Any review/recommand about Asus N55SF ? Thanks.

Verde drivers (or at least Latest 285.62 WHQL) do install/work without the need a custom .inf on mine.

 

Don't buy that model. It has the 1366x768 screen which you don't want if you're going to be doing any graphical work because of the low contrast ratio and very inaccurate color reproduction (it's a budget-grade LCD). Plus, generally you don't want this anyway because a resolution this low makes it difficult to fit more than one window onscreen at a time. The screen is the biggest limiting factor and most important spec to pay attention to when buying the laptop, because it affects everything you do. It doesn't matter what the RAM, CPU, and GPU are, the fact that you have the worst screen available in this laptop means the screen is always going to be your biggest limiting factor.

My advice is to ignore the other specs until you find a N55SF that has the 15.6" 1600x900 display or 15.6" 1920x1080 display, or find a different laptop with a better screen. Stay far away from 1366x768 in a 15.6" laptop. The screen is the most important spec, yet is sadly often overlooked.

EDIT: Actually, I'm finding contradicting evidence on whether or not this is a 1366x768 or 1920x1080 model. Either way, just make sure you're getting better than 1366x768 if you're getting this laptop.

 

I have already installed Detonator 285.62 drivers (10/24/2011) on the N55SF, no problem at all.

 

I am not very familiar with the 3D-animation and CAD apps on the market, but don't most of these require a 'workstation' chipset (Quadro/NVS) for GPU rendering acceleration? The N55 has a consumer-spec GeForce 555M.

..of course everyone knows these are functionally the same chips and the only real difference is firmware and software support, but I don't know if that matters to the applications you would use.

If it is purely CPU-intensive, then any quad-core i7 will be a vast improvement.

 

Woot Thanks amrando and orso, you made my day

 

Cheers man, I can't remember what the screen was at the store, I should have taken note! I'll take another look around! You just saved me a whole lot of money!

 

How do the speakers compare to the N_3 series? Are they the same, better or worse? [same brand does not neccessarily mean same sound]

 

I have a problem with this laptop. Numeric keyboard is not wired to "num keys" but to standard number keys. So when I play games that require numeric keyboard, nothing happens while pressing num keys. They act as standard numbers in the upper raw above the letters.
Can someone that owns N55SF confirm this?

 

Known issue.
Update your bios to version 207.

BIOS 207
1.Fixed that Numeric Key region function Fail when change Keyin Mode
2.Fixed that the USB Device attached USB3.0 Ports can't work after resume from Deep S3

 

Thank you for your answer. I actually wrote my post just after updating BIOS to 207. So I was wondering why it didn't work.

The changes were visible only after removing the battery and reinserting it. So, now it's fixed, I confirm.

 

Hi Everyone Just ordered my N55SF,

have a question, i want to go to 16GB ram, will this memory work? just need to confirm before i pull the trigger

Newegg.com - CORSAIR 16GB (2 x 8G) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 Laptop Memory Model CMSO16GX3M2A1333C9

 

ASUS is okay..the battery life is terrible, but everything else is cool.

 

Hey, i own an adapted version of the n55sf since september (x5qsf-s1123v), and i've got a slight annoyance.
It seems like the bottom right corner of my keyboard is loose from it's base.
If I press the right arrow key, 0, . , or enter, I can see the entire numbad region moving down slightly aswell. When i release the key you can hear all the other keys bouncing up. It seems like the base the keys are mounted on is going down aswell as the pressed key.


The movement is only like 2-3mm, but it just feels annoying.
Does anyone else have this kind of behaviour, or is my keyboard f'ed up already?

 

Hi folks, i'm about to order this laptop as a replacement for my damaged XPS15 but would like some advice on whether to go for the 1920 x 1080 or the 1600 x 900? The higher res only seems to come in the glossy screen whereas the lower res is the matt screen. My XPS had a glossy full HD and the shine didnt bother me too much but i'm thinking would I be better with the matt 1600 x 900? They are both the same price so that doesnt come into the equation. Have to say it'll be mainly used for watching movies.

 

It's really a matter of preference. In most peoples opinions, for games or watching movies, glossy is actually better. Colors tend to "pop" a little more. Plus, the higher resolution (if you're looking at a model with a bluray player) would enable you to watch true 1080p bluray movies.

