ASUS E410 Intel Celeron N4020 4GB 64GB 14-Inch HD LED Win 10 Laptop (Star Black) by ASUS

[REVISED Apr 6 ’24 for storage issues – see end.]

I bought two of these. The oldest is 18 months old and still going strong (although the screen isn’t as bright as the second one, which I never use except to update it). My first one was just $150USD and now the same model has gone up by $40USD. It’s still a great buy.

You can also find a nifty review on YouTube by the user First Look.

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PROS:

1. Excellent battery life. It really does last for 8+ hours provided you’re not doing anything intensive like accessing a high-capacity USB HDD. Keep in mind that a bigger screen, a bigger built-in HD will drain your battery faster.

2. Weighs 2.8 pounds (under 1.5KG).

3. Still a great bargain at the current price (I bought two for $140 ea. over a year ago).

4. The 14″ LED screen works well for most purposes. I’ve noticed that my oldest one (18 months old) is losing brightness. But for the price, I’m not worried since I only anticipate 2-3 years’ use out of it.

5. Built tough like a tank – compare to Dell.

6. Comes with Windows 10. The update to 11 is free. You’ll lose some built-in HD space, but it’s worth it.

7. Built-in webcam and mic. I’ve used them for Skype and WhatsApp – not great quality but if you’re traveling they’ll do fine for those or Zoom.

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CONS:

1. Only 2 built-in USB ports. You’ll need a USB hub. Note that a typical (unpowered) USB hub will not take a large-capacity USB drive. So if you want to run two of them, a powered USB hub helps, e.g.: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BZ46YVRK/ [NOTE: I actually daisy that with a standard USB hub and plug the former’s power connector into it. It doesn’t short on me.]

2. The built-in keyboard and mouse pad are minimally useful. For traveling, consider a small external pointing device and a roll-up keyboard. (Which is yet another reason to have a USB hub.)

3. Very little useful space on the built-in solid state hard disk (about 38GB available for apps and data). A USB HD will fix that problem; for traveling use large-capacity memory sticks. IMPORTANT: you have to turn off Windows’ restore points otherwise your on-board space will deteriorate quickly. Be sure you back it up when you get it (you’ll need a USB CD drive or a bootable memory stick). I keep very few “data” files on it. [Keep the ESC key pressed for boot options.]

4. Not terribly fast, the processors are rated at 1.1GB. Supposedly it can be overclocked but I’ve never tried. It’s a nice addition to a desktop, but most certainly NOT a replacement.

5. You need to know your way around Windows for the best results. For ex., I had to create my own batch file to run MSPaint. (It’s designed to prefer MS Office 365 which I refuse to deal with. Consider Apache Open Office – it’s free.) Even tho’ the processor is 64bits, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how many 32bit applications seem to run on it.

6. The built-in speaker sound quality is **dreadful**, but one can’t complain given the size and weight. For traveling consider bluetooth headphones/speakers or USB speakers.

7. Keyboard keys aren’t backlit, but then the keyboard isn’t very useful as I noted. When I’m in bed w/ wife, I just use an external backlit keyboard (lots of choices here – I like: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRMCPPZ5/ … that said, if you’re on a plane and the lights are off, you’re probably just going to have to live with your cell instead … there’s just not enough space on a tray table. For my money, it’s not worth paying more for a built-in backlit keyboard.

8. Will not hibernate (see below).

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HD SPACE NOTES (built-in HD):

1. I get the best results from setting PAGEFILE.SYS to a min of 2000 and a max of 3000 (roughly 2G & 3G respec.). Go to
Advanced System Settings | Performance | Advanced (virtual mem) … you have to restart afterwards.

2. I can’t get this to hibernate (an annoyance when traveling). However HIBERFIL.SYS still exists. I got an extra 1.5GB by disabling hiberneration with this command (run from the command prompt as an administrator or power shell):
powercfg.exe /hibernate off

Overview – This laptop is perfect for a student or for a specific task. I use a MacBook, but need a PC to configure electrical equipment I install. This laptop is perfect for that task. It’s inexpensive enough that I can bang it around job sites without stressing about it. Beyond that it may be pretty limited.

Pros – The price is fantastic and it’s delivered next day. It comes with a year of 365 for all your devices, so it’s close to a free laptop. It works well for specific tasks. The battery seems good.

Cons – That number pad is terrible. Asus really needs to rethink that. Thankfully I found a way to disable it while keeping the trackpad on. Windows 11 is also shockingly bad. I used Windows 10 in my former job and it was ok. Windows 11 is barely usable. I think it assumes devices are touch screen. Since this is not, it’s annoying to navigate. The other cons are related to the processor and capacity, but then again for this price it isn’t bad.

I’d definitely recommend it if you need an inexpensive laptop delivered real fast.

I really wanted to like this laptop, but it’s been nothing but a disappointment. I understand it’s a budget option, but even basic tasks like opening a browser or checking emails take forever. The Intel Celeron N4020 processor is painfully slow, and with only 4GB RAM, the system lags constantly. Multitasking? Forget about it.

The 64GB storage is also a joke—after Windows 11 (yes it comes with windows 11) and a few updates, there’s barely any space left. I couldn’t even install some essential software without getting low storage warnings. The HD display is dull and washed out, and the keyboard feels cheap and unresponsive.

Unless you’re only planning to use this for the occasional document or offline notes, I’d recommend spending a bit more for something that won’t have you pulling your hair out in frustration. I regret this purchase.

La laptop le puse un SSD DE 512 MVE fácilmente y ahora funciona mejor

I’m generally easy to please when it comes to computing hardware. My biggest complaint is usually software and this is no exception. I’m not a Linux fanboy. In fact I think Win 2000 Pro, Win XP, and WIn 7, with tweaking are possibly the best consumer level OSs by a long shot. I was also a Win10 beta tester and I could see where it was going. I am NOT a computer guy. I’m strictly end-user tier. All I know is from 4 decades of being poor and having to solve my own problems
This machine forced me into a microsoft account (can’t put in normal users and root accounts until after installation) and all on it’s own upgraded to Win 11. What a mess. After 4 hours of trying to get the OS do do what I wanted, I gave up and chose the path of least resistance (see pic). Then after about 45 minutes I had a fully functional laptop with all my accounts, bookmarks, settings, and preferences, etc. in place. Now it’s a fairly fast little machine and I’m happy.