Asus N550JV - user review and owners lounge

Mine did have a periodic noise. But since the format I've got no more noise and I can confirm that in the balanced profile the cpu goes down to the 800 Mhz. I didn't install the asus power 4 gear crap, only the atk driver.
Now the hardware interrupts are at 0.04% cpu usage with the optical drive in.

 

I am going buy notebook and this one seems to be best option. I would like to ask if anyone here tried Dota 2 1920x1080 at max settings ? And one friend said that this notebook have problem with cpu&gpu throttling but as i read this thread, i suppose that it can be easily solved ? Thanks for response

 

how can i enter to my bios, and how can i update it?? i read that if i update it it will help with the temp of my laptop??

 

@dej12:
Yep, follow this and/or this posts made a few pages before.
That works, you need Intel Extreme Tuning Utility(XTU in short) and ThrottleStop Beta 6.00.

@javier_83:

Go there, download BIOS 205 and under BIOS-Utilities "Windows BIOS Flash Utility" and then you can flash from Windows.
Another way would be to download BIOS 205, save it on C or another partition, restart the notebook, press F2 multiple times right after it turns on again until you are in BIOS and from there start EasyFlash, choose the partition you saved the BIOS file on and then choose it and flash it.
Though, the Windows version is easier, launch program, choose BIOS file, flash.

 

Thanks for the tip. I was not aware Win 8 had any profit over Win 7. From what I've heard Win 8 is nothing more than a marketing gimmick to make laptop and desktop computers feel like tablets, and an epic, predictable fail at that. But maybe I should give it a chance

 

That is why I said real world experience instead of statistics made up by manufacturer or a survey that can be gamed by various factors. I had three different bases worth of equipment over about 8 years time, on three continents.

Again, I love this laptop and there is no reason to take it personal if I discuss my failure rates with vast amounts of hardware.

 

I click on flash but is doing nothing?? should i do another thing??

thanks a lot for the info!!

 

It should ask you if you want to restart because it then boots into BIOS and uses EasyFlash itself.
Has it asked you? Which version of the BIOS have you already installed? Not that you already have 205 installed and you want to flash that version.

Edit: Ah no, you need to push Exit, then it reboots and flashes the BIOS itself via EasyFlash.

 

it didnt but i use your second option now i am with the v205

Thanks Morv!!

 

Now I'm still using the 203 BIOS, however has anyone else ever had their fans completely stop? I've had this happen twice now where they halted (likely after waking pc from sleep many times) and never came back on unless restarting the PC.

 

I bought it directly from Amazon. I got my replacement, but it too is loose underneath the cd drive. If you tap the bottom part of your computer underneath your cd drive, can you feel any space? Or is it completely flush?

 

nodoby had this problem??



i update today the driver of the graphic card and the BIOS, i dont know if i am missing something...

 

Anyone else's cd-drive look like this? On two units that I've had so far, the cd drive seems to stick out from the device. It seems like the incorrect placement of this device is creating some sort of space in the bottom of the unit and makes the bottom casing not feel flush on the portion directly under the cd drive. It's definitely not centered and is always spilling out onto the right side. I don't know if I keep getting defective ones from the same batch and would love to hear some input from N550 owners.

 

Mine is similar, though it doesn't look quite a bad. It only really sticks out at the top, so it's clearly mounted slightly crooked. I wouldn't worry about it, you could probably fix yourself anyway.

Also, a couple of general questions

1. Automatic keyboard back-lighting? I don't have that, anyone know the best way to get it for this model?
2. How do you get into the damn bios. Seriously, I booted this thing up so many times and used every key imaginable, and by some miracle through button mashing I got in, but I haven't managed it since. Apparently Windows 8 blocks it or something (didn't know that was possible). What's the easiest way to get in?

 

Damn, so they're all like that! I guess I"m just anal about my devices, but I'm kinda disappointed at Asus' qc. Is it that hard to make the cd-drive flush with the machine. So, if you tap the bottom of you machine directly under the cd-drive, can you feel the space and hear the tap?

 

Well when I opened mine up, it was the same thing. Note that it's only being held be a single screw... which I loosened, then pushed the drive in hard while tightening it down. Cd-drive was then 1mm into the body on both sides. (good).

