Reddit reviews ASUS F556UA-AB54 NB 15.6" FHD Intel Core i5 8GB 256G SSD Windows 10 Laptop (Gold)

Pretty much this.

I helped my mom buy a new laptop last month, was an Asus 15'' 256GB SSD, full keyboard, 8GB Ram, etc., really nice laptop for a fair price. There was an AMD version and an Intel version. Both were $700 CND.

I really wanted to pick the AMD one, but it wasn't Ryzen, so no dice. Maybe there will be Ryzen laptops out the next person I help pick out a laptop, but unfortunately not this time.

TBH if you wanted to buy a laptop for FM you should of asked like a week ago, when Black Friday and Cyber Monday were going on (If you live in the states that is). If not wait for Christmas to get a bit closer and there will probably be some good deals.

You should minimally look for a laptop with at least a hard drive (Storage size is up to you) at 7200 rpm, or an SSD. An I5 processor that can run higher than 2.6 ghz, and at least 4 gb. I don't think graphics are really that intensive in the game, but having a dedicated graphics card would help.

[549.99, but no dedicated graphics] (https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-F556UA-AB54-Intel-Windows-Laptop/dp/B01M08DL26/ref=sr_1_4?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1480721464&sr=1-4&keywords=laptops+on+sale&refinements=p_n_feature_four_browse-bin%3A2289793011%2Cp_n_graphics_type_browse-bin%3A14292273011%2Cp_n_feature_fourteen_browse-bin%3A2057441011)

499.99, but weaker processor

659.99 looks like a very solid laptop, but no reviews on it

I don't see anything that could be "to good" for nearly $600. The CPU is two generations behind (5th gen, newest ones are 7th gen). The display is a low quality TN panel, so SSD. For example this Asus F556UA-AB54 would be by far a better choice, but it still has a low quality TN panel.

Found his laptop. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M08DL26/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_apa/GNLJybNPQ281Z

I don't see your intended use in the description, but I can tell you that if a friend/family member showed me a laptop with those specs, I would say "this is probably OK, but depending on your budget, I would see if I could find something with a SSD and an i5."

1TB is a lot of space and most of the computers I work on use less than 250GB of storage. Of course if you'll be downloading movies, or you plan to install a lot of games, or have a ton of music and high-res photos, you might need that space. But most folks use their laptop to watch YouTube/Netflix, check email/Facebook, pay bills and create/edit MS Office docs.

If you could find one with a 120GB or 250GB SSD, you would do fine on space and enjoy boot-up speeds of under 30 seconds! Applications launch faster, the OS is more responsive. Once you've used a computer with a SSD, it's hard to go back. If you require additional storage, you could look at an external.

On the i5 - I've used and worked on laptops with all types of processors, and the i5 just seems to be faster, more responsive, handle multiple applications running and launching without flinching, and there's not a huuuge price difference. The i3 seems to hang a little in comparison. Of course there are multiple other factors at play, and in some instances you may have an i3 out perform an i5 depending on specs of the specific processor. But as a rule of thumb, I say "go with the i5 or better".

I like this ASUS on Amazon for $550:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01M08DL26/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1479063080&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=laptop%2Bi5%2BSSD&dpPl=1&dpID=51rDLb7i7RL&ref=plSrch&th=1&psc=1

I would suggest the ASUS F555UA for $550 over the Dell Inspiron 15 that you mentioned. The ASUS F555 has extremely similar specs but with a 256GB SSD rather than a 1TB HDD. The SSD will likely be much more beneficial for you as it will allow for much faster use of programs and booting up the laptop. You also should not need more than 256gb storage unless you are heavy into video editing, in which case I would still suggest an external hard drive.

Asus Vivobook
https://www.amazon.ca/Asus-VivoBook-F556UA-AB54-15-6-Inch-Full-HD/dp/B01M08DL26/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1482542423&sr=8-2&keywords=asus+vivobook

Lenovo Flex 14
https://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msca/en_CA/pdp/Lenovo-Flex-4-1470-80SA-Signature-Edition-2-in-1-PC/productID.4713659800

I'm currently looking at another offer I found as well which may be better, if you have any feedback on it, that would be great.

