Asus X555LN-XO112H Notebook Review
For the original German review, see here.
A member of Asus' new all-round product line comes to us in the form of the X555LN-XO112H. The X555 line is the successor of the F550 / X550 series. We tested a total of five models from this line - the last one was the F550LN-CN89H (Core i7-4500U, GeForce 840M). Our report shows whether the X555LN is convincing.
Rivals of the X555LN are all all-round laptops priced at around 600 Euros (~$776). These are, for example, HP's Pavilion 15-p008ng (Core i5-4210U, GeForce 840M) or Acer's Aspire E5-571G-536E (Core i5-4210U, GeForce 840M).
Case & Connectivity
The price level of the X555LN already suggests that a solid plastic casing is delivered. It looks a lot like the casings of Asus' F550 / X550 line. The base unit's surface features a silver color. Asus additionally uses textures. The wrist rest has a grooved texture, and the rest of the upper side is covered with a subtle grid pattern. Asus colors the other casing components black, but the lid is also textured with grooves that spread out from the center in a circle. The casing's stiffness and build could be a bit better. The casing yields slightly when pressure is applied to the area next to the keyboard. At the same time, the laptop's right stopper lifts from the surface. The base unit's stiffness is satisfactory, but the lid warps too easily. The Aspire does not have a maintenance cover.
The most striking difference to the F550 / X550 line is found in the interface positioning. However, the type and number of ports are identical. The left-sided interfaces are located in the rear, and the area beside the wrist rest remains free of cables.
The X55LN is shipped with Windows 8.1 (64-bit) preloaded. There is no recovery DVD among the included accessories. Asus exclusively supports Windows 8.1 and also only provides the corresponding drivers.
Input Devices
We know the input devices from the F550 / X550 line. Nothing has changed here. Asus still relies on an unlit chiclet keyboard with level, very subtly roughened keys for its X555LN. They feature a medium drop and a clear pressure point. Unfortunately, the keyboard yields when typing on it and affects the typing feel adversely. Prolific typists will not be happy with it. The multi-touch capable ClickPad has a surface area of 10.5 x 7.3 cm, which is a lot of room for using multi-touch gestures. Its sleek surface additionally enables easy gliding. The pad features a short drop and a very audible and palpable pressure point.
Display
A matte, 15.6-inch screen has moved into the X555LN. It is everything but compelling with a brightness of 184.2 cd/m² and contrast of 86:1 (that's right: eighty-six). How such a screen can be installed in a 600 Euros (~$776) laptop is incomprehensible. The virtually identically configured and equally priced Pavilion comes with a considerably brighter screen with a Full HD resolution.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Brightness Distribution: 92 %
Center on Battery: 187 cd/m²
Contrast: 86:1 (Black: 2.2 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 7.77 | 0.5-29.43 Ø4.9
ΔE Greyscale 8.82 | 0.5-98 Ø5.2
48% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 1.6.3 3D)
51.7% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
73.9% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
49.95% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.43
| Asus X555LN-XO112H GeForce 840M, 4210U, Toshiba MQ01ABF050 | Acer Aspire E5-571G-536E GeForce 840M, 4210U, WDC Scorpio Blue WD10JPVX-22JC3T0 | HP Pavilion 15-p008ng GeForce 840M, 4210U, HGST Travelstar 5K1000 HTS541075A9E680 | Lenovo IdeaPad Z50-70 (59427656) GeForce 840M, 4510U, Seagate ST1000LM014 Solid State Hybrid Drive | Acer Aspire V5-573G-54218G1Taii GeForce GTX 850M, 4210U, Seagate ST1000LM014 Solid State Hybrid Drive | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Display | -3% | -28% | 24% | ||
| Display P3 Coverage | 49.95 | 48.78 -2% | 36.2 -28% | 63.4 27% | |
| sRGB Coverage | 73.9 | 71.3 -4% | 53.8 -27% | 89.7 21% | |
| AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage | 51.7 | 50.4 -3% | 37.48 -28% | 64.6 25% | |
| Screen | 11% | 52% | 68% | 116% | |
| Brightness middle | 189 | 212 12% | 343 81% | 202 7% | 326 72% |
| Brightness | 184 | 217 18% | 329 79% | 192 4% | 306 66% |
| Brightness Distribution | 92 | 91 -1% | 87 -5% | 78 -15% | 87 -5% |
| Black Level * | 2.2 | 1.1 50% | 1.02 54% | 0.37 83% | 0.56 75% |
| Contrast | 86 | 193 124% | 336 291% | 546 535% | 582 577% |
| Colorchecker dE 2000 * | 7.77 | 12.4 -60% | 10.9 -40% | 10.23 -32% | 3.2 59% |
| Greyscale dE 2000 * | 8.82 | 13.94 -58% | 12.09 -37% | 10.04 -14% | 3.65 59% |
| Gamma | 2.43 91% | 3.08 71% | 2.01 109% | 2.2 100% | 2.29 96% |
| CCT | 9275 70% | 17672 37% | 10388 63% | 10347 63% | 6685 97% |
| Color Space (Percent of AdobeRGB 1998) | 48 | 49.2 3% | 46.1 -4% | 35 -27% | 58 21% |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | 11% /
11% | 25% /
37% | 20% /
42% | 70% /
91% |
* ... smaller is better
Asus ships its laptops with preloaded color profiles. Thus, they have a more balanced color reproduction than most laptops from other manufacturers ex-factory. This is particularly beneficial in the low-budget sector. The average DeltaE 2000 shift in state of delivery is 7.77. A rate less than 3 would be ideal. The screen at most exhibits a minor bluish cast that is not really visible.
