ASUS U36Jc: The best for the price tag under $1000

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[img]http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2011/03/asusu36j15.jpg[/img]

At this point, it feels like almost every laptop under the sun is being described as "thin and light," but the thinnest and lightest with a standard voltage processor? Well, that's a new distinction, and ASUS claims its 13.3-inch U36Jc is just that. The .76-inch thick chassis tips the scales to just 3.7-pounds, but doesn't skimp on the horsepower or battery life to attain those trim dimensions like some other ultrathin systems out there. Sure, the U36Jc may ditch the optical drive, but it packs a Core i5-460M processor (the "older" Nehalem generation), NVIDIA GeForce 310M graphics, 4GB of RAM, a USB 3.0 port, and a 500GB, 7200rpm hard drive for just $969. Okay, so it doesn't have Intel's latest Sandy Bridge processors, but there are plenty of other reasons we think those who are looking for an ultraportable for under a grand may want to consider the U36Jc. Hit the break to find out what those things are exactly in our full review.