Asus FX553VD (7700HQ, GTX 1050) Laptop Review

In terms of size and weight, the FX553VD falls between its competitors: only the HP Pavilion 15 is 100 grams (~3.5 oz) lighter, the MSI GL62M has a similar weight, and most other competitors are up to 400 grams (~0.9 lb) heavier. It appears minimally thicker than the competitors, but this might be due to our having measured at the thickest section in front (speakers), and the notebook tapers down towards the back. In terms of its dimensions, it is about the same as the MSI, most of the other devices are slightly deeper or even wider. For an entry-level gaming laptop, the Asus FX553 lies in the lower midfield in terms of its weight and size.

The connections of the FX553VD are unremarkable: the back has none, in the front is the card reader in the center. The right side is equipped with only an optional optical drive or dummy of it, a USB 2.0 port, and the slot for a lock. All the other ports are on the left side, which include a LAN and an HDMI port, three USB 3 ports (one of them Type-C without Thunderbolt), and unfortunately just a combined headphone and microphone port. Because there is also a wide air vent besides the power port on the same side, the ports are very close together, which may cause some frustrations with thick cables or larger USB devices. In the meantime, the other devices have more success here. Since all of the important connections are on the left side in front where they will be in the way when using a left-handed mouse, left-handed users will find themselves in even more trouble.

In the specifications, the Asus website also advertises a DVD multi-function drive. Our test unit has no such drive, however. Although we can see a slot for a drive on the right side, this apparently dummy cannot be opened, nor does it appear as a drive in Explorer. So obviously there must be notebook versions with and without the DVD burner. 

In the JPEG copy test with our reference Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II memory card, the internal card reader reaches a speed of just over 80 MB/s and with this falls into the unremarkable middle of the field. For a 1 GB image file, the device needs about 13 seconds. These values are already known from its sibling, the FX502. However, the test model offers a spring mechanism that latches the card in place without it protruding.

The Asus FX553 is equipped with a Realtek GBit LAN adapter, and the Wi-Fi adapter comes from Intel and supports all the current standards including the fast ac standards. Compared to the competitors, it positions itself in the middle or upper range in our transfer test. In the send performance in particular, the notebook performs stronger than some of the more expensive competitors.

No positive surprise in the accessories: other than the power supply, the warranty booklet, and quick instructions, there is nothing else in the box. 

For customers in Germany and Austria, the manufacturer Asus offers a 2-year Collect & Return warranty. For around 70 Euros (~$75), some shops allow increasing the warranty for a further two years. Please see our Guarantees, Return policies and Warranties FAQ for country-specific information.

Our Asus FX553VD test unit is equipped with a Core-i7-7700HQ and 8 GB of RAM. Optionally, the laptop is also available with a slightly weaker processor, the Core-i5-7300HQ. This can be accompanied by 32 GB of RAM. The test unit comes with one 8 GB of RAM, a second slot remains unoccupied. Currently, 8 GB is standard in this price range and 16 GB is usually only built into the more expensive models. The 8 GB together with the mobile GeForce GTX 1050 should prove sufficient for gaming. It should be mentioned, that Asus uses a model with only 2 GB of dedicated memory as the graphics card, the GTX 1050 is also available with twice the storage. Particularly at higher resolutions and maximum settings, this could become noticeable. The MSI Pendant is also equipped with only 2 GB while Acer, HP, and Dell provide their notebooks with the 4 GB graphics variant.

The Core-i7-7700HQ is based on the current Kaby Lake architecture and belongs to the 7^thgeneration of Intel's mobile Core-i models. It has a 45-watt TDP and is one of the faster mobile CPUs. The clock speed is quite variable; the basic clock speed is 2800 MHz and can be increased to a maximum of 3800 MHz turbo speed. All the comparison models that we have selected use the same processor.

Our test unit had no problems with the 30-minute loop of Cinebench (see illustration below). The four cores of the processor continuously clocked at almost 3.4 GHz and warmed up to 80 °C (176 °F). Throttling did not occur during our test. In the tests we ran so far, the Cinebench values are therefore on a normal level of a Core-i7 7700HQ. The 7300HQ-CPU alternative goes head to head with this in single-core load, but falls behind in applications optimized for multi-cores.

During battery operation, the Cinebench test values do not change significantly. In the multi-core test, the FX553 lost a few points, but it gained a few points in the single-CPU test instead. Fortunately, we could not detect any throttling here either.

First the positive: With a GeForce GTX 1050, the most current games can be played as well. In some games, in the Full HD resolution supported by the display it even suffices for high to very high detail. However, in many demanding games, the details and sometimes also the resolution must be reduced. In our GTX 1050 page, you can find out which games will run smoothly with what settings.

Our measurements show that our test unit has typical results. For example, you should forego the maximum settings with "The Witcher 3" and preferably play with medium to high settings. In high detail level, the game will also run significantly more fluidly than at maximum level, where the frame rate is 22 fps on average, which falls under the "magical mark" of 30 from which we perceive an image sequence as smooth. 

