2014 Asus N550JK -DS71T quick mini review and opinion so far

Price seems the same (cheaper on xotic than N550JK though). Difference seems to be a non touch screen. and an upgraded processor? Still wish they wud have added GDDR5 option for the GPU when slapping it as a gamer series.

 

No problem. And of course the AC, does A, B, G, N all I think and the laptop is BT 4.0 as well.

The G550 is barely a CPU bump though, right? I would love it, if it had Glossy Touch-screen option. Of course for being labeled what it is, I agree they should have had 850m GDDR5 or an 860M in it. That would be more important sales wise than anything probably. They charge $100 more to have a 1TB evo than you can buy a 1TB evo for yourself.

 

If they had a G550JK with touch screen and GTX850m GDDR5 or a GTX860m..... WOULD BUY!

 

Do all of you think it's worth waiting a month for it if I don't need a new laptop immediately? (I realize that it's personal opinion. Personally I don't care too much about the looks)

 

Well nothing else seems to be in the horizon right now unless we get some Y50 reviews and see how it turns out but my expecations have been pretty dashed with the non TN panel. I was also hoping the G550JK would have a GDDR5 option but that also didnt materalize. So I would probably be leaning towards the N550JK unless there is any other laptop in the price range that I have missed out with similar specs.

 

The Toshiba Qosmio X70 is only $1100 right now with an i7-4700mq and a 770m. The 17.3inch screen is TN but is supposed to be pretty good, according to reviews.

 

Over 7 pounds. I myself dont like 17" screens on a laptop.

As far as the G550 goes, if the color means nothing I would get the N550JK unless hate glossy screens.

 

Well now this is getting annoying since mine just stays on and to turn it off i have to use fn+f3. Maybe i should check the power saving mode. Do you happen to know where the ambient light sensor is for the N550JK?

Edit: Balanced Mode seems to turn off the Backlight though the idle time required seems long.

Power4Gear Power Saving also turns off the backlight so my problem is solved i guess.

It doesn't seem to turn off in bright rooms though so there's that.

 

I noticed that the N56JR is sold at a slightly higher price compared to the N550JK...

In what ways are the N56JR superior (aside from the higher RAM)?
Performance-wise, is the GPU of the N550JK actually better than the N56JR's?
What about screen, build quality, cooling efficiency, etc? Which one works better?

Am at a bit of an impasse as to which laptop to choose at the moment. Any help on the matter is greatly appreciated

 

At the present config, I would go with the N550JK as I believe the N56JR comes with a TN panel and moreover the 850M even with the DDR3 config is faster than the 760M.
Plus the N550JK comes with a sleeker design!

 

Not bad, but not great. A nice thermal paste upgrade will probably get it down though?

I would expect it to run fanless on idle.

88C is't bad at all. Put some better thermal paste on it and I bet it goes down dramatically.

It's worth it for sure.

Very impressive performance. This is a true gaming laptop with great specs. Well worth the $1000 price tag for sure.

 

Just to clarify: I was talking about waiting a month for the G550JK. Why do you think it's worth waiting for? As far as I know, the only changes are the black/red color theme, RoG logos, a slightly better processor, and no touch screen (which could be a good or bad thing, depending on perspective).

 

Black metal is a fingerprint magnet so some would prefer the silver version over the ROG logo. Depends what style you go for, both equally good machines.

 

I suppose it just depends on you. But if it does have a better processor and you don't need it now, you might as well wait.

 

But it doesn't have a better processor. It's basically the identical laptop but with a black exterior instead of silver, and no touch screen. And the starting price seems to be identical. So basically if you're interested in giving up touch screen to gain black finish and matte screen, then the G550JK is for you.

 

The one I ordered in Germany comes without touchscreen, and it is matte. What I also noticed is, that I get BluRay drive instead of DVD one, apparently this is what you get on non touch screen. I actually like it. At least I hope i will, should be delivered on monday.

 

The Q550 is exactly the same chassis as the N550.. but ULV cpu and weaker GPU. It's a complete waste of money when you can order a N550 for the same price but with quadcore i7 and 850m. When you factor in the N550 cpu + gpu, the chassis makes sense from a cooling standpoint.

 

It has a better CPU processor, although only 2.5ghz and 3.5ghz turbo vs 2.4/3.4.. It's the i7-4710HQ. Not that this extra 100mhz will do anything significant in real life usage. It's still a 850m DDR3, so no thanks IMO.