1600x900 matte makes sense for people doing a lot of office work - the lower resolution means you spend less time and effort trying to resize\zoom on documents so text is larger (though at 1920x1080, I've found perfectly acceptable zoom levels for all of my office work).

I'm not sure where you're located - in the states the most common models are 1920x1080 matte screens. If the only full HD screens you can find are glossy, and you're watching movies, I'd recommend the glossy full HD.

 

I'm in the UK so the only full HD screens seem to be glossy, I think i'll take your advice & order the full HD as it comes with blu-ray

 

Hey folks, I have one of these N55S notebooks for review and am typing on it as we speak.

I'm going to be reading through this thread. If there's anything you think I won't notice in a week of ownership, please let me know, or if there's something you want to see addressed in the review - I'm all ears.

So far I like the general design of the notebook a lot. The speakers seem to be pretty good as is the keyboard. I don't know why they made the top of the lid glossy; as of right now I have very few complaints. This is one of the better ASUS notebooks I've reviewed in a long time.

 

I have two complaints and it would be nice if you checked for them on your model. The speaker cover can sometimes start resonating when the right frequency is played. This is most likely to happen when you listen to voices on youtube or some voice recording that doesn't have high frequencies that could mask the resonance.

The second thing is subwoofer from which I can hear interference when I do something on the laptop. Increase the volume, and try browsing through internet pages and you should hear some sort of noise from the sub. The noise appears during processor load. My model has i7 2630QM.

And since this is a laptop advertised as excellent sounding these two annoyances are unacceptable. Please let me know if you discover the same thing.

P.S.
I don't like that the touchpad doesn' have a dent (or different texture) which would halp me distinguish where it ends.

 

Thanks for the feedback, I'll check those out. I did notice some slight vibration when I turned the speakers up to max; it seemed to come from the left side, I actually think it was the keyboard rattling.

I've also noticed the touchpad buttons are too loud.

 

Yes, I hear the noise only from the left side too and think it's the white panel the covers speakers. I've also read somebody complaining about this thing.

P.S.
You are right, it's the keyboard, not the speaker grill! I just covered the left side od the keyboard with hand and no rattling.

 

I've got a N55SF-S1128V since september (Core i7-2630QM - Nvidia GT555M - 750Go@7200rpm - 4Go@8 - 1920*1080 matte screen) and I only got few complaints :
- keyboard : Typing is ok but should be way better considering the price. Numpad flex is annoying.
- RJ45 and power plug : I would have prefered them on the back of the unit or closer to the back of the unit. Since most ppl will use it as a desktop replacement, having the rj45 port so close on the side means having a cord blocking stuff on the left. As for the power plug, a tiny 90° one would have been better. The current straight one is like 3 inches wide. I understand they use it to avoid blocking the kensington security lock, still it's annoying.
- a possible HW issue : several french owners (myself included) reported a POST issue appearing one week to one month after purchase. It takes 3 to 4 times to the n55sf to actually go beyond Post (when on battery u even need to press the power button 4 times). We don't know yet if this issue may be fixed by a bios update or if it's a HW related.
Youtube vid HERE

Looking forward to your review.

 

Thanks for the feedback, Orso.

I'm finding the keyboard on this notebook to be quite strange. First of all the number pad is squeezed in ... keys are not full-sized. The arrow keys are off, they should be part of the main area of the keyboard. The power button is a keyboard key (!?); it pushes the End key to the next row where the number lock key should be.
Lastly I found myself missing the left Ctrl key when I went to do bold, italics, etc. What I have realized is that the extra column of keys added on to the left side of the notebook is unnatural; usually the Ctrl key is the last key on the bottom left of the keyboard. It isn't with the N55S. My mind can't quite get it right.
Oh and I think the keyboard should be backlit.

My specs are i7-2630QM, GT 555M 2GB graphics card, 8GB RAM, 750GB 7200RPM Seagate hard drive, 1920x1080 anti-glare screen, Blu-ray reader. So, pretty nice. I find the hard drive a bit slow however. Should have used the Western Digital version, which is noticeably faster (WD7500BPKT).

 

Yes, the row of multimedia keys fells weird at first and takes time to adjust.
I also got the Seagate HD and it sometimes feels kinda slow for a 7200rpm drive (didn't bench it thou).