 

Does anyone know how to disable the damn adaptive contrast? I just noticed it actually (go to a dark page with all mostly black and grey and then to a page with tons of white and you'll see the whites brighten as the contrast is boosted). Maybe this is a good feature, but it's kind of annoying me and I'd like to know if I can get rid of it.

 

My X230T does this and it had to do with the refresh rate defaulting to 50hz rather than 60hz to save battery life. There is a setting in the Intel HD graphics software that I had to change to 60hz and it stopped. Not sure if it will apply to the Asus model though.

If you want to look for the option you would open Intel HD graphics software and choose "Advanced" mode > Display > General Settings > Look for "Refresh Rate" setting on the right. Change it to 60hz.

 

Mine was crooked and stuck out maybe a mm or two on the back end. I just let it go as it didn't really bother me.

 

@javier_83:

Did you make a clean install? There's a checkbox for that in user defined installation, don't go with Express Installation. Either that or uninstall it completely at first, you wouldn't want to mix up a driver made for manufacturer(try to find this driver version on nvidia.com.... ;-) ) and a normal Nvidia driver although the installation should handle this itself.
Also update your Intel Graphics Driver though you have to first uninstall it because it tells you that you have a manufacturer specific version installed.

I was fine with that, have the current beta of the Nvidia driver installed as well as the current Intel Graphics Driver.

@lagrandeillusion:
Mine is fine, it's flush with the case but i don't have any other problems regarding the case anyway, guess i should be thankful for that.
Bad to see such things because it's annoying as hell and people usually want to enjoy their new notebook.

@Koolg23: Start the notebook and start hammering repetitively on F2 until you are in BIOS. Actually it's pretty easy, if you didn't know the button to press you might have given the electronic user manual a look
For what BubbaRob said, we can't set a Hz value other than 60 but it might be in the Energy tab under Battery Mode.
Disable the Display energy saving technology which wants to dim the display to save energy.
Other than that i can't see any other (Asus) tool which might interfere with the adaptive brightness settings.

 

Like i give a f*** about the dvd-drive sticking out by 1mm. You nit-picky guys make me sick.

 

If you pay a big bunch of money(1000-1200$/€ for a notebook you could expect that a optical drive sits correctly in the case, usually that's why you pay them such a load of money for, because you don't want to see such slips.
But that's only my humble opinion.

 

Interesting. My N550JV did not come with Windows, so i"m working on a clean install too - with ATK package, no power4gear. The ODD is a DVD Writer made by Hitachi.

I'll do more testing next week when i open it up again to upgrade the memory. Until then the ODD is out, i managed to attach the plastic cover perfectly without it inside.

 

Mine is a Matsh*ta (LOL censorship) Blueray reader. One thing that I will never use. Now about the ram it is DDR3L right?

@Kallogan

Chill out dude. Some people like their machines and have pride in them. If the odd is sticking out something is wrong, mine is perfectly flush.

 

i just restart to factory, and i have the same issue....

thanks man!!

let me see what can i do..

 

Yes, it's DDR3L. I intend to buy this stick from Crucial, as it is easier to find where i live.

 

Honestly, I am being nit-picky, but I didn't want a poorly installed cd-drive to be an indication of any type of shoddy craftsmanship leading to future hardware malfunctions or errors. Don't know why that makes you sick, though! Haha. :hi2:

 

Please help

i delete and install everything again, and i have the same problem.....

what do you thik i should do....

 

Are pixels of this type appearing when you play a game or watch a video with the Nvidia card? If so you might have a defective graphics card.
Someone in another forum had the problem that his Nvidia gpu was not recognized anymore and he had to change the notebook.

 

Hi Morv, yes it happen with the games too, i called the nvidia support and they told me the same....

i just called amazon to make the return =(

[09:12:59 AM] Srivathsa: please return this laptop to the store and get replacement laptop
[09:13:11 AM] Srivathsa: I mean another asus n550jv
[09:13:13 AM] Javier Aguirre: really??
[09:13:15 AM] Javier Aguirre: mmm
[09:13:25 AM] Javier Aguirre: but it was working fine??
[09:13:39 AM] Srivathsa: yes, the squares on the screen shot you sent, this indicate graphic chipset defect
[09:14:34 AM] Srivathsa: you have received it yesterday and it worked fine when opened from the box,, and today suddenly these squares started to appear..

