Asus N550JV - user review and owners lounge

You have to stick to the same model keyboard because it isn't the same as N56 series.

 

Hi there!

I still have the problem that some keys dont work. I tried the fix from coercitiv on page 120 and 130. But that doesnt seem to work... Anyone has any other suggestions?

I updated my bios and drivers. Is it possible that my cable is broken?

thanks in advanced!

Lennard

 

It's likely to be the keyboard itself.
Have you tried to search a replacement keyboard under N550JV on ebay? Order it so you can change it yourself, because it should be an easy task.

 

I have an Asus N550J and had the EXACT same problem, same keys, same behaviour. Took the battery out, refastened the keyboard connector and repositioned the cable over the RAM and now the keyboard works perfectly. Simple fix for a of a problem, thanks guys !!!!

 

I'm deciding between going all out and building a PC (for web dev / design / programming / school and gaming) or just buying monitor or two, keyboard and new mouse for the laptop.

I wanted to know if the N550JV will support one (or two) 4K monitors @ 60 Hz? Specifically looking at the new 27" 4K IPS monitor that Dell revealed a week or two ago.

EDIT: I think I can output 4K @ 60Hz via the miniDP port (and hopefully I can watch 4K content), but can the HDMI port output 4K @ 60Hz or is the spec not up to that yet?

 

I'm hoping to improve performance for Dragon Age Inquisition. The latest official Nvidia drivers from Asus are super out of date. Is there any harm in installing the generic ones from nvidia.com?

 

The Nvidia ones should work fine, if there happens to be any issues you can always put back on the Asus ones.

 

well i finally bought an usb headset (logitech H340 for 25 euros) cause audio combo port is a huge mess.

Works like a charm. Plug and play. No additionnal drivers.

Can't believe i didn't do this earlier.

i managed to play FC4 decently at 768p with some tweaks but the 750M starts to show its limits with this poorly optimized games trend even at 768p. Shame.

I'm still in deep love with this lap though but mostly because of notebook fan control that makes this lap as silent as space void. I can't go back now to noisy idling laptops

 

Digital sound works a lot of better than analog in most of cases.

 

Hello! I have the following problem.
I am on ASUS N550JV originally bought with 1 TB HDD. Then I bought an SSD (replacing HDD) and it continued working well. Recently, I placed an HDD Caddy in the DVD ROM case and there I have the original HDD (1 TB). In bios, the 1st boot option is the SSD (windows 8.1). HDD is the 2nd boot option and has windows 8. I boot into windows 8. Disks are in AHCI mode.
Although I have access to all my files in the HDD and can work with them, I often experience some freezes (for example every 1 minute) or when accessing files located in the HDD. Freezes last about a second (in the task manager HDD goes up to 100% usage for this second) and then I can continue using files in the HDD.
In addition, when I was using the HDD alone as the only Disk in the laptop, in its original place (not caddy) or sometime as an external disk it was working without any problems.
It seems that HDD behaves like a DVD. I hear the HDD' rpm for a while when I access the HDD like inserting a DVD and hearing the DVD rounding. It might be something relevant with the settings of the device. Perhaps they have not been changed and HDD behaves like a DVD (?).
I have search a lot and found "check in device manager that the HDD is recognized and that it is running at the fastest speed possible ie ultra DMA mode 5 or 6, not PIO mode" as the most common solution. However I don't have access to do this.
Has anyone else faced this? Any possible solution is welcome!
Thank you in advance!!!

 

Hello,

I'm the owner of a N550JV-CN036H, I'm very happy with it. Nevertheless I have a problem with it that bothers me. It is with the Realtek Audio Driver. 2 strange things happens to me

1) If I shut down my computer with volume level below 20 and I start over my computer, I have no sound at all. The only way to have sound again is to put volume level at 22 and higher.

2) Sometimes, going from a source to another (exemple from Spotify to Youtube) the second source has a volume way too high from the first one and I have to lower the sound in ordre to have the second source at the volume I selected first. It really sounds like an abrubt change when I lower the sound, and that doesn't look like a normal situation.

These bugs arrives whatever the driver I install and I'm trying to be the most up-to-date I can.

