Asus’ new line of laptops brings a number of the latest Core i3 and Core i5 processors. The Asus K42J is among them — a typical 14-inch laptop, running a Core i5 430M @ 2.26GHz.
The laptop feels a bit heavy and thick on the side — not something you’d prefer lugging around with. The unit has a black glossy finish (with a slight dark printed accent) from the lid right up to the palm rest (expect this to be messy with finger-prints).
The usual ports are found on both sides — 3 USB 2.0 ports, an HDMI port, VGA and LAN. The SD/MMC card reader is slightly hidden smack in the bottom front, right below the trackpad.
The full-sized keyboard comes with chiclet-type keys, spaced generously for comfortable touch-typing. Keyboard orientation seems normal with no odd placement of keys or additional special keys although would have been nice to have a bigger Enter key in here.
The trackpad is a little flushed to the left and inherits the same design and polished surface as the palm rest but is a bit recessed. The trackpad area is a bit small considering the size of the laptop and the clickers are not separated between the left and right buttons.
The 14-inch display is bright and clear, with a basic resolution of 133×768 pixels (which is usually the standard resolution of most laptops nowadays).
For a summary of the laptop’s specifications, here’s a screenshot from Speccy:
Asus K42JR A1 specs:
14.1″ display @ 1366×768 pixel
Intel Core i5 430M @ 2.26GHz (2 Cores, 4 Threads)
3GB DDR3 RAM
500GB HDD
EG Park (ATI Radeon HD5450 1GB DDR3)
WiFi 802.11 b/g/n
Bluetooth 2.0
DVD+RW
Weight: 2.2kg
Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
The processor is a dual-core 2.26GHz Core i5 with 4 threads and can go up to 2.53GHz on Turbo Boost.
On a related note, this is the second time I’ve encountered that “EG Park” in the specs but if my additional digging is correct, it looks like an ATI Radeon HD5450 with 1GB DDR3 RAM.
The Radeon HD5450 is an entry-level graphics card for laptops that supports DirectX 11. It should be able to perform just barely enough (low to medium detail settings) at its maximum resolution of 1366×768.
Windows Experience Index gives the Core i5 430M a sub-score of 6.7 and a base score of 4.9 due to the graphics performance.
PassMark Ratings:
CPU Mark: 2630.4
2D Graphics Mark: 281.9
3D Graphics Mark: 338.0
Memory Mark: 559.2
Disk Mark: 826.8
Passmark Rating: 1019.7
The laptop comes with only a 4400mAh Li-Ion battery, which is not really that much so it’s not a surprise that the unit can only do around 2 hours of battery life on a full single charge.
The unit also comes with a pre-installed facial recognition software that works using the built-in webcam so you can login to Windows by merely posing at the camera when prompted.
We’re not sure with the actual price of this specific model (there are like over a dozen different configurations) but if my guess is right, it’s between Php39k to Php42k.
naayos nio ung sa bug sa graphics ng nvidia dba ang nba2sa lng nia nsa 758mb???n fix nio ung gnung bug??pa share nmn kung pnu nio gnawa
magkano kaya i2 sa gilmore pag cash and pag card? please pasagot nmn.
i saw this on gilmore at foxcomm.around 28-30k nalang po
pde ba siyang installan ng windows xp? or pang windows 7 lng talaga siya pde?
Twitter: digiknowzone
says:
@kyonshii: gnyan din prob ko. pero naayos ko na, update mo sa latest BIOS mo ung asus. You can get the latest asus BIOS sa support ng asus. Next is you will need to download the latest VGA driver pra sa NVIDIA 310m cuda 1gb, then, open the nvidia control panel, pnta ka sa 3d settings, then iset mo sa “global high quality”. Restart PC, then go to dxdiag and see 1680mb for display. Enjoy!
@ashe: bought ours for 31.5k after a ton of haggling sa north edsa 4th floor gilmore/asus store.
@rexus: pde mong installan ng kht anong os yan, xp, vista, pero I would advise you to use windows 7 nlng. Much better, pero, kng xp guy k, ok din lng.
pero kuya, pag 32 bit nag loloko di xa pumapasok ng desktop! nag ha hang! kelangan ba talga 64 bit?
