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Review Asus N55SF-S1124V Notebook

Beatbox. Asus and a matt screen? Not always but ever more often is the motto. Asus also shows what is within the realms of possibility with an external subwoofer in sound matters. We show what else to the Asus N558F has to offer in this review.

The second device that we are testing from Asus' latest N series is the N55SF-S1124V. It's so to say the N75SF notebook's little brother, whose review could be read on Notebookcheck since the past few days. The Asus models only differ in the size of the used screen. A major difference is the kind of display surface: The N55SF has a matt screen and, in contrast, the N75SF had a glare-type screen. Inside, (almost) the same hardware is been used in both models.

The laptop runs on a fast Core i7 2630QM. That is an Intel quad core with a base clock of 2 GHz. Although the CPU already contains a graphics solution, Asus has additionally given the N55SF-S1124V a powerful dedicated graphics from Nvidia (GT 555M).

As previously in the 17 inch model, the N75SF, a Blu-Ray reader has been installed, which can also burn CDs and DVDs. The RAM of 2 x 4 GB modules also corresponds to that of our N75SF test device. One of the few differences is the maximum memory capacity of the hard disk, respectively hard disks. Where the big model (17") has two hard disks, the 15 inch model has to "manage" with only one 750 GB disk

Both Asus laptops are again equally priced. Asus demands about 1200€ for this well equipped, 15.6 inch multimedia notebook.

Case

15.6 inch matt screen with Full HD
15.6 inch matt screen with Full HD

The most striking feature of the Asus N55SF-S1124V when it's closed is its high gloss lid coated in piano lacquer. When unused, it's an eye-catcher - but the more frequently the notebook is touched, the more fingerprints become visible.  Moto: Users who love their notebook will be eternally cleaning it.

As previously in the Asus N75SF, the N series' fresh looks is also conveyed in an opened state. The deep wrist rest, with its very pleasant-looking, rubberized surface, is prominent.

Opening and closing the case lid is quite simple because the base unit stays down and doesn't lift along. As in the Asus N75SF, both hinges don't have a tight hold and the display bezel teeters a bit.

The Asus N55SF-S1124V has a typical weight for the 15.6" category with 2.7 kg.

Connectivity

The number of interfaces on the N55SF-S1124V exactly equals the 17 inch model's (N75SF). Asus only had to be a bit more flexible in positioning. The card reader has been moved to the 15.6 inch device's front. Otherwise, the interface distribution corresponds to the N75SF.

Front: Card reader
Front: Card reader
Left: 2 USB 3.0, HDMI, RJ45, VGA, power, Kensington Lock
Left: 2 USB 3.0, HDMI, RJ45, VGA, power, Kensington Lock
Rear: No interfaces
Rear: No interfaces
Right: Subwoofer port, Blu-Ray drive, 2 USB 2.0, 2 audio
Right: Subwoofer port, Blu-Ray drive, 2 USB 2.0, 2 audio
Subwoofer
Subwoofer

Communication

The Asus N558G bids the usual alternatives for connecting to a network or Internet access. So, fast WLAN (802.11 b/g/n) and a GBit LAN socket. Bluetooth 3.0 -HS is also a part of the configuration. 

Supplies

The power adapter, the battery and a cylindrical subwoofer belong to the scope of delivery. 

Warranty

Asus also grants its customers a 24 month warranty (12 months on battery) for this model.

Input Devices

Keyboard

The keyboard has a rather unusual layout, but seems very well thought out at first glance. We first noticed unwelcome peculiarities when working with the laptop:  

Imagine you are writing an email or working a bit with Windows and want to press the ESC key. Where do you try to access the key without looking at the keyboard? Naturally in the upper left, right? 

However, the Asus N55SF laptop's keyboard does not have its escape key here. Instead, the energy saving mode key is found here under Windows. 

That may not sound very tragic. But every time the alleged ESC key is to be triggered in a game, benchmark or info screens, the notebook switches to the next energy saving mode. That wouldn't be so fatal because there are only about a handful of modes to choose from. More fatal is that the energy mode's settings are overwritten with the default values. A horror for the notebook tester as he needs his own settings.

