Currently, the ASUS X550C laptop is one of the most popular models in our country in its segment of computer technology. Similar to the UX31A Ultrabook, it features a beautiful gradient lid design with the company's logo in the center. However, replacing aluminum with a rough and matte plastic made it possible to ensure that the laptop cover, unlike the same element in the eminent brother, now does not slip in the hands. And, moreover, no handprints remain on its surface.
Under the lid of the ASUS X550C laptop there is a silver keyboard and a wrist rest with a different shade. The design solution in this context can be fully considered successful. On the left, there are LED indicators for pressing the Caps Lock key, as well as indicators for Wi-Fi, battery power, and hard drive. Their location cannot be considered convenient due to the fact that while typing the text, hands obstruct their view.
Asus laptop of this model has dimensions of 14.9 x 9.8 x 0.97 inches, and its weight is 2 kg. This allows us to say that in this price range, it compares favorably with its larger dimensions and less weight than its competitors.
Screen, sound, keyboard and touchpad
ASUS X550CA notebook has the following features.
Screen. Its fifteen-inch size and resolution of 1366 x 786 pixels will delight any user. A careful analysis of the image reveals that the picture, composed of multicolor elements, has a non-uniform color gamut. That is, some colors are of lower quality than others. The viewing angle is 60 degrees in both directions, which is quite in line with standard standards.
The X550CA belongs to the “economy” class, and therefore the screen is not touch-sensitive. The OS is Windows 8, which, in the opinion of many users, is not very appropriate, since the "seven" in this case would be preferable. The image control on the laptop screen is carried out both manually and automatically by choosing one of three modes: "Normal", "Lightening" and "Cinema".
Sound. The powerful and rich acoustics emanating from the speakers can only be characterized as excellent. It is clear that the Chinese manufacturing company decided not to skimp on sound quality, having built in sufficiently high-quality speakers capable of reproducing impressive bass and a wide range of sound waves. In addition, the acoustics are characterized by the absence of extraneous noise. Sound adjustment is carried out by setting the following five modes: "Standard", "Cinema", "Music", "Speech" and "Streaming".
Keyboard. These input devices in the X550C ASUS notebook correspond well to the characteristics declared by the manufacturer. The full-size keyboard was able to be realized solely due to the substantial dimensions of the case. It is noteworthy that the size and depth of the keys, as well as the adjustment of the resistance when pressing them, were chosen so that during speed typing it was possible to avoid standard mistakes. And the result really exceeded all user expectations. After all, 1% of errors when typing at a speed of 80 words per minute can be considered a worthy topic indicator. However, it is the "Space" key that causes more criticism, since often pressing it is not accompanied by the execution of this command.
Touchpad. Users note that in the presence of Windows 8 and the absence of a touchscreen, a large-sized touchpad is a well-founded design decision. And its multitouching support makes it easy and convenient to make swipes.
Heating and cooling, webcam and ports
Heating and cooling. ASUS uses state-of-the-art IceCool technology in its X550CA model, which, according to many users, works really flawlessly. So, it was noted that after streaming HD video for 15 minutes, the laptop barely warmed up to 30 degrees. And the keyboard remained cool at all. Moreover, the passport indicator of the safe temperature corresponds to 35.6 degrees.
Webcam. The "eye" of ASUS X550C during operation has proved itself not in the best way. Despite the 9 megapixels in the built-in webcam, the image displayed on the screen is rather low quality. So, the picture has multiple color distortion and a lot of artifacts, and details of small sizes cannot be identified at all.
Ports. The number of USB ports is far from satisfactory. After all, only two interfaces (2.0 and 3.0), located next to each other on the left side of the laptop case, will not be able to satisfy the user if he uses this machine as the main one. Moreover, there are also HDMI, VGA, Ethernet, microphone and headphone jacks. And left the DVD drive on the right. The combo card reader is located on the front side of the asus x550c laptop case.
Performance, image and battery
Performance. ASUS X550C laptop is based on Intel Core I3 dual-core processor with a frequency of 1.8 GHz and 4 GB of RAM. This is enough for comfortable work in traditional applications and simple games. However, these capabilities are not enough to be a powerful gaming laptop. In addition, Windows 8 also slows down in normal modes. So, the browser "Chrome" already with 11 open pages significantly loads the laptop.
A 500GB hard drive, which is considered quite slow, loads Windows 8 in just 12 seconds, which is considered a decent result. And copying of films is carried out about one and a half times faster than similar models from other manufacturers.
Picture. Intel HD Graphics 4000 allows you to play comfortably without using the maximum graphics settings, when the laptop starts to slow down noticeably.
Battery. In the sparing mode of operation of the ASUS X550C laptop, when using Wi-Fi for simple use of sites on the Internet, the battery charge can last for 4 hours. If you listen to music, watch videos or play applications, the battery life of the laptop will be significantly reduced.
Customer Reviews
According to many users, the ASUS X550C laptop in terms of its technical characteristics can be considered a worthy computer equipment in the price range where its main competitors are presented. It has a fairly modern and attractive appearance. Moreover, the sound can be considered its greatest strength. The most vulnerable characteristics include a slow hard drive, weak battery and low power.
It should be understood that in this price range there are competitive models in the consumer market, whose individual characteristics (screen brightness, power and battery life) exceed those of the ASUS X550C laptop. However, in combination, this model looks quite attractive. Indeed, provided that there is no need to use, for example, games of the Total War series, the laptop user can be completely satisfied with its characteristics.
In addition, many users say that the performance of the ASUS X550C notebook is quite adequate for their requirements. Moreover, the "eight" works great, and there is an opportunity to upgrade the laptop to 16 GB of RAM. It can also be used as a portable video player.
And among the most frequent complaints about this technique, there are negative opinions about the following characteristics of the laptop:
- functionality of the touchpad, which often does not recognize or incorrectly recognizes swipes;
- clarity, brightness and screen resolution, which negatively affect the quality of the picture;
- a small number of USB ports, which creates serious restrictions on the use of a laptop as the main machine.
