14 DAY TRIAL // Sometimes tech manufacturers like to quietly introduce products without making a huge fuss about it. It’s the case of ASUS’ latest gaming machine, which has silently popped up on the official webstore.
The reason behind this decision might be that the ASUS G550JK is a lower-end gaming notebook, so its performance won’t compare to that of premium devices such as the ASUS ROG G750JZ, which bundles the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 880M high-end graphics card.
However, the new G550JK doesn't lag in the graphics department either, albeit not being equipped with top-of-the-line GPUs. Nevertheless, what it offers is not half bad either.
The new product can be thought of as the gaming version of the multimedia laptop N550. Instead of offering a GTX 860 GPU or higher, the lappy bundles just a GeForce GTX 850M 2GB/4GB card, which is still based on the Maxwell architecture.
The lappy arrives with a 15-inch form-factor and offers 1080p resolution and IPS technology, but that’s only one way to go. Users who don’t want to spend a fortune buying this gaming laptop can opt for another variant, the traditional low-end 1366 x 768 TN panel.
Under the hood, users will be faced with another choice, in the form of either the Intel Core i7 4710HQ Haswell with four cores and clock speeds up to 3.5GHz or a less powerful i5-4200H Haswell dual-core with burst speeds going as far as 3.4GHz.
The laptop can be fitted with up to 16GB of RAM. In the storage department, there’s either 750GB or 1-Terabyte HDD at 5,400 or 7,200 rmp speed.
Choices don’t end here. The built-in sound system can be made up of either dual or quad speakers and ASUS throws in a DVD burner or Blue Ray Combo too.
Like the ASUS N550 line-up, the G550 also arrives with an external subwoofer included in the bundle. The machine also has HDMI out and mini DisplayPort.
The similarities between the G550JK and N550 extend in the visual field, as the newcomer seems to boast the same shape as the latter.
Instead of silver, ASUS has thrown in some black paint with red accents in order to make the device reminiscent of its gaming notebook line.
Anyway, the new machine is up for grabs in the US going by the name G550JK-DS71. This particular model has a quad-core CPU, full HD IPS screen, 750GB HDD and 8GB of RAM and sells for $1,100 / €803.