The lateral numpad has been placed very close to the QWERTY keyboard's layout. In return, the cursor, as well as the left shift key is standardly sized.

Touchpad

The author of this review also had a few problems with the touchpad while writing this review. The touchpad surface seemed very blunt in some places, but then again it responded very fast to commands. Both mouse keys have been replaced by a big key that has lateral pressure points. Two conventional keys would look better on the laptop and eliminate the dead zone in the center of the rocker key.

N55SF-S1124V's keyboard
N55SF-S1124V's keyboard
N55SF-S1124V's touchpad
N55SF-S1124V's touchpad

Display

Asus has equipped the N55SF laptop with a 15.6 inch, matt screen that is consequently fairly non-reflective. The user isn't mirrored at all. It's even possible to work and play easily on this screen in direct sunlight.

Also very commendable is the Full HD resolution which comes across nicely on the Samsung screen (156HT01-201). The colors look very strong and the icons' captions are also very legible. 

The display is made in a 16:9 format and has an LED backlight.

313
cd/m²
297
cd/m²
289
cd/m²
289
cd/m²
306
cd/m²
287
cd/m²
293
cd/m²
296
cd/m²
300
cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
tested with Gossen Mavo-Monitor
Maximum: 313 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 296.7 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 92 %
Center on Battery: 306 cd/m²
Contrast: 364:1 (Black: 0.84 cd/m²)54.4% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
73.2% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
53.7% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)

We were a bit disappointed about the assessed screen rates. They were far below our expectations since the gauge was set a bit higher owing to the good screen in the Asus N75SF. But the N55SF unfortunately doesn't reach its good rates. 

Where the measured black value in the N75SF was 0.32 cd/m2, N55SF buyers will have to be satisfied with 0.84 cd/m2. The N55SF's good average brightness rate of 296.7 cd/m2 is almost on a par with the N75SF (289 cd/m2).

Even the color spectrum comparison pictures hardly differ between both Asus models. The following comparison pictures to sRGB, AdobeRGB and AppleRGB show that the screen can't really cover these. But that is rather uninteresting for the normal user.

N55SF vs. AdobeRGB
N55SF vs. AdobeRGB
N55SF vs. AppleRGB
N55SF vs. AppleRGB
N55SF vs. sRGB
N55SF vs. sRGB
Color spectrum comparison

Outdoors shows that the matt screen is much better suitable than a high gloss one. Direct sunlight has almost no effect on the display's content. The content even remained good and strong in color in various viewing angles outdoors.

Asus notebook outdoors
Asus notebook outdoors
in various viewing angles
in various viewing angles
The picture was always visible
The picture was always visible
Asus N55SF-S1124V outdoors
Viewing angles: Asus N55SF-S1124V
Viewing angles: Asus N55SF-S1124V

The displayed content coped well with various viewing and tilt angles. Our test picture was well visible from the side, even at a narrow viewing angle of about 45 degrees, almost without contrast or brightness problems.
The picture faded, respectively inverted when tilted back or forth. Overall, the used screen proved to be more lenient in terms of possible viewing angles than most current laptop screens.

Performance

Single cores can be clocked up to 2.9 GHz
Single cores can be clocked up to 2.9 GHz

The heart of the configuration is the Core i7-2630M, a quad core CPU from Intel that has a base clock of 2.0 GHz. The Sandy Bridge generation processor supports Speedstep in addition to Turbo Boost. This allows the clock of single cores to be increased, respectively decreased to 2.9 GHz. The clock is automatically reduced in idle mode for example. The CPU processes up to 8 threads at the same time with Hyper Threading.

Intel has embedded the memory controller and a graphics unit (HD Graphics 3000) in the CPU unit. The chip contains 995 million transistors in a manufacturing process of 32 nm. The processor has an L3 cache of 6144 Kb.

