Asus X53TA

Here’s our test of the X53TA, a 15.6-inch laptop that uses an AMD processor and graphics card. Asus is presenting it as a carefully worked model, designed for daily use while remaining affordable. Does it live up to its promise? Answers below!

NB: there are several versions of the X53TA on the market, some of which run on an AMD Dual-Core A4-3300M Fusion processor, which is less powerful than the version tested here. The general remarks on design are valid across the board but performance and gaming capacity are variable. Depending on the configuration you go for, the sale price will also vary a great deal so make sure you check out what you’re getting before buying! 

[note(3,,right)Hardware & Handling

The X53TA has a sober, elegant design. Its hood and palm rest are fairly scratch resistant and you’ll be able to carry it around without worrying too much about defiguring it. The choice of a matte coating – except for the screen and the surround – mean that it doesn’t suffer too much from finger marks, though we would have preferred to see Asus push the concept to give us a matte screen surround too as this part tends to be touched quite a bit (opening and closing). Note also that the hood and the palm rest sink in when you press on them. This issue isn't too serious but it does take away from the impression of quality somewhat.  


The keyboard and the number pad use the chiclet (separated keys) design. They’re well proportioned, in the standard positioning and give supple, instinctive, agreeable keying that minimises errors.

We were less impressed with the touchpad. The glide is precise but the coating feels strange to the touch. The buttons make a rather dry noise but at least you know when you press down on them. The X53T comes with a little bonus in the form of a USB mouse. We very much doubt if it would score a 5-star rating in our mouse test but it’s light, compact and easily transportable.

The webcam (0.3 Megapixels) is doubtless the least successful component on this model. The image gets pixellated and flickers and dark zones are simply represented as big sections of black, making the webcam a last resort and nothing more.

The connectivity covers all the bases. It includes three USB ports, one of which is a USB 3.0, an RJ45 (Ethernet) port, a headphones socket and a mic socket as well as a pair of video outs (VGA and HDMI). You’ll also find a very discreet SD card player at the front.

When it comes to noise levels, the X53TA is perfectly quiet, even when you push it hard. It doesn’t heat up too much either but the hot air exits on the left side of the machine (and not between the chassis and the screen, or at the back), heating up your knees when you’re using the X53TA on your lap.

Processing power: not as fast as an ultrabook

This is the first time that we have come across the AMD A6-3400M processor. On the various tests that make up our processor test protocol, it takes 20% more time to carry out the same tasks as the Intel Core i5-2467M that is used in the Asus UX21E for example.

The K53TA is therefore far from being the fastest in its class, but it does do okay with more demanding applications. Note however, if you’re regularly doing a lot of heavy processing, it would be better to go for a model with an Intel Core i3-2410 or better still, an i5-2430M, such as the Samsung NP300E7A. Over a longer period you'll save quite a bit of time.

Games: two’s company?

Asus has gone for the AMD Radeon HD 6720G2 graphics card. This is in fact a combination that exploits both the capacities of the integrated graphics (AMD Radeon HD 6520G) and those of a discrete mid-range graphics card, the AMD HD 6550M. What you get is a sort of CrossFire solution that uses both graphics cards at the same time to give improved performance. It decodes 1080p (Blu-ray equivalent) videos without any problem.

When it comes to gaming, this combination allows the X53TA to launch all recent undemanding titles, like FIFA 2011, at native screen definition (1366 x 768 pixels) with all settings pushed up high. For other games, the more resource hungry they are, the more you’ll have to reduce the settings. For the most demanding of all (Anno 2070 or Metro 2033), you'll also have to reduce screen definition.

Audio: a clean sound but lacks oomph

The headphones out delivers a clean sound with satisfying dynamics and no distortion problems likely to degrade the signal. The quality is also good on the mic in. You won’t find there’s any background noise when you’re using it for video conferencing.

Speaker performance isn’t quite as good however. It’s just as clean but the maximum volume lacks power. As soon as there’s any background noise in the room, you’ll find you'll need to use your headphones or an audio kit.

Processing power: 3h15

The X53TA gives 3h15 video playback (headphones plugged in, screen at 100 cd/m², wi-fi and Bluetooth off). This is fine for a machine that, at 2.6 Kg, won’t be leaving the house much, except perhaps to accompany you on your holidays. It will at least help pass the time on a long journey.