Asus N550JV - user review and owners lounge

It was just last year when I did the G55 review and it's time for a new one. I hope there is not a topic for this yet, if there is one, I could not find it.

This N550 could be the weapon of choice for many people looking for a stylish aluminium body entertainment laptop.

I have the 550 JV model and here are some specs:

- Intel Core i7-4700HQ Haswell 2.4GHz - 3.2Ghz (all cores driven) with Intel HD Graphics 4600;
- nVIDIA GeForce GT 750M 4GB DDR3
- RAM 2x 8GB 1600 MHz DDR3 Hynix
- HDD Hitachi 750GB 7200rpm;
- ODD Hitachi LG DVDRW;
- Display 15.6 FHD IPS LED matte LG LP156WF4-SPB1;
- Audio based on Realtek - 4 speakers + external subwoofer;
- WLAN Qualcomm Atheros AR9485 150 Mbps;
- LAN RealTek RTL8168/8111 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet 1000 Mbps;
- Bluetooth 4.0;
- 3x USB 3.0;
- Headphones/Line out;
- HDMI;
- Card reader Realtek
- HD web camera;
- Full keyboard + white light;
- 4 cell baterry.

I've used Windows 7 Ultimare 64bit. This is not supported by Asus and as a result there are a few things not working. The "fn+f2" does not turn off the Wireless. The IRST_Intel_Win8_64_VER12601033 driver will not work and will block the entire system as it will not boot. There is no Asus Console for W7. Also, there is no driver for USB 3.0 that I could find on Asus site and none of the W7 were usable with Haswell. If you want a LAN driver, you need to use LAN_Install_Win7_7072_05222013 (for Realtek from Realtek's site). If you want P4G use Power4Gear_Hybrid_WIN7_64_Z122. For InstantOn use InstantOn_Win7_64_VER233. Both from Asus.

Case

From what I know it's aluminium, even the bottom cover (N56 had plastic bottom).

Top and bottom are all black while inside you find a silver palmrest and a silver keyboard (yes, the old black/silver contrast is gone).

The case is very well made and feels strong with no flexing that I could find during normal usage.

On the lid there is an Asus white backlit logo, looking very nice. By the way, you can almost open it with one hand. It's not easy enough, but still it can be done.

Direct user access to parts is gone. The main reason is the new design Asus used here. The entire bottom is one piece of aluminium. But once removed (I'm not sure if this will void warranty), you can access the HDD, battery, RAM (only two modules), WIFI module and the fans (for cleaning).

Asus used a dual-fan design, much like in G55, but with fans apart and heatpipes between them. Still an easier way to access the HDD at least would have been nice (a bay maybe, like Dell used to have). The bottom has some vent holes and the fans push the air at the back. System works fairly well, almost noiseless under normal load.

It has a top fingerprint friendly, but the bottom is not the same. No fingerprints on the palmrest, in fact I am amazed how clean it stays.

The weight of my unit is 2,7kg.

Keyboard

It has a very good keyboard (at least for me), with a nice feel (I never miss a letter I push) to it. This being only a 15" laptop, the layout is not ideal, but one can get used to it rather easy.

The light on the other hand is a bit strange. Under dim I see it more like a white-purple rather than pure white. This and the fact that the keyboard is silver makes keys hard to see. I can use the light only in complete darkness and with brightness all the way up, as it annoys me in any other conditions. The good part is that while being all silver, it will reflect much of the screen's light and keys are easy to read.

Touchpad

The N550 has a big Apple style pad, but with hidden buttons (nothing new here really and this seams to go mainstream for everyone). Asus also offers a software for gestures that works well enough. In fact is the first time I like a pad of this type (like Apples'). The feel of the pad is good and works smooth.

Speakers

One of the strong selling points of this laptop should be the sound. But is it?

I know it says Audio by Bang & Olufsen ICEpower and this might just be the problem. Dell N7720 SE has a 2.1 set-up Skullcandy speakers and they offer a very reach deep experience. The 4 speakers in N550 + 1 external subwoofer are good, but not as good as Dell's. Don't get me wrong, they are miles away in front of G55 or G75 and many other laptops. I like them enough to use them and that is rare for me. The new set-up has speakers down firing, in front, under the palmrest (yes, they moved the speakers and I'm not sure it was smart).

