ASUS X550 15-Inch Laptop [OLD VERSION]

-This is an amazing laptop for the price. In terms of components, I couldn't come close to beating the price elsewhere.-The combination of NVIDIA GTX850 video card, and i7 4700HQ 2.5-3.5GHz quad core and 8 GB DDR3 make it blazing fast, and it handles lighter games with ease. It also throws in a 5400RPM 1 TB HDD. Component wise, this is the only part that leaves some to be desired (slow read/write with the 5400 RPM). As other reviewers have mentioned, it seems to be a bottle-neck for games. This said though, it hasn't had a significant impact on my usage (light games, processor intensive calculations, lots of multi-tasking). I also agree that adding an SSD would probably help significantly, but I haven't tried this yet.-Physically, it has an aesthetically pleasing case, with a nicely laid out keyboard, including a number pad and full sized keys. I also agree with the other reviewers here re: the keyboard sensitivity - at times, it will fail to register some keys including the space bar. However, using a mouse (and turning off the keypad) seems to help somewhat. That, plus a little more weight per keystroke seems to work most of the time. I suppose you could also get a Bluetooth keyboard if you were really annoyed, but I haven't seen the need yet.-As far as software goes, Windows 8 has its annoyances (ie no start menu!), but generally wasn't as bad as expected. In fact, after a third party app adding back the start menu, I like it more than 7 - seems more polished and smooth. Start up time is pretty fast as well, usually <5 seconds unless installing updates. Unfortunately, Asus decided to fill this thing up with tons of bloatware (with numerous spelling and grammar errors too - ie "Haven't sign in!"), but in about 15 minutes it was removed without much hassle.-Speakers work well with good range of volume and tone that pleasantly surprised me-Touchpad works fine including the multi-gestures, but I'd still recommend a mouse if you can.-Battery life is horrible, but I'd imagine most people are buying this for its hardware, and not portability. I'll get about 2-3 hours depending on use and power saving setting without being plugged in.-Free 1 year accidental damage warranty if you register online - great free perk, thankfully have not had to use thus farOverall: Great value and performance for the price, free accidental damage warranty, poor battery life, somewhat touchy keyboard and lots of bloatware, but overall very satisfied with purchase.

I'm totally pleased with this laptop. This is coming from someone who bought an ASUS laptop in 2009, one that held up very well over the years. I'm a pretty loyal ASUS customer as a result.I will say that the only downside to this system is the HDD. It's slow, but the rest of the hardware is excellent. Be prepared to break your warranty to upgrade this machine. I replaced the HDD with a solid state drive (very easy) and the 4GB ram with an 8GB stick, making it 12GB in total. Note that 4GB of the ram on this machine is actually soldered onto the motherboard. I was disappointed to find that out, as it means that upgrading to 16GB of ram in the future is impossible.... but you really only need 8-12 GB in a laptop as of 2015 gaming. People with over 16GB of ram in a laptop are asking for it to overheat constantly.It's an excellent system even without upgrades. I was able to play older games (Skyrim for instance) on the highest settings, no lag. With upgrades you'll absolutely be able to play new games like Dying Light on at least medium settings without encountering noticeable lag issues. The graphics card on this machine, while practically "outdated," still stands the test of time in terms of performance (in my opinion). If you want to play graphics-intense games like DL on high settings without lag, invest in a better NVIDIA card (like the 880m) or build a desktop. :)One thing I absolutely loathe is the keyboard. This is a serious downgrade from my previous ASUS that had a sturdier and backlit keyboard. The keys on the x550 seem a little too unstable and "chiclet-y" for my tastes. Press too hard on a button and the entire keyboard starts depressing. The plastic shell of the laptop itself isn't as bad as people are claiming, however. In fact I like how fingerprint resistant it is. It's also a very lightweight system. If you invest in one of those "PC Master Race" gaming laptops, you're looking at more than 10lbs (and sometimes 15 or 17lbs) of aluminum. Plastic ain't all that bad when the hardware is superb.Overall I think you'll be pleased with this laptop. As a grad student and a gamer, it suits my purposes. Just be prepared to upgrade it for maximum graphics efficiency and speed. In total I've only spent about $900 including the laptop purchase and a used SSD (I had the 8gb ram stick on hand already, but those are only 75 bucks). This is MUCH cheaper than any of the laptops of comparable power (and namesake, honestly, because Alienware devices will always be overpriced) that will run you upwards of $1500 or more.