System info CPUZ CPU
System info CPUZ CPU
System info GPUZ Nvidia
System info GPUZ Nvidia
System info GPUZ Intel
System info GPUZ Intel
CPUID
CPUID
System info CPUZ Nvidia
System info CPUZ Nvidia
System info CPUZ Intel
System info CPUZ Intel
System info CPUZ RAM SPD 3
System info CPUZ RAM SPD 3
System info CPUZ RAM SPD 1
System info CPUZ RAM SPD 1
System info CPUZ RAM
System info CPUZ RAM
System info CPUZ Mainboard
System info CPUZ Mainboard
System info CPUZ Cache
System info CPUZ Cache
Latencies
Latencies
System information: Asus N55SF-S1124V

The rates that the single benchmark programs recorded for the current test device (Asus N55SF) correspond to almost 99% of the similarly equipped Asus N75SF

Cinebench R10 Rendering Single 32Bit
3689
Cinebench R10 Rendering Multiple CPUs 32Bit
14258
Cinebench R10 Shading 32Bit
5832
Cinebench R10 Rendering Single CPUs 64Bit
4609 Points
Cinebench R10 Rendering Multiple CPUs 64Bit
16741 Points
Cinebench R10 Shading 64Bit
5970 Points
Cinebench R11.5 OpenGL 64Bit
35.21 fps
Cinebench R11.5 CPU Multi 64Bit
4.77 Points
Help

Asus uses a DirectX 11 capable GeForce GT 555M as an additional graphics card. It has 1170 million transistors, 144 unified shaders and a 2048 MB DDR3 video memory.

The CPU's embedded HD Graphics 3000 can also be used beside the Nvidia graphics. Switching between both graphic solutions occurs immediately and without rebooting the laptop. Nvidia's Optimus Technology enables the graphic calculations to be executed on either the Intel or GeForce GPU. The user can however decide which graphics is to be used for single programs according to preference. Otherwise, switching happens automatically. 

5.9
Windows 7 Experience Index
Processor
Calculations per second
7.4
Memory (RAM)
Memory operations per second
7.6
Graphics
Desktop performance for Windows Aero
6.9
Gaming graphics
3D business and gaming graphics
6.9
Primary hard disk
Disk data transfer rate
5.9
PCMark Vantage Result
6879 points
PCMark 7 Score
2319 points
Help

The first 3DMark program runs show that there won't be any surprises regarding the GPU benchmark results, either.

The rates between the 15.6 (N55SF) and the 17.3 inch model (N75SF) are within the same range and hardly differ.

Example: 3DMark11 - the N55SF achieved 1410 points, the N75SF managed 3 points more. That is only a difference of 0.2 percent expressed in percentage.

3DMark 2001SE Standard
16599 points
3DMark 03 Standard
27807 points
3DMark 05 Standard
19357 points
3DMark 06 Standard Score
11436 points
3DMark Vantage P Result
6425 points
3DMark 11 Performance
1410 points
Help
Crystal Disk Mark
Crystal Disk Mark

750 GB hard disk is used in our Asus N55SF. It rotates with 7200 revolutions per minute. The HDTune result is 84 MB/s and CrystalDiskMark's is a bit higher as expected. The program records a rate between 102 (write) and 104 MB/s in read

A drop in the development curve with HDTune Pro is conspicuous. There is apparently an active program in the background.

A look at the installed programs in system control shows that Asus has stuffed the N55SF, as already the N75SF, full of superfluous ballast. The curve is as it should be after a radical purging of the registry and deleting all unnecessary programs.

Asus N55SF-S1124V: HD Tune Pro evaluation
Seagate Momentus 7200.5 ST9750420AS
Transfer Rate Minimum: 2.5 MB/s
Transfer Rate Maximum: 111.5 MB/s
Transfer Rate Average: 83.6 MB/s
Access Time: 15.8 ms
Burst Rate: 112.7 MB/s
CPU Usage: 2.8 %
Almost all games run satisfactorily smooth up to 1366x768 and high
Almost all games run satisfactorily smooth up to 1366x768 and high

Gaming Verdict

Games on the Asus N55SF? Basically no problem. Even the latest games can be played with the powerful GeForce GT 555M and Intel's quad core

All games that we have tested on this GPU until now achieved well playable frame rates with exception of the Full HD resolution (1366x768, high). 