 

I know your opinion is based on your own experience with it, but you make the 850m DDR3 sound really bad... that worries me a bit since the Y50 is looking more and more like it's not for me... hopefully since I won't have any frame of reference, it won't be that bad to me if I end up getting the n550jk. Part of me wonders if what you really experienced was the hdd bottleneck, since I'm assuming you didn't put an ssd in before returning it.

 

It depends on what kind of a gamer you are. If you game several hours per day, play gpu intensive games, and like to have high/ultra settings, then N550JK is not for you. If you game occasionally or even a lot, and you dont care about having medium settings (only on new and gpu intensive games) then N550JK is right for you.

 

No no no, I'm not saying the 850m DDR3 is bad.. it's just that for such a small amount of money you can get into a 860m DDR5. The 850m IS a 860m with DDR3. There are no core GPU differences, the difference is ONLY the memory bandwidth/speed.

The 850m is a very powerful GPU option that offers more than "every now and then" gaming.. It can play a lot of games on ultra with respectable FPS actually. The 860m just takes it to the next level, that's all.

I'm saying the G550 is a disappointment because a "gaming laptop" should probably have the 860m in it... The 850m is PERFECT for a budget gaming laptop rig but the price is wrong.. You can get a Clevo W230SS with 860m for less cash than the N550/G550.. That's all i'm saying.

 

The problem with that GPU is that is not enough for 1080p, but for 1366x768 or 900p that GPU would rock

 

I understand why the chassis has to be that size (especially because it has an optical drive). I'm simply saying that it's not as sleek as I was expecting, so I'm glad I saw it first before ordering one sight unseen. I'm now leaning more toward the Y50 again, especially since they've added a lower-priced non-touch model. I just want to see some reviews of the TN panel to see if it's going to be acceptable or not.

 

I hear ya, and I respect your opinion, since you're one of the few who has actual experience with both. I'm not a serious gamer, but that doesn't mean I want to have a subpar gameplay experience. I don't know why Asus doesn't at least offer an 860m version, because the build quality seems awesome for the most part- everything I personally want. That's really what's pushing me to the N550JK: with the exception of the GPU, it's everything I personally want.

For me, affordability isn't the problem with the Y50. But because I want touchscreen and gaming capability, these are the only 2 potential notebooks I'm considering. And for me, Lenovo has cut too many corners, and therefore reduced Return On Investment. Not that big a deal to many- but why offer only 2 USB 3.0, when you can offer 3? Why call it a multimedia machine when you can't inherently use the currently most prolific form of multimedia available (DVD/Blu-ray)? Why use AC 3160 when you could just as well use the 7260? Why use TN screen instead of IPS? Why say 4K will be offered, then offer it only in a premium, yet to be announced, yet to be priced model that's likely to be about $800 more than the base model? Even though I don't understand Asus not offering an 860M in a 15.6" form-factor, I like their offering better.

You mentioned a difference in the CPU load. Do you think that the 5400RPM hard drive had anything to do with the comparative disappointment you felt in the N550JK versus the G750? Is it possible that this bottleneck I read about might've also affected the experience with the 850M? Are all 850m that nVidia make ddr3 or does nVidia also make a gddr5 version that is not the 860M?

 

I don't know if any of you have seen this but here is a msi ge40 with gtx 850m with GDDR5 vram. It doesn't appear to be out yet but the barebones seems to be available at xoticpc.
Link for msi
link for xoticpc

 

Well that's interesting..

 

As soon as get i get a laptop i want to remove hdd, and replace it with sdd. Also with my own license so i wont be extracting any keys. I read this article: Complete Guide to Asus N550JV-DB72T N550JV-DB71 | BOTS World
Question: As this article describes (althought i find it hard to believe), it is not possible to boot with usb/dvd unless you have a windows installation and you choose recovery mode -> advanced startup. Now that would be nice if I had original HDD still in the laptop. So how do i boot with uefi, if i dont have windows installed? Newer owned a PC that has uefi enabled before...

 

I downloaded windows 8.1 from this thread, used tool to make uefi bootable usb and installed. Didn't need any key, everything worked like a charm

 

And how did you boot, just turned on pc, or you still had windows installed...and used the boot option from the thread?

