Asus X555 laptop review: Heavy piece of powerful hardware

If you intend to spend a lot of money on a laptop, then chances are high that you might end up finding too many options in your lap (pun-intended). Brands like HP, Dell and Lenovo immediately come to our minds when we think about Windows options in the mid-to-high price segment. Can we include Asus, with its X555 notebook, in the same list too? The same brand launched a Macbook-rival in the form of Zenbook UX305, but the X555 is more in the run-of-the-mill category of Asus laptops.

Specifications

Display: 15.6-inch LED 1366x768p   
OS: Windows 8.1   
CPU: 2.2 GHz Intel Core i5   
GPU: 2GB Nvidia GeForce 920M   
RAM: 8GB   
Storage: 1TB   
Connectivity: 2 x USB 3.0, USB 2.0, Wi-Fi, Ethernet, HDMI, SD card, Bluetooth, VGA port   
Battery: 37 hrs   
Weight: 2.3 kg   
Dimensions: 38.2 x 25.6 x 2.58 cm   
Price: Rs 54,999 

Design

Asus X555 has all the attributes of a gaming laptop, but it isn't really. The notebook is beast body-wise, and to some extent we can call it a powerhouse as well. Preferring plastic-body finishing for a high-end laptop is never the right call and X555 would have massively benefitted from borrowing some of the sheen we first observed on the Zenbook UX305 earlier this year.

At 2.3 kg X555, it is one of the heaviest traditional notebooks available in this price bracket right, and with dimensions of 2.58 cm thickness, it is never going to be easy carrying the X555 in your backpacks. The front part of laptop is glossy, which is highly reflective in nature (as you can see below) and prone to easy scratches as well. If you will compare the X555 with HP Pavilion 15, then you will find both the giant-sized laptops quiet similar to each other.

For this kind of money, you'd expect better durability. The keyboard portion has been blessed with metallic body, which looks elegant and manages to sustain under major heating threats. The trackpad is quite responsive and the keys offered on the X555 deliver tactile feedback and look as if they can last for a long time.

All connectivity ports have been placed on either side of the notebook, including the power point. It is definitely not the most elegant notebook that we've used this year and for what it's worth, we expect a lot more than just merely being a laptop.

Hardware

Asus has made sure this variant of X555 gets pretty much the best possible hardware available to users in the country. It packs a 2.2GHz Intel Core i5 CPU with 8GB RAM and manages to offer 1TB storage out-of-box. Slew of connectivity ports include; 2x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0, Ethernet and VGA for external monitor support among others. On the front you have a HD camera in order to facilitate video chats via Skype. And last but not the least, a 2.37 Ampere battery should be sufficient enough to make sure X555 has long usage life on single charge.

Display

Asus opted to go with HD i.e. 1366x768p standard resolution for its 15.6-inch sized X555 laptop, which is a pity if you consider the price. It's really hard to understand the company's decision to go for standard display power, instead of managing to offer bare minimum of 1080p resolution, something that HP does manage to do with its own bulky-yet-powerful Pavilion 15 notebook.

Add to that, you get a display which is highly reflective in nature, just like its outer body. But you've got to do some serious thinking in order to take care of your eyesight. Granted, the notebook is big in size but the quality on offer flatters to deceive most of the times and that's nothing to feel proud about.

Performance

But then all that hardware in tow had to come in handy somewhere; and much to our relief that's one part of the X555 that manages to stand among the best in its category. The Core i5 series falls between the affordable Core i5 and the top-class Core i7 and with proper memory support; even the Core i5 has the wits to fight the best. It pains to see that Asus got Nvidia GeForce 920M on board the X555 with 2GB memory, which fails owing to the HD display offering. There's tons (or terabyte) of storage that can be used with helps from the 2.5-inch SATA form drive with 5400 RPM. We didn't really feel that the X555 is going bonkers with all that kind of power and the results are there to be seen.

Asus X555 may not borrow the Full-HD prowess of HP Pavilion 15, but the hardware possessed by X555 manages to walk-the-talk without any discomfort. As you can see, the X555 fares head-and-shoulders above the Pavilion 15 on the 3DMark Ice Storm Extreme and is marginally better with usual work tools associated with PCMark 8.

 Perfomance   |   Create infographics
Having the option of Ethernet is an added bonus these days; and both  the competing laptops manage to pack them without fail. If you giveaway  the harrowing of handling these notebooks; there's a decent chance that  you might actually start getting used to them and start liking them as  well.

Battery

We mentioned during our HP Pavilion 15 review that even with its mass weight and big battery size, it delivers battery life of average proportions. So, we figured how different can the Asus X555 be in terms of full-day life? Surprisingly, the 37 Whrs unit onboard the notebook is strong enough to match the most efficient processors in business.

 Battery mark   |   Create infographics
With Battery Mark, Asus X555 is expected to last for over 10 hours on  single charge, while the Pavilion 15 barely manages to scrape past  8-hours use. And by using the X555 for more than couple of weeks, the  numbers projected by the tool managed to stand out in real time as well.

Like

 Asus X555 has been blessed with powerful hardware; and at a price-point  of Rs 54,000, we expect nothing less. It even has the backing of a  really long battery life that everyone cherishes along with ample  storage and memory support to fulfill our basic needs. 

Dislike

Asus X555 isn't cut-out to fit in the Rs 54K brackets and this is why we find the notebook to be given a lopsided pricing. Also, we expect FHD quality display to make up for the value and let's not forget the nightmare of carrying around this heavy piece of machine all the time. Portable? Definitely not.

Verdict

 Asus X555 is a mixed bag in terms of being a notebook. It has the means  and raw hardware to match the best in its class but with few indecisive  steps, the brand manages to make sure it doesn't really fit in to your  buying list. HP Pavilion 15 and even its own Zenbook UX305 manage to  offer FHD display at similar and lower price point respectively. Also,  before we forget, the X555 is really heavy and bulked up in stature. So  if you need a laptop with means to be become portable, this is not the  one for you. However, if you need power of highest order, then having  X555 in your list makes a lot of sense. Therefore, buy wisely.