The big surprise was the headphones' performance. One of the best I've heard to date.

I had no problems with the drivers, no hiss, all worked well. I loved the fact that the control over Mute worked independently for speakers and headphones.

Display

While the image itself is extremly nice, the color space is far from sRGB and that is a disappointment. I'm sure almost all people take some photos now and could use the higher color gamut. Color precision seems off to me. This is not exactly a problem for a normal user, but for me it is.

As a side note, Metro Last Light in 1366x768 looked extremly well, so playing in low resolution is not as unpleasant as it is with other panels.

The screen is bright enough for usage under direct light. Viewing angles are extremly good and this being an IPS, it has a huge advantage over normal TN panels with color shift.

Memory

It has 2 x 8 Gb Hynix modules, 1600Mhz. Only 2 modules and if you need more RAM, this is not the best choice. But 8 to 16 GB should do for most people.

Drive

The HDD is nothing special, a Hitachi with 750GB at 7200rpm, but a proper one SSD unit with high enough capacity is still too expensive, like 25% of the laptop's price. Is it worth it? At some point it might.

Processor

The Intel i7-4700HQ (6M cache, boost up to 3.40 GHz with 1 core active) has some puch. It is a nominal 2.4 GHz, but it can boost under load up to 3.2 GHz (all cores active). Or at least this is in theory. The boost is limited by the cooling system under some conditions ... that in real life might never arise. I'll tell you more in a sec.

I test all my laptops with Prime95 and Furmark to see how stable they are and how good is the cooling. The N550 had mixed results.

Graphics

Intel HD Graphics 4600 and nothing much to say here. It works well with the nVidia card, I had no problems with it.

Nvidia GT 750M, the main star of the show or not. I know that people want huge amounts of graphic power, but keep in mind this is more of an entertainment/office unit with some gaming capabilities.

The DDR3 keeps this card's performance right between GT 650M and GTX 660M. Is not great, but not bad either. It is an entertainment unit and a better card would make the G series look bad (a little at least) - the N56 had 650M with DDR3 as well.

GPU clock is 967 MHz with boost up to +1100 MHz (higher than rated boost limit and this seems a bit strage).

Now lets get back to those tests.

Under Prime95 the system can keep CPU clocks around 3 - 3.1 GHz (so very close to 3.2 GHz rated boost with all cores active). Temperature goes just above 80°C at 30°C room temperature.

Under Furmark the system can keep the GPU shy of 967 MHz (stated value). No boost at all. Temperature stays around 80°C (same room temp).

Combined, Prime95 + Furmark, the system tries to keep temps around 80° and will throttle everything to do this. But not exactly like I've seen before. In past tests the CPU was the one going all the way down (mostly 1.2 GHz). On this particular system the CPU never went under 2.6 GHz, but the GPU worked at around 400 MHz. Not good. But...

I've tried some real life testing under gaming conditions with Metro Last Light as my main title for the job. I've also used HWiNFO64, nVidia Inspector, GPU-Z for monitoring. I have tried all the settings. With the very high and even high ones the fps are too low to play (can't say how low, but I could see that there is no way of having a smooth experience). Still all these high settings put a nice big load on the system. And I've started to look at the numbers to see how low will they get. Strangely enough, they did not. The GPU boost was strong, going constant +1100 Mhz and the CPU was around 3 GHz with all temperatures around 80°C, but with no throttling. Going back to Furmak and Prime made the system downclock. The cooling was extremly fast after load was "lifted" and that is a good thing.

Also keep in mind that Asus has a bad habit of quality variation (and not only Asus to be fair), so some machines might perform better, while some worse.

Temperature and noise

In G55 I could see CPU temperatures of 90° and even above. With N550 this was not possible. ~80 seems to be the limit as the system start throttling to keep it.

