One of the most enthusiastic PC manufactures these days is, without a doubt, Asus. This Taiwanese manufacturer has risen to the 4th spot of the top vendors of personal computers, and that’s not just by sheer luck. With both its business, gaming and entry-level products, there’s a lot to choose from.
This time around we have the review of the Asus F555LA-NS72, a machine that stands on a medium category between the most premium models and the most basic ones. Keep reading to find out if this is the spot you’re looking for.
Pros: powerful Intel Core i7-5500U processor, good 8 GB of RAM choice, affordable price.
Cons: keyboard isn’t backlit, screen is 768p instead of 1080p Full HD, hard drive has a slower 5400RPM speed.
Screen and design
The F555LA-NS72 sports the conventional Asus design: a silver body with a black keyboard, this time all plastic-made. It also comes with a single, centered hinge for the screen that we’ve learned tends to be more durable that dual-hinge models, and is a form-factor often reserved for pricier machines.
Size-wise, we’re dealing with a 15.6 inch screen, so don’t be mistaking this for a small laptop. The resolution is 1366x768, which is not the highest; but it’s still HD, so it will be just fine for watching movies and the sort.
Power and multitasking
The best feature the F555LA-NS72 has is, without a doubt, its processor. We’re talking about an Intel Core i7-5500U 2.4GHz (4MB cache, Turbo up to 3.0GHz), one of the fastest chips from Intel’s Broadwell generation.
This is a high-level CPU for mobile machines and low voltage consumption, so you’ll be able to do anything from regular tasks like web browsing, multimedia playback and office work; to more complex tasks like editing and running any kind of creation tools.
Multitasking is a strong point too, thanks to the 8GB of DDRL3 SDRAM (1600MHz) included. This is the standard for modern, capable machines, so you can be sure you’ll get great performance on this. Open several programs at the same time, as well a various tabs -you’ll be fine.
What games can I play?
When there’s no help from Nvidia or AMD for a dedicated graphics card, we are left with the integrated option. In this case it’s the Intel HD Graphics 4400. The story goes as usual with the Asus F555LA-NS72: you won’t find gaming performance here, but you should be able to run some modern-ish games on low settings.
Classic titles, less-demanding 2D games (usually indies) and even some new hits with low requirements will perform much better. We’re talking about games like The Sims 4, Undertale or Minecraft, for example. But the conclusion is definitely that no heavy gaming is intended here.
Battery life is average on this model
In this review of the Asus F555LA-NS72 we find included a 2 Cell, 37 Whr battery that will probably get you between 3 and 4 hours, depending on use. This is mostly because of the high-level processor and bigger screen. So, as this laptop’s probably intended for some desktop use, plugging it in shouldn't be a problem.
Connectivity options and available storage
As is usually the case with mid-size laptops, the Asus F555LA-NS72 offers pretty decent connectivity. There’s the standard USB ports, one 2.0 and two 3.0 in this case; and also two external display options with both VGA and HDMI connections.
To close the deal we have an Ethernet port for wired internet connection, an SD card reader and an optical drive for DVDs and any other kind of media the format offers. Oh, and obviously a combo audio jack.
On storage, Asus stuck to a 1TB mechanical hard drive with a 5400 RPM speed. While not the fastest, the 1TB will certainly offer a lot of space for storing absolutely everything you want. So if you’re looking mostly for storage, you know what you’re getting.
Wrapping things up; what's the verdict?
In the end, power is the focus here. After doing the review of the Asus F555LA-NS72, we can notice that this laptop’s best feature is its power. That’s all thanks to its CPU and 8GB of RAM included, and also its 15 inch size; ideal for longer work sessions.
If you have experience with Asus as a brand and are looking for portable, yet powerful machine that can also work as a desktop computer, this is an great choice. You can check out pricing and availability for this model here.