Another weird thing about the kb power button is that it blinks big times when the unit is in standby. I image someone (student etc) sleeping in the same room as the unit would be forced to always close the lid.

For your review, I recommend updating the HD Graphics 3000 driver. Win7 synthetic score should improve by 1 point or so. It's also worth noting that regular nvidia verde driver (at least the latest one) can be installed without fiddling with custom .inf.

The 1920x1080 anti-glare screen is pretty fine imho. It's accurate and very luminous. Most of the time I'm at 50% or so and at minimum at night. I just wish blacks were a bit deeper but one can't ask too much to a LED screen.

Btw if your review unit came with 204 bios, installing the 207 should cure any numpad issues.

Now, those minor annoyances excepted, if only I didn't have that POST issue, I would be a very happy owner.

 

Mine has the 204 BIOS, I'll see about updating it.

Do you have any issues with the keyboard rattling? Mine does, specifically around the number pad area. Also I can confirm the keyboard rattles when I have the speakers at max volume (the left side of the keyboard, specifically). I imagine some duct tape underneath would solve the issue but this isn't my notebook, so ...

On another website I review storage devices, the Seagate 750GB 7200RPM isn't quick ... the WD Scorpio Black is noticeably faster as is the Hitachi 7K750. It's not surprising; Seagate does not have a history of producing fast 2.5" 7200RPM consumer hard drives.

I agree with you about the screen. The black levels are decent, much better than the typical notebook screen. The anti-glare surface is very much appreciated ... I'm tired of the glossy screens that typically come with consumer notebooks, they are impractical.

I wonder why ASUS decided to make the lid of this notebook glossy. At least they kept the palm rest area and such free of that nonsense.

*Overall* I think the N55SF is a very respectable notebook.

 

I've noticed other people mention the rattling or resonating sound, and most decided it was from the keyboard. I've tried to recreate this with rap music, rock, metal, game music\voices, youtube movies, cell phone clips, etc, and I was only able to recreate it a couple of times. I'd have to say the RESONATING sound is unpreventable anytime a speaker tries to reproduce a sound it's just not capable of - all my laptops have done it, my cell phone speaker phone does it, etc.

Now if it's the KEYBOARD rattling, I can't reproduce that at all. I also don't find my keyboard to feel as cheap as some do. I'm starting to wonder if that's why some people HATE the keyboard and others don't mind it - perhaps there are some poorer keyboards out there that are so "cheap" feeling speaker bass can even make them rattle, while on others, that doesn't happen because the keyboard is a bit more solid.

I can't recreate the interference problem...I'm listening to music through Chrome (Slacker) while browsing, typing this, and running Prime95 to max out my CPU load, and I'm not getting any weird noise from the subwoofer. I have the i7 2670QM.

 

Kb vibrates a little indeed at max volume. Not that much on mine thou. Knowing that at max volume (great sound btw, never thought the speakers+sub combo would do such a decent job) I can hardly stay close to the notebook without earbuds, this should not bother many ppl IMHO.

Regarding the glossy look, I blame the "iphone4" effect on N55 design team (glossy black and silver lning ? Come on...). Ppl moving the unit a lot will prolly hate this fingerprint magnet. Those using it as a desktop replacement won't mind and find it cool looking I presume. Some N55 models have a white glossy version afaik.

As for the hd, it may not be the fastest 7200rpm but as long as it's reliable I'm ok with that. N55SF is an upper range all around/multimedia notebook, not a hardcore gamer oriented one. Its great specs tend to make us forget that.

Finally, yes, I agree with you : N55SF is a very respectable notebook, especially at its former price. When I bought it, notebooks with the same specs (core i7, fullhd matte screen, 7200rpm hd etc...) were very very few and were like 200 bucks more expensive. Dunno about now.

 

Hi, I just bought N55-SF several days ago and it is my first laptop with "optimus" technology.

How to update the gpu driver? (cause it has the Intel and Nvidia). Can I wipe all the outdated driver clean with ccleaner first before installing the new one? I am just afraid that later the dedicated gpu won't be recognized during installation/update with the new driver.

Thanks.

 

From what I've experienced Intel\Optimus work together very well. I don't see any reason you couldn't uninstall all old Intel and nVidia drivers and install the newest drivers. If there's issues, you could just re-install the original video drivers from the drivers CD (or ASUS website).

