel Wireless Display, or "WiDi" technology, something our own Vivek Gowri is a big proponent of. But WiDi has limits, specifically  720p resolutions and Intel HD graphics. Now ASUS brings another solution to the table, the WiCast, which can be connected to any computer and any television and promises latency-free 1080p video and audio. That's no small promise, and the big question is: just how well does it work?

Up to this point, our experiences with AMD's Phenom II mobile line haven't been very favorable. In the desktop world AMD's chips can compete and succeed based on price, but in notebooks thermal properties get added to the mix. Intel's been very aggressive about controlling the mobile market, but is AMD's "we'll sell you more cores for less" strategy going to translate well? On hand is the ASUS X72D, an entry-level desktop replacement notebook designed for media enthusiasts. Is a triple-core mobile AMD chip paired with budget Mobility Radeon graphics and a Blu-ray drive enough?

Less than six months ago, the ASUS U30Jc ultraportable walked away with a Bronze Editor's Choice award. The combination of portability, performance, and price made the U30Jc a favorite around here. A couple months back, we looked at the bamboo covered U33Jc, with USB 3.0 and Intel WiDi; Vivek loved the bamboo finish, but he's a sucker for fashion statements. Now ASUS is back with a slimmer, lighter version of the U30Jc and no bamboo. Is the U35Jc a worthy upgrade, or did ASUS misfire with their new ultraportable?

Wrapping up our two part series about NVIDIA’s new GeForce GTS 450, we have our in-depth look in to the vendor cards. As was the case with the GTX 460, NVIDIA’s partners are coming out swinging by offering a wide variety of customized cards alongside NVIDIA’s reference design. Custom PCBs, coolers, and more; you’ll find it all here.

Over the years, we've looked at many of ASUS' mobile offerings. From the lowly Eee PC up through gaming powerhouses, ASUS has something for everyone. They're looking to increase market share in the mobile world, and with products like the N82Jv we're looking at today there's no reason they shouldn't succeed. The last time we looked at their multimedia N-series with the N61Jv, we liked the general idea but found the combination of a 16" chassis with a middling display and battery life to be lacking. Can the 14" newcomer change our feeling?

Six months has also brought a lot more competition in the realm of Arrandale laptops as well as laptops equipped with Optimus Technology. Besides packing more power into a smaller form factor, ASUS updated the exterior to help the N82Jv stand out from the crowd. Join us as we investigate this laptop and see where it excels, and where it could still use a bit more TLC.

There's an age-old battle between form and function. Some users will give up performance and features for a devices that looks cool, while for others the benchmarks are all that really matters. The ASUS U33Jc doesn't totally eschew function, with plenty of high-end features, but it does pay more than lip service to aesthetics by placing bamboo surfaces on the top panel and palm rest. The result is a unique look with an organic vibe that is sure to turn a few heads.

Thus far, we’ve spent most of 2010 focusing on mainstream segments for our motherboard reviews, there’s more of that to come over the next few months starting off with a long overdue focus on AMD. Before we get to that though, there are a few loose ends to tie up on Intel’s X58 chipset – today we’re going to take a look at four motherboards aimed at the serious enthusiast.

The back-to-school season is coming and refreshed product lines are already starting to appear on store shelves. Intel's dual-core Arrandale processors continue to dominate in terms of raw performance, but AMD K10.5-based notebooks are now available from every major vendor. Intel has also refreshed its mobile line and added some low-voltage kit. It's an interesting market full of options, and sifting the wheat from the chaff requires some research. We've decided to do just that and put together a mobile guide with options for everything from multimedia enthusiasts to mobile gaming powerhouses. We're splitting the guide into two installments, with this first part specifically focusing on the larger laptops and desktop replacement (DTR) options. If you're in the market for a new notebook, this article is for you.

Last week we looked at the ASUS U30Jc and found a lot to like… so much that we awarded it a Bronze Editors' Choice. The stock configuration comes with a conventional hard drive, but SSDs are all the rage these days. What happens to performance when you install a decent SSD, like a 120GB OCZ Vertex? We happened to have one waiting for just such a test, so here are the updated results. Hint: it's a lot faster, at least when the HDD is the bottleneck.