The ASUS F555LA has dropped in price on Amazon by 32%, bringing its price point down to $339.99.
The F555LA from ASUS has had similar price drops in the past, but this is the lowest price we’ve seen it. I thought I’d give it a bit of a test run to see how well it performs and whether it lives up to the now slightly reduced $339.99 price tag.
Build Quality and Keyboard
The Asus F555LA isn’t an ultra-portable, and with a 15.6 inch display, long-term travelers aren’t going to favor it over the kind of laptops that were specifically built for travel. However, despite the larger screen size, the Asus F555LA is still thin, lightweight and easy to move about.
The weight sits at 5.1lbs, which is among some of the lightest of it’s size.
The lightweight approach does come with somewhat of a sacrifice, however. The overall build quality of the Asus F555LA isn’t the most superb you’ll find – it certainly feels a little flimsy. The material around the keyboard feels especially weak, too.
I can see the Asus F555LA succumbing to all sorts of problems after a couple of drops, so whilst it’s lightweight and easy to move about, I would be concerned about travelling with it without some kind of durable laptop bag to place it in.
The keyboard itself isn’t bad, though. The larger display size has allowed Asus to fit a full size keyboard on the main frame. You’ll find the standard chiclet style keys on the F555LA, which is pretty much on par with what most laptop keyboards can offer.
As you may already know though, chiclet keyboards don’t offer the greatest of tactile feedback, so you may prefer something else if you’re going to be spending a lot of time on typing.
The top of the Asus F555LA when shut is a fingerprint magnet – smudges and fingermarks are going to be picked up no matter how clean your hands are. I’d prefer if Asus went for a matte finish instead of the glossy-feel material they’re using instead.
The Asus F555LA is certainly nice to look at, but it needs to be nice whilst under use to get my full approval.
Display
Speaking about nice looks, the display is an aspect of the Asus F555LA which i’m happy about. At this price range, it’s finally becoming easier to find full HD 1080p panels, and that’s exactly what you’ll find on the F555LA.
The 15.6 inch display on the Asus F555LA has a full 1080p resolution, making it a perfect choice for a budget portable entertainment center. Youtube videos, movies, Twitch live streams and even just basic web browsing is going to be an absolute treat for your eyes on this display.
The display is crisp and clear even at the worst of times, perhaps thanks to the great brightness levels that are achievable.
I do have some criticisms to make though, unfortunately. The viewing angle isn’t perfect, and the overly-warm color palette does take your notice during particularly colorful scenes in movies or other media.
As a summary, the display isn’t perfect, but the resolution and screen size for this price point is superb. I really think that the display will be the defining quality for this laptop.
Specs and Performance
You may turn away in disgust at the I3 that’s powering the F555LA but you should hear me out. The 2.1GHz i3-5010U CPU, coupled with the 4GB of available RAM allows the Asus F555LA to perform well.
Basic web browsing and light multitasking is going to be a breeze, and I’ll even go as far as to say that this hardware setup could be used to do a bit of image editing or making the most of other software suites, as long as you’re willing to be a bit more patient with things like rendering.
‘Gaming’ is possible on the F555LA but that term should be used very lightly. You’re not going to be able to get reasonable frame rates on any modern games with this laptop. Games like League of Legends or Counter Strike on low settings should run reasonably, but things like Overwatch, Battlefield 1 or Mafia III are a no-go.
Take a fancy for MMOs? The F55LA can manage stable frame rates in less populated areas but make your way to a busy player hub like Stormwind in World of Warcraft and your frame rate will plummet.
I wouldn’t recommend buying this for the gaming experience, but if you’re in the mood for a cheeky gaming session and find yourself with nothing but the F555LA you could make something work. I’d rather compliment the F555LA’s ability to perform well for basic office and web browsing tasks, however.
The Asus F555LA also comes with a 500GB hard drive, which from my experience, was actually quite speedy. The F555LA is also equipped with 5GHz WiFi connectivity, 2 USB 3.0 ports, 1 USB 2.0 port, 1 HDMI output and 1 VGA output.
Included Software, Speaker Quality and Battery
The F555LA unsurprisingly comes pre-installed with Windows 10. Odd driver problems and occasional bugs to the side, Windows 10 is definitely the best option right now for Windows users.
The overall performance optimizations made on the OS so far help cheaper laptops like the F555LA to reach their full potential.
Asus has also included their smart gesture features into the F555LA which will allow you to perform different swipes on the trackpad to open programs or follow through with other functions.
On top of a few included Asus products for customizing things such as performance profiles, the Asus SonicMaster helps the included speakers to push out higher quality sound.
Asus has put a lot of money into building good laptop speakers and you’re not going to find yourself with crackling audio at loud volumes or tinny sound quality with the F555LA, or any Asus laptops for that matter.
You’re not going to get an absolutely phenomenal sound experience with the Asus F555LA, but you never will with laptop speakers.
What you’re given instead is a reliable set of speakers that’ll be able to output the same level of quality throughout their lifetime without any interference or hiccups in audio output.
Unfortunately the battery life in the Asus F555LA is pretty poor. The I3 inside may be able to keep things cool and quiet for the most part, but that 1080p display eats up the battery faster than I would have hoped. The lack of long battery life make the F555LA a potential disaster for any travelers out there.
Price and Rating – 4/5
For $339.99 on Amazon you’re getting a laptop with a decent hardware lineup, a HD display and a reasonable keyboard and set of speakers. However, the not-so-great build quality and the poor battery life make the F555LA a laptop strictly for at-home use.
Everything else in the F555LA is either on par with the rest or just a little bit better. If Asus ever renew this lineup, all they’d need to do is work on the construction of the laptop and improve the battery life and we’d have a budget beast on our hands.
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