Pros: Core i7 6500U Skylake CPU, 8 GB of RAM, 1 TB of Storage, DVD reader, Windows 10, low price point (see price here)
Cons:3-4 hour battery life
Finding a Core i7 laptop under $600 or even under $700 is no easy task. However, Asus seems to be stepping up to the plate today as it launches the new Asus F555UA-EH71, a sixth generation Core i7 laptop with 8 GB of RAM that's currently on sale for just under $600 (see price here). If you've been looking to get your hands on a laptop like this then don't go away and read our in depth review on the Asus F555UA-EH71.
What do customers think? View All Customer Opinions
Asus F555UA-EH71 Full Review, Pros and Cons
Display and Design
Let's kick things off by talking about the screen. In this case Asus has chosen to keep things "low key" with a standard 1366 by 768 pixel resolution LED display. Far from the Full HD resolution it sports on the Asus F555LA-AB31
yet more than enough for most users.
yet more than enough for most users.
In terms of design, the new Asus laptop presents itself with a clean and "professional" design which slightly reminds us of the Apple lineup. The Asus F555UA-EH71 weighs in at a rather average 5.1 pounds and it's quite slimming with a thickness of just 1 inch.
CPU, RAM and Graphics Card
Moving on with our review of the Asus F555UA-EH71, it's time to talk specs and boy do we have a lot to talk about. Starting off with the CPU, the Asus F555UA-EH71 bets on a sixth generation Skylake Core i7-6500U CPU that runs at a speed between 2.5 and 3.1 GHz. This is a dual core CPU with 4 MB of cache, 4 threads and a 64 bit architecture. Overall, a pretty powerful CPU for a heavy everyday use.
When it comes to RAM, the new Asus laptop bets on an 8 GB RAM module that clocks in at 1600 MHz. Unfortunately, the RAM on this laptop is not upgradable according to the company so you're stuck with 8 GB for better or worse. That said, 8 GB is more than enough for most users, allowing you to run several programs at the same time and to have dozens of tabs open on your browser without your laptop breaking a sweat.
Finally, as far as graphics go, the new laptop sports an Intel HD Graphics 520 which is a pretty decent discrete graphics card. In terms of gaming, you could play Metal Gear Solid 5 with this laptop or even GTA 5 at 720p and 25 fps. However, it's important to remember that this is not a gaming laptop and it's specs make that pretty clear from the start.
Summing it up: It's clear that the Asus F555UA-EH71 is not a gaming laptop but rather an all purpose laptop, designed to cater to the more demanding user base in terms of processor but not to the most demanding users in terms of graphics.
Basically this means that you can run several programs at the same time as long as we're not talking about video editors or demanding games that require a dedicated graphics card.
Battery Life and Storage
With our review coming to a close, it's time to talk about battery life, one of the biggest cons on this laptop. Specifically, the new Asus laptop sports a 4 cell battery which gives us roughly 3 to 4 hours of battery life. Clearly, this laptop had to make some sacrifices to include an i7 Skylake processor and the battery life was one of such sacrifices.
As far as storage goes, we've got a 1 TB hard drive running at a standard speed of 5400 rpm. If you're a "storage hog" and find this amount of storage insufficient then you should probably know that you can get an external drive with up to 1 TB of storage at a steep discount .
Ports and Stuff
We're getting ready to wrap up our review of the Asus F555UA-EH71 and it's time to talk about the ports. Specifically we've got: 2 USB 3.0 ports, 1 USB 2.0, 1 HDMI, 1 SD card reader, 1 VGA port and 1 gigabit ethernet port.
As far as wireless connectivity goes, we're covered with a high speed WiFi connection (802.11 ac) and Bluetooth 4.0 support.
Asus doesn't forget to implement an HD webcam, nor does it forget to attach a DVD reader to the laptop. In terms of OS, the new laptop comes with the latest version of Windows, Windows 10 so you won't have to go through the "hassle" of downloading the new OS as soon as you turn on your new laptop.
Verdict: Is it worth it?
The time has come for us to wrap things up and give you a defining answer as to what we truly think of this laptop: Is it worth it? Should you buy it? Well, as you must know by now, the answer to that question depends heavily on the type of user you are.
If you're a gamer then this laptop is not for you, you should look for a laptop with a dedicated graphics card. If you're a student looking for a laptop to do school work, watch movies and do some light gaming and/or editing then the Asus F555UA-EH71 won't disappoint.
If you're looking for a "house laptop" to basically surf the web and store some family pictures and videos then perhaps this model is a bit of an overkill and you'd be better served with a chromebook
or a cloudbook
if you don't like Chrome OS.
or a cloudbook if you don't like Chrome OS.