The K93SM is now available in Europe with Intel CPU and NVIDIA graphics

Mar 21, 2012 12:25 GMT  ·  By

High-end laptops with discrete GPUs may not show up all that often anymore, what with all CPUs having integrated graphics now, but they still make the cut from time to time, as ASUS clearly shows.

ASUS has completed a new member for the K-Series of mobile personal computers, one that carries the name of K93SM.

It tops the graphics performance of normal Sandy Bridge notebooks through the use of the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 630M GPU.

Granted, the 630M isn't the strongest of discrete graphics, but it definitely beats the GMA HD inside the CPU and even has 1 GB of memory.

That said, buyers will get to select between the Intel Core i5-2450M and the Core i7-2670QM processors.

Up to 8 GB of RAM (random access memory) are present, along with a hard disk drive of 500 GB or 1 TB.

In other words, the read and write speeds, as well as access times, might not be the best, definitely not on par with those allowed by SSDs or hybrid drives.

Then again, ASUS isn't advertising the K93SM as an ultimate gaming beast, so there wasn't much need for that in the end.

Moving on, an 8x DVD writer is included in the feature set, although it is possible to replace it with a 6x Blu-ray combo unit.

Other specifications include Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, an USB 3.0 port, a 3-in-1 card reader, a chiclet keyboard and the IceCool technology, which makes sure the palm rest stays comfortable.

As for the 18.6-inch screen, it has a native resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels and LED backlighting.

ASUS sells the K93SM for 849 Euro to 1,149 Euro and loaded with Microsoft's Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit operating system. That means between $1,127.38 and $1,525.75, or so exchange rates would have us believe.