Whenever we think of buying a laptop what we usually think of? A good display, light in weight body, powerful hardware, and most importantly we always think of going with a brand that is well established and provides better customer service.
But most of the time some of the things in our list drops off due to our budget, and if our budget is somewhere around $400 then even the hope of getting a good brand shatters leaving all other features behind but what if I tell you that you can get all the above features and much more in a laptop that costs much lesser than $350!
Asus F555LA-AB31 is the laptop I’m referring to here, at $339 you get the entire above mentioned feature and a customer service backing from a trusted brand, Asus.
ASUSTeK Computer Inc. commonly known as Asus is a Taiwanese multinational computer hardware and electronics company which is headquartered in Beitou District, Taipei, Taiwan. It not only produces laptops but also is known for making desktops, netbooks, networking equipment, mobile phones, monitors, projectors, optical storage, motherboards, graphics cards, multimedia products, peripherals, wearables, servers, tablet PCs and workstations. – source
Since its launch in April 2nd 1989 Asus has become world’s 4th largest computer manufacturer in 2015. Asus has been there in providing out of the box products at unbelievable price range and Asus F555LA-AB31 is one such example in the budget notebook range.
Asus F555LA-AB31 packs a killer 1920 x 1080p Full HD display which is the USP of this laptop which is generally impossible to get even at the price range of $500, some other key features include Windows 10 running over the powerful 5th generation Intel Core i3 CPU coupled with 4GB of RAM.
Let’s checkout the specifications and talk on its real life performance in more depth –
Features
- 15.6-Inch Full HD (1920*1080) provides more clarity and sharp visual experience on video, photo and games
- Powerful 5th-generation Intel Core i3-5010U 2.1GHz, Broadwell. Ergonomically designed keyboard with IceCool technology keeps the palm rest at a comfort temperature
- 4GB RAM/ 500GB 5400RPM with DL DVD±RW/CD-RW. Feature 2 x USB 3.0, 1 x USB 2.0, 1 x HDMI and VGA ports.
- Equipped WiFi 802.11ac. This is almost 3x faster than the typical 802.11n
- 1 year International Warranty with 1 year Accidental Damage Protection
Design
The Asus F555LA-AB31 looks more elegant than its price range allows. At this price range you usually get a laptop with low quality build and quite nerdy design but with this one the case is different. This device makes it 100% sure that it catches attention of passer bys for no other reason than being an eye candy. Asus F555LA-AB31 is the true example of the quote “beauty with a brain”. Asus made a lot of effort in making this laptop’s design as its signature concentric circles and the Asus logo on the lid when hit by light just make the most amazing impression of the laptop in one’s eyes. The laptop’s made up of plastic and in the back it is all plain which would have been more of the cool factor if Asus did something at the back too but it looks just fine this way too.
Coming inside I got my eyes on the silver deck and the faux metal textured palm rest which were just amazing match to the outside lid adding more of the beauty quotient to the laptop.
The display size of the Asus F555LA-AB31 is 15.6 inches and to not make it look left out Asus surrounded it with chunky black bezel texture which looks just amazing while working over it. Now with all the above features anyone would think that the laptop would be just as bulky as any other budget laptop considering its price too, but wait let me tell you that the Asus F555LA-AB31 is one of the lightest notebook in the price range of $300 – $400 weighing just 4.6 pounds, here Asus made sure that while this notebook sits on your lap you don’t feel like babysitting a rock and made it as light as possible.
Coming over the Keyboard, it is as usual black in texture and offers neat matte covering to the keys but what’s exciting here is that the laptop is ergonomically designed with IceCool technology that keeps the palm rest at a comfort temperature.
Talking about the keys here, they are a bit low point here as they feel a bit bouncy when worked upon but with time this flaw can be overlooked as its not difficult to adapt towards bouncy keys, it would have been difficult if the same would have been hard as rock to press.
MORE: Best Laptops for Writers with Most Ergonomic Keyboards
For those who spend their most of the time over spreadsheets or document writing tools there is an additional number pad present, the same type of number pad which you get in external keyboards so again here is a plus point of buying this notebook. The touchpad works flawlessly and matches the deck perfectly.