The upper middle part of the case gets extremly hot during high loads and this makes it hard to use as a "lap"-top.

The good thing is that the palmrest and the entire lower part are barely warm. This makes the HDD rather cool (never above 40°C even when the top was "burning") and the battery should be the same (since it is right next to it, under the palmrest).

But how does this system works under normal load, since more likely this is how it will be used most of the time? Well, extremly well The normal working temps are 40-50°C for the CPU (mostly around 40). This means a barely warm case, even if you put it on the bed with the air flow not at it's best.

Noise is not a problem under normal usage (there is none). Under heavy loads there is some noise, but not much more compared with similar laptops. Definetly it's a good laptop for working in quiet places as far as the fan noise goes (keyboard makes a little bit of noise I'm afraid).

Battery life

Even if I have the 4 cell one, still it was a nice surprise. With all settings to minimum and WiFi on, I got 5h just browsing the web.

Under normal usage (still Power saver active) with HDD activity (DL), about half screen brightness, WiFi and so on, battery life was still good (4h). The 6 cell one should perform even better.

Final take?

To be honest I have no real cons. It looks great, it feels great, it performs great (it has it's shorts, but not that many).

Competition?

Lenovo Y510p comes to mind. Less expensive, has more power, more features. Then why I am not wrinting about one? Not sure. For me Asus will do and most likely at some point I can really pass this to my wife since it looks so sleek. But this Lenovo will be the reason why the N550 will not sell extremly well.

LE: I was looking at how hot the Lenovo Y510p gets. Almost +55°C on ASD keys is insane. While Asus has under 35°C with same full load. Lenovo has greater GPU power, but still... The entire middle-upper left part on Lenovo even in idle state is ~35°C.

*Maybe later I'll update this with some images. I had a lot of work to do and no time for a proper screen capture and photo making.

Update 1.0

Top (some of these images are FHD 1080p if you want to use them for anything). Under direct sun light the top looks more like a dark grey and not black. It also has some sort of metal pattern to it, not always visible.



The logo will light up once the laptop starts.



Bottom fingers and one vent (it has two). These fingerprints are hard to clean, but a moist cloth shoud do the trick.



Bottom screw type and rear vent. There are quite a few screws to remove since the bottom is this one big piece of aluminium. Before doing so, please ask Asus if this voids warranty in your country.

LE: You need a torx T5 to open it. Do not use anything else that might damage the screw.



Front status LEDs (I'm glad they are not very bright, on G75 these would melt your eyes) and down firing speakers under.



The middle top part with the logo. This is where the laptop gets real hot under full load, top and bottom.



Keyboard detail without the light.



And with the light on. I had to make the room dark as it's easier to capture and I did not had anytime to fiddle with the camera.



Windows specs.



750M GPU specs.



Update 2.0

I've asked Asus warranty service if I can open the laptop and change the HDD myself. I can. But if I would ever need the warranty, I have to put the old HDD back and send it like that.

 

Thanks a lot! Where did you buy from? Curious which headphones you're talking about.

SSD is definitely worth it when you get a chance to upgrade. Youtube has some N56 ssd upgrade videos and you only need a screwdriver. Hopefully this one won't be any different.

New laptop after a year; you're a baller!

 

Good review. Thanks. I am also wondering where you can get the laptop with this configuration.

 

Mine seems to be an official import from Turkey, Europe with 2y Asus warranty in Europe. The quality is pretty much flawless, not a single gap, not a single problem. It's sad to appreciate something like this (all laptops should be the same), but it's rare.

I was on battery again, WiFi on, screen 50% ( can see just fine even with a lot of light around), keyboard light off (like I've said, you rarely need it), Balanced power, got close to 4h20' just browsing the net. CPU temp was around 34-38°C.

To remove the bottom now you need to take out 10 little screws at least. I'll try to make some photos. But this will expose a lot of things and maybe the fans are the most important. On G55 for example there was no way of cleaning them without putting the damn thing to pieces.

 

You should look at it like this.