In "Rise Of The Tomb Raider" you can even enjoy the graphics on very high details, if you take some risk. But with 32 fps on average, there is not much room to the bottom, and in some particularly demanding scenes the game can stutter. Therefore, here as well, we recommend "only" high settings for the game to run completely smooth. The results of the FX553 are almost exactly on the level of the reference design.

The notebook seems to be less inclined for "Doom." Although the results are above 43 frames, which are usually quite playable, with 52 fps the reference card is significantly higher. Eventually the disadvantages of the halved memory can be felt here. Particularly for a fast shooter, results higher than 45 fps are recommended. In "Doom" the difference between the high and ultra settings is not that much in general. To achieve a noticeable speed advantage, you would have to switch to medium detail. The Dell Inspiron 15 with its GTX 1050 Ti is about 50% faster and the FX502 again is almost twice as fast.

Furthermore, in the long run, no throttling can be detected during gaming: our one hour "The Witcher 3" session shows no performance degradation over time (see graphics below). The frame rate remains at an almost constant 28 to 30 fps.

In the gaming tests, the FX553VD runs almost head to head with the MSI, which is just 1 to 4% faster depending on the test and settings. The Dell with the GTX 1050 Ti moves ahead by 20 to 30% on average, in "Doom" it is up to 50%, and the FX502 with the GTX 1060 is twice as fast in some cases. With this, the notebook is aimed at those who like to play current games, but do not necessarily always need the highest resolutions and details. In the end there is hardly a game that the FX553VD does not manage, but in particularly graphic-heavy blockbusters you may need to forego some detail settings. We did not even test in 4K; the performance of the GTX 1050 will be insufficient for such a high resolution most of the time. But this would only be relevant for external monitors; the internal display only supports Full HD. Our games list will inform you in detail on the gaming suitability of the GTX 1050 for each of the current games.

The fans of the FX553 are constantly running, even while idling, they are humming along (32 dB(A)) and not turned off. During gaming and medium load, they speed up to around 44 dB(A), in the stress test which lacks practical relevance they even reach 47 dB(A). On average, the MSI GL62M is slightly quieter, but revs up even more under heavy load. The HP Pavilion 15 runs at similar levels, the Dell Inspiron 15 is slightly louder on average under heavy demand, and the Acer Aspire VX5 with its adjusted cooling system seems to be ahead here. The Asus FX502 is louder with its GTX 1060 during load, anyway.

In everyday use, the constantly running fans do not disturb much. During idle operation, the noise can only be heard from a close distance and there are no disturbing high-pitched or other noises. The HDD becomes noticeable from time to time, but all remains within limits and hardly disturbing. During gaming and other loads, the notebook revs up a little, but compared to the other devices it remains unremarkable and does not commit any big blunders. Moreover, the fans operate on a constant level without changing their speed all the time, which is nice. For very quiet games, we would still recommend using headphones, however.

During idle mode, the FX553VD uses only about 7 watts on average and is therefore one of the most energy-efficient gaming laptops, only the Dell manages similarly well. At around 15 watts, the MSI uses twice as much in idle mode, although it is similarly equipped and also has the Optimus technology. During load, the average consumption rises to 81 watts. In extreme cases, the notebook draws up to 107 watts from its power supply, which is amply sized with its 120 watts. The MSI appears to be more power hungry in general, and for the HP and Dell at least, the maximum values (~137 & 127 watts) turn out higher.

A Lithium-Ion battery with four cells and 48 Wh is built-in. The relatively low capacity does not promise very long runtimes. Of the comparison devices, only the MSI has a battery that is similarly weak, all the others have more capacity. We test three scenarios: the minimum and maximum runtimes and the important practice test while Wi-Fi surfing.

In the Reader's test (maximum runtime) with switched-off WLAN, the FX553 still lasts for almost 10 hours. Here the power-saving mode is active, the screen brightness reduced to a minimum, and the BatteryEater tool simulates minimum load, which consists of reading a text document. At only 6.5 hours, the MSI has the shortest runtime, which goes for all the battery tests, by the way. Here, the Dell is by far ahead of all the other devices (19.5 hours), and the HP (16 hours) comes in between the Asus and the Dell.

In the clearly more relevant practice test, this trend between the devices remains. Here the balanced power mode is activated, brightness is turned down to about 150 cd/m², WLAN is active, and a script automatically simulates web surfing with continuously changing pages. The laptop lasts for about 6 hours of this. Considering the low battery capacity, this is decent; the MSI does not even last 4 hours. The devices from HP and Acer only last slightly longer at 6.5 hours, and the Dell is the clear front-runner with a spectacular 10 hours and longer.

So the battery runtimes also belong to the lower mid-range. Although with the MSI there is a device that fares worse, the values here are anything but exiting, and the remaining competitors fare better here. Complete charging takes around 2.5 hours, by the way.