Asus N550JV unboxed, first impressions

Just right before Christmas Day, a package came onto our doorstep. It was huge & it was very much expected as I bought it off Amazon a month ago; now it’s here – Asus’ 15-inch N Series notebook.

The Asus N550JV is my first laptop, and it was also recently launched by Asus last November for the local market packing a 2.4GHz Intel Core i7-4700HQ CPU, 8GB RAM, an NVidia GeForce 750M GPU & more.

Asus N550JV

Taking it out of the box, I got the heavy notebook and just right beneath it lies the bundled subwoofer & the also-heavy charger & adapter – all of these things really need a muscle to carry. Once you set it up, you are greeted by its amazing 1080p IPS LCD display.

Asus N550JV

A quick tour of the laptop’s sides will show you that the N550JV is no slouch when it comes to connectivity & ports. It has a port for the subwoofer, a mini-display port, an Ethernet port, an HDMI port, 3 USB ports, a place for the audio jack, an SD card slot & a DVD drive. The rest is just beautiful aluminum & matte plastic, begging to be touched.

Asus N550JV specs:
15.6-inch 1080 x 1920 IPS LCD touchscreen display
2.4GHz Intel Core i7-4700HQ CPU
8GB RAM
Intel HD Graphics 4600
2GB NVidia GeForce 750M graphics
1TB HDD
DVD drive
WiFi
Bluetooth
3 USB 3.0 ports
1 HDMI port
1 COMBO audio jack
1 RJ45 LAN Jack for LAN insert
1 mini Display Port
SD card reader
Backlit Keyboard
Bang & Olufsen ICEpower Audio + Subwoofer
Windows 8.1 upgradable
383 x 255 x 27.7 mm
2.6 kg

Note: The one that will be making it into Philippine retail is the non-touch model + 4GB vRAM (based on Villman); the one I got has the glossy touchscreen + 2GB vRAM.

We already upgraded the software to Windows 8.1, and we have yet to test everything, including the high-powered internals, thoroughly so wait for that in our full review. For the meantime, we can say this – the Asus N550JV is one heavy laptop, but it’s something we can easily forgive for now. It has the makings of a great multimedia machine based on its spec configurations and the whole package for Php59,988USD 1,022INR 86,659EUR 974CNY 7,445 looks extremely promising. To get assurances that it will be truly worth it, you’ll have to stay tuned.

Bob Freking

Bob Freking occasionally contributes articles to the website. He is a UST Graduate of Commerce & Business Administration, Major in Marketing Management, and a full-time Sith Lord with three dragons.

17 Comments

Gary says:

11 years ago

Im intrigued by the subwoofer… Just wandering what is the significant of a sub to the notebook?
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Bob Freking says:

11 years ago

Asus’ N notebooks are known as multimedia machines hence the high-end specs. The predecessor of the N550JV had amazing speakers I’ve heard, and its successor is looking at doing a follow-up.

Audio is basically being highlighted here.
Eric says:

11 years ago

Most laptops only have speakers that emphasize on the mid and high end of the sound spectrum. Asus added the subwoofer to enhance the bass (ie. the low end). The Bang & Olufsen speakers built-in are arguably better than the average laptop speakers but with the inclusion of the subwoofer, it add depth to music, games and movies. No more tinny sounds. Haha.

dackku says:

11 years ago

Is there a version of this notebook with a black keyboard keys instead of silver? The silver keys are kind of hard to see in that laptop’s silver chassis.
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Bob Freking says:

11 years ago

There’s no version with different keys; the N56 had those but that runs on last year’s hardware.
Squall says:

11 years ago

There are some stores selling this via Sulit.com.ph ranging from 55k to 58k and you won’t need worry about customs. :)

Paul says:

11 years ago

Congratulations on your first laptop. Well-deserved as you are a hardworking guy. :)

Nasaan na yung mga nanlalait kay Bob Freking? For sure naiinggit kayo ngayon because he has a new and very cool “baby”. Kasi naman, magtrabaho na lang kayo, hindi yung puro panlalait ng kapwa ang ginagawa niyo. Ikina-angat niyo ba sa buhay ‘yang paninira niyo? I don’t think so! Belat! :)
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wew says:

11 years ago

+1 on this

landik says:

11 years ago

available na po ba to sa philippines store? or else anung mga online store na pedeng bilhan nito? salamat
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Bob Freking says:

11 years ago

According to Asus, it’s now available but in limited stores only – namely Villman, Octagon & Gigahertz.

chris says:

11 years ago

hi sir, pls bear with my foolishness. may i ask how to ask amazon to deliver door to door the goods that u bought? ive won before a gc of amazon and use it to buy something but when it arrive it has to be pick up from post office and because of that ive been taxed a big buck.its like payin for the goods.awaiting for your kind responce thanks
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Bob Freking says:

11 years ago

I didn’t have Amazon deliver it to the PH. I had it shipped to my relatives abroad and from there, it went through LBC. :)

I’m not familiar with the process of shipping it directly to the PH. Sorry.

ropknot says:

11 years ago

Just curious, why did you say that this is your first laptop?

That aside, congratulations on your first laptop, Bob! I’m sure that the first laptop of yours surely pack a lot of processing punch!

Nice first impressions too.
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Bob Freking says:

11 years ago

That should explain how I got it & why it’s different from the one in local retail. I guess that should deliver a little flavor & trust into the writing too. Thanks! :)

landik02 says:

11 years ago

makakapili ka po ba ng hard drives? may part na SSD and HDD? or talagang innate na ang specs sa Phil? Anyways sana maging comprehensive rin ang yugatech in terms of PC just like cellphones, Happy New Year!
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Bob Freking says:

11 years ago

There were many configurations to choose from when I was deciding to get it abroad. Locally, so far I’ve only seen one.