 

The fact that it has an LED backlight has nothing to do with the contrast.

 

It does MLL (Minimum Luminance Level) wise.

 

Charles P. Jefferies N55S review is up btw
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=6324&review=asus+n55s+n55sf

 

I was just about to post the link ... thanks Orso.

 

I haven't noticed a a direct reply to your 16GB query. ASUS say 8GB max so would suggest you ask ASUS Support before you invest in extra RAM. Just out of interest, why do you need 16GB (?) - I'm not questioning your judgement - simply intrigued to know why.

 

found what i was looking for, thank you.

 

1920x1200 is a 16:10 ratio and unfortunately for you, those are pretty much a thing of the past as far as notebooks are concerned. You should be able to retrofit a 1920x1080 lcd, but not a 1920x1200 one.

 

Thank you for your response, my mistake, got numbers wrong. What I meant to ask was actually concerning the 1920x1080 ?

 

I haven't opened one up, but usually the N series CPUs can be replaced. I don't see any reason to replace it if you have one with an i7-2630qm though or an i5 for that matter unless you plan on doing CPU intensive tasks and i'm not talking about games.

 

Thanks Orso ,

Great review .

I own its "big brother"" the N75 , 17.3'' which has a glossy antiglare display that in my opinion has a more vivid colors and clarity than the N55's display .
Generally , I have to say that the 1920X1080 resolution as native resolution fits better larger displays since not all the applications can be zoomed ( as for example web browsers does ) .

Also the new N75 model comes with a 2'nd generation i7 processor 2.2G , 2 hard drives of 500G each , a larger 17.3 inch dispaly that I consider to be more appropiate for this 1920X1080 native resolution and better as being glossy . The difference between the 15.6 model to the more advanced 17.3 inch is just $100 but of course you'll loose some portability if you'll go for the 17.3 inch model .

 

I'm not sure why you state the N75SF is "more advanced" - it's a bigger screen, but beyond that ASUS releases basically identically spec'd systems - the N55SF-DH71 vs the N75SF-DH71 have literally one internal hardware difference - single 750GB 7200rpm HD vs two 500GB 7200rpm hard drive. Aside from that, you get a 10key pad with slightly larger numbers. So you gain 250GB hard drive space and a bigger 10key pad, but lose some mobility battery life to power a larger display and second hard drive. Different strokes for different folks? Sure. Advanced? Bit of a stretch...

I'm not trying to be difficult, I just don't want people following the N55SF thread to be thinking the N75SF is some big hardware upgrade.

 

Hi evancg ,

I just seen that the model that they reviewed was discontinued and replaced by the 2'nd generation i7 model that has the DH71 suffix as well .
In this case the differences , as you mention , between the 17.3 inch to 15.6 inch version are just the 250G installed hard drive space , the possibility of upgrading two hard drives in the future , the 10key pad , the display size and the almost the same price .
In my opinion the big difference is the 1.7 inch difference in the screen size that considering the 1080p native resolution may be a strong consideration for some buyers , especially considering the price difference versus 10% more display size .
Anyway , what is surprising is the price difference between the two models . Generally , the difference between 15.6 inch models to the larger 17.3 inch models of most netbooks's vendors is somewhere arround $300 . Considering that in this case it is about $100 only , the price allows the customers to make a good choice according to their needs .

 

Im researching this laptop and thats the only model I can find for sale in the UK as well.

Perhaps we dont have an option for the full HD screen? Im not sure. I wanted to find the 8GB RAM/Full HD model to see what it costs, as the 1600x900/6GB model that you have found there is being heavily discounted at the moment - a steal at £750 from most major outlets. I doubt you can get a new 15.6" laptop with a GT555M for less than that.

Have you discovered anything more about obtaining it in the UK since posting?

General question for everyone btw

 

Ive found only this one (1920 x 1080) Full HD direct to UK ( qwerty & english ) based in Ireland.

Asus 15.6" N55SF-S1194V i7-2670/8/750GB : 90N5FC2D9H4E13VL133U - Komplett

900.00 EUR = 772.376 GBP

Not sure about the company Komplett based Ireland ? I am to far away from ferry to go over and check the box.

 

Hi there, that's the best model I've found unfortunately. I too am tempted to get it even if its just HD+. I am however holding off getting it till after Christmas.. I'm hoping it'll be discounted even further by then.