The laptop will lose value no matter what. So if you keep it for a few years (I have some going on 5 right now) you will sell it real cheap (if it still works or anyone wants it). During this 5 year period you will be using old tech (my laptops work well, but they offer outdated performance). After 1 year you will lose some money, but not that much and you will get a new laptop with new tech in it. So every year or so you have a trade off that is not that bad. Chances are someone will still want your old laptop very fast (I sold mine in a heartbeat) since it not too old for some people that might not have much money and want to chance 2-3 year old tech with something better.

In the long run everyone wins. Like I've said, I still have some old ones in use, I do not have tons of money for everything.

And you get a new different laptop everytime and that is good as well. I did lost some performance (very very little and only under extrem usage) over last one, mainly due to different design, but they are different laptops (gaming vs. entertainment). This is lighter, thinner, change is good.

 

Hi guys !
Thank for this great review and for the lounge, good to see it in real hand
A bit more pics would be nice, i hope you plan to had some more soon !
Anyway, if fou plan to add an SSD, couple pics would be nice too (even if, as you said, it will be kind of the same with N56).

 

Yes, I'll need some wide-angle lens, I had none with me.

I'll consider the SSD. The price is my main problem.

Right now the CPU is at 80°C and the HDD at 35°C and things are going like this for some time. This is just to give you an idea about the difference in temps and how the palmrest feels (the HDD is under it, along with the battery).

This is my battery ASUS N550J Battery | Replacement ASUS N550J Battery Online Store, 4cell Li-Polymer.

 

Thanks for the review! I'm currently debating between this (build quality+touchscreen) and the Lenovo Y410p (price + power with SLI), but now I'm leaning a little more towards the N550 if I can find it for the right price and specs. Any thoughts?

A lot of sites are listing the N550jv with a 1TB hardrive and 24gb SSD cache but I've heard from at least one buyer that this was false. Has anyone found and bought a modal with the 24gb SSD?

 

Same here, but from what I could find there is no model with mSATA SSD cache drive. I have no idea why they advertise it with one.

N550 is in a different class. It's more like Apple's laptops (it's such a shame it does not have a SSD right out of the box, I'm sure a decent one could have been provided with little cost). Like I've said before it's a great entertainment machine, sleek, beautiful IPS display (even if the colors are too warm by default on the non-touch one), it's one of those things you want to take with you and use all day. Hardly any noise and extremly cool during normal load, great battery life (I never hoped for 5h of browsing to be honest).

Lenovo has much more punch to it. If games are your main thing, it's no brainer, Lenovo will win (no need for SLI to do that, the DDR5 version is much faster). Well, as long as it works anyway. As a side note, 410p has a glossy display from what I know and not a great one. If this matters to you, take a look at 510p with the FHD panel. It's worth the extra.

In the end it's all about your needs. I'm not a hardcore gamer so Asus was perfect for me. Except the screen colors (I need to get them sorted out soon) and maybe that back panel I would need to remove at some point, there is not much I would want from this kind of laptop. I have my eyes on a big SSD, but I'm still not sure about buying one, price wise. It should give faster response and better battery, but feels kinda expensive.

 

I've asked Asus warranty service if I can open the laptop and change the HDD myself. I can. But if I would ever need the warranty, I have to put the old HDD back and send it like that.

*I will put those in the OP, since I consider it to be good info.

 

"While the image itself is extremly nice, the color space is far from sRGB and that is a disappointment. I'm sure almost all people take some photos now and could use the higher color gamut. Color precision seems off to me. This is not exactly a problem for a normal user, but for me it is."

What is this based on? Was there an attempt to calibrate the screen, and if so, how much of sRGB did it cover? I have this on order from XoticPC with the upgraded 95% NTSC screen. The order page implies that the non-upgraded screen is also TN through the lack of any mention of IPS. Since seeing reviews stating this model has IPS, I've called and asked them to hold the build as I'm not sure I want to spend $165 to replace an IPS screen with a TN screen. Photo editing with Lightroom will be my main use. I have a Spyder4Pro. I've used the 95% NTSC screen, and while it's the nicest TN screen I've ever used, there is still some color/contrast shift in vertical viewing angle.