Which other games run on this graphics solution, and how well can be seen in our comprehensive database "Computer games on laptop graphics cards" based on the latest games.

low med. high ultra
Mafia 2 (2010) 73 56 45 27
Fifa 11 (2010) 406 219 129 96
Dirt 3 (2011) 109 77 50 13

Emissions

System Noise

We can't say anything negative about the noises, with exception of the nervous optical drive. The Blu-Ray drive sounds every time we start the notebook. Even when the desktop is opened, the optical drive turns on and the whole laptop actually begins to shake.

The noise chart shows that the notebook works quite inaudibly otherwise. Our measurements are very close to the 43 dB (A) limit during load. In comparison to the bigger N75SF the N55SF is a bit louder, though.

Noise Level

Idle
32.4 / 32.6 / 33.4 dB(A)
HDD
32.1 dB(A)
DVD
36.3 / dB(A)
Load
39.4 / 42.9 dB(A)
  red to green bar
 
 
30 dB
silent
40 dB(A)
audible
50 dB(A)
loud
 
min: dark, med: mid, max: light   Voltcraft sl-320 (15 cm distance)

Temperature

The N55SF not only gets a bit louder than its bigger brother in the test, it also gets hotter. We measure temperatures of over 41 degrees Celsius on both rear corners on the bottom in the stress test. The top remains a lot cooler with an average of 30.5 degrees. 

Where 41.6 degrees could previously be measured on the laptop's bottom in load, it sporadically cools down to 22.5 degrees in idle mode.  That is a difference of nearly 20 degrees.
Thus the temperatures of the Asus N55 basically remain within an acceptable range.

The Asus N55 also stays cool in the stress test. The CPU and GPU temperatures settle to approximately 90, respectively 80°C after a while of full load. The CPU's clock rate remains stable at its base clock of 2.0 GHz. Thus, throttling isn't noticed.

Max. Load
 32.3 °C
90 F
28.6 °C
83 F
28 °C
82 F
 
 33.1 °C
92 F
35.1 °C
95 F
26.8 °C
80 F
 
 31.3 °C
88 F
31.7 °C
89 F
27.6 °C
82 F
 
Maximum: 35.1 °C = 95 F
Average: 30.5 °C = 87 F
41.6 °C
107 F
33.1 °C
92 F
43.3 °C
110 F
29.9 °C
86 F
31.3 °C
88 F
38.6 °C
101 F
22.6 °C
73 F
25.1 °C
77 F
26.4 °C
80 F
Maximum: 43.3 °C = 110 F
Average: 32.4 °C = 90 F
Power Supply (max.)  46.7 °C = 116 F | Room Temperature 19.2 °C = 67 F | Voltcraft IR-360
(+) The average temperature for the upper side under maximal load is 30.5 °C / 87 F, compared to the average of 31.2 °C / 88 F for the devices in the class Multimedia.
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 35.1 °C / 95 F, compared to the average of 36.9 °C / 98 F, ranging from 21.1 to 71 °C for the class Multimedia.
(±) The bottom heats up to a maximum of 43.3 °C / 110 F, compared to the average of 39.1 °C / 102 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 28.6 °C / 83 F, compared to the device average of 31.2 °C / 88 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are reaching skin temperature as a maximum (33 °C / 91.4 F) and are therefore not hot.
(-) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.8 °C / 83.8 F (-4.2 °C / -7.6 F).
Asus N55SF laptop's subwoofer
Asus N55SF laptop's subwoofer

Speakers

The N55SF additionally has an external subwoofer from Bang & Olufsen to hear basses besides high pitches on the laptop. It is connected to the according audio jack on the side. Its 150 grams only increases the transport weight minimally, but it is a bit unhandy for carrying around on a regular basis.

The sound result is very audible, but the subwoofer should be placed on an even surface for a really rich sound. For example, when it's placed on a stable table top, the table reflects the sound well and also enhanced.