Lenovo Ideadpad 700: $856.99 when using EPP site.
http://www3.lenovo.com/ca/en/laptops/ideapad/ideapad-700-series/IdeaPad-700-15ISK-/p/80RU00E5CF

Thank you for your time.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/JnHvd6

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i5-6600K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor | $227.49 @ SuperBiiz
CPU Cooler | Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler | $29.88 @ OutletPC
Motherboard | Asus Z170-A ATX LGA1151 Motherboard | $149.99 @ NCIX US
Memory | Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory | $92.99 @ Newegg
Storage | Intel 600p Series 128GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive | $50.93 @ Amazon
Storage | Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $39.99 @ Amazon
Video Card | Asus Radeon RX 480 4GB Dual Video Card | $229.99 @ B&H
Case | NZXT S340 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case | $66.99 @ SuperBiiz
Power Supply | EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply | $74.88 @ OutletPC
Operating System | Microsoft Windows 10 Home Full - USB 32/64-bit | $106.99 @ SuperBiiz
Case Fan | Corsair Air Series AF120 Quiet Edition (2-Pack) 39.9 CFM 120mm Fans | $25.88 @ OutletPC
Monitor | Asus VX228H 21.5" 1920x1080 60Hz Monitor | $119.99 @ Newegg
Keyboard | Thermaltake Commander Bundle Wired Gaming Keyboard w/Laser Mouse | $28.99 @ SuperBiiz
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total (before mail-in rebates) | $1264.98
| Mail-in rebates | -$20.00
| Total | $1244.98
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-12-10 07:33 EST-0500 |


https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-F556UA-AB54-Intel-Windows-Laptop/dp/B01M08DL26/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1481372939&sr=1-2&keywords=6200u&refinements=p_89%3AAsus&th=1

$1244.98+$549.99=$1794.97

If you could go over your budget, this Acer Aspire E5-575G-53VG laptop would be a very nice pick since you will want to run a few games as it has a dedicated graphics card. Also, it has a terrific battery life which you will definitely find handy... Also, you could get this ASUS F556UA-AB54 NB laptop which is cheaper , doesn't have a dedicated graphics card, but I think would suffice in the games you play. It also has a decent battery life, excellent build quality etc...

Is it this?

It's okay... but a bit expensive. This is a better option, but it is a kind of steep increase.

I would instead maybe look for a used/refurbished Thinkpad T430... you open to suggestions here?

I depends on what you want in the computer, how fast you want it to run, and the amount/type of storage, as well as graphics card and CPU performance. For simple internet browsing and word documents, you don't need anything more than a laptop with Core i5 (or even i3) and 8GB RAM for a PC, but with games and high performance applications, something like a Core i7 and 16GB RAM (you can still do with 8GB) might be more useful, althought those will be slightly more expensive. It also depends of what type of storage you're looking for, HDD or SSD, and how much, there are pros and cons to each. Computer size and weight get larger the higher performance they get, usually.
Such examples from Amazon I was looking at myself (since I'm in a similar situation with a laptop purchase):
ASUS
Acer
Lenovo

If you don't need it for gaming you can go for a laptop without dedicated graphics since most home and work application won't be using it anyway. I have the previous version of this Asus F556UA. Which has better built quality than the Acer.

Found this too: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01M08DL26/ref=mp_s_a_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1480108191&sr=1-13&refinements=p_n_feature_four_browse-bin%3A2289793011%2Cp_n_feature_twelve_browse-bin%3A9521908011%2Cp_n_feature_two_browse-bin%3A610553011%2Cp_n_size_browse-bin%3A2423841011%2Cp_n_feature_five_browse-bin%3A13580790011%7C7817224011%2Cp_85%3A2470955011&rps=1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&th=1&psc=1

ASUS F556UA
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M08DL26/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

hey how about this decent ASUS F556UA-AB54? it comes with a pretty decent Intel Core i5 cpu, a good 8GB ram and a speedy 256G SSD which will enhance the boot up as well as program launches for your applications. this pc should be able to run your photo editing pretty good.

Between the two I would go with this because it is cheaper with better build quality and you don't need the power difference that the other one will provide.

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01M08DL26

The 6500U is better than what you'd be able to achieve on a $600 budget, though not by much.
Checking Amazon with a $750 budget, there's this laptop. The 7200U has similar performance to a 6500U due to having similar clock rates, but it has better integrated graphics and the laptop has an SSD.

I went through the links of the sidebar including your site and found the following. Would there be any reason not to consider these machines compared to what has been suggested?

Dell Dimension 15 5000 for $479.99

Dell Inspiron 15 i5558-5718SLV for $488.61

[Asus F556UA-AB54] (https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-F556UA-AB54-Intel-Windows-Laptop/dp/B01M08DL26%3Fpsc%3D1%26SubscriptionId%3DAKIAJ76EIXAV3V6D6JEQ%26tag%3Dglobalnetwork-20%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3DB01M08DL26)

Asus F556UA-EB71 for $607.20

Dell Inspiron I7568 for $563.99

Acer Aspire E5-774G-52W1 for $560

I just bought this for $550

ASUS F556UA-AB54 NB 15.6" FHD Intel Core i5 8GB 256G SSD Windows 10 Laptop (Gold) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M08DL26/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_y0juybFJEKTCX

I don't play games on my laptop so it's for general use. I heard Asus is slightly better build quality than Acer/Hp. Howd I do?