Thanks for your answers and sorry for my approximate english !

 

Have you tried a factory reset of OS?

 

Guys - am I missing something, or does ASUS not provide some sort of DVD/Blu-ray media player with the N550? I just got mine and love it. But I was really surprised to find that I can't play a regular DVD. I put the DVD in and nothing happens. In File Explorer I can double click on the DVD drive and it shows me the raw files (VIDEO and AUDIO folders). But I can't get it to play. If I right-click and choose AutoPlay nothing happens. And there is no "Open With..." option when I right click. I thought maybe I could play it back using the built in Windows Media Player. I launch WMP but don't see any way to tell it to load and play the movie.

Can someone please explain if I'm missing a step or some software, and if so, what? If nothing comes on the box to do this, what's a good option for software to handle this. I just want to pop in a DVD or Blu-ray and have it play. Thanks!

 

You do need a DVD player software to play DVD movie on N550 if it has Windows 8.
There's a free software called K-Lite Mega which contains Media Player Classic that you can use to play the disc.

 

Hello Friends,

I have a big issue that my GT750M is throttling. Here is my graphic in a average load game, hep me fixing my issue please.

My laptop is Asus N550jv 127h İntel 4700HQ, 16 gb ram, GT750 m DDR3 4 GB Video card. It's a new laptop and coolers are very clean.

I have fixed Cpu Throttling wit stop throttle but cant fix gpu throttling with various programs. Gpu core clock throttles to 200-450 mhz whatever i do what program including MSI afterburner i use.

 

Thanks. How about for playing Blu-Rays?

 

Your answer makes me think this is not an ordinary issue.

I had an 7200pm HDD that I replaced with a 840 EVO SSD. I'll try to install the HDD back to see if my issue still exist...

I made a fresh Windows 8.1 install with Realtek Audio Driver, ATK Package so I don't know what else could I have missed.

 

I'm having an odd audio issue with the N550 and wondering if anyone has experienced it or has any suggestions please... Sometimes when I go to play something the audio is not audible at all, despite me raising the volume. I hit up up up on the volume control and still here nothing. Then a few seconds later as I continue to increase the volume toward the top of the range, all of the sudden I hear the audio. I have the N550 JK model and am using whatever stock drivers it came with except for whatever Windows Update would have updated automatically (all updates are up to date). Any ideas? Thank you!

 

Have you found out anything yet?

 

Well, I replaces my SSD by the original HDD that was in my computer and I made a factory reset. Back to the original Windows 8 with ASUS factory softwares.... and the problem still exist.

I really don't know what to do. As I opened my computer, I think my warranty is cancelled and I have no solution to this problem even after a factory reset.

Is it possible to replace te soundcard by another soundcard ? Is it really a soundcard problem ? Can I try to contact ASUS even if my computer has already been opened ?

 

Using NotebookFanControl might help, in the sense that you may use a more aggressive fan profile, or even set it manually to a high value while gaming. The software is well written and has a config file for N550JV.

You can also do a slight undervolt of the CPU, using Intel XTU. A -50mV dynamic offset to the CPU should be safe for anyone and will shave a few degrees of the CPU (and help the GPU temps in the process).

 

Anyone knows if I can replace the 750m with 770m or any others GEFORCE card?

 

The graphics chip is soldered to the mainboard, so the answer is a definitive NO.

 

Thank you for your advice, after running the fan higher rpm i have recently recognize that GT 750m throttle no related to temperature. My gpu throttle at 67 celsius or any temperature near, like the SS i have posted. What possibly can do this please help me, i have tried MSI afterburner to change voltage but voltage editing not enabled, i have overcloked and downclocked gpu but it still throttle not depending which temperature is, just depends playing any game. It throttle at the start and end of the any 3d game. Please you can find a solution.

 

Are you saying it doesn't throttle during the 3d game?

 

750M isn't really a powerful GPU, can you compare some benchmarks with results from notebookcheck?
Click here

 

So with everything stock and you still have the problem then it's probably a HW failure. And yes, you can try attaching an USB sound card.
If your system is still under warranty (regardless whether the system was opened or not for upgrading purposes), feel free to give them a call to find out what can be done for you.