Asus Music Now

The Taiwanese manufacturer introduced a kind of secondary operating system beside Windows called Express Gate a while ago.  The computer started within seconds with Express Gate and it was possible to write emails, surf or listen to music on the slimmed down desktop. A derivative of Express Gate is used in the Asus N55SF. It is now called "Music Now!" and can be started via a dedicated button. 

Booting is accomplished within seconds and afterwards it's possible to play music files that are saved on the hard disk over "Music Now!". Flash videos from various online platforms also run without ado. Asus has additionally incorporated a Web browser in Music Now!

Battery Life

The power consumption is dependent on the application as well as the used graphic solution. A lot less power is consumed when the embedded HD Graphics 3000 is used. This is also noticed in the battery life. However, clear differences could be seen between with Intel's graphics in idle and Nvidia's graphics in load in AC mode.
The Asus N55 certainly doesn't belong to the most economic laptops with 14-29 watts in idle mode. Peaks of almost 130 watts are possible during load.

Power Consumption
Off / Standbydarklight 0.7 / 0.8 Watt
Idledarkmidlight 14.8 / 19.7 / 24.1 Watt
Load midlight 91 / 128 Watt
 color bar
Key: min: dark, med: mid, max: light        Voltcraft VC 940
Currently we use the Metrahit Energy, a professional single phase power quality and energy measurement digital multimeter, for our measurements. Find out more about it here. All of our test methods can be found here.
Readers Test
Readers Test

The battery runtimes are on a reasonable level with 3 hours and 49 minutes during WLAN surfing. The laptop's battery is drained after 2 hours and 8 minutes of DVD rendering. That could already be too little for the one or other movie.

Battery Runtime
Idle (without WLAN, min brightness)
5h 04min
WiFi Surfing
3h 49min
DVD
2h 08min
Load (maximum brightness)
1h 30min

Verdict

Asus N55SF with a matt Full HD screen
Asus N55SF with a matt Full HD screen

The Asus N55SF convinced in almost all exercises. The multimedia machine has a fast quad core CPU and a powerful Nvidia graphics that should even be enough for use with computer games. Users are on the safe side with a 750 GB hard disk and 8 GB of RAM
The highlight is the 15.6 inch, matt screen that can reproduce a resolution of 1920x1080 pixels (Full HD). The good brightness and good contrast fused with the matt and thus anti-reflective surface ensure an excellent picture.

The additional, external subwoofer now finally forwards good basses, but only at home or in the office. The subwoofer only supplies little "boom" in open nature.

Users have to get used to the unusual key layout (ESC key not in the upper left as usual), as well as the touchpad with only one rocker key. 

However, it gets precarious in view of a price of about 1200€. The same hardware is partly available for a lot less. But then, it won't have as good a display installed. 

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In Review:  Asus N55SF-S1124V
In Review: Asus N55SF-S1124V, by courtesy of:

Specifications

Asus N55SF-S1124V (N55 Series)
Processor
Graphics adapter
NVIDIA GeForce GT 555M, Core: 650 MHz, Treiberversion 8.17.12.6874, nVIDIA ForceWare 268.74
Memory
7.9 GB 
, 2x 4 GB modules, Hynix HMT351S6BFR8C-H9
Display
15.60 inch 16:9, 1920 x 1080 pixel, SAMSUNG 156HT01-201, glossy: no
Mainboard
Intel HM65
Storage
Seagate Momentus 7200.5 ST9750420AS, 750 GB 
, 7200 rpm
Soundcard
Realtek ALC663 @ Intel 82801IB ICH9 - High Definition Audio Controller
Connections
2 USB 2.0, 2 USB 3.0 / 3.1 Gen1, 1 VGA, 1 HDMI, 1 Kensington Lock, Audio Connections: 1 headphone - stereo 3.5 mm, 1 microphone - 3.5 mm, 1 bass, Card Reader: MMC, SD Memory Card, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro Duo
Networking
Atheros AR8151 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller (NDIS 6.20) (10MBit/s), Atheros AR9002WB-1NG Wireless Network Adapter (b/g/n = Wi-Fi 4/), Bluetooth 3.0 + HS
Optical drive
Slimtype BD E DS6E2SH
Size
height x width x depth (in mm): 35 x 379 x 261 ( = 1.38 x 14.92 x 10.28 in)
Battery
Lithium-Ion, 6 cells
Operating System
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit
Camera
Webcam: 1.2
Additional features
2 Jahre Pick-Up & Return Service Months Warranty
Weight
2.7 kg ( = 95.24 oz / 5.95 pounds) ( = 0 oz / 0 pounds)
Price
1200 Euro

