I really love this laptop.
937674
For me, I wanted something light like my wife's Macbook Air, but I'm still a heavy user of MS office and program a bit.  Win8 took a bit of getting used to, but I simply installed classic shell free which is a start button replacement and with a few tweaks is now it's very familiar.  To me win8 touchscreen on a laptop is gimmicky, so I didn't need/want that.  This is one of the best ultrabooks in my opinion if you don't need the latest and greatest Haswell (which does add significant battery life).  It will eventually get replaced as the flagship ultrabook with the Haswell's like the ASUS UX301, Acer S7 or Sony Vaio Pro so its probably a good time to buy particularly if it gets further discounted even more over the next few months to get rid of inventory.

Pros: Light, good looking, high-res screen, 256GB SSD is super fast, boots up fast, awake from sleep fast, gets decent battery life.

Cons: Keyboard travel is a little shallow, screen has some light bleed.
2271452
I bought this laptop to replace my five year old Gateway laptop that was really a monster. I had a hard time choosing between getting another laptop or buying a tablet as a replacement. I'm so glad I bought this laptop! I've had it for a few weeks now and I couldn't be happier.

Pros:
Lightweight
Fast
Relatively quiet (although I'm used to a beast of a fan)
Doesn't get terribly hot
Battery life is amazing! I get at least 8 hours.
Thin, good size
HDMI out so I can hook it up to my TV
It's blue!

Cons:
Had to buy an external CD drive to install Office (almost negligible, I could have returned it if I wanted the money back enough)
The case absorbs oil from my hands, so there are always marks on the top that I have to wipe off. Annoying, but not damning.
Keyboard is oddly shaped, takes some getting used to.

Overall, a good buy for someone who doesn't need too much from their computer. I mainly use it for word processing and accessing the internet and it serves me well. Would definitely recommend it to a friend!

EDIT December 2014:
Had this puppy for over 3 years now (wow time flies!!), still going strong, no new problems. Very happy with my purchase still.
4738742
This is by far my favorite laptop I have ever laid my hands on. Processor speeds are impeccable and it can even handle some light gaming. My laptop boots up in less then 10 seconds and it can handle pretty much process I can put it up to. Video editing was surprisingly fast considering my gaming desktop was only ahead by a small amount. The only thing I have problems with is the fingerprints on the laptop which personally bothers me but if you buy a skin your fingerprints problem should go away. The keyboard is relatively nice to use, but I have seen better from razor. The switches in my opinion are a little stiff, I would prefer to have a little more click when I press down my keys but that may just be a personal thing. The speakers are pretty good and honestly better than I expected and unless you are doing professional music editing, they are pretty nice. The screen is amazing in 4K and if you do some light gaming then the attention to detail is amazing.
3159542
I bought this laptop 10 months ago and have no regrets.  I love it!  I've always been a gaming laptop skeptic, refusing to give up my desktop systems because of their superior performance, but this thing really rocks for a laptop.  I'd say it only feels like a slight step down from a desktop in performance.  e.g. - when I bought it, the laptop was already last-years model.  Shortly after, The Witcher 3 came out and even being a year old it ran it at really high settings with a beautiful framerate.  Almost a year later (going on 2-year old technology now) I still run new games on near-max settings and they look gorgeous.  Add to that the quality of the keyboard (I hate laptop keyboards but this one is full-size and wonderful.

Now factor in the convenience of being a laptop, so I can game while on trips... and I got myself an iSkelter Hover X+ lapdesk so the Sofa is now my desk.  Next time I upgrade to a new system, you can bet I'll be getting an ASUS ROG because after this I don't know that I could ever go back to a desktop.

I could go on and on about everything I love about this system but then I'd be here all day.
4505575
I have had this laptop since January, 2013 and I'm very happy and fully satisfied.
I purchased from Eluktronics Inc.  Great people, professional people, good packaging, fair price and fast shipping. Highly recommended, I'll do business with them again.

1-) Super fast
2-) Battery life is great! (over 9 hrs with regular hard drive over 10 hrs with SSD doing light work)
3-) Windows 7 works great with this laptop
4-) Very light weight for its 17.3" size
5-) Screen looks great
6-) I like the keyboard a lot, typing is so comfortable and easy.
7-) It does not get hot, which does not bother my legs after typing for long time.

