In this review, I will be providing you with all the information there is to know about the ASUS F556UA AS54’s design and specifications. Also, I will be discussing the laptop’s performance in areas such as processor, RAM, graphics, storage, and battery life. Moreover, in various sections of this review, I will provide benchmark test results based on the laptop’s performance. In addition to that, in each section of this review, I will be rating this laptop on a scale of one to ten. Finally, because this review is a comprehensive evaluation of the ASUS F556UA AS54’s performance, you will get to know its pros and cons. Hence, after reading this review to the end, you’ll be able to decide whether or not this laptop is for you.
My Initial Thoughts
ASUS has been in the laptop manufacturing game for a while now. Best known for delivering powerful laptops with outstanding specs, ASUS released the ASUS F556UA AS54. The ASUS F556UA AS54 is an efficient laptop that is capable of handling most computing tasks. Moreover, this laptop comes with lots of great features ranging from an SSD storage type to a powerful Intel Core i5 CPU. However, as we all know, no laptop is perfect. Therefore, the ASUS F556UA AS54 surely comes with some drawbacks. Do you wish to know more about this laptop as well as its drawbacks? If so, you have to continue reading!
ASUS F556UA AS54 Design, Dimension, and Weight Review
Just like most ASUS laptops, the ASUS F556UA AS54 is designed to be stylish and attractive. To give more details, the laptop’s chassis is made of plastic with an icicle-gold metallic finish. This icicle-gold metallic finish gives off a soft glow on the laptop’s body to deliver a flawless look. Impressively, irrespective of its plastic chassis, this laptop is quite sturdy and durable. Moreover, just like the entire body of the laptop, the ASUS F556UA AS54’s lid is also made of plastic and features an icicle-gold metallic finish. As one would expect, at the center of this lid, there is an “ASUS” logo. This logo comes with a shiny stainless finish that adds to the overall beauty of the laptop. That said, on opening the ASUS F556UA AS54’s lid, you will be presented with a 15.6-inch display. This display comes with an FHD (1920 x 1080) resolution that allows it to deliver colorful and decent picture quality. In addition to its FHD resolution, the ASUS F556UA’s display features a matte coating. This coating protects the display from reflection and sun glare. However, this display has poor viewing angles. Therefore, when viewing the display off-center, color accuracy and picture quality tend to reduce. On a positive note, this display comes with an interesting feature called a Bluelight filter. As most of us know, LED displays are responsible for emitting blue light, which is one of the main causes of eye problems. Therefore, with the help of the Bluelight filter, the blue light level of the ASUS F556UA AS54’s display is reduced to 33%. This turns out to make reading very comfortable and reduces the risk of potential eye problems or retinal issues. On the downside, the ASUS F556UA AS54’s 15.6-inch FHD display is surrounded by thick bezels. Unlike the lid and other parts of the laptop’s body, these bezels feature a matte-black finish. Moreover, the top bezel harbors an HD webcam that is ideal for video calls but not ideal for taking pictures. The bottom bezel, on the other hand, features an “ASUS” logo in the middle. Coming to the ASUS F556UA AS54’s base, you will find a full-sized QWERTY keyboard. This keyboard has black well-spaced keys with white lettering at the top. Also, the keyboard is quite responsive and accurate. Thus, the keyboard should offer a decent typing experience. However, this keyboard isn’t backlit. Nevertheless, beneath this keyboard, you will find a spacious touchpad with two integrated click buttons. Just like the keyboard, this touchpad is accurate and very responsive. Also, the touchpad supports multi-touch gestures such as pinch-to-zoom. Moving on to ports, the ASUS F556UA AS54 features a good number of ports. Specifically, on the left side of the laptop, you will find one USB 2.0 port, a USB Type-A port, and a USB Type-C port. Also, there is an HDMI port, an SD card reader, a VGA port, and a charging port on the left side of this laptop. The right side of the laptop, on the other hand, features a DVD/CD optical drive and a mic/audio jack. For the dimensions and weight, the ASUS F556UA AS54 measures 381 x 254 x 25.4 mm (W x D x H) and weighs 2100 g. With a weight of 2100 g, this laptop isn’t particularly lightweight. However, the laptop weighs a bit less than one of its closest competitors, the HP Notebook – 15-ay011nr. To give more details, the HP Notebook – 15-ay011nr measures 384 x 255 x 23.7 mm (W x D x H) and weighs 2140 g. In conclusion, the ASUS F556UA AS54 comes with a very attractive and sturdy design. Also, this laptop features quite a number of ports as well as a responsive keyboard. Therefore, I will rate the ASUS F556UA AS54 a nine out of ten in this design review section.
