All-rounder at a low price. The Asus laptop has a Core i3 processor and a GeForce 820M graphics core, making it a versatile all-rounder with enough power for everyday usage and occasional gaming. We've already examined two models from Asus' current X555/F555 series, so we're familiar with the X555LD-XX283H. The similarly constructed F555LD-XX243H sister model was only recently on our test bench. The latter has a larger hard drive and a white case, as well as a higher memory capacity. A more powerful model, the X555LN-XO112H, was also tested, with a Core i5-4210U processor and a GeForce 840M graphics core. The X555LD has competitors from other manufacturers' low-cost all-rounders. HP's 355 G2 and Lenovo's IdeaPad Z50-75 are two examples.

The Asus X555LD-XX283H belongs to the category of low-cost all-rounders with a 15.6-inch display. The Core i3 processor has enough processing capacity to handle everyday tasks, while the GeForce core allows for gaming, at least to some extent. The cost of our review sample is approximately $561. Within the Asus X555/F555 product series, there is a multitude of additional options.

In our practical battery test, HP's 355 G2 had a slightly longer battery life. It also comes with a matte screen and two Windows operating systems (Windows 7 Pro, Windows 8.1 Pro). It's also less expensive than the X555LD. The laptop will set you back at around $427. Customers who don't require either of the Windows operating systems will only be charged $337. The IdeaPad Z50-75 from Lenovo isn't a true competitor to the X555LD or HP's 355 G2. It has a lesser computer performance and has significantly shorter battery life.

Metal pieces are not present in the X555LD's case. It's constructed entirely of plastic. The upper side of the base unit is silver-gray. In addition, it is textured. The palm rest has a modest grid design, while the rest of the upper side has a small grooved texture. The casing is completely black on the outside. The rear of the display has texture as well. From the center, grooves radiate outward in a circle. There is no huge maintenance cover on the laptop. On the underside of the laptop, there is only a little flap that covers an empty memory bank. To replace components like the hard drive, the shell would have to be opened.

The durability and design of the casing are appropriate for the price range. The case yields slightly when pressure is applied to the left side of the keyboard. The front right stopper on the laptop lifts from the surface at the same time. The stability of the basic unit remains adequate. The lid could be a little stiffer, but that's true of most laptop lids from other brands. The lid is held solidly in place by the hinges, however, it does rock a little. With a little wriggling of the lid, opening it with one hand is doable.

The laptop has a free SODIMM slot and a soldered 4GB DDR3 1600c11 module. None of the 1333 cl9 modules (which had previously worked on an older Vaio) or the new Kingston KVR16S11S8/4 4GB 1600MHz CL11 module functioned. The ram increase will be ignored by Windows (8.1 Pro, x64) and the bios. No way, I've changed the bios from the 310 to the 312. Only Aida64 Extreme 5.0 (installed) can "recognize" my second ram module (whether it's a 1333 Hynix or a 1600 Kingston), and the first (named the system memory) is roughly 3.7GB instead of 4GB (but this may be because of some video shared memory).

I'm at a loss on what to do next; it's not even a ddr3l (low voltage) memory issue, as the CPUZ detects a 1.5v, Kingston (soldered) module in place of the standard one.

There are no unexpected or even uncommon interfaces on the X555LD. The connectivity is identical to that of competitors such as the HP 355 G2 and the Lenovo IdeaPad Z50-75. Because the X555LD's ports are located in the back left corner, cords will not interfere with the palm rest.

Our review sample is equipped with an Atheros AR9485 Wi-Fi module that supports the 802.11 b/g/n standards. There were no issues with reception. Within a radius of around 15 meters (49 feet) around the router, neither the connection nor the transmission speeds failed. Realtek (RTL8168/8111 Family) provides the Gigabit Ethernet chip in Asus' laptop. The laptop does not have a Bluetooth module installed. With a resolution of up to 1280x720 pixels, the webcam takes muddy photographs.

The X555LD's chiclet keyboard is not lit. The keys feature a medium dip and a clear pressure point and are evenly roughened. When typing, though, the keyboard yields visibly. The majority of users will have no issues with this, however prolific writers will find it ineffective.

The laptop includes a multi-touch ClickPad (a touchpad without specific mouse keys). It is around 10.5 × 7.3 cm (4.1 x 2.9 in) in size. The gliding of the fingertips is not hampered by the smooth surface. Furthermore, because of the wide area, gestures are simple to execute. The pad has a brief descent with a pressure point that is both audible and palpable.

The X555LD's 15.6-inch glossy screen has a native resolution of 1366x768 pixels. Only 167.4 cd/m2 of brightness is provided by the installed model. It's impossible to fathom how Asus came up with the notion to install such a black screen. Better rates are achieved by the panels in HP's 355 G2 (213.2 cd/m2) and Lenovo's IdeaPad Z50-75 (223.9 cd/m2), yet none are very impressive.

The screen's contrast (553:1) and black level (0.34 cd/m2), on the other hand, are excellent. The display is comparable to that of the IdeaPad Z50-75 (536:1; 0.42 cd/m2). The HP 355 G2's screen (174:1; 1.21 cd/m2) has very low rates. The screen of the X555LD is unable to display the AdobeRGB or sRGB color spaces. The coverage rates are 61.7 percent for the sRGB and 43.7 percent for the RGB (AdobeRGB).

Asus laptops usually come with a factory-installed color profile, which means that the default color reproduction is better than most competitors' models. A color profile is also included with the X555LD. Our review sample's profile appeared to be broken or improperly set up. The rates we calculated were completely unbelievable. As a result, we calibrated the monitor. Our experience has shown that the rates achieved after calibration should be nearly comparable to the rates provided by the screen when the Asus color profile has been properly implemented. After calibration, the screen showed an average DeltaE 2000 shift of 5.4. A rate of less than three would be excellent. There is no bluish cast on the screen.