 

Windows 7 works fine on this NTB ? My school offer me license on windows i can choose (7 or 8), I'm still using Windows 7 and i dont want go for Win8. But if there are any issues i will propably install Win8

 

@javier_83: Sorry for you man. But you get it changed so no problem except the waiting

@dej12: Yes, should work but you have to search the drivers on your own at the manufacturer sites(Intel, Nvidia, Realtek etc.) becauses Asus only offers Windows 8 drivers on their site but this shouldn't be a big problem.
Though as stated some pages before i would go with Windows 8 and install StartIsBack. With that you have your used Startmenu(not a third party looking one) in Windows 8 look and you can disable all hot corners and that stuff. But you still profit from the new things like the taskmanager, the explorer, several other things i don't know of and the overall better performance.
Search for it and decide by yourself, a few pages before i posted a screenshot, uuum there.

 

Ok, try as I may, F2 will not work for accessing the bios. I believe this is why: How To Access The BIOS On A Windows 8 Computer

To fix the stupid auto brightness, I changed the power plan settings on battery for the Intel display drivers (found by right clicking the Intel tray icon and selecting properties). Hope that helps people in the future.

That leaves one unanswered question, which was about the auto keyboard brightness. What are you guys using to get that?

 

Ehm nope, F2 is the key.
It is written in the manual of the Asus N550JV so this is what should work, check it yourself if you don't believe it.
I was several times in the BIOS now and always got there by only pressing F2.

As for the auto brightness, didn't i write exactly this?
But nevermind, at least you got it fixed.

For the keyboard brightness: What makes you think it goes on and off automatically? As far as i know it is to be set manually only.
Or should there be any third party program for this?

 

Yeah, I missed your fist post on the brightness, but that's exactly what I did (it helps if you quote). As for the Bios, I have tried F2 many, many, many times and it never works. The only way I can get in is using the OS as that webpage suggests or by using the tab key to bring up boot options and then working my way through there. Are you on Windows 8? And what version of the bios are you on?

 

Hmm this is awkward.
I am using the preinstalled Windows 8 and was on BIOS 204 after purchase.
As i wanted to update the BIOS i just looked in the manual, saw the key and got into the BIOS without problems and could update to 205.
But you're not only pushing one time are you? Just hit the key repetitive right after pressing the Power button until you are in the BIOS.
If that really doesn't work i don't see any reason why.

And yes, i quote, but quoting the post direct before yours is unnecessary
If it is on the same page i mostly use @YourName.

 

I have mashed and mashed and held and everything. I'm on 204 as well, and the post screen only appears for a second and it doesn't say anything about pressing a key.

 

If you have fast boot enabled (which most people do) ... you probably won't be getting into the BIOS even if you mash the button on cold start up. Restart the PC and begin mashing F2 as soon as the screen turns black and you should be able to get in.

 

I may have a problem.

I opened up Nvidia Inspector (something which I have done many times before) and immediately my computer shut down. After rebooting, GPUZ no longer returns any data from the 750m, and Nvidia Control Panel errors with the message "you are not using a display attached to an nvidia graphics card." I didn't change any settings, just opened the executable. Did the card just somehow get blown? I'm not sure how to proceed from here, other than restart again and see what happens...

EDIT:

Device manager reports: "Windows has stopped this device because it has reported problems. (Code 43)"

Microsofts website explains code 43 as "One of the drivers controlling the device notified the operating system that the device failed in some manner."

f***

For the record, I never made any voltage changes or core clock changes to the gpu, though, the vram was set to 1125. This was all done days previously though, and was completely stable as evidenced by nearly a round 3DMark and 30 hours in tomb raider.

What now...

EDIT2:

After giving it some more thoughts, that may not have been the actual sequence of events. I was playing Bad Company 2, and at the end of the match the game crashed, hard, and stuck the resolution of my desktop at 768p (the res I was running the game at) for about 30 seconds until I could exit the game manually. Inspector was run after this, so it's possible the card had already crashed and opening Inspector was what brought down the computer.

 

DUDE!!! I am having the exact same problem. I have done several uninstalls and re-installs of both drivers trying to find a winning combo. I am still on the 204 drivers- not sure if that has anything to do or not with it- but I am scared pretty less at this point that something really wrong is up. I do not think it is anything major but the more attempts and uninstalls and re-installs I do it does not look good. Even did a system restore (have to reinstall all my progs) and that did not seem to fix it.

