Review Asus N56VB-S4050H Notebook

The 15-inch device's exterior resembles the models N56VZ (GeForce GT 650M) and N56VM (GeForce GT 630M) that we tested about a year ago. The multimedia laptop looks rather ordinary in a closed state. The casing's plastic bottom and brushed aluminum lid feature a dark color.

As soon as the device is opened, the black components clearly vanish in the background. The keyboard's elegant silver-colored metal rim scores just like the laptop's sides. The display's gray bezel and the black keyboard ensure nice highlights. We also discovered a stylish, wave-pattern grille in the speakers' area. In our opinion, the optical design is a success.

There is a bit of room for improvement in terms of casing stability. Although the base unit only yields under stronger pressure, the maintenance cover and lid could be more rigid. Nevertheless, the N56VB fares quite well compared to other all-round laptops. The build quality generally does not leave much to be desired. The material transitions on our test device were quite accurate. There is not much reproach for the hinges either. Opening with one hand is possible although the base unit tends to lift. The lid deals reasonably well with surface vibrations.

The N56VB is neither exceptionally heavy nor light with a weight of approximately 2.7 kilograms (~6 pounds) and thus is quite suitable for carrying around. The same is true for its size of 380 x 255 x 35 millimeters (~15.0 x 10.0 x 1.4 inches, width x depth x height), which is common for the 15-inch range (e.g. Acer's Aspire V3-571G).

Instead of treating the user to a decent recovery system, Asus prefers to install many other tools on the laptop. For example, we found a trial version of Microsoft's Office 365 and McAfee's Internet Security. Many of the additional programs come directly from Asus. The system can be updated via Live Update and image rendering can be modified via Splendid Technology. AsusDVD is a media player from CyberLink.

Accessories

The accessories are impressive. A driver & tool DVD is found inside the box alongside cable ties and several information brochures (warranty card, manuals, etc.). The strong 56 Wh lithium-ion battery is known from the predecessors. Asus however has now designed the 120 Watt power supply unit a bit slimmer, now only 160 x 76 x 25 millimeters/~6.3 x 3.0 x 1.0 inches). The biggest highlight is the cylindrical and lightweight 262 gram (~0.58 pound) subwoofer (see right picture column). The accessories would have been even nicer with a recovery DVD.

Warranty

Asus includes a two-year, international hardware warranty on the device. The battery is only covered for one year.

Processor

The more expensive models in the N56VB range are powered by a quad-core from Intel's current Ivy Bridge generation (22 nm). The Core i7-3630QM can increase its clock up to 3.4 GHz via Turbo Boost.

Another feature is Hyperthreading technology that supplies every physical core with a virtual counterpart. Since 4 + 4 equals 8, eight parallel threads are thus possible. The high performance of the Core i7-3630QM is not least due to the 1.4 billion transistors and the six MB L3 cache. For comparison, the 2.6 - 3.2 GHz Core i5-3230M "only" has a three MB L3 cache. A major advantage of the dual-core CPU is its low power consumption of 35 rather than 45 Watts (TDP).

However, regardless of the processor, Nvidia's graphics switching Optimus enables the N56VB to switch between the integrated and dedicated GPU. According to the requirement, either the HD Graphics 4000 or the GeForce GT 740M is enabled. Optimus works virtually flawlessly. We can verify that the technology is very reliable. Single programs can also be manually assigned to a specific graphics card via Nvidia's system control (right click on desktop). A global setting is also available.

Nvidia again causes a lot of confusion with its new GeForce 700M series. A few models that are still based on the GF117 chip (710M & GT 720M) from the prior Fermi generation exist beside modified Kepler models with a GK107 and GK208 chip (GT 730M to GT 750M).

To add to the confusion, single graphics cards are also offered in different versions. The GeForce GT 740M is the perfect example for this. Depending on the laptop, either a DDR3 or a GDDR5 with a 128 or 64-bit memory interface takes care of all pending calculations, including deviating clock rates. Asus opted for the "conventional" alternative for the N56VB. Its big 2048 MB and fast 1800 MHz DDR3 memory features a 128-bit bus.

One of the most important features of the 700 range is the revised Turbo mode (GPU Boost 2.0). It now also includes the temperature as well as power consumption. According to Nvidia, the performance is to increase by up to 15%. In the case of Asus' N56VB, the default clock of 810 MHz is stably increased to 895 MHz during load.

