Asus N550JV - user review and owners lounge

So basically Asus set the PCB/main block/bi-directional throttle to the same limit as all the other ultrabooks. And kept it there without actually testing the kit. Then ignoring the fallout later.

Can someone now finally fire the guy who is doing the bios-updates for Asus? Or hire someone to do these updates sensibly? I'll volunteer 30 minutes of my time each Friday if they'd like, completely seriously. I can promise on beforehand that by the end of the month, all current Asus models will have a final, stable bios.

I mean, I still have these low-volt chips I bought for my n56 that won't even boot, thanks to the forced ram-timing settings they put in. When pressed on it, an Asus guy volunteered that the ram-timings (note, we're talking about the spd-table timing and the drive strength) were forced in order to prevent overclocking. Overclocking of what, I said? Of "the system", they said... (Meanwhile, they've removed the cpu-throttling so it is technically possible to fry the cpu in case the cooling assembly breaks; now this is great planning, obviously).

Before that it was the forced sata 2 setting on the earlier n-series notebooks. They have in all cases bought expensive chipsets from intel that have all these capabilities on board. Xmp profiles, dynamic bus-speeds, sata 3 support, etc., etc. And then they disable them in bios, and force people to jump through hoops in order to even just upgrade their ram with one identical chip to the one in the system already. Sometimes that doesn't even work, because the actual ram-chips are running at edgy settings from the factory. I.e., they've actually set the ram-timing to slightly quicker than they should. I discussed this at length in another thread, but it seems they're using "recommended settings" for an intel system from 2001 with ddr2 ram.

And they don't even offer upgrades to the system through their own channels. Sony at least disables sata2 support in order to make people pay money to them to "unlock" the setting later on. In the event that they'll buy an overpriced ssd through their retail channels. But Asus doesn't do that - they just disable the functions and cripple their systems.

And nothing I could say about technical things was able to change those ideas they had. In fact the only thing I ever heard was that "people" upwards in the system took all the "complaints" to heart, and were now considering soldering ram-chips and locking down the settings even more. To essentially lessen the complaints by having one hardware-configuration, that they could then "perfect".

With what competence they would do that I do not know. But that's likely what we're going to see. A potentially above par line of laptops, scuttled in order to create streamlined assembly-line settings. To save paying a competent bios-tweaker - to at least put in settings that won't clearly cause serious issues with the systems.

 

So you mean that i just can sit back and wait to an bios update will pop up on this screen? N550JV - Notebooks & Ultrabooks - ASUS

can i ask Asus about that? And where is it i am setting my CPU to max 99 min 99? and is 2.4 (will that damage my pc?) GHZ enough for Vegas, PhotoShop, Premiere?

 

Warbane - What cloning program did you use, what make/model SSD, any problems during and after cloning ? Thanks for any help.

 

No, you can't sit back and wait because Asus will most probably not fix that issue.

The CPU setting is in Energy Settings, so go to Control Panel -> Energy Settings -> Power4Gear High Performance -> Change Energyplan Settings -> Advanced Energy Settings -> Processor Energy Management -> There you find Min & Max.
And no, this will not damage your PC, ever.
Most probably it's enough but I can't say that for sure because I don't use these programs.

On the other hand, if you want to get rid of the throttling you can either force 99% or you use ThrottleStop, you haven't got more options.
If you want the full power of your notebook you have to use ThrottleStop, it's that easy.
This won't damage your computer either if you aren't going to play games on your bed or any other fan blocking underground.
My notebook stands plain on my desk and reaches temperatures of max. 88°C for CPU and 80°C for GPU under full load(both CPU & GPU at 100% usage) and would probably be lower if I'd place it raised somehow, so it's no damn problem.

My advice:
- Use one energy plan for your normal use + Vegas, PhotoShop etc. and leave the max. CPU at 100%. If you don't play games(so you don't use the GPU) your CPU won't throttle. If these programs use the GPU and you experience throttling use them with the second plan.
- Use another one for gaming, leave max. CPU at 100%, too. If you want to play games or use programs that use the GPU heavily start ThrottleStop and turn it on. After gaming/usage of your program turn it off. No problems.

Edit: Actually, you only need one energy plan if you leave max. CPU at 100% in both Just use ThrottleStop only then when you use the Nvidia GPU, in every other case the CPU won't throttle.

 

So when the fan is running, my laptop stays really cool but sometimes it just stops running and I have to restart in order for them to run again or it gets really hot. Does anybody know how to fix this? Thanks

 

Hi, i have a problem installing Bodhi Linux 64 bit cause of the uefi bios, can someone help me please?

 

Hi guys,

I have a question to those of you who have installed Windows 7 on the N550JV from USB device.

Since I have SSD in place of the optical storage device, I have to use the USB ports for Win installation..