The price level of the X555LN already points to a simple TN screen in the laptop. That is also the case, and the screen can thus only offer limited viewing angles. Outdoor use is only conditionally possible due to the poor brightness and very low contrast. Excessively bright surroundings should be avoided.
Performance
Asus offers a basic all-round laptop with a gaming suitable GPU with the X555LN-XO112H. Our review sample is available for approximately 599 Euros (~$774). Other configurations also exist. The currently lowest priced model of the line is the X555LN-XO128D. It comes without an operating system and only has 4 GB of working memory. The other equipment is identical. It is sold for around 480 Euros (~$620).
Processor
Intel's Core i5-4210U (Haswell) dual-core processor clocks inside the X555LN. The processor operates with a base speed of 1.7 GHz, which can be boosted to 2.4 GHz (both cores) and 2.7 GHz (one core only) via Turbo. The CPU's TDP is 15 watts. The processor's full power is available in both AC and battery mode. The CPU tests of the Cinebench benchmarks were always processed with full speed.
System Performance
The system's total performance does not give reason for complaint. Everything runs smoothly. The good PCMark benchmark scores associate to that.
| PCMark 8 Home Score Accelerated v2 | 2945 points | |
| PCMark 8 Creative Score Accelerated v2 | 2885 points | |
| PCMark 8 Work Score Accelerated v2 | 4046 points | |
Help | ||
Storage Devices
The storage device is a Toshiba hard drive with a capacity of 500 GB which spins with 5400 revolutions per minutes. As is common for Asus' laptops, the usable part of the hard drive is divided into an operating system partition (186 GB) and a data partition (258 GB). There is also a recovery partition (20 GB) invisible to the user. In total, the drive delivers good transfer rates for a 5400 rpm model.
Graphics Card
Intel's HD Graphics 4400 graphics core and Nvidia's GeForce 840M form a so-called Optimus array. Both GPUs are intended for different application purposes. Intel's Core takes care of routine and battery mode while the GeForce manages performance-devouring applications like computer games. Both cores support DirectX 11 at minimum. The GeForce GPU is a model from the GPU mid-range. It operates with a base speed of 1029 MHz, which can be increased to 1124 MHz via Turbo. The 3DMark benchmark scores are not surprising and are on par with identically configured contenders, such as HP's Pavilion 15-p008ng and Acer's Aspire E5-571G-536E.
| 3DMark 11 Performance | 2327 points | |
| 3DMark Ice Storm Standard Score | 59788 points | |
| 3DMark Cloud Gate Standard Score | 5634 points | |
| 3DMark Fire Strike Score | 1350 points | |
Help | ||
Gaming Performance
It can be said that the X55LN is suitable for gaming. Most up-to-date games run smoothly in a medium to high quality setting on the laptop. Some older games as well as games that have a low hardware requirement even allow more. Should the gaming performance not satisfy personal gaming needs, another laptop will have to be selected. An alternative would be, for example, Acer's Aspire V5-573G (Core i5-4210U, GeForce GTX 850M, Full HD IPS screen). The device is available for a price starting at 699 Euros (~$904).