 

Actually I had to disable all other boot options other than usb in bios, otherwise it just kept booting into windows. Try the usb before you switch hard drive

 

anyone post a link or guide on how to replace the bluray optical drive with another harddrive? my lenovo you could just pop it in/out in 1 second...this one seems more difficult

 

I'm pretty sure you just purchase a hard drive caddy that fits in the ultradrive bay and then pop the optical drive out and pop in the HDD caddy. I saw some videos on YouTube of how to do it for the N550JV and the procedure should be identical for the N550JK.

 

Hey everyone, I'm considering buying this laptop, however, reading this thread left me kind of confused. Is the keyboard missing keystrokes a big issue? Or has it been fixed by Asus? What about the audio quality? The n550jv had great speakers according to the reviews, is it any different with the n550jk? Did Asus somehow screw it up?

 

Missing keystrokes is not an issue if you skip asus key software which seems to be buggy.

Sound quality is kind of crappy, deep but of low quality. Not worse than other laptops ive tried though

Overall my impression is good, however it's a lot thicker than it looks in the ads, thick enough to make me consider selling it in a year or so

 

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Black ASUS N550JK!!!
======================================================

The only particular N550JK model I find at the local stores here in the Philippines is colored differently! (like said before, availability sucks ) It's weird.
- It doesn't have the "ripple-effect" around the power & special button.
- power and special buttons are rectangular
- keyboard area is recessed
I'm confused since the website shows a very different one.

Pictures from local store website ( Asus N550JK-CN017H, Intel Core i7 CPU, nVidia GTX850M 4GB VRAM & Win8.1 | VillMan Computers):
View attachment 111894

The exact model number is: ASUS N550JK-CN017H Black
Specifications are (based on the side sticker of the box):
- Intel Core i7-4700HQ
- Windows 8.1 64bit
- 15.6" FHD (1920 x 1080) Non-Touch
- NVIDIA GeForce GT850M w/ 4GB DDR3 VRAM
- 1 x 8GB DDR3
- 1TB 5400 RPM
- Blu-Ray DVD Reader
- 802.11 n
Cost: ~USD 1,284 (based on google php to usd)

Actual picture from store while window shopping (sorry for the poor quality):




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"Evidences" of being an N550JK
======================================================

1. I don't think ASUS offers other laptop models with GTX 850M aside from N550JK (which, in this case, is indicated on the side sticker + on the actual laptop -just blurry-).
2. Google Image "N550JK" and it also shows a similar black color scheme of N550JK from websites other than what I posted.
3. A youtube video also shows an "N550JK-CN026H" with a black color.. you can skip to 2:40 --> Unboxing Asus N550JK (2014 Model) - YouTube
Update:
4. It has a dual cooling fan like the N550J series. The similar looking Q550LF contains only 1 fan.


======================================================
So guys....
======================================================
1. Can anyone help me verify if this is legit? Update: ASUS PH confirmed that it's a real N550JK
2. Comments/Reactions about this color scheme.
3. Is this the missing link between N550JK and G550JK? lol!

Conclusion:
It is a legit N500JK -- parts, specs, everything except the casing (which is that of an Q550LF).

 

I think it's interesting how it has 4gb VRAM, the jk just has 2gb.

But the specs certainly sound like a jk, but it looks way more like the Q550 that came out in the US.

 

The official Asus website states a 2 or 4GB variant of the GTX 850M DDR3 in the N550JK model so I don't think that is an issue
https://www.asus.com/Notebooks_Ultrabooks/N550JK/specifications/

 

One of the few 850m's i've seen with 4gb.. Wonder if it's a Kepler?

And I wouldn't buy this model you've found anyways without a touch screen. Meh, 4gb even is Maxwell isn't going to improve gaming experience not even 1%. 2gb is more than plenty.

 

- Does a Kepler GTX 850M exist?
- Thanks for the tip about the screen but I think I actually prefer non-touch (even though this would be my first laptop).. Are you rather concerned with the picture quality (brighter) rather than usage (windows 8 experience)?
- 2gb/4gb is ok with me. I just don't have a choice here - at least locally.

 

I probably wouldn't use the touchscreen either as I didn't when I briefly had the N550jk.. The IPS screen is actually a little less bright then the 17" TN panel on the G750 but it's still decent..

 

I read somewhere that the IPS screen is only featured in models without touch?