Hi,

I suppose you could go with the Acer F5-573G or Asus Vivobook X556U. Both should get you about 4 hours of battery life.

Thanks for looking, but i was finally able to convince them to look at 15" models. This one looks pretty solid (7200u, 1080p and a 256gb ssd for $700) :)

Acer Aspire E5-575G-53VG

Pros:

• Dedicated GPU (GeForce 940MX) (rare at this price point) albeit I don't see this being important
  
  
• 15" FHD screen
  
  
• Optical drive
  
  
• RAM upgradeable
  
  
• M.2 SSD with open 2.5" drive bay for an extra HDD
  
  
• Backlit keyboard
  
  Cons:
  
  
• Ever seen that picture of Torvalds flipping off NVIDIA? That still applies (albeit I've heard various people using nouveau nicely and the proprietary drivers are pretty okay-ish) (you could theoretically only use the integrated graphics but I don't recommend that)
  
  
• Small-sized SSD is likely going to be difficult to dual-boot on unless you store very little data
  
  
• SSD is SATA, not PCIe
  
  
• Bloatware (very much worth reinstalling/uninstalling applications when you buy it)
  
  
• 5.3 lbs, heavier than your current laptop
  
  Unknowns (for me, probably discoverable):
  
  
• Don't know about the wireless chipset, avoid if Broadcom
  
  ASUS F556UA-AB54 NB
  
  Pros:
  
  
• Intel Integrated Graphics as far as I can tell, which generally work well with Linux (albeit not very powerful)
  
  
• 15.6" screen
  
  
• Optical drive
  
  Cons:
  
  
• Intel Integrated Graphics are generally not that great
  
  
• SSD is small
  
  
• 5.1lbs, lighter than previous entry but still heavier than current
  
  Unknowns:
  
  
• Any kind of upgrades

The first laptop came to my mind was the ASUS F556UA-AB54 is an excellent 15.6inch Full HD budget laptop with the latest 7th generation strong Kaby Lake Intel Core i5 processor, ample 8GB system memory, a fast 256GB SSD and strong overall performance. It weighs 5.1lbs with other features if you need to connect it to your external display, a VGA and HDMI output comes in handy, while 802.11 AC-type WiFi plus Bluetooth 4.1 card will sort your wireless needs. For media, a DVD burner and an SD card reader

Any thoughts on this one? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M08DL26/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=LQGPN7MW502W&coliid=I1TC8S2SIHSQG2&psc=1

Is this too heavy? Sorry if I was no help, I'm more comfortable with recommending heavy gaming laptops with poopy battery life. :)

https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-F556UA-AB54-Intel-Windows-Laptop/dp/B01M08DL26/ref=sr_1_7?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1486413970&sr=1-7&keywords=i5+laptop

if not, then look out for these terms:

i5-7200U <- You see that "U"? That means it's an ultra low voltage, meaning it is optimized for bettery BUT might not be the strongest thing out there.

8 GB or more ram. Multitasking eats RAM.

*SSD, Solid state drives are much much faster and they start the computer faster. And they produce less heat, and they take up less space.

Awesome. It looks amazing. Did you grab it on sale? This guy would like some feedback if you're feeling generous.. He shot me a message saying if I bought it, let him know.

I also saw this laptop. Do you think it's worth the extra $200 for the Zenbook? Spec wise it's almost the same right? What am I missing?

I wouldn't get that laptop. It has a large screen but it's low resolution. I would look for something that is at least 15" and 1920x1080 or even higher. That 17" screen at 1600x900 you'll be able to see the pixels.

Here's one, it's only 15.6" screen though. At this point you may be better off getting a desktop PC.

https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-F556UA-AB54-Intel-Windows-Laptop/dp/B01M08DL26/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1491578459&sr=1-2&refinements=p_n_feature_five_browse-bin%3A7817224011%2Cp_n_feature_three_browse-bin%3A9647486011%2Cp_36%3A2421887011

I have a question I have a laptop and was wondering if I can run HOTS?LINK

That looks good, and is a good price too, I'm just thinking that maybe it is too small, I typically prefer 15 inches.
Through my research I have found tw other possible options.
The lenovo Flex 4
and the Samsung Notebook spin (although I would rather it had an SSD)

And since I will be using this in college, how would notetaking be on the 2 in 1s?
Or is my best bet to just get a normal laptop like this or this one

I somehow misread the screen as 13.8 not 13.3 - and thought it might just be big enough. You're right, that would be too small though.

What do you think about this ASUS vs this HP? I had the first HP Envy and did not like it. It was plagued with fan problems and poor build quality. Has HP gotten better in that regard?