ASUS G53SX-A1 Review: Powerful Portable Gaming

Build and Design
The G53SX's design is based on a military stealth bomber aircraft. The wedge-shaped chassis is covered in black anti-glare plastic. Most of the viewable surfaces have a grippy rubber finish. The quality of plastics used is good and does not flex, even when pressure is applied. The overall fit and finish of the notebook is good although some of the angled edges are a bit sharp.

The overall design and wedge shape of the notebook makes it bulky and difficult to handle. It is perhaps the largest 15.6-inch notebook on the market; it is about as large as a typical 17.3-inch notebook and heavier. The lid is securely attached to the chassis; pushing in on the back does not produce any ripples on the screen. It resists twisting well. I wish the screen tilted back a bit further.

Upgrading the G53SX is not an easy task; it involves removing the keyboard and palm rest to access the RAM and hard drive. This notebook actually has two hard drive bays; our review unit only has a single drive.

Ports and Features
Despite its size the G53SX has a below average variety of ports for a notebook this size; the only notable inclusion is a single SuperSpeed USB 3.0 port. The G53SX lacks an ExpressCard slot, eSATA, and DisplayPort. All picture descriptions are left to right.

Front: Media card reader, status lights	Back: Cooling exhaust vents, lock slots
Left: DVD burner, 2x USB 2.0	Right: Headphone and microphone jacks, 1x USB 2.0, 1x USB 3.0, HDMI, VGA, Ethernet, AC power