A TN screen is included with the X555LD. Only limited viewing angles are possible with this screen type. The horizontal angle is quite wide, allowing multiple individuals to look at the screen at the same time. Image distortions occur quickly when the vertical viewing angle is changed. Due to its low brightness and shiny surface, the laptop is not suitable for use outside.

We had no issues with the system because it operated flawlessly. Installing a second working memory and a solid-state drive in the laptop would improve the overall performance of the device. The X555LD's PCMark scores are excellent. The gadget, however, performed slightly lower than the F555LD-XX243H variant with the identical CPU - GPU combination. The explanation for this is easy to figure out: The F555LD's working memory is dual-channel and includes a somewhat faster hard disk. As a result, we added a second working memory module to the X555LD (enabling dual-channel mode) and ran the PCMark 8 benchmarks again. The difference between the F555LD and the F555LD was significantly smaller back then.

Intel's Core i3-4010U dual-core processor powers the X555LD (Haswell). It has a basic speed of 1.7 GHz and no Turbo functionality. Hyperthreading is supported by the processor (two threads per core can be processed). The TDP of Intel's processor is 15 watts. In both AC and battery mode, the processor ran the CPU tests of the Cinebench benchmarks at 1.7 GHz. AMD's A8-6410, found in HP's 355 G2, is a close competitor. In multi-thread performance, Intel's CPU and AMD's APU are about equal, while Intel's processor has the edge in single-core performance.

The X555LD's storage device is a Travelstar Z5K500 hard disk from Hitachi. It has a capacity of 500 GB and rotates at a rate of 5400 times per minute. The hard drive is partitioned into an operating system partition (186 GB) and a data partition, as is customary for Asus laptops. The read speed was 95.24 MB/s according to CrystalDiskMark. The average transmission rate of HD Tune was 77.6 MB/s. For a 5400 rpm hard disk, these are typical rates. The access time of 20.2 milliseconds is a little too long.

The X555LD comes with an Optimus graphics switching system, which combines Intel's HD Graphics 4400 graphics core with Nvidia's GPU. In battery mode, the Intel core is enabled for normal activities. The GeForce GPU is in charge of high-performance applications like video games. The user can always intervene manually if the user wants to switch between the two cores. The GeForce core is part of the GPU's entry-level category. It runs at a base speed of 625 MHz and supports DirectX 11. Turbo boosts the processor's speed to 955 MHz. The 3DMark benchmark results are comparable to other laptops equipped with a GeForce 820M. In the 3DMark 2011 benchmark, Asus' laptop is noticeably inferior to the IdeaPad Z50-75 and HP's 355 G2. The 3DMark 2013 benchmarks show the exact opposite.

Many games may be rendered smoothly at the X555LD's native screen resolution utilizing low to medium quality settings. However, games like Assassin's Creed: Unity or Far Cry 4 should not be included. In this case, only insufficient frame rates are achieved. However, the X555LD beats competitors such as HP's 355 G2 and Lenovo's IdeaPad Z50-75. Users who want to play on a regular basis should get a different laptop. The Asus laptop, for example, is also available in a higher-performance configuration. A Core i5-4210U processor and a GeForce 840M graphics core are included in the Asus X555LN-XO112H model. It's now on the market for $651.

The very low-temperature development of the casing, which is also present in the HP 355 G2 and the Lenovo IdeaPad Z50-75, is to be commended. Even during the stress test, the temperatures were consistently below 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) (Prime95 and FurMark run for at least one hour). The CPU and GPU, on the other hand, did not run at decreased speeds during the stress test, but rather at the full performance (CPU: 1.7 GHz; GPU: 955 MHz). In battery mode, only the processor ran at full speed; the graphics core was throttled to 162 MHz.

The X555LD's battery lasted 7:48 hours while idling. Lenovo's Z50-75 (5:11 h) runs out of power substantially faster. The Battery Eater Reader's test is used to determine whether the device is in idle mode. The screen is adjusted to the lowest possible brightness, the energy-saving profile is turned on, and the wireless modules are turned off. After 1:28 hours of load, the X555LD shut down. The IdeaPad (1:14 h) falls behind once more. The Battery Eater Classic test, which uses maximum screen brightness, a high-performance profile, and activated wifi modules, determines the loaded runtime.

The practical Wi-Fi test on Asus' laptop ended after 4:22 hours, placing it between the IdeaPad Z50-75 (2:35 h) and HP's 355 G2 (4:43 h). Using the energy-saving profile and a screen brightness of roughly 150 cd/m2, websites are automatically launched every 40 seconds. The video playback time is determined by looping the short film Big Buck Bunny (H.264 encoding, 1920x1080 pixels). Wireless modules have been disabled, and the screen brightness has been set at around 150 cd/m2. The X555LD lasted 4 hours and 8 minutes. The IdeaPad (2:20 h) falls behind once more.

The Asus X555LD-XX283H is a 15.6-inch all-rounder with a low price tag. Its processing power is more than adequate for daily use. Playing computer games is also possible but to a limited level. The gaming power should satisfy casual gamers. Furthermore, the laptop is cool to the touch and has good battery life. The laptop's keyboard will suffice for home use, but it will be useless for prolific writers. The installed screen makes a mixed impression: on the one hand, it has excellent color reproduction and strong contrast, but its brightness is extremely low.

Download

Download BoardView