Asus N550JV, N550JK, or N56JR? Can you help me decide?

Hi, I've pretty much decided that the Asus N550JV will fit my needs for taking my work on the road when I travel... will mostly be used for intensive apps like photoshop, video editing, music/audio recording and non-intensive apps like blogging. I am of course planning on UPGRADING this with an SSD drive and doubling the RAM.

I'm just unsure if I should get the touch screen version or not. I cant imagine wanting fingerprints on my screen, or the glare might be an issue if someday per chance I wish to work outdoors. Then again, I dont think matte would be much better outdoors as its not that there is a focused light source causing a glare but just an overall bright environment.

Nevertheless Im starting to wonder if I should consider the N550JK or possibly even the N56JR instead? Was there a Wifi problem with the N550JV, and if so how bad and why did Asus not address it?
Seems to me the only differences is that the N56 has 7200RPM drive + 12GB RAM already installed (so I wouldnt have to do that myself), and the N550JK has a slightly better video card (but I dont play games.... i'll just do photoshop and video editing).

So, any recommendations on N550JV vs N550JK vs N56JR? Can't find reviews for these here....

 

N550JK all the way! Better graphic card, lighter, cheaper.

 

Actually, I'm in Canada and over here, the N550JK is the most expensive of all three.

 

Well, I've also been looking around, but I have also heard about a host of issues on the N550JK. From faulty speakers to overall performance issues. However, the screen quality has been noted as a big pro of the N550JK. Also, the Nvidia GTX850M included is around 30% faster than the 750M (On the N550JV) and is more or less on par with the 760M (on the N56JR)

I would wait either for the quality issues to be addressed before buying a N550JK, or go with the N56JR (which uses a decent TN panel I've heard).

 

Thanks for your 2 cents. TN means...non-touchscreen?

Currently at Staples, the N56JR is only 50$ more than the N550JV. So for 50$ more, I would get slightly better video card, 4GB more of RAM, black keys/lid instead of silver, and I would lost the "touch" screen. Yes?

Have the issues with Wifi been resolved? Was it ever dealbreaker?

 

TN means Twisted Nematic a type of technology used for LCD panels.

 

Thanks Alias - is the same screen used basically in all 3 models in North America? (except for one being touch and not the other)

 

I noticed that the CPU performance of the N550JK I had was about 30-40% slower than my G750JM (same exact CPU).. Couldn't figure it out but that was concerning for me.

 

No, the N550JV and N550JK use an IPS panel rather than a TN panel. In general, IPS panels produce brighter, more vibrant pictures and more accurate color. IPS/TN has nothing to do with whether a screen is touch enabled or not. The touch capability is simply an extra layer of pressure-sensitive glass that is overlaid on the screen.

Basically, the N550 line has better screens. Whether that's of value to you is up to you, but if you're going to be doing video and photo editing, I'd think you'd want the best quality screen you can get, and the N550s will have that.

So if I were you, the choice would be between the JV and the JK, and then it's just a matter of price difference. If you don't care about the better graphics card, and the price differential is big enough, then go with the JV. But if the price is within $50-75, I'd say go with the JK, since the newer GPU should be not only more powerful but also more efficient.

 

Is the N550JK really lighter than the JV? If yes, how much lighter?