Things that I have done/purchased:

1-) I replaced the original sata hard drive with a Sandisk 120GB G25 SSD.
2-) I installed my own apps and all work very well
3-) I bought a nice bag/case for the laptop, holds charger, external hard drive, cables, etc
4-) I backed up the whole hard drive in 3 different locations using Acronis True Image 2013
795525
This computer is amazing to say the least , ever since I got it as a gift , it never overheats, the screen size is amazing and perfect for a laptop. I love that it has 2 usb ports , an hdmi port, and a Ethernet port. It has so much space as well as being able to play DVDS/ CDS it also has the number pad off to the right which I love love love . I have absolutely nothing but good things to say about this laptop its the best one I have ever owned. Asus makes wonderful products and I am so happy with this laptop its worth it
126449
I love this laptop. It works great for my online schooling and blogging. I love the backlit keyboard and all the settings. Photoshop runs smoothly and the touch screen is such a handy feature, especially with Windows 8. I have no complaints.
3635055
I really like this laptop, is not that fancy and power but has the necessary to have a great experience, watching videos surfing the web and even doing a little of coding.
1706432
I got this laptop a couple of months ago, and I use it as my primary computer, as I am a student.
At first, I wasn't a fan of Windows 8, but now I love it, especially after the recent upgrade to 8.1. The apps in the Microsoft store are awesome. Windows 8 itself has a good deal of programs built in, but it's nice to be able to download others such as games and planners, etc. My favorite app is Netflix, actually, most shows and movies on there only work in the app.
The touchscreen was just a bonus when I got it, but I have grown to love it. You use the laptop completely differently by simply being able to touch the screen. The screen doesn't mark easily, and you can either use the microfiber cloth that comes with it, or even just a kleenex will clean it well.
For school, this laptop is great. It's small enough that it fits easily into my backpack (it's much smaller than a lot of my textbooks). I have the newest version of Office (2013), so it all works well together. I would suggest getting that version if you have to buy one anyway because it is formatted to work with Windows 8, and a touchscreen. It's been a lot of fun to play around with a program I already knew so well like Word, but with the ability to use the touchscreen.
The battery life is pretty good. The fastest the battery dies for me is about 4-5 hours, and that's when I'm running Netflix. Just normal functions (Word, Pandora, etc) last about 7-8 hours. It lasts long enough for a full day at the library.
The only problems I have had are with apps not responding (which usually has to do with my wifi). Or sometimes the touchscreen is delayed,  but that only happens when I am running a lot of apps at once.
Bonus: you can get a snap on cover for them (I don't have the pink, mines silver). I have the purple cover, which matches my phone, ipod, etc.
3911541
This is simply the most amazing laptop I've ever owned.  I was on the fence over Alienware, but I've had so many Dell problems that I wanted to steer clear and MSI brought the new Maxwell Gpu's out so quickly, I couldn't refuse.  Looking at the MSI didn't look that spectacular from pictures, but build quality is fantastic and it's gorgeous in real life.
I added an extra 16gb of Ram that I had (way overkill), and  purchased a Crucial 512gb msata for gaming on.  I left the original 128gb msata for the OS and used the bigger drive for games only.  I'm using the 1TB hdd for itunes, movies, loads of photos, and everything else.  The setup is fantastic and so fast.  I love everything about this laptop.  Gaming on it is utterly amazing.  My old laptop would get smoking hot at full HD and good settings.  I'm running this thing on ultra and it barely gets warm.  I'm not even close to it's potential.  Maybe a better screen is needed now.
885120
I have had this laptop for around a month now. I must say it is my favorite laptop ever. It really does great when playing games (Borderlands, Minecraft, etc). The graphics card and processor are a powerful combination. It is also of course great for other things like searching the web, creating documents, etc.