 

You are right gt750m is not a gaming gpu but i need to stop its throttle for getting maximum from it. I have no comparement with those games unfortunately.

I mean that when i start a 3D game, gpu throttle whatever the temperature is. Its not temperature dependent, its i think Load dependent.

Thank you.

 

Has anyone unlocked the BIOS for n550jv in a similar way as shown in this post?

 

That is not normal behavior, in the sense that my N550JV does not throttle the GPU while playing games.

A few days ago I logged a 2 hour long gaming session in Diablo 3. Most of the time the GPU stayed at 1163Mhz, with a few short periods of constant intensive loads when it went down to 1136Mhz. Chip temperature varied between 75-80C.

 

Try running 3DMark benchmark to verify score for both CPU & GPU, then check them against published scores from Futuremark to verify whether they are correct or not.

 

Guys, I have a problem. I have enabled Launch PXE OpROM policy in BIOS/BOOT (stock BIOS v 208 downloaded from Asus) and now my n550jv doesn't boot. It starts, keyboard lights up for a second as usual, but no POST, nothing on screen.

I have found a lot of topics with the same outcome about n56vz, but none of them helped me.

Tried the AMI recovery with a flash drive and CTRL+HOME: the drive's led is flashing for some 5-8 seconds (seems like the notebook it is really reading it), but then it stops, keyboard lights up for a second and that's it.

Tried taking out the batteries and waiting for 5 minutes: the same.

Do you have any ideas?

UPD: flash drive flashes the same way even if I name the file A.A (instead of AMIBOOT.ROM or N550JVAS.ROM), so it looks like it is searching for the right file, but doesn't find it.

UPD2: I have found multiple reports that N550JV.bin works, but is doesn't for me. That's the moment I wish there was an internal speaker built-in...

 

If I were to try a BIOS reset I would disconnect main battery, disconnect BIOS backup battery, then press power button for 10-15 seconds to make sure power coils are drained.

In my opinion you should have focused on reseting the BIOS rather flashing, now you have no clue whether your current BIOS is intact or not.

 

That was the first thing I did indeed.

From what I have read (mostly on Russian forums), AMI recovery almost never works as one would expect (particularly on N56VZ and N550JV). Very few have succeeded recovering BIOS this way and descriptions are completely the same as in my case.

But one of the success stories mentioned recovery from EFI_partition\ASUS\N56VZ.BIN. Could you look if you have something similar on that partition? I would be extremely grateful.

 

Hello,

I have had an N550JV for about a year and I love it. I recently upgraded the BIOS to 208 to resolve an issue I was having with the Nvidia 750M. I updated the BIOS using the Easy Flash utility and it said it was successful. Now when I boot up the machine, it is constantly going to the BIOS. I noticed SecureBoot was turned on, so I disabled it (it was disabled on my previous BIOS). I saved the BIOS and attempted to boot but it went back into the BIOS menu. I also noticed the Boot Option Priorities is greyed out and it used to be blue, I used to be able to select which device to boot, but now I don't have that option. I went into the SecureBoot menu and cleared all the keys as well as reset the BIOS to default settings. It's still going to the BIOS instead of booting off my SSD.

Any ideas?

Edit: I am able to boot off the DVD with SecureBoot enabled or disabled. The only boot option I can see now it UEFI: DVDROM. Funny thing is SecureBoot is currently disabled so why is it trying to boot via UEFI? It appears as if the BIOS settings are not actually turning off the SecureBoot flag, even though it shows as disabled.

 

Anyone else having a problem with the display losing its "touch" controls? In summary, there's an issue where apparently due to power management the machine winds up turning off the touch controls so that the screen works fine for display but does not respond to any touch at all. When this happens I just have to go into Device Manager for the human input control or whatever it is and then re-enable it. Then it starts working. But eventually it stops working again and I have to redo this step. Does anyone know what condition causes it to not work again, requiring me to manually re-enable it? And is there a permanent fix or a work-around that is "good enough" to not have the issue come back. Given some reports here about the various BIOS updates and other drivers that can cause issue I'm hesitant to update anything unless for sure its known to resolve the issue. For reference I'm using the system as was delivered a couple weeks back with whatever drivers/updates it comes with - except for any updates applied with Windows Update (fully update to date with Windows Updates).