Can someone confirm this? I'm planning to get a N550JK-CN026H and it's apparently non-touch, but I can't get any specific information regarding its screen (I also have no idea about how I would go about proving it is indeed an IPS, and most of the people who work at the computer stores in my area are unfortunately young, underpaid, and inept so I doubt that they know either).

I'm also interested about the Maxwell/Kepler thing mentioned in the previous few posts... because the CNO26H features a GTX850m with 4GBs of VRAM instead of 2. Hopefully it's still Maxwell- any confirmations on this is greatly appreciated!

 

I heard from someone that the N550JK includes a battery charging management. I didn't know about this before that is why I said I would remove the battery.

If this is true then why did you still remove the battery? Do you not have this software option? Or do you not trust it?

Other owners please feel free to check/correct. If this turns out to be true then I wouldn't continue on removing the battery inside the laptop Thanks!

 

N550JK-CN017H [BLACK] -- additional info

This is the hardware specifications sent to me by an owner:


--

* ODD indicates SATA 1.5Gb/s which is SATA 1
- If I am to move the HDD (seagate) to the ODD slot via caddy, won't this bottleneck the HDD even though it's just 5400 RPM?

* Video Card is GTX 850M [ASUS]
- what is the GeForce 845M for?

* Wireless Network Adapter [Qualcomm Atheros AR9485WB-EG]
- is this the dreaded adapter everyone was talking about?
- i found a link stating that wires are to blame for the error (either connected loosely or a much bolder: wires are reversed) http://www.jamescroft.co.uk/blog/technology/fix-for-lenovo-g580-wifi-issues-on-windows-8/ -- a lot of people replied that their wifi problem were fix using this method, weird (i hope this won't affect the adapter negatively in the future)
=====================================

I'm still waiting for LED Panel info

 

IPS is featured on both touch and non touch as far as I know.. USA gets touch and it's IPS.. It's been confirmed it's Maxwell but look at the screenshot posted above.. Concerning it says 845m

 

I'm not a fan of Atheros wifi cards but you can easily order and change it out to Intel or broadcom. Killer wireless is also Atheros

 

Initial review after using it for 2 days

- Great screen, great specs, great build design
- This laptop is HUGE. I've had 15" laptops before, almost every year, this definitely feels a lot more like a 17" than a 15". It does not feel portable at all and looks like a huge hassle to carry around
- I feel like Asus did their best to lockdown this laptop. For example, in order to reformat it (which is the first thing I did), I had to modify bios settings. Also, in order to remove the bay, it seems like I have a lot to unscrew. I don't like how they locked this down
- While I really like the feel of the keyboard, I feel like it doesn't register a lot of keys. Is there a way to increase sensitivity?

 

I'm here to defend the N550! Lol.. In all seriousness, it's not really a large 15", is it? What are you comparing to, a ULV 15" without an optical drive? This has a full powered quad core 47watt CPU and a full powered dedicated GPU inside a 1" thick chassis with optical drive. Look at the LCD bezel.. there's not a lot of unused space around the bezel, that means they crammed a lot inside the footprint of the 15" screen and it's not very thick.. It's actually right on par with the "classic" MacBook Pro 15".. Which was touted as being the most compact 15" laptop out there retaining an optical drive.

The locked down thing is normal, it's Secure Boot.. it's normal on EFI/UEFI bios' these days with Windows8. The reason for this is the embedded CD KEY for Windows8 inside the bios.. It's pretty common knowledge for the past year or more that you need to disable Secure boot on most bioses in order to a) fresh install Win8 or b) install another OS.

Did you install the KBFilter driver? I'm not clear on what this does but it's provided on the Asus support site for the N550 and it might help with missed keystrokes (called ghosting).

 

Diversion, if you don't mind me asking, why did you return your N550jk?

 

I ordered it not realizing it was ddr3.. This was an impulse buy before really doing any research here.. Still a great machine and the 850m ddr3 is a smoking fast gpu for what it is.. I just wanted a bit more gaming power.. Really assess your gaming needs and decide if the 850m is good for you. It's night and day faster than the 650m and 750m was to the faster cards at the time. It's a great card for Nvidia in 2014

 

Cool thanks! I am a damn dirty casual so I think it will be great.. Especially if it's hitting playable fps for games like BF4 at high settings. My two cents between this and the y50... I would rather turn down some detail settings to reach the fps of the 860m and have the beautiful colors of the IPS display than play on a higher detail but with washed out colors on the y50.