ASUS F556UA AS54 Processor (CPU) Performance Review
The ASUS F556UA AS54 comes with a powerful 6th generation dual-core Intel Core i5-6200U processor. In terms of speed, this processor has a base and maximum frequency of 2.30 GHz and 2.80 GHz, respectively. In addition to its frequencies, this processor comes with a cache memory of 3 MB. Also, this Intel Core i5 processor is a power-efficient processor that consumes less energy. Moreover, with this processor, the ASUS F556UA AS54 should have enough power to handle demanding tasks like video editing. Also, the laptop should be able to handle heavy multitasking without slowing down. In order to further verify this laptop’s processor’s performance, I will provide you with the laptop’s Geekbench 4.0 test result. For clarity, Geekbench 4.0 test is a benchmark test that measures the overall processing performance of a computer. Also, a high score on this test represents a good processor performance. So, on the Geekbench 4.0 benchmark test, the ASUS F556UA AS54 scored 6393 points. In comparison, this laptop performed better than Lenovo E31-80 80MX0107GE. To be more specific, the Lenovo E31-80 80MX0107GE scored 5896 points on the Geekbench 4.0 test. Before concluding this section, it is important to note that the Lenovo E31-80 80MX0107GE uses the same processor as the ASUS F556UA AS54. In conclusion, the ASUS F556UA AS54’s processor is capable of handling most computing tasks thrown at it. Therefore, I will rate the ASUS F556UA AS54 a nine out of ten in this CPU review section.
ASUS F556UA AS54 Memory (RAM) Performance Review
For memory, the ASUS F556UA AS54 comes with two memory slots and a standard memory of 8 GB DDR3L SDRAM. This standard memory of 8 GB is divided between the two memory slots – 4 GB on each slot. However, 4 GB RAM on one of these memory slots is onboard, meaning it is soldered directly on the laptop’s motherboard. Therefore, that particular 4 GB RAM can’t be removed or upgraded. Hence, to upgrade the laptop to its maximum capacity of 12 GB RAM, you have to remove the non-onboard 4 GB RAM on the second slot. Then, you insert an 8 GB RAM stick into that particular RAM slot, making the laptop’s memory a total of 12 GB. However, I don’t think all these processes will be necessary because the standard 8 GB RAM is just enough for the laptop to perform efficiently. In fact, with 8 GB RAM, the ASUS F556UA AS54 will be able to multitask easily. Thus, this laptop should be able to perform smoothly while streaming a YouTube video and having 15 Chrome tabs opened. Moreover, switching between the Chrome tabs and YouTube videos should be swift and seamless on the laptop. Having said all that, now let us discuss the laptop’s result on a PCMark 10 test to further prove its performance with 8 GB RAM. For clarity, the PCMark 10 test is a benchmark test that measures a computer’s memory performance when handling daily computing tasks. Moreover, on this PCMark 10 test, the higher the score, the better the computer’s performance. Therefore, according to the test, the ASUS F556UA AS54 scored 5062 points. Comparatively, this laptop’s PCMark 10 score is over 1000 points higher than another ASUS laptop, the ASUS ZenBook 13 UX331UA. To be more specific, the ASUS ZenBook 13 UX331UA scored 3443 points on the PCMark 10 test. All in all, I will rate the ASUS F556UA AS54 a nine out of ten in this memory review section.
ASUS F556UA AS54 Storage Options and Performance Review
The ASUS F556UA AS54 comes with an SSD storage type and a standard storage space of 256 GB. Sadly, this 256 GB is also the maximum storage capacity that this laptop supports. In my opinion, 256 GB of storage space might not be enough for most users to save their pictures, songs, and video. However, this laptop comes with an SD card reader for storage expansion. Besides, due to the fact the laptop uses an SSD storage type, the launching of applications and accessing files should be very swift. Also, the laptop’s boot time will be very fast. This is because SSD is one of the fastest, if not the fastest, storage drives available. Moreover, unlike HDDs, SSDs don’t make noise during operation. That said, to further determine the performance of the ASUS F556UA AS54’s SSD storage, we will now be discussing the laptop’s results on a CrystalDiskMark test. Briefly, CrystalDiskMark is a benchmark test that measures a computer’s storage performance by evaluating the read and write speed. In case you don’t know, read speed is how long it takes a storage device to open a file. Meanwhile, write speed is the time that it takes the storage device to save a file. Also, in this benchmark test, the higher the MB/s value, the faster the storage performance of a laptop. Thus, according to the CrystalDiskMark test, the ASUS F556UA AS54 recorded a sequential read speed of 1938 MB/s. Also, this laptop recorded a sequential write speed of 1584 MB/s. Sadly, the Lenovo ThinkBook 15 has a faster read and write speed compared to the ASUS F556U AS54. To give more details, the Lenovo ThinkBook 15 has a sequential read speed of 2366 MB/s. Also, this Lenovo laptop has a sequential write speed of 2846 MB/s. In conclusion, the ASUS F556UA AS54 offers limited storage space. Also, this laptop falls short of one of its closest competitors on a storage benchmark test. As a result, I will rate the ASUS F556UA AS54 a seven out of ten in this storage review section.