| low | med. | high | ultra | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tomb Raider (2013) | 125.2 | 59.9 | 29.5 |
| Asus X555LN-XO112H GeForce 840M, 4210U, Toshiba MQ01ABF050 | HP Pavilion 15-p008ng GeForce 840M, 4210U, HGST Travelstar 5K1000 HTS541075A9E680 | Acer Aspire V5-573G-54218G1Taii GeForce GTX 850M, 4210U, Seagate ST1000LM014 Solid State Hybrid Drive | Acer Aspire V5-573G-54208G50aii GeForce GT 750M, 4200U, Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT0 12-9WS142 | Lenovo IdeaPad Z50-70 (59427656) GeForce 840M, 4510U, Seagate ST1000LM014 Solid State Hybrid Drive | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tomb Raider | -17% | 82% | 13% | -2% | |
| 1024x768 Low Preset | 125.2 | 85.1 -32% | 181.1 45% | 120.4 -4% | 123.3 -2% |
| 1366x768 Normal Preset AA:FX AF:4x | 59.9 | 52.2 -13% | 112.6 88% | 65.4 9% | 58.8 -2% |
| 1366x768 High Preset AA:FX AF:8x | 29.5 | 28.1 -5% | 62.4 112% | 39.8 35% | 28.7 -3% |
Emissions
System Noise
The X555LN is virtually silent when idling. The fan spins with low speeds then. The fan abruptly speeds up during load. However, the noise it produces is tolerable. The Pavilion shows a similar behavior as the X55LN. The Aspire operates a bit more subdued than the contenders during load.
Noise Level
| Idle |
| 31.7 / 31.7 / 31.8 dB(A) |
| DVD |
| 37 / dB(A) |
| Load |
| 40.8 / 43.2 dB(A) |
 | ||
30 dB silent 40 dB(A) audible 50 dB(A) loud |
||
min:  , med:  , max:  Voltcraft sl-320 (15 cm distance) | ||
Temperature
Asus has to be praised for the low temperatures on the laptop's surfaces. We recorded idle temperatures far below 30 °C on each measuring point. The laptop did not even come close to 40 °C anywhere during the stress test.
The GPU performed the stress test (Prime95 and Furmark run for at least one hour) with full speed (1124 MHz) in both AC and battery mode. The processor only operated with its full clock (2.4 GHz) in AC mode; it throttled to 800 MHz in battery mode. The CPU's temperature settled to approximately 85 °C in the stress test (AC mode).
(+) The maximum temperature on the upper side is 36 °C / 97 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 37.3 °C / 99 F, compared to the average of 39.2 °C / 103 F
(+) In idle usage, the average temperature for the upper side is 24.3 °C / 76 F, compared to the device average of 31.3 °C / 88 F.
(+) The palmrests and touchpad are cooler than skin temperature with a maximum of 27.4 °C / 81.3 F and are therefore cool to the touch.
(±) The average temperature of the palmrest area of similar devices was 28.8 °C / 83.8 F (+1.4 °C / 2.5 F).
Speakers
The stereo speakers have found their place on the casing's underside in the X555LN. They produce an overall acceptable sound that lacks bass. The sound can be adapted to each situation to some degree via the preloaded Audio Wizard software (gaming, movie, music).
Energy Management
Power Consumption
The X555LN also behaves exemplary in energy management. It consumes less power than both the Pavilion and Aspire over the entire load range. It proves to be particularly modest in idle mode. The power consumption climbed up to 49.2 watts during the stress test. The power supply (output: 65 watts) is far from exhausted with that.
| Off / Standby | 0 / 0.2 Watt |
| Idle | 4.2 / 6.3 / 7.1 Watt |
| Load |
35.2 / 49.2 Watt |
   
| |
Key:
min: ,
med: ,
max: Voltcraft VC 940 | |
Battery Runtime
Websites are opened automatically every 40 seconds in the practical Wi-Fi test. The energy-saving profile is enabled, and the screen's brightness is set to approximately 150 cd/m². The X555LN achieved a runtime of 4:16 h - which is a very decent time. Both the Pavilion (4:45 h) and in particular the Aspire (5:35 h) last longer. The Aspire owes its runtimes to its high-capacity battery. The other two contenders have smaller batteries (Asus: 37; Acer: 56 Wh; HP: 41 Wh).
Verdict
Asus' X555LN-XO112H is a 15.6-inch, all-round laptop. It is impressive in all common application fields, which also includes rendering computer games. At the same time, it barely heats up and consumes relatively little power. The battery runtimes are also satisfactory. The laptop's biggest shortcoming is its screen. Asus uses a dark and very low-contrast model. HP proves that more is possible in the 600 Euros (~$776) price range with the Full HD screen in the Pavilion 15-p008ng. The X555LN's keyboard is not compelling either; it yields when typing on it.