Display
The Asus F555LA-AB31 is one of those rare laptops in the market which offer 1920 x 1080p Full HD display at this price range which clearly makes this sharp display its USP. Users usually have to compromise for worst quality displays which are low on resolution and manufacturers cut specs in display only because they know that surviving a low quality display is not everyone’s cup of tea.
But here you are getting much more than what people get even by spending $500, the display is crisp, sharp and produces vivid quality pictures and its matte coated display takes cares of anti-glare user experience when you are out hitting the sun or are under bright light which usually makes laptops go bananas and to get rid of this we just increase brightness to its fullest which is also very less in some of the present time notebooks. Asus took care of this too; Asus F555LA-AB31’s display is able to produce light at 198 nits which is more than many budget laptops. The display of this laptop scored a Delta-E score of 6.34.
Hardware
The Asus F555LA-AB31 takes care of all your needs here too, while buying a laptop we all take care that the processor should be top notch at least for the price range but most of the budget laptops have the same story of working like they don’t want to and lagging every other second which usually makes the user to stop multitasking and tend to limit his applications so that they don’t cover up much RAM. Taking the entire above thing into consideration Asus inherited this laptop with the powerful 5th generation Intel Core i3 CPU clocked at 2.1 Ghz which makes sure that you don’t have to compromise with your work and to support your multitasking skills there is a 1600MHz DDR3L 4 GB RAM inside the notebook which can be further expanded up to 8GB. The ultimate combo of both the processor and RAM makes sure that your works remains flawless and lag free and also the file transfer rate also remains at par.
MORE: Best Laptops Powered by Intel Core i3 Processor
Coming over the storage department here the users might get disappointed as the Asus F555LA-AB31 lacks SSD storage which is much faster and secured than the HDD that comes in this laptop but SSDs are usually prone to damage and are low in capacity so it might not disappoint a lot of user base. Talking about the capacity of Asus F555LA-AB31’s hard disk drive, it inherits 500GB of hard drive space for all your valuable documents, photos or any moment you want to be kept in it. If you feel like even this much memory is less for you then don’t worry as it’s an HDD you can always replace it with new one which can be an upgraded HDD. This feature is not available in SSD supporting laptops as they need to buy special SSD for their laptop which are usually high on price and low on capacity.
The graphic card of Asus F555LA-AB31 is another low point for gamers and by gamers I’m not only referring to heavy game players but also those who want to play light weighed older games on this laptop as the integrated Intel HD Graphics 5500 when comes to gaming is only feasible for Solitaire players. The graphic card is weak and for laptop gamers this point is the biggest flaw they’ll ever need to reject a laptop, but if you are not even a light gamer and need a powerful laptop for home or office based work then you may consider buying this as for mediocre net browsing and playing flash files and games this laptop is good.
Webcam
The integrated webcam in Asus F555LA-AB31 is not a cam that you’ll love to use for business related VoIP meeting over Skype as it fails to create natural looking images and merges colors creating much blurry images than a low quality cell phone would produce.
If you need it for business trips and not to call your grandma over weekends then you might going on hitting your budget up a little bit as at this price range Asus F555LA-AB31 kind of did a fair job in webcam section too as not all budget laptop users consider webcam as a priority.
Ports & Slots
The ports coming over with this laptop include the power port, an Ethernet jack, a VGA port, an HDMI port, two USB 3.0 ports and a lock slot on the left side whereas the right side comes loaded with the SD card reader, a headphone and mic combo jack, a USB 2.0 port and a CD/DVD drive. Asus didn’t cut off the ports and provided every port that needs to be present on a laptop and that’s another plus point of this budget laptop.
Software
The Asus F555LA-AB31 comes pre packed with Windows 10, the display adjustment utility and the audio software that we will talk about later. The only thing that most of the users will hate is that the laptop comes with bloatware like Twitter and Candy Crush Soda Saga, which come pre-installed; also there is a link to download Flipboard in the Start menu. Although you can uninstall these all but still who wants Candy Crush on their laptop?
As any other Windows pc, this one also comes up with a 1-month trial of Microsoft Office. Asus offers 1 year Accidental Damage Protection with 30 days Zero Bright Dot Guarantee which is one of the most comprehensive coverage available. Asus in this package gives you protection against every possible wrong move you may make including drops, spills and electrical surges while ensuring that your device stay protected. The 24/7 technical support line and 2-way free standard shipping for repairs make sure that in a situation of damage you get your laptop working as soon as possible ready to rock with you again.