 

Is this display 1366x768 or 1920x1080? Matte or shiny?

There seems to be some confusion about this.

 

I know Zenbook UX51VZ (it's the same panel, it even has similar bleeding) and was not that good. Take a look here.

Color shift is not a big problem with IPS and things are good with this one as well.

 

So it's 1920x1080 matte. Keep in mind Asus or reseller can offer different panels.

 

XoticPC is supposed to check with Asus and get back to me. I'll post what I find out.

 

According to Amazon, the ux51vz is a 72% NTSC panel, which would be good enough for what I'm doing. The wider viewing angle would be more important to me than going up to 95% NTSC. Was that graph before or after calibration?

 

Why is this notebook not on Asus's US website?

 

Hi !
If I want to upgrade my N550 with an SSD, does anybody know if this Icy box ( Icy Box Baie de remplacement SATA HDD + boitier ODD - Accessoire pour ordinateur portable) will perfectly fit in ?
Can i keep the original grey front ? or is it stuck with the ODD and will get out with it ?
Thx

 

Delivery will happen today as well as a SSD drive to replace the HDD drive. Been awhile and never on an Asus, but to get the SSD installed what do I need to do? Can I simply put it in and then install Windows 8 from a USB key? Or do I need to do things to the SSD to make it bootable?

 

Could be a different panel not sold here. I would need a model to check. My laptop has the same panel as UX51VZ we had (and you can see how well it covers sRGB in the link above). 72% NTSC equals more or less full sRGB.

Calibration does not change gamut.

 

Gentech has the N550 in stock. Ken confirmed the US SKU is not IPS, so ordered with 95% screen.

EDIT: He just posted in another thread that device manager is showing an IPS panel, but he's looking at a touchscreen version. So I don't know if that means just the touchscreen is IPS, or non-touchscreen is also IPS.

 

I have non-touch, it's 100% IPS. Ask him what panel it has, exact type and model.

 

Looks like he cleared it up in the other thread, both are IPS.

So going back and looking at the graph you posted, and assuming the N550 and the UX51VZ have the same panel with no significant revisions between them, it looks like this panel is not good for photo editing? It doesn't say what % sRGB it covers, but it appears to be a lot of area not covered, and then some going outside of sRGB, whatever that means. Having a wide viewing angle is great, but if it just lets me see the same inaccurate colors from more positions, then it's not much of a selling point for photo editing use.

 

Nope, not close to this.

Graph is here.

 

First experiences with this machine.

Seems to be put together nicely. Only real issue is the screws to hold the bottom plate on. Super easy to strip. So much so that I had to order an extractor set to hopefully remove stripped screws this weekend to put in the SSD we purchased. When that is done I expect the machine will scream performance wise. a 5400RPM HDD (1 TB option) really hurts performance. Maybe it is because I am so used to my laptop running off of an SSD.

 

Hey, information about this machine isn't exactly in abundance (especially for the US version), so... if you want to give some more info after you've played around with it for a bit, feel free! XD (It doesn't have to be long, anything is appreciated)

EDIT: Also, if you even play games, how's your performance? And, (I must ask) in the extreme off chance that you play Total War Shogun 2, how does it run?

 

Keith, did yours come with the 4702 CPU?

Also c_man, you seemed to have removed the screws without trouble? What tool did you use?

 

I have a set for different screw heads. Much like this one. I think it's the T15, but don't quote me on that, I'm not that good at knowing this stuff without the set in front of me and I don't have it right now. I think T = torx type, look for that.

 

Thanks c! My toolkit must be from the 90's but I do see a Torx screwdriver, mostly like this one.

Am considering upgrading the wifi card myself as well.

 

This is why I prefer having a reseller do the upgrading for me.
No stripped screws and full warranty for all the parts in case something does go wrong.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kw4wDWCDrJs - Preview from company that i bought mine from ships to the us

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tY-O0_Dom8 - Detailed review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTADQrr-71Y - game performance from the same person who made the review

 

Picked up mine today, found a great price for it at a nearby Microcenter. Was kind of comforting to walk into brick and mortar.