 

Hello, I just purchased one of these bad boys today and I have a question I couldn't find an answer to anywhere. Is there a way to make the backlit keyboard timeout. On mine, it is constantly on, but on my former macbook, the keyboard light would eventually turn itself off. Is there a way to make it shut off after a few seconds?

 

I don't think it's built into the firmware to do so no. You would have to do it manually.

 

This is like software feature that controls the EC firmware on the keyboard.
You will need both support before such behavior can be accomplished.

 

Hello Kevin,
I'm not quite understanding what you are saying here. So, there is some kind of software where I can control the time it takes the backlit keyboard to shut off? Just to test, I did let the computer sit idle, and I think after about 60 seconds the keyboard does turn off on its own. I did a little bit more research and on a macbook, there is a setting for the backlit keyboard to shut off after idle and you can control the amount of time (5 seconds all the way up to 5 minutes). Hopefully I am just missing a setting on the Asus for this?

 

No, what I was saying is that the function needed software support from the manufacturer.
Since Apple implemented it so they got it, but not others.

 

It's too bad, maybe someone out there could come up with a app that could do it.

 

Been a while since i last posted here. Everything has been mostly okay with my N550JV after I got 8.1 put back onto it. But recently I've been facing a problem (that actually got worse just now). Seems like my audio jack became messed up somehow? whenever I plug any headphone in (I tried 3 different headphones), when its fully in and snaps into place, it says that I unplugged my headphones. But if i just push it into right before it snaps in, it says its plugged. I know this isn't normal behavior and is quite annoying. Is there any fix I can do at home or should I contact Asus? I'd prefer not to do the latter since I need my laptop for the next few weeks as I don't have another computer to work on. =/

 

Dear friends,

About my Asus N550jv gpu throttling issue:

I have solved gpu throttling:

Just downgrade the BIOS to older versions. I have done it to 206 and Gpu doesnt throttle, performance is nearly what it should be. But Cpu still throttle although temperature is not above 60 celsius. Throttle stop software still needed for cpu throttling, but this solves gpu throttling. So;

1- This is not a hardware issue, just a BIOS software issue.
2- This issue is with BIOS version 208.
3- This is a poor engineering from Asus engineers that laptop cant give the performance which it should. Meanningless throttling kills performance %50 and more.
4- I have spent more then 1 month of my free time to solve this poor software engineering.
5- I have not tried older then 206 BIOS versions but with older versions maybe also meaningless Cpu throttling does not exist.
6- I have to still use throttle stop software to stop Cpu throttling (if i try older BIOS versions maybe i dont need)
7- Shame on Asus engineers.
8- Shame On asus Enginers.
9- Shame On Asus Engineers.
10- SHAME ON ASUS ENGİNEERS.

 

I was able to bring my n550jv back to life by unsoldering BIOS, programming it and soldering it back. If anyone would need a full 8mb bin file, use pm to contact me, I'll help.

 

I guess, this has been discussed before, but I couldn't find it.

Samsung 840 Evo isn't recognized on cold boot no matter in which bay I install it (I can select it in boot menu after ctrl+shift+del though). I'm running Windows without UEFI and both drives are MBR. The original HDD has been cleaned by diskpart.

UPD: I was wrong, when the boot device (ssd) is installed in HDD bay, it gets recognized without any problems.

 

Same here. My touchscreen turns off and I have to re-enable it in the device manager. I checked the power options, and made sure in all power settings that it does not turn off the touchscreen.

Also in the device manager under the USB device for the touchscreen, I turned off "allow computer to power on/off this device"

Still no luck. It's very annoying

 

Oh wow, you are the pro! :thumbsup:
Have you tried the original drive with that same bay and see if it gets detected?

 

Probably I wrote my UPD badly SSD gets detected just fine in the original HDD bay, it was just that I installed Windows on SSD from scratch (without cloning) and with HDD together with original data inside the ODD bay; as a result the boot record got written on HDD (confirmed by taking it out). Solved simply by temporarily removing HDD and running the windows startup repair.

 

Interesting, that's awesome that you were able to resolve it.