Like the Kepler models, the GeForce GT 740M is manufactured in state-of-the-art 28 nm process. The graphics card is positioned in the midrange with 384 Shader units. An official Nvidia driver was not yet available at the time of this review. The slightly older ForceWare 311.00 was installed on our device.

The 750 GB HDD comes from Western Digital and is dubbed Scorpio Blue WD7500BPVT-80HXZT3. The slim, 9.5 millimeter (0.37 inch), 5400 rpm model supplied decent rates in special HDD tests such as HD Tune and CrystalDiskMark. The latter tool recorded a sequential read and write rate of over 90 MB/s.

Subjectively, the HDD does not seem especially fast or sluggish. However, its performance is of course remote from that of a solid-state drive. An SSD would not only have an impact on the speed (boot time, load times, transfer rates, etc.) but also on the noise. Impatient users who have the necessary means should consider upgrading. HDDs soon find their limits in heavy multitasking.

The gaming performance exhibited by the GeForce GT 740M was quite mixed. Undemanding games like Mass Effect 3, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, FIFA 13 and Dishonored were rendered smoothly even in maximum settings including anti-aliasing.

However, graphics-hungry titles such as Far Cry 3, Crysis 3 or Hitman: Absolution stuttered a great deal in higher settings. As a result, the resolution sometimes had to be reduced, which is known to be at the expense of sharpness.

Casual gamers who can live with compromises in graphics quality and speed will however get a system that is suitable for up-to-date games with restrictions. We were nevertheless a bit disappointed in the GT 740M since it was overall only enough for the level of a GT 640M. It should be possible to expect bigger performance leaps from a new model range.

Incidentally, the main competitor AMD uses a similar, confusing naming strategy. Old architectures are often masked as an allegedly new generation.

The temperature development will unlikely bother anyone either. The temperature is agreeably cool at idle with an average temperature of 26 °C (78.8 °F). Our thermometer recorded an average of 33 °C (91.4 °F) on the laptop even during full load, which is not exceedingly warm.

In return, the components make a mixed impression. Good: A CPU and GPU temperature of 70-80 °C (158-176 °F) is absolutely acceptable. Bad: The Core i7-3630QM throttles to 1.2 GHz after a short while.

SonicMaster, Bang & Olufsen ICEpower, Waves MaxxAudio. Asus uses many keywords for promoting the speakers. This is justified as we ascertained in the test.

Regardless whether the external subwoofer was connected, the sound proved to be surprisingly clear, accurate and balanced for a laptop. All media was rendered adequately. Naturally, the best sound is derived with the subwoofer because the bass seems richer. It is also possible to fill bigger rooms with sound adequately owing to the N56VB's high maximum volume.

The sound can be perfectly customized via the preinstalled software. In addition to various scenarios, e.g. music, movies, gaming, it provides sound enhancements and an equalizer.

The battery runtime is within the average range for multimedia devices. The 15-incher lasted between one and five hours depending on the screen's brightness and system load. We recorded almost three to four hours from the N56VB during normal use (office, Internet, video files, etc.). We would appreciate a somewhat stronger battery in the successor.

There is hardly a better multimedia laptop than Asus' N56VB for less than 1000 Euros (~$1318) at the moment. The 15-inch, versatile device only exhibits a few shortcomings that are mostly not serious.

Although the port distribution is partly adverse, the casing convinces to the largest extent. In contrast to glossy laptops, the matte, metal surfaces are quite insensitive in terms of fingerprints and dust. The backlit keyboard is also a plus point. 

Owing to graphics switching and modern hardware, the temperature and noise emissions are no reason for concern either. However, it is too bad that the GeForce GT 740M only insignificantly stands out from its predecessor. Our benchmarks show that the GT 640M successor places itself between the GT 630M (Asus N56VM) and GT 650M (Asus N56VZ).

On the other hand, we quite appreciate that Asus not only pays attention to image but also sound quality. The competition can take an example from the 2.1 system. Although it adds weight, the included subwoofer is a nice idea. We can only list the omitted recovery DVD and poor Wi-Fi range as drawbacks for the all-round laptop. The manufacturer also wastes potential in battery runtime and the touchpad.

It is nevertheless enough for a clear purchase recommendation.