For those of you looking to take off the bottom, the screws are fine, but you MUST use the correct screwdriver. The correct screwdriver is Torx T5.

Confirmed that it uses standard DDR3, not DDR3L RAM. Swapped in an 8GB DDR3 module from my last computer.

Working on the SSD upgrade as we speak, trying to clone the darn hard drive. What an enormous headache Windows 8 is: cloning a HDD over USB seems like a rather touch and go process.

Somehow, I found the NP550JV-DB72T model for just $999, went for a 2 year warranty for just $109. Don't get the LF model with the 745m and the dual core proc for the same price at best buy - what a ripoff that would be.

 

Is it possible to replace the optical drive with the HDD and put in a 2.5' SSD in also with this laptop?

 

Hey, I've been eyeballing this laptop and I think this might be the direction I end up going. 2 quick questions for you ( or anyone kind enough to help ):

1) Microcenter's site and Amazon and a few other retailers I've seen quote this screen at 1366x768 yet I see it stated elsewhere that they are touting 1080p IPS displays, can you confirm what display comes with the ones at Microcenter?

2) I will also be swapping over to a 256gb SSD, will this take a standard SATA SSD? Like this? Or will it need to be mSATA? Also, on this topic, can you merely swap out the hard drives first thing and just clean install a copy of Win8 via USB? Or do you have the clone the drive as it comes before doing that?

Thanks guys!

 

2. No mSATA on this one. As for other questions I have no idea, I used Windows 7 clean.

 

The resolution on my NP550JV-DB72T is absolutely, 100% FullHD. That's 1920x1280 for certain.

I'm too much of a dope to actually be able to tell you of it's an IPS display. But it's certainly FHD touch screen.

I cloned my hard drive using EaseUS. Worked like a charm. Then I used PC Decrapifier to select and uninstall all the ASUS software. Worked like a charm. I'd recommend this method over trying the headaches of clean install - unless you've bought a separate copy. Clean installs with an OEM key are a nightmare

It needs a standard SATA3 SSD. I use a Samsung 840 Pro. Works like an absolute dream. You NEED a Torx T5 screwdriver to open the case though. Do not try any other tool as the screws seem very soft, and likely can strip easily.

This laptop seems to check all the boxes: 1920x1280, decent graphics card, quad-core, accept my old SSD without hassle, nice big hard drive for my enclosure. Only other one that came close was the Lenovo Y510p. I decided to forego the extra graphics oomph in exchange for a laptop that looks grown up, and the gimmick of touch. Besides, 750m is honestly more than I need. FPSs bore me as I'm an RPG player, and picky in my old age so don't game all that much. Especially since my most awaited games now are Wasteland 2, Shadowrun Returns, and Project Eternity, I suspect the 750m will suit me well for years to come.

I think it's most definitely worth a 2 hour drive, but if you are unwilling to compromise on graphics power, it doesn't match up to the 510p. I'd say if you have a separate work laptop the 510p might be a better choice, but if you want one to do it all, go with this one. Last caution: There is no VGA port, so make sure to get an adapter if you need one for work.

 

Thank you so much for responding to that post and giving all this info. I really don't need this to be a graphics powerhouse, I just need it to be handle some light/medium gaming and my work requirements are really I just need a mobile computer, so I think this might be the one I go with. To be honest I'll probably be in the same boat as you with the 750m being overkill 99% of the time.

I do have a spare Win7pro key laying around not being used on anything, but I'm confused as to why reinstalling Windows 8 with an OEM key is a problem; I guess I'll research that.

Edit: is THIS the laptop you bought from Microcenter?

 

I was wondering what everyone though of this computer compared to the Ativ Book 8 that is available from Bestbuy? I'm having a hard time figuring out which is better overall, since they are fairly similar machines.

The differences that I can see between them are the processor (Haswell vs. Ivy Bridge), the battery (much larger on the Ativ Book), the graphics card, and the types of video out options and cd drive. Also, the thickness is a consideration.