ASUS F556UA AS54 Graphics Card Performance Review
For the graphics card, the ASUS F556UA AS54 uses an integrated Intel HD Graphics 520. This graphics card comes with a base and boost frequency of 300 MHz and 1000 MHz, respectively. However, as an integrated graphics card, this laptop’s GPU lacks a dedicated VRAM. Thus, the graphics card shares memory with the processor to perform graphics-related tasks. As a result, with this GPU, the ASUS F556UA AS54 might not be able to smoothly run high-end games or graphics-demanding applications. Notwithstanding, this laptop should be able to run a few title AAA games under low graphics settings. For example, the laptop should be able to deliver a frame rate of around 30 fps while playing GTA V under low graphics settings. Moreover, low-end games like Minecraft and Candy Crush will run smoothly on the ASUS F556UA AS54 under any graphics setting. To further determine this laptop’s performance with its GPU, I will now highlight the laptop’s results on a 3DMark test. Briefly, 3Dmark is an application-based benchmark test tool for evaluating the 3D graphics rendering abilities of a computer. Furthermore, on this 3DMark test, the higher the score, the better the computer’s performance. So, according to the 3DMark test, the ASUS F556UA AS54 scored 1296 points. Comparatively, the ASUS F556UA AS54 falls short of the HP EliteBook 850 G3 T9G19EA on this benchmark test. To give more details, the HP EliteBook 850 G3 T9G19EA was able to score 1410 points on the 3DMark test. It is worth noting that the ASUS F556UA AS54 and HP EliteBook 850 G3 T9G19EA use the same GPU. All things considered, I will rate the ASUS F556UA AS54 a seven out of ten in this graphics review section.
ASUS F556UA AS54 Battery Life and Performance Review
Coming to the battery, the ASUS F556UA AS54 uses a 2-cell 38 WHrs Lithium-Polymer battery. According to ASUS, this battery should be able to last 8 hours on a single charge. To confirm ASUS’ battery life claim, we will now discuss the ASUS F556UA AS54’s performance on a battery rundown test. This battery rundown test involves continuous web browsing via a WIFI connection while the laptop’s screen brightness is at 70%. Therefore, according to this battery rundown test, the ASUS F556UA AS54 delivered a battery life of 6 hours and 30 minutes. Comparatively, this laptop has a longer battery life than the HP Notebook – 15-ay011nr. To give more details, the HP 15-ay011nr lasted 5 hours and 37 minutes on the battery rundown test. Hence, I will rate the ASUS F556UA AS54 an eight out of ten in this battery review section.
My Final Thoughts
The ASUS F556UA AS54 is definitely one of the best laptops ASUS has manufactured in a while. Basically, this laptop comes with amazing specs, including an elegant and beautiful design. Furthermore, this laptop features a lot of ports, a powerful processor, a blue light filter feature, and a comfortable keyboard. However, the ASUS F556UA AS54 comes with a few questionable flaws. These flaws include limited storage space and a lack of a backlit keyboard. Notwithstanding, the laptop’s flaws are significantly fewer compared to the amazing feature that the laptop offers. Therefore, if you need a laptop for day-to-day computing tasks, the ASUS F556UA AS54 is definitely the one! I hope you found this ASUS F556UA AS54 review helpful. If you found the review helpful, share your thoughts with our community platform at Itechguides Community Forum. You may also ask questions or make comments regarding this review at Itechguides Community Forum. Our team and other community members will respond to your questions or comments as soon as possible. Finally, for more laptop reviews, visit our Laptop Reviews page. You may also find our Laptop Specs page very helpful.
References and Further Reading