How did you do it? Win 7 doesn`t include USB 3.0 drivers and usually there is a message that there is no cd / dvd driver installed

There must be a way to slipstream the USB drivers during that process.

Thanks in advance!

 

Hi everyone, I searched through the thread and didn't find the answer to Shikeu's question. Could someone let us know if the primary hard drive bay fits 7mm or 9.5mm drives? I just ordered a N550 and am planning to replace the internal hard drive with a 7mm SSD.

I then want to take that internal drive and put it in a caddy as a secondary drive. Does anyone have experience with either of these caddies?

This one is $24.

This one is $12.

 

I just put a Samsung 840 Evo and it fits perfectly. Original was a WD black 750GB.

 

Touch or non-touch? And where did you get it from?

 

Non-touch. Prostar has them in stock and turnaround time is pretty quick. I ordered on Sunday evening and I should get it by Thursday with the free ground shipping.

 

They are nicely balanced little machines It does appear the non touch is the one more generally available, certainly from us.

 

Hmm, under Win7 don`t work key combinations for kb backlight and changing display brightness... Is it because I run Win 7 Home premium?
The P4G software also didn`t work, but that was expected...

 

Those functions likely will need drivers installed that support them.

Do you need windows 7 for a specific reason?

 

I still think this is bad advice, especially for (serious) gamers.

 

And what does a serious gamer do with the N500JV? What is your advice?

 

Do you need windows 7 for a specific reason?

No, I just dont like Meto interface of Win 8, but there is always "Classic shell" and I will probably try it

 

Damn. Looking for the touch. Seem to be oos everywhere.

 

Worth trying as the inner workings are better in 8 and it saves a lot of hassle.

 

I migrated to a Samsung 840 PRO 256GB. It came with data migration software that I used successfully to clone. I also used Easeus Todo to copy the recovery partition from the original HDD that wasn't copied by the Samsung tool. No major issues since. I did have a problem when I stuck the original HDD in a caddy and did my first boot with both drives attached (oops). The machine decided to boot from the old disk and did something to the boot record on the SSD. When I removed the HDD it refused to recognize an OS on the SSD. I eventually had to reclone everything and then it worked great.

This laptop needs a 9.5mm drive. I purchased this one but any should do. It installed easily and the bezel piece fit nicely. The facade of the case is just almost completely flush. Maybe off by a mm or less. You can't tell unless you're examining it closely.

 

Joined notebookreview.com just to join this! Hello everyone!

 

Well, certainly not deliberately crippling your CPU and losing a solid chunk of its performance on an ongoing basis.

If someone was thinking about doing this, I would at least recommend checking your FPS for the particular game and only doing this if you (a) see a significantly more stable FPS with this in place and (b) don't find that the overall FPS drops substantially (indicating a CPU-bound game).

The suggestion might be sound if all you ever want to do with your machine is play non-CPU intensive games.

I have played quite a lot of games on this thing and not experienced the problems described at all, which is odd. I have current firmware and up to date video drivers.

 

How exactly does disabling bidirectional throttling cripple the CPU and lead to loss of performance?

 

Had my N550 for a week now, and I'm loving it. Just have a question.

I notice that my trackpad isn't completely level. The right side is flush with the side of the frame, but the left side (the bottom corner moreso than the top corner) is not. its set down inside the frame a tiny bit, making a small lip. because of that, I find it makes the left button a bit harder to click than the right.

Is anyone else's like that, or is my defective? I don't think I'll bother RMA'ing it over such a small thing, but was curious.

 

I have an old 90W universal power supply with a plug that fits but I noticed the N550 PS is ~120W.

Anyone try a 3rd party PS that doesn't match the exact power specs, either higher or lower?

 

Hey, does anyone installed a caddy drive on his N550? I bought my N550 on xocticpc.com and I bought a caddy drive (unversal, 9,5mm) at the same drive in order to have a HDD where I will install Archlinux or Tails on. The problem is when I install the caddy drive, there is offset of 1mm at the side (the thing over the dvd drive go out off the computer by 1mm) which is extremely anoying. Anybody got this issue or have a way to solve this problem in order to have it perfectly installed without any offset?

 

Yeah, although it wasn't exactly 3rd party. I tried a 65W power brick from another Asus notebook. It worked ok, even (slowly) charging the laptop while i was running some CPU stress software to simulate system load.

Bottom line... a 90W PSU should be ok, although one might encounter issues such as the laptop not charging while playing games. The laptop can easily reach 90W under load. In case of an emergency you can also use a 65W PSU, but only as a last resort tocharge the notebook or do some light tasks on the unit.

Keep in mind the most important aspect of using a 3rd party PSU is to make sure you have the exact same voltage, 19 Volts in this case.

 

I was referring to the suggestion which began in an earlier post with:

 

Finally took the time to upgrade the RAM to 16GB. The Crucial stick i had already chosen works just fine.