Anyone else have suggestions?? I have done uninstall/reinstall of old and new drivers for each (4600 and 750M) with no success...

EDIT!!: Update your bios to the 205- so far that seems to be working well using the newest Intel driver and the 320 nVidia driver... good luck and will keep ya posted

 

So, updating the (N550) bios to v205 fixed the graphics card issue? That's so weird. It was working fine before.....

Previously on 204

EDIT:

Sure enough, updating the BIOS to v205 fixed the problem. Showing up again in GPUZ and device manager. I've got to say though, that bug is just mindblowing. I don't understand how that works. The BIOS disabled it as a protection mechanism? IDK... anyway... it's working now...

 

yeah i was pissed to see it was something that simple :/

now i have to re-install all the programs and stuff not happy about that haha

I think we have to keep an eye to the drivers page and update as stuff becomes available- they update it for a reason I suppose haha

 

Sure, if you flash the BIOS all (internal) settings are reset.
I still think it's some bug with Optimus and a wrong state for the Nvidia card.
I had something like this with a 540M under Linux with BumbleBee and with some forgotten setting the Nvidia card was not available in Windows anymore until i plugged out the battery and the AC adapter.
In another forum someone had the same and he just forced his device to shutdown by holding the power button, after that the Nvidia card was not available, so it's different from playing a game which crashes.

But nice to see the solution.
If it happens again, who knows, just reflash the BIOS the with WinFlash and /nodate parameter, that lets you flash older BIOS or the same again.

 

Hello,
I have been using this notebook for about a month now with no problems until recently. The last several days I have noticed a rattling inside the case, almost like there is a screw rolling around inside.
Then, this morning I attempted to open and start the laptop as usual. As I opened the notebook, there was a cracking sound as the bottom of the case pressed up against the screen. I tried to turn the computer on, and the screen would not light up at all. the backlit keyboard turned on for a moment and then went dark again. The laptop appeared to be running, as the light on the power button was on and the fans running, but the screen would not turn on at all.
Upon further investigation, I noticed that the left side of the hinge was not flush with the case, as it was on the right side. It appears that there is something wrong with the hinge on the left side of the computer, and it is causing the laptop screen to not turn on. Has anyone had a similar problem or know hot to fix it?

 

I would let Asus deal with that if possible.

Btw, reading about the optimus thing made me wonder, is there anyway to totally power down this machine (like remove the battery)? The Macbook Pros let you do that by holding a few keys down.

 

well my new laptop will arrive this Wednesday!!

let's see how good is my luck this time jejeje

 

Could you please post a picture and show which why to pull and where the hooks are located? I'd like to replace dvd drive a bluray drive.

 

The plastic hooks are inside, you won't be able to see them. I did try to gently pull from all sides (like you i did not know where the hooks where) but the faceplate finally began to separate once I pulled from the corner of the unit indicated in the pic bellow by the green circle. I'm afraid that's all the help i can give, for any further details I'd have to duplicate the process, which i don't intend doing anytime soon

 

This laptop seems to be being sold in Australia as the R552JV in a couple of flavours (touch and non-touch, different hard disks, different optical drives depending on model).

I have picked up the 1080p non-touch version - what a beautiful machine! Especially happy with the solid game performance and outstanding screen. I can't believe anyone would buy the touch version with the ridiculous reflective screen when the non-touch looks so sweet.

Apart from the horror that is Windows 8 (much improved with 8.1 preview), I have one issue - extremely poor wifi performance. It is dropping out regularly, and when it does connect to my router the speed is very low and throughput is inconsistent.

This compares with numerous other devices which connect to the same router in the same room without any problems, including a Sony laptop, an Acer netbook, a Samsung tablet, two Sony phones, and a linux box with a tplink wifi dongle. These all run rock solid with good data speeds.

I am yet to see a connection speed above 54mbps even though Windows reports that it is connecting using wireless n.

I have updated to the latest bios, updated the wifi drivers from Asus (which are quite recent) - no joy.

Has anyone had similar issues, and can anyone suggest what I can do about this?

 

Did you ever get to the bottom of this? This sounds very similar to my situation.