Can anyone who has it comment in its general performance and battery life, as well as how it feels and how the silver keyboard is? The silver keyboard having bad reflections was a common complaint about the Book 8.

 

Thanks for the info csargemg. How did you connect the SSD for the cloning? A USB 3 cable? I am thinking of going the same way with an N550.

 

Just to keep things going, the laptop works very well, no problems so far. I am really happy with it.

 

Had no problem cloning the HDD to a Samsung 840 with the Samsung Data Migration utility. Just regular USB cable and a USB case I have had for ages.

Problem I had was the damn screws. Didnt realize that they were torx screw heads (After picking up reading glasses yesterday I realized, but that was to late). Stripped nearly all of them. So contacted ASUS this AM to get replacement screws and they want us to send in the laptop. They dont sell the screws direct. Anyone know what size they are and where I can get replacements?

 

How does this compare to the N56VZ/N56VJ that it seems to be replacing? To my eye it adds more value for a lower price than the N56VZ (better battery life, IPS screen, mini display port).

Can any owners clarify the system noise under general productivity tasks? The tlbhd.com review had a picture of a sound meter at 40dB, which is higher than the N56VZ gets at full load according to the notebookcheck review. If noise is an issue, I may just pick up the N56VZ or N56VJ...

 

What kind of battery life do you get with that? Wouldn't a 6-cell have longer life?

 

It's in the OP.

At this point I'm not sure there is a 6 cell. Models here spec 6 cell, but are delivered with 4 cell one. And I cannot find a 6 cell replacement.

 

I'm really enjoying the n550jv touchscreen i received from adorama tonight. The one thing i'm finding a bit annoying is whenever you grab or touch anywhere near the dvd drive it opens. I have unintentionally opened over 6 times in the last 2 hrs. Has anybody else experience that. My last laptop which is 4 yrs old there was a button that you pushed in the middle so you didn't accidently open it. Hopefully, i will get used to not handing it or grabbing it on that side. Thanks.

 

Yes, you need to grab it around the middle part. You get used to that. Happend to me the entire first day.

 

Could you please share the exact model number that you bought? I can find 2 models online and a lot of confusion over the display being 1080 or 768.

Thanks

 

Hi. I bought this model #MFR: N550JV-DB72T at adorama.com. It was the touchscreen one. They also have the n550JV-db71t which is the one without touchscreen. The specs at pretty much all the websites like microcenter, frys, adorama, amazon are wrong. They are the ones saying the resolution is 1366/768 and some list the processor as 4702hq. I can add adorama to this list of those that bought from microcenter that it does indeed come with FHD it says on the box. I checked in the device manager and it is listed as generic monitor but under the hardware id it is listed as MONITOR\LGD0323
which others on this thread have said that hardware id is an IPS screen I'm going by what others said that bought the computer I haven't found anything on my computer settings that says IPS so I I even called asus to make sure that they weren't shipping different varieties of the same computer and they gave me the same messed up specs 1366/768 and 4702hq processor. Here's the link http://www.adorama.com/searchsite/default.aspx?searchinfo=asus+n550jv to where I got it listing the two computer the one I got was the $1066. I had them price match took less that 5 mins to microcenter $999 because I have to pay tax at microcenter and got the warranty they offered which included ADP for 125 for 3 years. One of the few sites that listing the specs correctly are the ones that allow customization such as gentechpc.com.

For those that have this I've been looking around on the drive looking for file to create restore discs but I haven't found it yet. My last computer I think there was a program and they had backup on a small portion of a new partition. This drive has 2 partitions but one is for storage and as far as a can tell its empty and the other is everything else so they didn't create an additional partition to recover computer in the event you wiped out the main drive. If I were to do a clean install of windows pro 8 I would lose the ability to factory restore the computer without contacting ASUS. Thanks for any information. I'm sure i'm just overlooking it.

 

Thanks for the info. I think i will get the N550JV-DB72T and hope i get 1080p

 

Hi. Do you know where they hid the utility software to make the recovery discs. I looked over the e manual and the tutor but I couldn't find anything on it. Thanks for any information.