 

Asus N55SF
Asus N55SF
A Blu-Ray reader is used as the optical drive.
A Blu-Ray reader is used as the optical drive.
The Asus N55SF's bottom.
The Asus N55SF's bottom.
Opened laptop.
Opened laptop.
Battery and battery compartment.
Battery and battery compartment.
The power source for on the go: The 56 Wh battery.
The power source for on the go: The 56 Wh battery.
Fast rotating Seagate hard disk with a capacity of 750 GB
Fast rotating Seagate hard disk with a capacity of 750 GB
Enough RAM with 2 x 4 GB
Enough RAM with 2 x 4 GB
Both S0 Dimm sockets are occupied.
Both S0 Dimm sockets are occupied.
Typical quad core: 4 cores, 8 threads.
Typical quad core: 4 cores, 8 threads.
Handy: Always up to date with Asus Live Update
Handy: Always up to date with Asus Live Update
Why are there always only trial versions?
Why are there always only trial versions?
Stress test after booting
Stress test after booting
Rounded corners give the notebook stylish looks.
Rounded corners give the notebook stylish looks.
Two more USB ports are found on the left (USB 3.0 compatible).
Two more USB ports are found on the left (USB 3.0 compatible).
Good-looker.
Good-looker.
Glossy lid in piano lacquer look.
Glossy lid in piano lacquer look.
Two built-in loudspeakers from Bang & Olufsen.
Two built-in loudspeakers from Bang & Olufsen.
Additional subwoofer for rich basses.
Additional subwoofer for rich basses.
The numpad is only made for numerical input.
The numpad is only made for numerical input.
The left, upper key can cause confusion.
The left, upper key can cause confusion.
The screen is held by two hinges with a moderate grip.
The screen is held by two hinges with a moderate grip.
DC-in jack and Kensington Lock slot on the laptop.
DC-in jack and Kensington Lock slot on the laptop.
There is a card reader located on the front.
There is a card reader located on the front.
VGA and HDMI and the GBit LAN port.
VGA and HDMI and the GBit LAN port.
Special connector for the subwoofer.
Special connector for the subwoofer.
2 USB 3.0 and two audio out/in
2 USB 3.0 and two audio out/in
Stress test after about 90 minutes
Stress test after about 90 minutes

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Pros

+Matt display
+Full HD resolution
+Good sound thanks to an external subwoofer
+Fast CPU
+Powerful graphics
+Blu-ray drive
+Music Now!
 

Cons

-Sensitive high-gloss lid
-Unusual key layout
-Contrast poor key inscription
-Moderate battery life

Shortcut

What we like

The matt screen with its high resolution (Full HD) and good rates.

What we'd like to see

A touchpad with two keys and the ESC in its customary place.

What surprises us

The notebook can be used without Windows via Asus' "Music Now!". Music Now! makes it possible to write a quick email or read the latest news on Facebook without booting Windows. 

The competition

The N55SF doesn't have an immediate rival should a good quality, matt, Full HD screen be wanted with the corresponding configuration. A possible 17 inch alternative: ASUS N75SF

Rating

Asus N55SF-S1124V - 11/08/2011 v2(old)
Siggy Moersch

Chassis
82%
Keyboard
74%
Pointing Device
84%
Connectivity
72%
Weight
78%
Battery
81%
Display
82%
Games Performance
84%
Application Performance
90%
Temperature
86%
Noise
83%
Add Points
86%
Average
82%
82%
Multimedia - Weighted Average
Siggy Moersch, 2011-11-13 (Update: 2013-06- 6)