@digiknowzone – card na po ba yon? anu specs ng nkuha mo?thx sa rep.
Twitter: digiknowzone
says:
@ashe: e2 nkuha ko, pero, mkipaghaggling k p, normal price nyan eh, 37, hehe nkpagsapalaran lng tlga ako. Asus k42jc vx167.
Processor: core i5-460M
HDD: 320 GB 5400rpm
Vcard: Nvidia 1gb Cuda 310m
RAM: 2GB DDR3
Battery: 6-cell Li-On battery
Hope that helps
Hi. Got my K42JC-VX167 the other day. Problem is the DVD won’t play. It recognizes and play CDs but when I insert a DVD it doesn’t even recognize it in the DVD drive. Any settings I need check or configure? Hope it’s not a hardware malfunction. I still have trauma from that damn HP Pavilion laptop with overheating and videocard issues which HP doesn’t admit. Damn you HP.
@digiknowzone – thankyou. try ko sa gilmore mkipagsapalaran. nice specs for just a 32k.
Twitter: digiknowzone
says:
@arnel: haven’t tried my dvd player yet, but if you thinkg there’s a problem, try updating your OS and drivers. Sometimes, the suppliers forgot to install proper drivers. Just like mine, they forgot to install and update the driver of the 1gb cuda vcard.
@ashe: No problem, a schoolmate of mine both the same model as the one I bought in PC Gilmore/ASUS in SM North Annex 4th floor, besides NEO Shop.
Mga sir paano magboot from usb sa asus K42JC? please help
Twitter: digiknowzone
says:
@manidirigma: gamit po kyo ng bootable usb program
@digiknowzone: pwede ba ung wintoflash? can you please suggest one?
sir naguguluhan kasi ako sa bios ng lappy ko e haha. Paano ko iseset ung mga priorities sa pag boot dun?
Twitter: digiknowzone
says:
@mandirigma: try DBAN…here: http://dban.org. Also, here’s a guide:
http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/dban.html
salamat sir
Mga sir, alam nio po ba kung san pwede makadownload ng mga drivers neto for 32bit?
Twitter: digiknowzone
says:
pnta ka sa asus support site.^^
http://support.asus.com/
sir dun sa dialogue box na may mga option kung anong OS, e malamang ung windows7 (ung walang nakalagay na 64bit) ay 32bit?
thanks
Twitter: digiknowzone
says:
Yung shortcut key eh, “Windows + Pause/Break”, dun ung System Information. Pde ring i-right click ung My Computer > Properties. Mkkita dun kng ilang bit ung OS nyo.
hindi po yan sir, dito po sa site na to:
http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?SLanguage=en-us
ung sa pag pili ng OS,
Select OS
Windows7 <- 32bit ba to?
Windows7 64bit
Others
Thanks
bought my k42jc at sm marikina, i returned the first one because of a dead pixel on screen, some k42jc’s on market has different configurations, first one i got has (aside from the processor, memory, and video which is an nVidia 310M 1gb)
320gb seagate 5400 rpm hdd (second one has a WD scorpio 320gb 5400rpm drive)
TSSTCorp(SAMSUNG ?) DVDRW Optical drive (second one has Slimtype DVD A DS8a4S)
weird whilst the same model, the first one only installs upto v189 geforce drivers for nvidia optimus(newer versions just freezes and have to resort into a driver rollback), while the second one can have upto v257 forceware drivers, all from the asus site
bios versions differ 1st one has v210 and second one has v208
p.s. the exact model i got was an Asus K42Jc VX-167
solved the optimus drivers freeze issue (updated to v214 BIOS) and can install latest forceware even from nvidia site
Twitter: digiknowzone
says:
@mandirigma: yes,obviously, “Windows 7″ is the 32-bit.^^
San po mkikita yong power 4 gear sa laptop asus?
Twitter: digiknowzone
says:
search mo sa start mo ung “control deck” dun, pde ka mamili ng mga options kng anong power4gear mode ang ggmtin mo. Pde mo ring ipress ung “Fn” button + “Space Bar” pra magshift sa different power4gear options. Hope that helps.
pre…WINDOWS 7 64BIT lng b pwede sa K42JC-VX167?
Twitter: digiknowzone
says:
@havegara, nope. Any OS will work.