As for the Full HD version... I guess the best way is to contact Asus directly somehow. Doesn't look like there is one however.

 

I am of a similar mind...1600x900 on a 15.6" is good enough I think, probably no need for full HD anyway, and it the GT555M will run games better at a lower res.

Im tempted to get one of these now but it feels like an impulse buy

 

I own a N75 , the 17.3 inch ( plus a little more disk space ) version of the N55 .
I think that the 1980X1080 is simply AWESOME and it should be a standard in the displays resolutions , even on notebooks above 16 inch.
The problem is that with a 15.6 display , you'll face some problems like small writing and small buttons . A few are customizable to larger but not all of them .
If you're going to watch movie on this netbook , the HD resolution is a must . Anyway , I advise you to check the 17.3 inch version where you'll enjoy more the HD resolution .

I don't know if the N55 has models with GLOSSY screen but I found the glossy display to be a much clearer and vivid than the Matt ones .

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005PAK26C/ref=oh_o01_s00_i00_details

Thats is the model i just got today from amazon. I have to say for an AG screen it is still plenty bright. I have been in between laptops for a couple months now and i am sticking with this one. It has everything and then some. It is by far the best screen i have seen on a laptop. Plays skyrim on ultra hight without a problem. The only minor thing i dont like is the fact the lid is so glossy and gets finger prints so easy. I dont get why the would do that.

 

It does. I have one of those. It's much better than the matt one but you have to keep it under certain angle to avoid reflections from the lighting. I got used to it. And as for watching movies, 720p is quite enough for a 15" laptop. I had a choice between 1366x768 and 1980x1020 but I chose the first one because that way I get better gaming performance in native res.

Anyway, can someone please answer this one for me. There is this USB charger+ option that is supposed to charge while the laptop is turned off. But mine isn't charging. What software should I install? I already have USB charger+ icon sitting in the tray. Shouldn't it work?

 

I went in to Currys last night to check out that Asus N55S (they had it advertised for £750 with a £50 cashback offer as well), but they were sold out both in store and all across London.

So I strolled in to Comets and checked it out - it looked a very attractive laptop. I asked a salesperson about their stock levels, and it turned out they only had 2 left!

Im guessing the model is due a refresh, hence the £200 off most places are offering. In any case getting a new laptop (non clevo) with a GT555M for that money isnt easy - nextbest Laptop I was looking at was the Alienware M14x which is significantly more money.

So after 10 minutes of mulling it over, checking out the screen & keyboard quality (good), I bit the bullet and bought one. It was £750, so £50 more than the other place but only £10 more than most online retailers with the same spec PC (some have an older i5 version with a 1366 x 768 screen so for £675ish, watch out for that).

Didnt have much time to check it out last night, but I did get a run of 3DMark Vantage and it returned a score of 6608 which I was very pleased with.

Installed Starcraft 2 as well, but didnt get a chance to patch it and play.

The video drivers installed on the system were very recent (28/9/11) so I was happy with that as well - a very recently assembled PC by the look.

Very little bloatware as well which was refreshing after the myriad of crap that came wth my Sony Vaio.

Anyway it seems good so far.

Can provide more info if anyone is interested.

 

I've ordered this laptop from here two weeks ago & currently waiting on delivery

ASUS 15.6" FHD / i7-2670QM / NV GT 555 2G / 6G / 640GB / BD Combo / 64 bit Win 7 Home Premium / BGN - Laptops Direct

and someone has asked whether it's full HD 1920 x 1080 & they've responded saying yes but I notice they've changed the listing part on the tech spec to 1600 x 900 so I emailed asking about it and they've responded saying the max resolution is 1920x1080. Sorry for the daft question but can anyone tell me am I being duped or am I missing something?

Apologies again if i'm asking something stupid & it's a resolution setting or something on the laptop

 

The question that you are asking is what is the maximum resolution the screen is either capable of - 1920x1080 or 1600x900.

On the link you provided, the maximum res for that screen is 1600x900 and you would not be able to change it to 1920x1080 at any point.

That said, you did order 2 weeks ago - so perhaps the model you are recieving does have a 1920x1080 screen.

The model I purchased matches the one in your link - Asus N55SF-S2342V, and mine has a 1600x900 max res screen.