Optical disk drives on laptops have slowly died over the past few years, but they haven’t disappeared entirely. While content streaming services like Steam and Netflix have almost made disk drives obsolete, Asus has announced a change in direction.
Asus has designed its latest laptop, the X545FA, to come rocking a classic DVD drive. This new laptop also comes powered by Intel’s 10th generation Comet Lake CPU in a move that blends old with new.
Asus X545FA Laptop Specifications
The X545FA comes in two models, one with an Intel Core i3 and one with an i7 CPU but both come with the disk drive and Intel UHD graphics. Up to 8 GB of DDR4 SDRAM can also be installed.
The laptop comes with a 15.6-inch full-HD display in either Slate Grey or Transparent Silver and weighs 1.9 kg.
The most notable feature, however, is probably the DVD drive which can read and burn various types of CD and DVD media. However, DVD playback software isn’t included and the DVD drive doesn’t support Blu-ray discs.
With the DVD drive, this makes the laptop thicker than other similar types on the market. However, the upside to that is it leaves it free to offer several connectivity options. The laptop comes with 3 USB ports, WiFi 5, Bluetooth, HDMI, a microSD card reader and an audio jack.
With a bigger laptop, you might imagine that Asus would be able to offer pack a better battery in. However, Asus claims the laptop can operate for 6.7 to 8.6 hours on one charge which is a bit less than other current laptops can offer.
How Much Does The X545FA Laptop Cost?
As mentioned above, this laptop comes in two different models, each featuring a slightly different CPU.
The laptop powered by Intel’s Core i3-10110U is currently priced at $705. The Intel Core i7-10510U model is priced at $908 at the moment.