 

Wow I have exactly the same issue as you do - the track pad is not flush,the left side is sunken in more than the right which makes the left button harder to click. This might be a common assembly issue on these units. It does not bother me that much as I always double tap to click instead of using the physical button. If you're adventurous, you can remove the cover and motherboard to reseat the pad. This notebook has great specs but lots of minor annoyances. Anybody also noticed the sharp edges on the back? Hand or finger cuts just waiting to happen.

 

Exact same thing going on with my track pad. The W key is also quite uneven and really sticks out like a sore thumb compared to the other keys. The back lighting on the keys is so ridiculous that I have to turn it off. The light escapes from the side of the keys and shines directly in your face. I guess I am lucky to not have the sharp edge on the back, at least I haven't noticed it yet. If anyone has ever thought that Asus is known for build quality, you are definitely mistaken. It is just frustrating when the notebook is so close to being truly great to let so many flaws slip through to their customers.

 

There is a very annoying disconnection of the Wlan Atheros card in Windows 7 x64. Suddenly the connection is lost with the laptop only two meters away from the router.

Do I have to change the card or is there a chance that older drivers could fix the problem?

 

I would try other versions but wireless cards are not expensive and you could get a nice upgrade to an AC card.

 

Hey, sorry if this has been asked before, but what are the temps this notebook reaches while gaming? Eg. Crysis 3, Far cry 3? The CPU reached 87 degrees while playing crysis 3. and i only played for like 30mins. im a little worried. Thanks in advance.

 

It even reaches that temperature below 2 minutes if it's under full load but this is normal for this notebook.
As far as I can tell it will stay at this temperature as the highest value. Mine reaches max. around 88°C.
If you don't have any problems appearing, eg. crashes, don't think about it anymore.

 

I just received my N550 yesterday. My touchpad is uneven as well. The bottom left and right corners are more flush than the top corners but it doesn't bother me too much. What does bother me is that the front edge is pretty rough and scratched up? Also, I have an oily smudge/fingerprint on the left ctrl button that won't wipe off, and the beveled edges around the entire laptop are scratched up. Anyone's N550 have these problems?

 

It looks as if it has been used. Return it immediately

I wanted to post the solution about the aforementioned problem with the internet connection, it turned out to be a simple one.
The wi-fi card enters some kind of power saving mode and thus the connection is frequently lost.

If anybody encounters the same condition: Just open the Atheros networking adapter in Device manager,
click "properties", go to "power management" tab and untick the option "allow the computer to turn off this device to save power".

 

Thanks for the help Morv.

 

wich netword card do you have in your laptop?? if you are using the atheros, in the Asus webpage you can download an update for the driver, it help me a lot with my card!! its working too much better!!

 

hi guys, do you know a good docking for this laptop?? i am going to buy a new desktop to put all my working stuff in my house, and i want to buy a dock for this laptop.

thanks!!

 

I am getting the following error while using the Samsung Data Migration software for 840 EVO SSD- "Access Violation at address 7098CC63 in module 'Restore.dll'. Write of address 00000766." The error shows up at 99% every time.
Any help would be really appreciated !!

Edit : Used Macrium Reflect Software. Cloned & installed the SSD successfully.

 

wich netword card do you have in your laptop?? if you are using the atheros, in the Asus webpage you can download an update for the driver, it help me a lot with my card!! its working too much better!!


I have the Atheros 9485.
Would you please give a link to this update?

 

Sure, over here you can find the diferent drivers for your laptop
https://www.asus.com/Notebooks_Ultrabooks/N550JV/#support_Download_36

 

Thanks :thumbsup:

 

The Atheros card driver can also be updated through Windows Update. (driver version 10.0.0.263)

 

Hi. I just bought the N550JV. I read around hear of people getting 5+ hours, however, most of my battery estimates only give me 3-4 hours. I ordered my laptop from xoticpc and had a 250GB Samsung 840 Evo SSD to replace the main HDD. Also, I swapped out the wireless card for an Intel® Dual Band AC 7260. I was wondering how to get better battery life. I am running windows 8. I have 25 Windows Processes running, 61 background processes, 1 chrome tab, power saving mode, and only 30 or 40% brightness.

 

You won't get any better than 4 hours with the FHD IPS screen. You can optimize battery life by switching to Power Saver plan while on battery and maybe even doing some undervolting, but that won't get you past the 5 hours mark. The user who boasted 5+ hours battery life has a HD TN screen, only one stick of RAM, a low power Intel wireless card, low power Toshiba SSD, and has also undervolted the CPU. The most important gain for him is the screen power usage, while anything else just adds tiny savings that add up.

 

Can anyone confirm whether this laptop comes with 1x8GB or 2x4GB sticks of RAM; I need to know which RAM to buy to upgrade to 16GB. Thanks

 

RAM is 2x4GB.