Performance
Coming over Asus F555LA-AB31’s performance, its 5th generation Intel Core i3 CPU clocked at 2.1 Ghz and the 4GB 1600MHz DDR3L RAM are made to meet out the needs of everyday usability but lacks behind when it to heavy usage and comes nowhere near to the phrase of heavy or even mediocre gaming. While I played my hands over this laptop I didn’t found out any flaw in multitasking or even internet browsing, even with 10 tabs open in Google Chrome, I could easily switch over each tab, however there were some stuttering issues when it played over like a maniac but it’s all because of lesser powerful processor which isn’t made for hardcore usage.
For day to day usage Asus F555LA is one of the best laptops in this price range.
Gaming
Gaming is not Asus F555LA-AB31’s cup of tea and I won’t comment much over it as there’s nothing to even talk about. You can trying playing older games like Counter Strike 1.6 on this laptop but newer games are not at all playable on this laptop.
The benchmark results of Asus F555LA-AB31 are at the same time poor, scoring only 561 points in 3DMark benchmark this laptop surely puts an Android device to shame but can’t beat a laptop at the same time.
MORE: The Best Affordable Gaming Laptops Under $500
Asus played really a commendable role in controlling how heat is emitted through this laptop as while I used this laptop I didn’t felt like it was heating aggressively, of course there were normal heating present but that’s the problem with every other laptop be it of any range.
The Asus F555LA-AB31 stayed cool under our pressure tests as well and we didn’t notice a bit of extra heat during this test. We have a 95 degree comfort threshold and even after too much of usage the touchpad remained at 77 degrees whereas whole body gone up to just 85 degrees which is far better than most of the notebooks in the market. This clearly shows how Asus’s intelligent heat control technology manages to keep the device cool even under harsh conditions and keeping both the user as well the device from getting hurt.
Audio & Video
We all use computers for different uses but one thing that joins every user on this planet when it comes to computer usage is “multimedia access”. Everyone wants to get entertained and one such way is to listen to your favorite songs or play your favorite movies be it comedy or drama we enjoy it all if the quality of both the screen displaying the movie and the sound emitted by the speakers of our PC are at par and here in the Asus F555LA-AB31 the users are entertained by twin speakers loaded with ICEpower AudioWizard program and to complement the mentioned users get to have Realtek HD Audio Manager which creates some seriously beautiful vibes enough to get your mood driven towards whatever you are listening to or watching and provide you with full on uncompromised entertainment.
You are going to get amazed by the sound quality of the speakers Asus F555LA-AB31 carries. The sound is crispy, loud and clear and even after long hours of usage the speakers work flawlessly without creating any extra unnecessary buzzing sounds that usually every other laptop speaker creates.
I was totally satisfied with the sound quality of the Asus F555LA-AB31 and I’m pretty sure you too will.
MORE: The Best Budget Laptops Under $300
Battery Life
The battery life of the Asus F555LA-AB31 is extremely good as it performed commendably outstanding as compared to similarly priced notebooks. I did its battery test and it ended after 5 hours and 44 minutes of Web surfing over Wi-Fi at 100% of brightness.
As compared to other laptops like Toshiba Satellite L55 and the Dell Inspiron i3552 that lasted only 5 hours 14 minutes and 5 hours 13 minutes respectively. Overall, Asus F555LA-AB31 did a really great job in battery department among its other contenders.
Bottom Line
The Asus F555LA-AB31 is no doubt a value for money laptop that provides out of the box features at the price range of $300 – $400 that one can’t imagine in this segment like the unbelievably clear 1920 x 1080p Full HD display as well as the loud and clear enough to break your old laptop’s heart speakers are a plus point that make you buy this laptop blindfolded.
There are some trade offs to this laptop too as no machine is flawless, you have to cut out your gaming habits in this laptop and also you need to get your fingers ready to be fit for the bouncy keys it inherits.
But for those people who are on a considerably low budget and are looking for a 15-inch notebook for some light browsing, college assignment completion and text editing, the Asus F555LA-AB31 offers a lot for the money you are going to spend and also you get the backing of the world’s 4th largest computer manufacturer.
Asus F555LA-AB31 15.6 Inch Laptop
$339.99
