The Pros: Broadwell i5 CPU, 8GB of RAM, DVD tray, WiFi ac standard (up to 3x faster), "friendly" price
The Cons: Integrated Graphics not ideal for gamers
Asus seems determined to make every laptop count. The company has taken over the market and it's no wonder how it became one of the premier laptop manufacturers. With its philosophy of great specs at a great price the company has introduced its latest Windows 10 model; the Asus F555LA-EH51.
The new model leading Asus's mid range lineup brags about its 8GB of RAM, Broadwell generation i5 processor as well as its very decent Intel HD 5500 graphics chip. Today we're determined to get to know this particular model in depth and therefore we've prepared our review of the ASUS F555LA-EH51.
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ASUS F555LA-EH51 Reviewing an affordable mid-range laptop
A display within the norm and a design that falls in line
Truth is, the Asus F555LA-EH51 doesn't really make a mark for itself in the design department. The company didn't really make much of an effort on this aspect and gave it a standard design with a dark blue back and a "metallic" color where the keyboard lies.
However, we will say one thing about the design and that's the fact that it's pretty light with roughly 5 pounds under its belt and 1 inch of thickness. The display is your standard 15.6 inch IPS LED-backlit display with a 1366 by 768 pixel count.
It's worth noting that this is not a touchscreen and in fact if you're looking for a touchscreen laptop you should probably keep looking since you can buy a similarly specced model with a similar price that does bode this feature.
The keyboard is of the chiclet variety, the most common type nowadays which provides a comfortable writing experience. There's also a numeric pad on the side, something smaller models typically lack.
What's under the hood? How's its performance?
While the design of the F555LA-EH51 is mostly uninspired, inside the laptop is where we'll find the real value of this machine. Heading the list of key specs we've got an Intel Core i5-5200U processor that works at a base frequency of 2.2 GHz and can reach 2.7 GHz thanks to turboboost.
It's a dual core processor with a 64 bit architecture and 3 MB of cache. I'm gonna level with you guys, while this is a great processor which can handle pretty much any task you throw its way it's not the latest i5 in the market.
Currently we're seeing the "core family" go through it's sixth generation and this is a fifth generation version. Truthfully there's not much of a difference in terms of performance between one generation and the other but I thought you should still know.
RAM is pretty vast, 8 GB of DDR3L SDRAM to be precise. Currently 4 GB of RAM is ok for some simple Windows 10 multitasking but 8 GB is definitely the optimal amount for intensive multitaskers. If you're going to use your laptop to watch movies and edit docs then you won't notice much of a difference but if you're looking for a laptop to do some intensive multitasking then 8GB is right up your alley.
All in all, this is a very good set of specs when pricing is taken into account but if you don't mind expanding your budget a bit more you could buy a similar model with a sixth generation i5 instead of the fifth generation model placed over here. Again, it's a great processor for everything from editing videos to doing some CAD but i wouldn't be doing my due diligence if i didn't at the very least point that out.
What games can I play on this laptop?
Our review of the Asus F555LA-EH51 would be quick to point out to you guys that this isn't by any means a gaming laptop. In fact, it houses an Intel HD 5500 graphics chip which is a good graphics chip for stuff like the aforementioned video editing but not the best pic for gaming purposes.
Light games in the range of Fifa 16 and World of Warships shouldn't present much of a challenge when played at low settings but more complex games would end up lagging and frustrating you if you're a dedicated gamer.
1 TB of storage and a two cell battery
We can't say we're surprised by Asus's choice of storage. The company opted to go down the route of a 1 TB hard drive that works at a speed of 5400 rpm. It's the path most laptops take so again, we're not really surprised over here.
As for battery life, it's delivered by a two cell battery and though Asus hasn't detailed exact battery life performance, the lack of negative reviews towards this aspect would make us go ahead and venture that battery life is along the lines of the 4 to 5 hour benchmark.
Anything else?
We like the presence of ultrafast WiFi, a standard that is curiously still not mainstream but that delivers up to three times faster speeds when compared to traditional b/g/n antennas. If you're a fan of high internet speeds you're gonna want this feature and it's not a common feature to find in a mid range laptop.
There's also a DVD tray, 3 USB ports (2 of them of the USB 3.0 variety), an ethernet port, VGA port, HDMI out as well as an audio combo and a webcam for when you wanna catch up with your skype contacts.
Windows 10 is running the show over here on the 64 bit version. There's some bloatware as is common unless you buy a signature edition laptop so we would recommend uninstalling it to obtain optimal performance
In closing...
Overall we're pretty happy with the Asus F555LA-EH51 review. It shows that this is a very good laptop for all sorts of stuff, it houses a great processor, albeit an "old one", plenty of RAM and ultrafast WiFi ac connectivity to reduce downtime during downloads and uploads.
Battery life is standard as is storage and the general design of the model but those aren't bad things either, they're just not "Impressive features". This is a solid laptop for both basic computing users who want something that can go the extra mile if they ever need it as well as powerusers who spend 8+ hours with their laptops turned on either because they're working or because they're chatting it up with friends or streaming movies.
Either way, this is an excellent choice and once you remove the bloatware you've got a pretty powerful laptop in your hands. Not a gaming laptop but a powerful laptop nonetheless. Pricing and availability for this model can be looked up here.