I really love the fact that it has an HDMI option to extend the screen for better productivity and that it comes with an SD card reader (It is hidden on the bottomish...). My main two complaints with this laptop are:
1. The battery life really isn't the best. It lasts 2-3 hours if you aren't being too resource intensive(Just web browsing instead of gaming), but I really would have liked to see a bit better of a battery. The fact that the battery is removable made up for it a bit, as you can double it if you get a second battery for it (Like I did). I charge them both before I leave if I know that I will need a bit of power. For the most part however, it is fine as I don't need it more than an hour or two or I am near a plug.
2. The hard drive is a bit on the low end. I would have perhaps liked to have seen a bit of a higher RPM drive for faster file moving and application opening, but that is not a HUGE deal.
2070032
I got this laptop from the Microsoft store just before Christmas (got it during the sale), and I have to say that it has been great. For such a large screen laptop, it is much thinner than my old Lenovo T420, with about the same weight. It looks really good, and though the keyboard is different from the my last (island keys on this), i really like that it is a back-lit keyboard. The touch screen is awesome (surprising useful to, I use the built in calculator Win8 app on hw sometimes, great combo for me!), especially if I feel lazy and just want to click on something quickly or adjust a web page, etc. Also has great resolution and color. Solid laptop!

Likes:
-Backlit keyboard (I actually now like the island keys too)
-500gb is plenty of space for me, especially with skydrive, Gdrive, dropbox, box etc if you really needed it.
-I have come to actually really like the added functions that Windows 8.1 has, I use split screening apps a lot, and the screen can fit up to 3 if needed.
-Battery Life: this thing gets incredible battery life, I can use it in spurts throughout the day for work between classes and just put it to sleep in my backpack, and I can get through the day without really having to charge it. (impossible with my old one, needed it every few hours.)
-The USB 3 port is really nice to have, charges phone faster, transfers faster, etc.
-Number pad on keyboard is useful.
-Overall has been pretty reliable

Dislikes/Hit-and-miss
-Touchpad has moments of oversensitivity: ironically is great when I use it (I actually can/choose to use this one, the one on my T420 was crap, only used the track-ball), but seems to sensitive to being brushed sometimes, ie while typing
- The power button is much different than I'm used to, just a little button on the side by a usb port. Since I plu my wireless mouse in there, I don't bump it, but could imagine it causing problems for some people

Overall:
I really like this laptop, just has been overall great for me, not any major issues. If you need to, can open it up to get to the inside by removing the screws (i think this affects warranty though), so decent access to RAM and HDD. Has been great for my needs!
273502
I absolutely love this computer.  Having owned it for a few months now, I can say there is nothing I don't like about it.  The display, touchscreen, keyboard, build quality, performance, sleek appearance, portability, and everything else about it have been wonderful - and this is coming from someone who has owned many higher end ultrabooks over the past 10 years.  I think Samsung nailed it with this one.
3487566
I own one of these wonderful machines, mine is a i5 and I increases the RAM to 16GB and it will also take a second hard drive as well which I have done.  Now this machine is big and heavy BUT I wouldn't trade it for any of these light weight machines out there.  This laptop has room for airflow to keep itself cool and it is durable.  My only complaint is that it doesn't have a HDMI port, but who cares I bought a docking station and have it connected to an external monitor.  This laptop out performs my other laptop which uses a i7 processor.  This machine is EXPENSIVE at least it was when I bought it a few years ago but it is worth every penny.  I don't know why there are a few bad reviews on here but I have had nothing but GREAT service out of mine.
3701298
I'm really delighted with this very stylish laptop. It offers excellent performance and a design that is both pleasing to the eyes and ergonomic.  The quality of the display is superb and the keyboard is the best I've ever had, and this is my 4th laptop.  It has the little features I need too, like 3 USB ports so that I no longer have to tote around a hub.
102248
I use this laptop with Ubuntu 14.04 and for the most part it works well. There are times that the laptop "pauses" then comes back. I am generally happy. As of now, I have not found a way to make it more of a tablet so I use it exclusively as a laptop. Perhaps if I used Windows my experience would be different. I love the feel and weight of the laptop. For the just over $600 I paid, I am pretty darn happy.
1123799
This is the nicest laptop I have ever owned. So far, it works great! The screen is crystal clear,and I love Windows 8.1, even though I was very use to Window 7 and XP.